Linda P. Rose
GSE&IS Profile
Linda Rose
Adjunct Professor, Educational Leadership Program
An Adjunct Professor in the Department of Education, the dimensions of Linda Rose’s work may best be characterized by way of action research, a term that is used to describe an approach or philosophy to undertaking research rather than a specific research method. Co-director of the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies’ Educational Leadership Program (ELP), Professor Rose’s work emphasizes building greater leadership capacity in her students, who are mostly educators themselves or education administrators.
Citing the work of other scholars in offering a definition of action research, Rose proposes that three descriptions most closely relate to her own sensibility and the objectives of her action research course, Education 454A & B. “According to McNiff and Whitehead (2006), action research is a form of inquiry that enables practitioners everywhere to investigate and evaluate their work [sic]. It is based on a spiral of action that involves planning, acting, observing, and reflecting (Costello, 2003). The characteristics in a third definition emerged from a review of the action research literature by Peters and Robinson (1984). These four characteristics are an action and change orientation, a focus on a problem, procedures that involve systematic and sometimes iterative stages, and collaboration among participants.”
Action research could perhaps be considered a type of fulcrum for the Educational Leadership Program, providing a means through which students can engage with their cohort and curriculum. “Although we offer a wide range of research methods courses in ELP and students use all kinds of methods in their dissertations, the entire program focuses on research and action to improve educational outcomes,” says Rose. “This is reflected in one of the primary goals of the Ed.D. dissertation. The ELP Program strongly encourages students to use their dissertation research to improve their own educational practices and the practices of others especially in urban environments.”
Rose believes that continuous evaluation is necessary to help educators to become more reflective practitioners and researchers. In her paper, “Students as Researchers: A Framework for Using Action Research Principles to Improve Instruction,” Rose discusses ways to use an action research cycle involving reflection and assessment to help instructors monitor the research work of their students. She describes various evaluation processes that she has used in her action research courses: “I engage in a cycle of reflection and data analysis in planning each new iteration of my action research course. What worked well? What was not productive? How should specific elements be changed? During the action research course, I review students' reflective writings and responses to my questionnaires to see where they need help.”
Looking ahead to the future, Rose says, “I am very excited about a new action research project that I am planning with a school district. The objectives are three-fold. One is to help the district to understand the benefits and challenges for teachers of using new technologies. The second is to understand how an action research project can be accomplished online and the benefits and the challenges of doing an entire project online. The third is to identify technologies that can be used to improve teaching in ELP.”
After earning her B.A. in Psychology and an Elementary Teaching Credential from UCLA, Rose completed an M.A. in Anthropology from California State University at Northridge. She received her Ph.D. in the Sociology and Anthropology of Education from UCLA.
In addition to her work at UCLA, Rose has taught at California State University, Los Angeles, and at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, California. She taught elementary school at the Department of Defense Schools in Okinawa, Japan, as well as in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Having served as Co-director of the ELP since 2007, Rose has held a number of professional administrative positions at UCLA and the University of Southern California, where among several positions she served as Director of MBA Academic Services in the School of Business Administration.
“Action research, like all research is ‘messy,’ but the benefits are tremendous,” says Rose. “Part of the action research process is learning more about your own thought processes and how you work with others, and putting the learning into practice.”
Profile by Kathy Wyer