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This paper explores how action research takes place within and between four contexts: adding practical value, improving institutions, developing professions, and contributing to theory. We argue that action research is more than those activities conducted within these contexts: it is a process of handling the generative tensions in the boundary reg...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... this section, we describe each of the contexts, which are visually represented in Figure 1. The characteristics of each context are delineated in Table 1. ...
Context 2
... for instance, the aim of producing knowledge in context IV (researching): the other contexts might not produce what most academics consider 'theory' but that does not mean they do not produce knowledge. While knowledge development is the primary task in context IV, key actors in the other contexts pursue their own type of knowing as part of their primary task (see the grey text in Table 1). Similarly, while practical solutions, organisational activities, and professional development each are the core activity in one context, they may play a subordinate role within all of the other contexts. ...
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Citations
... In agreement with earlier research (e.g. Schuiling and Vermaak, 2017), our study demonstrates that contradictions can be conceptualized as sources of change. However, our study also indicated that not handling tensions with care and consideration comes with risks. ...
This article reflects on the tensions and dilemmas inherent to engaged teaching and research practices. We build on a multiple-case study to explore their potential as catalysts for change at individual, group and institutional levels. The cases were documented as part of a strategic project that ran for 4 years (2018-2021) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. The project aimed at better aligning the university’s offerings with both needs and opportunities of its urban surroundings. We adopted a mixed-method approach to scrutinize the experiences of the participants in the activities under study (lecturers, students and partners). Our dataset draws on direct observations, document analysis, surveys and reflective dialogues. The paper is organized in four parts. In the first section we will conceptualize engaged teaching and research practices as ‘boundary work’ building on Engeström’s Activity Theory. Second, will we define four types of dilemmas investigated in this study: conceptual, cultural, political and pedagogical. Third, we will illustrate occurrences of change resulting from activity-system contradictions, drawing on a tool we developed earlier: the engagement CUBE. We close the paper with a series of reflective questions that might support academics in further developing their practices of engagement.
... To allow such exploration and development in understanding, Communities of Practice (CoPs) were formed (Wenger, Trayner, and De Laat 2011), which are learning partnerships among colleagues who interact regularly with the intention to use each other as a learning resource. In our design, care professionals and researchers with diverse professional backgrounds collaborated in CoPs with the intention to develop their understanding of the benefits of nature by attempting to realize these benefits in practice and constructing knowledge on that practice in a dynamic interaction between academic colleagues and colleagues from practice (Schuiling and Vermaak 2017). A systematic structure was developed in which this diversity in subjective perspectives could be expressed, questioned, and recalibrated, aiming for an intersubjective understanding. ...
For families who live in women’s shelters, provision of salubrious activities supports their recovery and resilience. In many fields, natural environments are known to provide such benefits. Using an action research design, this study explored professionals’ perspective on the benefits of nature for family life in women’s shelters. Four researchers and 46 care professionals collaborated for six months on this exploration by forming a Community of Practice (CoP). Thematic analysis of transcripts of CoP meetings and case descriptions showed five themes: nature (1) offers a place for family leisure time, (2) supports social connectedness, (3) supports psychological well-being, (4) offers metaphoric experiences, and (5) supports parenting. The first four themes are in line with insights on the benefits of nature for people in general. Professionals’ explanations of the fifth theme suggest that nature supports parenting by providing relatedness between parent and child, parental feelings of competence, and autonomy in parenting.
... De kracht van actieonderzoek is dat het tussen verschillende werelden hangt, onder andere tussen die van onderzoek en veranderen (Schuiling & Vermaak, 2017). ...
... Het derde kenmerk van actieonderzoek is een uitvloeisel van het partici patieve karakter van actieonderzoek. Wanneer actieonderzoek in orga nisaties plaatsvindt, draagt het niet alleen bij aan het aanpakken van praktijkvraagstukken (zoals probleemgedrag), maar heeft het ook de potentie om de eigen organisatie te ontwikkelen (Schuiling & Vermaak, 2017). Dit kenmerk heeft betrekking op actieonderzoek in organisaties waarbij organisatieleden insider research verrichten en zodoende leren over en bijdragen aan het functioneren van hun organisatie (zie Coghlan & Brannick, 2014). ...
... In this paper we focus on the intervention strategy to restore from arrested OD caused by neglect. We developed the theory of the toxic triangle of neglect in organizations through our work as scholar-practitioners, having our institutional 'home' first in consultancy and second in education and academia (Schuiling & Vermaak, 2017). ...
