Methods for Researching Professional Learning and Development: Challenges, Applications and Empirical Illustrations

This volume provides alternatives for tackling existing empirical, methodological, and analytical challenges. It does so by providing a broad overview of less established, as well as emerging methods, which are of great relevance for current research on professional learning and development. As such, it offers a comprehensive collection of state-of-the-art methodologies and future directions within the workplace learning and professional development research. By describing these novel approaches and providing empirical illustrations, the book promotes innovative methodologies for investigating professional learning and development. It also supports scholars to understand upcoming empirical research and methods and encourages novice as well as established researchers to adopt new empirical strategies beyond traditional ones that have the potential to enrich a better understanding of professional learning and development.

 

Michael Goller (PhD Educational Sciences) is a research associate and postdoctoral scholar at the Institute of Educational Science at the University of Paderborn, Germany. Between October 2018 and March 2020 he served as full visiting professor at the University of Bamberg. His current research interests comprise among others expertise development and workplace learning in general and in contexts of digitalisation in particular, as well as professional learning and development of students at the boundary of institutionalised and less institutionalised learning environments like internships or particular learning arrangements in VET. In his research, he adopts a mix of research methods covering both qualitative as well as quantitative approaches (diaries, document analysis, qualitative content analysis, thematic analysis, PLS-based SEM, latent profile analysis, latent moderator SEM).

Eva Kyndt (PhD Educational Sciences) is an associate professor in human resource development and management at the Centre for the New Workforce (Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia) and Department for Training and Education Sciences (University of Antwerp, Belgium). The common thread in her research is the attention of the intersection between learning and working. She has a profound interest in sustainable careers and focuses on lifelong learning and wellbeing of (prospective) employees. Her research interests include preparing graduates for sustainable careers, social networks in organisations, wellbeing at work and workplace learning. While she has conducted several mixed methods studies, she primarily adopts advanced quantitative methods including multilevel analysis, mixture growth models, generalized cross-lagged panel models and neural network analysis. In addition, she is currently venturing into emerging methods such as multilevel network analysis, self-organizing maps and visual analysis.

Susanna Paloniemi (PhD Educational Sciences) is a senior university lecturer at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her recent and current research focuses on professional learning, identity and agency in various work contexts and domains. Further, research on the role of emotions within the process of professional learning at work, has brought various research methods in the centre of her work. The application of a multi-method approach (e.g. self-reports, measurements, observations) in researching workplace learning from various perspectives is the underlying interest in her work.

Crina Damsa (PhD Educational Sciences) is an Associate Professor at the Department of Education at University of Oslo, Norway. The main theme of her research are situated processes of learning among young adults (students and professionals), under an overarching interest for lifelong learning. Research areas such as learning through collaboration and inquiry, technology enhanced learning and agency in work and learning are especially highlighted. While she has conducted several mixed methods studies, Crina’s research primarily adopts a qualitative methodology, including varied analytical approaches, designs and interpretative frameworks. Both exploratory ethnographies and longitudinal video observation research, and formative intervention studies, using a design-based methodology, are represented in her work. Currently, she is initiating research employing event sampling methods and multimodal learning, aiming to capture learning activities across digital and physical contexts.