Abstract:
The goal of productive learning is self-evident in most workplaces, yet the process and method
depends on contested notions of learning, context and practice. In this paper, I build from
Maclntyre's framework of moral philosophy in examining concepts of practice, internal and
external goods and link them to related concepts of judgement and context as recently examined by
Beckett, Hager, Halliday and Athanasou. To review whether this theorising of practice is useful to
understanding learning across workplaces, I compare two cases in literature - one in education,
the other in sport - that highlight the internal/external goods distinction. In considering business
workplaces, I challenge a provocative view articulated by Dobson, that the very nature of business
requires a pursuit of only external goods without any virtuous foundation. Finally, I raise some
research questions that problematise the internal/external goods distinction for enhancing
productive learning. These questions are currently being tested in fieldwork.
