Search Results

This paper discusses theorising and empirical work which proposes that the dispositions underpinning cognitive activity need to become more central to deliberations about how individuals think about and engage in skilful vocational practice. Such activity has consequences for how and what is learnt, as well as individuals’ ongoing development. Having reviewed ideas about the dispositional underpinnings of skilful knowledge, the paper reports a study examining how individuals construct knowledge associated with their vocational practice. This study provides tentative findings about the source of dispositions and their role in vocational activity. The paper concludes by advancing some implications for instruction. Show less

There are growing expectations that tertiary education graduates will be ready for working life, that is, possessing the capacities to participate effectively in an occupational practice in a specific work situation. Yet, graduates are often unprepared to fulfil this expectation. In response, tertiary education increasingly includes workplace experiences (i.e., practicums, internships, and work placements). It is necessary to understand these experiences' efficacy and their optimisation to promote work-life readiness. Drawing on students' experiences of internships, this paper discusses what constitutes the value of internships in post-secondary diploma courses in Singapore.

A quantitative analysis of interview data identified the contributions afforded through these experiences in workplaces - students' intentional engagement, and their readiness for working life. Central here is how these contributions promote the development of the adaptability required for effective participation in contemporary working life. The analysis identifies challenges including students' adapting to new work environments, navigating workplace practices, and developing occupational capacities. Workplace supervisors' and host educational institutions' support suggests interns' adaptability can be enhanced by promoting the relations between the support they received, on the one hand, and their engagement with challenges during internships, on the other. These findings offer an understanding about the experiences and outcomes of interns' learning through workplaces and offer implications for supporting and augmenting transitions into working life.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

This article reports on a recent study which examined skilled workers’ perceptions about the characteristics of their work, and how they acquired and developed skills. Modes of acquiring vocational skills are varied. Some learners initially acquire their skills in formal learning settings, such as TAFE colleges, others acquire their skills in the workplace, whilst still others enjoy the integration of formal and workplace learning experiences.

In this article a view of learning that values the construction of knowledge through socio-cultural mediation is used to evaluate three common modes of skill acquisition. The significance of the authenticity of learning experiences and engaging learners in a culture of practice is emphasised within this study.

It is suggested that formal pre-employment modes of learning provide substitute experiences which may develop conceptual, procedural and dispositional knowledge that are not readily transferable to vocational practice. It is argued that access to authentic learning experiences be included within formal learning provisions. The on-the-job mode of situated learning which engages the learner in a culture of practice, is highly valued. However, not all work settings or situations are able to provide access to the conditions which maximise this approach to learning. Show less

Understanding what constitutes learning across working life and how negotiating worklife transitions can be best supported has never been more important for working age adults, their workplaces and communities. The kinds and frequencies of changes in occupational and workplace requirements have consequences for personal goals, workplace viability and communities' economic and social wellbeing. Hence, for both individual and societal purposes we need to elaborate the goals for and processes of that learning and what constitutes educative worklife experiences. Drawing on a three-phase investigation of adults' worklife learning the kinds and qualities of the educative experiences directly or indirectly guiding, supporting and extending individuals' learning and development are elaborated. This includes pathways of experiences across working life: personal curriculums. The paper reports and discusses the data from: (i) worklife narratives and follow-up interviews, and (ii) 18-month monitoring of work and learning of a cohort of workers. It furthers the case for viewing lifelong learning and lifelong education as being distinct and seperate phenomena, the interdependence among the contributions of adults, their educational experiences and those provided by their communities, leading to the explanatory concepts of personal curriculum and educative experiences to illuminate and elaborate learning and development across working life.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

Forthcoming article first published online 15 June 2023 by Taylor and Francis. Show less

This paper advances conceptual tentative bases for understanding workplace pedagogic practices. It proposes that whether arising through everyday work activities or guided learning in workplaces, learning is shaped by workplace participatory practices. This learning is held to be co-participative: the reciprocal process of how the workplace affords participation and therefore learning, and how individuals elect to engage with the work practice (Billett 2001b). In order to make a space to understand workplaces as learning environments, it is necessary for them to be discussed and conceptualised on their own terms. Describing learning through work as ‘informal’ is negative, imprecise and denies key premises about participation in and learning through work. Access to workplace activities and guidance, and the distribution of opportunities to participate are structured by workplace factors. Much of this structuring has been intentionally associated with the continuity of the work practice through participants’ learning. Workplace experiences (activities and interactions) are, therefore, not ‘ad hoc’ or ‘informal’, they are a product of the historical, cultural and situational factors that constitute the work practices and their enactment, and individuals’ engagement in those practices. These factors shape the activities, goals and interactions afforded by the work practice and how individuals construe and learn through them.

