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An Organisational Perspective on Professionals’ Learning

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International Handbook of Research in Professional and Practice-based Learning

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

Abstract

The purpose and contribution of our chapter is to provide a vision for professionals’ learning in light of the field of organisational learning, and through this lens to incorporate various understandings of the organisational dynamics that professionals work and learn in and through. Inspired by some of the founding fathers of the field of organisational learning, Chris Argyris and Donald Schön (1978, 1996: 3), we ask: “What is an organisation that professionals may learn?” We answer this question by introducing three understandings of organisations and the learning theories that they are connected with. These are respectively a behavioural, a cognitive and a practice-based perspective on organisational learning. We propose that these lenses on organisations and learning may help us see professionals’ learning as contextualised in both their work practices and their places of work, i.e. organisations.

(…) to study organizations involves thinking about philosophy, politics, ethics and much more. And behind or beyond these abstractions are the lived experience of people not just working together but joking, arguing, criticizing, fighting, deciding, lusting, despairing, creating, resisting, fearing, hoping or, in short, organizing.

(Grey 2005 [2013]: 2)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Bente Elkjaer & Ulrik Brandi

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  1. Bente Elkjaer
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  2. Ulrik Brandi
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Correspondence to Bente Elkjaer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education and Professional Studies, Adult and Vocational Education, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Stephen Billett

  2. Institute of Educational Science, University of Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany

    Christian Harteis

  3. Institute of Educational Science, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

    Hans Gruber

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Elkjaer, B., Brandi, U. (2014). An Organisational Perspective on Professionals’ Learning. In: Billett, S., Harteis, C., Gruber, H. (eds) International Handbook of Research in Professional and Practice-based Learning. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8902-8_31

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