Doctoral Thesis Defended
Aleix Barrera-Corominas has defended his PhD Thesis named “Transfer of attained learning in Communities of Practice in Public Administration”.
The doctoral Thesis, which has analyzed the working process of Compartim Program from Justice Department of Generalitat de Catalunya, has as a main goal to assess, through participants’ point of view, variables that influence transferring to workplace attained learning via Communities of Professional Practice in Public Administration. Specifically, he has focused on: (1) outlining which characteristics of CoPs promote learning among their participants; (2) analyzing aspects of the organizational context, the participants, and the design and development of activities which can influence the integration into the workplace of the learning that is generated in the CoPs; and (3) comparatively analyzing the relationships between the variables that have an impact on the integration of continuing professional development, and the variables that affect the integration of learning acquired in CoPs.
For getting these objectives, a study was design under an interpretative paradigm, using quantitative tools (questionnaire) and qualitative techniques (document analysis, semi structured interviews, field notes) in order to obtain the data that will allow to understand professionals’ perception of learning transfer. Triangulation and contrasting data has allowed him to analyze differences between perceptions of participants in CoP and those who have participated in formative activities.
The results obtained, despite not being able to universalize, help to understand how organizational variables, training design and participants intervene in learning transfer generated informally in CoP. Likewise, the results obtained has help to present orientations that can be followed by managers of CoP for achieving more adequacy in context in order to help transferring learning and improving the impact in workplace of its participants.
The defense court was headed by Dr. Isabel Cantón Mayo, from Universidad de León, acting like a secretary Dr. Carme Armengol Asparó, from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and as a vocal Dr. Serafín Antúnez Marcos, from Universidad de Barcelona. They award the PhD candidate an Excellent Cum Laude.
For further information about the thesis, click here
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