This paper seeks to challenge the uncritical glorification of action research that has become common in recent years. It argues that we need to take action research much more seriously than is the case with its uncritical glorification. Thus, it defends the idea of linking the action research movement to the struggle for greater social, economic, and political justice. This paper discusses that the action research movement can contribute to the process of social transformation in terms of its ability to promote individual practitioner development; in terms of its potential effects on the control of the knowledge that informs the work of these practitioners; in terms of its influence on institutional change in the immediate settings in which these practitioners work; and finally, in terms of the impact of action research on the making of more democratic and decent societies.
TEACHER EDUCATION; EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH; SOCIAL CHANGE - ACTION RESEARCH