In the last few decades, the workplace has been increasingly recognised as a legitimate environment for learning new skills and knowledge, which in turn enables workers to participate more effectively in ever-changing work environments. Within the workplace there is the potential for continuous learning to occur not only through formal learning initiatives that are associated with training, but also through informal learning opportunities that are embedded within everyday work activities. Somewhat surprisingly however, there have been relatively limited empirical investigations into the actual processes of informal learning in the workplace. This may in part be due to the particular methodological challenges of examining forms of learning that are not structured or organised but incidental to daily work activities. There remains, therefore, a clear need to better understand how learning occurs informally in the workplace, and most importantly, to gain insight into workers’ own accounts of informal learning experiences. This thesis addresses this issue by examining workers’ personal experiences of informal learning, and how these contributed to better participation in their regular workplace activities. Four bodies of literature were reviewed as directly relevant to this research, adult learning, organisational learning, informal learning, and a sociocultural perspective on learning. Together, they provide complementary perspectives on the development of learning in the workplace. A conceptual framework, grounded in the sociocultural perspective, was developed to address the issue of how informal learning leads to better participation in the workplace, and reciprocally, how better participation leads to continuous informal learning. Consistent with the sociocultural perspective, the workplace was conceptualised as a complex social system in which co-workers, who constitute that social system, are assumed to co-regulate each other’s learning opportunities. Social interactions, therefore, are considered as creating a context in which informal learning is afforded or constrained. Understanding what role workplace culture and socialisation play in affording or constraining informal learning opportunities is therefore crucial. This is because the relationships between co-workers is assumed to influence how both new and established co-workers participate in and experience the socialisation process and how they see their respective roles. The framework developed for the study generated two main research questions: How do co-workers learn informally in the workplace? and How does the workplace, as a social system, afford or constrain informal learning in the workplace? The methodology chosen for this empirical study was consistent with key concepts from the sociocultural perspective, namely that individuals and their social context must be studied concurrently as learning is assumed to be part of a social practice where activities are structured by social, cultural and situational factors. Accordingly, qualitative research methods were employed to gain knowledge and understanding of informal learning in the workplace from the perspective of co-workers. Co-worker’s reflections on their informal learning experiences and participation in the workplace are presented in narrative form and their accounts interpreted from the sociocultural theoretical perspective. The narrative format provides a useful way of presenting data in a way that immerses the reader in the phenomenon, with enough concrete details that the reader can identify with the subjective experiences of informal learning of each participant. The study highlighted how the nature of some relationships between new and established co-workers afforded opportunities for informal learning, while other relationships constrained such opportunities. These afforded or constrained opportunities were by nature spontaneous, planned, intentional or unintentional. The study also revealed that personal and organisational factors co-contributed to creating these social affordances or constraints. Common across groups was the importance given to the quality of relationships between co-workers. The way new and established co-workers participated and interacted in the workplace was found to represent important sociocultural processes that impacted on the effectiveness of informal learning. Overall, this study draws attention to the complexity of participation and interaction in the workplace. A major implication is that opportunities for informal learning are, potentially afforded or constrained by the social context. The study also highlighted conceptual and methodological issues in identifying and interpreting how co-workers learn informally in the workplace. Future research should establish how opportunities for effective informal learning might be fostered further through the design of more enabling workplace practices. The significance of perceived and expected roles between new and established co-workers also deserves further empirical attention, at the level of everyday informal practices but also at the level of organisational processes and structures that provide the broader context.

