6533b82efe1ef96bd1293128

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Development engineers’ work and learning as shared practice

subject

description

The field of workplace learning lacks empirical studies that view workplace practices as places for learning and see these practices in a critical light. Accordingly, the aim of this study is, first, to describe examples of everyday shared practice and consider what kinds of various conflicting aims and demands exist in it. Second, the purpose is to explore what and how it is possible to learn through these shared practices in the area of design and development work. The empirical material consists of ethnographic observations made in two organizations in Finland. Three thematic lines were extracted from field notes and transcribed work talk on the basis of ethnographic and adapted membership categorization analysis. They suggest that the maintenance of a good atmosphere was an important component of shared practice and learning through it. Shared practice was also found to be situated and open‐ended and it contained conflicts and contradictory aims. The findings reported here suggest that to survive, eve...