Skip to main content

Current Theories of Workplace Learning: A Critical Assessment

  • Chapter
Book cover International Handbook of Educational Policy

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE,volume 13))

Abstract

This chapter provides a brief outline of selected contributions to the diverse literature on workplace learning from the last thirty years or so. It then examines a series of pertinent ongoing issues that surround this literature and the understanding of workplace learning. Out of this discussion a number of criteria are identified that are considered salient when evaluating understandings of workplace learning. The final section applies these criteria to the categories of workplace learning theories developed in the first section. Throughout the chapter, a recurring theme is the implications of the analysis for policy

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 429.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 549.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Argyris, C., & Schön, D. A. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Argyris, C., & Schön, D. A. (1978). Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beckett, D., & Hager, P. (2002). Life, work and learning: Practice in postmodernity. Routledge International Studies in the Philosophy of Education, Vol. 14, London and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bereiter, C. (2002). Education and mind in the knowledge age. Mahwah, NJ and London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Billett, S. (2001). Knowing in practice: Re-conceptualising vocational expertise. Learning and Instruction, 11, 431–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bransford, J. D., & Schwartz, D. L. (1999). Rethinking transfer: A simple proposal with multiple implications. Review of Research in Education, 24, 61–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruner, J. (1996). The culture of education. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard, University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchanan, J., Schofield, K., Briggs, C., Considine, G., Hager, P., Hawke, G., Kitay, J., Meagher, G., McIntyre, J., Mounier, A., & Ryan, S. (2001). Beyond flexibility: Skills and work in the future. Sydney: NSW Board of Vocational Education and Training.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education. New York: MacMillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elkjaer, B. (2003). Organizational learning with a pragmatic slant. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 22(5), 481–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engestrom, Y. (1999). Activity theory and individual and social transformation. In Y. Engestrom, R. Miettinen & R. Punamaki (Eds.), Perspectives on activity theory (pp. 19–38). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engestrom, Y. (2001). Expansive learning at work: Towards an activity-theoretical reconceptualisation. Journal of Education and Work, 14(1), 133–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eraut, M. (2000). Non-formal learning and tacit knowledge in professional work. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 70, 113–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuller, A., & Unwin, L. (2003). Learning as apprentices in the contemporary UK workplace: Creating and managing expansive and restrictive participation. Journal of Education and Work, 16(4), 407–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuller, A., & Unwin, L. (2004). Expansive learning environments: Integrating organisational and personal development. In H. Rainbird, A. Fuller & A. Munro (Eds.), Workplace Learning in Context (pp. 126–144). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaser, R. (1985). The nature of expertise. Occasional Paper No. 107. Columbus, Ohio: National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guile, D., & Young, M. (1999). Beyond the institution of apprenticeship: Towards a social theory of learning as the production of knowledge. In P. Ainley & H. Rainbird (Eds.), Apprenticeship: Towards a new paradigm of learning (pp. 111–128) London: Kogan Page.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hager, P. (1999). Finding a good theory of workplace learning. In D. Boud & J. Garrick (Eds.), Understanding learning at work (pp. 65–82). London and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodkinson, P., & Bloomer, M. (2002). Learning careers: Conceptualizing lifelong work-based learning. In K. Evans, P. Hodkinson & L. Unwin (Eds.), Working to learn: Transforming learning in the workplace (pp. 29–43). London: Kogan Page.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodkinson, P., & Hodkinson, H. (2004). Rethinking the concept of community of practice in relation to schoolteachers’ workplace learning. International Journal of Training & Development, 8(1), 21–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodkinson, P., & Hodkinson, H. (in press). The significance of individuals’ dispositions in workplace learning: A case study of two teachers. Journal of Education and Work.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsick, V., & Watkins, K. (1990). Informal and incidental learning in the workplace. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, J. B. (1993). The moral economy of labour — Aristotelian themes in economic theory. New Haven & London: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (1998) Human Capital Investment: An International Comparison. Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Passmore, J. (1980). The Philosophy of Teaching. London: Duckworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rainbird, H., Fuller, A., & Munro, A. (Eds.) (2004). Workplace Learning in Context. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoenfeld, A. H. (1999). Looking toward the 21st Century: Challenges of educational theory and practice. Educational Researcher, 28(7), 4–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schön, D. A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sfard, A. (1998). On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one. Educational Researcher, 27(2), 4–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Standing, G. (1999). Global labour flexibility: Seeking distributive justice. London/New York: Macmillan/St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tennant, M. (1991). Expertise as a dimension of adult development: Implications for adult education. New Education, 13(1), 49–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toulmin, S. (1999). Knowledge as shared procedures. In Y. Engestrom, R. Miettinen & R. Punamaki (Eds.), Perspectives on action theory (pp. 53–64). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waterhouse, P., Wilson, B., & Ewer, P. (1999). The changing nature and patterns of work and implications for VET. Adelaide: National Centre for Vocational Education Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watkins, K., & Marsick, V. (1992). Towards a theory of informal and incidental learning in organizations. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 11(4), 287–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wertsch, J. W. (1998). Mind as action. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winch, C. (1998). The philosophy of human learning. London and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winch, C. (2000). Education, work and social capital. London and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yates, G., & Chandler, M. (1991). The cognitive psychology of knowledge: Basic research findings and educational implications. Australian Journal of Education, 35(2), 131–53.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2005 Springer

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Hager, P. (2005). Current Theories of Workplace Learning: A Critical Assessment. In: Bascia, N., Cumming, A., Datnow, A., Leithwood, K., Livingstone, D. (eds) International Handbook of Educational Policy. Springer International Handbooks of Education, vol 13. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3201-3_44

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics