Developing Vocational

Expertise
Principles and issues in vocational education

Edited by John Stevenson

First published in 2003

Copyright © this collection John Stevenson, 2003

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Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

Developing vocational expertise:

Principles and issues in vocational education.

Includes index

ISBN 1 86508 9792.

1. Vocational education. 2. Occupational training.

3. Technical education. I. Stevenson, John C.

370.113

Index compiled by Russell Brooks

Typeset in 10.5/12pt Sabon by Midland Typesetters, Maryborough, Victoria

Printed by CMO Image Printing Enterprise, Singapore

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
 Contents

List of figures vii

List of tables viii
Acknowledgments x
Contributors xii

Introduction xiii

PART I: VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE AND ITS DEVELOPMENT

1 Expertise for the workplace 3
John Stevenson
Introduction 3
Concepts of expertise 4
Expertise as facility with meaning 5
Relationships of meaning 7
Psychological concepts of expertise 11
Summary of ideas about expertise 20
Introducing some common abstractions 23

2 Vocational teaching and learning in context 26

John Stevenson
Introduction 26
Curriculum sources for vocational teaching and learning 27
Teaching and learning assumptions 28

iii
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Curriculum theories 31
Economic press for codification of meaning 33
Some bases for planning teaching and learning 37
Generating teaching and learning principles 40
Conclusion 43

PART II: DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE FOR KEY PURSUITS

3 Developing literacy 51
Jean Searle
Introduction 51
What is literacy? 52
Literacy theories, research and practice 55
Literacy in the workplace 64
Implications for teaching and learning 71
Conclusion 75

4 Developing numeracy 81
Clive Kanes
Introduction 81
Numerical practices 82
The theme of visibility 84
The theme of useability 86
The theme of constructibility 92
Dilemmas and conflicts 95
Numeracy curriculum development 100
Implications for practice 104
Conclusion 105

5 Developing information literacy 110

Fred Beven
Background 110
Work in the knowledge economy 111
Information literacy for work 114
Research 119
Implications for curriculum development 130
Recommendations for teaching 131

6 Developing problem-solving skills 135

Howard Middleton
Introduction 135
Problems 136
Problems as challenges 140
What makes problems difficult? 141
Representing problems 143
Problem-solving 147
Developing problem-solving skills: implications for
teaching and learning 149

iv
 CONTENTS

7 Developing creativity 153

Irena Yashin-Shaw
Introduction 153
Creative thinking in vocational settings 153
What is creativity? 154
Models of creative problem-solving 156
The hierarchical view of thinking 159
The knowledge base 159
Second-order procedures 161
Third-order procedures 165
Other features of the model 166
Creative problem-solving in graphic design: a case study 166
Implications for teaching and learning in vocational settings 168
Conclusion 179

8 Working values 183

John Stevenson
Introduction 183
Values 184
Social origins of values 185
Cognitive treatment of values in relation to knowledge 186
Values in settings and communities of practice 187
Recent research on workplace values 189
Implications for curriculum development 190
Implications for teaching and learning 193
Conclusion 196

PART III: EMERGING CHALLENGES IN INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY

9 Strategies for developing flexible learning 203
Clive Kanes
Introduction 203
What is flexible learning? 204
What is the rationale for flexible learning? 206
Three frameworks for developing flexible learning 209
Flexible learning as a learning activity 212
Developing a flexible learning curriculum 217
Flexible learning principles and teaching methods 219
Conclusion 222

10 Guiding vocational learning 226

Stephen Billett
Guided learning 226
Intersubjectivity, appropriation or mastery: outcomes of
guided learning 228
Conceptual bases of guided learning 231
Curriculum and guided learning 235

v
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Implications for instruction 238

Conclusion 242

11 Integrating approaches to developing vocational expertise 247

John Stevenson
Introduction 247
Teaching and learning as an activity system 248
Sample actions illustrating teaching and learning principles 250
Instantiations of principles and sample actions in
approaching vocational teaching and learning 254
Conclusion 258

Index 266

vi
 List of figures

11.1 Relationships of expertise and meaning 22

12.1 The structure of a human activity system 38
12.2 Relationships of expertise, meaning and learning 41
14.1 Model of numeracy as a cultural-historical activity system 102
15.1 Main menu at Site A 121
15.2 Main menu at Site C 122
15.3 Main menu at Site D 122
16.1 Revised concept of a problem space 138
17.1 The synthesised model for creative problem-solving 160
17.2 Simplified version of the creative problem-solving model 175
19.1 Model of flexible delivery as a cultural-historical activity
system 214
11.1 Teaching and learning as an activity system 249
11.2 Relationships of expertise, meaning, learning principles,
sample actions and instantiations 259

vii
 List of tables

3.1 Definitions of literacy 53

3.2 Reading, writing and literacy theory and practice 56
3.3 Workplace activities 70
4.1 Strands and strand organisers for Mathematics—
A Curriculum Profile for Australian Schools 85
4.2 Principles for the learning and teaching of numeracy and
indicative teaching methods 96
4.3 Cluster analysis of overall strand site ranks 98
5.1 Generic (key) workplace skills frameworks 116
5.2 Comparison of key skills 117
5.3 Extract from the summary of the key competency
‘Collecting, analysing and organising ideas and
information’ 118
5.4 Extract from the summary of the key competency
‘Using technology’ 119
5.5 Comparison of mnemonics used in generic context 5 of
Event ‘Issuing Ticket’ 125
7.1 Generation procedures and definitions 162
7.2 Exploration procedures and definitions 163
7.3 Evaluation procedures and definitions 164
7.4 Executive control procedures and definitions 165

viii
 LIST OF TABLES

7.5 Extract of protocols showing presence of all categories

of thinking 168
7.6 Extract of protocols showing greater relative frequency
of executive control and generation at the beginning
of the problem-solving process 169
7.7 Extract of protocols showing greater relative frequency of
evaluation towards the end of the problem-solving
process 171
8.1 Illustrative values found in hospitality and airline work
sites 191
9.1 Facets and indicators of flexible learning practice 205
9.2 Flexible learning principles and flexible teaching principles
and methods 220
11.1 Sample actions flowing from the principle: Proceeding
from learners’ sense of vocation 251
11.2 Sample actions flowing from the principle: Contextualising
learning and making functions and purposes explicit 252
11.3 Sample actions flowing from the principle: Focusing
learning primarily on the capacity-to-do 252
11.4 Sample actions flowing from the principle: Making setting
element relationships clear 253
11.5 Sample actions flowing from the principle: Sharing
meanings 253
11.6 Sample actions flowing from the principle: Relating one
learning setting meanings with those of other settings 254
11.7 Sample actions flowing from the principle: Building
connections among different meanings and their
renditions 255
11.8 Instantiations of proceeding from learners’ sense of
vocation 256
11.9 Instantiations of contextualising learning and making
functions and purposes explicit 257
11.10 Instantiations of focusing learning primarily on the
capacity-to-do 260
11.11 Instantiations of making setting element relationships
clear 261
11.12 Instantiations of sharing meanings 262
11.13 Instantiations of relating one learning setting meanings
with those of other settings 263
11.14 Instantiations of building connections among different
meanings and their renditions 264

ix
 Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge permissions given to reproduce

material from the following sources. These include:

FIGURES

Chapter 2, Figure 2.1: The structure of a human activity system,

reproduced with permission from Figure 2, p. 15, in Y. Engeström,
1999, ‘Expansive learning at work: toward an activity-theoretical
reconceptualization’, keynote address, Changing Practice through
Research: Changing Research through Practice, 7th Annual Inter-
national Conference of the Centre for Learning and Work Research,
Griffith University, Brisbane.

x
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

TABLES

Chapter 3, Table 3.3: Workplace activities, reproduced with permission

from Table 4: Workplace activities in J. Searle, & A. Kelly, 2002,
Acting Smart: An Investigation of Assumptions and Principles which
Underpin Training and Assessment Within One Civil Construction
Company, Language Australia, Melbourne.

Chapter 5, Table 5.2: Comparison of key skills in Australia, Britain, the

United States and New Zealand, reproduced with permission from
Table 1, p. 15, P. Kearns, 2001, Review of Research: Generic Skills for
the New Economy, National Centre for Vocational Education
Research, Adelaide.

xi
 Contributors

Fred Beven is Deputy Director, Centre for Learning and Work

Research, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.

Stephen Billett is Associate Professor, Centre for Learning and Work

Research, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.

Clive Kanes is Director, Centre for Learning and Work Research,

Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.

Howard Middleton is Director, Centre for Technology Education

Research, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.

Jean Searle is Director, Queensland Centre of Adult Literacy and

Numeracy, Australian Research Consortium, Queensland, Australia.

John Stevenson is Professor of Post-compulsory Education and Train-

ing, Centre for Learning and Work Research, Griffith University,
Queensland, Australia.

Irena Yashin-Shaw is a Research Fellow, Centre for Learning and Work

Research, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.

xii
 Introduction
John Stevenson

The purpose of this book is to synthesise approaches that might be

taken to developing vocational expertise. The various chapters discuss
and report research relevant to establishing an understanding of the
nature of vocational expertise and synthesising principles to guide
instruction. The book is aimed at researchers in the field of vocational
education and training, teachers and trainers seeking to understand and
improve teaching and learning practices, and policy-makers seeking to
improve the quality of vocational education and training. The book
replaces an earlier work which is now out of print, Cognition at Work:
The Development of Vocational Expertise, published by the National
Centre for Vocational Education Research, from 1994 to 2000.
The book explores what should be the subject of the education that
seeks to develop individuals for the workplace—vocational education.
What kind of knowledge should be the subject of vocational education
and how should it relate to the kinds of expertise that we see in the
workplace? Chapter 1 provides an extensive analysis of what consti-
tutes expertise in everyday and vocational contexts. It is assumed that
the idea of expertise developed in this book will be applicable to many
fields of human endeavour outside of the subject areas explicitly exam-
ined here.
The book does not seek to advance a singular theoretical perspec-
tive for understanding issues and synthesising teaching and learning
principles. Rather, each chapter of the book draws upon a variety of

xiii
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

theoretical perspectives to examine the issues and then synthesise a

position about how to approach teaching and learning for the relevant
subject area. Some of these perspectives are cognitive psychology, dis-
course theory and activity theory.
The book’s primary focus, then, is on synthesising approaches to
teaching and learning in vocational education, rather than on develop-
ing policy per se, or giving advice to researchers about issues such as
gaining access to workplace premises. Nor does the book seek to
compare and contrast the various qualification/certification provisions
of the systems across various countries; there is not the space needed to
examine them meaningfully. Rather, it is the knowledge and meanings
currently being targeted in vocational courses that are being examined,
and the teaching and learning approaches needed to develop such
meanings.
Moreover, the book cannot hope to cover the myriad of occu-
pations that are the subject of vocational education, and so the main
subjects have been chosen from the Key competencies/Core Skills/
Necessary Skills identified in various countries as generic and impor-
tant across occupations. This choice is discussed further in Chapter 1.
Accordingly, the chapters focus explicitly on these subject areas and
examine their claims for genericity. If even these sets of skills are not
really generic, then the specific skills of the multitude of occupational
areas will certainly not be generic. It is in responding to the challenges
of these examinations that we can synthesise curricular, teaching and
learning approaches.
The contributors take a structured approach to the development
of vocational expertise generally, and the development of core sets of
knowledge for work. Within each area of expertise, the various chap-
ters outline recent theoretical and research developments, then apply
these ideas in advancing a range of approaches to curriculum develop-
ment, teaching and learning.
The book is divided into three parts. Part I discusses the nature of
expertise for the workplace. Part II examines the nature of expertise in
various topic areas—literacy, numeracy, information literacy, problem-
solving skills, creativity, and values—and advances possible approaches
to instruction in these areas. Part III examines challenges in instructional
delivery, including flexible delivery and guiding learning. Chapter 11
integrates the contributions of the other chapters in the book.
Chapter 1 examines important characteristics of workplace capac-
ities, developed through experience and commonly called expertise.
Limitations of commonly used words and their underlying dualistic
constructions (such as academic/vocational, theoretical/practical) in
capturing these capacities are outlined. It is argued that vocational
expertise involves a meaningfulness that connects problems encoun-
tered in workplaces and in other individual and societal pursuits, and
that it consists of a facility with situated, normative meanings that

xiv
 INTRODUCTION

include both propositional and procedural knowledge. The chapter

provides a basis for exploring curriculum development and educational
delivery implications, which are discussed in Chapter 2.
Chapter 2 adopts the ideas of expertise developed in Chapter 1 and
analyses the policy idea of competence as a basis for designing teaching
and learning in vocational education and training. It unpacks this idea
in terms of the various capacities that are involved (Chapter 1) and the
kinds of approaches that can be taken to their development through
learning. On this basis, the challenges to, and approaches available for,
curriculum designers and teachers/trainers are examined. The chapter
advances a set of teaching and learning principles for developing
vocational knowledge.
Chapter 3 examines how psycholinguistic and socio-cultural theor-
ies of literacy have been drawn upon to promote different discourses
(definitions) of literacy, as decontextualised skills or as socially situated
practices. The author shows how these discourses have led to the devel-
opment of very different approaches to the teaching and assessment of
reading and writing. She demonstrates how the strengths of each
approach can be utilised in providing a holistic approach to literacy
teaching practice.
Chapter 4 examines how different theoretical approaches give rise
to different ideas of what constitutes numeracy and different
approaches to the development of numerical knowledge. Drawing on
activity theory, the author outlines the important contributions of
different characteristics of the instructional situation in which learners
engage. These ideas are used to advance approaches that can be taken
to the teaching and learning of numerical knowledge for vocational
purposes.
Chapter 5 examines what constitutes information literacy by
drawing upon recent examinations of its workplace use. This includes
ideas about information literacy as a fundamental competency, ideas of
how computer literacy should be developed for work and an examin-
ation of computing literacy in workplace practice. The chapter then
discusses how approaches to teaching and learning might be fashioned
as a consequence.
Chapter 6 examines the importance of various kinds of problem-
solving in contemporary vocations. It draws on cognitive theory to
outline and examine models of problem-solving for well-defined and
ill-defined problems. On the basis of these models, approaches are out-
lined for the teaching and learning of the knowledge needed for solving
the kinds of problems that will constitute contemporary and future
work.
Chapter 7 examines the reasons why the development of creative
thinking is important in vocational education and training, and exam-
ines various models of creative thinking. It draws on cognitive theory
and theories of creative thinking to integrate different ideas about

xv
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

creative thinking processes. The chapter illustrates these processes with

examples of creative thinking cognitive procedures. The chapter out-
lines approaches that can be taken in the development of creative
thinking for learners in vocational education and explores the implica-
tions for curriculum design.
Chapter 8 examines relevant research on the kinds of values that
have been found to be operating in workplaces. The involvement of
values in the personal and collective meanings that enable competent
and expert performance is examined.
In Chapter 9, elements of flexibility in learning and models of
flexible delivery are explained and their strengths and limitations
examined. Based on these ideas, and on research on the use of flexible
delivery in vocational education and training, the chapter advances
important considerations for instructional designers seeking to make
vocational learning more flexible.
In Chapter 10, the nature of the learning processes that are
involved in guided learning, and the factors that affect successful learn-
ing guidance, are examined. These ideas are used to suggest ways in
which successful approaches to learning guidance can be designed and
implemented.
Chapter 11 takes up the challenges of Chapters 1 and 2, and the
problems and approaches advanced in Chapters 3–10, to synthesise an
integrated approach to the development of vocational knowledge.
It adopts a stance that practical knowledge is situated, normative
and concrete, related directly to its functionality. The chapter brings
together, into an integrated framework, suggestions for teaching such
essential knowledge as literacy, numeracy, problem-solving, infor-
mation literacy, creativity and the capacity for complex problem-solving,
as well as suggestions for approaching flexible delivery and learning
guidance.
Together, the various chapters examine the idea of expertise from a
variety of theoretical perspectives, outline recent research in the various
areas and synthesise approaches that can be taken to understanding
various aspects of expertise, fashioning instructional strategies and
improving teaching and learning.

xvi
 Part I


Vocational Expertise and
its Development
 1

Expertise for the

workplace
John Stevenson

INTRODUCTION

This chapter explains important characteristics of human capacities,

developed through experience and commonly called expertise. It is
argued that vocational expertise:

• arises socially and consists of a contextualised, normative

capacity-to-do;
• constructs and draws upon a meaningfulness that connects
such doing with other kinds of individually constructed and
shared meanings;
• connects problems encountered in workplaces with other
individual and societal pursuits; and
• transforms itself in response to engagement and experience.

The chapter is structured as follows. Firstly, concepts of expertise

are examined, followed by an outline of how different kinds of
knowing can be differentiated. Secondly, the range of different kinds
of meaning and their interrelationships are examined. Meaning is seen
to be related to doing, the field of activity, practice, vocation and
others’ constructions of meaning. Thirdly, these ideas of expertise as
facility with meaning are examined in relation to various psychological

3
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

concepts of expertise. Finally, the various ideas advanced in the chapter

are brought together in a summary of the nature of expertise.
The chapter provides a basis for addressing economic and voca-
tional education challenges and for exploring curriculum development
and educational delivery implications for contemporary vocational edu-
cation in Chapter 2. It also provides an introduction to the examination
of various abstractions of important kinds of capacities in Part II of the
book: literacy, numeracy, problem-solving, creativity, computer literacy
and values.

CONCEPTS OF EXPERTISE

I will call expertise, at the outset, the ability to do something well—

better than others just starting out on the undertaking. What
constitutes doing something well is a social construct. Firstly, expertise
is relative to others—one is regarded as expert if one can do things
better than others can. Secondly, it is determined by what people in
various groups would judge as expert. Expertise can refer to all walks
of life. For instance, it can refer to occupational undertakings or under-
takings in life more generally—for example, an expert plumber,
gardener, public speaker or bike-rider. When referring to work, exper-
tise sometimes refers to whole occupations such as an expert lawyer,
motor mechanic or politician. It is also used to refer to aspects of
occupations—for example an expert decision-maker or negotiator.
In all these cases, what counts as expertise is socially determined.
Thus, in the building industry, there would be a consensus on what
constituted good carpentry, and this would vary somewhat across
communities, depending on the histories of the communities, their
locations, the kinds of homes being built and the equipment and ma-
terials being used. This would also apply to undertaking medical
surgery, playing the piano and solving physics problems. In everyday
language, various terms are used for expertise. For instance, some
homeless people are seen to be ‘street-smart’. People can be seen in pos-
itive terms like efficient, skilled, capable, gifted, clever or excellent. At
the same time, a progression in expertise is usually apparent with prac-
tice. So an expert car driver can drive a car much better than someone
just learning can—the car is driven automatically, fluidly, with confi-
dence, without attention to all the sub-skills involved, and with
precision; and unexpected problems that arise can be handled. An
expert architect can design a new building better than a new architect
can—quickly, without recourse to multiple schematics, taking the
various factors into account, overcoming design problems and com-
plexities in the brief with ease, and creating an original design. Often
expertise is so automated that it cannot easily be described.
Thus various ideas of expertise are culturally and historically

4
 EXPERTISE FOR THE WORKPLACE

situated. At different times and in different places, acknowledgment of

expertise has consisted of acknowledging capacities as varied as:

• having superior memory;

• being able to execute an action skilfully;
• being able to generate convincing arguments;
• being able to solve new problems;
• being able to innovate;
• being able to make good judgements;
• having higher status in a community, and so on.

The focus on one or more of the various characteristics of expertise has

depended on the culture (e.g. modern or indigenous), the setting (e.g. in
the workplace or in school), and the time (e.g. during times of econ-
omic crisis or times of plenty).
Various theoretical ideas about expertise are aimed at elaborating
such questions as:

• What do we mean by doing something well?

• What enables an individual to do something well?
• Why does this capacity improve with practice?
• Is this capacity confined to a specific field, or is it general?
• Can the capacity be learned, and how?
• Where is the capacity located?

In this chapter, the capacity to do something well, or expertise, is

seen as being derived from meaning. That is, an expert is regarded as
someone who has considerable facility with meanings and their inter-
connections. An expert derives this facility from many experiences,
connecting the various meanings that the experiences offer, as well as
meanings that others construct on those experiences. Expertise is being
able to access and utilise the rich connections among meanings that
enable an expert to perform well on routine tasks and to work out
ways to solve creative and other problems.

EXPERTISE AS FACILITY WITH MEANING

In understanding what constitutes expertise, it is important to recognise

what constitutes meaning. Here the Deweyan (Dewey 1966 [1916]) idea
of meaning as the understanding derived from personally significant
experience is taken as the primary idea of meaning. In his work, Dewey
saw the object of learning as developing the capacity to engage in
appropriate practice based on experience—where appropriate practice
was practice seen by the individual as related to intention in pursuit of
vocation. That is, Dewey connected meaningfulness to the extent to

5
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

which knowing grows out of some question of concern to the learner,

adds meaning and enables accomplishment of purposes. He regarded
experience as the basis for constructing meaning and learning how to
interpret new situations. For Dewey, experiences in pursuit of vocation
provided the richest source of meaning, where vocation was seen as
any calling of personal significance, irrespective of whether it was
paid work. This idea of meaning combines the concepts of sense and
meaning used in Russian psychology (Leont’ev 1981 [1959]; Wertsch
1981), where sense denotes personal significance to the individual, and
meaning denotes comprehension of the shared collective historical
understanding captured in language and in other social artefacts.
According to Ryle (1949), meaning can be of two forms: knowing-
that (knowing that something is the case, such as that the sky is blue)
and knowing-how (knowing how to secure a goal—for example, how
to juggle, ride a bike, swim or make jokes). According to Ryle, the
meaning involved in being able to do things does not rely on some
counterpart knowledge-that. Rather, it is a distinctly different kind of
meaning in itself. We simply know how to do things, deriving this capac-
ity from experience, with practice. While subsequent authors have
drawn upon this distinction, they have usually focused on knowledge-
that, as though it were more fundamental or important than
knowledge-how. For instance, the theoretical work in universities,
expressed as knowledge-that, is often seen to be higher—or more
important or fundamental—than the knowledge-how of skilled trades.
Indeed, the knowledge-how of skilled trades is often put down in verbal
descriptions in order for it to be accredited.
Moreover, meaningful experience seems to be of many kinds
(Phenix 1964), and the meanings may not all lend themselves to expres-
sion in terms of language or in other symbolic forms. Following Phenix,
the ways in which we construct meaning—how we understand our
experiences—can be thought of in six main ways. Firstly, meaning may
be in the form of symbolics—language, mathematics, gestures and
rituals. Symbolic meaning is especially important in itself and in com-
municating other kinds of meaning. It is also important in opening up
meaning constructed in other ways to inspection and evaluation
(Polanyi 1969a). A second realm of meaning is empirics, scientific ways
of understanding experience—for example, in terms of factual descrip-
tions, generalisations and theoretical formulations. The meaning of
scientific academic work, over centuries, has been captured in the lan-
guage of texts and mathematical formulae. A third realm is esthetics, the
various arts including literature: these are also powerful in com-
municating meaning. A fourth is ethics, or moral meanings. A fifth is
synoetics, which is sometimes called personal knowing or tacit knowing
(Polanyi 1969a, 1969b [1958], 1983). It is direct awareness of concrete
experience. The direct, personal significance of synoetic meaning is like
Leont’ev’s idea of sense. The sixth area of meaning is synoptics, refer-

6
 EXPERTISE FOR THE WORKPLACE

ring to meanings that are comprehensively integrated, such as history,

religion and philosophy. According to Phenix, one can try to connect
different kinds of meaning—for instance, through symbolics.
There are other views of the distinctive forms that meaning can
take. For instance, Hirst (1974) separates forms of knowing differently
(as Mathematics, Physical Sciences, History, Religion, Literature and
the Fine Arts, Philosophy and Morals). A more recent work (Gardner
1983) distinguishes multiple intelligences: linguistic, musical, logical-
mathematical, spatial, bodily kinaesthetic and personal. This work is
based on reviewing evidence from studies of ‘prodigies, gifted individ-
uals, brain-damaged patients, idiots savants, normal children, normal
adults, experts in different lines of work, and individuals from different
cultures’ (Gardner 1983, p. 9). Gardner argues more for the multiplic-
ity of intelligences than for the particular set that he advances.
Another important work on understanding the nature of meaning is
that of Polanyi, who conceptualised tacit knowledge. This idea that not
all meaning can be made explicit in language corresponds with Phenix’s
synoetic meaning. However, Polanyi makes the important point that we
afford legitimacy tacitly to language and to other ways of constructing
and communicating meaning. In this way, Polanyi’s tacit knowledge is
like Leont’ev’s sense. Phenomena become meaningful when we extend
ourselves into them and dwell in them, using physical and other tools to
understand them. For Polanyi, the physical and other tools become sub-
sidiary as we focus on the whole and derive meaning tacitly. These
processes are like Leont’ev’s (1981 [1959]) idea of the need for activity
in understanding socially constructed meanings, as in language. Such
tools may in fact be our ‘frameworks’ of anticipation (Polanyi 1969a,
p. 108) (e.g. theoretical frameworks—symbolic frameworks of antici-
pation). Polanyi called judgement the reconciliation of different ways of
knowing—for example, reconciling explicit (codified or symbolic)
meaning, the ideas suggested by those codes and direct experience.
Thus both Phenix (1964) and Polanyi (1969a, 1983 [1966];
Polanyi & Prosch 1975) have elaborated the ways in which we can seek
to connect meaning and reconcile these different ways of knowing. As
for Leont’ev, this involves activity—active engagement which is ade-
quate to making the necessary connections. However, it needs to be
remembered that, while we can recognise different kinds of meaning,
we should not confuse one with the other, or give more value to one
over the other. In the end, according to Polanyi (1969a, 1983) [1966],
all legitimacy comes from tacit meaning.

RELATIONSHIPS OF MEANING

If expertise is facility with meanings and their interconnections, then we

need to know more about the relationships of meanings. Meanings here

7
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

are seen to be related to their function and purpose; to one’s sense of

vocation; to the experience/situation from which they were derived; to
other meanings that one can derive from that and similar experiences/
situations, and to the meanings that others can derive from/contribute to
that experience/situation. These relationships are outlined below.

Meaning and doing

Firstly, meaning is related to doing, where doing refers to direct expe-
rience—for example, in undertaking a task (hammering a nail, building
a house, feeding a child, writing a journal article, playing chess, bal-
ancing a budget), which may or may not involve solving a problem
(in any field, such as personal, chess, physics, planning, composition,
managerial, financial). Doing involves subjective and intersubjective
engagement, overcoming the detached separation of one from what one
is experiencing. Meaning in doing is concrete rather than abstract, and
specific rather than general. Dewey gave primacy to active doing as the
cornerstone of meaning:

The knowledge that comes first to persons, and that remains most
deeply ingrained is knowledge of how to do; how to walk, talk, read,
write, skate, ride a bicycle, manage a machine, calculate, drive a
horse, sell goods, manage people, and so on indefinitely . . . When
education . . . fails to recognize that primary or initial subject matter
always exists as matter of an active doing, involving the use of the
body and the handling of material, the subject matter of instruction
is isolated from the needs and purposes of the learner, and so
becomes just a something to be memorized and reproduced upon
demand (Dewey 1966 [1916], p.184).

Dewey saw meaning as arising from and residing in the capacity to

do things. This relation of meaning to doing applies to activity whether
it is generative or reproductive—one has a capacity-to-do whether it be
the routine teaching of a class or the design of a new building. We seek
to understand experience in order to handle new experiences. He saw
meaning as conscious and continuous with doing, morality, intention,
judgement of worth and criticality. He regarded various organised
bodies of information (e.g. theory) as arbitrary vehicles for representing
and communicating meaning. Thus the meaning is in the capacity-to-do.
But such meaning may well have connections to other ways of render-
ing this meaning. For instance, one might be able to use language to
state the kind of problem or ways of going about solving certain classes
of problems, but these are conversions of the synoetic understanding
into these other forms, not the capacity itself. These connections may be
reconciled or not, relying on judgement based on experience (doing).
Meaning can be in, and arise from, doing or can be manifested in

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 EXPERTISE FOR THE WORKPLACE

other ways, but the rendition in doing is seen to be primary. When one
can do something, the meaning that is involved is direct (synoetic). It
does not consist in some other separate kind of meaning outside the
direct experience.
The meaning in the capacity-to-do may well be relatable to other
ways of constructing meaning, such as language and other symbolic
representations in the form of diagrams and equations, and these other
kinds of meanings may well be drawn upon. But the various ways of
rendering meaning are not hierarchical or isomorphic.

Meaning and fields of activity

Meaning is connected across being, living and working. That is, we
construct and represent meaning for work purposes in the same way
that we construct meaning for other life purposes. The capacities we
draw upon for engaging directly in work practice (e.g. working in a
team or producing new artefacts) are the same capacities we draw upon
to advance civic matters (e.g. marshalling support or producing flyers)
and to pursue our vocations as family members (e.g. negotiating, coop-
erating, producing, caring, saving and consuming).
We may relate these meanings to other kinds of meanings, such as
symbolics, and we transform our meanings as a result of experience in
any activity. However, the relating and transforming of meaning from
any one kind of experience in any field of activity will have pervasive
implications for all meaning. Humans do not like cognitive dissonance,
and seek to reconcile different constructions of meaning. So, for
instance, if we find new ways of seeing and pursuing our relationships
with family members, these are likely to affect how we engage in
co-construction of new protocols in the workplace.

Meaning and practice

The construction of meaning is situated in practice. Because each
setting (Barker 1978) has its own characteristics, we construct meaning
for each new situation that we operate in. We may see apparently
similar contexts differently because of the different, historically derived
artefacts, and the meanings immanent in them, and because of the
community of the practice (consisting of people and their interrelation-
ships, also historically derived) (Lave & Wenger 1991). Thus the way
in which meaning is constructed on work in a busy office in one setting
may be different in another busy office, even in the same industry. This
may be because of differences in systems, information flow, processes,
goals, rules, norms and responsibilities. So knowing how to process a
guest arriving in a country hotel may require different capacities-to-do
than knowing how to process a guest arriving in a city hotel (Stevenson
1996). Knowing what is appropriate in solving an airline passenger

9
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

problem for one airline in a large international airport may be different

from what is appropriate for different passengers travelling on another
airline from a small provincial city (Beven 1997). These differences may
be compounded by different divisions of responsibilities, different
layouts of the facilities, different expectations of the owners and differ-
ent computer systems or software. In a community of practice,
individual constructions of meaning will be reconciled by the individ-
ual with other constructions that are already held and with various
ways in which the meaning can be rendered. It needs to be remembered,
too, that practice is situated in wider society, its culture and its
economy, because of the physical relationships as well as the fact that
the individuals working together in a setting relate to wider cultures
and economic realities. The drive for profit in an organisation will, for
instance, be moderated by law, taxation and social responsibilities.

Meaning and vocation, purpose and function

An openness and will to understand experience are necessary in order
to understand it, learn from it and use these meanings to understand
future experiences. This openness will come from vocation—an
impulse or calling to pursue things of personal significance. Thus the
purpose and function of meaning comes from engagement in activity
directed at a personally important purpose or goal (which may also
have social significance—with a shared motive) (Dewey 1966 [1916];
Leont’ev 1981 [1959]). Unless the function of the activity is apparent,
related to some important purpose, it is unlikely to be seen as mean-
ingful and meaning will not be derived from it (see also Pea 1987). The
meaningfulness derived from experiencing the planning and undertak-
ing of a task will be associated with features of that task as they relate
to the goals being pursued and their meaning in relation to vocation.
So, for example, the goal of becoming an accountant will influence the
way in which idea of balance is constructed, which may be different
from the construction of balance in pursuit of engineering vocations.

Shared and co-constructed meaning

Individuals bring their own set of meanings (related to own vocations,
purposes and culture, and immanent in their previous experiences of
doing) to new tasks. Working in concert with others, there are bound
to be differences in the (personal) meanings that are involved. Groups
are commonly pursuing an object (motive) (Engeström 1999) through
working together. It is collective activity in relation to an object situated
in practice that is used to create the beginnings of a scaffolding for
meaning to be shared. Individuals share an object (motive), even though
they may also have their own individual goals to achieve in relation to
the shared motive, and different goals in relation to still other objects.

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For instance, in town planning, the outcome of interactions of

groups of architects trained in the same university, transforming an
existing plan to a new one, would be different from the outcome if the
architects had different training and experiences, or if the team also
included people from social welfare agencies, environmental groups,
transport experts, and so on. Each would construct different meanings
on the purposes of the existing plan; each could seek to share these con-
structions in a way that was accessible to others so that they could
relate these meanings to their own. The communicated meaning would
be experienced variously by different participants in the setting, related
to their own goals and existing meanings. The outcome of working
together and of constructing a shared object may well be qualitatively
different. So too for the construction of a new product for a firm, when
designers, marketers, experts in new systems and so on come together.
In order to share meanings, individuals communicate about and
through the object. Much of this communication is in language or other
symbolic form as well as in gestures and other body language. Some
may be in the form of direct collective activity in relation to the object
and be supported also by operations undertaken in relation to various
artefacts and technologies in the setting. As each person shares and
seeks to apprehend different meanings, individual meanings change
and new meanings are created. Objects may initially be seen differently,
but a new, shared construction may arise through interaction, and the
outcomes may well be creative.
Facility with meanings and their interconnections, then, involves
the capacity to understand experience in meaningful ways, connect
these meanings, appraise these meanings and share them with others in
order to reconsider and transform them further.

PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCEPTS OF EXPERTISE

Considerable psychological research has been conducted into explana-

tions of expert action. Generally, these explanations have abstracted
from the idea of meaning, and have posited various cognitive represen-
tations in the mind—for example, schemas upon which the expert
draws to accomplish goals. These representations are thought to
consist of rich networks of concepts enabling experts to see problems
at a deep level, associated automated procedures that enable experts
to accomplish familiar goals efficiently and smoothly, and of general
problem-solving procedures to handle new and unfamiliar situations.
The quest in educational and psychological literature to define cogni-
tive representations has been to depict this expertise in a form that
would guide the educational development of such expertise.
Major psychological ideas of what constitutes expertise are out-
lined in the following paragraphs, and each is related to the idea

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

advanced here that expertise is facility with meanings. This is followed

by a summary of the idea of expertise advanced in this chapter. Some
common contemporary abstractions of important areas of key exper-
tise are then introduced in the final section, for discussion in
subsequent chapters.

Expertise as memory and knowledge

Older ideas of expertise were that experts appeared to have superior
memory. For instance, it was thought that expert chess players must
possess superior memories for pieces on the board, as they could
remember the individual positions of pieces in actual chess games better
than could novices. However, when further research showed that chess
players in fact had memories equivalent to novices when the pieces
were randomly placed on a chessboard, it was understood that it was
not the pieces that were being remembered, but the position of the
pieces in relation to whole games (Chase & Simon 1973; de Groot
1965). That is, meaningful chunks (chunked in relation to personally
significant intentions—chunked to make sense) were being remem-
bered. In contemporary society, however, expertise is still afforded
people with good memories—those who are good at game shows,
crosswords and recalling theories. Memory, of course, does assist in
doing things well. However, what is remembered will be meaningful
only if it is relevant to the capacity-to-do things, and perceived as rele-
vant by the individual engaged in purposeful action.
A related view is that expertise consists of possessing a large stock
of propositional knowledge—that is, knowledge of verbal or other con-
cepts held in memory at various degrees of abstractions. (This cognitive
view posits mental representations to explain meaning.) The best
example of this kind of knowledge is theoretical knowledge. Such
knowledge represents collective cultural meanings, derived historically
by the relevant community. For instance, an expert in teaching would
be able to think of teaching in terms of various theoretical concepts
concerned with such matters as the learner, learning, the curriculum,
classrooms, psychology, sociology, and so on. There would be concepts
at a more specific level, such as for learning and reinforcement. An
expert teacher would have acquired the ability to see problems in terms
of reinforcement if that is appropriate; or at a higher level—for
example, in terms of learning; or at a higher level still—for example,
development if the problem turns out not to be a reinforcement one, or
a learning one, but one related to development as a whole.
Much of the expertise-as-knowledge view has been derived from
studies of computer simulations of human thinking as a basis for suppos-
ing the architecture of cognition (Durso 1999; Newell 1990). Computer
simulations of thinking are often based on the premise that knowledge
can be divided into two kinds: knowledge-that and knowledge-how.

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Considerable research has been conducted into determining the knowl-

edge of propositions that experts possess, and building these into artificial
computerised expert systems. These propositions are combined with ‘pro-
duction’ systems consisting of rules in the form ‘If X, then do Y’
(Anderson 1982) to mirror the supposed knowledge of experts. In this
case, the knowledge is not necessarily that of theoretical disciplines, but is
more functionally conceived and represented.
One of the limitations of this conception of expertise is that the
propositional knowledge which is the subject of theoretical disciplines
of knowledge often does not transfer to practice. Individuals do not
always apply the theorised propositional representations even when
they seem relevant. Moreover, expertise can be recognised in individ-
uals accomplished in sporting, artistic, surgical and other skilful
pursuits without their being able to articulate in propositional terms
what constitutes their expertise.
Despite the overwhelming focus in cognitive psychology on propo-
sitional representations, the idea of expertise as knowledge in the form
of plural, qualitatively different kinds of cognitive representations has
long been proposed. These include plural representational encoding
and memory systems (Martin 1993; Paivio 1979; Tulving 1984), mul-
tiple intelligences (Gardner 1983) and ‘non-traditional intelligences’
(Sternberg 1985).
In relation to the idea of expertise as facility with meaning, exper-
tise can be seen as memory and knowledge only if we see such
‘knowledge’ as contributing to a facility with meanings. That is, an
expert chess player can construct meaning on chess pieces in relation to
the meaning of whole games. For this facility to develop, the individual
needs to be able to make sense of that kind of knowledge. An expert
problem-solver can construct a problem at a deeper level of abstraction
if that person can relate direct experience of the problem to other kinds
of ways in which the meaning can be rendered—for example, as prin-
ciples from physics—and even then a solution will result only if the
problem-solver can relate these meanings to ways of proceeding and to
a sense that it is appropriate to do so.

Expertise as performance and as language

A considerable amount of cognitive research focuses on knowledge-that,
especially as it is expressed in language. However, from his Madagascar
studies, Bloch concluded that language appears to play only a small role
in the transmission of complex, everyday and practical meaning. Bloch
argued that ‘under certain circumstances, this non-linguistic knowledge
can be rendered into language and thus take the form of explicit dis-
course, but changing its character in the process’ (Bloch 1998, p. 7). He
concluded that practical skills are better transmitted non-linguistically
to save double transformation into and out of language. For him, the

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nature and form of expert knowledge for everyday purposes appears to

be more related to how the knowledge is used than how it may be elab-
orated as semantic conceptual schemata like those found in scientific
texts: ‘Concepts involve implicit networks of meanings which are
formed through the experience of, and practice in, the external world’
(Bloch 1998, p. 7).
One of the clearest manifestations of expertise is the demonstration
of that ability in undertaking tasks. This capacity improves over time
with practice. It becomes more unitary, less clumsy, more fluid, less
verbally mediated and more automatic. These features can be seen
clearly in skilful performances in sport, music, trade work, solving par-
ticular classes of maths and physics problems and so on. Based on Fitts’
1964 work on the development of physical skills, Anderson (1982)
developed a comprehensive theory of how propositional knowledge
(knowledge-that) is gradually proceduralised (into knowledge-how)
with practice over time. He theorised that general procedures interpret
new situations, draw upon and utilise productions (specific procedures)
to generate a performance and then combine (compose) and procedu-
ralise sequences of procedures until performance is smooth and the
propositional knowledge disappears.
Being literate or proficient in the technical use of a language is often
seen as a mark of expertise. Certainly mastery of language is important
in assessment undertaken in educational institutions, aimed at measuring
the degree of mastery over an area of theoretical knowledge. Often verbal
statements about performance are taken to indicate the ability for per-
formance. For instance, the capacity to solve a physics problem on paper
is taken as a good indicator that situations in practice requiring the appli-
cation of physics principles will be solved successfully. Unfortunately, such
apparent knowledge often does not get ‘transferred’ to everyday situations
where it would appear to be appropriate. The appropriation of the mean-
ings conveyed in language requires active engagement (Leont’ev 1981
[1959]) in order to make personal sense of the meanings.
More sophisticated analyses of the capacity to use language view
expertise not just as technical mastery of the given meaning of words
and sentences and their generation in response to different kinds of
situations. They also recognise as expertise the understanding of the
power relations (ideologies, discourses) in communication and how
these power relations position those involved, as well as the capacity to
take ‘right’ action in redressing injustices.
In relation to the idea of expertise as facility with meaning, expertise
can be seen as performance, where the performer engages in activity that
achieves a goal and, through practice, smooths out that performance and
is able to execute that performance when warranted. The meaning is in
the performance itself—it is synoetic. It is direct, not detached or imper-
sonal. In order to undertake the performance when appropriate, the
performer must connect a number of meanings—meaning immanent in

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the performance itself, meanings in relation to the tools that are used,
meaning in relation to the characteristics of the setting, meanings about
what constitutes appropriateness in the setting, and meanings about the
goals that are being achieved and their relation to vocation. Being able to
relate these meanings to those conveyed through language also con-
tributes to a facility with meanings or expertise. The analysis for facility
in the use of language itself is analogous, where the performance is in the
utterances and the relations to other meanings can also be comprehensive
in the case of experts. In the case of understanding through language,
though, the meaning is symbolic.

Expertise as problem-solving and transfer

In contradistinction to skilled action and verbal statements of princi-
ples and theories, expertise is often seen as the capacity to solve new
problems. This view is that experts see problems in different ways from
novices because of their experience in the particular domain (Chi et al.
1981). They may be capable of seeing the problem at various levels of
abstraction (more deeply than novices) and may be able to work with
a level of abstraction that leads them to a solution (Glaser 1989; Gott
1989). On the other hand, novices see the problem in terms of its
surface features and use weak problem-solving methods such as
means–end analysis to develop a solution. The idea is that experts work
through a problem space starting with a problem-state and generating
operators to move forwards towards the goal state (Newell & Simon
1972). Novices are seen to be working backwards from the goal state.
In this view of expertise, some kinds of knowledge-how are seen as spe-
cific procedures for achieving familiar goals, while others are seen to be
more general or higher order, used to deal with new problems, monitor
cognition as a whole, and switch attention.
In a related way, expertise is sometimes seen as transfer: the capac-
ity to utilise past experience in interpreting and dealing with new
experiences (Kimball & Holyoak 2000). Novices are seen as capable of
‘near’ transfer as they are able to apply procedures directly. Experts are
seen as capable of ‘far’ transfer, in being able to ‘read’ the nature of a
problem, context, culture, setting or environment in such a way that
new procedures are generated for dealing with it. This capacity is seen
to arise from conceptualising the problem at higher levels of abstrac-
tion. However, apparent expertise in one setting often does not transfer
to situations where it would seem to be appropriate.
In relation to the idea of expertise as facility with meaning, exper-
tise as problem-solving and transfer can be seen as the construction of
meaning on new experience. In problem-solving and in transfer, mean-
ings derived from previous experiences are used to try to understand the
problem in relation to experiences of other problems. If the problem is
identical to a previous one, previous meanings are applicable and the

15
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

problem can be solved. If not, then attempts will be made to find mean-
ings in any realm that have some correspondence with features of the
problem. Fluency in connecting different kinds of meanings is helpful in
generating a course of action. Success in problem-solving suggests that
doing in relation to solving is highly connected to the meaning attrib-
uted to the problem—that is, the ways in which it makes sense or is
personally meaningful to the problem-solver. As for performance,
meaning in problem-solving is connected to meanings in relation to the
setting and what is appropriate in the setting.

Expertise as creativity/innovation
While problem-solving is seen to be a hallmark of expertise and the
capacity to solve problems has been the subject of a great deal of
cognitive research, the problems selected for study are often well
structured with clear criteria for a successful solution. Many problems,
however, do not have a clear goal state or problem state (Middleton,
this volume). The problem may not be well structured and what
constitutes a solution may not be known in advance. Problems of
innovation, design and creativity in general have these characteristics
(Middleton, Yashin-Shaw, this volume). An expert designer, then, is one
who can generate original solutions to problems. It involves a working
forward and a generation of new artefacts. So it involves drawing upon
existing meaning, but in new ways. From the work of Middleton and
Yashin-Shaw, it seems that various procedures and the use of imagery
assist creativity, but that these devices are not fixed items of knowledge.
In relation to the idea of expertise as facility with meaning, exper-
tise as creativity and innovation appears to involve the capacity to
make shifts in meaning—to see things in new ways. For this, one needs
the capacity to interrelate alternative ways of constructing meaning on
phenomena, and interconnectedness amongst realms of meaning would
be facilitative.

Expertise as conceptual change

The recent conceptual change literature (e.g. Schnotz et al. 1999) rein-
forces the idea that concepts originate in human practice, bringing
together such findings as the following:

• People know in a variety of ways, none of which is intrinsi-

cally superior.
• Verbal concepts are but one kind of symbolisation and
conceptual change involves changes in systems of signs.
• Concepts are intrinsically linked to practical and physical
skills.

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• Conceptual change depends on ontological and epistemologi-

cal beliefs. Conceptual change does not necessarily replace
everyday constructions of meaning, and may well result in
syntheses of different kinds of representations. Different
representations appear to compete for activation in different
situations and for different tasks.
• Thinking, concepts, mental models, representations and
schemas are not synonymous terms.

In relation to the idea of expertise as facility with meaning, exper-

tise as conceptual change usually deals with one kind of meaning: that
which is symbolic. However, this literature is now moving towards
recognition that symbolically mediated forms of meaning are arbit-
rarily devised and linked to other kinds of meaning, including beliefs
and practical capacities. Moreover, for conceptual change ideas to
include various kinds of meaning, the idea of concepts needs to be
transformed into one that is less reliant on symbolic kinds of meaning
or representation.

Expertise as schemas
Cognitive psychology has traditionally separated knowledge into two
types: knowledge-that and knowledge-how. This equates roughly with
a separation of conceptual understanding and the capacity to do things.
Sometimes schemas are represented by researchers in purely proposi-
tional terms—for instance, a schema for furniture would include the
concept of a chair. However, the idea of schema in cognitive psychol-
ogy may also bring knowledge-how and knowledge-that together. It is
sometimes assumed that we have schemas for doing things—that is, our
understanding of a situation may include both concepts and ways of
handling the situation. For instance, experts may have schemas for
fixing roofs to houses. Different schemas may relate to different kinds
of roofs for different kinds of houses, but each would include the
capacity to proceed with the work that is involved, as well as for recog-
nising and dealing with the various kinds of problems that might arise.
Moreover, schemas may be normative, involving ethical and other
judgements of appropriateness. Schemas may also be specific or general.
So we may have a general schema for creative work, but the specific
form of the schema may vary across settings and tasks. This broader
idea of schemas, beyond symbolic representations of knowledge-that, is
more useful in understanding meaning, facility with meaning and inter-
connections among meanings.
While some of the schema literature still gives a special place to
language—in the labelling of categories, which explain regularities in
the world; in the expression of concepts; and in communicating
knowledge—verbalised concepts are now being recognised as just

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propositional representations alongside other kinds of representations.

The interaction between meaning as language and meaning as action,
in expertise and its development, has been exemplified and detailed in
Hutchins’ (1995) detailed examination of the collective nature of cog-
nition when a crew overcomes the failure of navigational equipment as
a ship enters a harbour. Other recent cognitive research on expertise
confirms that expertise does not consist in the kinds of structured
representations found in theoretical texts. For instance, Boshuizen and
his colleagues (1995) found that discipline-based verbalisable medical
knowledge is transformed qualitatively in practice.
The cognitive research literature now also gives more attention to
multiple forms of meaning, assumed to be represented as cognitive
structures, including implicit knowledge (see Buchner et al. 1995; Long
1995), multiple intelligences (Gardner 1983), non-traditional intelli-
gence (Sternberg 1985) and multiple encoding and memory systems
(Martin 1993; Paivio 1979; Tulving 1984).
In relation to the idea of expertise as facility with meaning, the
concept of schemas is a theoretical construct about how meanings and
their interconnections are represented in the mind. It connects meaning
as knowing-that and knowing-how, but is often seen as value- and
emotion-free. It often ignores the idea of vocation and the functional-
ity of knowledge in respect of vocation, and the normative aspects of
this pursuit. However, it could be argued that the theoretical idea
of schemas should contain such features, and then schemas may well
be considered as cognitive representations of meaning consisting in
rich interconnections among different ways of knowing in relation to
vocation and situated activity. Nevertheless, it needs to be remembered
that schemas are theoretical constructs removed from activity itself,
and are merely a theoretical device for thinking about how such activ-
ity may be mediated.

Expertise as judgement and appropriate practice

Being expert involves making good judgements. Indeed, the fact that
school knowledge does not readily transfer to everyday practice is
sometimes seen as appropriate (Pea 1987) where the person does not
see it as appropriate to draw upon or utilise that kind of meaning. As
outlined earlier, recognising that meaningfulness may be in verbal or
other (e.g. tacit) form, Polanyi argues that judgement consists in recon-
ciling the text, the conception suggested by the text and experience.
Expert action does not occur in a vacuum, drawing solely upon
cognitive structures in the mind. Rather, expert action occurs in a
setting conceptualised in various ways—for instance, as a community
of practice (Lave & Wenger 1991) or as an activity system (Engeström
1999; Leont’ev 1981 [1959]). Socio-cultural studies have indicated that
various features of these settings are important for expertise. For

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instance, in activity theory, what is appropriate practice is seen to be

culturally and historically derived, mediated by artefacts in the system,
and mediated by community, rules and the division of labour.
In relation to the idea of expertise as facility with meaning, this
conception of expertise as judgement and appropriate practice places a
primary emphasis on the meaning that comes from concrete experience
(activity) in a community of practice. Experts relate ethical, symbolic,
scientific, synoetic and other meanings. In constructing meaning in a
setting, the norms of the setting are taken into account, and related to
wider societal norms and personal mores. Meaning does not consist
just in knowing-that and knowing-how, but also in understanding what
is appropriate and being able to render this in doing.

Expertise as shared meaning and as activity

In activity theory (Engeström 1999; Leont’ev 1981 [1959]), expert
action is often seen as co-constructed. Scaffolding is provided through
intersubjective sharing of meaning as people work together in seeking
to achieve an outcome.
In seeking a view of expertise that incorporates many of the insights
from different theoretical positions, activity theory is particularly
helpful. Firstly, it enables expertise to be seen as the capacity to pursue
an object situated in practice. What one is able to do in one situation
does not automatically transfer to other situations. These other situ-
ations have to be ‘read’ as similar and transfer has to be seen as
appropriate. Moreover, expertise may relate to the artefacts or instru-
ments utilised in a particular setting and new artefacts and instruments
may pose problems for the expert. Activity theory also enables expertise
to be seen as normative. Activity systems exist in a community with its
own rules and division of labour. As for a community of practice,
expertise is derived from constructing meaning on activity that one
engages in, in the setting. One may be permitted to take on more
complex or important tasks and construct meaning on them as exper-
tise develops (Lave & Wenger 1991).
All activity systems represent an historically derived set of tensions
and conflicts, and what is appropriate and permissible over time will
evolve as these tensions and conflicts are played out. Moreover, in
activity systems tasks can be shared and, through the tasks and
communication about the tasks, meaning can also be shared. So when
expertise is conceptualised in relation to activity, it can be seen as
normative, situated, mediated, functional, shared and cultural, as well
as related to motive. Moreover, it can be seen as historically con-
structed. As the tensions and contradictions in an activity system lead
to new forms of activity, so too what counts as expertise changes. In
seeking to come to a conclusion about what constitutes expertise, then,
the concept of an activity system has considerable power.

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

In relation to the idea of expertise as facility with meaning, activity

theory acquits itself well and extends meaning-making to the co-
construction of meaning in pursuit of a collective object. However, it
must be remembered that the meanings that individuals construct on an
activity are not the activity itself. Meaning is in how the activity is
understood by the individuals who are involved. This meaning can be
rendered in doing (as activity), but there are other realms of meaning
as well, and experts have facility in interconnecting various ways in
which experience is meaningful: in doing; in symbolic representations
of the activity; in scientific ways of viewing the activity; ethically, and
so on. Particular experiences may not be meaningful in all of these
ways, but facility in interconnecting relevant realms of meaning
contributes to expertise.

SUMMARY OF IDEAS ABOUT EXPERTISE

In summary, the following ideas about expertise can be advanced:

1 Expertise consists in doing something well, better than and

differently from others new to the undertaking.
2 The ability to do something well (the ‘capacity-to-do’) can be
thought of as:
a facility with meaning, derived from experience; and
b facility in connecting meaning derived from particular
experiences with other meanings, such as:
(i) meanings derived from other experiences;
(ii) meanings in relation to other purposes;
(iii) meanings rendered in other ways;
(iv) social meanings found in language; and
(v) meaning as understood by others.
3 An important primary understanding of experience as
meaning (sense) is direct, personal and concrete.
4 Expertise involves normative judgement in culturally and
historically situated practice, relating meaning derived from
previous experience to new situations.
5 The capacity-to-do improves with experience, becoming more
fluid, efficient and automatic for familiar situations.
6 Personally significant meaningfulness is just one way in which
experience can be understood—different individuals will
understand (make sense of) the same experience differently
and will communicate about it differently. Experts can make
sense of new experiences, drawing upon meanings rendered in
a way that is relevant to the new situation.
7 An expert is likely to understand experience in more than one

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 EXPERTISE FOR THE WORKPLACE

way, to be able to connect direct concrete experience with

other renditions of that meaning. For instance, an expert may
be able to relate engineering principles to skilful action in a
trade, economics to accounting practice, or interpersonal rela-
tionship principles to working in a team.
8 In new situations where the problems appear to be different
from those routinely handled, experts are able to draw on
various ways of seeing the problem, finding different ways of
constructing meaning on the problem and of drawing on
existing meanings in its solution. These different ways of con-
structing meaning may be derived from various kinds of
sources—for example, communications with others about the
meanings they construct on experiences, understandings of
the tools and technologies in the setting, relating new goals to
senses of vocation and purpose, and considering how the new
tasks, goals or purposes relate to previous activity.
9 Meanings derived historically by a community can be ren-
dered in language. As with all meaning, individuals need to
engage in activity to apprehend these meanings and connect
them with personally significant meanings. Experts have con-
siderable facility with such interconnections.
10 Abstractions about experiences can be coded in many ways—
for instance, in language as theoretical and ethical principles
or in terms of mathematical or other symbols.
11 Meaning can be co-constructed with others, constructed in
relation to artefacts and technologies in the setting, con-
structed in relation to other known ways of reading the
problems and its situation (e.g. theories), and so on. Of course,
one of these ways may be in terms of theoretical principles that
connect different kinds of problems and go beyond immedi-
ately apparent features of a particular problem. While such
latter principles may be propositionally known and meaning-
fully related to personal experience, they may also be tacit.

The characteristics of expertise and the kinds of meaning upon which

experts draw and which they interrelate in expert action are depicted in
Figure 1.1.
This view of expertise makes it difficult to adopt many inadequate
propositions from cognitive psychology. That is, theoretical constructs
for the supposed representation in the mind of expertise as the capacity-
to-do need to be considered critically, with some caution. Firstly, the
idea of concepts needs to extend beyond propositional representation
of verbalisable principles. Secondly, the idea of understanding should
not be confined to the ability to state propositions. Thirdly, the idea of
doing should not be explained in terms of knowledge-that. Fourthly,

21
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Meanings in direct,
personal and concrete
work-related experiences,
of significance to the
Meanings in abstractions individual, in relation to Meanings
a derive
about experience, coded purpose and for, non-wo
in various ways, e.g. in pursuits—derive
language as theoretical living and soci
and ethical principles, or purposes
in terms of mathematical
or other symbols

Take action, which

improves with
Understand experience Make sense of new
experience, becoming
in more than one way, experiences, drawing
more fluid, efficient
i.e. connect directand automatic for upon meanings
experience with other rendered in ways
familiar situations
renditions of that relevant to the new
meaning situation

Expertise
Make normative Co-construct meaning
judgements in with others, in relati
culturally and to artefacts and
Draw on various ways
of seeing new
historically situated technologies in a
practice setting, in relation t
problems, i.e. different
other known ways of
ways of constructing
meaning on the reading the probelm
problem and of and its situation (e.g
theories)
drawing on existing
meanings in its
solution
Kinds of
meaning

Social meanings found in Meanings understood by oth

language, actions, images, from their work and non-w
implicit norms, and so on experiences

Figure 1.1 Relationships of expertise and meaning

the kinds of understanding, represented as schemas, need to be

plural and interconnected. Fifthly, thinking and acting should not
be confounded with artificial constructs theorised as cognitive
representations.

22
 EXPERTISE FOR THE WORKPLACE

INTRODUCING SOME COMMON ABSTRACTIONS

Part II of this book deals at length with some common abstractions

of ideas of vocational capacities. These include literacy, numeracy,
problem-solving, creativity, information literacy and values. These have
been chosen as, in various guises, they have surfaced in economic con-
structions of what constitutes transferable vocational competence. The
importance attached to these abstract ideas of competence is expressed
in many ways. Literacy is sometimes called communication or is
regarded as a personal, interpersonal or social skill. Numeracy goes by
a number of terms including mathematical ideas and techniques,
working with numbers and working with information. Problem-solving
can also be subsumed in thinking skills, or ability to transfer, or to
work with information and systems. Computer literacy is seen as basic
to, and involved in, working with information and using technology.
Creativity is sometimes included in thinking skills or called innovation
or design, and seen to be especially important in globalising economies.
Values are taken up because they are usually omitted from economi-
cally derived lists of competence, or are stated in very conforming
ways, or are assumed not to warrant attention because they are thought
to be covered in specified behaviours.
As argued in this chapter, it is a mistake to proceed from such
generic labels as these to a view that such denoted capacities can be
taught as such. Rather, each is a label pointing to individuals construct-
ing and utilising normative meanings in highly situated functional
activities and in concrete situations, and the nature of each varies across
these activities and situations. These matters are taken up in detail in
Chapters 3 to 8.
In Chapter 2, the context of developing expertise in vocational edu-
cation and the ways in which teaching and learning can be approached
are discussed.

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the field of applied cognitive psychology. A discussion of the special
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Newell, A. 1990, Unified Theories of Cognition, Harvard University
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Phenix, P.H. 1964, Realms of Meaning: A Philosophy of the Curricu-
lum for General Education, McGraw-Hill, New York
Polanyi, M. 1969a, Knowing and Being: Essays by Michael Polanyi,
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Polanyi, M. & Prosch, H. 1975, Meaning, University of Chicago Press,
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ligence, Cambridge University Press, New York
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Griffith University, Brisbane
Tulving, E. 1984, ‘How many memory systems are there?’, American
Psychologist, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 385–98
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Psychology, Armonk, New York

25
 2

Vocational teaching and

learning in context
John Stevenson

INTRODUCTION

This chapter examines possible sources for the curricular decisions that
have to be taken when designing and engaging in vocational teaching
and learning activities. An examination of these sources reveals that
decision-makers make assumptions about:

• desirable learning processes and products;

• the relative value of individual, economic and societal ends;
and
• the nature of knowledge (meaning) and its acquisition.

