Olav Eikeland | OsloMet—Oslo Metropolitan University (original) (raw)

Books by Olav Eikeland

Interenational Journal of Action Research

Working with action research for sustainable and regenerative environments, communities, and orga... more Working with action research for sustainable and regenerative environments, communities, and organizations. Wicked problems are calling for action At a global scale, we're dealing with an eco-social crisis where both "eco" and "social" are abbreviations, "eco" for climate, depletion of nature, decimation of species, pollution, sea-level rise, etc., "social" for psychological, interpersonal, political, economic, general power inequalities, social and gender justice etc. We are confronted with "wicked problems" without straightforward solutions to any of the complex problems of our time. The ecological and social challenges are deeply intertwined, and there is a need for research that conceptualizes ideas, projects, and initiatives for sustainability, which integrate ecological and social perspectives. Environmental destruction and the exploration of natural resources are happening in systematic ways, e.g. through the logging of the forests, exaggerated exploitation of the soil, overfishing etc. Our environment is suffering and characterized by pollution, CO2-emission, global warming, forest fires, floods, drought, melting

Forskning og Forandring, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020, 1–5, 2020

Tema: Organisatorisk læring ”Lærende organisationer”, ”organisationslæring” og ”organisatorisk læ... more Tema: Organisatorisk læring
”Lærende organisationer”, ”organisationslæring” og ”organisatorisk læring” har været i spil i arbejdslivet og blandt forskere i ere årtier. Har det ført til forbedringer? I sine tidlige faser har forskningen inden for læring traditionelt set været for- bundet med barnets udvikling – med pædagogik og uddannelse. Læring har derforpå mange måder været knyttet til opdragelse og undervisning og været set som etprodukt eller resultat heraf (Illeris, 2015). De mere grundlæggende læreprocesser har været studeret af psykologer, som dermed har haft en stor indydelse på pæda
-gogik og uddannelsesforskning (Jensen & Rasmussen, 2009). Psykologisk forskninghar udviklet sig inden for forskellige overordnede læringssyn: behavioristisk, kog-nitivt, humanistisk psykologisk, sociokulturelt og en række andre. Pointen er her,at forskere inden for både pædagogik og psykologi frem til slutningen af 1980’ernehovedsageligt har betragtet læring som individuel læring – at det er enkeltindivider,som lærer (Illeris, 2015).De seneste fyrre til halvtreds år er der imidlertid også kommet fokus på, at læringikke kun er knyttet til opdragelse, undervisning og formel uddannelse, men at men-nesket lærer gennem hele livet, herunder arbejdslivet (Argyris, 1976; Illeris, 2015;Engeström, 2009; Laursen & Thomassen, 2017).

På sporet av en syvende forfatning - Aristoteles og den norske samarbeidsmodellen – makt, dialog og organisasjonslæring, 2022

Utgangspunktet for, men samtidig hovedformålet med den følgende teksten er å bidra til en forklar... more Utgangspunktet for, men samtidig hovedformålet med den følgende teksten er å bidra til en forklaring av hvordan en bestemt tilnærming til eller «modell» for organisasjonsutvikling og -læring1, utviklet over flere tiår (ca. 1980-2010), hovedsakelig ved Arbeidsforskningsinstituttet (AFI) i Oslo og i tilbakeblikk kalt «den kommunikative vending», legger opp til en håndtering av forholdet mellom makt og dialog2. Jeg forsøker å svare på hvordan, men også å vise hva man må kalle tilnærmingsmåtens historisk-teoretisk-metodologiske grunnlag eller bakgrunn. Jeg gjør dette bl.a. ved å hente frem og drøfte innsikter fra Aristoteles’ (384-322 f.Kr.) overleverte verk Corpus Aristotelicum og ved å vise hvordan tolkninger av dette ble spilt inn i en avgjørende fase i arbeidslivsforskningen på AFI. Tekstens overordnede problemutgangspunkt er om man vil, følgende generelle kommentar til Aristoteles’ verk Politikken i Eikeland (1997:301):
«Spenningen mellom filosofi eller saklighet, demokrati og makt ligger på forskjellige måter til grunn for hele den videre politiske tenkning innenfor den europeiske tradisjon».

På sporet av en syvende forfatning - Aristoteles og den norske samarbeidsmodellen – makt, dialog og organisasjonslæring, 2022

På sporet av en syvende forfatning Aristoteles og den norske samarbeidsmodellen-makt, dialog og o... more På sporet av en syvende forfatning Aristoteles og den norske samarbeidsmodellen-makt, dialog og organisasjonslaering Olav Eikeland (født 1955) er filosof med doktorgrad i antikk filosofi med en avhandling om betydningen av den antikke filosofiens tanker om dialog og erfaring for moderne empirisk samfunnsforskning og for våre praktiske liv. I perioden fra 1985 til 2008 jobbet han som forsker ved Arbeidsforskningsinstituttet i Oslo. Siden 2008 har han vaert professor i utdannings-og arbeidslivsforskning ved Oslo Met-Storbyuniversitetet. Han har skrevet flere bøker og mange artikler om betydningen av saerlig Aristoteles' filosofi for videreutviklingen av aksjonsforskning, organisasjonslaering og arbeidslivsforskning i vår tid.

International Journal of Action Research

Action research comes in many varieties. Regardless, it has for decades and under different desig... more Action research comes in many varieties. Regardless, it has for decades and under different designations, been gaining in popularity among different professions and professional studies , in management and organization studies, community development work, and in other areas concerned with practical relevance, application and development. The situation reflects societal changes concerning the social distribution of education and knowledge creation , from having been monopolized in specialized academic institutions to becoming much more socially distributed. However, people doing action research often seem to encounter conventional, mostly interpretive social research terminology which is still based on a principal division of labor between intellectual and manual work, knower and known, researcher and researched more appropriate to the previous, monopolized knowledge management regime. The terminology still used in social research reflects the former division of labor however, "othering" the subjects of study and thereby making the radical and more basic knowledge generation processes happening in certain forms of action research almost invisible and conflated with other, inappropriate methods. Therefore, this special issue calls for papers, which both 1) summarizes extant attempts and 2) aims at developing concepts and terminology more and better adjusted to knowledge production from within practices, and to ways of conceiving and describing collaborative knowledge production in action research as it plays out in a cross-fields of tensions between various discourses and institutionalized practices in a field filled with research and practice dilemmas. This special issue will also 3) welcome investigations of different «clashes of dis-course» typically happening in action research which, from this, might develop new concepts and terminology. AR needs to find and develop a new and proactive language and practice to qualify research practice based on the basic principles and approaches in action research. As indicated, social or human knowledge development and creation needs to come to its own, find its own form (like natural science and technology might be said to have come to its own during modernity). Certain forms of action research are potent candidates for making this happen. Extant forms of inquiry all need to be critically examined, transformed, and adjusted to the radically practice-based knowledge generation in action research. Ultimately, then, the challenge is more fundamental than merely terminological. There are many terms from conventional research which may serve as starting points for reflections on this challenge. For instance, the very term "data" entails ideas about the existence of unbiased "bits of information", which are possible to "collect" by means of specific "da

Aksjonsforskning i Norge, volum 2 – grunnlagstenkning, forskerroller og bidrag til endring i ulike kontekster. , 2020

This chapter follows some main currents in philosophical and methodo-logical developments, mainly... more This chapter follows some main currents in philosophical and methodo-logical developments, mainly through the 20th century. These developments emanate from a critical renewal of central aspects of Aristotelian philosophy, justifying but also requiring a praxis-based and immanently critical form of action research, and a reconfiguration of the organizational and institutional relations between research , practice and learning.

The Ways of Aristotle, 2008

Eikeland, Olav; Ausland, Liv Hanson; Enehaug, Heidi; Klemsdal, Lars; Widding, Steinar (2006c): Ha... more Eikeland, Olav; Ausland, Liv Hanson; Enehaug, Heidi; Klemsdal, Lars; Widding, Steinar (2006c):
Har systematisk læring på arbeidsplassen noe med livsfase- og seniorpolitikk å gjøre? Rapportering fra Forsøks- og Utviklingsprosjektene i Nasjonalt Krafttak for seniorpolitikk i arbeidslivet (2001-2005), AFI-rapport 6 / 2006, Arbeidsforskningsinstituttet, Oslo

EURAM 2019 26-28 June, Lisboa. Exploring the Future of Management: Facts, Fashion and Fado T10_01... more EURAM 2019 26-28 June, Lisboa. Exploring the Future of Management: Facts, Fashion and Fado
T10_01-Action research, collaborative research and participatory research-engaged scholarship in projects and innovations

speaker is, or how it is said, decide (rhetorically, and as some speech act, cf Int17a1-8, Po1456... more speaker is, or how it is said, decide (rhetorically, and as some speech act, cf Int17a1-8, Po1456b9-15). As emphasized by Booth (1993), the culturally accepted private interest of the Greek housemasters was leisure and freedom from engaging in the necessities handled by the oikos organisation, for the sake of involvement in politics or other activities freely chosen (cf. MM1198b13-16) 1 . And, no doubt, the Greek poleis consisted mainly of (big and small) private despots, the only autonomous members of a contemporary oikos, relieved from household chores, gathered as free peers in their spare time. But Aristotle's thinking also allows for and invites a different and more integrated relationship, already indicated, between the two spheres of necessity (askholía) and freedom (skholê) respectively, to which I will return in the final pages of this text. If oikos and pólis were identical in kind, however, and merely different in size, the differences discussed could neither be expressed nor understood. The oikos is for the preservation of life, while the pólis is for developing and preserving the good life (Pol1280a31-34, cf. 1252b30). It would be a strange thing if they were impossible to combine.

