The Fundamentals of Workplace Learning: Understanding How People Learn in Working Life

Fundamentals of Workplace Learning is a comprehensive guide to how people learn in the workplace, and the issues and challenges involved. Examining the essential aspects of workplace learning and unravelling the various influences which affect the success of work-based learners, Knud Illeris presents a holistic model to explain how diverse individuals can be encouraged and invited to learn at work.

Approaching workplace learning from the perspective of learners as human beings, with complex social and psychological needs, as opposed to resources to be managed, this book examines in detail the key issues surrounding workplace learning, including:

• The workplace environment as a learning space
• Workplace learning as competence development
• A multitude of different kinds of workplace learning arrangements
• Job-transcending learning initiatives
• The interaction between formal and informal learning environments
• The challenges presented by specific groups: early school leavers, elderly workers and the new young generation.

Presenting conclusions on workplace learning and possibilities for the future this book focuses on a way forward while detailing the fundamentals of successful workplace learning. It will appeal to everyone involved in understanding and improving learning in the workplace including educationalists, business students, managers, personnel and educational leaders.

Knud Illeris is Professor of Lifelong Learning at the Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark. He is author of numerous books, including How We Learn, Contemporary Theories of Learning, and International Perspectives on Competence Development.