Use Of Action Learning Research Articles

Twenty years of action learning in the journal Action Learning: Research and Practice

ABSTRACT This paper provides a thematic analysis of research papers published in Action Learning: Research and Practice over the past 20 years. The analysis concentrates on the different contexts in which action learning has taken place and on the variations of action learning that have been presented in different papers. Contexts discussed in this paper are different international settings for action learning, and the use of action learning in healthcare, for social action, for small and medium-sized enterprises, and in higher education. Variations and developments of action learning are critical action learning, virtual action learning, and action learning research.

Are birds free from the chains of the skyway? Action learning in a cultural context

ABSTRACT The paper identifies what is meant by culture and examines approaches to mapping it, while suggesting alternatives. It notes the global spread of action learning, expressed through the prism of Western values, although practice is not necessarily reflective of the original ethos. It offers some rules of thumb on the use of action learning in different cultural settings and suggests a need for mutual adjustment and for research on action learning in a variety of cultural contexts.

Action learning and healthcare 2011–2022

ABSTRACT This paper provides a review of the use of action learning in healthcare organisations, or by healthcare professionals, in the past decade, as evidenced in peer-reviewed journals. Action learning has a long history in healthcare and is perhaps particularly suited to an environment where wicked problems abound, where professional development is prized, and where many of the professions subscribe to reflective practice as a vehicle of development. A systematic search for literature in peer-reviewed English language journals was undertaken, followed by a process of pursuing references from the publications revealed by that search. Papers that provided accounts or evaluations of programmes and projects that included action learning were analysed. Common themes concerning purposes, processes, benefits and challenges were identified. Action learning was used for three purposes in the projects and programmes: to improve an aspect of healthcare services; to develop skills of the participants; to enhance collective capability. Whilst in some cases the intention was to achieve all three beneficial outcomes, it was apparent that in the majority of examples one or another of these purposes was prioritised as the principal aim of the programme or project.

A Study on the Use of Action Learning in Korean Language Education as a Foreign Language

A Study on the Use of Action Learning in Korean Language Education as a Foreign Language

Action learning in the service of food security and poverty alleviation in Mozambique

ABSTRACTWe report the use of action learning within a state-owned enterprise charged with delivering a large food security and poverty alleviation program in Mozambique. Successful management of the program requires the co-ordination of a wide variety of different stakeholders including both commercial and subsistence farmers, community leaders and international private investors. Organizational issues arose within the program as efforts to foster cooperation were hindered by apparently intractable differences in the agendas of autonomous stakeholders. When the stakeholder conflicts could not be resolved with traditional project management techniques, an action learning practice was developed in order to more thoroughly explore the barriers to cooperation. In describing the challenges of adopting action learning in this context of social action, we draw attention to three particular elements of the practices developed: an unusually large and diverse action learning set; fostering critical reflection within a culture that does not question seniors; and having a set facilitator who identifies as a scholar-practitioner.

Account of practice: using action learning to develop and educate undergraduate management degree apprentices

ABSTRACTThis account of practice offers an example of the use of action learning within the undergraduate Degree Apprenticeship Curriculum of a UK university, specifically the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship. This programme is aimed at an age-diverse group who are supported by their employers through the levy to improve their knowledge, skills and behaviours in alignment to the standards required in becoming a Chartered Manager. We discuss the background and context of the course followed by an account of some aspects of the action learning process used to support and challenge apprentices as they worked on their projects. The account suggests that the application of knowledge to work-based problems on the Degree Apprenticeship Programme was enhanced by the action learning process. We reflect on the challenges and opportunities presented by introducing action learning on this undergraduate programme, such as the value of the safe space created and the difficulties of getting to grips with reflection.

Impressions of action and critical action learning: exploring the leadership development of senior doctors in an English healthcare organization

This paper aims to explore the influence of one cycle of a learning set experience in a postgraduate medical leadership development programme. It does so from two perspectives: first, from the self‐reports of nine senior doctors working in leadership roles in England in the National Health Service; and second from a researcher perspective as we present our research process, findings and perceptions on the use of action learning (AL) and critical action learning (CAL) for leadership development in the complex and unpredictable context of that service. The paper affirms other study findings that CAL in the development of participants’ collective reflexivity has the potential to deal with emotions and power relations in organizational life. An original contribution lies in advancing the idea that CAL can help build resilience in doctor leaders and groups in uncertain conditions such that they are able to challenge current care delivery and effect change in organizational performance.

Action learning in China

Action learning was introduced into China less than 20 years ago, but has rapidly become a valuable tool for organizations seeking to solve problems, develop their leaders, and become learning organizations. This article provides an historical overview of action learning in China, its cultural underpinnings, and five case studies. It concludes with the six major challenges and six powerful forces that will propel the use of action learning in China.

ACTION LEARNING AS A NOVEL APPROACH TO CHANGE CLINICAL PRACTICE

BackgroundEnd-of-life care is essential to medical practice. Encouraging behavioural change in senior doctors who are trained to cure, and may see death as failure, is crucial to improving care and...

