The importance of work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences in the development of work ready graduates is well known. Despite the centrality of WIL to graduate employability, the vast majority of studies relating to student feedback tend to focus on the evaluation of learning and teaching in the classroom context. This article reports on the development and implementation of a university wide systematic approach to the collection of student feedback on learning in the workplace. It is anticipated that the approach and development of the summative survey tool described in this article will enhance the capacity of the tertiary sector to routinely capture student feedback on the experience of learning in the workplace and assist the development of models of best practice in work-integrated learning. We argue that ensuring quality in the student experience of work-integrated learning is core University business.
This paper describes two classes of advanced data mining methods that can obtain actionable insight from co-operative education data: text mining of job descriptions and graph mining of job interview data. While these methods are not new in general, they have not been widely used in co-operative education research. A technical overview of each method is provided, followed by a case study using real data from a large North American university. The case study illustrates that the proposed methods can enable students, employers and institutions to make better data-driven decisions. For example, text mining of job descriptions can reveal sought-after skills while graph mining of interview relationships can characterize the extent of competition for jobs.
This paper explores the employment and further education outcomes of students studying criminology who participate in professional skills development and work-integrated learning courses at a major Australian university. Three years of data were obtained from the Australian Graduate Survey, which is completed by university graduates four months after they complete their tertiary studies. The results indicate that students enrolled in a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice who complete a career and professional development course in conjunction with a work-integrated learning course are approximately twice as likely to be engaged in industry relevant employment or further study four months after graduation. They also are more likely to use a wider range of search techniques to find employment. This suggests that it is possible to improve employment outcomes for students by providing a university-based course that focuses on employability and professional behaviors in conjunction with work-integrated learning programs.
Universities, industry and professional bodies advocate work-integrated learning (WIL) as a valuable way to prepare graduates to meet the challenges of contemporary society. When organizations preference particular students over others to host on placement, the full individual and collective potential of WIL is not realized. This paper reports findings from a qualitative study focused on the role played by Human Resource (HR) professionals in influencing student access to WIL placements in Australian organizations. Findings suggest being in a HR role may influence why and how an individual acts as a WIL gatekeeper however, there is an interplay between forces at three distinct levels: organizational, occupational/job and personal, which affect the intentions and actions of the HR professional. Furthermore, the study suggests several conditions are required for an inclusive approach to WIL to be enacted. This study contributes to the underexplored topic of equity and access in WIL.
The introduction of a new work-integrated learning (WIL) policy for university environmental health education programs seeking professional accreditation identified a number of problems. This included how to evaluate the acceptability of differing approaches to WIL for course accreditation purposes and a need to develop an agreed understanding of what constitutes WIL in environmental health. This paper describes a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach undertaken as an initial step towards addressing these problems. The key recommendation from this research is the need to develop a framework to evaluate approaches to WIL in environmental health. In such a framework, it is argued that a shift in focus from a specified period of time students are engaged in WIL, to greater consideration of the essential pedagogical features of the WIL activity is required. Additionally, input from all stakeholder groups, universities, students, employers and the professional body, is required.
This paper will put forward an argument that work-integrated learning (WIL) should be semi-formal in nature and will examine the characteristics of this proposed learning environment. When a student work placement is unstructured or informal a learning framework is absent, often resulting in tacit or implicit knowledge which creates difficulties. Although the expectation of accessing a fully formal educational framework cannot be completely achievable within a busy work environment, an opportunity can be created to integrate characteristics of formal education, which leaves space for individuals to learn from each other as well as accessing formal learning experiences. This perspective also suggests that the different modes of workplace learning should be combined so that formal training utilizes informal learning. In addition, the proposed structure embraces the emerging paradigm, which integrates education into workplace learning, allowing students to gain access to diverse learning opportunities, adequate assessment, constructive feedback and reflection on learning.
This study followed recent computing graduates into the workplace and explored their undergraduate experiences of work placements and subsequent impact on graduate employment. Whilst studying at one of 14 Scottish universities, participants (n=99) had registered interest in a student placement. Factors influencing the ability to secure a placement included recognition of the benefits derived from completing a placement, and parental experience of higher education. We found that graduates had benefited from work experience financially, earning more than those who had not completed placements. They had also found graduate positions more quickly and were more likely to be in work than those who had graduated without completing a placement. The study provides evidence of the long-term benefits of work placements to inform students, university staff, employers, and, where appropriate, to influence government policy in increasing access to student work placements.
