Action Learning For Social Action

This book is about action learning in the service of social action and social change. The contributors are all engaged in developing new approaches to the wicked problems found in the world today, including the climate emergency, the circular economy, food poverty and insecurity, homelessness, disadvantage, active citizenship, social entrepreneurialism, and the learning of young women abducted by Boko Haram. They reflect a great diversity of settings in South Africa, Australia, Canada, Nigeria, Mozambique, Hungary, Poland and the UK. At this time of global crisis rapid technological and social developments sit side by side with apparently impossible challenges needing urgent action. In the Global South, conflicts, terrorism and climatic changes have forced millions of people to abandon their homes and to migrate in search of food and safety. In the Global North, neo-liberal and market-based policies have pursued deregulation, privatisation and the shrinking of the state with consequent increases in homelessness, poverty and ill-health. Action learning was devised to help people work together in challenging situations to bring about changes from the bottom–up. The people in these stories and cases are not passively awaiting brighter futures but are acting together to create a better world for themselves. They are taking back control in local community regeneration schemes, local energy and housing projects, setting up co-working spaces and inventing new ways of doing business and learning new ways to inhabit the earth. They demonstrate a confidence in an action learning idea that is alive and evolving. The chapters in this book were first published in the journal Action Learning: Research and Practice.

While many educators acknowledge the challenges of a curriculum shaped by test preparation, implementing meaningful new teaching strategies can be difficult. Active Learning presents an examination of innovative, interactive teaching strategies that were successful in engaging urban students who struggled with classroom learning. Drawing on rich ethnographic data, the book proposes participatory action research as a viable approach to teaching and learning that supports the development of multiple literacies in writing, reading, research and oral communication. As Wright argues, in connecting learning to authentic purposes and real world consequences, participatory action research can serve as a model for meaningful urban school reform. After an introduction to the history and demographics of the working-class West Coast neighborhood in which the described PAR project took place, the book discusses the "pedagogy of praxis" method and the project’s successful development of student voice, sociopolitical analysis capacities, leadership skills, empowerment and agency. Topics addressed include an analysis and discussion of the youth-driven PAR process, the reactions of student researchers, and the challenges for adults in maintaining youth and adult partnerships. A thought-provoking response to current educational challenges, Active Learning offers both timely implications for educational reform and recommendations to improve school policies and practices.

Throughout their careers, social work students and practitioners need to demonstrate an understanding of critical and reflective practice. The Professional Capabilities Framework sets out how newly-qualified social workers can achieve this, and become 'critical practitioners' who are able to make decisions in fast-moving situations. This book is a complete guide for those practitioners who wish to engage with action learning as a way of developing critically reflective practice. The authors use Action Learning to explore fundamental aspects of good social work including for example person centred and anti-oppressive practice. The notions of social and emotional intelligence and being critically reflective are also explored in the context of action learning. This book is practical, skills-based and essential reading for all social workers who wish to extend their understanding and knowledge.

Since most research on work focuses on paid work, and most literature on education concentrates on schools, it is not surprising that studies on the relations between work and learning emphasize the relations between paid employment and organized education. This unique book deals with an area that has been rarely covered in the literature on work and education: the connections between volunteer work and informal learning. Through a variety of examples, ranging from the Red Cross to teacher-labourers, from cooperatives to social housing, and from participatory democracy to environmental social movements, this volume examines the learning dimension of volunteer work in different contexts. It also considers the special case of volunteerism among recent immigrants. The case studies analyze three basic types of voluntary organizations: those providing social services, representing local communities and mobilizing for social change. The chapters include profiles of the actual work their members do and detailed accounts of the learning practices they are engaged in during their work, and the impact of such learning on their personal and professional development. The concluding chapter offers a comparative analysis, practical recommendations and steps for further research.

This comprehensive guide covers all aspects of action learning, one of the most widely used development methods in health, social and community care. The book addresses the theory and practice of action learning in these fields, and considers action learning as an adult educational ethos as well as a helpful tool. Based upon emerging experience, it identifies good practice in action learning and offers a wide range of resources to enable individuals and organisations extract maximum benefit from this approach. Offering practical tips grounded in sound educational principles, this book is invaluable reading for all senior managers and professionals considering using action learning for leadership, management and organisation development purposes, including organisation development practitioners and action learning facilitators, and for medical and healthcare educators and their counterparts in social and community care looking for a general introduction to this growing field.

John F. Kerry United States Senator If we are to reinvigorate and reinforce civic participation in this country at a time when our society is increasingly fragmented and highly technologically based, we must find a way to unite distinct communities, such as universities, regional and non-profit organizations, and families. We must find ways to link academicians, students, teachers, and professionals with the reality of events and circumstances so that theories and ideas mightily pursued within the "ivory tower" are connected to social reality and useful. As the editors and contributors in this volume point out, the way to bridge theory/practice divide is not merely to interpret and report on circumstances of the real-world; but rather, to deconstruct the separate and distinct communities that exist within our society and actively engage other communities to realize a continuum of mutual understanding, collaboration, and action. It is crucial to include our nation's public schools in this new approach of social inquiry and social action. Improving and creating educational opportunity for all children in the United States has been an ongoing critical federal issue. We know that when children achieve in school they have a much greater chance of living healthy, productive adult lives that will benefit themselves and society, and we know that increasing the base of stakeholders in children's education yields those positive results.

Previous editions of Action Learning in Practice established this authoritative overview of action learning around the world. Over the last decade the move towards action-based organizational learning and development has accelerated, and action learning is now an established part of the education and development mainstream in large and small organizations. Fully revised and updated, this fourth edition covers the origins of action learning with Reg Revans' ideas, and looks at their development and application today. Action learning is self-directed learning through tackling business and work problems with the support of peers and colleagues. A professional and diverse workforce, attracted, influenced and developed in this way is more able to deal effectively with the growing complexity and pressures of working life. As the limits of conventional training and development become more obvious, leaders are increasingly attracted to action-based approaches to learning when seeking better outcomes and returns on investment.

This tribute to Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt is a celebratory Festschrift of her learning/research action-packed life. Colleagues around the world reflect on their own learning, research and professional development, with and through Ortrun, in action learning and action research (ALAR). Four Parts identify focus areas in Ortrun’s work and interests over the last 40 years. Higher Education is the site for most of Ortrun’s work experience since 1974 when she joined Griffith University in Australia. Organisations is a context where Ortrun has actively explored processes of learning, leadership and development in management education.