ABSTRACT
Environmental scientists have repeatedly been identified as having scarce skills in South Africa. This chapter uses theoretical constructs from boundaryless career discourse to explore the learning pathways of 11 environmental scientists. The boundaryless careers literature focuses largely on the mobile individual and less on structures and context that influence careers. This is problematic in a sector characterised by reactive labour markets, skills analysis and a general lack of system maturity to deal with inter-disciplinarity and ‘newness’.
The chapter thus frames a methodological response to researching environmental learning pathways as a complex multi-level phenomenon. It explores a methodological approach that re-constitutes environmental learning pathways as laminated totalities drawing on critical realist philosophy. This enables the research to transcend the dualism persistent in pathways literature and allows the research team to investigate individual career stories and systems analysis alongside each other.
