Adaptive collaborative management of community forests in Asia ...

36 • Ravi Prabhu, Cynthia McDougall and Robert Fisher
Learning in an ACM approach can include reproductive learning but
focuses much more on constructivist and especially transformative
learning. The emphasis on the latter reinforces the significance of the
theory and practice linkage in this approach. Paulo Freire is often credited
for mainstreaming the term ‘praxis’ for this linkage, referring to ‘reflection
and action upon the world in order to transform it’ (Freire 1974: VII,
186). Praxis is typically represented and played out in the form of a spiral
‘action-reflection-action’ process. Such a process helps people to critically
analyse their daily experience (or practice) as a way of developing theory,
so that they can collectively act to change their situation or practice; the
relationship between practice/theory/practice is an intimate, dialectical
one (Arnold 1985). Drawing from its application in action research in
education (Kemmis and McTaggart 1988), we can see an ‘action research’
spiral illustrating progression of understanding and action (Figure 2-4).
Reflect
Plan
Act & observe
Reflect
Act & observe
Revised Plan
Revised Plan
Figure 2-4. Action research spiral. Adapted from Kemmis and McTaggart (1988)
Although the learning-related theory outlined above involves group
processes, learning theory based on individual learning and development
also plays an important role in the ACM approach. Specifically, Kolb’s (1984)
well-known work on learning and development—which he, interestingly,