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Purpose: Technological innovation and the flexibilisation of labour markets have expanded the pool of workers engaged in globally distributed work. This paper aims to propose an analytical framework to understand and support the productive professional learning of those engaged in global work. Drawing on the theory of expansive learning in the cultural-historical activity theory tradition the study aims to stimulate and enrich the conceptual notion of work as a learning space in the discussion of workplace learning particularly in global work. Design/methodology/approach: Iteration between theory and data is applied to identify the dimensions of expansion for the configuration of learning spaces in global work. Data are drawn from the experiences of 10 professionals selected by purposive sampling in Austria, Italy, the Netherlands and Singapore. Findings: Six dimensions of expansion are identified as challenging and potentially empowering for professionals' configuration of learning spaces in global work: social-spatial, material-instrumental, moral-ethical, political-economic, personal-professional and temporal-developmental. Originality/value: The conceptual framework for the dimensions of expansion of learning spaces provides the broad strokes for reflexive curricula that democratise the learning and development of professionals in global work, who are currently underserved given the national orientation of vocational education and training and professional development ecosystems.

The recent debate on active citizenship and adult education has been strongly underpinned by the discussion on how active citizenship could be exercised in a way that would promote inclusion and participation. The paper focuses on the role of adult educators in encouraging young adults in vulnerable life situations to become active citizens specifically through two empirical cases, from Finland and England (UK). The central questions the paper seeks to answer are: how do adult educators conceptualise vulnerability, and how do they see their role as facilitating young adults' active citizenship through their teaching? The consideration of socio-cultural, socio-economic and political dimensions of active participatory citizenship provides the conceptual lens to explore young adults' participation in different social contexts. The analysis of the case studies supports the argument that active participatory citizenship is indirectly rather than directly included in the education and training of vulnerable young adults. This leads the article to highlight the adult educators' mediation work in facilitating the socio-economic and political dimensions of active participatory citizenship in interaction with the students. Their mediator role is broadly invisible and in contrast with the ideal of adult education as the straightforward path to socio-economic citizenship and employability.

Finnish higher education institutions offer continuous learning opportunities, including professional specialisation education programmes for the health and social sector. This article focuses on the conceptualisation of the impact of these programmes, which was the topic of discussion by education and working-life actors in research-based workshops. Drawing on the cultural–historical activity theory (CHAT) approach, the study seeks to answer the following research questions: What are the main themes through which the participants conceptualise the impact of education? How do the themes expand the conceptualisation of the impact of education? A qualitative study analysed data from the multi-professional discussions facilitated by researcherdevelopers in online workshops during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings describe the impact-related discussion themes and analyse their expansive potential. Participants’ discursive actions in research-based online workshops manifest expansive conceptualisation on multiple dimensions, but also reveal dilemmatic impact-related questions that reflect the underlying contradictions of continuous learning programmes in the health and social sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer-based interventions are increasingly used for delivering mental health services to help people with an illness re-examine their situation and accept their illness as part of their life story. The role of the peer supporter in these interventions, known as experts-by-experience (EbE), is situated between mutual peer support and semi-professional service delivery, and they face the challenge of balancing an asymmetric, professional relationship with a reciprocal, mutuality-based, equal relationship. This article investigates how EbEs tackle this challenge when responding to clients' stories about their personal, distressing experiences in peer-based groups in psychiatric services. The results show how the EbEs responded to their clients' experience-sharing with two types of turns of talk. In the first response type, the EbEs highlighted reciprocal experience-sharing, nudging the clients toward accepting their illness. This invoked mutual affiliation and more problem-talk from the clients. In the second response type, the EbEs compromised reciprocal experience-sharing and advised clients on how to accept their illness in their everyday lives. This was considered less affiliative in relation to the client's problem description, and the sequence was brought to a close. Both response types involved epistemic asymmetries that needed to be managed in the interaction. Based on our analysis, semi-professional, experience-based expertise involves constant epistemic tensions, as the participants struggle to retain the mutual orientation toward peer-based experience-sharing and affiliation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Professional & Vocational Education (JPVE) / Ammattikasvatuksen Aikakauskirja is the property of Finnish Vocational Education Research Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Cidadania em Ação is the property of Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze learning in organizational transformations by focusing on concept-level tensions faced in two young companies, which were searching for a reorientation of activity with a production network between innovative product development and efficient mass production. Design/methodology/approach: An intervention-based research project was carried out with two manufacturing companies. The data originate from workshops, whose aim was to identify learning needs based on the discussion of practices of networked production. Concept-level learning is analyzed by examining the dynamic relationships between production concepts and product concepts. Findings: The most influential concept-level tension stemmed from the co-existence of two production concepts, product development and mass production, which manifested as ambiguity about proper actions in the production network. Other focal tensions were identified between the production and product concepts and within the companies' network relationships. The dominance of the mass production concept restricted the envisioning of new modes of collaboration and mutual learning in the production network. Research limitations/implications: The workshop participants did not include representatives from the case companies' production network. Nevertheless, researchers brought the network partners' conceptions into the workshop discussion through the presented mirror data. Practical implications: Companies striving to develop novel production concepts that call for continuous collaboration with customers and suppliers need forums for mutual learning to create solutions to concept-level tensions. Originality/value: Companies may develop two production concepts over lengthy periods. The tensions that manifest due to incoherent guiding logics may be overcome by engaging in incremental and expansive concept-level learning, directed at the identification of relationships between production and product concepts.

