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The purpose of this paper is to present an introduction to the special issue on the subject of innovative practice in the teaching and learning of HRD.

The paper positions the special issue within a context of issues and dilemmas facing those who teach and train HRD. Ten papers are introduced which reflect a wide ranging and changing landscape of professional practice.

The paper introduces innovative practice within a context of a particular challenge facing teachers and trainers of HRD. There is a unique relationship between subject matter and the very teaching learning and assessment strategies used to deliver such content.

There is limited published research into the teaching and learning of HRD. The paper provides a basis for the special issue's contribution to an initial understanding of innovative practice in teaching and learning of HRD and, importantly, in encouraging a higher profile for the discussion of research and practice implications.

This paper aims to present an alternative and critical view of online learning for and by HRD professionals.

This paper is positioned as a conceptual reflection regarding practical implications not frequently considered with regard to implementing online learning systems.

This paper contends that many of the practical reasons for implementing online learning (accessibility, power equalization, and cost reduction) have fatal flaws.

This paper suggests that researchers broaden their perspectives beyond the assumption that using online learning is the goal to be achieved with regard to teaching and learning HRD. Both traditional and critical perspectives of online learning should be more thoroughly explored through empirical research.

Few conceptual or empirical works challenge the unquestioned hegemony of the appeal of online learning, especially within the field of HRD. This reflection will hopefully serve as a catalyst for research that challenges unquestioned assumptions about online learning as a cutting edge innovation for teaching and learning HRD.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how professional skills training in making ethical decisions for redundancy selection, can be utilised though interactive role play, in a virtual learning environment.

A pilot study was undertaken with a group of part time mature students pursuing a professional development programme. The pilot was based on the CLE concept using a virtual learning environment (VLE) and involved ethical decision making in a redundancy scenario. Data was gathered through the VLE “log” and through a focus group interview.

Evidence is provided of the suitability of the CLE approach in this context. Additionally, the findings suggest that the use of a virtual learning environment for CLE raises a number of different issues for the management and motivation of participants. Virtual interaction of this nature creates different timescales, degrees of confidence and levels of anonymity than found with more traditional face‐to‐face training. This has an impact on behaviour and requires recognition and management by HRD facilitators.

The study was based on a small‐scale pilot and has not been retested.

The findings provide practical implications for further design in using CLE in redundancy selection. Furthermore, clinics for a variety of scenarios both in the workplace and educational settings could be based on this approach.

The paper provides discussion of an innovative approach in an HRD context. These concepts have been not used extensively in the HRD field when trying to address learning and skills development in ethical decision making in practice.

This paper seeks to challenge the view that student part time employment detracts from academic attainment and presents evidence that when linked to formal undergraduate study provides rich learning experiences. It also explores the extent to which formerly accepted pre‐requisites for work based learning (WBL) apply in this model and how the workplace adds value to student learning, while essentially being a source of income through low level and not necessarily degree related employment.

The authors explore the literature on WBL, most of which refers to a model that differs in form to the one described here. The paper draws on small‐scale research data on the student experience, gathered through tutorial groups, sample interviews and a reflective essay. This data was analysed against both pre‐determined and emergent themes.

There is clear evidence of benefits to students from this form of WBL, both in their studies and learning skills, which were anticipated, but also in their performance, job satisfaction, reward and prospects in the workplace, which were not.

This study suggests that student part time employment, derived from economic necessity can deliver real benefits to students and reduce some of the limitations of classroom based HRD learning by using a Virtual Learning Environment to link the University's academic delivery with the student workplace. This has implications not only for how academics regard the workplace as a vehicle for learning but also for how HRD students and practitioners might view the training and development of part‐time/casual (student) employees.

There is very little published research on this form of work based learning.

This paper aims to explore the introduction of a new experience‐based learning process in the learning and teaching of human resource development (HRD) within a professionally accredited curriculum in a UK University.

An action enquiry approach is taken, and qualitative data gathered over a full academic year from tutors and students are analysed to examine how those involved made sense of and learned about HRD.

Influences on the experience of an innovative HRD pedagogy are identified as: assessment processes and expectations; relationships and behaviours within the learning and teaching process; the experienced emotions of those involved; and the extent to which students feel clarity about what is expected.

The qualitative nature of the data and the focus on one particular UK institutional taught module limits the generalisability; in particular, the experience of full‐time students or those involved in courses that focus exclusively on HRD outside of UK are not incorporated.

Attention to assessment processes is an essential pre‐requisite to any pedagogic innovation, as is effective and transparent team‐working by tutors and careful thought about tutor behaviours in settings where experienced emotions and relationships directly affect the innovative process.

The inherent tension between the constructivist and exploratory HRD curriculum and the requirement for “performative clarity” in HRD pedagogy is explored. Experienced emotions and relationships are shown to mediate a student‐centred and critically reflexive HRD pedagogy, something that is currently insufficiently recognised in much of the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an approach for the teaching and delivery of HRD practices, professional skills and theory that challenges the modernist orthodoxy of contemporary organisational life and the requirements of professional bodies.

