Title: Learning for work from the past, in the present, and into the future?
Source document: Studia paedagogica. 2018, vol. 23, iss. 2, pp. [9]-24
Extent
[9]-24
-
ISSN1803-7437 (print)2336-4521 (online)
Persistent identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.5817/SP2018-2-2
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/138249
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
In this contribution, the complex interdependencies of the concepts of work and learning and, implicitly, also the concept of knowledge are discussed theoretically from three different but complementary perspectives. The urgency for this exercise lies in the author's belief that learning for work is a topic which cannot be approached in a one-dimensional linear manner. The reason for this lies in the observation that, although in general free will seems to be illusionary in learning for work, we nevertheless acknowledge the individual with their own will, which gives (future) workers some control over changing themselves, their own working life, and the context around their work for the better (Van Dellen & Heidekamp, 2015). The question in this study is whether learning for work is driven by the individual, the actual knowledge aspect of the work, or the more general contextual features of the actual (learning for work) situation. The three different and complementary perspectives that will be discussed concern firstly the idea of the transformative mind (Stetsenko, 2017) using Vygotsky's view of development and learning. The second perspective follows theoretical ideas about transformative learning that concern the complex process of individuals as they develop a more critical world view (Laros, Fuhr, & Taylor, 2017). Finally, the third perspective confronts the learning for work conceptual framework based on Ford's (1992) motivational theory and the philosophical essay about responsibility by Verplaetse (2012) contextualized and operationalized in a study by Van Dellen and Heidekamp (2015). The most practical consequence of all of this theorizing lies in the outcome that learning for work is always something transitional and future-directed. This consequence means a great deal for our ideas about learning and development and the role of education, training, and development both vocationally and professionally. The article ends with a discussion of these consequences.
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[3] Becket, D., & Hager, P. (2002). Life, work and learning. Practice in postmodernity. New York: Routledge.
[4] Billet, S. (2010). Lifelong learning and self: Work, subjectivity and learning. Studies in Continuing Education, 32(1), 1–16. | DOI 10.1080/01580370903534223
[5] Chisholm, R. (1964). Human freedom and the self. Kansas City: Department of Philosophy, University of Kansas.
[6] Chisholm, L., Larson, A., & Mossoux, A. F. (2004). Lifelong learning: citizens' views in close up: findings from a dedicated Eurobarometer survey. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
[7] Damasio, A. (1994). Descartes' error: Emotion, reason and the human brain. New York: Avon Books.
[8] Dellen, T. van, & Cohen-Scali, V. (2015). The transformative potential of workplace learning: Construction of identity in learning spaces. International Review of Education, 61(6), 725–734. | DOI 10.1007/s11159-015-9528-3
[9] Dellen, T. van, & Heidekamp, I. (2015). How Dutch employees experience freedom of learning for work. International Review of Education, 61(6), 735–760. | DOI 10.1007/s11159-015-9524-7
[10] Dellen, T. van, & Yurtmaz, D. (2017). The experience of adult learning professionals work workplaces as learning space. In A. Ostendorf & C. K. Permpoonwiwat (Eds.), Workplaces as learning spaces – conceptual and empirical insights (pp. 55–84). Innsbruck: University Press.
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[12] Evans, K., Hodkinson, P., Rainbird, H., & Unwin, L. (2006). Improving workplace learning. Abingdon: Routledge.
[13] Ford, M. E. (1992). Motivating humans. Goals, emotions and personal agency beliefs. London: SAGE.
[14] Frye, M. (1990). A response to lesbian ethics. Hypatia, 5(3), 132–137. | DOI 10.1111/j.1527-2001.1990.tb00611.x
[15] Hager, P. (2011). Theories of workplace learning. In M. Malloch et al. (Eds.) The SAGE handbook of workplace learning (pp. 17–32). Los Angeles: SAGE.
[16] Holton, E. F., III. (2005). Holton's evaluation model: New evidence and construct elaborations. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 7(1), 37–54. | DOI 10.1177/1523422304272080
[17] Holton, E. F., III., & Naquin, S. (2005). A critical analyses of HRD evaluations models from a decision-making perspective. Human Resource Development Quartely, 16(2), 257–280. | DOI 10.1002/hrdq.1136
[18] Jarvis, P. (2009). Learning to be a person in society. In K. Illeris (Ed.), Contemporary theories of learning (pp. 21–34). New York: Routledge.
[19] King, K. P. (2009). The handbook of the evolving research of transformative learning based on the learning activity survey. Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.
[20] Knowles, M. (1984). The adult learner: A neglected species. Houston: Gulf Publishing.
[21] Laros, A., Fuhr, T., & Taylor, E. W. (2017). Transformative learning meets bildung. An international exchange. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
[22] Lewin, K. (1943). Psychology and the process of group living. Journal of Social Psychology, 17(1), 113–131. | DOI 10.1080/00224545.1943.9712269
[23] McKenna, M., & Pereboom, D. (2016). Free will. A contemporary introduction. New York: Routledge.
[24] Mezirow, J. (1978). Perspective transformation. Adult Education, 28(2), 100–110. | DOI 10.1177/074171367802800202
[25] Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning to think like an adult. In: Jack Mezirow & Associates (Eds.), Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress (pp. 3–34). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
[26] Mulcahy, D. (2011). Between work and learning: on pedagogic practice and interstitial space. Studies in Continuing Education, 33(3), 2013–2017. | DOI 10.1080/0158037X.2011.611495
[27] Poell, R.F., & Van der Krogt, F. (2017). Why is organizing human resource development so problematic? Perspectives from the learning-network theory (Part I). The Learning Organization, 24(3), 180–193. | DOI 10.1108/TLO-12-2016-0093
[28] Rieber, R. W. (1997). The collected works of L. S. Vygotsky. Volume 4: The history of the development of higher mental functions. New York: Plenum.
[29] Saks, A.M., & Belcourt, M. (2006) .An investigation of training activities and transfer of training in organizations. Human Resource Management, 45(4), 629–648. | DOI 10.1002/hrm.20135
[30] Stetsenko, A. (2017). The transformative mind. Expanding Vygotsky's approach to development and education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[31] Taylor, E. W. (2017). Transformative learning theory. In A. Laros et al. (Eds.), Transformative learning meets Bildung. An international exchange (pp. 17–32). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
[32] Taylor, E. W., & Cranton, P. (2012). Reflecting back and looking forward. In E.W. Taylor & P. Cranton (Eds.), Handbook of transformative learning: Theory, research and practice (pp. 553–574). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
[33] Thelen, E. (2000). Grounded in the world: Developmental origins of the embodied mind. Infancy, 1(1), 3–28. | DOI 10.1207/S15327078IN0101_02
[34] Verhaeghe, P. Identiteit. [Identity]. Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij.
[35] Verplaetse, J. (2012). Zonder vrije wil. Een filosofisch essay over verantwoordelijkheid [Without free will. A philosophical essay about responsibility]. Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Nieuwezijds.