The title of my presentation is "Ars liberationis (or tékhnê eleutherôseôs), and koinópolis -more... more The title of my presentation is "Ars liberationis (or tékhnê eleutherôseôs), and koinópolis -more cosmopolitan than the cosmópolis?" In spite of the fact that none of these terms is used explicitly by Aristotle, the thinking behind the presentation has the philosophy of Aristotle as its main point of departure. The project behind tries to justify why both concepts -the koinópolis and an ars liberationis, or art of liberation -actually articulate important aspects of Aristotle's thinking 1 . I hope that both the meaning of the concepts and their legitimacy as interpretive terms for important aspects of Aristotle's thinking, have become a little clearer when I've finished. Briefly stated, the project's aim is to suggest how Aristotle's ethics, his politics, and his theory of knowledge or gnoseology are even more in line with ambitions and pretentions of cosmopolitanism than the proclaimed cosmopolitans after him, the Stoics. My working hypothesis is that Aristotle's way of thinking philosophy actually contains and safeguards universalist ambitions of cosmopolitanism better than the cosmopolitans.

Aristotle has been continuously at the frontier of philosophical reflection for almost 2400 years... more Aristotle has been continuously at the frontier of philosophical reflection for almost 2400 years. Throughout the 20th century the influence of his practical philosophy has been growing. His «non-modernist» concept of phrónêsis or practical wisdom is attracting increasing interest as an alternative to both «modernism» and «post-modernism». This book is a meticulous study of Aristotle's phrónêsis and its applications to the fields of personal development or character formation and of ethical virtues. It also relates phrónêsis to the wider context of Aristotle's theoretical philosophy and of his different ways of knowing, and to both theoretical and practical concerns within modern social and action research. The whole of Aristotle's thinking is radically practice-based and directed. However, it never loses its theoretical focus. His theoretical philosophy is fundamentally dialogical. Hence, the relevance of Aristotelian thinking is striking for the current reconfigurations in the social organisation of learning and knowledge production.

Unfortunately, this book (my PhD thesis defended in 1993) was written in Norwegian, which gives i... more Unfortunately, this book (my PhD thesis defended in 1993) was written in Norwegian, which gives it a much smaller audience than it deserves. The book follows the inner connections between the Greek concepts of experience (empeiría), dialogue or dialectics, and politics (in its original, Aristotelian meaning). The book explores these connections logically and historically from Socrates, Plato and Aristotle throough Stoic, Skeptical, and other ancient philosophical schools, to where they transform into religious philosophy (in Philo Judaues / from Alexandria). The whole endeavour was started as an attempt at a critical "Ausainandersetzung" with modern social research methodology as "empirical". The discussions are based on a thorough reading of primary sources. Cf. the uploaded index locorum.

Interenational Journal of Action Research

Forskning og Forandring, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020, 1–5, 2020

På sporet av en syvende forfatning - Aristoteles og den norske samarbeidsmodellen – makt, dialog og organisasjonslæring, 2022

International Journal of Action Research

Aksjonsforskning i Norge, volum 2 – grunnlagstenkning, forskerroller og bidrag til endring i ulike kontekster. , 2020

The Ways of Aristotle, 2008

International Journal of Action Research

The article explores and discusses whether we as action researchers are undermining or subverting... more The article explores and discusses whether we as action researchers are undermining or subverting our own intuitions and intentions, or at least not doing justice to it, when mixing a) learning and exploration through individual and collective action and reflection, with b) elements from conventional researchmethods. The article'sb asic question: Can the intentions and resultsf rom a) be reduced to and validated fully or partly through b) conventional methods?C an we save the scientific legitimacyo fa ction research by ultimately resorting to conventional methods and theories?W hat does action research uniquely add in relation to conventional learning, knowledge generation, and change projects?W ed iscuss some challengesr aised by questions like these, and suggest ways of handling them. After exploring ways of being "seduced" by conventional methods, we concludebyrecommending ag noseology to replace ao ne-dimensional epistemology, and by explaining and recommending the procedure of immanent critique as aw ay of developing insights and competencies from the inside of practices; i. e. a genuinely Action research method.

International Journal of Action Research, 2022

How do we conceptualise, communicate, and describe Action Research in alanguagewhich expresses an... more How do we conceptualise, communicate, and describe Action Research in alanguagewhich expresses and corresponds adequately to the basic assumptions behind Action Research?Our call for papers tried to pinpoint some very specific challenges for Action Research as we see it: As Action Researchers, when writing applications for research funds, when communicating research insights, when developing knowledge in collaboration with stakeholders, when reasoning and voicing knowledgeinresearch communities, we often feel forced to navigate in alanguage field foreign to our Action Research activity,and compelled to use conventional, mostly interpretive social research terminology to legitimise our creation of knowledge as research. This languagefield is, to alarge extent, still based on aprincipal division of labour between intellectual and manual work, knower and known, and researchera nd researched, creating ahorizon of meaning linked to astill dominantbut old-fashioned and monopolised knowledge management regime. This terminology reflects an institutionalised but hardly validated division of labour in the understanding of social knowledgegeneration, othering the subjects of study. Thereby the more basic and radical knowledge generation processes happening in certain forms of Action Research are made almost invisible and stretched between the "inner" language of contextualknowledge and value production, and other, "outer" ways of communicating scientific knowledge and research insights presumed as valid by aw ider research community and in society at large. Nevertheless, Action Research gains popularity in different professions and professional studies, in management and organszation studies, community development work, and in other areas concerned with practical relevance, application, and development. The situation reflects societal changes concerning the social distribution of education and knowledge generation, from having been monopolised in specialised academic institutions to becoming much more socially distributed. As indicated, social or human knowledge development and creation need to come to its own, and find its own form, similarly to how natural science and technology have come to their own during modernity. Bringing social and human knowledgetoits own, however, does not mean imitation or emulation of natural science. Extantf orms of inquiry all need to be critically examined, transformed,a nd adjusted to the radically practice based creation of knowledge in core Action Research. Certain forms of practitioner Action Research are already making progress in their attempts at this by connecting to more colloquial and prevalent understandings of experience which do not operate within the divisions of conventional research. These attempts are si

OLKC conference, Copenhagen, 2008

The article discusses shifts and continuities in practical and theoretical work on organisational... more The article discusses shifts and continuities in practical and theoretical work on organisational learning since the mid 1980s within a tradition at the Work Research Institute (WRI) in Oslo promoting work place democracy. Projects over 20 years are reviewed. All the projects discussed have had a participatory action research design. The point, however, is the emerging justifications for the changing approaches chosen. The learning within and across the different projects is a kind of "justificatory trajectory". This justification and explanation constitutes the real purpose of the article.

Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 2012

This article presents the idea of "symbiotic learning systems" as a possible strategy for dealing... more This article presents the idea of "symbiotic learning systems" as a possible strategy for dealing with institutional knowledge and learning challenges posed by an emerging transition from "socially monopolized" to "socially distributed" knowledge generation and distribution. As knowledge production and learning become increasingly relocated from segregated and specialized institutions for research and education and socially distributed to and within "ordinary" work life, corresponding changes are required in the basic institutionalized relationships between research, higher education, and practical knowledge application. The concept of "symbiotic learning" addresses these problems by deconstructing age-old divisions between vocational and liberal education. In order to build foundations for a changed and improved relationship between advanced organizations in work life and institutions of higher education and research (HEIs), the general preconditions for learning in the work places themselves need to be addressed. In modeling general preconditions for learning, and even in transcending the division of labor between manual and intellectual work, inspiration is found in the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, and in their search for intellectual "commons" (tà koiná) as constituting public spheres and community among individuals.

