Learning Through Practice by Stephen Billett

Learning Through Practice by Stephen Billett

Practice-based learning-the kind of education that comes from experiencing real work in real situations-has always been a prerequisite to qualification in professions such as medicine. However, there is growing interest in how practice-based models of learning can assist the initial preparation for and further development of skills for a wider range of occupations. Rather than being seen as a tool of first-time training, it is now viewed as a potentially important facet of professional development and life-long learning. This book provides perspectives on practice-based learning from a range of disciplines and fields of work. The collection here draws on a wide spectrum of perspectives to illustrate as well as to critically appraise approaches to practice-based learning. The book's two sections first explore the conceptual foundations of learning through practice, and then provide detailed examples of its implementation. Long-standing practice-based approaches to learning have been used in many professions and trades. Indeed, admission to the trades and major professions (e.g. medicine, law, accountancy) can only be realised after completing extended periods of practice in authentic practice settings. However, the growing contemporary interest in using practice-based learning in more extensive contexts has arisen from concerns about the direct employability of graduates and the increasing focus on occupation-specific courses in both vocations and higher education. It is an especially urgent issue in an era of critical skill shortages, rapidly transforming work requirements and an aging workforce combined with a looming shortage of new workforce entrants. We must better understand how existing models of practice-based learning are enacted in order to identify how they can be applied to different kinds of employment and workplaces. The contributions to this volume explore ways in which learning through practice can be conceptualised, enacted, and appraised through ananalysis of the traditions, purposes, and processes that support this learning-including curriculum models and pedagogic practices.

From the reviews:

“Aim of this book is to provide an overview of how learning through practice can be conceptionalised, enacted and appraised… Those who have tended to focus on teacher education as an example of workplace learning will find wide range of contexts discussed here to be stimulating.” (Michael Hammond, Teacher Development, October, 2011)

Dr Stephen Billett is Professor of Adult and Vocational Education in the School of Education and Professional Studies at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia and also an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. Stephen has worked as a vocational educator, educational administrator, teacher educator, professional development practitioner and policy developer within the Australian vocational education system and as a teacher and researcher at Griffith University. Since 1992, he has researched

Dr Christian Harteis is Full Professor of Educational Management and Research on Further Education at the University of Paderborn, Germany. His research field is professional learning, he has done several studies on individual and organisational influences on learning at workplaces. Latest research topics are learning from mistakes and intuition as component of professional competence. During his academic career since 1996 he worked at several German universities. He regularly gives guest lectures at the University of Turku (Finland) and the University of Antwerp (Belgium).

Hans Gruber is Professor of Educational Science at the University of Regensburg, Germany, and also Senior Fellow at the Faculty of Education, University of Turku, Finland. He is President-Elect of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) and member of the Review Board for Educational Science within the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft). From 2010 to 2012, he served as Vice-Rector for Study Affairs at the University of Regensburg, Germany. He has researched professional learning, expertise, workplace learning, and higher education for many years.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9789048139385
ISBN 10	9048139384
Title	Learning Through Practice
Author	Stephen Billett
Series	Professional And Practice-Based Learning
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Springer
Year published	2010-06-17
Number of pages	288
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.