Practice-based learning in construction projects: a literature review

Abstract

Construction project managers often face problems when trying to change work practices. Management research addresses these problems by offering stylized and abstract models; unfortunately, they may say little about the actual work practices that managers want to change. Practice theory offers an alternative way to address practice-related managerial problems, arguing that learning is a central enabler of performing practices. While some early research on practice-based learning in construction management exists, an understanding of how this theory has been applied is lacking. To address this limitation, a systematic literature review of 15 published construction management articles was conducted, the articles being divided into five practice-related analytical categories: participation, context, meaning production, power and becoming a practitioner to identify the areas of theory discussed. Participation and context were discussed more in the published articles than meaning production, power and becoming a practitioner, which might suggest that the latter categories offer more possibilities for future research. Further, the articles were analysed through a Lakatosian research programme lens, showing that a progressive research programme exists in practice-based studies in construction management. These findings provide avenues for future construction management studies seeking to apply practice-based learning theory to understand learning in construction projects better.

Keywords:

• Human behaviour
• learning
• practice
• project
• social science

Acknowledgements

The research presented in this paper has been conducted in the COCONET research project, funded by the Academy of Finland, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES), and partner companies. We would like to thank these organizations for their support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.