This paper explores the professional practice of the Action Learning (AL) facilitator through a process of critical inquiry, self-reflection and evaluation of action learning practice within a Higher Education Leadership Programme, commissioned by an English NHS Mental Health Trust. Action research was adopted as the overarching research approach…

Background/purpose: Developing the body of knowledge about how facilitators act and engage with participants is essential to developing Lesson Study (LS) facilitation. This research reveals how two LS facilitators from the United Kingdom and the United States support and lead cycles. Materials/methods: We used the Standards, Assessment,…

This article considers the contribution of the governance professional to the governing of further education colleges in the United Kingdom and arises from a wider study of the ways in which college boards develop and implement college strategy. This is the first observational study to focus on what the governance professional does within the…

There is growing global recognition of the contribution that leadership development can make to improving quality and outcomes in the Early Years (EY) education sector. UK governments are responding to such evidence through the creation of new national qualifications for EY professionals across the sector and the expansion of publicly funded…

Background: Knowledge brokering is suggested as an instrument to improve productive use of research in policy organisations. Previous research asserted that research utilisation is dependent on dynamics of knowledge exchange in institutional settings, but these claims have not received substantial empirical attention (Saarela et al, 2015; Akerlof…

This paper explores the literature around online and blended learning. The impetus came from a cohort of 60 students being led through their dissertation by an e-learning evangelist. Initially the pedagogy closely followed Salmon's Five Stage Model, Wenger's Community of Practice, and traditional Social Constructivism pedagogies. In hindsight, it…

In completing an action learning facilitation qualification in 2012, I documented an account of practice during the first year of my experience as a facilitator. The main areas of my learning related to four themes: fear of rejection, using and abusing power, content versus process and critical action learning. These learnings are linked to…

This paper gives an account of how Action Learning Sets (ALS) are used in two of The Rank Foundation investment streams to support the social action impact of charities and social enterprises. With the aid of two Case Studies, the paper illustrates how the ALS can help to connect, sustain and support the social action responses of the local…

The impact of public participants in data analysis has been reported, but there is little research on public involvement of analysis of naturally occurring interactional data. Four video recordings of clinicians from out of hours primary care services visiting care home residents with dementia were analysed in data sessions involving 12 people…

This paper explores the learning and experience of Western action learning facilitators engaged in developing Chinese facilitators of action learning, all of whom were also managers, as part of a qualification programme based in China. The Western facilitators interviewed for this study had been specifically asked by their hosts to deliver a…

With the increasing complexity of the engineering role, today's graduates must be capable of confronting both technical and societal problems; underpinned by effective teamwork at their core. Problem-based learning has been implemented in engineering to better prepare students for modern industry. However, limited research has examined the complex…

This article explores the practices of three young artist/facilitators, illustrating how they use their own age identity to develop expertise in working with older people in residential care homes. A research process of reflective dialogues reveals that they respond to the arts and drama-based workshop practices at creative ageing organisation…

The experiences of course facilitators in connectivist-type MOOCs are poorly reported. Yet there is evidence that the values and beliefs of facilitators have an important impact on the learning experiences of participants, and that reducing their interactions with students may also reduce the effectiveness of the course. This study aimed to…

In the first part of this article, the author reflects on her experience of making film-making workshops with young people in Australia, China and the UK an integral component of a research project on the representation of child migrants and refugees in world cinema. She then sets her approach to these workshops in the context of Alain Bergala's…

An action research project involving 25 master's supervisors, from health and education disciplines, sought to enhance their understanding of dissertation supervision. Recognising that they were sometimes slightly unsure about their role, they sought to identify issues that contributed to this circumstance, and to develop supervisor preparation…