... Peron: On the Axiology and Actionability of Knowledge Creation: About Organizations In Manage... more ... Peron: On the Axiology and Actionability of Knowledge Creation: About Organizations In Management Science Research - Lucia Alcántara: Creating Practical and Operational Knowledge from Action Inquiry Technologies - David Coghlan/Aoife McDermott: Creating Value for ...

Educational Action Research, 2012

... NAF [Towards a new business organization – Experiments in industrial democracy, from the coop... more ... NAF [Towards a new business organization – Experiments in industrial democracy, from the cooperative project LO/NAF] , Oslo : Johan Grundt Tanum ... in Norway and may be said to have spread immediately to Sweden more than within Norway (see Gustavsen and Sandberg ...

ruhr-uni-bochum.de

The International Journal of Action Research provides a forum for an open and non dogmatic discus... more The International Journal of Action Research provides a forum for an open and non dogmatic discussion about action research, 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 International Journal of Action Research is problem driven; it is centered on the notion that organizational, regional and other forms of social development should be understood as multidimensional processes ...

International Journal of Action Research

One of the basic and for many, defining tenets of action research is contained in the “slogan” as... more One of the basic and for many, defining tenets of action research is contained in the “slogan” ascribed to Kurt Lewin: “In order to understand it, you have to change it”. The slogan clearly resembles what Francis Bacon claimed for experimental science, however, and also Karl Marx’ well known stance in his Feuerbach-theses. In this text I discuss this “change imperative” and relate it to its “pre-history” before action research. Most action researchers are not willing to subscribe to terms like “social engineering” but still call what they do for “interventions”. The text argues that what most people spontaneously think of as “change” may not be necessary for calling what is done for action research. Yet, the alternative is not to withdraw to a disengaged, spectator position. The change imperative raises important questions about what kind of change action research initiates, and what kind of knowledge results from different forms of change. The text challenges the “slogan” as to wha...

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Action Research, 2014

International Journal of Action Research, 2008

Lærerutdanningsskoler og lærerutdanningsbedrifter i Yrkesfaglærerutdanningen (LUSY). En organisasjonsteoretisk, didaktisk modell for samarbeid mellom utdanningsinstitusjon og praksisfelt., 2019

Prosjekttittel: Laererutdanningsskoler og laererutdanningsbedrifter i Yrkesfaglaererutdanningen (... more Prosjekttittel: Laererutdanningsskoler og laererutdanningsbedrifter i Yrkesfaglaererutdanningen (LUSY). En organisasjonsteoretisk, didaktisk modell for samarbeid mellom utdanningsinstitusjon og praksisfelt. Utfordringer og behov. 1 Utfordringer og behov En viktig bakgrunn for prosjektet er regjeringens strateginotat «Laererutdanning 2025». Der framheves behovet for styrket kvalitet og profesjonsrelevans i laererutdanningen gjennom tettere samarbeid mellom utdanningsinstitusjoner og praksisfelt. Notatet legger opp til en bred satsing på «laererutdanningsskoler» hvor praksisfelt og utdanningsinstitusjoner samarbeider om tilrettelegging for studentenes laering, basert på eksisterende partnerskapsmodeller. Hensikten er å forbedre laererutdanningen gjennom høy kvalitet i praksisopplaeringen og styrking av utviklings-og forskningssamarbeid mellom skoler og universiteter med ansvar for laererutdanning. Et styrket samarbeid skal også bidra til at laererutdanningene er relevante tilbydere av etter-og videreutdanning (Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2017, s. 6). Yrkesfaglaererutdanningen har samme behov som annen laererutdanning. Den er mer kompleks og omfatter praksis i bedrifter med et tilsvarende behov for å styrke praksisopplaeringen. Yrkesfaglaererutdanning er dessuten et lite utforsket felt. Behovet er stort for forskning og utvikling for å styrke kvaliteten. Prosjektet bygger også på prosjektledelsens tidligere FoU-arbeid gjennom mange år. Følgende samarbeidspartnere skal utvikle laererutdanningsskoler i yrkesfaglaererutdanningen: 1) Institutt for yrkesfaglaererutdanning (YLU) ved OsloMet, 2) Avdeling for videregående utdanning i Akershus fylkeskommune, 3) Utdanningsetaten i Oslo, 4) Strømmen videregående skole i Akershus og 5) Kuben videregående skole (VGS) i Oslo. Det er etablert et forprosjekt som en samarbeidsgruppe hvor alle parter er representert. Akershus fylkeskommune står som prosjektsøker og-ansvarlig. Oslo fylkeskommune og OsloMet gjennom Fakultet LUI og ledelsen ved Institutt for yrkesfaglaererutdanning er ansvarlige partnere. Strømmen videregående skole i Akershus, Kuben videregående skole i Oslo og Yrkesfaglaererutdanningen (YFL) (bachelorstudiet) ved YLU er prosjektsteder. Prosjektleder er 1.amanuensis Ann Lisa Sylte med professor Hilde Hiim og professor Olav Eikeland som naere medarbeidere i prosjektgruppa, alle ved OsloMet. Alle parter er innstilt på organisatorisk og faglig tilrettelegging og på å sette av tid til prosjektet, f.eks. til samarbeidsmøter, veiledning og etter-/ videreutdanningskurs. Naermere utforming og krav til samarbeidsstruktur og-tiltak skal utvikles og diskuteres gjennom prosjektet. Opplaeringsbedrifter skal også involveres. Begge prosjektskolene har et godt nettverk med opplaeringsbedrifter. Et prosjekt som dette skal bidra til to overordnede og langsiktige mål: 1) Styrke og forbedre yrkesutdanningen i VGS gjennom 2) en styrking og forbedring av yrkesfaglaererutdanningen. Prosjektets arbeidshypotese, basert på konkrete erfaringer fra I, II og III under, er at dette må skje gjennom utvikling av et forpliktende og varig samarbeid om tilrettelegging og organisering for laering mellom yrkesfaglige videregående skoler og YLU / OsloMet: en ny infrastruktur. Til tross for utstrakt eksisterende samarbeid skjer det for tilfeldig og individbasert. Det mangler organisering, struktur og systematikk. En ny infrastruktur må derfor utvikles som sikrer en løpende og tett, erfarings-og forskningsbasert, laerende dialog mellom laerere og personale på deltakende VGS på den ene siden og både UF-personale og administrasjon på OsloMet / YLU på den andre. Systematisering og organisering av samarbeid dreier seg derfor om organisasjonsutvikling både på deltakende VGS, på YFL på YLU og mellom disse. Mens innovasjonen er rettet mot å etablere en ny infrastruktur, dvs. forbedret organisering, struktur og systematikk i samarbeidet mellom utdanning og praksisfelt, handler forskningen i prosjektet om å utvikle praksisbasert kunnskap om hvordan samarbeid mellom laererutdanningsinstitusjon, skoler og bedrifter kan organiseres for å oppnå en helhetlig, profesjons-og yrkesforankret utdanning av yrkesfaglaerere, og hvilke hindringer og muligheter man står overfor. Vi skal utvikle og utprøve en organisatorisk og didaktisk modell for samarbeid mellom utdanningsinstitusjon og praksisfelt mer generelt med utgangspunkt i begrepet «symbiotisk laeringsstruktur» i Eikeland (2012b). Jfr. også NFR-prosjektet #Laeringslivet ved YLU. Hovedmålet er at det skal utvikles ny infrastruktur for forpliktende og varig samarbeid om laering mellom

The ReCarol-2 Project: Relevant Curriculum in Vocational Education and Training (VET) through Action Research (AR) and Organizational Learning (OL), 2011

