A conceptual framework for work-applied learning for developing managers as practitioner researchers

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce a conceptual framework for work-applied learning (WAL) that fosters the development of managers and other professionals as lifelong learners and practitioner researchers – through reflective practice, action research, action learning and action leadership, for positive organisational change. Design/methodology/approach The theoretical framework is designed from a holistic, affective-socio-cognitive approach to learning, teaching, research and development. It is based on a phenomenological research paradigm and informed by aspects of various theories, including experiential learning theory, strengths-based theory, grounded theory and critical theory/realism. Findings Based on classical and recent literature and the authors’ extensive experience, the WAL model presented here is an effective and practical approach to management education, research and development. It is useful for present and future requirements of business, industry, government and society at large in this twenty-first century, and in pursuit of a world of equality, social justice, sustainable development and quality of life for all. This is because of the nature of the research paradigm, particularly its collaborative and emancipatory processes. Originality/value This paper provides a theoretical, pedagogical and methodological rationalisation for WAL. This model is particularly useful for developing individual, team and organisational learning and for cultivating managers – or professional learners generally – as practitioner researchers. These researchers may act as role models of collaborative action leadership in their organisations with a cascading effect. This paper therefore advances an incipient literature on practitioner researchers as action leaders.

Engagement in College and University Applied Learning Experiences and Students’ Academic Motivation

“…Ovenden-Hope and Blandford (2018) suggest that applied learning prepares students for the world of work, and that applied learning supports both high-quality and effective learning outcomes for learners. Recent research has considered applied learning to develop best practices for work applications for both college/university students (Fede et al, 2018) and professionals (Zuber-Skerritt & Abraham, 2017).…”

Work + learning: unpacking the agglomerated use of pedagogical terms

“…A typical WAL program consists of a number of action research cycles, with each cycle consisting of action research group meetings, knowledge workshops, work-based applications and testing of knowledge, joint observations and reflections and monitoring and evaluation (Holyoake, 2017). Such a repeating process is said to develop managers into “practitioner researchers” (Zuber-Skerritt and Abraham, 2017). In keeping with both WBL and WPL, in our proto-theoretical model, WAL seeks to integrate learning through higher education and WBT into the work environment.…”

Editorial: Exploring the impact of agility and learning in organisations

“…It is not surprising that the Special Issue features a range of work-applied approaches tackling contemporary challenges and across situations; its intention is to stimulate debate in relation to organisational agility, flexibility and ambidexterity in the context of work applied learning, action orientated learning, coaching, leadership and other applied learning methods across sectoral, cultural and multi-cultural settings to generate new dynamic capabilities. Here, these work-applied approaches are aligned to the practical commitment to change despite being from – in this issue at least – different traditions including consultancy, apprenticeship education for managers, enterprise development or psychoanalysis though it is interesting to see that these work-applied methodologies are not necessarily branching out for multiple methodological practices for organisational change, as articulated by Zuber-Skerritt and Abraham (2017), where action learning and work-based learning are combined to address change.…”

“…Action learning is adaptive and context sensitive, which may, in part, account for its longevity and its ambidexterity. These complex methodological interventions, characterised as work-applied learning, would seemingly provide complex solutions to complex challenges (Zuber-Skerritt and Abraham, 2017). JWAM would welcome practitioners and researchers to pursue these multifaceted approaches in future journal issues.…”

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Welcome to Volume 14, Issue 2 of the Journal of Work Applied Management, a Special Issue dedicated to examining how work-based learning, action learning and organisational development methods are delivering against the unprecedented and urgent need for organisational agility, flexibility and ambidexterity. The diversity of ways in which these work-applied approaches are effectively curated are increasingly evident across different levels of organisational learning, development and adaptation in response to the "megatrends" of technological hyperconnectivity, urbanisation, geopolitical tensions and a global climate crisis, amidst a challenging phase of post-pandemic economic recovery affecting workforce readiness, supply chains and inflation (Deloitte, 2017;Price Waterhouse Cooper, 2021.It is not surprising that the Special Issue features a range of work-applied approaches tackling contemporary challenges and across situations; its intention is to stimulate debate in relation to organisational agility, flexibility and ambidexterity in the context of work applied learning, action orientated learning, coaching, leadership and other applied learning methods across sectoral, cultural and multi-cultural settings to generate new dynamic capabilities.Here, these work-applied approaches are aligned to the practical commitment to change despite being fromin this issue at leastdifferent traditions including consultancy, apprenticeship education for managers, enterprise development or psychoanalysis though it is interesting to see that these work-applied methodologies are not necessarily branching out for multiple methodological practices for organisational change, as articulated by Zuber-Skerritt and Abraham (2017), where action learning and work-based learning are combined to address change.There is genuine diversity in the application of action learning in organisations including, for example, professional and personal development, change management, problem-solving, service and product improvement, innovation and even in attempting to tackle the wicked problems involved in achieving sustainability and social action. But there is also diversity in the form action learning takes around the world although many of its core principles remain constant, as the articles in this issue demonstrate.

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