This volume offers an introduction to current themes among academic researchers who are interested in sociocultural understandings of work-based learning and working knowledge - how people learn in and through everyday activities that they think of as work. Chapters explore how learning is embedded in the social relationships, cultural dynamics, and politics of work, and they recommend different ways for educators to be part of the process. Models of learning in work based on situative learning theories are presented. Issues of culture and difference, gender barriers, and the influence of powerful market forces on workplace learning are examined critically. Complexity theory is applied to illuminate systemic ways of understanding workplace learning. Overall, the book is intended to raise questions and present helpful frames for educators to use in their reflections, with a focus on presenting new theoretical ideas about learning in work for examination and debate.

This is the 92nd journal of the quarterly journal New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education.