Contributions of action research and use of active methodological approaches for the construction of a discipline in management

Abstract

Purpose – The study aims to investigate how the action research contributes to the collective construction of a
discipline in management. This issue was the motivation for the present study, which was developed from the
experience of master’s degree students attending the post-graduate program in management of an institution
in the State of Bahia, Brazil.
Design/methodology/approach – The overall objective of this study is to understand the method’s
effectiveness for this aim, whereas the specific objectives are to identify the commitment of the subjects in the
activities proposed and to assess the effectiveness of the use of active methods in the discipline construction.
The theoretical background is regarding digital education transformation, active teaching methods and action
research. As for the qualitative perspective, the methodological approach of choice was that of participant
observation (for data collection) and content analysis.
Findings – It was possible to highlight the awakening of critical sense and the effectiveness of action research
in enhancing the protagonism of the master’s degree students in the construction of their own knowledge.
Originality/value – This study not only contributes to the field of applied social sciences but also opens a
precedent for the experience of collective construction of a discipline in another area of knowledge by means of
action research. Another factor demonstrating the relevance of this study is the production of essays and
articles by master’s degree students in which active methodologies were related to themes of interest.