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Studies on emotions in learning have been mostly conducted through self-reporting questionnaires and interviews conducted after the learning situation, which seldom focus on professional workplace learning. Meanwhile, workplace and professional learning research has been introduced with emerging methods to capture the learning processes at multiple levels. Previous research on emotions has suggested that self-reports should be supplemented with psychophysiological data. Challenged by this, this chapter aims to present and discuss the integration of self-reported and psychophysiological data in studying emotions and professional learning. The empirical research data are obtained from five Finnish university teachers participating in a laboratory research comprising self-reported data (through the Emotion Circle application and a Stimulated Recall Interview) and psychophysiological data collected from the subjects’ electrodermal activity. The process data on the quality, strength and duration of emotions are synchronised with those on psychophysiological, individual-level peaks of emotional arousal. The findings are discussed in terms of the possibilities and limitations of using complementary data in researching emotions in professional learning. peerReviewed

Artikkelissa kuvataan kuntoutustyöntekijöiden puhetta ikääntyneistä aikuisista ryhmämuotoisessa kuntoutuksessa. Aineisto koostuu kuudesta kuntoutustyöntekijöiden moniammatillisesta fokusryhmäkeskustelusta, jotka toteutettiin kuudessa kuntoutuslaitoksessa. Aineisto analysoitiin diskurssianalyysiä hyödyntäen. Kuntoutustyöntekijöiden puheesta tunnistettiin viisi puhetapaa, joista arviointipuhe liittyi sosiaali- ja terveysalan (sote) kontekstiin, ohjaus- ja riskipuhe asiakkaiden oppimisen ja muutoksen kontekstiin sekä toiseus- ja oivalluspuhe työntekijöiden asiantuntijuuteen. Kuntoutuksessa tavoitellusta asiakaslähtöisyyden periaatteesta huolimatta työntekijöiden arviointi-, ohjaus- ja riskipuhetavoissa ikääntyneet aikuiset kuvattiin kuntoutustyön kohteina, joskin kussakin puhetavassa eri painotuksin ja näkökulmin. Toiseuspuheessa ilmaistiin ensisijaisesti vierautta vanhuuden ikävaihetta ja ikääntyneitä asiakkaita kohtaan sekä asiakasryhmän herättämiä tunteita. Oivalluspuheessa ikääntyneet aikuiset kuvattiin asiakasryhmänä, joka sai työntekijät tarkastelemaan omaa osaamistaan ja ammatillisuuttaan sekä rutinoitunutta kuntoutustyötä. Siinä tuli lisäksi esille oman työn ja koko organisaation kehittämisajatuksia. Tulosten pohjalta voidaan keskustella siitä, toteutuuko ikääntyneiden aikuisten oikeus yhdenvertaisiin ja monipuolisiin kuntoutuspalveluihin, joissa on läsnä kuunteleva ja kunnioittava asiakaslähtöinen ohjaus- ja neuvontatyö ilman yleistäviä vanhustamisen sivumerkityksiä.

The aim of this study was to investigate the conceptions of teachership among graduates (n = 126) from a Finnish higher education study programme called Pedagogical Studies for Adult Educators. The conceptions of teachership comprise notions of teaching and of oneself as a teacher. Accordingly, the conceptions of teachership are viewed as one element in the process of constructing teacher identity. Currently, we have little knowledge about the professional identity construction of adult educators, even though there is a growing need for adult pedagogics in the changing professional life. Based on a qualitative thematic analysis of open-ended questionnaire data, three main conceptual categories were identified: (1) teachership as an activity, (2) teachership as a personal disposition, and (3) teachership as a process. It was concluded that in studying teacher identity it is essential to focus on the interplay between the personal and the social. Thus, the findings suggest that in understanding and supporting the construction of teacher identities, one should pay particular attention to the intertwined relationship between individual and collective needs. peerReviewed

