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Critical-collaborative action research: constructing its meaning through experiences in teacher education

This text presents the process of reconfiguration of the meaning and sense of action research as a critical-collaborative research starting from two experiences we have coordinated involving teams from university and from public schools in the State of São Paulo, as well as discussing its potential for impact in teacher education and action and its implications for public policies in education. Concerned with carrying out research in the school contexts, so as to help their teams to understand and give an answer to the intrinsic difficulties, we find in the qualitative approaches the most natural path. But, what perspective should we adopt? Should it be intervention-based? It did not seem to us to be the most adequate approach given its tendency to overtake the responsibilities of school workers. The ethnographic approach was not satisfying either, considering the risks of entangling ourselves in endless descriptions of phenomena. Neither did we want to carry out case studies. We were sure that we wanted to conduct research with the professionals in school contexts and not about them. Our expectation was one of contributing to their processes of continuing education. It thus seemed that the action research would be an adequate approach. However, considering the complexity that usually surrounds this approach, we were not tempted, at first, to give its name to the approach we were going to employ. As the study progressed, it gave shape to what we shall call critical-collaborative action research. It is with this process that the present text shall deal.

Critical-Collaborative Action Research; Teacher education; Teaching knowledges; Didactics


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