1. The ReCarol project is a 4 year collaborative AR project combining development and research ob... more 1. The ReCarol project is a 4 year collaborative AR project combining development and research objectives, involving high-schools, firms, and university teacher education. 2. ReCarol will analyze and develop VET curricula to improve student learning while simultaneously developing OL structures as collaborative learning structures in and between all participating units as necessary preconditions. New knowledge on curriculum and organization in VET will be developed. 3. Permanent collaborative learning structures will be built between the Instutute of Technical and Vocational Teacher Education at the Oslo and Akershus University College (OAUC), three regional vocational high schools, and apprentice firms, based on systematic OL and broad participation from stakeholders within and between all cooperating units. Institutional managers, teacher educators, high-school teachers, instructors, students, and apprentices will be involved in collaborative development and research activities. 4. A general collaborative model on organising curriculum and learning in VET will result. Although not reducible to a simple gap between "theory" and "practice", a broadly recognized relevance problem exists in professional and vocational educations at both high school and university levels (Jensen and Haselmann, 2010). Its roots lie in an experienced mismatch and inconsistency between the form and content of what is taught in education (theory and practice), and what is needed as relevant and valid for the performance of work and as guidelines and standards of excellence for concrete practices. ReCarol assumes hypothetically that the insufficiently organized collaboration between education and work is an important cause. In exploring relations concerning Norwegian VET, ReCarol will a) explore the complex insufficiencies and mismatches empirically and theoretically, b) develop collaborative learning structures practically between education and work, able to handle the complex challenges, and c) develop examples and prototypes of improved VET curricula and student learning in high schools and vocational teacher education. Norwegian and international studies on VET curricula at a high school level are few. In explaining retention and drop-out, background variables like parents' educational background, socioeconomic status, gender, lower grade marks, and school absence are used (Markussen et al., 2008). Put bluntly, such figures show how certain student categories "fit" better or worse into current educational systems. Some reports suggest strengthening school-worklife cooperation, but without relating specifically to educational form and content (Høst 2008, Teige et al 2009). Another hypothetical ReCarol assumption is: Important explanations concern the content and organization of the educational system; more specifically, different ways of knowing, and theoretical and practical forms of teaching and learning, and relations between places of teaching and learning, and places of performance. Curriculum contents, methods, and organization all need attention. 1. Starting points-Educational and organizational problem situations Several, but often too separate efforts join hands in ReCarol: Improving student learning and curricula in high-schools and in university level teacher education, and strengthening individual training and collective learning in workplaces and organizations. Challenges in each area indicate the same necessity of improved collaboration between education and work.

BEDRIFTSUTVIKLING I BILBRANSJEN 1984 - 1989 EN OVERSIKT Rapport til HABUT, 1989

Aksjonsforskning i Norge, volum 2 – grunnlagstenkning, forskerroller og bidrag til endring i ulike kontekster. , 2020

The following text attempts, without pretending completeness, to analyze approaches to action res... more The following text attempts, without pretending completeness, to analyze approaches to action research based on where and how they position themselves socially , on how they work, and on their actual basic distinctions. The result is a tentative typology presented roughly historically, which cuts through the many labels typical of current action research. Different approaches are useful, each for different purposes. Still, most circle consciously or subconsciously around some form of "practice" which works as a standard of measurement or quality criterion. The conclusion is that there is a certain sine qua non in the field of action research, i.e. a form "toward which, ways of doing things tend to evolve from a wide variety of starting points".

Forskning og forandring, 2020

Forskning og Forandring, 2019

Affiliation: Professor, Institutt for yrkesfaglaererutdanning, OsloMet Contact corresponding auth... more Affiliation: Professor, Institutt for yrkesfaglaererutdanning, OsloMet Contact corresponding author: Olav Eikeland: olave@oslomet.no Sammendrag Det følgende er et essay. Jeg reflekterer over hvordan verden fortoner seg for en aksjonsfor-sker når blikket løftes for å ta inn den faglige, samfunnsmessige og politiske situasjonen som helhet for å antyde en retning på besvarelsen av spørsmålet om «forskningens betydning for demokratisering av samfunn og kultur». Det er ikke en «forskningsartikkel», selv om den er skrevet av en forsker. Tekstformen har ulemper, men fordelen er at det er mulig å få sagt ting nokså direkte, uten omsvøp og på relativt kort tid. Til tross for aksjonsforskningens faglige status som «hittebarn» har den i Norden levd i en slags institusjonell «idyll» som har til-latt den å utvikle seg, men hvor «verdenssituasjonen» i økende grad infiltrerer situasjonen og naermer seg som truende tendenser. Artikkelen antyder en rekke tilslørende, men samtidig dominerende motsetninger i «det store bildet» som det er viktig å overvinne for å finne en vei ut av en uoversiktlig og «labyrintisk» situasjon der aksjonsforskning og organisasjonslaering har viktig oppgaver. Den pretenderer imidlertid ikke mer enn å vaere en aksjonsforskers blikk på situasjonen og vurdering av hvordan spørsmålet kan besvares.

International Journal of Action Research, 2018

One of the basic and for many, defining tenets of action research is contained in the “slogan” as... more One of the basic and for many, defining tenets of action research is contained in the “slogan” ascribed to
Kurt Lewin: “In order to understand it, you have to change it”. The slogan clearly resembles what Francis
Bacon claimed for experimental science, however, and also Karl Marx’ well known stance in his
Feuerbach-theses. In this text I discuss this “change imperative” and relate it to its “pre-history” before
action research. Most action researchers are not willing to subscribe to terms like “social engineering” but
still call what they do for “interventions”. The text argues that what most people spontaneously think of as
“change” may not be necessary for calling what is done for action research. Yet, the alternative is not to
withdraw to a disengaged, spectator position. The change imperative raises important questions about
what kind of change action research initiates, and what kind of knowledge results from different forms of
change. The text challenges the “slogan” as to what kind of change is appropriate and legitimate in
working with changes in individuals, culture, communities, and organisations, and suggests ways forward
through developing forms of practitioner research and native or indigenous research. To illustrate, insights
from Aristotle and Hegel are invoked. Action researchers are challenged to discuss and clarify answers to
questions about what kind of change is produced, and what kind of knowledge is generated.

Jeg skal forsøke å si noe om brukermedvirkning i relasjon til "kompetanse og kunnskap", i relasjo... more Jeg skal forsøke å si noe om brukermedvirkning i relasjon til "kompetanse og kunnskap", i relasjon til "organisasjonsmodeller" og i et demokratiperspektiv. Omtrent slik lyder oppdraget. Men dette dreier seg om mange begreper som folk ikke uten videre forbinder det samme med, og selv om meningene skulle vaere felles, så er de ikke alltid like klare og entydige allikevel. Jeg ser meg derfor nødt til å bedrive litt begrepseksersis, selv i en sammenheng som denne, som muligens skulle vaere vel så mye festlig som faglig. Jeg kommer generelt til å argumentere for å nyansere språk-og begrepsbruk. Det vil sikkert noen oppfatte både som politisk ukorrekt og kompliserende, eller i hvert fall litt omstendelig. Selv tror jeg til syvende og sist at det er forenklingene som kompliserer, og at man kan gjøre det hele enklere ved å vaere nyansert, fordi nyanserte tanker og tale som regel er mer treffende, som det heter. La meg også si innledningsvis, at jeg ikke har noen forutsetninger for å si så mye om TRS spesielt. Det jeg har å si, har et mer generelt eller prinsipielt, utgangspunkt og siktemål. Relevansen må jeg derfor også overlate til dere å vurdere. Jeg har dessuten heller ingen forhåpninger om å kunne avslutte diskusjonen om de temaene jeg tar opp gjennom dette innlegget, som om det jeg hadde å gjøre bare var å lese opp de endelige sannheter. Istedet håper jeg det er provoserende på en konstruktiv måte, slik at både ettertanken og diskusjonen vekkes.

Det jeg forholder meg til og kan si noe om er et samarbeid mellom Arbeidsforskningsinstituttet (A... more Det jeg forholder meg til og kan si noe om er et samarbeid mellom Arbeidsforskningsinstituttet (AFI), der jeg jobber, og Arendal kommune, som vi har etablert over det siste året. Samarbeidet har konsentrert seg om utforming og oppfølging av flere runder med søknader til Kompetanseutviklingsprogrammet (KUP). Jeg skal si noe fra mitt eget ståsted som forsker og rådgiver, om målsettingene for dette samarbeidet og om en tankegang som ligger til grunn for det. Det jeg har å si kommer derfor til å dreie seg mest om læring og kunnskapsutvikling. Dette blir også mitt nokså indirekte forsøk på å besvare spørsmålet som er stilt i programoverskriften for dette innlegget: “Hvordan få til gode prosesser, kvalitet og medvirkning i en desentralisert organisasjon?”

Most people will probably agree that learning is not merely the outcome of teaching. Sometimes – ... more Most people will probably agree that learning is not merely the outcome of teaching. Sometimes – actually too often – teaching does not result in learning, and what contributes the most to what kinds of learning is an area of dispute. At least in Scandinavia and in Germany, the special discipline of didactics studies how to make teaching produce learning, or more broadly, maybe, how to make curriculum learning happen. Over the last decades – maybe over the last 50 years – however, focus has gradually shifted and brought increasing
attention to learning outside institutionalized teaching contexts; that is, to “non-didactic” learning, outside what most people – with a very old institutionalized misnomer – call “school” and “schooling”. Learning outside schooling has received increased attention from researchers, but also, first, and not the least, it has received increasing attention among
people themselves active in the areas outside teaching and research, especially in work life organizations, and here it has received practical attention springing from a felt necessity to
readjust, reorganize, develop, and learn, individually and collectively.

