Changing the world is easy. Changing the Academy is hard: Systemic Action Research and the recreation of higher education

In his book, Imagining the University, Ronald Barnett calls for the creation of “feasible utopias of the university” that, while not yet realized, “there are good ground for believing that they could be realized in some way” (2013, p. 160). Action Research provides a process for creating these new models of higher education. In fact, Action Research is already engaged with notions of utopia (Nielsen & Svensson, 2006) and with creating alternative ways of understanding and enacting teaching and learning with the goal of creating positive social, economic, and political change within the context of organizations and communities. What is needed now is a way of bringing these efforts at effecting change within higher education together in order that they might inform, support, and challenge one another and to speak more coherently and forcefully to the larger higher education community. Systemic action research provides a strategy for linking existing and emerging action research projects aimed at fundamentally reshaping higher education by creating an international network focused on creating “whole system change” (Burns, 2007, p. 1) in higher education. As Danny Burns describes the process, “effective whole system change has to be underpinned by processes of in-depth inquiry, multi-stakeholder analysis, experimental action and experiential learning, enacted across a wide terrain. Systemic action research offers a learning architecture for this sort of change process.” This process can begin in research centers and other units, enclaves within larger academic organizations, which can serve as sites for innovative learning and as transitional settings for larger institutional change (Friedman, 2011). What links these efforts is a common values stance of action research which has been defined as, “a respect for people and for the knowledge and experience they bring to the research process, a belief in the ability of democratic processes to achieve positive social change, and a commitment to action” (Brydon-Miller, Greenwood, and Maguire, 2003, p. 15). This symposium brings together Burns’ work on Systemic Action Research, Friedman’s discussions of enclaves, and the literature on ethics and values in action research (Brydon-Miller, ; Hilsen, 2006), along with specific examples of feasible utopias of the university founded in an action research framework already in existence to open a dialogue about creating a more explicit and visible network of such projects and practitioners in a Systemic Action Research process aimed at achieving fundamental reforms in higher education (Greenwood, 2007). References: Brydon-Miller, M. (2008). Ethics and action research: Deepening our commitment to principles of social justice and redefining systems of democratic practice. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook of action research (2nd ed.) (pp. 199-210). London: SAGE Publications Brydon-Miller, M. (2009). Covenantal ethics and action research: Exploring a common foundation for social research. In D. Mertens & P. Ginsberg (Eds.), Handbook of social research ethics (pp. 243-258). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications. Brydon-Miller, M., Greenwood, D., & Maguire, P (2003). Why action research? Action Research, 1(1), 9- 28. Burns, D. (2013). Systemic action research: A strategy for whole system change. Bristol, UK: Policy Press. Greenwood, D. (2007). Teaching/learning action research requires fundamental reforms in public higher education. Action Research, 5(3), 249-264. Friedman, V. (2011). Revisiting social space: Relational thinking about organizational change. Research and Organizational Change and Development, 19, 233-257. Hilsen, A. I. (2006). And they shall be known by their deeds. Action Research, 4(1) 23-36. Nielsen, K. A. & Svensson, L. (Eds.) (2006). Action research and interactive research. London: Shaker Publishing