David Coghlan: The World of the Scholar Practitioner and Practical Knowing

David Coghlan is first and foremost a scholar practitioner who has interrogated what this means both philosophically and as a practitioner of and educator in organization development (OD). He is most widely known for his conceptualization of insider action research and for introducing action research and OD to new audiences across different disciplines and settings through the book Doing Action Research in Your Own Organization, now in its fourth edition. As action research becomes increasingly diffuse in terms of different modalities, Coghlan’s theoretical papers on authenticity, practical knowing and interiority offer core ideas that speak to and transcend the particularity of each modality. Coghlan is a major contributor to the field of OD through his writing and editing work. His exploration of the OD/action research heritage includes its history, modes of expression, and action research’s rejected place in the academy. He coedited The SAGE Encyclopedia of Action Research, a major contribution to the world of action research that brings together its myriad histories, contributors, theories, methods, and practices. This work represents an important characteristic of Coghlan’s writing, namely, his exploration of relationships between ideas such as action learning and action research, thus, bringing a freshness to how we apply them to practice. Coghlan remains a prolific writer in his field, and his oeuvre reflects his ongoing work toward articulating of a philosophy of OD.