Studies on emotions in learning are often based on interviews conducted after the learning. Therefore, these do not capture the multi-componential nature of emotions and how emotions are related to the process of learning. We see emotions as dimensional and multi-componential responses to a personally meaningful events and situation. In this methodologically frontline study we developed a multi-componential methodology, which provides complementary information about emotions during learning. In this study, by using a within subject design of one person, we focused on emotions during the professional identity learning. In a laboratory setting, the subject was shown personally meaningful video extracts from a learning situation she had participated earlier. The data were gathered by using (i) self-reports of emotions via the Emotion Circle (EC) online assessment, (ii) measures of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity via Electro-Dermal Activity (EDA) and Heart Rate Variability (HRV), (iii) behavioural registration of facial expression and gaze, and (iv) the Stimulated Recall Interview (SRI). Self-reports of emotions via EC, as well as the emotion-driven SRI were found to be productive, not only in detailing and explaining emotions experienced during watching the videos, but also in bringing about reflective learning and novel insight. EDA and HRV provided complementary information from the subject’s ANS activity during the learning process. EDA seemed to be a valid indicator of active and agentic learning, while HRV was found to be a promising indicator of creative and reflective learning.

Background: Improved life expectancy combined with suboptimal physical activity (PA)represents an increasingly salient public health challenge among the elderly. PA in late life is associated with fewer health problems in old age. Assistive information and communication technology might improve PA and alleviate health problems among the elderly.Objective: This pilot study aimed to quantitatively measure the motivational aspects relatedto rollator use and, by using qualitative interviews, outline how a Smart Rollator solution would motivate older adults to increase their PA in their everyday lives.Method: A total of 19 subjects between the ages of 63 and 91 years participated in the study. Half of the participants started in a setting in which the application did not provide feedback to the user, and the other half received feedback. A transition occurred (ordinary rollator to Smart Rollator and vice versa) after two months of usage. Motivational aspects were measured before the use of the rollator and after four months. Semi-structured qualitative interviewswere conducted with 10 participants to acquire information about their experiences.Results: On the motivation questionnaire, self-perceived mental vitality showed a significant decrease at follow-up, but the total score did not change. Three different types of Smart Rollator users were identified based on the interview data: enthusiastic, practical, and disappointed users. The user types differed from each other, especially regarding user experiences concerning the smart features and intelligent features of the rollator.Conclusion: We conclude that the individual variations in terms of benefiting from the useof the Smart Rollator were large and that some users reported clear advantages using the Smart Rollator. The Smart Rollator elicited emotional reactions and affection, as well as frustration if the user was not able to benefit from the Smart Rollator as expected. Larger sample size is warranted to thoroughly specify the relations between the use of a Smart Rollator, user experiences, and PA.

PurposeThe study investigated emotional competence at work and elaborated emotional competence in relation to sociocultural aspects of emotions at work.Design/methodology/approachEmotional competence at work was explored via interviews, surveys and observations. The study was conducted over one year, during which an emotion-training intervention was conducted within a medium-sized company, operating in the healthcare sector.FindingsThe study shed light on emotional competence at work, identifying three domains: individual emotional competence, emotional competence within interactions and emotional competence embedded in workplace practices.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was conducted in one organization.Practical implicationsOrganizational developers are recommended to implement activities such as training interventions in order to build emotional competence; this applies not only at the individual level but also to achieve interaction among members of the organization within collective workplace practices.Originality/valuePrevious studies on emotional competence have been limited to the individual level. The sociocultural approach to emotional competence adopted in this study recognizes – in addition to the individual and interactional level of emotional competence – emotional competence at work as related to practices at work.

In changing work contexts, there is a critical need to adopt practices that support professional identity work in order to promote individuals’ resilience and well-being at work. This chapter reports on an investigation into professional identity work and emotions in the context of an arts-based coaching program aimed at prompting experienced university teachers to process their professional identities. Since different (un)pleasant emotions emerged during the program, the chapter notably discusses the advantages and pitfalls of using arts-based methods among adults. The findings also contribute to the theoretical understanding of the role of emotions in professional identity processes by revealing professional identity work as an emotional endeavour encompassing both pleasant and unpleasant emotions, such as joy, inspiration, frustration and shame. peerReviewed

The research elaborating emotions in organizational settings has increased considerably in recent years. However, we lack a comprehensive understanding of the role of emotions in learning at work. This review aimed to elaborate how emotions and learning are understood in the field of workplace studies, and how emotions and learning at work are related. For the review, 31 scientific articles were selected and analysed. We found that emotions and learning were understood in a range of ways in the articles. Emotions were mainly defined as emotional experiences and responses, and learning at work mainly referred to learning through participatory practices. In addition, the review illustrates the relationship between emotions and learning at work. Most of the studies focused on the active role of emotions in supporting and/or hindering learning at work, but some indicated the contrary direction of influence, with emotions at work being influenced by learning. The review further illustrates trends and gaps in this research field, and suggests some theoretical underpinnings, with recommendations for future research. peerReviewed