Each of these sets of assumptions and the various positions that can
be adopted with respect to it are examined. The range of curriculum
theories available for tackling these same issues is then outlined, and it
is concluded that the planning of teaching and learning should occur in
the context of actual practice, cognisant of, but not drawing directly
from, a single ‘grand universal theory’ for curriculum development or
instructional design. Secondly, the various ways in which the economic
press for codifying meaning manifests itself are outlined, and the under-
lying assumptions identified. Using cultural-historical activity theory

26
 VOCATIONAL TEACHING AND LEARNING IN CONTEXT

(Engeström 1987, 1999; Leont’ev 1981 [1959]) as a basis for con-

ceptualising contextual teaching and learning practice, approaches
for planning teaching and learning for vocational education are then
developed, and teaching and learning principles advanced.

CURRICULUM SOURCES FOR VOCATIONAL TEACHING

AND LEARNING

In Chapter 1, various dimensions of expertise are identified and it is

argued that experts draw upon, and inter-connect, different kinds
of meaning in expert action (Figure 1.1). The question for vocational
educators is how to design instruction to develop learners towards
expertise. There are numerous possible starting points for planning
teaching and learning in vocational education. For instance, Tyler
(1950) identified as sources for the curriculum, considerations of the
learner, of contemporary society and of the subject matter.
Thus, for instance, one could start with the individual learners, their
aspirations and their previous experiences and capacities. These analyses
would enable one to devise learning experiences that connected previ-
ously developed meanings with the new capacities needed to pursue new
goals. For instance, some learners may aspire to work in commercial
kitchens, but have quite different previous experiences in cooking or
working with foods and their ingredients, and quite different ideas about
nutrition and health practices; or they may aspire to be mechanics
and have quite different personal experiences with the maintenance and
driving of cars and different ideas about pollution and safety.
Another place to start is with analyses of contemporary society,
asking questions about what kinds of activities are needed to improve
society at the local, national and global levels. Using frameworks like
those developed by Campbell et al. (1992) and by Parker et al. (1999)
(see Chapter 8), one might seek to develop learning experiences which
would enable learners to develop normative capacities for activities
involving, for instance, cooperation, mutual respect and tolerance, non-
violent behaviour, critical consumption, environmental protection and
productive and generative work. These themes would assume consider-
able importance and be seen as integral to, rather than separate from,
developing expertise for pursuing occupations and careers in various
industries—for instance, in hospitality (e.g. as a chef), construction
(e.g. as a carpenter) and engineering (e.g. as a mechanic) industries.
Still further, one could begin with an analysis of the subject matter.
This might involve examining kinds of activities in which the learners
might engage as preparation for the kinds of work to which they
aspire. For instance, one could analyse the work as it is currently being
performed, the ways in which that kind of work may change in the
future and the kinds of capacities that are involved. This may involve

27
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

interviews, surveys and meetings, and these methods may seek infor-
mation from those undertaking various relevant work activities, those
involved in supervising such work activities, those who have had
experiences with critical incidents at work, those researching future
directions of relevant industries and careers, and so on. It might also
involve perusal of any statements of industrial standards that exist.
For a discussion of various techniques, see Finch & Crunkilton (1993,
Chapter 6) and Harris et al. (1995, Chapter 11).
Irrespective of these kinds of elemental sources for possible curricu-
lum content, there is a wide range of relevant curriculum considerations
for vocational learning in the particular socio-political, economic and
historic context. These may be collected together as relevant factors or
concerns (Laird & Stevenson 1993). For instance, one could start with
notions of change, the kinds of capacities utilised in generating and
dealing with change, and the histories of emphases in curriculum devel-
opment in different economic times (Stevenson 1996a). Or one could
consider such ideas as those of thinking skills, working with information
and symbols, problem-solving abilities, working in teams and creativity,
found in statements of key competencies, core skills and necessary skills
(Green 1997; Mayer 1992; US Department of Labor Secretary’s Com-
mission on Achieving Necessary Skills 1992).
Looking at further examples of contemporary concerns, one could
consider the problems of codifying knowledge in times of rapid knowl-
edge transformation—for example, the codes assigned to engineering
and scientific knowledge in texts and research journals versus the ways
in which new information, processes and systems are developed and
known in innovative workplaces (Gibbons et al. 1994; Lundvall &
Borrás 1997). Similarly, one could look at ways in which careers and
career education are structured—as in the sixteen career education
clusters used by the US Department of Education (Riley 2000) where,
for example, mechanics is found in the Scientific, Research, Engineer-
ing and Technical Services cluster; and commercial cookery in the
Hospitality and Tourism cluster.

TEACHING AND LEARNING ASSUMPTIONS

Each of the above examples makes assumptions about the value or

emphasis that should be placed on various approaches to teaching and
learning. Some of the major categories of assumptions can be clustered as:

(i) learning processes and products;

(ii) the relative value and responsibilities for individual, economic
and societal ends; and
(iii) the nature of knowledge and how it is acquired.

28
 VOCATIONAL TEACHING AND LEARNING IN CONTEXT

These clusters of underlying assumptions are examined in the fol-

lowing paragraphs. The various curriculum development approaches
that have been taken with respect to (i)–(iii) are then examined in the
following section.

Learning processes and products

With respect to (i), there has been a long debate in the literature about
setting different kinds of educational objectives—for example, behav-
ioural, expressive, process, instructional and cognitive objectives (e.g.
Eisner 1969; Gronlund 1970; Mager 1962; Posner 1982; Stenhouse
1978). Some of these (e.g. behavioural objectives) focus on aiming
instruction at pre-specified performances or behaviours which are
assessable—for instance, being able to prepare a particular kind of food
to a pre-stated standard; being able to use a certain tool in a particular
way; being able to describe a diagnosis of a particular problem (or class
of problems) and its solution; or being able to describe models of team-
work or cultural values. They depend on a belief that desirable ends can
be pre-specified.
Similarly, cognitive objectives focus on the kinds of knowledge to
be targeted in instruction. These are also pre-specified (e.g. being able
to solve unfamiliar problems requiring the concept of momentum),
and help in selecting learning experiences that will hopefully lead to
these capacities—developing the idea of adhesion in welding; solving
some adhesion problems; considering the classes of problems to which
the idea of adhesion might apply. Some cognitive objectives are desig-
nated as metacognitive, referring to the capacity to monitor, reflect
upon and modify one’s own cognitive processes, especially in problem-
solving.
For process, instructional and expressive objectives, on the other
hand, the experiences of learning are thought to be more important
than pre-specification of educational or learning ends, with individuals
constructing their own meanings from experiences. For instance, visit-
ing a workplace, engaging in those work activities that are attractive
and accessible, and making judgements about that kind of work might
be seen as more important than being able to describe ten prescribed
characteristics of the workplace. Similarly, the experiences of working
cooperatively with people from other cultures on an unfamiliar
problem might be seen to be more valuable than being able to state
abstract principles about stereotyping.
These various emphases seem to come in cycles, responsive to
various social and economic crises such as returns to product
emphases; seeking to develop ‘given’ knowledge; in times of war; and
economic depression (Stevenson 1996a).

29
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Individual, economic and societal ends

With respect to (ii), one set of assumptions is that the purpose of voca-
tional education is to meet the needs of industry, meaning that the
‘client’ or ‘customer’ is industry and that industrial standards for work
activity should be used as the primary (even exclusive) basis for curric-
ular statements and teaching. Alternatively, it might be thought that
there are wider societal issues and stakes in vocational education: what
kinds of buildings are appropriate in city landscapes; what effects of
industrial activity on the environment are socially desirable; what place
should work have in social life; what justifies company profit in a com-
munity; and what kinds of consumption should be encouraged in
marketing?
Still further, it may be thought that there are primary obligations
towards individual learners seeking to acquire capacities for working.
The following might also be taken into account in deciding what
should be learned or what learning experiences are appropriate:
learners’ individual capacities and work-related needs; individuals’
aspirations, needs and concerns beyond work; the relationships of
work with identity and non-work pursuits; possibilities that careers
will undergo massive qualitative changes in an individual person’s life;
the likelihood of periods of unemployment; the possibility that capaci-
ties developed now may not be adequate for that individual’s future
work and non-work activities; and the problematic relationships
among employees, employers and society.
The reconciliation of purposes in vocational education curriculum
development is problematic, but recognising that there are different
purposes, making them explicit, and engaging in instructional design
activity directed at reconciliation, rather than leaving them implicit, is
more likely to achieve better links among different interests, and
between curriculum planning and implementation (Stevenson 1998).

Nature of knowledge and its acquisition

With respect to (iii), one view that might be taken on knowledge is that
it has an essential nature—it is given, timeless, accessible and trans-
missible. For example, what constitutes being a mechanic can be
determined, written down and learned as such by transmission from
one who has that knowledge to a learner. This transmission may be
through demonstration, oral instruction or communicating in other
verbal ways.
Another view is that vocational knowledge (e.g. that of mechanics) is
an application of scientific or engineering knowledge to a limited set of
problems. Learning involves the inculcation of scientific and engineering
theory and problem-solving procedures and their application to examples
of the set of problems to be found in practice. (Some practical experiences

30
 VOCATIONAL TEACHING AND LEARNING IN CONTEXT

in acquiring the acquisition of ‘technical skills’ would also be called for.)

Another view is that knowledge is constructed meaningfully and
differently by individuals through personally significant experience.
From this view, learning to be a mechanic is more problematic. A
learner needs to engage in mechanics’ work directly and seek to make
sense of that experience through connecting it with understandings of
previous experience; with other renditions of mechanics’ knowledge
(e.g. in manuals and texts); and with meanings developed through
wider life experiences. A related view is that being a mechanic is not a
single phenomenon—it means different things to different mechanics in
different settings; and mechanical knowledge is not universal, static or
given, but constructed afresh in changing circumstances. Moreover,
mechanical knowledge may not be organised as engineering knowl-
edge, but functionally in relation to experience, and this functional
organisation itself undergoes change through experience.
Another dimension of differences in views about knowledge and its
acquisition is that understanding and values are recognised by some as
immanent in any capacity-to-do, while others separate them—usually
focusing exclusively on knowledge-that or knowledge-how.

CURRICULUM THEORIES

Many researchers have tackled these issues, seeking to develop curricu-

lum principles for guiding the planning and activities of teaching and
learning. Various theoretical approaches take different stances with
respect to (i)–(iii) above.
These theoretical approaches to curricula and their development
can be used to orient those involved in practice. They can be sum-
marised in various ways. For instance, drawing on Reid (1981), Marsh
and Willis (1995) divide curriculum theorists into system-oriented a
priorists (prescribing means and ends of education), system-supportive
explorers (concerned about ethical decision-making in context),
system-opposing a priorists (who have alternative prescriptions to
overcome injustices) and system-indifferent explorers (concerned with
individuals and their growth). These different clusters take on board
different combinations of the assumptions in (i)–(iii) outlined above,
with different value stances, different emphases on what are seen to be
desirable processes and products and different orientations with regard
to the kinds of knowing seen to be legitimate.
Approaches to curriculum planning, teaching and learning can also
be differentiated in other ways. For instance, they can be differentiated
(Vallance 1999) as those which identify important procedures (e.g. iden-
tifying objectives, selecting learning experiences, organising learning
experiences and evaluating learning experiences—Tyler 1950), those
which identify points or ‘commonplaces’ (i.e. the teacher, learner, subject

31
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

matter, milieu) around which decisions need to be made (e.g. Schwab

1969), those which advance sets of concerns to be addressed (e.g. Eisner
& Vallance 1974), and those which offer ‘perspectives from which
educational activity can be valued’ (Vallance 1999, p. 57) (e.g. Huebner
1966). Each of these approaches seeks to incorporate important
elements in curriculum decision-making processes, covering the range of
possible concerns, ensuring a logically related set of decisions is made
and taking account of the range of values that stakeholders can have.
Each of these possible manifold approaches offers a starting point
in addressing the tensions, conflicts and problems that are involved in
planning teaching and learning. At the same time, an enduring problem
is that, given the diverse range of expectations, pressures and interests
shaping contemporary curriculum practice (Stevenson 1998), various
theoretical frameworks often lead to the privileging of certain views
and the marginalisation of others (Garrick & Usher 2000). That is,
coherence of activity is often purchased at the cost of unduly limiting
the range of curricular concerns and stakeholder interests actively
expressed in contemporary curriculum practice.
Moreover, each approach has its own limitations. As Wraga writes
in his review of Slattery’s (1995) work, curriculum theory has been
undergoing considerable reconceptualisation in response to ‘diverse
forms of enquiry that draw from hermeneutics, critical theory, phe-
nomenology, poststructuralism, aesthetic inquiry, autobiographical
enquiry, theological theory, gender studies, racial theory and even chaos
theory’ (Wraga 1996, p. 463).
What is clear is the need to consider the planning of teaching and
learning in any field (including vocational education and training) in the
context of actual practice, rather than developing grand universal
theories. To avoid the privileging that can come from so-called general
theories, the particulars of situations and the local, variant views on
what is relevant and desirable need to be addressed, rather than
‘averaged’ or marginalised. An important context for vocational teach-
ing and learning is competency-based training and economic pressures
on the development of vocational knowledge. Thus the fact of compe-
tency-based training policy cannot be ignored by, say, focusing solely on
a ‘process’-based approach to curriculum development. Similarly, the
actual concerns of teachers and learners under competency-based train-
ing policies, of employers taking on graduates of competency-based
courses or of communities protesting the irrelevance of specific or gen-
eralised competences cannot be ignored by just taking the policy line.
Nor can we ignore the needs of industry to flourish in a changing
globalising and competitive environment where the nature and structure
of work and productivity are being transformed, or of communities
resisting the concomitant effects of such change on society.
The contemporary realities of economic presses on the codification
of meaning are examined in the following sections.

32
 VOCATIONAL TEACHING AND LEARNING IN CONTEXT

ECONOMIC PRESS FOR CODIFICATION OF MEANING

An important vocation for many is work in the economy. While, as

argued above, economic considerations are not the only important
bases for vocational expertise, they are nevertheless relevant and per-
vasive. In work, meaning is directed at work functions, motivated by
one’s role in the organisation. In order to ensure that education pre-
pares people adequately for their roles in work, there are often calls
from industry for changes in emphasis or for certain kinds of learning.
In this section, these various calls are clustered into those to do with
performance on predicted tasks, those for adaptability to change, and
those preparing people for effectiveness in transforming globalising
economies. These calls are examined in terms of the kinds of meaning
that are involved (see Chapter 1).

Calls for outcomes

Calls for learning to prepare people for various job functions are
usually calls for learning outcomes. These outcomes are expressed in
various ways—for example, as literacy, as specific work skills or as atti-
tudes to work. Often they are related to mappings of occupations
undertaken by industry and called industry standards. The codes used
for this kind of knowledge are sometimes expressed as outcomes,
behavioural objectives or competencies. In each case, they seek to
describe a target performance.
Contemporary governmental policies for the practice of vocational
education and training centre around a call for outcomes in the form of
competence. The word competence when used in policy statements rep-
resents a discourse aimed at a particular kind of codification of the
meanings, which advocates think that individuals should derive,
draw upon and utilise in work. According to Swanchek and Campbell
(1981), the current competency movement can be traced back to the
1960s when the US Office of Education gave grants for the develop-
ment of model training programs for elementary school teachers. These
models included ‘the precise specification of competences or behaviors
to be learned, the modularisation of instruction, evaluation and feed-
back, personalization, and field experience’ (1981, cited in Tuxworth
1989, p. 11). For descriptions of the contexts and processes of deriving
competences, see Burke (1989, 1995) and Harris et al. (1995).
In terms of the clusters of assumptions (i)–(iii) outlined earlier, this
focus on pre-specified demonstrable abilities constitutes a product or
outcome approach to instruction. The focus is not on learning
processes, cognitive processes or learning experiences. The value is for
economic objectives, especially those of the industry representatives
who have been able to participate in the processes of setting industrial
standards. This value is not on individuals, with their plural aspirations

33
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

and needs, or on wider societal concerns. The assumptions about

knowledge are that it is unproblematic, codifiable, unchanging and
able to be transmitted to individuals.
The assumptions underlying competency-based training are histor-
ically situated, and have been extensively analysed (e.g. Hyland 1994;
Jackson 1993; Stevenson 1992, 1993). Competency-based training
represents a technicist approach to instruction, with confidence that
workplace capacities can be specified in advance, to be acquired by
learners through instruction. Different competency-based approaches
to pre-specifying capacities as competence differ in terms of the extent
to which the target capacities are specific or general, disaggregated or
holistic, behavioural or cognitive. However, in all cases they exert
control through the codification of meaning. Other important assump-
tions are about the essentialist nature of vocational knowledge, and the
movement’s reading of economically relevant capacities.
Sometimes, in competency-based training, the descriptions are
quite elaborate, referring to conditions under which the performance is
to be executed and the criteria used for judging the performance to be
acceptable. These criteria are expressed as learning outcomes, perform-
ance criteria, evidence guides and range of variables statements.
A focus on prescribed outcomes for learning may be seen as a new
kind of behaviourism in the form of managerialism. That is, it may be
interpreted as attempts to exert control over what is taught in voca-
tional education for managerial purposes. Pre-specification of learning
outcomes towards which learners are to be shaped is a neat way of con-
fining what is learned. It deals efficiently with removing what industry
may see as irrelevant content in vocational curricula. Only the essential
skills, relevant to immediate industrial needs, are usually captured in
vocational curricula of this type.
Flowing from a consideration of Figure 1.1 in Chapter 1, there are
three main disadvantageous effects of outcomes approaches on the
development of meaning. Firstly, the relationship between the pre-
specified material to be taught and the individual’s sense of vocation
may not be apparent to the learner, and the learning experiences may
not be seen by them as meaningful. Sense (personal significance) and
meaning (apprehension of the collective construction, as reflected in the
competency statement) may be alienated because the individual may
not be able to connect individual goals and aspirations (and the mean-
ings needed in pursuing them) with motives underlying the codified
statements. The learner may not even be aware of these latter motives.
Try as the learner may to acquire the content, mastery may be elusive
because of the difficulty of constructing meaning. Secondly, the scope
for connecting meaning between what is done on the job and what else
happens in everyday living may also be obscure. This may be because
the learning is atomised into small bits and the whole is not seen. It may
also be because societal, industrial and individual goals are in conflict,

34
 VOCATIONAL TEACHING AND LEARNING IN CONTEXT

and there is no space to reconcile them. The resultant cognitive disson-

ance will probably lead to assimilation rather than accommodation of
meaning—isolating the ‘knowledge’ from what the individual sees as
personally meaningful. Thirdly, because the emphasis, in this kind of
learning, is largely on demonstrating how to do things without there
necessarily being any consideration of why or how this doing relates to
other meanings in the experiences, rich connections among meanings
are not developed, affecting capacities for developing a sense of appro-
priateness, an understanding of why things are done and a capacity for
relating meaning to new and different challenges.

Calls for adaptability

Calls for specific competences in the 1980s gradually became supple-
mented with calls for what have variously been called key, core or
necessary competences or skills. This move is one aimed at securing
‘transfer’ of knowledge in changing circumstances—that is, adapta-
bility—despite the substantial body of literature that sees the idea
of such transfer as misplaced (see, for example, the special edition of
Review of Research in Education (Iran-Nejad & Pearson 1999) and the
special edition of the International Journal of Education Research,
1999, vol. 31).
These ‘generic’ codes are labels for capacities that the advocates
believe are common to many different kinds of work, and even apply
across work and other life pursuits. For instance they include abilities
to collect, analyse and organise information; to use technology; to use
mathematical ideas and techniques; to work with others and in teams;
to plan and organise activities; and to communicate ideas and infor-
mation (Mayer 1992). They may be expressed as basic skills, thinking
skills and personal qualities in terms of being able to productively use
resources, interpersonal skills, information, systems and technology
(US Department of Labor Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Neces-
sary Skills 1992). Similarly, some commentators refer to horizontal
skills, transversal and personal skills, social skills and metacompetence
(Sellin 1999). We also have labels such as intellective and connective
skills, mobile knowledge workers and symbolic analysts (Harvey 1989;
Young 1993).
While these kinds of labels can be seen to point to capacities, which
can be abstracted from analyses of various kinds of work, it is a
mistake to believe that they can be learned as such. Rather, as outlined
in Chapter 1, learning consists of constructing meaning on direct expe-
rience, where such activity is situated. That is, it is a mistake to think
that being able to communicate adequately in one situation for one set
of purposes will apply to another situation and purpose; or that to
be able to engage in an activity which achieves solution of one kind
of problem connotes the capacity to solve all kinds of workplace

35
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

problems. Certainly these labels are interesting ways of articulating

some of the challenges for vocational education, but care must be taken
not to confuse the verbal labels with the kinds of meaning that
individuals derive from intentional, functional, purposive, situated,
concrete practice (see Chapter 1, Figure 1.1; Beven 1997; Stasz 1997;
Stevenson 1996b). Similarly, they may be helpful labels for learners
seeking to derive meaning from different kinds of experiences, but they
are no substitute for the experiences themselves.

Calls for explicit innovative capacities

In economies transforming in the face of globalisation, there have been
further additions to what are regarded as economically important
capacities. For example, there has been the claim that ‘Mode 2’ knowl-
edge is more important than ‘Mode 1’ knowledge (Gibbons et al.
1994), where Mode 2 knowledge is transdisciplinary and localised,
arising from the context of application, rather than disciplinary and
general, arising from codified academic knowledge. (It is like Phenix’s
synoetic meaning—see this volume, Chapter 1.) A recent European
Report (Lundvall & Borrás 1997) argues the importance of tacit
meaning in globalising economies, where the tacit meaning is both that
of procedural skills as well as more general managerial capacities.
These authors argue that this meaning is socially embedded in the
organisation and in organisational networks, and that there are prob-
lems in making it explicit and sharing it. They argue that competitive
businesses in globalising economies need to find ways of sharing these
meanings. Others also argue that knowledge creation in contemporary
economies involves both tacit and explicit knowledge and that these are
complementary (Nonaka et al. 2001), with continuous conversions
among tacit and explicit ways of understanding, as new meaning is
constructed, externalised, shared and re-combined, by individuals and
in concert with others. In terms of Figure 1.1 (Chapter 1), these calls
recognise the significance of those kinds of meaning that are difficult to
render in language as well as meanings which do not fit easily into the
structures of academic disciplines.

Summary
Thus economic presses for the codification of meaning as explicit
knowledge can take a variety of forms, depending on whether the focus
is on meaning required (managed and controlled) for the routine exe-
cution of predicted skills, for ‘transfer’ in times of economic change or
for innovation for competitive activity in globalising economies. These
various economic agendas take the form of restating what is considered
to be legitimate vocational knowledge, by assigning new codes to that
meaning which they consider relevant. Unfortunately, this quest for

36
 VOCATIONAL TEACHING AND LEARNING IN CONTEXT

control through the legitimisation of codes can get in the way of indi-
vidual construction of meaning, which itself is derived from meaningful
(personally relevant—functional, purposeful, related-to-vocation)
experience. Unless these economically coded meanings are explicitly
related by the individuals to other ways in which they construct
meaning (Chapter 1, Figure 1.1), then the knowledge will be inert. For
individuals to cope with new situations, they do not rely on having
acquired knowledge coded as ‘problem-solving’, ‘creativity’ or the like.
Moreover, there is a problem that the codes can be confused with
meaning itself, and assumptions made that they can be ‘taught’.
Rather, it needs to be understood that individuals use personally
relevant meanings that they have derived from previous experience to
understand and deal with new situations. This meaning may well be
able to be given an abstract title such as ‘problem-solving skills’ or
‘creativity’, but it is not known to the individual as such and is not
acquired as such. The individual may come to know in these ways, but
only if the codes become connected with existing, personally significant
meanings. Rather, the individual knows how to proceed because of
the various ways in which they can construct meaning on the new
situation, drawing upon relevant realms of meaning and their inter-
connections. The individual will not assign meaning to the learning of
detached problem-solving (or other key/core skills) unless the experi-
ences are seen to be functional and personally relevant, related to senses
of vocation. Moreover, different individuals will not ‘know’ problem-
solving in the same way, as they will have constructed meanings, their
interconnections and their own facility with them and their inter-
relationships differently.

SOME BASES FOR PLANNING TEACHING AND LEARNING

Given the various possible curricular theories and approaches, the need
for teaching and learning to be contextualised and the various possi-
bilities for incorporating different kinds of meaning in vocational
instruction, it is important to have a conceptual basis from which to
make instructional decisions. Drawing from the nature of expertise and
how meaning is acquired, there are several possible starting points in
developing such a basis for teaching and learning in vocational educa-
tion and training. Two such bases are advanced here.
Firstly, the planning of teaching and learning can be thought of as
constructing/engaging in an activity system (Engeström 1999; Leont’ev
1981 [1959]). In an activity system, there is a subject (or several subjects)
interacting collectively in a community with a shared object (motive)
leading to certain outcomes (Figure 2.1). In the case of teaching and
learning, there are learners and teachers (and possibly others) working
together towards the motive of deriving meaning—the outcome is the

37
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

meanings that individuals construct. In an activity system, there are

instruments or artefacts that mediate the activity. In this case, they can be
thought of as all of the resources that are used—tools, technologies,
manuals, equipment, texts and other physical features of the setting as
well as conceptual tools such as theories of teaching and learning. In an
activity system, there exists a community (e.g. teachers, learners, co-
workers, aides—all with connections to society more widely) and a
division of labour (e.g. the teacher as source of knowledge, or facilitator,
or resource; the learner as proactive or receptive taking more or less
responsibility for what, where and how they learn) (see Stevenson &
McKavanagh 1994). Activity systems also have explicit and implicit rules
for activity in the system (e.g. what is appropriate behaviour). Each of
these features of activity systems is historically situated, developed in
response to tensions and contradictions in the system, within and
between all these elements and with other activity systems. The arte-
facts—in particular, language and resources that use language—embody
the cultural-historical meanings derived by the community over time.
In approaching teaching and learning, then, important features to
consider are the elements of the contextualised activity system and their
cultural-historical nature. Learners, of course, also operate within other

Mediating artefacts:
tools and signs

Object
Sense,
Subject Outcome
Meaning

Rules Community Division of labour

Figure 2.1 The structure of a human activity system

Source: Engerström 1999, p. 2, derived from Engeström 1987, p. 78

38
 VOCATIONAL TEACHING AND LEARNING IN CONTEXT

activity systems—for example, in relation to their homes, their friends

and their involvement in society more widely. These other activity
systems have other objects, such as caring for children, achieving a just
society and protecting the environment. The role of teaching and learn-
ing experiences is to assist in deriving meaning and connecting it with
meanings derived and rendered in other ways and in other activity
systems.
Secondly, the planning of teaching and learning can be thought of
in terms of developing supposed cognitive representations of meaning.
A framework developed by de Jong and Ferguson-Hessler (1996)
(although developed for the field of physics) is based on functional
experiences, and therefore has promise for developing teaching and
learning principles for vocational education. Their taxonomy separates
categories of representations from the variety of qualities that they may
have. Separation of various kinds of theorised types of representation
have a long history in cognitive psychology, although the strengths of
each approach will not be dealt with here (see Chapter 1); and the four-
fold set of types used by de Jong and Ferguson-Hessler is taken to be as
good as any other set of types. That is, as for other taxonomies, each
type needs to be seen in terms broader than those that can be conveyed
in language. For example, conceptual knowledge may be found not
only in scientific theory, but in other realms of meaning; procedural
knowledge may be found not only in physical action and be expressible
not only as Anderson’s (1982) productions, but may also be found in
problem-solving processes and be rendered in forms appropriate for
other realms of meaning. The main focus here is on qualities.
Ignoring the separation of different types of supposed cognitive
representations, the strength of this taxonomy is that it does not
confine hierarchical terms for different qualities (e.g. ‘deep’, ‘struc-
tured’, ‘general’) to one class of posited representations. That is,
supposed cognitive representations for the capacity-to-do can be theor-
ised in terms ranging from deep, structured, compiled and general to
surface, elemental, declarative and verbal, without confining these
terms to such ideas as that of ‘concepts’. The set of different kinds of
meaning can therefore have the full range of qualities.
Moreover, it is interesting to examine the range of differences in
qualities across the set of supposed knowledge types, examining indi-
cators of meaningfulness. For instance, depth is seen to relate to
meaningful action as opposed to rules and recipes, and to analysis and
planning as opposed to symbol-driven searches; structure is seen to
relate to meaningfulness as opposed to independent concepts and laws,
and to groups of features and actions; compiled meaning is seen to
involve intuitive tacit understanding as opposed to verbalisable princi-
ples, and automatic action as opposed to step-by-step choices, planning
and execution; and non-verbal modes are seen to be important ways of
understanding.

39
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

In the next section, ideas drawn from activity theory and qualities
of knowledge are used to generate teaching and learning principles for
vocational education in the context which has been examined in this
chapter.

GENERATING TEACHING AND LEARNING PRINCIPLES

Based on the nature of expertise advanced in Chapter 1, the kinds of

meaning that experts interconnect and draw upon (Chapter 1, Figure
1.1), the idea of teaching and learning as a contextualised activity
system and the recognition that knowledge can be viewed in terms of
both types and qualities, the following principles are advanced (see
Figure 2.2).
In order to build facility with meanings and their interconnections,
learners need to be engaged in appropriate activity that makes mean-
ings apparent, related to clear functions and purposes, related to their
own senses of vocation, and related to alternative ways of constructing
meaning. Thus:

• Learning should proceed from the learner’s sense of

vocation—needs, aspirations and intentions, previous experi-
ences and the meanings extracted from them, existing
capacities-to-do, relationships among the learner’s work and
non-work goals and meanings. Then learning can be based on
what is already understood and can readily be connected with
it. Differences between new and old meanings can be made
explicit and reconsidered; attempts to develop new meaning
should not be disconnected from the self.
• Learning should occur in settings or activity systems where
the function and purposes of the learning are clear and
explicit, related to vocation; and collective motives and per-
sonal goals should be related. The tasks in which learners
engage should be tasks with an explicit relationship to tasks
that constitute current or future work or other vocations.
Then the learner will be able to relate doing with purpose and
function, and with instructions and other ways of rendering
meaning. Motivation to learn and interest in learning will be
high, and the outcomes of learning and doing will be trans-
parent, fleshing out the meanings in the capacity-to-do. No
‘transfer’ will be necessary in order to relate ‘knowledge’ with
application or practice. Learners then can make personal
sense of the activity and relate it to collective meaning.
• Learning should focus primarily on developing the capacity-
to-do, where learners seek to accomplish goals. This involves

40
 VOCATIONAL TEACHING AND LEARNING IN CONTEXT

Learning should focus

primarily on developing the
Learning should proceed capacity-to-do, where
from the learner’s sense of learners seek to accomplish
vocation goals
Learning should occur in Learners should explor
settings or activity systems relationships among th
where the functions and learning activity syst
purposes of the learning are other activity systems
clear and explicit, related to which the learner is i
vocation; and collective and the wider communit
motives and personal goals Meanings in direct,
are related personal and concrete
work-related experiences,
of significance to the
individual, in relation to a
Meanings in abstractions about Meanings derived from, and for,
purpose
experience, coded in various ways, non-work pursuits—derived
e.g. in language as theoretical from living and societal purposes
and ethical principles, or in
terms of mathematical
or other symbols

Take action, which

improves with
experience, becoming
more fluid, efficient and
automatic for familiarMake sense of new
Understand experience situations experiences, drawing
in more than one way,
upon meanings
i.e. connect direct
rendered in ways
experience with other
relevant to the new
renditions of that
situation
meaning

Make normative
Expertise Co-construct meaning
judgements in with others, in relation
culturally and to artefacts and
historically situated technologies in a
practice Draw on various ways setting, in relation to
other known ways of
of seeing new problems,
i.e. different ways ofreading the probelm
constructing meaning and its situation
on the problem and of (e.g. theories)
drawing on existing
meanings in its solution

Social meanings found in

Kinds of Meanings
language, actions, images,
implicit norms, and so on
understood by others
from their work and non-work
experiences
meaning

Learning should make clear Learning should involve

the relationships among sharing meaning
elements of the learning
activity system

Learning princip
Learning should involve
building connections among
meanings and different
renditions of meaning

Figure 2.2 Relationships of expertise, meaning and learning

41
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

trying things out, being shown, watching and discussing with

others and receiving feedback—all involving direct, concrete
experience with real artefacts in activity systems. Learners
need to be proactive rather than reactive; involved rather
than passive; taking responsibility rather than relying on
others for initiative; taking a personal stake rather than
feeling marginalised.
• The relationships among elements of the learning activity
system should be made clear—the implicit and explicit rules
and the normative nature of meaning in the setting; the tools,
technologies, processes, equipment and materials and tensions
in their histories; the ways in which subjects share objects in
achieving outcomes and how these are represented in the
setting; who constitutes the community and the nature of
the division of responsibilities. This includes power relation-
ships in the setting and how the learner is positioned with
respect to them. Then the learner can seek to make sense of
given ways of doing things, the possible reasons why activities
are undertaken in a particular way, and tensions and contra-
dictions in the system, within and between elements. This will
involve watching and discussing with others, forming and
appraising opinions, putting ideas forward, and exploring the
boundaries of what is possible. Learners need opportunities to
connect meaning and activity, understand the culturally situ-
ated and historically transient nature of meaning at a point in
time in a setting, and come to terms with the personal and
shared ways in which meaning is constructed in relation to
doing in a context.
• Learning should involve sharing meaning. This involves
making aspects of the activity system visible for inspection;
showing and demonstrating, discussing and sharing alterna-
tive different ways of reading tasks, the setting, problems and
various ways forward; and finding ways of cooperating that
improve practice. It also involves reconciling capacities-to-do,
other intuitive and tacit meanings, theories, principles, other
symbolic representations of meaning and other relevant
realms of meaning. Such learning should proceed from direct
concrete experience rather than verbalised propositional
statements. It also involves building connections with
manuals, instructions and texts.
• The relationships among the learning activity system, other
activity systems in which the learner is involved and the wider
community should be explored so that the learner can seek to
connect meanings across systems and tensions and contra-
dictions among them. This will involve discussion, reading,

42
 VOCATIONAL TEACHING AND LEARNING IN CONTEXT

formulation of views, and reconciling tensions and contradic-

tions. It will also involve reconciling the individual’s plural
vocations in work, personal life and society. Learners will
have the opportunity to discern the interrelationships among
society, its economy and personal and community welfare and
quality of life; the forces and pressures involved and their own
position and responsibilities in relation to them.
• Learning should involve building connection among mean-
ings and different renditions of meaning. This involves
making explicit the connections outlined in other points
here—meaning and doing; others’ meanings; knowledge codi-
fied in manuals, instructions and texts; connections within
and among elements and systems, and with broader society;
meanings across plural vocational pursuits; old and new
meanings; old and new work, technologies, tools, equipment
and materials. It involves experiences in discerning the con-
nections among different renditions of meaning in words,
diagrams, pictures, gestures, action and images. It also
involves developing a facility in operating upon such inter-
connections as are needed in different situations. Drawing
upon de Jong and Ferguson-Hessler (1996), this involves
seeking to understand the qualities of meaning derived from
practice and relate them to other qualities that meaning can
have—for example, relating verbal renditions of meaning to
imaginal ones; rules to embodied action; step by step frame-
works for action and planning to automatic action; compiled
meaning to verbal propositions. Experiences in connecting the
primary sources of meaning (derived from practice) with
other renditions involve explicit communication about these
meanings.

CONCLUSION

Various assumptions can underpin approaches that are taken to plan-

ning curricula and designing teaching and learning experiences in
vocational education and training. Important assumptions are those to
do with emphases on learning processes and products; relative weights
given to the needs and aspirations of individuals, industry and society
as a whole; and perspectives on the nature of meaning and its acquisi-
tion. Approaches to curriculum development that adopt various
combinations of underpinning beliefs each have their own limitations.
Local curriculum and teaching and learning decision-making is war-
ranted, taking account of the various kinds of assumptions that can be
made and the socio-politic and historic context. The current economic

43
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

press for knowledge codification is examined in terms of calls for out-

comes, calls for adaptability and calls for innovative capacities. The
particular case of competency-based training and its assumptions is
examined and found wanting.
Economic presses for codification of meaning can get in the way of
individual construction of meaning for economic challenges, by devel-
oping abstracted codes, confusing the codes with meaning itself and
assuming that the codes can be taught.
Activity theory and research on the qualities of supposed cognitive
representations of meaning are outlined and used to derive principles
that might guide teaching and learning in vocational education so that
learners are developed towards expertise. In summary these principles
are:

• to proceed from the learner’s sense of vocation;

• to situate learning in concrete, functional, purposive settings;
• to focus primarily on developing the capacity-to-do;
• to engage in understanding interrelationships in learning/
working activity systems;
• to share meaning;
• to relate meanings so derived to other activity systems and the
wider community; and
• To build connections among meanings and different rendi-
tions of meaning, together with a facility of operating upon
such interconnections.

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Tyler, R.W. 1950, Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction, Uni-
versity of Chicago Press, Chicago, ILL
US Department of Labor Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Neces-
sary Skills 1992, Learning a Living: A Blueprint for High
Performance. A SCAN’s Report for America 2000, US Department
of Labor, Washington DC
Vallance, E. 1999, ‘Ways of knowing and curricular conceptions: impli-
cations for program planning’, in Issues in Curriculum: A Selection
of Chapters from Past NSSE Yearbooks, eds. M.J. Early & K.J.
Rehage, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, ILL
Wraga, W.G. 1996, ‘Toward a curriculum theory for the new century:
essay review of Patrick Slattery’s Curriculum development in the
postmodern era’, Journal of Curriculum Studies, vol. 28, no. 4,
pp. 463–74
Young, M.F.D. 1993, ‘A curriculum for the 21st Century?’, British
Journal of Educational Studies, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 202–22

47
 Part II


Developing vocational expertise
for key pursuits
 3

Developing literacy

Jean Searle

INTRODUCTION

This chapter argues that literacy is not simply a set of decontextualised

skills which can be codified, measured and audited. Rather, literacy
refers to a range of highly contextualised social practices in which
people engage. As these practices vary according to events or aspects
of people’s lives, so do the ‘literacies’ they require. In order to unpack
what this means, this chapter has been subdivided into a number of
sections. In the first section, ‘What is literacy?’, some assumptions or
master myths about literacy are examined in order to problematise
what literacy is and what literacy can do. This section is followed by
a review of what psycholinguistic, socio-cultural and critical theories,
and research about literacy have to say about literacy and learning, the
literate practices of individuals in society and literacy and power—
or social transformation. In this section, four different discourses of
literacy—as decontextualised skills, as a technology, as socially situ-
ated practices and as multiliteracies—are introduced to show the
relationships among ideology, theory and practice. The third section
presents cases drawn from recent research in several workplaces in
order to exemplify these relationships. Finally, elements of each of
these sections are synthesised in order to suggest principles for cur-
riculum design, instruction and assessment in vocational education
and training.

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

WHAT IS LITERACY?
Everyday concepts of literacy
If you were to ask a range of people what they think literacy is, they
would probably respond in a number of different ways. They may
equate literacy with being able to read and write—but read and write
what? To a child, reading might involve sitting in a circle and taking
turns reading a story at school, or being at home and listening to a
bedtime story. To an adult, reading might be checking the sports results
in the newspaper, or using a technical manual at work. Each of these
definitions suggests that reading is purposeful, involves a text and
implies a context. However, other people will talk about literacy in
terms of newspaper headlines such as, ‘Literacy standards fall’ or ‘Learn
to read or lose the dole’. From this viewpoint, literacy is perceived to
be a set of desirable skills or technologies. The problem with this
‘autonomous’ point of view is that it assumes that there is a defined set
of skills which, once learnt in lower primary school, will fit a person for
the rest of their lives. Further, should this person have difficulties later,
then he or she is to blame. But who decides what the standards should
be? Do they change through time? And why is literacy perceived to be a
‘social good’? The purpose of this chapter is to expose some literacy
myths, to demonstrate how autonomous views of literacy lead to inap-
propriate and sometimes punitive practices, and to propose a more
socially just approach. The starting point is to outline some definitions
of literacy and then to discuss some of the theories and models of liter-
acy in relation to learning or meaning-making.

Definitions of literacy
The concept of literacy is not value-free—it has social, cultural, politi-
cal, economic and educational implications. As a result, what is
regarded as being literate depends on the definition of literacy that
is adopted at a particular time in history and in a particular context.
Further, there is no universally accepted definition of literacy. In fact,
literacy may be viewed in relation to learning—as a cognitive or think-
ing skill, as a social practice or, in relation to power struggles, as an
emancipatory act. Each of these positions is outlined in Table 3.1.
In summary, although Table 3.1 presents a limited number of defi-
nitions, they represent some of the major theories which have informed
school literacy practices as well as those in adult, vocational and work-
place contexts. Later in this chapter, it will be shown that the basic
skills (autonomous) model of literacy has been updated as a technolog-
ical model to suit government and industry economic imperatives to
codify knowledge and make individuals more accountable for their
actions. However, as examples from the workplace will show, this is a
very limited view of actual social practices and does not address power

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 DEVELOPING LITERACY

Table 3.1 Definitions of literacy

Functional literacy ‘A person is functionally literate when he [sic] has
acquired the knowledge and skills in reading and
writing which enable him to engage effectively in all
those activities in which literacy is normally
assumed in his culture and group’ (Grey 1956, cited
in Oxenham 1980, p. 86).
Basic literacy Literacy acquisition is the development of a
(autonomous model) series of decontextualised basic skills. It assumes
unidimensional progress from illiterate to literate,
or indeed towards civilisation or economic take-off
(Street 1984).
Social literacies Social literacies refer to ‘both behaviour and
(ideological model) conceptualisation related to the uses of reading
and/or writing. “Literacy practices” incorporate not
only “literacy events” as empirical occasions to
which literacy is integral, but also folk models of
those events and the ideological preconceptions that
underpin them’ (Street 1992, p. 13).
Critical literacy Literacy may lead to social transformation. Literacy
is about ‘reading the world’ not just ‘the word’
(Freire & Macedo 1987).
Vocational/workplace Literacy is the ability to perform competently
literacy (technological a number of literacy and numeracy tasks,
model) covering a range of skill levels from one to five
within prose, document and quantitative literacy
domains (Wickert 1989, building on the work of
Kirsch & Jungeblut 1986).
Multiliteracies Multiliteracies relate to ‘the increasing multiplicity
and integration of significant modes of
meaning-making, where textual is also related to the
visual, the audio, the spatial, the behavioural . . .
“multimedia” and in electronic “hypermedia” . . . to
focus on the realities of increasing local diversity and
global connectedness’ (Cope & Kalantzis 1995, p. 6).

relations within organisations. In the next section, some of the histori-

cal relationships between literacy and power are introduced and some
myths are exposed.

Discourses of literacy
Historically, literacy has been used as a means to maintain the power
and control of certain vested interests, whether these are religious,

53
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

government, bureaucratic or trading groups. More recently, govern-

ments and agencies have been at pains to quantify, explain and remedy
the problem of ‘illiteracy’. For example, UNESCO and the World Bank
have focused on measuring the extent of adult ‘illiteracy’ by gathering
statistics on access to schooling, and implementing mass literacy cam-
paigns in developing and underdeveloped countries. However, while
not denying that increasing an individual’s literacy may make the
person more productive, the assumption that this would ultimately lead
to improved national economic development, growth and progress is a
myth that is both limiting and distorting (Graff 1986, p. 72). Literacy
is only one factor affecting socio-economic problems, and blaming the
individual is not the solution. Later in this chapter, we shall see that
being literate does not ensure employment. There are other political
and economic forces at work, not the least of which is the move by
multinationals to hire offshore, cheaper labour. So we need to be
mindful of what literacy can reasonably be expected to do. In addition,
we need to be aware of how statistics about literacy are used. Literacy
‘myths’ are often perpetuated (or manufactured) by social commen-
tators who use a range of definitions and statistics to highlight (or
invent) a ‘literacy crisis’. As Cook-Gumperz argues:

Literacy rates are seen as indicators of the health of the society and
as a barometer of the social climate. As a result, illiteracy takes on a
symbolic significance, reflecting any disappointment, not only with
the workings of the education system, but with society as a whole
(Cook-Gumperz 1987, p. 1).

Recently, OECD countries participated in an International Adult

Literacy Survey (IALS) to identify literacy benchmarks. The survey used
a five-point scale, level 3 of which is deemed to be the level which rep-
resents ‘the ability to cope with a varied range of materials found in
daily life and work [though not always] with a high level of proficiency’
(McLennan 1997, p. x). Thus, as will be shown later in this chapter, the
‘magical’ level 3 has become the benchmark for entry-level training.
The response to the large percentage of Australians at levels 1–3 has
either been one of blaming the individual or, as Hodgens suggests, the
relatively low skill levels are interpreted as ‘an indicator of a deeper
institutional malaise. The moral order of society itself is seen to be at
stake’ (Hodgens 1994, p. 17). This is highlighted in the following quo-
tation from the OECD:

In recent years, adult literacy has come to be seen as crucial to the

economic performance of industrialised nations. Literacy is no
longer defined merely in terms of a basic threshold of reading ability,
mastered by almost all those growing up in developed countries.
Rather, literacy is now being seen as how adults use written

54
 DEVELOPING LITERACY

information to function in society. Today, adults need a higher level

of literacy to function well; society has become more complex and
low-skill jobs are disappearing. Therefore, inadequate levels of liter-
acy among a broad section of the populations potentially threaten
the strength of economies and the social cohesion of nations (OECD
1995, p. 13) [emphasis added].

This rather alarming statement infers that a lack of literacy equates

with some form of disease or deviance which could trigger a national
crisis, hence the need for greater control and accountability—another
‘back to basics’ campaign—or targeting the socially disadvantaged—
‘learn to read or lose the dole’. As Gee asserts:

Literacy is a socially contested term. We can choose to use this word

in any of several different ways. Each such choice incorporates a tacit
or overt ideological theory about the distribution of social goods and
has important social and moral consequences (Gee 1990, p. 27).

In the next section, the focus turns to the second aim of the chapter:
to review some of the theories and research relating to literacy. As ‘read
is a transitive verb, so literacy must have something to do with being
able to read something’ (Gee 1990, p. 42). So we need to ask which
theories address literacy and learning: how do people read and write?
And how do we measure ability in reading and writing? Which research
and theories inform our understandings of literate practices: what do
people read and write? For what or whose purpose? Finally, which
theories and research present an alternative view to the dominant dis-
courses and ask questions such as who does not have access to literacy?
How can literacy be used to transform individuals or communities
through social action? These questions underpin the various theories
and pedagogies related to reading and writing.

LITERACY THEORIES, RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Internationally, ‘literacy studies’ as an area of research came of age in

1990, given the prominence of literacy in 1990, UNESCO’s Interna-
tional Literacy Year. Prior to this time, empirical research focused on
the acquisition of skills such as reading or writing. Most often the
research was child-centred and came from the disciplines of cognitive
psychology and linguistics. Psycholinguistic researchers were interested
in the processes of production and comprehension of texts, while some
linguists focused on the style and grammar of the product. Research
in relation to adults concentrated on studies in the armed forces
and industry. Then, in the 1980s, while some researchers (e.g. Sticht,
Mikulecky and others) continued their empirical studies, others who

55
Table 3.2 Reading, writing and literacy theory and practice
Research Associated theories Associated teaching Resources Source of meaningfulness
discipline/field practices
Cognitive Information processing Phonics programs. Basal readers Decoding of meaning from
psychology (identifying, matching Decontextualised word/ letter/sound correspondence
& linguistics letter/sound) spelling lists
Psycholinguistics Reading for meaning; Natural language Reader brings innate
(prediction based on cloze exercises; readers; individual’s knowledge of language to
semantic, syntactic & language experience spoken language meaning-making
grapho-phonic cues) written down
Process writing Pre-writing, drafting, Use of templates. Processes of constructing
responding, revising, Conferencing protocols meaning made explicit
editing, publishing
Interactive model Range of reading Range of texts Meaning derived from
(reader’s schema, strategies: top-level reflecting different matching strategy to text
contextual factors, structure; graphic purposes for reading. and purpose
metacognition & affect) outlines; 3-level guides; Vocational texts
retrieval charts
Anthropology, Roles of reader (code Range of reading Range of texts reflecting Meaning derived from
sociology & breaker, text participant, strategies, some relating different purposes for matching strategy to text
linguistics text user and text analyst) to the reader’s skills, reading; social, and purpose in relation
others relating to informational, to the context; also includes
practice in a particular vocational and a critical component
context workplace texts
Research Associated theories Associated teaching Resources Source of meaningfulness
discipline/field practices

Social literacies. Concept Understanding the ways Social, public and Meaning constructed
of the literacy ‘event’. in which people use workplace texts and independently, with
Public v. vernacular literacy tasks/events assistance or collaboratively;
literacies meaning depends on
knowledge of codes
Genre theory (genres are Spoken and written Explicit teaching of the Language as social practice
staged, purposeful, goal- language is not arbitrary. genres or text types of cannot be separated from
oriented activities) Language in use conforms vocational subjects, the context; meanings vary
to certain generic structures workplace or everyday according to the context, the
which can be taught, e.g. texts topic, the power
report, procedure, relationships among the
exposition, persuasive people involved and the mode
of communication
Critical literacy Conscientisation Transformation through Grass-roots, Meaning through dialogue
studies social action: praxis community action and problematising
Critical language studies. Examining how texts are Addressing the social Meaning is constituted by
Discourse analysis socially and ideologically conditions around the the relations of discourse,
constructed, e.g. power production and power and knowledge
within and behind the interpretation of texts
media
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

were influenced by the work of social anthropologists in describing the

actions of people within their own societal contexts adopted different
research methodologies. This resulted in a series of seminal ethno-
graphic studies in which, ‘instead of conceiving literacy as involvement
with written language that is the same everywhere and involves some
fixed inventory of capacities, we began to think of literacy as a term
applying to a varied and open set of activities with written language’
(Scribner 1983, p. 5). So for Scribner (1983), Heath (1983), Street
(1984, 1995) and others, literacy became a cultural and social con-
struction of activity or practice in terms of recurrent, and interrelated,
goal-directed actions. This is particularly important, as this model of
literacy continues to inform much current adult literacy research and
curricula.
The major research trends outlined above have been informed by,
or resulted in, the development of related theories, which in turn have
informed associated teaching practices. These linkages are summarised
in Table 3.2. This is not a comprehensive analysis of the various schools
of thought. Instead, the purpose here is to provide an overview of the
theories, together with their associated pedagogies and resources, and
to suggest how each contributes to meaning-making. Having scanned
this information, it is possible to appreciate how the definitions of lit-
eracy, presented earlier in Table 3.1, have been derived. For example,
psychologists have been interested in the individual, how the individual
acquires reading or writing skills and how the individual makes
meaning. On the other hand, socio-linguists are concerned about the
individual as a member of society and how individuals use a range of
literacies depending on particular social situations and cultural con-
texts. This does not mean that the skill of decoding is ignored, but
social-linguists argue that to focus only on this decontextualised skill is
extremely limiting and does not account for the range of literacies or
language choices that individuals are faced with in making meaning in
their daily lives.
In summary, this table provides an overview of the different schools
of thought and their influence on teaching practices and meaning-
making. However, as we saw in an earlier section, concepts of literacy
are not value-free; they are inherently ideological. So the approach that
one takes to planning and implementing literacy learning depends on
one’s ideological position. The next section explores some of the
research which is associated with these ideologies in terms of four
discourses of literacy: literacy as autonomy; literacy as technology;
literacy as social practice; and multiliteracies.

Literacy as autonomy: basic skills

The ‘autonomous’ model of literacy as defined by Street (1984) is based
on a narrow, culturally specific view of literacy practice. This view is

58
 DEVELOPING LITERACY

premised on the assumption that the skills of reading and writing are
context free, universal in time and space, and generate consequences for
cognition, social progress and individual achievement. In short, reading
and writing are considered to be generic skills. As a result, the teaching
focus is on the individual and his or her ability to ‘crack’ the code or
derive meaning from letter/sound correspondence: ‘If in doubt, sound it
out’. Failure to comprehend results in blaming the individual and deficit
approaches to skills acquisition. However, resources associated with this
approach such as decontextualised phonic word lists and spelling lists
do little to assist adults with the highly situated texts and tasks which
they have to perform daily.
As shown in the previous section, conservative governments have
drawn on this ‘basic skills’ discourse to justify ‘back to basics’ cam-
paigns (Bloom 1987; Hirsch 1987), to engage in public debates about
falling ‘literacy levels or standards’ (Green et al. 1994; Hodgens 1994)
and, more recently, to justify punitive measures against the long-term
unemployed with low levels of literacy. Barton notes his concern at
these developments in suggesting that this is conservatism ‘in a very
basic way of being resistant to change’ (Barton 1994, p. 226). Even in
the 1970s, Resnick and Resnick pointed out that ‘the old tried and true
approaches, which nostalgia prompts us to believe might solve current
problems, were designed neither to achieve the literacy standard sought
today nor assure successful literacy for everyone’ (Resnick & Resnick
1977, p. 202). But, despite society becoming more complex with glob-
alisation, the adoption of new technologies and risk management, some
governments have retreated to standardised curricula and testing.
Other responses to autonomous views of literacy are found in the
work of researchers such as Sticht (1975, 1977, 1982), who demon-
strated that functional literacy is a cognitive skill which workers
require in order to complete a task, and Mikulecky (1982, 1984), who
argued that literacy is a variable construct. For example, Diehl and
Mikulecky (1980) found that the level of reading ability required for
successful work performance varied according to the job and, more-
over, that reading practices also varied with context. Further,
Mikulecky demonstrated that transference of literacy abilities from
school (mainly ‘reading-to-learn’) to out-of-school and work contexts
in which reading is used as an aid to performance (reading-to-do) ‘is
severely limited by differences in format, social support networks and
required background information’ (Mikulecky 1990, p. 25). These are
all aspects of the ‘demands hypothesis’ outlined by Welch and Freebody
(1993), who argue not only that work and school place different liter-
acy demands on the individual but that, as jobs become more complex,
there is a corresponding increase in functional demands on workers—
a point which will be taken up later.
In summary, the adoption of skills-based approaches to literacy
instruction and structured curricula reflects literacy education as being

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

the acquisition of sets of decontextualised rules and patterns. This has

important implications for pedagogical theory and practice. This reduc-
tionist view of education has been drawn on by governments to
measure literacy and thus justify public expenditure through bench-
marking literacy levels. As the earlier quotation from Cook-Gumperz
asserted, by quantifying literacy in this way, governments measure the
‘health’ of nations. Further, as this ‘autonomous’ view of literacy
becomes normalised, it is often used by governments, employers and
others to adopt inappropriate entry tests, literacy screens and assess-
ment practices.

Literacy as technology
Writing in response to the UNESCO campaigns, Oxenham (1980)
sought to move away from the ideologies governing the campaigns by
suggesting that state and commercial interests in literacy were con-
cerned with the use of ‘literacy as a technology’, which could transform
the user: ‘Literacy, in short, is a technology, a “technical method of
achieving a practical purpose’’’ (Oxenham 1980, p. 41). Historically,
‘literacy as technology’ has been used to control access to certain forms
of knowledge. Only specific elites were permitted to compose and inter-
pret information. In recent years, a new form of ‘literacy as technology’
has become part of the human capital discourse (Lankshear 1993).
Today, a lack of—or inadequate—literacy means to be marginalised:
that is, barred from access to new forms of knowledge and new modes
of thinking. As we shall see later in relation to work, this means lack of
access to training, and therefore the possibility of becoming a core or
knowledge worker. Further, many individuals and disadvantaged
groups in the community who have inadequate control of the ‘institu-
tional literacies’ (Barton & Hamilton 1990; Castleton & McDonald
2002) essential for living healthy and independent lives, become
increasingly dispossessed—particularly in times of decreasing social
and welfare provision by the state (Lankshear 1993).
In a recasting of the ‘literacy as autonomy’ model, literacy is again
being seen as a tool which is essential to gain access to this new knowl-
edge. The ‘literacy as technology’ approach to literacy in the ‘new work
order’ (Gee & Lankshear 1997) is being used to determine who needs
what literacy, and how literacy skills or competencies should be
measured. This technological discourse, Millar (1991) argues, con-
structs education as an assembly line producing human skills and
capacities. It also allows for the codification of knowledge. Educational
outcomes can be stated in advance and individual performance can be
assessed in relation to the objectives, reported and audited. Hence gov-
ernments, as well as commercial, military and business interests, see
this discourse as particularly powerful. In recent times, many govern-
ments have adopted this discourse, based around the management of

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 DEVELOPING LITERACY

large systems or concepts, in order to manage the economy and skills

development. It is argued here that this has resulted in a return to a
recycled autonomous model of learning, which has reappeared in the
form of competency-based training.
From this technicist perspective, literacy is perceived to be a tool or
conduit for performance, a means of encoding and decoding informa-
tion, a generic skill or key competency. This is the perspective of those
who espouse a ‘bolted-on’ approach to vocational education and train-
ing. That is, the purpose of education is to ensure that students or
trainees have generic literacy skills first, and then training can be under-
taken. The assumptions are, firstly, that there are ‘generic’ literacy skills
and, secondly, that these skills will transfer to different situations.
However, this view was challenged in its early phase by cognitivists such
as Kintsch (1977) and Rumelhart (1976), who reconceptualised the
reading/comprehension process as one of interaction with the text and
task, and later by socio-linguists who drew on the work of language
philosophers (Wittgenstein 1958) and anthropologists such as Mali-
nowski (1923) to analyse the social contexts in which literate practices
took place. Constructing literacy as a social practice meant moving from
a unitary notion of literacy as a single generic competence to a multi-
plicity or hierarchy of literacies (Levine 1986), with language and
literacy being two of the many social semiotic systems through which
people make meaning (Halliday 1975, 1985; Halliday & Hasan 1985).

