Emotions as inspiration for reflexivity in action research

Abstract

In this chapter we explore an aspect of action research that is rarely addressed – the role of emotion. Much of the action research (AR) literature is based around the premise of engagement in a reflective process, often characterized as a cyclical, iterative process, which is problem-based (Lewin, 1946; Reason and Bradbury, 2015). In reflexively-oriented action research, tension-filled encounters can emerge as “multiple voices and sources of knowledge are incorporated into the inquiry process and different logics of action, and different professional or organizational cultures and visions meet each other” (Ripamonti, Galuppo, Gorli, Scaratti, and Cunliffe, 2016, p. 57) and previously co- constructed meanings are challenged (Vinther and Willert, 2017). This can cause challenges for facilitators (Mughal, Gattrell, and Stead, 2018) in terms of dealing with the tensions arising from this process. This is the issue we address.