Towards critical human resource development education (CHRDE): using the sociological imagination to make the HRD profession more critical in the post-crisis era

In the wake of the post-2008 global financial crisis, there has been a failure by those in the HRD profession to critically challenge key assumptions relating to their own practice. The result is a continuation of its status as a 'weakened' profession. This article explores a failure by professionals and academe to address this position. An argument is made for Critical HRD Education (CHRDE), aiming at the United Kingdom's professional education scheme. We seek to show how everyday issues that occur in HRD practice can be linked to a socio-economic context through the use of C. Wright Mills' view of The Sociological Imagination. Examples of use are provided before implications for practitioners, and theorizing is considered.