Stephen Billett - Learning through practice - overview of work and bibilography

I prepared this list for a colleague of mine, starting on her PhD journey. She is researching practice-based learning. As many people find Billett's work to be 'dense' and as much of it is now considered the seminal articles on workplace and practice-based learning, I looked into providing her with a smooth introduction into his work.

Firstly, there is a short video (under 4 minutes) which provides a good overview.  As Stephen was my PhD supervisor, I had the opportunity to gain familiarity with his work over a period of time. His first seminal articles on workplace learning were published in the 1990s and early 2000s. I advise other scholars, interested and beginning in the field of workplace learning, practice-based learning and learning through practice to at least read 3 to 4 of Stephen’s articles from the 1990s. They set up a good background for his current work.

The seminal papers on various topics include:

Workplace learning – including concepts of affordances / interdependencies

Billett, S. (1996). Situated learning: Bridging sociocultural and cognitive theorising. Learning and Instruction, 6 (3), 263–280.

Billett, S. (2001). Learning at work: workplace affordances and individual engagement. Journal of Workplace Learning, 13(5), 209-214.

Billett, S. (2002). Toward a workplace pedagogy: Guidance, participation, and engagement. Adult Education Quarterly, 53(1), 27-43.

Billett, S. (2002). Workplace pedagogic practices: co-participation and learning. British Journal of Education Studies, 50(4), 457-481. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8527.t01-2-00214

Billett, S. (2003). Sociogeneses, activity and ontogeny. Culture and Psychology, 9(2), 133-169.

Identity – subjectivities

Billett, S. (2006). Constituting the workplace curriculum. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 36 (1), 31-48.

Billett, S. (2008). Learning throughout working life: A relational interdependence between personal and social agency. British Journal of Educational Studies, 56(1), 39-58.

Billett, S. (2008). Subjectivity, learning and work:Sources and legacies.  Vocations and Learning, 1(2), 149-171.

Billett, S., & Somerville, M. (2004). Transformational work: Identity and learning. Studies in Continuing Education, 26(2), 309-326.

Billett, S., & Pavlova, M. (2005). Learning through working life: Self and individuals’ agentic action. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 24(3), 195-211.

Practice based learning

Billett, S. (2009). Personal epistemologies, work and learning. Educational Research Review, 4, 210-219.

Billett, S. (2010). Learning through practice. In S. Billett (Ed.), Learning through practice:Models, traditions, orientations and approaches (pp. 1-20). Netherlands: Springer.

Billett, S., & Choy, S. (2013). Learning through work: emerging perspectives and new challenges. Journal of Workplace Learning, 25(4), 264 – 276. 

Cleland, J., Leaman, J., & Billett, S. (2014). Developing medical capabilities and dispositions through practice-based experiences. In C. Harteis, A. Rausch & J. Seifried (Eds.), Discourses on Professional Learning: On the Boundary between Learning and Working (pp.211-230). Drodrecht, Netherlands: Springer.

Mimetic learning

Billett, S. (2014). Mimetic learning at work. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.