A partnership between a regional Australian university and the Friendship Village in Vietnam was established in 2016 as part of a health promotion unit of study. The aim of this project was to evaluate the sustainability of the international service learning model of health promotion, and its impacts upon the students and the Friendship Village. International service learning imparts personal growth, self-confidence, cultural competence, and work readiness for participating students. While these outcomes are beneficial to students, the needs of the host community and sustainability of ongoing healthcare are often be ignored, which can raise ethical concerns if not addressed. Qualitative methodology and thematic analysis were applied to survey data. Five themes emerged reciprocal learning, sustainability, building capacity of the students and the Friendship Village, and meeting the needs of the host community. One recommendation includes adequate pre-departure preparation for both partners to understand the principles of the international service learning model, means of sustainability and evaluation.
This paper investigates the impact of entrepreneurship on cooperative job creation in a large North American post-secondary institution. The data-driven analysis is enabled by two unique datasets: a list of companies started by the institution's engineering students and faculty, and a database of the institution's cooperative education (co-op) placements. Over the past 10 years, companies started by the institution's engineers have created at least 9,000 co-op placements for the institution's students, paying a total of at least $115 million in salaries (Canadian dollar; CAD$). Furthermore, students working for these companies were more likely to receive high performance evaluations than their peers and were more likely to be satisfied with the cooperative experience. Finally, students who went on to start companies did not always take entrepreneurship courses or excel academically, but they were rated highly by their workplace supervisors.
Work-integrated learning (WIL) research is heavily steeped in particular contexts making it highly suited to flexible, multiple perspective methodologies, such as case study. However, case study methodology is often criticized for being too specific, not generalizable and limited in what it can contribute to theory. In addition, there is often confusion between the meaning and application of the terms method and methodology. This paper presents an argument to help guide and support researchers who are considering a case study approach to their WIL research. Two vignettes demonstrate how researchers overcame some of the alleged limitations of case study as a methodology and utilized the benefits to advance the theory and practice of WIL. Case study provides a sound methodology that can reflect the variability of research contexts and enables a flexible approach to address a wide range of research questions that are relevant to the evolving nature of WIL.
This paper presents research related to the work-integrated learning (WIL) model. The objectives were to explore the characteristics and the techniques associated with it. The focus of this research was on model linked to the IT industry or IT department in non-IT industries. A systematic literature review was applied as research methodology and the collected data were from 2006 to 2016 from eight databases. There were 24 articles which matched the search criteria. The WIL models reported can be separated into four groups. The two key features are activities created by universities and activities offered by industry. The model techniques are knowledge, methods and tools for acquiring research problems and developing solutions. The existing models are very broad and need to be narrowed down so that prospective careers and the needs of the digital workforce are prioritized. Researchers suggest future trends in WIL models in the digital economy.
Internationally, innovation represents the lifeblood of modern economies. In particular, there is growing recognition of the vital role of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) educators in developing students’ innovation skills for the jobs of the future. Work-integrated learning (WIL) has emerged as an important pedagogical approach for developing innovation capabilities. This paper is based on a quantitative study that examines the key factors driving innovation in STEM WIL students. The study undertakes a comparative analysis of students by age, gender, degree type, and placement duration. It found that students participating in longer durations of 20 weeks compared to 12 weeks had higher perceived levels of innovation skills. The study shows how feedback on skills can be provided to students and employers, with output from the tool used in this study. Therefore, it has implications for student career literacy, industry outreach and WIL program development.
Service learning (SL) presents apposite opportunities for students to share with and learn from businesses for mutually beneficial development and experience. This article focuses on a SL project conducted by undergraduate students in South Africa, to devise advertising and marketing strategies for community businesses. The reciprocity of benefits for participants, as well as ontological aspects of student learning were explored. Questionnaires administered to three student cohorts and feedback from business owners were subjected to content analysis. Theoretical underpinnings of SL as work-integrated learning (WIL) modality and the curriculum approach of knowing, doing and being, framed this study. The findings revealed that a well-structured SL project is a valuable learning experience with permeable boundaries between knowledge and practice. This article focuses on, firstly, the importance of relating classroom learning to real world experience; secondly, the emergent ontological perspectives of SL, and thirdly, empowering community businesses by sharing knowledge and skills to foster entrepreneurial ideals.
Although work-integrated learning represents an increasingly prevalent part of the tertiary education landscape, there are limited explorations of student experiences through a wellbeing lens. Wellbeing represents more than an individual’s quality of life; it is an individual’s ability to manage different inputs across intersecting physical, social, cognitive, psychological, environmental and economic factors often from a moment-in-time positioning. In connecting work-integrated learning and wellbeing, this conceptual article introduces work-integrated learning wellbeing (WIL wellbeing) as a construct to identify potential impacts of work-integrated learning on participants’ wellbeing within and beyond learning contexts. The model highlights the importance of recognizing and appreciating student diversity in personal circumstance and experience when undertaking work-integrated learning. Explicitly connecting work-integrated learning and wellbeing emphasizes the importance of nurturing a combination of individual coping strategies, formal policy and informal institutional support, and provides a framework for higher-education institutions to address the impact of work-integrated learning on students.
