Hidden Knowledge Organized Labor in the

Offering an original contribution to understanding an often-ignored aspect of our much-heralded knowledge-based economy, this book decisively explodes the dual myths that working-class adults have inferior learning capacities and that talented youths naturally leave blue-collar careers. Livingstone and Sawchuk document the genuine learning practices of working-class people in unprecedented detail, using richly textured accounts of prior school experiences; current adult education course participation; and a wide array of learning resources in paid workplaces, households, and community settings. Criticizing dominant theories, the authors develop a powerful alternative explanation of working-class adult learning. Their analysis, grounded in the specific practices of everyday life, includes workers' own practical recommendations for changes in learning and work relations.

Acknowledgments

ix

Introduction: Dimensions; of Learning and Work in the Knowledge Society

1

(3)

Spheres of Work and Learning

4

(4)

Class and Learning

8

(3)

Working-Class Underemployment

11

(3)

Information Access in the Computer Era

14

(2)

Sector-Based Research Sites

16

(6)

Chapter Outlines

22

(2)

PART I Reseaching Learning and Work

24

(45)

Starting with Workers and Researching and ``Hard Way''

27

(18)

D'Arcy Martin

Introduction

27

(3)

Research Methods

30

(8)

Democratic Knowledge Production: The Importance of Social Standpoint

38

(4)

Concluding Remarks

42

(3)

Beyond Cultural Capital Theories: Hidden Dimensions of Working-Class Learning

45

(24)

Introduction

45

(2)

The Cultural Capital Bias

47

(3)

The Rediscovery of Creative Working-Class Culture

50

(1)

Critical Review of Major Theories of Adult Learning

51

(4)

Origins of Cultural Historical Activity Theory

55

(2)

Activity Theory from Vygotsky to the Present

57

(3)

CHAT from a Working-Class Standpoint

60

(3)

Patriarchial, Racist and Ageist Effects on Working-Class Learning

63

(3)

Concluding Remarks

66

(3)

PART II Case Studies

69

(158)

Auto Workers: Lean Manufacturing and Rich Learning

71

(30)

Reuben Roth

Introduction

72

(4)

The General Motors Site in Oshawa

76

(1)

The CAW and Local 222

77

(2)

Tightening Labour Markets and Worker Rebellion

79

(2)

Working in the Auto Plant: ``It doesn't take a genius''

81

(4)

Formal Schooling and Job Training

85

(2)

Informal on the Job Training: ``You're pretty much on your own''

87

(2)

Union-Based Education Programs

89

(3)

Informal Learning in Local 222

92

(3)

Cultural Historical Dimensions of Auto Workers' Learning

95

(2)

Concluding Remarks

97

(4)

Building a Workers' Learning Culture in the Chemical Industry

101

(30)

Introduction

102

(4)

Profile of Workforce and Interviewees

106

(1)

A Profile of Learning Amongst Chemical Workers

106

(11)

Union-Based Learning

117

(2)

The Cultural Historical Dimensions of Learning Amongst Chemical Workers

119

(1)

Chemical Workers' Learning and the Class Bias of Knowledge

120

(3)

Struggle over Knowledge and Credentials at the Chemical Factory

123

(4)

Challenging Existing Structures/Introducing New Ones

127

(2)

Concluding Remarks

129

(2)

Learning, Restructuring and Job Segregation at a Community College

131

(34)

Introduction

133

(2)

Working at the College

135

(2)

Learning at the College

137

(9)

Restructuring, Work and Learning in a College Setting

146

(5)

Bumping and Multi-tasking: The Realty of Work and Learning for College Workers under Restructuring

151

(5)

Segregation Processes at the College

156

(4)

Comparing Learning Across Groups

160

(3)

Concluding Remarks

163

(2)

Divisions of Labour/Divisons of Learning in a Small Parts Manufacturer

165

(30)

Introduction

166

(4)

Research Overview and Participant Profile

170

(1)

Profile of Learning in a Small Parts Plant

171

(10)

The Divisions of Learning at Work

181

(12)

Concluding Remarks

193

(2)

Garment Workers: Learning Under Disruption

195

(32)

Clara Morgan

Introduction

197

(3)

Union Survival Response

200

(3)

Profile of the Workforce

203

(3)

Job Disruption and Stress

206

(4)

Organization of Garment Sector Training

210

(1)

A Profile of Learning in the Garment Sector

211

(12)

Cultural Historical Dimensions of Garment Workers' Learning

223

(2)

Concluding Remarks

225

(2)

PART III Comparative Perspectives Across Case Studies

227

(68)

Household and Community-Based Learning: Learning Cultures and Class Differences Beyond Paid Work

229

(28)

Introduction

229

(3)

Home- and Community-Based Learning Histories

232

(5)

The Connections Between Economic Restructuring and Home and Community Life

237

(2)

The Distribution of Free Time and Learning in the Home

239

(5)

``I can't think of anything - can you?'': The Invisibility of Working-Class Learning in the Home

244

(3)

Working-Class Community Living and Learning

247

(3)

Family-Based Union Learning

250

(3)

Concluding Remarks

253

(4)

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

257

(38)

Uses of Formal Schooling, Organized Training and Informal Learning Across the Sites

259

(11)

Gender, Race and Age Effects on Workers' Learning

270

(9)

Recommendations

279

(14)

Concluding Remarks

293

(2)

Appendix: Interviewee Profiles

295

(4)

References

299

(12)

Index

311

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Hidden Knowledge Organized Labor in the Information Age

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