A protean practice? Perspectives on the practice of action learning

Purpose– The purpose of the paper is to assess the extent to which these practitioners ' perspectives and practices match Willis ' s conception of a Revans “gold standard” of action learning.Design/methodology/approach– This study adopts a qualitative design and methodology based on interviews and the collection of cases or accounts of practice, and upon the analysis of both. This exploratory study draws on 24 cases of academic practice of action learning within higher education (HE) institutions in the UK and 21 cases drawn from practitioners in the UK National Health Service.Findings– Whilst action learning is shown to be a context sensitive and protean methodology, the findings demonstrate that approaches to practice are not as divergent as anticipated. On the evidence of this study, many aspects of action learning practice remain rooted in the principles originally established by Revans, sometimes termed.Research limitations/implications– The limitations of this study stem from its exploratory nature using small samples in the NHS and HE sectors. Nonetheless, the results could stimulate further empirical research on approaches to the practice of action learning in a range of other contexts.Practical implications– The study provides a basis on which practitioners can critically reflect on their own professional practices, and a means to review their own purposes in making use of action learning in their work situations.Originality/value– The study extends earlier research by confirming the persistence of Revans Classical Principles in the present practice across two professional practice contexts.

Action learning: understanding interpersonal relationships within learning sets

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to respond to calls for research into the use of action learning in management education (Hay, 2011). It reports on student experiences of action learning in a final year module for part time Master of Business Administration students. It focuses specifically on the development of an understanding of the interpersonal relationships that existed within those action learning sets; both positive and negative. The paper then discusses the subsequent impact those dynamics may have on the effectiveness of the action learning process.Design/methodology/approach– An interpretivist philosophy underpins the research framework adopted in this paper. Data were captured by means of semi-structured questionnaires distributed at both the beginning and end of the module. The data were thematically analysed using open coding.Findings– The paper used two contrasting views of the interpersonal relationships in action learning sets: Revans’ (1982) “comrades in adversity” and Vince's (2004) “adversaries in commonality” as a framework for discussion. It found that various interpersonal dynamics existed within the sets, which in this case, had the ability to influence individual satisfaction and the overall effectiveness of the set.Originality/value– The findings provide insights, via participant voice, into aspects of interpersonal relationships within action learning sets. In particular, the politics and emotions that occur within the learning sets, whilst considering the subsequent impact on both participant satisfaction and the effectiveness of action learning sets.

Reflections on ‘creative’ action learning in business education: some issues in its theory and practice

The purpose of this paper is to consider some issues in the uses of what we have termed ‘creative’ action learning in a business education context, and to review some aspects of its practice. A review of the literature, including its use in higher education, is followed by a case illustration of its use in a UK business school with predominantly international students. Action learning is principally thought of as a human resource development practice and is widely used in a variety of public and private sector organisations. The focus here, however, is on the use of action learning in a business school setting and the application of specific creative thinking tools, in order to explore its potential for developing collaborative peer learning and support.

Model skupnosti prakse in situacijsko učenje

Učenje v vsakdanjem življenju ali situacijsko učenje postaja vse pomembnejše. Razvijajo se modeli za interpretacijo in raziskovanje ter razvijanje prakse v povezavi z novejšimi koncepti znanja in učenja ter formiranja identitete. V prispev- ku analiziramo tezo, da situacijsko učenje kot neorganizirano učenje prehaja v strukturirano učenje, zato je v prvem delu predstavljena razčlenitev situacijskega učenja in teoretskega ozadja za razvoj koncepta skupnosti prakse. V drugem delu avtorica komparativno predstavi dva modela učenja in situ, in sicer skupnosti prakse in akcijsko uče- nje kot modela, ki omogočata prenos znanja in razvoj inovacij. Oba modela se povezujeta s poststrukturalistično teorijo prakse in transformativnim učenjem. Podobnosti in razlike med njima kažejo prednosti in pomanjkljivosti za uporabo v praksi in razvoj teorije situacijskega učenja.

A mirror in which to practice – using action learning to change end-of-life care

While action learning is a familiar tenet of much management and leadership development activity within the NHS it is not commonly utilised within the education and development of doctors where didactic methods remain the preferred mechanism to impart factual knowledge necessary to fulfil the autonomous practitioner role. Within the specialism of palliative medicine, the implementation of a national end-of-life (EoL) care strategy will challenge this predilection. The new strategy seeks to enable more people to die in the place of their choosing as such it requires clinicians outside the speciality of palliative care to make it a routine part of their practice. Since doctors are trained to cure or extend life, the strategy requires specialists to change their practice, behaviour and communication to engage the patient and family in decision-making and planning for the EoL. An intensive development programme utilising action learning methods is currently being piloted in two acute hospital settings to equip a small group of specialist senior clinicians to deliver the required changes. This paper describes the use of action learning within this context to explore its utility with an uninitiated and sceptical audience.