21. - 23.mai, 1990: Hva har antikk filosofi med moderne yrkesutdanning og med fagopplæring i arbe... more 21. - 23.mai, 1990: Hva har antikk filosofi med moderne yrkesutdanning og med fagopplæring i arbeidslivet å gjøre? Hva har antikk filosofi med moderne arbeidsliv, eller med moderne samfunn i det hele tatt å gjøre? Mange, kanskje de fleste, vil anta: svært lite. Antikk filosofi er noe man av plikt må lære seg noe om for å få lov til å begynne på et universitetsstudium. For øvrig er det bare for spesielt interesserte. Et sært emne for sære folk. Og antikk filosofi er i hvert fall neppe noe vi i dag kan lære noe av. Som om de visste eller forsto noe bedre enn vi gjør det i dag. Som om de antikke filosofer og vi i det hele tatt kan ha noen felles
"objekter" å være enige eller uenige om, felles "ting" eller saker vi kan diskutere og belære hverandre om. Det måtte i så fall være om høyst obskure ting som metafysikk, religion o.l.
Saker som bare nostalgikere er opptatt av, eller som bare angår hver enkelt helt privat. Og som i hvert fall ikke har noe som helst systematisk interesse i forbindelse med "Yrkesutdanning, Fagopplæring og Arbeidsliv".
Til tross for at synspunkter som disse helt sikkert er utbredte, og til tross for at de på mange måter kan ha noe for seg, så kommer det følgende til å dreie seg mye om antikk filosofi.

Jeg skjelner mellom og skal snakke kort om 1) praksis som hverdagsbegrep, 2) praksis som del av e... more Jeg skjelner mellom og skal snakke kort om 1) praksis som hverdagsbegrep, 2) praksis som del av en utdanning, 3) praksis som del av eller grunnlag for Forsknings- og Utviklingsarbeid eller FoU-arbeid, 4) praksis som del av en såkalt «praktisk vending» eller «practical turn» i organisasjons- og ledelsesforskningen, 5) praksis som begrep i filosofien hvor det de siste tiårene, ved siden av 5a) begrepsdiskusjonene hvor praksis gjerne skrives med X, har dukket opp 5b) noe som kalles «filosofisk praksis». Jeg skal også si litt om 6) forholdet mellom teori og praksis og til slutt litt om 7) praxis som del av aksjonsforskning og det som kalles «teacher research». Jeg kommer i beste fall til å presentere en del ting det kan være viktig å ta hensyn til, men jeg kommer neppe til å levere svar på noen aktuelle spørsmål.

Jeg skal snakke om et lite knippe av ting som for meg henger sammen. For det første 1) om noe jeg... more Jeg skal snakke om et lite knippe av ting som for meg henger sammen. For det første 1) om noe jeg liker å kalle det allmenne ved yrkespedagogikken, for det andre 2) om sammenhengen mellom antikk dialogfilosofi og yrkespedagogikk og for det tredje 3) om hvordan motsetningen mellom yrkespedagogikk og "allmen-pedagogikk"hvis en slik motsetning overhodet er meningsfullkan nedbygges uten at saerpreget ved yrkespedagogikken går tapt. Hva menes så med yrkespedagogikk i denne sammenhengen? Begrepet yrkespedagogikk framstår i mange sammenhenger som naermest "ikke-allment" per definisjon. Dette baserer seg selvsagt på et institusjonelt faktum; nemlig at yrkespedagoger på forskjellige nivåer har ansvar for fag-og yrkesopplaering i dagens utdanningssystem, i Norge institusjonelt begrenset til videregående skole, til forskjell fra Vocational Education and Training (VET) i resten av Europa. VET omfatter det som tidligere ble kalt semi-profesjoner som sykepleie, sosialt arbeid, ingeniørfag og andre, hvis utdanning i dag foregår på høgskole-og universitetsnivå. "Logisk sett" kunne også de opprinnelige universitetsfagene jus, teologi og medisin vaert inkludert som yrkesfag.

Jeg skal snakke om praksis som grunnlag for FoU-arbeid. Men før jeg går løs på temaet må jeg unde... more Jeg skal snakke om praksis som grunnlag for FoU-arbeid. Men før jeg går løs på temaet må jeg understreke at jeg er relativt nytilsatt som forskningssjef på Høgskolen i Akershus fra 1.april i år (2008). Jeg er filosof av utdannelse med doktorgrad i antikk filosofi og kommer fra mer enn 20 år som organisasjonsforsker og aksjonsforsker (på Arbeidsforskningsinstituttet), med kunnskapsforståelse og organisasjonslaering som spesialinteresse. Denne bakgrunnen kan sikkert høres fjern ut i forhold til yrkespedagogikk, yrkesutdannelse og yrkesfaglaererutdannelse. Den er allikevel mindre fjern enn det høres ut, noe jeg kanskje makter å forklare i løpet av foredraget. Men selv om jeg tror jeg kan si noe om praksis som grunnlag for FoU-arbeid, så er jeg ennå -etter 2 ½ måned i jobben -usikker på om det jeg har å si treffer yrkespedagoger på meningsfulle måter.

Mitt selvvalgte tema er (altså) det allmenne ved yrkespedagogikken. Jeg skal forsøke å forklare h... more Mitt selvvalgte tema er (altså) det allmenne ved yrkespedagogikken. Jeg skal forsøke å forklare hva jeg mener med en slik overskrift, forsøke å begrunne den og til slutt forsøke å trekke noen konsekvenser av den. Men før jeg går løs på innholdet og forklarer hva jeg mener med en slik tittel, så vil jeg gjerne si litt om strukturen på det som kommer og formålet med forelesningen.

Foredrag 06. februar 2014, på Institutt for sykepleie, HiOA, Olav Eikeland Jeg skal snakke om lae... more Foredrag 06. februar 2014, på Institutt for sykepleie, HiOA, Olav Eikeland Jeg skal snakke om laering. Men la meg begynne med å si at jeg ikke kommer til å bruke tid på å gjennomgå mer eller mindre velkjente moderne laeringsteorier systematisk, som f.eks. atferdsteoretiske eller behavioristiske, kognitive, sosiokulturelle eller humanistiske oppfatninger av hva laering er. Jeg kommer ikke til verken å tilslutte meg eller ta avstand generelt fra noen bestemte foreliggende laeringsteorier. Min presentasjon er mer utforskende, problematiserende og for så vidt eklektisk i forhold til forskjellige teoribygninger som de nevnte, og står slik sett mer for min egen regning. Det jeg leverer her må derfor betraktes som foreløpige og programmatiske utkast eller forsøk på å skape en viss orden i et landskap jeg har surret rundt i gjennom mange år.

Jeg skal snakke om "aksjonsforskning" i ca. 30 minutter. For å få fram poengene må jeg "male i gr... more Jeg skal snakke om "aksjonsforskning" i ca. 30 minutter. For å få fram poengene må jeg "male i grove trekk og med bred pensel", som det heter, selv om jeg tviler på om slike grep gjør framstillingen enklere. I enkelte samfunnsvitenskapelige kretser i Norge kan man fortsatt få en følelse av at aksjonsforskning er et "fyord" fra 1970-tallet, som man helst ikke snakker høyt om, i hvert fall ikke direkte til dem som fortsatt måtte interessere seg for aksjonsforskning, og i hvert fall er det ikke verdt bryet å diskutere aksjonsforskning.

In this presentation I want to share some thoughts on why the education of professions needs to c... more In this presentation I want to share some thoughts on why the education of professions needs to create what I call a "symbiotic learning system" by collaborating closer and more systematically with its relevant work life about learning; more specifically why and how teacher education on a university level needs to collaborate closely with the future workplaces of teachers, that is, with the schools. I will say something about the general societal and professional background making this necessary, and I will say something about some preconditions I believe must be in place. Finally, I will say something about how such a collaboration can be achieved, based on some Norwegian experiences. Ultimately, I think we need to develop new infrastructure connecting work and education more intimately, for the sake of teaching and learning, for the sake of research, and for the sake of improving professional and organizational practice. Since my background is somewhat different from most teacher educators, I need to say something about myself and the perspective from which I speak. My view is positioned, meaning that it is from somewhere in an institutional and professional landscape, not from nowhere in particular. My PhD from 20 years back is in ancient Greek philosophy. For more than 20 years, between 1985 and 2008, I worked as an organization researcher and action researcher at the Work Research Institute in Oslo, concerned with organizational learning, critical research methodology, and philosophy of science. For the last 4 years I have been a professor and research director of a program on education and work life research at the department of vocational teacher education at the University College of Oslo and Akershus.

