Learning environments at work

Abstract

The concept of learning environment has gained ground in many fields of working life over the past two decades. However, the concept is clearly underresearched in a Danish context compared to for example, how the working environment is researched, described, and regulated. The purpose of this article is therefore to examine conceptualisations in international research of learning environments and their significance for learning in working life. It examines the main dimensions that constitute a learning environment according to different theoretical approaches. It includes key research contributions from recent decades’ research into learning environments in working life as well as from other research into worklife learning. In addition, it examines how the different contributions perceive the relationship between the learning environment and the learning subject. It concludes that most contributions lack an understanding of the active role of the learning subject in the making of the learning environment. The article concludes with a suggestion on how the learning environment can be understood as constituted by both subjective and objective learning resources.