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Informal Learning in Workplaces: Understanding Learning Culture as a Challenge for Organizational and Individual Development

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Discourses on Professional Learning

Part of the book series: Professional and Practice-based Learning ((PPBL,volume 9))

Abstract

Organizations rely on new knowledge. Carriers and creators of knowledge are the members of the organizations. These individuals have to do the actual learning and acquire new knowledge. The organization can only support the individuals in their learning processes. One way to do this is to create an organizational culture that supports and values learning. It is called learning culture. Learning culture represents the organization’s view and its values concerning learning. The differences between this organizational learning culture and the individual’s views on learning are the focus of this chapter. First, we describe and define the concept of “learning culture” as an environment that encompasses what an organization can offer in the way of structured and unstructured learning affordances. Included in this section is a discussion of two instruments that have been used to measure learning culture as well as the results of studies that have relied on such measures. The second section discusses the internal foundations or the epistemic beliefs that shape the individuals’ understanding on what knowledge is and how to obtain it. In our conclusion section, we attempt to put the two sections together in a way that may help us better study and support an organization’s learning culture.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

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

    Christoph Fischer

  2. School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    Bridget N. O’Connor

Authors
  1. Christoph Fischer
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  2. Bridget N. O’Connor
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Correspondence to Christoph Fischer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

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

    Christian Harteis

  2. Department of Business Education and Educational Management, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany

    Andreas Rausch

  3. Economics and Business Education II, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany

    Jürgen Seifried

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Fischer, C., O’Connor, B.N. (2014). Informal Learning in Workplaces: Understanding Learning Culture as a Challenge for Organizational and Individual Development. In: Harteis, C., Rausch, A., Seifried, J. (eds) Discourses on Professional Learning. Professional and Practice-based Learning, vol 9. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7012-6_2

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