Advances in Research, Theory and Practice in Work-Integrated Learning

Enhancing Employability for a Sustainable Future

Sonia J. Ferns, Anna D. Rowe, Karsten E. Zegwaard, Sonia J. Ferns, Anna D. Rowe, Karsten E. Zegwaard

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780367897734
• eBook ISBN: 9781000429657
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is a key strategy for enhancing student employability outcomes and lifelong learning capabilities. This timely publication critically reflects on existing scholarship and practice in WIL, discusses contemporary insights, provides a synopsis of resonating themes, and recommends areas for future research and practice. The book aims to position WIL as a strategic imperative for enabling a sustainable workforce through strengthening graduate capacity both in Australia and globally.The collection of edited scholarly chapters were compiled by 59 researchers, practitioners, and experts in WIL, and supported by the peak national professional body for WIL in Australia, the Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN). The chapters cover a range of pertinent topics such as teaching and learning, stakeholder engagement, maximizing learning outcomes, diverse forms of WIL practice, support and infrastructure, and future directions. Specific areas of interest include governance and leadership, student equity and wellbeing, quality and evaluation and interdisciplinary WIL.

This book is essential reading for researchers, practitioners, workplace and community partners, university leaders, and policy makers, as the practice of WIL continues to expand in the higher education sector.

1 Contemporary insights into the practice of work-integrated learning in Australia

Karsten E. Zegwaard, Sonia J. Ferns and Anna D. Rowe

DOI: 10.4324/9781003021049-1

Introduction

With increasing attention on employability outcomes, and with governments seeking direct links between higher education and employability, many higher education institutions are expanding their work-integrated learning (WIL) programs (Ferns et al., 2014; Jackson, 2013; Jackson & Wilton, 2016; Rowe & Zegwaard, 2017). This expansion is part of the wider international movement in higher education where universities are becoming increasingly focused on the development of graduates equipped to respond to a dynamic and rapidly changing workplaces (Dacre Pool et al., 2019). These developments are reflected in the theme of the book – enhancing employability for a sustainable future. Our case is that in order to ensure the continuity of quality graduates who contribute to the economy and society more broadly, it is imperative that WIL offerings are evidence and theory informed, purposefully designed, appropriately resourced and supported, and involve engagement with a range of stakeholders (particularly industry/community).

The expansion of WIL programs is evidenced in Australia through a number of reports. The Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN; the peak Australian national WIL association) was a driver in the development of the National Strategy on Work-Integrated Learning (ACEN, 2015), outlining the key strategic areas for developing WIL across Australia. Universities Australia (2019) (the committee of Australian university vice-chancellors) reported that in 2019, just under half a million students (one third of the Australian university student population), undertook a WIL experience. Of those, 43% were work placements with the remainder being a mix of different types of WIL that do not require full immersion into a workplace (e.g., student consultancy, service-learning, entrepreneurships, hackathons, etc.). In Canada, the influence of WIL on employability outcomes was recognized by the Canadian Government announcing the investment of CAN$800 million to fund additional work placement opportunities (Walker, 2019). The New Zealand Government has proclaimed WIL as a key strategy for enabling the Future of Learning and Work goals over the next 10 years (Ministry of Education, 2019). There are well-established practices in North America where, for example, the University of Waterloo reported over 20,000 cooperative education placements a year (Andrade et al., 2018) and the University of Cincinnati reported 30,000 WIL activities annually (Cedercreutz et al., 2017). With employability likely to remain a focal area for curricular development, it is probable that WIL will continue to hold an important place in higher education.

Along with the expansion of WIL practice, so has grown a body of literature reporting on research and scholarly discussion on the practice of WIL (Bartkus & Higgs, 2011; Zegwaard, 2015), as evidenced by the International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning and related journals, and a range of books and reports focused on educational issues within WIL (see, e.g., Billett, 2015; Coll & Zegwaard, 2011; Ferns, 2014; Sachs & Clark, 2017). As research interests diversify and strengthen, and the need for graduates with the skills to navigate a complex workplace intensifies, WIL is recognized as a field of practice and scholarship in its own right, with its own pedagogical, curricular, and practical challenges. These recent developments make it particularly timely for a dedicated publication, such as this, to: reflect on the scholarly work completed to date; to critically discuss leading views of WIL; and to recommend directions for future research and practice.

Defining work-integrated learning

There is no single agreed definition of WIL; however, authors have provided a range of useful definitions that focus on WIL being curricular and includes students engaging in work-related tasks that are relevant to their study, are authentic, and meaningful. Defining WIL has been challenging in part because of the diverse range of practices that are construed as WIL and the various terms used to label these practices. WIL encompasses various forms of experiential and practice-based learning, including internships, cooperative education, work placements, clinical practice, and industry-based and community-based projects.

Patrick et al. (2009, p. v) approached the challenge of diverse practices by providing guidance around the usage of the term WIL, and describing WIL as an “umbrella term for a range of approaches and strategies that integrate theory with the practice of work within a purposefully designed curriculum”. The Patrick et al. guidance allows for the inclusion of a range of practices, using a diverse set of terms, that have similar underpinning approaches and analogous intended student learning outcomes.

In this book, the definition of WIL used is provided by the International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning:

an educational approach that uses relevant work-based experiences to allow students to integrate theory with the meaningful practice of work as an intentional component of the curriculum. Defining elements of this educational approach require that students engage in authentic and meaningful work-related tasks, and must involve three stakeholders; the student, the university, and the workplace/community.

