Learning from the apprentice: an account of action research practice in a university department

An action research project, managed by a graduate student, resulted in the development of an academic website as an effective internal and external communication tool. The main focus of the investigation was to uncover the tacit knowledge held by staff in the Department of Management Communication through a series of in-depth interviews, a focus group, and informal conversations to facilitate the development of a website which effectively captured this knowledge. The cyclical nature of the action research methodology provided the flexibility to ensure that issues could be addressed as they arose; although the relative unfamiliarity of staff with action research methodologies created other barriers to be overcome. The key outcome for the staff was that they became aware of the extent of the tacit knowledge and resources available in the department; they valued these, and they utilised them effectively. The research highlights the different learning outcomes experienced by the student researcher, supervisors and departmental colleagues.     

Emerging communities of practice: collaboration and communication in action research

This article chronicles the experiences of Dialogues in Methods of Education (DIME), a group of school and university faculty. Over the past 22 years, DIME members have studied together how to improve their own teaching practices through research, the sharing of ideas and mutual support. They have also engaged in critical analysis of the disciplinary and institutional forces shaping their work. The history of DIME shows the importance of accommodating difference as well as providing mutual support for long-term collaborations.     

Integration of the practice of mindfulness within action learning as an added component within a post graduate leadership programme: an account of practice

This account of practice provides a practical example of the use of mindfulness practice within action learning which was a component of a bespoke UK Business School post-graduate leadership development programme commissioned by an English NHS Mental Health Trust aimed at improving the leadership capacity of mid-level managers through work-based learning. The article discusses background and context of the programme followed by how application of mindfulness exercises was integrated within the action learning process to encourage participants to be ‘in the moment’ as an added component of their leadership development. The aim of the paper is to share examples of practice applied within action learning. Finally, the paper asserts that the application of mindfulness exercises helped to enhance the action learning process by creating a calm, focused space for individual and collective reflections, enhancing the quality of engagement and enabling action learning members to take a more pragmatic approach to addressing the work issues raised within the action learning sets.     

Creative pedagogies and collaboration: an action research project

This action research study involves nine elementary school teacher-researchers, one university faculty member, and one graduate student engaged in developing creative pedagogical practices in one elementary school in an urban school in Alabama, USA. Participants found that a teacher’s experience of agency and their ability to work creatively depended upon a clear articulation of structures and the identification of areas of flexibility and possibility. Further, participants endeavored to promote avenues for ongoing communication and collaboration between teachers and the principal with the view that creativity based in communication would sustain transformative dialogues in the school.     

Inter-professional collaboration in action research

This article describes an example of inter-professional action research conducted by teachers and university-based researchers/teacher educators in a vocational college in the Netherlands. The research was aimed at the professional learning of the teachers on their pedagogical approach to a new curriculum initiative. Despite a difficult context in the Netherlands for a type of action research in which teachers and researchers work in democratic collaboration on the improvement of teaching practices, this inter-professional collaboration worked out well. The participants worked, inspired by shared commitment towards the students, as equal partners. In the findings and conclusion insights developed about key elements for inter-professional collaborative research, such as the importance of common relevance, shared responsibility for the research and mutual trust and respect for differences in professional identities and working conditions are addressed.     

Action Learning Circles: action learning in theory and practice

ABSTRACT

This paper is a commentary on how action learning circles can be effectively used (to offer experiential and emancipatory learning for students. The focus is on the preparation of students for health care education, and its value in the context of professional client‐based teaching and learning. The concept of action learning is described, and its role in promoting learning from practice explored using student and teacher evaluation evidence. An outline of the use of action learning circles in practice and the subsequent learning is analysed using evaluation data to inform our discussion, which gives the perspective of both learner and teacher.     

Fourth way in action: translation of research into policy and practice

This article discusses the relationship between policy, research and practice in the Singapore education landscape in response to Hargreaves and Shirley’s arguments of Fourth Way principles of educational change. Examples of recent policy developments in Singapore are used to illustrate the interaction between judicial uses of research data and pragmatic knowledge of classroom practices and stakeholders’ interest in policy formulation in Singapore. It is advocated that a key ingredient of the success of Singapore’s education system is the unity of vision and mission of the people behind policy, research and practice.     

