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European Scientific Journal May edition vol. 8, No.10 ISSN: 1857 – 7881 (Print) e - ISSN 1857- 7431

TRAINING, EDUCATION, DEVELOPMENT AND

LEARNING: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

Mousa Masadeh, PhD

Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Petra College for Tourism and Archaeology, Petra, Jordan

Abstract
There is much confusion surrounding the terms ‘training’, ‘education’, ‘development’
and ‘learning,’ to the point where they are often used interchangeably. In the context
of human resource development, however, it is often necessary to define and
delineate each of these in order to clarify the associated activities and desired
outcomes within an organisation. This paper examines the issue in depth by outlining
some of the traditional definitions of these terms and their implications for human
resource development, ultimately demonstrating how they are best viewed as
interconnected, if separate. Employee training, in particular, is associated with on-the-
job skills acquired for a particular role, while education is seen as relating to a more
formal academic background. In increasingly complex organisations, it may be
argued that aspects of each are necessary to ensure full employee potential.

Keywords: Training, Education, Development, Learning, HRD

Introduction
‘Until very recently the concept of ‘learning’ has not really entered into this field of
debate, training and development were seen as things that happened in organizations
whereas learning appeared to be more formal and was linked to education be it
school, college or university’
(Kitson, 2003)

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The terms training, education, development and learning may often be used
interchangeably, but they can have very different, if overlapping, meanings in
different contexts. In terms of human resource development, it is often necessary to
define and delineate these in a bid to clarify the associated activities and desired
outcomes within an organisation. Employee training, in particular, is associated with
on-the-job skills acquired for a particular role, while education is seen as relating to a
more formal academic background. However, in increasingly complex organisations,
it may be argued that aspects of each are necessary to ensure full employee potential.
In this paper, I will outline some of the traditional definitions of these terms and their
implications for human resource development, and demonstrate how they are best
viewed as interconnected.

Training
The benefits of employee training are numerous and widely documented
(Wilson, 1999; Jensen, 2001; Sommerville, 2007), with organisations as well as
workers reaping the rewards in terms of improved employee skills, knowledge,
attitudes, and behaviours (Treven, 2003) and results like enhanced staff performance
(Brown, 1994), job satisfaction, productivity and profitability (Hughey and Mussnug,
1997).
Training has been defined in various ways, including the following:
‘A planned process to modify attitude, knowledge or skill behaviour through a
learning experience to achieve effective performance in any activity or range of
activities. Its purpose, in the work situation, is to develop the abilities of the
individual and to satisfy current and future manpower needs of the organisation’
(Manpower Services Commission (MSC), U.K., 1981: 62);
‘Training endeavours to impart knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to perform
job-related tasks. It aims to improve job performance in a direct way’
(Truelove, 1992: 273)
‘Training is characterised as an instructor-led, content-based intervention leading to
desired changes in behaviour’
(Sloman, 2005: 2)
Opinions differ as to whether a ‘changes of attitude’ should be included in the
definition of training. Wills (1994:10) argues against such a definition, both because
attitudes are notoriously difficult to quantify, and because training alone, he argues, is
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insufficient to bring about major long-term changes in attitude. Instead, he defines

training as ‘the transfer of defined and measurable knowledge or skills’. Hare,
Similarly, McLeod and King (1996: 25) state that training is ‘any activity or course,
either formal or informal (e.g. on-the-job) which has helped you to acquire the
knowledge and skills to do your job.’
Ideally, training is best supplemented with practical, hands-on experience
(Hughey and Mussnug, 1997). As Overman (1994: 62) observes, ‘what people hear
they forget, what they see they remember, what they do they understand.’ Likewise,
Hughey and Mussnug (1997: 53) note that ‘most employees simply do not learn very
well when they are ‘talked to’. They need to be more actively involved in the learning
experience.’
Education, on the other hand, is usually more broadly defined as a more
general, less specialized or hands-on approach to enhancing knowledge. The
Manpower Services Commission (1981: 17, which was superceded by the now-
defunct Training Commission, U.K.) defined education as follows:
‘Activities which aim at developing the knowledge, skills, moral values and
understanding required in all aspects of life rather than knowledge and skill relating
to only a limited field of activity.’

