Search results for "Workplace Learning"
showing 10 items of 34 documents
Students' experiences of workplace learning in Finnish VET
2008
The Finnish vocational education and training system underwent remarkable transformations at the turn of the century. One of the biggest changes was introducing compulsory and guided on-the-job learning periods in all study programmes. In this article, students’ experiences of on-the-job learning and in particular of integrating school-based and work-based learning and guidance of students are examined. Data were gathered by an Internet questionnaire of final-year students at vocational institutes in the City of Helsinki (N=1282). The questionnaire was answered by 41 % of the students. In general, students were satisfied with connecting school-based and work-based learning and guidance in v…
Field-Specific Educational Practices as a Source for Students' Vocational Identity Formation
2008
Although work-related identity research has undergone considerable expansion in recent years, vocational identity among students remains a neglected area. However, initial vocational education plays a crucial role in the process of lifelong learning. Accordingly, this chapter discusses students' vocational identity formation during their vocational education and training. As recent findings on vocational or professional identity emphasise its context-based or sociocultural construction, [the authors] examined students' vocational identity formation in two different fields: one) technology and transport, and two) social services and health care. [The authors'] quantitative data indicate that…
IDENTIFYING THE TRAINING NEEDS AND THE KEY TRAINING TOPICS IN THE ENTERPRISES OF LATVIA
2019
The role of a workplace in the provision of lifelong learning processes is increasingly emphasised in the academic discourse. Since the early 21st century, a new term – “workplace pedagogy” (Billet, 2000) – has appeared, which signifies the increasingly important role of the workplace in the process of adult learning. The goal of this article is to discuss the key principles in determining the training needs and the key training topics in the enterprises of Latvia. The author of the article has carried out a qualitative study using a partially structured interview method. Four heads of human resource departments have been interviewed in four enterprises of Latvia with varied capital and wit…
Self-Directed Learning as a Practice of Workplace Learning: Interpretative Repertoires of Self-Directed Learning in ICT Work
2019
Changing technologies and competition in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) are challenging the learning of individual workers and teams alongside and through work. Organisations call for employees’ autonomy and self-directedness executed by agile operations and low hierarchies, where learning is also increasingly the responsibility of the individuals and teams themselves and occurs in practice without strong control of the organisation. Therefore, the multidimensional concept of self-directed learning becomes essential in the context of learning at work. In this study, we examine how employees in the ICT sector describe self-directed learning practices in the conte…
Sustainability Perspectives in Organizational and Workplace Learning Studies
2022
The association between sustainability and learning in organizations and workplaces represents a current articulated grand challenge for human resource development (HRD) and learning studies and practice, which calls for integrated inquiries. However, studies of learning in organizations and workplaces deal with sustainability in scattered and diverse ways that promote calls for more integrated understandings of the different approaches and associations. This article outlines the results from a scoping thematic review mapping out leading perspectives within the research fields of HRD, organizational learning (OL) and workplace learning (WPL). This article thus explores the perspectives that…
Workplace Learning from the Organizational Point of View
2022
The focus of this chapter is on workplace learning from the organizational point of view. The chapter reviews multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary research literature on learning organization starting from the seminal works by Argyris and Schön, and Senge, and continuing with the studies of the development of measuring characteristics of learning organization by Marsick and Watkins. The relationship between individual and organizational learning is discussed. Also concepts other than learning organization have been used in research studies in order to describe learning taking place in organizations. The concepts such as knowledge creation, expansive learning and innovative knowledge co…
Co-Occurrence of Sociocultural Elements and Self-Direction in Learning Situations: A Police Organization Case Study
2022
Adult’s self-direction and self-directed learning (SDL) have become topics in the discussion of work-related adult learning and an autonomous approach, emphasizing responsibility and independence, has received increasing attention in studies of learning. In the context of SDL, in contrast, the importance of the learning environment and community has received less empirical attention. The aim of this article is to increase the understanding of the co-occurrence of sociocultural elements and self-direction in learning situations at work. From a practical viewpoint, it is important to understand both, the sociocultural and self-directed nature of different learning situations at daily work, s…
Activity Theory as a Lens to Identify Challenges in Surgical Skills Training at Hospital Work Environment
2015
In this paper the concepts from activity theory (AT) are applied for identifying the challenges and contradictions emerging in surgical residentâs curriculum based training at hospital. AT is utilised as a lens to identify contradictions that cause disturbances, problems, ruptures, breakdowns, and clashes which emerge while surgical skills training is implemented in a new way at hospital. We especially aim at finding solutions for contradictions which emerge while the new and old working culture are confronted and the workers are required to balance themselves between the patient care demands and workplace learning requirements. We are using the conceptual theoretical approach to describe…
Professional identity in relation to vocational teachers’ work : an identity-centred approach to professional development
2018
This paper reports a study on teachers’ professional identity and work in vocational education. The findings showed that vocational teachers’ work included vocational teaching within the school, developmental work, technology-enhanced work, professional duties outside the school, and educational duties within the school. Furthermore, the study revealed the harmonious and tensioned relationships between these elements of the work and teachers’ identities. Recognition of the nuanced nature of these relationships provides a perspective for promoting teachers’ professional development. From a practical perspective, there is a need to support vocational teachers’ identity work and the adoption o…
Throwaway knowledge, useful skills or a source for wellbeing? Outlining sustainability of workplace learning situations
2020
Rapid changes in working life have raised awareness of the need for lifelong learning among personnel, and there is increasing concern regarding the sustainability of such learning, especially in growth companies, where learning can be seen as a prerequisite for many work practices. Hence, the aim of this study is to understand the sustainability of learning situations from the perspectives of individual wellbeing, widespread use of previous knowledge and rapid application of new knowledge. We broaden the understanding of workplace learning from the perspective of sustainability by identifying different workplace learning situations and outlining the sustainability of these situations. Two …