Methods for Researching Professional Learning and Development: Challenges, Applications and Empirical Illustrations

Eva Kyndt (PhD Educational Sciences) is an associate professor in human resource development and management at the Centre for the New Workforce (Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia) and Department for Training and Education Sciences (University of Antwerp, Belgium). The common thread in her research is the attention of the intersection between learning and working. She has a profound interest in sustainable careers and focuses on lifelong learning and wellbeing of (prospective) employees. Her research interests include preparing graduates for sustainable careers, social networks in organisations, wellbeing at work and workplace learning. While she has conducted several mixed methods studies, she primarily adopts advanced quantitative methods including multilevel analysis, mixture growth models, generalized cross-lagged panel models and neural network analysis. In addition, she is currently venturing into emerging methods such as multilevel network analysis, self-organizing maps and visual analysis.

Susanna Paloniemi (PhD Educational Sciences) is a senior university lecturer at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her recent and current research focuses on professional learning, identity and agency in various work contexts and domains. Further, research on the role of emotions within the process of professional learning at work, has brought various research methods in the centre of her work. The application of a multi-method approach (e.g. self-reports, measurements, observations) in researching workplace learning from various perspectives is the underlying interest in her work.

Crina Damsa (PhD Educational Sciences) is an Associate Professor at the Department of Education at University of Oslo, Norway. The main theme of her research are situated processes of learning among young adults (students and professionals), under an overarching interest for lifelong learning. Research areas such as learning through collaboration and inquiry, technology enhanced learning and agency in work and learning are especially highlighted. While she has conducted several mixed methods studies, Crina’s research primarily adopts a qualitative methodology, including varied analytical approaches, designs and interpretative frameworks. Both exploratory ethnographies and longitudinal video observation research, and formative intervention studies, using a design-based methodology, are represented in her work. Currently, she is initiating research employing event sampling methods and multimodal learning, aiming to capture learning activities across digital and physical contexts.