ERIC Number: EJ1249669
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Apr
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1874-785X
EISSN: N/A
Self-Directed Learning as a Practice of Workplace Learning: Interpretative Repertoires of Self-Directed Learning in ICT Work
Lemmetty, Soila; Collin, Kaija
Vocations and Learning, v13 n1 p47-70 Apr 2020
Changing technologies and competition in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) are challenging the learning of individual workers and teams alongside and through work. Organisations call for employees' autonomy and self-directedness executed by agile operations and low hierarchies, where learning is also increasingly the responsibility of the individuals and teams themselves and occurs in practice without strong control of the organisation. Therefore, the multidimensional concept of self-directed learning becomes essential in the context of learning at work. In this study, we examine how employees in the ICT sector describe self-directed learning practices in the context of workplace learning. Our data consist of interviews with ICT employees in two organisations, which undergo an applied discourse analysis. The workers talked about self-directed learning as an obliged, creativity-enhanced as well as flexible and fast-paced practice. Self-directed learning was also described as a practice tied to work itself. The paper concludes with a discussion on how these partly conflicting discourses about self-directed learning practice in work could be considered in practices related to enhancing such learning in the ICT field. Suggestions for future investigations are also presented.
Descriptors: Learning Processes, Workplace Learning, Information Technology, Communications, Professional Autonomy, Independent Study, Employee Attitudes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A