About this research strand

This strand focuses on the role dialogue plays in facilitating professional learning and change in organisational settings. Work within this strand engages with schools, hospitals and other public sector institutions.

There is a known knowledge gap regarding the translation of new ideas, policies and professional learning outcomes into institutional practice. Barriers to implementation are a wide concern but are also poorly understood. We know that practitioners' ability to collaborate effectively within and across organisations is a key factor in the successful adaptation of new workplace practices. We also know that such collaboration depends on a learnable capacity for effective dialogue.

Research on collaborative practices and professional dialogues in workplace settings in schools, healthcare and beyond, is being undertaken to advance understanding of how, and to what effect, new ideas are understood, evaluated and adapted in organisations, and what processes and mechanisms support or hinder change. The conditions for innovation in risk-averse high accountability systems, now commonplace in education and healthcare in many countries, are also being examined.

Strand Leaders

Riikka Hofmann (with others including Sara Hennessy).