The Subjective Perceptions of Critical HRD Scholars on the Current State and the Future of CHRD

We intended to understand the currently predominant viewpoints or bodies of knowledge relative to critical human resource development (CHRD) based on personal meanings and viewpoints to a particular concept of CHRD naturalistically rather than in a theoretically induced meaning of CHRD. This research was designed to examine the subjective perceptions of CHRD scholars on the current state and the future of CHRD using Q methodology. A total of 13 CHRD scholars from the United States and the United Kingdom were asked to impose their opinions using 36 statements that were constructed according to a conceptual framework of theory–practice–research about CHRD in the current study. As a result, we identified three unique perspectives with regard to the current state and future of CHRD: (a) CHRD as an alternative HRD theoretical lens; (b) pluralistic views on CHRD practice in a broader context; and (c) the future prominence of CHRD in the HRD academic community. This revealed several implications in terms of content and practical application of criticality in organizations, which are expanded to the implications for theory, practice, and education of HRD.