Literacy as social practice

In contrast to the earlier representations of literacy, Street (1984) pro-
posed an ‘ideological’ model. This view of literacy takes as its central
premise the idea that ‘the social and political significance of literacy . . .
derives largely from its role in creating and reproducing—or failing to
reproduce—the social distribution of knowledge’ (Levine 1986, p. 46).
Reading, writing and enumerating are viewed as cultural practices,
which are learnt in specific cultural contexts and which have epistemo-
logical significance—that is, uses of literacy and numeracy are
meaningful, cannot be generalised across cultures, cannot be isolated or
treated either as ‘neutral’ or as ‘technical’, and have implications for
power relations. In other words, how literacy is used depends on the
context and the relationships among participants. Gee (1990, 1996)
discusses such social practices, or ‘Discourses’, as ways of talking, inter-
acting, thinking, valuing and believing—all of which are socially and
historically constructed, so that people have to be socialised into the
practice of reading text A in way B. In this sense, Gee is building on
Bourdieu’s (1977) notion of ‘expanded competence’, or language
as praxis, which introduces concepts of language being functional
and strategic—it is not just knowing how to produce grammatically
coherent sentences but knowing about ‘appropriateness’: ‘when to

61
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

speak, keep silent, speak in this or that style’ (Bourdieu 1977, p. 646).
In fact, given that the meaning of literacy depends upon the social
context in which it is embedded, and that the particular reading and
writing practices involved depend upon social structures and the insti-
tutions of education or training, there cannot be a single, autonomous
‘literacy’. It would be more appropriate to refer to multiple ‘literacies’.
It is argued here that the teaching of ‘autonomous skills’ should be
replaced with developing a range of contextualised social literacy skills
and practices. Rather than using highly structured reading schemes or
phonic reading and spelling lists, students should be engaging with
authentic, meaningful texts, taking on different roles depending on the
tasks (Freebody & Luke 1990), ideally within a vocational or commu-
nity context. However, some researchers and community activists
would argue that this approach does not go far enough. They maintain
that it only assists individuals to comply with dominant discourses—
whether of governments or industry—rather than challenging the status
quo and examining how texts are socially and ideologically constructed
(Bradshaw 1998; Fairclough 2001; Gee 1990, 1996). Street (1995)
refers to this approach as ‘New Literacy Studies’, grounded in new
theories of language and literacy and new research methodologies.
Others, such as Muspratt et al. (1997), refer to ‘critical literacy’ which
has been informed by a range of discourses, including critical language
studies, feminist theory and cultural studies. While recognising the
social nature of language, these debates are also influenced by the sites
of literacy activity, which cannot be ‘neutral’ as they are constituted by
the relations of discourse, power and knowledge.

Multiliteracies
Recently, there has been a move to replace the above models of literacy
with a model which addresses the complexities of multi-modal com-
munication while recognising the pluralities of today’s societies. If we
take a critical-cultural view of society, we can see how globalisation
and the increased dominance of technology have blurred the separation
of public and private lives—for example, television programs such as
Survivor and Big Brother. We have been introduced to a mass media
culture (as evidenced by the media control of sporting events), a culture
of technology (with text messaging, use of the Internet and telemarket-
ing) and a global commodity culture (Microsoft, McDonald’s and
product marketing of children’s films and television). In addition, we
have an increase in ‘infotainment’ programs and the mediation or ‘con-
versationalisation’ of news and current affairs (Fairclough 2001).
As a response or challenge to what is seen as a ‘cynical, manip-
ulative, invasive and exploitative . . . [appropriation] of private and
community lifeworlds to serve commercial and institutional ends’ (Cope
& Kalantzis 2000), a group of ten US, UK and Australian researchers,

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 DEVELOPING LITERACY

known collectively as the New London Group, commenced the ‘multi-

literacies project’.

Multiliteracies relate ‘to the increasing multiplicity and integration

of significant modes of meaning-making, where textual is also
related to the visual, the audio, the spatial, the behavioural . . .
‘multimedia’ and in electronic ‘hypermedia’ . . . to focus on the real-
ities of increasing local diversity and global connectedness. (Cope &
Kalantzis 1995, p. 6)

The focus is on ‘designs’ of meaning. In other words the New London

Group reconceptualises literacy in terms of available designs, the process
of designing, and the outcome or ‘redesigned’—all of which require mul-
tiple literacies. Its members recognise the different domains in which
individuals operate (working lives, public lives and private lives), as well
as the pluralistic nature of western societies. Members of the New
London Group are concerned about the emergence of what Gee &
Lankshear (1997) term ‘fast capitalism’, which has taken place at the
same time as an invasion of private space and an associated decline in
civic responsibility. The multiliteracies projects have focused on design-
ing social futures which, in some respects, respond to the challenge of
the OECD presented earlier in the chapter, in terms of ‘productive diver-
sity’, developing civic pluralism and designing pedagogies which address
the changing realities and ‘multilayered lifeworlds’ of the future.
Other researchers who are moving along similar paths are Barton
and Hamilton (1990) in the United Kingdom who are exploring the
nexus between what they refer to as public literacies (institutional lit-
eracies) and vernacular literacies (personal local literacies) and what
this means for members of different communities. Similarly, Prinsloo
and Breier (1996) have been researching social literacies in South
Africa. The importance of such research is that it goes beyond the eco-
nomic imperative to produce knowledge workers, to investigate the
links with lifelong learning and possibilities of developing civic respon-
sibility or social capital within communities.
In conclusion, it is advocated that a critical literacies model should be
adopted. Such an approach would recognise the situatedness and plural-
ities of literacy. It would also reflect the ideological nature of language
and uses of literacy for reasons of power and control. However, we also
need to consider what the model of multiliteracies means for vocational
educators. Firstly, we need to acknowledge different ways of knowing
and meaning-making—collaborative learning in groups, assisted learning
(with text, technology or mentor support) or independent learning. At
the same time, we must recognise that learners may operate in a range of
domains—work, public and private—and that increasingly there is slip-
page between them. In each of these domains, the learner may be using
texts and undertaking tasks related to themselves (as a worker, citizen or

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family member) which focus on interacting in groups (at work, in the

community, or family), as part of systems communication within an
organisation, or communication with the broader community (ACTC
1993). Each of these forms of communication requires a different set of
literacies: personal, cooperative, systems, procedural, public or techni-
cal—this is very different from the autonomous, often ethnocentric, view
of literacy. So, in conceptualising a critical literacies model, there is a
recognition of the dominant influence of socio-cultural contexts and mul-
tiple sites of literacy activity, which cannot be ‘neutral’ as they are
constituted by social and power relations. It is to examples of these sites
of contestation that we now turn.

LITERACY IN THE WORKPLACE

It has been demonstrated already that, throughout history, literacy as

technology has been used successfully to control access to certain forms
of knowledge. Most recently, the latest form of ‘literacy as technology’
has been appropriated by human capital discourses. The Australian
economy, in line with many ‘fast capitalist’ (Gee 1994; Gee & Lankshear
1997) economies, has seen an increase in the tertiary or service sectors
and also in information technologies (Luke 1992). Jobs that traditionally
required minimal basic skills are becoming more complex, demanding
higher levels of literacy and numeracy—hence the requirement for the
long-term unemployed to acquire IALS level 3 literacy ability to be eligi-
ble for entry-level work. Further, new jobs are being created which
require new levels and types of multi-modal communication skills. At the
same time as the jobs themselves have been restructured, the nature of
work has also been changing, with the introduction of new work prac-
tices and new technologies (Cope & Kalantzis 1995), all of which make
new demands on the workforce (Adler 1992; Gee 2000). Following a
brief overview of the changing nature of work, examples will be drawn
from recent research in the hospitality and construction industries to
explore literacy practices and discourses.

Changing nature of work

The move to globalisation and increased competitiveness among com-
panies has resulted in greater demands being placed on enterprises to
increase production with greater efficiency and reduced costs in terms
of time, safety and potential litigation. As a result, the new ‘high
performance’ workplaces are characterised by a commitment to
continuous improvement and quality assurance principles, and the
involvement of employees in decision-making processes relating to work
(Adler 1992). Continuous improvement often uses a cycle of ‘planning,
executing, checking and refining operations to improve efficiencies’

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(Jackson 2000 p. 265), all of which require extensive record-keeping

and checklists as part of the daily tasks of employees. Quality assurance
measures include documenting compliance with standard operating pro-
cedures, and with government and industry regulations, as well as
monitoring performance and costs. All of these measures require an
intensification of literacy practices which Darville (1999) refers to as
‘textual orderings’ and ‘textualized accountings’. In addition, much of
the work in this new work order is project based, giving rise to a new
type of knowledge worker who becomes a skilled ‘core’ worker moving
from project to project. At the same time, many enterprises are devel-
oping as learning organisations (Senge 1990). As a result, worker
involvement is not only through participation in work teams and project
meetings, designing and redesigning their own work practices, but also
involves supervising, training and mentoring other members of the team
while themselves gaining new skills and qualifications. Success is meas-
ured by the level of participation in decision-making, the auditing of
work practices and the development of a culture of commitment and
trust among employees. What this actually looks like in practice is the
focus of the next sections.

Literacy in the hospitality and airline industries

Research into the literate practices of front office staff in motels (Searle
1996) and airline sales officers as they operate at the Customer Inquiry
Counters at either domestic or international airports (Searle 1997)
focused on the texts and tasks in a range of sites. The interest was in
how the staff used the macroskills of reading, writing and viewing
in order to make meaning, and whether meaning gained in one situ-
ation was transferable to another.
One of the most striking findings was the textualisation of all work-
places. However, when workplace documents were compared across
sites, it was found that not all texts were used in all sites. Further, those
apparently ‘generic’ texts which were common to several sites varied in
terms of their language features—letterhead and layout in motels, or
fare constructions and ticketing codes at airports. For workers, the
reading and writing skills used were in relation to purposeful, goal-
orientated, highly contextualised activities. For example, in routine
tasks, ‘reading-to-do’ involved the matching of names and codes; scan-
ning for names and codes; scrolling computer screens and flipping
between screens in search of codes—as meaning was located in the
codified data. Moreover, in motels, the computerised reservation
systems also required staff to have navigational skills to follow detailed
directions, to identify and understand the purpose of icons, codes,
screen layout and sequence, menus or function keys. In this case,
meaning was derived from a range of schemata deployed. The following
extracts from transcriptions refer to the process of ‘checking-out’ a guest

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from a motel; however, it can be seen that the processes involved varied
between the two motels.

Check-outs is menu 4, screen number 1—check-out, and that’s all you

use. You check off the manual list or you can check it in ‘Check-out’
going into no. 1. Now, she’s going to say, is room 33 gone? If nothing
comes up to ‘Check-out’ it means we’ve already checked it out of the
system so you say ‘Yep, 33’s gone’. Same again 34—whatever number
she asks you put it in and it’s going to tell you that they’re gone, simply
because it won’t bring up any information. (Site A)

I’m just going to double check them [departures] to make sure he’s
[the night auditor] departed them out of the computer . . . So . . . I
type in the reservation number which is 005417 then hit [tab] which
(looks like/matches) . . . the invoice number. And it’s the same gen-
tleman, and it is departed because that’s missing. That’s usually F3
for ‘create today’s tariff’; F4 is something else . . . If you press F2 it
gives you your account. So he’s departed. (Site C)

However, reading as practice—as meaning-making—is not just

about knowledge of codes, tariffs and tariff structures, but about
understanding the rules which govern those structures, which are
known only to members of that specific workplace. Although the staff
may bring some generic decoding skills to the job (from previous train-
ing or previous employment in a similar occupation), the actual use and
interpretation of codes is learnt on the job so that such tasks become
automatic and routine. As one employee stated: You can learn com-
puter inputs from training courses but really you learn everything on
the job . . . we usually buddy up (C:7). Further, as the databases used
in most sites in the hospitality and airline industries are multi-user, the
‘design’ (Cope & Kalantzis 1995) of the program/database is given. It is
authoritative, installed by management for efficiency and cost-
effectiveness and cannot be ‘redesigned’ by staff. As Edelsky points out,
‘if the print user is being controlled in her print use—if someone else
decides what literacy event will occur, how it will begin, what it will be
about, when it will end, and so on, then the print user is positioned as
an Object’ (cited in O’Connor 1994, p. 29).
In both the hospitality and airline industries, the focus is on account-
ability, so each has an audit trail of texts, either print (housemaids’
instruction forms and guest registration cards) or computerised booking
and accounting systems. Staff are aware that texts are constructed for par-
ticular purposes, usually by management, and as such represent one or
more value systems—for example, efficiency, accuracy, accountability:
You have to have standard formats or you’d have people putting anything
in these computers . . . it’s not just us that read them either (A:75). Staff
are expected to comply with the work order and in these industries there

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is little room for ‘redesigning’ texts or critically analysing them. In addi-

tion, these service industry employees have to remain polite on all
occasions when transacting with the public, despite having to deal with
‘complainers’ or unforeseen problems. They are aware of the value of
‘keeping the guests happy’ (Stevenson 1996). Staff are therefore put into a
position of having to comply with a particular predetermined stance.
There is some recognition within these industries of what the US Depart-
ment of Labor Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills
(1992) refers to as ‘basic’ or ‘enabling’ skills as key competencies in repro-
ducing codified knowledge. However, the individual literacies which
underpin organisational communication, the staff attitudes and disposi-
tions in relation to company or industry values are not as recognised and
yet are crucial to successful communicative performance.
To sum up, the findings from this study indicate that workplaces are
increasingly textualised but the texts themselves and the literacies
required to use them are quite site-specific. As a result, much learning
occurs on the job, and it is here that employees are ‘socialised’ into work
routines, rules and company values. It was an interest in exploring these
issues further which underpinned more recent research conducted in the
construction industry (Searle & Kelly 2002). The examples in the next
section are taken from interviews conducted within one particular con-
struction company which was developing as a learning organisation.

Literacy in the construction industry

Initially, the research in the civil construction industry was concerned
with identifying literacy-related issues in the implementation of the
industry training package (Kelly & Searle 2000). Subsequent research
focused on exploring the discourses of training and literacy through
interviews with staff and workers at different levels within one
company. While there has been a universal move to codify vocational
and workplace knowledge and skills into sets or packages of compe-
tencies, in Australia these have been collated into industry-specific
training packages which cover a range of occupational levels. It was
found that there are fifteen units of competency within the first (entry)
level of the Civil Construction training package, of which eleven are
considered to be ‘technical’ in nature while the remaining four cover
‘generic’ skills. One of these generic units of competency is ‘Carry out
interactive workplace communication’. However, what this means in
terms of workplace texts, tasks or the underpinning literacy skills is not
made explicit. The assumption that workers will possess certain basic
skills and, further, that these basic skills will transfer to training at
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Level II, infers an
‘autonomous’ view of literacy although, when interviewed (see extract
below), the Training Coordinator appeared to indicate that higher-
order skills or more specific literacies were required for AQF Level III.

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Level II competency numeracy and literacy is still fairly low and

people talk about Level II being a, say, a second-, third-year
apprentice-type person who probably fills out basic things like a time
sheet and some safety checklists and things like that. When they get
into Level III, the trades level, they really have to start looking at
quality documents and things like that and that’s where we’re really
starting to find out where the problems are. [Training Coordinator]

The training coordinator appears to espouse a ‘literacy as technology’

approach to the skills required at AQF Level II. That is, the focus is on
reading-and-writing-to-do, to accomplish certain workplace require-
ments. These literacy technologies such as the ability to fill in forms and
follow instructions are deemed to be ‘desirable skills’, as they maintain
the social order of the workplace. However, it is also apparent that
literacy relates to other core values such as cost effectiveness.

I mean we’ve spent x amount of dollars developing all these training

manuals, it’s no good if 90 per cent of the guys out there can’t read
and write, is it? You’ve wasted your time and money . . . The first
round were paper based, book based, now we’re starting to get them
on CD ROM . . . all that sort of thing. [Training Coordinator]

It can been seen from this excerpt that, in this case, literacy is again per-
ceived to be an autonomous skill which a worker requires prior to
training—the ‘bolted-on’ approach referred to earlier in the chapter—
as it is more cost-effective to employ workers who would have a
minimum of IALS Level 3 literacy ability. Further, the crucial role of
literacy in relation to workplace health and safety, and assessment
of risk, is indicated in the following extracts from interviews.

Pre-Start Checks for equipment. A bloke gets on a dozer in the

morning, he does his pre-start bla bla bla and away he goes. Now
again if he has literacy problems, is he actually understanding what
is supposed to be in there or is he ticking the box so it keeps him out
of trouble? [Training Coordinator]

But I think when you delve deeper into it, more and more we ask
people to fill out more forms because of safety and environmental
legislation etc., etc. and probably insurance as well, I think we’ll
really open up a can of worms. [Training Coordinator]

One of the characteristics of the ‘high performance’ workplace is that

responsibility is passed down to the individual worker. As stated in the
company policy documents, the bottom line is getting the job done right
the first time, safely and within environmental guidelines, thus reducing
costs. This has led to the increased ‘textualisation’ of the workplace as

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workers are required to complete pre-start checks, fill in forms for safety
and environmental protection and so on. Therefore, as in the hospitality
industry, the individual worker is positioned as being compliant and
accountable not only for their own actions, but more broadly to protect
the company from litigation. The final comment from the training coor-
dinator cited above sums up what a number of the informants felt. Added
to the metaphor of ‘a can of worms’ were statements such as a lack of
literacy being ‘an accepted evil’ and ‘it’s frightening really’. Each repre-
sents a particular view of literacy as being related to deviance (which
needs to be controlled), or ignorance (which may be resolved through
training, although staff were uncertain about how this would be
achieved), or a threat to the performance of the company, thus reflecting
the OECD views stated earlier. What is apparent is that the industry is
changing rapidly. Gone are the days when, as the safety officer com-
mented, all the industry wanted was a labourer from the neck down.
Now, with the increased use of technology and individuals having to take
responsibility for their actions, workers are encouraged to problem solve,
to question and, if unsure, to check. In addition, this company was
developing as a learning organisation and to that end had instituted ‘con-
tinuous improvement’ initiatives as well as various systems of
communication. These included the activities listed in Table 3.3.
Most of the activities listed in Table 3.3 were developed to increase
efficiency and maintain the ‘social organisation’ of the workplace. Gee
(1996) refers to such activities as being part of a ‘socialisation’
process—that is, enabling employees to work collaboratively. Although
these practices are recognised by supervisors and management as
important elements in quality assurance and in developing a learning
organisation, the site-specific literacy skills involved, which range from
decoding to critical analysis, are either assumed or neatly glossed under
the generic competence ‘Carry out interactive workplace communica-
tion’. An example of literacy as an enabling skill, useful in maintaining
the social order of the workplace, is found in the following quotation.

Communication skills still remain a core basic requirement for a

good outcome, and we’ve got things like Work Activity Briefings,
Job Safety Analysis that we do and we record or document those,
and more and more we’re trying to thrust that responsibility back
down to the workforce, to the people that do and carry out the work
. . . So there’s a need for someone in that part of the organisation to
actually have literacy and numeracy skills to be able to carry out that
function. [Systems Manager]

In this extract, the systems manager positions himself with management

staff who are implementing a rather aggressive top-down approach of
‘thrusting’ responsibility on to the workforce. This binary opposition is
also apparent in the comment on the need for good ‘communication

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Table 3.3 Workplace activities

Activity Timing Personnel Purpose
Inductions When hiring new WH&S officer Induction to
employees & new company, WH&S
employee(s)
Work Activity Commencement Whole crew Site plans, training
Briefing (WAB) of new job needs, equipment
Pre-start Every morning Leading hand to Objectives for the
meetings (sometimes whole crew day
evening) Problem-solving
Discussion of
previous day
Pre-start Start of shift Individual Equipment checks
checklists Safety checks
Task specific Start of shift Individual Task objectives
briefings Problem-solving
Job Safety Commencement Whole crew Analysis of safety
Analyses (JSA) of new job or procedures
task Environmental issues
Toolbox Once a fortnight Leading hand Job issues
meetings or foreman to Safety issues
on-the-job crew

Source: Searle & Kelly (2002)

skills’ in relation to management staff, but ‘back down the workforce’

this relates to ‘someone in that part of the organisation’ having literacy
and numeracy skills. Thus it would appear that an autonomous view of
literacy as ‘basic’ decoding skills applies to entry-level workers, whereas
‘communication’ at management levels may relate to certain higher-
order, problem-solving literacy practices. Further, according to the
systems manager, ‘training will also enable you to have more skilled
workers who can perform a variety of tasks and so reduce the level of
workforce you might need’. So the move is towards having a core of
multiskilled, multiliterate workers who transfer from project to project.
These ‘compliant’ workers will build up situated, but uncritical, expert-
ise and literacies whilst at the same time be willing to engage in further
training. The concept of the ‘core worker’ was defined by the engineer
as being those workers ‘that know our systems, understand our work
ethic and culture, and help disseminate that to others that work in and
around them’—an example of the exercise of power through the manu-
facture of consent (Fairclough 2001). As a result of this system, hired

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labourers and most subcontracted labourers are excluded from training.

In Gee and Lankshear’s (1997) terms, these workers are likely to become
the displaced, marginalised, ‘disenchanted’ workers.
Thus it is argued that this company subscribes to the discourse of
‘literacy as technology’, in which literacy is perceived as being an essen-
tial basic skill or tool for the safe and efficient performance and
auditing of workplace tasks, as well as being a requirement for work-
place training. However, while the necessity for good literacy skills in
order for workers to participate successfully in workplace communica-
tion meetings is implied, it is not specifically addressed.
In summary, the effects of globalisation and industry competition
following micro-economic reform and industry deregulation, together
with the emergence of new technologies and new work practices, have
changed our understandings of what literacy or multiliteracies are, who
needs what literacies and how these should be measured. We have seen
how the new post-Fordist workplace is designed around teams of
project workers focusing on continuous improvement cycles and quality
assurance. In such workplaces, facility with spoken and written lan-
guage is crucial. While some commentators critique the new workplace
as being a site of contested power relations and unequal access to train-
ing or distribution of work (Gee & Lankshear 1997; Reich 1992),
others are more optimistic and view the move towards learning organi-
sations as opening a space for social transformations (Senge 1990).
What is certain is that today’s workforce requires literacy skills which go
way beyond the traditional ‘basics’ in order to gain meaning from texts
which may be computer generated as tables, databases or graphics, and
be menu or icon driven. To focus only on those ‘autonomous’ literacy
skills which are required to perform certain tasks within the workplace
is to lose sight of the social components of work such as membership of
project teams and the social and organisational networks through which
work practices are generated and sustained. What this means for voca-
tional education and training is discussed in the next section.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

The following sections on curriculum design, instructional and assess-

ment practices provide a guide to how some of the previously
mentioned issues might be addressed.

Curriculum design
The adoption of competency-based training has significantly changed the
way that education and training is conceptualised, planned, delivered and
assessed. More than ever before, teachers and trainers are being called
upon to interpret sets of competencies and related performance criteria in

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ways that are, firstly, responsive to industry and workplace environments

and, secondly, legislatively, financially and morally accountable. Further,
the endorsed competencies relate to specific work practices and it is the
competent performance of those practices which is assessed, not abstract
skills and knowledge. So the following general principles for literacy in
the curriculum are proposed:

• It is imperative that curriculum designers and instructors have

an understanding of the discourses that operate within the
specific sites in which teachers and trainers are operating. As
social practices, or Discourses—ways of interacting, valuing
and being in the world—vary across domains (schooling,
vocational institutions and individual workplaces), so instruc-
tors need to understand the site-specific organisational
systems, work practices and underpinning values. This is
partly for pragmatic reasons (training is organised to suit
project needs or climatic/economic conditions) and partly in
order to contextualise learning and build a rapport or positive
learning environment.
• As workplace literacies are highly contextualised, the teacher or
trainer requires an in-depth knowledge of the site-specific texts
and tasks. As we have seen in the previous section, although
training occurred in relation to industry competencies, the
literacies required to participate in workplace activities and
auditing processes were not addressed. Further, with the move
towards developing a learning culture within the workplace,
there is a necessity for all workers to engage in a range of com-
municative activities and learn new literacy practices.
• The literacies which underpin competencies should be per-
ceived by curriculum designers and instructors as embedded
within those competencies and not as additions or prerequi-
sites to the competencies. There is a view that workers should
possess generic literacy skills which are transferable or, if they
have inadequate skills, that they should be ‘fixed up’ prior to,
or ‘bolted-on’ to, training. However, evidence presented
earlier suggests that literacies are highly situated and cannot
be generalised in this way. Therefore, in developing a curricu-
lum, attention should be given to those technical literacies
which are required to achieve the stated competence, and
these should be taught alongside the technical competence
using the relevant workplace texts.
• There is a need for curriculum designers and instructors to
include critical literacy within the curriculum. We have seen
how the move towards increased employee accountability has
led to increased textualisation in the workplace. As a result,

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there is a need for appropriate training so that all workers

have the skills and understandings to undertake different
literacy roles. For example, a worker could be a text decoder
and text user when completing a form or checklist correctly,
but could also become a text analyst in understanding the sig-
nificance of compliance or non-compliance with continuous
improvement systems or in becoming a critical participant in
decision-making processes.

In summary, educators and trainers should strive to provide inte-

grated training programs in which the technical and social literacies of
the workplace are embedded with the training. The next section
suggests some approaches which could be taken.

Instructional practices
The starting point for this section is to unpack the concept of an ‘inte-
grated training program’. Vocational education and training programs
which integrate language, literacy and numeracy within them have four
key characteristics:

• They identify the language, literacy and numeracy competen-

cies (or learning outcomes) essential for work performance (or
those which underpin the stated industry competencies), and
address these competencies as part of the curriculum. They
should also identify the social literacies of the workplace,
which are often not made explicit.
• They take into account the language, literacy and numeracy
competence and needs of the learner and develop these as part
of, not separate from, vocational competence.
• They ensure that the instructional and assessment language
and processes used in the vocational program are consistent
with those required on the job or in the vocational area, and
are appropriate for the learner.
• They assess language, literacy and numeracy outcomes in terms
of successful performance of relevant and authentic tasks.

Integrated programs should address the relevant literacies in all

three phases of learning: orientating, enhancing and synthesising.

• Orientation introduces the competence or learning outcome,

the tasks involved and criteria for assessment. This is the time
when the learner’s prior knowledge of the literacies involved
may be assessed or learners could self-assess their own facility
with the relevant texts. Use questions to access the learner’s
prior knowledge of the topic so the reading process is likely to

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be successful. Demonstrate how to use workshop manuals or

how to look up specific standards. Introduce new language
such as technical terms, everyday words used in a technical
way and colloquialisms. The language of instruction and
assessment should also be introduced.
• Enhancing is about mastering new technical knowledge and
the associated literacies. This may take place on site or in a
training room using authentic texts and tasks, simulations and
role-play. It may require moving from the traditional class-
room to a training room set up as a workplace with the
requisite furniture and equipment. As far as possible, the en-
vironment should simulate actual work conditions in order
that learners experience the need to develop skills in prioritis-
ing work, coping with interruptions and developing the social
literacies so essential for high-performance workplaces. At the
same time, learners should be made aware of the competing
discourses apparent in workplaces. In addition, opportunities
should be given for learners to work independently, with
assistance (which could be computer-aided assistance) or in
collaborative groups. If this training takes place on the job,
new employees could observe and work with experienced
workers in a mentoring situation, to learn the communication
patterns of the workplace, including use of insider terminol-
ogy and use of site-specific documents, while at the same time
becoming socialised into the workplace culture.
Using a ‘teaching–learning’ cycle (Hammond et al. 1992),
the following site-specific literacies should be taught:
– understanding the context and purposes for reading and
writing;
– understanding and being able to adopt the following roles
of the reader (Freebody & Luke 1990) to suit the purpose
for reading: code breaker (how do I crack this?); text par-
ticipant (what does this mean?); text user (what do I do
with this, here and now?) and text analyst (what does all
this do to me?);
– understanding the generic structure of workplace/
vocational texts and the associated language features in
order to make meaning; and
– other more specific strategies, which were presented
earlier in Table 3.2.
• Synthesising is the phase in which learners bring together the
new knowledges and literacies to form part of their concep-
tual framework, as a basis for further thought and action.
Activities associated with this phase include reflection on
what has been learnt and/or summative assessment.

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Assessment
The previous discussion mentioned two forms of assessment: initial
assessment and summative assessment. Initial assessment, as part of the
orienting phase of learning, is concerned with making a judgement
about the current literacy skills of learners in relation to training and/or
on-the-job texts and tasks. Summative assessment comes at the end of
a program of training and indicates whether the learner is competent or
has achieved the required standard of performance. The following
principles apply in either situation:

• Assessment should be holistic. Rather than concentrating on

the performance of discrete, often decontextualised skills
(word recognition or spelling lists), it should be possible to
address a range of competencies or learning outcomes
through a more holistic approach (an authentic task).
• Assessment should be appropriate to the context. The validity
of performance-based assessment depends on the extent
to which the assessment measures what it is intended to
measure. Therefore, standardised tests are usually inappropri-
ate and should be discarded in favour of using relevant
workplace texts and tasks for assessment purposes.
• Assessment should be reliable and fair. The instructions for
assessment tasks should be clear, explicit and ordered. The
learner should know what is expected, including the time
allowed and the criteria on which their performance will be
measured. The language of assessment should reflect the
language of instruction. If the learner does not have a good
understanding of the English language or has inadequate lit-
eracy for the task, decisions need to be made about alternative
assessment processes. These may include assessment in the
first language and use of oral assessment.

In summary, assessment tasks should be contextualised and reflect

what learners/workers are required to do. For example, if reading is
required as part of a training program or workplace task, then the assess-
ment should reflect the reading process in which the reader draws on prior
knowledge of the subject, knowledge of how to read for a particular
purpose, and the four components of reading performance: text decoder,
text user, text participant and text analyst (Freebody & Luke 1990).

CONCLUSION

It has been argued that an increase in global competition and interna-

tional benchmarks for performance on a range of social and economic

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measures has resulted in pressure from governments for the develop-

ment of a more knowledgeable workforce. At the same time, the need
for industry to be efficient and competitive has led to an increased com-
mitment to training on the part of enterprises. However, the concerns
raised in this chapter have been, firstly, that this training relates only to
those knowledges and skills which have been codified as competencies,
and secondly, that only some workers have access to training. Further,
it is apparent that the way in which literacy is being constructed as a
technology has allowed governments to link social welfare and civic
well-being in a punitive way to individuals’ literacy acquisition, while
some employers utilise inappropriate literacy screens to select potential
employees. So literacy continues to be used as a means of control by
powerful groups with vested interests.
The position which has been advocated in this chapter is to move
away from the construction of literacy as a technology towards adopt-
ing a critical literacies framework for curriculum development. Using
this approach, attention is focused on meeting the literacy needs of the
individual learner rather than instruction being based on a reductionist
set of pre-determined competencies. A critical literacies framework
acknowledges that individuals are required to operate across a range of
domains (civic, work, private), while allowing for the pluralistic nature
of society. Instruction should be contextualised, using authentic texts
and tasks and allowing for multiple modes of meaning-making.
Further, and more importantly, how literacy is used within any activity
or social situation marks the social and power relations within that
context. Therefore it is essential that learners be made aware of the
ideological nature of language and literacy. Finally, we should be
concerned that vocational education and training systems are inclusive,
opening up new pathways for young people, encouraging older
workers to access training and providing for those who are perceived
as lacking certain privileged forms of language and literacy.

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 4

Developing numeracy

Clive Kanes

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter I advance a theory about how people engage with

numeracy. That is, I explore themes relating to how people describe and
think about numeracy; how numeracy is used; and how it is produced.
My approach to these topics is cultural-historical. By this I mean I am
more concerned with how the social environment shapes and determines
our behaviours and thoughts about numeracy, and less concerned with
what (if anything) determines numeracy independently of human inter-
actions. In this, my approach follows the neo-pragmatist views of, say,
Richard Rorty (1998), rather than the realist concerns of John Searle
(1999). This means my concerns are about numeracy as a form of
human activity rather than as an aspect of any independent reality. In
terms of the treatment of material, the chapter is divided into a number
of sections. The first deals with the concept of numerical practice, and
each of the following three sections deals with a different theme com-
monly found among such practices. This leads to a statement of learning
and teaching principles useful to practitioners. Next, a number of dilem-
mas and tensions among the themes of numeracy are considered, and
these are theorised in the context of a cultural-historical activity theo-
retic model of curriculum development for numeracy. The chapter
concludes with a statement relating to implications for practice arising
from this work.

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NUMERICAL PRACTICES

Common views about numeracy include the following: it is a kind of

elementary or watered down mathematics; it is mainly to do with
numbers—counting, calculating and measuring; it is a kind of knowl-
edge which, at least in terms of the school curriculum, is virtually
unique in being little changed from one generation to the next, a kind
of educational constant; it is a kind of literacy, a compilation of albeit
specialised texts, legitimate readings and so forth. Whatever the merits
of these views (and later in the chapter I will return to them), it is safe
to say that numeracy is certainly thought about, managed and used in
a wide variety of situations and contexts. For instance, numeracy is
found in school classrooms as well as shopping centres and real-life
situations; in university mathematics departments, schools and training
colleges; in diverse workplace situations such as factories, workrooms
and offices; among policy-makers, textbook writers, curriculum
experts and parent groups as well as everyday people. It is also evident
in the things people in all cultures and traditions do and think about.
Numeracy is also present in different ways under the pressure of new
technologies and new ways of producing wealth. In short, we find
numeracy working in a multitude of what, following Walkerdine
(1988), I want to call numerical practices.
Various attempts have been made to come to terms with the variety
of numerical practices found in real life. For instance, drawing on
Bishop (1988), we can say a numerical practice is one in which numer-
acy helps to analyse, count, position, play with and design the things
people manipulate and do. Similarly, the authors of the Literacy and
Numeracy Strategy argue that numerical practices involve:

abilities which include interpreting, applying and communicating

mathematical information in commonly encountered situations to
enable full, critical and effective participation in a wide range of life
roles (Department of Education, Queensland, Australia, 1994, p. 9).

Broader definitions of numerical practice have also been sought.

For example, the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers sug-
gests that numeracy ‘involves using some mathematics to achieve some
purpose in a particular context’ (AAMT 1997, p. 13). On this view,
because numeracy involves the interrelation of both mathematical
knowledge and the context of its use, it certainly cannot be reduced to
mathematics alone.
However, attempts such as these at characterising numerical prac-
tice run into problems. First, they each beg further questions—for
example, what is it to analyse something using numerical knowledge?
What is it to count? What is mathematics? And so on. Responses to
these new inquiries soon run either into circularities or the need for

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more definitions and inevitably more questions. So attempts to build up

more knowledge about numeracy by directly answering ‘what?’ ques-
tions concerning numeracy come to very little. A second problem with
common attempts to understand more about numeracy is that what
information is obtained about numeracy tends not to help to advance
practical questions about teaching and learning numeracy or curricu-
lum, or help us understand how numeracy is actually used in real-life
settings. Simply put, the information we obtain is not practical enough
to help us better shape our curriculum concerns with numeracy.

A thematic approach to considering numerical practice

Therefore, instead of addressing the question ‘what is a numerical prac-
tice?’ head on, I intend to explore themes often associated with
numerical practices in thinking, writing and talking about numeracy; in
teaching and learning and curriculum contexts (in school, workplace,
tertiary and vocational settings); in workplace and everyday contexts;
and in research contexts. These include the key themes of visibility (in
which what is counted as a numerical practice by practitioners is made
explicit), of useability (focusing on uses of numeracy) and of con-
structibility (concerning how numerical knowledge is generated and
developed) (Noss 1998). Although this alternative enquiry cannot yield
a philosophical answer to the question of the nature of numerical
knowledge, it can help us with practical questions to do with numer-
acy. My thesis is that studying the key themes of numeracy and the
tensions between them helps us to better understand the complex body
of knowledge that is numeracy, and this ultimately helps us to under-
stand how better to provide opportunities for more effective
curriculum development and more effective teaching and learning in
numeracy.
For instance, arithmetic as we understand it in western culture
makes use of abstract symbols (the ten digits) and the concepts of place,
value and numeration. By this means, we discuss and specify numerical
relationships, making these distinctive and therefore open to both
demonstration and manipulation. Because these relationships have
been made visible, they become tools by which we are able to discuss
and solve problems. Moreover, teachers and curriculum managers, for
instance, find making numeracy visible an important first step in creat-
ing and managing a numeracy curriculum. Thus the theme of visibility,
for example, helps us focus on the kinds of ways we discuss numeracy
in our communications with each other about numerical knowledge, its
management and its control.
Richard Noss, however, makes the important observation that not all
numeracy is visible in that some ‘lies beneath the surface of practices and
cultures’ (Noss 1998, p. 3). Typically this occurs when numeracy is in
use in real-life situations such as work and home life. This underscores

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the theme of useability that directs our attention to the way numerical
knowledge is used in practice.
The third theme that helps us to understand numeracy is con-
structibility. This theme describes how numerical knowledge as a
cultural phenomenon has come to be, and how it comes to be learned.
It helps us understand the origins of numeracy as an historically
evolved body of knowledge and to understand the origins of numeracy
in the lives of individual people and communities. In other words, the
theme of constructibility is about the history of numeracy and about
teaching and learning numeracy or, more simply, about how numeracy
is created in the lives of people and of a community.
In summary, the theme of visibility is about how we formalise and
control numerical knowledge; the theme of useability is about its use;
and the theme of constructibility is about its origins both as a cultural-
historical phenomenon and as an individual attainment.
In the following sections, I explore and illustrate these themes as
they apply to numeracy in greater detail.

THE THEME OF VISIBILITY

The theme of visibility among numerical practices is demonstrated by the

application of a specialised vocabulary (mathematical terms and expres-
sions), symbolic systems (mathematical signs and symbols and their
conventions) and the organisation of numeracy content into topic head-
ings (e.g. arithmetic, ratio and proportion, measurement, percentage,
etc.) and content domains (e.g. algebra, geometry, calculus, etc.). Mathe-
matics itself affords an obvious example of this.
Other examples of this theme at work are found in numerical prac-
tices relating to curriculum work in numeracy. For instance,
mathematics syllabi and curriculum documents informing these are
typically organised by mathematics content areas and topics. Consider,
for example, the Australian Education Council’s 1994 report entitled
Mathematics—A Curriculum Profile for Australian Schools, the
purpose of which is to underscore the development of compatible
mathematics curricula among Australian states and territories. In this
work, mathematics content areas (‘strands’ and ‘strand organisers’) are
set out. These are listed in Table 4.1. In this table, the specialised
vocabulary of mathematics is evident. Associated with each of the
strand organisers is detailed reference to mathematics content knowl-
edge and its symbolic systems.
The concerns of visibility are also clearly represented in mathematics
teaching and learning. For instance, textbooks and other teaching aids
including teaching methods and their literature illustrate numerical prac-
tices in which this theme plays a vital role. Moreover, various pedagogic
traditions in numeracy have been shaped by issues relating to visibility of

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Table 4.1 Strands and strand organisers for Mathematics

—A Curriculum Profile for Australian Schools
(Australian Education Council 1994)
Strand Strand organiser
Number Count and order
Number patterns
Equations
Applying numbers
Mental computation
Written computation
Calculators
Measurement Choosing units
Measuring
Estimating
Time
Using relationships
Space Using spatial ideas, tools and techniques to interpret,
draw and make
Visualising, analysing and representing arrangements
and locations
Visualising, analysing and representing shapes
Chance and data Understanding, estimating and measuring chance
variation
Collecting data
Organising data
Displaying and summarising data
Interpreting data
Algebra Expressing generality
Function
Equations and inequalities
Working Investigating
mathematically Conjecturing
Using problem-solving strategies
Applying and verifying
Using mathematical language
Working in context

numerical knowledge. For instance, Edward Thorndike’s 1922 classic of

mathematics pedagogy, The Psychology of Arithmetic, lays down a
blueprint for teaching number concepts and numeration by breaking
down mathematical concepts and processes into arithmetical ‘bonds’.
Thorndike’s idea was that, in order to learn arithmetic, the student needs
to have these bonds ‘stamped in’ by a system of suitable rewards and

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reinforcement. Another example is provided by the New Maths move-

ment of the 1960s. In this approach to teaching mathematics, a
congruence was sought between the structure and content of mathemat-
ics and mathematics pedagogy. Teaching methods and organisation were
developed around the principles and formalisms of mathematics. Visibil-
ity was thus a key theme in the development of teaching from this
perspective.
As these examples suggest, the theme of visibility assists the manage-
ment of the numeracy curriculum. Further, writing about the effects of
integrating literacy and numeracy into training packages, the Adult Lit-
eracy and Numeracy Australian Research Consortium notes that:

[It] may be necessary to . . . find ways of making literacy and numer-

acy competencies more explicit . . . in order to make [these] more
visible [sic] and to make trainers more accountable for literacy/
numeracy outcomes (ALNARC 2000, p. 34).

and

[the] ‘invisible’ nature of language, literacy and numeracy skills

created a difficult job for teachers and trainers and [does] nothing to
reinforce the significance of literacy and numeracy provision
(ALNARC 2000, p. 33) [emphasis added].

In other words, visibility tends to promote the interests of numeracy in

the curriculum—the less visible it is, the less likely it is that these inter-
ests will be addressed. This suggests that visibility is a powerful theme
in political debates surrounding the nature and needs of the numeracy
curriculum.

THE THEME OF USEABILITY

The theme of useability is apparent where the concerns are with the
application of numeracy. This may be in the everyday or workplace tasks
numeracy helps to perform, the problems it helps to solve or situations it
helps to analyse and better understand. An early (1958) study by
Brownell and Chazal (cited in Resnick & Ford 1981) illustrated that,
when people actually use numerical knowledge in everyday situations,
they tend to utilise techniques and strategies they have developed from
experience, rather than learned in school or other formal settings. In
other words, in order to understand numeracy, we have to understand
how numeracy is used.
More recently, in her now classic study, Sylvia Scribner (1997)
showed that when we use numerical concepts we not only adapt them
to a specific context, but transform them depending on that context. As
she followed dairy workers around their daily routines, she observed

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that workers with experience developed numerical routines and

methods that facilitated more efficient work practices. In so doing,
workers were observed to amend and adapt numerical concepts and
formal routines and generate new routines as needed to meet work-
place tasks. More recently, Jean Lave has investigated the useable
numeracy of ‘just plain folks’ in supermarket contexts (1988). Nunes et
al. (1993) and Saxe (1988, 1991) have studied numerical proficiencies
of candy sellers on the streets of South American cities. Each of these
studies has illustrated that using numerical knowledge is not merely a
matter of transferring it from the learning context to the everyday/
workplace context; rather, using numeracy is about the transformation
and modification of numeracy.
In the following material, I illustrate these ideas further by giving
examples of how numeracy is used in practice. I do this by examining
the transcripts of real-life work situations observed in over-the-counter
transactions within the hospitality industry. These show what numer-
acy looks like in actual workplace situations and illustrate the theme of
useability. Examples involve interactions among the client services
officer (CSO), clients (C) and the researcher (R). To aid presentation,
I have grouped the episodes discussed according to workplace tasks,
such as constructing accounts in order to facilitate the sale of services
and striking room rates.

Constructing accounts
Managing the flow of money is fundamental to the operations of
commercial enterprises. Such flows certainly afford examples of visible
numeracy in operation. For example, in Episode A the CSO demon-
strates knowledge of multiplication and how it applies in order to
construct a client’s telephone account.

Episode A
R: Can I just ask you—when you check the phone charges, can you
bring the number up on the switch?
CSO: We bring up the extension number of the room and that reads as
28 meter pulses and we multiply that by 0.60—it’s 60 cents a
meter pulse.

Nevertheless, constructing accounts is found to routinely engage more

complex processes and forms of reasoning. For instance, in Episode B
and Episode C, even though room charges are automatically tabulated,
the CSO must appropriately identify the kind of service being offered.

Episode B
R: And up there you’ve got—oh, your room charges.
CSO: Yes, this is all the room charges and room number. Because [in

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the computer] you’ve got the charge table [depending on] what
rate you [can] check in. And the ultimate charge [inaudible] and
we charge according to the number of people in the room. You
can go in and change it—for example [charge for a double]
which is for two people and we have the single charge which is
for one person in a double room.
R: So do you refer to this much?
CSO: No, it’s sort of habit to you, once you know it. It’s really—yeah
I guess it’s up there for newcomers really. Yeah, and just in case
people aren’t sure, then they can go through and check it. Once
reception staff . . . once they use it, they get [to remember] what
charge is what.

Episode C
R: Do you then enter that into the computer?
CSO: Well first we have to go directly behind me which is to our
‘bible’. Now, this bible has to be correct at all times. ’Cause we
go by the whole motel with this. So hopefully this is always
correct. I do have a room available for them [inaudible] so I’ll
have to put them in, otherwise someone else will let that room
go. [inaudible]
OK. I’ve got them booked into a suite. So therefore I have to
enter into the ‘suite/double/or single’. It’ll come up a charge type.
So there’s two occupants [inaudible] staying in room 102. That’s
getting into the normal rates and charge tables. [inaudible] If he
was going to get 5 per cent discount because he’s a corporate
cardholder or something we would then go to ‘1’, press [enter]
and it changes the rate straight away.

I have shown that these episodes make use of charge variables including:
room configuration (single, double, or suite); number of people in a
room; and whether a discount applies. My analysis continues as follows:

In constructing an account, the CSO must choose values for these

variables. Furthermore, some codes for these variables formalise
naturalistic meanings—for example, if three people share a suite,
then the key reflecting this number is ‘3’—whereas other codes adopt
arbitrarily imposed signifiers—for example, if a corporate discount
applies, the CSO must signify this with the numerical code ‘1’. This
means the CSO must manage a range of variables and codes cross-
ing numerous domains—some visibly numerical, others not.
Throughout these operations, the CSO must manipulate numerical
variables, but know when and where to visit characteristically
numerical meaning upon them. In other words, the worker must
know which aspects of a presented situation require outright quan-
tification, which require codification though not quantification, and

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which can be (or need to be) ignored. These examples illustrate that,
even for apparently straightforward workplace tasks, useable
numeracy proficiency requires more than the visible manipulation of
arithmetic values (Kane 2002, p. 344).

Striking rates
Striking rates for services illustrates the kinds of complexity involved
in useable numeracy manipulations. For example, in Episode D, C
requests a rate for a sixteen-day stay in a motel.
Episode D: People checking out room return to reception.
CSO: How was that?
C: Very nice.
CSO: Now you want to know how much?—I’ve been trying to think—
sixteen days is a long stay, so we will do our best for you. They’re
normally $85 a night, we normally would let them go say on a
weekly basis for say $70 which is $525. But if you’re staying the
sixteen days I’ll let you have it for $500.
C: $500 a week—that’s thousand and a bit.
CSO: Leave it at a thousand—that’s two nights that we give you. How
does that sound?
C: [inaudible] thanks for your time [inaudible]
CSO: Good. Yeah. No problem—you’re welcome. Ta ta [to the kids],
see you later.
CSO: (to R) It makes it very hard when it’s so competitive—as soon as
the different times drop off—it’s sort of—how much do we actu-
ally charge them to keep it? you know—you know it’s really hard
to know what to do, but I offered them the room for $1000 for
the sixteen days, so basically $500 a week.

Guests enter.

In response, the CSO engages in a chain of complex reasoning as

follows. The normal rate is $85 per night, which amounts to $595 for
one week. However, a discount of $70 applies in such cases, bringing
the total to $525. Using this as the basis, the CSO now strikes a rate
for sixteen nights by further reducing the discount by $25 and thus
arrives at a new rate of $500 per week. In a final step, the CSO further
discounts the rate in order to bring the final amount to a round $1000.
Whilst the CSO shows knowledge of relevant arithmetic relation-
ships ($85 per night for seven night equals $595, minus $70 discount
equals $525), these only form part of the knowledge required in order
to strike a suitable rate. As the CSO concedes, striking a rate is ‘very
hard’. The market is ‘so competitive’ and this means the ‘actual’ rate
cannot be merely the application of a set protocol. It is notable,
however, that the CSO’s techniques involved successively rounding

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down quoted amounts: first from $525 per week to $500 per week, and
then from $1000 per fortnight (fourteen days) to $1000 per sixteen
days. This procedure required the close coordination of two kinds of
knowledge: numerical criteria for selecting rounding target (nearest
hundred, nearest whole week) as well as business criteria relating to the
maintenance of a competitive pricing. Further, it would seem, mainte-
nance of a competitive edge required not only that the routine pricing
protocol be manipulated, but that the reasoning on which this manip-
ulation depended be made explicit. Merely quoting a discounted rate
would not do for competitive purposes. The episode shows that the
CSO ‘sells’ the discount to the client by firstly articulating the process
of reasoning by which the discount was computed, and secondly trans-
lating discounted values into equivalent service items (‘leave it at a
thousand— that’s two nights we give you’).
This example illustrates that there is no clear demarcation between
numerical procedures and other kinds of specifically work-related
knowledge used to strike competitive rates. In other words, when used,
numeracy is intimately shaped by the workplace environment itself.
Likewise, Episode E illustrates that no clear demarcations can be
made between setting the terms of the service and figuring the related cost
structure of the service. That is, numeracy viewed from the perspectives
of use extends in the direction of specific workplace knowledge.

Episode E
R: Have they taken any action against anyone?
CSO: Not yet, but there have been threats of action. You get a kid call
in [inaudible] last year when all this came out what we decided
was the only way around it was have schoolies [school leavers]
and schoolies only here and then we’re not discriminating
because then everybody’s under the same umbrella right? We had
young girls calling ‘do you have rooms available?’—what do you
mean you charge a bond—that’s discriminating. And I just said
‘Look sweetheart [sic]. You’ve been reading too many news-
papers. If you want to stay, fine, you pay a bond. If you don’t
want to pay a bond you just don’t stay here I’m sorry.’ So they
can go and take us to court or whatever, but I just don’t know
where it’s all going to end [inaudible]. But also see when we’ve
got schoolies here, when I close up at six o’clock at night secu-
rity starts. When I open at 8 o’clock in the morning, security
finishes. Otherwise we’d have parties and 50 people in a room
and all kinds of things. Security has to try and vet some of those
people coming through. If we can’t charge a bond—who’s going
to pay for security? That’s $15 an hour. Add that up over twelve
to fourteen hours that’s a lot of money. That’s more than what
they’re paying for the room basically, so what do you do? It’s
very difficult. It’ll be very interesting to see what comes out of it.

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In this example, a complex interaction is observed between the per-

ceptions of risk associated with providing service (damage to rooms
and property) and the cost of hedging against these kinds of risk (secu-
rity at ‘$15 per hour for twelve to fourteen hours’) and litigation on the
grounds of ‘discrimination’. Rather than detailed specification of cost,
a sketch of the cost structure is provided and this serves as a rationale
for hedging measures built around the rhetorical question ‘who’s going
to pay for security?’. Numerical knowledge is engaged by foreshadow-
ing possible cost calculations (useability) rather than specifying
calculated amounts for operational purposes (visibility).
Similarly, in Episode F the CSO sketches an outline of the cost
structure relating to the servicing of motel rooms in order to explain
why overnight stays are profitable in one establishment, though some-
times not in others.

Episode F
R: Do you have many overnight bookings?
CSO: We do. A lot of places don’t take overnighters. But the reason is
simply because those people that were just here—they contract
the cleaning of the rooms, and it’s quite expensive. But my house-
maids are on $11 an hour—it would take them say half an hour
to clean a small room so we’re looking at about $6. But of
course, we’ve got the linen costs, the electricity and the supplies
and everything else to take into consideration, but it wouldn’t
come to $20. But they would—we charge $50 for a room and
they’re going to charge $20 to clean it. Right? So—it’s not for
us—because we do have overnighters. Other hotels that have
three, four and five nighter only, no less than three—it’s OK for
them. But I wanted to contract the cleaning out at those costs. It’s
too expensive. But what were we originally talking about?
R: Oh, the question was whether you get many overnighters or
whether it’s . . .
CSO: We do take overnighters because we charge them $50 for a room
and its going to cost me—I costed it out once and I can’t remem-
ber exactly, so on weekday it costs say $14 taking linen and
everything else into consideration out of $50 right? And that’s
also taking into consideration the housemaid’s wages, superannu-
ation, all that sort of thing as well. On a weekend, on a Saturday
it’s a little bit more expensive and of course it’s more expensive
than that so that’s why we try and hold the rooms over—we pay
$13.30 or something like that per hour on Sundays, so it gets a lot
more expensive. But I think we’ll stick to our casual housemaids,
it’s going to be a lot cheaper. So overnighters—no problems.

At the core of this argument is the logic that engaging housemaids

to clean rooms at a casual rate is cheaper than committing the motel to

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a cleaning contract. Of interest is the way in which this is expressed.

On the one hand, the all-up cost of servicing a room at casual rates
‘wouldn’t come to $20’, whereas at contract rates ‘they’re going to
charge $20 to clean it’. Note that, in this example, the CSO makes no
attempt to be precise with the numerical values quoted. Instead, approxi-
mations and estimated values are utilised in order to maximise the
rhetorical impact of the argument. In this case, numeracy is shaped by
reasoning which is only loosely coordinated with actual numerical
values. What the CSO offers is not a mathematical ‘proof’, but a roughly
worked argument.
These examples not only show that the way numeracy is used is
embedded in the context, but that numeracy itself is shaped by its context.

THE THEME OF CONSTRUCTIBILITY

As indicated previously, the theme of constructibility concerns the

origins of numeracy both as culturally available knowledge and as
learned knowledge residing in individuals. The first of these relates to
the history and philosophy of mathematics. Here we see the theme of
constructibility playing a key role in the evolution of mathematics and
of the ways in which mathematical knowledge is validated. For instance,
in early Greek geometry, knowledge was generated and verified by the
technique of geometric constructions. Later, in Euclid’s geometry, the art
of geometrical construction developed into what we know as the
axiomatic method. In modern times, the method of Descartes illustrated
how algebraic and geometrical knowledge could be synthesised, thereby
showing that the notion of construction applied broadly to a wide
variety of mathematical objects. Similarly, Leibnitz (1646–1716) argued
that mathematical problems were essentially problems of computability,
and therefore could be solved in principle by methods of construction.
The work of these authors has served as the basis for a range of
more recent attempts at showing that mathematical knowledge is con-
structed knowledge and that constructibility is a key criterion when
evaluating the validity of mathematical knowledge—for instance, the
constructionism of Brouwer (1881–1966) and the formalism of Hilbert
(1862–1943). These efforts in viewing mathematical knowledge as con-
structed knowledge stand in contrast to another equally ancient
tradition: the view that mathematical knowledge is governed by the
metaphor of vision. To know a piece of mathematics is to ‘see’ the logic
of it, rather than prepare a construction for it. This view is linked to
Plato’s theory that the purest form of knowledge, noesis, is the direct
intuitive perception of it, and that mathematical knowledge, at least in
its ‘higher’ forms, is of this kind. Now a tension exists between these
views of mathematical knowledge—one, constructibility, built around
the metaphor of ‘doing’, and the other, visibility, built around the

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metaphor of ‘seeing’. For instance, in teaching contexts, these are very

often expressed in the supposed differences between so-called rote learn-
ing (which focuses on the development of specific numerical skills) and
learning for understanding (which purports to focus on the development
of numerical concepts). In the former, emphasis is on the development of
appropriate procedures; in the latter, it is on the development of insight
into mathematical relationships. Often, these alternatives are presented
in value-laden terms—such as, for instance, the belief that rote learning
is more suitable for vocational-oriented learning contexts and concep-
tual learning for those destined for professional occupations.

Principles of learning and teaching numeracy

As indicated above, important examples of the theme of constructibil-
ity relate to numerical practices operating around the learning and
teaching of numeracy. Here, as I have argued previously, two lines of
development have been significant:

In the first [line of development], made problematic by more recent

mathematics education research, numeracy is typically associated
with developing the habits of numerical thinking (i.e. the building of
hierarchically organised bonds or associations), as in the work
of Thorndike (1922). This approach sees learning numeracy as a
behaviouristic phenomenon in which the most important feature is
the inculcation of salient responses to given stimuli. Rote learning of
numerical relationships, so much a feature of traditional school
experience, is consistent with this view. More recent theorisations of
this approach to learning have been provided by information
processes psychology (Gagné 1970). In this view, context plays an
extrinsic role in the learning process.
In the second line of development, learning is identified with the
learner’s ability to use prior learning and the learning context to
formulate meanings for the manipulations which make up learned
numeracy experience (Brownell 1947). This focus on building ade-
quate meanings for learning mathematical concepts and processes
has been variously theorised by Gestalt psychologists (Wertheimer
1945), cognitive psychologists such as Piaget, Bruner (1960) and
Dienes (1960), and social constructivists such as Steffe, von Glasers-
feld (1995), Cobb et al. (1992) and Cobb (1994a). Because many
cognitively based theories share the view that the learner actively
constructs new knowledge by modifying, extending, replacing and
transforming existing knowledge, they have come to be known by
the umbrella term ‘constructivism’. According to the constructivist
view, learning numeracy corresponds with the purposeful construc-
tion of powerful meanings (i.e. those that deliver a problem-solving
outcome) in a given learning context. Whilst much has been left out

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in this story, the central point is that learning numeracy and con-
structing numerical knowledge adequate to a problem-giving
situation are seen as one and the same process.
Now the switch to the constructible—the so called ‘constructivist
turn’ in mathematics education—involves a valuing of context and the
conditions of learning mathematics as intrinsic to the learning process.
This, in turn, has given rise to views of learning mathematics in which
social, historical, cultural and economic contexts are integral rather
than peripheral to learning processes. It follows from this analysis that
examples of the theme of constructibility are seen in those views of
numeracy which emanate from studies which assume and support
understanding of the socially constructed nature of numerical knowl-
edge. Examples of these views include the anthropological studies of
Bishop (1988), Saxe (1991) and Nunes et al. (1993); the sociological
and linguistic studies of Bloor (1983), Lave (1988) and Solomon
(1989); the micro-sociological analyses of Bauersfeld (1991), Voigt
(1993) and Cobb (1994b); and the discourse theory approaches of
Walkerdine (1988, 1994) (Kanes 2002, pp. 344–5).

Arising from the above, a set of learning principles for numeracy

can be distilled, as follows.

• Numeracy learning is always shaped by the setting within

which it is embedded. Whether the setting is a workplace or
is created by a learning institution or learning materials,
learning is referenced to a setting. As Lave and Wenger (1991)
argue, this means that features of a setting, together with tools
(both physical and psychological) and economic, social and
cultural relations of the setting create opportunities for learn-
ing and characterise the kinds of learning which takes place.
• Learning numeracy is about generating meaningful and power-
ful skills and concepts. Learning is about making meaning—
without meanings, there is no learning. Brownell (1947) offers
a useful characterisation of meaning as being of two kinds:
meanings of numerical knowledge (concept of process); and
meanings for numerical knowledge. However, meanings must
also have power in the particular setting in which they arise
(Cobb et al. 1992). This means that meanings must be consis-
tent with workable or legitimate solutions to problems within
the problem setting.
• Learning numeracy is about actively solving the problems of
adaptation to new settings or new aspects of received settings.
‘Problem’ means a dilemma or conceptual challenge to the
learner arising from the presentation of a new or novel
circumstance. Problems require conscious, decisive action.

