Conceptions of learning and understanding learning at work

Abstract

Recent research on learning in work situations has focussed on concepts such as 'productive learning' and 'pedagogy of vocational learning'. In investigating what makes learning productive and what pedagogies enhance this, there is a tendency to take the notion of learning as unproblematic. This paper argues that much writing on workplace learning is strongly shaped by peoples' understandings of learning in formal educational situations. Such assumptions distort attempts to understand learning at work. The main focus of this paper is to problematise the concept of 'learning' and to identify the implications of this for attempts to understand learning at work and the conditions that enhance it. An alternative conception of learning that promises to do more justice to the richness of learning at work is presented and discussed.

The casualisation of teaching and the subject at risk

“…We might explain this as the application of an old solution to a new problem. The traditional or received view of professional development which emerged during the 1970s with the professionalisation of teaching in higher education and the privileging of 'formal' over 'non-formal' learning is based on research largely driven by central teaching and learning units (Akerlind, 1999;Boud, 1999;Hager, 2004). Taking some issue with this, Erica McWilliam (2002) argues that the imperative for staff to engage in all forms of 'professional development' is based on the assumption that 'academics are deficient as teachers and that professional development can deal with that deficiency' where 'local academic enactments of pedagogical work can come to be framed as a form of ignorance, to be overcome with the application of new techniques' (p. 295).…”

L’intermittence en emploi peut-elle être une expérience formatrice?

“…L'expérience de la nouveauté s'avérerait une source puissante et directe du développement du savoir. Il est vrai que l'engagement individuel dans une situation concrète peut provoquer des effets inattendus et que le contact avec l'étrangeté s'avère souvent formateur (Bailey et collab., 2004;Bourgeois, 2004;Hager, 2004;Hodkinson, 2004). Mais le changement répétitif d'emploi, devenu une situation courante et même un mode de vie pour certaines personnes, peut-il véritablement-il être une expérience singulière qui agit comme vecteur central d'apprentissage?…”

Managerial Skills for Managing Construction Safety

“…In other words, learning should not be seen merely as a product, but a process where the learner is part of the environment. This view of learning emphasises the context and the influence of cultural and social factors in the learning process [24]. Due to this reality of safety learning in practice, a modification to the methods of conducting construction safety research may be needed to investigate this alternative paradigm [22].…”

“…In other words, learning involves taking part in the social world, i.e., learning takes place among and through others [22]. Learning should be seen not only as a product, but also as a process in which the learner is part of the environment [24]. Knowledge is integrated and distributed in every day"s activities, thus learning cannot take place if participation in those activities is not possible [22].…”