Towards a theory and practice of policy engagement: Higher education research policy in the making

Academic engagement with higher education research policy in Australia, and with education policy more generally, is in crisis. This time around, it is not just that our theoretical tools are blunt and irrelevant (Ball 1990), so are our politics. It seems our attention has been so consumed by “what is policy” (Ball 1994a) and with challenging its claims to authority, that we have missed or ignored imperatives to engage with its production. Even though some have attempted contributions, for the most part we have been “coerced into an era of cooperation”. Getting ourselves out of this mess will take more than just better theories and new politics. It will require a degree of cooperation, to advance a theory and practice of policy engagement and to re-establish a field of education that resists the tendency to fragment and/or the temptation to defend itself “against” policy. In this paper I attempt an assessment of where we are theoretically and politically with regard to education policy and where we need to look to find new forms of policy engagement. By way of illustration, I draw on examples from AARE (the Australian Association for Research in Education) and the Australian RQF (Research Quality Framework) although the analysis is by no means restricted to these.     

Writers develop skills through collaboration: an action research approach

Collaborative approaches designed to increase writing productivity (amount written) as well as writing quality were implemented over a period of six months with a small group of 12 six‐year‐olds in a Primary School in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. The study demonstrated the positive nature of peer interactions with an increase in quality and productivity of writing products. The classroom teacher employed action research approaches where observations informed action, which in turn was reflected upon. Some central themes emerged from this study. It was found that collaboration often meant that students shared strengths and expertise, provided encouragement and assistance, as well as provided opportunities for peer tutoring.     

World Bank policy on education: A personal account

Based on the author's over two decades of association with the World Bank, this paper reviews the institution's policies and practice on education. It describes why education policy, as revealed by operations, shifted dramatically since the early Bank projects on education and identifies the reasons for such a shift. The paper argues that the multi-agency Education for All initiative is unrealistic and unlikely to be reached in this century. Also, the paper discusses the Bank's lack of concrete policies and priorities, especially regarding the trade-off between primary and tertiary education.     

Action learning in postgraduate executive management education: an account of practice

The merits of action learning as a change tool and enabler of deep learning are well recognised. However, there is a gap in the literature of participants’ stories regarding their experiences on accredited postgraduate executive programmes underpinned by an action learning philosophy. The following account of practice addresses this gap and recounts participant experiences, in their own words, combined with my insights into these learning experiences of a Master of Business Studies. While the programme is underpinned by an action learning philosophy, it does not discount programmed learning. However, programmed learning is not privileged over the executives’ own experiences and knowledge of their own problems; they are seen as the experts. Throughout the programme, the participants are members of an action learning set in which they address real problems in their own organisations, problems on which they can take action. This account examines the experiences, as told by the executive participants, and so provides rich and in-depth insights into their learning experiences. It provides an opportunity for educators to appreciate the depth and richness of learning and change which can occur as a consequence of adopting an action learning approach on such programmes. Furthermore, this account provides evidence of how action learning can contribute and be an enabler to the development of executives as reflective and critical practitioners able to better face an ever more complex and challenging world.     

Bridging theory and practice in Norwegian teacher education through action research

Handling the relationship between theory and practice is seemingly an endless challenge in Norwegian teacher education, and bridging theory and practice is highlighted whenever discussions about improvement of teacher education are raised. This article contributes to this discussion by shedding new light on the relationship through an analysis of empirical findings recorded in a subject-oriented action research project. The project was conducted as part of the subject Religion, Philosophies of life and Ethics integrated into teacher education at the University of Stavanger in 2008/09, and its name was ‘Teaching about Religious Diversity in School – Applying and Developing an Interpretive Cultural Approach to Religious Education’. As the name indicates, the project has tried out a particular approach to religious education. The tryout has been done by a community of practice. In this article I am asking whether findings from the project are pointing towards pedagogical approaches possible to categorize on a meta-level, and in which way these detected approaches shed new light upon the relationship between theory and practice in teacher education.     

论马克思政治理论的历史分期

马克思的政治理论不仅与其他理论相互交织,而且具有鲜明的革命实践的烙印。这一理论特色不仅超越了传统的系统性标准,而且消除了对马克思政治理论可能性的质疑。在此基础上,立足马克思理论的整体构成及其内在关系,结合其政治理论的分期依据,可以发现,马克思政治理论总体上经历了孕育期(1845年以前)、成型期(1845-1857年)、成熟期(1857-1867年)和完善期(1867年之后)。每个阶段不仅具有标志性的理论成就,而且依次勾勒出马克思政治理论的历史轨迹和基本框架。     

On the problem of theorising: an insider account of research practice

This article addresses the problem of how we theorise in writing about higher education through a reconstruction and interrogation of my previous work. I argue that theorising is messy, incomplete and a non-reductive process. Using C. Wright-Mills' notion of craft and Val Hey's insights into theorists who come to haunt us, I retrace the steps involved in an investigation of personal development planning. This research led to a broader consideration of the nature of disciplines and the importance of temporality in higher education. These moves involved a re-conceptualisation of the problem under investigation, a new phase of empirical research and a change of subject. I suggest that more such accounts could yield insight into the nature of our craft and the process of theorising.