Abstract
The above words are in the opening page of Heidegger’s Building, Dwelling, Thinking, from which Heidegger provides a philological analysis of dwelling, which leads to a place where one is safeguarded. Should we desire a flourishing society, that is, a democratic community based on relatedness not transaction and on transcendence not immanence, which embraces both tacit and propositional knowledge, then workplace learning is necessary, although not sufficient, for a democratic society. I argue for the restoration of the centrality of workplace learning through active, experiential learning. Indeed, it is through experiential, vocational learning—central in the advocacy of Freire (1998)—that democracy and civic responsibility can flourish.
The truck driver is at home on the highway, but he does not have his lodgings there; the working woman is at home in the spinning mill but does not have her dwelling place there; the chief engineer has a home in the power station, but he does not dwell there. These buildings house man.
(Heidegger, Building, Dwelling, Thinking, 1975c, p. 143)
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Notes
- 1.
Arnal and Burwood (2004) point to the potentially undemocratic notion of tacit knowledge due to its exclusiveness to communities of practice. Whilst recognizing this, I am in agreement that explicitness of standards and rules that are not negotiable themselves fails to guarantee inclusiveness and democracy and, having acknowledged this point, take it no further in this book.
- 2.
I agree with Gamble that theories of “transmission have a far stronger impact than has been acknowledged in debates around skill formation and lifelong learning in recent years. We ignore them at our peril” (2001, pp. 198–199).
- 3.
It is interesting for instance to note that in the White Paper the word “value” is more often than not linked with the word “added”, rather than in the sense of personal worthiness and that the words “democratic” (and its derivatives), “ethics” and “morality” appear neither in this nor in Part Three of Skills: Getting on in Business, Getting on at Work (DfES, 2005).
- 4.
The absence of this important point from government discussion on skills plans to increase apprenticeship (DfES, 2005, p. 8) is telling, I feel, and I envisage commercial accreditation.
- 5.
She is clear to point out that her notion of democracy is not a singularity.
- 6.
Having.
- 7.
Techne, skills.
- 8.
Not having.
- 9.
See Bonnett (2003, §11).
- 10.
I recognize, as reported in the 14–19 White Paper, that concerns have been raised about the teaching of such skills in schools, colleges and work-based providers at all ages by OfSTED and QCA.
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Gibbs, P. (2011). Dwelling at Work. In: Heidegger’s Contribution to the Understanding of Work-Based Studies. Professional and Practice-based Learning, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3933-0_4
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