Review Gold Open Access 2023

Measuring the quality of workplace learning environments – a qualitative meta synthesis of employee questionnaires

Journal of Workplace Learning
Journal · Vol. 35 · Issue 9 · pp. 134-161
Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to support researchers and practitioners in finding suitable instruments for future research studies and organizational quality assessments. Design/methodology/approach: Employees’ success of learning at work is strongly influenced by the quality of the workplace learning environment. In the recent decades growing effort has been given to the development of surveys to measure the quality of workplace learning, resulting in a large number of available survey instruments. This study conceptually draws on a 3-P model and uses a qualitative metasynthesis to collect and categorize n = 94 surveys that intend to measure the quality of workplace learning (WPL). Findings: The results underline that research on WPL environments is a highly interdisciplinary endeavor, where every discipline enriches the field by a new perspective and own foci. Overall, this study finds a focus on learning culture and working conditions, on social and functional inclusion of the learner and on support and feedback during training. Products of WPL such as professional competences or career aspirations play a minor role. Originality/value: With the integration of quality measurement instruments from various research studies, this study produces an interactive online instrument map that gives a broad, yet organized overview of available quality measures in the WPL field. © 2023, Viola Deutscher and Anke Braunstein.

Keywords

Author Keywords

workplace learning review Quality measurement synthesis survey

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations
Fakultät für Betriebs­wirtschafts­lehre, Mannheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
Funding & Acknowledgements
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG
Grant: KL 3076/2-1
This research was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), within the project ‘Competence Development through Enculturation’ (KL 3076/2-1).
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