Anders Hallqvist

The many faces of biographical learning

Abstract Biographical learning as a conceptual tool for investigating learning in life transitions has gained some recognition over recent years. In this article, we elaborate on this concept against the background of previous research and suggest a number of different modes of biographical learning. We further exemplify and discuss our suggestions in relation to an empirical research project on people in work transitions.

Work Transitions as Told: A Narrative Approach to Biographical Learning.

In this article, we introduce a narrative approach to biographical learning; that is, an approach that considers autobiographical storytelling as a practice through which claims about life history are performed and negotiated. Using insights from narrative theory, we highlight evaluations in those narratives and suggest their crucial role in promoting self-reflective thought. The research area is unemployment, more specifically, work transitions following company restructuring and redundancy supported by outplacement services. Recognizing the learning potential in autobiographical storytelling, the article examines job-loss narratives told by people made redundant. The analysis focuses on strategies used in moments of evaluation. Our findings point to a variety of rhetorical strategies, different kinds of reflexivity and, in turn, variation in the potential for biographical learning.

Occupational transitions as a relational project

Looking at ‘biographical learning’ as part of a work transition, the aim of this paper is to investigate how social relations enable and constrain such a learning process in outplacement clients. To examine the process, its character and social conditions, the study draws on interviews with workers who had been made redundant and were enrolled at an outplacement agency. The interviews were analysed using a comparative cross-case analysis. A distinction was made between ‘strong’ (long-term and intimate), ‘weak’ (short-term and non-intimate) and ‘formal’ (e.g., professional counsellors) relations. Findings showed that strong and formal relations were rather influential on peoples engagement in biographical learning while weak relations were important to the straightforward career. Since transitions in late modern society has become not only a passage but also a learning option, the different sources and functions of social relations should be considered a vital part of outplacement counselling. Future research should examine more closely both parties in strong relationships and the (joint) process of career decision-making inherent in occupational transitions.

End of journey, end of story? A longitudinal study of involuntary work transitions among laid-off workers

The purpose of this study is to increase knowledge regarding involuntary work transitions among laid-off workers. It is part of an ongoing cooperation with two outplacement agencies enrolling white-collar workers. The particular arrangements, which are based on collective agreements, include relatively generous support, both economically and regarding the educational and counselling arrangements offered. A narrative research approach is used and the analysis is based on interviews with 15 people, conducted on two occasions with about a year in between. Conceptualizing the transition as a biographical learning process, the findings point out a great variety within and between cases. While the basic distinction is drawn between people who have changed their status and those who have not, a number of rhetorical varieties are identified, pointing to different modes of biographical learning. The originality of the paper lies in its narrative approach and the particular conceptual framework showing that biographical learning is a vital part of enforced work transitions.

Biographical learning: two decades of research and discussion

The article discusses the concept of biographical learning and reviews previous research on the subject. Several tensions between different versions of the concept are recognized, and a wide range of research areas in which the concept has been used are identified and presented. The general idea in the biographical learning tradition regarding the occurrence of general conceptions of one’s biography, as well as the idea of narrative coherence, is discussed critically. New areas of research are suggested.