Educational Research Review 6 (2011) 125134

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Educational Research Review

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/EDUREV

Review

Integrating knowledge, skills and attitudes: Conceptualising learning

processes towards vocational competence
Liesbeth K.J. Baartman , Elly de Bruijn
Utrecht University, The Netherlands

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 11 March 2010
Received in revised form 3 February 2011
Accepted 12 March 2011
Keywords:
Learning processes
Integration
Professional competence

a b s t r a c t
Current research focuses on competence development and complex professional tasks.
However, learning processes towards the integration of knowledge, skills and attitudes
largely remain a black box. This article conceptualises three integration processes, in analogy to theories on transfer. Knowledge, skills and attitudes are dened, reconciling different
research perspectives. Low-road integration is hypothesised to occur through practice
towards automatisation. High-road integration requires reection on the task besides practice. Transformative integration requires critical (self)reection and openness to change. A
model of different professional tasks is presented, offering hypotheses regarding different
integration processes, which provides a basis for further empirical research.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents
1.

2.

3.

4.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1.
Context: learning in vocational education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.
Dening vocational competence: product and process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.3.
Dening knowledge and skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Three types of integration processes between knowledge and skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.
Low-road integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.
High-road integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.
Transformative integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Integration processes of attitudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.
Attitudes and attitude development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.
Low, high and transformative integration of attitudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hypotheses regarding integration processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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1. Introduction
Current research, both in cognitive and in social/cultural traditions, emphasises the learning of complex skills or competence in which learners are confronted with ill-dened professional tasks. This development is the result of studies showing
a gap between what is learned in vocational schools and what is required of adequately functioning professionals in an ever

Corresponding author. Present address: Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven School of Education, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The
Netherlands. Tel.: +31 40 247 5928; fax: +31 40 247 5379.
E-mail address: l.baartman@tue.nl (L.K.J. Baartman).
1747-938X/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2011.03.001

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L.K.J. Baartman, E. de Bruijn / Educational Research Review 6 (2011) 125134

Table 1
Search terms.
Learning processes

Vocational education

Competence

Informal/formal learning
Cognitive processes
Information processing
strategies
Surface learning deep
learning

Vocational education/VET
Dual system
Competence-based education
Project-based education
Workplace learning
School-based learning
Apprenticeship
Learning in practice
Transfer (into the workplace)

Conceptual understanding
Problem-solving
Professional skills
Knowledge development
Occupational identity
Job performance

Learning
activities/strategies

more complex world (Achtenhagen & Grubb, 2001; Eraut, 1994). Whereas older research in the cognitive tradition focused
on relatively simple tasks such as solving puzzles and designing short experiments in the lab (Fitts & Posner, 1967; Newell
& Simon, 1972), research in social/cultural traditions focuses on more complex problems (Aarkrog, 2005). These approaches
are not without their critics (e.g. Anderson, Reder, & Simon, 1996; Kirschner, Sweller, & Clark, 2006). Along with developments in research, many countries are developing competence-based qualication proles based on occupational core
competences and work processes, and European countries are afliating their national qualication proles with a common
European Qualication Framework specifying competences at different levels (Brockmann, Clarke, Mhaut & Winch, 2008).
Competence is generally dened as consisting of integrated pieces of knowledge, skills and attitudes (Lizzio & Wilson,
2004), and is assumed to be prerequisite for adequate functioning on the job (Eraut, 1994; Hager, Gonczi, & Athanasou, 1990).
Learning processes leading to vocational competence largely remain a closed book, however. It is unclear how this learning
proceeds throughout a students career in vocational education: what does this integration between knowledge, skills and
attitudes actually mean and how is it accomplished? How do knowledge and understanding inuence skill acquisition,
and what is the inuence of attitudes in this process? This article seeks an answer to these questions by conceptualising
integration processes between knowledge, skills and attitudes by means of an analogy with transfer processes. Theories from
both cognitive and social/cultural traditions are used, as we think both approaches can contribute to this conceptualisation.
As the two traditions are very different and sometimes contradictory, we do not attempt to integrate them. That being
the case, this article expands the line of theorising presented by Billett (2001), who described vocational expertise using
contributions from cognitive psychology focusing on internal processes of the mind and social/cultural theories that view
knowledge as a product of reciprocal and interpretative construction arising from learners participation in social practice.
It should be noted that Billett mainly focused on social/cultural theories whereas we also use insights from cognitive theory.
In this article, the theories used include transfer or reconceptualisation, situated cognition, conceptual change, noviceexpert development, internalisation processes, identity development and vocational habitus. These theories were selected
because they describe learning processes taking place on the verge of school learning and workplace learning, a common
way of learning in vocational education. Also, a short literature search in ERIC and PsychInfo was conducted. A number of key
articles from a Dutch review on vocational education (Van den Berg & De Bruijn, 2009) was scanned for search terms with
regard to: (1) the topic of the conceptualisation: learning processes, (2) the context: vocational education and specically
the combination of school learning and workplace learning, and (3) the learning goal: students competence. Search terms
used are shown in Table 1. Articles that were selected were empirically measuring learning processes or presenting a model
of students learning processes in vocational education. Finally, the selected articles were read and references were checked
for further relevant articles.
1.1. Context: learning in vocational education
This study focuses on vocational education specically. In the Netherlands, vocational is part of the formal education
system, consisting of pre-vocational education for youngsters aged between 14 and 16, and senior secondary vocational
education for youngsters aged between 16 and 20. Senior secondary vocational education comprises programmes on four
qualication levels ranging from level 1 to level 4/5 of the European Qualication Framework (European Commission, 2008).
Students obtain their qualication by learning in school and in the workplace and they may choose to expand either the onthe-job part or the school part of the programme. All programmes consist of at least 20% learning in the workplace. Students
with a qualication on level 4/5 can enter the bachelor programmes in higher professional education. In this article, we focus
on senior secondary vocational education, in particular on qualication levels 3 and 4. Our argumentation and hypotheses
might also be valid, however, for bachelor programmes that educate for specic professions.
Learning in vocational education is thought to be different from learning in academic settings. In vocational education,
learning addresses concrete professional tasks, taking place in the workplace or inside vocational schools. As vocational
education aims at stimulating students to gradually develop a vocation, competence development and identity formation
are more specic and oriented to social practice. Academic education has a more general focus and is not oriented towards
performance in social practice. Endedijk (2010) showed different learning processes in dual learning environments. For
example, students appear to be more actively regulating their learning during the workplace component than during the

