I was entertained today by the interaction between "academic" and "operational" professionals in an emerging profession. There were two discourses going on:

The first discourse was of (high) theory.

The second was of related to the (low) application of theory in complex contexts.

It brought back memories of Donald Schon/Schön:

In the varied topography of professional practice, there is a high, hard ground overlooking a swamp.  On the high ground, manageable problems lend themselves to solution through the use of research-based theory and technique.  In the swampy lowlands, problems are messy and confusing and incapable of technical solution.  The irony of this situation is that the problems of the high ground tend to be relatively unimportant to individuals or society at large, however great their technical interest may be, while in the swamp lie the problems of greatest human concern.  The practitioner is confronted with a choice.  Shall he remain on the high ground where he can solve relatively unimportant problems according to his standards of rigor, or shall he descend to the swamp of important problems where he cannot be rigorous in any way he knows how to describe.  source (an excerpt)

The workshop process then ended up with the cliff dwellers throwing stones (models, taxonomies etc) down on the swamp dwellers who couldn't argue their point because the stones didn't really have any impact in their realities. They were, however, intimidated by the big plops that the stones made in the swamp,

The "operational" viewed these inputs as a threat to their practice.

But if the stones had been characterised as findings from research or as possible approaches, methods, tools or techniques a totally different dialogue/discussion would have emerged.

Published - Occupational Sub-Framework Policy from the QCTO

On Wednesday 30 July the QCTO published their policy for the Occupational Qualifications Sub-Framework. This closes a gap that has been outstanding for a while.
The published framework is a simple, clear document in contrast to some of the earlier drafts. You can download it from the Government Printer www.gponline.co.za. You will have to register first if you haven't already done so. Search for Government Gazette 37879.
If you're considering writing a thesis on the the OQSF this document will form the starting point for any defininitional and underlying concepts, principles and related issues.
If you're a provider or assessor read page 24 f. It deals with the implementation of the policy and transitional arrangements.

Tips for post-grad students

As you may have noticed, when I uploaded a set of primary resources items names included author/s, year and title.

For a long time I struggled to manage all the resources that I downloaded from the internet or where I bought books and made notes. Whenever I wrote a paper it became a chore to track down  the actual papers.
Often when you download an article or on-line book has an odd title, eg agx4532b.pdf. I use folders to sort into content into themes. But even then I don't know what the article or book is about. And sometimes I forget how I have saved that particular article and have a hard time finding it.

Eventually I started renaming  the files as I down loaded them, loosely using the Harvard citation style of Author/s. Year. Title.pdf or whatever. This has increased my success rate for finding these papers.  So you save it. When you try to find it again it's easy if you can remember either the author or one or more words in the title. If you copy a sentence or paragraph I add the name of the file and the page number.

When I use it in a paper I just adjust it to meet the citation requirements of the journal or conference.

Of course that's not enough for you thesis. I suggest you start to use a biliographic tool as soon as possible. Fiona, a researcher I work with who is doing her PhD swears by Endnote. It is expensive but you may be able to access it through your university.

I'm trying out an open-source web-based tool called Zotero. You be web-based only using the Firefox browser or download a standalone version, which also synchronises with the web. There also also plug-ins for Microsoft Word or LibreOffice.

Links page - updated

I've added more  resources to the Links page

This purpose of this post is to re-ignite the workplace learning up as a learning community.
It will depend on your comments, responses and questions.

I've been asked by a couple of potential/actual post-grads aiming for a PhD "What should I read to get started in  skills development?"

This is a complex issue. Skills development includes a number of processes including formal education and training. There's enough literature on that.

So I will concentrate on the "hidden" part of skills development - the translation of knowledge into action in a real-life situation. If we describe this as workplace learning we miss the point that this learning modality also exists in situations outside of work. This kind of learning happens in our homes, in our community interactions, in our cars, banks, SARS offices and so on. It is part and parcel of our daily activities. This greater field of learning is termed "informal learning" ie a form of learning without a curriculum, without a plan and even a formal intention until we are faced with the actual challenge.

So here are four texts which I consider as good starting points for understanding the dynamics of this kind of learning.

