How leaders learn to become leaders has been an area of much research. When asked what were the key experiences in learning leadership, leaders often speak of the importance of "on-the-job" experiences, yet these experiences are rarely fully detailed in the research literature. The importance of "apprenticeships" and being…

Many schooling systems do not fulfil their mandates because of poor management and leadership. Similarly, the rigidity that one finds in schools does not only stunt schools' capacity to develop, but also leads to schools that are dysfunctional and unproductive. As a result, in countries where there is universal transformation, efficacious…

This article aims to answer the questions: (1) How can action learning aid in strategic change?; (2) What are the benefits of using action learning as part of a broader learning intervention?; (3) What are the issues to consider when introducing action learning into a corporate environment?; and (4) How can you engage people in reflection as a…

This article reports on a research project undertaken on behalf of the Standards Unit to research the impact of the Teaching and Learning National Transformation Programme for the Learning and Skills sector. The transformational programme is best described as having three enablers, namely teaching and learning resources to support practitioners,…

The professional development of a facilitator is a neglected area in the action learning literature. This article presents one example of such development. It is divided into three sections: firstly it describes the author's experience of being a set member on a newly-introduced Masters programme at a British university; secondly, it describes…

In this article a teacher/researcher and an academic mentor explore the potency, possibilities and tensions of the mentoring relationship from personal perspectives. The concept of mentoring as described in this article uses the model of mentor/mentee relationship as portrayed in Homer's epic narrative the Odyssey. In the examination of the…