Aims: This study investigated the individual rehabilitation agency of older adults in a one-year group-based gerontological rehabilitation context. Here, rehabilitation agency is understood as being manifested when older adults make choices and decisions regarding their everyday lives, including notions of themselves. Methods: The data were obtained via non-participant observation of the final individual goal evaluation sessions of 38 older adults with their personal counselor. In these sessions, older adults discussed their rehabilitation outcomes, actions, choices and decisions during the rehabilitation year, along with their future in home settings. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis and an agency-centred approach. Findings: The findings revealed that older adults made choices and decisions differently concerning their life in and beyond the rehabilitation context. Four forms of rehabilitation agency of older adults were identified: (i) renewable, (ii) widened, (iii) selective and (iv) fractured. These forms of agency were differently connected to older adults’ life courses and to their peer relations in the rehabilitation context. Conclusions: An agency-centred approach could produce new theoretical ideas and practical implications for developing older adults’ rehabilitation to better meet their needs as well as the goals of group-based rehabilitation interventions. peerReviewed

This study aimed to construct and validate a quantitative measurement instrument to determine the structure of professional agency in working life. Empirical data (N = 589) were collected via a web-based, theoretically informed questionnaire, within the professional domains of education, healthcare, rescue services, and information technology. The questionnaire items incorporated theoretically based dimensions of professional agency. The structure of professional agency was initially analysed via exploratory factor analysis. Thereafter, using exploratory structural equation modelling, the structure of professional agency was investigated with a view to confirmation and validation. The results indicated that the structure of professional agency included three dimensions: Influencing at Work, Developing Work Practices, and Negotiating Professional Identity. These dimensions appeared to be separate from but closely linked to other work-related constructs, notably Learning at Work and Emotionally Meaningful Work. The study enriches current theory on professional agency by shedding light on its multidimensional structure. In presenting an instrument for measuring professional agency, the study can benefit scholars and work organisations with an interest in researching and fostering professional agency in various work and educational contexts. peerReviewed

Purpose Although there has been an increase in workplace studies on professional agency, few of these have examined the role of emotions in the enactment of agency at work. To date, professional agency has been mainly conceptualised as a goal-oriented, rational activity aimed at influencing a current state of affairs. Challenged by this, this study aims to elaborate the nature and quality of emotions and how they might be connected to the enactment of professional agency. Design/methodology/approach Data are collected in the context of a leadership coaching programme that aimed to promote the leaders’ professional agency over the course of a year. The participants (11 middle-management leaders working in university and hospital contexts) were interviewed before and after the programme, and the data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings Findings showed that emotions played an important role in the leaders’ enactment of professional agency, as it pertained to their work and to their professional identity. The study suggests that enacting professional agency is by no means a matter of purely rational actions. Practical implications The study suggests that emotional agency can be learned and enhanced through group-based interventions reflecting on and processing one’s own professional roles and work. Originality/value As a theoretical conclusion, the study argues that professional agency should be reconceptualised in such a way as to acknowledge the importance of emotions (one’s own and those of one’s fellow workers) in practising agency within organisational contexts.

This article addresses the professional learning that occurred in an identity coaching programme. The arts-based programme aimed to enhance the participants’ professional learning, notably through helping them to process their professional identities. Professional learning was seen as resourced by the participants’ professional agency, and by the promotion of such agency. Through interviews, we investigated what the participants perceived they had learnt during the programme, and the potential differences in learning outcomes between professional groups from university and hospital contexts. The findings showed that the programme was perceived as a rich learning arena in the domains of the professional self (involving a crafted professional identity), professional relationships (involving increased knowledge of colleagues and becoming an active participant in the work community) and professional competencies (involving socio-emotional knowledge and skills). The professionals (academics and administrative personnel) from a university learnt more during the programme than did the nurses and physicians working in a hospital. The findings suggest that the primary emphasis in professional learning should be on professional identity and agency within the social relationships that exist in training and work settings. The article also presents our theoretical considerations regarding the connection between professional agency and learning. peerReviewed

