Abstract
Purpose – The paper seeks to investigate design engineers’ and product developers’ learning
through their work. The aim was to approach designers’ work practice and their learning in the course
of it as perceived by the designers themselves. The aim is also to examine their learning through the
various individual and social processes, which take place in the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach – The ethnographic approach in this paper, with its use of
combined and qualitative data gathering and analytical methods, was selected to approach the aim
described above. Observations in two Finnish high-tech companies and interviews with 18 designers
were conducted. The observations and interviews were analysed with help of combined methods of
analysis, such as phenomenographic, narrative and ethnographic analysis.
Findings – The findings in this paper suggest that in redefining designers’ work and learning, four
central themes are important: design practice is learning in itself; there is a close relationship between
formal and practical knowledge in designers’ learning at work; previous work experience plays an
essential role in learning; and design practices and learning should be seen as shared, situated and
contextualized.
Practical implications – In the paper general suggestions concerning the guidance of workplace
learning are given, and the challenges of guiding and assessing workplace learning in the vocational
education context are examined. There is a clear need for more effective integration between education
and working life.
Originality/value – The paper illustrates that individual and social practice and learning in the
workplace should be analysed as interdependent and intertwined.
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