In a recent issue of "Educational Action Research," Stephen Kemmis argued that action research should be participative in nature and involve "open communication" by engaging the voices and perspectives of others besides teachers, such as students, parents/caregivers and other community members. This article explores the implications of this call for open communication, with reference to results from one study conducted within New Zealand that investigated teachers' action research work from multiple and culturally diverse perspectives. Data analysis from this study revealed a number of barriers to maintaining critical, public dialogue and collective inquiry. Foremost amongst these was a lack of preparation and willingness on the part of school leaders to respond to specific challenges put forward from some stakeholder groups, particularly at a time when race relationships between Maori and non-Maori groups dominated national news headlines. (Contains 5 notes.)