Across the western world, there is a growing awareness of the importance of workplace learning, seen at the level of national and international policy, as well as in the developing practices of employers, training providers and Trades Unions. Authoritative, accessible, and appealing, it presents key findings on work-based learning, bringing together conclusions and investigating a variety of workplace contexts to show how such learning can be improved. An extensive practical treatment, brought to life with illustrations from both the public and private sectors, this book has a unique combination of breadth of coverage and depth of understanding. Grounded in rich and detailed empirical studies, this volume challenges conventional thinking. An important new addition to the Improving Learning series, it focuses on guidelines for improving learning by marrying the very best theory and practice to provide an accessible and authoritative guide to workplace learning. Practitioners, policy makers, students and academics with an interest in learning at work will find this an invaluable addition to their bookshelves.

This book investigates the integration of literary writing into work based or business writing. It proposes ways of how to help people with considerable work experience use literature to engage with the problems they face in their work. Many people like to read for pleasure, but their skills in reading could always be improved. This book makes an original contribution to the fields of education, work based learning and business by encouraging students to explore history, memoir, fiction, and non-fiction to model their own writing and widen their knowledge beyond the work place and their customary reading. Inside are onsite experiments with fiction and non-fiction prose that show how people in the workplace respond and grow from contact with significant literature and culture that relates broadly to their work. As a Coaching Master’s student observes: “I have not been a prolific reader. It has been a weakness and a gap. I have probably read more in the last year [during the project course] than I have read in the past twenty years. So that says something. My ability to attend to what in a book has weight or relevance has markedly improved. In the past I banked largely on my opinions because not being a prolific reader, I had to. It can be incredibly empowering to see that there are so many assets outside of my own mind. When something comes up now, I tend to weigh it. I am more specific about how I use words.”

This Handbook provides a state-of-the art overview of the field of workplace learning from a global perspective. The authors are all well-placed theoreticians, researchers, and practitioners in this burgeoning field, which cuts across higher education, vocational education and training, post-compulsory secondary schooling, and lifelong education. The volume provides a broad-based, yet incisive analysis of the range of theory, research, and practical developments in workplace learning. The editors draw together the three essential areas of Theory; Research and Practice; and Issues and Futures in the field of Workplace Learning. In addition, final chapters include recommendations for further development. Key researchers and writers in the field have approached workplaces as the base of learning about work, that is, work-based learning. There has also been emerging interest in variations of this idea such as learning about, through, and at work. Many of the theoretical discussions have centred on adult learning and some on learners managing their own learning, with emphasis on aspects such as communities of practice and self directed learning. In Europe and Australia, early work in the field was often linked to the Vocational Education and Training (VET) traditions with concerns around skills, competencies and ′on the job′ learning. The idea that learning and workplaces had more to do with real lifelong and lifewide aspects than traditional "training" regimens has emerged in the last decade. Since the mid 1990s, the field has grown world-wide as an area of theory, research, and practical work that has not only expanded the interest but has also legitimized the area as a field of study, reflection, and progress. The SAGE Handbook of Workplace Learning draws together a wide range of views, theoretical dispositions, and assertions and provides a leading-edge presentation by key writers and researchers with insight into the field and its current state. It is a resource for researchers and academics interested in the scope and breadth of Workplace Learning..

By drawing on observation and detailed discourse analysis from interviews with teachers in Lithuanian and North American schools, this text identifies individual, school-specific, and national factors which impact teachers’ informal professional learning. Addressing multiple layers of teacher learning, this text illustrates how factors including socio-economic status, individual learning style, cultural attitudes to education, and political histories support or impede workplace learning. Drawing on three fields of research—teacher education, cultural anthropology, and comparative international—the book posits teacher learning as a multidimensional socio-cultural process. Finally combining a typology of informal learners with other policy-driven factors, the text indicates how practices at school, district, and national levels might stimulate workplace learning. Offering methodological innovations including unique research design and creative ways of using discourse analysis, this book will be of particular use to researchers and doctoral students in education, organizational and educational psychology, cultural anthropology, management, and beyond.

This book aims to provide insight into how digital technologies may bridge and enhance formal and informal workplace learning. It features four major themes: 1. Current research exploring the theoretical underpinnings of digital workplace learning. 2. Insights into available digital technologies as well as organizational requirements for technology-enhanced learning in the workplace. 3. Issues and challenges for designing and implementing digital workplace learning as well as strategies for assessments of learning in the workplace. 4. Case studies, empirical research findings, and innovative examples from organizations which successfully adopted digital workplace learning.

