This research is concerned with finding out about the nature of the relationship between the change manager and the change project. An action learning approach to the investigation and analysis was adopted throughout in order to achieve a 'practitioner's perspective' in a range of inter-related learning environments. The research tracks the progress of six change managers. To attempt to minimise the variables, six smaller organisations (i.e. those employing fewer than 250 employees) from the manufacturing and production sector were recruited; all were based within a 20 mile radius; and all were attempting to change to meet the key indicators of a national performance standard from a similar starting point. Please see Table 1 below for further details. From the work with the change managers and the action learning set, all of whom acted as co-researchers during the analysis phase, some conclusions were drawn. The most significant being that the relationship between the change manager and the change project could be described as being essentially symbiotic in its nature, insofar as the change project impacted directly and indirectly upon the change manager, and the change manager's direct and indirect actions influenced the degree of success of the change project. From the conclusions drawn, and as might be considered to befit an action learning approach to research, a practical solution was proposed for achieving more successful organisational change outcomes - a framework to enable the change manager to develop, within the context of the demands of the change project. The framework was not intended to be a constant, but rather a guide for action. Some conclusions were also drawn about the form of the development which might be required by those advising on change, as a consequence of the findings.

This thesis examines how the teaching of drama can be enhanced through needs-driven, school-based professional learning. It was motivated by a personal ‘living contradiction’, involving the frustration that can result when beliefs and actions do not correspond. My learning journey continued through literature searches and preliminary work with teachers that resulted in an effective process of professional learning with five teachers. The research design draws on elements of action research, situated, and action learning theories, to develop a process of ‘facilitated action research’. Informed, but not limited by existing models of action research, this collaborative process was responsive to teacher preferences in addressing the three research aims. Evolving over two phases with eleven teachers, the bulk of the study followed the stories of five teachers and their professional learning. Data collection tools included the use of semi-structured interviews, conversations, a questionnaire, survey and reflective journals. The findings demonstrated that professional learning, responsive to context and self-identified needs, positively enhanced the teaching of drama. Teacher confidence and awareness of drama gradually increased, as did teacher ability to self-direct learning. Areas of skill development, integration and time management were initially identified as a focus for professional learning, with classroom and behaviour management added as school-based issues arose. Establishing a ‘common understanding of drama’ was acknowledged as critical for effective collaborative learning to take place. Personal factors including confidence, experience and belief, and the contextual factors of parental expectation, outcomes, time, space and past professional learning were found to facilitate or constrain drama use. The research found that professional learning, characterised by a respect for past experiences, assisted in the creation of a ‘safe space’ for learning. Tailoring professional learning to needs and the school context was also found to motivate teachers and was effective in enhancing the teaching of drama. My role as ‘facilitator’ became embedded in the collaborative process, adding to a personal understanding of role and school-based learning. This study is significant for teachers, professional learning facilitators and those working in drama education. It contributes to the minimal research emphasising professional learning for drama, and strengthens existing arguments for needs-driven, school-based teacher development.

This thesis examines how the teaching of drama can be enhanced through needs-driven, school-based professional learning. It was motivated by a personal ‘living contradiction’, involving the frustration that can result when beliefs and actions do not correspond. My learning journey continued through literature searches and preliminary work with teachers that resulted in an effective process of professional learning with five teachers. The research design draws on elements of action research, situated, and action learning theories, to develop a process of ‘facilitated action research’. Informed, but not limited by existing models of action research, this collaborative process was responsive to teacher preferences in addressing the three research aims. Evolving over two phases with eleven teachers, the bulk of the study followed the stories of five teachers and their professional learning. Data collection tools included the use of semi-structured interviews, conversations, a questionnaire, survey and reflective journals. The findings demonstrated that professional learning, responsive to context and self-identified needs, positively enhanced the teaching of drama. Teacher confidence and awareness of drama gradually increased, as did teacher ability to self-direct learning. Areas of skill development, integration and time management were initially identified as a focus for professional learning, with classroom and behaviour management added as school-based issues arose. Establishing a ‘common understanding of drama’ was acknowledged as critical for effective collaborative learning to take place. Personal factors including confidence, experience and belief, and the contextual factors of parental expectation, outcomes, time, space and past professional learning were found to facilitate or constrain drama use. The research found that professional learning, characterised by a respect for past experiences, assisted in the creation of a ‘safe space’ for learning. Tailoring professional learning to needs and the school context was also found to motivate teachers and was effective in enhancing the teaching of drama. My role as ‘facilitator’ became embedded in the collaborative process, adding to a personal understanding of role and school-based learning. This study is significant for teachers, professional learning facilitators and those working in drama education. It contributes to the minimal research emphasising professional learning for drama, and strengthens existing arguments for needs-driven, school-based teacher development.