Learning and Development

Learning, in contrast to training, is generally defined more holistically, as a
process that encompasses training as well as education (Jensen, 2001). According to
Sloman (2005: 2), learning can be described as ‘a self-directed, work-based process
leading to increased adaptive capacity.’ This process—an ongoing, lifelong journey
that may not always be clearly planned or even intentional—can be considered the
heart of human resource development (Garavan, Heraty, and Barnicle, 1999). As
Mumford (1995:13) observes, this process includes the acquisition of skills as well as
insights or factual knowledge, and is at play whenever
‘people can demonstrate that they know something that they did not know before
(insights and realizations as well as facts) and/or when they do something they could
not do before (skills)’
(Mumford, 1995: 13)
As for development, Gansberghe (2003) uses the following definition in the
glossary of HRM and HRD:
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‘a long-term process designed to enhance potential and effectiveness. It is also

defined as the growth or realisation of a person’s ability, through learning, often
from planned study and experience.’
Development can encompass a wide range of activities, including coaching
and more formal educational commitments and experiences, and is generally used to
encompass a wider scope than ‘learning’ or ‘training’—which may, in fact, be
included in the concept of development (Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development (CIPD), 2007).
The term ‘development’ in this sense is fairly recent, having appeared around
the 1950s (Herr, 2001) and gradually coming to mean essentially the same thing as
‘training’—with which it can even be used synonymously, according to such
authorities as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2007). Kitson
(2003), on the other hand, argues that this conflation of training and development is
confusing and inappropriate. Instead, he distinguishes ‘training’ by defining it as ‘a
learning activity that is designed for immediate impact, for the job or role that one
does at present.’ Development, on the other hand, is ‘a learning activity that is
designed for future impact, for a role or job one will do in the future.’ In both cases,
this suggests, ‘learning’ is the broader umbrella term under which both training and
development are best understood.

Disentangling the terminology

Scholars like Kitson (2003) have noted that there is a great deal of confusion
between these words, with researchers and human resource specialists alike often at a
loss to differentiate between them effectively, resulting in their being used basically
as synonyms. According to Garavan (1997), however, ‘learning’ is better seen as the
overarching concept under which formal ‘education’ and ‘training’ take place, with
‘development’ as the resulting outcome of these pursuits. In his research exploring
the often-fluid distinctions between these terms, both in theory and practice, he
observes:
‘Training for instance, can be associated with ‘learning by doing’ whereas education
is more synonymous with ‘learning by thinking’; development involves learning
thinking, doing and feeling…absolutist definitions are not really helpful in
understanding the role of training, development, education and learning in the

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context of human resource management/development but in practice such distinctions

have occurred and still do occur.’
(Garavan, 1997: 42)
As far as employee development, meanwhile, education is generally seen as a
much broader term than training (Davidson and Marco, 1999). According to Hughey
and Mussnug (1997), training can be distinguished from education as an activity
normally associated, in organizational terms, with enhanced quality and increased
profits. Unlike education, which is predominantly concerned with the acquisition of
‘knowledge’ in a classroom setting (Hughey and Mussnug, 1997), the ‘learning-by-
doing’ element of training is normally presumed to lead to specific, concrete results,
financial and otherwise, by enhancing specific kinds of skills. At the same time,
Hughey and Mussnug (1997) posit that thinking itself is a skill, arguably the most
valuable of all, since it equips employees to critically engage with their surroundings,
solve problems and make decisions. In a similar vein, Lippert, Granger and Case
(2007) argue that education is concerned with diagnosing problems, whereas training
seeks ways to resolve them.
In general, Kitson (2003) is right to point out that ‘the concepts of
development, training, education and learning all manage to overlap meanings and
purposes and are often interchangeable.’ Nevertheless, it is useful to consider the
work of Garavan (1997), which reviews the history and scholarly definitions of all
four terms in order to better understand their roles in human resource management.
As noted above, he concludes that ‘learning’ is best seen as an umbrella term
encompassing training, education and development, all of which tend ultimately to be
defined on the ground, in practical rather than theoretical terms.

Conclusion
While the concepts of training, education, development and learning can be
difficult to disentangle, it is useful, from an organisational perspective, to develop
precise—and separate— definitions, in order to better understand the specific,
concrete challenges and outcomes associated with each type of activity. Though their
meanings are closely interrelated, it can be misleading to simply use these terms
synonymously, as is often done. In the field of human resources, where the immense
benefits of appropriate employee training, education, development and/or learning are
widely recognized, working towards more precise definitions can help to clarify the
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issues at stake, empowering individuals and organisations to achieve their objectives

using the most appropriate strategies available.

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