Moving to the Music: Learning Processes, Training and Productive Systems – The Case of Exercise to Music Instruction

Closing the productivity gap with other nations has become a mantra of
public policy in the UK since the late 1990s. Promoting participation in
learning and training is seen as the principal means of narrowing the gap.
While tracking episodes of training is relatively easy, it is not clear what is
learnt, by whom and why. This paper examines these questions among a
specific occupational group – exercise to music instructors – whose
numbers have grown significantly in recent years. It identifies two
productive systems through which these exercise classes are delivered.
Each has different consequences for learning. Under one regime, training
expands horizons and develops abilities, while under the second
instructors are taught to conform and follow scripts written by others. The
paper argues that ‘training’ can lead to different learning outcomes and
that these are best understood through an analysis of the productive
process which puts training and learning in context.