Tensions between academic rigour and the politics of action research: Learning from differences
Hauptsächlicher Artikelinhalt
Abstract
The article analyses how the framework of learning from differences fosters learning spaces across diverse traditions of action research for territorial development. Drawing on self-inquiry and long-term collaboration between Agder (Norway), Rafaela (Argentina), and Orkestra in the Basque Country (Spain), the study examines tensions between academic rigour and political engagement. The authors show how such tensions can become productive by making differences explicit, building trust, encouraging structured reflection, and facilitating mutual apprenticeship. The article introduces the concept of politicidad to capture the inherent political nature of action research and argues that difference can facilitate, rather than hinder, knowledge development and institutional transformation.
Keywords: action research for territorial development, learning from differences, politicidad
Tensiones entre el rigor académico y la politicidad de la investigación-acción: aprender de las diferencias
Este artículo analiza cómo el marco del aprendizaje a partir de las diferencias fomenta espacios de aprendizaje en diversas tradiciones de investigación-acción para el desarrollo territorial. A partir de la autoindagación y la colaboración a largo plazo entre Agder (Noruega), Rafaela (Argentina) y Orkestra en el País Vasco (España), el estudio examina las tensiones entre el rigor académico y el compromiso político. Los autores demuestran cómo estas tensiones pueden volverse productivas al explicitar las diferencias, generar confianza, fomentar la reflexión estructurada y facilitar el aprendizaje mutuo. El artículo introduce el concepto de politicidad para capturar la naturaleza política inherente a la investigación-acción y argumenta que la diferencia puede facilitar, en lugar de obstaculizar, el desarrollo del conocimiento y la transformación institucional.
Palabras clave: investigación-acción para el desarrollo territorial, aprendizaje a partir de las diferencias, politicidad
Bibliography: Karlsen, James/Larrea, Miren/Costamagna, Pablo: Tensions between academic rigour and the politics of action research: Learning from differences, IJAR – International Journal of Action Research, 2-2026, pp. 109-128.
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Titel: Tensions between academic rigour and the politics of action research: Learning from differences
Ausgabe: Vol. 22, No. 2-2026: IJAR – International Journal of Action Research