Abstract
PurposeTechnological 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/approachIteration 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.FindingsSix 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/valueThe 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.
Highlights
The pathways of individual professionals through global work and the learning potential residing in their experiences are an underexplored area of workplace learning
This article aims to enrich the notion of a learning space by the theory of expansive learning in the tradition of culturalhistorical activity theory (Engeström, 2011, 2015), in which collective practices, social interactions and the development of the self are dialectically interrelated (Stetsenko and Arievitch, 2004)
What are physical/geographical work environments like? What material conditions and tools are implemented for expanding the learning space? What are the instruments and instrumental constraints of agency? Who is responsible for good work? What ethical issues and constraints do a person’s face and what are the potentially expansive solutions?
Summary
The pathways of individual professionals through global work and the learning potential residing in their experiences are an underexplored area of workplace learning. This article aims to enrich the notion of a learning space by the theory of expansive learning in the tradition of culturalhistorical activity theory (Engeström, 2011, 2015), in which collective practices, social interactions and the development of the self are dialectically interrelated (Stetsenko and Arievitch, 2004). The “dimensions of expansion” (Engeström, 2001) contribute to the discussion of work as a learning space; we focus on individuals’ actions for building their resources to interpret and expand the object of their activity, thereby reconstituting themselves and their professional practices in global contexts. Which dimensions of expansion define professionals’ learning space in global work?
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