CODE KEITH. 1991 Twist of the Wrist – The Motorcycle Road Racers Handbook. Los Angeles: Acrobat

DREYFUS HUBERT. L. 1996 The Current Relevance of Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Embodiment. 
http://ejap.louisiana.edu/EJAP/1996.spring/dreyfus.1996.spring.html
Original link: <http://www.phil.indiana.edu/ejap/1996.spring/dreyfus.1996.spring.html>  [Retrieved 1999-05-16]

BILLET, STEPHEN. 2001. Participation and continuity at work: A critique of current workplace learning discourses, paper given at the conference Context, Power and Perspective: Confronting the Challenges to Improving Attainment in Learning at Work, Sunley Management Centre, University College Northampton, 8th –10th November. http://www.infed.org/archives/e-texts/billett_workplace_learning.htm [Retrieved 2006-07-28]

HENSCHEL, PETER. 1999 The Manager's Core Work in the New Economy. http://www.newmango.com/01iftf/henschel.html [Retrieved 2002-07-02]

I will discuss their relevance in later posts.

Please make comments or ask questions to get the dialogue going

Why this blog on workplace learning?

Why is workplace learning so important?

Workplace learning is a critical component of skills development - but it is the most neglected. It is seldom recognised, codified or implemented in a structured way. Yet is is the oldest and most powerful form of learning that humans engage in, whatever their race culture, gender or social status. It is the same learning process that we see in children learning to walk, speak and play. Children learn to acquire skills through combination of modelling on others, trial-and-error, feedback from others, social interactions and goal attainment. This form of learning is driven by contextual needs and is dependent on the learner interacting with his or her context and environment.

Workplace learning follows a similar pattern, but can be deepened through reflection, or double-loop learning. The learning pattern is also is not just confined to the place of work, i.e. the place where one earns a wage, salary or income. It is also found in social and community settings and activities, in the home, in recreational activities, such as sport, hobbies and even in spiritual activities.

This learning pattern is, however, far more important than merely acquiring notional job skills. It is also key to acquiring values, attitudes and standards.

The consequences of poor workplace learning practices are evident all around us, poor quality workmanship or service, lack of maintenance or service delivery.

So if want an improvement in standards of service and workmanship (workpersonship?), then we are going to have to pay attention to workplace learning.

Why workplace learning is not effective I'll discuss in another post.

Occupational Qualifications on the NQF: Communities of Mistrust?

This paper was developed for SAQA's QAfrica Conference in 2005. It sets out the underlying principles for the establishment of the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations in 2008

Abstract

The relationship between qualifications required for the world of work (trades, occupations and professions) and the National Qualifications Framework in South Africa can best be described as uneasy. While labour market players who participated in the evolution of the NQF always worked with one goal in mind – the NQF as a framework for all kinds of learning – the reality has been quite different. Many of the structures and processes that support the NQF work against the uptake of such qualifications on the NQF. 

The paper analyses occupational and labour market requirements, and makes a number of proposals which can be used to create alignment between the world of provision and the world of praxis. In particular it proposes:

• the use of an occupational framework, based on a classification of occupations, to link the world of work and the NQF
• a method of defining occupational competence and hence of structuring qualifications
• the use of unit standards to describe occupational skills
• the role of communities of practice within the quality assurance cycle.

This paper will deal with principles that can apply to a range of occupations including trades and professions.

Introduction

The trigger for this paper was SAQA's call for research on the inclusion of professions on the National Qualifications Framework.

At best, this is a bizarre research question for 2005 going on 2006. 

It was intended from the very beginning that trade, occupation and professional qualifications should be captured on the NQF (NTSI, Ways of Seeing the NQF, even SAQA documents themselves). The NQF was conceived as a framework of learning - not a framework of education and training interventions. People seem to have forgotten that. 

But this question is an indication that the problems inherent in implementing the NQF have created an atmosphere of mistrust. 

What the NQF meant was that those who had been outside the formal structures - the under-educated and the unemployed – would gain access to learning opportunities which would integrate them into the formal system. Also intended was that today’s youth - graduates of schools, FET Colleges and higher education institutions - would have the relevant skills and knowledge to enter into the labour market either as employees, or increasingly, as entrepreneurs.

Whatever indicators are used to measure the NQF, the real question remains unanswered: are those who have been marginalised as the result of past inequities (which still remain with us) now in the main stream?

The NQF promised career progression. But does it achieve this?

For the full paper click here