Purpose: This paper seeks to provoke thoughts around the possibility of using the lever of practices and situated knowledge to trigger organisational change and to redesign it with the involvement of the whole organisation. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents connections between a psychosociological approach and a practice-based…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of the application of action research in the design of a degree-level leadership skills programme in the English social care sector. Design/methodology/approach: The action research study involved four formal semi-structured interviews with strategic leaders in the social care sector…

Purpose: This study aims to enable pre-service teachers to cooperate with teachers and to participate in solving classroom problems with the guidance of academic staff in an action research (AR) project. Design/methodology/approach: Eight pre-service teachers took an AR course and simultaneously participated in a collaborative AR project. While…

Purpose: The overall aim of this research is to investigate how aspects of organizational culture enable or constrain the facilitation of learning in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative design was used involving 100 semi-structured interviews conducted with air traffic controllers operating in three centers in Australia. The…

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to evaluate the role of learning from participation in a group of work-based learners. Design/methodology/approach: This study relies on qualitative data obtained from a survey of perspectives of students on two work-based learning programmes. A group of 16 undergraduate and seven postgraduate students…

Purpose: The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the presence of learning conditions for non-formal and informal workplace learning in relation to the characteristics of the employee and the organisation he or she works for. Design/methodology/approach: The questionnaire developed by Clauwaert and Van Bree on learning conditions was…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to give ideas and suggestions to avoid some typical problems of qualitative articles. The aim is not to debate quality in qualitative research but to indicate some practical solutions. Design/methodology/approach: The paper discusses the design of qualitative research and the structure of a qualitative article…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse employees' perception of a change at their workplaces and the requirements for learning, and factors supporting or inhibiting learning in the context of this change. Design/methodology/approach: Data collection included personal face-to-face semi-structured interviews with ten client advisors in the…

Purpose: During the past decade new types of broader networks that aim to achieve widespread effects in the working life have emerged. These are typically based on an interactive innovation approach, where knowledge is created jointly together with diverse players. At the moment, the challenge is how to evaluate these complex networks and learning…

Purpose: By trailing data collection and analytical methods this study aims to address the dearth of research into the use of attending off-site events for professional learning. Design/methodology/approach: Three events, for academics and school leaders, were studied. A range of methods was trailed during 2006-2007, with the aim of collecting…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine whether universities can find ways to make more practical contributions through collaboration, collective reflection and joint learning. Design/methodology/approach: The approach takes the form of action research and cooperation in three different development networks in Sweden. Data are analyzed by…

Purpose: The objective of this study is to observe and document the transfer of a train the trainers program in knife sharpening and steeling. This knowledge transfer involved two groups of researchers: the experts and the learners. These groups are from geographically dispersed regions and evolve in distinct contexts by their language and…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore a structured approach to measuring skills and knowledge, and to outline how such an approach can be beneficial for improving performance and supporting strategy. It also seeks to examine how online tools can help with this process and to look at implications for the wider UK and European skills development…

Purpose: While knowledge management has been shown to be a strategic source of competitive advantage, processes designed to enhance the productivity of knowledge do not, however, equally contribute to the organization's capabilities. Consequently, this research aims to focus on the relationship between each mode of the knowledge management process…

Purpose: This study is intended to investigate the current status of corporate universities in China. It aims to explore the processes and practices of corporate universities in China, and discover the issues and challenges involved in building and running a corporate university in China. Design/methodology/approach: The heads of 11 well-known…