Identifying adults’ learning strategy profiles in the workplace: relations to organisational identity, work flexibility, and personal characteristics

Abstract

ABSTRACT Policymakers worldwide are grappling with devising robust policies aimed at enhancing adult learning, due to its growing significance in bolstering competitiveness within knowledge-based economies. However, there is scant research on adult learning strategies for improving intrapersonal or social practice approaches, particularly in work settings, and there is also limited understanding of how organisational and personal backgrounds can shape these practices. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify adults’ learning strategy profiles and examine covariates (organisational identity, work flexibility, and personal characteristics) predicting these profiles in the workplace. Using a sample of 2057 adults from PIAAC Türkiye data, we employed a Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) with covariates. Our findings reveal five learning strategy profiles: high exploration-oriented, average active, minimalist, introverted, and passive learning. Furthermore, organisational identity, rather than the other characteristics, predicts adults’ classification into the high exploration-oriented or average active learning strategy profiles. This study also extends the literature by demonstrating the impact of work flexibility on adult learning strategy profiles in the workplace. We discuss key implications for policy and practice.