Abstract
In this introductory chapter I encapsulate the book’s main message and introduce its purpose, aims and rationale, structure and content, limitations and contributions. I provide definitions of the key concepts of professional learning, critical reflection and action research. I explain the authors’ philosophical and methodological assumptions captured in their preferred methodology of PALAR (Participatory Action Learning and Action Research) within the action research paradigm. I also explain theories that have shaped the action research methodology and the authors’ new vision for action research, in particular, aspects of phenomenology, critical theory, grounded theory, complexity theory, experiential learning theory, living theory, hope theory and negative dialectics. This theoretical integration with critical reflection is intrinsic to identifying the affective-socio-cognitive nature of holistic learning featured in this book. I also identify how the book builds on the authors’ experience and contributes to the literature and towards this new vision of action research that is transformative and holistic in nature and purpose.
What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived.
It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.
(Nelson Mandela, 18 May 2002)
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adorno, T. (1973). Negative dialectics. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Adorno, T. (1997). Gesammelte Schriften in zwanzig Bänden. Berlin: Suhrkamp Taschenbuch Wissenschaft.
Adorno, T. (2005a). Critical models. New York: Columbia University Press.
Adorno, T. (2005b). Minima moralia. London: Verso.
Adorno, T. (2006). History and freedom: Lectures 1964–1965. Cambridge: Polity.
Adorno, T. (2008). Lectures on negative dialectics. Cambridge: Polity.
Altrichter, H., Posch, P. & Somekh, B. (2000). Teachers investigate their work: An introduction to the methods of action research (4th edn). London: Routledge.
Argyris, C. & Schön, D. A. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Barber, B. (1992). An aristocracy of everyone. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bassot, B. (2013). The reflective journal: Capturing your learning for personal and professional development. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Beyer, C. (2013). Edmund Husserl. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2013/entries/phenomenology/.
Bhaskar, R., Frank, C., Hoyer, K. G., Naess, P. & Parker, J. (Eds) (2010). Interdisciplinarity and climate change: Transforming knowledge and practice for our global future. London and New York: Routledge.
Birks, M. & Mills, J. (2010). Grounded theory: A practical guide. London: Sage.
Boud, D., Keogh, R. & Walker, D. (1985). Reflection: Turning experience into learning. London: Routledge.
Brockbank, A. & McGill, I. (2006). Facilitating reflective learning through mentoring and coaching. London: Kogan Page.
Brockbank, A. & McGill, I. (2007). Facilitating reflective learning in higher education (2nd edn). Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.
Bryant, A. & Charmaz, K. (Eds) (2007). The Sage handbook of grounded theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Carr, W. & Kemmis, S. (1986). Becoming critical: Education, knowledge and action research. London: Falmer Press.
Carr, W. & Kemmis, S. (2005). Staying critical. Educational Action Research, 13(3), 347–358.
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage.
Checkland, P. & Poulter, J. (2006). Learning for action: A short definitive account of soft systems methodology and its use for practitioners, teachers, and students. Chichester: Wiley.
Clarke, A. E. & Charmaz, K. (Eds) (2013). Grounded theory and situational analysis. London: Sage.
Corbin, J. & Strauss, A. (2008). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (3rd edn). London: Sage.
Corbin, J. & Strauss, A. (2013). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (4th edn). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Davis, B. & Sumara, D. (2006). Complexity and education: Inquiries into learning, teaching, and research. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Davis, B. & Sumara, D. (2010). ‘If things were simple …’: Complexity in education. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 16(4), 856–860.
Denzin, N. (2009). Qualitative inquiry under fire: Toward a new paradigm dialogue. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. (Eds). (2011). Handbook of qualitative research (4th edn). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Dick, B. (2013a). The Cynefin framework, complexity, and action research. Paper presented at ALARA Conversations, Brisbane, 21 November.
Dick, B. (2013b). Using the Cynefin (Cognitive Edge) ‘Abide’ intervention model with action research. Retrieved from www.aral.com.au/resources/abide.pdf.
Edwards, A. (2002). Responsible research: Ways of being a researcher. British Educational Research Journal, 28(2), 157–167.
Edwards, L. M. & McClintock, J. B. (2013). Promoting hope among youth: Theory, research and practice. In C. Proctor & P. A. Linley (Eds) Research, applications and interventions for children and adolescents: A positive psychology perspective. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
EJOLTS (2014). Commitment and scope. Retrieved from http://ejolts.net.
Gibbs, G. (1998). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford: Further Education Unit, Oxford Polytechnic.
Gibson, B. & Hartman, J. (2013). Rediscovering grounded theory. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
Glaser, B. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity. Mill Valley, CA: The Sociology Press.
Glaser, B. & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine.
Griffiths, M. (1998). Educational research for social justice. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.
Griffiths, M. (2009). Action research for/as/mindful of social justice. In S. Noffke & B. Somekh (Eds) Handbook of educational action research (pp. 85–98). London: Sage.
Guba, E. (1990). The paradigm dialogue. Beverley Hills, CA: Sage.
Habermas, J. (1974). Theory and practice. London: Heinemann.
Habermas, J. (1978). Knowledge and human interest (2nd edn). London: Heinemann.
