1,721,158 research outputs found
Participative learning through the work-based route: from apprenticeship to part-time higher education
No full textThe paper develops three main arguments. First, policy makers looking for ways to widen participation and promote lifelong learning have often been slow to recognise the pedagogical benefits and motivational strengths of the combined approach. In particular they have failed to maximise the lessons learned from the successes of the best apprenticeship models by facilitating similar forms of participation for older groups. Second, in comparison with the emphasis on full-time attendance on courses, there has been little attention to the many individuals who, for various reasons, relating to social and economic change and the changing relationship between individual and society, are reluctant or unable to take the full-time option. Third, the situated learning perspective developed by Lave and Wenger (1991) offers a theoretical starting point which highlights the workplace as a site for ‘newcomers’ learning
Credentialism, adults and part-time higher education in the United Kingdom: an account of rising take up and some implications for policy
No full textThis paper focuses on, and helps to explain, the growing importance of higher level qualifications for adults in the UK. It highlights statistical trends in their take up of qualifications, particularly, as the result of taking part-time courses in higher education. Recent figures indicate that most part-time students at undergraduate level fund their own tuition fees: I interpret this finding as an indicator of individual demand. The article goes on to draw on a qualitative study of mature students to identify some of the issues which lie behind the statistics. I suggest that insights into the rising take up of HE can be gained from considering the backgrounds and perspectives of mature students themselves, their changing relationship to qualifying and how their return-to-study decisions relate to the contemporary socio-economic context. The paper concludes by reminding policy makers of the challenge of widening access to HE for disadvantaged groups and briefly focuses on the potential of the new foundation degree to address this issue
Book review. Work Process Knowledge. Routledge Studies in Human Resource Development. N. Boreham, R. Samurcay & M. Fischer (Eds), 2002, London, Routledge, 244 pp, ISBN 0-415-27929-1
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Older and wiser? : Workplace learning from the perspective of older employees
Full text linkThis paper explores the (changing) role of older, experienced employees in the workplace in terms of their own needs and opportunities for learning and in the context of changing organizational expectations. It draws on Lave and Wenger's (1991) theory of situated learning and the notion of 'learning as participation' as starting points for examining the types of learning opportunities experienced by older workers. The discussion relates the nature of such opportunities to the changing workplace contexts in which employees are located. The article presents illustrative data from a recent research project that focused on how older experienced workers learn at work in two contrasting organizations. A brief review of literature is provided, which discusses the changing nature of work and the implications for learning. The paper then describes and contrasts the sites from which the data presented in this paper were collected, and the data collection methods that have been utilised. An analysis of the research data is presented and the authors discuss what the evidence reveals about the types of learning opportunities older employees are experiencing and how they make sense of them. The analysis suggests that from the perspective of experienced employees, factors such as organizational culture and history, the way jobs are designed and work is organized, and the way people are managed and their performance is judged, help explain the lived realities of workplace learning and provide messages for enhancing workforce development. The paper argues that contrasting forms of work organization and approaches to managing employees are likely to generate different learning environments and opportunities for workplace learning. It concludes by calling for more empirical research to explore the relationship between work organization and learning and to increase understanding of the implications for what and how different groups of employees learn at work
Hybrid qualifications, institutional expectations and youth transitions: a case of swimming with or against the tide
No full textThis paper uses the concept of hybrid qualifications to expose some of the ways in which the English system, with its longstanding academic and vocational divide, fails to support the transitions of young people with 'average' educational attainment. The concept of hybrid qualifications was developed during EU funded research undertaken in 2010 - 11 with project partners from Germany, Austria and Denmark. It was conceived to mean those qualifications generally achieved by young people aged 16-18 which would facilitate entry to the labour market or access to university. In the English system we defined Level 3 qualifications such as the BTEC National suite of Diplomas, Applied A-Levels, the Advanced Diploma and some qualifications contained within the Advanced Apprenticeship programme as contenders for hybridity. Compared with the clear pathways for entry to bachelor degrees that are articulated for those who have attained traditional academic qualifications (namely A-levels), the routes for those leaving school with vocational qualifications are poorly and narrowly-defined, and fragile. Using the rich, narrative data gathered from interviews and focus groups with students, tutors and key stakeholders, we illustrate how for this group transition often involves 'swimming against rather than with the tide'. To make sense of their uncertain and at times fragmented journeys we draw on Bourdieu's conceptual toolbox, and argue that his notion of 'doxa' is especially helpful in making sense of the way in which educational institutions play their own very distinctive roles in shaping those transition
Learning as apprentices in the contemporary UK workplace: creating and managing expansive participation
No full textSituated learning theory provides a rich conceptual framework for analysing the processes by which apprentices become (full) participants in a community of practice. This article uses case study evidence from the UK’s Modern Apprenticeship programme to show how this framework can be developed by identifying features of expansive and restrictive participation which help distinguish between different approaches to apprenticeship. We suggest that three inter-related themes (participation, personal development and institutional arrangements) underpin an expansive/restrictive continuum. The analysis is used to categorise company approaches to apprenticeship according to their expansive and restrictive characteristics, and to illustrate the variable learning opportunities that are being created for apprentices under the Modern Apprenticeship
Creating learning environments for compassionate care: a programme to promote compassionate care by health and social care teams
No full textBackgroundThe consistent delivery of compassionate health and social care to older people is a matter of global concern to the nursing profession and the public it serves. The development and evaluation of effective interventions to address this concern is of prime importance.Aims and objectivesThis paper draws on findings from previous research to propose the use of a novel implementation programme designed to improve and support the delivery of compassionate care by health and social care teams.InterventionCreating Learning Environments for Compassionate Care (CLECC) is a 4-month implementation programme designed for hospital ward nursing teams caring for older people, but relevant to other teams working with other client groups. The programme focuses on using workplace learning to promote change at unit/ward/team level by enabling the development of leadership and team relational practices which are also designed to enhance the capacity of individual team members to relate to older people. Existing research evidence suggests that optimising relational capacity in this way will support the delivery of compassionate care.ConclusionsThis evidence-based intervention is designed to develop and sustain the relational work required by managers and team members to support care delivery and has the potential to address widely documented variations in care quality.Implications for practiceAttention should now be paid to establishing the feasibility of the intervention in practice
Creating learning environments for compassionate care (CLECC) : a programme to promote compassionate care by health and social care teams
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