Workplace Learning in Veterinary Education: A Sociocultural Perspective

Abstract

Veterinary practice is a broad sphere of professional activity encompassing clinical activity and other vocational opportunities conducted in rapidly changing contemporary social conditions. Workplace learning is an important but resource-intensive component of educating students for practice. This conceptual article argues that literature on workplace learning in the veterinary context is dominated by descriptive accounts and that there is a dearth of theoretically informed research on this topic. Framing veterinary practice as a social, relational, and discursive practice supports the use of workplace learning theories developed from a sociocultural perspective. Situated learning theory, with its associated concepts of communities of practice and legitimate peripheral participation, and workplace learning theory focused on workplace affordances and learner agency are discussed. Two composite examples of student feedback from veterinary clinical learning illustrate the concepts, drawing out such themes as the roles of teachers and learners and the assessment of integrated practice. The theoretical perspective described in this article can be used to inform development of models of workplace learning in veterinary clinical settings; relevant examples from medical education are presented.

Transition to dental practice: Newly graduated dentists' views of being successful in dental practice

“…Contemporary theories that position professional practices as socio-cultural practices firmly situate the practitioner within the social and cultural context. 20 From a sociocultural perspective, the complex relationships among aspects of professional practice are acknowledged and seen as "a relational web (that)… connects the learner to the surrounding world in an evolving way." 21(p 631) These conceptions are helpful to understanding the interdependent interactions that occur among individuals, practices, institutions and professions.…”

“…While it has been put found that dental students become more attentive to their personal interests and less interested in empathic and patient‐associated concerns, 18,19 the findings of this research study position personal endeavour in relation to patient interests, rather than opposed to one another. Contemporary theories that position professional practices as socio‐cultural practices firmly situate the practitioner within the social and cultural context 20 . From a sociocultural perspective, the complex relationships among aspects of professional practice are acknowledged and seen as “a relational web (that)… connects the learner to the surrounding world in an evolving way.” 21 (p 631) These conceptions are helpful to understanding the interdependent interactions that occur among individuals, practices, institutions and professions.…”

Using Learning Theories to Develop a Veterinary Student Preparedness Toolkit for Workplace Clinical Training

“…Despite the lack of research, there are facets of veterinary WCT which seem to align well with situated learning theory. First and foremost, veterinary students should broadly be legitimate peripheral participants in a community of practice during WCT (5). Secondly, it is recognised that veterinary students learn from the formal (intended and scheduled), informal (opportunistic) and hidden curricula of the veterinary workplace (42)(43)(44)(45)(46).…”

“…Context is an integral part of practice and its activities (5), which in turn affects the affordances (opportunities) for learning.…”

“…In a similar way and having developed haphazardly from apprenticeship principles, our direct understanding of how veterinary students learn during WCT is imperfect. In addition, there is limited use and application of learning theories in clinical veterinary education (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) which is not representative of their potential usefulness in understanding education practices (9). Indeed, Schoenfeld-Tacher and Baker (10) assess that it's no longer appropriate to expect a clinician to be an outstanding teacher without the appreciation of the underlying principles of learning.…”