This book explores teacher workplace learning from four different perspectives: social policy, international comparators, multi-professional stances/perspectives and socio-cultural theory. First, it considers the policy and practice context of professional learning in teacher education in England, and the rest of the UK, with particular reference to professional masters level provision. The importance of teachers’ and schools’ perceptions of improvement, development and learning, and the inherent tensions between individual, school and government priorities is explored. Second, the book considers models of teacher workplace learning to be found in international research and practice to explore what perspective they can bring to understanding policy and practice relating to workplace learning in the UK. Third, it draws on cross-professional analysis to get an intellectual and theoretical purchase on workplace learning by examining how insights from across the professions can provide us with useful perspectives on policy and practice. The analysis draws particularly on insights from medicine and educational psychology. Fourth, the book cross-fertilises research and practice across the field of education by drawing on insights from perspectives such as socio-cultural and activity theory and situated learning/cognition to discover what they can offer in analysing the theoretical and pedagogic underpinnings of teacher workplace learning. In short, the book offers a number of contexts for exploring how best to conceptualise and theorise learning in the workplace in order to generate evidence to inform policy and practice and facilitates the development of a more theoretically informed and robust model of workplace learning and teaching.

The new paradigm in employee development assumes that employees should proactively direct their learning and growth. Most workplace learning is basically informal and occurs through daily work routines, peer-to-peer interactions, networking, and typically brings about significant positive outcomes to both individuals and organizations. Yet, workplace learning always occurs in a pre-defined context and this context has recently changed, and hereafter many people have been delegated to work from home or any other remote locations. Many employees would like to maintain remote or hybrid work design in the future, as well. In this research monograph, the authors explore an unexplored topic in social science research concerning proactive employee development through informal learning in new ways of working (NWW). The authors are esteemed experts in organizational studies, organizational psychology, and human resource management. The monograph will be of interest to students and researchers in organizational studies, organizational behavior, organizational psychology and organizational learning, as well as human resource professionals concerned with employee development and the changing nature of work.

Inclusive Guide Provides Practical Applications for Workplace Education Theory from Diverse Perspectives The Wiley Handbook of Global Workplace Learning explores the field of workplace education using contributions from both experts and emerging scholars in industry and academia. Unlike many previously published titles on the subject, the Handbook focuses on offering readers a truly global overview of workplace learning at a price point that makes it accessible for independent researchers and Human Resources professionals. Designed to strike a balance between theory and practice, the Handbook provides a wealth of information on foundational topics, theoretical frameworks, current and emerging trends, technological updates, implementation strategies, and research methodologies. Chapters covering recent research illustrate the importance of workplace learning topics ranging from meditation to change management, while others give pragmatic and replicable applications for the design, promotion, and implementation of impactful learning opportunities for employees at any company, regardless of industry. A sampling of topics addressed includes: “Using an Experiential Learning Model to Design an Assessment Framework for Workplace Learning” “Measuring Innovative Thinking and Acting Skills as Workplace-Related Professional Competence” Multiple chapters specifically addressing international business, such as “Competency in Globalization and Intercultural Communication”, “Global Strategic Planning” and “Global Talent Management” Research and recommendations on bridging generational and cultural divides as well as addressing employee learning disabilities With its impressive breadth of coverage and focus on real-world problem solving, this volume serves as a comprehensive tool for examining and improving practices in global workplace learning. It will prove to be a valuable resource for students and recent graduates entering the workforce and for those working in Human Resources and related fields.

Fundamentals of Workplace Learning is a comprehensive guide to how people learn in the workplace, and the issues and challenges involved. Examining the essential aspects of workplace learning and unravelling the various influences which affect the success of work-based learners, Knud Illeris presents a holistic model to explain how diverse individuals can be encouraged and invited to learn at work. Approaching workplace learning from the perspective of learners as human beings, with complex social and psychological needs, as opposed to resources to be managed, this book examines in detail the key issues surrounding workplace learning, including: The workplace environment as a learning space Workplace learning as competence development A multitude of different kinds of workplace learning arrangements Job-transcending learning initiatives The interaction between formal and informal learning environments The challenges presented by specific groups: early school leavers, elderly workers and the new young generation. Presenting conclusions on workplace learning and possibilities for the future this book focuses on a way forward while detailing the fundamentals of successful workplace learning. It will appeal to everyone involved in understanding and improving learning in the workplace including educationalists, business students, managers, personnel and educational leaders.

The need to improve the basic skills of the workforce is a perennial problem for employers and employees alike.