3.1.3. Learning to learn

2.1.2.6. Being resilient

Resilience is important for coping with set-backs, the ups and downs, the doubts that especially plague beginning non-permanent workers. Getting the jobs that bring satisfaction is a result of a combination of all that has been discussed above and takes time to develop. Issues such as non-payment or very late payment and competing against international competitors whose currency is lower, call for resilience. In addition, onerous working conditions such as the demands of long hours over extended periods call for stamina and endurance. Gavin, a soundman, talked about “swallow a lot of pain. The more pain you swallow, the more popular you’ll get,” as part of managing social relations in the sector and on-set. Film and television interviewees used the term ‘malleable’ to describe the way they need to be; malleable refers to a material that can be hammered into shape without cracking or breaking. Shape-shifting is difficult without resilience. It requires a solid core and sense of identity in order to avoid feeling fragmented.

2.1.3. Learning to learn

Key aspects of learning to learn for our non-permanent workers are, being reflective, reflexive, and a strong ability to recontextualise learning, thus developing strong metacognitive skills.

2.1.3.1. Reflection and reflexivity

This involves thinking and feeling activities “in which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to new understandings and appreciations” (Boud, Keogh & Walker, 1985, p.19). Being reflexive is more than reflection; being reflexive is not only “the turning back of the experience of the individual upon [her- or himself]” (Mead, 1934: 134, in Tsekeris, 2010, p.28), it is also a consideration of the contextual processes – institutional, social, political (ibid) and particularly important for our non-permanent workers, the industry context and wider market forces. For example, Chandra, a soundman, highlighted the capacity to think on your feet, an ability that requires reflection in action. AEs working across the WSQ and private market note that much of their learning occurred through reflection; this assisted them in constantly realigning and refining products, and drawing value out of past experiences. In addition a reflexive component is evident when they learn from contacts about how the various markets in the sector function. Similarly, Kevin, a freelance film director, talked about the challenges of making it to the top and his decision to “blow the competition out of the water by putting in 110 percent”, indicating a knowledge of the industry and what it means for the strategies he has decided to employ. Reflection and being reflexive can also contribute to a recognition of your suitability or not for this kind of work. Ashley opted for a permanent job in the shipping industry after two years of trying indicating he “didn’t know the difficulty…of being a freelancer.”

Limited reflection and reflexivity can also limit possibilities. Borhan for example, was keen to start a business running his own kebab stall but saw no need to pick up additional skills, despite struggling with numeracy skills. Nazri, working in the

furniture removal industry, sought to deliver high quality customer service but lacked information on the range of job opportunities in the removalist industry, and was unable to name the key people in the industry other than his immediate supervisor. This lack of appreciation of the importance of industry knowledge and using such knowledge to reflect on his own circumstances and possibilities, hindered his potential. Reflection and reflexivitythen, become a ‘general pedagogic stance’ (Edwards, 1998, p. 386) that is vital to the effective navigation of constantly changing work;reflexivity is a key condition of flexibility. As evident from the above examples, the reflexive qualities required of non-permanent workers are exercised differently in different occupations (Bound et al., 2013; Nur, Bound, Karmel&Sivalingham, 2014; Karmel, Bound &Rushbrook, 2013).

2.1.3.2. Recontextualisation

Recontextualisationis the capacity to access knowledge and skills from diverse channels and ‘recontextualise’ it (Evans, et al, 2009) in a variety of work settings. That is, learn, adapt and apply from different work settings and other sources to new settings. In the process the non-permanent worker is potentially simultaneously engaging with and changing those practices, traditions and experiences. For example, Nasser, who worked as a key grip described how he drew on and adapted his knowledge of physics in order to experiment with new camera angles (such as the suspension of the camera by a rope). On one job, a mentor taught Kevin, a freelance film director, how to shoot and meet budgets and timeframes; something he has applied with growing skill to every job since. Yati, working in the technical theatre sector says, “you need to switch your mind and not a lot of people can do that…Like I am somewhere else, I need to do it in a different manner, a different system,…different people,…a different way of doing things and you have to respect that…Because it is not the same everywhere.” Being able to recontextualise is critical to getting work, to honing one’s craft, and developing mastery. It is a process where learning to learn, entrepreneurialism, and identifying with craft is synergistic.

2.1.3.3. Meta-cognition

Meta-cognition is defined as awareness and management of one’s own thought, or “thinking about thinking” (Kuhn & Dean, 2004, p.270). Meta-cognition helps us to reflect on the mindsets that we have (Stack & Bound, 2012). It has two key components– cognitive knowledge and cognitive regulation (Lai, 2011). Cognitive knowledge refers to: o reflecting upon and understanding oneself as a learner, thinker or worker; o knowledge of how the mind works, and ways of knowing or how learning occurs;

o knowledge of and ability to select strategies or tools that can enhance one’s performance.

Cognitive regulationenables planning, monitoring and evaluating of one’s thinking and performance. Those passionate about their craft would often talk about the ways in which they learnt and how they used different opportunities for learning; they were conscious of the range of tools available to them for learning, of their ways of learning and of planning their learning.

Some of the ways non-permanent workers learn is through:

 finding a mentor

 seeking out role models

 observing and active noticing

 asking questions and through discussions

 using their networks

 obtaining knowledge independently through any of the above processes, or social media, searching the web, formal and informal gatherings

 practicing on and off the job

 trial and error

 attending seminars, workshops, short courses For example, Mano a cameraman spoke of using strategies such as critically appraising the films of those you work closely with and/or admire to assist with developing your own style. Reza, a music technologist in the technical theatre industry indicated that she was always meeting people and deliberately asked where they were working, about their job and then about possible recommendations for work. Learning revolves around the work. Victor of the film and television industry sums this up, “I really learn on the ground with different kind of like, you know, feel of things, and that kind of condition who I am today.” Nasser highlights that it is not through learning “in the books”, but through his mentor that he was able to move forward,

He’s the only guy who can explain to me from A-Z and even more if I just ask him a simple question. He don’t just tell you how to read, he tell you the nuance of it. He tells you all the little things that is not in the books, through his experience and through his knowledge. The drive to learn is work; non-permanent workers learn as a result of the demands placed on them through the work they do. These diverse sources and ways of learning can afford rich opportunities for reflection, reflexivity and recontextualisation. But when the work is task based and easily learnt it requires only a few learning strategies such as observation and doing the work. The importance and strong privileging of learning through and for work is in part due to opportunity cost, but also the need for integrated practice. It is not technical skills alone that make a crafts-person, nor is it the mastery of, and identification with, craft