Den här studien har undersökt det informella lärandet på arbetsplatsen ur ett medarbetarperspektiv.Tidigare forskning har visat att det informella lärandet är majoriteten av det lärande som sker påarbetsplatsen och därför har den här studien, genom semi strukturerade intervjuer, studerat de faktorersom påverkar informellt lärande på arbetsplatsen. Sex medarbetare har intervjuats och det empiriskamaterialet analyserades genom tematisk analys. Resultatet redovisar de teman som analysarbetetutformade och avslutas med en del som diskuterar huruvida resultatet stämmer överens med tidigareforskning och teoretiska ramverk. Resultatet belyser några av de faktorer som möjliggör det informellalärandet. Arbetsklimatet, relationer till sina kollegor, organisationens struktur och tilldelning avarbetsuppgifter är några av de faktorer som har konstaterats i den här studien. Den här studien visarbetydelsen av ämnet och än en gång att det informella lärandet på arbetsplatsen bör uppmärksammas. / This study aims to research the informal learning in the workplace from the employee’s perspective.Research has shown that informal learning is the major part for learning in the workplace and thereforthis study will, through semi structured interviews, investigate the impacts of informal learning. Theresults confirm the influencing factors from previous research. The results shows that factors like workenvironment, relationships to your colleagues and the structure of the workplace are all important forthe ability of learning in the workplace. The end of this paper discusses the different theoretical factorsand how they relate to the result of this study. Also, this study shows the value of the subject and whyit should be prioritized when it comes to workplace learning. / <p>Betygsdatum 2021-07-01</p>

Modern approach to process of workplace learning is called The workplace learning concept. It is defined as an interaction between person and his/her workplace. This approach redefines conservative classification of profession education and brings new insight on the process of permanent learning inside company in defined workplace boundaries. Primary objective of this diploma thesis is to verify dependencies between informal employee's relationships on a workplace and process of their learning. Informal relationships analysis is done via sociometric questionnaire and qualitative interviews with chosen employees who represents each hierarchy levels inside organization. Empiric evaluation was executed in three different industrial oriented Moravian companies in three administrative regions of Czech Republic: South Moravian Region, Zlin Region and Moravian−Silesian Region.

This study explores the learning trajectories of four senior managers at the Royal Mail as they confronted new demands at work. These four managers worked at the Royal Mail during the years prior to, and during its privatisation, when it was also undergoing an intense modernisation. Theoretically, I took a sociocultural approach, drawing on Vygotsky (1998), Edwards (2010), Holland et al. (1998), and Sfard and Prusak (2005), among others. I was also provoked by Alasdair MacIntyre's characterisation of the manager and his understanding of practice, which emphasises human ourishing. Data was collected through iterative unstructured and semi-structured interviews, and by work shadowing the managers. Methodologically, I developed a useful interview protocol to capture stories about work and a more nuanced understanding of what mattered to participants. I also built a conceptual framework that draws theoretically from a sociocultural understanding of learning and development, as well as from MacIntyre (2013) and Taylor (1989). e model emerged from the dialectics of theory and empirical data. The research shows that as the Royal Mail underwent organisational change, the managers had to navigate situations of misalignment between what mattered to them and what mattered to other members of the organisation. Such situations of misalignment brought about new demands. As they confronted the demands, the managers realised the need to close a gap between who they were and who they were expected to become. Gap-closing efforts were characterised as a process of learning and development that involved intense identity work. In the process, the managers had to work through a series of contradictions, which can be expressed in the form of questions: Who am I really? Who should I no longer be? Who do I resist becoming? And, who do I struggle to become? Gap-closing was given by a dialectic between the managers' commitments and identi cations, and the stories of what was good in the gured world of managing at the Royal Mail. Contrary to some of MacIntyre's suggestions, I found that the four managers in the study, Linda, Eric, Margaret and Julian did question themselves about some of the ends they pursued. ey also exhibited varying degrees of agency, and did establish a distance with the impositions of their institutional realities. In the eld, I found instances of moral debate, the exercising of virtues and the managers' very human efforts to live a worthy life and to ourish. Yet, I also found empirical grounds for some of MacIntyre's claims. As the managers navigated misalignment, they used an array of strategies intended to persuade others in a manipulative way, sometimes treating ends as given, and sometimes eluding moral debate. The study contributes to the literature of learning and development through its original theoretical approach that draws from both sociocultural and MacIntyrean ideas.