Picking up on Linda Wing's thoughts
> Habermas discusses learning as a framework by describing three types of
> learning:
>
> o technical learning - is learning which builds our capacity to solve
> problems, to become better at something we are doing to solve
> problems in our world;
>
> o communicative learning - is learning which is practical in that it
> allows us to better exchange ideas and information with one another
> in our social world;
>
> o and, emancipatory learning - is learning which frees us from some
> previously held notion and which fosters a better understanding of some
> contradiction in our world, making our world a more understandable and
> a better place in which to live.
>
> Perhaps with this lense on the discussion of defining "what is learning",
> it becomes clearer that there are different types of learning which
> accomplish different kinds of things. Each of these types of learning are
> important in the modern world.
I would appreciate a literature reference to Habermas's learning
framework, it is not in any of my books by Habermas.
Looking through this framework reminded me that some learning can be for
the development of the individual and their career. I would see this sort
of learning as the employee taking part of their financial reward as
training. A subject for employee appraisal and salary review. Part of
the salary budget not the training budget (thoughts of Activity Based
Costing).
> I believe it was Paulo Freire who said "learning is never neutral". It
> can be used for purposes of control of a population or for emancipation of
> a population. All three types of learning described by Habermas can be
> used for either purpose. Is learning for empowerment within process
> re-engineering empowerment, or another form of control of the individual
> working within the process? These rhetorical questions foster deep
> insight when I am working with clients who wish to create learning in
> their organizations for empowerment. Sometimes we are so deep into our
> own paradigms that we can't see that we are manifesting more of the same
> type of social experience through attempting to remedy our current way of
> doing business.
This generated thoughts about risk to the organisation for not employing
people with particular learning or having learning concentrated on too few
employees. The potential of an organisation being at the mercy of
suppliers or individual employees and vulnerable to the potential threat
of blackmail.
Of course, the arguments are open to argy-bargy and the organisations
decision processes need to be open to inspection and informed debate. This
leads me towards participative democracy. There seems to be a link
between democracy and the learning organisation. Could anybody help me
put some flesh on the link?
Roy Benford
Fulmer, UK
--Roy Benford <roy@benford.demon.co.uk>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>