Human Resource Development
Introduction
People have tried to come up with many learning theories for a very long time to know how people learn and to use this knowledge to bring about better learning outcomes be it in schools or in organisations. While they have been many important theories through out history, this paper will focus on the work of three important scholars including Yrjo Engestrom (2011), Jean Lave (1991) and Barry Zimmerman (2000) who focus on “expansive learning theory”, “situational learning theory” and theory of “self efficacy beliefs” respectively. This paper will compare the theories proposed by the three scholars and then link the findings to the needs of modern day human resource management.
Body
Engestrom (2001) writes about the theory of “expansive learning”. This theory suggests that people do not learn one dimensionally like a student sitting in a classroom and listening to the teacher, but instead learns in a dynamic environment in many different ways through a series of interactions and collaborations. This theory is informed by the theory of expansive learning first proposed by Bateson (1972). Bateson writes that students learn in three different ways: they learn from the environment; they learn from the ways of dealing with the environment; and thirdly they learn from questioning the ways of learning from the existing environment. Engestrom proposes that true learning comes about only by looking beyond what is already known. As an example, Engestrom gives the case of a health care centre in Helsinki providing health care for children. It was observed by the Doctors and other health care providers that the health care provided by the system was inadequate when it concerned children who suffered from many problems and had to consult many different Doctors and go to many different hospitals. Engestrom writes that the Doctors could not provide adequate care because one did not know what the other was doing and therefore could not provide a holistic treatment.
People have tried to come up with many learning theories for a very long time to know how people learn and to use this knowledge to bring about better learning outcomes be it in schools or in organisations. While they have been many important theories through out history, this paper will focus on the work of three important scholars including Yrjo Engestrom (2011), Jean Lave (1991) and Barry Zimmerman (2000) who focus on “expansive learning theory”, “situational learning theory” and theory of “self efficacy beliefs” respectively. This paper will compare the theories proposed by the three scholars and then link the findings to the needs of modern day human resource management.
Body
Engestrom (2001) writes about the theory of “expansive learning”. This theory suggests that people do not learn one dimensionally like a student sitting in a classroom and listening to the teacher, but instead learns in a dynamic environment in many different ways through a series of interactions and collaborations. This theory is informed by the theory of expansive learning first proposed by Bateson (1972). Bateson writes that students learn in three different ways: they learn from the environment; they learn from the ways of dealing with the environment; and thirdly they learn from questioning the ways of learning from the existing environment. Engestrom proposes that true learning comes about only by looking beyond what is already known. As an example, Engestrom gives the case of a health care centre in Helsinki providing health care for children. It was observed by the Doctors and other health care providers that the health care provided by the system was inadequate when it concerned children who suffered from many problems and had to consult many different Doctors and go to many different hospitals. Engestrom writes that the Doctors could not provide adequate care because one did not know what the other was doing and therefore could not provide a holistic treatment.
References: Bateson, G, 1972. Steps to ecology of the mind (New York, ballentine Books) Engestrom, Y, 2001. Expansive learning at work: Toward an activity based theoretical reconceptualisation, Journal of Education and Work, Vol 14, No 1 Hamel, G & Prahlad, C, 1994. Competing for the future. Harvard Business Review. Vol 72, no 4 122-129. Kyle, N, 1993. Staying with the flow of change. Journal for Quality and Participation. Vol. 16. No. 4 p 34-42 Lave, J, 1991. Situational Learning in communities of practice Zimmerman, B, 2000. Self-Efficacy: An essential motive to learn. Contemporary Educational Psychology, Vol 25, 82-91