Abstract:
The Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) offers, inter alia, an advanced
management development programme for health care managers in the public and
private sector, sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) and co-certified by Yale University in the United States (US). The focus is
on professional development and transformational leadership. Authentic learning
opportunities are created that focus on deep learning in the work context. Portfolio
assessment is used. A developmental portfolio is compiled by the health care managers
enrolled in the programme. The developmental process is underpinned by the principles
of action research. Managers are self-empowered to take responsibility for investigating
the transformation of their management practice as a measure of self-driven quality
assurance. In most cases the action research process becomes educational to both
the manager and his/her colleagues participating in the project. In this way a culture
of professional organisational learning is created and maintained. This article reports
on a number of case studies of health care managers who conducted action research
in an array of health-related contexts, covering health science fields such as HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis and capacity building programmes to create learning organisations and
community engagement projects. The lessons learned by the managers regarding the
innovative ideas they experimented with in their specific contexts can be transferred to
other managers and action research scholars. All these case studies provide evidence
of knowledge being created in authentic contexts. These case studies are reported as
scholarly endeavour to showcase the empowering and emancipating nature of action
research and the contribution it makes to the existing body of knowledge in different
fields in which health care managers have to operate.
