This year’s NEON conference was situated in Tromsö, Norway. We, a group of researchers from University West, arranged a track, Learning in work life, featuring contributions from researchers across various universities and disciplines. (See also PART I of this blog post). In the following we will present an analysis of the conference contributions in relation to WIL as a research area.  

The overall theme for the conference was ‘Bridging Theory and Practice – Possible, Desirable, and Useful?’. To dissect this ambition – is it possible to bridge theory (a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena[1]), and practice (to perform or work at repeatedly so as to become proficient[2])? At first glance, yes—but the complexities of organizations are sometimes more like navigating a labyrinth than crossing a bridge. Each turn reveals new challenges as well as unexpected connections. 

Is it desirable? The attraction is clear. Theory promises clarity, while practice demands action. Together, they are spoken of as a possibility for innovation. But the desire for synergy also highlights tensions—in what and whose space, and at what cost? 

Finally, is it useful? Here lies the heart of the matter. Usefulness depends on context: a theory can inspire understanding, while practice can be the space and context. The real challenge lies in finding ways to ensure that both perspectives enrich each other rather than compete. 

The discussions during the conference provided rich and varied perspectives on these questions. We analyzed the many track contributions into three themes – community, leadership and technology – that emphasized different perspectives and forms of agency to build bridges between theory and practice. In our track, Learning in Work Life, contributions explored how these themes play out in practice, offering valuable insights into the interplay between theory and practice. Let us now dive into conference key takeaways and analyses from our track Learning in work life.  

First, the role of community in bridging theory and practice. Community was discussed from a range of angles which lead to an emphasis on the foundation that organizations build upon. In the keynote speech on Collegiality, Kerstin Sahlin and Ulla Eriksson-Zetterquist explored how organizational boundaries are expanded horizontally through scholarly collegial forums (reviewing and editing, opposition assignments and academic promotion committee tasks among many other duties and rooms for knowledge sharing) that occurs between organizations, but also with the benefit for each organization. Practical knowledge is present within the academic community and collegiality serves to continuously bridge theory and practice as new generations of scholars replace previous generations.

The role of community was also discussed from an inter-organizational perspective and a co-dependence in the transformation for sustainable development. Without trust and commitment in the related community, either industrial, societal or collective efforts for change – including the learning it requires – would be possible. Additionally, aspects of community were introduced at the opening dinner where we were shown a documentary film of the social scientist and politician Ottar Brox who went beyond human interaction and included the role of ecosystems for continuous symbiosis within a community.  

The second theme for bridging theory and practice is the role of leadership. Leadership and management are often seen as opposites or a complement to collegiality, but the many conference discussions showed that the centrality of management and leadership remain strong in organizational theory. The role of leadership was discussed in several forums throughout the conference. For example, leading in a volatile and constantly changing context (a VUCA world), in a military setting, in school environments or in hybrid organization. These discussions approached leadership from a variety of angles: learning to lead, leading for continuous learning and the role of leadership training programs.

The centrality of leadership in implementation got a specific focus in one of the key notes by the organizational theorist Kjell-Arne Rövik. Rövik elaborated on the difficulties of translating organizational ideas from theory to practice in a local context, as existing practices are deeply embedded in the given context. He finds that the old theories of barriers between ideas and practice are not sufficient to explain the mismatch often occurring during implementation. People within their specific contexts are of the essence as translators of ideas and new management concepts. Learning to translate means learning to understand and adapt to different contexts, and to use this competence reflectively is key for a successful translator.  

Third, is the role of technology as a mediator to bridge theory and practice, and the possibilities and challenges it brings with it. One of the keynote speakers, Tor Ingebrigtsen, former CEO of the university hospital of Northern Norway, presented the organizations’ progress with technology over time, and how technology used correctly can support the workers and their everyday tasks, e.g., the value of co-shared and inter-connected IT-systems in workplaces geographically widespread. However, although there are benefits of technological development, there are several implications that were discussed.

One is primarily of a sociotechnical nature (e.g., introducing scientifically proven techniques or work processes in an organization in a work environment built around well-established routine work with no room for mistakes), another implication refers to risks of encapsulation (where complex IT systems can block new opportunities and change). A third implication is how technological boundaries in hybrid work influence the role of leadership. 

The role of place when bridging theory and practice  
When looking back upon the discussions, paper contributions and the keynote speakers, we find a common background for the conference theme: Organizations are navigating in a complex, continuously changing world, demanding lifelong learning for finding new ways to integrating theory and practice to create possibilities for development and innovation. The main themes we identified for building bridges between organizational theories and the local practical challenges were the roles of community, leadership, and technology.   

As these themes were discussed and analyzed they all, in different ways, emphasized the role of place. From a community perspective, place was highlighted by introducing the expandability of place (the horizontal forums for collegiality) and the ecosystems existing in places (local knowledge in symbiosis with the ecosystem in e.g., the fishery industry). In leadership discussions, place was identified through the forum of local knowledge (role of a translator) and volatility of place (the conditions for leadership in VUCA environments). Finally, discussions under the umbrella of technology added insights to the absence of place (conditions in hybridity work) and the multi-dimensional place. 

When combining the role of place together with the aspects of community, leadership and technology, this highlights key dimensions for exploring work-integrated learning (WIL). Traditionally, theory and practice have been identified as binaries, but based on analyzing the conference discussions and presentations, they can rather be seen as a phenomenon operating on a continuum. In this continuum a ‘third space’ appears.

The WIL perspective thrives in this third space and enabled us, together with our Scandinavian colleagues, to discuss organizational challenges in a new light, and to investigate and speculate further into this continuum and the conditions required for work-integrated learning. The explicit demand for bridges, manifested through the conference location on the island of Tromsö, framed the conference and played a helpful hand in finding new, more abstract, bridges between theory and practice, between leadership and collegiality and for bridging knowledge from one place to another.  

With reference to place and an ability to be reflective, people are able to learn and act upon new knowledge. To create development and learning, researchers must enter the third space where people and place are of the essence and listen to and seek to understand the people within their places. In this light, bridging theory and practice is both possible, desirable and useful.  

Åshild S. Lockert, PhD 
Assistant Senior Lecturer at the Division of Psychology, pedagogic and sociology
University West  

Sandra Samuelsson, PhD 
Assistant Senior Lecturer in Business Administration
University West 

Linnéa Carlsson, PhD
Post doc in Informatics
University West 

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[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theory

[2] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/practice