Learning by starch potato growers: learning in small businesses with no employees

Niels R Faber (First author), Laura Maruster, René J Jorna, Rob JF van Haren

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    In small businesses with no employees, learning environments have a low learning readiness. Consequently, learners need to rely on their own agency to shape their learning experiences. Results from a study of agricultural entrepreneurs indicated that the components of motivation and self-regulated learning strategies shape learner's agency and explain learning environment configuration in small businesses with no employees. Configuration of the learning environment was found to be a weak determinant of the learning performance of these learners. However, results showed that prior performance of learners in small businesses with no employees dictates how their agency operates and what learning effect is achieved; higher prior performance results in higher learning effects. We conclude that mechanisms that underlie learning in traditional learning environments work similarly in learning environments in small businesses with no employees.
    Original languageUndefined
    Pages (from-to)519-539
    JournalEducational Research and Evaluation
    Volume18
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2012

    Keywords

    • potatoes
    • farming
    • tacit knowledge
    • entrepreneurship
    • decision support systems
    • learning

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