This article is about what action learning is in the twenty-first century. In 1983 Reg Revans explained how action learning differed from seven phenomena with which it had been confused. This article explores how action learning differs from seven further phenomena with which it is currently confused. The article details similarities and…

Can the development, both clinical and managerial, of practitioners involved in healthcare be enriched by connecting action learning principles and practice with research on "tempered radicals"? Might such connection also assist the efforts of patients and their advocates to create more holistic approaches to patient care? This paper explores…

The current profile of action learning in the UK has recently become clearer (Pedler et al., 2005). Using the template of what have been described as "Revans's Classical Principles", fundamental divergences have begun to emerge. Pedler et al. (2005) identified a number of variances from this template--specifically the use of permanent facilitators…

Imagine you are Thai and a member of a management team from a European company that acts in an Asian emerging market. Imagine you are a European expat with the assignment to double the turnover from that Asian company in a few years. Imagine you are a Change Maker and they ask you to facilitate the (multinational) management team of that Asian…

Action learning is based on the premise that action and learning are inextricably entwined and it is this potential, to enable action, which has contributed to the growth of action learning within education and management development programmes. However has this growth in action learning lead to an evolution or a dilution of Revan's classical…

In this account of practice, the authors introduce a variant of classic action learning, called developmental action learning (DAL). The DAL model, derived from cognitive development theory, introduces conventional learning modules prior to the more intensive set experience. It also calls for facilitation designed to help participants, selected…

The purpose of action learning is to learn through devising solutions and strategies in response to problems and implementing them through deliberative action. To understand the relation between action and learning, learners and facilitators need sufficient understanding of both concepts, but they are handicapped by lack of adequate theory and…

Kurt Lewin's epigrammatic paradox is particularly true for action learning. Marquardt and Waddill (2004), and previously Yorks O'Neil and Marsick (1999) have approached the issue of the relationship between theory and action learning by looking at a variety of theories which they have placed in "schools". This provides an interesting analysis, but…

This is an account of a programmer utilizing the application of action learning to the development of capacities of citizens. The Citizen Leadership for Democratic Governance is designed to equip citizens with the skills to get involved and handle the difficult tasks of governance in their communities in South Africa. After a history of apartheid…

The overall aim of this paper is to give an account of action learning in practice. It demonstrates the potential strengths and weaknesses of action learning. The information given is derived from five years in an action learning set. Significant events from within and without the action learning set will be explored using the themes clarifying;…

Information Technology brings about rapid changes in working environment, quickly rendering skills and knowledge gained in formal learning institutions obsolete. Even as they prepare students for their first career, institutions also need to equip students with skills necessary for lifelong learning. The Nanyang Technological University (NTU),…

In qualification programmes based on action learning, there has hitherto been little articulation of what is particular to research dissertations undertaken in an action learning mode. This article addresses the questions of what such a dissertation entails and how it can be undertaken, supervised and examined. It discusses some of the foundations…

This paper presents the findings from a project investigating management development for SME managers using an action learning programme, combining both face-to-face workshops and a virtual action learning environment. This programme was undertaken as part of the ENSeL (Engaging Networks for Sustainable eLearning) project, which was supported by…

In this paper, the authors review more than 300 reports of students in New Zealand, Australia, China, Singapore and South Korea who have participated in a global action-learning program to teach entrepreneurship and free market economics to their respective communities, through Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE). The authors use the results of…

Supervision of midwives is a statutory responsibility, which provides a mechanism for support and guidance to every practising midwife in the United Kingdom. To be eligible for appointment as a supervisor, midwives are required to undertake a preparation programme successfully. Because of the changing nature of the professional role and education,…