Fusing Learning and Work: Changing Conceptions of Learning in the Workplace

Abstract

Continuous and rapid change in the workplace has brought about the need for continuous adaptation and learning, much of it in anticipation of further turbulence. Some of this learning takes place in formalised settings, such as classrooms and training programs; however, most of it occurs incidentally within the workplace. Consequently, there has been a great deal of attention in recent years to work-based learning and, in particular, to how it might be facilitated and enhanced. This paper examines some of the research literature concerning work-based learning, a close reading of which reveals a range of variant meanings and connotations. Different authors may use the same terminology (such as the ‘learning enterprise’ or the 'learning organisation,') yet have in mind very different understandings of what the term implies. The paper advances an eight-part typology of meanings attributed to 'work-based learning,' ranging from ‘the workplace as a site for formal accredited learning,' through 'the workplace as a site for sharing and creating knowledge' to the ‘workplace as an organic entity, capable of learning and adaptation in it own right.' An attempt is made to identify dominant themes which underlie, and progressively change throughout these eight different conceptions, before turning to a consideration of those management practices and organisational structures which research has shown are most likely to facilitate informal learning in organisational settings.

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