The Invisible System: Naming the Epistemology, Ontology, and Praxis of Work-Based Learning as a Transdisciplinary Field
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64937/prx.2025.PL1057Keywords:
Work-Based Learning, Contributive Epistemology, Situated Learning, Transdisciplinary Fields, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), Learning Ontology, Praxis, Reflective Practice, Knowledge SystemsAbstract
Work-Based Learning (WBL) has persisted across various human activities in roles, sectors, and communities; yet, without a stable conceptual foundation, it remains structurally underrecognized. This article positions WBL not as a pedagogical method but as a transdisciplinary field of knowledge production with significance that extends into social and policy domains. We introduce contributive epistemology as the foundational theory that locates knowledge in acts of contribution, becoming valid through social recognition. From this stance, we articulate ontological commitments: knowledge is situated, relational, and inseparable from context. Praxis follows from these commitments, as facilitation, assessment, and stewardship are reconfigured to align with contributive epistemology, enabling professional roles and recognition systems that preserve epistemic integrity. These implications are considered alongside recognition frameworks advanced by OECD, UNESCO, and Cedefop. Taken together, these dimensions establish WBL as a legitimate and self-anchored field, capable of sustaining scholarly coherence and professional practice. Rather than displacing formal education, the article calls for greater visibility and recognition of a contributive knowledge tradition that has long coexisted with, but often remained outside, institutional frames.
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