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T14:32:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andre Gomes Genesini.pdf: 1562547 bytes, checksum: 1f1618663db45d3d7534b0422d2333ed (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-05-26 / This is a time of great opportunities and great threats. Technology each time produces more wonders to the senses, things that make life better and more enjoyable. On the other hand, this is the first time in History that man is able to destroy the natural balance of the planet in an irreversible way. The arrival of information technology at the industry in the 1980s demanded a new profile of education for the workers. The damage to the environment can only be avoided through the development of a new kind of sustainable development. This, in turn, requires a new type of professional education. The recent rise of the knowledge economy has placed higher education as a strategical tool to achieve sustainable development. The university must find ways to keep up to the challenge. The key question in this research is how the university can get closer to the world of work and how the learning that occurs in higher education can be more close to the practical needs of the workplace. The objective of this research is to give contributions to the reflection about curriculum through concepts and historical data. This objective is achieved through qualitative analysis, in the form of case study of one of the answers that higher education has given to these challenges: the last generation of Work based Learning curriculums&#8223;. To achieve this goal first was made a bibliographical research of the challenges that higher education faces and, specially, of Work based Learning. This research was the basis to the planning and implementation of a Work based Learning project to be used as case study in the research. The analysis of the data, in the light of the bibliographical research, suggests that Work based Learning generates a learning that is more closely related to the needs of the workplace and that Work based Learning equips more efficiently the students to succeed in the workplace / Esta é uma Era de enormes desafios e oportunidades. A tecnologia cada vez mais produz novidades que encantam os sentidos e facilitam a vida. As redes digitais aproximam pessoas, organizações e pesquisadores. Ao mesmo tempo, é a primeira vez na História que o homem tem o poder de provocar danos ao equilíbrio natural do planeta de maneira irreversível. O advento da tecnologia de informação no processo produtivo passou a exigir um novo perfil de mão-de-obra, multifacetada e bem qualificada. O desastre ambiental iminente só pode ser evitado com a mudança do modelo de desenvolvimento humano, o qual, por sua vez, exige um novo perfil de educação profissional. O surgimento da economia do conhecimento posicionou o ensino superior como uma ferramenta estratégica e essencial para uma nação atingir um desenvolvimento sustentável. A universidade não pode ficar alheia a este quadro. Esta pesquisa se insere no contexto do ensino superior tentando responder a esses desafios. A pergunta chave desta dissertação é como a universidade pode se aproximar mais do mundo do trabalho e, concomitantemente, como o aprendizado do ensino superior pode se aproximar mais da prática necessária ao trabalho. O objetivo desta pesquisa é dar subsídios, através de conceitos e dados históricos, para a reflexão sobre inovação em currículo. Esse objetivo é atingido através da análise qualitativa, através de estudo de caso, de uma das respostas do ensino superior a estes desafios: a última geração de currículos do tipo Work based Learning ou Aprendendo através do trabalho , Para tanto foi feita uma pesquisa bibliográfica sobre os desafios do ensino superior e, em especial, sobre o Work based Learning. A partir desta base foi planejado e implementado o projeto que deu origem ao estudo de caso. A investigação da dissertação ao Work based Learning se deu através três focos de pesquisa: as implicações em termos de inovação curricular, de aprendizagem significativa e de aprendizagem no ambiente de trabalho. A análise dos dados do estudo de caso à luz do referencial teórico pesquisado sugere que o aprendizado gerado pelo Work based Learning é mais próximo das necessidades da prática do trabalho e também mais eficaz para preparar o aluno para se desenvolver no ambiente de trabalho contemporâneo