Professional agency is an urgent topic in academic contexts, albeit relatively unexplored, and elaborated with contradictory conclusions on its extent and characteristics. To contribute to the discussion, this multimethod study investigated professional agency within a Finnish university. We utilised questionnaire data and interviews to explore agency, as manifested in influencing at work, developing work practices, and negotiating professional identity. We found that overall, these three dimensions of agency were manifested fairly substantially, and in a similar manner among the academic staff. The study further emphasises the social nature of professional agency, and presents theoretical and empirical considerations for future research. peerReviewed

This paper summarizes and elaborates the findings of a research project on leadership as an enabler of professional agency and creativity in information technology organizations. The synthesis in this paper is based on a summary of three primary studies. Each of the studies approached leadership, creativity and/or professional agency with a specific focus. Leaning on a mixed‐methods and ethnographic approach, including various empirical data collection and analytical tools, the project investigated the relationship between professional agency and creativity; issues that frame professional agency and creativity; and the meaning of leadership practices for the enhancement of agency and creativity. The findings highlight a strong connection between professional agency and creativity and their context‐ and situation‐specific manifestations. The findings also address creativity that manifests itself in interaction, processes and collaboration. Further, the findings discuss the role of agile human resource development for professional agency and creativity, and show that flexible leadership practices are necessary in supporting professional agency and creativity. peerReviewed

This paper summarises the findings of a research project on interprofessional collaboration in the emergency unit of a major Finnish hospital. The findings are discussed through a broad conceptual framework which involves work process knowledge and interprofessional collaboration. The project, carried out from 2010–2012, investigated different forms of, prerequisites for, and barriers to, collaboration, and the aim was to develop the work together with staff at the unit. An ethnographically informed research strategy was utilised, with observations and interviews as the main data collection methods. On the whole, collaboration in the emergency unit was found to function rather well; i.e. patients receive good-quality treatment within the ideal time frame. We found that in the unit, the most suitable form for the majority of collaborations is multi-professional collaboration, in which professionals exchange information but still adhere strongly to their own professional groups. More interprofessional collaboration is required particularly in leadership and management, to create further improvements in i) the coordination of work as a whole, and ii) the implementation of organisational changes and new professional roles. Obstacles to interprofessional collaboration in particular appear to be: i) diverging professional values and core professional identities, and ii) power relations that create inequality. peerReviewed

Aims: This study investigates gerontological rehabilitation sessions of Finnish rehabilitees in the framework of life-course agency from the perspectives of temporal orientation and agency. Methods: The research data were obtained by non-participatory observation in 11 individual goal-setting sessions between 11 rehabilitees and their personal counsellors. The data were analysed in accordance with data-driven, qualitative content and narrative analysis, with an emphasis on the life-course agency approach. Results: Four temporal orientations of older rehabilitees were identified in the rehabilitation sessions: (i) timeless, (ii) past, (iii) present, and (iv) life course. For each temporal orientation, the rehabilitees displayed different kinds of agency. Fractured agency was intertwined with the timeless orientation, frozen agency was related to the past orientation, practical agency to the present orientation, and transitional agency emerged in relation to the life-course orientation. Conclusions: The article contributes to the discussion of how older adults’ rehabilitation should be reformed within the Finnish context. The study suggests that a person-centred gerontological rehabilitation process should be conceptualized in terms of an agency-based approach with a personally constructed and temporally embedded life-course perspective. This kind of conceptualizing could promote empowered cooperation and innovative interventions with flexible schedules in the rehabilitation processes of older adults. peerReviewed

Despite the emerging recognition of the pivotal role played by professional agency within work contexts, little is known about how agency is promoted and enacted in organised work-related learning settings. This chapter focuses on the work conference as an orchestrated agency-promoting learning arena. We understand professional agency as a necessary precondition of work-related learning, and we emphasise the potential of work conferences to activate and promote such agency. Our empirical study investigated three work conferences in education and healthcare organisations in Finland. Utilising assessments, the investigation addressed how the participants perceived the conditions for learning and the learning outcomes in these conferences. The work conference was mostly viewed as a worthwhile learning arena. The conference advanced participants’ professional agency and participation across entrenched professional boundaries, and workrelated learning occurred at both individual and collective levels. A comparison of the three work conferences indicated that in terms of the generation and actualisation of innovative developmental discussions, the most prominent learning outcomes occurred when the participants were able to enact substantial professional agency, when there was comprehensive participation from the work community, and when boundary crossing occurred. This paper contributes to the understanding of the conditions that impede or support work-related learning. peerReviewed

