the sketch of a his­to­ry of con­flict­ing ideas and po­lit­i­cal trends in ac­tion re­search

The text provides an outline of the history of action research from its beginnings in the 1920s up until the present day. Based on the influence of the central figures, such as Moreno, Lewin and Stenhouse, competing discourses which are inscribed in this research approach are developed: they form a bridge between the aims of ‘engagement’ and ‘optimising’, between critical intervention in society and in research traditions on the one hand, and the stabilising of hegemonic conditions on the other. The resulting questions are to be worked through again, up to the present, in all related projects: concerning the scientific- and research-based conception; the relation between researchers and co-researchers; the positioning of the researchers; focussing on content, and being goal oriented versus process oriented; and concerning strategic positioning in the academic field.