David Guile

A Connective Model of Learning: The Implications for Work Process Knowledge:

This article draws upon research in the field of Cultural Historical Activity Theory in order to provide a new theoretical and methodological framework for analysing work experience and identifying the social and cultural practices which support the production of new knowledge. In doing so, it builds upon recent work (Griffiths et al, 2001; Guile & Griffiths, 2001) which has explored knowledge development and learning, raising questions for research, policy and practice. The article describes the potential of a ‘connective model’ of learning as a way of reformulating and addressing questions of learning and knowledge development in and between different contexts. There are, for example, implications for the idea and development of ‘work process knowledge’.

Apprenticeship as a conceptual basis for a social theory of learning

Abstract Many approaches to learning rely on behaviourist and individualist assumptions, are dependent on transmission pedagogies or are associated with cognitive science accounts of expertise. Drawing upon recent developments in activity theory that have resulted in learning new interpretations of the ‘zone of proximal development’ and the emergence of the idea of ‘learning as a form of social practice’, this paper proposes an entirely different perspective on learning. It argues that the idea of apprenticeship can be reconceptualised to provide the basis for a more inclusive social theory of learning. It explores how far new pedagogic criteria will have to be developed that might constitute the basis for such a theory of ‘reflexive learning’, and identifies the possible implications of this approach to learning for a number of current concerns in vocational education and training, for example, lifelong learning, collaborative/transformative learning and knowledge production.

Characterizing the Use of Mathematical Knowledge in Boundary-Crossing Situations at Work

The first aim of this article is to present a characterization of the techno-mathematical literacies needed for effective practice in modern, technology-rich workplaces that are both highly automated and increasingly focused on flexible response to customer needs. The second aim is to introduce an epistemological dimension to activity theory, specifically to the notions of boundary object and boundary crossing. We draw on ethnographic research in a pensions company and focus on data derived from detailed analysis of the diverse perspectives that exist with respect to one symbolic artifact, the annual pension statement. This statement is designed to facilitate boundary crossing between company and customers. Our study shows that the statement routinely failed in this communicative role, largely due to the invisible factors of the mathematical-financial models underlying the statement that are not made visible to customers or to the customer Enquiry Team whose task is to communicate with customers. By focusing on this artifact in boundary-crossing situations, we identify and elaborate the nature of the techno-mathematical knowledge required for effective communication between different communities in the pensions company, and suggest the implications of our findings for workplaces more generally.

From ‘Credentialism’ to the ‘Practice of Learning’: Reconceptualising Learning for the Knowledge Economy

This article argues that there is a paradox at the heart of United Kingdom and European Union polices for learning: the knowledge economy debate rests on a traditional interpretation of the concept of learning (i.e. the acquisition of existing knowledge and skill), yet the challenge of the knowledge economy is to produce new knowledge and skill. Overcoming current credentialist approaches involves rethinking what is meant by ‘learning’. Drawing on activity theory, the article introduces the concept of ‘reflexive learning’ to illustrate how to reformulate public education policies to prepare learners for working and living in a knowledge society/economy.

Skill and Work Experience in the European Knowledge Economy

The article analyses the link between work experience, skill development and the knowledge economy. It locates these issues in an overview and interpretation of the debate about the knowledge economy. It illustrate the difficulties associated with the development of generic skill through work experience by introducing a typology which distinguishes between: (i) those conceptions of generic skill which view it as though it were the property of an individual, and those which view it in terms of a relationship between an individual and the context in which they are working; and (ii) the generic skills called for when working in routine as opposed to novel work contexts. The article re-thinks relationship between work experience, its curriculum context and the development of generic skill by using the concept of consequential transition (Beach, forthcoming); connective spectausution) (Young, 1999); and resituation (Griffiths & Guile, 1999).

Learning Across Contexts

This paper maintains that post Lave and Wenger VET has overlooked the relation between vocational curricula and workplace practice. The paper attributes this oversight to Kants legacy in the ‘situated’ tradition in VET and critics of that tradition. The paper argues that when Vygotskys concept of mediation is allied to the recent work of Robert Brandom and John McDowell, it is possible to formulate a non‐dualisitic conception of the relation between mind and world that goes beyond the Kantian separation of mind and allows us to grasp the interdependency of theory and practice. The paper concludes by outlining the implications of this philosophical and theoretical claim for vocational curriculum and vocational pedagogy.

Conceptualizing the transition from education to work as vocational practice: lessons from the UK's creative and cultural sector

The paper argues that: (i) the demise of ‘occupational’ and ‘internal’ and the spread of ‘external’ labour markets in growth areas of UK economy such as the creative and cultural (CC and, (ii) in order to re-think transition as the development of vocational practice it is necessary to eviscerate the legacy of the ‘traditional’ conception of practice in UK educational policy. The paper reviews a number of alternative social scientific conceptions of practice, formulates more multi-faceted conceptions of vocational practice, and discusses their implications for UK and EU educational policy.

Education and the economy: rethinking the question of learning for the ‘knowledge’ era

Abstract This paper argues that advanced industrial societies are (i) addressing ‘intended and unintended consequences’ of economic and technological development, and (ii) responding to dilemmas that cannot be solved by existing schema and routines. Paradoxically, the current education–economy/lifelong learning debate rests on traditional interpretation of the concept of learning (i.e. acquisition of pre-existing knowledge and skill). The paper argues that a sociological and educational theory of learning is needed to assist people and communities to use ideas originating from one context to resolve the dilemmas experienced in another. It introduces the concept of ‘reflexive learning’ to illustrate how to reformulate public education policies to address these issues.

Access, learning and development in the creative and cultural sectors: from ‘creative apprenticeship’ to ‘being apprenticed’

This paper challenges the prevailing conventional wisdom in the UK that the government is the sole architect of the education and training (E&T) system and that qualifications are the magic bullet for securing employment in the creative and cultural sector. It also argues that if policy‐makers are serious about wanting to diversify the occupational profile of the creative and cultural sector to reflect both the multicultural composition of the UK’s population and the rising demand for broader creative and cultural products and services, then it is necessary to develop a less qualification‐driven and more multifaceted approach to facilitating access and supporting learning and development in that sector. The paper maintains that this presupposes a shift from the current credentialist strategy to develop ‘creative apprenticeships’ towards a strategy that supports people to ‘be apprenticed’ in a variety of ways in the creative and cultural sector.

Inter-professional working and learning: ‘recontextualising’ lessons from ‘project work’ for programmes of initial professional formation

The paper argues that over the past two decades there has been a paradox at the heart of the literature on the professions: inter-professional work has been a growing feature of work in the global economy since the 1990s, however, this has been rarely acknowledged. The paper addresses this paradox in three ways. The paper explains how changes in the organization of work, from functional differentiation to project-work, have resulted in the increasing prominence of inter-professional working and learning, and uses a case study to illuminate the learning challenges associated with this change. It then explains the way in which debates about the contribution of disciplinary knowledge to professions formation have marginalised discussions about inter-professional work and learning, before identifying a conceptual framework to address the inter-professional learning challenge professionals now face. The paper concludes by outlining ways in which universities and professional institutes could work together to redesign programmes offered for initial professional formation, so they can assist learners to develop the capabilities required for inter-professional working and learning.