Action research, practical challenges and the formation of theory

It is a common assumption that action research exists in a number of varieties. In efforts to explain these varieties, the point of departure is sometimes sought in differences in practical challenges, sometimes in differences in theoretical outlook. Taken separately, these perspectives can, however, both be too limited. Drawing upon an action research tradition that has been in existence for four decades, it will be seen that one and the same tradition has passed through a series of different ways of combining theory and practice. The prime moving force has been success and failure in meeting specific practical challenges; the role of theory has been to deepen the understanding of these challenges and indicate what courses of action are open in each specific situation.