ERIC Number: EJ764453
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Feb
Pages: 18
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1363-9080
EISSN: N/A
Expansive Learning through High School Apprenticeship: Opportunities and Limits
Taylor, Alison; Watt-Malcolm, Bonnie
Journal of Education and Work, v20 n1 p27-44 Feb 2007
This paper examines a high school apprenticeship program with a focus on the opportunities for "expansive" learning within three different contexts: schools, the training centre and worksites. The authors assume that while young people differ in the degree to which they engage in learning within different sites, the institutional arrangements and features of different learning environments significantly influence their experiences and the quality of their apprenticeships. The authors' analysis of interviews with students and instructors involved in a carpentry program suggests that these sites exhibit several features associated with expansive approaches to workforce development. However, restrictions on learning occurred in schools partly because of the academic/vocational divide in curriculum. In the learning centre, the failure to address tensions rooted in power relations in the workplace limited students' learning. Similarly, students were confronted with the need to make trade-offs in the workplace that restricted their learning. The authors argue that taking steps to address these issues would enhance workplace practices and learning environments for apprentices. (Contains 4 notes.)
Descriptors: Work Environment, Apprenticeships, Student Attitudes, Educational Environment, Learning Problems, Woodworking, Performance Factors, Foreign Countries, Context Effect, Transitional Programs, Interviews, Discourse Analysis
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A