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Action Learning and Action Research Publications Worldwide

The Action Learning and Action Research Journal is just one of many publications that focus on action learning or action research. The ALAR Association is part of a network of representatives of these publications aiming to improve the number of quality of papers submitted for publication, and to increase the knowledge and quality of publications that occasionally publish papers about action learning and action research.

The following is a list of some of those publications, with brief descriptions of their focus, so that authors can choose the most appropriate publication for their papers.

  • Action Learning and Action Research Journal

Action Learning and Action Research Journal, published by Action Learning Action Research Association Ltd (ALARA), is an international journal that publishes accounts and analyses of the use of action learning, action research and associated approaches to any field of activity that aligns with ALARA's constitutional vision. This vision is to create a more equitable, just, joyful, productive, peaceful and sustainable society by promoting local and global change through the wide use of Action Learning and Action Research by individuals, groups and organisations. https://alarj.alarassociation.org/

  • Action Learning: Research and Practice

Action Learning: Research and Practice publish articles which advance knowledge and assist the development of practice through the processes of action learning. It is a peer-reviewed journal published by Taylor & Francis three times p.a. and listed in the 2018 ABS Journal Quality Guide (Management Development and Education). It is indexed in Australian Education Index (AEI), Australian Research Council (ARC) Ranked Journal List, British Education Index, EBSCO, Educational Research Abstracts online (ERA), ERIC and Ergonomics Abstracts, RePec.

The journal publishes three types of article: Refereed Papers that aim to create theory and widen understanding of action learning in professional, societal and organisational settings; Accounts of Practice that encourage practitioners to gain new insights into their work; and Book Reviews. https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/calr20/current. See also the instructions for authors.

  • Action Research

Our purpose with this international, peer reviewed journal is to offer a forum for participative, action oriented inquiry into questions that matter – questions relevant to people in the conduct of their lives, that enable them to flourish in their organizations and communities, and that evince a deep concern for the wider ecology.

The aim of the journal is to offer a viable alternative to dominant 'disinterested' models of social science, one that is relevant to people in the conduct of their lives, their organizations and their communities.

The journal publishes quality articles on accounts of action research projects, explorations in the philosophy and methodology of action research, and considerations of the nature of quality in action research practice.

ARJ is interdisciplinary. Action Research is essential reading for both academics and professionals engaged within the fields and disciplines of: Healthcare, Education, Development, Management, Social Work, The Arts, Gender and Race. More at https://journals.sagepub.com/home/arj

  • Action Research and Innovation in Science Education

Action Research and Innovation in Science Education Journal (ARISE) is a peer-reviewed international journal. ARISE publishes academic and practitioner research in the field of science education. Papers shall be about action research and related approaches like practitioner research, design research and innovation studies. http://www.arisejournal.com/

  • Canadian Journal of Action Research

The Canadian Journal of Action Research is a freely accessible, full-text, peer-reviewed electronic journal intended for elementary, secondary, and university teachers who are concerned with exploring the unity between educational research and practice. While our primary aim is to serve the needs of educators in Canada, we welcome readership and submissions from around the world. https://journals.nipissingu.ca/index.php/cjar

  • Educational Action Research Journal

Educational Action Research is concerned with exploring the dialogue between research and practice in educational settings. It publishes accounts of a range of action research and related studies, in education and across the professions, with the aim of making their outcomes widely available and exemplifying the variety of possible styles of reporting. https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/reac20/current

  • Educational Journal of Living Theories

The Educational Journal of Living Theories (EJOLTS) is committed to publishing Living Educational Theory Research from practitioner-researchers situated in a wide range of global, social, cultural and professional contexts. EJOLTs publishes multimedia papers of educational, values-laden, influences in learning which carry hope for the flourishing of our individual and collective humanity. https://ejolts.net/

See a short video about EJOLTS here.

  • Educational Research for Social Change

Educational Research for Social Change (ERSC) http://ersc.nmmu.ac.za/index.php?id=10 is a Scopus listed open access journal that aims to play a critical role in confirming the importance of educational research as social change, contributing to the theorising thereof, and the dissemination of current research to a broad, cross-disciplinary audience of scholars and practitioners in the field of education.

The ERSC brochure provides information about ERSC’s aims and scope, submissions, Board and staff. The ERSC website also has a short introductory video.

  • Forskning & Forandring (Research and Change)

Research and Change calls for and publishes contributions that explicitly seek to elucidate the relationship between research and changes in practice. The journal publishes contributions with a critical and investigative approach to what the practice relevance of research is, should be and could be. https://forskningogforandring.dk/index.php/fof

  • International Journal of Action Research

IJARInternational Journal of Action Research provides a forum for an open and non dogmatic discussion about action research, regarding both its present situation and future perspectives. This debate is open to the variety of action research concepts worldwide. The focus is on dialogues between theory and practice.

The journal is problem driven; it is centered on the notion that organizational, regional and other forms of social development should be understood as multidimensional processes and viewed from a broad socio-ecological, participative and societal perspective.

IJAR is a refereed journal and published three times a year. The editors invite contributions from academic social sciences, giving special attention to action research and action research practice, to conceptual and theoretical discussions on the changing worlds of work and society. https://www.budrich-journals.de/index.php/ijar

  • Journal of Work Applied Management

The Journal of Work-Applied Management (JWAM) is an open access, CABS/ABDC ranked, peer-reviewed journal publishing management insights, where change, discovery and innovation are driven by work-based, work-applied, collaborative, and experiential approaches. Therefore, we seek original articles which: use work-based, work-applied, collaborative, and experiential approaches, such as case-based, reflective and action-oriented research methodologies, and are relevant to practitioners/researchers in developing and challenging this field of practice across public, private and community sectors and academic subject disciplines. JWAM is published in association with WAL Publications Pty Ltd. https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/jwam

  • Systemic Practice and Action Research

Systemic Practice and Action Research (SPAR) is dedicated to critical systems thinking and its applications and building an understanding of the complexities of modern society. The journal examines the effects of technological advancement, including older technologies that continue to have profound effects on society today. Furthermore, the journal contributes to a rethinking of science as well as to the reflective application of systemic practice and action research in all types of organizational and social settings. https://www.springer.com/journal/11213

Other AL and AR publications:

  • Action Researcher in Education
  • Classroom Action Research Journal
  • Journal of Inquiry & Action in Education
  • Journal of Teacher Action Research
  • Wisdom of Practice:  An Online Journal of Action Research