Learning And Work And The Politics Of Working Life

How does the politics of working life shape modern organizations? Is our desire for meaningful, secure work increasingly at odds with corporate behaviour in a globalized economy? Does the rise of performance management culture represent an intensification of work, or create opportunities for the freewheeling individual career? This timely and engaging book, by leading authorities in the field, adopts the standpoint of the 'questioning observer'. It is for those who need an informed account of work that is accessible without being superficial. The book is unique in its multi-dimensional approach, weaving together analysis of individual work experience, political processes in organizations, and the wider context of the social structuring of markets. The book identifies central questions about working experience and answers them in a direct and lively manner. It has a strong analytical foundation based on a political economy framework, giving particular weight to the contradictory character of organizations. These contradictions turn on the competing demands placed on organizations and the different political projects of groups within them. This perspective integrates the chapters, and permits numerous scholarly debates to be addressed - including those on identity projects, gender and work, power and participation, escalation in decision-making, and the meaning of corporate social responsibility. This book is suitable for undergraduate and graduate classes in Organizational Behaviour, Business Strategy and the Sociology of Work and Employment. It will also appeal to the general reader interested in grappling with the complexity of the changing environment of work.

Large scale changes in work and education are a key feature of contemporary global transformations, with a pervasive politics that affects people’s experiences of workplaces and learning spaces. This thought-provoking book uses empirical research to question prevailing debates surrounding compliance at work, education and lifelong learning, and emphasises the importance of debate and dissent within the current terms and conditions of work. Examining a number of types of work, including teaching, nursing and social work, through a transnational research space, the contributors investigate how disturbances in work both constrain and enable collective identities in practical politics. Structured around three main themes, the book covers: Disturbed work: with cases of occupational reform in nursing and vocational teaching in Finland and re-regulating work in Australia Disturbing work: examining contested occupational knowledge in German school to work transitions, paraprofessional healthwork in the UK, social work in Finland, and mobilising professional expertise in US Community College faculty and Australian adult literacy Transforming politics: negotiating an ageing workforce in Germany, young adults moving through identities and careers, building a politics of ‘we’ through a global book project An enlightening collection of international contributions, this book will appeal to all postgraduate students, researchers and policy makers, in education, work, and lifelong learning.

A visionary guide for the future of learning and work Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs That Don’t Even Exist Yet offers readers a fascinating glimpse into a near-future where careers last 100 years, and education lasts a lifetime. The book makes the case that learners of the future are going to repeatedly seek out educational opportunities throughout the course of their working lives — which will no longer have a beginning, middle, and end. Long Life Learning focuses on the disruptive and burgeoning innovations that are laying the foundation for a new learning model that includes clear navigation, wraparound and funding supports, targeted education, and clear connections to more transparent hiring processes. Written by the former chief innovation officer of Strada Education Network’s Institute for the Future of Work, the book examines: How will a dramatically extended lifespan affect our careers? How will more time in the workforce shape our educational demands? Will a four-year degree earned at the start of a 100-year career adequately prepare us for the challenges ahead? Perfect for anyone with an interest in the future of education and Clayton Christensen’s theories of disruptive innovation, Long Life Learning provides an invaluable glimpse into a future that many of us have not even begun to imagine.

A new theory exploring what makes modern waged work either meaningful or meaningless.

This book presents leading-edge perspectives and methodologies to address emerging issues of concern for professional learning in contemporary society. The conditions for professional practice and learning are changing dramatically in the wake of globalization, new modes of knowledge production, new regulatory regimes, and increased economic-political pressures. In the wake of this, a number of challenges for learning emerge: more practitioners become involved in interprofessional collaboration developments in new technologies and virtual workworlds emergence of transnational knowledge cultures and interrelated circuits of knowledge. The space and time relations in which professional practice and learning are embedded are becoming more complex, as are the epistemic underpinnings of professional work. Together these shifts bring about intersections of professional knowledge and responsibilities that call for new conceptions of professional knowing. Exploring what the authors call sociomaterial perspectives on professional learning they argue that theories that trace not just the social but also the material aspects of practice – such as tools, technologies, texts but also bodies and actions - are useful for coming to terms with the challenges described above. Reconceptualising Professional Learning develops these issues through specific contemporary cases focused on one of the book’s three main themes: (1) professionals’ knowing in practice, (2) professionals’ work arrangements and technologies, or (3) professional responsibility. Each chapter draws upon innovative theory to highlight the sociomaterial webs through which professional learning may be reconceptualised. Authors are based in Australia, Canada, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and the USA as well as the UK and their cases are based in a range of professional settings including medicine, teaching, nursing, engineering, social services, the creative industries, and more. By presenting detailed accounts of these themes from a sociomaterial perspective, the book opens new questions and methodological approaches. These can help make more visible what is often invisible in today’s messy dynamics of professional learning, and point to new ways of configuring educational support and policy for professionals.

Vocational education and training (VET) can be difficult to define since it is set in a turbulent and volatile environment marked by national and regional specificities. It can be delivered at different levels and by a variety of providers, including community colleges, colleges of further education, polytechnics and universities, as well as, importantly, private providers. This collection reflects the shifting and often messy conceptualisations of VET. On one level VET can be associated with the education and training of craft/skilled workers, or of those who are being prepared for a particular occupational destiny and specific position in the labour market. In this instance, notions of skill, knowledge and dispositions are significant. On another level, it can raise questions over power and class formation, in addition to the way in which these are mediated or intersect with race and gender. Moreover, there are important political questions addressing the significance of VET in furthering social cohesion and economic regeneration in times of austerity when neoliberalism is hegemonic. The chapters in this book are not all of a piece, but each in its turn raises important questions about VET, its relationship to the economy, as well as its global setting. This book was originally published as a special issue of Globalisation, Societies and Education.

This title brings together contributions from around the world that analyse and reflect on the way curriculum is configuring and reconfiguring that world.

Fundamentals of Workplace Learning is a comprehensive guide to how people learn in the workplace, and the issues and challenges involved. Examining the essential aspects of workplace learning and unravelling the various influences which affect the success of work-based learners, Knud Illeris presents a holistic model to explain how diverse individuals can be encouraged and invited to learn at work. Approaching workplace learning from the perspective of learners as human beings, with complex social and psychological needs, as opposed to resources to be managed, this book examines in detail the key issues surrounding workplace learning, including: The workplace environment as a learning space Workplace learning as competence development A multitude of different kinds of workplace learning arrangements Job-transcending learning initiatives The interaction between formal and informal learning environments The challenges presented by specific groups: early school leavers, elderly workers and the new young generation. Presenting conclusions on workplace learning and possibilities for the future this book focuses on a way forward while detailing the fundamentals of successful workplace learning. It will appeal to everyone involved in understanding and improving learning in the workplace including educationalists, business students, managers, personnel and educational leaders.