In this new edition Jean McNiff provides updates on methodological discussions and includes new sections of case study material and information on supporting action research. The book raises issues about how action research is theorized, whether it is seen as a spectator discipline or as a real life practice, and how practitioners position themselves within the debate. It discusses the importance for educators of understanding their own work and showing how their educative influence can lead to the development of good orders in formal and informal learning settings and in the wider community.