The theme for this Special Issue arose from a session at the 2018 Action Learning Conference, where Sonja Antell and Ruth Cook talked about their projects focused on urgent social issues such as poverty, homelessness and food insecurity. It was reminiscent of Revans’ characterisation of action learning as Helping Each Other to Help the Helpless (1982, 457–492). Revans’ ambition extended well beyond management education to the improvement of the organisations and systems that we depend on and ultimately the societies in which we live. The session came alive for me because of the focus upon social improvement, upon, if you wish, the desire to make the world a better place. Fittingly, the conference was being held in Liverpool, in the world’s 5th richest nation, where monuments to industry, empire and slavery mingle with the more recent signs of neglect and decay including homeless people on the streets. Much of what is called action learning today is for personal and career development rather than for organisational and social improvement. This perhaps reflects an era infused by the individualistic ethos of market fundamentalism and so-called neo-liberalism (Edmonstone 2019), where the social takes a back seat to the quest for personal success.

中文翻译：

---

关于社会行动

本期特刊的主题源自 2018 年行动学习会议的一次会议，会上 Sonja Antell 和 Ruth Cook 谈到了他们的项目，重点关注紧迫的社会问题，如贫困、无家可归和粮食不安全。这让人想起 Revans 将行动学习描述为互相帮助以帮助无助者 (1982, 457–492)。瑞文斯的雄心远不止管理教育，还包括改善我们所依赖的组织和系统，并最终改善我们所生活的社会。由于关注社会改善，如果您愿意，也关注让世界变得更美好的愿望，因此会议对我来说变得生动起来。恰如其分地，会议在利物浦举行，在世界第五富有的国家，工业纪念碑，帝国和奴隶制与最近的忽视和衰败迹象混合在一起，包括街头无家可归的人。今天大部分所谓的行动学习是为了个人和职业发展，而不是为了组织和社会进步。这或许反映了一个充满市场原教旨主义和所谓的新自由主义（埃德蒙斯通，2019 年）的个人主义精神的时代，社会在追求个人成功方面退居次要位置。