Twenty-five years of change laboratories in schools: a critical and formative review

Abstract

Transformation, learning and research come together in educational action research. Change Laboratories (CLs) are a distinctive approach to action research grounded in Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). CLs seek to go beyond technical change, oriented instead to systemic and ideologically driven transformation. However, there have been few reviews of CL research, none focused on education. This paper reports a review of 55 studies using CLs or sibling approaches involving schools. It finds that CLs have been applied to diverse problems including pedagogical practice development, initial teacher education and collaboration across school boundaries. Wider issues of equity, inclusion and justice are present but not ubiquitous in this work. Theoretical references focus on expansive learning, activity systems and double stimulation, with growing use of wider concepts from within and beyond CHAT, including Southern and Indigenous epistemologies. Critical reflection of these findings informs seven fronts for future development in CLs to strengthen their contribution to educational action research: participation, beyond-technical change, enduring change, epistemic justice, addressing grand challenges, resistance, and reporting.