Observations of mentor-apprentice interactions in a secondary youth apprenticeship program revealed the following: (1) apprentices had opportunities for socially shared, hands-on applied activities; (2) mentors instructed, demonstrated, coached, and explained; (3) no mentors had formal training in instruction; and (4) apprentices were able to…

This article explores the strengths and weaknesses of Lave and Wenger's concept of "legitimate peripheral participation" as a means of understanding workplace learning. It draws on recent ESRC-funded research by the authors in contemporary workplace settings in the UK (manufacturing industry and secondary schools) to establish the extent…

Purpose: In this paper it is held that a transformational learning organisation could be clearly distinguished from non-learning organisations. This paper seeks to establish whether or not this is actually the case. Design/methodology/approach: Case studies were developed for two organisations considering themselves to be learning organisations…

Purpose: It is argued in this paper that opportunities for learning manifest themselves in the form of frictions between the structure-as-experienced by actors and the structure-as-preferred. These frictions are considered as potential triggers of learning processes. The concept of friction promises to contribute to our understanding of factors…

In this paper I begin by outlining the key characteristics of a view of learning that has been pre-eminent in the past 30 years in the United Kingdom. The focus of this discourse has been less upon understanding the processes and practices of learning as a complex process and more upon improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the curriculum…

This study aims to investigate the role of mediation in the learning process from a sociocultural perspective, activity theory in particular. This study was carried out in a primary English immersion school within the CCUEI Programs in Mainland China. Data were collected mainly through observations and interviews, which were then supplemented by…

This paper proposes a human capabilities approach for evaluating student learning and the social and pedagogical arrangements that support equality in capabilities for all students. It outlines the focus on valuable beings and doings in the capability approach developed by Amartya Sen, and Martha Nussbaum's capabilities focus on human flourishing.…

The paper considers apprenticeship as a model of education that both teaches technical skills and provides the grounding for personal formation. The research presented is based on long-term anthropological fieldwork with minaret builders in Yemen, mud masons in Mali and fine-woodwork trainees in London. These case studies of on-site learning and…

This article reports findings from a case study into reciprocal learning in tutor groups in a research-based master's programme, run jointly by Roehampton University, London, UK and Fontys OSO, The Netherlands. The research was designed to investigate to what extent, and how, forms of reciprocal learning arose in tutor groups for experienced…

This article presents the results of a three-year study of "Gamestar Mechanic" (www.gamestarmechanic.com), a flash-based multiplayer online role-playing game developed for the MacArthur Foundation's digital media learning initiative by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Gamelab in New York. The game's objective is to help children…

A study analyzed three episodes of self-repetition in a 1-year-old's utterances and examined the child's use of self-repetition for exploiting and elaborating on his phonological system in the context of discourse. The subject was a first-born monolingual child in the Stanford Child Phonology project. The analysis provides clues about how the…

Designed as additional materials for study by Air Force academic instructor resident trainees, these chapters review retention, transfer of learning, and other elements and principles of learning; steps in preparing effective instructional materials, together with criteria for self-appraisal; the setting of desired learning outcomes, selection of…

Presents a framework for analyzing academic tasks based on task conceptions formulated in cognitive psychology and research on classroom interaction. Using this framework, an analysis of a single task in a high school English class is presented. Issues raised by the study are addressed. (CJH)

The subject into which this study inquired was the relationship between learning and power in Korean context. This study presents two case studies in two different organizations in Korea. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews, observation and document analysis. Power semantics, rhetorical visions and informal learning model…

Article presented a description of a rapidly growing kind of academic "service center", and suggestions to faculty for its use. (Editor/RK)