Excerpt from published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

The concept of employability extends beyond initial occupational preparation into the ability to remain employable as, inevitably, occupational capacities and workplace requirements change frequently across working lives. Hence, the need to continually learn to remain occupationally current and respond to changing workplace requirements becomes paramount. The evidence suggests that much of that learning arises through individual efforts and the support of co-workers through work activities. So, there is a need to understand how that learning can be supported to sustain employability across lengthening working lives.

Drawing on an Australian study, reported here are perspectives from managers and workers in diverse workplaces about current modes of continuing education and training and about how workers are assisted with their learning to meet personal needs and those of employers. Employers want an occupationally current workforce that can meet specific workplace needs; workers want the capacities to remain employable, which may extend to advancing their careers elsewhere. The data indicate differences in perceptions about what is being provided, how frequently the provisions are used, and the worth of its certification. Whilst the findings indicate shared concerns about the importance of learning, there were clear differences in views about the models and processes used to support that learning. Across both sets of informants can be seen distinctions between 'training solutions' and 'learning solutions'. A more nuanced analysis suggests that the training solution is appropriate and effective at some point in workers' worklife trajectories but in other circumstances, learning through practice is proposed as being more efficacious.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

On their own, the cognitive psychology and sociocultural constructivist perspectives fail to furnish a complete account of adult learning and development. In the past, these perspectives have been viewed as being incompatible because their origins reside in rival and distinct areas of theorising. This paper seeks to propose a more comprehensive basis for adult learning and development by advancing an initial reconciliation between these perspectives, which represent views about the internal processes of the mind and the external influence on cognition. This reconciliation is achieved by identifying areas of commonality and compatibility between these two constructivist perspectives, which provide a likely basis to yield a more comprehensive account of adults’ thinking and acting. It is held that only through an accommodation between social practice and cognition can such an account be realised. Differences between the two perspectives are drawn closer together by current theorising which views an individual’s appropriation of knowledge as being a socially mediated, interpretive and contested process. This, along with the concept of ontogeny or life history, permits closure between the Piagetian and Vygotskian perspectives as they render key differences compatible. It is advanced therefore that deliberations about adults’ construction of knowledge and ongoing developments need to account for the dual contributions of internal processes and external sources provided by constructivist perspectives.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner Show less

This paper examines a range of theoretical issues with learning in natural settings, such as the workplace. It considers the need for enhancing theoretical approaches to learning vocational skills in workplaces, giving particular attention to the physical, social and psychological contributions provided in those settings. It is argued that every sort of setting has the capacity to provide physical, social and cultural contributions to learning. Consequently, any learning theory has to take account of settings, enculturation and the social contribution to the learning. However, given the goals of vocational education and the specific contributions of natural settings the development of a theory of learning in natural settings should be addressed outside of the existing theoretical frameworks to provide the primacy that these contributions deserve. It is postulated that such a theory will guide actions in the provision of vocational skill development in natural settings, such as workplaces. It may also have a wider application for general education provisions.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Increasing enterprises’ expenditure on their employees’ vocational education and training (VET) is of concern for governments in many countries. This article identifies and discusses policy goals for increased enterprise expenditure on VET and elaborates options for achieving these goals. Throughout, measures that attempt to mandate and regulate enterprises’ responses are contrasted with those attempting to address and change the sentiments - beliefs about and values of - decision makers within enterprises about the worth of skill development. Given that decisions about expenditure will largely be made within enterprises, ultimately the governmental goals for enhanced expenditure may only be met through the development of a sentiment within enterprises that favours this expenditure. Therefore, policy planning and enactment might be best directed to that purpose.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

An individual’s capacity to be effective throughout their working life is now claimed to be necessary to sustain individual, local and national well-being. Yet without knowing more about an individual’s motivations to continually learn throughout their working life, it remains uncertain how realistic these expectations are. This paper examines the transitions and continuities in a year in the working lives of five individuals. It illuminates how their identities, subjectivities and sense of selves are exercised through the churning and transformations that comprise their working lives. Although accepting the intertwining between the individual and social, the primary focus here is on individuals and their sense of self. Against some predictions, the five individuals were able to enact their working lives in ways that broadly served their personal interests and goals, even to their detriment. This included achieving continuities associated with their sense of self in negotiating transformational workplace requirements. These findings from just five workers prompt consideration of a more relational basis for conceptualizing learning throughout the working life and the role of the self in that process. It suggests that learning throughout life is aligned with the personal as much as the social suggestion of the workplace, employers or government and that external mandates and regulatory practices may be insufficient and ineffective in securing lifelong learning goals.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less