Denna studie ämnar att gå igenom lärande på arbetsplatsen och hur det situerade lärandet från en tjänst kan användas i andra tjänster. Syftet med uppsatsen är att ta reda på hur individer som arbetar inom HR, som jobbar med personalrelaterade frågor, upplever att tidigare arbetslivserfarenheter har betydelse för det arbete de har idag. Det teoretiska ramverket utgår från det sociokulturella perspektivet på lärande, där tänkandet och handlandet hos oss människor betraktas som situerat till sociala sammanhang. För att kunna belysa det lärandet ytterligare används begreppen redskap, mediering och praktikgemenskap för att förstå hur lärandet kan främjas. Studien baseras på kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer som genomfördes med åtta kvinnor som innehar en HR-tjänst idag. Dessa intervjuer transkriberades och analyserades, ur det kom fyra teman som var centrala för alla utsagor; Utvecklandet av intressen genom tidigare arbetslivserfarenheter, Strävan efter nya utmaningar, Att använda sig av sin kunskap i olika kontexter samt Att tillägna sig ett förhållningssätt. Resultatet visar att intervjupersonerna påverkats av sina tidigare arbetslivserfarenheter till att de blivit uppmärksamma på vilket område de vill jobba inom, och genom alla arbetsplatser de vart på fortsatt sin approprieringsprocess. I sitt nuvarande arbete använder de sen av sina tidigare kunskaper till att kunna bidra till inlärningsprocesser i sin praktikgemenskap. Studiens slutsatser är att en praktikgemenskap är viktig för att upplevelsen av tillhörighet till yrket och för att ens redskap ska kunna utvecklas inom arbetsplatslärandet / This thesis intends to go through workplace learning and how the situated learning from one service can be used in other services. The aim is to find out how individuals working in HR, who deals with questions concerning employees, experience that previous work experience is relevant to the work they have today. The theoretical framework is based on the sociocultural perspective on learning, which states that thinking and acting of human beings is considered situated to social context. In order to illustrate the learning further, the terms gear, mediation and community of practice is used to understand how learning can be promoted. The study is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews that were conducted with eight women who hold an HR service today. These interviews were transcribed and analysed, out from it we found four themes that were central to all statements; Development of interests through previous work experience, The quest for new challenges, To use knowledge from one context in a new one and To acquire an attitude. The results show that the respondents are influenced by their previous work experience which helps them become aware of what area they want to work within, and through all workplaces where they continued their approprieringsprocess. In their current work they use their previous knowledge to be able to contribute to the learning processes in their community of practice. The study's conclusions is that a community of practice is essential to the experience of belonging to the profession and to even utensils shall be developed in workplace learning.

Syftet med denna studie är att skapa en ökad förståelse för vilka kontextuella villkor som HR- medarbetare inom Arbetsförmedlingen upplever påverkar möjligheterna till informellt lärande samt om dessa upplevelser skiljer sig åt mellan kvinnor och män. Studien är en kvalitativ enfallsstudie som är utförd på Arbetsförmedlingens HR-avdelning. Kvalitativa metoder som använts är semistrukturerade intervjuer och dokumentgenomgång. Studiens resultat har analyserats utifrån en tematisk analys med en abduktiv ansats. Resultatet visar att respondenternas upplevelser av de kontextuella villkoren inte är helt samstämmiga, vilket implicerar att svaret på vår forskningsfråga om vilka villkor som främjar respektive hindrar ett informellt lärande är tvetydig. Vad gäller huruvida det finns skillnader mellan hur kvinnor och män upplever de kontextuella förutsättningarna till informellt lärande visar våra resultat att medarbetarna överlag är samstämmiga i sina svar. Dock framgår ett fåtal skillnader där det ur ett genusperspektiv kan tolkas som att det framträder en genusordning som främjar män, men det går inte inom ramen för denna studie att utesluta att det även kan finnas andra bakomliggande orsaker till denna slutsats. / The purpose of this study is to create an increased understanding of which contextual conditions experienced by HR employees within the Swedish Public Employment Service affect the opportunities for informal learning and whether these experiences differ between women and men. The study is a qualitative one-off study carried out at the HR department of the Swedish Public Employment Service. Qualitative methods used are semi-structured interviews and document review. The study's results have been analyzed based on a thematic analysis with an abductive approach. The results show that the respondents' experiences of the contextual conditions are not completely consistent. This implies that the answer to our research question about which conditions promote and hinder informal learning is ambiguous. Regarding whether there are differences between how women and men experience the contextual conditions for informal learning, our results show that the employees are generally unanimous in their answers. A few differences were apparent from a gender perspective, that can be interpreted as the appearance of a gender order that favors men, but it is not within the scope of this study to rule out that there may be other underlying reasons for this conclusion.