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…

This paper explores the experiences of six Academic Skills Tutors (AST) responsible for facilitating action learning sets (ALS) on a postgraduate module. Our research focused on two elements: first, what did the tutors understand by the term critically reflexive practice in the context of business and management? Second, what has supported the…

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…

This account of practice offers practical examples of the use of reflective journaling and WhatsApping as part of a novice action learner's practice on her undergraduate degree programme. The action learning set was part of a degree apprentices programme which required the first author to complete a work-based learning module involving the…

This paper examines an adapted action learning approach to develop four social learning leaders. The Alberta Women in Sport Leadership Impact Program is a social learning intervention with the goals of supporting women in developing their leadership capabilities and increasing gender equity across sport. To support the facilitation of this…

Teamworking competence is essential in many operations management environments and can be developed through formal education and practice-based experiences. The main objective of this paper is to describe and to reflect on how to facilitate students in their development in teamworking competence through action learning in Operations Management…

Promoting open reflection and exploration on group dynamics is delicate work and is often considered 'not very business-like' in a business context. How to approach this work is a constant balance and struggle for action learning practitioners. In this account of practice, we present central elements in our action learning framework -- Action…

The aim of this article is to make a contribution to understanding the ethos of action learning, by exploring how it was influenced by the early family experience of Reg Revans as the originator of action learning. In order to do so, it examines what is meant by the term 'ethos of action learning' in terms of its values and beliefs. The paper…

The paper notes that action learning has spread globally and is used in a variety of local cultures. It considers Revans' involvement in this international aspect and explores the author's own experience of action learning in cross-cultural contexts. It addresses the issue of 'acculturation' and draws evidence from a number of examples of action…

This account of practice examines the implementation of and reactions to action learning through the Lean methodology in a unique, cross-cultural context. I review my time spent as a Lean coach; engaging with, training, and using action learning with employees in a garment manufacturing facility located in Bali, Indonesia. This research addresses…

Business Driven Action Learning (BDAL), as a learning philosophy that attempts to create real value for business is often used by executive education providers in their management development programmes. As the action learning facilitator, I found that the learning that took place during such a management development programme resulted in…

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…

Rural clergy often lack colleagues and may struggle with isolation, especially if over-extended in multi-parish benefices. Theory suggests that this sense of isolation could be addressed by launching clergy action learning sets, which have the potential to establish a peer support network through the formation of social capital as a by-product of…

The article describes the experience of forming a set in a higher education institution and offers some observations and insights gained from the perspectives of the role of the set adviser, cultural differences and the challenges of attempting to align theory, practice and experience.

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…