Purpose -The purpose of this research is to explore the interaction between organizational policies and daily work practices of paramedics and firefighters within two emergency response organizations. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected in a case study consisting of interviews, focus groups, and observations. The theoretical grounding for this research is framed by learning in practice through legitimate peripheral participation. Findings -Analysis of the data found that paramedics and firefighters value learning in their daily work above initial qualification training. They learn in practice through increasing collaboration with others, and in the broader context of legitimate peripheral participation. Organizational policies can help in guiding their decision making processes, but learning in practice and relying on experience is most helpful in their daily work.Research limitations/implications -The notion of situated learning is insufficient to explain the dramatic performance of emergent, creative, and autonomous actions often required of individual emergency personnel in crisis situations. Originality/value -This study adds to the current literature on communities of practice and legitimate peripheral participation. It applies learning theory to emergency response organizations to demonstrate the need to focus on practice and understandings in workplaces. The research also offers a greater understanding of the unique job of emergency response personnel who must often make instantaneous decisions in critical situations and must therefore understand their practice to ensure positive outcomes.

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This article suggests that thinking about the nature of intimacy, especially sexual intimacy, is a good way of deepening our understanding of how deep‐seated psychic vulnerabilities play an important role in adult education contexts. Drawing on psychoanalytic accounts of human development, the paper outlines how the capacity for ethical action in adult education rests on the ability of adult educators to develop identities that can recognize and accept their own imperfections. Rigid, narcissistic, and omnipotent identities are incapable of understanding and nurturing the pro‐social identity development of other people. Viewing human development issues through the lens of intimacy helps clarify not only what is at stake in contexts like adult education but also helps illuminate the qualities of generativity most conducive to the development of other people.