As the world’s economy develops into a more dynamic, fast-moving, and unpredictable entity, it is crucial that the workers who create wealth have the ability to assess and respond to new and unforeseen challenges. In other words, the future will require a more competent workforce. What, though, does this mean in practice? In this, the fully revised second edition of Christine Velde’s book, a variety of researchers from around the world provide a truly international perspective on the issue. They help to redefine the term competence. Rather than responding to challenges using a pre-existing set of skills, they see competence as having the ability to assess new situations, and then adapt one’s response accordingly, particularly in collaboration with others. Providing the reader with insightful perspectives about competence in different situations and contexts, the book’s sections explore the concept of competence in industry and vocational education, in schools and colleges, in small businesses and companies, and in universities. The interpretation, experience and teaching of competence in the workplace is boiled down to five essential components that in themselves represent an argument for a more holistic conception of competence. Velde herself concludes the book by synthesizing and reflecting on the contents. This book provides the reader with insightful perspectives on competence, and the characteristics of learning environments in different workplace contexts. Drawing on phenomenographic insights allows it to present a more enlightened view of competence, at the same time as opening up an international dialogue about the meaning and interpretation of competence in the workplace. Useful not only to educators and researchers, this volume will also assist leaders and managers in a variety of contexts to develop more meaningful workplaces.

In the future a more competent workforce will be required as workers will have to acquire the competence to predict and deal with novel situations at work. This book aims to provide the reader with insightful perspectives about competence in different situations and contexts. It presents a more enlightened view of human competence by opening up an international dialogue about the meaning and interpretation of competence in the workplace, and the impact of learning environments on workplace policy and practice. Five major premises which provide a basis for how we interpret, experience, and teach competence in the workplace are put forward: notions of worker competence, and the persuasiveness of informal workplace training; developing competence as an individual, and the inherent relationship between the worker and work, and the lifeworld; learning which develops higher level competences based on a more holistic conception of competence; characteristics of learning environments as integral components of learning at work; learning environments construed as theoretical and methodological problems in terms of their impact on the acquisition of competence.

In today's complex and ever-changing world it has become obvious that even highly developed knowledge and skills are no longer sufficient to meet new challenges. This book builds on the experiences of its expert contributors, all of whom have worked with, studied and analysed competences.

In today’s complex and ever-changing world it has become obvious that even highly developed knowledge and skills are no longer sufficient to meet new challenges, situations and problems facing individuals, organisations and nations. This raises an enormous and potentially confusing issue for educators and trainers: how is it possible to generate and assess abilities to deal with challenges and problems unknown – or not even in existence – at the time when the learning takes place? The book builds on the experiences and insights of its expert contributors, all of whom have worked with, studied and analysed competences and how they are developed. Their collected work presents Comprehensive explanation and analysis of the concept and nature of competence. Specific contexts of competence development, e.g. in the public sector or small business. Competence development as a national strategy for building an up-to-date education and training system. With chapters from around the world, including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Scandinavia, this book illustrates in an engaging and convincing manner the importance and innovative nature of the concept of competences, resulting in a varied, differentiated and empathetic guide to the topic. It will appeal to educators, both in academic and management circles, as well as students and administrators of education.

To conceive the entrance of the individual to the culture, Bruner proposes the idea of an education susceptible to adapt a culture to the needs its members and to adapt its members and their manners to teach the needs the culture. According to him, "our actions are guided by values, standards which, far from being "natural", are cultural and "symbolic constructions" (Bruner, in 1999). He conceives the human development as a process of collaboration between child and adult, the adult being envisaged as mediator of the culture. This book discusses the international perspectives, as well as the impacts on the workplace and educational challenges of cultural diversity. Topics include naming and planning to overcome barriers to parent involvement in pre-service teachers' online discussions; factors influencing students' perceptions of training in cultural diversity competence; inclusion in higher education; how culturally diverse classrooms respond to instructional technologies; immigrants; moving toward a culture of diversity; culture diversity and identity; infotainment system features set adaptation to target cultures; and using teaching practices that motivate culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) nursing students to learn and succeed in their studies.