The article maps out key features of self-study in teaching and teacher development, particularly in relation to social action. The authors have become increasingly interested in how self-reflexivity in teaching and teacher development can illuminate social and educational challenges that have resonance beyond the self and can inspire context-specific, practitioner-led responses to those challenges. The examples that they use point to the potential for ministries and faculties of education to support self-study initiatives as an approach to social action and community development.