Copyright of Janus is the property of Sosiaalipoliittinen yhdistys and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: This article aims to analyze emergent learning practices for globalizing work through two research questions: "What are the conceptualizations of work represented by the Virtual Factory and how do they mediate globalizing work?" and "What is the potential of expansive learning efforts to expand conceptualizations towards the emergent learning practices of globalizing work?". Design/methodology/approach: Cultural-historical activity theory is applied, specifically the historical tool-mediated activity, concept formation and the zone of proximal development. A dynamic hierarchy of conceptualizations forms the framework for expansive learning efforts. Data were gathered by ethnographic and development interventionist methods from a distributed engineering design project. Findings: The paper finds that, historically, multi-layered conceptualizations of work face developmental challenges in globalizing work. Expansive learning efforts enhance the emergent learning practices when orienting global participants to motivating "why" and "where-to" conceptualizations. In order to turn emergent practices into sustainable learning practices, material representations need to be created to mediate the bottom-up and top-down conceptualizations at the interfaces of distributed work. Research limitations/implications: Emergent learning practices are studied longitudinally through concrete work in transformation. The learning approach emphasizes developmental interventions at global workplaces. Practical implications: Expansive learning efforts at different levels of conceptualization, may be supported by tools that mediate and sustain emergent learning practices. Social implications: Global workplace learning should be a concern of those involved with corporate social responsibility. Originality/value: Emergent learning practices offers a new approach for studies of globalizing work through its multi-layered conceptualizations of work. (Contains 3 figures and 4 tables.)

The article analyses a collaborative effort of learning across workplace boundaries in a regional learning network of South Savo, Finland. The focus is on the "Forum of In-house Development" in the network. Our objective is to highlight a dialectical approach to boundaries that draws from the ideas of cultural-historical activity theory. Expansive transformation may be explored through the expansion of socio-spatial and instrumental-developmental boundaries. This is shown through four transitional episodes that reveal the expansion of the object of learning. We argue that crossing the socio-spatial boundary of a workplace is not a sufficient condition, but that new meditational means created at the instrumental-developmental boundary are needed to expand workplace learning and development in challenging and complex regional contexts. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

Purpose: The paper aims to argue that new tools are needed for operating, developing and learning in work-life networks where academic and practice knowledge are intertwined in multiple levels of and in boundary-crossing across activities. At best, tools for learning are designed in a process of co-configuration, as the analysis of one tool, Development Radar, aims to demonstrate. Design/methodology/approach: The "Development Radar" narrative offers a way to analyse what co-configuration might mean in the development practices of the learning network. The data consist of the researchers' and participants' tool-related actions in planning and running a workshop of the Forum of Workplace Development, for which Development Radar was created. Analysis draws from cultural-historical activity theory by including cultural sources of knowledge beyond the immediate pedagogic interaction. Findings: Metaphors seem to be facilitative in the early phase of co-configuration of a tool but not enough for sustainable workplace learning. What is needed is opening up the core concepts for all parties involved and providing ongoing negotiations and elaboration concerning their potential and meaning. Research limitations/implications: Expansive learning is supported by co-configuration of tools that simultaneously provide a generic orientation basis of learning and are open to contextual knowledge creation in and across the levels of developmental activities. Practical implications: The visual co-configuration of tools may be crucial for understanding learning, development and the implementation of tools in a specific context, and even have an effect on the professional identity of users. Originality/validity: The significance of tools for the quality of workplace learning is generally acknowledged but the investigation into the pedagogical dynamics and material co-configuration of tools needs more attention. (Contains 6 figures and 1 note.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the research methodology of analyzing learning in inter-organizational networks based on an object-oriented approach. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws from the cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), specifically from the concepts of the object of activity, developmental contradiction, and expansive learning. An intermediate concept, the "learning event," is elaborated to study in a longitudinal way collaboration in a small-firm network. Findings: Learning in inter-organizational networks is best captured by analyzing historically the expansive object-creation at multiple levels of activity. Learning takes place in a dialectical movement across the levels of collaboration and across the objects and outcomes created. Transitions across the levels are critical for learning apparently enhanced by a network's innovative capacity to create intermediate levels. This vertical dimension of collaboration alongside the horizontal dimension may enrich the CHAT approach. Research limitations/implications: The model of learning across levels is a generalization to be applied to analyses of learning in networks. The levels are historically emergent and are to be contextually explored case by case. Practical implications: Network partners are encouraged to analyze and utilize the learning potential of network activity where models are needed as pedagogic and developmental tools. Originality/value: The paper introduces a novel way of conceiving the levels of learning, and strengthens the focus on the object of activity accompanied by contradictions and tensions energizing collaboration and learning, which are often omitted in inter-organizational studies. (Contains 3 figures and 2 tables.)