Chapter 5 Evolution of the Action Research Planners: Towards Critical Participatory Action Research Robin McTaggart and Rhonda Nixon Abstract This chapter is an account of the changing educational ideas, institutional work and collegial relationships in almost four decades of work in critical participa- tory action research. The focus is the historical context or back story of the evolution of the series of ‘action research planners’ (and related publications), the current ver- sion of which was written by Stephen Kemmis, Robin McTaggart and Rhonda Nixon and published by Springer in 2014 as The Action Research Planner: Doing Critical Participatory Action Research. The back story depicts the conditions that influenced the series of planners including those in university and school systems, as well as the expansion of the university sector, changes in research methodology, evaluation and accountability, and emergent concerns about the relationship between research, democracy and social justice. Different forms of action research emerged in areas of social practice, cultures, languages and traditions, together with convergence, con- testation, and co-option of the ideas of action research. Critique of these practices generated more definitive accounts of participation, practice and practice architec- tures and the role of public spheres. The resultant critical participatory action research helped to bring new discipline and credibility to everyday reflection and action. The chapter explores the ideas of the most recent Planner in a major project in Canada. Historical Context—Deakin University Faculty of Education Australian action research practice did not suddenly appear out of the ether at the Deakin University Faculty of Education in the late 1970s. There were many people in education and other fields using the ideas of action research long before then. How- ever, for the next of couple of decades, work at Deakin provided an important focus R. McTaggart (B ) Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia e-mail: armct@bigpond.com R. Nixon University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada e-mail: rnixon@gsacrd.ab.ca © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 C. Edwards-Groves et al. (eds.), Education in an Era of Schooling, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2053-8_5 61