Informal Learning, Practitioner Inquiry and Occupational Education: An Epistemological Perspective

Informal Learning, Practitioner Inquiry and Occupational Education explores how practitioners in a variety of occupations perform their jobs and argues that working and learning are intricately connected. Drawing on theories around working and learning in informal, formal and lifelong settings, the book gives insights into how workers negotiate their occupational practices. The book investigates four related concepts – informal learning, practitioner inquiry, occupational education and epistemological perspectives. The combinations of theories and empirical case studies are used to provide a conceptual framework of inquiry where knowledge, abilities, experiences and skill sets play a significant aspect. It presents 11 case studies of professions ranging from conventional occupations of acting, detective work, international road transportation to emerging professions of boardroom consultancy, nutritional therapy and opinion leadership. This book will be of great interest for academics, scholars and postgraduate students who are engaged in the study of informal education, vocational education and occupation-related programmes. It will also offer significant insights for related education practitioners wanting to have greater understanding of their own journeys and practices.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction. 2. Informal learning and occupational education literature review. 3.Perspectives from academe. 4. Case studies of 11 participants. 5. Findings, discussion and conceptualisation of informal learning in occupational practices. 6. Reflections of (informal) learning in occupational practices. Bibliography

About the Author :
Sai Loo is an academic at UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK. Brian Sutton is Professor of Learning Performance at Middlesex University, UK

Review :
"This unusual and provocative book takes a fresh look at learning for work focusing on a group of diverse individuals who reflect on their learning over time. It is organized around a rich array of personal accounts over their work lives. This fascinating material provides the basis for exploring issues such as how people learn to create their work practices, how this changes over time through the mostly informal influences on them, and how they enquire into their own development. Current ideas about these matters are used to investigate these narratives and to identify a framework for occupational education, not conventionally as it can be taught, but as it is experienced and navigated by practitioners." David Boud, Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology, Sydney.