No description available.

Investment-Linked Insurance was introduced to the Taiwan market in 2001. It has since influenced the way insurance sales agents sell the products. Because of the level of complication of Investment-Linked Insurance compared with traditional insurance, and professional knowledge and skills needed during the selling process, an insurance sales agent needs to improve his competence in order to become a financial advisor for his customers. However, literature review shows that most researchers focus on how to improve customer satisfaction, service quality, customer loyalty or the impact of training on sales. There are so few studies related to the development of a training system specifically designed for selling Investment-Linked Insurance. According to the results from surveys, almost sixty percent of sales agents consider the ability of gathering and analyzing information or the understanding of political or economical status the skills they need the most. Moreover, almost fifty percent of sales agents believe the investment performance in the past does not affect the decision of customers for the purchases of Investment-Linked Insurance. At the same time, seventy percent of sales agents admit that customers tend to stay off Investment-Linked Insurance because of risk. Not only do surveys show that sales agents need more skills, but also interviews indicate that sales agents are afraid that they can not improve their competence without a systematic training. Therefore, we classify the knowledge and skills needed during the sale process for Investment-Linked Insurance. After the basic training sessions, sales agents will take five training modules, including data collection, interpretation of political or economical status, investment portfolio allocation, investment performance review and funds analysis. At the same time, sales agents follow the training steps of identification, learning, practices and articulation in order to get ready for Investment-Linked Insurance. The benefits of this training system for Investment-Linked Insurance are two-folds, including the increase of time and cost efficiency for training and the enhancement of professional knowledge or skills.

No description available.

This study explores how reflection upon oneself and one's own behaviour assists people - and, in particular, managers - to develop. Reflective techniques are examined in the context of action-learning (Revans, 1980 and Marsick, 1992) and are argued to be a powerful means of creating self-understanding, which in turn creates opportunities for self-directed personal change. Reflective techniques are also examined as a means of developing the personal craft or praxis of those who try to assist the development of managers, and as a technique for use in action research (Lewin, 1946) and the development of collective knowledge. Schon's (1987) concept of the 'reflective practitioner' provided a major theoretical foundation for this work. The study employed action research and action learning methodologies. The researcher spent six years honing her understanding and application of reflective techniques in assisting the development of managers. She also applied self-reflection to the development of her own praxis over that time. One result of the study has been the enhancement of the practical, reflection-based techniques used by the writer to facilitate the development of managers - and more importantly, offered to them to facilitate their own continuing development. Hopefully, these techniques will be of value to other practitioners in this field. A second outcome has been the review and refinement of some of the theoretical constructs used by this writer and other practitioners and theorists which help to describe and explain the phenomenon of reflection-based behavioural change. A third outcome has been the documentation of a case-study in the application of reflective techniques to the development of personal praxis, tracking the integration of conceptual understanding and technique. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the rationale, scope, methodology and outcomes of this study. Chapter 2 explores reflection as a technique for research and the development of collective knowledge, and incorporates a review of the relevant literature. Chapters 3 and 5 examine reflection as a tool for learning, drawing on the literature and tracking the development of the researcher's own understanding. Chapter 4 describes how the researcher learned to use reflective learning techniques when working with others and follows the gradual integration of her understanding with her practice. Chapter 6 summarises and reflects upon both the processes and the outcomes of the research.

