Action Learning and Action Research

Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt, PhD, is an Adjunct Professor at Griffith University, Australia and Honorary Research Fellow at North-West University, South Africa. In 2018 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia, a prestigious national honour for “distinguished service to tertiary education in the field of action research and learning as an academic, author and mentor, and to professional bodies.Lesley Wood, DEd, is a Research Professor in the Faculty of Education at North-West University, South Africa; Director of the research niche area, Community-Based Educational Research (COMBER). She is a National Research Foundation (NRF) rated researcher and has published over 70 articles, chapters and books, and has received several internationally funded grants for her projects.

• IntroductionChapter 1. Introduction to Action Learning and Action Research: Genres and Approaches; Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt and Lesley WoodPart I Action Learning (AL)Chapter 2 Action Learning: Past, Present and Future; Robin Hurst and Michael MarquardtChapter 3. Lifelong Action Learning: Principles and Case Studies; Richard TeareChapter 4. Action Learning and Mindfulness for Mental Health in the Workplace; Ron PassfieldChapter 5. Integrating Action Learning with Action Research (ALAR); Ortrun Zuber-SkerrittPart II Action Research (AR)Chapter 6. Demystifying Action Research; David CoghlanChapter 7. Action Research for Self-Study and Living-Educational-Theories; Jack WhiteheadChapter 8. Educational Action Research; Franz Rauch, Stefan Zehetmeier and Peter PoschChapter 9. Designing and Facilitating Systemic Action Research at Scale; Danny BurnsChapter 10. Action Science; Bob DickChapter 11. Appreciative Inquiry: Positive Action Research; Diana Whitney, Amanda Trosten-Bloom and Maria Giovanna VianelloChapter 12. Critical Participatory Action Research; Stephen Kemmis, Robin McTaggart and Rhonda NixonChapter 13. Participatory Action Learning and Action Research for Community Engagement; Lesley WoodConclusionChapter 14. Reflections and Conclusions; Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt and Lesley Wood

This edited collection takes on the valuable but difficult task of identifying the non-negotiable or defining characteristics of action learning (AL) and action research (AR). The task is difficult because the ‘action’ approach values multiple perspectives and worldviews and encourages participants to own and create their knowledge. This results in a family of approaches as AL/AR evolves to serve practitioners in their learning process. As editors, Zuber-Skerritt and Wood [have invited a wide range of perspectives from AL/AR advocates/scholars who have contributed to the evolution of the now many genres. They close with embracing their goal of deepening understanding AL/AR as philosophy, methodology, theory of learning, and process for community engagement. This book does an excellent job of challenging action researchers to critically think through their traditions in contrast to other approaches. The chapters provide a solid foundation for AL and AR approaches to create understandings and knowledge based on values and worldviews that uphold inclusion and will further develop the quality of social sciences and our democratic world.