Rights statement: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Action Learning on 02/03/2020, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14767333.2020.1732868
Accepted author manuscript, 325 KB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY-NC: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
<mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 3/05/2020 |
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<mark>Journal</mark> | Action Learning: Research and Practice |
Issue number | 2 |
Volume | 17 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Pages (from-to) | 172-185 |
Publication Status | Published |
Early online date | 2/03/20 |
<mark>Original language</mark> | English |
This paper uses action learning as a basis for producing research data that help explore the relationship between learning and listening in public organizations. The regional government of Gipuzkoa in northern Spain is engaged in a sustained effort to change the way it interacts with and interprets the future needs of society. Based on grounded theory and on a review of key concepts about critical action learning, a reflexive analysis of the implementation of the methodology of action learning with policy makers was conducted. The paper explores the learning journey participants undertake when implementing a governmental programme of citizen engagement, and shows that a space for criticality resulted in participants learning to listen to each other, and consequently to society, in ways which had previously been beyond reach. The paper concludes by discussing the learning implications for listening to society.