LOOPING IN EDUCATION

Looping in Education

Looping in Education

Introduction

The concept of the learning organization evolved from the tradition of organizational learning. The latter concept can be traced back to the early 1900s, when modern management theory started to establish its foundation. Frederick Taylor's theory of scientific management suggested that learning can be transferred to employees and subsequently improve the efficiency of the organization. Systematic research on organizational learning started as early as 1936, when researchers began studying organizational learning curves. The concept of a learning curve has demonstrated the value of learning for learning organizations.

In 1978, Chris Argyris, of Harvard University, and Donald Schön, of MIT, published the seminal Organizational Learning, which marked a new era in this field of study. These authors argued that learning organizations are not simple collections of individuals. Learning organizations are best viewed as systems of collective agents. Argyris and Schön suggested that learning involves the detection and correction of errors. When people face a situation in which something has gone wrong, their common initial reaction is to look for another strategy that can solve the problem. They tend to identify the solution within the governing framework. The problem-solving process can be characterized as discovering the error source, inventing new strategies and problem-solving methods, and generalizing the new approach to other situations. This problem-solving process is called single-loop learning, in which people work within given goals, values, plans, and rules, and their task is to operationalize within a given governing framework rather than challenge or change it. An alternative approach is to question the governing framework, to subject it to critical scrutiny. This approach is described as double-loop learning. Such learning may then change the organization's existing culture, values, and norms and typically involves a transformative change of employees' frame of reference for their daily work.

Discussion

During the early 1980s, studies on organizational learning focused on the types of learning and the behavioral changes resulting from the learning. Various studies were conducted, and models were proposed to explain the outcomes of learning. It was recognized that the outcomes of learning are highly associated with both the content and level of learning. In the mid-1980s, a new concept of lower- and higher-level learning was proposed, similar to the concept of single- and double-loop learning. It was recognized that behavioral change can occur without any cognitive influence. Similarly, employees can gain knowledge without any behavioral changes occurring. Higher-level learning involves the changes of cultures, values, and social norms within the organization. It has been revealed that long-term changes can be brought about only by higher-level or double-loop learning.

The concept of the learning organization really began to flourish in the late 1980s. Peter Senge added to the momentum with a widely read book, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, published in 1990. Senge defined the learning organization as one in which individuals' capacities to create desired results continually expand, new patterns of thinking are nurtured, and people learn together. By applying systems theory to the learning process ...