The present volume has aimed to cover a broad range of approaches to agency at work, exploring its relationship with professional learning and development. Thus, the chapters included in this book have discussed the role of agency in learning and development, considering a variety of working life contexts and applying both conceptual and empirical perspectives. This final chapter provides an overview of both the conceptual approaches and the empirical implementations. We see the perspectives as complementary. From the content of the book, we discern the phenomena as falling on two main dimensions, clustering at opposite ends of these dimensions. Thus, the following contrasts are evidenced: (a) agency understood as a personal capacity, vs. agency as behaviour, and (b) agency as an individual phenomenon, vs. agency as a collective phenomenon. All the chapters emphasise that agency is needed for learning and development. However, they differ in how they view the relationships between the concepts. They also exhibit differences in the empirical decisions taken and the research strategies chosen. In this concluding chapter, we discuss the main similarities and differences emerging from the chapters. We also highlight avenues for future research on agency and its relationship with professional learning.

The meaning of professional agency in the context of professional learning, as well as in the development of working practices and work organisations, is pivotal. The role of creativity is also crucial for long-term economic growth in the current global environment, which is characterised by rapid changes in both technology and economy. Hence, it is important to study the relationship between professional agency and creativity. In this chapter, we explore professional agency and creativity within two Finnish information technology organisations. This study’s data include interviews with staff members and open-ended questionnaire responses to the question ‘What is creativity in your work?’. We conducted a qualitative data-driven thematic analysis and a theory-driven analysis. Based on the data, creativity was divided into five themes, with particular choices and decisions (i.e. manifestations of professional agency) being found to be linked to each of those themes. Based on the findings, it appears that creativity and agency are strongly related, although their manifestations depend on both the definition of creativity and the space and environment where the phenomena occur. On the one hand, agency manifests as a prerequisite for creativity, while on the other hand, it is an outcome of creativity. In addition, creativity and professional agency can also be seen as synonymous.

In conjunction with a growing interest in professional agency, there is a need to understand how emotions are embedded in agentic practice. This chapter examines the emotions bound up with work and how these emotions are related to professional agency. The subjects of our study were leaders (middle management) and employees working in Finnish education and health-care organisations. A qualitative meta-synthesis was conducted to describe the relationship between professional agency and emotions. The study revealed a variety of emotions, including fear and enjoyment, related to professional identity, work, and social relationships. Among both employees and leaders, emotions were found to play an important role in the enactment of agency. Negative emotions seemed to trigger the enactment of professional agency regarding one’s professional career and work practices, while positive emotions activated agency in terms of renegotiating professional identities. On a reciprocal basis, the enactment of agency seemed to foster positive emotions. Weak agency, for its part, seems to arouse negative emotions. The study suggests that the relationships between professional learning, agency, and emotions seem likely to provide avenues for research in the future.

Despite the increased recognition of the role that professional agency plays in work-related learning, little is known about what supports it. Based on current theoretical notions, the first purpose of this paper is to show that professional agency is closely intertwined with work-related learning. The second purpose is to introduce some main principles that promote professional agency and describe three work-related training settings that are aimed at fostering learning by taking into account agentic perspectives. These complementary settings include an identity coaching programme, a leadership coaching programme, and a work conference. Based on the qualitative meta-synthesis, the paper further provides an empirical overview of professional agency and learning in these settings. The paper contributes to the understanding of the potential of professional agency at the heart of work-related learning. To foster learning, it is necessary to create social events for the enactment and activation of agency so that social and individual resources (e.g. experiences) are utilised. Overall, the paper emphasises that individuals and communities are active crafters of their professional identities and practices, and it provides viewpoints to support their agency in work and training settings. peerReviewed

