Supporting Workplace Learning: Towards Evidence-based Practice(5 Professional and Practice-based Learning)

During the 1990s, the workplace was rediscovered as a rich source of learning. The issue of workplace learning has since received increasing attention from academics and practitioners alike but is still under-researched empirically. This book brings together a range of state-of-the-art research papers addressing interventions to support learning in the workplace. The authors are experienced international scholars who have an interest in making HRD and workplace learning practices more evidence-based through practical relevant research.   Although workplace learning is largely an autonomous process, many organizations want to manage it as part of their broader HRD strategy. There are limits, however, to the extent to which the complex dynamics of learning in the workplace can be guided in pre-determined desirable directions. This tension between the possible strengths of workplace learning and the limits of managing it is at the heart of this volume.   The book is broken into three sections. The first section deals with workplace learning interventions, including HRD practitioners’ strategies, training and development activities, and e-learning programs. The second section investigates the impact of social support, or lack thereof, in workplace learning, such as mentoring, coaching, and socialization practices. The third section addresses collective learning in the workplace, looking at teams, knowledge productivity, and collaborative capability building.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Introduction: Supporting Workplace Learning, Rob F. Poell, Marianne Van Woerkom.- Section I Workplace Learning Interventions.- Chapter 2 Strategies of HRD Practitioners in Different Types of Organization: A Qualitative Study among 18 South Australian HRD Practitioners, Karen Oostvogel, Marieke Koornneef, Rob F. Poell.- Chapter 3 Conceptualising Participation in Formal Training and Development Activities: A Planned Behaviour Approach, Ronan Carbery, Thomas N. Garavan.- Chapter 4 Experiences of E-Learning and Its Delivery among Learners Who Work: A Systematic Review, Christopher Carroll, Andrew Booth, Diana Papaioannou, Anthea Sutton, Ruth Wong.- Section II The Role of Social Support.- Chapter 5 Managerial Coaching as a Workplace Learning Strategy, Andrea D. Ellinger, Robert G. Hamlin, Rona S. Beattie, Yu-Lin Wang, Orla McVicar.- Chapter 6 Direct and Indirect Effects of Supervisor Support on Transfer of Training, Derk-Jan Nijman, John Gelissen.- Chapter 7 Understanding the Relational Characteristics of Effective Mentoring and Developmental Relationships at Work, Andrew D. Rock, Thomas N. Garavan.- Chapter 8 Learning How Things Work Here: The Socialization of Newcomers in Organizations, Russell Korte.- Chapter 9 Learning Vocational Practice in Relative Social Isolation: The Epistemological and Pedagogic Practices of Small Business Operators, Stephen Billett.- Section III Encouraging Collective Learning.- Chapter 10 Team Coaching in Teacher Teams, Marianne Van Woerkom.- Chapter 11 Learning with the Intention of Innovating: Eleven Design Principles for Knowledge Productivity, Suzanne Verdonschot, Paul Keursten.- Chapter 12 From Function-Based Development Practices to Collaborative Capability Building: An Intervention To Extend Practitioners’ Ideas, Marika Schaupp.- Chapter 13 Implications for Research and Practice, Rob F. Poell, Marianne Van Woerkom.

Review :
From the reviews: “The book draws upon papers given at the 2006 European conference on Human Resource Development (HRD) Research and Practice. … this compilation of literature reviews and empirical studies will be a welcome source of current knowledge for HRD practitioners, workplace learning researchers, as well as adult education scholars who focus on theories of adult learning. The strength of the text comes from the diverse methodological approaches as well as the breadth of theoretical frameworks employed by the authors in each chapter.” (Shauna Butterwick, Educational Review, June, 2012)