Learning, Work and Practice: New Understandings
Paul Gibbs Editor Learning, Work and Practice: New Understandings
Editor Paul Gibbs Institute for Work Based Learning College House Middlesex University London, UK ISBN 978-94-007-4758-6 ISBN 978-94-007-4759-3 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-4759-3 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg New York London Library of Congress Control Number: 2012946640 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, speci fi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on micro fi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied speci fi cally for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a speci fi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Foreword In the age of the knowledge economy, the belief is widely expressed that work organizations are only as good as their people. The performative knowledge and skills of workers are the organization s primary assets. Individual knowledge forms the basis for communication of information to others who will then make sense of it in the light of their own personal knowledge. For individual knowledge to become organizational knowledge, and thus fully contribute to the work organization, it must be shared and accepted by others. This may be problematic as individual knowledge is often unrecognised not only by the work organization but often by the individual holding the knowledge, in such cases the knowledge is tacit and its use within the organization is limited. The complexity and richness of learning through work, at work and for the purposes of work are now widely recognised by human resource professionals and academics alike. Whilst work-based learning is fundamentally challenging to traditional concepts of disciplinary-based knowledge, it has become a feature of the higher education landscape impacting upon learning, teaching and research and providing a new dimension to the role of the modern university. Over the last 20 years, there has been a growing scholarship of work-based learning ranging from the exploratory and the descriptive to sustained engagement with the ontological and epistemological challenges of learning from and for the purposes of work. This book stands out as a timely and above all scholarly contribution to our understanding of work and learning. The distinguished contributors bring to bear a range of international perspectives spanning cultural as well as disciplinary understandings. The book provides an exploration not only of the context of work as a place of learning but also logically extends into the domains of philosophy and ethics. The central theme is that work is an essential part of our being, and thus, the book raises our sights beyond the performative value of understanding the complex v
vi Foreword relationships between work and learning to an appreciation that the study of work and learning is fundamental to our increased understanding of the human condition. In this way, the authors make an important contribution to an increasingly mature field of study. Director, Institute for Work Based Learning Middlesex University Professor Jonathan Garnett
Contents 1 Introduction: Thinking About Work in Work Based Learning... 1 Paul Gibbs Part I 2 The Workplace as a Site of Learning: Reflections on the Conceptual Relationship Between Workplace and Learning... 9 Christopher Winch 3 The Role of On-the-Job and Off-the-Job Provision in Vocational Education and Training... 21 Gerard Lum 4 Tacit Knowledge and the Labour Process... 33 Theodore Lewis 5 Workplace Identity, Transition and the Role of Learning... 51 Geoffrey Hinchliffe Part II 6 Ontological Distinctiveness and the Emergence of Purposes... 69 David Beckett 7 Practice as a Key Idea in Understanding Work-Based Learning... 85 Paul Hager Part III 8 Aristotelian Gnoseology and Work-Based Learning... 107 Marianna Papastephanou vii
viii Contents 9 Working Our Way Through Murky Coordinates: Philosophy in Support of Truth Processes... 121 Kent den Heyer 10 The Language of Knowledge Generation in Practice... 129 Kevin J. Flint 11 An Epistemology of the Hand: Putting Pragmatism to Work... 147 Svend Brinkmann and Lene Tanggaard 12 Pragmatism, Meaning and Learning in the Workplace... 165 Paul Gibbs Part IV 13 Foucault and Work-Based Research Ethics: Revisiting Some Issues... 179 Michalinos Zembylas 14 Communitarian Ethics and Work-Based Education: Some African Perspectives... 191 Thaddeus Metz 15 Islamic Perspectives on Work-Based Learning... 207 Mesut Akdere and Jackleen M. Salem Index... 219