Engineers' professional learning: a practice-theory perspective
Article
Reich, A., Rooney, D., Gardner, A., Willey, K., Boud, D. and Fitzgerald, T. 2015. Engineers' professional learning: a practice-theory perspective. European Journal of Engineering Education. 40 (4), pp. 366-379. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2014.967181
Type | Article |
---|---|
Title | Engineers' professional learning: a practice-theory perspective |
Authors | Reich, A., Rooney, D., Gardner, A., Willey, K., Boud, D. and Fitzgerald, T. |
Abstract | With the increasing challenges facing professional engineers working in more complex, global and interdisciplinary contexts, different approaches to understanding how engineers practice and learn are necessary. This paper draws on recent research in the social sciences from the field of workplace learning, to suggest that a practice-theory perspective on engineers' professional learning is fruitful. It shifts the focus from the attributes of the individual learner (knowledge, skills and attitudes) to the attributes of the practice (interactions, materiality, opportunities and challenges). Learning is thus more than the technical acquisition and transfer of knowledge, but a complex bundle of activities, that is, social, material, embodied and emerging. The paper is illustrated with examples from a research study of the learning of experienced engineers in the construction industry to demonstrate common practices – site walks and design review meetings – in which learning takes place. |
Keywords | engineers' practice; professional learning; workplace learning; practice theory; engineering education |
Research Group | Work and Learning Research Centre |
Publisher | Taylor & Francis (Routledge) |
Journal | European Journal of Engineering Education |
ISSN | 0304-3797 |
Electronic | 1469-5898 |
Publication dates | |
04 Jul 2015 | |
Online | 20 Oct 2014 |
Publication process dates | |
Deposited | 06 May 2015 |
Accepted | 12 Sep 2014 |
Output status | Published |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2014.967181 |
Web of Science identifier | WOS:000356348200002 |
Language | English |
https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/85424
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