Training Student Workers in a Social Learning Space

Abstract

This paper investigates the issues involved in training student workers in a social learning space (SLS) located at a large national university in Japan. Six years after its inception, the SLS has grown to more than eight times its original size. With the increase in space, there have been more visitors and activities, which has led to the hiring of more student workers. With the increase of workers, the manager implemented a more organized system to delegate the duties of each student worker. The researcher looked at the different roles of the student workers and what they consist of. A thematic analysis of transcripts taken from one 3-hour training session and three interview transcripts was done to understand these roles and how the students viewed their responsibilities. How to balance the SLS as a delicate ecosocial system (Murray & Fujishima, 2013) while maintaining a solid foundation for training effective student workers is a challenge. Some common themes found in the interview data will be highlighted, as well as implications and recommendations for improvement.