CARN-ival CARN conference 2021 on the web

Convened by members of ARNA, CARN, SPARC and ICPHR An educational experience of immanent critique... more Convened by members of ARNA, CARN, SPARC and ICPHR
An educational experience of immanent critique and apprenticeship learning hosted by knowledgedemocracy.org
Thursday 7th October 4pm - 6.30 pm BST. 17.00 – 19.30 ECT
Saturday 9th October 4pm - 6 30 pm BST. 17.00 – 1930 ECT
via the following Zoom link:

https://mdh-se.zoom.us/j/68332498567

We warmly offer this invitation to a series of two Seminar/Webinars at the CARN 2021 CARNival to people engaged in action research and/or participatory action research and who want to explore concepts and practices which will help us, we think, in the pursuit of knowledge democracy with a view to creating a continuing dialogue.

Open Webinar Knowledge Democracy, 2021

There is a movement towards knowledge democracy striving to make research and science more open, ... more There is a movement towards knowledge democracy striving to make research and science more open, responsive to needs like sustainability and equality, as well as more inclusive and democratic in its operation. It is manifested in research approaches like participatory and action research as well as different trends in ideologies of science and its role in revitalizing democracy in today´s knowledge society. How to understand and conceptualize knowledge democracy? What is the character of the movement?
The purpose of the webinar is to provide different perspectives on the movement towards knowledge democracy and a space for creative exchange among those interested in learning more about the topic and engaging in the movement.

International Journal of Action Research (IJAR)

Call for papers, Special Issue of International Journal of Action Research. Action research on th... more Call for papers, Special Issue of International Journal of Action Research.
Action research on the rise Action research comes in many varieties. Regardless, it has for decades and under different designations, been gaining in popularity among different professions and professional studies, in management and organization studies, community development work, and in other areas concerned with practical relevance, application and development. The situation reflects societal changes concerning the social distribution of education and knowledge creation, from having been monopolized in specialized academic institutions to becoming much more socially distributed. However, people doing action research often seem to encounter conventional, mostly interpretive social research terminology which is still based on a principal division of labor between intellectual and manual work, knower and known, researcher and researched more appropriate to the previous, monopolized knowledge management regime. The terminology still used in social research reflects the former division of labor however, "othering" the subjects of study and thereby making the radical and more basic knowledge generation processes happening in certain forms of action research almost invisible and conflated with other, inappropriate methods. Therefore, this special issue calls for papers, which both 1) summarizes extant attempts and 2) aims at developing concepts and terminology more and better adjusted to knowledge production from within practices, and to ways of conceiving and describing collaborative knowledge production in action research as it plays out in a cross-fields of tensions between various discourses and institutionalized practices in a field filled with research and practice dilemmas. This special issue will also 3) welcome investigations of different «clashes of discourse» typically happening in action research which, from this, might develop new concepts and terminology. AR needs to find and develop a new and proactive language and practice to qualify research practice based on the basic principles and approaches in action research. As indicated, social or human knowledge development and creation needs to come to its own, find its own form (like natural science and technology might be said to have come to its own during modernity). Certain forms of action research are potent candidates for making this happen. Extant forms of inquiry all need to be critically examined, transformed, and adjusted to the radically practice-based knowledge generation in action research.

Call for Applications, 2020/21 Action Research PhD Program, Sabancı University, 2020

‘Developing and creating together…’ Sabancı University Business School invites professionals to a... more ‘Developing and creating together…’
Sabancı University Business School invites professionals to apply for its recently launched Action Research (AR) PhD Program to commence in the academic year 2020/21.

An Expanded Concept / Notion of Lifelong Learning (ExpaLL)-new or old or new and old? Olav Eikela... more An Expanded Concept / Notion of Lifelong Learning (ExpaLL)-new or old or new and old? Olav Eikeland, OsloMet, olave@oslomet.no In this collection of articles, we want to discuss the concept and necessity of an expanded notion of lifelong learning and to contrast and compare it to a conventional or restricted concept of lifelong learning. Expanded lifelong learning means providing every life-context with consistent and interconnected preconditions for learning; external conditions like economy, organization, and social relations, internal like psychological preconditions, and pedagogical conditions like learning methods. What could such a concept mean, and what would the implications be for the extant institutions and their divisions of labor? Conventional or restricted LLL Conventional thinking about lifelong learning (LLL) is too restricted and bounded by taking extant institutions and their divisions of labor mostly for granted. This implies thinking lifelong learning as predominantly "adult education", as measures needed to reintegrate marginalized groups and individuals (refugees, unemployed, people on social welfare, people who need re-education), or as anyone taking ordinary courses as "further education" based on lectures on campus about whatever they need. But LLL is not merely 1) adult education or 2) further education, nor is it simply 3) continuous and 4) lifelong education. The first two silently presume it is something adults go through after some basic training or education is finished. The last two designations presume it is primarily a question of education. In line with this, LLL cannot be reduced merely to "re-education" either, as some form of readjustment of the work force from obsolete tasks to currently relevant tasks for business or work-life. LLL should not be reduced to merely education at all, presuming it is something that happens within the formal educational system based on teaching. Although there are many ways of teaching and instructing, didactics in general has to do with how to bring students or pupils as learners to a certain predefined or pre-specified level or content of competence or knowledge, to achieving certain learning objectives. There is learning even outside of and independently from didactics, however. What is taught is not always what is learned, and what is learned is often not taught at all. An expanded concept of LLL encompasses all of the above but learning in general and lifelong learning in particular, is wider than them all, something indicated by the differentiation between formal, non-formal, and informal learning. Concepts of learning which are neither research based in a conventional sense nor didactically defined need to be explored, learning new things which are not yet known and cannot simply be pre-specified as learning objectives (Engeström, 2001, p. 133).

Norwegian universities and university colleges have a threefold mission: teaching, research, and ... more Norwegian universities and university colleges have a threefold mission: teaching, research, and a third task or mission. This third task contains everything from popularization to innovation and entrepreneurship, and extensive collaboration with surrounding communities and work life in organized development and learning. This third mission creates large and specific challenges for universities and colleges, not only in Norway, but around the world. At the same time, the third mission is of particular importance for a university college like the HiOA (Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus), with an ambition of becoming a university with a special orientation towards work life and the education of professions.
How to solve the third task of mission optimally, is a question lacking simple answers, not the least because solving it has to happen in close collaboration with surrounding work life and communities. Different ways of solving this task also have different consequences even for the other two tasks – research and teaching – in all the educations and disciplines. Hence, solving the third task creates institutional and organizational but also epistemological and methodological challenges. What kinds of knowledge or ways of knowing, what ways of learning and teaching are relevant and in what ways for a necessary reconfiguration of the “knowledge triangle” of which higher education and research form parts?
Currently, there are several initiatives at the HiOA across faculties which deal with or touch upon this third task: for example Program for Lifelong Learning (PLL), School of Management (SoM), Program for excellence in professional qualification (FPK), the Competence Center for Worklife Inclusion (KAI). The recent integration into the institution of four important institutes for applied social research – NOVA, AFI, NIBR and SIFO – is also quite central to the current picture.
In order to discuss questions and challenges pertaining to the third task, both in general and for the HiOA in peculiar, the Program for Lifelong Learning (PLL) (www.hioa.no/pll ) organizes a conference on September 5th. The conference will be opened by Vice-rector Morteh Irgens. Presentations by professors Yrjö Engeström (Finland), Elena Antonacopoulou (England), Georges Romme (Netherlands), and Olav Eikeland (HiOA). See the attached program.
Conference language is English. Time for questions and discussions is provided. Admission open and free, but in order to have a free lunch, pre-registration is required here:

http://www.hioa.no/…/Fakultet-…/Program-for-livslang-laering

http://www.hioa.no/…/Challenges-with-symbiotic-learning-con…

Open Key-note lectures June 1.-3. 2015, Oslo, HiOA, Pilestredet 46

Conference on Learning – outside the formal educational system and in alternating between formal,... more Conference on Learning – outside the formal educational system and in alternating between formal, informal, and non-formal Learning
Oslo and Akershus University College, June 1-3, 2015

I’m going to talk about what we are trying to do in a current project that the WRI is running in ... more I’m going to talk about what we are trying to do in a current project that the WRI is running in collaboration with a Norwegian medium sized city or town in southern Norway, called Arendal. The collaboration is hardly a year old and still in its beginning. But even so, I would like to share some of the perspectives we (or rather I, since what I say has not been sanctioned by anyone in Arendal) work with and the experiences so far. This project does not deal with what may concern many of you the most; the relations between work life and the pre-work-life-education of young people. It concerns the organization of “life long learning” among people who are already working, their adult and maybe post-graduate education and the relation of all of this to the higher educational institutions in Norway, university colleges mostly.

