LEARNING STRATEGIES ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE FOR LEARNING: A STUDY WITH WORKERS IN THE PRODUCTION LINE OF AN AUTOMOTIVE COMPANY

Abstract

The growth of competitiveness has forced organizations to adapt and reinvent themselves constantly. This context implies directly in reasons found by the individuals to learn, like solving problems or performing a new task, for example, leading them to use different strategies for the learning process. Learning strategies may be informal, like asking for help to colleagues or reading a technical material. It may be also formal, like attending courses and taking part in training programs offered by the company. This study aims to measure and understand which learning strategies are mostly used according to four different reasons identified in the workplace. The sample consisted of 463 workers from the production line in an automotive company. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to ensure the validity and the reliability of the measures subsequently, the factor scores were used in the comparisons of the use of each learning strategy for each purpose (Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon) factor analyzes were performed. The results showed that the learning strategies applied do not differ according to the four objectives presented. Among the surveyed strategies, the most used is interpersonal help-seeking whereas written help-seeking and participation in courses and training programs offered by the company are less applied.