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school component of the educational programme. Also, research on workplace learning shows different learning processes,
which are less intentional and planned and more contextual and collaborative (Tynjl, 2008).
In this article, we will use the case of a plumbing student to exemplify the integration processes described. For the
examples given, we draw on the qualication prole of mechanical engineering, specied by partners of Dutch vocational
education and industry (Kenteq, 20102011). Mechanical engineering is an educational programme offered at levels 2 to
4 of vocational education, ranging from a plumber working under supervision to the leader of a team of plumbers who is
responsible for the entire project. The qualication prole describes the main working processes of mechanical engineering,
for example preparation by means of technical drawings and communication with the client, determining the position
of pipes and putting together the entire installation. For each working process, competences and underlying knowledge
and skills are specied. For example, when preparing the installation, plumbers must go through the working plan and
drawings, ask for further explanation or information when anything is unclear, and discuss the plan and necessary safety
measures with their supervisor. To do this, they need to be able to work together and communicate, read technical drawings,
and know (standard) installation systems, materials and safety instructions. The qualication prole level 4 also addresses
entrepreneurial skills including managerial and bookkeeping knowledge and skills. The examples presented throughout
this article are based on this qualication prole. It should be noted that the qualication prole does not describe learning
processes, but only the competences and underlying knowledge and skills that need to be acquired for qualication.
1.2. Dening vocational competence: product and process
Theories on competence development emphasise that learners must not only acquire but also integrate knowledge, skills
and attitudes to achieve vocational competence (Eraut, 1994; Kaslow et al., 2007). The construct of competence is dened
differently in many studies and the debate on its proper denition continues (Westera, 2001). A common notion of most
competence denitions is that it consists of integrated pieces of knowledge, skills and attitudes that can be used to carry out
a professional task successfully. Whereas many researchers dene competence as the integrated whole of knowledge, skills
and attitudes, we postulate that integration should be measured as a learning process and competence as a learning product.
These integration processes lead to certain levels of knowledge, skills and attitudes (i.e. level 2 is more difcult than level
1; for example, an assistant worker requires a lower level of competence than a supervisor). When measuring competence,
we can assess the level of such knowledge, skills and attitudes as they are applied together to perform a professional task.
This restricts the meaning of competence (i.e. the product) to a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes used to carry
out a task, which might also facilitate its valid and reliable assessment. This does not imply, however, that knowledge, skills
and attitudes can be measured completely separately. Knowledge, skills and attitudes should be measured together (i.e. at
the same time, in the same professional task), as they become visible in patterns of action (Leontev, 1977; Wertch, 1981).
1.3. Dening knowledge and skills
From a cognitive psychological perspective, different kinds of knowledge can be distinguished, and the distinction
between declarative and procedural knowledge is the most widely used. Declarative knowledge is the factual information that a person knows and can report on (Anderson & Schunn, 2000). Procedural knowledge is the connection or use
of pieces of declarative knowledge, and generally refers to knowledge that cannot be communicated. Often, a third form
of knowledge is added, called strategic or metacognitive knowledge, which pertains to knowledge about the task, context,
problem-solving processes and oneself (Krathwohl, 2002). Declarative and procedural knowledge can also be viewed as
different qualities (De Jong & Ferguson-Hessler, 1996). For example, some researchers distinguish between knowing that
and knowing how (Miller, 1990), whereby knowing that refers to knowledge about facts, concepts and denitions, and
knowing how refers to knowing how to do something without actually acting. Knowing how could refer to both declarative
and procedural knowledge, as a person can report on how to do something (e.g. explain how to hold a hammer), but cannot
report on the actual actions (e.g. how to hit the nail exactly). The same holds for implicit knowledge, which can be made
explicit when required by the situation or when adequate stimuli are used (Boshuizen & Schmidt, 1992). This knowledge is
thus at least partly declarative. Finally, the concept of tacit knowledge is often used in the context of professionals in action
(Schn, 1983) or expert performance (Boshuizen, 2003), and refers to internalised and automatic declarative knowledge of
which the person is no longer aware. This implies that what is declarative knowledge to a novice, who relies on deliberate
considerations, might be tacit to an expert, who relies on routines (Berliner, 1995).
Skills are interwoven with knowledge and pertain to the psychomotor domain in manipulating and constructing
(Morrison, Ross, & Kemp, 2001). Fitts and Posner (1967) dene skilled performance as an organised sequence of activities that includes both the organisation of movement and symbolic information (i.e. both motor skills and cognitive skills).
Skilled behaviour is goal-directed and sensory information and feedback about response movements is continuously used
during performance. We thus view skills as doing or acting in practice, involving motor skills as well as cognitive skills. In
vocational education, motor skills are an important part of education, whereas this emphasis is often less explicit in academic
education.
In social/cultural theories, individuals knowledge and skills are seen as inseparable from the social world in which they
think and act (Rogoff, 1990; Scribner & Beach, 1993). Billett (2001) uses the term knowing to connote something beyond the
internal processes of the mind and a shift away from qualities of knowledge such as declarative and procedural knowledge.

