Tipping point for teachers? Changing working conditions and continuing learning in a ‘knowledge economy’

The basic argument of this paper is that, in the wake of austerity measures against public education accumulating since the early 1980s, professional teachers at all levels may have been losing control of their jobs and faced decreasing opportunities for continuing their own learning. Empirical evidence is drawn mainly from a unique time series of Canadian national surveys which provide data on the working conditions and continuing learning practices of both teachers and the entire labour force in Canada between 1982 and 2016. The main findings are that there have been major reductions in teachers’ participation in organisational decision-making, sharply declining recent incidence of participation in both continuing further education and job-related informal learning, as well as a strong association between decreasing job control and declining continuing learning trends. The major implication is that teachers’ work and learning may be reaching a tipping point after which established forms of effective teaching may no longer be sustainable. Further studies to confirm these findings and assess their potentially very serious implications are urgently needed.     

Participation in job-related training in European countries: the impact of skill supply and demand characteristics

Ageing populations and accelerating economic change make it increasingly important to update the skill levels of populations over the whole life course. Adult education is believed to allow adults’ skills to adapt continuously to constantly changing economic requirements. Both research into adult education, and discussions on lifelong learning policies have been dominated by a supply side view of the labour market (the human capital approach), which has tended to underplay the role of the demand side of the labour market. This paper aims to extend previous analyses by examining how both labour supply and demand characteristics influence participation in non-formal job-related education in countries with different skill formation systems. The paper emphasises skill use at work. The purpose is to understand better the relationship between participation in adult education and workers’ skills profiles as well as the extent to which those skills are used in jobs and how this relationship differs in different countries. We used data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies and applied logistic regression analysis.     

Participation in job-related lifelong learning among well-educated employees in the Nordic countries

The purpose of this study was to explore participation in job-related lifelong learning (LLL) among well-educated mature workers and compare it across four Nordic countries. Although this group generally is very active in LLL, the centrality of knowledge work in society, rapid pace of skills-renewal and rising learning demands for all qualifications levels, necessitates a better understanding of the patterns and factors affecting their skill development. The paper builds on theories of learning motivation, human capital and workplace learning. Data from the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) by the OECD were used. In addition to high participation rates, systematic level differences in participation were found across the countries. Results of logit regression analyses revealed clear differences between countries in the models that explained participation, which gave limited support to a single ‘Nordic model’ of LLL. Furthermore, the predictors of participation commonly found among adult populations, low-educated individuals and/or younger adults, appeared less valid for well-educated individuals.     

Lifelong learning and the continued participation of older Norwegian adults in employment

The number of people aged 60 and over across the globe is expected to double by 2050, reaching a share of more than 20 percent of the population total. Governments are therefore taking more and more policy actions to encourage ageing workers to extend their working lives and their employers to retain them. According to the OECD lifelong learning opportunities and inclusive labour markets will be essential to ensuring that workers of all educational backgrounds have the possibility of extending their working lives. This article examines the relationship between adult education completed after age 40 and the subsequent active participation of older adults in employment, using individual register data from Statistics Norway. The results show a substantial effect of upgrading formal education on subsequent labour market participation. Overall effects are quite similar for males and females. Attaining a lower level tertiary degree has the largest impact on labour market participation both for males and females. Completing a secondary education has a strong, long term impact among males. The results suggest that facilitating access to formal education among older workers may be an important contribution to extending working lives.     

Constituting the workplace curriculum

This paper advances some bases for a workplace curriculum. These are premised on conceptions of curriculum as intents directed to individuals’ progression towards full and effective workplace performance, yet whose enactment is shaped by workplace factors and is ultimately experienced by workers as learners. So whether the intentions will be realized is likely premised on the support (affordances) for their enactment by interests within the workplace. Workplace affordances, like those in educational institutions, emphasize the role that the norms and social practices that comprise workplaces play in regulating individuals’ engagement in and learning through work. The degree to which these affordances invite, structure, support, and guide participation, and are likely to engage workers in the kinds of thinking, acting, and learning required for effective workplace performance, is important for developing effective vocational practice. The conception of an ideal curriculum directed towards full participation is subject to the affordances of the interests of managers, co‐workers, and factors affecting production, as well as the intentionalities of worker‐learners themselves. These concepts may well provide ways of thinking about curriculum more broadly as participatory practices.     

