You have full access to this open access article. This paper reports on the Dutch part of the research, the quantitative results of which seem to indicate that the freedom of learning for work is not as important to Dutch employees as might be expected. In order to triangulate the results of the quantitative and qualitative research phases, the authors then added a mixed-methods sequential explanatory analysis.
They assessed the quality of the collected data in both distinct phases by identifying converging results, which are useful for refining our understanding of learning for work. The paper draws both on rich insights into workplace learning based on this research as well as on theoretical literature which refers to concepts like motivation, subjectivity, work identity and agency in connection with the quest for freedom of learning. This issue of experiences with learning for work, including workplace learning WPL and work-related learning WRL , Footnote 2 is of particular interest in the Netherlands, because compared to other European countries OECD , Dutch employees invest less of their working life β in total 0.
In addition, Dutch investment in formal education which leads to qualification is also relatively lower OECD These figures recently led two ministers in the Dutch government Bussemaker and Asscher to call for a stronger learning climate, in particular in middle and higher vocational educational institutions. However, according to the same government, this will not be enough. A real learning climate is characterised by employers and employees who are motivated and flexible to learn and to invest accordingly in themselves to keep their knowledge and skills on track ibid.
Moreover, in the same period of ten years β , employees indicated that the share of working time necessary enable informal learning lies between 30 and 35 per cent ibid. In terms of reasons why workers follow a work-related course, the figures collected in a survey by Lex Borghans et al.
In the Netherlands, learning for work in its non formal as well as informal form is a somewhat problematic issue in practical terms. Although there is a belief that learning in the workplace should emerge from the work situation itself, the emphasis, like in other European countries, is still on organised learning.