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Integration

Elements of competence
Knowledge
Task 1

transfer

Learning
situations

Skills

Attitudes

integration processes

Task 2
Task 3

transfer processes

professional
competence

Fig. 1. Integration processes and transfer.

Rather, knowledge is premised on acting within the social world, in which an individual draws together both knowing that
and knowing how. In this article, we use Billetts idea of an individual who constructs knowledge and skills in interaction
with the social world, but we also argue that individuals internalise such knowledge and skills into personal theories (Schaap,
De Bruijn, Van der Schaaf, & Kirschner, 2009). In sum, different kinds of knowledge and skills are distinguished, which could
all be integrated into vocational competence through interaction with the social world and personal internalisation. This
article focuses on the how of integration processes, and distinguishes this from the what of integration i.e. what kinds
of knowledge are being integrated (see also Salomon & Perkins, 1989, who do the same for transfer theories). As in transfer
theories, however, some processes might be more suitable for the integration of certain aspects of knowledge and skills.
For example, one could expect it to be easier to reect on factual information than on procedures or tacit knowledge that is
not as easily accessible to the learner. There is thus a possible relationship between the how and the what of integration
processes, which we will discuss as necessary.
2. Three types of integration processes between knowledge and skills
To conceptualise integration processes, we draw an analogy with research on transfer. Transfer has a long research
tradition and refers to the extent to which learners apply or fail to apply what is learned in one task to a more or less
different task (Gick & Holyoak, 1983; Salomon & Perkins, 1989). Social/cultural theories dene transfer as the ability to
learn in new situations, in which existing knowledge and skills are not simply passed on to a new task but also change
to suit the requirements of the new task (Tuomi-Grhn & Engestrm, 2003). To achieve transfer, learners must perceive
similarities and differences between tasks, and build mental models of relations between tasks, establishing analogical
transfer (Singley & Anderson, 1989) or recontextualisation (Van Oers, 1998). Similarly, integration processes imply building
relationships between pieces of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Integration and transfer processes are assumed to be related
and necessary for developing vocational competence (see Fig. 1). For example, a plumbing student integrates knowledge on
different mechanisms for installing a central heating unit with the practical skills of putting together the pipes, and an
attitude showing respect for the home in which (s)he is working. (S)he has to transfer what is learned in classrooms and
internships to new work situations. This focus of this article is on integration processes. When these processes have been
substantiated by empirical evidence, subsequent studies can focus on the relationships between integration and transfer
processes.
2.1. Low-road integration
The rst type of integration described in this article is low-road integration. It is hypothesised to occur as a result of
practice towards automatic performance. Similarly, in transfer theories a new task that shares some of its characteristics
with previous tasks automatically triggers the required knowledge, which is then transferred to the new task (Salomon
& Perkins, 1989). A number of theories feed the idea of low-road integration and automatic performance. In their cognitive ACT-R theory, Anderson and Schunn (2000) distinguish between declarative knowledge of facts and procedural
knowledge of how to carry out various cognitive tasks. They describe how a well-learned skill automatically triggers
the underlying knowledge when production rules re in response to a task. The speed and success of this retrieval process determine the uency of the performance and depend on the familiarity with the task and the amount of previous
learning. This process thus becomes increasingly fast and automatic with practice. Also, cognitive theories on expertise
development mention processes of practice towards automatic performance. For example, Boshuizen (2003) describes how
professionals develop from novice to expert, and how knowledge encapsulation and script formation lead to increasing
automatism. Learners increasingly cluster concepts in their mental models, forming direct links between concepts, thereby
speeding up the retrieval process. Fitts and Posner (1967) describe a comparable three-phase process in their theory of
skill development. The rst cognitive phase addresses the development of declarative knowledge, in which behaviour can
be characterised as a patchwork of old sequences transferred from earlier experiences. In the second associative phase,
new patterns begin to emerge and knowledge compilation converts pieces of declarative into procedural knowledge (i.e. a
more or less xed order of mental tasks). Finally, in the last autonomous phase, practice and reection on problems lead
to the prociency of an expert. In the research domain of knowledge development, Illeris (2004) describes four types of
learning based on Piagets model of mental schema. Here, the basic idea of learning is that information is stored in mental models in memory, which can occur by means of different processes. The rst and most basic process distinguished
by Illeris is cumulation, the storage of information independent of other existing mental models. It is characterised by

