The present book collects, integrates, and discusses the range of perspectives and discourses on agency at work. In addition, the book compiles the empirical research that has been generated by various perspectives. The chapters deal with the relationship between (a) agency at work, and (b) professional learning and development. They encompass a wide variety of working life domains and/or contexts, and are based on a broad range of epistemological and theoretical standpoints. This volume is not only thought to bring together current research, but also to foster the contemporary discourse on workplace agency a few steps further. Although the book strongly focuses on research originating in the field of workplace learning, its contents may be of interest to researchers from other scientific domains, such as socio-cognitive and development psychology, organisational behaviour, leadership, economics, life-course research, and philosophy.

This volume provides alternatives for tackling existing empirical, methodological, and analytical challenges. It does so by providing a broad overview of less established, as well as emerging methods, which are of great relevance for current research on professional learning and development. As such, it offers a comprehensive collection of state-of-the-art methodologies and future directions within the workplace learning and professional development research. By describing these novel approaches and providing empirical illustrations, the book promotes innovative methodologies for investigating professional learning and development. It also supports scholars to understand upcoming empirical research and methods and encourages novice as well as established researchers to adopt new empirical strategies beyond traditional ones that have the potential to enrich a better understanding of professional learning and development.

Michael Goller gives a structured overview of the current discourses of human agency in relation to professional learning and development. Based on this discussion, the author develops a theoretical framework including human agency as an individual feature (i. e., a disposition) as well as a set of self-initiated and goal-directed behaviours that are assumed to affect employees' learning and development (e. g., crafting of new work experiences). He then further specifies this theoretical framework and investigates it empirically in the domain of geriatric care nursing. Based on the findings of the three empirical studies conducted, the author discusses the relevance of human agency for the development of professional expertise of geriatric care nurses. The work received the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Workplace Learning SIG 2017 Dissertation of the Year Award.