Perspectives into learning at the workplace

The article presents a thematic review of the recent research on workplace learning. It is divided into two main sections. The first section asks what we know about learning at work, and states four propositions: (1) the nature of workplace learning is both different from and similar to school learning; (2) learning in the workplace can be described at different levels, ranging from the individual to the network and region; (3) workplace learning is both informal and formal; and (4) workplaces differ a lot in how they support learning. The second section focuses on workplace learning that is related to formal education. Different models of organising work experience for students and the challenges of creating partnerships between education and working life are described. It is concluded that the worlds of education and work are moving closer each other and that the integration of formal and informal learning is an essential prerequisite for developing the kinds of expertise needed in response to the changes taking place in working life.     

Subject leaders in secondary schools and informal learning: towards a conceptual framework

Much of the emphasis on the learning of subject leaders in secondary schools is placed on what Eraut (2000) terms ‘organised formal learning events’. This article attempts to redress the balance by focusing on the somewhat neglected area of their informal learning about the role, which is predominantly based in the workplace. It is argued that informal learning consists of three components: implicit learning, learning through experience and non-taught or deliberative learning (following Eraut, 2004). Such forms of learning can be underpinned by theoretical notions of cognitive, affective and behavioural developments. A model of work-based informal learning is proposed that also tries to incorporate the memories of relevant past and current events. It is hoped that this model might be useful as a framework for the future analysis of the learning of subject leaders.     

Primary Teacher Education in Rural Cameroon: Can Informal Learning Compensate for the Deficiencies in Formal Training?

The objective of the research on which this article reports was to evaluate the training conditions of primary school teachers in rural Cameroon, so as to identify alternative paths towards their qualification through informal learning in the workplace and outside. Following Denzin’s (2009) between-methods triangulation approach, quantitative techniques, including statistical analyses and standardised questionnaires, were applied in addition to qualitative techniques, such as face-to-face interviews and observations of practising teachers and experts. The article presents the most common learning strategies of teachers in rural areas of Cameroon and recommends seminal solutions for teacher education. It can be concluded that informal learning in the workplace corresponds to traditional ways of learning in collectivist-oriented, oral societies in rural areas. Therefore, the combination of informal methods with formal structures of teacher education could improve the current educational system of many African countries, and provide a solution to meet the high demand for qualified staff within restricted budgets.     

The ‘Unionization Effect’ among Adult Computer Learners

Findings from qualitative and quantitative research in Canada are combined to explore the links between adult participation in progressive trade unionism and patterns of learning. Progressive trade unionism is defined partially by an organization's commitment to member education and the effective ‘buffering’ of supervisory discipline within the labour process. With a focus on computer learning specifically, the data suggest that involvement in such organizations and community formations encourages different subjective appreciation for learning and education, more effective informal learning practice, as well as greater access to material resources and greater involvement in formalized courses. Informal learning networks among manufacturing workers are described comparatively. Central to this effect is the formation of a proletarian public sphere articulated by culturally and materially stable forms of class-based community.     

Measuring labour market success: a comparison between immigrants and native-born Canadians using PIAAC

Canadian society is characterised by a plurality of immigrants and Canadian migration policy and corresponding recognition approaches are strongly geared to economic criteria, qualifications and skills. This paper addresses the question how immigrants who have acquired their highest qualification outside Canada are able to use their foreign qualifications and skills in their current job. The analyses are conducted to verify the assumptions of human capital theory as well as the lack of transferability of human capital across country borders. To answer these questions a labour market success index is developed, which is used as a dependent variable in regression models. The results show that traditional operationalisations of human capital (years of education, years of work experience and skills) have a positive effect on individual labour market success. At the same time, being born abroad and having acquired one’s highest qualification abroad in comparison to Canada, especially in a Non-Western country, has negative effects on the overall labour market success of an individual. Detailed comparisons regarding different indicators of labour market success also prove these comparatively negative effects. The results demonstrate the limited explanatory power of human capital theory and the necessity to complement it with Bourdieu’s concepts of social and cultural capital.     

