%0 Journal Article %T Professional development of teachers through involvement in action Research %A Barbaros, Claudia %J Homo et Societas %V 2020 %R 10.4467/25436104HS.20.009.13242 %N Issue 5/2020 %P 129-140 %K professional development, action research, participatory research, participatory action research, functional illiteracy, school failure %@ 2543-6104 %D 2020 %U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/homo-et-societas/article/professional-development-of-teachers-through-involvement-in-action-research %X Towards the end of the twentieth century in education appeared three functional concepts, which are based on the participatory approach to research: action research, participatory research, participatory-action research. It seems that these types of research would be of great use to teachers in the classroom. Several educational policy documents stipulate the idea of lifelong learning. Starting with 1996, the European Year of Lifelong Learning, the Lifelong Learning Strategy is formulated, which talks about the need to develop the professional potential of each person and the teaching / learning methods. But professional development is an ongoing process and requires a huge effort from teachers and the whole community. At the same time, teachers are always concerned with finding solutions to overcome students’ learning problems, avoid school failure, reduce functional illiteracy, etc. In this article we propose some suggestions for the development of literacy and research skills in students, which we consider more important in the instructional process. We would like to mention that there is currently an increasing emphasis on transdisciplinary or integrated training. Only through a constructive collaboration with colleagues from all school subjects will we be able to carry out valuable research and change the precarious situation in the direction of obtaining performance. In the 21st century, the teacher appears as an agent of change, which implies that he will be the basic element of educational reforms.