Emotional abuse and neglect in the workplace deserve wider recognition, because the process involved is insidious and paralyzes organizational development. An intervention strategy is presented that can be used in case of organizational neglect. The strategy's distinctive characteristics are: Guided organizational development by line management based on the zone of proximal competence and development of individuals and teams; Identification and interpretation of harmful, hidden dynamics; Effectuation of change through interactions on the work floor with aid of a more knowledgeable other (to teach operational management to guide subordinates' development); Effectuation of change in the lived reality by coaxing stakeholders out of their comfort zone while an OD consultant remains psychologically available throughout the process. CEOs, senior managers and management consultants assigned to change programs should be familiar with this method for restoring normal organizational life after a period of emotional abuse and neglect. The OD method presented was developed using more than 150 cases in both the public and private sector. Keywords: motional buse and eglect in the orkplace, ethod for OD, earning ycle of OD, ecovery rocess, reconditions for ormalizing aily rganizational ife
... In this paper we focus on the intervention strategy to restore from arrested OD caused by neglect. We developed the theory of the toxic triangle of neglect in organisations through our work as scholar-practitioners, having our institutional 'home' first in consultancy and second in education and academia (Schuiling & Vermaak, 2017). ...
Emotional abuse and neglect in the workplace deserve wider recognition, because the process involved is insidious and paralyzes organisational development. An intervention strategy is presented that can be used in case of organisational neglect. The strategy’s distinctive characteristics are:
• Guided organisational development by line management based on the zone of proximal competence and development of individuals and teams;
• Identification and interpretation of harmful, hidden dynamics;
• Effectuation of change through interactions on the work floor with aid of a more knowledgeable other (to teach operational management to guide subordinates’ development);
• Effectuation of change in the lived reality by coaxing stakeholders out of their comfort zone while an OD consultant remains psychologically available throughout the process.
CEOs, senior managers and management consultants assigned to change programs should be familiar with this method for restoring normal organisational life after a period of emotional abuse and neglect.
The OD method presented was developed using more than 150 cases in both the public and private sector.
... This paper reports on the transformation process that 'traditional' activation professionals underwent when their active participation in the networked production of services was encouraged and systematically supported. As usual in action research (Schuiling & Vermaak, 2017), we observed and jointly discussed what eye-openers and thresholds our participants experienced during the process, what personal qualities they appealed to, whether and how their strategic competencies improved, and how this all benefitted their professional work. We did our research not to make claims on the generalizability of our results but rather to observe and understand the kind of opportunities and obstacles these professionals encounter when they actively try to transform themselves into professional Fixers. ...
Public professionals are often confronted with the wicked problems of their client population. A traditional, bureaucratic one-size-fits-all approach no longer yields adequate solutions. Actually, it is becoming increasingly difficult to generate adequate sustainable solutions for the multi-facetted problems of many clients. Some public professionals have already successfully adjusted their professional approach to respond to the complex and ambiguous nature of contemporary social problems. Continuous networking and improvising are at the heart of their approach, but what they exactly do and realize is difficult to define and replicate. That is why we, in our research projects on these professionals, describe these professionals with the nickname Dinges. In English, the best translation of Dinges is 'Whatchamacallit'. In this paper we use the word Fixer, instead of the slang word Whatchamacallit. In our project we tried to unravel the most striking personal characteristics and competencies of these professionals, with the aim of interactively transferring this knowledge to 'traditional' activation professionals. Through action research we collaboratively investigated whether and how this knowledge could contribute to their everyday work. The main conclusion of the research is that it is certainly possible for traditional professions to adopt new approaches to their work. Most valuable to the participants seems to be the insight (and corresponding competencies) that they are someone in the collaborative process of solving wicked problems. But to act like a professional Fixer, these professionals have to 'switch on' and develop some competencies they may possess but generally do not use in their work.
... The very first concept of action research postulated the idea of a triangle: action, research and training were considered "a triangle that should be kept together for the sake of any of its corners" (Lewin, 1946: 149). Schuiling and Vermaak (2016) described how Lewin's focus shifts from his ostensible goal of evaluating the effectiveness of various organisational change techniques to "the tremendous pedagogical effect" of the research activity on the training process by creating "a mood of relaxed objectivity" in a field "loaded with emotionality and attitude rigidity". Lewin's triangle expresses the idea that injecting research into practitioners' training transforms the training process and, potentially, the 'action' itself-the practitioners' professional practice-and that this interaction in turn transforms the practice of research, as researchers make new discoveries by working with practitioners in a learning context. ...
... This approach ensures that both practitioners and researchers actively deal with the competing demands of rigour and relevance. Intertwinement is one of the most effective strategies to bridge the separate worlds of theory and practice and to engender productive interaction (Schuiling & Vermaak, 2016). ...
