This paper provides a sociocultural understanding of how airline cabin crew negotiate their learning for emergencies and challenges the conventional approach of relying solely on formal training. Drawing on ethnographic methods, our research offers insights into the learning trajectory of the cabin crew of a regional airline operating in the Tasman Sea Region. While learning occurs as new cabin crew members engage with routine work practices and share experiences with their peers, performing in emergencies–a core cabin crew duty–is not situated within their everyday work. Nevertheless, we argue that learning for emergencies shows characteristics of sociocultural learning in sharing stories and negotiating the meaning of their role. By acknowledging and integrating contextualised narratives in their learning for emergencies, cabin crew can develop a deeper understanding of their role in the interplay of knowledge, values, beliefs, and stories. The study’s findings prompt a reconsideration of current aviation training programmes, and they highlight the need for a more holistic, contextually rich approach to cabin crew learning for emergencies. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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