(Zegwaard et al., 2020a, para. 2)

The use of the term WIL overcomes the challenge of similar WIL practices labeled with different terms, as well as different practices labeled with the same term. For this reason, it is more useful to use an umbrella term and then focus on the defining elements of the WIL practice rather than the terms used to describe them (Dean et al., 2020; Zegwaard & Coll, 2011).

Justification for the book

With the increasing governmental focus on directly linking employability outcomes with the higher education curriculum and employers seeking work-ready graduates, curriculum designers are encouraged to include WIL as a learning approach within their curricular offerings (Rowe & Zegwaard, 2017). It is important during this rapid expansion of WIL that the development of WIL programs is informed by scholarly debate and research. Furthermore, there is a human resource challenge wherein staff entering the field of WIL seek to improve their understanding of the theories and understandings of good practice that underpin WIL (Zegwaard et al., 2019).

It is, therefore, important that up-to-date scholarly resources are readily available for WIL practitioners as the momentum of the development of WIL continues. This book seeks to inform the discussion, addressing topical issues faced in WIL.

The coverage of this publication is divided into five sections:

1. Teaching and learning within WIL programs,
2. Engagement with stakeholders,
3. Maximizing learning outcomes through WIL,
4. Exploring diverse forms of WIL practice, and
5. Support and infrastructure to develop good WIL practice.

The book then concludes with a chapter presenting the success and challenges of WIL with recommendations for future directions. A detailed overview of the five sections, including key arguments and propositions made by individual chapter contributors are presented below. Some supporting scholarship is also drawn upon, to situate work within its broader empirical and theoretical context.

Teaching and learning within work-integrated learning programs

WIL is an educational approach that strongly connects to the concept of employability (Jackson, 2013, 2015; Kay et al., 2018; Rowe & Zegwaard, 2017), however, the unique approach of WIL requires careful consideration of teaching and learning within WIL programs (Johnston, 2011). Furthermore, employability is a complex construct that is still undergoing conceptualization (Römgens et al., 2019). Within this section, Campbell et al. argue that with increasing attention to employability, the higher education curriculum is being reshaped with employability progressively becoming central to the curriculum. Campbell et al. propose that employability is not a simple definable construct, rather it is an understanding enmeshed with economic, social, moral, and governmental policy concerns. However, embedding this understanding into higher education curriculum requires careful consideration of how curriculum can be (re)designed to include WIL as an intentional component. Adams and Jones provide deeper insights to teaching and learning through a practical model of learning for WIL with emphasis on dispositions, habits of mind, and practical learning, providing a practical framework for implementation, drawing on work by Lucas et al. (2014).

Assessment has long been a topical issue within WIL (Ferns & Zegwaard, 2014; Orrell, 2011; Rowe & Zegwaard, 2017; Winchester-Seeto & Rowe, 2017) and assessment of employability skills development is a complex and resource-demanding endeavor (Bilgin et al., 2017; Bosco & Ferns, 2014; Smith et al., 2014), requiring careful framing around notions of proximity and authenticity (Kaider et al., 2017). Good assessment practices shape student learning and evidence students’ development of employability skills, as well as awareness of future careers. Ajjawi et al. propose three guiding educational principles for designing authentic assessment practices in WIL, the need for assessment to be sustainable, to engage students in active portrayal of their achievements and professional identities, and to involve collaboration between all stakeholders (student, teaching staff, and external partners). Ajjawi et al. thoughtfully unpack the responsibilities and roles for each of these stakeholders, for example, clarifying that students should seek out and be able to evaluate their own performance-related evidence.

Engagement with stakeholders

An underpinning and defining element of WIL is that the educational approach must involve the student, the educational institution, and an employer/community/external host (Cooper et al., 2010; Ferns et al., 2014; Fleming et al., 2018; Groenewald et al., 2011). Reciprocity and mutual benefits are important for sustainable WIL practices (Fleming et al., 2018) with evidence highlighting benefits of WIL for various stakeholder groups (Braunstein et al., 2011; Crump & Johnsson, 2011; Dressler & Keeling, 2011). Ideally, the involvement of external stakeholders should not be limited to providing a WIL opportunity and supervising a student in the workplace. The planning of the student learning experiences through co-creation will allow the involvement of all stakeholders in the design phase. In this section, Ruskin and Bilous explore a case study of inclusive co-creation of student learning activities in the context of WIL. Ruskin and Bilous provide recommendations toward achieving sustainable co-creation to overcome the significant challenges that requires ideal conditions. In a similar vein, Ferns et al. emphasize the value, challenges, and benefits of accreditation of WIL programs when accreditation models are developed in partnership with key stakeholders. Like Ruskin and Bilous, Ferns et al. present a case example of where the accreditation process can lead to co-creating (co-designing) WIL curricula with a focus on employability, and ensuring authentic student learning experiences and outcomes. Ferns et al. discuss stakeholders’ views of ac...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Preface
• Contributors
• 1 Contemporary insights into the practice of work-integrated learning in Australia
• SECTION 1 Teaching and learning within work-integrated learning programs
• SECTION 2 Engagement with stakeholders
• SECTION 3 Maximizing learning outcomes through work-integrated learning
• SECTION 4 Exploring the diverse forms of work-integrated learning practice
• SECTION 5 Support and infrastructure to develop good work-integrated learning practice
• SECTION 6 Future directions
• Index