Assessign Transfer of Learning in Continuing Education

Abstract

Transfer of training is a well-established field of research within organizational learning, and the relevance and strengths of multiple transfer-affecting factors have been explored since the beginning of the last century. Although this field of research has developed substantially, we argue that over-emphasis on the barriers facing individual learners and on isolated factors influencing the process of transfer has led scholars to overlook the interplay between all parties involved in the transfer process. The interaction between the participants in continuing education (the learner, the teachers, and the learner's colleagues) is too often overlooked as an important source of learning and transfer. In this chapter, we discuss how these "interaction gaps" might be narrowed through an understanding of continuing education as collaborative practice. Drawing on Lave and Wenger's theory of learning as legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice, we argue for the development of new collaborative approaches between participants within continuing education. Our point of departure is the case of a training program for managers in the Danish public sector. On the basis of a longitudinal survey study and field notes, we apply the core transfer dimensions of process, content, and time in our analysis of continuing education from a situated perspective. In doing so, we seek to re-think the concept of transfer of training as collaborative practice, offering a new perspective on how to conceptualize continuing education. This reconceptualization may foster innovative and more effective ways of developing learning trajectories for participants, thus closing the gap between continuing education and organizational learning and development.

Keywords

• Transfer of training
• Collaborative practice
• Continuing education
• Participation
• Public sector
• Communities of practice

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

   Nikolaj Stegeager & Peter Sørensen

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nikolaj Stegeager .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

1. Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Copenhagen, Denmark

   Prof. Bente Elkjaer

2. Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Copenhagen, Denmark

   Maja Marie Lotz

3. Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Copenhagen, Denmark

   Dr. Niels Christian Mossfeldt Nickelsen

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Stegeager, N., Sørensen, P. (2021). Rethinking Transfer of Training: Continuing Education as Collaborative Practice. In: Elkjaer, B., Lotz, M.M., Mossfeldt Nickelsen, N.C. (eds) Current Practices in Workplace and Organizational Learning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85060-9_14

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• DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85060-9_14

• Published: 01 January 2022

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