Search Results

Purpose - The notion of communities of practice (CoP) has received great attention in educational and organisational practice and research. Although the concept originally refers to collaborative practices that emerge naturally, educational and HRD practitioners are increasingly searching for ways to create these practices intentionally in order to stimulate learning and professional development in specific fields. This paper aims to gain insight into ways in which communities of practice can be deliberately organised. Design/methodology/approach - The study concerns a multiple case study of the deliberate initiation of 15 communities of practice of small and medium-sized companies in the tourist sector, located in seven European countries. The analysis focuses on how meaningful, shared and coordinative activity is organised in each of the 15 cases. A multiple case study allowed for comparison between the various cases in order to target fruitful conditions and actions in organisation processes. Findings - In the initiation of a CoP it is important that before an outsider starts to organise and coordinate activities questions such as 'How are we relevant to one another?' and 'Who are we and where are we going?' are answered first, and by the group itself. These questions relate to the development of meaningful activity (domain) and of shared activity (community). Following this, any coordinative system, any practice, should be subordinated to the motives of the group. Originality/value - Besides identifying various actions for human resource developers who aim to apply the concept of CoP in professional work, the study contributes to the scientific formulation of pedagogical notions around communities of practice.

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

This industry discussion paper discusses the extent to which the Australian education and training system has responded to the changing needs of the wholesale and retail industry group. The paper summarises the results of one of a series of industry case studies conducted by Performance Management for ANTA. The case study used a structured search and evaluation workshop to: (1) examine existing training priorities; (2) consider an analysis of the changing profile of qualifications used by the industry group; (3) discuss the strategies proposed to assist the education and training system to meet the demands of the industry group; and (4) explore priorities for further action. Show less

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are relatively flexible and quickly adapt to change, so they are seen as key organisations for driving innovation and to promote employment, with employee professional development and training often seen as a precondition to achieve innovations and to compete with other companies. However, small enterprises are often not able to develop or finance learning initiatives independently. These initiatives can be facilitated by communities of practice (CoPs), where these communities address work-related issues or are rooted in daily work processes. In the Work and Learn Together (WLT) project, virtual communities of practice of SMEs in the tourist sector have been set up in order to facilitate and support lifelong learning of employers and employees in the workplace. A research study has looked at the initiation process of the CoPs with the intention to critically explore whether and how informal, self-motivated CoPs can be organized. This paper first focuses on the concept of CoPs, then the research method, data collection, analysis, results and conclusions are described.

Available papers from this conference are indexed from TD/TNC 91.451 to TD/TNC 91.476. Show less

'Shaping our future: Australia's national strategy for vocational education and training 2004-2010' (indexed at TD/LMR 85.685) is the Australian government and industry's collective strategy to ensure: 'industry will have a highly skilled workforce to support strong performance in the global economy; employers and individuals will be at the centre of VET; communities and regions will be strengthened economically and socially through learning and employment; and that Indigenous Australians will have skills for viable jobs and their learning culture will be shared'. As part of the process in developing this strategy, the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) commissioned the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) to undertake a series of meta-analyses of research on 12 different vocational education and training (VET) topics. This report is the meta-analysis concerned with making VET more conveniently accessible, especially for small business. Training issues related to small business are outlined in the report, with various problems considered and possible solutions suggested. Comparisons with several international training programs are also made, and the report concludes with future initiatives to be implemented.

The 12 meta-analyses from this strategy are indexed from TD/ANTA 80.06 to TD/ANTA 80.17 Show less

Papers from the second national conference were: 'Welcome' (S. Hornery); 'Priorities for vocational education and training' (A. Vanstone & B. Such); 'Commentary on training and labour market development' (M. Keating); 'Training - what's in it for me: small business speaks' (S. Axarlis, M. Kohalmi, J. Rixon); 'Training - what's in it for my company' (B. Crowley, A. West, & L. Heron); 'Training - how providers are changing their approach' (D. McEwan & P. Walsh); leading edge training case studies - 'Nyampa Aboriginal Housing Company and NSW Board of Adult and Community Education' (L. Holzberger), 'Barclay Mowlem Construction and UTS' (J. Gallogley), 'Jaques Quarrying and Mining and Swinburne University of Technology' (M. Gates & R. Maas), 'Electrical and Electronics Industry Training Advisory Board (SA) Inc (A. Reedy), & 'Johnson & Johnson Medical' (J. Brown & R. Harris); 'International developments' (W. Stubbs); 'MAATS and the national training framework' (B. Charles); key issues in the national strategy - 'Flexible delivery' (B. Stanford), 'Business and enterprise involvement in vocational education and training' (M. Robinson); 'Training market' (P. Harmsworth), 'Access and equity strategies' (M. Bagshaw), 'Development of MAATS - an ITAB perspective' (J. Braddy), & 'Innovative training in a changing environment - the ACTU-Lend Lease Foundation experience' (K. Power); 'Training and small business - perspectives from a Queensland small business and a small business industry training co.' (J. Rixon & V. Mudie); 'Small business training strategy' (S. Axarlis); 'Case study - the Real Estate Institute of Victoria' (E. White); 'Case study - Mackay region apprentice employment (GTC) (P. Broadhurst); 'TAFE's contribution to Australian society' (A. Koo, M. Woolley, & K. Peoples); 'National framework for vocational education and training: standards, curriculum, assessment, qualifications' (D. Gunning, B. Jones, & K. Pitts); 'Future for ITABs' (C. Hayes, R. Jenkins, & M. Sargent); 'Students as clients' (V. Simmons & T. Walton); 'National women's VET strategy' (J. Sobski); 'Developing the further education college system in England' (W. Stubbs); 'Role of adult and community education in the national VET system' (A. Crombie); 'Professional development in VET' (P. Byrne); 'Developing the national strategy 1997 to 2000' (T. Moran, K. Peoples, P. Harmsworth, & J. Gallogley); 'Conference close' (S. Hornery). Show less