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Handbook of Vocational Education and Training pp 1–14Cite as

Knowledge, Practice, and Workplace Learning

Abstract

This chapter examines conceptualizations of the relationship between vocational knowledge and practice and explores implications for workplace learning suggested by contrasting approaches. A distinction is drawn between theories that foreground practice as a site of vocational learning through participation and those which have tended to highlight the acquisition of systematic knowledge as the basis for expertise in occupations. It is suggested that these divergent approaches assume different conceptualizations of practice itself and involve distinctive treatments of issues of vocational knowledge and identity. It is argued that greater attention needs to be paid to the differentiation between specialized and nonspecialized aspects of vocational knowledge, and this provides a basis for differentiating forms of vocational practice in terms of the specialization of underpinning knowledge and through the extent to which that knowledge is acknowledged, recognized, and foregrounded in workplace curricula. This then provides a means for evaluating the potential for learning profitably from aspects of workplace activity and for considering what constitutes full participation in an occupational practice.

Keywords

  • Vocational education
  • Knowledge specialization
  • Vocational practice
  • Systematic knowledge
  • Learning as participation

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bath Spa University, Bath, UK

    Jim Hordern

Authors
  1. Jim Hordern
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jim Hordern .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of Nottingham School of Education, Nottingham, UK

    Prof. Simon McGrath

  2. Education and Competence Studies Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Gelderland, The Netherlands

    Dr. Martin Mulder

  3. Faculty of Education, University of the Western Cape Faculty of Education, Bellville, South Africa

    Prof. Joy Papier

  4. School of Education, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

    Rebecca Suart

Section Editor information

  1. No affiliation provided

    Karen Evans

  2. No affiliation provided

    Natasha Kersh

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Hordern, J. (2018). Knowledge, Practice, and Workplace Learning. In: McGrath, S., Mulder, M., Papier, J., Suart, R. (eds) Handbook of Vocational Education and Training. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49789-1_63-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49789-1_63-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-49789-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-49789-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social Sciences

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