Leading change as a professional: working across boundaries

Abstract

This paper outlines an initiative, namely a leadership symposium, which developed from a chance meeting of like-minded academics, who were trying to achieve similar outcomes with their student groups; namely, to include the scholarly activity of disseminating graduates’ action-oriented projects. One group of graduates comprised a mix of healthcare professionals, the other group comprised teachers. Both were leading change projects across their professions. One group was guided by action research and the other by action learning. This paper outlines the graduates' experiences of their challenges, opportunities and learning from leading these change initiatives. Arising from the symposium exchanges, the authors focus on the unique opportunity of the event as a distinctive space for exchange of learning across professions. Findings from qualitative data collected for the symposium are supported by situated learning and existing literature.

Keywords:

• extended profession
• restricted profession
• situated learning
• wider community

Acknowledgements

We thank all the graduates who presented their projects for the symposium.

Notes on contributors

Pauline Joyce is a senior lecturer and the Director of Academic Affairs at the RCSI Institute of Leadership. She is also Programme Director for an MSc in Leadership in Health Professions' Education. Pauline completed a Doctorate in Education in 2010. Her research interests include team-working and educational leadership. She is particularly interested in inter-professional education in healthcare and in her doctorate focused on outcomes-based education. Pauline's teaching expertise is in education and leadership and she has experience in teaching in the Middle East and in supervising research at master's and Ph.D. level using action learning to support students.

Paula Kinnarney is a lecturer at the Education Department at NUI Maynooth, Co. Kildare. She is Course Director for the Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Leadership and the Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Management and lectures on these and a wide range of other programmes in the department. Her key research interests are educational leadership and management, governance and the roles of senior leaders in organisations. Prior to her role in NUI Maynooth, she worked for over 10 years as a post-primary teacher of Irish, French and English and held a number of leadership roles within this sector.