Action research scholar: the role of the scholar in action research

[Extract] The role of the scholar in action research contrasts sharply with the roles of scholars in all other forms of research. There are some commonalities of course, but the crucial difference lies in the commitment of action researchers to bring about change as part of the research act. Fundamental to action research is the idea that the social world can only be understood by trying to change it. Colombian sociology professor and community activist Orlando Fals Borda (1997, 108) summarized the evolution of the idea in this way: In the 1970s it was heretical to preach horizontal relationships in the research adventure, even in professional life. It became clear to me however that sociological investigation should not be autistic but a rite of communion between thinking and acting human beings, the researcher and the researched. The usual formality and prophylaxis of academic institutions had to be discarded and space given to some sort of down-to-earth collectivisation in the search for knowledge. This attitude I called vivencia, or life-experience (Erlebnis). Welcome to the world of the heretics! I will elaborate this perspective throughout the chapter that is structured around several themes: • My own career development • The idea of social practice • The role of professors in social practice and change • The theory and practice of participation • The objectification of experience • The disciplining of subjectivity and the engagement of affect and feeling • The disciplining of subjectivity and the enhancement of agency • The role of professors in research and community lif