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Understanding Learning for the Professions: How Theories of Learning Explain Coping with Rapid Change

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International Handbook of Research in Professional and Practice-based Learning

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Abstract

Working life is increasingly in turbulence. Whole traditional professional fields disappear as new ones emerge. Within traditional professions technological and organisational development often means rapid changes in knowledge, skills, and working attitudes required from workers. All of this results in a challenge to develop vocational and professional education, and models of workplace learning that respond to these changes. The central questions are how new generations should be prepared for a future, at least partly unknown, working lives and how old workers should be supported in the necessary updating of their knowledge and skills during their work careers are added challenges. The aim of this chapter is to analyse how adequate the contemporary theories of learning are for dealing with these challenges.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Learning Research and Department of Teacher Education, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

    Erno Lehtinen & Tuire Palonen

  2. Department of Education, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

    Kai Hakkarainen

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  1. Erno Lehtinen
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  2. Kai Hakkarainen
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  3. Tuire Palonen
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Correspondence to Erno Lehtinen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education and Professional Studies, Adult and Vocational Education, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Stephen Billett

  2. Institute of Educational Science, University of Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany

    Christian Harteis

  3. Institute of Educational Science, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

    Hans Gruber

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Lehtinen, E., Hakkarainen, K., Palonen, T. (2014). Understanding Learning for the Professions: How Theories of Learning Explain Coping with Rapid Change. In: Billett, S., Harteis, C., Gruber, H. (eds) International Handbook of Research in Professional and Practice-based Learning. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8902-8_8

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