Transforming Teachers' Practice Through Action Learning

Abstract

This chapter critically appraises the potential of action learning as a professional development strategy for teachers. Using the case of a professional development program which prepared vocational teachers to become industry consultants, the chapter examines the potential and the impediments of this approach to managing change in technical and vocational education. The chapter commences with a brief commentary on individual change or learning from cognitive and social constructivist and change theory perspectives. Next, the case study is described and findings from an evaluation of the program are discussed. Finally, some conclusions are drawn about how the action learning based approaches to educational change might be best enacted and evaluated.