Dialogkonferanse - hva er det?, 2020

Eikeland, 20191112, YLU, OsloMet, olave@oslomet.no Innovasjonsprosjektet «UBLU 1 » har anvendt så... more Eikeland, 20191112, YLU, OsloMet, olave@oslomet.no Innovasjonsprosjektet «UBLU 1 » har anvendt såkalte «dialogkonferanser» en rekke ganger i løpet av utviklingsarbeidet, for å få fram synspunkter fra bredden av ansatte i de deltakende barnehagene. Prosjektet hadde fra starten av som målsetting å bygge på laerdommene fra den norske medvirkningstradisjonen for utvikling i arbeidslivet som utgjør konteksten hvor dialogkonferansene fikk sin utforming. Dialogkonferansene har gitt viktige innspill til utviklingen av prosjektet og til de løsningene man har anbefalt for å få til et best mulig samarbeid om utdanning av barnehagelaerere mellom barnehagene som arbeidsplasser og OsloMet som utdanningsinstitusjon. I dag (2019) brukes betegnelsen «dialogkonferanse» av mange på mange typer sammenkomster-så mange at det opprinnelige formålet og innholdet av og til blir borte. Både betegnelsen og konferanse-formen har nemlig et opphav, en historie og en struktur eller oppbygning som er viktig å kjenne til. Det er på den ene siden et viktig poeng med dialogkonferansene at utformingen av hver samling bør tilpasses konkret til formål, deltakere, tid til rådighet, handlingsmuligheter o.l. På den andre siden er det imidlertid også viktig å kjenne til hvordan dialogkonferansens form ble utviklet og tilpasset dens opprinnelige formål, slik at tilpasningene til de konkrete utfordringene og mulighetene man står overfor ikke mister formålet av syne. Alle utforminger er ikke like gode. Dette er utgangspunktet for teksten som gir en orientering om hvor begrepet og betegnelsen «dialogkonferanse» kommer fra og deres opprinnelige betydning.

Developing action research as native-practitioner research through immanent critique, 2019

Developing action research as native-practitioner research through immanent critique Olav Eikelan... more Developing action research as native-practitioner research through immanent critique Olav Eikeland, olaveik@icloud.com / olave@oslomet.no This will be a conceptual exercise or rather a preface to such an exercise. My subject (cf. the title) is not only action research and immanent critique, relating them externally as separate "entities". It is action research as immanent critique, and vice versa: immanent critique as action research: A merger of the two, if you like. This doesn't mean that everything called action research is immanent critique nor does it even mean that all action research should or ought to be immanent critique in order to deserve the designation "action research". It does mean however, that immanent critique, in my opinion, is a certain kind of action research, among many legitimately different kinds. But I also think that immanent critique coincides with something close to a core of action research. To borrow a term from modern chaos-theory and systems-thinking, I think immanent critique works as a kind of subconscious "attractor" from within many different forms of action research practices. This means it is a "figure" or "way-of-doing-something" immanent to and emerging from within action research practices (and other practices); it works as an immanent standard of measurement, if you like. I realize that these are quite comprehensive claims, of course. My purpose, then, is to explain why I think this is the case in less than 15 minutes, which is difficult and probably impossible, but I will try. There is a real chance that such a compressed message might become somewhat incomprehensible, but the presentation can be read afterwards. As for my background, I have been involved with action research roughly since the early 1980s, both practically and theoretically, or, to be more precise, practically, methodologically, and philosophically.

RWL 11: Researching Work and Learning, 2019

I will present what I have reluctantly called a “model” for exactly “a progressive, sustainable a... more I will present what I have reluctantly called a “model” for exactly “a progressive, sustainable and humanistic configuring of enterprises as spaces for learning”. It is probably more of a practical approach and a way of thinking, however, based on broad participation from “stakeholders”, that is, from people and groups who are referred to each other for finding solutions to challenges. The approach is both simple and complex (which I will try to explain), and although it has much broader and longer conceptual roots and ramifications, it is, in certain ways, the result of several decades – from the middle of the 1960s to the beginning of the 2000s – of collaborative research and development work between employers’ associations, unions, local employees and stakeholders, and researchers in Norway (cf. Levin et al. 2012, Eikeland, 2012a; 2017). The approach is not very well, or, at least not sufficiently known among researchers internationally, however.

Proceedings of the 23rd World Congress of Philosophy, 2018

no / oleik@online.no, www.hioa.no / http://hioa.academia.edu/OlavEikeland Abstract: The original ... more no / oleik@online.no, www.hioa.no / http://hioa.academia.edu/OlavEikeland Abstract: The original article (Eikeland, 1998, in Norwegian) is a detailed study of anamnesis or recollection in Plato and Aristotle showing first how recollection is relevant for the understanding of central aspects of the philosophy Aristotle, and then discussing how the " regained " Platonic-Aristotelian concept of anamnesis can be related to current methodological challenges in modern social research. After having received feedback on the original article from David Bloch who has recently (2007) translated and commented the Aristotelian text " on memory and recollection " , I have decided to rewrite it in English. I would like to present it at the WCP 2013 in Athens in the workshop on the philosophy of education.

Olav Eikeland, AFI Kjære forsamling. Jeg har fått og påtatt meg en oppgave som ser ut til å ha bl... more Olav Eikeland, AFI Kjære forsamling. Jeg har fått og påtatt meg en oppgave som ser ut til å ha blitt umulig å løse fordi den ble for populaer. Jeg skulle nemlig ikke bare ha snakket om dialogens plass i brukermedvirkningen. I tillegg skulle jeg-og vi-ha praktisert og demonstrert dialog. Da jeg fikk høre at over 300 hadde meldt seg på dette verkstedet, ble jeg riktig nok smigret, men jeg slo samtidig fra meg praktiseringen. Det har jeg gjort med støtte fra den kanskje største, i hvertfall var han den første, dialogiske mester, nemlig Sokrates. Selv om det faktisk er feil å oppfatte dialog som en samtale mellom kun to personer, så avviser Sokrates i følge Platons dialog Gorgias (474 A), prinsipielt muligheten for å føre dialog med " mengden ". Å tale til en forsamling er ikke dialog, men en annen sjanger, behandlet av retorikken som fag. Bare én gang lar Platon Sokrates tale til " mengden " , og det er i forsvarstalen foran en jury på mange hundre mann som sto i ferd med å dømme ham til døden. Det er aldri flere enn 3-4 med i Platons skriftlige dialoger, og Sokrates selv krever naermest øyekontakt med enkeltindivider som involveres argumentativt i samtalen, for å kunne forfølge det som blir sagt og gå det etter i sømmene. Laerdom nummer én er altså: Det finnes viktige ting som ødelegges av smiger og popularitet! I stedet for å praktisere dialog, skal jeg derfor foredra uten noen audiovisuelle hjelpemidler i ca. 45 minutter. Det kan forhåpentligvis tjene som utgangspunkt for en samtale med noen av dere etterpå.

Dette er en forløpig prosjektskisse med utspring i arbeidet innenfor det NFR-støttede HIKK-prosje... more Dette er en forløpig prosjektskisse med utspring i arbeidet innenfor det NFR-støttede HIKK-prosjektet ved HiO. Skissen / sammendraget skal etterfølges av en mer utførlig prosjektbeskrivelse. Målet med prosjektet " symbiotisk laeringssystem " er å bygge / videreutvikle / styrke en infrastruktur mellom HiO og arbeidslivet som fremmer systematisk arbeid med laering, forskning og utvikling, både på HiO, i virksomhetene og i samarbeidet mellom disse. En modell som kan anvendes på bred basis planlegges utprøvd og utviklet i samarbeid med FoU-enhetens post på Ullevål universitetssykehus (UUS). Prosjektet har samlet støtte fra dekaner og studieledere på avdeling for helsefag (HF), avdeling for sykepleie (SU) og avdeling for økonomi, kommunal og sosialfag (ØKS) ved HiO, og fra ledere ved den aktuelle divisjon / enhet ved UUS. Prosjektskissen har sitt utspring i prosjektet " HiO innovasjonskultur og kompetanse " (HIKK), et toårig forprosjekt støttet av NFRs program naeringsrettet HøgskoleSatsing (nHS). nHS skal stimulere til kompetansesamarbeid mellom naeringslivet og statlige høgskoler og tilføre bedrifter ny kompetanse ved at bedrifter og statlige høgskoler arbeider sammen i utviklingsprosjekter. Målet er å styrke bedriftenes forutsetninger for økt satsing på FoU-relatert innovasjon. Et av målene for prosjektet HIKK er å støtte opp under organisasjonsmessige endringer som styrker høgskolens arbeid innen innovasjon. Hovedmålet for HIKK er: " gjennom internt holdningsskapende arbeid, kulturpåvirkning og laering på tvers av fagmiljøer å styrke naeringsrelevansen innen FoU og utdanning. Videre å etablere og teste ut modeller for samarbeidsprosjekter og bidra til institusjonell endring som fører til at flere ansatte og studenter ved høgskolen inngår i regionale innovasjonsprosjekter ". Det er forventninger om at forprosjektet følges opp av flere søknader fra HiO til nHS og andre program under NFR. NFR har under utvikling et nytt program, Bred Arena. Dette tenkes å favne bredt og gi rom for søknader som ikke naturlig faller på plass under eksisterende programmer. Dette programområdet kan vaere godt tilpasset vårt prosjekt. Det kan også vaere aktuelt for prosjekter med innovasjonsprofil å søke støtte fra EUs 7.rammeprogram. Universiteter og høgskoler er pålagt en " tredje oppgave " ved siden av undervisning og forskning: bidra til utvikling og innovasjon i omkringliggende samfunn og arbeidsliv. HiO's HIKK-prosjekt arbeider med prosjekter innenfor høgskolens arbeid med den såkalte " tredje oppgave " , en oppgave som imidlertid må ses i sammenheng med de andre to hovedoppgavene. Dette krever en annerledes og naerere kontakt mellom høgskole og arbeidsliv. Finne og Hubak (2004:iii) konkluderer sin utredning for NFR med at verken en gammel lineaer overføringsmodell eller en ren bestiller-og oppdragsforskningsmodell løser utfordringene som reises av nye krav til samhandling for innovasjon mellom FoU-institusjoner og arbeidsliv. Det er felles for mange etablerte modeller at 1) forskning foregår fra institusjoner adskilt fra praksis, 2) folk " ferdigutdannes " som unge og deretter jobber, 3) laering er tenkt som tilegnelse av kunnskap produsert av andre, og

