Learning in Working Life: Identity and Workplace Learning

Citation

Field J (2011) Learning in Working Life: Identity and Workplace Learning. In: Catts R, Falk I & Wallace R (eds.) Vocational learning: innovative theory and practice. Technical and Vocational Education and Training: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, 13. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 229-242. http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-1539-4_15

Abstract
The chapter argues for the use of biographical methods in the study of workplace learning. While much research into workplace learning is time-bound, and often limited to a brief 'snap-shot', biographical research allows us to study changing experiences and understandings as they unfold through the life course, and to grasp workplace learning within the context of individuals' lives. It is also limited, in that it can lead to a neglect of wider structural and historical processes. The chapter then examines data from a recent study of learning across the life course, and draws conclusions for practice.

Keywords
lifelong learning; lifecourse; skills; biographical methods