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‘Adaptation’ means the process of generating workable pro-

cedures or valid meanings within the context of the problem’s
setting. Adaptation requires that the learner generates new
skills and meanings by extending, modifying, developing and
transforming existing skills and meanings.
• Learning numeracy involves reflective thinking. Generating
meaning requires the learner to consciously reflect on the
knowledge already acquired (whether concepts or skills). The
purpose of reflection is to transform meaning associated with
a setting in a particular instance to other instances and set-
tings. In so doing, the learner constructs new meanings, and
generates new concepts and skills.
• Learning numeracy is a socially interactive process. Not only
do all learning settings have a social dimension, but learning
itself is a social process. This is because learning is about
making meaning, and making meaning is a pre-eminent
feature of social life. In addition, meaning-making in numer-
acy requires that the learner engage with multiple sets of
perspectives and resources. These must frame numerical
knowledge in a range of different ways including linguisti-
cally, concretely and symbolically.
• Learning numeracy requires a pedagogically sequenced
curriculum. Because numerical knowledge is in part hier-
archically organised, sequencing of knowledge in learning is
important. A pedagogical sequence must respect both the
logical hierarchy of numerical knowledge and the sequence
imposed by an ordered development of numerical meanings.

Effective teaching requires that curriculum workers make choices

that best facilitate learning. Thus principles of teaching and associated
methods should be closely related to the learning principles from which
they are derived. Table 4.2 sets out teaching principles and methods
against each of the learning principles indicated above. As this table
shows, flexible learning is affected by a wide variety of teaching methods.
Having now sketched an outline of three leading themes related to
the question of numeracy and its scope, the next section considers how
they are related to each other. For instance, when considering questions
related to the numeracy curriculum, do these different themes comple-
ment each other? To what extent do they conflict?

DILEMMAS AND CONFLICTS

Over the last twenty years, there has been a rich literature which I
believe demonstrates tensions between the themes of visibility and
useability in numeracy. Starting, for instance, with the publication in

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Table 4.2 Principles for the learning and teaching of

numeracy and indicative teaching methods
Numeracy Derived Indicative
learning principle* teaching principle teaching methods

Numeracy learning is Teaching must utilise Draw examples from

shaped by the setting characteristics of settings professional and vocational
within which it is in which numeracy is contexts, use authentic settings
embedded to be utilised in the presentation of content
Generate a rich environment of
numerical tools, numerical
procedures and problems, e.g.
concrete manipulables, spread
sheets, numerical and graphical
calculators, statistics software
and other relevant software.
Learning numeracy is Teaching must create Utilise authentic tools and
about generating opportunities for scenarios relating to numerical
meaningful and powerful students to manipulate, knowledge
skills and concepts extend, modify and
develop their existing
knowledge of numerical
skills and concepts
Learning numeracy is Teaching must not only Utilise drill and practice where
about actively solving afford learners a skills are to be formed
the problems of cognitively challenging
adaptation to new environment, but also
settings or new aspects one in which challenges
of received settings are appropriately
supported
Enrich problem-solving
exercises with video cueing
techniques
Flag cues and clues for active
participation
Use problem-solving heuristic
tools
Learning numeracy Teaching must prompt Prompt students with open-
involves reflective learners to consciously style questions
thinking think about their
learning and mastery
of skills and concepts
Utilise student questions as
tools to prompt reflective
thinking

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Numeracy Derived Indicative

learning principle teaching principle teaching methods

Respond to student questions

with questions designed to
elicit student knowledge
Create opportunities for
students to critically appraise
their own knowledge base,
e.g. by use of journals
Learning numeracy is a Teaching must involve Prompt students to act as peer
socially interactive methods that encourage tutors—in this way, students
process learners to articulate must monitor and transform
and share their their own knowledge
knowledge with others;
teaching must deploy a
variety of tools and
strategies and thus engage
multiple ways of giving
meaning to knowledge
targeted for growth
Use video recordings of
students engaged in
collective problem-solving
activities in order to prompt
dialogue and discussion of
numerical ideas
Utilise authentic tasks and tools
Learning numeracy Teaching must be
requires the develop- organised around the
ment of numerical pedagogic sequencing
skills and concepts to be of numerical content
organised in a pedagogic knowledge
sequence, i.e. one which
is both mathematically
and pedagogically
significant

*(adapted from Donnan’s 1999, p. 104 interpretation of Basiel (1999)

1982 in Britain of the Cockroft report, which had the task of consider-
ing ‘the mathematics required in further and higher education,
employment and adult life generally’(DES 1982, p. ix, cited in Noss
1998, p. 2), a clear tension between the demands of useability and vis-
ibility in numeracy emerges as an issue to be contended with. As noted
in Noss (1998, p. 3), the report observes that workplace practices
seldom demand standard arithmetic operations ‘such as 2⁄5 +3⁄7’ and that
the need for algebra, ‘let alone such mathematical ideas as proof, mod-
elling and mathematical rigour’(Noss 1998, p. 3), was almost nil. From

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this it concludes that ‘it is possible to summarise a very large part of the
mathematical needs of employment as a feeling for measurement’ (DES
1982, p. 24, cited in Noss 1998, p. 3). In other words, the thrust of the
report throws into question the utility value of a broad-ranging numer-
acy curriculum. As a consequence, those maintaining the value of such
a curriculum need to advance arguments other than the direct signifi-
cance of mathematical terms and expressions when explaining the use
of the numeracy curriculum for employment and general life purposes.
In short, as Noss (1998) argues, a focus on useability in numeracy
diminishes the focus on visibility, and vice versa. This point is further
illustrated by Strässer (1999) in his study of weighing machines in del-
icatessens; and Wolf (1984, cited in Noss 1998) provides evidence that
workers make use of mathematics without needing or wishing to make
this fact visible.
In Australia, Kanes (1999) has shown in an investigation of over-
the-counter operations in the motel and airline industry that, of the
six mathematics content strands of the profiles (see Table 4.1), three
strands—Number, Chance and data and Working mathematically—
were ranked highly in terms of the visibility of these content areas
in the workplace settings (see Table 4.3). Consistent with Cockroft,
algebra was found to be least visible. These results support the view
that useability and visibility tend to crowd each other out of curricu-
lum questions in numeracy.
Further, Noss (1998) has argued that the problematic relationship
between what is identified here as visibility and useability gives rise to
a number of curriculum paradoxes along the following lines. For, as I
have argued:

If we merely restrict our view to the ‘surface of arithmetical activi-

ties’ (1998, p. 3) in adult working lives, then we are bound to find
only ‘traces and shadows’ (1998, p. 3) of mathematics in actual use.
The paradox arises when such a finding is used to conclude that the
mathematical needs of adult life are not strong, for such a conclusion

Table 4.3 Cluster analysis of overall strand site ranks

Cluster Strand
Low strand ascription Algebra
Medium strand ascription Space
Measurement
High strand ascription Working mathematically
Chance and data
Number

Source: Kanes (1999)

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is bound to activate a utilitarian principle relating to the usefulness

of school mathematics and see school mathematics become more
and more narrowly defined and thus, paradoxically, less and less
useful. In terms set up in this paper, concentration on the interests
of creating visibility oversimplifies issues relating to useability in
numeracy, and this leads to numeracy becoming less ‘useable’ than
would otherwise be the case (Kanes 2002, p. 346).

Second, given that there exists a ‘lack of mathematical confidence

and alienation on the part of the many’ (Noss 1998, p. 3), the numer-
acy curriculum in response has tended to be oversimplified, and this in
turn has tended to compromise numeracy’s ‘broader roots in science
and technology’ (ibid.). Thus, ‘in trying to connect mathematics with
what is learnable, we have disconnected school mathematics from what
is genuinely useful’ (ibid.). Now, as I argued above, under the rubric of
constructivism learnability is an aspect of the theme of constructibility.
Thus one way to interpret Noss’s second paradox is that the themes of
useability and constructibility crowd each other out in discussions
around the issue, for instance, of the alignment of numerical curricu-
lum with workplace needs. Noss is suggesting that a focus on
constructibiliity (learnability) generates a tension with useability and
that this tension permeates curriculum concerns in numeracy.
As I have pointed out, ‘these paradoxes illustrate that the develop-
ment of numeracy is governed by highly problematic situations’ (Kanes
2002, p. 346). Discussions of numeracy require engagement with the
themes of visibility, useability and constructibility, yet a focus on any
one of these themes tends to exclude the interests of the others. Never-
theless, it is only this broader set of interests that addresses the needs
of students, industry and mathematics.
I now return briefly to comments made earlier in this chapter, in
which I outlined certain views about numeracy. I am now in a position
of explain these views further and show in what sense they are erroneous.
Firstly, numeracy is not a watered down mathematics—instead,
‘mathematics’ (by which I am referring to the academic discipline) is a
particular kind of numeracy. To be more exact, mathematics is numer-
acy seen under the rubric of the theme of visibility. Typically, its
concerns are with proof and demonstrability, logical argumentation
and rigour, abstract symbolism and so on, by which operations are
made explicit and clear themselves. Unlike numeracy viewed from the
perspective of useability, mathematics privileges the formalisms in
which it is codified. Unlike numeracy viewed from the perspective of
constructibility, mathematics is not so much concerned with the mean-
ings of its definitions and theorems for people as it is concerned with
the logical and conceptual demonstrability of its findings.
Secondly, numeracy is not limited by number concepts and numera-
tion processes; instead, numerical practice typically involves the concrete

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(i.e. in situ) management of a repertoire of concepts including number,

space, data, chance and abstractions of these. This follows, once again,
from the recognition that useable-numeracy and constructible-numeracy
extend the domain of the numerical.
Thirdly, numeracy is not ahistorical. Instead, like any other social
and cultural phenomenon, it has a history, a past, a present and a
future. In this history, not only does the body of knowledge within
numeracy develop as a direct result of new technologies and methods
of production, but also as a result of their interactions and the needs
of useability and constructibility which arise as a consequence of
these.
Fourthly, numeracy is not a kind of literacy—though numerical
practices are often associated with discursive acts, they are not them-
selves typically discursive. If literacy is taken broadly to be associated
with acts of communication, then it becomes clear why numeracy
cannot be reduced to a form of literacy. Quite simply, numeracy is only
partly concerned with communication (imparting information, say)—
more typically, it is about applying methods to solve problems.
Whether these are problems of rigour and certainty, or problems of
quantities and configuration, communication is not the salient task.
My analysis now moves towards a cultural-historical framework
for understanding the development of numeracy. My central claim is
that the dilemmas and conflicts depicted above be seen as intrinsic to
the nature of numeracy, rather than as anomalies extrinsic to an other-
wise ordered and coherent system of knowledge. I argue that tensions
of the kind described are responsible for the development of numeracy
and that a fuller understanding of these offers a way to develop and
explore curriculum issues for numeracy using an activity theory
approach.

NUMERACY CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

When thinking about the development of numeracy for specific educa-

tional purposes, a full range of value positions and stakeholder interests
needs to be considered (Pinar 1995; Slattery 1995). Effective numeracy
curriculum development must speak to the needs of students, teachers
and trainers, mathematicians, employers, policy-makers, administra-
tors and everyday citizens (those who Lave (1988) describes as ‘just
plain folks’). Moreover, as the preceding analysis suggests, numeracy is
a dynamic activity depending on the relationship among different kinds
of people—and this activity is depicted by the themes of visibility, use-
ability and constructibility.
Therefore, in order to extend our understanding of the curriculum
development of numeracy, we must grasp the process of change
leading to its cultural and historical development. What theoretical

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framework can assist us in bringing together the insights we have so

far generated and help us to embark on the needed cultural and
historical analysis indicated above? This question is addressed in this
section.

Numeracy as a cultural-historical activity system

It is difficult to summarise in a short space the tenets of cultural-
historical activity theory, however I have presented these as follows:

Cultural-historical activity theory follows in the tradition of

Vygotskian psychology (1978) and offers a way of conceptualising
the transformation of human systems of production (Engeström
1987, 1991, 1999a, 1999b; Leont’ev 1981; Scribner 1997; Suchman
1996; Wertsch 1981, 1985). Social interactions and the role of cul-
tural artefacts in the mediation of activity are at the heart of this
theory. An activity system is a social entity that uses cultural arte-
facts to mediate its common primary motive or driving force. In the
activity theory jargon, this motive is known as the ‘object’ (it is used
in the sense of the word ‘objective’ or purpose). For Engeström
(1987, 1991, 1999a, 1999b), cultural artefacts include the tools and
instruments (physical and psychological), rules and protocols, com-
munity context and social roles, and the division of labour
associated with practice. As an activity system progresses, human
subjects take up operations and goal-directed actions, and outcomes
are generated.
These relations are depicted in Engeström’s diagram [see Figure
2.1, Chapter 2].
Three key features of the theory relate to the development
(‘expansion’ or ‘remediation’ are jargon terms also used) of the
object. These are as follows. Firstly, contradictions within practice
are construed to generate the creative impetus for the historico-
cultural development of the system. Activity theory is a theory of
crisis. The primary impetus for historical development is derived
from the need to resolve crises induced by conflicting tendencies,
double-bind situations and paradoxes in the nature of the activity
system.
Secondly, an activity system faced with the need to resolve crises
struggles to develop into a ‘culturally more advanced form’ by the
process of ‘remediation’. For Engeström, this is a process whereby
the system makes use of newly deployed artefacts in order to facil-
itate desired outcomes. And thirdly, the object or motive is
double-sided in the sense that it both orientates the subject in a
direction for action and, in turn, is shaped by the multiple domains
of mediation constituting the activity. Simultaneously, actions lead
to the continual revision and reconstruction of the object in the

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• Mathematical tools and

instruments e.g. calculators,
devices for measurements,
computers, etc.
• Principles of learning and
teaching numeracy

Instruments

Numeracy: Models and

visibility vs.
idealisatio
useability vs.
of numerica
constructibility
work

Subject Object Outcome

Rules Community Division of lab

• Mathematical rules,
• Educators • Teachers and
protocols, algorithms
• Industry curriculum manager
• Educating and
• Workplace protocols • Mathematicians
• Curriculum protocolstraining institutions
• Workplace director
• Students

Figure 4.1 Model of numeracy as a cultural-historical activity

system as in Kanes (2001, p. 49; 2002, p. 348)

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light of intermediate goals being reached and the recognition of

obstacles to progress (Kanes 2002, pp. 346–7).

As I have shown (Kanes 2001, 2002), activity theory enables us to

now give a more comprehensive view of numeracy and its interacting
components, as depicted in Figure 4.1 (derived from Engeström
1999b—see Figure 2.1).
Numeracy is seen as the object or motive of a numerical practice,
and we observe this motive expressed in the themes of visibility, use-
ability and constructibility. Tools used by students and teachers,
workers and mathematicians, curriculum developers and managers to
implement actions relating to these themes respectively include:

• mathematical tools, such as calculators, computers and their

software, instruments, and so on;
• tools and instruments associated with the operation of
numerical knowledge in order to achieve a context-defined
goal; and
• curriculum documents, principles for learning and teaching
numeracy.

As activity proceeds, all components of the activity system are in actual

or potential interaction. Conflicts are produced (as among visibility,
useability and constructibility, for instance) and the resolution of these
leads to the development of the activity system.
Thus far I have used the activity theory model of numeracy to
analyse and illustrate different themes and tensions relevant to numeracy.
The many ways that numeracy is engineered in an actual instance are
thereby made explicit and amenable to critical exploration. However, the
model is not limited to studies such as these: it can also be used to
advance changes in numerical practices. Engeström (1999a) shows the
way forward here with his concept of ‘expansive visibilisation’. This
multistage developmental process involves the depiction of the numeracy
activity system in its contemporary form and theorises the projection of
new forms with a view to identifying prospects and actual pathways for
change and development. Stages in expansive visibilisation include:

• mirroring and analysing tensions within approaches to

numeracy;
• modelling numeracy curriculum development activity
systems;
• designing and implementing new numeracy curricula; and
• reviewing and revising these plans.

Moreover, because expansive visibilisation exists both as a descrip-

tion of a developmental process and as an artefact mediating change,

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

it can itself be conceptualised as a tool within the numeracy activity

system.
This chapter contributes an outline of the first two of the stages of
the expansive visibilisation of numeracy. In my elaboration of key
themes and analyses of tensions and dilemmas within numerical prac-
tice, an outline of the first stage is provided; the second stage is advanced
in Figure 4.1. Future collaborative efforts of workers participating
within the activity system of numeracy will move the process of expan-
sion to the third and fourth stages. Central to this work as a whole is the
task of weaving together plans for using new learning technologies with
new roles for those involved with the numeracy curriculum; new kinds
of social interactions; and new rules for supporting the achievement of
goals and purposes. As Engeström argues, this weaving together is not
driven by a ‘list of discrete rationally predetermined goals but by a
dialectical movement between activity-level visions and action-level con-
cretisations’ (Engeström 1999a, pp. 91–2). That is, curriculum workers
must use reflection on their plans for the numeracy curriculum as tools
for developing and transforming their concrete practice; and, vice versa,
reflection on concrete practice must be used as a tool to transform plans
for the numeracy curriculum.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

In this chapter I have provided various tools for implementation when

engaging with numerical practices. For instance, numeracy teachers
make use of schedules of numerical knowledge (for example, Table 4.1),
together with learning principles and teaching principals and methods,
in order to specify learning goals and design learning experiences for
students that will achieve them (Table 4.2). In working towards these
achievements, teachers use a variety of mathematical tools and instru-
ments (mathematical concepts, processes, symbols, calculating devices,
computing devices, etc.) and pedagogic tools and instruments (for
instance, concrete manipulables, software, etc.) In addition, the teacher’s
numeracy curriculum goals are shaped by assessment tools and stan-
dards, often imposed on the teacher by the environment external to the
teaching and learning interaction with students.
But in implementing these tools, the teacher’s work is not without
conflict. Being concerned with student learning, the teacher’s concerns
are with the potential and actual quality of the knowledge students
construct as a result of learning experiences they have undertaken. In
addition—particularly in the vocational curriculum—there is a concern
with the useability of the knowledge developed. However, curriculum
documentation and procedures (including assessment requirements
leading to vocational accreditation) which draw more on the theme of
visibility and less on the themes of constructibility and useability are

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also principal concerns of educators. That is, educators often are ‘and
perhaps must be’ more concerned with the achievement of formal
learning outcomes (as in, for instance, outcomes-based criteria), and
less concerned with how this knowledge stands in relation to actual use
or understanding. This situation gives rise to conflicting interests and
opportunities for curriculum development via the application of the
‘expansive visibilisation’ tool introduced in the previous section.
Expansive visibilisation provides opportunities for teachers to identify
and understand the conflicting tensions of their work; model the
activity system which has numeracy as its purpose; and propose and
implement curriculum development in numeracy, leading to further
monitoring and transformation practice.
Policy managers and syllabus writers also find tensions relating to
the themes of useability and visibility of numeracy in their work. For
these workers, for instance, a concern for the use of numerical knowl-
edge in work-related contexts makes it difficult to align curriculum
documents against formal statements of specifically numerical knowl-
edge, and this compromises curriculum accountability. Expansive
visibilisation provides for a planned response to this problem. In the
first stage, an explication of the problematic nature of accountability in
a use-oriented curriculum is undertaken. This leads to the collaborative
identification of tools, protocols, roles of curriculum workers, the
values and goals of the teaching and training institutions and joint
analysis of the multiple ways in which such a curriculum is facilitated
and implemented. A model of the activity system that has numeracy as
its purpose is then developed and shared among numeracy curriculum
workers. Next, workers design and implement new tools and strategies
in order to resolve tensions made explicitly. Implementation is moni-
tored and plans are revised accordingly. Thus the process of visibilising
curriculum work leads to an expanded and collectively shared devel-
opment of teaching practice.
Expansive visibilisation provides a way to make explicit and co-
ordinate the evolving interests of the various themes of numerical
practice. This encourages the development of new tools and ways of
operating in workplaces and learning institutions which have as their
purpose more effective implementation of operations, actions and
activities related to numeracy.

CONCLUSION

This chapter has firstly explored what kind of knowledge numeracy is.
In accomplishing this task, it has introduced a new framework for
numeracy that draws on cultural-historical activity theory. Next, the
themes of visibility, useability and constructibility were identified
and used to explore the way numerical knowledge is identified, utilised

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and generated. I have argued that tensions exist among these themes,
and that these are the source of creative developments in numeracy. This
has led to my suggestion that curriculum developments in numeracy are
able to benefit from a close understanding of numeracy as an activity
system. The chapter included a brief overview of learning and teaching
principles for numeracy. These were conceptualised as tools with the
numeracy activity system.

Note: This chapter is a revised and expanded version of Kanes (2002).

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 5

Developing information
literacy
Fred Beven

BACKGROUND

This chapter explains the concept of information literacy by drawing

upon recent examinations of its use in the workplace and more gener-
ally. This includes ideas about information literacy as a fundamental
competency, ideas of how information literacy should be developed for
work, an examination of information literacy in workplace practice, as
well as ideas from the literature on the efficient use of software and
hypermedia. Finally, the chapter discusses how approaches to curricu-
lum development and teaching and learning might be fashioned as a
consequence.
There has recently been a major shift in the way in which we live,
learn and work as part of a global change—the coming of the infor-
mation age. The National Office for the Information Economy in
Australia (1998) reported these changes as follows. In many places
around the world, learners now use computers at home and at school
as part of everyday practice. Governments are increasingly providing
services and information online. People undertake banking, borrowing
and investing of monies electronically. Businesses offer goods and serv-
ices on Websites and, correspondingly, consumers make purchases by
browsing virtual shops. The Internet makes it possible to make pay-
ments, and to stay in touch with friends and family members across
great distances. Businesses and governments can exchange documents,

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students can do university degrees, corporations can do training and

like-minded people from around the world can use chatrooms to share
common interests. Intending travellers can visit other parts of their
country or the rest of the world and make reservations. You can visit
the most influential art galleries and libraries, as well as the most
famous national parks. At the heart of the information revolution is
that the way people do the central things in life—leisure and work—is
changing.
What we now have is a world of electronic commerce where dis-
tance is of little consequence and where commerce and human activities
are seamlessly global. This new kind of economy has been termed the
‘knowledge economy’ and is seen to be that which is replacing
the industrial economy of the past.
Information is becoming a critical resource and every day we are
seeing its volume grow exponentially. As a consequence, critical new
skills are necessary to enable one to deal effectively with this resource.
For example, it is no longer enough to know how to get information rel-
evant to a task; it is also necessary to know how to extract meaning
from it as well. Such new skills are seen to be linked to one’s potential
income-earning capacity. For example, Lepani (1998) argues that,
within a knowledge economy, one creates value by going up the hierar-
chy of knowledge and this demands a progression from simple cognition
to meta-cognition to epistemic cognition, and finally to wisdom cogni-
tion. Thus developing skills to manage and manipulate information
(information literacy) is seen as a core skill necessary to function effec-
tively in the world today.

WORK IN THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

The information age is clearly reshaping life generally and work in

particular (Zuboff 1988). This reshaping in relation to new work prac-
tices in manufacturing and business services is discussed below. These
two disparate contexts of work were examined by Hirschhorn and
Mokray (1992) and serve to highlight the similarities to the changes to
work practice that are the consequence of the impact of information
technology and a knowledge economy. Hirschhorn and Mokray note
that whereas hands once made a quality product, now a machine
makes it while we watch through an interface. The workers they
studied noted that they more often used their heads than their hands.
That is, they had to cope with greater variety and complexity and con-
sequently had to remember more. Skills, therefore, have become more
head-based and linked to the activities of controlling, planning and
consciously remembering.
Workers have shifted their focus to a broader perspective and,
rather than focus on the instantaneous interaction between tools and

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materials, now observe a broader pattern of events. Hirschhorn and

Mokray (1992) summarise these shifts in the nature of tools as from ‘a
single tool’ to a ‘system of tools’; from ‘a discontinuity between mate-
rial and tool’ to ‘a seamless interaction of material and tool’; from ‘a
sensory feedback at the juncture of the tool and materials’ to ‘cognitive
feedback at the interface between the system and the person’; and from
‘tools that narrow the worker’s focus’ to ‘tools that broaden the
worker’s focus’ (Hirschhorn & Mockray 1990, p. 21).
As a consequence, workers are now required to master a greater
range of problem situations, and this quantitative shift also restructures
the problem domain. As workers are increasingly using automated tools
systems, problem-solving is becoming more both more abstract and
complex in nature. Hirschhorn and Mokray (1992) suggest that this in
turn requires workers to focus on ‘flow and pattern rather than on a
single piece and the particular puzzle it presents’. They articulate this
changing nature of problems from ‘a few parameters’ to ‘many para-
meters’; from ‘correcting’ to ‘preventing variance’; from ‘sustaining levels
of output’ to ‘variances sustaining quality’; from ‘puzzles: a single piece’
to ‘patterns: the flow, the linkages’; and from ‘within a single operation’
to ‘across several operations’ (Hirschhorn & Mockray 1990, p. 23).
Problem-solving has always been linked to the act of undertaking
work in both routine and non-routine ways. However, the nature of
this problem-solving has been reshaped by the changing nature of work
itself. Much of this problem-solving relies on the capacity to extract
meaning from the information relevant to the task and to be able to
engage with this information as it provides the interface between
systems and individuals.
Two examples of this reshaping, identified earlier, are discussed
next as a way of understanding the impact of the knowledge economy
on work. The manufacturing and business services sectors are the
examples used. By business services I mean the administrative functions
that support business operations and therefore can be found across all
industries, including manufacturing.

Manufacturing
Hirschhorn and Mokray (1992) examined the competencies necessary
for organisations and workers in manufacturing industries as they took
up computer technology. They found that competencies were shaped by
skills and roles and argue that skills are shaped by a plant’s technical
infrastructure, and roles by the plant’s social system. This suggests that
the skills workers need are shaped by the tools they use and the prob-
lems they face. Workers facing difficult problems using simple tools
need significant skills. Those working with powerful tools may still
need significant skills, especially when they must solve continually
changing problems. Hirschhorn and Mokray (1992) argue that the

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concept of skill alone is insufficient to understand a person’s efficacy at

work. Skills must always be potentiated by the context in which they
are exercised.
With new computer-controlled plant, the ways in which workers
interact between raw materials and tools change significantly. Firstly,
tools systems have become more integrated and there is less disjunction
between the raw materials and the tools for transforming them. For
example, a manufacturing worker undertaking a manual task would
physically control the interactions between the tools (e.g. saw or drill)
and the materials with which they are working. The new worker does
not experience these interactions in the same way. Within computer-
controlled systems, there is a continuous interaction between tools and
material and the worker observes the consequences of this interaction.
Thus the tools and the materials are integrated and the worker no
longer gets direct sensory data from this interplay, but instead gets data
from an interface (e.g. computer screen or printed report). Thus the
role of the worker has shifted from a capacity to manage the interac-
tions between tools and materials to managing data as the information
passing between the system and the individual.

Business services
An important phenomenon of the early twenty-first century is the
ubiquity of the computer in the workplace. The western world, in
particular, has been moving towards a knowledge- and information-
based economy as manufacturing industries have contracted. This has
given rise to a workforce that uses computers as a tool for everyday
work tasks, collectively referred to as ‘information workers’. There
are two commonly accepted types of information workers: know-
ledge workers (those who primarily create new information and
knowledge); and data workers (who primarily use, manipulate or
disseminate information) (Laudon & Laudon 1991). Knowledge
workers are spread across all industries, whereas data workers are
concentrated in service industries, finance and government (Laudon
& Laudon 1991).
Like workers in the manufacturing industries, the tool systems used
by knowledge and data workers are becoming more integrated (e.g.
Microsoft Office, high-level programming languages and phone and
data systems). For data workers, the nature of their work is increasingly
hidden from them by the tools they employ to undertake that work.
That is, the transformation of the data they input is facilitated, in a
largely opaque or invisible way, by the computer-controlled systems they
operate. Thus the information they produce is a result of the automation
of the tools they use rather than the physical manipulation of tools (cash
book, filing cabinet) and the materials (raw data and source docu-
ments), as was the case before the pervasive use of computers.

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INFORMATION LITERACY FOR WORK

The previous sections argue that having information literacy for work
requires one to possess a capacity to employ a system of (information)
tools that allows for the interaction of materials with these tools in
order to solve problems of increasing complexity. Hirschhorn and
Mokray (1992) contend that such a competence is a function of both
skills and roles, arguing that skills must always be potentiated by the
context in which they are exercised.
Clearly, then, information literacy is something that most of us
accept as necessary for living and working in the knowledge society in
which we currently find ourselves. Most of us would believe that we
understand what ‘information literacy’ means, yet these understandings
will be shown to vary considerably according to our individual func-
tions, purposes and experiences in using them. What is meant by the
term ‘information literacy’ will largely depend upon whom you ask and
in what circumstances.
The Oxford Dictionary offers a starting point for developing an
understanding of this term. It describes information as ‘telling; what is
told; knowledge; news’. This is not particularly useful, however, as
most of us would consider information to be more than just telling or
being told. Further, we would consider information as something
capable of allowing us to build the knowledge necessary to make sense
of our world. At any given moment, we are receiving all kinds of infor-
mation via our senses. As a result, we are constantly ‘awash’ with
information of various kinds. Thus information takes on many and
complex forms. Seeing, touching and smelling would seem as impor-
tant as hearing and saying.
The information with which we work is also stored in a number of
ways. The dictionary definition tends to suggest that the storage takes
place in our memories (telling, and being told); however, for many
thousands of years information has been stored by humans in other
ways. Far back in time we know that humans stored information by
way of recording it outside of their brain (e.g. cave paintings). In fact,
anthropologists argue that this human capacity, along with language,
has led to the development of our mental superiority over other species.
Thus information has many manifestations in the modern world.
Literacy, on the other hand, is described by the Oxford Dictionary
as ‘the ability to read and write’. In Chapter 3, Jean Searle convincingly
argues that this is a somewhat narrow view of literacy. Joining these
two dictionary definitions seems to be inadequate in describing what
‘information literacy’ is.
The work of Gee (1990) is helpful in this regard, as he broadens the
concept of literacy and contends ‘that most traditional approaches to
literacy talk about literacy as an individual possession, a set of capaci-
ties that resides somewhere in the individual brain’ (Gee 1990, p. 42),

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much like the dictionary. He suggests that this approach is problematic

and that: ‘Literacy surely means nothing unless it has something to do
with the ability to read. “Read” is a transitive verb. So literacy must
have something to do with being able to read something’ (Gee 1990,
p. 42). To read something meaningfully requires the reader to have dif-
ferent types of background knowledge in order to derive meaning from
the something. Further, Scribner (1983) puts forward the view that lit-
eracy is a social practice and suggests that we see it as a term applying
to a varied and open set of activities with written language.
From this we are able to suggest that ‘information literacy’ is
having a capacity to be able to do something meaningfully with infor-
mation in its multiple manifestations. What it is exactly you might
meaningfully do with information will largely depend on the way in
which you might engage with it, and for what purpose. For example, it
might be that you do nothing further with it, or that you trade infor-
mation (e.g. casual conversation or educating a sibling), or that you use
information in your social or working life. Clearly, then, the term
‘information literacy’ will have multiple meanings depending on the
circumstances and the context of its use.
In the print society, literacy has been the ability to read and write,
and through this to be able to be a fully participating member of society
(Lepani 1998). In the global knowledge society, with its technological
infrastructure of computers and multimedia, literacy is being extended
beyond reading print and writing with a pen. The resulting information
literacy is electronically based and includes complex visual and aural
language. Lepani (1998) suggests that, in the knowledge society with its
informational mode of production, we will need to become knowledge
navigators as both learners and workers.
In this chapter, ‘information literacy’ will be confined to its meaning
as a capacity to collect, store and transform the information required for
workplace application. Thus it will be examined from the context of it
being a work-based skill. This has not been done to diminish the signif-
icance of other ways of defining it, but rather to focus this chapter on
one important aspect: that of its workplace significance. Workplaces are
being transformed as a consequence of the move towards a knowledge
economy, and some aspects of this are discussed next.
It is therefore not surprising that the importance of ‘information
literacy’ skills has been associated with the employment and education
policy of national governments throughout the world during the last
decade. Many of these policies conceive of ‘information literacy’ as being
a functional competence necessary for the modern workplace and
capable of being defined and learnt. In this context, ‘information literacy’
as a functional competence is afforded description in a number of ways.
These include descriptions by national governments, educations systems,
academics, teachers and industry, each of which attempts to give infor-
mation literacy application. Each of these descriptions is explored below.

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Government
Descriptions by western governments have generally been cast in terms
of seeing information literacy as a workplace competence. Increased
usage of competency models to drive workplace learning has taken
place in the United States (Boyatzis & Kolb 1995), the United Kingdom
(Newton & Wilkenson 1995), Australia (Beven 1997; Stevenson 1996)
and the Scandinavian countries (Mabon 1995). This can be attributed
to the stances taken by the national governments in these countries on
the benefits that can accrue through the creation and adoption of
recognisable competency standards. As a result, ‘information literacy’
has received attention in these standards as there is broad agreement
that knowledge processes and products are central to success in the
competitive environment of the new economy.
A key platform in this movement has been a concern to identify sets
of essential generic workplace skills that employers need. During the
late 1980s and early 1990s, similar development efforts took place in
the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom (see Table 5.1).
Kearns (2001) reports that these countries have adopted two alter-
native approaches to key workplace competencies. He argues that
the US model involves a broader, more flexible and more holistic set
of generic skills which include basic skills, personal attributes, values
and ethics, learning to learn as well as workplace competencies. The
Anglo/Australian model, on the other hand, was influenced by the
approach to competency-based training adopted in both countries,
which has resulted in a more narrowly focused and instrumental set of
key skills/key competencies that are broadly similar, but with one sig-
nificant difference. In both countries, personal attributes and values
have largely been excluded.
In a recent review of research on generic skills for the Australian gov-
ernment, Kearns (2001) has mapped a comparison of the Australian Key
Competencies against the key skills from the United States, the United

Table 5.1 Generic (key) workplace skills frameworks

Country Initiative Year
United States American Society of Training and Development
and Department of Labor (ASTD/DOL);
Workplace Basics: The Skills Employers Want 1988
SCANS Commission Framework of Workplace
Know-how 1992
United Kingdom Key Skills (Core Skills) 1990
Australia Mayer Key Competencies 1992

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Table 5.2 Comparison of key skills in Australia, the United States and New Zealand
Key Competencies UK (NCVQ) Core Skills US (SCANS) Workplace NZ Essential Skills
(Australia) Know-how
Collecting, analysing and Communication Information; Foundations skills: Information skills
organising information basic skills
Communicating ideas and Communication; personal Communication skills
information skills: improving own
learning and performance
Planning and organising Personal skills: improving Resources: foundation skills; Self-management skills;
activities own learning and personal qualities work study skills
performance
Working with others and Personal skills: working Interpersonal skills Social skills; work study
in teams with others skills

Using mathematical ideas Numeracy: application of Foundation skills: basic skills Numeracy skills
and techniques number
Solving problems Problem-solving Foundation skills: thinking skills Problem-solving and
decision-making skills
Using technology Information technology; Technology systems Information skills;
modern foreign language communication skills

Note: Where the UK Core Skills, US Workplace Know-how and NZ Essential Skills are comparable with more than one key competency, they have
been repeated.
Source: Mayer (1992, p. 11) as reproduced in Kearns (2001, p. 15)
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Kingdom and New Zealand. The similarities between these frameworks

are evident, as is the inclusion of information literacy skills in each.
This comparison clearly shows the importance placed on informa-
tion literacy by various governments when developing their various sets
of ‘key’ workplace competencies. In the Australian framework, informa-
tion literacy is accounted for primarily in the ‘Collecting, analysing and
organising ideas and information’ key competency, although aspects of
‘Using technology’ are also involved. ‘Collecting, analysing and organis-
ing ideas and information’ is seen as the processes of gathering and
managing information that are constantly changing and evolving under
the impact of technological development. The summary statement that
the development committee issued (see Table 5.3) best illustrates this.
In contrast, ‘Using technology’ is seen as the capacity to use tech-
nological processes, systems, equipment and materials. The notion of
‘using’ is seen as extending from the skills of operating equipment to
the use of technology to explore ideas, in order to pursue understand-
ing (see Table 5.4). Thus competencies in gathering, managing and the
analysis of information, as well as using technology, were seen as both
emergent and critical in 1992.
Therefore, using the technology of computing for informational
purposes could, for example, relate to the:

• skills necessary for data workers to manipulate technology for

routine work related purposes;
• skills necessary for knowledge workers who use computers as
a more transformative tool; and
• capacity of manufacturing workers to use technology to
produce products.

Clearly, during the last decade, governments throughout the world

have found it important to focus attention on the identification of a set

Table 5.3 Extract from the summary of the key compe-

tency ‘Collecting, analysing and organising ideas
and information’
Key Competency Performance Performance Performance
strand Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Collecting, Access and record Access, select and Access, evaluate
analysing and pieces of organise and organise
organising ideas information from information from information from
and information a single source more than one a range of sources
source

Source: Mayer (1992)

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 DEVELOPING INFORMATION LITERACY

Table 5.4 Extract from the summary of the key compe-

tency ‘Using technology’
Key Competency Performance Performance Performance
strand Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Using technology Reproduce or Construct, organise Design or tailor
present a basic or operate products products or
product or service or services services

Source: Mayer (1992)

of key functional employment-related competencies as an aspect of eco-

nomic policy. This is particularly true of those countries that have
adopted a competency approach to vocational education (Garavan &
McGuire 2001). The inclusion of information literacy as part of this
suite of skills does seem congruent with and reflective of the require-
ments of a knowledge-based economy. Consequently, these key
workplace skills are seen as an essential component of any curriculum
associated with preparing individuals for work. Thus information liter-
acy in its various guises is viewed as an essential component of all
work-related curricula.
With information literacy becoming more pervasive within voca-
tional curriculum, it has received the attention of both researchers and
teachers. Researchers have tried to give it meaning by examining it
within workplace practice in an effort both to define it better and to
gain an understanding of its relationship with other aspects of work.
Teachers, on the other hand, have been trying to give it application in
learning—that is, to situate it within its various contexts of practice.
These two aspects are discussed next.

RESEARCH

The notion of information literacy is multi-faceted and, as a consequence,

research is occurring across many disciplines and contexts. In this section
of the chapter, three areas of research are discussed: information literacy
at work; efficient use of software; and hypermedia. I am not suggesting
that this is representative of all the research taking place, but rather that
these three areas might represent the richness of this research.

Examining information literacy in the workplace

As key skills are described in a generic way, they necessarily have mul-
tiple meanings related to their specific use in practice. Examination
of workplace practice is starting to provide a better understanding of

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information literacy as it applies to specific tasks undertaken as part of

various kinds of employment. Information literacy practices amongst
front office staff of motels (Beven 1996) and airline service officers
operating customer service counters (Beven 1997) provide some
insights into the kinds of skills and capacities that staff employ when
using computer (database) software to engage in their work practice.
These studies attempted to ascertain the nature of the knowledge
(information literacy) that was being deployed by workers and the
extent to which competence gained in one setting might be transferable
to other settings.
‘Domain-specific’ knowledge and skills were taken as providing a
worker with the ability to undertake tasks proficiently (Gott 1989). In
contrast, ‘generic’ knowledge and skills were taken as being more
domain-independent, and as being transferable across and between
tasks (Stasz et al. 1990). Using such a framework in the workplace,
then, competent practice would require a practitioner to draw upon
both ‘domain-specific’ and ‘generic’ knowledge and skills. The purpose
of these studies was to examine such a hypothesised separation of
specific and generic knowledge in the workplace.
Database software required users to undertake tasks within struc-
tured menus and predetermined screen layouts designed by the
software author. To manipulate data within the software effectively,
users were required to use icons, codes, keys assigned specific functions
and a variety of key sequences both to navigate through the system and
to enter data. By its very nature, computer software is often very deter-
ministic and unforgiving, and requires the user to be very precise. It
also requires the user to develop a well-defined conceptual map of the
systems and sub-systems. Thus proficient use of the software requires
not only system knowledge including skills, but also the development
of system-specific literacy and numeracy skills. Moreover, the effective
use of the software requires an appropriate interaction between the
above-mentioned skills.
A taxonomy of database knowledge was used as a framework
against which to map the knowledge used in the workplace. The map
provided a structure from which to examine the nature of the knowl-
edge and skills used in operating computerised motel and airline
reservation systems. Whether or not the knowledge required to work
effectively was shared across sites enabled the researchers to determine
the extent to which it was context-specific or ‘generic’.

Motel front office practice

The first study was of the use of database software by front office staff
who manage motel reservations processes and associated management
systems. Two analyses undertaken in this study indicate that consider-
ations about the ‘generic’ nature of knowledge and skills can be made
at different levels of generality and abstraction. For example, the use of

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 DEVELOPING INFORMATION LITERACY

software menus can be regarded as having similarities (being conceptu-

ally generic) at an abstract level, across sites. For instance, similar tasks
could be accessed via a menu (see Figures 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3) at each of
the investigation sites.
However, at a more specific level from an operator’s standpoint,
little similarity existed between the menu structures at each site. That
is, the abstract similarities were not meaningful at the concrete level
of operation because an operator was required to deploy different
keystrokes for each menu. Similarly, while the analysis of data entry
strategies could be conceptualised as similar across sites (i.e. use of
function keys, look-up tables, on-screen instruction), at a more con-
crete level of operations, little commonality was found to exist in the
strategies used across sites in undertaking the same activity. For
example, to check in a new reservation at each of the sites required
the informant at Site A to Enter numeric key 1, at Site C to press the
ENTER key; and at Site D to press the Function key 2 (F2).
It is clear that the levels of abstraction and generality have a signif-
icant effect on the validity of assigning a ‘generic’ label to the knowledge
identified in this study. The more concrete the level of examination, the
less likely it is that the knowledge or skill can be labelled ‘generic’.

RESERVATIONS
Thursday November 8 1995

Functions Inquiries
1. Check in 20. Guest inquiry
2. Group check in 21. Today waitlist inquiry
3. Reservation for today 22. Guest history inquiry
23. VCP inquiry
24. Group master inquiry
4. Change guest information 25. Availability inquiry
26. Blocked rooms inquiry
6. Same day cancellations 27. Room back inquiry
7. Maintain links 28. House count inquiry
29. Floor plan inquiry
9. Flagged comments maintenance

Inquiries Alternative Functions

30. Expected arrivals inquiry 61. Check in
31. Room reserve calendar 62. Check out
32. Guest information inquiry 63. Guest transaction posting
33. Room availability 64. Room availability inquiry
65. Reservation inquiry
Enter Selection: 66. Guest inquiry

Figure 5.1 Main menu at Site A

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

DMS Version 2.35 RESERVATIONS 8:41 am 12/08/95

New Reservation

Press ENTER to begin a New Reservation

Find Existing Reservation

By: Current All

Guest Name = F1 F7
Phone Number = F2 F8
Room Number = F3 F9
Group Name = F4 F10
Registration = F5 F11
Other Fields = F6 F12

Registration Number = [TAB]

Reservation Required:

Figure 5.2 Main menu at Site C

Front Menu XXXXX Lodge XXXXXX 11/11/95 12:40:33 pm

Front Menu

F1 For System Help Manual Ref

F2 Reservations 3
F3 Registration 4
F4 Check Out and Cashier 5
F5 Operator Assistance 6–1
F6 Availability Summary 2.2.3
F7 Availability Report 2.2.2
F8 Housekeeping Menu 6
F9 In-House Financial Summary 9.3.16

Figure 5.3 Main menu at Site D

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 DEVELOPING INFORMATION LITERACY

It would seem that the labelling of skills and knowledge as ‘generic’ can
be validated at an abstract ‘conceptual’ level; however, the genericity
falls down at a more concrete or ‘operational’ level. That is, the generic
label is not useful for practical activity. Moreover, the knowledge needed
for the activity would not be known in terms of the ‘generic’ label.
Further, if it were known in terms of the generic label, it would not nec-
essarily be accessible as such for the tasks.
Thus the ‘generic’ knowledge identified in this investigation may
not be sufficient to complete tasks successfully at a more concrete
(operational) level. At this operational level, success seems to depend
much more on ‘domain-specific’ knowledge. This is not to suggest that
‘generic’ skills are therefore worthless, but rather supports the view
that ‘generic’ skills may be impossible to apply if the user lacks
‘domain-specific’ knowledge (Resnick 1987). Knowing that a function
of a reservation system is available through a menu structure is impor-
tant; however, the lack of knowledge of the correct synonym to enable
the process will inhibit its successful completion. Therefore, attempting
to teach knowledge only as ‘generic’ might in fact be non-productive.
Evidence to this effect has been provided by Lester, who reported ‘that
teaching students about problem-solving strategies and heuristic
methods and phases of problem-solving does little to improve students’
ability to solve mathematical problems’ (Lester 1994, p. 666).

Airline customer service

The use of a computer database by airline customer service staff was
the focus of a second investigation. The respondents worked on cus-
tomer service counters where they engaged with the flying public and
dealt with a diverse range of customer inquiries ranging from simple
flight changes through to very complex reticketing and fare recalcula-
tions often associated with multiple carriers. From the first study, it was
concluded that the more concrete the level of examination, the less
likely it is that the knowledge or skills can be labelled ‘generic’. That
study revealed that the level of abstraction of knowledge necessary to
make it ‘generic’ may reduce its meaningfulness for successful comple-
tion of a task, without accompanying ‘domain-specific’ knowledge.
This study sought to establish whether the previous findings would
hold in a different, but allied, workplace context.
Airline customer service officers interact with database software to
inform their dealings with customers. To do so, they need to be able
to communicate effectively with the database. These communications
have two important aspects: firstly, a capacity to construct a request;
and secondly, a capacity to interpret a response. In the workplaces
examined in this study, the informants made database requests by con-
structing mnemonic forms, and received responses as screen displays.
Different kinds of knowledge were needed to undertake both aspects
effectively.

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Making requests to the database required knowledge of the lan-

guage, abbreviations and codes that made up a mnemonic, as well as
knowledge of the general principles of mnemonic construction. During
the period under investigation, one informant constructed 427 mnemon-
ics within 60 transactions. These mnemonics ranged from a simple ‘\l’ to
a complex ‘BAV5445643991093113,02-98, K W WHITTONs’, as well
as coded remarks such as ‘RMK TKT WAS LEFT BY COLLEAGUES
FOR PAX WAS TO BE REBKD AND PAY UPG BUT THEY DID NOT
RBK SO NOSHOWED’. Correct construction of the mnemonic was
vital to succeeding with any action. It was apparent that the lead char-
acters (usually 2–5) of the mnemonic were significant in informing the
software of the type of request.
Some of the knowledge needed to construct mnemonics was
‘context-specific’ and centred around unique software commands.
Additionally, knowledge of ‘generic’ principles of mnemonic construc-
tion, as well as ‘generic’ knowledge about where to obtain critical data,
was also necessary. The ‘generic’ knowledge identified here seemed
vital to the ability of the informant to construct so many codes in the
course of the day. Yet this ‘generic’ knowledge was incapable of being
useful alone. It was the ‘context-specific’ knowledge of the software
codes (the initial part of the mnemonic) that the computer also acted
upon. What was apparent was the synergy of both kinds of knowledge
to the process of database manipulation. It would be impossible for the
informant to memorise all the possible computations of data as codes,
and therefore they must be capable of drawing upon the ‘generic’ prin-
ciples of mnemonic construction to produce them effectively.
The informant often had to make use of the only available data.
Data such as names, flight numbers and dates of travel were critical to
the construction of many of the mnemonics, yet often the data could
not be supplied by the customer at the commencement of a transaction.
As a consequence, ‘similar’ transactions were constructed differently,
and those with limited data were often more complex than those in
which the necessary data were available. This point was highlighted
where, across six transactions of a similar task (see Table 5.5), the
number of sub-actions in which the informant used a mnemonic ranged
from three to 39. Such variations suggest that it would be difficult to
learn this task as a series of structured steps.
In dealing with highly codified screens, the informant had devel-
oped ways to reduce the cognitive load by training himself to see only
those aspects of the screen that he regularly dealt with. Further, he had
developed a capacity to access similar types of data in appropriate
informational contexts. This capacity often enabled him to reduce the
number of transactions (actions) necessary to complete a task (event).
Another skill observed was selecting shortcut or ‘linking’ mnemonics to
move between screens. These had the effect of reducing the complexity
of mnemonics, as well as narrowing the search to a smaller data set.

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Table 5.5 Comparison of mnemonics used in generic

context 5 of Event ‘Issuing Ticket’
Event 1 Event 2
BADC136473866895856,03-96,G N RTBOOTH549.BNESYD
PETERS
DT RFB964984
SYS00 RTBOOTH506-SYDBNE
RTHLGFW RTWILLIAMS
SG586ESYD 506-SYDBNE
BNEKK1 RT3
XE SG586Y.SYD
\ BNE1
XE2
SG549.BNE
SD1
Adds ‘Y’ to above data - SG549Y.BNE
SYD1
BADC1364754887715383.05-98, C D
WILLIAMS
T
CTSYD/132628
DT
RTBOOTH586-SYD
SG506Y.SYD
BNE1
E2
SGS549Y.BNE
SYD1
ADC136474587690696,11-97 C BOOTH
DT
TSYD/
TELSTRA
DT
SY586

Event 3 Event 4
RTHT42E RTHT42E
DAVC544948259971,05-97, DAVC544848259971,05-97,
J C LEWIS/P1 J C LEWIS/P1
DTP1 DTP1

Event 5 Event 6
RTHALL482.SYDGOL PD508,1MIL
PM RT2
RTHALL486.SYDGOL PN
FP PF
RT PN
CHQ80627923219658,WESPAC DTC/P2
DT
PD417.1GRIF
PD: QF417/30MAYBSYD,GRI1 continued

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Event 5 Event 6
PR2
RT2
PW
P
T

The random accessibility provided no logical linking between

screens, nor did it provide the informant with any sense of structure.
None of the screens provided screen-based links to, or associations
with, any other screen. Consequently, navigating between screens relied
on the informant having an holistic understanding of the complete
screen set. This random accessibility, whilst providing maximum flexi-
bility in terms of access (i.e. no screen was more than a mnemonic
away), gave little assistance to the informant. As a consequence,
mnemonic constructions appeared to be situationally determined and
context-specific in nature.
There were also ‘generic’ features in display across all screens that
can be identified in command driven software. For example, the end
of a display was always signalled by the return of the cursor; mnemon-
ics, once entered, were overwritten by the displayed data; data were
not automatically removed from the screen—rather, the screen
scrolled, having the effect of leaving a history of actions; data that
could be subject to a linking mnemonic was identified with a line
number; and the data contained in ‘Passenger Information’ screens
always commenced with line numbers. Knowledge of these ‘generic’
features permitted the informant to recognise structure in the displays,
identify possible linking points and make changes as required. Unlike
many database programs with more graphical displays, delineation
between label and data is much less obvious on these text-based
screens.
As in the case of making requests to the database, understanding
displays required the informant to draw upon both ‘generic’ and
‘context-dependent’ knowledge. Whilst the ‘generic’ knowledge identi-
fied here was critical for the informant to both locate and order data
for interpretation, ‘context-specific’ knowledge associated with the
idiosyncratic nature of the data display and of the codification of that
display was also necessary.
Examination of the data showed that, to use database software
effectively, a user has to call upon aspects of both ‘generic’ and
‘context-specific’ knowledge. Both sorts of knowledge played a crucial
but different role in the process examined. This analysis indicates that
‘generic’ knowledge and skills can be conceptualised only at a more
abstract level of the task. In contrast, ‘context-specific’ knowledge
seems to be involved in operating at a more concrete transactional level

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of the task. At the more abstract level, similarities that allow tasks to
be grouped ‘generically’ can be identified. However, examination of
tasks at the operational or concrete level shows little evidence of gen-
erality. What is clear from this study is that ‘generic’ knowledge may
not be sufficient to complete tasks successfully at a more concrete
(operational) level. At a concrete level, success seems to depend much
more on ‘context-specific’ knowledge. What was apparent in this study
was the synergy of the role between both kinds of knowledge in the
process of database manipulation.
In the work practices examined in both studies, there appeared to
be a boundary between different types of workplace knowledge—in
particular, between the more abstract conceptualisation of knowledge
and the more concrete use of that knowledge. These studies add further
support to the view that ‘generic’ skills may be impossible to apply if
the user lacks ‘context-specific’ knowledge. Further, conceiving of
knowledge as being either ‘generic’ or ‘specific’ might not be useful
educationally. The studies have shown that, in the workplaces exam-
ined, the knowledge required for effective practice was both rich in
nature and adapted to its particular situation. Although knowledge
could be abstracted to a level of genericity, its loss of meaningfulness
seemed to render such an abstraction pointless.

Efficient use of software

Research by Bhavnani (2000) and Bhavnani et al. (2001) found that,
despite experience, many users do not make efficient use of complex
computer applications. They argue that this is due to a lack of strategic
knowledge, which they assert is difficult to acquire just by knowing
how to use commands. In a controlled study, they compared experi-
mental groups in which they taught both strategic knowledge as well
as commands with control groups who were taught the traditional
method of just commands. These experiments showed that strategic
knowledge can be explicitly and successfully taught in combination
with commands, and that more that half of the students in an experi-
mental group employed these strategies in a post-test. What was harder
for them to qualify was the extent to which the strategy knowledge had
taken on a general form and was then applied in other situations.
However, if the strategy is not learned at a general level, it is less likely
to be used in other situations involving different commands.
Whilst these experiments showed that some strategies might be
acquired automatically just by learning commands, they also showed
that other important strategies are not acquired easily but can be
learned as a result of explicit instruction. Further, the authors claim
that learning both strategic knowledge and command knowledge does
not require extra time or harm the acquisition of command knowledge.
They also assert that the addition of strategic knowledge to teaching

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has the potential to enable transfer of strategic knowledge across dif-

ferent applications.
These findings complement the findings from the workplace study
detailed previously. That is, a focus only on command knowledge (spe-
cific knowledge) is counter-productive when developing information
literacy skills in software usage. The efficient use of computer software
seems to be dependent upon the acquisition of both strategic (generic)
and command (specific) knowledge.

Hypermedia
Hypermedia is a new form of information access which is highly attrac-
tive to users because, on the surface at least, it leaves them in full
control of that access while at the same time making it extremely easy.
Hypermedia provides an environment that promotes the active, per-
sonal exploration of information for both comprehension and facts
(Welsh 1995). Some characteristics of hypertext are that it is hierarchi-
cally organised information (text, pictures, graphics, sound, video)
‘with associative or referential links able to be manipulated using
a graphical user interface (GUI)’ (Lai & Waugh 1995, p. 26). It is a
network of ideas/concepts connected on the bases of their associative
or referential links in addition to organisational links and suitable for
information searching and retrieval. Duchastel (1990) sees the impor-
tant features of hypermedia as being:

• non-linear access to information;

• varied information access;
• integrated information access;
• ease of access to information; and
• free access to information.

This implies that information-seeking is the fundamental under-

lying hypermedia activity, one which Jonassen and Grabinger (1990)
describe as ‘a fundamental learning activity, precursive to many
others’ (1990, p. 13), and which Marchionini sees as a ‘special case
of problem-solving’ (1989, p. 57). Research shows that information
searchers prefer facilities such as keyword search or index mecha-
nisms (Joseph et al. 1989); however, where search questions are
vague, people tend to resort to browsing or exploring strategies
(Marchionini & Shneiderman 1988). Marchionini (1992) proposes a
framework for information-seeking tasks that reflects the iterative,
non-linear and opportunistic characteristics he sees as typical of end-
user information-seeking patterns. In contrast, Wright (1990,
pp. 176–8) attempts to impose some structure on the search process
by proposing that six different types of search tasks can be identified.
He describes these as:

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• search target simple and fully known;

• search target simple but only partially known;
• search target complex and fully known;
• search target computed from online tradeoffs and feedback
from the computer;
• search target simple but unspecifiable to a computer; and
• search target unrecognisable for the purposes of terminating
the search.

Identifying search processes in this way seems to be useful for two

reasons. Firstly, these processes can be thought of as a range of strate-
gies available to users to reach different information search outcomes.
Secondly, this diversity of search processes would also require users to
develop and make use of a range of cognitive activities and structures.
The cognitive processes involved in hypermedia usage are similar
to those involved in two other domains: information retrieval and
reading (Duchastel 1990). Duchastel states that the information
retrieval aspects of hypermedia lie in its navigational capabilities,
which involve searching and browsing. In terms of the reading aspects
of hypermedia, it is not concerned with the processing of language, but
rather with aspects involved with comprehension, and includes knowl-
edge processing from both graphical and textual information.
Duchastel identifies four cognitive processes that seem central to hyper-
media interaction: browsing; searching; integrating; and angling:

Browsing is what hypermedia is principally for. Browsing is encour-

aged by the presence of buttons (links) which signal to the user that
related information is available. Searching is another cognitive
process continually activated by hypermedia. Searching occurs in
response to a question that might be quite specific through to quite
broad. The more specific the question the more straightforward the
search is. Integrating is the global process of learning that cognitive
psychology recognises most clearly. It involves the structural charac-
ter of knowledge as knowledge is constructed by the learner. It is the
active process involved in understanding, and consists in interrelat-
ing conceptual elements of knowledge in a coherent semantic net.
Angling is the term used to denote the active process involved in
establishing different perspectives on a topic of knowledge (viewing
it from different angles). Being capable of examining multiple per-
spectives not only adds to the learner’s knowledge of the topic, but
also can potentially enhance higher skills such as critical thinking
(Duchastel 1990, p. 227).

These four cognitive processes can be grouped into two broader

processes. Browsing and searching together form the user’s capacity to

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reach out into an information space. The user goes out to access new
information. Integrating and angling, on the other hand, form an in-
ternal review of information in order to consolidate the information
retrieved. The user looks inwards to ensure coherence in the under-
standing of the information to hand. Thus, in a hypermedia interaction,
there is a constant and dynamic flow outwards and inwards in the pro-
cessing of information. These cognitive processes would seem to have
important implications for both work and education for work. That is,
the development of these capacities is critical to workers who manipu-
late information.

