International Education Journal Vol 5, No 4, 2004
http://iej.cjb.net 591
Emerging Trends of Research on Transfer of
Learning
Bhawani Shankar Subedi
Training Institute for Technical Instruction (TITI), Sanothimi, Bhaktapur, Nepal
management@titi.org.np
The terms ‘transfer of learning’ and ‘transfer of training’ are usually found mutually
exclusive in training and development literature. Transfer is a key concept in adult
learning theories because most education and training aspires to transfer. The end
goals of training and education are not achieved unless transfer occurs. Emerging
trends of development in the area of research on transfer of learning from the training
environment to the workplace environment have been drawn together and summarised
in this review to introduce this important area of human performance support.
Transfer of training is defined as the extent of retention and application of the
knowledge, skills and attitudes from the training environment to the workplace
environment. In other words, transfer of training is the degree to which trainees
effectively apply the learning from a training context to the job.
The increased attention to the transfer problem in recent years has resulted in the
production and use of significant literature and research outcomes from the contexts
of modern workplaces that prevail in the industrialised nations of western culture.
However, the amount of actual research on strategies to facilitate transfer of formal
employee training is still limited.
In congruence with the definition and context of transfer of training in government
and non-government organisations, this review focused on related literature and
previous studies geared towards the process and strategies of facilitating the
application of knowledge, skills, and attitudes from training to job. Existing literature
and previous research relating to factors influencing transfer of training were found
subsequently classified in three main clusters (a) trainee characteristics, (b) training
design and delivery characteristics, and (c) organisational or workplace environment
characteristics.
Transfer of training, transfer of learning, adult education, performance improvement,
training effectiveness, transfer partnership, workplace
INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUE
Transfer of learning from training is the effective and continuing application, by trainees to their
jobs, of the knowledge and skills gained in training (both on and off the job). Transfer may
encompass both maintenance of behaviour, and its generalisation to new applications (Broad and
Newstrom, 1992). This definition of transfer of training by Broad and Newstrom was found
consistent with the purpose of this review.
Transfer of training generally relates to adult education, vocational or professional training or
workplace education, and is defined as the degree to which trainees effectively apply knowledge,
592 Emerging Trends of Research on Transfer of Learning
skills, and attitudes gained in a training context to the job environment (Newstrom, 1984; Wexley
and Latham, 1991).
Questions relating to transfer of learning from the training to the job generally include: What
causes training success or failure? What characterises transfer of training? Is transfer of training
different from transfer of learning? What are the factors that facilitate or inhibit the transfer
process? Why do most training programs and courses fail to transfer? Who is responsible for
maximising transfer of training to the job? What are the possible strategies effective for
facilitating transfer of training in the context of formal training of employees?
Transfer takes place when our existing knowledge, abilities and skills affect the learning or
performance of new skills or tasks. In other words, when learning in one context with one set of
materials impacts on performance in another context or with different but related set of materials,
then transfer of training has occurred.
In addition to effective instructional systems design, participative training delivery, and the
trainees’ motivation to try out new things; it is necessary “for transfer to have occurred, learned
behaviour must be generalised to the job context and maintained over a period of time on the job”
(Baldwin and Ford, 1988, p.64).
Researchers and authors have defined transfer of training as the effect of having learned one
activity on an individual's execution of other activities. Activity refers to the application of
knowledge, skills, and attitudes from the ‘source’ to the ‘target’ context. Outcome of transfer can
be studied from three different angles, (a) the similarity of the source and the target situations
(identical elements hypothesis), (b) the significance of general strategies for transfer, and (c)
support of transfer by situated cognition (Tuijnman, 1996).
From these definitions, it becomes evident that behavioural observation is a form of behaviour
assessment that entails careful observation of a person’s exhibited behaviour in a particular
situation. Methods for assessing changed work behaviours and the specific situations in which
they occur reflect the extent of transfer of training. Such behaviour is a process that is influenced
by ongoing learning, cognition and feeling; and is surfaced in terms of reactions to the perceived
need for changed behaviour.
Changed work-behaviours as a result of training interventions indicate transfer. Transfer of
training refers to the extent to which trainees apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes gained
from the training back to the workplace (Mandl et al. 1991, cited in Tuijnman, 1996).
Transfer of training (or lack of it) is a complex process and depends upon the intent or motivation
of the learner (trainee characteristics), the workplace environment including supervisory support
(organisational environment and culture), and the instructional design as well as delivery features
(job relevance) of the training program. Trainees’ commitment to use the training, perceived
ability to apply, and opportunity to use the new knowledge and skills back at the workplace are all
linked with the notion of ‘transfer of training’.
Human resource development (HRD) is a critical factor for organisational success. Training is the
most common form of HRD that helps organisations to enhance workforce effectiveness and
productivity by means of specified learning geared towards performance improvement. However,
most training outcomes fail to produce full and sustained transfer of new knowledge, skills, and
attitudes to the job.
Transfer is a key concept in adult learning theories because most education and training aspires to
transfer. The end goals of training and education are not achieved unless transfer occurs. Transfer
does not just happen. It is a process that requires implementation of carefully planned strategies to
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facilitate positive transfer. It is equally important to minimise the effects of factors that are
recognised as barriers or as causes of barriers to transfer.
Transfer partnership requires a balanced distribution of concern for and adequate involvement of
trainees, their managers or supervisors, and trainers at all stages of the process – before, during,
and after the training program or course (Broad and Newstrom, 1992). Effectiveness of any
training program or a course includes evaluation of the extent of transfer of the training outcome
at different levels – reaction, learning, application on the job, and organisational results
(Kirkpatrick, 1996).
The terms ‘transfer of learning’ and ‘transfer of training’ are usually found mutually exclusive in
training and development literature. However, transfer of learning relates to generating knowledge
and information through education, which refers to the capacity to generalise and learn by
analogy. Active learning is an important criterion for transfer to occur. Active learning requires
the learner to be involved in the learning process by making conscious effort to learn. The
psychological processes of logical thinking and reasoning facilitate the process of recognising and
solving problems in new contexts by applying the solution or analogy from the previously
acquired knowledge and skill (Misko, 1999). This process is also called ‘case based reasoning’ in
transfer of learning.
Performance improvement requires a supportive organisational environment-which consists of
factors such as organisational climate, supervisor support, and co-worker support for transfer of
training to occur and sustain in the form of useful knowledge, skills, and attitudes as measures of
improved performance on the job (Rothwell and Sredl, 1992).
Transfer of training has also been classified in terms of ‘near transfer’ and ‘far transfer’. Near
transfer of skills and knowledge refers to the replication of the previously acquired knowledge and
skills in all identical situations based on Thorndike’s theory of ‘identical elements’. Thorndike
published the results of his studies in 1901 and maintained that “training in one task was not likely
to lead to improvement in the performance of another task unless there was a clear similarity
between them”. This theory of transfer is based on the belief that previous learning facilitates new
learning only to the extent that the new learning task contains elements identical to those in the
previous task (Perkins and Salomon, 1996).
According to Misko (1995), near transfer of training often involves tasks that are procedural in
nature. These tasks include steps of operation in sequence, and the sequence of steps is repeated
every time the task is performed. This type of procedural training is relatively easy to learn and
transfer rate of learning is usually high, but the learner is unlikely to adapt such skills and
knowledge when confronted with new environment and changed conditions.
Far transfer of training refers to learning new skills or performing new tas