The paper is concerned with the relationship between hierarchy, democracy and action learning. It examines what hierarchy and democracy are and the pervasiveness of the former, noting critiques that have been made. The compatibility of democracy and hierarchy is reviewed, together with the extent to which democracy is democratic. It is proposed…

With the dynamic interest and growth of Action Learning worldwide (with more than fifty varieties), research into their history and evolution has been enhanced with increasing preservation, access and use of primary archival sources. This is, of course, also relevant regarding "traditional" or "classical" Action Learning's…

In times of growing societal complexity and uncertainty, traditional decision-making mechanisms such as the majority principle are increasingly reaching their limits. This article explores the interplay between Systemic Consensing (SC) and Action Learning (AL) as innovative, participatory approaches to decision-making that are committed to the…

Critical Action Learning (CAL) involves a deliberate choice to engage with emotions and power relations generated by people's attempts to learn. This choice recognizes that there are likely to be implicit limits to learning in organizations, especially where such learning starts to undermine established ways of thinking and working. One way to…

This account of practice focuses on how an action learning methodology was used for a project in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (the Department) a large Irish Government Department with a workforce of approximately 4,000 staff. The objectives of the project were to explore the reasons for the low engagement of senior managers…

Team coaching has become more utilized in organizations as they realize the importance of developing highly effective teams. There has been some research done on the skills needed by those who coach teams. However, very little has been done on the mindset needed for effectively coaching teams, and no research on the mindset for coaching action…

This paper addresses three challenges facing action learning -- the implications of its historical roots for the present; the encounter of action learning within different cultures and a tension within action learning itself. It concludes that deeper understanding of all three is necessary for action learning's continuing development.

This essay explores the interplay between action learning and democracy in organizations, institutions and society. We start by reflecting on the history of democracy as an emancipatory discourse in management learning and education. We elaborate on critical reflection in action-based approaches to learning and identify key elements of critical…

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 how three organisations collaborate to support organisations and individuals to act on the challenges of sustainability through action learning, each using its unique skills. It examines the roles of each organisation and how by moving from individual to a collaborative they could do things better and do better things. The…

This paper presents a framework which captures the complexity and multi-dimensional process of learning in action learning (AL) on an accredited executive Master's programme. The framework extends current knowledge by presenting a holistic participant perspective of learning. Underpinned by a social constructionist epistemology, the study…

This paper proposes action learning has a role to play in advancing responsible AI. Despite the recent surge in attention towards artificial intelligence, predominantly focusing on its technological and commercial aspects, the social dimensions have often been overlooked. Action learning, known for fostering interdisciplinary discourse, is…

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…

This paper provides a thematic analysis of research papers published in Action Learning: Research and Practice over the past 20 years. The analysis concentrates on the different contexts in which action learning has taken place and on the variations of action learning that have been presented in different papers. Contexts discussed in this paper…

The requirements of accreditation can add benefits of providing continuity and the impetus enabling engagement in a busy world full of distractions, that can pull people away from the important but less urgent realm of learning. But it can at times have a cart-before-horse impact; the danger is people can elevate the completion of a portfolio for…