The emergence of learners’ transformative agency in a Change Laboratory intervention
Abstract
Changes and transformations in organisations are traditionally initiated by the management. This approach does not, however, encourage the agency of all the members in an organisation to engage in cooperative development of the activity. This paper presents an analysis of the development of participants’ transformative agency in a Change Laboratory (CL) intervention. In a CL, the participants analyse conflicts and disturbances in their local activity and search for ways to transform current work practices. In the analysis, we identified six types of expressions of transformative agency which evolved over the course of the laboratory sessions and across the topical contents of those sessions. Furthermore, we examined to what extent the expressions of agency produced by the participants reflected individual and collective agency. Our key argument based on the research findings is that transformative agency goes beyond the individual and the situational here-and-now actions. It is produced and maintained in collective change efforts and evolves over time.
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Transformative agency emerges within a socio-material context when collectives take practical actions to implement changes beyond accepted conditions of an activity through collaboration and discourse.
“Transformative agency emerges within a socio-material context when collectives take practical actions to imple- 1 3 ment changes beyond the accepted conditions of an activity through collaboration and discourse (Virkkunen, 2006;Haapasaari et al., 2016).”
From SimLab: an intervention to promote expansive learning and organisational change in team-based emergency care simulation (2025) · cites this paper as Haapasaari et al., 2016
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Agency in the making: Analyzing students’ transformative agency in a school-based makerspace
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“2 Cycle of expansive learning adapted from Engeström (2015) ment changes beyond the accepted conditions of an activity through collaboration and discourse (Virkkunen, 2006; Haapasaari et al., 2016).”
- Authors
- Haapasaari, A., Engeström, Y., & Kerosuo, H.
- Affiliations
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- Corresponding author
- Haapasaari, Arja
- Venue
- Journal of Education and Work
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2014-04
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 232-262
- ISSN
- 1363-9080 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-9435
- OpenAlex
- W2166698253
- Cited by
- 259
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 53.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Education and Work (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Human Factors and Ergonomics › Innovative Education and Learning Practices
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Appreciative Inquiry and Organizational Change
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Organizational Learning and Leadership
- Keywords
- transformative agency, Change Laboratory, organizational change, collective agency, individual agency, workplace conflict, cooperative development
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