Action Research in post-experience management education
A powerful mechanism for developing leaders and bringing about organisational learning
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21600708 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Krista Court (Lancaster University Management School), Jo Greenwood (0000-0003-4992-6421, Lancaster University Management School, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 437-454 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-27 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Educational Action Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0965-0792 • E-ISSN: 1747-5074 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09650792.2025.2566051 |
| OpenAlex | W4414545132 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 19 |
This research utilises an Action Research approach to examine the mechanisms by which a UK post-experience management education programme can bring about improvements in management practice. Our multi-layered Action Research examined departmental policies and practices and the mechanisms by which impact unfolded for a group of professional, postgraduate alumni. Findings suggest that the translation of scholarly inquiry to practice occurred through: a) a departmental commitment to relational management education; b) a facilitated process of intentional partnership between educator and student; and c) perhaps most importantly, engagement in a change-orientated Action Research capstone project within the student’s organisation. The authors contend that taking an Action Research approach to post-experience, work-based learning curriculum design and evaluation can support leaderful practice and organisational learning for both students and programme team. Moreover, a learning and evaluation process such as this promotes an important shift – from a traditional ‘information give’ model of teaching and learning and a standard end-of-programme survey approach to evaluation – to one of partnership, knowledge-sharing and power-sharing
Action learning · Action research · Experiential learning · Practitioner research · Qualitative research · Research methodology · Management and Marketing Education · Management and Organizational Studies · Organizational Learning and Leadership
Leadership-as-Practice
Action Research
Using Documents in Social Research
Communities of practice for contemporary leadership development and knowledge exchange through work-based learning
Too rich to learn – when action researchers work against senior management and their use of performance management
Resolving social conflicts and field theory in social science
Change Leadership and Public Sector Organizational Change
Document analysis in health policy research
From gaps to tangles
Using thematic analysis in psychology
From leadership-as-practice to leaderful practice
The Sage Handbook of Action Research
Situated Learning
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |