Contemporary work-related education and training policy represents occupational competence as the outcome of individual performance at work. This paper presents a critique of this neo -liberal assumption, arguing that in many cases competence should be regarded as an attribute of groups, teams and communities. It proposes a theory of collective competence in terms of (1) making collective sense of events in the workplace, (2) developing and using a collective knowledge base and (3) developing a sense of interdependency. It suggests that the language of competence would become a more effective tool for understanding performance at work if the collectivistic sense of the term 'competence' were used in conjunction with the more established individualistic sense.

First paragraph: The concept of organisational learning has been widely debated and frequently contested by educationalists, but the speci®c processes and actions which constitute this form of learning have received relatively little research attention. This paper reports a three-year empirical investigation into organisational learning in a large industrial complex, with the aim of clarifying the practices of organisational learning and interpreting them within sociocultural learning theory. A sociocultural model is proposed which identi®es dialogue as the fundamental process by which organisations learn, and relational practices as the social structure which embeds the dialogue and makes it sustainable in a potentially con¯ictual environment. Three relational practices are analysed in detail: opening space for the creation of shared meaning, reconstituting power relationships and providing cultural tools to mediate learning. A pedagogy of organisational learning is de®ned in terms of participation in these practices, either as the carrier of a practice or as the facilitator of participation by others. The theoretical requirement that adult learning must be autonomous is reconciled with the concept of collective learning in pursuit of organisational goals by rejecting the notion of an individually-contained self in favour of a relational concept of the self, in which autonomy is achieved by building relationships with others

No abstract

No abstract

Recent policy statements reveal that the future workbased route to vocational qualifications in the UK will include 'taught knowledge and understanding' as well as competence acquired in the workplace. The intention is to bring National / Scottish Vocational Qualifications into line with the German dual system of apprenticeship, which involves much more academic study. This article seeks to clarify the UK policy by exploring recent developments in the German dual system, and considering two key questions: how to define knowledge and understanding in this context, and how to distribute control of the curriculum between the stakeholders.