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automatic practice, which means that it can only be recalled and applied in situations mentally similar to the learning
context.
Looking at the case of our plumbing student, low-road integration might suggest a student who practises his or her
welding skills to the point of automaticity. A task requiring the skill of welding automatically triggers the prerequisite
knowledge about tools and materials. In the qualication prole, the work process of putting together the pipes in the
installation is described as removing or dismantling an existing installation without damaging it or running health risks, and
installing or adding a new installation that conforms to the technical drawing. The plumber learns to use tools and materials
until a great part of the task can be carried out automatically and without conscious thought. This automaticity includes the
knowing how that is necessary for carrying out the motor skills. It does not necessarily include knowing why, that is, an
understanding of why the task is carried out in this way in this specic situation.
In conclusion, low-road integration can be conceptualised as a process in which knowledge and skills are increasingly
connected by means of practice towards automatic performance. In this process, it is likely that knowledge and skills become
increasingly implicit as they are internalised by the learner. In low-road integration, the learner hardly builds any connections
to already existing knowledge and skills, which implies that although knowing and doing are connected as in knowing in
action, the learner cannot provide a rationale for his or her actions as in understanding or knowing why.
2.2. High-road integration
High-road integration between knowledge and skills is hypothesised to require reection in/on action (Schn, 1983)
besides practice. Similarly, in transfer theories high-road transfer means that learners are able to abstract and detach
information from its original context and apply it in new contexts. In high-road integration, the connection between
knowledge and skills occurs by means of reection: a learner has to think consciously about what he or she is doing. A
learner might conclude that (s)he knows how to perform the required action, but is not able to fully utilise this knowledge because motor skills are not connected to knowing how. In some cases, conscious action will ultimately lead to
low-road integration and automatic performance (comparable to processes described in expertise development). In other
situations, high-road integration remains necessary; for example, in tasks that are new to the learner, or when a breakdown
occurs.
A number of theories feed the idea of high-road integration. Learners reect on a task, draw upon existing knowledge and
skills and build new mental models that t the task. Newly learned information is combined with existing mental models,
a process called assimilation in transfer theories (Piaget, 1970; Posner, Strike, Hewson, & Gertzog, 1982), or enrichment
in conceptual change theories (Strike & Posner, 1985; Vosniadou, 2007). In conceptual change theories, enrichment is the
simplest and easiest form of changing a mental model. New information is added to an existing theoretical framework
through the mechanisms of accretion, provided that new facts are consistent with knowledge that already exists. Noviceexpert studies also show how learners absorb new knowledge and skills into their mental models if these are compatible
with existing information (Chinn & Brewer, 1993). Boshuizen & Schmidt (1992), for example, showed that novices start their
learning process by concept formation, naming concepts and connecting their representation to a particular meaning, and
assimilation, linking this information to something known. Illeris (2004), who also distinguished the process of cumulation
described under low-road transfer, also mentions assimilation as a second learning type, in which new information is
connected to an existing schema, which makes it easier to retrieve and apply. Eraut (2003) describes a model linking different
types of thinking during professional activity in the workplace. When people have little time to think, their actions depend
on pattern recognition or rapid interpretation, and decision-making is instant or intuitive. These processes are likely to occur
in low-road integration situations. When time to think is available, processes are more deliberative or analytic, depending
on reection, review of the situation and discussion with others. Here, activities are planned actions which are periodically
reviewed and consciously monitored.
Reection is central to high road integration. In this article, reection is dened from an instrumental point of view,
concerned with how to carry out professional tasks: it takes place within the frame of reference of an individual, who
internalises societal norms and values and is focused on (implicit) assumptions about how to solve problems (Mezirow, 1990).
It may be an integral part of taking action (reection-in-action) or take place as a critique of the process afterwards (reectionon-action). Merely carrying out a task is thus not enough to produce learning. Doing should become trying, necessitating
reection aimed at dealing with confusing or problematic situations (Raelin, 2000). Similarly, Schn (1983) distinguishes
between knowing in action, which refers to mostly implicit knowledge that reveals itself from actions, and reection in/on
action, which is necessary if something unexpected happens. After (extensive) practice and low-road integration, people are
generally able to carry out tasks without thinking; knowing in action is sufcient. When something unexpected happens,
however, people can react by neglecting the problems (not learning) or reecting on them. Here, high-road integration
is necessary. Learners should become aware of their implicit theories because such awareness brings actions under the
critical control of the actor (Eraut, 2003), comparable to the distinction between ideologically correct espoused theories
and theories in use that determine what people actually do (Argyris & Schn, 1974).
Looking at our case of the plumbing student, he or she might encounter a situation in which skills are not automated or
which does not allow automation. For example, the technical drawings show a wall in which the pipes of the central heating
unit need to be installed, but on the construction site the wall appears to be too weak to hold the installation. Calculations
of the strength of the material seem to be missing in the drawing. In this situation, just following the drawing is not enough.