First, the territory of a critical HRD pedagogy is defined within practices that respect human freedom and individual dignity as opposed to instrumentalism and target setting. Second, it will advocate an approach for a HRD pedagogy that has its roots within the lost paradigm of sentimentalism that emphasises the belief in the goodness of humanity informing the romantic notions of human imagination, creativity and respect for the individual that is realised through the dialogical process.

The findings, evinced by vignettes, advocate a critical HRD pedagogy and the development of professional skills that base their values and ethics within emancipatory practices if organisations are to create and support sustainable learning environments rather than those located within the conventional wisdom of modernist orthodoxy.

This paper calls for a critical HRD pedagogy and learning environments where individuals are engaged in the transformation of their socio‐historical‐political worlds and advocates dialogue is central to classroom practice if it is to realise the potential and creative impulses of individuals.

This paper contributes to the critical HRD discourse in the development of knowledge, skills, values and professional practice by addressing the constraints of classroom practice in its response to the demands and tensions of professional bodies. It explicitly develops a critical HRD pedagogy that has implications for the assessment of HRD programmes and of their resourcing.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical, reflective examination of the organisation, delivery and evaluation of a training event conducted by postgraduate students undertaking a module on human resource development.

The paper seeks to offer a triangulation of semi‐structured interviews, archival student written reflective accounts of the training event together with oral narrative from past participants on the module.

This paper examines the form and nature of a training event used as part of an assessment strategy on the human resource development (HRD) module of the MBA programme at the University of Abertay. The findings document the meanings and multiple realities that the participants ascribe to the training event. The interactional variable inherent in the informal and formal dichotomy of learning are also illustrated. Finally, the process of empowerment and reflection for all learners leads to a range of outcomes beyond the fulfilment of the assessment task.

The study is exploratory and the authors do not attempt to assess the generalisability of the findings.

The significance of the assessment of the training event lies in the manner of its execution and the involvement of the postgraduate student learners. It is anticipated that the wider dissemination of the practice is deemed to be in the interests of the HRD community.

The paper highlights an innovative approach to the teaching and learning of human resource development at postgraduate level.

The aim of this paper is to give a critical assessment of a study designed to investigate the potential of a new method for teaching HRD students about performance appraisal. It is argued that this approach is in the vanguard of developments in IT and learning.

The paper takes the form of an explorative study which is undertaken in the context of a virtual world setting.

There is potential value added for HRD teaching and learning using virtual world technology. Subjects identified strengths and weaknesses in their use of Second Life© for performance appraisal skills training. Importantly, there was some evidence that subjects emotionally identified with their online characters, with potential implications for the impact of training. Necessary adjustments to research methods are identified.

This was a small scale study. Initial enquiry will inform larger scale research.

The model gives HRD students scope to practice different roles in performance appraisal and, in the longer term, to experiment with “ways of being”. Subjects could be mentored during their engagement in the appraisal process, enabling active tutoring for skill development. Also, a variety of teaching strategies could be employed such as exploring cultural aspects and engaging students in peer‐to‐peer teaching.

The paper presents an innovative method, blending IT with a more conventional training concept, role‐play.

The purpose of this paper is to examine conceptual and theoretical links between intuition and coaching; investigate accomplished coaches' practical experiences of intuition; identify skill set of an intuitive coach; discuss implications of findings for coaches', HRD professionals', and line managers' learning and development.

In‐depth, semi‐structured, individual interviews with 14 accomplished experienced executive coaches (eight males and six females) averaging 14.5 years as a coach.

Outline of core attributes of an intuitive coach.

Immersion in experience, a reflective approach to practice, effective feedback and supervision, and attending to personal well‐being are likely to enable coaches, HRD practitioners and line managers to take a more informed and intelligent approach to “going with their gut” in coaching and other situations where inter‐ and intra‐personal awareness are important.

This paper seeks to analyse and explore the results of a research project, which aimed to identify recent and current research on TLA within HRD programmes. From that base the project also intended to identify areas for future research and a basis for establishing a Special Interest Group.

A comprehensive review of the literature was undertaken and an electronic questionnaire survey was conducted of academic members of the UFHRD, EHRHD and AHRD databases. This provided coverage of widespread international population.

Findings suggest that while research into HRD as a subject and academic discipline is very healthy, there is a dearth of research into the TLA of HRD educational programmes or at least research that is published. They also suggest that academics involved in delivering HRD programmes would welcome support in TLA through additional and new resources as well as ideas on innovative approaches and methods of TLA. TLA in HRD, though, is subject to some constraints, including the role of the professional body in the UK and parts of Europe, the status of HRD in relation to wider business management as a subject and HRM in particular and the size and diversity of student groups. Respondents to the survey, however, were confident that these problems can be addressed.

A key conclusion drawn is that innovative practice in the TLA of HRD is probably more widespread than is evident from the literature. In addition, the notion of “innovative” does not have a fixed meaning and is context specific. This means that TLA practice, which is considered normal or usual in one context could and probably would constitute an innovation in different contexts.

Provides the first overview of research into the TLA of HRD educational programmes.