This article explores the concept of apprenticeship as a model for learning at and about work in the late 20th century. The authors propose that social and activity theories of learning can usefully underpin a reconceptualisation of apprenticeship generally, and the recent British initiative the Modern Apprenticeship in particular. Central to this claim are two growing beliefs: first, that the distinction between formal and informal education is unhelpful because it implies the superiority of learning which takes place within educational institutions over, and distinct from, that which occurs in the workplace; second, that a reconceptualised apprenticeship needs to reconcile the previously polarised positions of learner-centred and transmission approaches to pedagogy. The article concludes by outlining a number of features which a contemporary apprenticeship should include and by indicating the extent to which they are featured in the Modern Apprenticeship. © 1998 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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