The concept of agency has become widely used in learning research, especially in studies addressing professional and workplace learning, but also in policy discussion on how to promote individually meaningful careers and life-courses amid rapid changes in working life. The purpose of this article is to provide a critical review of the multidisciplinary concept of agency, and to suggest a fruitful conceptualization of professional agency at work. The following questions are addressed: (i) How have the ontological characteristics and manifestations of agency been understood? (ii) How have the relationships between the social and individual aspects of agency been understood? We examined previous studies and discussions on agency in the fields of education and social sciences, looking selectively also at psychology and gender studies. We identified four major research traditions in which notions of agency were prominent: (i) the social science tradition, (ii) the post-structural tradition, (iii) the socio-cultural approach, and (iv) the identity and life-course approach. Analyses within and across these traditions brought out a range of understandings and manifestations; thus agency might be viewed merely as rational and intentional activity, or else it might be seen from a temporally broad perspective, covering subjects’ ontogenetic development, and encompassing discursive, practical, and embodied relations with the world. Analysis of the relationships between individual and social/contextual elements revealed assumptions ranging from analytical inseparability to separateness, and in case of analytical separateness assumptions of strong or weak contextual influence. Based on our review, we suggest a conceptualization of professional agency from a subject-centered socio-cultural perspective. This takes individual agency and social context to be analytically separate, but mutually constitutive, and in complex ways highly interdependent. The suggested conceptualization is summarized in terms of seven propositions.

Näyttää siltä, että työmarkkinajärjestöjen aktiivinen ikäpolitiikka on keskittynyt lähinnä eläkepolitiikkaa koskeviin kysymyksiin. Vaikka koulutukseen, osaamiseen ja urakehitykseen liittyvä elinikäisen oppimisen politiikka on työmarkkinajärjestöjen toiminnassa myös keskeisesti läsnä, on se tapahtunut ikäpolitiikasta erillään. – Older Workers in the Nordic Countries (OWN) -verkoston toimesta toteutettiin 2009-2010 välisenä aikana kyselytutkimus viidessä pohjoismaassa, jossa selviteltiin työmarkkinajärjestöjen ikääntyviä työntekijöitä koskevaa politiikkaa ja käytäntöjä.

This paper discusses how discursive power and creativity are found to be inter-related in a context not traditionally associated with creative work; the operating theatre of a hospital. Here, it is proposed that creativity relies on socio-cultural factors emphasizing the practical nature of creativity, and highlighting the fact that a large part of our creativity connects with our everyday social life and practices. We assume that power is exercised in an embedded manner in everyday work and continuously reproduced and redefined between the social actors. The data utilized here derive from a collective ethnographic research project focusing on surgical workplace learning and professional identity. Observational data and field notes from work situations in operating theatres are utilized. The paper illustrates the manifestations of discursive power through three selected example episodes. Our findings show the intertwined nature of power and creativity in OT work practices. The power relations do not function only to restrict collaboration but can also promote collective creativity. Collective creativity in inter-professional work is exercise of agency in the workplace, especially with the actors with less power. Shared creative solutions in the work practices are achieved in a shared organizational culture in which power becomes discursively internalised and institutionalised. We argue that new insights will be brought up in the area of workplace learning and professional development by taking into account the institutionalized collective acts in working communities. The study supports the need for further development of inter-professional collaboration and learning in health care work organizations.

In this article we describe various ways in which power is exercised between personnel in a hospital operating theatre. We aim to investigate how the forms of discursive power and workplace learning are intertwined with each other by utilizing an ethnographic approach in the fieldwork. Our data were collected mainly through observations and interviews with surgical residents, physicians and nurses. In the article we describe the delicate ways in which power is exercised and resisted in everyday practices. We argue that there is a close relationship between learning and manifestations of power, together with the various forms of these manifestations and the restrictions that may be placed on them. Additionally, we show how learning takes place in terms of finding, experimenting with and transgressing participatory agency among nurses and residents in the work community.

Hospitals, and surgical operating theatres (OTs) in particular, are environments in which inter‐professional teamwork and learning are essential to secure patient safety and effective practice. However, it has been revealed in many studies that inter‐professional collaborative work in hospital organisations faces many challenges and constraints. In this study we examine surgical operations as participatory practices from the perspective of inter‐professional learning and cooperation. We ask what kinds of shared practices enable learning and collaboration within the surgical operating team. We used an ethnographic approach to data collection including observations and interviews of surgical residents and nursing staff. Observations were conducted in the OTs of one non‐academic hospital in Finland in 2007. The transcripts and episodes were analysed qualitatively. We suggest that inter‐professional teamwork can be implemented by collegial support, transgressing professional roles and sustaining an inclusive ...

