Non-formal learning and tacit knowledge in professional work

Background: This paper explores the conceptual and methodological problems arising from several empirical investigations of professional education and learning in the workplace. Aims: 1. To clarify the multiple meanings accorded to terms such as ‘non-formal learning’, ‘implicit learning’ and ‘tacit knowledge’, their theoretical assumptions and the range of phenomena to which they refer. 2. To discuss their implications for professional practice. Method: A largely theoretical analysis of issues and phenomena arising from empirical investigations.