Presentation at the Tilos Conference, July 3, 2017

ARE WE HEADING FOR A MAJOR PARADIGM SHIFT? There is hardly anything more heretical in today’s sci... more ARE WE HEADING FOR A MAJOR PARADIGM SHIFT? There is hardly anything more heretical in today’s science dominated Western culture than questioning basic ontological assumptions in mainstream science, by many considered almost inseparable from scientific methods and a scientific attitude. It is even more heretical when done without resorting to any given religion as an “alternative”. But it is possible to separate “scientism”, which identifies science with its current theories, from science as open and undogmatic inquiry and methods.

Presentation at the World Congress "Aristotle 2400 Years, Thessaloniki, 26.05.2016

THE PASSION FOR LEARNING AND KNOWING Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Organizational Learning and Knowledge, 2005

Past Passions, Passed Passions? Since the main theme of the Trento conference is the passion for ... more Past Passions, Passed Passions?
Since the main theme of the Trento conference is the passion for learning and knowing, I will write personally, and start by quoting myself from 1974, when I was still a teenage student at an extraordinary, experimental high school (FGB) in Norway.

Aristotle's mirror, 2021

Let me start by saying that what follows might be a heavy listening exercise for some. This is wh... more Let me start by saying that what follows might be a heavy listening exercise for some. This is why I decided to do this in the old-fashioned, academic way by what was previously correctly called "reading a paper" at a conference. The paper will be available for you to read afterwards. I also have a few slides, which I hope will help. In the end, however, my main subject, the importance of Aristotle's mirror for RPL, is a complex subject, and, maybe, for some, it might just end up as a rather incomprehensible exercise in Greek concepts. My point is: you never quite know where and how whatever you're saying will hit people. So, I guess I'm just wishing both you and myself good luck! The UCN-platform The UCN has defined what I guess might be called its "educational identity" through a concept of Reflective Practice-based Learning or RPL. This RPL-approach or-platform was summarized by Stine Bylin Bundgaard from the UCN, in a recent presentation I had the pleasure of attending on-line (ref), as consisting in six distinct "stages" or "phases" (slide 1). I have translated them as: 1 experiences (opplevelser og erfaringer), 2 suitable disturbances (passende forstyrrelser), 3 exploration (utforskning), 4 the good example (det gode eksempel), 5 collaboration or cooperation (samarbeid), and finally 6 dialog. According to the UCN's so-called "white paper" (hvidbog), the principles

In the Program distributed for this conference, it says I will speak about the Program for lifelo... more In the Program distributed for this conference, it says I will speak about the Program for lifelong learning, that is, the PLL, and its challenges, and I will. I guess it won’t be a big surprise, however, to say that the title and the subtitle for the conference, are the challenges for the PLL as well as for our whole institution and for our kind of institutions in general. I’ll read the title and subtitle slowly: Main title: Challenges with “symbiotic learning”. Subtitle: Institutional, organizational, methodological, and epistemological challenges with reorganizing for extensive and systematic collaboration between formal higher education and non-formal and informal learning in work life and society. Although it goes without saying, I will say it: These are quite comprehensive challenges. I will use my 20 minutes trying to explain the meaning of these formulations and to translate some of them into slightly more ordinary language.
It’s all about the third task.
The conference mail-invitation to everyone at the HiOA (Oslo and Akershus University College / Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus), says the challenge is all about the third mission or task for the institutions of higher education in Norway, and in a way it is. Norwegian public universities and university colleges do have a threefold mandatory mission: teaching, research, and a third task or mission. The third task contains everything from popularization to innovation and entrepreneurship, and extensive collaboration with surrounding communities and work life in organized development and learning. The third mission creates large and specific challenges for universities and colleges, not only in Norway but around the world. At the same time, the third mission is of particular importance for institutions like the HiOA, mostly educating for professional practice, and with ambitions of developing as universities with a special orientation towards work life and the field of professional practice.
But how to solve the third task or mission optimally, is a question lacking simple answers due to its comprehensive and variegated character and because solving it has to happen in close collaboration with surrounding work life and communities. It also creates challenges because different ways of solving this task have different consequences even for the other two tasks – research and teaching – in all the educations and disciplines. The three tasks are not separate silos. They are interconnected. Hence, solving the third task creates institutional and organizational but also epistemological and methodological challenges. The questions are: What kinds of knowledge or ways of knowing, what ways of learning and teaching, are relevant and in what ways, for a necessary reconfiguration of the “knowledge triangle” (of research, education, and innovation) of which higher education and research form parts?
So, as it says in the subtitle, there are challenges in many fields. The challenge is institutional, because it concerns the relations to our surroundings and the mutual readjustment and reconfiguration of all three tasks, by looking at how different solutions of the third task influence the two other main tasks, research and teaching. It concerns what the Norwegian Employers Association (NHO) has coined as “læringslivet” or “the learning life”, with an excellent equivocal pun in Norwegian, which unfortunately doesn’t translate easily into English. It concerns how to organize socially, or societally, in order for everyone and every organized activity to learn and improve all the way through life, both individually and collectively. The challenge is also definitely organizational, since finding ways of organizing and reorganizing appropriately for the third task internally at institutions of higher education, is a big challenge. I’ll return briefly to this at the end, concerning our own institution. The challenge is also clearly educational, as different educational courses seek to collaborate and share responsibility for education and learning with work-life and communities through so-called “university-schools”, “educational kindergartens”, “enterprise-masters” or other similar terms, partly inspired by “university-hospitals” collaborating with universities in educating physicians. It’s educational also by...

Forskningspolitikk

En annen fortid Etter den nylige oversettelsen av Graeber & Wengrows (G&Ws) The dawn of everythin... more En annen fortid
Etter den nylige oversettelsen av Graeber & Wengrows (G&Ws) The dawn of everything (2021, på norsk som Begynnelsen til alt) og Wengrows forelesning 19.oktober i år i Universitetets aula i Oslo, skrev Marit K. Slotnes i Morgenbladet (42): «Hvis en annen fortid er mulig, kan fremtiden også se annerledes ut.» Det er litt av en utfordring. Hvordan er det mulig, og har det noen politisk enn si forskningspolitisk betydning?
G&W gjør opp med historie- og utviklingsmetafysiske, skjematiske og lineæreoppfatninger av hvordan forhistoriske og førmoderne kulturer og samfunn har vært «primitive», enten i Hobbes’ naturtilstand av «alles krig mot alle» eller i Rousseaus likestilte og harmoniske urtilstand i smågrupper.
Hobbes’ Leviathan hevder å ivareta en sivilisatorisk fellesinteresse ved å disiplinere alle autoritært, siden de ikke kan styre seg selv. Rousseaus urparadis ødelegges på sin side av den samme sivilisasjonens disiplinerende krav. Begge likestiller «sivilisasjon» med jordbruksrevolusjon og statsdannelser gjennom bydannelser basert på hierarki, arbeidsdeling og strukturell og sosial skjevfordeling av makt og velstand.