Professional Development in the Educational Context - From Insecurity to Research Competence: Empowering Educators Through Research

The research, Experiences and Challenges in Implementing Action Research in Preschool Education, was conducted to analyze educators’ knowledge of research methods, to identify factors that influence their application, and to consider the possibilities of professional development and improving pedagogical practice. The results reveal challenges, awareness of research benefits, and motivation of employees for their application. Obstacles that arise during implementation relate to organizational issues, difficulty applying individualized approaches, inflexibility, and lack of institutional support. A negative trend is observed: as uncertainty increases, the level of perceived competence decreases. Spearman’s rank correlation and Kruskal-Wallis test confirm the negative relationship between uncertainty in applying research methods and the perception of their competence, and the analysis found that educators with higher self-assessed competence are more likely to implement research. The results indicate the need for systematic professional support to strengthen the identity of educators as reflective practitioners and researchers of practice.