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Experiences of practice-based learning in phenomenographic perspective

Airi Rovio-Johansson (Gothenburg Research Institute, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden)

Journal of Workplace Learning

ISSN: 1366-5626

Article publication date: 12 February 2018

554

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to examine, within the context of professional practice and learning, how designers collaboratively working in international teams experience practice-based learning and how such occasions contribute to professional development.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper introduces the cooperation project between Tibro Training Centre and Furniture Technology Centre Trust and its workshop context organized as practice-based learning. Participants’ learning context consisted of a mixture of professional practices allowing different logics and different cultures make up an innovative working site. Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interview data suggests that three phenomenographic hierarchical categories constitute the learning process: getting a recognized professional identity; perceiving new elements and expanding knowledge and seeing new aspects of design work and new steps of development in profession.

Findings

Cooperative practice-based learning is understood as social practice in a community of practice, and as continuous changes of the learning object due to that new aspects are discerned by the learners. These categories illustrate how participants’ meaning making and understanding of the learning object were expressed in cooperation as doings and sayings, as translation and as situated activities in a community of practice. Accordingly, it contributed to participants’ professional development in spite of their different professional educations and professional experiences.

Practical implications

More studies of practice-based learning environments in work places are needed that could help societies and companies to advance integrative efforts of new employees and new immigrants into an increasingly diverse globalized labour market.

Originality/value

The results suggest that understanding as well as content structure and meaning making of the learning object are intertwined constituent aspects of practice-based learning.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Grant from the Gothenburg Centre of Globalization and Development (GCGD) at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, and No. V202439. The author acknowledges the work and assistance of Associate Professor Andreas Diedrich in the field phase of the study, when the data were collected.

Citation

Rovio-Johansson, A. (2018), "Experiences of practice-based learning in phenomenographic perspective", Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 48-64. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-03-2016-0017

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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