The narrative turn in action learning practices: from restitution to quest

Discourse genres of narrative and dialogue are integral to action learning approaches. Whilst an examination of dialogue as the mode of critical thinking, sense making and strategising has been thorough, we suggest that there has been scant attention paid to the role of narrative in action learning practices. In this paper the authors present a study of action learning in health care that spans a period of 15 years in professional, clinical and organisational settings. We aim to explore the significance of narrative in our lived experience of action learning, through our own stories and the stories created with others. We will show the relationship between individual and collective agency, the centrality of narrative and the significance of action learning in creating new narratives in organisational settings.