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The plumber needs to reect on the task and on existing knowledge and skills that might t the situation. (S)he might try
a different way of assembling the installation, but in this case welding does not happen automatically. The plumber has to
constantly reect on what (s)he is doing to intervene when necessary. Here, knowledge and skills are integrated by means
of reection: the plumber knows how and why actions have to be performed in a certain way, and this has to be done in
this particular situation.
In sum, high-road integration can be conceptualised as a process fuelled by reection in or on action. It occurs when
learners encounter tasks that cannot be carried out without thinking, as in low-road integration. The learner has to reect
on what is necessary to carry out the task, and on available knowledge and skills. In high-road integration, new knowledge and skills are developed during practice and reection, and they are connected to existing mental models. Thinking
and acting are thus combined to result in knowing (Billett, 2001). This only occurs when existing mental models are compatible or are not in conict with new knowledge and skills. When such conicts do arise, a third form of integration is
necessary.

2.3. Transformative integration

Previous research was mostly limited to relatively simple cognitive tasks in the laboratory and in academic settings.
These studies did not fully capture the complexity and characteristics of concrete professional tasks, the goal of vocational
education (Darling-Hammond & Sykes, 1999). For example, our plumbing student might encounter a client asking for a
heating unit working on solar power, and conclude, after reection, that her/his current knowledge is not adequate to carry
out the task as it is based on completely different principles. This requires a third integration process hypothesised as being
based on premise-reection (Mezirow, 1991) or critical reection (Van Woerkom, 2004). Here, ones own presuppositions
and premises are the object of reection, opening the possibility for perspective change. Existing mental models are changed
and not just enriched as in high-road integration (Eraut, 1994). Like high-road integration, transformative integration thus
also depends on reection. Where, however, reection on high-road integration is instrumental, critical reection addresses
the same premise on which professional tasks are based in the rst place; for example, their sources and consequences
(Mezirow, 1990). Critical reection cannot become an integral part of immediate action, but requires time to reassess ones
perspectives and, if necessary, transform them.
Learning processes that might be involved in transformative integration include what is called revision or accommodation. For example, Illeris (2004) describes accommodation as a third learning type, in which new information cannot
be just connected to existing mental models, but requires the existing models to be (partly) broken down to t with the
new information. This occurs, for example, if discrepancies exist between the new information and the existing mental
models (Chinn & Brewer, 1993). Similarly, revision has been found to occur in conceptual change if a learner has to change
entirely his or her understanding of a concept, which occurs for example in children who gradually nd out the earth is
round instead of at (Vosniadou, 2007). Illeris also describes a fourth and even more dramatic learning process, which
could also occur during transformative integration: expansive learning. It is comparable to Mezirows critical self-reection
and involves not only cognitive but also social and emotional changes. Critical reection thus transforms what we can do
and who we are. Consequently, it can be compared to the process of identity formation, being not just an accumulation
of knowledge and skills, as often portrayed in cognitive theories, but also a process of becoming (Colley, James, Tedder, &
Diment, 2003; Hodkinson, Biesta, & James, 2008; Schaap et al., 2009). For example, Colley et al. (2003) argue that learning
in vocational education does not only entail the acquisition of skills and knowledge to foster competence in the workplace. In six case studies, they show how students identity is formed by letting them participate in workplace cultures
with their specic ways of feeling and acting. The students background, dispositions and experiences cause them to be
more t for certain professions. Students thus choose a profession within their horizons for action, determined by the
process of growing into a culture and existing personal dispositions. This shows how learning also includes social and emotional processes, which might be expected in the case of transformative integration. Finally, several studies showed that
critical reection is not easy (Van Woerkom, 2004). For example, Wenger (1998) stressed that communities of practice
in workplaces include espoused theories (Schn, 1983), which are general norms that everybody agrees on. Often, people
will keep their theories-in-use private when they contradict generally accepted theories to avoid problems and uncertainty (Argyris & Schn, 1974). Transformative integration thus also involves the ability to withstand social pressure (Van
Woerkom).
We argue that this third level of integration is needed, as simply assimilating new information into existing mental
models is not enough, and professionals need to critically evaluate new information and accommodate it when necessary (Bransford & Schwartz, 1999). Moreover, pure practice towards automation might inhibit analytic reection and thus
transformative integration (Salomon & Perkins, 1989), whereas exibility is exactly what is required from adequately functioning professionals in a continuously changing professional domain. This also implies that automatic performance should
not be viewed as the ultimate goal of expertise, as is often argued in cognitive theories (e.g. Boshuizen, 2003; Fitts &
Posner, 1967). Although certain sub-processes of task performance should be automatic to guarantee quick and effortless action, an expert will always encounter new professional tasks. These new tasks require reection and high-road
integration, and exibility and willingness to change ones mental model if necessary, that is, transformative integration.

