Exploring the complementarities between complexity and action research: the story of Technology Together

This paper takes up an ongoing dialogue in the educational literature regarding the relationship between complexity theories and action research. Recognising the contributions of other writers in this field and building on arguments made previously by the authors, this paper argues that there are multiple synergies between complexity and action research, and that action research can be a valuable and congruent meta-methodology for those researching from complexity-based perspectives. The paper illustrates these arguments through the example of a large action research initiative, Technology Together, which aimed to investigate the metacognitive influences on teachers' use of information and communications technology (ICT) and the implications of these for teacher professional development within a whole-school context.