This Exegesis and the Portfolio document referred to herein report on the outcomes of my research towards a PhD in education (by Project) between mid 2001 and July 2005. The Portfolio contains a collection of ten papers written during the research and also a summary of the key tools and processes resulting from the research. This Exegesis contains the major theoretical arguments leading to the development of the research outcomes, the methodology employed and a description of the organisational context operating during the study. It also draws links between the various data sets as presented in the Portfolio. The research began with a consideration of a major change project at RMIT University: the Implementation of the Distributed Learning System (DLS). The problems associated with this project highlighted the need for holistic organisational approaches to change and the uncertain nature of radical change projects. This led into a consideration of broader questions to do with organisational change and managing uncertainty. The generalisability of the research findings was enhanced by the wide ranging literature review and data from a range of stakeholders. This ultimately led to the development of a

<p>Abstract</p><p>This study reports a project within which leaders in a local government administration develop their skills about and in action learning. The main focus is on the conditions that are needed in an action learning process. The aim is to analyse the working process, how the leaders make use of their own experiences from daily working life and put them into questions and actions, and finally, to question and analyse my own leading process as an action researcher.</p><p>During nearly two years, the leaders taking part in the study and myself have been involved in a complex, social process where experiences from daily working life have put questions into actions and investigations.</p><p>Results show that the leaders, through the working process, learned how to investigate, collect information and analyse data. Time and process were found to be key concepts in their action learning. Uncertainty characterised the leaders´ initially work while the enthusiasm and more initiative from their side appeared as the work proceeded. Through the process they had to deal and struggle with their staff’s notions about working conditions as well as their own leadership. Demands on responsibility for their own actions were mixed with a permitting atmosphere holding both laughing and testing of new ideas. Another result shows tensions within this learning process, on one hand, between the leaders who wanted to keep their agreed understanding and, on the other, my intentions to challenge their understandings. The variation and changing in interaction patterns over time between me and the leaders seem to be crucial to make this project the leaders´ own working process. My leadership changed from initially instructing, to coaching and finally to take a back seat. A main conclusion from the study is that designing adult education in a learning perspective, deals with working methods as well as content.</p><p>Keywords: action learning, leadership, interaction, process, experiential learning, adult education</p>

Cette thèse concerne la mise en application de la théorie de l’action conjointe sur les activités d'apprentissage conçues comme des "jeux d'apprentissage" en relation plus ou moins assurée avec les "jeux épistémiques". La thèse vise à faire une analyse à priori du manuel de français du collège en Syrie. Cette analyse a été faite au niveau de l’enseignement de la grammaire et du vocabulaire considérés comme des jeux épistémiques sources. Deux grilles d’analyses ont été effectuées. La grille d’analyse du vocabulaire où huit points ont été analysés et la grille d’analyse de la grammaire où quatre points analysés.Ces deux grilles d’analyse ont permis de constater que le manuel syrien n'offre pas toujours des garanties sérieuses sur le lien entre jeux épistémiques sources, inspirés par les méthodologies de l’enseignement du vocabulaire et de la grammaire et les jeux proposés aux élèves.La mise en application de la théorie de l’action conjointe a aussi permis de :• Cerner facilement les jeux d’apprentissage des deux domaines (c’est-à-dire, les élèves vont avoir un texte ou un exercice sous les yeux comme un milieu).• Identifier les jeux épistémiques des deux domaines (les élèves jouent quel jeu).• Proposer de nouveaux jeux épistémiques. / This thesis concerns the implementation of the theory of the joint action in learning activities, designed as "learning games" activities in relation more or less insured with the "epistemic games".The thesis aims to make an a priori analysis of the French manual of the college in Syria. This analysis has been carried at the level of the grammar and the vocabulary teaching, considered like sources of epistemic games. Two analysis grids have been realized. In the vocabulary analysis grid eight points have been analyzed and in the grammar analysis grid we analyzed four points.These two analysis grids permitted to note that the Syrian manual doesn't always offer any serious guarantees on the tie between epistemic games sources, inspired by the methodologies of the teaching of the vocabulary and the grammar and the games proposed to the pupils.The implementation of the theory of the joint action also permitted of:• To surround easily the training games of the two fields (that means, the pupils are going to have a text or an exercise under the eyes like an environment.• To identify the epistemic games of the two fields (which game the pupils are playing?).• To propose new epistemic games.