Case study of a problem-based learning course of project management for senior engineering students

The analysis of the current state of the Ukrainian system of engineering education indicates the prevalence of traditional teaching–learning approaches in contrast to the modern needs of the labour market. Many universities across the world use the problem/project-based learning (PBL) which is an effective approach for the development of design and management skills of engineering students. The paper describes a detailed structure of a PBL course in project management and practical experience related to its implementation in an engineering degree programme at Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy. Also, the results of surveys carried out in order to study the students’ generic competences’ development and perception of the PBL process are presented. The results show that students understand the diversity of PBL aspects and the influence of the PBL approach on their professional characteristics such as teamwork, ability of self-directed learning, communication and problem-solving skills.     

Experiencing the workplace: shaping worker identities through assessment,work and learning

This article reports on the findings of research seeking to understand the informal dimensions of online learning in the labour movement. It draws on analysis of online learning workshop participation in specially initiated sessions amongst labour activists/educators from across Canada. Findings are based on the analysis of original interview data and survey data as well as content and interaction analysis of online postings. Barriers to effective participation are discussed, as are possible functions of online learning/communication in the labour movement. I argue that there is strong evidence to suggest that online learning can be a valuable addition to the education capacity of the labour movement, and that an important part of this contribution revolves around a recognition of informal learning, the linkages between the online and the offline world, and the unique goals of the labour movement.     

Associations between motivation to learn,basic skills,and adult education and training participation among older adults in the USA

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study is to examine the associations between the motivation to learn, basic skills (i.e. literacy and numeracy), and organised adult education and training (AET) participation among the middle-aged and older adults in the USA. Rapid technological advancement and globalisation necessitate individuals to engage in lifelong learning to actively participate in society. However, little is known about the roles of motivation to learn and basic skills in the AET participation in the U.S. adult population. We obtained the data from the 2012/2014 Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies restricted-use file and adults aged 50 years and older (n = 2,580) are included. Structural equation models are used to examine (1) any AET, (2) formal AET and (3) non-formal AET participation as a function of the motivation to learn latent construct, literacy, numeracy, and other covariates. Results showed that the motivation to learn, literacy and numeracy are all positive predictors of non-formal AET participation. Only motivation to learn is associated with formal AET participation. Findings from this study may inform future interventions as well as policy changes to promote specific types of organised AET programmes among older adult population in the USA.     

Human capital linkages to labour productivity: implications from Thai manufacturers

Human capital investment is a necessary condition for improving labour market outcomes in most countries. Empirical studies to investigate human capital and its linkages on the labour demand side are, however, relatively scarce due to limitations of firm-level data-sets. Using firm-level data from the Thai manufacturing sector, this paper aims to investigate the effects of skill and human capital on labour productivity. Costs and benefits of human capital improvement are compared indicating that hiring workers who have higher education as well as providing them with in-service training has a statistically and significantly positive impact on an increase in labour productivity. However, hiring workers who have higher education yields less benefit than costs which come from higher average wage expenditures. However, providing training should contribute more benefit than cost. Besides education and training measures, we also measure workers’ skill levels into cognitive skills and non-cognitive skills and find that skill in information technology is found to be the most important cognitive skill for increasing labour productivity among Thai manufacturers. Non-cognitive skills such as those in leadership, time-management and communication are also important and seem to have positive relationship to labour productivity among Thai manufacturers.     

