How can action learning be used as part of an overall approach to changing the culture of an organisation? This article describes some of the work being done by managers in South Cambridgeshire district to build a more empowered and engaged organisation following the appointment of a new chief executive tasked with raising standards in an…

This article provides a detailed description and analysis of how one Canadian institution used groups of department heads as change agents to address their most acute department head role tensions. It is demonstrated that this institution's change initiative aligned very closely to the recommendations proposed, in both the literature pertaining to…

In a recent publication, Senge ("All systems go: the change imperative for whole system reform." Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, 2010, x) stated "at no time in history has there been a more powerful need for a new vision of the purpose of education." Increasingly citizens, academics and practitioners are calling for radical…

The state of higher education today is one of change and stasis. Economic vulnerability, globalization, technological innovation, and an increasingly competitive market underlie the need for change in higher education. At the same time, there are strong and stubborn forces at work supporting the status quo. Though daunting, institutions of higher…

This article describes the use of "business-driven" action learning in a healthcare setting. It reviews and reflects on an example where action learning does not "take", identifying the likely causes of this. It also poses four questions--whether action learning is counter-cultural in some organisations; whether the…

In this article, the author shares his experience as a lecturer in Anna Hogg's Department at Sydney Teachers College, where he became involved at the very beginning of Bill Andersen's and Anna's (and Les Brown's) efforts to form what was to become Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA). The author provides a brief overview of PESA…

Kaunas is the second largest city in Lithuania and has strong links with its large rural hinterland. Working from the ideas and examples in "Learning Cities for a Learning Century," (Longworth, 1999) and through contact with other cities that have already implemented lifelong learning concepts, the city has, since 2001, started out on…

Following signals across Europe the European Students' Union (ESU) will focus its next working year on defending education as a public good, and a public responsibility. Since the very start of the new ESU team in July 2010 the ESU elected representatives have been working to develop a new political vision for the next ESU working year, that both…

Communication is an important input in development. The role of communication is socio-economic and cultural development at national and international levels. Development is considered an important component of progress. The progressive change is described as alterations in awareness, motivation and participation of the individuals. With the…

Purpose: This paper aims to: extend the concept of "The learning organization" to "The learning community," especially disadvantaged communities; demonstrate how leaders in a migrant community can achieve positive change at the personal, professional, team and community learning levels through participatory action learning and…

In this article, the author shares his experiences as one of few Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) members and describes how he came to know about PESA. The author recounts an event during his period as president of PESA in 1986 and his efforts to promote and establish some form of international membership of various philosophy…

Ludwig Wittgenstein taught only a couple of Australian philosophers, at Cambridge in the late 1940s, and one of them, Frank "Camo" Jackson (Chair, Philosophy, Monash University) taught the author epistemology and philosophical psychology in the 1970s. In this article, the author describes how this teaching was central to his subsequent…

In public services delivery, action learning is increasingly employed in the hope of improving capacity to address complex, multi-casual and "wicked" social issues to improve the lives of citizens. Yet the understanding of how and why action learning might have potential for enhancing organizational or systemic capability rarely goes…

In this article, the author shares her experiences on how she came to know about Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA). The author opines that PESA could develop more positive interaction with both the Federation of Australasian Philosophy for Children Associations (FAPCA) and the Australian Philosophy Association (APA). She…

Since the 1980s there has been significant growth in the engagement of higher education with workforce development, with among other things the emergence of a distinct if varied area of provision commonly referred to as work-based learning. Recent examination of practice and literature indicates a growing sophistication in the way that work-based…