Preparing university students for employment through work-related learning – a matter of principle (s)? Sabine McKinnon Lecturer in Employability Glasgow.

Preparing university students for employment through work-related learning – a matter of

principle (s)?

Sabine McKinnonLecturer in Employability

Glasgow Caledonian UniversityCaledonian Academy

[email protected]

What should students learn at university?

The Scottish policy background

“Skills for Scotland: A Lifelong Learning Strategy” (Scottish Government , August 2007)

Universities need to …• “provide high quality, relevant learning opportunities that

have value in the workplace” • “emphasise and prioritise employability as a key outcome

from learning”• “work closely with business to develop courses that will lead

to individuals having the knowledge and skills that meet both business need and individual aspirations”

(p.48)

The agenda for Scottish universities

Scottish Funding Council for Further and Higher Education (SFC): “Learning to Work: Enhancing Employability and Enterprise in Scottish Further and Higher Education” (2004)

“ …every learner should have the opportunity to benefit from their education in terms of their employability – not just those on vocational programmes or those who take the initiative themselves.” (p.37)

What is employability?

“ … a set of achievements, understandings and personal attributes that make individuals more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations which benefits themselves, the work force, the community and the economy.” (Knight and Yorke, 2003, p.5)

A shared responsibility(SFC, 2004, p. 23)

Glasgow Caledonian University’s Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy (2008)

1. To equip students with the knowledge, skills and attributes to operate as flexible, independent lifelong learners

2. To build students’ competencies in the skills demanded by employers in a global knowledge economy

3. To develop and embed innovative and relevant learning and teaching based on sound research and scholarship

http://www.caledonian.ac.uk/quality/strategy/ltas.html

The Real WoRLD Project: (Realising work-related learning diffusion)

Aim: Improve and enhance students’ employability skills by embedding work-related learning activities across the university

at institutional level : develop and support a coordinated, sustainable strategy for work related learning

at programme level: encourage implementation of work-related learning activities in the subject specific curriculum

at pedagogic level: develop innovative approaches to teaching, learning and assessment

http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/realworld/

Real WoRLD Project Plan (2008-2011)

Phase 1: Consultation exercise involving students, staff, graduates, employersWhat are the opportunities for and barriers to embedding work-related learning?

Phase 2:Create a community of interested staff and studentsPilot and evaluate innovative solutionsDisseminate best practice to all subject disciplines

Phase 3:Develop guidelines and support mechanisms for implementation university-wide

What is work-related learning?

• work-based learning?

• workplace learning?

• work-focused learning?

• work-integrated learning?

• work-experience?

• experiential learning?

The ‘official’ definition

“…planned activities that use the context of work to develop knowledge, skills and understanding useful in

work, including learning through the experience of work, learning about work and working practices, and

learning the skills for work. “

(Quality and Curriculum Authority, 2003, p.4)

Employability

Work-related learning

Personal DevelopmentPlanning

Careers Advice

Work-basedlearning

Labour Market Developments

Non work-basedlearning

Liveprojects

Case studies

Employer talks

Role plays and simulations

Mentoring

Enterprise activities

Professional skills training

Placements

Work shadowing

P/T employment

Voluntary work

(Adapted from Hills et al, 2003)

Real WoRLD scoping study (July 2008)

• 59 staff interviewed (49 academics from all schools, 10 support staff)

• 7 focus groups with 37 students from 6 schools

• many examples of good practice

• provision of work-related learning is uneven and can be improved

• some evidence of barriers

• need for shared understanding and joined-up thinking

Some key barriers to embedding work-related learning

• scepticism amongst academics questioning the value of work-related learning

• lack of agreed understanding of key terms amongst staff and students

• lack of universally agreed criteria for benchmarking the quality of work-related learning activities

• no explicit baseline → principles of work-related learning

Why use principles?

• All learning and teaching activities are based on principles.

• A principle is “a relationship that is always true…regardless of programme or practice” (Merrill, 2002, p.43)

• Principles can be implemented with any cohort in in any context.

• They are simple without being simplistic.

• Contextualisation is up to subject specialists.

Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction

Learning is promoted when …1. learners are engaged in solving real-world problems

2. existing knowledge is activated as a foundation for new knowledge

3. new knowledge is demonstrated to the learner (“show me”)

4. new knowledge is applied by the learner (“let me”)

5. new knowledge is integrated into the learner’s world (“watch me”)

(Merrill, 2002)

Developing principles of work-related learning

Principles should be

• simple: they must not be too onerous to use

• broad: cover all major considerations/possible scenarios

• useful: lead to action that improves the quality of learning

• accessible: represented in a language that is readily understood

• meaningful at different levels of sophistication: make sense to researchers and practitioners

(adapted from: Boud and Prosser, 2002, p. 240)

Real WoRLD’s Principles of Work-Related Learning (McKinnon and Margaryan, 2009)

Work-related learning activities should be designed so that they:1. provide students with learning opportunities to integrate theory and

practice (Bereiter, 2002; Edelson and Reiser, 2006; Merrill, 2002)

2. achieve learning outcomes that state what students will be able to do in the workplace (Collis and Moonen, 2001; Gulikers, 2006)

3. encourage and support students’ interest in a wide variety of careers (Tuomi-Groehn and Engestroem, 2003; Bransford et al, 2000)

4. require students to take an active rather than a passive role in the learning process (Pintrich and Zusho, 2002; Bates, 2008)

5. accommodate cultural diversity (Hofstede, 1991; Palfreyman and McBride, 2007; Guirdham, 2005)

Reflective questions break down the components of each principle. (See handout)

Work-related learning – a matter of principle? What is good quality academic learning and teaching? The graduate attributes debate

Work-related learning - a matter of principle?

“Colleges and higher education institutions should not address employabilityas an ‘add-on’, but rather as part of the quality of the learning experience.”

(SFC, 2004, p. 26)

• There is no conflict between work-related learning and good academic learning.

• What makes a student employable is what makes a good graduate.

• Good quality academic teaching has enabled students to be confident communicators and critical problem-solvers for decades.

Work-related learning makes it explicit and visible to … students, staff, employers.

References

Bates, M. (2008) Work-integrated curricula in university programs, Higher Education Research & Development, Vol. 27, No.4, December 2008, 305-317Bereiter, C. (2002). Education and mind in the knowledge era. Mahwah, NJ: ErlbaumBransford, J.D., Brown, A. L., and Cocking, R.R. (Eds.) (2000). How people learn: brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy PressBoud, D. and Prosser, M. (2002) Appraising new technologies for learning: a framework for development, Education Media International, pp. 237-245Collis, B. and Moonen, J. (2001) Flexible learning in a digital world: experiences and expectations. London: RoutledgeEdelson, D. and Reiser, B. (2006) Making authentic practices accessible to learners: design challenges and strategies. In: Sawyer, K. (Ed) The Cambridge handbook of learning sciences (pp.345-354). New York: Cambridge University PressGuirdham, M. (2005) Communicating across cultures at work. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave MacMillanGulikers, J. (2006) Authenticity is in the eye of the beholder: beliefs and perceptions of authentic assessment and the influence on student learning. Doctoral dissertation, Educational Development Expertise Centre, Open University, Netherlands. Available from http://www.ou.nl/Docs/Expertise/OTEC/Publicaties/judith%20gullikers/Thesis%20Gulikers%20v4.pdfHills, J. et al (2003) Dining out on work-related learning, Newcastle, Centre for Academic Development, University of Newcastle

Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organisations: software of the mind. New York: McGraw HillKnight, P.T. and Yorke, M. (2003) Assessment, learning and employability, Open University Press and McGraw Hill Education, MaidenheadMerrill, M.D. (2002) First principles of instruction, Educational Technology Research and Development, 50, No.3, pp. 43-59Palfreyman, D. & McBride, D.L. (Eds), (2007). Learning and teaching across cultures in higher education. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave MacMillanPintrich, P.R. & Zusho, A. (2002) Student motivation and self-regulated learning in the college classroom. In: Smart. J.C. & Tierney, W.G. (Eds), Higher education: handbook of theory and research, Volume XVII, New York: Agathon PressQuality and Curriculum Authority (2003) Work-related learning for all at key stage 4: guidance for implementing the statutory requirement from 2004, Quality and Curriculum Authority, LondonScottish Funding Councils for Further and Higher Education (2004) Learning to work: enhancing employability and enterprise in Scottish further and higher education, EdinburghThe Scottish Government (2007) Skills for Scotland: a lifelong skills strategy, Edinburgh: The Scottish GovernmentTuomi-Groehn, T., & Engestroem, Y. (2003) (Eds.). Between school and work: new perspectives on transfer and boundary-crossing. Amsterdam: Pergamon