ABSTRACT
Controversy and potential misunderstandings about the practice of action learning lead to questions about what, exactly, is action learning, even though, at its heart, it involves learning through real work. And action learning does look different in the ways it is practised. Some differences are due to the nature of participants, programme goals, and the culture of organizations, communities, and countries in which it is practised. In addition, a key determinant of how action learning is practised is the pedagogical beliefs of those who design and shape it. This chapter examines five such pedagogical beliefs characterized as action learning 'schools' – here called Tacit, Scientific, Experiential, Critically Reflective and Collaborative Self-directed – and draws implications for programme design and facilitation.
