Action learning in postgraduate research training

ABSTRACT

This account of practice explores the benefits and challenges of using Action Learning (AL) with junior researchers. Findings are grounded in an AL set of six doctoral students, organised and convened by the author. The case study reveals the range of emotional and structural hurdles that Ph.D. candidates typically face in completing their programme of study. AL’s streamlined process made space for set members to present themselves as whole persons and to thereby grapple with, and better manage, a wide range of real-life issues that were having direct impact on their academic performance. Set members expressed how participation reduced feelings of isolation and offered a valued space to reflect on their situation. They explored root causes of stress, anxiety, or dips in productivity; strategised plausible actions for overcoming problems; and identified opportunities. The evidence presented in this account strongly supports the proposal that AL be made a core component of research-training programmes. In the conclusion, the author reasons that institutional investment would pay back with dividends: AL cultivates peer-support groups that consequently reduce dependence on academic supervisors, student counselling, and other costly and overburdened support services. Perhaps most crucially, AL incites individuals to take responsibility for their own development and learning: a ‘transferrable skill’ for achieving success in any endeavour.

KEYWORDS:

• postgraduate research training
• anthropology
• transferrable skills
• open questions
• peer support

Acknowledgements

I owe thanks to John Heywood, Ruth Cook, and Sonja Antell of Action Learning Associates and to Linda Marchand for their helpful comments and suggestions on an earlier draft. Thanks, too, to the set participants whose generous feedback about their AL experience forms the backbone of this account of practice

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Trevor Marchand is Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology, SOAS, University of London. He specialises in the study of apprenticeship, learning, and skill-based knowledge among craftspeople. He trained as an action learning facilitator with Action Learning Associates in 2013.

Notes

1. Full scholarships (for those fortunate to qualify and receive them) typically cover tuition fees and offer an annual stipend, but only for the first three years. Stipends are not usually sufficient for defraying the full costs of living and fieldwork. Many students, therefore, spend considerable time searching for and applying to funding schemes. Sums offered are often small, but competition is nevertheless acute.