ABSTRACT
Modes of learning are often treated in isolation from the socioeconomic and political matrix in which they manifest themselves. Social scientists and development agents alike frequently attempt to isolate such phenomena as “apprenticeship” and plot their presence in, or evaluate their appropriateness to, particular societies. One of the major variables that influence the acquisition of skills is the extent to which they are related to skills learned within the average household. Some of these skills are universal; thus, such skills as sewing and cooking are acquired, albeit in different forms, by both rural and urban women. The more-specialized skills can be transmitted in similar ways to generalized ones, but since the learning process is usually longer, it can take place informally only within the same household as people who know the skill or between members of households with intensive, long-term associations. Major differences exist between migrants and La Paz-born artisans with respect to opportunities for long-term, informal learning.