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131

3. Integration processes of attitudes

Attitudes are generally considered to be an important component of vocational competence, distinguishing it from mere
knowledge and skills. Literature in educational sciences does not however provide a clear elaboration of how attitudes
develop, separately and in relation to knowledge and skills. We rst address what attitudes are and how they could be
developed, and we connect insights from social psychology with theories on vocational habitus and identity formation.
Then, the three integration processes (low, high and transformative) of attitudes are described.
3.1. Attitudes and attitude development
Attitudes are regarded as important learning objectives (Gagn, 1985; Krathwohl, Bloom, & Masia, 1956). They are part
of the affective domain and inuence peoples choice of actions (Ajzen, 1991). In social psychology, attitudes have been an
important subject of research for almost a century, but debates continue about its proper denition. Denitions differ with
regard to a number of aspects: (1) whether attitudes focus on general or more specic objects, (2) whether a distinction should
be made between implicit and explicit attitudes, and (3) whether attitudes are stable, trait-like or more context-specic.
First, some authors use a very general denition of attitudes (e.g. ones attitude towards the Church or the government),
but research has failed to show any predictive value of these attitudes on actual behaviour (Wicker, 1969 in Ajzen, 1991). One
proposed remedy for this poor predictive validity has been to aggregate behaviours across many different situations, but this
does not explain behavioural variability across situations or permit any prediction of behaviour in a specic situation. In our
discussion about integration processes, this is exactly what is needed: attitudes need to be linked to skills and knowledge in
the performance of professional tasks in specic work situations. We thus study attitudes with regard to more specic tasks,
but do not deny that individuals may hold more general attitudes which inuence a broader range of tasks or activities.
Second, some researchers (e.g. Wilson, Lindsey, & Schooler, 2000) have proposed a distinction between implicit and
explicit attitudes. Implicit attitudes are claimed to represent unconscious attitudes or earlier acquired attitudes, whereas
and DeMarree (2007) present an interesting view on
explicit attitudes are conscious and/or recently acquired. Petty, Brinol
the distinction between implicit and explicit attitudes. They argue that new evaluative information about an object is added
to existing information. As evaluation processes require a substantial amount of cognitive effort, automatic (or implicit)
evaluations are assumed to reect a combination of these new and old evaluations. If, however, people have the time and
cognitive capacity to think or reect, the impact of the old evaluation is reduced and the newly formed context-dependent
attitude prevails (comparable to Eraut, 2003). Also, attitudes that are consciously accessible (or explicit) seem harder to
change than inaccessible attitudes, because a learners awareness can increase resistance to change (Illeris, 2004; Jaccard &
Blanton, 2005).
A third and very important distinction in this study is that some researchers view attitudes as stable, trait-like representations (Fazio, 2007), whereas others argue that attitudes are constructed on the spot (Schwartz & Bohner, 2001).
Schwarz and Bohner argue that a context-dependent view on attitudes is only dysfunctional if one seeks to predict peoples
behaviour irrespective of the context. For the individual, however, context-specic evaluations seem highly functional for
quick decision-making in the service of action. Carver and Scheier (1998) argue that individuals hold different goals with
regard to a task which are more concrete or abstract and are organised hierarchically. At the abstract top level are the
be-goals, such as being a healthy person, which are tied to the self and associated with affect. At the lowest motor control
level are the do-goals, such as cycling to work instead of taking the car. The lower and more context-specic do-goals are
controlled by the higher and more personal be-goals.
Other authors combine the ideas of relatively stable attitudes and context-specic attitude construction. Albarracin,
Johnson, Zanna and Kumkale (2005) view attitudes as the result of long-term socialisation processes that start during
childhood and relatively short-term exposures to specic contexts. Research on identity development in vocational education
also shows how learning can be viewed as a socialisation process towards identity formation as an employee (Colley et al.,
2003; Schaap et al., 2009). Here, the idea of vocational habitus (based on Bourdieu, 1977) is used, which is the combination of
someones personal characteristics, habits and dispositions, formed by collective norms and values and background variables
like gender, race and social status. A socialisation process gradually adjusts a learner to a vocation, but the learner has limited
horizons for action or choices, because some professions are better suited to someones vocational habitus (Colley et al., 2003;