Summary
This section has attempted to show how research is able to provide
important and often different insights regarding information literacy
and how it might best be developed. In summary, it informs us that
conceiving of information literacy as a ‘generic’ skill that can be sepa-
rately identified and taught has a tendency to both trivialise its
complexity and devalue its importance in the development of work-
place skills. The examination of workplace practice suggests that it is
important for learners to develop their information literacies holistic-
ally within the context of their workplace application. This does not
render obsolete the need to make explicit those aspects that are
‘generic’ and transferable to other tasks and contexts. The hypermedia
literature provides an understanding about how information can be
accessed as well as the kinds of cognitive skills needed to do this suc-
cessfully. It also provides clues to educators about how they might
construct learning to help learners to both reach into information
spaces and to consolidate and make sense of the information they
retrieve. The research by Bhavnani (2000) demonstrates that generic
(or strategic) knowledge, as well as the context-specific (command)
knowledge, can be taught and learned synergistically, using no more
time and with greater success as measured by test results. These aspects
have consequences for both curriculum development and teaching
practice, which are discussed next.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Literacy commentators have recently foreshadowed the need for change

in our thinking about literacy curricula. For example, Lepani (1998)
wrote about the end of the print society in which literacy has been the
ability to read and write in order to become a fully participating member
of a democratic society. This was usually accomplished through a
Kindergarten to Year 12 compulsory education system, followed some-
times by some form of higher or vocational education. She believes that,

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in the emerging global knowledge society and its technological infra-

structure of computers and multimedia, education is becoming lifelong
and literacy has to be extended beyond reading print and writing with a
pen. Spender (1995) supports this view with her assertion that literacy
is more than the mechanics of comprehension; it is about the making
and communicating of meaning. She argues that, in future education
systems, it may also no longer be a matter of knowing information, but
a matter of doing it. The previous section of this chapter provides a
preliminary insight into what ‘doing it’ might mean.
Yet current practices of curriculum development in the western
world (discussed earlier) seem overly simplistic and largely ignore what
this research is saying. For example, the development of ‘generic’ com-
petencies like the Australian example of ‘Using technology’ seems to
ignore the context-specificity highlighted as critical in the research lit-
erature. Current curriculum documents continue to identify ‘generic’
competencies as important but separate entities. As a consequence, this
causes a press on vocational educators to teach ‘generic’ skills which
might in fact be non-productive, as research indicates that ‘generically
identified knowledge’ alone is insufficient to secure success at a task.
What needs more attention in both curriculum documents and training
practice is a recognition of the importance of both kinds of knowledge
and the synergistic relationship they have in securing successful work-
place practice. Therefore, seeing information literacy as the highly
complex, integrated and interconnected notion that it is becomes the
first step in ensuring that the teaching and learning strategies adopted
to develop it are appropriate. Some recommendations for teaching,
drawn from research, follow.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHING

The following is a set of specific recommendations for curriculum

developers and teachers developing classroom practice. These are a dis-
tillation of the argument and recommendations drawn from the many
works that have been used in constructing this chapter. Whilst they
specifically address the acquisition of information literacy, they ought
also to be viewed as having wider application.

1. Recalling prior knowledge from identical or similar actions is

central to competent workplace learning. Teachers need to
ensure they make such connections explicit to learners.
2. Contextual aspects of the workplace, as well as a focus on func-
tional tasks, are important to learning for work. Learning from
only paper-based examples (as is often the case in classrooms)
denies the learner access to the nuances and conditional aspects

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of, for example, interacting with a customer. When assessing

competencies associated with non-routine skills such as issuing
tickets, a problem-based action learning approach may prove
more effective.
3. The current tendency is to teach computing skills by taking
the learner through highly structured exercises, often using
self-paced modules. This may serve to develop routine proce-
dural skills. However, this method is unlikely to produce skills
for non-routine tasks that would better be served by scenario-
based approaches.
4. When teaching non-routine skills in which the computer is
used in problem-solving, a focus on the construction of soft-
ware search algorithms will assist the learner to generalise the
problem-solving skills.
5. To ensure that learners know that efficient strategies exist to
perform various kinds of tasks, the instruction must provide
explicit strategies and indicate their effect on performance.
That is, some strategies—whilst enabling task completion—
are not as efficient as others.
6. To help learners know when to use a strategy, they should be
given opportunities to explore alternative methods, and to
decide how to select efficient methods. Furthermore, learners
should be given opportunities to examine why they chose one
method over the others, and to understand the tradeoffs
involved.
7. To help learners learn how to deploy strategies, they must
firstly have adequate practice in executing commands in the
context of simple tasks, prior to executing commands on
more complex tasks with the aid of suitable strategies.
8. To enable learners to transfer strategies across applications,
teachers must ensure that learners use these strategies in the
context of other applications, and recognise that they are the
same strategies.
9. The open sharing of knowledge and information drives effec-
tive workplaces. The focus on individual development and
assessment in formal learning settings (classrooms) has a ten-
dency to discourage the same levels of sharing. A focus on more
collaboration in learning could assist in minimising this effect.

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F. Beven, Centre for Learning and Work Research, Griffith Univer-
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Bhavnani, S.K. 2000, ‘Designs conducive to the use of efficient strate-
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Bhavnani, S.K., Reif, F. & John, B.E. 2001, ‘Beyond command knowl-
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Garavan, T.N. & McGuire, D. 2001, ‘Competencies and workplace
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Adelaide
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Laudon, K.C. & Laudon, J.P. 1991, Managing Information Systems: A
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Information Literacy Conference, Australian Council of Adult

Literacy, Canberra
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Scribner, S. 1983, ‘Mind in action: a functional approach to thinking’,
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Stasz, C., McArthur, D., Lewis, M. & Ramsey, K. 1990, Teaching and
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Stevenson, J. 1996, Learning in the Workplace: Tourism and Hospital-
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 6

Developing
problem-solving skills
Howard Middleton

INTRODUCTION

This chapter outlines the importance of various kinds of problem-

solving in contemporary vocations. It draws on cognitive theory to
outline and examine models of problem-solving for well-defined and
ill-defined problems. On the basis of these models, approaches are out-
lined for the teaching and learning of the knowledge needed for solving
the kinds of problems that will constitute contemporary and future
work.
The ability to solve problems is an important attribute in most con-
temporary workplaces. The kinds of problems that are encountered can
vary from routine tasks like packing supermarket shelves to more
complex problems like predicting demand for particular products. In
recent years there has been a shift in the kinds of problem-solving
required, with the ability to solve complex, ill-defined problems being
regarded as important to the success of certain enterprises. The need to
be able to deal with complex problems has occurred because of social,
economic and workplace changes. These problems occur, for example,
in new small businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry (Mid-
dleton 1996). The ability to provide creative solutions to complex
problems is also seen to be increasingly important in many occupations
(Yashin-Shaw, this volume). In some occupations, high levels of
problem-solving ability are equated with expertise (Stevenson, this

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volume). However, there are many conceptions of what constitutes

problem-solving—and indeed, of what constitutes problems. At the
outset I will define problems as tasks that workers encounter, and are
required to solve, where there is some impediment to completing the
task successfully.
Problem-solving has been addressed in the literature. It has been
defined variously as a specific activity and as a more general process.
For example, Polya (1965) regards problem-solving as ‘attaining an
aim that was not immediately attainable’ (1965, p. 9), while Mayer
(1991) regards the terms thinking, problem-solving and cognition as
interchangeable. The various approaches have attempted to address
questions that include:

• What are problems?

• What makes some problems difficult?
• How do people represent problems?
• How do people solve problems?
• How do people become expert problem-solvers?

PROBLEMS

People encounter problems on a regular basis during work, at home

and as part of social activities. Problems can be classified both in terms
of the ways in which it is thought that people represent the problem
(Greeno 1978; Greeno & Simon 1988; Newell & Simon 1972) and in
terms of the cognitive action they take to solve them (Anderson 1982).
One model that has been useful in characterising problems is the
problem space model (Newell 1980; Newell & Simon 1972). In this
model, problems are defined as having three components that occur
within the problem space. The first component is called the problem
state. This represents all the information the problem-solver has about
the problem. The second component is the goal state, which describes
the attributes of a successful solution. The final component is the
search space, which is the range of information the problem-solver has
in memory, or can access, that might be used to move from the problem
state to the goal state. In this conceptualisation, problem-solving is
sometimes described as ‘navigating’ the search space to move from
problem state to goal state.
To illustrate the problem space model, one can use a problem most
people face at some stage. The problem is changing houses. The problem
state is the absence of suitable housing, possibly due to getting married
or having children. The goal state is a house with a suitable number of
rooms with appropriate facilities and configuration for the changed
circumstances. The search space might include contacting a builder,
locating a suitable block of land, establishing a budget, and so on.

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The problem space model was developed alongside information

processing theory. This theory posits thinking and problem-solving as
the processing of information in ways analogous to a computer. The
explanatory orientation is cognitive, and validation is sought using
computer simulation. That is, if a computer can be programmed to
solve a problem in observable ways that appear human-like, this is
regarded as evidence that the underlying computer programming which
allowed the computer to solve the problem resembles the way a mind
might process the information to solve the problem.
A general method to explain the way people move from the
problem state, through the search space to reach the goal state has been
developed. The method is called a production system (Anderson 1982).
Production systems consist of a set of productions, which are rules and
actions for solving a problem. A simple production consists of a goal,
some application tests and an action. An example of a simple produc-
tion in driving and its expression is as follows:

IF the goal is to drive a standard transmission car and the car

is in first gear
and the car is going more than 10 miles an hour
THEN shift the car to second gear
(Anderson 1990, p. 243).

The information processing explanation of problems and of

problem-solving has been challenged on a number of grounds. Schön
(1990) argues that, for a production systems approach to work, it is
necessary to be able to specify all aspects of the problem prior to
attempting to solve it. The problem space model was developed from
puzzles and games and by examining how people solve mathematical
problems under specific, controlled situations. Schön argues that
many everyday and work problems cannot be specified in this way.
This can certainly be the case in industries developing new products
or systems.
A more recent formulation of the problem space has been devel-
oped to account for complex and ill-defined problems, and problems
that require a creative solution (Middleton 1996) (see Figure 6.1). In
this formulation, the problem state has been replaced with a problem
zone, the goal state with a satisficing zone and the search space with a
search and construction space.
In ill-defined problems, the problem zone is defined as that portion
of the problem space from which a representation of the problem is
derived. The problem zone comprises the information that exists prior
to the problem-solving process commencing. However, there are differ-
ent ways in which a problem-solver might represent the problem. For
example, one architect might represent the information provided by a
client differently from another architect.

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Problem
zone Search and
construction space

Satisficing
zone

Problem space

Figure 6.1 Revised concept of a problem space

Source: Middleton (1996, p. 113)

The problem zone captures the way that the starting point for some
problems is ill-defined and can be interpreted and represented in
various ways. It also captures the notion of problem finding (Getzels &
Csikszentmihalya 1976) as an important aspect of problem-solving.
Constructing a representation of the problem zone from information
presented by customers was identified as an issue in a study of airline
customer service officers:

Most problems have pretty much got the same sort of approach to
them in that you sort of say ‘you tell me what it is that you want’
and then we have to think about and think ‘OK, is this what the
person really wants?’ . . . Sometimes it doesn’t make any sense right
up, so you sort of sift through in your own head, you verify individ-
ual parts with them and ask them questions related to those parts
and sometimes you can find out, the story, as they are perceiving it,
is quite different to what it really is and you can start to see what the
real story is’ (Middleton 1997, p. 104).

The search and construction space of ill-defined problems is

regarded as the portion of the problem space the problem-solver navi-
gates to reach the solution. Ill-defined problems can have a complex
search and construction space for a number of reasons. There may be
many different ways to solve the problem—for example, in the build-
ing industry a house may be constructed from a variety of materials
and, depending on the choice of materials, a variety of construction
methods will be possible. Some steps in solving the problem may be
opaque—that is, it may not be obvious to the problem-solver which
procedures to take to solve the problem. For example, in diagnosing a
malfunction in the electronics of a car engine, the steps to rectify the

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problem may be neither audible nor visible, and thus not obvious to the
mechanic. In some problems there can be complex relations between
procedures. For example, in designing an item such as a chair, the
material selected for its construction will determine the range of
construction methods that can be used. Both material and construction
methods are linked to and determine the cost of production. Altering
one will affect the others.
The term ‘satisficing’ was coined by Simon (1981) to describe
design solutions. The term ‘satisficing zone’ refers to the stage of a
problem when it is possible to make the judgement that a solution has
been achieved. In complex problems, this satisficing zone contains
aspects that are ill-defined and often opaque (Simon 1981), with goal
criteria that may be linked and contradictory (Schön 1990) and which
may emerge during problem-solving (Schön 1990). Ill-defined problems
in areas such as design also have the requirement that the solutions be
creative (Perkins 1990).
Simon (1981) argued that one cannot describe design solutions as
correct, but only say that a particular solution satisfies known goal
criteria at a particularly time. For these reasons, design solutions are
described here as being located in a satisficing zone. Thus, in Figure
6.1, the satisficing zone is represented as an area bounded by a line,
indicating an area in which various solutions may reside, rather than as
a point indicating a single, correct solution (Simon 1981). The example
used to illustrate complex, ill-defined problems is a design problem;
however, many everyday and workplace problems have these features.
For example, in medicine it is generally not possible to establish the
level of recovery that might be possible for a given patient with a given
ailment being treated with a particular treatment. Medical treatment
thus has features of the satisficing zone similar to design problems.
Engeström (1999) has challenged cognitive theories in general
because he argues that they are based on the assumption that people
solve problems as individuals and that these problems are stable over
time. Engeström suggests that in many workplaces new kinds of prob-
lems are emerging, often as a consequence of the introduction of new
and novel technologies. Engeström defined these problems in terms of
two related categories. The first he calls disturbances or breakdowns,
while the second he describes as rapid overall transformations
(Engeström 1999).
Often when a new technology is introduced into a workplace, new
organisational patterns are required. These new patterns increase the
possibilities of disturbances and breakdowns and these problems are
often addressed through new technological or organisational solutions,
hence leading to rapid overall transformations. This becomes recurring
and cyclical, and thus workers are continually being required to solve
new problems in novel situations, where expertise cannot be gained
through practice in a stable situation (Engeström 1999).

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Engeström (1999) argues that people do manage to solve problems

in these new working environments, but the way they solve them
cannot be explained in terms of existing theories. The evidence for this,
according to Engeström, is that the solutions appear to go beyond the
application of individuals’ knowledge and problem-solving abilities.
Engeström has proposed a theory of expansive learning based on
cultural-historical activity theory (Engeström 1987; Vygotsky 1978).

PROBLEMS AS CHALLENGES

Perkins (1990) has developed a framework for describing problems

based on the criteria that appear to determine whether a problem is
complex or simple. Perkins uses the criteria of stability, transparency,
simplicity/complexity and deliberation.
Perkins identifies six problem types which he calls challenges. The
categories (and the corresponding challenge) include: performance
problems, which are involved in many sports, where the challenge is to
execute operations successfully; strategic problems, such as chess, where
the challenge is to plan far ahead; probabilistic problems, such as card
games, where the challenge is to reason well in terms of probabilities;
formal problems, such as producing a theorem proof in geometry, where
the challenge is to find a path; routine problems, such as making a cake
from a recipe, where the challenge is to complete the task with precision;
and creative problems, such as designing, where the challenge is to find
the goal as well as the solution. One result of Perkins’ classification is
that there is a widening of the kinds of activities that are regarded as
problematic to include both performance and routine problems.
To illustrate Perkins’ framework, we can look at the example of
creative problems. In Perkins’ framework, creative problems are
defined as unstable, in that the problem may change over time, and
non-transparent, in that all of the strategies that may be applied to
solve the problem are not obvious or observable at the outset of
problem-solving. Perkins also suggests that creative problems contain a
non-simple goal test, in that the determination that a solution is satis-
factory requires subtle judgement.
Getzels and Csikszentmihalya (1976) examined the factors that
might predict success in solving problems requiring a creative response
for successful resolution. They conducted a twelve-year longitudinal
study of a group of art students. The study commenced when the stu-
dents entered university and finished eight years after they graduated.
The subjects examined at the twelve-year point were those students
who had been with the study from the beginning and had entered occu-
pations where creative abilities were regarded as important to the
success of the enterprise.
The single consistent finding was that people who were successful

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in occupations requiring creativity engaged in what Getzels and Csik-

szentmihalya called problem-finding. Problem-finding was defined as
exploring alternative ways to represent a problem, exploring different
directions extensively before settling on a course and remaining ready
to change direction when alternative possibilities presented themselves.
Thus the Getzels and Csikszentmihalya (1976) study can be conceptu-
alised as examining the predictors of success for students engaged in
solving problems that Perkins (1990) has defined as unstable, non-
transparent, and with a non-simple goal test—in other words,
problems that can be defined as complex and ill-defined. Moreover, the
study emphasised the importance of the way problem-solving knowl-
edge is represented.

WHAT MAKES PROBLEMS DIFFICULT?

Problem-solving involves undertaking a task where there is some

impediment to completing the task; however, the difficulty of the task
will not be the same for all people. People who have solved the problem
(or one very similar to it) previously will not experience the same diffi-
culty as those who are attempting the problem for the first time. Thus
the nature of problems cannot be examined fully without reference to
the experience of the person solving them.

Many elements
Some problems are complex because there are many parts to them. The
task of preparing a materials order for the construction of a house can
be said to be complex because of the numerous items required and the
possibility that some items will be left out. However, these problems
are what Schön (1990) calls additively complex in that there are seen
to be relatively simple relations between each of the components. For
example, if one vertical support member is omitted, it only has conse-
quences for the vertical members next to it.
For other problems, complexity is a function of the nature of the
relations between aspects of the problem or of proposed solutions. For
example, while it is a relatively simple task to learn individual words in
a language, to learn to communicate within that language is a much
more complex task because it requires that the learner understand the
syntactic and semantic relations among words.

Contradictory
In some problems encountered in occupations, the relations between
aspects of problems represent contradictions, and these constitute
another kind of complexity. For example, an industrial designer can be

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faced with the task of designing a chair that is lightweight, but strong.
The lighter the chair is, the harder it becomes to also make it strong.

Opaque
Some problems are complex because it is not possible to see all the
elements of the problem. In electronic troubleshooting, for example,
diagnosing the problem can be complex because modern electronic
systems provide many functions, there are complex relations between
the parts of the systems that provide these functions and most of the
system is not directly visible to the problem-solver.

Ill-defined
Complex problems are sometimes complex because the dimensions of
the problem are not apparent to the problem solver. This lack of precise
detail can include each of the three elements of the problem space
model. For example, the information a client provides to an architect
will generally provide details such as the number of rooms, but will
leave other details for the architect to work out. This means the archi-
tect has to solve the problem without a clear idea of the problem zone,
the details of the most appropriate path to take to navigate the search
and construction space, or the precise details of a solution within the
satisficing zone.

Emergent criteria
Problems in new industries can be complex because of the lack of
established knowledge of the industry. This can mean that criteria
for establishing suitable solutions emerge during problem-solving. For
example, establishing specialist tourist facilities in remote locations
such as some national parks and wilderness areas requires staff with
particular skills. However, living conditions in these remote locations
may determine that hiring staff meeting the ideal criteria for the enter-
prise may not be possible and that different criteria may need to be
established. The establishment of these emergent criteria adds another
dimension of complexity to the problem.

Need to be creative
Enterprises engaged in the design of commercial products encounter
problems that are complex because of the legal requirement to be orig-
inal. That is, to satisfy patent laws in most countries, products must
be 25 per cent different from existing products. This requirement to be
original provides a high level of complexity to the problem for two
reasons. Firstly, engaging in creative activity is generally regarded as

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complex. Secondly, there is no precise way of defining the nature of the

25 per cent difference. For example, the car manufacturer Rolls-Royce
sued another company that produced after-market radiator grilles for
Volkswagens which resembled Rolls-Royce radiator grilles.
The complexity of problems is sometimes a function of the way in
which the problem is represented. This has two aspects. On the one
hand, there is the way in which a problem is presented to a problem-
solver. For example, the problem may be presented as a textual
description either verbally or in writing, or as a sketch or some type of
visual representation, with or without text. On the other hand, there is
the way in which the problem-solver represents the problem in
memory. For example, they might create a visual image from a verbal
description or verbal labels for a sketch or diagram. The issue of
representation and the influence it has on the degree of difficulty people
experience when solving problems has been examined and is explored
in the following section.

REPRESENTING PROBLEMS

The ways in which problems are presented to people and the way in
which they represent the problem in memory affects the ease with
which the problem can be solved (Kotovsky et al., 1985; Kotovsky &
Fallside 1989; Larkin 1989). In some taxonomies, there is the implica-
tion that the knowledge used in solving a problem is represented as
abstract symbols, such as mathematical formulae or in language or lan-
guage-like codes. This symbolic representation of knowledge appears
to be the case with some kinds of mathematical problem-solving.
Indeed, there have been periods where psychologists have argued that
all thinking was represented by these abstract symbols and that such
representations as mental imagery and tacit knowledge do not exist
(Pylyshyn 1973, 1981).
More recent research in neurophysiology (Kosslyn 1994) has been
able to provide evidence that different parts of the brain are activated
by different modality stimuli. Different regions are activated by visual
and verbal stimuli. Kosslyn interprets the neurophysiological findings
as providing strong evidence of the existence of imaginal represen-
tations in memory. Kosslyn used positron-emission tomography to
demonstrate the presence of images. Knowledge represented as images
in memory appears to have different characteristics to knowledge
represented in more abstract ways.
People can experience difficulty solving problems if the problem is
presented as diagrams and notes where the notes related to the dia-
grams are not integrated with the diagrams. People have to search the
text, locate relevant sections and mentally integrate them with the parts
of the diagrams they are associated with. According to Sweller and

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Chandler (1994), this integration of the spatially separated information

creates a high cognitive load and thus makes the problem more difficult
to solve than if the text were integrated with the diagrams. Sweller and
Chandler call the phenomenon the split-attention effect.
The use of different combinations of images and text (either as text
or as audio) has become of increasing importance in both education
and industry, with the World Wide Web (WWW) and multimedia being
used for communication and as a problem-solving tool. Mayer (2001)
found the split attention effect present when researching the use of
various combinations of words and images in multimedia formats.
Mayer argues that cognitive load during problem-solving can be
reduced by observing what he describes as the spatial contiguity prin-
ciple—that is, ensuring that diagrams are spatially near, or integrated
with, the text that relates to them.
The use of multimedia tools in workplace settings has introduced
another dimension of complexity to problem-solving concerned with
modality. Mayer (2001) argues that there are at least two perceptual
channels by which humans receive information or interact with mul-
timedia systems. One is visual and the other auditory. Mayer found
that problem-solving was more efficient if problem information was
presented in a combination of modalities that had the effect of
sharing the processing load. For example, information about a
problem presented as diagrams and audio was more effective than
information presented as diagrams and text. Mayer’s explanation is
that when information is presented as diagram and text, the problem-
solver overloads their visual processing capacity while not utilising
their auditory processing capacity.
Problem-solving difficulty is increased if additional material that is
not necessary to solving the problem is included with the description of
the problem. This appears to be the case whether the additional ma-
terial is interesting or not. Sweller and Chandler (1994) describe the
phenomena as the redundancy effect and argue that the additional,
unnecessary material serves to distract the problem-solver from attend-
ing only to the material that is relevant for solving the problem. Mayer
(2001) found that the redundancy also applied when using multimedia.
This is an interesting finding given the current tendency with Web-
based material to include non-relevant material.
In some explanations of thinking and problem-solving, all knowl-
edge is thought to be represented in an abstract code (Pylyshyn 1981).
Challenges to the abstract code theories have led to the identification
of further categories of problems that are of interest to workplace
settings. The two are performance problems and routine problems
(Perkins 1990). Both of these involve non-abstract representations of
knowledge, and both are problems that are often encountered in the
workplace.
In performance problems such as in driving a racing car, the driver

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is able to describe the actions involved in driving the car on a race

circuit. However, expert drivers are not able to describe what it is they
do that allows them to win over another driver who is not quite so
expert. What discriminates between an expert racing car driver and a
competent driver is knowledge that is almost certainly tacit, action
knowledge and knowledge represented in working memory as dynamic
mental images rather than a set of abstract propositions.
In the case of routine problems, Perkins defines the challenge as
being contained in the requirement to complete the task with precision.
If we take the example of planing a piece of timber flat, it is possible to
see this as a non-problematic task that can be described in terms of a
series of steps prescribing ways of holding the timber and the plane,
and of the action of planing. However, planing a piece of timber flat
with accuracy requires a high degree of skill, and this skill is developed
in action that cannot be described in any meaningful way.
The way problems are presented to a problem-solver and repre-
sented in the problem-solver’s memory seems to be important in terms
of a problem-solver’s ability to overcome the phenomenon generally
described as mental blocks. Two blocks to problem-solving are func-
tional fixedness (Duncker 1945) and mechanisation bias (Antonietti
1991). Functional fixedness is the inability to see objects used in other
than their familiar role, while mechanisation bias is the tendency to
employ familiar reasoning strategies in situations where they are not
appropriate. Antonietti found that if a problem-solver represented
those kinds of problems that tended to induce functional fixedness or
mechanisation bias as visual mental images, prior to attempting to
solve them, they were more likely to achieve success.
Antonietti (1991) conducted experiments to study the effects of
mental visualisation on functional fixedness. Antonietti used the ‘cord’
problem developed by Maier (1930) with two groups of sixteen–
twenty-year-old secondary school students. The control, or verbal,
group was given the verbal formulation of the problem. The visualisa-
tion group was instructed to visualise the problem situation and was
invited to imagine any changes to the situation, if they wished. After
visualisation, the visualisation group was given the problem and
allowed ten minutes to find a solution. The wording of the cord
problem is as follows:

Suppose you are in a room where two cords are hung from the
ceiling. The two cords are of such a length that, when you hold one
cord in either hand, you cannot reach the other. Your task is to tie
the ends of these cords together. The room is empty. You have only
a bunch of keys (Antonietti 1991, p. 217).

One solution to the cord problem is to tie the keys to one cord and
to swing them like a pendulum. The other cord can be brought to the

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centre, so that the swinging cord can be caught as it approaches

the centre, and then the two cords can be tied together. The solution
to the cord problem requires the problem-solver to overcome func-
tional fixedness, because the critical element (the bunch of keys) has to
be used in an unusual way (as a pendulum).
Subjects were classified as productive solvers if they employed the
critical elements in unusual ways and unproductive solvers if they gave
responses that involved common applications of the critical objects. In
the cord problems, the visualisation groups produced the highest per-
centage of solutions that were judged to be productive (84 per cent for
the cord problem).
The results of the experiments using the cord problem support the
theory that visualisation of the elements of a problem situation, prior
to solving the problem, reduces the tendency to employ elements in
familiar ways, and thus increases the probability that problem-solvers
will employ elements in unusual ways. Thus using representations of
problems that resemble rather than represent problems appears to
reduce the complexity of certain problems. Or, put another way, the
more concretely a problem is represented, the more likely it is that
the problem will be solved.
Antonietti (1991) conducted an experiment to see whether visual
mental imagery helps people to overcome the tendency to resort to
apparently useful, but inappropriate, procedures, suggesting that they
were influenced by mechanisation bias. Antonietti used the ‘alarm
clock’ problem developed by Rausdepp (1980):

John went to sleep at 8.00 p.m., having previously wound up his old
alarm clock and set the hands to wake him up at 9.00 a.m. He slept
soundly until the alarm rang. How many hours did John sleep?
(Antonietti 1991, p. 213).

A common response to this question is 13 hours, because people

calculate the number of hours between 8.00 p.m. and 9.00 a.m., not
realising that nine is after eight on the alarm clock, and therefore the
clock will ring after one hour. Antonietti (1991) used three groups of
thirteen–fourteen-year-old secondary students for the experiment.
One group (verbal group) received a verbal (written) statement of the
problem, another group (picture group) received a verbal (written)
statement of the problem plus an illustration of the scene, and the third
group (visualisation group) received the verbal (written) statement plus
the instructions to visually represent the problem scene in their minds,
prior to solving the problem.
The visualisation group achieved the highest number of correct solu-
tions, followed by the picture group. None of the verbal group solved
the problem correctly. Thus, in this problem, visual mental images and
external images in the form of pictures helped problem-solvers avoid the

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tendency to resort to familiar but inappropriate strategies, and thereby

improved performance on the problem-solving task.
More generally, the results of the experiments examining the role of
visual mental images in reducing mechanisation bias and functional
fixedness demonstrate that imagery can be employed in complex
problem-solving to remove or reduce the effects of cognitive phenom-
ena that inhibit problem-solving. In doing so, they can improve the
problem-solver’s ability to solve complex problems where unusual or
creative strategies may be required.

PROBLEM-SOLVING

Explanations of the ways people solve problems have a long history,

with two general theories emerging. The first is associationism and
the second is restructuring (often called Gestalt thinking). Aristotle is
regarded as the father of associationism. He attempted to explain all
forms of thinking and argued that thinking (and problem-solving)
could be explained in terms of two basic components: ideas and the
associations between those ideas. In Aristotle’s theory, thinking and
problem-solving are governed by three laws. The first is the doctrine of
association by contiguity, which states that events that occur in the
same space and at the same time will be associated in memory and
retrieval. If one thinks of one idea, one will be prompted to think of the
other. The second law is the doctrine of association by similarity, which
states that events that are similar will be associated. The third is
the doctrine of association by contrast, which states that objects or
events that are opposites tend to be associated.
Gestalt or restructuring explanations of problem-solving (Duncker
1945; Katona 1940) are based on the premise that solutions can be
found by gaining a greater understanding of all of the elements of a
problem. Once this has been achieved, the elements can be reorganised
in such a way that they represent a solution. Gestalt explanations of
problem-solving have been criticised for lack of precision and empiri-
cal support (Mayer 1991). Furthermore, gestalt theory has always been
restricted to explanations of certain kinds of problem-solving. These
have generally comprised problems which required a creative response
to achieve a resolution. However, there appears to be a growing recog-
nition that many problems which were previously thought to be routine
and simple do in fact contain degrees of complexity. Perkins’ work on
problem types, mentioned earlier, supports such ideas.
Cognitive strategies based on the problem space model advanced
earlier suggest that, for complex problems, achieving a representation
of the problem that appears to facilitate resolution is a key stage of the
problem-solving process. One needs to recognise that the problem as
given may not be the final representation of the problem, and that the

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problem-finding strategies mentioned earlier will need to be employed.

In a similar manner, the traversal of the search and construction space
of complex problems may employ steps found through search, but may
also require creative steps that need to be constructed. Finally, strate-
gies for determining an appropriate solution for complex problems
require that the problem-solver investigate the nexus between desirable
and possible solutions in establishing a satisficing solution.
Using activity theory, Engeström (1987) argues that strategies for
achieving solutions to complex problems require that the problem-solver
view the act of problem-solving not simply as an individual applying
cognitive processes in response to the problem demands. Engeström
argues that problems can only be addressed once they are represented as
part of an activity system. The activity system involves consideration of
the rules and meaning within a setting and the tensions that are a func-
tion of the history between the tools and processes of the activity system
within which the complex problem resides.

Problem-solving as a context-specific activity

Problem-solving in workplaces often takes place within the particular
social or cultural context of that workplace—or, as Rogoff suggests,
‘thinking is intricately interwoven with the context of the problem to
be solved’ (Rogoff 1984, p. 2). Workplace problem-solving is some-
times referred to as everyday problem-solving, to distinguish it from
problem-solving undertaken within a school setting or research lab-
oratory. There can be an inference that everyday problem-solving is
somehow less important than the formal problem-solving undertaken
in schools and laboratories. However, it may be more useful to think of
formal and informal problem-solving as problem-solving occurring in
two different contexts. Thought about in this way, formal problem-
solving in school simply involves another context rather than a context
where general principles will be learnt that can be applied to problems
in any context.

Expert problem-solving
Expert problem-solvers have a number of things in common. Their
expertise is connected to a domain, occupation or context. In this sense,
there is no such person as a general expert. Even within domains,
expertise is tied to the particularities of the domain. For example, in a
study of chess experts, Chase and Simon (1973) found that chess
masters could recall board arrangements to a higher degree of accuracy
than novices if the arrangements were ones they would meet in a real
game of chess. If the arrangement was random, however, the chess
expert was no better than the novice chess players. Similarly, then, an
airline booking officer who is expert on the computer system of one

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airline may not be an expert at performing similar tasks on the com-

puter system of another airline.
The ways in which experts represent problems vary across occu-
pations. In a study of architects, Middleton (1998) found that expert
architects had a large store of domain-specific knowledge that they
could apply to solve architectural problems. This included both know-
ledge of architectural components and knowledge of the relations
between different aspects of the knowledge that was being applied to
solve the problem. In itself, this is no different to findings from studies
of expertise in other areas; however, the knowledge did not appear to
be in the form of abstract principles, but manifested as templates of
possible solutions or solution elements. These templates appeared to be
represented in memory as visual mental images.
Expert problem-solvers in a domain are able to analyse problems
at multiple levels of abstraction, and to extract principles from the
problem as given. These principles are then used to work in a forward
direction through the search space to solve a problem efficiently.
One component of expertise in many settings, including workplace
settings, is tacit knowledge. Experts in many areas are not able to artic-
ulate what it is that makes them expert. That is, they can describe the
procedures they go through to solve a problem, but are unable to say
why their solutions are better than that of another practitioner who is
deemed proficient but not expert. For example, a world champion
Formula 1 racing car driver cannot describe what it is they do that is
different from other Formula 1 drivers who have not achieved a world
championship. The difference is superior tacit knowledge. This is some-
times referred to as knowledge in action, or action as knowledge.

DEVELOPING PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS: IMPLICATIONS

FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

Complex problems occur within particular settings and contexts. The

nature of the setting and context will shape the nature of the problem
and possible problem-solving strategies. One aspect of the context for
any problem is the skills and attitudes a problem-solver brings to the
task. These skills and attitudes constitute part of the individual search
and construction space of every problem-solver. Instructional practice
should take into account the complex of learners’ histories and their
problem-solving abilities. In developing learning activities care should
be taken to build on existing problem-solving abilities in moving to
more complex problem-solving. This may involve starting with prob-
lems where only one of the three elements of the problem space is
considered complex, to problems where all three elements are complex.
Problems have meaning in the situation in which they occur. Pro-
grams need to draw on real contexts for useful problem-solving skills

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to develop. That is, learners need to encounter a range of problems that

represent the richness and diversity of problems that they could expect
to encounter within an enterprise.
Learning experiences that develop problem-solving skills need to
engage learners in problem-finding—in attempting to represent prob-
lems in ways other than the representation initially encountered. The
way in which problems are encountered by a problem-solver represents
the givens of the problem; however, the givens may need to be explored
in depth before problem-solving commences.
Problem-solving is often a shared activity. An important aspect of
developing problem-solving skill is to understand that different people
bring different skills and perspectives to the problem-solving activity.
Making these skills and perspectives explicit is an extension of problem-
finding and increases the richness of the learning experience of all
participants.
Finally, developing expertise in solving complex problems involves
two general areas of learning. The first is the development of problem-
solving skills through engaging in a range of authentic problem-solving
activities. The second is concerned with developing an understanding
of the relationships among elements within problems and relationships
across problems.

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 7

Developing creativity

Irena Yashin-Shaw

INTRODUCTION

This chapter discusses reasons why the development of creative think-

ing is important in vocational education and training. It presents
various definitions and perceptions of creativity before identifying a
perspective most relevant to the investigation of this topic within
a vocational context. From this perspective, cognitive theory and the-
ories of creative thinking are integrated to present a model which
explains cognitive processes involved during creative problem-solving.
The model also provides examples of creative thinking cognitive pro-
cedures. A case study is used to illustrate the application of this
conceptualisation of creative problem-solving within the vocational
context of graphic design. This discussion forms the basis for re-
examining pedagogy within vocational education.

CREATIVE THINKING IN VOCATIONAL SETTINGS

Many vocational areas require practitioners to engage in design—such

occupations include hairdressers, graphic designers, fashion designers,
draughtspeople, architects, toolmakers, engineers, silversmiths and Web
page designers. Given that original design—which is a creative problem-
solving process—is integral to so many vocational fields, it is desirable

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for educators and practitioners in these fields to develop an understand-

ing of the cognitive basis for the process. Indeed, such an understanding
is increasingly relevant in a broader sense to globalising economies
where innovation is necessary for international competitiveness. Conse-
quently, creative problem-solving is applicable to an ever-increasing
range of occupations.
Original design is by nature an ill-structured domain. Instructional
procedures that succeed for well-structured domains may prove to be
inadequate for the more complex material and demands found in ill-
structured domains (Efland 1995). Furthermore, it is important that
instruction in ill-structured domains does not compromise the intrinsic
complexity of the cognitive processes involved. Even in well-structured
domains such as welding or smithing, there may be aspects which are
ill-structured at more advanced levels of operation or inquiry. Thus a
model for creative problem-solving in vocational contexts, which pre-
serves flexibility without over-simplifying the complex act of creative
thinking, is extremely useful. This chapter presents such a model.
However, before examining this model and its applicability in voca-
tional contexts, an orientation to the discussion is provided in the
following sections dealing with definitions and earlier models.

WHAT IS CREATIVITY?

The nature and source of creativity has been, and will continue to be, an
ongoing subject of speculation and controversy. No single definition is
sufficiently encompassing to reflect the myriad of meanings associated
with the term, the conception of which changes with the psychosocial
context in which it is used. Creativity means something different to a
ballet dancer than to a graphic designer or a poet because the evidence of
the creativity is expressed in such diverse ways. Indeed, much of the
mystique of creativity stems from the difficulty of defining it. Some
researchers (e.g. Weisberg 1988) view it as expert problem-solving, while
others see it as divergent thinking (e.g. Guilford 1967), the ability to
apply heuristics across domains (e.g. de Bono 1970), or the synergistic
application of creative resources (e.g. Sternberg & Lubart 1991). Clearly,
no one definition would seem to be complete because of the numerous
ways in which creativity may be conceptualised.
Researchers have also attributed creativity to a number of sources.
For example, Jay and Perkins identify creative dispositions as a primary
source. They define dispositions as ‘abiding behavioural tendencies in an
individual produced by attitudes, values, interests, long-term motives,
and like characteristics’ (Jay & Perkins 1997, p. 280). They differentiate
dispositions from abilities, claiming that for creative behaviour to occur,
a person must first be disposed to it and not just have the ability. Reiter-
Palmon et al.’s research (1998) showed a correlation between creativity

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and personality type. They argue that problem construction ability is

positively related to the fit of the solution to the personality type. Other
researchers (e.g. Hennessey & Amabile 1988; Koestner et al. 1984) have
also reported that creative performance is sensitive to external environ-
mental influences affecting intrinsic motivation. Examples of such
influences may be expectation of evaluation (Hennessey & Amabile
1988), deadlines (Amabile et al. 1976) and rewards (Lepper et al. 1973),
all of which may decrease motivation and creativity. Guastell et al.
(1998) identify eight cognitive styles. They found that creative output is
highest for people who engage in a wide repertoire of cognitive styles.
Similarly, Torrance and Horng (1980) identify two cognitive styles (adap-
tors and innovators) and conclude that innovators are more likely to
produce better and more creative outcomes. Some researchers, such as
Cropley (1997), Mumford and Gustafson (1988), Sternberg and Lubart
(1991), propose holistic models of creativity, arguing that several factors
or dimensions combine to constitute creative outcomes.
The discussion thus far illustrates the diversity of views in relation
to creativity. Should it be considered more a product or a process? Both
aspects are implicit in the above definitions and attributions. For the
purposes of examining creativity from a vocational context, both
aspects are important. Inherent in the term vocational is an expectation
of output; thus creativity in this context must yield a creative product.
However, that is unlikely to be achieved without engagement in a
creative process. Amabile (1983) provides two definitions of creativity
(given below), which together provide a relatively comprehensive defi-
nition of this phenomenon and which therefore provide a good starting
point for the examination of creativity in vocational contexts.
Amabile (1983) presents a consensual and a conceptual definition
of creativity, arguing that one definition in itself is not sufficient for use
in a theory of creativity. Her consensual definition caters for the sub-
jective assessment of creativity:

A product or response is creative to the extent that appropriate

observers independently agree it is creative. Appropriate observers
are those familiar with the domain in which the product was created
or response articulated. Thus creativity can be regarded as the
quality of products or responses judged to be creative by appropri-
ate observers, and it can also be regarded as the process by which
something is judged is produced (Amabile 1983, p. 31).

Her conceptual definition provides for a more objective approach:

A product or response will be judged as creative to the extent that

(a) it is both a novel and appropriate, useful, correct, or valuable
response to the task at hand, and (b) the task is heuristic rather than
algorithmic (Amabile 1983, p. 33).

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In summary, therefore, a product shall be considered creative if it is a

novel and heuristic response and can be judged as creative by experts.

MODELS OF CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING

This section presents a model to explain cognitive activity during the cre-
ative and complex task of designing. Antecedents of the model from
cognitive theory and theories of creativity are discussed. The field of
graphic design is presented as a case study from which sets of cognitive
procedures used during creative problem-solving are identified. Until
recently, most theories and models of creativity sought to explain the cre-
ative process on a gross level in terms of stages of development of creative
ideas. Such models commonly have the creative thinker progressing
systematically through different stages of idea development or cycling
iteratively through various phases, uni-directionally, until completion.
The models by Wallas (1926) and Amabile (1983), discussed below, are
examples of this process.
In an influential early discussion of creativity in 1926, based on the
testimony of creative individuals, Wallas proposed that creative acts
proceeded through four stages: preparation, incubation, illumination
and verification. In the first stage, preparation, individuals acquire rel-
evant knowledge and skills, which may be used as raw materials for
subsequent creative activity. In this stage, creative individuals are in the
process of constructing rich, complex knowledge structures, which may
be manipulated and restructured in the creative act to follow. In the
context of modern cognitive theory, Armbruster (1989) suggests that,
during this early learning phase, individuals are in the process of
acquiring and storing complex knowledge structures called schemas.
Schemas are active memory structures which aid in the retrieval and
acquisition of knowledge (Glaser & Bassok 1989).
The incubation stage may be viewed as the gestatory period when
the problem is not actively or consciously pursued, but where the sub-
conscious is at work utilising the knowledge acquired during the
preparation stage by the ‘free working of the unconscious or the par-
tially conscious processes of the mind’ (Wallas 1970, p. 95). The third
stage of creativity in Wallas’s theory is that of illumination. It is the
point at which ‘unconscious’ cognitive activity becomes conscious—
the ‘Ahh’ experience, the ‘recognition of a mental representation that
fulfils, or has the potential of fulfilling, the goal of the creative enter-
prise’ (Armbruster 1989, p. 180). The product of the illumination stage
is then typically subjected to the process of verification, which is the
fourth and final stage. At this point, the individual undertakes the
sustained process of revision and refinement of the product.
Wallas’s model has been popularly referred to by researchers
writing in the field of creativity, being a seminal work for its time. As

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such, it has provided a basis for stimulating discussion regarding the

process of creative thinking on a macro level.
The notion of progressing through steps is also proposed by
Amabile (1983). However, she proposes a cycling or looping through
five different phases (or stages) repeatedly in order to produce creative
outcomes. The stages are explained as follows. After the task is identi-
fied in Stage 1, the individual activates a store of information from the
existing store of domain relevant skills in Stage 2. This entails the acti-
vation of relevant concepts for use in working memory. A response is
then generated in Stage 3 and it is at this point that the level of novelty
is determined. The response is validated and analysed in Stage 4 to
determine the extent to which it is appropriate, useful or valuable.
Stage 5, the process may be terminated or it may loop back through the
process until success is achieved.
While the notion of creative problem-solving progressing through
phases has persisted, current research is further investigating the nature
of cognitive activity on a finer-grained level, within each phase. An
explanation proposed by Goel (1995) is an example of this. Goel’s
model characterises the development of the design problem space in
four phases: problem structuring, preliminary design, design refinement
and detailing, each of which is characterised by particular cognitive
activity.
Problem structuring is the process of constructing the problem
space through the retrieval of knowledge from various sources, such as
long-term memory and external memory, which includes information
about people, purposes of the artefact and resources. The preliminary
design phase sees the generation and exploration of various design
solutions, which are abstract and non-specific in nature. This phase is
characterised by lateral transformations (movement from one idea to a
slightly different idea), which widen the problem space. The following
phases of refinement and detailing are characterised by commitment to
a particular solution, attention to detail and vertical transformations.
Vertical transformations deepen the problem space by moving from one
idea to a more detailed version of the same idea. This model is an
advancement on previous phase models because Goel argues that the
phases are not absolute, in that some recurrence of earlier phases may
recur periodically as needed.
Finke et al. propose a model of creative problem-solving called the
Geneplore model, so named because of its characterisation by two dis-
tinct stages of cognitive processes—generation and exploration. During
the generative phase, knowledge is retrieved then associated, trans-
formed, synthesised or reduced to create what the authors call
‘preinventive structures’ (Finke et al. 1992, pp. 17–24), which are inter-
nal precursors to the exploration phase. The ‘preinventive structures’
have various properties (such as novelty, ambiguity, meaningfulness,
emergence, incongruity, divergence) which are developed in the

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exploratory phase. They are also formed without full anticipation of

their eventual resultant interpretation.
The exploratory processes differ from the generative ones insofar as
they are more organised, systematic, deliberate and controlled. Typical
examples would be attribute finding, which identifies emergent features
of the developing product; contextual shifting, where an idea is trans-
ferred into a different context as a way of gaining insight; and searching
for limitations, where the constraints or limitations of an emerging
product are identified. These explorations may lead directly to a cre-
ative product or may return the developing structure to the generative
phase for further modification. The modification may take the form of
either focusing or expanding the concept.
Creative thinking, according to Finke et al. (1992), is viewed as the
continual cycling or switching—meaning an iterative relocation of cog-
nitive activity—between the phases of generation and exploration. The
preinventive structures are therefore able to be continuously regener-
ated and modified, with product constraints being imposed at any time
until a solution emerges. Finke et al. offer the following example to
illustrate this process:

A person may retrieve two mental images and combine them in the gen-
eration phase to produce a visually interesting form, and then interpret
the form as suggesting a new idea for a product. Further examination
of the form may lead to the conclusion that the form is incomplete in
some respects. A modified form is then generated by retrieving yet
another image and mentally combining it with the already existing one.
This process may result in a form that represents an improved or more
complete design for the product or may lead to completely new and
unanticipated interpretations of the form (Finke et al. 1992, p. 18).

Product constraints are imposed from outside the generation–

exploration cycle. They are not part of the loop, but rather inform the
cognitive processes at either stage. Products may be constrained for
type, category, features, functions, components and resources (materi-
als to be used). The product constraints determine the characteristics,
nature and use of the final product.
The Geneplore conceptualisation therefore presents a highly flexible
model for creative thinking, having only two stages of operation, each
of which may be iteratively applied and each of which is characterised
by a number of cognitive processes. It is the identification of these
cognitive processes within the global categories of generation and
exploration, and the notion of iterative switching between them to build
up a solution, which present an advancement on previous models. This
model nonetheless has limitations, stemming from the very qualities that
provide it with its flexibility—namely, insufficient detail regarding
the number and kinds of categories of thinking needed to explain

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the creative process. Literature from both cognitive psychology and cre-
ativity argues for the inclusion of an evaluative process (Goel 1995;
Goel & Pirolli 1992; Runco & Chand 1994). Furthermore, any model
explaining cognitive activity that is informed by recent advances in cog-
nitive science must also include an executive control process (Anderson
1982; Evans 1991; Scandura 1981; Stevenson 1986). The following
model synthesised from the creativity and the cognitive literature (see
Figure 7.1) accommodates all these requirements. The model incorpo-
rates both a synthesis of theoretically derived features and components,
and research-based instantiations drawn from the field of graphic
design. The various aspects of the model and their efficacy in explaining
creative problem-solving are described systematically after the model.

THE HIERARCHICAL VIEW OF THINKING

Cognitive literature proposes a hierarchical structure of knowledge.

The notion of higher-level schemas acting on, or operating on, lower
ones is commonly used to explain cognitive structures utilised during
problem-solving (Anderson 1982; Stevenson & McKavanagh 1992).
Schemas may be defined as ‘a complex structure of concepts, proposi-
tions, relationships and procedures, which the person has, and which
influence expectations and actions in a particular situation’ (Evans
1991, p. 54). Without schemas, memory would be a vast collection of
isolated facts, which would need to be combed through every time
information was needed. This clearly is not the case, as people—espe-
cially experts—can retrieve large chunks of information very quickly.
This implies some efficient storage and retrieval mechanism which
organises memory. The theoretical construct advanced by cognitive
psychology to explain this phenomenon is that of schemas. The lowest
level of schemas accounts for routine tasks while the highest level of
schemas is used to ‘identify task or situation requirements, set goals,
and monitor progress towards these goals’ (Evans 1991, p. 54). Steven-
son (1991) refers to these levels as ‘knowledge orders’. The highest level
of the cognitive hierarchy is referred to as third-order procedures,
which act as a control mechanism, while the lowest level is referred to
as first-order, or specific-purpose, procedures. The term ‘procedures’ is
taken from Anderson (1982) and refers to knowledge of how to secure
a goal. The three levels of the model presented in Figure 7.1 are dis-
cussed below.

THE KNOWLEDGE BASE

The knowledge base contains all the knowledge a person holds in long-
term memory. It is one’s ‘stock of knowledge’ (Keller & Keller 1996,

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Executive control
Goal-setting
Switching
Cognitive awareness
Goal-monitoring
Strategy formulation

Third order

Evaluation
Exploration Analysis
Knowledge application Assessment
Experimentation Verification
Context shifting Trialling
Attribute finding Criteria fulfilment
Acknowledging Elimination
limitations Selection
Comparison
Review

Generation Task-responsive
Search higher order Controlled
Retrieval schema
Association creativity
Contrast procedures used
Synthesis heuristically
Transformation
Analogical transfer
Categorical reduction

Second
order

First order knowledge base

Conceptual knowledge First
Procedural knowledge order
Specific purpose schemas automatic

© Irena Yashin-Shaw, 2001

Figure 7.1 The synthesised model for creative problem-solving

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 DEVELOPING CREATIVITY

p. 119). It includes facts about the world as well as automated knowl-

edge of how to carry out certain fundamental processes in order to
achieve a goal. These facts and processes may be operated on by the
higher levels of thinking. Ward et al. argue that, in understanding
creativity, it is ‘just as important to focus on how old knowledge
influences new ideas as it is to focus on novelty, per se’ (Ward et al.
1997, p. 19). All knowledge in long term memory—that is, both general
and domain-specific facts, as well as knowledge of how to perform auto-
mated tasks—is available for utilisation by the second-order procedures
of generation, exploration and evaluation in the process of creative
problem-solving. The knowledge may be accessed by a conscious and
systematic search or it may be automatically activated and called into
active, working memory by way of its conceptual ties and associations
to a concept being consciously utilised. Conceptual ties are the result of
schema formation. Knowledge at this first-order level is automatised, as
distinct from the second-order controlled (meaning not automatic)
cognitive activity of generation, exploration and evaluation. This
distinction is clarified in the following section.

SECOND-ORDER PROCEDURES

Second-order thinking is characterised by three categories of thought

—generation, exploration and evaluation—each of which is consti-
tuted by sets of procedures. Procedures are operators defined by the
function they serve in the problem space. The sets of procedures listed
in the boxes in the model are meant to be representative only and
not definitive, as they vary depending on the nature of the task being
undertaken. For example, a problem requiring the construction of
a creative artefact would require some different procedures to the
solving of a problem that was of a more conceptual nature. Thus
procedures involving tactile manipulation, such as transformation,
experimentation and testing (which are examples of generative, explora-
tive and evaluative activity respectively), are likely to be employed in
the production of a creative artefact, but may well be replaced by
other relevant procedures in a different kind of problem. For this
reason, the schemas are referred to as ‘task-responsive’. Definitions of
the second-order procedures and their origins are presented in Tables
7.1, 7.2 and 7.3. Each table is followed by a discussion of the func-
tions of each of the categories of thinking.

Generation
Generative procedures marshal the mental raw materials which
promote creative thinking. Finke et al. (1992) explain generation in
terms of the construction of mental representations called preinventive

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Table 7.1 Generation procedures and definitions

Procedure Definition
Search (Yashin-Shaw 2001) A seeking out of possibilities to inform or
enrich current thinking
Retrievel (Finke et al. 1992) A direct transference of specific concepts from
the knowledge base into working memory for
the purpose of expanding or illuminating the
current problem
Association (Finke et al. 1992) The mental connection of either disparate or
related ideas, freed from their normal contexts
Contrast (Yashin-Shaw 2001) A juxtaposing or setting in opposition of two
disparate concepts so as to enhance their
differences for artistic or dramatic effect
Synthesis (Finke et al. 1992) A combination or blending or two or more
ideas or concepts
Transformation (Finke et al. The manipulation and visualisation of a
1992) model so that a new form emerges from the
existing one
Analogical transfer (Finke et al. A correspondence and mapping between
1992) similar features of concepts and principles
that are otherwise dissimilar
Categorical reduction (Finke Simplifies a concept or image to its
et al. 1992) fundamental, basic form

structures, which act as internal precursors to the final externalised

creative outcomes. As information is retrieved, synthesised, trans-
formed and associated in novel ways, the potential for creative
outcomes is enhanced. Generation is therefore responsible for bringing
new information into the problem space. As such, it is akin to the com-
monly used term ‘divergent thinking’, which is viewed as an essential
component of creative thinking (Smith 1995). It may be defined as:

• the ability to make remote associations between topics

(Mednick 1962);
• an active search that can free information in memory from the
context and cues with which it was remembered so that it can
appear as a novel response to the problem (Brown 1989);
• the promotion of unconventional possibilities, associations
and interpretations (Guilford 1968);
• the development of tentative possibilities rather than data,
speculation rather than conclusions (de Bono 1970).

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It is characterised by the tolerance of ambiguity, the ability to hold

contradictory ideas simultaneously; the maintenance of flexible con-
structs; and a preparedness to look far afield for potential solutions.
In the proposed model, generative processes may be employed at any
stage of engagement in the task of producing creative outcomes;
however, initial generative procedures are undertaken without ‘full
anticipation of their resulting meaning and interpretation’ (Finke et al.
1992, p. 22). De Bono (1970) has popularised this process as lateral
thinking, which is characterised by such cognitive activity as generat-
ing alternative approaches to a problem, even after a promising one
may have been found (brainstorming); welcoming chance intrusions;
investigating least likely paths; and thinking in non-sequential steps—
that is, making mental leaps rather than moving ahead in small
sequential and logical steps.

Exploration
Exploration takes place as emergent features worthy of exploitation are
identified, extracted and further manipulated. Exploratory activity is
differentiated from generative activity insofar as it is more directed and
organised, and where possible outcomes are assembled from the infor-
mation retrieved.

Table 7.2 Exploration procedures and definitions

Procedure Definition
Knowledge application The application of specific knowledge,
(Yashin-Saw, 2001) procedural or conceptual, to the explorative
process in order to develop a particular
idea
Experimentation The consideration of various physical and
(Yashin-Shaw, 2001) tactile possibilities in the emerging
solution
Context shifting The transference of the idea or concept
(Finke et al. 1992) being considered into a different context
as a way of gaining insight
Attribute finding The search for emergent features and
(Finke et al. 1992) recognition of the developing characteristics
of the product in progress
Acknowledging limitations Identifying real or possible constraints,
(Finke et al. 1992) shortcomings or difficulties of the emerging
product

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Evaluation
Evaluation has been described as ‘selective retention’ by Campbell,
who acknowledges the need to apply some form of selective criteria to
‘weed out the overwhelming bulk of inadequate trials’ (Campbell 1960,
pp. 391–2). Guilford (1956) views it as a judgement concerning the
extent to which a particular piece of information meets given criteria.
Without evaluation, creative problem-solving would be severely frus-
trated, resulting in inferior solutions. At some point, the value of new

Table 7.3 Evaluation procedures and definitions

Procedure Definition
Analysis (Perkins 1981) Critically examining, by focusing
attention on a particular aspect of the
solution, the strengths and weaknesses of
an outcome, proposal or idea
Assessment (Amabile 1983) To pass a qualified judgement on an idea,
concept or outcome by identifying its
appropriateness, appeal, usefulness or
value.
Verification (Yashin-Shaw 2001) Confirming and/or justfying a choice
Trialling (Yashin-Shaw 2001) A mental or physical trial of the product,
undertaken to establish its tactile qualities
Criteria fulfilment The extent to which the product or an
(Campbell 1960) idea meets, exhibits or illustrates the
characteristics required in the final
outcome, through the application of
predetermined criteria, characterising
acceptable solutions
Elimination (Yashin-Shaw 2001) The considered rejection of an idea or
outcome due to its perceived irrelevance,
inappropriateness, uselessness or
impracticality
Selection (Yashin-Shaw 2001) The decision to retain and include
particular ideas and concepts
Comparison (Perkins 1981) The juxtaposition of ideas, concepts or
products with the intention of ultimately
choosing the most appropriate one or
rejecting inappropriate ones
Review (Yashin-Shaw 2001) A reiteration, enumeration, listing and/or
summarising of an idea (or parts thereof)
or outcome

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ideas must be determined. The functions of evaluation are closely

aligned with the popularly used term convergent thinking, which is
commonly thought of as the opposite or complement of divergent
thinking, concerned as it is with conclusions, deductions and assess-
ments (Dowd 1989). De Bono (1970) refers to this kind of thinking as
vertical thinking because it is selective rather than generative, con-
cerned with practicality rather than possibility and correctness rather
than probability.

THIRD-ORDER PROCEDURES

The executive control procedures direct second-order thinking. They

allow thinkers to reflect critically on the appropriateness of selected
strategies and concepts, employ different ones where necessary and
monitor their progress while engaged in tasks (Glaser 1985; Scandura
1981). The executive control procedures are therefore higher-order
thinking which directs and guides the entire task by operating upon the
second-order procedures in a conscious way. For this reason, executive
control is found at the apex of the model because its products are
the goals, strategies and dialogue which inform, select and regulate the
lower-order categories and procedures (see Table 7.4).

Table 7.4 Executive control procedures and definitions

Procedure Definition
Goal-setting (Evans 1991) A statement of the need to achieve some
outcome or quality
Switching (Stevenson 1991) A conscious and intentional change in the
direction of the thinker
Cognitive awareness A self-dialogue, which helps to clarify
(Yashin-Shaw 2001) direction by acknowledging the thinker’s
cognitive position or the various
possibilities presenting themselves
Goal-monitoring (Evans 1991) A conscious intervention to ascertain the
extent to which the thinking will lead to
the desired outcomes
Strategy formulation A statement used as a forward-looking
(Yashin-Shaw 2001) intermediate stepping stone, which may
lead to clearer intentions, goals and
directions

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OTHER FEATURES OF THE MODEL

Creative products are built up gradually through a process of incre-

mental evolution, as the creative problem-solver continually adjusts the
emerging product towards its final form (Jay & Perkins 1997; Perkins
1981). To do this, cognitive components must be able to be combined
in various ways to allow this building up to occur. The flexibility to
allow the various components to combine in response to task require-
ments is accommodated in the model by the bidirectional arrows
connecting all the higher order categories. In this way, the ‘rich inter-
play of the multiple levels and types of knowledge’ (Gott 1989, p. 163)
is made possible. The term interactivity has been adopted to refer to the
phenomenon of frequent switching among the components. Thus to
say the categories are interactive means that cognitive activity can shift
from one category to another at any time as indicated by the bidirec-
tional arrows linking each category.
Another feature of the model is the direct interface between the
higher-order procedures and the knowledge base. This means that
any information in memory may be activated and accessed from any
category of thinking, enabling each to draw on and utilise knowledge
contained within the knowledge base, which provides the concepts and
skills and schemas to be used during cognitive activity.
A person may have a number of schemas for solving creative prob-
lems and the above model is a general form. Because a creative solution
cannot be a standard application of routine procedures, the creativity
schemas are heuristic in nature, requiring control rather than being
applied automatically. An heuristic is a ‘rule-of-thumb’ method of solv-
ing a problem which does not guarantee a solution, as distinct from an
algorithm which is the application of a procedure consisting of specific
rules which do guarantee a result. The higher-order, general schemas,
which are heuristic in nature, are ‘task-responsive’ because thinking
is likely to vary somewhat depending on the nature of the problem and
the domain in which the solver is thinking, as well as the prior knowl-
edge and experience of the problem-solver. The procedures which drive
creative problem-solving are likely to be drawn in various combina-
tions in different situations, which is why they have been identified in
the model as ‘creativity procedures used heuristically’.

CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING IN GRAPHIC DESIGN:

A CASE STUDY

Let us now examine how the above model could be useful for illumi-
nating the process of creative problem-solving in the vocational context
of graphic design. In a case study, a third-year graphic design student
was required to create a catalogue for an avant-garde photography

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and video exhibition at a small regional art gallery. The theme of the
exhibition dealt with the surfing sub-culture in the region. It was
stressed that the format and design of the catalogue were not to be a
conventional representation as this would be at odds with the inten-
tion, philosophy and form of the exhibition. Consequently, the
innovation of the exhibition was to be reflected in the form and format
of the catalogue. Thus, although the context was an instructional one,
the actual task was authentic. Contextualised tasks such as this require
students to negotiate the complex requirements of the workplace where
problem-solving outcomes must satisfy various criteria and be pro-
duced under constraints such as limited budgets and tight time-lines.
The creative problem-solving process was investigated using a
method called protocol analysis where the problem-solver was required
to ‘think out loud’ during the process of problem-solving. This is one
method of capturing cognitive processes in a detailed way as they
occur. The protocols (verbal data) were collected in two sessions,
recorded, transcribed, segmented (595 utterances over both sessions),
numbered and analysed in a detailed way.
During the course of designing, the problem-solver ‘built up’ the
solution through the iterative and differential application of various
procedures. That means that no particular category had exclusive
association with any particular stage of the problem-solving process.
This is exemplified by the set of ten utterances (numbers 26–35 in
Table 7.5) taken from near the beginning of the process in Session 1
which, when analysed, shows procedures from all four categories of
thought present to some degree.
Although all categories of thinking were present throughout, some
categories were deployed with greater relative frequency at different
times during the process according to task requirements. For example,
executive control and generation procedures were used comparatively
more frequently near the beginning of the process, as seen by the block
of initial utterances in Table 7.6.
Alternatively, evaluation procedures were used more frequently
towards the end of the process, as shown by the extract of protocols in
Table 7.7. Utterances 564–87 are provided.
The salient point is that all categories—or kinds of thinking—had
a role to play throughout the entire process. Procedures were enacted
differentially at various times during the problem-solving process, but
they did not occur in a set order; rather, their relative frequencies
changed according to task demands. Procedures among and within
categories were interactive—that is, the problem-solver switched
among them frequently, iteratively and differentially during the entire
problem-solving process. The implications of this conceptualisation of
creative problem-solving are discussed in the following section.

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Table 7.5 Extract of protocols showing presence of all

categories of thinking
Category &
No. Utterance procedure
26 So I am going to come up with an Executive control—goal
innovative design that’s going to have setting
to be just that, not your standard
booklet or leaflet because that’s boring.
27 The standard thing I suppose is . . . Generation—retrieval
12 A4 pages.
28 But . . . the booklet can’t be too small. Exploration—knowledge
application
29 So therefore 12 A4 pages roughly Exploration—
folded in half should give us 24 pages. experimentation
(Participant is physically folding pages
in various ways.)
30 What can you do with that? Generation—search
31 All I’m doing at the moment is just Exploration—
seeing if anything comes to mind experimentation
immediately of something creative or
innovative that I can do with a standard
A4 sheet. (Participant is physically
folding pages in various ways.)
32 Keeping in mind that is one of the Exploration—knowledge
formats for printing. application
33 The first option is quite boring. Evaluation—analysis
34 If I saw a booklet that was basically Executive control—
just an A4 sheet folded in half that goal-monitoring
immediately conjures up very
conventional methods, very straight
and we’ve been told that it is not
what they’re after.
35 It’s not innovative in any sense of the Evaluation—assessment
word.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING IN

VOCATIONAL SETTINGS

This section identifies how instructors within vocational settings may

structure the learning experience for students in a way which encour-
ages the kinds of thinking likely to result in creative deployment of

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Table 7.6 Extract of protocols showing greater relative

frequency of executive control and generation
at the beginning of the problem-solving process
No. Utterance Category & procedure
1 The first thing I’m going to deal with is Executive control—goal-
format because that is the most detailed, in setting
depth thing he’s given us—something we can
think about the most.
2 I’m just at the moment thinking about Executive control—cognitive
formats that first pop into my head—I’ll just awareness
write this down while I’m thinking about it.
3 Poster formats, leaflet formats, booklets, Generation—retrieval
fliers.
4 That is all I can think of at the moment so Executive control—strategy
from there I’ll probably look at the different formulation
formats that I can see for each of those four
—as in the poster—the basic two—the
horizontal and vertical formats.
5 Yes I’m just trying to structure it out from Executive control—strategy
the most basic ones I know, such as the formulation
poster.
6 The flier is the one I’m remembering at the Generation—retrieval
moment.
7 We’ve seen a few at the school lately that are Generation—retrieval
very innovative and I think that could work
in this particular exhibition because the
usual structure of a flier—one page one A4
folded in different ways but some of the fliers
we’ve seen lately take on a . . .
8 Well there is a shape which is then repeated Generation—retrieval
and all the information is on those pages and
just keeps going on and on and on and wraps
round because of the shape—comes round and
then forms up with the other side.
9 That adds interest to it I suppose, and that is Executive control—goal-
as I see it, the most important thing at this setting
point is—to gain interest through the
innovation of the design.
10 I’ll just go back to the poster. Executive control—switching
11 Poster—horizontal format. Generation—retrieval
12 From there you’d probably have to look at Executive control—strategy
the problems associated with it I suppose formulation
and the strong points of the images. continued

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Category &
No. Utterance procedure

13 Poster—also vertical format. Generation—retrieval

14 Look at the whole purpose of the poster. Exploration—knowledge
application
15 The first thing you think of is a poster for Exploration—knowledge
wall. application
16 That has got the strength of having a visual Evaluation—analysis
impact because you’ve got more size to work
with for a start.
17 Then you’ve got more information you can Exploration—knowledge
see at one time. application
18 Then you’ve got different lateral ideas for a Generation—retrieval
poster that we looked at in second year.
19 A poster can be like a pointed sail, a Generation—association
cardboard cut out, it can have a lot of
different variations.
20 But at this point in time a poster wouldn’t Evaluation—elimination
be an option for me because of the fact it’s
a catalogue and I see the point of a catalogue
as being to explain information about an
individual thing at a time.

cognitive resources, and ultimately creative outputs. Firstly, the cogni-

tive resources needed by creative problem-solvers are identified within
a graphic design context, building on the earlier discussion in this
chapter of the three different knowledge orders. This is followed by a
discussion of how instruction may be sequenced for students in order
to develop facility in creative problem-solving. The discussion draws on
relevant aspects of the Collins et al. (1989) model of cognitive appren-
ticeship, showing how a version of the creative problem-solving model
presented in Figure 7.1 can be used to help sequence instruction.
Finally, the usefulness of the model in Figure 7.1 for ‘schema training’
(Derry 1990) is discussed, and it is shown that the model may be used
as an instructional tool to help develop students’ knowledge structures.

What cognitive resources do learners need for creative

problem-solving?
In order to be able to solve problems creatively, students need various
kinds of knowledge. These include propositional and procedural
knowledge, which provides cognitive raw materials with which the

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Table 7.7 Extract of protocols showing greater relative

frequency of evaluation towards the end of the
problem-solving process
No. Utterance Category & procedure
564 That’s got the strength of having you view Evaluation—analysis
only two images at a time.
565 Those two images will be chosen by me from Evaluation—selection
the set of photographs we were given—as
being binary opposites.
566 That way you’ve got the strength of that Evaluation—assessment
opposition coming through—that
displacement.
567 And that is also echoed in the cover graphics. Generation—association
568 Where that square appears in the top you Exploration—experimentation
would have—this white area would be the
wave. (physical manipulation of materials)
569 I think I’m getting to the end of this. Executive control—goal-
monitoring
570 It’s got the strengths of all the ideas I’ve come Evaluation—criteria
up with but is also very budget conscious at fulfilment
the same time.
571 I’ll just go through the list of things I have to Executive control—goal-
achieve. monitoring
572 I’ve got the contrast happening, the displace- Evaluation—criteria
ment happening, it’s practical—it folds into a fulfilment
small format and folds out to a large format,
thereby you can view all the pictures at once.
573 Binary opposites—you’ve got that happening, Evaluation—criteria
the black and white on the cover— fulfilment
economically viable.
574 The interaction happening. Evaluation—criteria
fulfilment
575 Size not a problem, shape not a problem. Evaluation—criteria
fulfilment
576 Transformation—that would be happening Evaluation—criteria
to the extent that it folds from a small fulfilment
booklet into a large piece, thereby that would
also satisfy the fun element where depending
on which way it was folded back together the
imagery is in the two front windows.

continued

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

No. Utterance Category & procedure

577 If you’ve got a poster there are a number of Generation—transformation

ways it could fold back together—if you fold
a poster a different way the image on top is
going to change.
578 OK, what other criteria? Evaluation—review
579 Unusual format—no worries. Evaluation—criteria
fulfilment
580 Extreme format—no worries. Evaluation—criteria
fulfilment
581 Something innovative—no worries. Never Evaluation—criteria
seen anything before like it. It works. I’m fulfulment
just going to have to make it now. That’s the
next stage. But as far as I am concerned,
that’s as economically viable as I’m going to
get it. It will be glossy.
582 The gloss stock does not increase the price. Evaluation—criteria
fulfilment
583 The images are black and white. Evaluation—criteria
fulfilment
584 The only problem I can see happening with Evaluation—analysis
this is the fact that all the images on this long
piece won’t be able to be viewed.
585 For example, no matter which way you fold Exploration—
it back together you may not be able to get experimentation
one of the segments on top.
586 Thereby you won’t be able to view that Exploration—acknowledging
image through the front windows on the limitations
cover.
587 Apart from that, however, it is sound. Evaluation—assessment

student can work; knowledge of heuristics for combining and develop-

ing this raw material in novel ways; and strategic knowledge to
monitor the process. These equate to the three knowledge orders pre-
sented in Figure 7.1 and will be dealt with in turn in a graphic design
context.
Propositional knowledge is referred to as knowledge ‘that’ (Ander-
son 1982); it is declarative or conceptual knowledge and is ‘knowledge
about things, for example information, facts, propositions, assertions,
theories, principles’ (Stevenson & McKavanagh 1992). Procedural
knowledge is referred to by Anderson (1982) as knowledge ‘how’ and is

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knowledge about how to employ and execute skills, techniques, algor-

ithms and other problem-solving procedures in order to achieve a goal.
For example, in the field of graphic design, propositional knowledge may
include facts about drawing techniques, colour mixing, composition,
various methods of book, poster or flier construction or formatting, costs
of different processes such as dye cutting, or software which may be used
in the design process. Knowledge ‘how’, or procedural knowledge, is the
ability to execute the skills of drawing; using the computer and software;
performing a dye cut, and so on. The more propositional and procedural
knowledge students have, the greater the ‘vocabulary’ they have at their
disposal out of which to construct their creative solutions. Thus, as a pre-
cursor to creative problem-solving, students need some domain-specific
knowledge. However, because creative thinking is also characterised by a
preparedness to look far afield for potential solutions, a good store of
non-domain specific knowledge is also useful.
Heuristic knowledge is generally thought of as the ability to apply
the ‘rule of thumb’ method. Such knowledge provides problem-solvers
with a way of approaching tasks but does not guarantee a particular
outcome. Algorithms, by contrast, yield predetermined results through
the application of specific rules. Generally, heuristic strategies are de-
veloped through wide experience in a particular field. They are ‘tacitly
acquired by experts through the practice of solving problems’ (Collins
et al. 1989, p. 478). For example, a graphic designer who has worked
in the industry for some time knows that the first sketches generated
for a design are usually simply the preliminary stepping stones to
developing ideas and will therefore not spend too much time on
including excessive details, as a novice might be tempted to do.
Another heuristic strategy employed by more experienced designers
may be to analyse the target market at which the design is aiming
before proceeding, in order to have a deeper understanding of the
salient features required in the design. A more experienced designer
undertaking a creative design may also deliberately switch direction of
thinking frequently at some stages of the process in order to con-
sciously trigger new ideas and activate different schemas to inform the
emerging product. While these skills are acquired over time and with
experience, it is possible to aid students in the explicit development of
these strategies through the use of conceptual tools such as the model
presented in this chapter.
Strategic knowledge refers to how-to-decide-what-to-do-and-when
(Gott 1989). Evans (1991) describes it as ‘executive schemas’ that effect
control over the deployment of intellectual resources and the monitor-
ing of progress. In the literature dealing with applied cognition and
instructional psychology, this construct is often referred to as meta-
cognition, which performs the function of organising, selecting and
monitoring cognitive activity (Campione et al. 1989; Jausovec 1994).
In the model in Figure 7.1, this kind of thinking is called executive

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control and helps students to be aware not only of their progress

towards their goal but also of how they are arriving there. If students
are given the opportunity, and are encouraged, to engage in this highest
level of thinking, they are more likely to become autonomous learners,
able to self-regulate and develop their skills through reflection. Thus,
as with all of these kinds of knowledge, the skills of self-reflection
evolve slowly through intensive long-term practice (Derry 1990). The
following section examines how these opportunities for engaging in
creative thinking may be sequenced for students in order to develop
their facility for creative problem-solving.

Designing instruction for developing creativity in students

Collins et al. provide a framework for sequencing instructional mate-
rial to ‘facilitate the development of robust problem-solving skills’
(Collins et al. 1989, p. 485). They argue that instructional tasks should
provide for increasing complexity, increasing diversity and the devel-
opment of global before local skills. Each of these will be discussed in
turn in relation to creative problem-solving.
Increasing complexity refers to the ‘construction of a sequence of
tasks and task environments or microworlds where more and more of
the skills and concepts necessary for expert performance are required’
(Collins et al. 1989, p. 484). In the field of graphic design for example,
beginning students need to learn basic skills of composition, colour
mixing and facility with various tools, media and technologies embed-
ded in relatively simple applications before progressing to larger
integrated projects such as that described in the case study earlier in the
chapter. The case study project required the advanced graphic design
students to create and construct a catalogue for an avant-garde pho-
tography and video exhibition. Projects such as that require a rich and
integrated application of all levels of cognitive resources. These include
the application of well-known principles and procedures of artefact
construction such as dye cutting procedures, binding procedures as well
as composition and colour treatment and other domain-specific knowl-
edge. However, as well as that, advanced students were expected to
manage the high cognitive load imposed by the search for novelty and
originality in design while at the same time being mindful of the context
in which the design would be applied.
To help students acquire the skills needed to manage a task of this
complexity, students need regular and sustained practice in dealing
with the non-routine aspects of their craft. These experiences should be
developed incrementally so that students have time to formulate their
own heuristic schemas, which will help with managing the high
cognitive load associated with creative problem-solving. The model
presented in this chapter may be used as a scaffold for this process in a
number of ways, as outlined below.

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Executive control
Reflecting on progress

Exploration
Developing ideas
Evaluation
Judging ideas

Generation
New ideas

What you know and can do

© Irena Yashin-Shaw, 2001

Figure 7.2 Simplified version of the creative problem-solving model

Firstly, students could be presented with a simplified version of the

creative problem-solving model as shown in Figure 7.2.
The purpose of this is twofold. Drawing the different kinds of
knowledge that may be used in the creative problem-solving process to
students’ attention can act as a prompt for them to deploy all knowl-
edge types and to shift cognitive activity among the various categories

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of thinking. Also, the model in this form can begin to provide students
with a conceptual framework for thinking creatively; this can be devel-
oped further and fleshed out as they acquire experience and expertise.
Such a model also helps to make creative problem-solving visible and
external for inspection by learners (Collins et al. 1989).
Every time students have the opportunity to apply this framework
to a task that requires some novelty, they should be asked to reflect on
their cognitive processes with a view to identifying the kinds of steps
they employed during the creative problem-solving process. Knowing
in advance that they will have to do this will help students to be
mindful of their thinking for analysis later. Asking themselves questions
may be helpful—for example:

• What was the first thing I did?

• What did I do when I was stuck?
• How did I bring new information to the problem?
• How did I know when I was getting to the end?
• How did I know when I was pleased with an emerging design?
• How did I resist the temptation to do something familiar and
routine?

Naming and defining the kinds of steps they used for themselves will
allow students to develop heuristic schemas which are highly idiosyn-
cratic and rich in meaning, usefulness and accessibility. For example, a
student may refer to a cognitive step similar to the categorical reduc-
tion procedure in Figure 7.1 as stylising, or the synthesis procedure as
blending, or the retrieval procedure as remembering things. These steps
are being referred to here because they are part of the existing model.
It is likely students will identify steps which are quite different from
those in the model. The term ‘categorical reduction’ will probably have
little meaning for a beginning design student and therefore would only
represent a tiny piece of inert, decontextualised knowledge if delivered
to them by the teacher—unlike procedures they identify for themselves.
Students can then use these highly individualised heuristic schemas for
their next creative problem-solving task and add to them any new
procedures they find themselves using.
Structuring activities that incrementally increase in complexity will
press students into gaining facility with the procedures already identi-
fied as well as encouraging them to identify new ones. With developing
expertise, students may also consolidate procedures so that they do not
end up with sets of procedures that are unnecessarily large and repeti-
tive. Thus, by using the skeleton of the model (Figure 7.2) as a starting
point, students can cultivate a creativity heuristic which is genuinely a
reflection of their unique thinking style.
Another way of contributing to the development of creativity

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schemas is by increasing task diversity as well as providing a diverse

range of experiences for students. Collins et al. argue that ‘as students
learn to apply skills to more diverse problems and problem situations,
their strategies become freed from their contextual bindings (or per-
haps more accurately acquire a richer set of contextual associations)
and thus are more readily available for use with unfamiliar or novel
problems’ (Collins et al. 1989, p. 485). Given that creative problem-
solving is exclusively about dealing with unfamiliar or novel problems,
this suggestion is highly pertinent. Task diversity for design students
may take the form of requiring students to design for different contexts.
For example, if students were designing a logo for a new clothing
company, how would the logo be different if the company was catering
for the teenage market, the surfing sub-culture or leisure wear for
retirees? Incorporating diversity into tasks would require students to
undertake different kinds of tasks. For example, graphic design stu-
dents could be required to design across a variety of assignments and
contexts including logos, book covers, corporate identities, advertising
posters, Websites, and so on. Furthermore, the method of operation
should also be varied. Students given the opportunity to work in groups
(both small and large) or in pairs on tasks requiring creative outcomes
have the opportunity of observing how others employ their individual
creativity heuristics. This has the added advantage of pressing students
into perhaps explaining to others the rationale for suggestions made
and ideas contributed. The process of verbalising one’s decisions can
help students to clarify their schemas.
The final aspect of sequencing proposed by Collins et al. (1989)
advocates global before local skills, which allows students to build a
conceptual map of the domain in which they are functioning before
attending to the fine details. In designing, this may be a case of students
appreciating the interactive nature of the various cognitive components
(indicated by the bi-directional arrows in the model) before under-
taking the task of actually experimenting with combining the various
procedures for creative outcomes.
The sequencing of instruction described above is helpful in a
context where the teaching practitioner has the time to develop the
strategies through an extended course of study. However, when this
ideal situation is not available, the practitioner may use the model in its
original form as a short circuit to schema formation in the way
described in the following section.

Using the creative thinking model heuristically as a

conceptual tool
The categories and procedures characterising creative problem-solving as
presented in this chapter provide the practitioner with ready-made sets of
cognitive action concepts which may be considered when undertaking

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creative tasks. These can be used as a conceptual tool, providing a start-

ing point for practitioners teaching students to navigate an ill-structured
problem space, the content of which does not allow them the access or
time with their students to develop creativity heuristics in the manner
described above. Similarly, it may be useful for people such as those in
business, who have not had the opportunity to develop individualised
creativity schemas over a period of time but find themselves thrust into
situations where creative problem-solving is expected. The following dis-
cussion, however, continues to relate to design.
The task of producing creative design outcomes may appear less
daunting to students if they are provided with ideas about the kinds of
cognitive steps they can enact to develop their design. This process is
akin to ‘schema training’, as proposed by Derry. Here ‘a student is
provided with an abstract prototype representing a hierarchically
structured set of concepts, objects, events, questions and so forth’
(Derry 1990, p. 356). Schema training can encourage students who
have not as yet developed their knowledge structures to become
autonomous, active learners. In this way, the model provides a non-pre-
scriptive scaffold for novice and neophyte designers. To this end,
students may be provided with the model as it appears in Figure 7.1
with the attendant descriptive tables (Tables 7.1–7.4) which define the
various procedures and then apply them to the problem at hand. If a
student is having difficulty starting, the teacher may suggest that the
student engage in some strategic and then generative thinking by iden-
tifying some goals (goal-setting) and then beginning to search memory
for retrieval of related concepts. Similarly, if a student has developed a
preliminary design but is uncertain about how to proceed, switching to
a completely different idea may trigger associations which provide
further possibilities for design development. Alternatively, instead of
switching to a different idea, the student may choose to translate or
shift the emerging design into a completely different context (context-
shifting) to further explore the emerging solution. The result of this
cognitive action may be analysed for strengths and weaknesses,
ascertained for accordance with the set goals (goal-monitoring) or
immediately developed further by being distilled into a stylised, simpli-
fied form (categorical reduction), depending on task requirements. In
this way, cognitive activity can shift freely among the categories of
thinking with the procedures identified in the model providing a cogni-
tive scaffold as needed.
Creative products are ‘built up’ as a result of iterative and differ-
ential switching of cognition. It is useful for instructors, trainers and
supervisors designing instruction in such fields to be aware of the
means by which cognitive resources may be deployed. Adopting an
interactive approach such as that described above may enhance the
quality of output from apprentices and learners in fields requiring
creative problem-solving.

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CONCLUSION

This chapter has presented a model for creative thinking which pre-
serves flexibility without over-simplifying the complex act of creative
problem-solving. Such a model is extremely useful for domains that
have traditionally been viewed as ill-structured, such as original design.
The model consists of three levels of thinking with higher-order think-
ing consisting of the categories of executive control, generation,
exploration and evaluation, each of which is characterised by particu-
lar procedures that may be utilised in any combination according to
task requirements. The notion that iterative switching is an inherent—
and indeed necessary—part of creative problem-solving requires the
teaching practitioner to encourage students to use cognitive resources
interactively. Although a particular category may predominate at
various stages in a task, frequent incursions of other procedures can
occur. The frequency with which such switching of cognitive activity
occurs is entirely dependent on the requirements of the emerging solu-
tion. It is therefore important for students to realise that all categories
of thinking may be found at all stages of creative problem-solving,
although their relative frequencies are likely to differ. Thus generation
does not have exclusive association with the initial stages of the
process, even though it may be more likely to occur with greater fre-
quency at this time as cognitive resources are marshalled and called
into working memory. Similarly, evaluative procedures—which often
serve to refine an emerging product—are usually associated with the
final stage of the creative problem-solving process, but may also be
deployed throughout. It is therefore useful for students involved in cre-
ative problem-solving to be encouraged to view the process as iterative,
interactive and dynamic.

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 8

Working values

John Stevenson

INTRODUCTION

Being able to perform in the workplace is often called ‘competence’,

usually with a predominant focus on behaviour or overt performance,
and sometimes including recognition of the understanding that is
involved in that performance. However, seldom do such definitions
recognise or expand upon the normative aspects of competence—the
values and attitudes that are involved in working.
Yet competence is normative, involving not only the construction
of meaning and the execution of technical skill, but also the capacity to
make value-laden judgements about what should be done, in that
setting, at that time, and for what purpose—‘determining what should
be done for the best in the realm of conduct’ (Carr 1993, p. 263).
Values appear to be immanent in any kind of performance in a setting.
That is, competence is related not only to personal attitude and values,
but also to the historical and cultural aspects of the environment in
which it is used—in other words, to what is thought to be appropriate
in that workplace setting. The normative activity that takes place in
workplaces is the subject of this chapter.
A variety of values operates in all walks of life, including the work-
place. In the workplace, these values may come from one’s personal
upbringing, the ethos of the company, the expectations of one’s work
colleagues, social institutions such as law, and so on. Values may be in

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conflict or may be consonant. Moreover, employers place a high value

on values and attitudes. On the basis of the National Center on the
Educational Quality of the Workforce (1995) data, Stasz (1997) draws
attention to the importance of applicants’ attitudes in employer hiring
decisions. Employers rank an applicant’s attitude first (4.6 out of 5)
above communication skills (4.2), previous work experience (4.0) and
industry-based credentials (certifying applicant’s skills) (3.2).
In this chapter, the idea of values and approaches to defining and
identifying values are outlined. It is argued that it is difficult to sharply
differentiate normative beliefs in terms of attitudes and values; that
values are socially derived; and that societal values undergo change
over time. The separation of knowledge and values in the psycho-
logical literature and the ways in which cognitive psychology treats
values as cognitive dispositions are also outlined. It is argued
that values in practice extend beyond these dispositions. Theoretical
approaches arising from the concepts of settings, communities of prac-
tice and activity systems are then discussed. The utility of elements
identified in activity systems for examining values as rules; as imma-
nent in technologies; as implicit in objects, outcomes and divisions of
labour; and as held in constructions of the objects and outcomes of
activity are explained. Because of the wide variety of values that can
operate in a workplace setting, it is suggested that individuals find they
have to come to a personal reconciliation of the various values which
appear to impact on their work. Research on values which appear to
operate in various workplace settings is then discussed. Finally, impli-
cations of the normative aspect of work are suggested for curriculum
development, teaching and learning.

VALUES

Essentially, questions of value are questions of ethics—normative ethics

that involve judgements about what kinds of things are ultimately good
and how we should decide what actions are right (Singer 1994, p. 10).
Values underlying action can be approached in a number of ways.
There is a long history of identifying values regarded as important in
society. For example, ancient Greek philosophers addressed such values
as truth, beauty, knowledge, justice, temperance and honour.
Rokeach differentiates values, attitudes and beliefs. He defines
attitudes as:

an organization of several beliefs focused on a specific object (physi-

cal or social, concrete or abstract) or situation, predisposing one to
respond to in some preferential manner . . . An attitude is thus a
package of beliefs consisting of interconnected assertions to the
effect that certain things about a specific object or situation are true

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or false, and other things about it are desirable or undesirable

(Rokeach 1976, p. 159).

Values, on the other hand, have to do with modes of conduct and

end-states of existence . . . a value is a single belief that transcenden-
tally guides actions and judgements across specific objects and
situations, and beyond immediate goals to more ultimate end-states
of existence. Moreover, a value, unlike an attitude, is an imperative
to action, not only a belief about the preferable, but also a prefer-
ence for the preferable. (Rokeach 1976, pp. 159–60).

However, Gaus (1990) disputes this sharp distinction between values

and attitudes.
In this chapter, following Rokeach, values are taken to be a desir-
able mode of behaviour or end-state, guiding actions, attitudes,
judgements and comparisons across specific objects and situations.
However, the focus here is on discerning the ways in which activity
extends beyond knowledge of propositions and procedures, and
includes normative aspects. Hence the term ‘value’ is limited neither to
abstract principles, nor to any degree of specificity or generality. Rather,
the term is applied to any normative principle that seems to guide
actions. Thus, as for Gaus, it is accepted that a sharp distinction is not
possible among values, attitudes and beliefs and, in the present chapter,
the term values is accorded any normative principle which seems to
guide actions and judgements about why the goals at which they are
directed are taken to be desirable.

SOCIAL ORIGINS OF VALUES

There exist various taxonomies of values. For instance, Rokeach dif-

ferentiates instrumental values (personally and socially preferable in all
situations and with respect to all objects) (e.g. broad-minded, clean,
forgiving, responsible, honest and courageous) and terminal values (an
end-state of existence personally and socially worth striving for) (e.g.
equality, freedom, a world at peace, a comfortable life, a meaningful
life, maturity, national security, respect for others, respect from others,
salvation, true friendship and wisdom). He also differentiates between
values and value systems. Rokeach argues that some values are univer-
sally held, but that individuals differ in how they organise them to form
values hierarchies or priorities.
Nevertheless, values are socially constructed—that is, various
values operate in society and in various groups and settings in society,
and these various values have an influence on what individuals see as
valuable and desirable and the activity in which they engage. For
instance, according to Reed:

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Self development is a complex process or appropriation and trans-

formation of some of the values in one’s milieu, often under
conditions of conflict, either of expediences (‘needs’) or proprieties
(‘choices’) or both. Under such conditions, individuals do not develop
coherent systems of values, but clusters of valuations, some of which
may undermine others. Indeed, as I have argued, many individuals
will feel considerable ambivalence, even concerning their own core
values. Throughout the course of development, these conflicts and
ambivalences fuel developmental change (Reed 1996, p. 13).

In society, values undergo change over time. For instance, in a nine-

nation Delphi study of the complex global crises that humans will face
over the next 25 years, Parker et al. report the value-laden characteris-
tics that individuals will need to handle these crises as follows:

• ability to look at and approach problems as a member of a

global society;
• ability to work with others in a cooperative way and to take
responsibility for one’s roles/duties within society;
• ability to understand, accept, appreciate, and tolerate cultural
differences;
• capacity to think in a critical and systemic way;
• willingness to resolve conflict in a non-violent way;
• willingness to change one’s lifestyle and consumption habits
to protect the environment;
• ability to be sensitive toward and to defend human rights (e.g.
rights of women, ethnic minorities) (Parker et al. 1999, p. 125).

Similarly, a contemporary Australian empirical study on desirable

future goals for Australia by Campbell et al. (1992) clustered values
held by leading thinkers into a normative hierarchy. In the list of learn-
ing needs and the goal-value system above, it is apparent that the
operating values are related to more than the interests of separate indi-
viduals. Rather, they touch on such aspects of life as relationships with
others (from an interpersonal level through to local, national and
global communities), the economy and the future of the planet itself. At
the same time, they incorporate both instrumental and end values, such
as responsibility, harmony and respect.

COGNITIVE TREATMENT OF VALUES IN RELATION TO

KNOWLEDGE

The ideas of knowledge and values are often treated separately in the
cognitive literature. For example, in cognitive psychology there is con-
siderable emphasis on propositional knowledge (knowledge of facts,

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principles and theories) and procedural knowledge (knowledge of

specific routines, methods and algorithms and problem-solving knowl-
edge). In cognitive psychology, there is some recognition of ‘dispositions’;
however, these are usually restricted to ideas related to tendencies to
access and use one’s knowledge base and strategies to achieve particular
kinds of transfer. Such dispositions as the following are usually identified
(Prawat 1989):

• mastery and performance dispositions (goals to increase one’s

competence versus goals to gain a positive judgement of
one’s competence, respectively);
• motivational orientation (e.g. attributions of success to effort
versus luck or task difficulty);
• action identity (cognitive representation of an action, such as
having an identity which consists of actions that focus on
‘why’ questions as opposed to one which consists of ‘how to’
actions);
• maintenance difficulty (affected by relative difficulty, com-
plexity, familiarity, enactment time and learning time).

Perkins et al. (1993, p. 75) define dispositions as ‘people’s tenden-

cies to put their capabilities into action’, but confine their examples to
‘thinking dispositions’—for example, tendencies of mindfulness (open,
alert, flexible processing of information), investment of mental effort,
exploration, inquiry, organisation of thinking and risk-taking. Disposi-
tions are seen to affect transfer of existing knowledge to new situations.
Transfer attitudes are thought to be affected by self-efficacy, fear of
failure, anxiety, intolerance of mistakes and other emotional blocks
(Pea 1987).
In this chapter, the idea of values extends beyond that of cognitive
dispositions. It involves what individuals and groups at work see and
adopt as desirable and preferable activity.

VALUES IN SETTINGS AND COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

As Pea (1987) argues, transfers of understanding to everyday tasks

are often not taken because of ‘appropriacy’ and effort, both of which
have cultural grounding. Socio-cultural standards affect judgements of
whether transfer is appropriate. These may be conventions and mores,
even taboos, as well as any cognitive disposition to engage in minimal
cognitive effort.
When one considers an individual at work, one needs to recognise
that the question of values relates not only to those of the person con-
cerned. Rather, there is also a culture in the community of practice (or
setting or activity system) which is constituted by the setting itself, and

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by those in the setting. Moreover, this culture is historical and is usually

undergoing transformation in response to tensions and contradictions
which, according to activity theory (Engeström 1999d; Leont’ev 1981),
are immanent in such settings.
Workplace environments can be considered as settings (Barker
1968, 1978), communities of practice (Lave & Wenger 1991), or activ-
ity systems (Engeström 1999a; Leont’ev 1981 [1959]). The influence of
settings in pressing individuals to engage in certain kinds of activity is
well known (Barker 1978; Lewin 1951; Murray 1938). The ideas of
setting theory are that:

• behaviour is a function not only of internal cognition, but also

the environment in which it takes place and interactions with
that environment (Barker 1978; Lewin 1951);
• a press (cf. Murray 1938) arises from characteristics of the
environment, which circumscribe the kind of activity that is
elicited; and
• individuals shape their (learning) tasks not only on the basis
of their internal cognitive representations, but also on their
perceptions of the external environment (cf. Doyle 1979;
Posner 1982).

The idea of a community of practice is ‘a set of relations among

persons, activity, and the world, over time and in relation with other tan-
gential and overlapping communities of practice’ (Lave & Wenger 1991,
p. 98). Lave and Wenger argue that the possibilities for learning in such
communities of practice are defined by the social structure, power rela-
tionships and conditions of legitimacy. These socio-cultural approaches
to explaining learning position learners as newcomers who move into
and towards the centre of communities of practice as they acquire expert-
ise and identity in that community. The gradual changes in the position
of the person influence the kind of learning that takes place (e.g. see Lave
& Wenger 1991; Rogoff & Lave 1984). Thus there are normative dimen-
sions of the attendant culture, which affect the activity that takes place.
In activity theory (Engeström 1999a, 1999b, 1999c, 1999d), some
of the values that operate in the activity system can be identified as
‘rules’. The activity system is thought of as a culturally and historically
situated collection of individuals (subjects) working together (commu-
nity), pursuing a shared object (motive). There is a division of labour
and there are tools that mediate the work of subjects. An activity
system is defined by its shared object, which represents the collective
motive to which activity is directed. This object is normative—that is,
value-laden. It provides the normative reason for collective activity—
for example, the motive to produce a new product with all its various
features. Sometimes mission statements are generated to capture such
objects. Values are also immanent in the kinds of technology in (or not

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 WORKING VALUES

in) use in the setting, where those technologies have been derived over
time from various kinds of human activity directed at various kinds of
objects. Various values are also held by those who constitute the com-
munity, and are manifested in the ways in which their contributions are
organised in a division of labour and directed at the shared object. Such
different values lead to different constructions of the object of activity
and the desired outcomes. Differences in values can lead to tensions
and contradiction in an activity system and can get in the way of suc-
cessful working for individuals and teams. Engeström (1999d) argues
for a process of expansive visibilisation in order to make tensions and
contradictions apparent, so that they can be resolved in a way that
leads to improved (expanded) practice.
Hence, in this chapter, what is thought to be appropriate by the indi-
vidual in approaching activity is viewed as a personal reconciliation of
values that come from the various sources (elements) that operate in any
given workplace. It is assumed that, for a workplace to operate in some
kind of effective way, it needs to become an activity system—that is,
there needs to be some kind of shared understanding of what is a valued
object at which collective activity is to be directed. Hence it is assumed
that individuals take on a set of values as guiding principles for their
work, where that set of values provides the best reconciliation (for that
person) of consonant and competing values that operate in that work-
place. That is, from a complex of forces operating in any given
workplace, it is assumed that a personal view develops that some nor-
mative beliefs and actions are of a higher value than others. These
influences may come from personal moral codes, artefacts and tech-
nologies in the setting, implicit and explicit rules, manuals, organisation
of work, adopted technologies, directions, perceived expectations, and
so on. Individuals may find that their own personal goals are or are not
consonant with the collective motive.

RECENT RESEARCH ON WORKPLACE VALUES

In the work reviewed above, values have been advanced in relation to

various aspects of one’s life. However, little has been advanced about
the kinds of values that actually seem to operate in workplaces and
how such values relate to other kinds of values.
In workplaces, there are manifold normative influences, and the
cultural norms of workplaces (including any prevailing and/or conflict-
ing values) influence the ways in which individuals draw upon and
utilise their knowledge. Moreover, in workplaces the different kinds of
values range from those which are ideological through to expected
ways in which classes of tasks are to be undertaken and the character
and beliefs of the various individuals who make up the community of
practice (Lave & Wenger 1991).

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

In a study of seven jobs in the United States, Stasz examined explic-

itly work-related skills and attitudes. Seven jobs were studied: traffic
signal technicians, home health aides, licensed vocational nurses, test
cell associates, equipment technicians, construction inspectors and
survey inspectors. In her analysis of attitude requirements of work,
Stasz (1997, p. 213) collected dispositions under three ‘somewhat over-
lapping themes’: task/organization (formal job characteristics); practice
(the community of practice, which can have different norms from those
of management); and quality standards. That is, she recognised that a
complex of factors, coming from different sources, affects values in
practice.
As discussed above, such attitudes as those found by Stasz can be
thought of as reconciled sets of guiding normative principles derived
from various origins. Some may originate in the community of practice
and may be expectations of one’s colleagues or superiors; others may
originate with the public with whom one interacts; others may come
from wider community expectations; while still others may be expec-
tations that one has of oneself.
From research in the hospitality and airline industries (Stevenson
1996, 1997), values appearing to underlie actions were clustered as
shown in Table 8.1. While the headings in the table are arbitrary labels
abstracted from actual practice, the table serves to illustrate the variety
of normative principles that can be discerned in workplaces, the
similarities of value clusters with those found by Stasz, the complex
interrelationships and even apparent contradictions that appear among
principles, the variety of sources apparent in the set of values, and the
apparent isolation of values in these workplace settings from those
relating to ideas of a desirable society. The value stances taken in prac-
tice appeared to be the result of considering and responding to a mix
of obligations and expectations.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Curriculum development is a value-laden undertaking which proceeds

from a platform of beliefs. According to Walker, a platform consists of
beliefs (conceptions, theories and aims) that are involved in curriculum
development; conceptions means ‘beliefs about what exists and about
what is possible’; theories are ‘beliefs about what relations hold
between entities, that is, beliefs about what is true’; and aims are
‘beliefs about the good and the beautiful in education’ (Walker 1971,
p. 56). This platform informs various aspects of curriculum decision-
making, including the development of statements of curriculum intent,
content, teaching strategies, learning experiences, assessment and eval-
uation (Laird & Stevenson 1993). Thus the platform determines which
teaching and learning concerns are worthwhile considering, what

190
Table 8.1 Illustrative values found in hospitality and airline work sites
Focus on self Focus on work Focus on society
Interaction with The job The business
others
Be responsible Protect oneself Contribute to the Get job done Be on the ball Meet company Provide
climate expectations customer
(profit) service

Be happy/enjoy Inform others Assign Be friendly/caring Be flexible Be vigil/keep up Get or keep Be friendly –
work Assume liability responsibility Information/help Solve/reconcile Be accurate trade Help/inform/ –
Engage in humour Check with others Blame others Be courteous Make sure do all Be thorough Get payments feedback –
Enjoy people Leave office Keep others Show respect Find out and Have plan Normalise Be courteous –
contact staffed honest Cooperate/rely clarify Be efficient Be accountable Keep customer –
Accept/like variety Use discretion Lay down rules Organise others Take initiative Do many things Make profit happy –
Have integrity Hide things Get information/ Don’t waste Have information Assert but –
Impute Acknowledge help effort backup appease –
characteristics lack of Clarify Persist Be timely Project professional –
to others knowledge Reassure Keep busy Check appearances –
Have pride in self Prioritise Move responsibility –
Care about others to customer –
Get salient –
information –
Check bona fides –
Give privilege –

Source: Stevenson (1996, 1997).

 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

should be included in the statements of intent and what kinds of prac-

tice are legitimate. In terms of activity theory, curriculum development
is an activity where the motive can be teased out in terms of a platform
of beliefs—including normative beliefs.
In competency-based training, for example, it is clear that for
content to be legitimate, it must correspond with a stated industrial
standard. However, curriculum documents do not always state the
platform of beliefs that is involved. Moreover, statements of intent
are often proposed as if they were value-free—assuming competency
statements are value-neutral. Moreover, the codes in which curriculum
content is expressed can leave little space for codification of values.
Thus, while a workplace can be thought of in terms of a value-laden
activity system, curriculum development aimed at preparing people for
effective work in that activity system is itself an activity system. In cur-
riculum development activity, those planning and having vocational
curricular statements approved may or may not accommodate working
values in their own platforms of beliefs and in the curricular statements.
Serious dissonance can therefore arise between curriculum planning and
working values. Moreover, the implementation of approved curricula
depends critically on the beliefs of those undertaking the implemen-
tation (Fullan 1982). The clash between the values of policy-makers and
those involved in organising teaching and learning is often the cause of
differences between curricula as designed and curricula as implemented
in practice. Thus further dissonance can occur between values reflected
in curriculum plans and teaching practice, with implications for the
values with which learners actually engage.
Nevertheless, teaching and learning should not just be a top-down
process of knowledge inculcation (Chapters 1 and 2). Rather, learning
should develop a facility with normative meanings, rendered in various
ways. Thus, some implications for curriculum development that can be
advanced are as follows:

• Platforms of beliefs on which curricula are designed need to

be explicit so that learners and teachers can access the
meaning of content in a normative way.
• Curriculum content should not be portrayed as value-neutral
because of the complex of values involved in designing cur-
ricula, constructing meaning on curriculum content and
drawing upon curricula content in operating in workplace
practice.
• Values that operate in workplaces and their relationships with
values held in other settings and society more generally
warrant recognition and codification in the same way as other
content, so that they receive explicit attention in teaching and
learning.

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 WORKING VALUES

• Teaching staff need the opportunity to engage in experiences

aimed at interconnecting the values that characterise work-
places, instructional programs and their own beliefs.
• Curricula should contain content aimed at assisting learners
to identify values in workplaces and to interconnect these
values with their own normative beliefs and with values that
operate in various walks of life.
• Curricula should contain content aimed at empowering learn-
ers to engage in communication with others about values, so
that differences in workplace constructions of objects, and
values immanent in technologies and the organisation can be
made visible; contradictions and tensions can be unmasked;
and practice can be improved.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

Meaning is not value-neutral. The development of values in and for work

is not unconnected with the development of meaning from working and
other experiences. The principles that can be advanced for teaching
and learning in connection with working values are similar to those for
the development of any kind of meaning (see Chapters 1 and 2). That is,
meaning is best derived from purposeful experience in authentic practice
where the functions of the activity are transparent. Specifically, the fol-
lowing principles are advanced to guide teaching and learning.

Use of concrete experience in an authentic area of practice

Like all learning, meaning is best derived from actual concrete situated
practice where function and purpose are transparent. Individuals con-
structing meaning from concrete experience do so in a culture where
the appropriateness of various kinds of activity is culturally defined. It
is in practice that differences among personally held values, values that
appear to be held in wider society and values apparent in working prac-
tice come into contrast.
For instance, settings can be analysed by learners (and their teach-
ers) in terms of activity theory elements: subject, object, instruments,
division of labour, community, rules and outcomes. Tension and con-
tradictions within elements and between them can be identified—for
example, in terms of constructions of the object of the work setting. For
instance, some may see the object in terms of salary, prestige and
advancement; some in terms of the kinds of products and services
generated and their utility to others; some in terms of profit to the
company; some in terms of personal challenge and enjoyment of the
work; some in terms of contribution to society, and so on.

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Thus concrete practice is a rich resource for identifying and con-

sidering values and their relationships with other aspects of the setting.
Moreover, exploration of values in settings is important because of the
ways in which it helps to make transparent the functions and purposes
of the setting and the activity within it—an important ingredient in
making meaning. At the same time, in authentic practice, values can
become meaningful, related to concrete activity in pursuit of vocation.

Making values explicit

The task of teaching involves developing capacities to communicate
about values, making connections among different renditions of values
(e.g. in actions, in technologies and in words), making connections
among values that appear to operate in different walks of life, and
making connections among values that appear to be held by different
people and groups. However, values may well be hidden or remain tacit
in working situations. Thus one of the tasks of teaching and learning is
to assist learners to discern values, to unmask them, to identify their
sources and to relate them to their own beliefs and to various other
kinds of values. For instance, in learning how to change the oil in the
sump of a car, lay a course of bricks in the building of a house or install
plumbing in a commercial building, various possible values could be
reflected in objects related to efficiency, timeliness, thoroughness,
expensiveness to the owner, the profit-making capacity of the firm, the
effects of disposal on the environment, and so on.
It is possible that this complex of possible object-values may bring
into conflict such object-values as achieving technical efficiency, pro-
tecting the environment, the efficiency of the end-product, and the
profit-making capacity of the firm (for example, see the lists of values
identified by Stasz (1997), Stevenson (1996, 1997), Campbell et al.
(1992) and Rokeach (1976)). Learners can operate upon these values
and any contradictions and tensions among them only if they are alert
to them and know their origins. This activity needs to be undertaken
explicitly, converting espoused, instantiated and enacted beliefs into a
common currency so that inconsistencies become apparent. While
verbal renditions of values may be inexact renditions of values person-
ally held, these renditions and their interconnections help in clarifying
and communicating about values in practice.
As described above, activity theory is useful in helping to delineate
and make visible the values inherent in activity and its various dimen-
sions. The teaching and learning framework of Collins et al. (1989)
also has some strength in this regard. Apart from the strengths of
making values explicit through modelling, coaching and scaffolding,
the techniques of exploiting cooperation and exploiting competition,
whereby learners work in groups to develop a consensual view and
then to contrast their positions with other groups, may well help in

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making values explicit and in exploring their relationships. Facilitators

would contrast not only differences in the ways in which tasks were
approached and problems solved, but the normative reasons for
choices and the normative consequences. These could also be related to
wider societal goals as appropriate (e.g. global harmony, world peace,
a safe and well-protected environment, equity, and so on).

Developing an understanding of societal values and their

relationship with working values
Given the apparent disconnection of workplace values in practice from
considerations of wider society, there appears to be a need to bring the
societal context of workplace values more into the open. There needs
to be more engagement with such ideas as those of a desirable society,
so that workplace values do not remain isolated from socially desirable
futures. Various lists of values are available for consideration—for
example, those developed by Rokeach (1976), Parker et al. (1999) and
Campbell et al. (1992). Such lists can be compared with values empir-
ically found in workplaces and the various ways in which those values
operate in those and other workplaces. The ideas of instrumental and
end values, universal values and hierarchies of values can also be exam-
ined. Views about the historical, cultural and situated relativity of
values can be explored. For instance, the idea of being responsible is
operationalised differently in different work settings, and its relation-
ships with global harmony, justice and environmental responsibility
warrant exploration. Such considerations will help individuals to inter-
connect the meanings that they afford such ideas as that of
responsibility and their instantiation in practice.

Making the values underlying curriculum content explicit

The platforms of beliefs underpinning vocational curriculum develop-
ment need to be explicit so that learners can see how they and their
learning are being positioned—complicit with what kinds of societal
values (e.g. about certain uses of resources, the engagement of individ-
uals in work, the quality of human interaction, the nature of the natural
and built environment and the relationships among people); reinforcing
what kinds of workplace practices; and related in what ways to indi-
vidual goals and aspirations.

Creating opportunities to reconcile normative meanings

Individuals seek to reconcile meanings derived from particular experi-
ences and settings, such as in workplaces, with meanings that they
derive from other life pursuits and settings. This connectedness is not
only in terms of abstracted concepts and other ways in which meaning

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

is understood; it is also normative. What is appropriate for competent

action in work needs to be connected with what is regarded as appro-
priate at home, in civilian activities and in various other life pursuits.
Unmasking and communicating about values assists in seeking recon-
ciliations. The asking of ‘what if . . .’ questions in teaching and
learning, concerning the adoption of certain kinds of wider societal or
personal values in the workplace (and vice versa), may help to bring
into focus various kinds of tensions and contradictions.

Developing the capacity to engage in assertive action with

respect to values
Without direct engagement with values immanent in the ways in which
work is currently undertaken, inappropriate industrial practices can be
reproduced. In seeking to improve practice, just being able to state a
value is not a very useful attribute. Nor, on its own, is being able to
identify values operating in various settings. One needs to be able
to operate upon values and their interconnections. This capacity
requires understanding: understanding of how to recognise values, how
to communicate about values, how to engage in assertive action with
respect to values, how to develop and change one’s own values, and so
on. The capacity to engage in activity aimed at improving workplace
outcomes requires the capacity to make values visible—through, for
example, mirroring values, to others—and to engage in cooperative
action aimed at expanding constructions of the object and outcomes of
activity in ways that constitute improvement.

CONCLUSION

The capacity to engage in activity in a setting involves values. Values

are questions of ethics involving consideration of what should be done
for the best outcome in a particular situation. There exist various
taxonomies of values, but values are socially derived. Various values
operating in contemporary society have already been described. Some
of the values which appear to operate in various workplaces have also
been identified. These values are context-dependent and can be related
to various sources. They also seem to be isolated from values that
operate in wider society. While abstract labels can be assigned to these
values, the ways in which they influence activity in various settings
differ according to characteristics of the setting. Activity theory pro-
vides a useful set of elements for examining the nature and operation
of values and their development and instantiations over time.
The activity of curriculum development and the various kinds of
decision-making that are involved are value-laden. Several principles
for addressing the value-laden nature of curriculum development are

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 WORKING VALUES

advanced, including the need for platforms of beliefs underpinning cur-

riculum development to be explicit, for working values to be identified
and related to other individual and societal values, for teachers to
engage in experiences aimed at the interconnections of values and for
learners to engage with content aimed at assisting them also to identify
and engage with values.
With regard to teaching and learning, it is suggested that:

• the development of normative meaning should proceed from

concrete experience in practice;
• various kinds of values in practice should be made explicit
and related to wider societal values;
• learners should consider how curricular content positions
them as learners; and
• learners should be involved in experiences aimed at making
visible, interconnecting and reconciling normative meanings.

It is also suggested that activity theory is a valuable tool for examining

and unmasking values, as well as for making them visible and operat-
ing upon differences in value-laden constructions to improve practice.

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Walker, D.F. 1971, ‘A naturalistic model for curriculum development’,
School Review, vol. 80, pp. 51–64

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 Part III


Emerging challenges in
instructional delivery
 9

Strategies for developing

flexible learning
Clive Kanes

INTRODUCTION

Facilitated by new information and communications media, the last

decade has seen the growing convergence of distance education, open
learning and face-to-face teaching. Under the rubric of flexible learn-
ing, new technologies are being deployed in order to give new meaning
to the concept of the learner-centred curriculum. In addition, new tech-
nologies have enabled the pace and place of learning to be consciously
varied by the student, and this also has generated new kinds of inter-
sections among learning institutions, workplaces and the sites of
student learning. The aim of this chapter is twofold. Firstly, it is meant
to be read as an exposition outlining the main features of what is
known about flexible learning. This is designed to serve as an intro-
duction to readers of the themes and issues engaged by flexible learning
practices. Secondly, the chapter aims to present a new model of flexible
learning which allows us to present a view about creating flexible learn-
ing opportunities. It is only through sketching out the large picture of
flexible learning that negotiating its numerous challenges can become a
rational and efficient process.
The chapter is organised as follows. In the first two sections, the
scope of flexible learning is delineated and a rationale argued. Next,
models for flexible learning are presented and assessed. This leads to
the presentation of a new activity theoretic model for the development

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of flexible learning practices. The last sections of the chapter look at

implications for curriculum development and for teaching and learning
arising from the material developed in earlier sections.

WHAT IS FLEXIBLE LEARNING?

One way to view flexible learning is from the teacher’s perspective. In

this case, as Caladine puts it, flexible learning:

• is a rethinking of traditional teaching practices;

• takes the emphasis off ‘stand and deliver’;
• has changes to the traditional arrangement of weekly lecture
and tutorials;
• is an investigation of distance education techniques and tech-
nologies for on-campus teaching and learning;
• is not only about technology but rather about the use of tech-
niques that are appropriate to the desired learning outcomes
and that give learners greater access to their education, and
more control of it;
• takes the emphasis off the traditional formula of weekly lec-
tures, tutorials, laboratory classes (Caladine 1999, p.8, [italics
added]).

For Caladine, flexible learning—sometimes also called ‘flexible deliv-

ery’—is about the reorganisation of teaching offerings in the direction
of variety and change.
Another way to view flexible learning is from the learner’s per-
spective. In this case, as Collis and Moonen put it, the key idea of
flexible learning is ‘learner choice in [the] different aspects of the learn-
ing experience’ (Collis and Moonen 2001, p. 9). Whereas in traditional
learning styles the teacher or institution makes key decisions for the
learner about the learning process, in the flexible learning paradigm
key curriculum decisions are made by the learner.
When thinking about flexible learning and devising curriculum
responses consistent with it, both of these views—the teacher’s and
the learner’s—are of course relevant. Indeed, as Danchak (2001) has
argued, flexible learning is really a form of ‘blended learning’—the
blend revolving around the combination of teacher and student
perspectives as well as the range of learning opportunities and methods
of teaching.
It is to be noted that, in a sense, flexible learning is not new.
Degrees of flexibility have, of course, always been the mark of many
teaching and learning arrangements. For instance, learners have been
able to choose elective studies, move between full-time and part-time
study, select alternative pathways towards professional certification,

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Table 9.1 Facets and indicators of flexible learning practice

Facets of flexible learning Indicators of flexible learning

Access and participation Recognition of prior learning in formal

educational, workplace and informal contexts
Multiple points of course progression for course
entry and exit
Temporal arrangements Multiple temporal points for course commence-
ment and completion
Multiple temporal rates for learning
Content Learners choose course content which best suits
their needs
Learners choose sequence of content which best
suits their needs
Mediating information and Varieties of traditional and digital information
communications technology and communications technology: written and
printed materials, hard copy postal services,
telephone, audio recorder, video recorder, real-
time video link, television, stand-alone computer,
communications and information software,
CD-ROM, multimedia facilities, email, intranet,
WWW (Collis 1999, p. 19; OECD 1996, 2001)
Pedagogy and assessment Varieties of student-focused and teacher-focused
learning experiences
Varieties of social organisation (individual, study
group, whole class) in on-campus or off-campus
modes
Varieties of teacher engagement with students and
student peer collaboration
Varieties of synchronous and asynchronous inter-
action among students and between the teacher
and student/s
Varieties of formative and summative assessment

enrol for face-to-face study, study by correspondence or advance their

learning by means of distance education or open learning. Neverthe-
less, in recent times the range and depth of curriculum choices available
to students have become more comprehensive than ever before, and
this, supported by new technologies and needs, has led to the refocus-
ing of educational thinking and resources around the concept of
student choice. Flexible learning, as it is understood today, is intended
to capture this new range of curriculum developments.

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Facets and indicators of flexible learning

In order to develop a feel for the elements of flexible learning, it is
useful to list the key facets which have come to be typical of flexible
learning. These respond to the extent to which greater or lesser degrees
of flexibility are shown with respect to who may engage in a course,
when a course is offered, what a course will encompass and by what
technologies it will be mediated, how its pedagogy will be handled and,
finally, how it will be delivered and assessed. Using Collis and Moonen
(2001) as a starting point, these suggest that flexible learning consists
of a number of facets which can be stated as follows: course access and
participation requirements; course temporal arrangements; course
content; course mediating information and communications technolo-
gies; course pedagogies; and assessment practices. Indicators for these
might be expressed as shown in Table 9.1.
These facets and indicators of flexible learning practice map out the
full spectrum of course flexibility ranging from traditional practice to
the most flexible arrangements current (Gillham 1995; Telford 1995).

WHAT IS THE RATIONALE FOR FLEXIBLE LEARNING?

Examining the rationale for flexible learning is an important step in

coming to terms with the relationship between flexible learning and the
needs of practice in an actual teaching and learning situation (Educa-
tion Network Australia Vocational Education and Training Advisory
Group 2000). Four key areas generate an impetus towards flexible
learning: emerging cultural and economic needs; developments in the
concepts of learning; demographic questions; and institutional factors.

Economic and cultural needs

Over the last decade, globalisation has been the leading trend within
the world economy. Starting as a movement to liberalise trade relations,
globalisation has come to be signified by the formation of international
markets for a wide range of products such as manufactured items and
raw materials, and services such as finance, research and development,
information, media, entertainment, education and training. The pace of
globalisation is linked to increases in worldwide competition, the high
rate of technological advances and the penetration of the Internet and
digital communications technologies. As Tinkler et al. (1996) argue,
each of these factors is currently influencing major changes in voca-
tional education and training.
Changes in the economy have meant that employers are looking for
changes in the skills of their employees. Reich (1992), for example,

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explains this as the growing proportion of symbolic analytical activity

for the production of wealth. By symbolic analysis he means the manipu-
lation of symbols (data words, audio, visual representations) and the
development of ideas in order to identify and solve problems and
thereby translate these into marketable products and services. Symbolic
analysts need to understand and embrace technological developments
and respond to the human resource needs of a rapidly changing
economy. In addition, workers in the global economy are increasingly
expected to create new knowledge by accessing information from
broad sources. This means they need to select the kinds of knowledge
relevant to work, make choices about how this knowledge can and
should be generated and implement strategies to contextualise general
knowledge for more specific ends. These changes require new thinking
in the workforce and employers look to vocational education and train-
ing as one source for this change.

