ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses concepts of personal development that accommodate the changing world of work and society, on the one hand, and the personal, lived experiences of individuals in times of change, on the other. It offers ways to understand adults’ learning through, for, and across their working lives, by comparing three distinct concepts that bridge the gap between individuals and their surrounding social worlds, as well as the separation of body and mind. In contrast to many concepts of learning or teaching, these concepts privilege practical and real-life activity as a means of interacting with a (changing) world of work, fostering maturity, subjectivity, and the capacity for ethical judgement. These are the German concept of Berufsbildung, the Russian-originated Vygotskian concept of perezhivanie, and concepts of phronesis dating back to Aristotle. The chapter compares them according to meaning and scholarly traditions, how they conceptualise learning and education, and their treatment of social structures and personal factors. The aim is to deepen the understanding of the reciprocal relationships among the worlds of work, society, and the individual, which are crucial to understanding adult education and learning in changing times.
