Search Results for
"learning"

This paper aims at problematizing the context of power relations and politics while engaging in work-based learning (WBL). The author uses Foucault's ideas on power/knowledge, ethics and subjectivity to show that he has something to say of particular relevance and importance to those engaged in WBL. Foucauldian ideas make possible an interrogation of how an individual's subjectivity is shaped through learning in the context of the workplace; also, such ideas allow an interrogation of taken-for-granted assumptions about 'work-based learning, 'working knowledge and 'WBL research methodologies. The implications of these ideas are discussed in terms of developing a Foucauldian research ethic that informs WBL practices and research methodologies.

Accreditation of Prior Experiential learning (APEL) is now an established but relatively underused process in higher education (HE). In our review article, we argue that this is because APEL not only challenges the traditional university monopoly of knowledge but also challenges other established processes and social constructions. Work-Based learning (WBL) has used APEL to great advantage in allowing people to gain access to HE. Also, it has done much to challenge traditional discipline based assumptions associated with APEL practice through seeking to recognise the knowledge and abilities that come about through the three spheres of work, the academic and the personal. This article examines the perspectives of five tutors who regularly support the development of, and assess the APEL claims of WBL students. The perspectives of the tutors are presented as vignettes. These, together with three short case examples, are used to illustrate themes that are related to the APEL process: power and control within the infrastructure of universities; the power of the disciplines to skew the depth and significance of prior and experiential learning; the pressure from government for universities to foster employee learning; competing value positions of academics and of students; and the social influence of students and assessors' gender, race and class. We look at these five overlapping themes and how the field of WBL may have certain features that can help overcome these constructions in the APEL process. We also consider the struggles of WBL and its own emerging value positions.

The contemporary relevance of the German philosopher of vocational education, Georg Kerschensteiner, is first indicated in general terms in relation to current debates and policies. Kerschensteiners main ideas are then outlined. There is a discussion of his relationship with progressivism, his ideas about learning and the importance of practical activity. His ideas about the nature of work and the relationship between work and paid unemployment are then considered. Kerschensteiner was particularly concerned with the role of work in promoting the development of character through the 'bourgeois virtues concerned with the work and the 'civic virtues concerned with the relationship between work and the broader society. His views on character formation are related to this discussion of civic education. Kerschensteiners innovations to schooling in Munich are then described in relation to his philosophical outlook and finally his views on the German tradition of liberal education or Bildung and how these relate to vocational education are outlined.

Teaching athletes to improve their performance is the essence of sports coaching. In response to new government-led initiatives to invest in and develop coaching, this book is the first introduction to pedagogical theory for coaching. Bringing helpful insights from educational theory to bear on coaching practice, The Sports Coach as Educator expands and enriches the role of the coach and allows professionals to approach their work in new and inventive ways. Exploring the nature of coaching, this text covers: educational concepts in coaching, coaching, teaching and leadership, athletes' learning, coaching communities and the social process, reflective practice mentoring, developing expert coaches. © 2006 Robyn L. Jones for editorial matter and selection; individual chapters, the contributors. All rights reserved.

[No abstract available]

In recent years, increasing emphasis has come to be placed, both by researchers and by policy-makers, on the adequacy of primary teachers' subject knowledge of science. Within research, this emphasis has been linked to the rise of constructivist ideas about the significance of establishing children's prior conceptions of scientific concepts for effective teaching. In this article I examine two constructivist approaches to teachers' adequacy of subject knowledge within UK research on primary science education. In each case I provide a critique of the assumptions they make about the nature of knowledge and how it develops. I do this from a sociocultural perspective, which views knowledge and learning as necessarily situated within communities of practice. My aim is to assess the implications of this perspective for understanding teachers' adequacy of subject knowledge. © 2006 Taylor & Francis.

This paper explores case study research of the group process for teachers as learners in an Online learning Module delivered in a blended problem-based learning (PBL) environment. Blended learning, as the name suggests, consists of a blend of at least two pedagogical approaches: within the context of this research, blended learning is the integration of the PBL face-to-face learning in a classroom with an e-learning environment. The 10-week module was part of an accredited Postgraduate Diploma in Third Level learning and Teaching for academic staff (lecturers, librarians, learning technology support staff) from a range of higher education institutions in the Republic of Ireland. This Postgraduate Diploma attracts academic staff keen to experience and implement a variety of pedagogical approaches within their own teaching. Over the four years of the modules existence, there have been a wide variety of subject disciplines in higher education represented. This paper shares experiences and lessons learnt from the case study, and provides a set of recommendations for other teachers pursuing this form of blended PBL with students.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to situate the concept of gendered learning in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach - The paper presents the results of two closely related, qualitative studies of apprenticeship learning in two major industrial companies in Denmark. Findings - The paper finds that the creation of a situated-gendered -being- or -doing- in the workplace constitutes an important and often overlooked aspect of young people's learning processesin vocational training. Two themes of gender and learning are identified and discussed in an empirical analysis. These themes are learning and gendered identities, and gender and future family life. Research limitations/implications - The paper is exploratory in nature, so that it would be useful to confirm the results through further validation and comparison with other professions and workplaces. Practical implications - The design of proliferate learning practices in the workplace should consider gender as a factor which influences the trajectories of the individual learner. Originality/value - The main thrust of the paper is that young people engaged in vocational training in the workplace are -gendered- through their participation in particular work and work-related practices. The -telos- of learning in the context of vocational training in the workplace entails more than just the pursuit of a career trajectory or an occupational identity. The main contribution of the article is therefore its emphasis on the notion that theories on workplace and apprenticeship learning should consider a broader perspective on the learner than possible when focussing only on professional or occupational identity. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

• The workplace remains the most important learning environment for junior doctors in their postgraduate years. • There is no national curriculum to guide the education of prevocational doctors. • The apprenticeship model is under threat, and is not sustainable in the future without significant changes to the system. • Supervision is crucial for junior doctors' learning and for safe, quality patient care.

This paper analyzes a simple game-theoretic model of curriculum integration decision-making in a high school with academic and vocational tracks. The model is based on a formal theory of how curriculum integration affects learning. Teachers choose to include a curriculum integration unit in their classes only when it increases learning relative to the next best alternative. The analysis shows that (1) curriculum integration is not invariably the right choice for schools; (2) teachers may independently choose curriculum integration under certain circumstances; (3) teachers' independent choices about curriculum integration may or may not be optimal from a school-wide perspective; and (4) school leadership is called for when teacher choices are suboptimal. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.