Hodkinson et al., 2008). Here, attitudes can be seen as a dynamic factor mediating between the potential capacity of the
individual and the requirements of the job (Ellstrm, 1998).
In conclusion, from the perspective of competence development, we argue for studying attitudes with regard to more
specic tasks, where they are constructed on the spot. This implies studying do-goals instead of be-goals, or explicit attitudes
instead of implicit attitudes. At the same time, however, these context-specic attitudes are inuenced by more stable
attitudes connected to the self. Attitudes are viewed as the result of a socialisation process, partly determined by the (social)
environment and partly by the learners individual characteristics, limiting the horizons for action.
3.2. Low, high and transformative integration of attitudes
A useful description of attitude development, which is comparable to the integration processes described earlier, is
presented by Krosnick, Judd, and Wittenbrink (2005). In their automatic activation phase, attitudes are automatically and

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unconsciously activated from long-term memory. These attitudes are developed during frequent experiences with an object
and stronger attitudes are more easily retrieved. In the deliberation phase, a learner consciously searches for information to
form a (contextual) attitude. This only occurs if the learner has the opportunity (awareness, time and cognitive resources)
and motivation to do so. For example, the context may trigger motivation by highlighting the positive consequences of
an action or the costliness of a judgmental error, resulting in the need to deliberate on ones choices and actions. This
is comparable to the thinking processes at work described by Eraut (2003). If these prerequisites are not met, the initial
automatic activation of the attitude will have a direct impact on the learners choices and actions (see also Petty et al.,
2007).
Although we do not differentiate between kinds of knowledge and skills in the three integration processes, we do so for
attitudes. In low-road integration, attitudes like working safely, cleaning up after work, arriving on time, etc. are hypothesised
to be integrated with knowledge and skills. These could be regarded as the basic attitudes needed for people to function
adequately as professionals. These attitudes develop and integrate by means of practice towards automatic performance,
comparable to the automatic activation of attitudes described by Krosnick et al. (2005). For example, a learner can be
repeatedly reminded to work safely and put on a helmet. After enough reminders, the learner can automatically put on a
helmet in this specic task, but possibilities for transfer are probably limited. The student acts automatically and mainly
unconsciously, as in knowing in action (Schn, 1983). In high-road integration, in contrast, understanding does play a role and
the learner needs to understand why a certain attitude is useful in a specic context. This is comparable to the deliberation
process described above (Krosnick et al., 2005). In high-road integration, the attitude of being willing and able to act critically
regarding ones own work is very important. For example, learners have to develop a positive evaluative judgment regarding
asking for feedback on their work. In transformative integration, the attitude of being critical of oneself plays a crucial role
(Mezirow, 1990). Learners have to be willing to change their work practices instead of just adding new knowledge and skills.
For example, they have to be willing to ask for feedback not only on their work but also on their own functioning as an
employee.
Van Woerkom (2004, 2006) operationalised a number of dimensions of critically reective work behaviour based on interviews with managers and workers: reection, experimentation, learning from mistakes, career awareness, vision-sharing,
asking for feedback and challenging groupthink. Asking for feedback and vision-sharing are mostly aimed at professional
tasks and not so much at the person (Van Woerkom, 2006), which makes them more likely to occur in high-road integration.
Reection is dened in a general way and could take place in both high-road and transformative integration. The other work
behaviours all include elements of self-reection (e.g. learning from mistakes, career awareness) and/or the willingness
and courage to change existing practices (e.g. experimentation, challenging groupthink). For example, employees describe
challenging groupthink as challenging ideas the group takes for granted, which means being a troublemaker who can
see the emperor wears no clothes and sharpens the group (Van Woerkom, 2006, p. 291). Van Woerkom also showed how
critically reective work behaviour requires risk-taking behaviour in terms of withstanding social pressure, being critical
and adopting a vulnerable position in asking for feedback.
In conclusion, different attitudes are hypothesised to be integrated in low-road, high-road and innovative integration.
Whereas more basic attitudes are integrated by means of low-road integration, high-road integration includes attitudes
related to ones work and transformative integration includes attitudes related to oneself.