The Impact of Personality,Goal Orientation and Self-Efficacy on Participation of High School Teachers in Learning Activities in the Workplace

This study examines the influence of personality traits, goal orientation and self-efficacy on high school teachers’ participation in learning activities in the workplace (i.e. experimentation, informal interaction with colleagues, self-regulation and avoidance behaviour). A convenience sample of 95 teachers from six high schools in Flanders (Belgium) participated in this exploratory study. They completed a questionnaire consisting of different instruments to map their personality (NEO-FFI), goal orientation (adaptation of Achievement Goal Questionnaire), self-efficacy (Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale) and participation in learning activities (adaptations from different scales). Results of multivariate regression analyses indicate that conscientiousness, extraversion and openness have a positive effect on teachers’ participation in learning activities in the workplace. However, learning orientation and self-efficacy are found to be better predictors for participation in experimentation, informal interaction and selfregulation. Analysis using structural equation modeling reveals an indirect relationship between extraversion and self-regulation, mediated by self-efficacy. Learning orientation mediates the impact of conscientiousness on informal interaction. As teachers’ goal orientation and self-efficacy can be influenced, school policy makers should reflect upon ways on how teachers’ goal orientation and self-efficacy can further be enhanced.     

Beteiligung an informellem Lernen

In this article participation in job-related informal learning activities is analyzed based on data from the German ‘Berichtssystem Weiterbildung’ 2003, a national monitoring survey of continuing education and training activities in Germany. Job-related informal learning activities are expected to gain in importance; however, rather heterogeneous definitions of such informal learning activities exist. Based on factor analyses we distinguish between four different forms of informal learning activities. The probability of attendance for those distinguished forms of informal learning activities is then estimated comparatively using logistic regression analysis. Socio-demographic and company-related parameters are included as independent variables. The results show diverse influencing factors for the different informal learning activities which underlines the relevance of a distinctive differentiation of job-related informal learning activities. Further, the results indicate that different forms of job-related informal learning activities are determined by specific combinations of both company-related parameters and socio-demographic characteristics which appear to provide different opportunities for job-related informal learning activities.     

Academic Twitter and professional learning: myths and realities

Social networking sites provide opportunities for informal and social learning of academic practices in higher education, yet not all academics engage in these spaces. This qualitative study suggests that while Twitter offers informal opportunities for academic development, inhibiting factors prevent staff from establishing their social presence and participating in conversations on academic Twitter. In a pervasively digital era, rethinking academic development practices is required to build digital capacity and digital identity of staff to support participation on social networking sites for academic learning and development.     

Adult learning in the context of African‐American women's voluntary organizations‡

The purpose of this research was to examine non‐formal adult education and informal learning within contemporary African‐American women's voluntary organizations. Face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with 28 women who were members of six different organizations. A semi‐structured interview process was used to elicit their perceptions regarding their (1) involvement in the education of others, (2) learning within the context of performing group membership roles and projects, (3) learning needs, and (4) comparisons of learning in this context with that in more formal educational settings. The findings of the research are discussed in relation to other research on learning in voluntary associations and the workplace. As with other studies of the voluntary association context, respondents did not seem to have given a great deal of prior thought to the nature of their learning within the context, having been more focused on the successful performance of their leadership and service roles than on what is learned from that work. They were none the less able to report numerous examples of how their work helped educate others and how they learned through their experiences. While instances of more systematic non‐formal education (e.g. orientation sessions, lectures and leadership training) were reported, the learning experiences reported more frequently and identified as most valuable seemed to reflect more informal, frequently incidental learning. This significant learning often reflected a perceived change in skills and abilities related to interacting with and working with others toward common goals, or a changing sense of self, in terms of growing self‐confidence and/or sense of connectedness to group members and the community which they sought to serve. Respondents who were quite well educated as a group, nevertheless generally indicated their preferences for the kind of interactive, experiential and situated learning that occurred as an outgrowth of group participation over the more abstract, teacher‐controlled learning they associated with formal education. These findings are discussed in terms of their importance to our understanding of informal learning, particularly that which occurs within the voluntary sector. Exploring this learning in a context specific to African‐American women is also seen as a way of moving beyond the culturally biased sampling often criticized in adult learning research.