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Situated Learning for an Innovation Economy: E‐Commerce and Technology as a Mediator for Rural High School Students' Sense of Mastery and Self‐Efficacy
Author(s) -
Michaelson Karen L.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
anthropology of work review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.151
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1548-1417
pISSN - 0883-024X
DOI - 10.1525/awr.2005.26.2.5
Subject(s) - situated , workforce , curriculum , context (archaeology) , knowledge management , experiential learning , social capital , sociology , pedagogy , psychology , business , economic growth , computer science , economics , social science , paleontology , artificial intelligence , biology
Abstract Practitioners focusing on technology and workforce development reference the need to prepare individuals for an Innovation Economy. Yet innovation is socially constructed, as much social as it is technical. Observation of 160 high school students from very rural schools participating in a school‐based e‐commerce curriculum indicates that there are knowledge sets acquired through carefully constructed experiential learning that foster a context for innovation. This counters factors in the traditional education/workforce development system that impede the development of innovators, including a narrows skills‐based focus and the demonization of failure. Situating innovation in historical context and in the lived experience of individual networks helps to understand the innovation process and provides a framework for the development of effective educational experiences.