Workplace learning in academia: (Older) bones of contention?

Abstract

AbstractThe understanding of what constitutes workplace learning in academia is under-going change. Academic teaching staff are increasingly required to learn new administrative functions, to organise and supervise more hourly paid tutors and become adept at online curriculum writing and its delivery. Additionally, they often need new communication skills for teaching very large and diverse classes frequently in overseas contexts, and must know how to provide a flexible learner-centred environment for their students. The acquisition or updating of requisite skills that relate to such requirements constitutes workplace learning. From this author's observations, mature age academics appear to respond to the learning inherent in such skills quite differently from the way younger, or early career academics approach their workplace learning requirements. This paper examines some of the issues confronting older academic staff as they face the necessities of developing new skills in their university workplace, a...