Action Research on P4Cin educat ional environment (Met hodological Overview)

Action Research and Participatory Action Research are forms of qualitative inquiry particularly useful for educational contexts and situations since they move from a constructive and re-constructive perspective and focus on actions and practices that can sustain change and transformation. Educational situations can be explored according to different perspectives (taking into account the matrix defined by Habermas in Erkenntins und Interesse): a descriptive perspective, according to an empirical-analitical approach, an ermeneutic perspective according to an ermeneutic and phenomenological approach, a constructive perspective according to a critical and dialectic approach. We can therefore describe and explain educational situations in order to control and manage them; we can look for a deep understanding of the implications, meanings, motives, representations embedded into educational situations engaging with different agents and their points of view; we can, finally engage with educational situations trying to act on them starting from issues and problems emerging from within educational contexts, intended as a complex texture of actors, aims and scopes, memories and narratives, and therefore involving different agents. Action Research and Participatory Action Research move from this last perspective focusing on the changes that can be brought about by introducing new educational actions, models and patterns into different educational context as a tentative response to educational issues and problems, that can be reframed and re-worked out over time. The pattern of Action Research and of Participatory Action Research is circular, dynamic, open ended and reflective and requires the engagement of various kinds of actors who highlight the issues and problems explored through multiple perspectives and sustain the design and implementation of actions that are observed, reflected upon and validated from differents points of view. Reflection (either in the course of educational action as well as of educational research) is the constitutive epistemic structure of this specific kind of inquiry. Action Research and Participatory Action Research are grounded on a reflective methodology which follows a recursive pattern (planning,acting, reflection, evaluation) and requires dedicated spaces, times and tools. In this perspective P4C works either as an educational practice to be implemented into educational environments as well as an inquiry model for educational research according to a participatory action research framework. A literature overview offers a variety of examples of good practices of action research and participatory action research in different educational enviroments (formal, non formal and informal) providing very interesting materials to educational scholars and practitioners.