The Transfer of Learning

Participants' Perspectives of Adult Education and Training

The book addresses a crucial issue for all involved in education and training: the transfer of learning to new and different contexts. Educators, employers and learners face the problem of ensuring that what is learnt in the classroom is able to be adapted and used in the workplace. It focuses on adult learners in professional and vocational contexts. The authors provide an accessible book on the transfer of learning which draws on multi-disciplinary perspectives from education, psychology and management. The Transfer of Learning will be useful both for postgraduate students and for practitioners wanting to deepen their understanding of transfer and for those interested in practical applications. It combines theory and practice from international research and the authors' own case studies of transfer involving learners engaged in professional development and study towards qualifications. Theories of adult learning, change and lifelong learning are discussed in relation to the transfer of learning. The purpose of this book is to emphasise to tertiary educators and trainers the importance of transfer and in doing so highlight the participants' voices as central foci in coming to an understanding of the process. By doing this it balances the literature which has to date emphasized transfer from a trainer's and/or organization's perspective. There has been little if any substantive material on tertiary transfer issues and yet demands are increasing for tertiary education providers to be more accountable and more focused on developing students' ability to use their learning in everyday work situations. The book is unique in that it adopts a phenomenological perspective and underscores the significance of the participants' voices in understanding issues.