Training represents the second level of learning in Hargadon's four-level framework, positioned between basic schooling and true education. This level focuses specifically on career or vocational preparation across various professional domains.
Definition and Characteristics
According to Hargadon's framework, training constitutes "specific career or vocational training: mechanical, medical, legal, industrial, etc." The learning process at this level is characterized as "largely memorization and certification," distinguishing it from both the conformity-focused nature of schooling and the transformative potential of education.
Career Specificity
Unlike the general work preparation that occurs in schooling, training is explicitly "career-specific." This targeted approach addresses particular professional competencies and knowledge bases required for specific vocations, whether in technical trades, healthcare, legal practice, or industrial work. The focus on memorization and certification reflects the practical, skills-based nature of this learning level.
Social and Economic Mobility
Hargadon identifies training as particularly significant for its role in facilitating class mobility. He notes that "this level of learning is attractive because it is career-specific and often allows individuals to transfer between social and financial classes." This mobility function makes training especially valuable for populations seeking to improve their circumstances.
Historical Context for Marginalized Communities
The framework emphasizes training's historical importance for disadvantaged groups. Hargadon observes that "immigrant families or marginalized populations have historically seen high-level training as a means of bettering their (or their children's) life circumstances." This positioning of training as a pathway to advancement reflects its practical value in providing concrete, marketable skills that can lead to improved economic opportunities.
Position in the Learning Hierarchy
Training occupies a specific position within Hargadon's broader conceptual framework of four learning levels:
- Schooling
- focused on conformity and basic work preparation
- Training
- career-specific skill development and certification
- Education
- transformative mentoring that "draws out from within"
- Self-directed Learning
- autonomous, lifelong learning capability
Distinction from Other Learning Levels
While schooling emphasizes general workplace behaviors like "conformance and obedience, getting work done--doing what, when, and how you are told to," training moves beyond these basic work habits to develop specific professional competencies. However, it remains distinct from education, which Hargadon defines as mentoring that helps learners "think at a higher level and to see something differently than they have before."
Certification Focus
The emphasis on certification at the training level reflects its institutional nature and connection to professional credentialing systems. This certification aspect provides the formal recognition necessary for career advancement and professional legitimacy, supporting training's function as a vehicle for social and economic mobility.
Limitations and Scope
While Hargadon presents training as valuable for career preparation and social mobility, his framework suggests it remains limited compared to higher learning levels. The focus on memorization and certification, while practically useful, does not encompass the transformative thinking development associated with education or the autonomous learning capabilities of self-directed learning.
The training level thus serves as an important intermediate stage in Hargadon's learning hierarchy, providing practical career preparation and mobility opportunities while remaining distinct from the deeper cognitive and personal transformation associated with education and self-directed learning.