Hidden Knowledge by Livingstone, D. W.; Sawchuk, Peter;

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Working people are more knowledgeable and actively engaged in learning than public discussion generally assumes. Two basic assumptions underlie much recent discussion about work and learning: a new ""knowledge-based economy"" is quickly emerging with new jobs generally requiring greater knowledge and skill; and, a ""lifelong learning culture"" must be created in order for workers to cope with these employment-related knowledge demands. Virtually every recent public policy statement about employment in every advanced industrial country begins with these assumptions. It implies that most workers suffer from a deficit of necessary skills and knowledge which must be rectified by greater education and training efforts. Hidden Knowledge challenges these assumptions. Through life history interviews and case study research with union members, the actual learning practices of working class people are documented in unprecedented detail.

Published Under the Garamond Imprint

Available in the US through Rowman & Littlefield.

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Table of Contents:

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Acknowledgements

Introduction: Dimensions of Learning and Work in the Knowledge Society

Spheres of Work and Learning











Class and Learning

Working-class Underemployment

Information Access in the Computer Era

Sector-based Research Sites

Chapter Outlines

Part I: Researching Learning and Work

Chapter 1: Starting with Workers and Researching the """"Hard Way""""

Introduction











Research Methods

Democratic Knowledge Production: The Importance of Social Standpoint

Concluding Remarks

Chapter 2: Beyond Cultural Capital Theories: Hidden Dimensions of Working-class Learning

Introduction











The Cultural Capital Bias

The Rediscovery of Creative Working-class Culture

Critical Review of Major Theories of Adult Learning

Origins of Cultural Historical Activity Theory

Activity Theory from Vygotsky to the Present

CHAT from a Working-class Standpoint

Patriarchal, Racist and Ageist Effects on Working-class Learning

Concluding Remarks

Part II: Case Studies

Chapter 3: Auto Workers: Lean Manufacturing and Rich Learning

Introduction











The General Motors Site in Oshawa, Ontario

The CAW and Local 222

Tightening Labour Markets and Worker Rebellion

Working in the Auto Plant: """"It doesn't take a genius""""

Formal Schooling and Job Training

Informal on the Job Training: """"You're pretty much on your own""""

Union-based Education Programs

Informal Learning in Local 222

Cultural Historical Dimensions of Auto Workers' Learning

Concluding Remarks

Chapter 4: Builiding a Workers' Learning Culture in the Chemical Industry

Introduction











Profile of Workforce and Interviewees

A Profile of Learning Amongst Chemical Workers

Union-based Learning

The Cultural Historical Dimensions of Learning Amongst Chemical Workers

Chemical Workers' Learning and the Class Bias of Knowledge

Struggle over Knowledge and Credentials at the Chemical Factory

Challenging Existing Structures / Introducing New Ones

Concluding Remarks

Chapter 5: Learning, Restructuring, and Job Segregation at a Community College

Introduction











Working at the College

Learning at the College

Restructuring, Work and Learning in a College Setting

Bumping and Mulit-tasking: The Reality of Work and Learning for College

Workers under Restructuring

Segregation Processes at the College

Comparing Learning Across Groups

Concluding Remarks

Chapter 6: Divisions of Labour/Divisions of Learning in a Small Parts Manufacturer

Introduction











Research Overview and Participant Profile

Profile of a Learning in a Small Parts Plant

The Divisions of Learning at Work

Concluding Remarks

Chapter 7: Garment Workers: Learning Under Disruption

Introduction











Union Survival Response

Profile of the Workforce

Job Disruption and Stress

Organization of Garment Sector Training

A Profile of Learning in the Garment Sector

Cultural Historical Dimensions of Garment Workers' Learning

Concluding remarks

Part III: Comparative Perspectives Across Case Studies

Chapter 8: Household and Community-based Learning: Learning Cultures and Class Differences Beyond Paid Work

Introduction











Home- and Community-based Learning Histories

The Connections Between Economic Restructuring and Home and Community Life

The Distribution of Free Time and Learning in the Home

""""I can't think of anything, can you?"""": The Invisibility of Working-class Learning in the Home

Working-class Community Living and Learning

Family-based Union Learning

Concluding Remarks

Chapter 9: Surfacing the Hidden Dimensions of the Knowledge Society: The Struggle for Knowledge Across Differences

Uses of Formal Schooling, Organized Training and Informal Learning Across the Sites











Gender, Race and Age Effects on Workers' Learning

Recommendations

Concluding Remarks

Appendix: Interviewee Profiles

References

Index

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