This paper seeks to bridge the existing knowledge gap between workplace learning and life course studies by investigating how young adults in the retail industry identify, pursue, and actualise learning opportunities in their workplaces. It considers the elements from their life course that either facilitate or impede these learning opportunities.…

The paper analyses global online labour platforms (OLPs) through the lens of the Expansive-Restrictive Learning Environments framework. The framework articulates a set of structural factors that enable or constrain workplace learning and development. The paper draws on multistakeholder, mixed-method empirical data to illustrate how OLPs are…

Purpose: Today's unpredictable and fast-changing work environment challenges researchers and organizations to rethink learning. In contrast to traditional learning designs, new learning frameworks such as agile learning are more learner centered, integrated into the workplace and socially shaped. The purpose of this study is to examine Working Out…

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyse young adults' positive experiences of learning when entering the labour market. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on 13 individual in-depth interviews with young adults (aged 18-28) working within the retail sector in Sweden. The interviews explored the interviewees' experiences when…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore how a new type of workplace training program can be created that truly enables participants to move from words to action. Recognizing the need to understand trainee-work environment dynamics the authors criticize training efforts that center on targeted learning events, instead highlighting the role of…

Building on prior research documenting associations between youth purpose and academic, psychological and physical well-being, this study examined the contributions of workplace learning (WPL) to youth purpose and internal motivation among 281 youth of diverse racial and ethnic identities and economic status enrolled in two high school networks…

Higher education institutions continue to face challenges in fostering social mobility and preparing their students for the world of work. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges via disruption to education and reduced opportunities for work-integrated learning. Framing this as our point of departure, we propose that peer learning can…

This open access book challenges international policy 'groupthink' about lifelong learning. Adult learning -- too long a servant of business competitiveness -- should be reimagined as central to democratic society. Young adults, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, engage more in education and training, and learn more day-to-day at work, if…

The purpose of this study was to explore the structural relationships among diverse variables to provide a comprehensive understanding of Turkish research assistants' workplace learning. The cross-sectional data of the study were collected online from 21 universities around Turkey. A total of 1218 research assistants from various disciplines took…

We investigated the relationships between Participation in Training, Informal Learning Behaviours (ILBs), and their dispositional (Readiness to Learn) and situational (Workplace Interaction and Autonomy) antecedents. Aiming to produce findings with greater reproducibility and generality, we used secondary data from 34 countries participating in…

Purpose: This study aims to depict how a change laboratory (CL) promotes sustainable professional practice at the workplace to tackle unequal access to educational success. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical findings are from a CL focusing on school professionals' agency and a follow-up study one year after the CL. Findings: The study…

Professional learning networks (PLN) in Higher Education represent new social configurations for networked workplaces in which education, research and innovation can be combined. Here academic staff engages with others outside of their everyday organisational community. This study identifies and conceptualizes essential behaviours that…

As life course research has long recognized, work and careers are what Pearlin (1988; p.259) describes as "durable arrangements" that serve to "organize experience over time." However, understanding (a) the specific impacts of the alienations and contradictions of work and society under capitalism as well as (b) the analytic…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine uncertain situations with potential for learning in care work. While the dominant learning strategy in elderly care is lecture-based education, learning from and during daily care work routines is crucial and suitable. However, little is known about the potential for learning in daily work in elderly care.…

The importance of "self-directed learning" (SDL) in a business environment has been highlighted as a way to increase an organisation's competitiveness and innovativeness. While organisations increasingly require SDL from employees, less attention is paid to the situations and frames enabling it. This study examines "self-directed…