Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a study that investigated workplace learning activities and drivers that enhanced learning as experienced by employees in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach: This study was conducted in the knowledge process outsourcing sector, where employees perform knowledge work in flatter…

Purpose: Previous results show that the anesthetists' activity during the planning phase is aimed at neither identifying risks nor pinpointing the adverse events likely to occur; rather, it is to devise "manageable situations" that are adapted to their own competences. The present paper focuses on the issue of understanding how, in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to enhance understanding of the experience of qualified nurses managing the process of learning through work when enrolled on a work-based learning module. Design/methodology/approach: The study was based on constructivist grounded theory using semi-structured interviews with purposive and theoretical sampling…

Data from eight mentors who provided guided learning in a workplace illuminated the demands upon and benefits for workplace mentors. All mentors noted the efficacy of guiding workplace learning. However, finding time for mentoring and the low level of management support made the mentors' work intense. For some, the demands were not adequately…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to highlight some methodological problems concerning the neglect of participants' voices by workplace ethnographers and neglect of the highly interactional and co-constructive nature of research interviewing. The study aims to use discourse analysis, to show the phenomena of workplace learning and expertise to…

Purpose: This paper aims to focus on examples of the perceived tensions of the healthcare work-based learners as they experienced paradigm shifts in both practice and education. Design/methodology/approach: Examples are drawn from a qualitative study to examine work-based learning (WBL) workshops in a Dutch healthcare setting, and a developmental…

Purpose: The paper seeks to investigate design engineers' and product developers' learning through their work. The aim was to approach designers' work practice and their learning in the course of it as perceived by the designers themselves. The aim is also to examine their learning through the various individual and social processes, which take…

The part played by tacit skills and knowledge in work performance is well recognised but not well understood. These implicit or hidden dimensions of knowledge and skill are key elements of "mastery," which experienced workers draw upon in everyday activities and continuously expand in tackling new or unexpected situations. This paper,…

The term "curriculum" has been used almost exclusively in educational circles to refer to plans for the conduct of learning lessons in school classrooms. This paper argues that the concept can be productively expanded to describe learning processes in workplaces, including those in which learning is not the intentional outcome of an interaction.…