Over the last 20 years, research focused on work-integrated learning (WIL) has expanded considerably. While early research predominantly utilized quantitative study designs, recently a more diverse set of methodologies is being used to address questions and issues arising from a range of WIL models. This Special Issue is intended to present different methodologies available to WIL researchers. The papers include case studies of how these methodologies, and methods within, are being used for WIL research, along with discussion of the strengths and limitations of using the research approach. Examples of case study methodology, multiple case studies, mixed methods, program evaluation research, hermeneutic phenomenology, grounded theory, reflective practice as research, and large-scale data mining, provide insights into different ways of addressing research questions. In this issue, the advantages and challenges faced by those conducting research as 'insiders' within their own organizations are also examined. Specifically, within this paper the importance of ethical conduct while engaging with research, especially WIL research using human participants, is discussed, including the need to obtain ethical approval and consideration of issues around informed consent, conflict of interest, risk of harm and confidentiality.
Little is known about how university institutions are coping with increased placement demands in professional disciplines, and what this means for the quality and integrity of the Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) experiences offered within degree programs for all partners concerned. The first stage of a critical ethnographic study is reported in this paper. It forms part of a larger, ongoing study that seeks to generate critical perspectives on the impact and effects of an inquiry-based WIL philosophy that fosters sustained, meaningful university-community partnerships across a suite of Early Childhood programs. Institutional insights into the workload of university staff responsible for these programs are presented, revealing the complexities and possibilities of what this form of work involves in efforts to sustain meaningful, reciprocal partnerships over time. Findings reveal challenges to the relational foundations of this work and the potential implications for universities to reconsider the nature of their engagement with community in the education of deliberate professionals.
A recent (2017) study of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the unemployment rate for 20-24-year-olds, the age when many graduate from university and enter the workforce, is nearly twice that of all other age groups. The startling statistic suggests that more can be done to better prepare undergraduates for the workplace. This three-year study explores gaps in workplace preparation as identified by practitioners in the field of public relations. Based on job bank data from the Public Relations Society of America and interviews of industry leaders, this research emphasizes the imperative of student exposure to authentic work experiences for boosting graduate employability and further informing curriculum content and format. What practitioners feel to be important, what industry trends demand and what is achieved in the classroom broadly align with the best practice principles for work-integrated learning (WIL) programs.
Internships are becoming more relevant to universities as they provide students with practical skills that can be aligned with their career aspirations. Typically, successful undergraduate internship programs depend on the efficiency and design of the university internship program; the student commitment to the internship; and host organization's level of resource commitment to the program. Currently, there is very little empirical research conducted to examine how host organization based factors influence the quality of a good internship from a student interns' perspective. The Transaction Cost Economic (TCE) model was the theoretical lens used to address this research. The study used a survey (n=83) of an undergraduate internship program at a university in Australia. The findings indicate that the host organizations' resource commitment has a significant positive influence on the interns' perceived success of the internship. Findings from this research can help to align organizational resource commitment with the students' expectations.
There is growing pressure in higher education to develop graduates with the capabilities to work effectively in collaborative, interdisciplinary teams to solve the key issues facing humankind. For many years, health has been pioneering interprofessional education as the means to deliver professionals with capacity to work together to deliver high quality, cost-effective, client-centered care. This paper reports on an explorative case study where interviews were undertaken with ten students from different professions who had experienced interprofessional education at three different community sites. The learning was informed by an adapted version of contact hypothesis for use in interprofessional education combined with adult learning principles. Four interrelated metathemes were identified: space and time, informality and independence, which resulted in a more holistic approach to practice. Results suggest that the contact hypothesis, with consideration of contact variables, has the potential to improve the quality of interdisciplinary group interaction.
The aim of this study was to evaluate undergraduate exercise and sport science students' learning experiences in a strength and conditioning internship. There was a special emphasis on the interns' personal development, the influence of supervision (academic supervisor functioning as a dual professional) and feedback on their development as a strength and conditioning professional. Seventeen exercise and sport science interns participated in a focus group discussion. Four themes were identified from analysis of the interns' perception of their internship experience: positive supervision relationship, student ownership, satisfaction and development of professional skills. The findings of this study provide both academic and workplace supervisors with practical methods in which they can successfully cultivate effective strength and conditioning professionals. While the research findings provide guidelines on an effective model for strength and conditioning internships based on interns lived experience, the key findings are applicable to a range of cooperative learning environments particularly in health science and wellness.
