The paper analyses global online labour platforms (OLPs) through the lens of the Expansive-Restrictive Learning Environments framework. The framework articulates a set of structural factors that enable or constrain workplace learning and development. The paper draws on multistakeholder, mixed-method empirical data to illustrate how OLPs are…

Purpose: This study addresses the need for a validated tool to assess self-directed learning (SDL) behaviors among Thai operational employees in the petrochemical industry. Understanding SDL capabilities is essential for effective human resource development, given the complexity of plant operations and the need for continuous skill enhancement.…

Employability, defined as a set of competences that allow an individual to create and maintain a job, is pivotal for both organizations and employees. Organizations with an employable workforce remain competitive and individuals who are employable experience better career development. The present study investigates self-directed learning…

The importance of skills has been expounded repeatedly as a crucial factor to thrive in the workplace, as opposed to mere knowledge of content. It is important to be able to adapt to new situations; this is especially true in today's world, where volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) are prevalent. To better prepare…

The role of research in university institutions whose primary task is to provide teaching remains ambiguous and controversial. In principle, all university teaching is based on pertinent research. However, for some university units, such as language centres, the basic tasks, and consequently their funding, are very often defined in a manner which…

Purpose: A central issue in the field of workplace learning is how work-related learning can be stimulated so that a powerful learning work environment is created. This paper seeks to further enlarge understanding on this issue. Based on the demand-control-support the aim is to investigate the influence of job-characteristics on the work-related…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on self-directed workplace learning. "Self-Directed Work Teams: Implementation and Performance" (Marcel van der Klink, Hilde ter Horst) discusses the results of a study examining the implementation and effects of self-directed work teams in a land register office and the role of the…

This packet contains three papers on self-directed and incidental learning from a symposium on human resource development (HRD). The first paper, "Self-Directed Learning for Supervisory Development" (Judy O'Neil, Maria Lamattina), reports on a study that looks at what research says needs to be in place to engage workers in self-directed learning…

These proceedings of a conference built around the theme of the professionalization of adult and continuing education include the full texts of presentations at the conference General Sessions, papers and synopses of conference workshops and panel presentations, reports from the seven task forces of the Commission of Professors of Adult Education;…

Six articles and case studies examine continuing education in the United Kingdom. Highlights include vocational education and training; the Professional, Industrial and Commercial Updating Programme (PICKUP); retraining in software engineering; Higher Introductory Technology and Engineering Conversion Course (HITECC); training needs in…

This document contains four symposium papers on workplace learning issues. "The Changing Role of Training Consultants in Organizing Work-related Learning" (Rob F. Poell, Geoff E. Chivers) draws on interviews with training consultants in 19 different organizations to describe how their role is changing in response to the trend toward…

A study to explore organizational conditions that facilitate workplace learning involved 35 resource development consultants in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and line staff from 22 organizations in a 9-hour participatory research workshop using Appreciative Inquiry--a technology emphasizing the positive or "life-giving" forces which…

Despite the prominence of work-based training in British national policy debate, published statistics fail to give solid data on training volume or quality. The Labor Force Survey, commonly used to give a picture of increasing training, shows proportions of training over any 4-week period rose from 10.8 percent in 1985 to 15.2 percent in 1994.…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on adult learning in the workplace. The first paper, "Measuring Critical Thinking: Is There a Single Instrument?" (Patricia K. Leitsch, Carol A. Lentz), examines two issues: the relationship between tests measuring critical thinking and those measuring readiness for self-directed…

These proceedings contain 46 papers. Brief English-language titles include: "Some Research Findings on Study Methods in Adult Distance Education" (Bajtelsmit); "Self Planned Professional Learning among Public School Adult Education Directors" (Beder, et al.); "Participation in Study Circles and the Creation of Analysis" (Beder, et al.);…