An Introduction to Francophone Perspectives of Learning Through Work

Abstract

Professional learning, and the educational and practice-based experiences that support it, is currently the subject of increased interest and attention in the fields of educational, psychological, sociological and business management research and teaching. They are also becoming priorities for governments, employer organisations, professional bodies and unions who are commonly concerned with developing and sustaining competent workforces and workers to meet important personal, workplace and national social and economic goals. Yet, the current body of research dedicated to understanding learning through and for occupational practice appears as dispersed and not sufficiently integrated. Across various disciplinary, linguistic and cultural contexts, specific methodological, theoretical and organisational avenues have been elaborated in response to the challenges of practice-based learning, yet often with little references to the diversity and richness of approaches available in the field. For instance, the research perspectives adopted in the Francophone context have come to comprise specific traditions, some of which are widely shared internationally, whereas others have acquired a strong visibility only in French-speaking countries and in some cases only in one country. However, these conceptions are largely unknown outside of the Francophone world and are often inaccessible to the English-speaking audience. The objective of this chapter is to introduce the project of this book, which is to make available to an English-speaking audience key conceptualisations, methods and empirical findings that have emerged within Francophone countries on the topic of learning through practice. The chapter explains the rationale and genesis of this book project and provides an overview of the contributions that comprise content of the 17 chapters of the monograph.