The role of collaborative learning on training and development practices within the Australian Men’s Shed movement: a study of five Men’s Sheds

Abstract

This study examines the role and impact of collaborative learning on training and development practices in Australian Men's Sheds. We use a case study approach, underpinned by Peters and Armstrong's theoretical framework of collaborative learning in adult education, to investigate five Men's Sheds. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with five Men's Shed co-ordinators, and five focus groups with a total of 61 members. In this study, vocational education and training is extended in a way to bridge the gap between work and retirement for many men in Australia. Three main themes emerged: the importance of training and development [beyond the workplace] for an individual response to member participation; a shared learning experience between men who teach and men who learn in the Sheds; and the collaborative learning that impacts on the learning of individual and groups. We discuss the urgent need for Shed co-ordinators to develop guidelines for training and development policies and use collaborative learning practices within the Sheds. The key message of the paper is that collaborative learning is critical to ensure effective training and development of men in Men's Sheds. We also highlight the implications of poor training and development practices for Shed growth, legal compliance and member participation and men's well-being. The findings will be of interest to other countries dealing with populations of retired men and others seeking membership in Sheds.

The growing importance of human resource management in the NGO, volunteer and not-for-profit sectors

“…The organisation introduced HPWS with the aim of improving performance and achieved this through integrating HRM with traditional and religious values that guided the organisation. Moreover, in the case of volunteer and grassroots community organisations, the formalisation of management practices and process may be detrimental to the attraction and retention of volunteers (Cavanagh, Southcombe, & Bartram, 2014;Cavanagh et al, 2013). Volunteers may hold negative views of formalisation of their volunteering experience in that formalisation may be perceived as bureaucratic and similar to paid work.…”

Home away from home: Health and wellbeing benefits of men's sheds

“…Members had previously been employed in manual skilled, managerial and professional roles, and engaged in community volunteering . Activities and services provided to members and community through this Men's Shed resembled those delivered in Men's Sheds elsewhere . The majority (80%) of Men's Shed members were also members of other groups, clubs or organisations.…”

“…2 Activities and services provided to members and community through this Men's Shed resembled those delivered in Men's Sheds elsewhere. 2,[6][7][8][9][22][23][24] The majority (80%) of Men's Shed members were also members of other groups, clubs or organisations. This finding is higher than research by Golding et al (2007) who found 50% of members of Victorian Men's Sheds were members of other clubs.…”

Older Aboriginal men creating a therapeutic Men's Shed: an exploratory study

“…Over recent decades, Men's Sheds have emerged as grassroots community-based organisations for mainly older and retired men to participate together in various workshop and social activities. Men's Sheds are now entrenched within the Australian cultural landscape with more than 100,000 members utilising nearly 1,000 Sheds registered on a regular basis (Cavanagh et al ., 2014; Australian Men's Shed Association (AMSA), 2017). Internationally, Men's Sheds are present in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Canada and the United States of America (Southcombe et al ., 2015; Nurmi et al ., 2018).…”