In the Dutch Vocational Education and Training (VET) system, competence-based education is the leading paradigm for innovation, both at the system level and at the level of learning environments. This article provides an historical analysis of the development of competence-based education in various countries and explores the concept of competence and its popularity. Possible pitfalls with respect to the concept of competence, standardisation, school and workplace learning, determining learning activities, assessment of competencies, changing teacher roles/identity and competence-based management will be discussed. Taking these pitfalls into account, roads for future development will be sketched. A learning policy connecting governance, practice and research is believed to be the most fruitful way to develop flexible VET systems that are suited to the emerging knowledge-based economy.

In this paper critical reflective working behaviour will be operationalized. Second, the question will be raised which factors have impact on critical reflective working behaviour. The following dimensions of critical reflective working emerge: reflection, vision sharing, challenging groupthink, asking for feedback, experimentation and awareness of employability. In a survey amongst 742 respondents these dimensions are validated. Important influencing factors seem to be selfcfficacy and participation.

Purpose -The purpose of this research is to get a clear view on how can we judge groups in relation to the characteristics of a community of practice (CoP), and the presence of collective learning in these groups. Design/methodology/approach -A review of literature on collective learning and CoPs led to the development of a conceptual model, which was tested through case study research against empirical data from three groups in organizations. Findings -The groups differed concerning group characteristics, but also concerning the collective learning processes and learning outcomes present. The group that can be characterized as a CoP learns a lot, but the (learning) processes in the group are not always in favour of the organizational learning process.Research limitations/implications -The conceptual framework was helpful to evaluate the characteristics of CoPs in relation to collective learning. These findings suggest that it will be interesting to expand the model, for example with consideration to the way CoPs experience the need to change. Practical implications -The developed framework might help managers to judge if groups in an organization have characteristics of a CoP, if they are in balance and what might be needed to develop towards an ideal CoP with a great learning potential. Originality/value -A first attempt is made to build a framework for judging CoPs for several aspects of their functioning. The research also shows that CoPs are not always stimulating forces for organizational learning.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.*Related content and download information correct at time of download. Design/methodology/approach -Using a multi method approach, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from seven interdisciplinary teacher teams in a secondary school during one school year. Teachers' perceptions of community development were complemented with video-observations of team meetings by relative outsiders. Findings -Data showed that the teacher teams undertook a wide variety and amount of community-building efforts. However, community development of the teacher teams as perceived by the teachers was limited. Relative outsiders observed some community development. Practical implications -From the findings the authors conclude that school managers could play a more proactive role in supporting teacher teams' community-building efforts. Strategies embedding community-building into the culture and policy of the school, including diagnosing, custom-made support and making efforts explicit, could be effective. Originality/value -The current study takes a long-term approach, investigating the community development of teacher teams during the course of one school year. In addition, community development is measured using two perspectives, i.e. that of the community members and that of the relative outsider.Keywords Community development, Community-building, Schools, Teacher collaboration, Community of practice, Teacher teams, Communities, Teachers Paper type Research paperThe current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0951-354X.htmThe authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. They wish to acknowledge the work and contribution of colleagues from the research team: researcher 1 to researcher 10. The authors would like to thank the teachers in this project, who gave generously of their time.

This article concerns agricultural entrepreneurs involved in organising their learning so as to develop innovative and learning enterprises. In hi-tech sectors, such as Dutch agriculture, this learning and innovative capacity is particularly essential for economic survival. Reviewing the literature, we conclude that innovation can be seen as informal learning processes, in which social networks play an important role. Workers learn by sharing knowledge in the working team and employers learn by creating networks of colleagues and advisers. The results of two research projects suggest that interactive learning and innovation should be analysed from a perspective of uncertainty. Learning skills for interactive innovation, as part of the entrepreneurial craft, should comprise the capability of selecting impulses and combining newly selected impulses with existing skills and routines. Paradoxically, they need new impulses from weak, unknown networks to be continuously innovative. Innovative learning involves balancing the chaos of uncertainty with the old grooves of experience. Knowing how to escape this paradox forms the core competence of innovative entrepreneurship.