Educational action research for being

The article describes the characteristics of educational action research on the basis of its development in three Nordic countries, namely Sweden, Norway and Finland. The characterisation begins with a reflection on the Anglo-Saxon variants of action research within education. Thereafter follows a democratic and participatory conceptualisation of action research identified through a description of its formation within working life practices. This conceptualisation is traced back and interpreted in terms of bildning, collective pedagogical practices within folkbildning and in relation to pedagogik as a basis for teachers’ professional knowledge base. The characteristics of educational action research are encapsulated as action research for being.