AHRD Webinar: Action Research for Engaged Scholarship in HRD

October 14, 2026 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM (CDT)

Description

Action Research for Engaged Scholarship in HRD
Moderated by Dr. Yonjoo Cho (UT Tyler)

Background: The use of action research in HRD is dismal as indicated by Cho et al. (2022): four HRD journals (ADHR, EJTD, HRDI, and HRDQ) publishing empirical research have published only four articles using action research between 2015 and 2020. This low presence of action research in HRD is concerning as it is considered a great tool for engaged scholarship (Hoffman, 2021; Van de Ven, 2007;), aiming for collaborative approaches between researchers and practitioners (Coghlan et al., 2025; McLean, 2017; Moore & Cho, 2026) to solve the workplace challenges (Kroese, 2023; Moore & Cho, 2024; Moore et al., 2026) and to bring about impactful HRD research (Kown et al., 2024) and education (Watkins et al., 2023).

Purpose:

• To share the experiences of scholars and scholar-practitioners concerning how action research is understood and used for HRD research, practice, and education
• To explore ways to get action research up and running for HRD research, practice, and education

Learning Objectives: Attendees will be able to:

• Better understand what action research is and why it is important in HRD
• Situate action research to bridge the gap between research and practice
• Explore ways to use action research for HRD research, practice, and education

Invited Guests: 

• Dr. David Coughlan, Fellow Emeritus at the Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
• Dr. Gary N. McLean, Professor Emeritus at University of Minnesota
• Dr. Karen Watkins, Professor of Learning, Leadership and Organizational Development at The University of Georgia
• Dr. Ingeborg Kroese, Visiting Fellow at the Open University, UK
• Dr. Erica Gilbertson, Director of Organizational Impact for the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement
• Dr. Kesiena Ebenade, Adjunct Professor at the National College of Ireland and Organizational Development and Capability practitioner, Irland
• Dr. Kelly Moore, Adjunct Professor in HRD at the University of Texas at Tyler

Webinar Format: The moderator Dr. Cho will ask guests questions concerning their experiences with the use of action research, challenges, and opportunities, and call for open discussion for all

• Greetings (5 min)
• Conversations with guests (25 min)
• Open discussion for all (20 min)
• Reflection and closing (5 min)

References

Cho, Y., Grenier, R., & Williams, P. (2022). Introduction: Innovation in qualitative research in HRD. European Journal of Training and Development, 46(7/8), 685-692. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-05-2022-0058

Coghlan, D., Shani, A. B., & Bartunek, J. (2025). Becoming a collaborative Scholar: A metalogue. Journal of Management Inquiry, 34(1), 126-135. https://doi.org/10.1177/10564926241249836

Hoffman, A. J. (2021). The engaged scholar: Explaining the impact of academic research in today’s world. Stanford Briefs.

Kroese, I. (2023). Implications for practice: How to write a meaningful contribution. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 25(3), 213–220. https://doi.org/10.1177/15234223231176058  

Kwon, C.-k., Han, H, & Cho, Y. (2024). The emperor has no clothes: Toward more impactful HRD research [Special issue on transformation of HRD: Change is coming]. Human Resource Development International, 27(5), 702-716. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2024.2399491

McLean, G. N. (2017). Continuous improvement in international or global HRD research.

Human Resource Development International, 20(5), 415–421. https://doi.org/10.1080/

13678868.2016.1188585

Moore, K., & Cho, Y. (2024). How can we bridge the research-practice gap? Let’s hear from HR practitioners! [Special issue on transformation of HRD: Change is coming]. Human Resource Development International, 27(5), 717-740. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2024.2396782

Moore, K., & Cho, Y. (2026). What are we learning about the research-practice gap from HRD scholars and HRD scholar-practitioners? Human Resource Development Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.70019

Moore, K., Cho, Y., & Kroese, I. (2026). Behind the scenes: A qualitative look at HR practitioners’ daily work. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and performance. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-08-2025-0746

Van de Ven, A. 2007). Chapter 1: Engaged scholarship in a professional school. Engaged scholarship: A guide for organizational and social research. Oxford University Press.

Watkins, K. E., Gilbertson, E., & Nicolaides, A. (2023). The action research dissertation: Learning from leading change. Myers Education Press, LLC.

Bios

Moderator

Dr. Yonjoo Cho is a professor of HRD at UT Tyler. She has taught in two institutions: Indiana University (Bloomington) and UT Tyler, and conducted research on action learning in organizations, international HRD, and women in leadership. To bridge research and practice, she has co-authored articles on action learning in Korean companies with practitioners, conducted interviews with almost 200 Korean women leaders in diverse organizations, and taught graduate students how to work with clients to solve their workplace issues using project-based learning. She has served as a board member of the AHRD 2016-2018 and Editor-in-Chief of Human Resource Development Review 2020-2023 (Impact Factor: 6.4 in 2023).