This paper analyses and discusses different constraints on workplace learning, vocational development and formation of identity. We ask how the learning and development of vocational identities are related to the various learning constraints and restrictions present in the socio-cultural contexts of the workplace. The study utilizes 20 interviews of industrial designers and nursing staff in Finland. The data on the vocational students was collected with Internet questionnaires (N = 1125) from these two fields; technology and transport, and social services and health care. The results indicated that constraints on learning and professional/vocational identity development at work were mainly social in nature among employees as well as students. Therefore, we suggest that the most necessary conditions for workers’ and students’ learning are related to the feeling of “weness” that arises from individuals’ active participation in the social community.

In recent working life studies, professional agency is seen as pivotal to the development of work communities and work organizations. This paper addresses professional agency during a practicebased intervention (work conference) in a Finnish hospital setting. To develop work practices, the intervention sought to create a dialogical space for the promotion of collective professional agency. Here, we present an investigation of the manifestations of professional agency and how they emerged within and between professional groups. We also elaborate how professional positions frame the emergence of different manifestations of professional agency. The audio and video materials from the intervention are analyzed through the utilization of qualitative content analysis and analysis of key incidents illustrating the emergence of professional agency and its connection to prevailing circumstances in a hospital work context. Transformative, responsive, relational, and resisting forms of agency were identified. The emergence of these forms differed amid the intervention and across the professional groups, reflecting power relations in the organization. In light of the findings, we discuss the meaning of different forms of professional agency for developmental efforts and how professional agency may trigger or hinder sustainable organizational development.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore interprofessional collaboration during ward rounds on a Finnish emergency and infection ward from the viewpoint of three central professional groups: physicians, nurses and secretaries. Design/methodology/approach – The authors utilise an ethnographically informed approach, with observations and interviews as the data collection devices. The data comprise ten interviews with staff members and ten hours of observations. The data were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis. Findings – The ward rounds were found to be rather physician- and medicine-centred, and mostly not interprofessional. Nurses and secretaries in particular expressed dissatisfaction with many of the current ward rounds work practices. Ward rounds are an essential part of collaboration in implementing the emergency-natured operational aim of the ward, yet we found that the ward rounds are complicated by diverging professional views and expectations, variable work practices and interactional inequality. Originality/value – This study makes a contribution to the research of collaboration in emergency care and ward rounds, both of which are little-studied fields. Further, context-specific studies of collaboration have been called for in order to eventually create a model of shared expertise. The findings of this study can be utilised in studying and developing emergency care contexts.

Health care organizations are facing rapid changes, frequently involving modification of existing procedures. The case study reported here examined change processes and learning in a health care organization. The organizational change in question occurred in the emergency clinic of a Finnish central hospital where a new action model for shift-specific nursing supervision was being introduced. The aim of this study was to investigate some of the employee participation and learning opportunities amid this organizational change. The data collection was ethnographically informed, and the data consisted of audio-recorded and observed meetings, observations of the new action model, and field interviews which were analyzed qualitatively. The change appeared to occur in four phases: preparation, planning, discussion, and implementation. Structures (e.g. regular meetings open to the entire staff) and practices (e.g. open discussion) facilitating participation in the phases of the change were prerequisites for participation by individual employees, but participation was not made structurally possible throughout the change. The study confirmed the importance of participation for learning within change. In the change, participation in the form of identity work denoted individual-level learning opportunities, and participation in the form of suggestions for new practices and expression of problems facilitated organization-level learning opportunities. In this study, participation manifested itself as a more multifaceted phenomenon than in previous studies. This study provided new knowledge on employee participation and its manifestations in micro-level interaction, as well as on both individuallevel and organization-level learning opportunities in organizational change. peerReviewed

PurposeThis paper aims to examine employees' conceptions of the meaning of experience in job‐competence and its development in workplace context. The aim is to bring out the variety of conceptions related to experience, competence and workplace learning.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on interview data from six Finnish small and medium sized enterprises. The data were collected as a part of a larger European Union research project, Working Life Changes and Training of Older Workers (WORKTOW) during spring 1999. The approach chosen for the analysis presented in this paper was phenomenography.FindingsThe findings in the paper show the importance accorded to experience in competence and in workplace learning. The employees valued work experience as the main source of their competence. They also developed their competence mainly through learning at work. The role of social participation in work communities and learning through experiences was emphasized.Practical implicationsThe paper shows that differentiating employees' conceptions paves a way to more specific perspectives on the development and utilisation of experience‐based competence in work communities and organisations.Originality/valueIn this paper the findings are discussed in the light of construction and development of older workers' job‐competence in working life. It is argued that experience serves several kinds of purposes in workplace learning also among experienced workers.

