Purpose: This paper aims to identify the ethical foundations and principles underpinning the learning organization (LO) concept. Design/methodology/approach: By interviewing one thought leader in the field, Professor Robin Snell, this paper traces how his early days in academia shaped the development of an ethics-driven research agenda on LO.…

Purpose: This paper aims to attempt to provide an overview of the valuable scientific contribution on learning organization in social science from the perspectives of Professor Silvia Gherardi and discusses the evolution of Silvia's work over her long career. Design/methodology/approach: With the collaboration of this leading scholar, Professor…

This article presents an interview with Kulvarn Atwal, headteacher at a primary school in London. Mr. Atwal discusses the challenges of post-graduate study and the impact of his studies on his professional practice. He explains how he discovered workplace learning theories and communities of practice during his studies and how he incorporated…

Purpose: This paper aims to provide an overview of the development of learning organization concepts from the perspective of Dr. Michael Marquardt and presents an interesting evolution of his work spanning three decades in the learning organization field. Design/methodology/approach: Through a conversation with a thought-leading scholar, Dr.…

Harold Stolovitch is Emeritus Professor of Workplace Learning & Performance, Université de Montréal, where he also served as Associate Dean of Research and Chair of the Instructional & Performance Technology graduate programs. He has also been a Distinguished Visiting Scholar and Visiting Professor at the University of Southern California.…

In this paper, I propose a renewed look at how teaching assistants (TAs) are being prepared to fulfill their duties in higher education. I argue that the apprenticeship model of learning that is currently in use be replaced by the more holistic workplace learning approach. Workplace learning theories take into consideration the complexity of the…

Contemporary global transitions are remaking education as a social institution and re-positioning educators in a lifelong learning political order. In this paper, I reflect on a research project that investigated the teaching occupation in learning societies in order to explain the concept of "educational work": the form of labour that…

This paper employs a socio-technical perspective to explore the role of complex work support systems in organising knowledge and providing opportunities for learning in professional work. Drawing on concepts from infrastructure studies, such systems are seen as work infrastructures which connect information, knowledge, standards and work…

This article describes the various aspects of human resources development and highlights the intersections and the differences between what are often mistakenly viewed as interchangeable concepts. It argues that, while it is generally accepted that developing staff is fundamental to good organisational health and business outcomes, a clear…

Research into Vocational Education and Training (VET) has undergone major developments in the last 60 years. This is particularly true of the last 30 years. The rising political, social and economic priority of VET has been principally responsible for this development. However, it is also true to say that some of the disciplines of education have…

In this regular feature of "Educational Technology," Michael F. Shaughnessy and Susan M. Fulgham present their interview with Ryan Watkins, Associate Professor of Educational Technology at the George Washington University and the author of 10 books and more than 95 articles. In this interview, Watkins discusses the following topics:…

When Toni Pearce ran for National Union of Students (NUS) Vice-President for Further Education she put adults at the heart of her manifesto, pledging to champion the cause of learners "studying in the workplace, as distance learners or re-skilling later in life" and to make the NUS more accessible to them. It's a promise which, now in…

Many educators think of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) on a disciplinary level--what is Environmental Education's (EE) contribution to a more sustainable future? Briefly, we describe differences and similarities between EE and ESD. Next, we examine four levels of activity--disciplinary, whole school, educational system, and…

The first decade of democracy in South Africa ushered in dramatic social policy reforms. One innovation in initial teacher education emerged through the skills development policy, which introduced learnerships to address South Africa's human resource development needs. South Africa's learnerships have been adapted from countries such as the United…