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Michael Goller gives a structured overview of the current discourses of human agency in relation to professional learning and development. Based on this discussion, the author develops a theoretical framework including human agency as an individual feature (i. e., a disposition) as well as a set of self-initiated and goal-directed behaviours that are assumed to affect employees´ learning and development (e. g., crafting of new work experiences). He then further specifies this theoretical framework and investigates it empirically in the domain of geriatric care nursing. Based on the findings of the three empirical studies conducted, the author discusses the relevance of human agency for the development of professional expertise of geriatric care nurses.

The work received the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Workplace Learning SIG 2017 Dissertation of the Year Award.

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Agency: An Abstract and Multifaceted Construct.- The Role of Agency in Professional Development.- Insights into Agency in the Domain of Geriatric Care Nursing.- Empirical Study on the Relationship of Agency and Expertise Development.

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Michael Goller is a research associate at the University of Paderborn working in the research group Educational Management and Research on Further Education.

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