Higher education institutions can be key agents of innovation and regional development. Nevertheless, they are in a transition period: good, tried, and tested practices no longer work or do not work as well as they used to, while new, fully developed, and widely applied solutions are yet to emerge. In this paper, we investigate to what extent…

The paper is an essay, rather than a researched academic work and explores the difference between two different ethe, neoliberalism and action learning. It considers two historical modernities and the emergence of a third, situating action learning and neoliberalism within this framework. It asserts that action learning and neoliberalism are…

This article explores how Revan's praxeology and learning formula act as the foundation for the authors' enactment of the scholarship of their teaching practice. Linking to accreditation requirement of assurance of learning the authors describe two undergraduate courses that they teach and reflect on how Revan's praxeology of systems…

Action learning is extending its reach internationally and is increasingly used in distinct cultural settings. This paper explores action learning in an African context and examines how action learning as a cultural product is biased towards Western values and practices. We draw attention to the political, cultural and social encounters of…

This account of practice charts one organisation development practitioner's experience of the influence of action learning (AL) at various points in his career, from the early 1970s to the present day. It explores the impact of AL upon his practice over the years, chronicling various episodes which had strongest impact. It contrasts AL as it was…

This paper explores the practice of action learning (AL) facilitation in supporting AL set members to address their 'messy' problems through a self-reflexive approach using the concept of 'living theory' [Whitehead, J., and J. McNiff. 2006. "Action Research Living Theory." London: Sage]. The facilitation practice is investigated through…

This paper reports the historical foundation of Northeastern University's course, LDR 6100: Developing Your Leadership Capability, a partial literature review of action learning (AL) and virtual action learning (VAL), a course methodology of LDR 6100 requiring students to apply leadership perspectives using VAL as instructed by the author,…

This account of practice encompasses a pilot virtual action learning programme with a small group of learners. This was an 18-month extension to the one-week Leadership Open Programme that the participants had previously completed at the Business School. It includes insights from an evaluation study completed in early 2016. It considers in…

This is an account of practice. It explores the meeting point between action learning and action research, as a way of doing capacity building in organisational development (OD) in the NHS in the UK. The authors were part of a short cooperative inquiry (Heron, J. 1996. "Co-operative Inquiry: Research into the Human Condition." London:…

This paper reflects upon a three-step process to expand the problem definition in the early stages of an action learning project. The process created a community-powered problem-solving approach within the action learning context. The simple three steps expanded upon in the paper create independence, dependence, and inter-dependence to aid the…

The paper examines the benefits claimed for action learning at individual, organisational and inter-organisational levels. It goes on to identify both generic difficulties in evaluating development programmes and action learning specifically. The distinction between formative and summative evaluation is considered and a summative evaluation…

This paper explores the idea of unlearning in Critical Action Learning (CAL) as applied to the wicked problems of organisations and societies. It draws on data and ideas developed during a research project conducted for "Skills for Care" by Pedler, Abbott, Brook and Burgoyne ("Skills for Care" 2014) and from experiences on…

This paper brings together the reflections of the authors on their shared and individual experiences of virtual action learning. Whilst many conclusions are shared, there are also some points of difference in practices.

As the number of organizations implementing action learning increases, both successful and failed cases also increase in action learning practice in South Korea. Existing studies on action learning have listed key success factors of action learning at the program level or at the team level but have not paid sufficient attention to the program…

This Account of Practice describes the introduction and development of action learning within a level 5 module of "Communications at Work" delivered as part of a Business & Technology Education Council (BTEC) Professional Certificate in Management (CMS) between 2005/2006 and 2009/2010. This will commence with a personal narrative and…