Introduction

Five key premises are proposed in presenting a ease for a pedagogy for the workplace and a workplace curriculum. First, learning is taken as something that occurs as part of everyday thinking and acting. Second, rather than being premised on the instructional and curriculum practices of educational institutions, a workplace curriculum needs to be founded on the contributions and circumstances afforded by workplace environments. Third, it is inadequate to believe that learning simply by 'just doing it' will suffice. Fourth, workplaces are contested terrain. This contestation manifests itself in relationships between workers and management, within and between work teams, in the division of labour and among affiliated groups in the workplace. Finally, the ideas in this book are not meant to deny the important contribution to the development of vocational knowledge provided by educational institutions.