Hidden Knowledge: Organized Labour in the Information Age

Working people are more knowledgeable and actively engaged in learning than public discussion generally assumes. Two basic assumptions underlie much recent discussion about work and learning: a new "knowledge-based economy" is quickly emerging with new jobs generally requiring greater knowledge and skill; and, a "lifelong learning culture" must be created in order for workers to cope with these employment-related knowledge demands. Virtually every recent public policy statement about employment in every advanced industrial country begins with these assumptions. It implies that most workers suffer from a deficit of necessary skills and knowledge which must be rectified by greater education and training efforts. Hidden Knowledge challenges these assumptions. Through life history interviews and case study research with union members, the actual learning practices of working class people are documented in unprecedented detail. Published Under the Garamond Imprint Available in the US through Rowman & Littlefield.

Table of Contents:
" Acknowledgements Introduction: Dimensions of Learning and Work in the Knowledge Society  Spheres of Work and Learning Class and Learning Working-class Underemployment Information Access in the Computer Era Sector-based Research Sites Chapter Outlines Part I: Researching Learning and Work Chapter 1: Starting with Workers and Researching the ""Hard Way"" Introduction Research Methods Democratic Knowledge Production: The Importance of Social Standpoint  Concluding Remarks Chapter 2: Beyond Cultural Capital Theories: Hidden Dimensions of Working-class Learning Introduction The Cultural Capital Bias The Rediscovery of Creative Working-class Culture Critical Review of Major Theories of Adult Learning Origins of Cultural Historical Activity Theory Activity Theory from Vygotsky to the Present CHAT from a Working-class Standpoint Patriarchal, Racist and Ageist Effects on Working-class Learning Concluding Remarks Part II: Case Studies Chapter 3: Auto Workers: Lean Manufacturing and Rich Learning  Introduction The General Motors Site in Oshawa, Ontario The CAW and Local 222 Tightening Labour Markets and Worker Rebellion Working in the Auto Plant: ""It doesn't take a genius"" Formal Schooling and Job Training Informal on the Job Training: ""You're pretty much on your own"" Union-based Education Programs Informal Learning in Local 222 Cultural Historical Dimensions of Auto Workers' Learning Concluding Remarks Chapter 4: Builiding a Workers' Learning Culture in the Chemical Industry Introduction Profile of Workforce and Interviewees A Profile of Learning Amongst Chemical Workers Union-based Learning The Cultural Historical Dimensions of Learning Amongst Chemical Workers Chemical Workers' Learning and the Class Bias of Knowledge Struggle over Knowledge and Credentials at the Chemical Factory Challenging Existing Structures / Introducing New Ones Concluding Remarks Chapter 5: Learning, Restructuring, and Job Segregation at a Community College Introduction Working at the College Learning at the College Restructuring, Work and Learning in a College Setting Bumping and Mulit-tasking: The Reality of Work and Learning for College Workers under Restructuring Segregation Processes at the College Comparing Learning Across Groups Concluding Remarks Chapter 6: Divisions of Labour/Divisions of Learning in a Small Parts Manufacturer Introduction Research Overview and Participant Profile Profile of a Learning in a Small Parts Plant The Divisions of Learning at Work Concluding Remarks Chapter 7: Garment Workers: Learning Under Disruption Introduction Union Survival Response Profile of the Workforce Job Disruption and Stress Organization of Garment Sector Training A Profile of Learning in the Garment Sector Cultural Historical Dimensions of Garment Workers' Learning Concluding remarks Part III: Comparative Perspectives Across Case Studies Chapter 8: Household and Community-based Learning: Learning Cultures and Class Differences Beyond Paid Work  Introduction Home- and Community-based Learning Histories The Connections Between Economic Restructuring and Home and Community Life The Distribution of Free Time and Learning in the Home  ""I can't think of anything, can you?"": The Invisibility of Working-class Learning in the Home Working-class Community Living and Learning Family-based Union Learning Concluding Remarks Chapter 9: Surfacing the Hidden Dimensions of the Knowledge Society: The Struggle for Knowledge Across Differences  Uses of Formal Schooling, Organized Training and Informal Learning Across the Sites Gender, Race and Age Effects on Workers' Learning Recommendations Concluding Remarks Appendix: Interviewee Profiles References Index "

About the Author :
D.W. Livingstone is Canada Research Chair in Lifelong Learning and Work at the University of Toronto, Head of the Centre for the Study of Education and Work at OISE/UT, and Director of the SSHRC national research network on "The Changing Nature of Work and Lifelong Learning."

Review :
"An important and valuable academic look at knowledge and learning... It shows that, as working people, we are all virtual sponges for learning throughout our lives and deserve to be recognized for the knowledge and skills we acquire at work, at home and at play." Leo W. Gerard, International President, United Steelworkers of America. "This exciting book will change the debate on knowledge-based production. It demonstrates that the main barrier to 21st century work forms stems from managements' continued insistence on control over workers and refusal to rely on worker intelligence and ingenuity. Policy makers and workplace advocates need to read this study!" Ruth Needleman, Professor of Labor Studies and Women's Studies, Indiana University and Coordinator, Swingshift College. "Livingstone and Sawchuk explore ethnographically the opportunities, longings and achievements of working-class women and men as adult learners in various contexts, as well as their disjunctures with what is valued by employers. We learn too about related class, gender and race inequities. This book makes new discoveries..." Dorothy E. Smith, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto. "Hidden Knowledge concludes that workers are more than someone else's human resources... In approaching the issues of skills, learning and knowledge by first talking to workers and through workplace case studies, the authors explore both the richness and importance of informal learning." Bob White, Past President, Canadian Labour Congress & Canadian AutoWorkers."