ABSTRACT
Learning to learn has been the subject of much attention in the last decade in secondary and post-secondary education. There has been a substantial movement away from the rather rigid study methods manuals of the 1950s and 1960s towards more experiential and more reflective activities which involve learners in a monitoring and evaluating of their own learning capacities and styles. This shift may owe something to the emphasis placed by Michael Oakeshott on practical knowledge — 'organised abilities to discern, to judge and to perform' (Oakeshott, 1962). These abilities, he suggests, are so rooted in our understanding, beliefs, values and attitudes that any 'rules' we try to apply to our learning would be inadequate and partial expressions of what is involved.