Kun tutkittiin työntekijäin käsityksiä siitä, mikä on iän merkitys ammatillisessa osaamisessa ja osaamisen kehittymisessä, nousi aiempaa selvemmin esiin ikääntyvien työntekijäin kokemuksellinen osaaminen sekä monet työelämän tarvitsemat osaamisen vahvuudet. Kronologista ikää tärkeämmäksi koettiin persoonalliset ominaisuudet. Kun ikää, osaamista ja sen kehittymistä tarkastellaan, tulisikin tarkasteltavaksi ottaa työtehtävien laatu, kokemuksen merkitys ja kokemuksen suhde ikään.

In the paper we aim to identify various ways of interprofessional collaboration and learning in an emergency unit at a hospital in Finland. According to previous studies, health care work faces various constraints which also challenge interprofessional interaction and learning. We ask what kinds of learning situations and challenges are manifested in moments of interprofessional practice. Ethnography was applied as a methodological approach. Empirical data were collected with the help of observations, audio taping, individual and focus group interviews, and suitable qualitative methods were utilised in the analysis. It was found that multi- and interprofessional collaboration and learning was present in many ways in emergency practice, for instance, in mutual planning of patient care and in situations where specific patient groups were treated. However, collaboration and learning were also challenged in these situations. Although collaborative practice was mostly fluent, coordination between professions n...

This chapter elaborates professional learning from two complementary perspectives, namely professional identity and agency. Starting with the conceptualization of identity and agency, the chapter illustrates how professional identity and agency are intertwined with workplace learning at the individual and social levels. In theoretical terms we adhere to a subject-centred socio-cultural approach. This implies that professional learning is seen as a dual process, involving identity negotiation and the development of work practices (including the practice of agency), with both aspects taking place within the socio-cultural and material conditions of the workplace. We see professional identity as constituted by subjects’ conceptions of themselves as professional actors, i.e. as individuals with professional commitments, ideals, interests, beliefs, values, and ethical standards. Agency is needed for the renegotiation of work identities, and for the continuous and innovative development of work practices. We see professional agency as being exercised when professional subjects and/or communities influence, make choices, and take stances on their work and/or their professional identities. The chapter summarizes evidence on the constraints and resources that appear to be most influential for professional identity negotiations and for the practice of professional agency at work, especially in education and health care work. Empirical evidence is presented on aspects operating at the work community, work organization, and individual levels. As a practical conclusion, it is suggested that there is a need for practice-based interventions that will promote professional learning concurrently at the individual and social levels. Such interventions will involve agency-centred couplings between these levels.

Artikkelissa tarkastellaan, miten toimijuus on ymmärretty monitieteisessä keskustelussa. Lisäksi pohditaan, miten ammatillista toimijuutta työssä tulisi käsitteellistää. peerReviewed

This chapter explores the practice-based learning of surgical residents. We concentrate on the challenges encountered and experienced by the residents during their clinical practice. In line with Billett (2010), we understand learning through practice as a process that arises through the exercise of occupational activities. For the surgical residents this means that they learn through participating in various kinds of hands-on surgical practices and interactions in clinical wards and units.

Although it is widely agreed that experience is essential for learning at work, the difference between individual and collective experience has thus far been analysed. This chapter focuses on analysing and discussing the role of experience sharing for learning at work. Thus the chapter addresses the questions: In what kinds of situations does experience sharing take place? How is experience shared and who do the sharing in everyday practice? What are the obstacles for sharing experience? The empirical findings are based on interviews conducted in an industrial design company and in a horticultural nursery in Finland. Altogether 19 employees were interviewed. In addition to presenting the empirical findings, the chapter also discusses their practical implications. Consideration is given to such questions as, how far workplace learning needs to be organised or systematised, and what role is played by experience sharing between more experienced and less experienced workers. On the basis of empirical findings it is argued that experience sharing constitutes a crucial, but often neglected, means for enhancing participatory workplace practice.