The Contribution of Action Research to Development in Social Endeavours: a position paper on action research methodology

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Abstract
In this invited paper, presented at the 1994 BERA conference, the author reviews key ideas arising from her own practice of action research and that of close colleagues over the past fifteen years, in particular John Elliott. The paper is divided into two parts. The first describes and comments upon the main characteristics of action research as perceived by this group; the second deals in rather more depth with a range of methodological and epistemological issues related to its practice. The latter include: the role of action research in teacher education and curriculum development; the context‐sensitive nature of action research and the resulting variations in its methodology in professional settings such as nursing, the police and commercial companies; the role of self in action research; the nature of practitioner knowledge; action research and writing; and action research and the structure‐agency debate.