This chapter is an account of the changing educational ideas, institutional work and collegial relationships in almost four decades of work in critical participatory 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 version 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, contestation, and co-option of the ideas of action research. Critique of these practices generated more definitive accounts of participation, practice and practice architectures 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.