The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Training, Development, and Performance Improvement

4Training and Workplace Learning

Karen Evans and Natasha Kersh

Introduction

The issue of learning at work and the significance of different configurations of “learning in, for and through the workplace” (Evans et al., 2006) have been discussed extensively in a number of research publications in recent years (e.g., Aspin et al., 2012; Malloch et al., 2011; Evans et al., 2006; Rainbird, Fuller, & Munro, 2004; Boud, 2006; Guile, 2010a). Aspects such as learning on the job, informal learning and competence development, knowledge management, and the role of digital technologies have been recognized as important areas of research. Rapid changes in economic and social development and the impact of globalization have contributed to the changes in perception of adult and workplace learning and have facilitated the changing nature of the learning space at work. Workplace learning has been recognized as a core component of national and international strategies for lifelong learning, which aim to bring about higher participation in learning by workers as well as expanding the range of learning activities and achievements accessed in, for, or through the workplace.

In this chapter we will start by considering the concept of workplace learning, looking at the workplace through the lens of theoretical approaches to learning at work, specifically drawing on theoretical perspectives developed in Evans et al. (2006), Malloch et al. (2011), and Billett (2011). The complex interdependencies between ...