Developments in the forms of learning

Mirroring and supporting changes in the nature of the economy and
work, new concepts for learning have also evolved. Tinkler et al.
(1996) list these, and descriptions derived from their work are as
follows:

• lifelong learning—continuous learning across the life cycle in

order to ‘facilitate flexible career paths’ (p. 80);
• learner-directed learning—learner taking control of learning
with the teacher becoming the facilitator and ‘diagnostician to
achieve optimum learning outcomes’ (p. 83);
• learning to learn—learner understanding to ‘more effectively
plan and realise their own learning’ (p. 86);
• contextualised learning—locating of learning in different con-
texts through ‘real life learning environments and simulations’
(p. 87);
• customised learning—meeting different learning needs and
preferences of the learner (p. 88).
• transformative learning—learners challenge and change belief
systems and behaviours in order ‘to meet new opportunities
and challenges’ (p. 89);
• collaborative/cooperative learning—individuals learn inter-
actively in the context of groups ‘across time and space’
(p. 90); and
• just-in-time learning—learning made available ‘when and
where the learner needs to meet their learning needs’
(p. 91).

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Because flexible learning can be thought of as a tool supporting the

practice of these different kinds of learning, it plays a significant role in
evolving vocational education and training.

Who needs flexible learning?

Arising from the above, flexible learning finds a clear need among a
range of client groups both in, and peripheral to, the paid workforce—
especially those who would otherwise not be able to participate in
education and training programs. These, for instance, include:

• employees who, in the context of professional development or

inservice arrangements, need to keep up with changing tech-
nologies and methods of production in their workplace;
• people seeking alternative employment who seek to take
advantage of new work or business opportunities in develop-
ing industries and enterprises;
• people seeking first-time entry to paid work or who wish to
regain entry into paid work, particularly those with family
and care-giving responsibilities;
• people with special learning needs (for instance, visual or
aural impairments, motor and learning disabilities) (Hodgkin-
son 1994);
• school-leavers seeking a first-time place in the paid workforce;
and
• overseas students or those who study at a distance from the
educational site.

Common among these groups is the need for enhanced access to learn-
ing and training opportunities. This need arises from a variety of social,
economic, cultural and individual circumstances (Hodgkinson 1994).

Institutional factors
As a result of new systems of accountability, qualifications certification,
and new kinds of outcomes indicators, education and training institu-
tions have had to develop means of providing more complex learning
opportunities to students and clients (Caladine 1999). Thus, as Thomas
(1995) and others have argued, apart from the reshaping of education
and training methods as indicated above, educational processes have
had to respond to the diversification of funding sources, increased com-
petition for funding, the rise of for-profit private education and training
institutions, and increased levels of accountability at given levels of
funding resource. This means that educational and training institutions
need to operate with progressively increasing levels of efficiency. In
many cases, therefore, flexible learning strategies—especially those that

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reduce cost associated with face-to-face teaching—become economi-

cally attractive.
Whilst not every flexible learning intervention in every situation
will be motivated by all of the kinds of considerations indicated above,
over time these factors act to change our working and living environ-
ments in such a way that there is a change in perceptions of need and
ways of thinking about curriculum. In the next section, therefore, I
look at three alternative frameworks for developing flexible learning
changes.

THREE FRAMEWORKS FOR DEVELOPING FLEXIBLE

LEARNING

The first model examined is that of Collis and Moonen (2001). It con-
sists of the following four components: technology, pedagogy,
implementation and institutional framework. Each of these is examined
in turn. By technology, these authors mean the combination of informa-
tion and communications technology, particularly digital technologies
(software, hardware, networking) used for the following educational
purposes:

• publication and dissemination of information;

• communication among teachers, course participants and
course managers;
• collaboration among students;
• information and resource managing;
• teaching and learning purposes; and
• course management (Collis & Moonen 2001, p. 19).

By pedagogy they refer to knowledge about teaching and

approaches to it that teachers bring to their work. Collis and Moonen
argue that, in flexible learning, the tendency is to move away from
teaching and learning simply as acquisition of knowledge towards
teaching as participation in a field of expertise and contribution
towards the learning experience of others.
The third component of their model for flexible learning refers to
implementation. Here the authors make use of the so-called 4-E Model
of Collis et al. (2000). In this, the likelihood of an individual making
use of a technological innovation is said to be related to four factors:
environment (the institutional context); educational effectiveness (per-
ceived or expected); ease of use; and engagement (the person’s personal
response to technology and to change). In the 4-E Model, the environ-
ment factor determines the threshold for the successful implementation
of the flexible learning innovation—the more favourable the environ-
ment, the less significant the ‘sum’ of the other factors needs to be in

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order to bring about change. Conversely, for a less favourable environ-

ment, the more significant is the ‘sum’ of the other factors (educational
effectiveness, ease of use, engagement). Collis et al. argue that high-
scoring factors can make up for low-scoring factors—for instance, low
learner engagement can be compensated for by relatively high ease of
use and educational effectiveness, and so on.
The last component of Collis and Moonen’s model for flexible learn-
ing is concerned with the institutional framework of the flexible
learning process. Factors needing consideration here include the way
the course relates to an institution’s profile of educational offering in
terms of staff and student expectations, course duration, admission
criteria, assessment and evaluation procedures, administration and
technical support, library, and so on. Less concrete factors relating to
the institutional framework concern the climate of an institution for
flexible learning, the management style and leaders’ commitment to
change. Other components of their model include the implementation
of flexible learning processes, pedagogic questions and the choices of
technology solutions.
Collis and Moonen see the components of their model as being
hierarchically related in the following sense. A bottom-up sequence for
the introduction of flexible learning starts with choices made concern-
ing the up-take of technology. This sets parameters for pedagogic
choices, and these in turn influence decisions about implementation
requirements which, also in turn, shape the institutional framework.
Top-down sequencing of flexible learning changes starts with the
constraints imposed by the institutional framework and, using these as
reference points, moves to devise system-wide implementation strate-
gies for coordinated pedagogic and technology choices.
Whereas Collis and Moonen focus on important components of
flexible learning in seeking to understand it, relatively little attention is
given to the way teachers, trainers, learners, mentors, technical support
staff, administrative staff and managers, and policy-makers communi-
cate with each concerning the object of their endeavours. The next
model for flexible learning to be considered, that of Caladine (1999),
takes up this theme. Caladine’s model concentrates on the kinds of
interactions flexibility promotes. These are interactions with materials
(taking notes in a lecture, consulting reference sources, utilising video
and audio records, accessing the Internet, manipulating computer aided
learning package), interactions with the teacher (questions and
answers, discussions, face-to-face, phone, email, letters, chat sessions,
feedback), interactions between students (formal, informal) and what
Caladine calls ‘intra-action’, which includes reflective engagements of
the student such as critical thinking, reflecting, refining ideas, opinions
and attitudes, and coming up with conceptions. These constitute four
elements of a model for flexible learning. The fifth element is the
provision of learning materials. Vehicles for the provision of learning

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 STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING FLEXIBLE LEARNING

materials include the voice of the teacher (in a lecture, tutorial, labora-
tory, study group, etc.), visual aids (overhead projection slides, etc.),
books and other printed materials, and electronic media (audio and
video, Internet and multimedia). Caladine suggests that the model can
be used as a guide in the design of teaching activities and as an evalu-
ation device. He suggests that aligning proposed or actual teaching
activities with the elements of the model provides an indication of
potential teaching effectiveness and efficiency. As Caladine warns,
however, the model does not provide an indication of the best mix
of learning and teaching elements, nor is it sensitive to the special learn-
ing needs of students.
Thomas (1995) presents a third model for thinking about flexible
learning. Whereas Caladine’s model focuses on the interactional ele-
ments of the learning process, and Collis and Moonen’s focuses on the
components of flexible learning from an institutional and resource per-
spective, Thomas proposes a model which is a blend of these. For her,
flexible learning is the ‘dynamics of the learning process which takes
place between the expert, the learner and the learning resource’
(Thomas 1995, p. 5). In other words, Thomas emphasises interactional
elements situated around flexible learning concepts. In her model, these
consist of the needs and capabilities of the learner, the expert and the
learning resource and the interaction of these among each other and
with the purpose of learning. Her model thus consists of four mutually
interacting variables.
In her learning resource component, Thomas intends to include a
myriad of factors within an educational institution or workplace which
can be utilised in order to advance learning. These include not only the
physical hardware of learning (computers, specialist materials, etc.),
but also organisational and infrastructure designed to support learning,
learning strategies implemented within the curriculum and the expert-
ise of teachers and more capable student peers.
From Thomas’s viewpoint, the strength of this model is that there
is no centre position (e.g. the learner, the technology, the teacher)
around which the other components are meant to revolve. Of course,
the obvious candidate for the centre is the learner. However, Thomas
argues that a model skewed in this direction would be unrealistic
‘because at many levels at which learning is determined the learner
is not even present’ (Thomas 1995, p. 6). In other words, the learner’s
purpose is not necessarily the whole purpose of the flexible learning
endeavour. Other purposes, such as solving management problems,
drive the movement to flexible learning and, Thomas argues, it would
be obfuscation not to recognise this as a legitimate fact of life within
institutional settings. For instance, what appears to be a concern
for ‘learner-centredness’ may on inspection be related to interests
other than those of the learner. For example, freedom of choice for
the learner could be the result of excessive government supervision of

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the curriculum (through outcomes-based indicators, say); flexibility in

meeting a range of learning needs could mask the teacher’s insecurity
about his or her own expertise; employers’ conceptions of what skills
are needed by employees may be more indicative of their state of think-
ing about their industry, and less clearly related to the level of expertise
of students. Thus the model Thomas argues for, when translated into a
curriculum setting, legitimates and amplifies the various interests of
teachers, line managers, mentors and students—all those involved in
curriculum work—thus making it ‘allowable for [them] to say what
they can and cannot do, and for an honest appraisal of availability,
development needs and commitment to be included in the equation’
(Thomas 1995, p. 6, italics in original). For, as Thomas puts it, the
multiplicity of purposes is only suspect when some are withheld, thus
distorting the communication among parties.
In conclusion, Collis and Moonen’s model is rich in components
but downplays interactions among players, whilst Caladine picks up
the theme of interaction, but downplays the institutional and pedagog-
ical environment. Neither model grapples with issues surrounding the
purposes of those who service flexible learning. Thomas’s model repre-
sents an advance in that institutional factors, interactions and purposes
are brought into active consideration within a single framework.
However, Thomas’s model leaves technological questions, pedagogic
principles and learning theory in the background as far as these impact
on the pathway of flexible learning. In the next section, the case for a
new model which takes account of these additional factors is advanced.

FLEXIBLE LEARNING AS A LEARNING ACTIVITY

My starting point for constructing this new model is Diana Thomas’s

remark that the continual change implied by flexible learning ‘means
we have to live with ambiguity’ (Thomas 1995, p. 7). ‘Nothing,’ she
goes on to say, ‘stays tidily in its respective corner’ (ibid., p. 8). For
instance, what may start life as a resource created by an expert teacher
in one context may later be used as a learning resource (minus the
expert teacher) in another context—but this transfer does not, of
course, mean that the teacher’s expertise is any less valuable. Similarly,
the learner may be the source of expertise for other learners—or indeed
become a learning resource, as in the case of learners accessing their
own or others’ experience in order to contextualise their learning and
transform their knowledge.
But what lies at the heart of these tensions? And what role, if any,
do they have in leading the flexible learning experience into new stages
of development? These questions, not addressed by Thomas’s model,
are central to the cultural-historical activity theory model for flexible
learning I now wish to introduce. In order to set the scene, I need to say

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 STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING FLEXIBLE LEARNING

a few words about this theory and how it applies to flexible learning.
For Leont’ev (1981), activity systems consist of human subjects collec-
tively advancing a common purpose—for instance, obtaining flexible
learning and thereby generating desired outcomes (learning attain-
ments). The work of the activity is achieved by actions and operations
which are themselves mediated by physical or conceptual tools or arte-
facts coopted or generated by the activity system in order to advance
goals and ultimately accomplish the driving purpose of the system. In
the case of flexible learning, this could be tools such as computers, the
Internet, information and communications technologies (see mediating
information and communication technologies, Table 9.1), but also
could include conceptual tools such as learning and teaching principles
which help practitioners develop methods and plans for teaching work.
These include:

• facets and indicators of flexible learning (see Table 9.1);

• models of flexible learning practice (e.g. models of Caladine
(1999), Collis and Moonen (2001) and Thomas (1995));
• flexible learning principles (see section below); and
• flexible teaching and learning methods (see Table 9.2).

In Engeström’s (1987) development of this theory, activity is, in

addition, mediated by an evolved division of labour, rules and proto-
cols, and the ideas, sentiments and history of a specific community. For
instance, in the case of flexible learning, work is divided among differ-
ent roles—teacher, trainer, ‘training officer’, learner, student, worker,
manager, director, and so on. As we saw in Thomas’s remark above,
human subjects move among these roles as the work of the activity is
advanced. Next, human subjects also regulate their flexible learning
activity by following rules and protocols for their work—for instance,
teachers have teaching skills and methods, curriculum managers and
directors have strategies for implementation of flexible learning
schemes, and so on. Lastly, the kinds of interactions characteristic of
the flexible learning activity take place within communities, whether
these are education or training institutions or workplaces. Figure 9.1
(derived from Engeström 1999b—see Figure 2.1) summarises these
components of the model.
An important feature of this model is that tensions, ambiguities and
contradictions are considered to be intrinsic to human purpose-driven
activity; they are not seen simply as anomalies to be rationalised away,
extrinsic to the real aims and purposes of the activity. As we saw in dis-
cussion of the work of other theorists above, various themes modulate
the purpose of flexible learning. For instance, the learner might be
engaged in learning for its own sake or because this will enable a person
to solve a particular kind of problem. Learners also wish to obtain qual-
ifications leading to appropriate credentials which then enable them to

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

• Dimensions and indicators of flexible learni

(Table 9.1)
• Models of flexible learning practice (see Ca
1999; Collis & Moonen 2001; Thomas 1995)
• Flexible learning principles (Table 9.2)
• Teaching and learning methods (Table 9.2)
Instruments

Flexible Learning
learning outcomes

Subject Object Outcome

Rules Community Division of la

• Implementation • Education and • Students

strategies for flexible
training institutions
• Teachers, trainer
learning • Workplace • Managers, directo
• Teaching methods
and skills

Figure 9.1 Model of flexible delivery as a cultural-historical activity

system

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 STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING FLEXIBLE LEARNING

trade their skills in the labour market. But these different kinds of
reasons for undertaking learning—the first revolving around the con-
cept of the use value of learning, and the second around the concept of
the exchange value of learning—do not necessarily fit together unprob-
lematically. On the contrary, as learning involves costs, there are
tensions and ambiguities between these aspects of the learner’s goal,
leading to tradeoffs and difficult choices. For example, the learner may
not be able to afford the costs of study (the opportunity cost and/or the
economic cost) and choose alternative study objectives and goals which
substitute for those otherwise preferred; or learning might be cut short
or delayed or undertaken using methods and tools not first intended.
Likewise, a teacher’s goal is seldom the unproblematic goal of student
learning. Teaching involves costs, and these must be reckoned against
outputs (e.g. course completions, etc.) and competitive bids for service
(e.g. tendering for training services). Thus the teacher’s work must also
drive its way through the competing values of use (facilitating student
learning in the broad sense) and exchange (generating accredited out-
comes). Likewise, managers and policy-makers also modulate the
purpose of flexible learning with their own problems and tensions. In
the activity theory jargon, the kinds of tensions described above are
referred to as inner or primary contradictions. These give rise to other
levels of tensions, such those between components of an activity
system, between the objects at different stages of development and
between activity systems.
For instance, the logic of new digital information and communica-
tions technologies positions students, the teacher and other experts in
a web of distributed knowledge creation and development, and this
means that the teacher must surrender control of the learning experi-
ence. But not all teachers are comfortable with this or agree that it is
desirable. For example, Chambers (1999) found that in the instance of
computer conferencing she studied, the potential existed for ‘tension
between the tutor’s aim of encouraging and facilitating discussion
among students on one hand and the exercise of their more didactic,
academic role on the other’ (Chambers 1999, p. 59). This tension illus-
trates a double-bind conflict between teaching principles and the division
of workplace responsibility (the more intensely one enacts the role of
facilitator, the less effective one becomes as a representative of the insti-
tution in the pedagogic interaction). Thus tension or conflict, sourced to
the primary contradiction referred to previously, is created between the
components of ‘tool’ and ‘division of labour’ within the flexible learning
activity system (refer to Figure 9.1). Engeström (1987) refers to this
tension as a secondary contradiction within the activity system.
In activity theory, the resolution of these conflicts involves the cre-
ation of new ways and means to serve the interests of all parties, and
so drives flexible learning to a new stage of historical development. For
example, Bothams (1995) illustrates how participants in an action

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learning set generate solutions to their own learning problems and at

the same time address management issues. Thus, by finding ways to re-
mediate their learning activities, they are able to resolve tensions to the
mutual satisfaction of all parties and, at the same time, advance their
concept of flexible learning.
The following case study (from Crocker 2001) illustrates tensions
arising from flexible learning development in an actual learning
context.

Case study: integrating functional skills into Web-based

course
In this case, a teacher in Southern Main Technical College, Maine,
USA, Lance Crocker, sought to incorporate Web-based instruction in
the teaching of a course in Hotel Front Office Operations. The initial
problem was that the hospitality industry is considered to involve very
‘hands on’ kinds of work and is therefore not particularly amenable to
Web-mediated learning. Crocker reports, however, he felt that ‘there
had to be a way for me to [do this] but I knew it would take a totally
different approach than anything I had been doing for the past twenty
years’ (Crocker 2001, p. 1, [italics added]).
His development of flexible learning proceeded in two stages.
In the first, he proposed to replace his lectures with Web instruction. In
this, content was arranged within topics such as hotel and organisation
types, the guest cycle, industry-specific computerisation, front office
accounting and night audit and was transferred to Web format.
Supplementing this material, he developed a glossary, case studies
and proposed field trips. Functional skills relating to guest service, tele-
phone calls, reservations, registrations, communications and guest
settlements were proposed for the off-site internship portion of the
course. This internship was undertaken in an actual workplace site.
In the second stage of development, Crocker worked to implement
his plans. In two weeks he taught himself the relevant software
requirements. He then generated a template for the Website. Next he
transported quizzes and exams into the required Web format and
identified useful supporting Websites and case studies. Interestingly, he
found that all of his courses ‘very naturally broke down into the two
categories of either conceptual information or functional skill’ (Crocker
2001, p. 1), and this prompted him to work on a range of courses
simultaneously.
Crocker reports that this new method of teaching has ‘worked
wonderfully’. He states that ‘for the first time in six years, I had a group
of first-year students who actually know the vernacular of the industry
and I had more time to train and correct behaviours because I was not
bogged down with lecture time’. He found that students were able to
‘put information into practice almost instantly’ (Crocker 2001, p. 2).

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Students appreciated being able to go to class when they wanted to, not
when he wanted them to.
Unintended consequences of Crocker’s new teaching methods fol-
lowed. A colleague in a sister college within the Maine Technical
College system proposed that, because he did not have enough students
to run his course in front office in his college, his students be authorised
to enrol in Crocker’s Web-based component and that credit be trans-
ferred across sites. In order to facilitate this plan, new intern
arrangements local to the new site were arranged. More radically, the
success of Crocker’s model for incorporating Web-based instruction led
to its adoption in a range of other programs offered by his college. The
major requirement for success, Crocker reports, is that instructors must
be willing to ‘think outside of the box’ (Crocker 2001, p. 2).
In terms of the model of flexible learning proposed in this chapter,
flexible learning was the purpose driving Crocker’s project. In order to
advance this purpose, Crocker needed to resolve the central tension,
which was the seeming paradox of a hands-on subject being successfully
taught with Internet technology. How, for instance, were traditional
pedagogies to be resolved in the context of the new demands and possi-
bilities of the proposed Web technologies? In order to achieve resolution,
a new conceptual framework was brought to the targeted course. Con-
ceptual material relating to front desk operations was distinguished from
skills; new and different pedagogical contexts, methods and tools were
proposed for each. Thus lecture time in which students were provided
with a step-by-step treatment of concepts relating to the elements of front
desk management was replaced by a smorgasbord of learning opportu-
nities, such as quizzes, case studies, glossaries, and so on. Like their
instructors, students now became free to make choices about the time
and place of learning. Like course administrators, instructors became
negotiators: with students; with each other (student load and credit trans-
fer); with industry partners (internships). In the upshot, changes in one
course led to changes in many courses, and this in turn led to changes in
the way flexible learning was viewed within the institution.

DEVELOPING A FLEXIBLE LEARNING CURRICULUM

Thus far I have used the activity theory model of flexible learning to
analyse and illustrate flexible learning ventures. In this approach, the
many ways in which flexible learning is engineered in an actual instance
are made explicit and explored. However, the model is not limited to
retrospective studies such as these: it can also be used prospectively in
order to advance flexible learning changes. Engeström (1999a) shows
the way forward here with his depiction of the process of ‘expansive
visibilisation’. This involves the rendition of the flexible learning activ-
ity system in its contemporary form and the projection of new forms

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

with a view to identifying prospects and actual pathways for change and
development. Stages on the development towards expansive visibilisa-
tion, as defined by Engeström (1999a), include:

• Mirroring and analysing troublesome actions: In this stage, it

is important to collect samples of ‘disturbances’ (Engeström
1999a, p. 71) relating to the drive towards flexible learning.
By this is meant the deliberate unmasking of problems, diffi-
culties, double-binds (Bateson 1972), doubts and aporias
(Burbules 2000) within current curriculum practice—for
instance, the tension identified above between the didactic
aims of the teacher and the pedagogic role of facilitator.
Disturbances are made explicit by means of observing, video-
taping and interviewing curriculum workers such as teachers,
students, administrators, technicians and other practitioners
concerned with implementing the flexible learning curriculum
(Kanes & Stevenson 2001).
• Modelling flexible learning activity systems: In this stage, cur-
riculum workers are asked to reflect on their curriculum
activities and depict the activity system in which they are cur-
rently involved and systems which are in the process of
evolution. This task requires that curriculum workers identify
artefacts which mediate flexible learning activity, as set out in
Figure 9.1. In the course of these deliberations, workers begin
to identify inner contradictions working within their activity
systems and relate these to the disturbances identified pre-
viously. In addition, future flexible learning activity systems
are identified and these, together with the model of current
activities, become used as tools for ongoing curriculum
development deliberations.
• Designing and implementing new flexible learning actions:
Practical solutions are designed by curriculum workers for
new flexible learning practices using the depictions of flexible
learning activity systems generated in the previous stage as the
points of reference.
• Following and revising: Curriculum workers monitor how
these redesigned processes work in practice and this leads to
the revision of conceptual and procedural components of flex-
ible learning plans, as appropriate.

As indicated in Chapter 4, central to expansive visibilisation is the

task of weaving together plans for using new learning technologies with
new roles for curriculum workers, new kinds of social interactions, and
new rules for supporting the achievement of goals and purposes. As
Engeström (1999a) argues, this weaving together is not driven by a ‘list
of discrete rationally predetermined goals but by a dialectical movement

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 STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING FLEXIBLE LEARNING

between activity-level visions and action-level concretisations’ (1999a,

pp. 91–2). That is, curriculum workers must use reflection on their plans
for flexible learning as tools for developing and transforming their con-
crete practice and, equally, reflection on concrete practice must be used
as a tool to transform plans for flexible learning. In contrast, the models
of Collis and Moonen (2001), Caladine (1999) and Thomas (1995) do
not theorise a relationship between the purpose of flexible learning and
the synthesis of new tools, procedures and roles for engaging with it.
These models, though powerful in a heuristic sense (in that they draw
out salient components of flexible learning processes), are limited in that
they do not provide conceptual pathways for the rethinking of what
flexible learning means in actual experience.
In Figure 9.1, I conceptualised learning principles and teaching
methods for flexible learning as tools within the flexible learning
activity system. These were largely left implicit within the materials,
ideas and perspectives discussed. In the next section, I make these
principles and methods explicit.

FLEXIBLE LEARNING PRINCIPLES AND TEACHING

METHODS

Related to the changing nature of society, the economy and culture, dis-
cussed in an earlier part of this chapter, have been developments in the
theory of learning. Two key developments may be singled out. The first
is the rise of the constructivist view of learning in which learning is
characterised other than as information transfer. Rather, knowledge
growth is a learner-directed process of developing, extending, modify-
ing and reorganising existing knowledge in order to generate purpose-
built knowledge structures (Cobb 1994). A second key development
in theories of learning is the new concept of participatory learning. In
this, learning is accomplished through participation in authentic fields
of practice. Learning is construed as an introduction to a community of
practice, leading over time to full participation as a legitimate stake-
holder (Lave & Wenger 1991). Stepping away from learning as it is
experienced in institutions of teaching, this concept emphasises the
enculturation of the learner in the concepts, skills, values and disposi-
tions of expert practitioners within a community of practice. Lave and
Wenger conceptualise this switch of attention as a movement away
from a teaching curriculum towards a new understanding of the learn-
ing curriculum. Sfard (1998), however, recognises the need for both
these approaches in the planning and implementation of any teaching
and learning enterprise. What is central, she argues, is a critical
and well-judged relationship between the two. Choices of pedagogy,
teaching methods and resources, assessment tools, and so on, will in
practice determine what kind of balance is obtained.

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Table 9.2 Flexible learning principles and flexible teaching

principles and methods
Flexible learning Derived flexible Flexible teaching
principle (adapted teaching principle methods
from Donnan’s (1999,
p. 104) interpretation
of Basiel (1999))

Flexible learning is an Flexible teaching should ‘Problem based learning

active construction based create opportunities for scenarios, in-text
on existing knowledge students to manipulate, activities, imaginative
extend, modify and use of the quiz tools,
develop their existing linking topics with
knowledge bulletin board and online
tutorials’ (Donnan 1999
p. 107)
Flexible learning is Flexible teaching should Use of real-world settings
critically dependent on utilise characteristics of and authentic contexts in
the learning setting settings in which the presentation of
knowledge targeted for content. Use of case
growth is located studies (Donnan 1999
p. 107)
Flexible learning is about Flexible teaching should Adopt a ‘sense of
solving the problems of afford the learner with a audience and flag a clear
adaptation to new settings challenging environment, set of cues and clues for
or new aspects of but also one in which active participation’
received settings challenges are (Heppell & Ramondt
appropriately ‘scaffolded’ 1998, cited in Hart
or supported 2001)
Flexible learning involves Flexible teaching should Questioning styles,
reflective thinking prompt students to prompting metacognition,
consciously think about identifying and reflecting
their learning and the on stages in the perform-
mastery of skills and ance of authentic
concepts practice, ‘abstracted
replay’ (Collins et al.
1989), facilitating
student–student
discussion, mentoring,
peer mentoring
Flexible learning is about Flexible teaching should The teacher must
communication involve methods which initiate and maintain a
encourage students to facilitatory tone for
articulate and share their social interactions among
knowledge with others course participants
(Donnan 1999). For
example, in reviewing the
successful operation of
a teaching group,

continued

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 STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING FLEXIBLE LEARNING

Flexible learning Derived flexible Flexible teaching

principle (adapted principles methods
from Donnan’s (1999,
p. 104) interpretation
of Basiel (1999))

Sherry, (1998, cited

Donnan 1999, p. 108)
notes that ‘the reason this
group was successful is
because the teacher was
successful in setting a
good cooperative tone of
inquiry for the class, the
personalities who
participated maintained
that tone, and we had
something worthwhile to
discuss
Flexible learning is Flexible teaching should See the dimensions and
multivalent deploy a variety of tools indicators of flexible
and strategies and thus learning—Table 9.1
engage multiple ways of
giving meaning to
knowledge targeted for
growth

Drawing on this literature, together with the models for flexible

learning discussed in previous sections, certain principles of flexible
learning can be distilled. These are as follows:

• Flexible learning is an active construction: Active means that

learning requires the learner to become engaged and con-
sciously involved in the processes of learning. Learners are
active meaning-makers and resort to their previous experiences
when challenged to generate new meanings and methods.
• Flexible learning is critically dependent on the learning
setting: Learning always requires a context, and the context
shapes the kind and quality of learning outcomes achieved.
• Flexible learning is about solving the problems of adaptation
to new settings or new aspects of received settings: Solving
problems means addressing situations which for the learner
are new or have novel features in order to achieve a resolution
deemed workable within the learning context. Workable solu-
tions are those that have legitimacy within the learning
context (whether it be in a formal learning situation or work-
place). As learners generate a workable solution, they must
develop, transform or extend the kinds of meanings they

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

bring to the problem at hand; by so doing, they display adapt-

ability to the learning context.
• Flexible learning involves reflective thinking: When it is most
effective, learning requires the learner to become consciously
engaged in reflecting on knowledge already acquired (whether
concepts or skills). The purpose of such reflection is to modify
and extend current knowledge in ways which meet the chal-
lenge the learning situation presents to the learner.
• Flexible learning is about communication: Conceptual learn-
ing is deeply associated with language. Often ideas which
subsequently lead to the transformation of learners’ under-
standing first appear in linguistic forms shared in efforts to
communicate with another. But spoken language is never
without voice—which is the pattern of speech adopted by a
person occupying a specific role within a specific context and
social setting. By expressing ideas, learners use their own
voices and importantly the voices of others who are more
knowledgeable in order to generate new meanings and pat-
terns of thinking (Fox et al. 1999).
• Flexible learning is multivalent: As indicated above, learning
is about the transformation of one way of thinking and
behaving into other ways of thinking and behaving. Thus
the learning context must provide numerous alternative
approaches for the learner’s use (Donnelly 2001).

Effective teaching requires that curriculum workers make choices

which best facilitate learning. Thus principles of teaching and associ-
ated methods should be closely related to the learning principles from
which they are derived. Table 9.2 sets out teaching principles and
methods against each of the learning principles indicated above. As this
table shows, flexible learning is effected by a wide variety of possible
teaching methods.

CONCLUSION

This chapter has, firstly, outlined facts of flexible learning and set out
indicators for flexible learning in practice. Next a rationale for flexible
learning was developed, drawing on economic and cultural needs,
associated developments in kinds of learning, the learning needs of par-
ticular groups, and institutional factors shaping (especially) the
economic realities of life facing vocational education and training
providers. Then three models for guiding the development of flexible
learning practices were presented and discussed. These were found to
emphasise different aspects of the learning curriculum. Arising from
these considerations, a new model for developing flexible learning was

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 STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING FLEXIBLE LEARNING

introduced. Drawing on cultural-historical activity theory, this model

supersedes other models, and also provides a set of tools for further
development of the flexible learning curriculum. These include: com-
munications and information technologies; facets of flexible learning;
indicators of flexibility; heuristic models for flexible learning practice;
the expansive visibilisation of the flexible learning curriculum; and
learning principles and teaching methods for flexible delivery.
The chapter concluded with a discussion of the learning and teach-
ing principles underpinning the flexible learning model in particular
and flexible learning efforts in general. These are conceptualised as
tools within the flexible learning development process.
Finally, flexible learning viewed from the perspective of activity
theory teaches us that flexible learning needs to be seen as a journey
rather than a destination. Instead of thinking about flexible learning as
a set of ad hoc solutions to routine problems, the model argued for here
encourages us to think of it as an ongoing process of meeting emerging
needs by radically transforming present realities.

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 10

Guiding vocational
learning
Stephen Billett

GUIDING LEARNING

This chapter provides a critical discussion of the processes and out-

comes of the guided learning of vocational practice. It proposes that
the vocational practice individuals have to learn has social origins and
that the processes of learning this practice are also social. The voca-
tional knowledge to be learnt has evolved over time with the
development of the vocational practice and is manifested in specific
ways in particular cultures and communities (e.g. countries and work-
places). Therefore, this knowledge has historical, cultural and
situational origins. Because of these origins, vocational knowledge
needs to be learnt through engagement with social practices, partner-
ships and artefacts that provide access to this knowledge. Some of it is
easily accessed through observing and listening to others (e.g. other
students, teachers, workers) when engaging in activities in classrooms
and workplaces, or through reading texts. However, the guidance of a
more experienced partner (e.g. teacher or workplace expert) is
required to assist learning knowledge that may not be learnt through
discovery alone. This includes learning procedures referred to as
‘tricks of the trade’ and concepts not easily observable or comprehen-
sible without assistance from others who already understand them

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 GUIDING VOCATIONAL LEARNING

(e.g. force factors, electrical current and hygiene). Without guidance,

this knowledge may remain inaccessible to the learner or be learnt
inappropriately. Guidance can also assist in managing the pace and
sequence of the learning of a vocational practice that has taken many
lifetimes to develop and refine, and whose development continues.
Nevertheless, the process of learning through guided engagement in
classroom or workplace activities is complex and its outcomes are not
wholly predictable. Although social sources and partners play an
important role in learning, the process is not one of simple knowledge
transmission from the social source to the individual. Nor are its out-
comes socialisation or enculturation. Instead, learning is shaped by
both the individual’s social and cognitive experiences (Valsiner & van
de Veer 2000)—how individuals’ existing knowledge interacts with
what is experienced socially through engagement in the classroom or
workplace.
From a constructivist view, we humans are not passive recipients of
what we experience (or what others would have us learn). Instead, we
are active meaning-makers. What is learnt will in some ways be differ-
ent for each individual, given our unique personal histories, as these
influence what we experience and learn (Billett 1997). Therefore,
although the outcomes of learning may be shaped in some ways by the
social circumstances in which the learning occurs (e.g. in classrooms
and workplaces), that learning is also mediated by individuals’ cogni-
tive experiences, which arise from unique personal histories. This
interplay between individual agency and social contributions empha-
sises the significance of the reciprocity between individuals’ learning
and the social world. Perhaps individuals cannot be taught; they can
only learn. However, this learning can benefit from being guided in
ways that assist individuals to learn the kinds of proven processes and
concepts required for adaptable vocational practice. The key pedagog-
ical goal is to guide the learners’ active construction of the knowledge
required to secure competent performance in the situations in which
they are learning (e.g. classroom or workplace) and extend that learn-
ing beyond its initial applications (e.g. to a workplace or another
workplace or work task).
The discussion elaborating these issues is structured as follows.
Learning as social reproduction is discussed first to establish a basis for
evaluating the processes and outcomes of guided learning. Conceptual
bases for guiding learning are then discussed in terms of how access to
guidance and participation in activities are central to learning voca-
tional practices. Considerations for curriculum are discussed next in
terms of goals, enactments and participative experiences, followed by
the views of those proposing pedagogical principles from a guided
learning perspective. These discussions are of necessity critical for
the contributions and limitations of guided learning to be appraised
effectively.

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

INTERSUBJECTIVITY, APPROPRIATION OR MASTERY:

OUTCOMES OF GUIDED LEARNING

Guided learning is often associated with the sociocultural theoretical

tradition of Vygotsky (1978), and activity theory of his associates (e.g.
Leont’ev 1981 [1959]) and recent adherents (e.g. Cole 1998; Rogoff
1995; Wertsch 1998). This tradition emphasises the social origins of
knowledge and the social bases of learning. It also tends to privilege
social reproduction. That is, it accentuates the reproduction of what is
known and accepted over approaches which encourage novelty in
responses to emerging tasks. Vocational practices and their transfor-
mation over time provide instances of proven practices. While an
emphasis on learning proven practices and concepts is important, goals
for vocational preparation also need to include being responsive to the
changing contexts and requirements for work that will occur through-
out individuals’ working lives. Therefore, understanding the kinds of
learning that may arise through guided learning is essential to appraise
its capacity to develop vocational practice that is responsive to some of
the diverse and changing requirements for that practice.
Concern about learning as social reproduction is hardly new.
Dewey (1938) raised concerns about education as social reproduction,
which he encountered in Russia early in the twentieth century. He
argued that education needed to be responsive to new circumstances
and requirements, to reflect fresh insights and engage individuals’
contributions and divergences, rather than being merely socially
reproductive (Glassman 2001). Dewey’s own ideas were expunged
from educational practice in Soviet Russia when uniform and faithful
adherence to a particular ideology became valued. Concerns about
learning as social reproduction have direct implications for vocational
education, as the requirements for vocational practice are founded in
proven practices that are constantly evolving. To counter or complicate
Dewey’s concerns is to acknowledge the interplay between the social
structuring of knowledge and individuals’ agency. There are differences
between what is structured for learners and what learners actually
learn. Using curriculum terminology, it is the distinction between what
was intended to be learnt and what students actually learnt. So are
Dewey’s concerns overstated?
In learning theories that accentuate a social basis of cognition, the
desired learning outcome is often to achieve shared understanding or
intersubjectivity between the more experienced social partner (e.g. co-
worker, teacher) and the learner (e.g. co-worker, apprentice or student).
Trevarthen (1980, p. 530) defines intersubjectivity as both the recogni-
tion and control of cooperative intentions and joint patterns of
awareness. It constitutes a shared understanding based on a common
focus of attention and some shared presuppositions that form the
grounds for communication and action (Newman, et al. 1989; Rogoff

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1990). Individuals who have spent lots of time together often enjoy
high levels of intersubjectivity. I once observed two carpenters working
in tandem. Few words were required to be exchanged as they worked
together. There was common understanding, for instance, about when
the weight of a piece of timber required assistance from the other to be
lifted. Assistance with its lifting, rotation and positioning proceeded
without discussion. Such was their shared understanding that their
collaborative action proceeded almost in silence. Newman et al. (1989)
propose that the key purpose of communication is to develop shared
understanding, or intersubjectivity. Because of our unique personal
social histories, they hold that we construct meaning initially in quite
individual or idiosyncratic ways. They argue that if we all constructed
understandings uniformly from what was experienced, there would be
little need to communicate, because common understandings would
be secured through the same experiences. However, because our under-
standings are premised on unique personal histories, we need to
communicate to clarify meaning and develop shared understanding.
Therefore, intersubjectivity arises through shared social interaction.
‘An experience is always what it is because of a transaction taking place
between the individual and what, at that time, constitutes the environ-
ment’ (Dewey 1938, p. 43). Interestingly, here Dewey also proposes
that the nature and impact of individuals’ experience cannot be pre-
determined because of the inherently subjective nature of the individual
having the experience. This proposition emphasises relations between
the individual and their social experiences. One implication is that no
two people have exactly the same experience, despite being involved in
the same event, because of the individual basis for experiences (the cog-
nitive experience) that interacts with the event (the social experience).
It follows that the movement toward intersubjectivity is important
for learning the proven vocational practices and concepts that more
experienced practitioners have already learnt, and which collectively
constitute a cultural practice identifiable as a particular vocation.
However, achieving intersubjectivity cannot be guaranteed. Unlike
with the two carpenters, it may be resisted when little relatedness
exists between the knowledge to be learnt and individuals’ interests
(Hodges 1998). So learning through engagement in social practice and
with social partners should not be seen as merely reproducing what is
already known. Although interactions with more expert others are
aimed at achieving particular goals, individuals’ learning may be
directed in ways other than originally intended by those who attempt
to organise learning. For instance, through experiences in schools,
colleges and workplaces, individuals learn about power relations,
cliques and relations between others—often in ways that were perhaps
not intended.
Nevertheless, there is an important role for teachers and co-
workers in guiding learners’ development of the knowledge to be

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learnt, including inciting interest in that knowledge. Ultimately, achiev-

ing intersubjectivity between a more experienced practitioner and a
learner occurs over time and through engagement and negotiation.
More experienced partners can assist in guiding the development of
understanding and procedures required for effective participation in a
vocational practice (Billett 2001a). Through this learning, individuals
might come to appropriate these practices—the voluntary acceptance
of and commitment to the worth of what is learnt. Individuals become
committed to these practices and use them voluntarily because they are
consistent with their interests and values. To appropriate these prac-
tices, individuals will likely need to experience their successful
deployment or enjoy a fittedness between what is to be learnt and their
values. Here, it is useful to contrast appropriation with mastery—the
superficial learning that arises from the need to comply with a social
press, such as the demands of teachers or co-workers, although the
learner remains unconvinced and uncommitted (Wertsch 1998). There-
fore, given the importance of the exercise of individuals’ agency in
learning, a key role for guidance is to assist, monitor and guide indi-
viduals’ appropriation of the kinds of knowledge required for effective
vocational practices through supporting successful performance and
illuminating bases for that performance.
As it represents outcomes consonant with learners’ interests, appro-
priation is often viewed as desirable (e.g. Wertsch 1998). However, this
view warrants critical appraisal. What individuals appropriate may
be neither adaptable nor just. Firstly, the particular social practices
individuals engage in are likely to shape their learning in some ways.
However, appropriating the particular practices of a workplace or edu-
cational site may inhibit the wider application of that knowledge.
Vocational practice is not enacted uniformly. When you work in a
restaurant or training restaurant, you may only access one instance of
the vocational practice. The skills required for cooking ‘à la carte’ food
in an upmarket restaurant, for instance, may not be readily applicable
to a hospital kitchen or one at a mine site camp. The food may be of a
similar cuisine but the requirements for preparing food may be quite
different (made to order, choice, purposes). Although valued and
supported in a particular social practice and consistent with indivi-
duals’ beliefs about what constitutes good vocational practice, what is
appropriated may not be applicable elsewhere.
Secondly, individuals may appropriate habits and behaviours that
are inappropriate. For instance, teasing female apprentices in the class-
room or bullying in the workplace might be encouraged and even
rewarded by peers, and be consistent with the individual’s beliefs about
trades not being for females, or that certain individuals are unworthy.
Although they are appropriated, these behaviours are hurtful and
discriminatory. Equally, other inappropriate practices (e.g. not wearing
safety gear, imprudent shortcuts) may be adopted in workplaces or

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classrooms and appropriated by workers. Yet this does not make them
correct. Alternatively, knowledge that should be appropriated might
only be mastered because the learners do not understand or value its
importance. For instance, when I taught in a vocational college,
because of their lack of industry experience, many students had little
basis to distinguish between what was more or less important in the
course content. Students wishing to become clothing designers often
needed convincing of the need to know how garments were cut and
constructed in order to design them. Guidance was required to encour-
age learners to appropriate what they might otherwise only master. So
the worth of what is appropriated needs to be viewed in terms of its
adaptability as well as broader goals about its worth (e.g. fairness and
inclusiveness). Appropriation should not be seen as a good in its own
terms, but in terms of what is appropriated.
In sum, the reproductive learning provided through socially
guided experiences may be essential for learning proven vocational
practices. Nevertheless, individuals also need to be guided to consider
fresh solutions and apply their knowledge effectively in situations
which differ from those in which it was learnt. For classroom-based
learning, for instance, the first adaptation is to situations beyond the
educational institution (e.g. workplaces). The direct guidance of
more experienced others, such as teachers, can assist the development
of robust practice through providing instances of the diversity of voca-
tional practice that students may encounter. So Dewey’s concerns
about education being directed towards the mere reproduction of
knowledge may be quite legitimate. However, the influence of human
agency in mediating the demands of social practice should not be
under-estimated, thereby creating a need to guide that agency towards
developing adaptable vocational practices. So the concern for voca-
tional education is to guide individuals’ appropriation of socially
derived practices and concepts in ways required to secure effective
workplace performance and to extend it to other instances of practice.
These represent clear and worthwhile goals for guiding vocational
learning.

CONCEPTUAL BASES OF GUIDED LEARNING

The conceptual bases of guided learning are illuminated by four pro-

positions. These are that: (i) learning is a social process based on
interactions; (ii) learning arises through engagement in thinking and
acting, through activities; (iii) learning through engagement in activities
benefits from guidance by social partners; and (iv) particular strategies
can be adopted to enhance and extend individuals’ learning. The first
two of these propositions are discussed together next as they represent
interrelated bases for understanding guided learning. The third and

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fourth are discussed, respectively, in the final sections of the chapter

through considerations of curriculum and instruction.

Learning as a social process premised on activities

and interactions
As they have historical and social origins, the kinds of procedures and
concepts to be learnt for vocational practice do not come from within
the individual. Vocational practice develops and transforms over time in
response to particular and changing cultural needs (e.g. for cars to be
maintained and repaired, for food to be prepared and served, for soft-
ware to be installed and updated). Moreover, vocational practice is
constituted in particular ways in response to specific situational require-
ments (e.g. the kinds of cars serviced in a particular garage, the needs of
learners in a particular course). In order to interact with and learn the
knowledge underpinning this practice, engagement is required with the
social environment where the knowledge is to be enacted, including that
comprising the assistance of others who have learnt that knowledge
(e.g. teachers, experts). Learning this knowledge therefore involves
interactions with the social world. This process is referred to as being
inter-psychological—between individuals and social sources. Inter-
psychological processes are held to lead to an intra-psychological
outcome—a change within the individual when ‘an external activity is
reconstructed and begins to occur internally’ (Vygotsky 1978, p. 56).
The sociologist Bourdieu (1991) noted that when we speak with a par-
ticular dialect we have learnt to use our mouth, tongue and palate in
ways that have become an unconscious part of behaviour. To speak in a
particular dialect, we have appropriated a means of speech (an intra-
psychological outcome) that is sourced inter-psychologically through
interactions with users of the dialect. The learning process might com-
prise imitation and practice as modelled in the social environment in
which the individual is engaged. However, as discussed, the inter-
psychological process is a two-way process, arising interdependently
through interactions when individuals are engaged in conscious goal-
directed actions and in interactions with the social world. So, although
human agency promotes learner independence, it emphasises the need to
guide the development of the learning required for vocational practice.
Two kinds of guidance can be seen as characterising inter-
psychological interactions. These are, firstly, the close or proximal
guidance by others and, secondly, interactions that are less directly inter-
personal arising from observing and interacting with others, artefacts
and the social world more broadly. The former might comprise direct
interactions with more experienced others (e.g. parents, teachers) or
peers (co-workers, fellow students) who might also be learning the tasks
(e.g. other students or workers). These interactions may provide guid-
ance through an explanation or assistance in task completion or

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collaboration with a particular procedure. This kind of guidance is par-

ticularly useful in easing the demands of learning new knowledge. For
instance, when learning to drive a car, a more experienced driver
rehearses for the novice the sequence of procedures for gear changes,
including the kinds of procedures to become competent in (e.g. ‘Let the
clutch out slowly until it bites’, ‘Use the centre of your palm to gently
guide the gear change. Don’t grab it.’). They can also assist by indicat-
ing the sequence of activities, thereby sharing and easing the learning
load. Such support can also ease the demand of learning by collaborat-
ing in the task and assisting in completing those parts of the task the
learner is unable to complete satisfactorily. The more experienced
partner can also make accessible knowledge that would not be learnt
through trial and error alone (e.g. principles of the operations of an
engine or computer). This knowledge might otherwise be inaccessible or
unavailable to the learner. Moreover, this kind of guidance can assist
the development of performance by organising a pathway of activities
through which to learn and by monitoring improvements in perform-
ance over time (e.g. organising practice in clutch control then, later, hill
starts and then, later still, reverse parking).
Inter-psychological interactions also occur through less interper-
sonal interactions, such as through observing and listening to others.
Accessing knowledge vicariously through observation or listening is a
common means of learning and one in which learners take an active
role. Observing others performing work tasks, or completing a class-
room exercise, are examples of indirect guidance, which can lead to
rich and purposeful learning. Episodes of spectacular learning have
been identified in children’s language and social skill development
(Bransford et al. 1985, cited in Pea 1987) where no direct guidance
occurs. Similarly, Lave (1990) notes that learning craft skills occurred
with little direct instruction. Instead, observation of tasks, other
workers, and artefacts in the form of completed and half-completed
garments were important means of learning tailoring. It has been con-
sistently found that ‘observing and listening’ is a key source of the
learning to perform work tasks in workplaces (Billett 2001a). Also,
through engaging with the tools, tasks and artefacts associated with the
practice, the requirements for effective practice become explicit.
The physical context and artefacts play an important intermediate
role in building connections between objects and events in the social
world, and their symbolic representations (Hiebert 1984, cited in Prawatt
1989). For instance, a warehouse worker used the ‘library’ of examples
in the warehouse to assist in learning how to pack boxes of different
shapes; and a worker in a bar commented that when she saw groups of
particular customers she was reminded of what they drank (Billett 1994).
When shopping in a supermarket, its layout and products guide the
grocery shopping. This becomes most evident when we use an unfamiliar
supermarket, or the layout changes in the one we use. So guidance can

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be secured through engaging in an environment that provides clues and

cues for task completion and learning. Physical and social environments
are not neutral contexts in which activities occur; they can be a highly
constituting component of how we think and act. Through interaction,
cognitive processes can be displayed, shared and deployed (Newman
et al. 1989). This, in turn, permits individuals to evaluate and modify
aspects of their cognitive processes (thinking and acting). However, direct
guidance may make the knowledge to be appropriated more accessible,
including those concepts and procedures that have evolved over time and
may not be observable or otherwise easily accessible.
In this way, collaborative engagement in work tasks can also
provide support for the learner when they confront new activities and
are extending their learning beyond what they currently know. There-
fore, guiding individuals’ engagement through direct or indirect
interactions represents opportunities for interventions to promote their
learning (Scribner 1990).

Learning arises through engagement in thinking and acting

Learning arises through thinking and acting. When engaged in con-
scious intentional goal-directed activity, we deploy our knowledge.
However, more than just undertaking or completing a task, learning
occurs when engaged in goal-directed activities through the refinement
and reinforcement of what we already know or the creation of new
knowledge. Refinement arises when we perfect or improve what we
are doing. This might be through honing a technique (e.g. becoming
faster or more precise). When we complete a task using a particular
procedure, it reinforces or refines the effective means of achieving that
task’s goal. In doing something new, we extend our knowledge. When
asked to hammer nails, the apprentice carpenter can do so because she
has done this before. Through practice, she is able to perform the task
with greater speed and accuracy. She might be asked, and able, to
apply her hammering skills to another kind of task, such as strength-
ening a wooden structure using a nail plate. However, when asked to
hammer a nail into hard wood, her existing knowledge may be inade-
quate. She may need a more experienced carpenter to advise her about
drilling a hole prior to attempting to nail hard wood. The first
example is the performance of what is to her a routine task; the second
is a task of a similar kind applied to another carpentry task. The third
kind of task is too difficult because her existing knowledge is insuffi-
cient. The first example is of learning by refining and reinforcing
something learnt previously. The second example is learning by adapt-
ing what is already known to a different but similar application. The
third example is learning that the existing knowledge is insufficient.
This is where direct guidance is most likely required from a more
experienced individual. The novice carpenter may not even consider

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drilling a hole first, because she sees such an option as unassociated

with nailing.
The above examples suggest little separation between everyday
thinking and acting, and learning. When we engage in conscious
thought or action, we are learning—even if the learning is reinforcing
what we already know. This view has long been proposed. Piaget (1966)
distinguished between the processes of accommodation and assimilation
in everyday thinking and acting. The former process comprises develop-
ing new categories of knowledge to respond to novel experiences and
the latter involves integrating experiences with what we already know.
The former is associated with new learning and the latter with the rein-
forcement and refinement of what has already been learnt. Therefore,
depending on the kind of activities individuals elect to engage in, differ-
ent kinds of learning will arise. Consequently, the guidance individuals
receive in terms of the sequencing, practice and monitoring of progress
can be used to assist easing of the demands of new learning. Upon com-
mencing a new task (e.g. using a hammer), the more experienced other
can model how the hammer is to be grasped and assist the learner with
its use. As the learner gains competency with the hammer, the more
experienced collaborator may model and monitor the best posture and
hammer swing (e.g. don’t crouch over it, use a full swing in the begin-
ning, and smaller swings as the head reaches the surface). Later, the
expert might guide the novice in developing strategies for dealing with
particular kinds of timbers (e.g. drill a hole in hard woods), use of nails
(e.g. galvanised nail for exposed exterior work, special nails for metal
sheeting, etc.), how to counter-sink nails and also when other fastenings
(e.g. screws) might best be used. So guidance includes the monitoring
and sequencing of the activities in order to manage the learning of activ-
ities that extend, refine and reinforce what the learner knows.
In sum, as learning occurs through participation in activities, the
kinds of activities individuals engage in, their sequencing and learners’
progression are all important intervention points for the experienced
collaborator to use in guiding learning.

CURRICULUM AND GUIDED LEARNING

The implication for curriculum development arising from guided

learning can be considered in terms of the kinds of knowledge to be
learnt (curriculum goals) and the practices required to guide learners’
participation (participatory practices).

Curriculum goals
Key curriculum goals have been identified above. These include under-
standing the situated nature of work performance and the need to

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develop concepts and practices that are adaptable to situations beyond

those in which learning initially occurs. These goals emphasise under-
standing something of the range of practices that constitute the
vocation. The goals for developing vocational practice can be thought
of as occurring on two planes: the socio-cultural and the situational.
The former is the product of a societal needs and expectations—for
instance, there is a societal need for car mechanics, hairdressers and
carpenters. There are also societal expectations that, for instance,
hairdressers will know how to cut, shape and care for hair, and advise
clients on the most appropriate cuts and treatments for them. To do
this, hairdressers need to understand the structure of hair, the impact of
treatments upon hair structure, how colour can be imparted and
changed, how best to communicate with and manage clients, and how
hairdressers should conduct themselves. So there are conceptual,
procedural and dispositional foundations that can be thought of as the
canonical vocational practice, and that reflect a societal or cultural
need. However, this canonical practice exists and is abstracted at the
societal level. It is only observable and given actual form when enacted
in a particular workplace setting. Therefore, the second plane to
consider goals for curriculum development is the situational. How
vocational practice is constituted in particular workplaces is a product
of situational factors that shape what constitutes effective task
performance (Billett 2001b).
However, much of the effort in curriculum development in voca-
tional education has been directed to the societal or socio-cultural
level with the formation of national curriculum documents and com-
petency standards that aim to represent the abstracted vocational
practice as a uniform vocational practice. Such conceptions are driven
by beliefs that, if individuals can understand and practise the canoni-
cal knowledge of the vocation, they will be able to apply their
vocational knowledge to different instances of practice. However, this
premise appears flawed, as this kind of deployment often does not
occur effectively (Raizen 1994). Canonical vocational practice pro-
vides important curriculum goals through an account of the tasks
required for the vocational practice and procedures for its enactment.
However, this account needs to be augmented by an understanding of
some variations in practice and requirements for performance, which
constitute its wider enactment. Understanding variations of the voca-
tional practice may be helpful in assisting in the development of
adaptable performance. Central to this is understanding which of the
various procedures is most appropriate for a particular task and which
processes are required to best make that judgement. Making accessible
some variations in practice and the bases of those variations can be
provided by more experienced partners who are able to elaborate the
different requirements and bases for procedures (e.g. ‘in this situation
you might, however you could also . . .’). A way forward is to view

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canonical vocational knowledge and its cultural manifestation as

being the indispensible content that represents key goals for learning
the vocation. However, understanding some of the variations of the
vocational practice is just as important in addressing local needs and
providing appropriate experiences for learners.
But curriculum is more than intents and content. Ultimately,
curriculum is something experienced by learners. They determine what
they construct from their experiences. As proposed, for good and bad,
individuals do not necessarily appropriate what it is intended that they
learn. Therefore, a key concern for vocational curriculum aimed at
developing robust practice is guiding the learning of the range of con-
cepts, practices and values associated with the vocation and assisting
learners to know something of the range of variations of vocational
practice. For instance, vocational students undertaking their studies
wholly within vocational colleges reported that the stories and exam-
ples provided by their teachers assisted in adapting their college-learnt
knowledge to workplaces (Billett et al. 1999). So a key goal for guided
learning is the capacity to make accessible both the canonical knowl-
edge of the vocation—its key concepts, practices and values—and some
variations of the vocational practice to assist its adaptation across
different instances and moments of practice.

Participatory practices as curriculum

Central to a constructivist perspective of curriculum is how individu-
als are able to participate in the activities from which they will learn.
Learners do not experience a syllabus, or a national competency
standard. They experience what they encounter through the activities
and interactions that constitute the ‘enacted curriculum’—what expe-
riences are provided for them in the educational institution or
workplace. However, curriculum in vocational education in many
western countries has become associated with documents (syllabi) and
regulatory frameworks. These conceptions tend to emphasise the
‘intended’ curriculum—what is proposed to be learnt by sponsors,
rather than what is enacted and what is ultimately experienced by
learners. Curriculum as enactments and experiences can be conceptu-
alised in terms of reciprocal participatory practices. On the one hand,
it is how learners are afforded experiences (i.e. activities and guidance)
by the educational institution or workplace (the enactment of the cur-
riculum experience). On the other, it is how learners elect to engage
with what they experience. In workplaces, learning has been concep-
tualised as being enacted through the sequencing of a pathway of
activities that progresses from those with lower to higher levels
of accountability—that is, commencing with tasks that have limited
consequences if mistakes are made to those of greater accountability,
where failure carries greater consequences. Lave (1990) referred to

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this pathway as the ‘learning curriculum’. In contemporary work-

places, pathways have been identified in the kinds of experiences
extended to hairdressing apprentices (Billett 2001a), airline pilots
(Hutchins 1991) and production workers (Darrah 1996). Similarly,
in school settings, Posner (1982) advocates a view of curriculum
premised on the kinds and sequencing of activities for students. He
proposes participation in these activities be premised on a consider-
ation of: (i) the identification of appropriate tasks (e.g. analysis of
subject matter, goals undertaken within the task); (ii) student
interpretation of those tasks; (iii) student readiness; (iv) student
engagement in the task; and (v) the kinds of thinking that are required
by the student. In the example of guided learning in the section that
follows, many of these considerations are identifiable.
If we consider curriculum as providing pathways of participation
to develop adaptive forms of vocational practices, these pathways can
be structured to intentionally extend the individual’s vocational prac-
tice to other circumstances. For instance, in their hospital-based
training, nurses are rotated through different work areas in hospitals.
This enables them to learn about how nursing is enacted in a range of
contexts (e.g. casualty, maternity, oncology, general wards, etc.). These
experiences may lead to nurses developing adaptive practices in ways
that experience in just one ward would not afford. Similarly, some
apprenticeship schemes utilise a structured program of participation in
different kinds of workplaces to develop and extend apprentices’
learning. So, for instance, the apprentice chef might commence by
working in a banquet kitchen for a large hotel; next they might move
to a bistro, then ‘à la carte’ restaurant in the same hotel, before
moving on to a small inner-city restaurant and then perhaps to a hos-
pital kitchen. These kinds of experiences afford opportunities to
develop adaptive vocational practice. However, the learner may well
place different values on the kinds of experiences they encounter. It
might lead them to decide to associate only with one area of practice
or to disassociate from it entirely (e.g. Hodges 1998). So pathways of
participation need to be structured and sequenced, and the learners’
experiences and development guided, in order to assist the appropria-
tion of adaptable knowledge. Throughout, there are points at which
direct guided learning interventions might usefully be deployed, in
order to enrich and guide the learners’ experience. These are illus-
trated and discussed next.

IMPLICATIONS FOR INSTRUCTION

In considering implications for instruction, the following instance of

guided learning is relevant.

