Authentic Professional Learning: Making a Difference Through Learning at Work

274 Pages·2010·3.89 MB·English

by  Ann Webster-Wright (auth.)

Professional and Practice-based Learning
Volume 2
Forfurthervolumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/8383
SeriesEditors:
StephenBillett,GriffithUniversity,Australia
ChristianHarteis,UniversityofRegensburg,Germany
HansGruber,UniversityofRegensburg,Germany
Professionalandpractice-basedlearningbringstogetherinternationalresearchontheindividualdevel-
opment of professionals and the organisation of professional life and educational experiences. It
complements the Springer journal Vocations and Learning: Studies in vocational and professional
education.
Professionallearning,andthepractice-basedprocessesthatoftensupportit,arethesubjectofincreased
interestandattentioninthefieldsofeducational,psychological,sociological,andbusinessmanagement
research,andalsobygovernments,employerorganisationsandunions.Thisprofessionallearninggoes
beyond,whatisoftentermedprofessionaleducation,asitincludeslearningprocessesandexperiences
outsideofeducationalinstitutionsinboththeinitialandongoinglearningfortheprofessionalpractice.
Changesintheseworkplacesrequirementsusuallymanifestthemselvesintheeverydayworktasks,pro-
fessionaldevelopmentprovisionsineducationalinstitutiondecreaseintheirsalience,andlearningand
developmentduringprofessionalactivitiesincreaseintheirsalience.
Therearearangeofscientificchallengesandimportantfocuseswithinthefieldofprofessionallearning.
Theseinclude:
- understanding and making explicit the complex and massive knowledge that is required for
professional practice and identifying ways in which this knowledge can best be initially learnt and
developedfurtherthroughoutprofessionallife.
-analyticalexplicationsofthoseprocessesthatsupportlearningatanindividualandanorganisational
level.
- understanding how learning experiences and educational processes might best be aligned or
integratedtosupportprofessionallearning.
Theseriesintegratesresearchfromdifferentdisciplines:education,sociology,psychology,amongstoth-
ers.Theseriesiscomprehensiveinscopeasitnotonlyfocussesonprofessionallearningofteachersand
thoseinschools,collegesanduniversities,butallprofessionaldevelopmentwithinorganisations.
Ann Webster-Wright
Authentic Professional
Learning
Making a Difference Through Learning
at Work
123
Dr.AnnWebster-Wright
UniversityofQueensland
Teaching&Educational
DevelopmentInstitute
4072BrisbaneQueensland
Australia
[email protected]
ISBN978-90-481-3946-0 e-ISBN978-90-481-3947-7
DOI10.1007/978-90-481-3947-7
SpringerDordrechtHeidelbergLondonNewYork
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Series Editors’ Foreword
There is considerable and growing interest in professionals learning across their
working lives. The growth in this interest is likely premised upon the increasing
percentage of those who are being employed under the designation as profession-
als or para-professional workers in advanced industrial economies. Part of being
designated in this way is a requirement to be able to work autonomously and in a
relatively self-regulated manner. Of course, many other kinds of employment also
demand such behaviours. However, there is particular attention being given to the
ongoing development of workers who are seen to make crucial decisions and take
actionsabouthealth,legalandfinancialmatters.Partofthisattentionderivesfrom
expectations within the community that those who are granted relative autonomy
and are often paid handsomely should be current and informed in their decision-
making. Then, like all other workers, professionals are required to maintain their
competenceinthefaceofchangingrequirementsforwork.Consequently,avolume
that seeks to inform how best this ongoing learning can be understood, supported
andassistedismosttimelyandwelcomed.
Thisvolumeseekstoelaborateprofessionallearningthroughaconsiderationof
the concept of authentic professional learning. What is proposed here is that, in
contrasttoprogrammaticapproachestowardsprofessionaldevelopment,theprocess
ofcontinuingprofessionallearningisapersonal,complexanddiverseprocessthat
doesnotlenditselftoeasyprescriptionortherealisationofothers’intents.Instead,
a phenomenological approach is adopted here that emphasises the importance of
personalexperienceandintentionalityasthekeypremiseforprofessionals’ongoing
learning. The author makes the point that, while seeking to capture this learning
throughadvancingtheconceptofauthenticprofessionallearning,itisimportantto
understand it as a personal phenomenon and not to lose its unique diversity and
complexityforeachindividual.
Not surprisingly, the methodological orientation adopted here is one of phe-
nomenology (i.e. the study of experience). Consistent with this orientation is a
strong focus on learning, rather than the provision of courses and developmen-
tal strategies. Instead, the pedagogic emphasis is on professional learning as a
self-directed activity and not only in terms of activity-directed towards achieving
what others wish to be achieved. The emphasis here is on what each individual
wishestoachieve,hence,theinterestinintentionality.Suchanorientationisargued
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vi SeriesEditors’Foreword
for throughout this book. The emphasis is on respecting the diversity of mean-
ing and highlights agency and capability in self-directed approaches to learning.
Consequently,herepedagogicqualitiesarethoseenactedanddirectedbythelearner.
Epistemology,here,focusesstronglyonthesetofbeliefsandinterestswhichindi-
