This conference presentation describes the characteristics of a living educational theory, explores its implications for self-study methodology, and offers a self-study from an educative relationship with a teacher educator. The theory has its basis in the following ideas: educators exist as living contradictions when their values are negated in practice within themselves, their institutions, and their societies; educators can move an educational enquiry forward in action-reflection cycles which have the systematic form of a living educational research methodology; and educators can construct their own living educational theories as descriptions and explanations for their own educational development as they move their educational inquiries forward on the basis of experiencing themselves as living contradictions using the action-reflection cycle. The paper promotes the view that educational theory can be reconstructed from action research in which practitioners research their own professional practice and describe and explain their educational development as learners as they attempt to improve the quality of their practice. Excerpts are presented from a Master of Education dissertation by Peggy Kok titled "The Art of an Educational Enquirer" to explain the educative relationship with a teacher and the development of an understanding of the nature of education. (Contains 38 references.) (JDD)