Holloway, J. (2009). Why Adorno? In J. Holloway, F. Matamoros & S. Tischler (Eds) Negativity and revolution: Adorno and political activism (pp. 12–17). London: Pluto.
Holloway, J., Matamoros, F. & Tischler, S. (2009). Negativity and revolution: Adorno and political activism. London: Pluto Press.
Honey, P. & Mumford, A. (2000). The learning styles helper’s guide. Maidenhead: Peter Honey Publications.
Husserl, E. (1950). Husserliana: Edmund Husserl — Gesammelte Werke. Dordrecht: Niihoff/Kluver.
Jansen, J. D. (2009). Knowledge in the blood: Confronting race and the apartheid past. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Kelly, G. A. (1955). The psychology of personal constructs (Vols 1 and 2). New York: Norton.
Kelly, G. A. (1963). A theory of personality. New York: Norton.
Kemmis, S. (2009). Action research as a practice-based practice. Educational Action Research, 17(3), 463–474.
Kemmis, S. & McTaggart, R. (1988). The action research planner (3rd edn). Geelong, Australia: Deakin University Press.
Kemmis, S., McTaggart, R. & Nixon, R. (2014). The action research planner: Doing critical participatory action research. London: Springer.
Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Knott, C. & Scragg, T. (2011). Reflective practice in social work (2nd edn). Exeter: Learning Matters.
Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions (2nd edn). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Law, J. (2004). After method: Mess in social science research. London: Routledge.
Leontiev, A. N. (1977). Tätigkeit, Bewusstsein, Persönlichkeit (Action, awareness, personality). Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta.
Lewin, K. (Ed.) (1952). Field theory in social science: Selected theoretical papers. London: Tavistock Publications.
McArthur, J. (2012). Virtuous mess and wicked clarity: Struggle in higher education research. Higher Education Research and Development, 31(3), 419–430.
Moon, J. (2006). Learning journals: A handbook for reflective practice and professional development (2nd edn). London: Routledge.
Moon, J. (2008). Critical thinking: An exploration of theory and practice. London: Routledge.
Moser, H. (1999). Thick description and abduction: Paradigm change in social research. Retrieved from www.schulnetz.ch/unterrichten/fachbereiche/medienseminar/paradigms.htm.
Rogers, K. H., Luton, R., Biggs, H., Biggs, R., Blignaut, S., Choles, A. G., et al. (2013). Fostering complexity thinking in action research for change in social-ecological systems. Ecology and Society, 18(2), 31. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-05330–180231.
Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. London: Temple Smith.
Schön, D. A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Shorey, H. S., Snyder, C. R., Rand, K. L., Hockemeyer, J. R. & Feldham, D. B. (2002). Somewhere over the rainbow: Hope theory weathers its first decade. Psychology Inquiry, 13(4), 322–331.
Smith, D. W. (2013). Phenomenology. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. At http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/phenomenology/.
Snowden, D. (2011). Introduction to the Cynefin Framework (video). Retrieved from http://cognitive-edge.com/library/more/video/introduction-to-the-cynefin-framework/.
Snowden, D. & Boone, M. E. (2007). A leader’s framework for decision making. Harvard Business Review, November, 69–76.
Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychology Inquiry, 13(4), 249–275.
Strauss, A. (1993). Continual permutations of action. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (Eds) (1997). Grounded theory in practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques (2nd edn). London: Sage.
Sumara, D. & Davis, B. (2009). Complexity theory and action research. In S. Noffke & B. Somekh (Eds), The SAGE handbook of educational action research (pp. 358–369). London: Sage.
Trilling, B. & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills: Learning for life in our times. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Trowler, P. (2012). Wicked issues in situating theory in close-up research. Higher Education Research and Development, 31(3), 273–284.
Whitehead, J. (1989). Creating a living theory from questions of the kind, ‘how do I improve my practice?’ Cambridge Journal of Education, 19(1), 41–52.
Whitehead, J. & McNiff, J. (2006). Action research: Living theory. London: Sage.
Wilson, R. (2007). Theodor Adorno. London: Routledge.
Wood, L. (2010). The transformational potential of living theory educational research. Educational Journal of Living Theories, 3, 105–118. Retrieved from http://ejolts.net/node/177.
Wood, L. & Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2013). PALAR as a methodology for community engagement by faculties of education. South African Journal of Education, 33(4), 1–15.
Zohavi, D. (2003). Husserl’s phenomenology. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Zuber-Skerritt, O. (1992a). Professional development in higher education: A theoretical framework for action research. London: Kogan Page.
Zuber-Skerritt, O. (1992b). Action research in higher education: Examples and reflections. London: Kogan Page.
Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2011). Action leadership: Towards a participatory paradigm. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer International.
Zuber-Skerritt, O. (Ed.) (2012). Action research for sustainable development in a turbulent world. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group.
Zuber-Skerritt, O. & Teare, R. (2013). Lifelong action learning for community development: Learning and development for a better world. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2015 Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt, Margaret Fletcher and Judith Kearney
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Zuber-Skerritt, O., Fletcher, M., Kearney, J. (2015). Conceptual Framework. In: Professional Learning in Higher Education and Communities. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137455185_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137455185_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-49809-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-45518-5
eBook Packages: Palgrave Education CollectionEducation (R0)