Is action learning culture bound? An exploration

ABSTRACT

The paper notes that action learning has spread globally and is used in a variety of local cultures. It considers Revans’ involvement in this international aspect and explores the author’s own experience of action learning in cross-cultural contexts. It addresses the issue of 'acculturation' and draws evidence from a number of examples of action learning in varying cultural settings before offering some conclusions regarding action learning in cross-cultural contexts.

KEYWORDS:

• Action learning
• culture
• acculturation

Acknowledgements

An earlier draft of this paper benefited enormously from the comments of Cheryl Brook.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

John Edmonstone is Director of MTDS Consultancy, Ripon, UK. He is Honorary Senior Research Fellow, School of Social Science and Public Policy, Keele University, Keele, UK and Visiting Research Fellow, Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK. Among his recent books are Systems Leadership in Health and Social Care (Routledge, 2019) and Action Learning in Health, Social and Community Care: Principles, Practices and Resources (CRC Press, 2018).