Knud Illeris

Towards a contemporary and comprehensive theory of learning

The modern concept of competence comprises not only relevant knowledge and skills, but also a range of personal qualities and the ability to perform adequately and flexibly in well-known and unknown situations. To be up-to-date, the concept of learning must be understood in the same broad sense, and therefore traditional learning theories must be revised. The theory presented is based on two fundamental assumptions. Firstly, that all learning includes two essentially different types of process, namely an external interaction process between the learner and his or her social, cultural and material environment, and an internal psychological process of acquisition and elaboration in which new impulses are connected with the results of prior learning. Secondly, that all learning includes three dimensions, namely, the cognitive dimension of knowledge and skills, the emotional dimension of feelings and motivation, and the social dimension of communication and co-operation—all of which are embedded in a societally situated context. In addition, the approach specifies four levels of learning and deals with what happens when intended learning does not occur. Inside this framework existing learning theories deal with different aspects. Thus the new theory has been constructed as a sort of umbrella, offering an overview and a structure of the landscape of learning which can be applied in both analysing and planning learning processes, both inside and outside of the educational system. The development of the theory is described in detail in my book, The Three Dimensions of Learning, which has been a bestseller in the Scandinavian countries since 1999, and which has now been published in English (Illeris 2002).

Workplace learning and learning theory

Recent years have seen significantly increased interest in learning at the workplace as partial or full compensation for vocationally‐oriented education and training in schools and educational institutions. In this general enthusiasm, former scepticism about workplace learning would seem to be buried deep under layers of modern management slogans. However, the well‐known limitations inherent in this learning framework cannot be talked out of existence, and there is an urgent need for insight and tools capable of distinguishing between the genuine possibilities in the area and how to establish fruitful interaction between workplace learning and educational learning. It is, first and foremost, a matter of viewing learning from the perspective of the learner, because adults are not very inclined to learn something of which they cannot see the point on the basis of their own life situation. As a grounding for this, a contemporary and comprehensive learning theory is needed. The outline of such a theory and an example of how it can be used are presented.

A model for learning in working life

The aim of this article is to develop a holistic model that shows the basic elements of workplace learning and their mutual connections. This is done by adjusting and combining two models that have already been worked out formerly by members of the consortium: a model dealing with the workplace as a learning space, and a general model of the learning process. The most important features of the new model are its distinction between the social and the individual levels of learning, and its pointing to the overlap between the working practice of the organisation and the work identities of the employees as the central area for important workplace learning. Concludes by discussing the purposes to which this model can be put.

Adult education as experienced by the learners

During the last decade, the issue of lifelong learning, which was once launched as a project of emancipation, has become more integrated into the labour market and employment policies of governments and international organizations such as the EU and OECD. The most important concrete result of this has been a rapid increase in adult education programmes and incentives for adults to join them. In some cases, these incentives almost assume the character of compulsion. The Danish Adult Education Research Project (1997–2000) has been dealing with the broad adult education systems mainly serving poorly educated and unemployed adults. The project has consistently sought to investigate current adult education from the perspective of the learners. Empirical activities have comprised observation of teaching sessions and daily life, and individual and group interviews of participants. Most adult learners approach education in very ambivalent ways. The majority of participants enter the programmes because they are more or less forced to do so, and not because of an inner drive or interest. In practice, they typically develop a variety of psychological defence strategies to avoid learning that challenges their identity and personal ways of thinking, reacting and behaving. In general, it seems to be basically characteristic of adult learning that: adults have very little inclination to really learn something they do not perceive as meaningful for their own life goals; adults in their learning draw on the resources they have; and adults take as much responsibility for their learning as they want to take (if they are allowed to do so). These characteristics are significantly different from general assumptions behind most educational programmes. Thus, such programmes are not fit to fulfil the ideals of lifelong learning, and often it would be better to move resources from educational arrangements to clarifying, guiding and motivating activities. Education should only take place when the learner has understood and accepted that the arrangement is in his or her own interest.

The fundamentals of workplace learning : understanding how people learn in working life

@contents: Part I: The Basis for Workplace Learning 1. Introduction 2. The Workplace as a Learning Space 3. Learning Processes as they are formed at Work 4. A Holistic Model of Workplace Learning 5. The Need for Competence Development Part II: Workplace Learning in Practice 6. Combining Work and Learning 7. Learning Related to Everyday Work 8. Guided Learning at Work 9. Job-transcending Workplace Learning 10. Combination of Learning Activities Inside and Outside the Workplace Part III: General Perspectives 11. The Main General Features of Workplace Learning 12. Special Circumstances and Problems in Relation to Specific Groups of Learners Conclusions

Transformative Learning re-defined: as changes in elements of the identity

We live in a time of constant change—in liquid modernity—and this has created a rapidly growing need for Transformative Learning (TL): we must be able to constantly change and develop ourselves in order to keep pace with the changes in our environment and life situation. However, the need for change has grown so fast and in so many directions that the term of TL has itself become uncertain or even confused. In 2000, Robert Kegan posed the question ‘What “Form” Transforms’? He advocated a new approach to TL but did not propose any new definition; this situation still remains: among several proposals for new approaches to TL, there is a general agreement that the traditional definition of the term as changes in the learner’s ‘meaning perspectives’, etc. is too narrow and too cognitively oriented. In this article, it is argued that TL should be re-defined as ‘changes in the learner’s identity’. The article explains why this definition is better and more up to date. Through discussion of range of issues, the article shows that the linking of the concepts of TL and identity open the way for new understandings and possibilities.

Project education in Denmark

Abstract Today in Denmark projects are an integrated element of education from primary school to university-level and adult education. Projects in education can solve certain pedagogical problems and create qualifications especially for administrative, management, creative and organizational functions. At Roskilde University Centre projects are the main content of all studies. Educational projects are based on the principles of problem orientation, participant direction and exemplarity. There are some fundamental differences between educational and business projects, but in many aspects project management may be inspired by experience from educational projects, and the project method can also be of great value in the internal educational activities of business concerns.

The Significance of Educational Strategies

This paper focuses on the long‐term effects of the Danish primary school (folkeskole, age 7‐16) on its pupils. It is a summary of the concluding report from a research project comprising interviews with 141 former pupils of experimental schools and 103 former pupils of ordinary schools, chosen for comparison, about their experiences in the Danish primary school and the subsequent course of their lives. *Translated from Danish by Margaret Malone.

Transformative Learning as Change and Development of Identity

Thirty-five years ago the American adult educator Jack Mezirow, professor at Columbia University, launched the concept and issue of transformative learning (Mezirow, 1978, 1991), and it seems to be time for a careful check, not only because 35 years is a generation’s time, but also because in the later years some serious problems have turned up, which must be addressed and solved if this important approach to learning shall continue to play a significant role in the future.