Teaching and researching critical academic writing: scrutiny of an action research process

Abstract

This article aims to explore one way of making connections between a teaching problem, a research process and a theory arrived at through action research. The article suggests this as a fruitful approach to pedagogic research in general. It focuses on a particular action research project on developing critical academic writing in an international context, illustrating how a particular teaching problem led to an action research investigation which resulted in a principled, theoretical framework to describe and guide the development of critical academic writing. Arriving at the theoretical framework involved the iterative interaction of theory with practice and required the integration of multiple theoretical perspectives. The theoretical framework was based on general principles or praxiology. There are few studies of this type on critical academic writing, or indeed any pedagogic issue, which seek to: (1) provide a framework for teaching; (2) operationalise this framework; (3) rigorously research its impact in in-depth case studies; and then (4) revise the framework in the light of reflection and analysis.