Action Research in Higher Education: Importance, Possibilities and Implications

This chapter explores action research as an evolving way in which to approach research and professional development in higher education. Specifically, it focusses on understanding various methodological, epistemological and ontological questions related to the research method, highlighting its problems, dilemmas and possible outcomes in educational practice. Our main argument is that action research is anchored in a special approach to social reality as an emergent—and therefore changing—phenomenon, and that the problem of agency, action and reflection is of outmost interest in this approach to research. Distinct levels of educational action research are discussed—specifically, the policies, organisational structures and personal dimensions of the method. The chapter outlines essential perspectives on the methodological constraints faced by action research and the research competencies it requires, each of which necessitate novel approaches to how educational action researchers can skilfully manage the complex challenges that arise in research projects in higher education.