The Action Research Planner: Doing Critical Participatory Action Research

A fully-updated and reworked version of the classic book by Stephen Kemmis and Robin McTaggart, now joined by Rhonda Nixon, The Action Research Planner is a detailed guide to developing and conducting a critical participatory action research project. The authors outline new views on ‘participation’ (based on Jürgen Habermas’s notion of a ‘public sphere’), ‘practice’ (as shaped by practice architectures), and ‘research’ (as research within practice traditions). They provide five extended examples of critical participatory action research studies. The book includes a range of resources for people planning a critical participatory research initiative, providing guidance on how to establish an action research group and identify a shared concern, research ethics, principles of procedure for action researchers, protocols for collaborative work, keeping a journal, gathering evidence, reporting, and choosing academic partners.

Unlike earlier editions, The Action Research Planner focuses specifically on critical participatory action research, which occupies a particular (critical) niche in the action research 'family'.

The Action Research Planner is an essential guide to planning and undertaking this type of research.

Stephen Kemmis is Professor of Education and a member of the Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education at Charles Sturt University (Faculty of Education, Wagga Wagga). He is also co-leader of the ‘Pedagogy, Education and Praxis’ (PEP) international collaboration involving researchers from universities in Europe and Canada. Stephen has held academic positions at the University of Sydney, University of Illinois, University of East Anglia, Deakin University and the University of Ballarat and also worked for several years as an independent consultant. He has published extensively on professional practice, indigenous education, participatory action research and qualitative methods in educational research. His most well-known publication is the highly acclaimed book (with Wilfred Carr) "Becoming Critical: Education, knowledge and action research". In 2001 Stephen was made an Honorary Life Member of the Australian Association for Educational Research (AARE), and in 2009 he was awarded two honorary doctorates for services to international educational research.

Robin McTaggart is Adjunct Professor at the Griffith Institute for Educational Research at Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. He was formerly Professor and Head of School of  Administration and Curriculum Studies at Deakin University, Geelong, Australia, and Dean of Education and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Quality Assurance at James Cook University, Townsville, Australia. He was also Adjunct Professor in the International Graduate School of Management PhD program at the University of South Australia for several years. He has practised, taught and published extensively about critical participatory action research in many countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Canada and the USA.

Rhonda Nixon is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada and currently works at Edmonton CatholicSchools.  She has fifteen years of experience as a former elementary, junior and secondary teacher and English Language Arts Consultant for a large urban school district. She is currently supporting schools in critical participatory action research as an approach to professional learning in her role as Manager of Edmonton Catholic Schools’ TRANSFORM professional development programs. Her 2012 PhD thesis, from the University of Alberta, Investigating tension in collaborative action research about comics writing, reported on a critical participatory action research program undertaken with elementary school teachers investigating the power of comics writing as a way to teach narrative writing.