Every once in a while I like to set out some intentions in our public forum in terms of 
improving my practice and knowledge-creation that I want to hold myself accountable to.

You could help me to do this as you make public your own explanations of your 
educational influences in this forum and I can help to spread the influence of these 
explanations in the following forums.

1) The Centre for the Child and Family at Liverpool Hope University held its first Steering 
Committee last Wednesday. I video-taped a conversation with Joan in which I was asking 
about how we might evaluate our influence in the development of the Centre. You can see 
an 8:46 minute clip of this at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeYwLu9EI2c .

Joan expresses a commitment, which I share, to shifting the overall mindset that brings 
practice and knowledge-creation together. If we are to improve childrens' well-being 
there has to be a critical shift in how we engage in the knowledge-creation that is needed 
to improve practice. So, we are both holding ourselves to account in relation to our 
influence in doing this.

2) The University of San Diego 
School of Leadership and Education Sciences
 is hosting the
7th Annual Action Research Conference
 May 14 - 15, 2010 with the Theme:

Empowerment and action research: Personal growth, professional development, and 
social change in educational and community settings. 

You can access details at:

http://www.sandiego.edu/soles/centers/student_support_systems/events/ar_conference/i
ndex.php

I've agreed to give the keynote with the  details at:

http://www.sandiego.edu/soles/centers/student_support_systems/events/ar_conference/s
peakers.php

(You might have to copy and past the above 2 urls into your browser if they are not live 
within this text).

Given the above theme, if you have web-based accounts that I could draw attention to in 
my web-based presentations this would help me to fulfil my desire to enhance the flow of 
values and understandings that carry hope for the future of humanity and my own.

3) I've agreed to chair the Education and Learning networking stream for the 8th World 
Congress on Action Learning Action Research Association (6th-9th September 2010 in 
Melbourne - details at http://www.alara.net.au/public/home. This is the World Congress 
at which Alan will be presenting a keynote). 

ALARA is a strategic network of people interested in using action research and action 
learning to generate collaborative learning, research and action to transform workplaces, 
schools, colleges, universities, communities, voluntary organisations, governments and 
businesses. 

ALARA's vision is that action research and action learning will be widely used and publicly 
shared by individuals and groups creating local and global change for the achievement of 
a more equitable, just, joyful, productive, peaceful and sustainable society. 

I'll be co-ordinating the Education and Learning networking stream from Bath and I'm 
hoping that you will continue to share your web-based accounts of your practitioner-
research so that I can help to spread their influence through the Education and Learning 
networking stream of the 8th World Congress. 


Love Jack.