ALARj Action Learning and Action Research Journal
Not a member yet
180 research outputs found
Sort by
Shifting culture and improving OD practice in a hierarchical context: The power of the action research question ‘What can I and can’t I do?’
No full textThis study, part of a three-year Action Research (AR) project exploring shifting culture in the UK Civil Service, provides a collective account, collaboratively written, of learning from exploring micro level moves to create the conditions for conversations rather than meetings. A fruitful line of inquiry emerged from the seemingly simple question of ‘what can I and can’t I do around here,’ enabling the surfacing of assumptions, often viewed as inaccessible in layered models of culture. Disciplined cycles of action and reflection gave rise to ‘actionable knowledge’ (Coghlan, 2011), highlighting the thoughtfulness involved in shifting stuck patterns (Watzlawick, Weakland & Fisch, 2011) constituting culture (Stacey, 2011)
Unseen students: Exploring rural young adults’ college and career decision-making experiences through action research approaches
No full textRural young adults’ college decision-making experiences are impacted by challenges such as financial barriers, limited academic opportunities, and sources of social capital. This participatory action research project highlights the experiences of five rural young adults and their peers in the Midwestern United States. Our research team collected information through narrative reflections, surveys, and interviews. Findings suggest students wanted to attend college to advance their future careers, struggled when applying for financial aid, and relied on their parents for assistance. The challenges rural students face while making college and career plans are reduced when these students have a support network consisting of their parents, high school guidance counselors and teachers, and college admissions counselors. As such, our research group developed specific action items aimed at strengthen rural young adults’ pathways to college
ALAR Journal V27 No1 Cover and Table of Contents
No full textCover, Introduction and Table of Contents for Vol. 27 No. 1 issu
New ways of representation – How can I represent Living Theory research in a way that creates new knowledge and resists hegemony?
No full textThis paper will explore whether a layered approach to writing up Living Theory research provides a way to show development of my new knowledge in which I resist hegemony. Each layer will present different forms of learning through the use of three voices. My storyteller voice will allow my story to stand for itself.My narrator voice will introduce my living-theory that is emerging from my research and an analysis using an Adlerian understanding from my early recollections.My meta-narrator voice will ask questions using an approach that is consistent with a Deleuzian ontology. This paper will weave my three voices as a new approach to representing Living Theory to show how I developed my values of love, hope, justice and participation in my challenge of dominant discourses. The dominant discourses explored are the cultural expectations for children in care, how to undertake a restructure and traditional forms of research
Spatial Planning as Topic in Primary Sschool Classes
No full textSpatial planning is about creating living space for present and future generations. However, participation in this area, which affects all people directly, requires knowledge and a reflected engagement with the basics of spatial use and design. One of the few programs of support on this topic for primary schools in Austria are workshops and teaching materials as part of the project “Spatial Planning Takes on School“ of the Environmental Education Centre Styria. A team of teacher trainers is evaluating and further developing this support program by means of Action Research. The research question is, "How should teaching materials and teacher trainings be designed so that teachers are able and willing to integrate the topic of spatial planning into their teaching?" This question is explored in a research design linking personal experience from conducting the workshops with data gained from outside perspectives
ALAR Journal Vol 26 No 2 Editorial
No full textEditorial for Vol 26 No 2 of the Action Learning and Action Research Journa
How a case study utilizing action learning and action research enhanced public service excellence on a Federal research campus
No full textThis case study used action learning and action research to examine the ways that the Shared Services Support Program (SSSP) could enhance the primary science mission on a federal research campus. This included the investigation into the role that social capital plays in meeting or exceeding customer expectations. The collaborative efforts of stakeholders’ values were also examined as to how they contribute to the effectiveness, efficiency, and improvement of the SSSP. Schalock’s (2001) outcome-based evaluative (OBE) case study approach was used within the Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework along with 21 stakeholder participants who provided rich and meaningful data from their extensive experience with the SSSP. The context, input, process, product (CIPP) logic model was used along with Stringer’s (2014) Look-Think-Act (LTA) approach as a framework to facilitate data collection and analysis. Five themes emerged: mission support quality, rationale for program patronage, the value of campus shared services, process improvement opportunities, and stakeholder perceived constraints. The findings led to the development of a strategic action plan for SSSP improvement and the promotion of collaborative actions across organizational boundaries
An action learning intervention on work-family balance
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of an action learning intervention using positive psychological techniques to impact work-family balance. It draws on theory and practice from positive psychology and action learning interventions. The research reported in this paper is exploratory in nature and utilizes a positive psychological intervention, the Third Space, with several organizational groups. Participants in the groups were given time to discuss and operationalize their ideas about it with colleagues, and then commit to take action appropriate to their work and family contexts. Survey data was gathered from attendees prior to workshops and again approximately five weeks after the workshops. The results suggest that, on average, exposure to the ideas in the workshops may have led employees to develop a more positive mind-state and improved perception of work-family balance
ALAR Journal V26 No2 Cover, Introduction and Table of Contents
No full textCover, Introduction and Table of Content