Rethinking the learning space at work and beyond: The achievement of agency across the boundaries of work-related spaces and environments

Abstract

This paper focuses on the notion of the learning space at work and discusses the extent to which its different configurations allow employees to exercise personal agency within a range of learning spaces. Although the learning space at work is already the subject of extensive research, the continuous development of the learning society and the development of new types of working spaces calls for further research to advance our knowledge and understanding of the ways that individuals exercise agency and learn in the workplace. Research findings suggest that the current perception of workplace learning is strongly related to the notion of the learning space, in which individuals and teams work, learn and develop their skills. The perception of the workplace as a site only for work-specific training is gradually changing, as workplaces are now acknowledged as sites for learning in various configurations, and as contributing to the personal development and social engagement of employees. This paper argues that personal agency is constructed in the workplace, and this process involves active interrelations between agency and three dimensions of the workplace (individual, spatial and organisational), identified through both empirical and theoretical research. The discussion is supported by data from two research projects on workplace learning in the United Kingdom. This paper thus considers how different configurations of the learning space and the boundaries between a range of work-related spaces facilitate the achievement of personal agency.

On Developing Transversal Competences of Modern Engineers for Coal Mining Emerging

“…The contemporary requirements of work and learning, place new demands on skills development. Engaging in learning and applying skills not only within but also across a variety of learning and working contexts enables employees to develop a range of transferrable or transversal skills required by the contemporary economy and knowledge society [12]. What is more, the interplay between the context of education and work requires employees to develop a range of transferable skills that would enable them to adapt to the changing nature of the learning space at work.…”

Investigating work and learning through complex adaptive organisations

“…Human agency is an important part of what sets complex adaptive organisations apart from other examples of complex adaptive systems such as flocks of birds or computers in a network and is a key defining feature of complex adaptive systems involving humans (Giddens, 1984). Agency is also an increasing focus of the workplace learning literature (see Billett, 2011, Kersh, 2015, Billett and Smith, 2010. Within complex adaptive organisations, agency is experienced as a continuum, with all professionals having a degree of agency but no one individual or group having unconstrained agency (Dietz and Burns, 1992).…”

Understanding vulnerability and encouraging young adults to become active citizens through education: the role of adult education professionals

“…Our European wide review (Kersh & Toiviainen, 2017) supported the notion that the development of social, political and economic capabilities of young adults in vulnerable situations can take place through different types of AE and LLL 1 Conceptual overlap between the terms 'adult education' and 'lifelong learning' has been recognised in the literature (Aspin, Chapman, Evans, & Bagnall, 2012). In this paper we draw on research by Evans (2009) and consider LLL in its broadest term as 'learning through the life course', which encompasses adult education as a configuration of learning throughout life and sets the scene where the AE professionals work (Evans, 2009;Aspin, 2012;Kersh, 2015).…”