4. Hypotheses regarding integration processes

In this article, we focus on authentic tasks that professionals perform in their regular jobs. The professional tasks learners
work on in vocational education should trigger the integration processes described above. When studying learning processes,
a useful distinction can be made between ill-dened problems and well-dened problems which consist of a more or less
well-dened initial state, goal state, and set of operators for transforming the initial state into the goal state (Newell &
Simon, 1972). For example, one could have a well-dened initial state and operators and an ill-dened goal state (e.g. make
something pretty with these materials and tools). A well-dened problem has a single solution, so a test can be performed
to check whether the correct solution has been given. Well-denedness also depends on the familiarity of the learner
with the task and his or her knowledge about the domain. For more ill-dened problems, a search tree can be constructed,
representing all possible solution paths. The larger the search tree, the more ill-dened the problem. Research has shown that
ill-dened, authentic or realistic problems promote students exible knowledge use over multiple contexts and solutions
(Groe & Renkl, 2006). Also, reection important for high road and transformative integration is stimulated ill-dened
environments, for example in cognitive apprenticeship (Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1989). It thus seems useful to make a
distinction between well-dened and ill-dened tasks when studying integration processes.
For future (empirical) research, we have developed a number of hypotheses regarding the integration processes that could
be expected in different professional task situations, both well-dened and ill-dened. These hypotheses are summarised
in Table 2. It shows how professional tasks can be either well-dened, standardised tasks that can be applied in a routine
way after practice or ill-dened, non-standardised tasks that always require conscious reection on different solution paths,
unexpected situations, etc. It also shows whether the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for task performance are
compatible or non-compatible with the learners existing mental models. This dimension was added because it distinguishes
between high-road and transformative integration processes.

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133

Table 2
Hypotheses regarding integration processes.

Compatible knowledge, skills and attitudes

Incompatible knowledge, skills and attitudes

Well-dened task

Ill-dened task

LOW
HIGH LOW

HIGH
TRANSFORMATIVE

In the four cells, Table 2 shows how different integration processes are hypothesised to take place in the four quadrants. When a learner is confronted with a well-dened professional task and he/she has the knowledge, skills and attitudes
required for adequate task performance, this learner is likely to show low-road integration (top-left quadrant). Task performance will probably be fast and uent, knowledge, skills and attitudes are automatically connected in performance, and
the learner does not have to think consciously about what he/she is doing. Another situation occurs when this learner is
confronted with an ill-dened task (top-right quadrant). Although the required knowledge, skills and attitudes for task
performance are again present, this ill-dened task does not allow performance to be automatic. The learner has to reect
constantly and knowledge, skills and attitudes are connected by means of high-road integration. The lower two quadrants
depict the two situations in which the learner does not have the required knowledge, skills and attitudes. In the case of a
well-dened task that is standardised and relatively easy to learn, the learner will probably start with high-road integration:
he/she has to think consciously to connect knowledge, skills and attitudes in task performance. As he/she practises and gains
more experience, his/her knowledge, skills and attitudes will probably become automatically connected. The learner thus
grows towards low-road integration. In the case of an ill-dened task, this is not possible. Here, transformative integration
is necessary. Possibly existing mental models will have to be changed as they do not t the task and conscious reection
remains necessary.
In conclusion, in this article we conceptualised three different integration processes between knowledge, skills and
attitudes: low-road, high-road and transformative integration. These integration processes are hypothesised to take place
during the performance of different professional learning tasks, which ultimately leads to vocational competence. Although
the different integration processes are based on empirical research in different research traditions and we can often reconcile
the results from different approaches, further empirical research is needed to underpin the conceptualisation and hypotheses
proposed in this article.
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