Living Learning Centre: in search of an innovative and interdisciplinary model of workplace learning

Not enough undergraduate students choose careers within elder care (Laugaland et al., 2021). Negative perceptions, insufficient resources and inadequate provision reinforce this process (Laugaland et al., 2021; Naughton et al., 2019).

However, the population is getting older and this will lead to an even greater need for qualified caregivers (Gibbs & Kulig, 2017; Keeping-Burke et al., 2018, Laugaland et al., 2021).

To meet these challenges, Academic Workshop for Elderly Care, Tandem (UZGent) and Arteveldehogeschool, want to develop a new concept of workplace learning with an innovative and interdisciplinary character.

With the ultimate aim of:

make working in residential care centres more attractive for potential employees;
improve the image of elderly care healthcare and;
raise the profile and competences of care workers in residential care centres as facilitators of the learning process.
In the project year 2022-2023, we will jointly work out the preconditions and components of such a workplace learning model.