Becoming a scholarly practitioner: as a teacher in higher education 'how do I improve my practice'?

This paper explores what it means to research one’s own practice, drawing on my experience as an educational action researcher and creating a living theory thesis. I begin by identifying key theories that inform my approach, exploring how scholarship in the form of self-study is viewed as a discipline, addressing issues of rigour and validity and I explain how the values of an educational practitioner are central to this practice-based research. I then explain the origins of my research and explore the relationship between living theory and auto-ethnography, showing how storied accounts of my practice illuminate my inquiry. Next, I explore what becoming a reflective practitioner has meant for me and its place in my research. I then explore how I understand humanistic action research as a dialectical engagement with the world and in relation to the stages of my research. I conclude with a summary of my journey of research and scholarship and ask why self-study matters.