vidualsexerciseintheirlearning.Thetheorisingdrawsuponseminalcontributions
fromphenomenology,yetthesecontributionsaresupportedandaugmentedbythose
fromarangeofotherdisciplines.
Consistentwiththekeyorientation,however,andthroughout,theauthorempha-
sises that professional learning cannot be mandated, coerced and controlled by
others, but can be effectively supported, assisted and guided. This orientation is
supportedbyempiricalwork,whichconcludedthatprofessionalslearninsituations
that are important for them. These situations are usually areas they care enough
abouttoengagewitheffortfullyandwithintentionality,yet,atthesametime,expe-
rience uncertainty and doubt. The author proposes that learning in such situations
involves complex interconnections with previous experiences, of themselves and
others, and leads through transitions involving novel features to a change in pro-
fessional understanding. Such learning follows a circuitous trajectory, being open
to many possibilities in the path that is taken, so that it is not easily amenable to
outsidecontrol.
Itisproposedinthisbookthatthereisaneedtounderstandprofessionallearning
fromtheperspectiveoftheprofessionalsthemselvesandthroughaconsiderationof
the context of everyday professional practice in which they think, act and learn.
Moreover, by using such a theoretical framework to conceptualise professional
learningasbeingsomethingthatispersonallyconstructedandbecomesembedded
withinthelivedexperienceofbeingapractisingprofessional,thisbookdoesmore
thanmerelychallengethetraditionalwayofconceptualisingprofessionaldevelop-
ment. It also offers bases for reshaping efforts to secure all ongoing professional
learninginwayscentredonthelearnersthemselves.
Brisbane,Australia StephenBillett
Regensburg,Germany HansGruber
Regensburg,Germany ChristianHarteis
January2010
Preface
Professionallearninghasbeeneclipsedformanyyearsbytheriseofmandatorycon-
tinuingeducation.Aspartofadiscourseofjustificationandaudit,manyprofessions
haveinstitutedsystematicprogrammesforregistrationorawardingcontinuingsta-
tusfortheirmembers.Thesesystems,thattypicallyinvolvethecollectionofcredit
pointsorhours,havedominateddiscussionofprofessionalslearning.Intheprocess
theyhavetakenacomplexprocess,over-simplifieditandpackageditasaconsumer
product. While this may be effective in managing accountability and in exposing
someless-committedmembersoftheprofessionstocurrentknowledgeandpractice,
itisnotnecessarilygoodatpromotingresponsiblecontinuingprofessionallearning
thatwillenhancethequalityofpractice.
One of the reasons for this is that there has been a rollout of programmes
and measures without concomitant research that helps us understand how profes-
sionals learn independently of the goading of continuing professional education
systems. A deep appreciation of how professionals view their continuing develop-
mentandwhattheydowhentheylearnprofessionallyisneededifpracticeistobe
improved.
AnnWebster-Wrightisoneofasmallnumberofresearchersseekingthisunder-
standingandconductingresearchthatilluminatesthedevelopmentofprofessional
practice after registration. This excellent book portrays the professional learning
thatagroupofpractitionersundertakesforthemselves.Itattendsinavividwayto
whattheydoandwhatisimportantforthemintheirdailyprofessionalpracticesand
throughthisexploresimplicationsforcontinuingprofessionaldevelopment.
Itusesaphenomenologyoftheexperienceofagroupofprofessionalslearning
in their current working context to argue for a paradigmatic shift in the concep-
tualisation of continuing professional learning. The study has major implications
for how professional education is regarded and how it needs to move beyond
the assumption that learning can be equated with participation in certain kinds of
programs.
Theauthortakesthephenomenologyasanempiricalgroundingforathoughtful
discussion of both practical considerations and philosophical issues. These range
from the dissonance between the reality of professionals’ experiences of learn-
ing and the rhetoric of stakeholders expectations of professional development to
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viii Preface
the question of what ‘being a professional’ means. She argues for a paradigm
shiftinprofessionaleducation,sketchesaframeworkofwhatsheterms‘authentic
professionallearning’anddiscusseshowitmightbesupported.
Thisbookisapioneeringexampleofthekindofstudiesthatareneededtofurther
understanding of professional practice and how it can be improved. It focuses on
what practitioners can do to act together for themselves. It applies the notion of
beingprofessionaltothecoreofpractice:learningfromwhatonedoes.
ProfessorofAdultEducation DavidBoud
UniversityofTechnology,Sydney,Australia
January,2010
Acknowledgements
There are many people who have supported me in different ways through the
undertaking of this research and writing of this book. I am grateful to the profes-
sionalswhosharedtheirexperienceswithme,openlyacknowledgingthedilemmas
and delights of their professional practices. I am particularly indebted to Gloria
Dall’Alba and Merrilyn Goos, at the University of Queensland, without whose
encouragementandsupportthisbook,andtheoriginalresearchthatinformsit,may
nothaveoccurred.Ideeplyvaluetheinfluenceofmultiplecolleagues,toonumerous
tomentionindividually,whoseideasandexperiences,sharedthroughconversations
andreadinbooks,shapedandcontinuetoinspiremylearningandmylife.Finally,
butnotleast,Iameternallythankfulfortheongoingloveandsupportofmypartner
andchildren.
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