It takes a village: Developing action researchers through a transdisciplinary peer-learning collaborative

Authors

Keywords:

higher education, action research, research training

Abstract

This paper reports on the Participatory Action Research (PAR) Collaborative, an innovative Higher Degree Research (HDR) student development program established in 2023 at an Australian university. The initiative explored ways action research training can be integrated into HDR programs and provided a cross-faculty forum for training and peer exchange. Activities included monthly sessions, expert presentations, peer reading groups, and an online course covering action research theories, ethics, and practical challenges. This paper presents an analysis of the first two cohorts’ experiences. Participants highlighted the benefits of peer learning across faculties, access to multiple informal supervisors, and increased confidence from hearing successful student stories. The findings indicate that while action research training is both feasible and valued, it requires dedicated resourcing and institutional support. Effective implementation appears to depend on cross-faculty collaboration and a diversity of student experience levels, suggesting potential for new models of HDR supervision and development across disciplines.

Author Biographies

Susanne, University of Technology Sydney

As a transdisciplinary researcher, educator, artist and techno-scientific muser Dr Susanne Pratt explores how creative practice can foster social and environmental responsibility, with an emphasis on futures-oriented research to improve collective flourishing and responsible innovation. Susanne has both teaching and practical experience in art, digital storytelling, futures studies, innovative social research methods, public engagement, environmental humanities, feminist politics of care, transdisciplinary pedagogy and science & technology studies (STS). Susanne currently teaches across a range of transdisciplinary subjects including subjects on envisioning futures, science fiction, creative methods and entrepreneurial initiatives and the past, present and future of innovation. Her creative work has been internationally exhibited in various forms, including digital storytelling, convergent media installations, site-specific sound works, urban design proposals and participatory events. At the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) she co-founded the xFutures Lab in 2018. The lab is a transdisciplinary project that consolidates futures-oriented research, teaching, and creative practices to develop new models of socially responsible innovation and value sensitive design of emerging technologies.

Shankar, University of Technology Sydney

Shankar is a Professor of Organisational Project Management at the School of the Built Environment and a Core Member of the Robotics Institute in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology and member of the Industry Transformation Research Stream at my School. He is also a core member of the UTS Climate Society. and Environment Research Centre (C-SERC) at my faculty. He joined UTS in 2006.


The research areas where he is creating an impact are Project Governance and Sociotechnical Systems.

His current research responsibility is as a Chief Investigator of the ARC Research Hub for Human-Robot Teaming for Sustainable and Resilient Construction. His role in this research hub is to develop sociotechnical systems principles to guide the development of human robot teaming solutions for industry.

 

Pernille, University of Technology Sydney

Associate Professor Pernille H. Christensen received her Ph.D. in Planning, Design the Built Environment from Clemson University in South Carolina, USA. She also holds a Master of City and Regional Planning and Master of Architecture degrees from Clemson University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Mississippi State University. She has over twenty years of experience in the built environment spanning a mix of planning and design practice, financial services, and academic research experience. She has conducted research projects for industry, professional bodies, government, and quasi-government agencies, domestically and internationally. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, her research over the past decade has centred on urban sustainability and resilience, specifically focusing on strategies for improving community resilience to social and environmental disruptions and the role that the built environment plays in helping cities to mitigate impacts of these events as well as meeting targets in these areas.

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Published

29-12-2025

How to Cite

Heggart, K., Pratt, S., Sankaran, S., & Christensen, P. (2025). It takes a village: Developing action researchers through a transdisciplinary peer-learning collaborative. Action Learning and Action Research Journal, 31(2), 73–111. Retrieved from https://alarj.alarassociation.org/index.php/alarj/article/view/485

Issue

Vol. 31 No. 2 (2025): ALARj Vol 31 No 2 December 2025

Section

Articles

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