Acknowledging, negotiating, and reporting ‘uncomfortable truths’ in action research

Abstract

Critical action research is a praxis-oriented professional learning practice. Such practice requires a move beyond viewing action research as simply a technical or practical method for teacher development; instead, it strives for critical and participatory research. When action research is reduced to a technicist process for professional learning, there is a tendency for valorising reported findings, so seemingly ‘celebratory’ stories emerge. Yet, the process of changing practices is complex and challenging. By sharing some of our own’ uncomfortable truths,’ we reveal the often-hidden realities of action research as spaces of contestation and negotiation, where uncomfortable truths are shared, examined, and sometimes silenced. This engagement in the form of ‘reflexivity of discomfort’ helps shed light on the need for Action Research to be (re)considered as more than a project and instead as a praxis-orientated approach that requires balanced reporting.