For decades, scholars have questioned whether it is possible to conduct research that is both relevant to practitioners and empirically sound. This is the very challenge faced by researchers at Dutch universities of applied sciences. In this paper we build on the findings of an action research project into the research practices of a Research Centre at a Dutch university of applied sciences. We found that action research (AR) works best when conceptualised as three intertwined processes: (1) a joint inquiry with practitioners aimed at improving their actions and reflections on their own practice; (2) a collaborative review with (representative) practitioners and management researchers aimed at conceptualising the issue and process of the joint inquiry; and (3) making a contribution to academic theory through a published paper building on theory related to the specific content and process of the inquiry. This paper will argue that this triple process structure can encompass the Lego AR project—one of the few published in a leading academic journal—as well as new conceptualisations of practice research (Goldkuhl, 2011, 2012) and meta-action research (Fletcher et al., 2010). As such it can be of value for all researchers looking to balance the competing demands of rigour and relevance.
Discussies over praktijkgericht onderzoek met twistpunten over representativiteit, het al dan niet verklarend karakter van praktijkgericht onderzoek maar ook onderwerpen als interne en externe validiteit zouden - zo blijkt in dit tijdschrift – beter te begrijpen zijn wanneer we de achterliggende paradigmatische assumpties expliciteren. Hiermee zijn we het eens. We betogen dat dit van groot belang is, omdat verschillen van meningen over bovenstaande onderwerpen op het niveau van het wereldbeeld begrepen kunnen worden. Deze wereldbeelden of paradigmatische uitgangspunten kunnen op een fundamenteel niveau onvergelijkbaar (wetenschapsfilosofische term: incommensurabel) zijn. Met deze vaststelling constateren we dat het gesprek binnen het HBO hierover ten onrechte nog slechts mondjesmaat wordt gevoerd. Het betrekken van de wetenschapsfilosofische grondbeginselen bij de hiervoor genoemde onderwerpen helpt bij de verdere professionalisering van praktijkgericht onderzoek. Met de presentatie van het Kwadrantenmodel ‘Onderzoek’ hopen we een bijdrage te leveren voor onderzoekers om deze aannames meer expliciet in de discussies te betrekken in praktijkgericht onderzoek. Daarnaast helpt het onderzoekers om methodologische keuzes te maken die congruent zijn met de eigen paradigmatische assumpties
Der Beitrag thematisiert entwicklungsbezogene Praxisforschung im Kontext der Berufsvorbereitung
in Hinblick auf die Verknüpfung von Theorie und Praxis aus Sicht von Praxis auf Wissenschaft und
reflektiert den der Wissenschaft dabei zugeschriebenen Nutzen innerhalb des leitenden Ansatzes der
Handlungsforschung (Dewe 2010). Innerhalb des Forschungsparadigmas der Handlungsforschung
nehmen unterschiedliche (Zu-)Ordnungsprozesse von Aufträgen und Aufgaben der beteiligten
Akteure für den Forschungsprozess eine bedeutsame Rolle ein. Sie stellen so eine Herausforderung für
entwicklungsbezogene Forschungspraxis dar.
Das empirische Material stammt aus einem laufenden grenzüberschreitenden Kooperationsprojekt
zwischen je zwei deutschen und dänischen Bildungsträgern bzw. Produktionsschulen (Bojanowski
1996) und zwei Universitäten. Thematisch beschäftigt sich das Projekt im Feld Übergang Schule-
Beruf mit der Förderung grenzüberschreitender Mobilität und der niedrigschwelligen Arbeitsmarktintegration
sogenannter sozial benachteiligter Jugendlicher aus dem prekarisierten Erwerbssektor
beiderseits der Grenze. Methodisch soll das Verhältnis von Praxis und Wissenschaft durch einen
qualitativen Ansatz anhand von im Projekt durchgeführten Interviews mit pädagogischen Fachkräften
mithilfe der objektiven Hermeneutik rekonstruiert werden (Garz 2013).
Dabei werden differente Komposita von Praxis und Wissenschaft und ihrem Verhältnis verdeutlicht,
bei denen wissenschaftliche Expertise zwischen pädagogischer Professionalisierung, öffentlichkeitswirksamem
Sprachrohr und reflexiver Instanz als für Praxis nützlich konstituiert wird. Der Beitrag
liefert dadurch Einblick in für Forschungspraxis relevante Setzungen des Zusammenarbeitens von
Forschung und Praxis im Berufsvorbereitungssektor.
