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Knowledge, expertise, craft, and practice: becoming and being a cycle technician.

Authors :
Tummons, Jonathan
Source :
Journal of Vocational Education & Training. Sep2024, Vol. 76 Issue 4, p928-945. 18p.
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

This paper provides an account of the everyday workplace learning of cycle technicians. Derived from an ethnography of working cultures and practices at a bike shop in the North of England, this paper rests on a critical reading of Communities of Practice theory in order to explore the complex and heterogeneous learning of cycle technicians. Drawing on a series of vignettes constructed from the ethnographic data, the paper demonstrates the variety of experiences of both formal and informal learning that characterise the trajectories of new cycle technicians as they enter the industry. In addition to providing an account of a qualified and specialist workforce that is under-represented in extant research literature, the paper also provides an exemplar for ethnographic research as a vehicle for exploring working practices through a Communities of Practice lens, using the paradigmatic theoretical elements of the theory. The paper concludes by arguing that for cycle technicians, and perhaps other occupations as well, Communities of Practice theory can generate rich and complex accounts that do justice to the richness and complexity of the craft and practice being observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
13636820
Volume :
76
Issue :
4
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Journal of Vocational Education & Training
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
179022615
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2022.2132527