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Introduction

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Professional Practice and Learning

Part of the book series: Professional and Practice-based Learning ((PPBL,volume 15))

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Abstract

This chapter sets the agenda for the book. It poses a series questions that come out of contemporary sociomaterial and practice-based approaches to understanding professional practice and learning. Theoretical foundations are laid, including a preliminary explanation of the four dimensions of times, spaces, bodies and things. Justifications for their exploration in separate chapters are provided, acknowledging the slippage across dimensions. The primary arguments presented in greater detail, and substantiated empirically in later chapters, are outlined here. The setting for the empirical work through which theoretical ideas are put to use and developed through the rest of the book is introduced: a residential parenting service in Sydney, Australia. The chapter outlines the structure of the book, and concludes with a brief consideration of the role of critique in it. The account developed through the book constitutes a critical intervention in the fields of workplace learning, and studies of professional practice, while revealing features of learning and practice that help us understand how professionals cope with challenging work, establish effective partnerships with service users, and make a positive difference in the world.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    All names used in this book are aliases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of Technology Sydney, 123, Broadway, NSW, 2007, Australia

    Nick Hopwood

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Hopwood, N. (2016). Introduction. In: Professional Practice and Learning. Professional and Practice-based Learning, vol 15. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26164-5_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26164-5_1

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