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka vilken betydelse motivation ger för korrelationen mellan en upplevd högre grad av situationsanpassat ledarskap inom en bransch som historiskt adapterat Taylorismens styrande produktionsfokus jämfört med modernare ledarskapsteorier. Studien baseras på ett teoretisk ramverk kring tre övergripande faktorer; grad av upplevt situationsanpassat ledarskap(Meier, 2016), upplevd grad av möjligheter till lärande (Marsick &amp; Watkins, 2003) samt motivation (Furnham, Eracleous &amp; ChamorroPremuzic, 2009). Dessa variabler undersöks ur en kvantitativ ansats med av erkända forskare validerade datainsamlings instrument och faktorialanpassning. Resultatet delades upp och kodades till lämpligt format för att kunna utföra bivariata och trivariata kvantitativa statistiska analyser som undersöker samband mellan dessa variabler. De bivariata analyserna (ledarskap mot lärande) visade olika grader av samband som sedan testades med motivation som modulerande endogen variabel där sambanden visade stärkt korrelation. Studien visade stöd åt korrelationen av dessa trevariabler, dock indikerar determiniationskoefficienten R2att ytterligare förklarande påverkande faktorer finns till sambandet då R2 &lt; 100%.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T14:31:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CED - Patricia Torres.pdf: 414707 bytes, checksum: b26f590fda887597642603b06b399fab (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-10-27 / There is a consensus in acknowledgement that traditional human resource model for education in the health field is one of the factors that impedes the attainment of the objectives of SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde the Brazilian Public Health System). Because of this, new education and professional qualification processes begin to appear, with the necessity for viability strategies to inform and mobilize those who need to be involved in the implementation of the changes, beginning with critical reflection. This paper is a circumstantiated and a analysis of an exploratory experiment and construction of new curriculum structures. The objective is to widen the debate over human resource development in the health field through the description, analysis and reflection on the curriculum and learning model used by EPISUS ((Programa de Treinamento em Epidemiologia Aplicada aos Serviços do Sistema Único de Saúde SUS Traning Program) bringing out the acknowledgement and systematization of concepts involved in the proposed program. This paper was written on the basis of document research, direct observation of focus groups and student and graduate questionnaires. The conclusions indicate that it is possible to base the development of health field professionals on a paradigm built around the following aspects, demonstrated as characteristics of the EPISUS proposal by the study. - emancipation of the education process; - acknowledgement of the dynamic of service contexts; - incorporation of experience in the education process; - recognition of the workplace as a learning environment; - incorporation of basic skills in curriculum design. The data show the importance of the construction of an educational process intentionally designed to produce transforming agents by EPISUS; conferring on them the due importance of the role of these professionals in widening the scope of vigilance in the health field, taking as reference people and population needs, the local management and social control in health. / Há um amplo consenso no reconhecimento de que o modelo tradicional de formação de recursos humanos em saúde é um dos fatores que comprometem o alcance dos objetivos do SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde). Com isso, novos processos de formação e qualificação profissional começam a surgir, sendo necessária para sua viabilização estratégias no sentido de sensibilizar e mobilizar todos os que necessitam envolver-se na construção da mudança, partindo de uma reflexão crítica. O presente trabalho é uma descrição circunstanciada e uma análise apurada sobre uma experiência de exploração e construção de novas estruturas para o currículo. O objetivo é ampliar o debate sobre a formação de recursos humanos em saúde, através da descrição, análise e reflexão em torno do currículo e do modelo de aprendizagem em serviço do EPISUS (Programa de Treinamento em Epidemiologia Aplicada aos Serviços do Sistema Único de Saúde), buscando o reconhecimento e a sistematização dos conceitos envolvidos na proposta do programa. Este estudo foi realizado por meio de pesquisa documental, observação direta de grupos focais e de questionários junto aos alunos e egressos do programa. As conclusões indicam que é possível fundamentar a formação de profissionais de saúde num paradigma voltado para os seguintes aspectos, apontados pelo estudo como característicos da proposta do EPISUS: - emancipação do processo educativo; - reconhecimento da dinâmica própria do contexto dos serviços; - incorporação da experiência no processo formativo; - reconhecimento do ambiente de trabalho como cenário de aprendizagem; - incorporação de competências básicas no desenho curricular. Ainda assim, os dados remetem à importância de que o EPISUS construa uma proposta pedagógica voltada intencionalmente para a formação de agentes transformadores, conferindo a devida importância ao papel desses profissionais na ampliação do objeto e ação da vigilância em saúde, tomando como referência as necessidades das pessoas e das populações, a gestão setorial e o controle social em saúde.