Hidden Knowledge - Organized Labour in the Information Age

Working people are more knowledgeable and actively engaged in learning than public discussion generally assumes. Two basic assumptions underlie much recent discussion about work and learning: a new "knowledge-based economy" is quickly emerging with new jobs generally requiring greater knowledge and skill; and, a "lifelong learning culture" must be created in order for workers to cope with these employment-related knowledge demands. Virtually every recent public policy statement about employment in every advanced industrial country begins with these assumptions. It implies that most workers suffer from a deficit of necessary skills and knowledge which must be rectified by greater education and training efforts. Hidden Knowledge challenges these assumptions. Through life history interviews and case study research with union members, the actual learning practices of working class people are documented in unprecedented detail.
Published Under the Garamond Imprint
Available in the US through Rowman & Littlefield.

List of contents

"

Acknowledgements























Introduction: Dimensions of Learning and Work in the Knowledge Society 



























Spheres of Work and Learning























Class and Learning



Working-class Underemployment



Information Access in the Computer Era



Sector-based Research Sites



Chapter Outlines

Part I: Researching Learning and Work



























Chapter 1: Starting with Workers and Researching the "Hard Way"



























Introduction























Research Methods



Democratic Knowledge Production: The Importance of Social Standpoint 



Concluding Remarks

Chapter 2: Beyond Cultural Capital Theories: Hidden Dimensions of Working-class Learning



























Introduction























The Cultural Capital Bias



The Rediscovery of Creative Working-class Culture



Critical Review of Major Theories of Adult Learning



Origins of Cultural Historical Activity Theory



Activity Theory from Vygotsky to the Present



CHAT from a Working-class Standpoint



Patriarchal, Racist and Ageist Effects on Working-class Learning



Concluding Remarks

Part II: Case Studies



























Chapter 3: Auto Workers: Lean Manufacturing and Rich Learning 



























Introduction























The General Motors Site in Oshawa, Ontario



The CAW and Local 222



Tightening Labour Markets and Worker Rebellion



Working in the Auto Plant: "It doesn't take a genius"



Formal Schooling and Job Training



Informal on the Job Training: "You're pretty much on your own"



Union-based Education Programs



Informal Learning in Local 222



Cultural Historical Dimensions of Auto Workers' Learning



Concluding Remarks

Chapter 4: Builiding a Workers' Learning Culture in the Chemical Industry



























Introduction























Profile of Workforce and Interviewees



A Profile of Learning Amongst Chemical Workers



Union-based Learning



The Cultural Historical Dimensions of Learning Amongst Chemical Workers



Chemical Workers' Learning and the Class Bias of Knowledge



Struggle over Knowledge and Credentials at the Chemical Factory



Challenging Existing Structures / Introducing New Ones



Concluding Remarks

Chapter 5: Learning, Restructuring, and Job Segregation at a Community College



























Introduction























Working at the College



Learning at the College



Restructuring, Work and Learning in a College Setting



Bumping and Mulit-tasking: The Reality of Work and Learning for College



Workers under Restructuring



Segregation Processes at the College



Comparing Learning Across Groups



Concluding Remarks

Chapter 6: Divisions of Labour/Divisions of Learning in a Small Parts Manufacturer





























Introduction























Research Overview and Participant Profile



Profile of a Learning in a Small Parts Plant



The Divisions of Learning at Work



Concluding Remarks

Chapter 7: Garment Workers: Learning Under Disruption



























Introduction























Union Survival Response



Profile of the Workforce



Job Disruption and Stress



Organization of Garment Sector Training



A Profile of Learning in the Garment Sector



Cultural Historical Dimensions of Garment Workers' Learning



Concluding remarks

Part III: Comparative Perspectives Across Case Studies



























Chapter 8: Household and Community-based Learning: Learning Cultures and Class Differences Beyond Paid Work 



























Introduction























Home- and Community-based Learning Histories



The Connections Between Economic Restructuring and Home and Community Life



The Distribution of Free Time and Learning in the Home 



"I can't think of anything, can you?": The Invisibility of Working-class Learning in the Home



Working-class Community Living and Learning



Family-based Union Learning



Concluding Remarks

Chapter 9: Surfacing the Hidden Dimensions of the Knowledge Society: The Struggle for Knowledge Across Differences 



























Uses of Formal Schooling, Organized Training and Informal Learning Across the Sites























Gender, Race and Age Effects on Workers' Learning



Recommendations



Concluding Remarks

Appendix: Interviewee Profiles























References























Index

"

About the author

By D.W. Livingstone and Peter Sawchuk

Summary

An important and valuable academic look at knowledge and learning.

Product details

• Authors: D W Livingstone, D. W. Livingstone, David W. Livingstone, Peter Sawchuk, Peter H. Sawchuk
• Publisher: Garamond Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.10.2003
• EAN: 9781551930459
• ISBN: 978-1-55193-045-9
• No. of pages: 320
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 21 mm
• Weight: 460 g
• Subjects: Guides > Law, job, finance; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Natural sciences (general); Social sciences, law, business > Business > Economics