Purpose

The complex world in which we reside is calling for more critical approaches to address the precarity experienced by the most marginalized in social systems. However, human resource development (HRD) lacks empirical data to describe, define and project the objectives and future directions of Critical HRD in today’s turbulent and volatile times. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the historical and contemporary progression of Critical HRD, as described by nine of its most well-known scholars.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through semistructured interviews, and a constructivist grounded theory coding approach was applied during analysis to identify themes and patterns.

Findings

The findings of this study highlight the persistent scholarship versus practice divide among Critical HRD scholars, suggesting that Critical HRD may merely be an academic undertaking and something not practiced within the public domain. The authors call for an evolution of Critical HRD toward more practice- and action-oriented approaches to scholarship and teaching so that meaningful changes can take place in actual organizations and workplaces.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study was the first to empirically show that there is a real research–practice gap, particularly among Critical HRD scholars. Critical HRD scholars need to take these findings seriously as an opportunity to reflect on how they can take Critical HRD to the next level beyond academic discourse.

中文翻译：

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批判性人力资源开发真的存在于学术界之外吗？：对九位批判性人力资源开发学者的访谈研究

目的

我们所处的复杂世界需要采取更关键的方法来解决社会系统中最边缘化群体所经历的不稳定问题。然而，在当今动荡不安的时代，人力资源开发（HRD）缺乏经验数据来描述、定义和预测关键人力资源开发的目标和未来方向。因此，本研究的目的是考察批判性人力资源开发的历史和当代进展，正如九位最著名的学者所描述的那样。

设计/方法论/途径

通过半结构化访谈收集数据，并在分析过程中应用建构主义扎根理论编码方法来识别主题和模式。

发现

这项研究的结果凸显了批判性人力资源开发学者之间持续存在的学术与实践之间的鸿沟，表明批判性人力资源开发可能仅仅是一项学术事业，而不是在公共领域内实践的东西。作者呼吁批判性人力资源开发朝着更加以实践和行动为导向的学术和教学方法发展，以便在实际的组织和工作场所发生有意义的变化。

原创性/价值

据作者所知，这项研究首次凭经验表明研究与实践之间确实存在差距，特别是在批判性人力资源开发学者中。批判性人力资源开发学者需要认真对待这些发现，以此为契机，思考如何将批判性人力资源开发提升到学术讨论之外的新水平。