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CASE STUDY

The setting is the consumer advisory call centre of a food manu-

facturing company. The call centre’s role is to respond to
consumer requests and complaints through the provision of
advice and also to report consumer complaints and requests to the
company. Karen, an experienced operator, is assisting Fran to
learn how to respond to consumer calls. Prior to this, Fran has
worked in this area for some time. She knows the procedures for
gathering information to provide to consumers and has been
involved in preparing client correspondence. However, this is her
first time taking calls from clients and she is a little anxious about
the task. The task comprises listening to consumers, expressing
concern, being careful not to make any concessions about fault
and carefully entering information about each consumer’s request
into a data base, as the consumer provides the information. So
there are multiple tasks that have to be conducted simultaneously
when responding to calls. Fran, like others before her, is nervous
about taking consumer calls, because the content of each call
cannot be predicted. It could be a simple request for information
or an irate consumer with a complaint about the product. For
some time, she sits and listens through a second pair of head-
phones and watches the screen as Karen takes calls and enters
information into the database. She hears how Karen greets a con-
sumer and responds empathically to a complaint: ‘Oh, that’s no
good.’ Then Karen takes a call and, after it is completed, lets Fran
enter the information in to the database. This happens over a
number of calls. While Fran is placing the information in to the
database, Karen explains some of the protocols for placing infor-
mation into the database. Because Fran has previously been
involved in using this database to prepare correspondence to con-
sumers, she understands the importance of accuracy and the need
for most of the information. Karen is empathetic and supportive,
leaning forward and smiling as she assists Fran.
Karen then selects a request from the previous day, for which
she now has the required information. The consumer wanted to
know which retail store in their state stocked a particular product.
She tells Fran that she can return the call. Fran looks nervous.
They swap sets of headphones (as only one has a microphone) and
Karen assists Fran to fit them and get her hair off her face. Fran
makes the call, while Karen rehearses the standard salutation
‘Hello . . . , Fran speaking, . . . ’, canvasses a few ‘what ifs’ and
reminds her that ‘most consumers are nice and easy to talk to’.
Fran provides the information to the consumer, who asks a
further question that she is able to answer. At the end of the call,

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Karen congratulates Fran who looks relieved. A call comes

through. ‘It’s all yours,’ says Karen. Again, Karen rehearses the
standard salutation as Fran engages with the consumer. As Fran
takes the call, Karen leans forward and, using a pen, indicates on
the screen elements of the database that need to be filled out and
the best sequence for the data entry. At one point, Fran puts the
caller on hold while she asks Karen for some additional informa-
tion, then goes back to the client. The information is provided to
the consumer, with Karen assisting with a written note at one
point. The call is concluded satisfactorily. Again, Karen congratu-
lates Fran on her performance as they jointly complete the data
entry. Then they have a debrief, with Karen again emphasising
that ‘most of the callers are really nice people’. Another call comes
and Fran, with Karen’s assistance, responds to the consumer and
completes the data entry.
A few minutes later, there is a break in the flow of phone calls
and Karen takes this opportunity to announce to the other
workers nearby that Fran has just taken her first call. The other
workers gather around Fran, congratulating her. There is physical
contact and everybody is smiling. Fran recalls how nervous she
was. The others relate their experiences of their first call and con-
tinue to congratulate Fran on her achievement. The phones start
ringing again. The huddle breaks and Fran takes another call with
Karen repeating ‘they are mostly really nice people’, and lifting
her pen to point to the screen to assist the data entry process.

In this example of guided learning, implications for instruction are

identifiable. It illustrates how a vocational practice can be learnt
through the direct guidance of a more capable partner, assisted by con-
tributions from the social and physical environment and the enactment
of the ‘learning curriculum’ discussed earlier. Some features of the
guided learning illustrated above include: (i) the learner’s engagement
in tasks that are sequenced to manage the direction and demands of her
learning; (ii) her prior experience being taken into account, as is the
engagement with tasks with less accountability and lower levels of
immediate performance requirements; (iii) opportunities to practise the
tasks to be learnt; (iv) support in task completion through collabor-
ation; and (v) the provision of support and monitoring by the more
experienced other as she progresses with her development. This guid-
ance incrementally transfers responsibility for task completion to the
learner as her capacity to manage the task increases through progres-
sive engagement with work tasks. An outcome of this guidance is
passage into a work practice shared with her co-workers. The example
also illustrates how, beyond the inter-personal engagement between
the novice and the more experienced other, interactions with the

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physical and social environment also occur and these support task com-
pletion, and hence learning. Tools and artefacts assist both the task
completion and learning, with other workers providing models and
support. These contributions include how artefacts, such as the com-
puter screen and the pointer, can assist the thinking and acting required
to complete and understand the task.
More than just hints and cues for thinking, these physical tools
become active components of the task during these interactions. The
learner’s previous interactions with some of these artefacts (the database
and correspondence) assisted her understanding of the need for precision
and consistency when securing information from consumers. The pro-
vision of practice is also essential for developing skilled performance
to render easier parts of the task completion. Guidance by a more
experienced other can assist in making available to the learner an under-
standing of what constitutes performance and developing the kinds of
capacities required for the work practice. The more capable partner iden-
tifies and assists the learning of tasks that are difficult or concepts which
are opaque. Specific instructional strategies such as modelling, coaching,
questioning, analogies and diagrams can be used to assist this difficult
learning. Collins et al. (1989) and Billett (2001a) respectively discuss the
use of guided learning strategies for classrooms and workplaces. Both
accounts refer to extending what is being learnt to circumstances beyond
those where the learning occurs. Collins et al. (1989) aim to develop
strategic knowledge to assist the wider deployment of what has been
learnt. Billett (2001a) proposes illuminating different applications of
practice to promote adaptability of practice. Both hold that guided access
to practices that has taken many lifetimes to develop, refine and trans-
form can be assisted through instructional encounters with others who
have learnt that practice and have the capacities to use instructional
strategies to develop further their capacities.
Finally, developing individuals’ capacities necessitates a consider-
ation of their readiness to perform particular tasks. Readiness can be
seen in terms of the: (i) concepts and procedures (existing knowledge)
available to the learner; (ii) learners’ well-being (e.g. confidence); and
(iii) learners’ interpretation of the task. These forms of readiness guide
interventions in terms of the learners’ prior knowledge, meeting their
developmental needs and assisting them to further extend their knowl-
edge in ways commensurate with their level of development. If the
demands of task completion are so overwhelming that individuals
cannot proceed productively, then the most likely kinds of learning will
be that of frustration and failure. Sweller (1989) sensibly proposes
reducing the demands of tasks to make them more achievable for the
learners, and to enable useful learning to arise. He refers to providing
learners with half-worked problems. In the classroom setting, this
might mean the teacher completing part of the task or providing a task
that is partially completed. In the workplace, as illustrated, there are

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ways of reducing the demands of a task through the support of an

experienced co-worker.
In sum, pedagogical principles are identifiable in the example
above. The learning task was broken into component parts to suit the
learner’s readiness. Fran’s previous experience provided an understand-
ing of some of the procedures she now had to use in a more
spontaneous, demanding and accountable way. Karen provided a
rationale and aids for action (e.g. the salutation and order of data
entry) that assisted learning the new tasks by easing their demands.
Through previous experience, Fran was aware of the overall task goals
(i.e. responding to consumer requests, being empathetic, gathering
information and providing a response without acceptance of liability).
She also understood the subgoals required to complete the task satis-
factorily (i.e. expressing concern and interest, taking all the
information required, indicating to the consumer what procedures
would be used and then reporting back, either then or later). The sup-
portive and empathetic approach to guiding task completion adopted
by Karen was commensurate with the learner’s capacity for task com-
pletion and her concerns about the task. Based on her readiness, Karen
made judgements about how far she could extend the learner into new
tasks. An initial goal was to assist her to overcome anxiety about taking
the calls. Karen modelled goals and procedures when responding to
consumer requests. The support provided by Karen through joint task
completion to assist learning eased the demands placed on Fran when
learning new tasks. This support included providing assistance with the
demanding task of coordinating the actions required for effective task
completion. Guided learning in this way can be seen as a collaborative
approach to learning that draws on co-workers’ expertise, engagement
by individuals with the co-worker and also their engagement with tools
and artefacts that aid and assist learning.

CONCLUSION

Individuals’ learning is shaped by both the immediate social practice

they engage in and the legacy of previous social practices that comprise
their personal histories and also their cognitive experience. Guidance is
required to assist the learning of vocational knowledge in ways that
draw upon social contributions. Overall, there is the need to guide the
appropriation of proven vocational practices and extend bases of that
practice to other circumstances. An initial goal is encouraging shared
understanding with a more experienced social partner. However, guided
learning needs to extend individuals’ development beyond a capacity to
respond to present circumstances. While guiding the development of
proven practices inter-psychologically, it is necessary to go beyond the
social reproduction of one practice—albeit the ‘schoolroom’ or work-

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place—and enhance the capacity to adapt to different and changing

requirements of the vocational practice.
In summary, the conceptual bases of guided learning have been
elaborated through discussions of:

• learning as a social process based on engagement in activities

and interactions with social sources of the knowledge to be
learnt;
• learning benefiting from guidance provided by experienced
social partners; and
• the particular approaches to guided learning, enhancing and
extending individuals’ learning.

It has been proposed that more experienced partners (e.g. teachers,

co-workers) can make particular contributions to learning through
organising:

• the kinds of activities individuals engage in;

• their sequencing; and
• learners’ progression with those activities.

This guidance by expert partners can make accessible key curriculum

goals in the form of:

• the canonical knowledge of the vocation (i.e. its key concepts,

practices and values); and
• variations of the vocational practice.

Bases for guiding participation in activities in educational institutions

can be premised on a consideration of:

• the identification of appropriate tasks (analysis of subject-

matter, goals undertaken within the task);
• students’ interpretation of those tasks;
• students’ readiness; and
• student engagement in the task (Posner 1982).

Some key goals for guided learning are the:

• organisation of learners’ engagement in tasks that are

sequenced to manage the direction and demands of learning
the proven practices of the vocation;
• use of prior experience with tasks of lesser accountability and
lower levels of immediate performance requirements;
• provision of opportunities to practise the tasks to be learnt;

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

• provision of support in task completion and, in particular,

collaboration between the learner and a more experienced
other when difficult tasks or hard-to-learn knowledge are
encountered;
• use of strategies (e.g. modelling, coaching, questioning,
explaining, group discussion) that can assist learning proce-
dures and develop understanding; and
• provision of support and monitoring by the more experienced
others as learners progress with their development.

In conclusion, guided learning can be seen as assisting the learning of

vocational practice both directly and indirectly through social partner-
ships. Its key purposes include assisting with the development of socially
derived knowledge, yet avoiding the dangers of learning that is restricted
to the circumstances of its acquisition. This involves guiding individuals’
appropriation of the proven vocational practices and illumination of
their application to diverse circumstances. Such guidance necessitates
understanding learners’ needs and readiness, and sequencing, monitoring
and guiding their learning. However, realising the potential of guided
learning is far from easy, given the diversity of the work practices to
which it might be applied and the complexity of relations between the
learner and the social sources of knowledge. However, in prospect,
guided learning may provide both bases for, and some ways of, helping
individuals learn adaptable practice.

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 11

Integrating approaches to
developing vocational
expertise
John Stevenson

INTRODUCTION

In Chapter 1, concepts of expertise and the ways in which experts draw

upon and interconnect different kinds of meaning were advanced.
These ideas were drawn together in Figure 1.1 (see Chapter 1). Based
on these ideas, in Chapter 2 a set of principles was generated for voca-
tional teaching and learning in order to build facility with vocational
meanings and their interconnections. These were summarised in Figure
2.2 (see Chapter 2). This figure is a simplified framework for thinking
about vocational teaching and learning in terms of what constitutes
expert action in routine, non-routine and collaborative situations; what
kinds of meanings are drawn upon and interconnected in expert action;
and what kinds of principles can be used to guide teaching and learn-
ing directed at developing vocational expertise.
The purpose of this present chapter is to revisit these principles,
and to illuminate them in practice, in the light of the ideas and sugges-
tions advanced in previous chapters. The principles are illustrated in
terms of actions that can be taken in teaching and learning, and these
are instantiated for various areas of vocational education.
The chapter is structured as follows. Firstly, activity theory is
adopted as a basis for conceptualising vocational teaching and learning

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

and for examining the ideas advanced in previous chapters. Then,

based on the framework in Figure 2.1, the seven instructional principles
are extended into descriptions of sample actions that might be consid-
ered when planning and engaging in teaching and learning. Finally,
these ideas are instantiated for approaching the teaching and learning
of literacy, numeracy, information literacy, creativity, problem-solving
and values; and for approaches to flexible teaching and guiding
learning.

TEACHING AND LEARNING AS AN ACTIVITY SYSTEM

In order to develop further the framework to guide vocational teach-

ing, and to establish a basis for drawing on Chapters 3–10 in fleshing
out the framework, the idea of what constitutes teaching and learning
is important. Here teaching and learning are regarded together as a
collective activity—one that involves teachers and learners as well as
interested others such as those in workplace and learning settings.
Those involved in this collective activity are united in their purpose,
directing their efforts towards a common end—for instance, the devel-
opment of learner literacy. As well, teaching and learning are
mediated—teachers and learners use instruments (for example, physical
and conceptual tools) in teaching and learning activity. As well as medi-
ation by tools, teaching and learning are mediated by the culture of
practice—the rules of the work setting or classroom, the taken-for-
granted assumptions and regulations and by the way in which
responsibilities for teaching and learning are organised. Thus teaching
and learning form a dynamic, collective, mediated process; moreover,
this activity is usually in a process of transformation, because of
advances in instructional technologies, changes in learners’ expecta-
tions, changes in community needs, and so on.
For these reasons, teaching and learning are conceptualised here as
activity in the cultural-historical activity theory sense (Engeström 1987;
Leont’ev 1981 [1959]) (see Figure 2.1 in Chapter 2). Teaching and
learning as an activity system are depicted in Figure 11.1.
The collective activity is viewed as being directed at developing
learners’ abilities towards workplace expertise. Thus abilities con-
tributing to workplace expertise are the object or motive of the
collective activity. In the case of teaching information literacy, the
object is information literacy. It is not immediate expertise in informa-
tion literacy that is targeted, but information literacy abilities that are
on the road towards expertise, with expertise being reached after sub-
stantial appropriate practical experience and reflection. The subjects
are those in the activity system working together towards this motive—
for example, the learner, the trainer or teacher, others on the job or, in
the learning setting, other learners. Together, and with others who

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INTEGRATING APPROACHES TO DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Tools
Equipment
Materials
Manuals
Texts
Checklists
Training packages
Theories of teaching and learning
Concepts of the subject area

Instruments

Teacher
Develop learners’ abilities
Learner
towards expertise
Tutor
Co-worker

Subject Object

Rules Community Division of labour

Workplace values Teaching staff Role of learner

Culture of practice Learners Role of teacher/trainer
Instructional expectations Tutors
Accreditation Business staff

Figure 11.1 Teaching and learning as an activity system

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

share the same general motive (e.g. the director of a TAFE Institute
or training organisation, the manager of an industrial organisation),
they would make up the community of the activity system. The collec-
tive teaching and learning activity is mediated by a large variety of
instruments (tools) (e.g. workplace tools, equipment and materials;
teaching and learning theories on which teachers rely; manuals, texts,
checklists, training packages). It is also mediated by rules if they are
adopted (the cultural norms of the setting), by the ways in which activ-
ity is organised (division of labour) and by the community involved in
the setting.
According to activity theory, these elements (subject, object, instru-
ments, rules, community and division of labour) interact when
individuals take action as part of the collective activity of the system.
The system shapes activity and the activity is shaped by the system.
Moreover, the system is viewed as being in the process of transform-
ation in response to the tensions that emerge in it. Thus, as the teacher
designs tools to use in teaching, these tools mediate the teaching and
learning activity; however, these tools themselves may be further
shaped through the experience of teaching. Tools (e.g. overhead trans-
parencies) may be displaced by newer tools (e.g. PowerPoint software,
hypertext, or providing learning opportunities on the Internet) which
lead to changes in the activity. Moreover, tensions may develop—for
instance, between implicit rules (e.g. keep the learners’ attention and
keep them on task) and newer versions of tools (e.g. asynchronous
instruction, monitoring and feedback), or between newer versions of
the object (e.g. teaching learners to be adaptable and innovative) and
older versions of elements (e.g. didactic instruction, classroom settings,
division of theory and practice). As well, individuals in the activity
system may take actions whose purpose does not coincide with the
collective object (such actions are said to be directed at goals), and ten-
sions may develop between various actions taken by individuals. All of
these tensions may lead to transformations in the activity system and its
elements.

SAMPLE ACTIONS ILLUSTRATING TEACHING AND

LEARNING PRINCIPLES

In making specific suggestions for teaching and learning, then, it must

be noted that any generalised principles must be contextualised or
situated for a particular setting. That is, such principles must be viewed
in relation to the elements of a setting and the relationships among
those elements. In the process, such conceptual ideas are likely to
undergo transformation in response to the setting—in other words,
to be shaped by the setting. Hence any principles can only be guides
(e.g. conceptual tools) that can be drawn upon appropriately for the

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topic area and the given setting. They may need to be modified to
become culturally appropriate and situated for the setting and its ele-
ments. Thus, if the object is literacy, a particular principle may take a
form different from the one it would have if the object were creativity.
As well, a principle would take a different form in an industrial work-
place setting from the one it would have in a training institution.
Further, a principle will need to be considered and applied in the
context of considerations about the learners themselves.
With these conditions, the ideas advanced in Chapters 3–10 can be
examined for guidance in vocational teaching and learning—a starting
point in thinking about what to do when confronted with the chal-
lenges of vocational teaching. Taking the seven principles advanced in
Chapter 2, the suggestions made in Chapters 3–10 can be considered
in terms of how they instantiate these principles in the various topic
areas and approaches to facilitating teaching methods. In Tables11.1–
11.7, these ideas are collected together as samples of the kinds of
actions that are supported in Chapters 3–10.
It needs to be emphasised, however, that the seven principles and
the samples of actions that have been illustrated are but one set of
instruments available in developing teaching and learning activity.
These conceptual tools must be brought into relation with other tools
(e.g. material tools) and the other elements of the activity system. In
addition, it should be recognised that the seven principles and sample
actions would not necessarily be known by the terms in which they are
expressed in Chapter 2 and here. Rather, they would take their form

Table 11.1 Sample actions flowing from the principle:

Proceeding from learners’ sense of vocation
Principle
Learning should proceed from the learner’s sense of vocation—needs, aspirations and
intentions, previous experiences and the meanings extracted from them, existing capacities-
to-do, relationships among the learner’s work and non-work goals and meanings.
Sample actions
1 Assess/self-assess learners’ abilities
2 Take account of learner readiness and needs
3 Provide a cognitively challenging, but adequately supported environment
4 Develop competence holisitically, so that the learning in topic areas is integrated into
the learning of other abilities
5 Select learning tasks that are appropriate to learners’ goals
6 Develop meanings in an ordered sequence, e.g. learners should:
• increase diversity as learning progresses
• provide adequate practice on simple tasks before moving on to more complex tasks
with suitable strategies
• learn global before local skills
7 Provide opportunities to manipulate, extend, modify and develop existing knowledge

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Table 11.2 Sample actions flowing from the principle:

Contextualising learning and making
functions and purposes explicit
Principle
Learning should occur in settings or activity systems where the function and purposes of the
learning are clear and explicit, related to vocation; and collective motives and personal
goals should be related. The tasks in which learners engage should be tasks that have an
explicit relationship with tasks that constitute current or future work or other vocations.
Sample actions
1 Ensure instructors and learners have an in-depth knowledge of site-specific
workplace tasks
2 Ensure instructors and learners have an in-depth knowledge of site-specific
organisational systems, social literacies and values
3 Simulate work conditions and use scenarios
4 Use authentic texts and tasks, simulations and role plays, transforming learning
spaces as necessary
5 Use setting characteristics as opportunities for learning
6 Include non-explicit social literacies in learning
7 Make functions and purposes explicit when engaging learners in tasks
8 Use language and processes for teaching and assessment that are appropriate for the
target workplace setting
9 Engage learners in multiple experiences on authentic tasks in authentic situations
10 Engage learners in actively solving the problems of adaptation to new settings
11 Engage learners with multiple perspectives and resources
12 Empower learners to take assertive action in target settings
13 Assess holistically

Table 11.3 Sample actions flowing from the principle:

Focusing learning primarily on the
capacity-to-do
Principle
Learning should focus primarily on developing the capacity-to-do; where learners seek to
accomplish goals.
Sample actions
1 Organise learning in relation to the practices of the vocation, applying less developed
abilities to lower accountability tasks
2 Engage learners with people and resources
3 Engage learners in a range of familiar and new contextualised practices
4 Ensure learners encounter and operate upon manuals and texts found in the
workplace
5 Provide opportunities to manipulate, extend, modify and develop existing concepts
and skills
6 Ensure learners explore alternative methods to perform tasks
7 Engage learners in regular and sustained practice in dealing with the non-routine
8 Ensure learning focuses on developing the capacity for informed normative action
9 Have learners actively solve problems of new and received settings
10 Teach strategies for action explicitly
11 Engage learners in reflection, generating new concepts and skills and improving their
learning approaches

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Table 11.4 Sample actions flowing from the principle:
Making setting element relationships clear
Principle
The relationships among elements of the learning activity system should be made clear—the
implicit and explicit rules and the normative nature of meaning in the setting; the tools,
technologies, processes, equipment and materials and tensions in their histories; the ways in
which subjects share objects in achieving outcomes and how these are represented in the
setting; who constitutes the community and the nature of the division of responsibilities.
This includes power relationships in the setting and how the learner is positioned with
respect to them.
Sample actions
1 Ensure instructors and learners develop an in-depth knowledge of site-specific
organisational systems, work practices and values
2 Ensure learners understand competing discourses in workplaces, gaining access to
insider terminology and documents while still being socialised into the workplace and
its canonical knowledge
3 Analyse workplaces in terms of their elements, relationships among them and tensions
and contradictions
4 Base learning on activities and interactions with social sources of knowledge
5 Ensure meanings are consistent with legitimate and workable solutions in the setting
6 Ensure learners have access to nuances and conditional aspects of activity
7 Use setting features to develop knowledge

Table 11.5 Sample actions flowing from the principle:

Sharing meanings
Principle
Learning should involve sharing meaning. This involves making aspects of the activity
system visible for inspection; showing and demonstrating, discussing and sharing alternative
different ways of reading tasks, the setting, problems and various ways forward; and
finding ways of cooperating that improve practice. It also involves reconciling capacities-to-
do; other intuitive and tacit meanings; theories; principles; other symbolic representations of
meaning; and other relevant realms of meaning. Such learning should proceed from direct
concrete experience rather than verbalised propositional statements. It also involves
building connections with manuals, instructions and texts.
Sample actions
1 Ensure learners have access to competing discourses in the workplace and
opportunities to observe and work with experienced workers in a mentoring situation
2 Ensure learners engage with multiple resources and perspectives
3 Provide opportunities for interactions with, guidance and support from, and
collaboration with, experienced practitioners
4 Have learners explore the modes of rendition of workplace beliefs and their
interconnections
5 Encourage learners to articulate and share their knowledge with others
6 Use group work to identify and clarify workplace values and explore similarities and
differences in views
7 Make explicit the espoused, instantiated and enacted beliefs of the setting
8 Ensure learners understand why some methods are chosen over others
9 Give learners access to heuristic and strategic knowledge, which is tacitly known by
experts
10 Share schematic representations of particular kinds of knowledge with learners as a
reference for their own progressive development of their own meanings and ways of
proceeding
11 Teach the implicit strategic knowledge of experts, explicitly and in combination with
more specific knowledge

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Table 11.6 Sample actions flowing from the principle:

Relating one learning setting meanings with
those of other settings
Principle
The relationships among the learning activity system, other activity systems in which the
learner is involved and the wider community should be explored, so that the learner can
seek to connect meanings across systems and tensions and contradictions among them.
This will involve discussion, reading, formulation of views, and reconciling tensions and
contradictions. It will also involve reconciling the individual’s plural vocations in work,
personal life and society. Learners will have the opportunity to discern the inter-
relationships among society, its economy and personal and community welfare and quality
of life; the forces and pressures involved; and their own position and responsibilities in
relation to them.
Sample actions
1 Provide multiple, diverse contextualised experiences, including problem-solving, and
ensure learners work out connections among routine and non-routine procedures
and their contexts of use
2 Ensure learners work across domains, assignments and contexts; work alone and in
groups; and engage in working as well as observing in order to derive meanings from
plural ways of thinking and acting
3 Ensure learners engage with multiple perspectives and resources
4 Ensure learning includes access to variations in vocational practice
5 Provide opportunities for generating new skills and concepts by extending,
modifying, developing and transforming existing meanings
6 Ensure learners understand the societal context of workplace values
7 Ensure learners compare workplace and societal values
8 Ensure learners explore the historical, cultural and situated relativity of workplace
values
9 Make explicit the platform of beliefs underpinning vocational curricula
10 Use strategies such a modelling, coaching, questioning, explaining and group
discussion

from the activity systems where they are drawn upon to mediate teach-
ing and learning activity. Moreover, they may be in the process of
evolving into rules of practice for that setting, as the teaching and learn-
ing activity is transformed over time—for instance, where they may
have been taken to underpin formal processes of curriculum develop-
ment. The instantiation of these principles and actions is illustrated in
the next section.

INSTANTIATIONS OF PRINCIPLES AND SAMPLE ACTIONS

IN APPROACHING VOCATIONAL TEACHING AND
LEARNING

Here, the suggestions made in Chapters 3–8 on teaching literacy, numer-

acy, information literacy, creativity, problem-solving and workplace

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INTEGRATING APPROACHES TO DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Table 11.7 Sample actions flowing from the principle:

Building connections among different mean-
ings and their renditions
Principle
Learning should involve building connection among meanings and different renditions of
meaning. This involves making explicit the connections outlined in other points here—
meaning and doing; others’ meanings; knowledge codified in manuals, instructions and
texts; connections within and among elements and systems, and with broader society;
meanings across plural vocational pursuits; old and new meanings; old and new work,
technologies, tools, equipment and materials. It involves experiences in discerning the
connections among different renditions of meaning in words, diagrams, pictures, gestures,
action and images. It also involves developing a facility in operating upon such
inter-connections as needed in different situations. This involves seeking to understand the
qualities of meaning derived from practice and relate them to other qualities that meaning
can have, e.g. relating verbal renditions of meaning to imaginal ones; rules to embodied
action; step-by-step frameworks for action and planning to automatic action; compiled
meaning to verbal propositions. Experiences in connecting the primary sources of meaning
(derived from practice) with other renditions involve explicit communication about these
meanings.
Sample actions
1 Provide opportunities for learners to manipulate, extend, modify and develop their
existing knowledge. Provide opportunities for transforming existing meanings
2 Ensure learners grapple with new problems
3 Focus learners on the construction of new ways of achieving goals
4 Use a variety of tools and strategies to engage multiple ways of giving meaning
5 Ensure learners frame knowledge in a range of different ways, including
linguistically, concretely and symbolically
6 Provide opportunities for learners to reconcile normative meanings e.g. through
unmasking and identifying values; relating different kinds of values; considering
values in practice and abstracted lists of universal, instrumental and end values; and
asking ‘What if?’ questions
7 Ensure learners work out connections among routine and non-routine procedures
and their contexts of use; and relate general strategies to the demands and methods
of contextualised practice
8 Ensure learners reflect upon strategies and other knowledge used in different
contexts, and why they are similar and different
9 Ensure learners think consciously about their learning and mastery of concepts and
skills in order to understand the meanings associated with a particular setting and to
transform these meanings for other instances and settings
10 Facilitate the incremental transformation of meanings as a result of different
experiences and use of targeted concepts and skills
11 Assist learners to synthesise new knowledge as part of their changing conceptual
frameworks and as a basis for further thought and action

values, and in Chapters 9 and 10 on flexible learning and guiding learn-

ing, are summarised in terms of each of the seven principles above. They
illustrate how the various actions summarised in Tables 11.1–11.7
might be instantiated in practice directed at particular topic areas or
teaching methods. For each principle, some of the various ways in which

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Table 11.8 Instantiations of proceeding from learners’

sense of vocation
Principle
Learning should proceed from the learner’s sense of vocation—needs, aspirations and
intentions; previous experiences and the meanings extracted from them; existing capacities-
to-do; relationships among the learner’s work and non-work goals and meanings.
Instantiations
Literacy
Instructional practices should take account of the language, literacy and numeracy needs of
the learner and develop these as part of, not separate from, vocational competence
In the orientation phase of learning, the learners’ prior knowledge of the literacies involved
could be assessed or learners could self-assess their own facility with the relevant texts
Questions can be used to access the learner’s prior knowledge of the topic so that the
reading process is likely to be successful
Numeracy
Learning requires an ordered development of numerical meanings
Teaching must not only afford learners a cognitively challenging environment, but also one
in which challenges are supported appropriately
Computer literacy
Learners need adequate practice on simple tasks and then to move on to more complex
tasks with suitable strategies
Problem-solving
Learners need to engage with less complex problems initially, then move on to more
complex problems
Learners should progress to engaging with problems that are complex because they are
ill-defined
Creativity
Creative learning should involve increasing complexity, increasing diversity, and global
before local skills
Cognitive steps or schema training may assist in learning creativity, especially for those new
to creative work
Values
Learners need to engage with content that enables them to identify and engage with values
Flexible delivery
Opportunities are needed for learners to manipulate, extend, modify and develop their
existing knowledge
The environment should be challenging but appropriately scaffolded and supported
Guiding learning
Learning tasks should be selected that are appropriate in terms of subject-matter and goals
Participation should take account of learner readiness and learner interpretations of tasks

such principles might be instantiated in specialist topic areas (e.g. liter-

acy, numeracy, creativity) and for particular approaches to teaching (e.g.
flexible and guided learning) are brought together in Tables 11.8–11.14.

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INTEGRATING APPROACHES TO DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Table 11.9 Instantiations of contextualising learning and

making functions and purposes explicit
Principle
Learning should occur in settings or activity systems where the function and purposes of the
learning are clear and explicit and related to vocation; and collective motives and personal
goals should be related. The tasks in which learners engage should be tasks that have an
explicit relationship with tasks that constitute current or future work or other vocations.

Instantiations
Literacy
Instructors need an in-depth knowledge of site-specific texts and tasks, as well as site-
specific organisational systems, work practices and underpinning values in order to ensure
the relevance of the training, to contextualise the training and to build a positive learning
environment
Literacies should not be ‘bolted-on’; rather, technical literacies need to be taught alongside
the technical competence, using the relevant workplace texts
Workers need training for different literacy roles
Training programs need to identify the language, literacy and numeracy competencies
essential for work performance, as well as the social literacies of the workplace, which are
often not made explicit
Instructional and assessment language and processes should be consistent with those used
on the job and appropriate for the learner; and similarly for assessment
In the enhancement phase of learning, the environment should simulate actual work
conditions in order that learners experience the need to develop skills in prioritising work,
coping with interruptions and developing the social literacies essential for high workplace
performance
The enhancement of learning may take place on-site or in a training room using authentic
texts and tasks, simulations and role-play. It may require transforming the learning spaces
to achieve this
Assessment should be holistic, rather than consisting in performance of discrete often
decontextualised skills, preferably over a range of competencies; and using relevant
workplace texts and tasks
Numeracy
Learning is shaped by the setting in which it is embedded, and is therefore referenced to the
learning setting. The features of the setting provide opportunities for learning. The teacher
should use these characteristics of the setting in which the numeracy is to be used
Learning is about actively solving the problems of adaptation to new settings or new
aspects of received settings
Meanings must have power in the particular setting in which they arise, being consistent
with workable or legitimate solutions within the setting
Meaning-making in numeracy is a social process, requiring engagement with multiple
perspectives and resources
Information literacy
Competencies are context-specific and learning needs to involve the development of
site-specific concepts and skills in combination with more general strategies
Learning should involve more than paper-based methods, including nuances and
conditional aspects of competence
Routine tasks are best served by scenario-based approaches
For transfer, learners need to use strategies in the context of other applications (in order to
recognise they are the same strategy)

continued

257
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Problem-solving
Complex problems are complex, in part as a function of the situation in which they occur.
Learners need to engage in real problem-solving situations
The situatedness of problems means that learners need to engage in a variety of problem-
solving activities
Creativity
Learners should engage in a variety of authentic tasks
Values
Development of normative meaning should proceed from concrete experience in authentic
practice, where function and purpose are transparent
Learners need to learn how to engage in assertive action with respect to values and
improving workplace outcomes
Flexible delivery
Teaching should utilise characteristics of settings in which the knowledge targeted is utilised
Teaching should afford the learner with a challenging environment for growth
Guiding learning
Engagement should occur in the social environment where the knowledge is to be used
Experienced practitioners should bring important intersubjectivity to learning processes

CONCLUSION

Principles and sample actions have been advanced here to guide voca-
tional teaching and learning. Examples of how these can be instantiated
in selected areas of practice have also been summarised.
The basic framework for guiding vocational teaching and learning
(Figure 2.2, Chapter 2) has been elaborated in two main ways (see
Figure 11.2). Firstly, it has been elaborated, in general terms, by sug-
gesting sample actions for each learning principle (Tables 11.1–11.7).
Secondly, it has been illustrated for the teaching of each of the special-
ist areas of literacy, numeracy, information literacy, creativity,
problem-solving and workplace values, as well as for flexible learning
and for guiding learning (Tables 11.8–11.14). Together, the figures and
tables are advanced as a rich conceptual framework for vocational
educators to draw upon in considering practice.
Figure 11.2 represents one possible framework for teaching and
learning in vocational education, with particular application to the
specialist areas of literacy, numeracy, information literacy, creativity,
complex problem-solving and values, and to flexible and guided learn-
ing. Other frameworks are also possible. The advantages advanced
for this particular framework are that it relates instantiated practice to
generalised principles and to a conceptualisation of expertise. It is
therefore suggested that it would also be a useful starting point in
thinking about teaching and learning for many vocational areas.

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INTEGRATING APPROACHES TO DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Sample actions and Sample actions

instantiations instantiation
Tables 11.3, 11.10
Tables 11.1, 11.8
Learning should focus
Learning should primarily on developing
Tables 11.2, 11.9 proceed from the the capacity-to-do, Tables 11.6, 11.13
learner’s sense of where learners seek to
Learning should vocation Learners should
accomplish goals
occur in settings or explore the
activity systems relationships among
where the functions the learning activit
and purposes of the system, other
learning are clear activity systems in
and explicit, related Meanings in direct, personal which the learner is
to vocation; and and concrete work-related involved and the
collective motives Meanings in experiences, of significance wider community
and personal goals abstractions to the individual, in relation
are related about experience, to a purpose Meanings derived
coded in various from, and for non-
ways, e.g. in work pursuits—
language as derived from living
theoretical and societal
and ethical purposes
principles, or in
terms of
Expertise
mathematical
or other symbols

Social meanings foundMeanings understood

Learning in language, actions,by others from their
images, implicit work and non-work
principles norms, and so on experiences

Kinds of
meaning
Learning should make clear Learning should involve
the relationships among sharing meaning
elements of the learning
Tables 11.5, 11.12
activity system
Learning should involve
Tables 11.4, 11.11 building connections among
meanings and different
renditions of meaning

Sample actions and

Tables 11.7, 11.14
Sample actions an
instantiations instantiations

Figure 11.2 Relationships of expertise, meaning, learning

principles, sample actions and instantiations

259
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Table 11.10 Instantiations of focusing learning primarily

on the capacity-to-do
Principle
Learning should focus primarily on developing the capacity-to-do; where learners seek to
accomplish goals.
Instantiations
Literacy
Learners need to engage in a range of communicative activities and learn new literacy
practices
Learners should encounter and operate upon manuals and texts found in the workplace
Numeracy
Learning numeracy should be about actively solving the problems of adaptation to new
settings or new aspects of received settings
Problem-solving requires conscious decisive action
Learning numeracy should involve reflective thinking, generating new concepts and skills
Learning numeracy requires engagement with people and resources
Teaching must provide opportunities for students to manipulate, extend, modify and
develop their existing knowledge of numerical concepts and skills
Information literacy
Learners need opportunities for contextualised practice
Learners need opportunities to explore alternative methods to perform a task
For non-routine skills, problem-based action learning approaches (e.g. scenarios) are
effective
Instruction should include explicit strategies
Problem-solving
Problem-solving skills are developed through solving real problems
Learners need opportunities to engage in problem-finding
Creativity
Learners should engage in regular and sustained practice in dealing with the non-routine
activities of their craft
Values
Learners should learn how to understand, recognise, communicate about and assert values,
as well as how to modify their own values
The focus in learning should be on activities which develop the capacity to take informed
normative action, and where assertion of better norms is undertaken when appropriate
Flexible delivery
Teaching should prompt learners to think about their learning and the mastery of skills and
concepts
Guiding learning
Priority should be given to learner engagement in tasks
Learning should be organised in relation to the practices of the vocation
Prior experience should be applied to lower accountability tasks
Opportunities for practice should be provided

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INTEGRATING APPROACHES TO DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Table 11.11 Instantiations of making setting element

relationships clear
Principle
The relationships among elements of the learning activity system should be made clear—the
implicit and explicit rules and the normative nature of meaning in the setting; the tools,
technologies, processes, equipment and materials and tensions in their histories; the ways in
which subjects share objects in achieving outcomes and how these are represented in the
setting; who constitutes the community and the nature of the division of responsibilities.
This includes power relationships in the setting and how the learner is positioned with
respect to them.
Instantiations
Literacy
Instructors need an in-depth knowledge of site-specific texts and tasks, as well as site-
specific organisational systems, work practices and underpinning values in order to ensure
the relevance of the training, to contextualise the training and to build a positive learning
environment
All workers need to have the skills and understanding to undertake different literacy roles
Learners need to be made aware of the competing discourses apparent in workplaces; and
gain access to insider terminology and documents, while still being socialised into the
workplace
Numeracy
The meanings developed in a setting need to be consistent with workable or legitimate
solutions to problems in that setting
Teaching must prompt learners to consciously think about their learning and mastery of
skills and concepts
Information literacy
The learner needs access to the nuances and conditional aspects of the activity
Scenario-based approaches are preferable for learning to deal with non-routine tasks
Problem-solving
Relationships between elements of problems are not always clear and defined. Learners
need to develop an understanding of the relationships between elements of a problem
Values
Settings should be analysed in terms of their elements and relationships among them, and
tensions and contradictions identified
Flexible delivery
Characteristics of the setting should be used in targeting the knowledge to be developed
Guiding learning
Learning should be a social process based on activities and interactions with social sources
of knowledge

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Table 11.12 Instantiations of sharing meanings

Principle
Learning should involve sharing meaning. This involves making aspects of the activity
system visible for inspection; showing and demonstrating, discussing and sharing alternative
different ways of reading tasks, the setting, problems and various ways forward; and
finding ways of cooperating that improve practice. It also involves reconciling capacities-to-
do; other intuitive and tacit meanings; theories; principles; other symbolic representations of
meaning; and other relevant realms of meaning. Such learning should proceed from direct
concrete experience rather than verbalised propositional statements. It also involves
building connections with manuals, instructions and texts.
Instantiations
Literacy
New employees need to have access to competing discourses in the workplace and
opportunities to observe and work with experienced workers in a mentoring situation to
learn the communication patterns
Numeracy
Meaning-making in numeracy is a socially interactive process and requires that the learner
engage with multiple perspectives
Teaching must involve methods that encourage learners to articulate and share their
knowledge with others
Information literacy
Strategic knowledge can be explicitly and successfully taught in combination with
functional knowledge
Students need to learn why some methods are chosen over others and understand the trade-
offs involved
Problem-solving
Problem-solving often involves more than one person. Different people bring different
perspectives to the task. Making individual perspectives and approaches to problem-solving
explicit and transparent improves the learning of all involved in the problem-solving
Creativity
Learners need explicit instruction in a creativity schema developed from studies of expert
creative thinking, so that they can use it in their progressive and incremental development
of their own heuristic schemas
Learners need the heuristic and strategic knowledge that is tacitly acquired by experts from
experience in working in practice
Values
Espoused, instantiated and enacted beliefs should be made explicit
Normative content should be explored in terms of the mode of rendition and
interconnections, to facilitate communication about values and their clarification
Group work can be used in identifying and clarifying values in order to make explicit
similarities and differences in views
Flexible delivery
Methods should encourage learners to articulate and share their knowledge with others
Guiding learning
Learning should involve interactions with, and guidance and support from, experienced
practitioners
Learning should be promoted by support and collaboration
Learning should include the canonical knowledge of the vocation

262
INTEGRATING APPROACHES TO DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Table 11.13 Instantiations of relating one learning setting

meanings with those of other settings
Principle
The relationships among the learning activity system, other activity systems in which the
learner is involved and the wider community should be explored, so that the learner can
seek to connect meanings across systems and tensions and contradictions among them.
This will involve discussion, reading, formulation of views, and reconciling tensions
and contradictions. It will also involve reconciling the individual’s plural vocations in
work, personal life and society. Learners will have the opportunity to discern the
interrelationships among society, its economy and personal and community welfare and
quality of life; the forces and pressures involved and their own position and responsibilities
in relation to them.
Instantiations
Literacy
Learners need to engage in reflection on what has been learnt
Learners need to choose from a repertoire of skills to suit their interpretation of situations
in terms of the context and purpose (reading for meaning in relation to task and social
relations)
Numeracy
Learners should engage with multiple perspectives and resources
Learners should generate new skills and concepts by extending, modifying, developing and
transforming existing skills and meanings
Information literacy
Learners need multiple diverse experiences, including problem-based scenarios and an
understanding that they need to explicitly work out the connections among routine and
non-routine procedures and the contexts of use
Learners need to experience and reflect upon strategies used in different contexts, the extent
to which they are similar, and the reasons why they are similar or different
Problem-solving
Developing expertise in solving complex problems involves understanding the relations
between different problems
Creativity
Learners should work across domains, assignments and contexts, work alone and in
groups, and engage in working as well as observing, in order to derive meanings from
plural ways of thinking and acting (plural heuristics)
Values
An understanding of the societal context of workplace values should be developed
Workplace norms should be compared with wider societal values
The historical, cultural and situated relativity of values should be explored
The platforms of beliefs underpinning vocational curriculum development should be made
explicit for learners
Guiding learning
Learning should include access to variations in vocational practice
Learning should include such strategies as modelling, coaching, questioning, explaining and
group discussion

263
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

Table 11.14 Instantiations of building connections among

different meanings and their renditions
Principle
Learning should involve building connections among meanings and different renditions of
meaning. This involves making explicit the connections outlined in other points here—
meaning and doing; others’ meanings; knowledge codified in manuals, instructions and
texts; connections within and among elements and systems, and with broader society;
meanings across plural vocational pursuits; old and new meanings; old and new work,
technologies, tools, equipment and materials.
Instantiations
Literacy
Learners need to synthesise their new knowledge and literacies to form part of their
conceptual framework as a basis for further thought and action
Learners need to take different literacy roles: as a text user, text decoder or text analyst to
become a critical participant in decision-making
Numeracy
Learners should generate new skills and concepts by extending, modifying, developing and
transforming existing skills and meanings
Learning numeracy involves reflective thinking in order to transform meanings associated
with a particular setting to other instances and settings. In so doing the learner constructs
new concepts and skills
Learners should grapple with new problems
Learners should frame numerical knowledge in a range of different ways including
linguistically, concretely and symbolically
Teaching must deploy a variety of tools and strategies and thus engage learners with
multiple perspectives and resourses
Information literacy
Learners need multiple diverse experiences, including problem-based scenarios and an
understanding that they need to explicitly work out the connections among routine and
non-routine procedures and the contexts of use
A focus on the construction of software search algorithms is needed to assist the learner to
generalise
Learners need to relate general strategies to the demands and methods of contextualised
practice
Problem-solving
Learners need to experience a wide range of problem-solving situations, in various contexts
to develop rich interconnected problem-solving skills
Creativity
Learning experiences should facilitate the incremental transformation of meaning as the
result of different experiences and targeted facility with the creativity schema
Values
Opportunities should be created to reconcile normative meanings, e.g. through unmasking
and identifying values; relating different kinds of values; considering values in practice and
abstracted lists of universal, instrumental and end values; and asking ‘what if?’ questions
Flexible delivery
A variety of tools and strategies should be used to engage multiple ways of giving meaning
Opportunities should be provided for learners to manipulate, extend, modify and develop
their existing knowledge
Learners should be prompted to think consciously about their learning and the mastery of
skills and concepts
INTEGRATING APPROACHES TO DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

However, while these various suggestions and examples instantiate

teaching and learning principles and the kinds of actions that can be
considered in developing vocational knowledge, it is emphasised again
that they are merely abstracted illustrations. The actual activity and its
constituent actions must take their form in relation to the various
elements that actually exist in real teaching and learning settings.

REFERENCES

Engeström, Y. 1987, Learning by expanding: An Activity-Theoretical

Approach to Developmental Research, Orienta-Konsultit Oy,
Helsinki
Leont’ev, A.N. 1981 (1959), Problems of the Development of the
Mind, Progress Publishers, Moscow

265
 Index

activity and expertise 19–20 conceptual knowledge 39

activity system, teaching and learning construction industry and literacy
215, 217, 248–50 67–71
activity theory 19, 44, 101, 213, 215, constructivist view of learning 93,
217, 223, 250 219
cultural-historical 26–7, 81, 100, context-dependent knowledge 126
101–4, 105, 140, 212, 214, 248 context-specific knowledge 126–7,
and working values 188, 192, 194, 130, 131
196, 197 contextualised learning 207
aims and curriculum development 190 convergent thinking 165
airline creative
customer service 123–7 problems 140
industry and literacy 65–7 thinking in vocational settings
work sites and values 191 153–4
angling and knowledge 129 creative problem-solving 153, 166–8,
assessment 73, 74, 75 170–4
attitudes 184–5 and cognitive resources 170–4
Geneplore model 157, 158
behavioural objectives 29, 33 in graphic design 166–8
body language 11 and interactivity 165
brainstorming 163 models 156–9, 165–6, 175, 177–8,
browsing and hypermedia 129 179
business services 113 protocol analysis 167–8, 169–70,
171–2
categorical reduction 178 synthesised model 160
classroom practice 131–2 creativity
cluster analysis 98 conceptual definition 155
codifying knowledge 28 consensual definition 155
cognitive definition 154–6
objectives 29 and evaluation 164–5
processes 129–30 and executive control 165, 166
psychology 13, 17, 56, 93, 186 and expertise 16
representations of meaning 39 and exploration 163
research literature 18 generative procedures and
resources and creative problem- generation 161–3
solving 170–4 implications for teaching and
theories 12, 18, 135, 139–40, learning 168–78
147–8, 156, 159, 179, 187 and knowledge base 159–61
collaborative/cooperative learning 207 second-order procedures 161–5
communicating meaning 131 stages 156
competencies 33–4, 35 and students 174–7
workplace 116, 118, 119 third-order procedures 165
competency-based training 32, 34, 61, cultural needs and flexible learning
116, 117 206–7
computer literacy 23 cultural-historical activity theory
conceptions and curriculum 26–7, 81, 100, 101–4, 105, 140,
development 190 212, 214, 248

266
 INDEX

curriculum psychological concepts of 11–20

content and values 195 as schemas 17–18
design 71–3 as shared meaning 19–20
goals 235–7 summary of ideas 20–2
and guided learning 235–8 vocational 247–65
participatory practices 235, 237–8 exploration and creative thinking 163
theories 31–2 expressive objectives 30
curriculum development 28, 30, 31,
43 flexible learning see learning, flexible
implications for 130–1, 190–3 formal problems 140
platform 190, 195 functional fixedness and problem-
recommendations for teaching solving 145
131–2
customised learning 207 Geneplore model of creative problem-
solving 157, 158
data workers 113 generation and creative thinking
database software and work practice 161–3
120–1 generic knowledge 120, 123, 124,
decontextualised skills 51 126, 127, 130, 131
doing and meaning 8–9 Getzel thinking 147
domain-specific knowledge 120, 123 global knowledge 131
globalising economies 33, 36, 154
economic goal
needs and flexible learning 206–7 monitoring 178
policy and employment-related state and problems 136, 137
competencies 119 goalsetting 178
economies, globalising 33, 36, 154 government and information literacy
education system 130–1 116–19
empirics and meaning 6 grammar 61
enhancing, technical knowledge and graphic design and creative problem-
literacies 74 solving 166–8
esthetics and meaning 6 guided learning see learning, guided
ethics and meaning 6
evaluation and creative thinking heuristic knowledge 172, 173
164–5 hierarchical view of thinking 159
expansive visualisation 103–4, 105, higher-order thinking 165
218 hospitality industry
expert action 18–19 and literacy 65–7
expertise motel front office practice 120–3,
as activity 19–20 216–17
as conceptual change 16–17 and values 191
concepts of 4–5 Web-based instruction 216–17
as creativity/innovation 16 human activity system 39
facility with meaning 5–7 hypermedia 128–30
as judgement and appropriate
practice 18–19 illiteracy 54
as language 13–15 illumination stage of creativity 156
and learning 41 implementation and flexible learning
and meaning 22, 41 209
as memory and knowledge 12–13 implications and principles
as performance 13–15 curriculum development 130–1,
as problem-solving and transfer 190–3
15–16 developing creativity 168–78

267
 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

developing literacy 71–5 database 120

developing problem-solving skills domain-specific 120, 123
149–50 economy 111–13, 115
flexible learning 219–22 and expertise 12–13
learning, guided 238–42 first-order 161
numerical practices 93–5, 96–7, generic 120, 123, 124, 126, 127,
104–5 130, 131
teaching and learning 40–3, 71–5, global 129, 131
93–5, 96–7, 104–5, 130–1, heuristic 172, 173
149–50, 168–78, 193–6, 219–22, integrating 129
238–42, 250–9 mathematical 92
vocational learning 238–42 nature of 30–1
working values 193–6 procedural 39, 170, 172–3, 187
incubation stage of creativity 156 propositional 170, 172–3
individuals and problem-solving 38 scientific 30–1
industrial standards 33 second-order 161
information literacy 110–11 strategic 127–8, 130, 173
curriculum development 119, symbolic representation of 143
130–1 tacit 6, 7, 149
definition 114 types 39
and government 116–19 and values 186–7
and knowledge economy 111–13 vocational 30, 34, 226
research 119–30 workers 113
teaching 131–2
and vocational curriculum 119 language 11
for work 114–19 and expertise 13–15
in the workplace 119–27 lateral thinking 163
innovation and expertise 16 learning
innovative capacities 36 as an activity system 248–50
institutional framework and flexible assumptions 28–32
learning 210 and cognitive representations of
instructional meaning 39
objectives 29 collaborative/cooperative 207
practices 73–4 constructive/engaging 37–39
integrating and knowledge 129 constructivist 219
International Adult Literacy Survey contexualised 207
(IALS) 54, 64 customised 207
intersubjectivity 228–31 developments in the forms of
207–8
judgement and expertise 18–19 engagement in thinking and acting
just-in-time learning 207 234–5
experiences 27
knowing 6 expertise 41
knowledge implications for 40–3, 71–5,
academic 36 104–5, 130–1, 149–50, 168–78,
angling 129 193–6, 238–42
base 159–61 just-in-time 207
codifying 28 learner-directed 207
cognitive treatment of 17, 186–7 lifelong 207, 131
conceptual 39 numeracy 93–5, 96–7
construction of 31 outcomes 33–5
context-dependent 126 participatory 219
context-specific 126–7, 130, 131 planning 37–40

268
 INDEX

principles 40–3, 219–22, 250–9 information 110–11, 114–19

problem-solving skills 149–50 social (ideological model) 53
processes 29 as social practice 58, 61–62
as a social process 232–4 as technology 51, 53, 58, 60–1, 71,
through thinking and action 115
234–5 theories, research and practice
transformative 207 55–64
in vocational settings 168–78, vocational 53
226–44 in the workplace 53, 64–71
see also vocational teaching and see also information literacy;
learning multiliteracies
learning, flexible 203–4
curriculum 217–19 manufacturing 112–13
definition 204–6 meaning
economic and cultural needs 206–7 codification of 33–7
facets and indicators 205, 206 cognitive representations 39
frameworks 209–12 communicating of 131
and implementation 209–9 construction of 6
institutional factors 208–9 and doing 8–9
and institutional framework 210 and expertise 22, 41
and intra-action 210 and fields of activity 9
as a learning activity 212–17 kinds of 22
models 209–12, 220 in language 21
and pedagogy 209 normative 195–6
principles and teaching methods and practice 9–10
219–22 and reading 66
rationale 206–9 relationships of 7–11, 22
and technology 209 shared and co-constructed 10–11
Web-based instruction 216–17 shared, expertise as 19–20
who needs 208 symbolic 6
learning, guided 226–7 vocation, purpose and function
conceptual bases 231–35 10
and curriculum 235–8 meaning-making 63, 66
implications for instruction mechanisation bias and problem-
238–42 solving 145
outcomes 228–31 memory and expertise 12–13
lifelong metacognition 173
education 131 moral meanings 6
learning 207 motel front office practice 120–3
literacy multiliteracies 51, 53, 58, 62–4, 71
adult 54–5, 58 multimedia and problem-solving 144
and airline industry 65–7
basic (autonomous) 52, 53, 58–60, New Maths movement 86
71 New Zealand and workplace skills
and construction industry 67–71 117, 118
critical 53, 62, 63 numeracy 23, 81
definition 23, 51, 52–3, 114–15 cluster analysis 98
developing 51 cultural-historical activity system
discourses 51, 53–5, 58 101–4, 105
functional 53 curriculum development 99, 100–5
and hospitality industry 65–7 dilemmas and conflicts 95–100
implications for teaching and principles of learning and teaching
learning 71–5 93–5, 96–7

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 DEVELOPING VOCATIONAL EXPERTISE

numerical practices 82–4 implications for teaching and

constructing accounts 87–9 learning 149–50
implications for teaching and and individuals 37
learning 104–5 knowledge 141
striking rates 89–92 mathematical 143
thematic approach 83–4 mechanisation bias 145
theme of constructibility 83, 92–5, and multimedia 144
99 and navigating 136, 138
and theme of useability 83, 86–92, and redundancy effect 144
98, 105 and restructuring 147
and theme of visibility 83, 84–6, 98, and sacrificing zone 139
105 skills 135–50, 149–50
and spatial contiguity principle
objectives see aims and curriculum 144
development; behavioural objectives; and split-attention effect 144
cognitive objectives; competencies; verbal 145, 146
curriculum; expressive objectives; visualisation 145–7
meaning; outcomes; process workplace 112, 148
objectives problems 136–40
orientation 73–4 as challenges 140–1
outcomes 33–5, 38 complexibility of 141–3
and contradiction 141–2
participatory learning 219 creative 140, 142–3
participatory practices as curriculum definition 136
235, 237–8 difficulty of 141–3
pedagogy 209 elements 141
performance and expertise 13–15 and emergent criteria 142
performance problems 140, 144–5 formal 140
platform and curriculum development and goal state 136, 137
190 ill-defined 137–8, 142
practice and meaning 9–10 performance 140, 144–5
preparation stage of creativity 156 probabilistic 140
principles for teaching and learning see representing 143–7
implications and principles routine 140, 144, 145
probabilistic problems 140 and search space 136, 137
problem space model 136–7, 138, strategic 140
147, 157 procedural knowledge 39, 170, 172–3,
problem state 136 187
problem structuring 157 process objectives 29
problem zone 137–8, 142 propositional knowledge 170, 172–3
problem-finding 141 protocol analysis 167–8, 169–70,
problem-solving 23, 147–8 171–2
Aristotle’s theory 147 psychological concepts of expertise
and associationism 147 11–20
as a context-specific activity 148
creative 153, 156–9, 166–8, reading 55, 59–60, 66
170–4 redundancy effect and problem-solving
and design solutions 139 144
difficulty of 141–3, 144 reflective thinking 220, 221
expert 148–9 research and information literacy
and expertise 15–16 119–30
and functional fixedness 145 routine problems 140, 144, 145
Gestalt explanations 147

270
 INDEX

sample actions problem-solving skills 149–50

and instantiations 254 in vocational settings 168–78
teaching and learning principles see also vocational teaching and
250–5 learning
scaffolding 10, 19 technology
schema training 170, 178 and flexible learning 210
schemas 17–18, 156, 159, 166 literacy as 51, 53, 58, 60–1, 71, 115
search space and problems 136, 137 using 118–19
searching and hypermedia 129 workplace and new 139–40
skills theories and curriculum development
problem-solving 135–50 190
work 112–13, 116–17 thinking
social origins of values 185–6 convergent 165
socially situated practices and literacy hierarchical view of 159
51 higher-order 165
societal issues and vocational lateral 163
education 30 reflective 220, 221
societal values 195 second-order 161–5
society 27 vertical 165
software transformative learning 207
database and work practice 120–1
efficient use of 127–8 values 23, 31, 184–5
spatial contiguity principle and and activity theory 188, 194
problem-solving 144 in airline work sites 191
split-attention effect and problem- and assertive action 196
solving 144 cognitive treatment of 186–7
strategic knowledge 126–7, 130, 173 explicit 194–5
strategic problems 140 in hospitality work sites 191
students and creativity 174–7 instrumental 185
subject matter analysis 27 and knowledge 186–7
symbolic meaning 6, 7 in settings 187–9
synoetic meaning 6 social origins of 185–6
synoptics 6–7 societal 195
synthesising, new knowledge and systems 185
literacies 74 terminal 185
workplace 183, 188, 189–90,
tacit knowledge 6, 7, 149 195
teaching verification stage of creativity 156
as an activity system 248–50 vertical thinking 165
assumptions 28–32 vocation and meaning 10
and cognitive representations of vocational education, competency
meaning 39 approach 119
constructive/engaging 37–9 vocational expertise, developing
and curriculum development 247–65
131–2 vocational knowledge 30, 35, 226
and flexible learning 219–22 vocational practice 226, 228, 230,
implications for 40–3, 71–5, 232, 238
104–5, 130–1, 149–50, 168–78, vocational settings
193–6, 238–42 creative thinking in 153–4
and information literacy 131–2 teaching and learning 168–78
numeracy 93–5, 96–7 vocational teaching and learning
planning 37–40 26–44, 226–44, 251, 255–259
principles 40–3, 219–22, 250–9 curriculum sources 27–8

271
 implications for instruction workplace
238–42 activities 70
instantiations of principles and competencies 116, 118, 119
sample actions 255–9 implications for teaching and
learning 193–6
Web-based instruction 216–17 information literacy in the 119–27
work literacy 53, 64–71
changing nature of 64–5 and new technology 139
and information literacy 114–19 and problem-solving 112, 148
in the knowledge economy 111–13 values 183, 188, 189–90, 195
practice and database software 120 writing 55, 59–60
skills 112–13, 116–17