AAACE 2021 Annual Conference

Training, history, Foucault

Histography of training and development in the HRD and industrial and organizational psychology literature is analyzed to reveal what is unstated in the accepted history. Since the traditional history privileged formal learning in organizations, this paper encourages scholars to be mindful of alternate training and development

In this paper, using poststructural theories, we will analyze the histography of the training and development field as presented in various journals and books in the HRD and industrial and organizational psychology field. The focus is to analyze what is visible and what is unstated in the commonly accepted history of training and development -- whose history is foregrounded, what history is in the background. For example, manpower development initiatives have been federally funded and are a common approach in many countries. Yet, this huge training endeavor is often ignored or lightly mentioned in published histories. Is training only training when offered in corporations or large organizations? What about the training offered by trade associations? In literacy programs? How might we understand training differently if we included alternative histories?
Since the traditional training and development history privileged formal learning in organizations, this paper, by exploring the unstated, can encourage HRD researchers and practitioners to be mindful of these alternate histories. This sensitization to what is forgotten or not privileged in the training field can possibly equip researchers and practitioners with knowledge to address increasingly complex learning issues from a more holistic manner.