Invited Guests 

Dr. David Coghlan is a Fellow Emeritus at the Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. He specializes in organization development and action research and is active in both communities internationally. He is the author of Doing Action Research in Your Own Organization and is co-editor of The Sage Encyclopedia of Action Research. His current book is: How to conduct transdisciplinary research for transformational action and knowledge co-production (with P. Coughlan & S. Cannon, 2026).

Dr. Gary N. McLean (EdD, PhD hon, MDiv, MA, BA) is a professor emeritus, HRD, at the University of Minnesota, and a former professor at Texas A&M University; the International Islamic University, Malaysia; Assumption University, Bangkok; and the National Institute for Development Administration (NIDA), Bangkok. He is a past editor of several refereed journals and served as President of AHRD and IMDA. He was President of McLean Global Consulting, a family business, and was active in OD for over 50 years. He has authored or co-edited almost 40 books, including award-winning books in OD and HRD in Vietnam. He has a lifelong interest in gender and international OD and HRD research.

Dr. Karen E. Watkins is Professor of Learning, Leadership and Organizational Development at The University of Georgia (UGA). Karen’s scholarly interests include organizational learning assessment, informal and incidental learning, and action research and action science. Watkins & Marsick developed and validated the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (1997) used in several hundred published studies. Watkins is the author or co-author of 89 articles, 83 chapters, and 11 books including The Action Research Dissertation: Learning through Leading Change. Named Scholar of the Year by AHRD, she was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame and the AHRD Scholar Hall of Fame. One of the founding presidents of AHRD, she is currently President of the Board of Trustees of the Geneva Learning Foundation in Switzerland and co-founder of the Generative Learning and Complexity Laboratory at UGA.

Dr. Ingeborg Kroese is a scholar-practitioner and Visiting Fellow at the Open University, UK. Her academic work focuses on the diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) of learning and development (L&D) programs, with publications in journals such as Gender, Work & Organization, Human Resource Management Review, and Management Learning. As a practitioner, Ingeborg designs and delivers L&D programs globally, and she supports L&D professionals in creating inclusive, accessible, and equitable learning environments through workshops, webinars, conferences, podcasts, and publications. She brings over 15 years of corporate experience in sales, management, and leadership, along with 20 years as an L&D professional. She has worked in Pakistan, the UAE, the UK, Austria, and the Netherlands. Her work bridges academic research and business practice, with a focus on inclusive L&D.

Dr. Erica Gilbertson is the Director of Organizational Impact for the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement (GLISI), a leadership development organization that serves the US Georgia’s public schools.  She has worked in education field in many roles for more than 30 years, including public service faculty at the University of Georgia (UGA) where she led school-university partnership initiatives for nearly a decade. She earned her Doctorate in Leadership, and Organizational Development from UGA in 2022. Her action research dissertation focused on the role of school-university partnerships in new teacher support, for which she was awarded the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Professional Development Schools SIG Graduate Scholar Dissertation Award. She co-authored the book The Action Research Dissertation: Learning through Leading Change, as well as 6 book chapters and 3 articles, including Action Research.

Dr. Kesiena Ebenade is Adjunct Professor at the National College of Ireland and Organisational Development and Capability practitioner with over 19 years’ experience. She holds a Doctorate from the University of Greater Manchester (formerly University of Bolton), where her research focused on action research and learning organizations. She has held senior roles at Veolia Ireland, Sport Ireland and British Telecommunications Sourced, and has taught undergraduate and postgraduate HRM programs since 2020. She serves on advisory boards for ACSDE and Phase Innovate Ireland. Her research has been published in leading journals, with her Action Research publication receiving the Highly Commended Emerald Literati Award for Excellence.

Dr. Kelly Moore is an adjunct professor in Human Resource Development (HRD) at the University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler). Before entering academia, she worked for over 30 years in manufacturing as an HR and EHS leader, holding SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications. Her research focuses on bridging the research–practice gap in HRD through action research, with projects examining therapy dog interventions for teacher well-being. She is a co-author of How Can We Bridge the Research-Practice Gap? Let’s Hear from HR Practitioners! (Human Resource Development International), Behind the Scenes: A Qualitative Look at HR Practitioners’ Daily Work (Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance); and What Are We Learning About the Research-Practice Gap from HRD Scholars and HRD Scholar-Practitioners (Human Resource Development Quarterly). She has presented her work at UFHRD, AHRD, and the East Texas HR Association Symposium.