An analysis of the use of action learning on an MBA programme

The aim of this paper is to enrich our understanding of action learning by listening to the voices of the students who have been participants in an action learning set on an academic programme, in this case, the final year of a part time Master of Administration (MBA) programme. One UK university, responding to calls for innovation in postgraduate education, made the decision to use a different approach to teaching and learning on their part time MBA by introducing action learning into the final year research methodology and dissertation module. This paper reports the outcome of that decision, focussing on the student experience in learning sets. Data was captured by means of a semi-structured questionnaire and the findings were thematically analysed. Insights are offered into aspects of learning set psychological dynamics such as psychological climate, the emergence of hierarchy in learning sets and the inevitable leadership struggles that follow, all of which have an impact on both student satisfaction and effectiveness of the learning set. The paper also offers insights into action learning as both a teaching and learning methodology in the area of postgraduate study as experienced by the participants themselves.

A partnership approach to action learning within a masters educational programme

This account of practice provides a practical example of the use of action learning within a masters educational programme, an MA in Change Management designed and delivered by a collaborative partnership between the Isle of Anglesey County Council (ACC) and Liverpool Business School (LBS), Liverpool John Moores University. The account has been developed by the LBS Programme Manager, Tricia Harrison and the ACC Training Manager, Carys Edwards. The involvement of both the provider and receiver of the training activity provides a balanced, rigorous but practical approach to the content of this account. The background and content of the programme will be discussed, followed by critical comment on the action learning process.

Franchisees in crisis: using action learning to self-organise

The present article describes the use of action learning by a group of 30 franchisees to organise themselves and work through a period of upheaval and uncertainty when their parent company faced liquidation. Written from the perspective of one of the franchisees who found herself adopting action learning principles to facilitate the group, it describes the value of this way of organising until a point where the context became both clearer and more time-pressured, for which the group adopted a project management approach to organising.

Action learning in international settings: Possibilities for developing organising insight

Action learning approaches are seen to offer promise to troubled MBA programmes in providing increased attention to practice. However, whilst there is broad support for the use of action learning in management education, in practice its use is limited and issues remain in respect of the form it takes. Calls have therefore been made for research into the use of action learning as used in management education contexts to facilitate its diffusion and adoption. This paper provides an empirical consideration of a particular form of action learning: an MBA international consultancy project. Drawing upon student interviews the paper suggests that the form of action learning used here was imbued with opportunities to develop ‘organising insight’ (Vince, 2004). Furthermore, the paper highlights that the unfamiliar international location was especially significant in developing such insight. The paper suggests that forms of action learning which accentuate the unfamiliar can be of significant benefit in helping managers to understand taken for granted aspects of practice and thus provide particular promise for progressing critical management perspectives. In getting closer to practice, there is value in the use of teaching approaches which on face value might be seen to take managers further away from everyday practice.

Use of action learning in a higher education setting to improve the quality of health care

Health care faces challenges that are only partially addressed by incremental innovations. This paper outlines the potential for action learning to be used to challenge existing paradigms and mindsets. It provides the background and introduction to the concept, and describes the main principles and approach. Limitations in the theoretical conceptualization and research evidence about action learning are explored. Meanwhile, action learning has been used as a learning tool for graduate entry-level health service managers, senior health-care leaders, and students on postgraduate courses. Evaluations of these programmes have unearthed the key characteristics and benefits of effective action learning. The conclusions are that effective action learning is enabled by skilled facilitation, has benefits in embedding double-loop learning and developing personal resilience, and may result in enhanced organizational ambidexterity. Further work is now required to build a stronger conceptual framework and to explore the theory–practice gap around the impact of action learning at the organization level.

Role of research in occupational therapy clinical practice: Applying action learning and action research in pursuit of evidence‐based practice

In South Africa, as in many other countries, the development of research capacity in students and their early professional career is regarded as of major importance. Within the context of clinical education for occupational therapy students at the University of the Free State, a lecturer and her students embarked on a collaborative journey while fulfilling the requirements of their undergraduate curriculum. The outcome is a model promoting evidence-based practice (EBP) during service development on a dementia care ward. The practical use of action learning, action research (ALAR) approach in the clinical context, was used to encourage student engagement in successive small-scale research projects while simulating EBP. The projects ranged from the development of therapeutic multi-sensory environments to compiling activity profiles for identified residents. At the same time, students had the opportunity to experience the value of a scientific approach to practice development, which stimulated their awareness of the importance of research. Reflection by the researcher contributed towards more effective ways for compiling project assignments and a formalised approach for assessing projects. Students described personal and professional gains because of participation in projects against the life-changing experience of rendering a service to elderly persons suffering from dementia. The formalised approach guiding thoughts and actions finally assisted in developing a practical process model that could support EBP. The ALAR model contributed towards a scholarship of practice where the students, clinical educator and residents of a dementia unit all experienced the value of research.