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Reginald Revans: The Pioneer of Action Learning

The Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers

Abstract

This chapter describes the philosophy and approach of Reginald Revans (1907–2003), a UK scientist and educational innovator. It traces the influences on his thinking, from his early imbibing of Christian and Quaker traditions to the later impact of world philosophies especially including Buddhism. His contribution to our understanding of change management processes gives a central place to learning, both personal and institutional. Revans’ approach emphasizes the practical and moral significance of personal involvement in action and learning, as a means of resolving the intractable social and organizational problems that we find around us. Over a long life, Revans was ceaselessly active in testing his ideas which were always in a state of emergence. He leaves a rich heritage of proposals and possibilities for present practitioners. Five of the legacies of his work are discussed in this paper: Virtual Action Learning, Critical Action Learning, The Wicked Problems of Leadership, Unlearning, and the Paradox of Innovation.

With many thanks to my colleagues who commented and contributed to this paper – Yury Boshyk, Tom Bourner, John Burgoyne, Ghislaine Caulat; David Coghlan, John Edmonstone, Jeff Gold, Bernhard Hauser; Jim Stewart & Russ Vince.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Henley Business School, University of Reading and Centre for Action Learning Facilitation (CALF), Reading, UK

    Mike Pedler (Emeritus Professor)

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  1. Mike Pedler
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Correspondence to Mike Pedler .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The George Washington University , Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    David B. Szabla

  2. Columbia University , New York, New York, USA

    William A. Pasmore

  3. The George Washington University , College Park, Maryland, USA

    Mary A. Barnes

  4. Columbia University , New York, New York, USA

    Asha N. Gipson

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Pedler, M. (2016). Reginald Revans: The Pioneer of Action Learning. In: Szabla, D., Pasmore, W., Barnes, M., Gipson, A. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49820-1_20-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49820-1_20-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-49820-1

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Revans, Reginald: The Pioneer of Action Learning
    Published:
    11 February 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49820-1_20-2

  2. Original

    Reginald Revans: The Pioneer of Action Learning
    Published:
    28 February 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49820-1_20-1

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