Published Under the Garamond Imprint

Available in the US through Rowman & Littlefield.

Comments:

"Hidden Knowledge goes to the very heart of the claims of a knowledge-based economy and demonstrates the realities and depth of workers' knowledge in powerful ways... a major contribution to our understanding of the real connections between knowledge and power in our societies." - Michael W. Apple, John Bascom Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Policy Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison

"An important and valuable academic look at knowledge and learning... a reference that labour educators will no doubt use over and over again. It shows that, as working people, we are all virtual sponges for learning throughout our lives and deserve to be recognized for the knowledge and skills we acquire at work, at home and at play." - Leo W. Gerard, International President, United Steelworkers of America

"This exciting book will change the debate on knowledge-based production. It demonstrates that the main barrier to 21st century work forms stems from management's continued insistence on control over workers and refusal to rely on worker intelligence and ingenuity. Policy makers and workplace advocates need to read this study!" - Ruth Needleman, Professor of Labor Studies and Women's Studies, Indiana University and Coordinator, Swingshift College

"Livingstone and Sawchuk explore ethnographically the opportunities, longings and achievements of working-class women and men as adult learners in various contexts, as well as their disjunctures with what is valued by employers. We learn too about related class, gender and race inequalities. This book makes new discoveries and is the beginning of a new direction that will lead to more." - Dorothy E. Smith, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto

"Hidden Knowledge concludes that workers are more than someone else's human resources... a much needed counterpoint in a field dominated by a 'human capital' training orthodoxy. In approaching the issues of skills, learning and knowledge by first talking to workers and through workplace case studies, the authors explore both the richness and importance of informal learning." - Bob White, Past President, Canadian Labour Congress & Canadian Autoworkers 

Table of Contents: [Back to Top]

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Dimensions of Learning and Work in the Knowledge Society 

Spheres of Work and Learning
Class and Learning
Working-class Underemployment
Information Access in the Computer Era
Sector-based Research Sites
Chapter Outlines

Part I: Researching Learning and Work

Chapter 1: Starting with Workers and Researching the "Hard Way"

Introduction
Research Methods
Democratic Knowledge Production: The Importance of Social Standpoint 
Concluding Remarks

Chapter 2: Beyond Cultural Capital Theories: Hidden Dimensions of Working-class Learning

Introduction
The Cultural Capital Bias
The Rediscovery of Creative Working-class Culture
Critical Review of Major Theories of Adult Learning
Origins of Cultural Historical Activity Theory
Activity Theory from Vygotsky to the Present
CHAT from a Working-class Standpoint
Patriarchal, Racist and Ageist Effects on Working-class Learning
Concluding Remarks

Part II: Case Studies

Chapter 3: Auto Workers: Lean Manufacturing and Rich Learning 

Introduction
The General Motors Site in Oshawa, Ontario
The CAW and Local 222
Tightening Labour Markets and Worker Rebellion
Working in the Auto Plant: "It doesn't take a genius"
Formal Schooling and Job Training
Informal on the Job Training: "You're pretty much on your own"
Union-based Education Programs
Informal Learning in Local 222
Cultural Historical Dimensions of Auto Workers' Learning
Concluding Remarks

Chapter 4: Builiding a Workers' Learning Culture in the Chemical Industry

Introduction
Profile of Workforce and Interviewees
A Profile of Learning Amongst Chemical Workers
Union-based Learning
The Cultural Historical Dimensions of Learning Amongst Chemical Workers
Chemical Workers' Learning and the Class Bias of Knowledge
Struggle over Knowledge and Credentials at the Chemical Factory
Challenging Existing Structures / Introducing New Ones
Concluding Remarks

Chapter 5: Learning, Restructuring, and Job Segregation at a Community College

Introduction
Working at the College
Learning at the College
Restructuring, Work and Learning in a College Setting
Bumping and Mulit-tasking: The Reality of Work and Learning for College
Workers under Restructuring
Segregation Processes at the College
Comparing Learning Across Groups
Concluding Remarks

Chapter 6: Divisions of Labour/Divisions of Learning in a Small Parts Manufacturer

Introduction
Research Overview and Participant Profile
Profile of a Learning in a Small Parts Plant
The Divisions of Learning at Work
Concluding Remarks

Chapter 7: Garment Workers: Learning Under Disruption

Introduction
Union Survival Response
Profile of the Workforce
Job Disruption and Stress
Organization of Garment Sector Training
A Profile of Learning in the Garment Sector
Cultural Historical Dimensions of Garment Workers' Learning
Concluding remarks

Part III: Comparative Perspectives Across Case Studies

Chapter 8: Household and Community-based Learning: Learning Cultures and Class Differences Beyond Paid Work 

Introduction
Home- and Community-based Learning Histories
The Connections Between Economic Restructuring and Home and Community Life
The Distribution of Free Time and Learning in the Home 
"I can't think of anything, can you?": The Invisibility of Working-class Learning in the Home
Working-class Community Living and Learning
Family-based Union Learning
Concluding Remarks

Chapter 9: Surfacing the Hidden Dimensions of the Knowledge Society: The Struggle for Knowledge Across Differences 

Uses of Formal Schooling, Organized Training and Informal Learning Across the Sites
Gender, Race and Age Effects on Workers' Learning
Recommendations
Concluding Remarks

Appendix: Interviewee Profiles

References

Index

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