Search Results for
"learning"

This paper develops a social realist critique of competency-based training (CBT) by drawing on the philosophy of critical realism and the sociology of Basil Bernstein as complementary modes of analysis. CBT is the mandated model of curriculum in the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia. It results in an impoverished education that disenfranchises students from access to the knowledge they need to participate in 'society's conversation' and in debates within their occupational field of practice. The paper argues that the relationship between constructivism and instrumentalism structured the development of CBT, even though they are distinct theoretical approaches to curriculum. Constructivist discourses around student-centred learning, situated learning and the contextualised nature of knowledge were appropriated and reworked through the prism of instrumentalism, thereby contributing to the justification and legitimation of CBT, but also to its continuing theorisation and development. The synergies between constructivism and instrumentalism arise because both are committed to the experiential within the contextual as the source of knowledge and this provides the scope for instrumentalism to plunder constructivism. Both emphasise the contextual, situated and problem-oriented nature of knowledge creation and learning and curriculum based on 'authentic' learning in the workplace. © 2009 Taylor & Francis.

Aims This paper explores the collaborative development of a Master's level advanced practice programme in the context of the radical reform and remodelling of the UK's National Health Service. Some of the educational, managerial and practice challenges are discussed. Background Changes to education and training in response to key strategic reviews undertaken by the Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority (North West of England) established a need to develop nurses and allied health care practitioners to advanced practitioner level. This paper considers how employers, commissioners and educationalists worked together to produce a Master's level programme to prepare nurses and other health care practitioners for sustainable advanced practice roles. Key issues Developing innovative and effective curricula to meet the needs of post graduate students from varied backgrounds preparing to practice in different contexts with different client groups is challenging. However, the development of individual learning pathways and work-based learning ensures that the student's work and intended advanced practice role remains at the centre of their learning. Analysis of each student's knowledge and skill deficits alongside an analysis of the organization's readiness to support them as qualified advanced practitioners (APs) is instrumental in ensuring that organizations are ready to support practitioners in new roles. Conclusion Work-based learning and collaboration between students, employers and higher education institutions can be used to enable managers and students to unravel the network of factors which affect advanced practice in health and social care. Additionally, collaborative working can help to create opportunities to develop strategies that will facilitate change. Implications for nursing management Sustainable change concerned with the introduction of advanced practitioner roles present a real challenge for managers at a strategic and operational level. Commissioning flexible, collaborative and service-led educational programmes can assist in ensuring that change is sustainable and produce practitioners who are fit for practice, purpose and award. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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This paper looks critically at partnerships in education and training by presenting a case study of a community-level partnership aimed at promoting high school apprenticeships in Ontario Canada. The analysis maps the field of social relations within this partnership in order to reveal institutionally-based struggles and their implications for youth training and employment. The assumptions within policy that employers are actively engaged as partners and that they and other stakeholders share a unitary vision for education and training are challenged. Rather, partnerships reflect tensions among partners that must be addressed in order to improve the learning affordances for youth. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between workplace learning and psychological variables, such as learning competency, motivation, curiosity, self-esteem and locus of control, and organizational variables, such as centralization of power, formality, merit system and communication. The studied population consisted entirely of workers in small and medium manufacturing businesses in Korea. Totally, 685 workers were sampled and 388 of them were used for the analysis. The level of workplace learning in small and medium manufacturing businesses was higher than the expected average. All the variables in this study had significant positive low or moderate relationships with workplace learning. Lastly, about 50% of the variance in workplace learning was explained by communication, learning competency, merit system, motivation, centralization of power and curiosity. © Education Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea 2009.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss Ireland's national apprenticeship programme, introduced in 1993, in the context of the country's evolving economic and social policies.Design/methodology/approach: A critical analysis is undertaken of the industrial climate in Ireland, which prevented the introduction of a national apprenticeship programme, until 1993. Findings: The paper argues that the main factor for the successful implementation of this programme in 1993 was the emergence of a new climate of cooperation among the social partners providing the institutional foundations for the programme. This cooperation was a result of the 1991 ground-breaking "social partnership" agreement between employers, trade unions and government, in signing up to a joint national framework programme. Research limitations/implications: The paper only briefly looks at earlier efforts - from the 1960s onwards - to introduce a well-functioning programme, which are seen as a learning period, underpinning the breakthrough of the 1990s. Practical implications: In acknowledging the success of the programme, the paper asks whether this success can be built on further. This could be achieved through increasing the number of apprenticeships, through enlarging the apprenticeship regulatory framework. This could then have a knock-on effect on employment generation and skill development as, for example, has happened in Australia. Originality/value: The paper shows that, despite comments about Ireland being institutionally unsuited for apprenticeship - owing to the lack of an industrial cultural tradition of cooperation, it did, in fact, create an industrial cultural climate to provide the social foundations for a well-functioning programme. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

This paper reviews current knowledge about the impact of vocational education and training on the labour market outcomes for young people in advanced market economies, and asks whether the results can be extrapolated to countries in the Western Balkans and the EU neighbourhood. It draws four main policy conclusions. First, in transition countries, specialised vocational education should not be replaced by streaming or tracking within comprehensive school systems or integrated into general education programmes. Abandoning effective vocational schooling may worsen the labour market outcomes for the less able and disadvantaged young people. Inadequate vocational school systems should be strengthened, while ensuring effective pathways to higher levels of education. Second, while apprenticeship systems enable lower ability students and minorities to access the labour market, they may lock women into traditional female occupations. Well-organised and resourced school-based vocational education may be preferred by women who feel they could benefit from them, and may furthermore reduce school drop-out rates. Third, occupational mobility can be improved by effective school-based vocational education. If returns to such education are sufficiently high, they can incentivise mobility. While for developed economies there is little difference in rates of return between general and vocational education, in transition economies, returns to vocational education are higher than returns to general education. Fourth, while occupational mobility is needed for countries undergoing structural change, it should be noted that too much mobility can also be harmful to the skill retention, especially for women. Special attention should therefore be given to providing complementary opportunities for retraining and for lifelong learning to all workers, but especially to women, to encourage and support the desired degree of mobility in the labour market.

The paper presents an enabling framework for experiential learning that connects with reflexive modernity. This framework places an emphasis on learning with others and on the role of theory, practice and reflection. A sociological argument is constructed for an alternative framework for experiential learning that derives from social theory. It is argued that reflection in learning connects with the concept of reflexivity in contemporary social theory. The arguments are developed through discussion of the following themes: (a) How does reflective learning in post compulsory education align with the needs of learners and reflexive modernity? (b) How can experiential learning provide a framework for more reflexive learning in education?

The purpose of this study is to determine (a) the patterns that existed in employment preparation courses offered by districts across a midwestern state and (b) the primary intent, primary method of instruction, and location of the classroom-based and work-based components of these courses. Findings indicated that (a) employment preparation offerings were limited, (b) career and technical education was the primary vehicle for delivering employment preparation, (c) the majority of employment preparation course work was offered in the classroom setting, (d) the intent of instruction for work-based-only courses was different from other delivery models, (e) the primary method of instruction in classroom-based-only courses was combined lecture and experiential, and (f) the method of delivering work-based learning differed by model. © 2009 Hammill Institute on Disabilities.