Voc Students' Perspective on...

Vocational students perspectiveon professional skills workplace

learningSari Metso and Aino Kianto

School of Business, Lappeenranta University of Technology,Lappeenranta, Finland

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify factors that influence vocational studentsdevelopment of professional skills during workplace learning and to examine the effects andrelationships of these factors.

Design/methodology/approach The results were based on the responses of 285 graduatingFinnish vocational students. The confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations wereconducted using Lisrel.

Findings Motivational factors, including performance orientation and self-efficacy, andorganizational factors, including guidance, psychological climate and knowledge acquisition, had adirect and positive impact on the students development of professional skills. The attitudinal factormeasured through work alienation had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between theorganizational factors and the development of professional skills. The cognitive factor consisting ofprior work experience in the studied field, however, had no effect on skill development

Research limitations/implications The study was based on students self-appraisal of thestudied factors. Future research should consider workplace instructors and vocational teachersviewpoints regarding students development of professional skills.

Practical implications Managers are encouraged to plan a structured orientation period forstudents and to help workplace instructors design their work in order to facilitate a successfulworkplace learning period.

Originality/value This study highlights the importance of organizational factors and workplaceinstructors to students development of professional skills through work. Furthermore, it providesempirical evidence on the special characteristics of these factors.

Keywords Workplace learning, Cognitive factor, Professional skills development, Vocational students,Attitudinal factor, Motivational factor, Organizational factor

Paper type Research paper

IntroductionEnsuring an adequate level of competence for new generations entering work life is akey issue for educational systems and employment-providing organisations alike. Ithas recently been argued that the characteristically formal, theoretical, planned andexplicit learning provided in schools is not sufficient for providing relevant andefficient learning for the needs of work life (Hager, 1998; Tynjala, 2008; Virtanen et al.,2012). Thereby, the need to provide complementary mechanisms to ensure effectivelearning has arisen as a pressing concern.

An important mechanism in enabling the development of the skills needed forprofessional performance is the utilisation of on-the-job learning periods as part ofmore formal vocational education programs. Providing learning opportunities in a real

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Received 5 July 2013Revised 6 November 2013Accepted 2 December 2013

Journal of Workplace LearningVol. 26 No. 2, 2014pp. 128-148q Emerald Group Publishing Limited1366-5626DOI 10.1108/JWL-07-2013-0044

workplace context is important because professional learning has been demonstratedto happen best in normal, daily situations in authentic environments (Felstead et al.,2010). There is evidence that authentic environments enhance profession-relatedlearning by, for example, functioning as preparation phases prior to the start of work(Nieuwenhuis and van Woerkom, 2007) and promoting the transfer of learning betweenschools, which provide formal skills education, and organisations, in which those skillsare meant to be enacted (Arora, 2012).

In Finland, the vocational education and training (VET) system takes the approachof providing students with an on-the-job learning period as a mandatory part ofstudies. During the three-year period for which students are involved in vocationaleducation, every student conducts a work period of no less than six months in anorganisation that matches his or her education goals in order to gain practicalunderstanding and development in the skills needed for the studied profession.Workplace learning became a mandatory part of the Finnish VET system when theMinistry of Education reformed vocational qualifications from 1999 to 2001 in order tomeet the needs of working life and to support lifelong learning. Workplace learningduring VET is prescribed in the Vocational Education and Training Act and theVocational Education and Training Decree. Furthermore, the Education and ResearchDevelopment Plan (2012) for the years 2011 to 2016 ensures that the Finnish VETsystem provides solid vocational knowledge and skills to enable students rapidtransition to working life, along with skills for lifelong learning. Similarly, theProgramme of the Finnish Government (2011) states that the role of on-the-job learningin the Finnish VET system will be enhanced. While the specific nature of workplacelearning during VET varies substantially in various countries across Europe (Cedefop,2012), education and policy makers in most EU countries seem to consider workplacelearning an important way to learn professional skills.

In the academic literature, workplace learning is generally recognised as animportant issue for all types of organisations in terms of increasing the competence ofpersonnel (Felstead et al., 2010; Lans et al., 2008; Leonard-Barton, 1992; Leslie et al.,1998; Schmitt et al., 2012). For example, learning through work enhances the creation ofnew work-relevant knowledge (Clarke, 2005), which is increasingly important in thecurrent dynamic global environment that necessitates continuous flexibility andrenewal capabilities from organisations (Teece et al., 1997; Eisenhardt and Martin,2000; Kianto, 2008). However, previous studies focus predominantly on adult learning(Fenwick, 2008), professionals learning (Amenumey and Lockwood, 2008) or learningfrom the organisational point-of-view (Li et al., 2009; OConnor, 2004; Szulanski et al.,2004), and there are fewer studies dealing with learning at work from the perspective ofthe professional juniors about to enter permanent work lives.

There are some studies that discuss newcomers learning in the workplace (Guileand Griffiths, 2001; Poortman, 2007; Tynjala, 2008; Virolainen, 2007), but statisticalstudies testing causal relationships between antecedents and learning results are scant(with the exception of Virtanen et al., 2012). Furthermore, most such studies arerestricted to the medical field or the nursing profession (Dornan et al., 2007; Grealishand Ranse, 2009). This research has limited applicability, since there is some evidencethat the enablers of student workplace learning may differ across fields (Virtanen et al.,2012). To bridge these gaps in the existing literature, the paper at hand addresses thequestion of which factors influence students workplace learning in a sample of

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students drawn from several fields of vocational education and provides a statisticalstudy of how these factors affect the students structured workplace learning ofprofessional skills.

More specifically, this paper builds a theoretical framework consisting of cognitive(prior knowledge), attitudinal (work alienation) and motivational (self-efficacy,learning orientation) factors and organisational enablers and proposes a set ofhypotheses concerning how these may impact the development of professional skillsduring workplace learning periods. The model is then empirically tested with surveydata collected from 285 Finnish vocational students and analysed with structuralequation modelling. Finally, the results and their theoretical and practical implicationsare discussed.

Theoretical contextWorkplace learningIn the literature, workplace learning, also known as on-the-job learning or learning atwork, is defined as task-related knowledge building and sharing among employees(Littlejohn et al., 2011), a tool for lifelong learning in organisations (Harteis and Billet,2008), and adult learning and development (Karakowsky and McBey, 1999). This studyconsiders workplace learning as a means for students to learn professional skills(Virolainen, 2007; Virtanen and Tynjala, 2008). In workplace learning, students buildprofession-related knowledge through daily tasks in an authentic environment andunder workplace instructors guidance. The literature has recognised the power ofworkplace learning in acquiring profession-related skills. In fact, Collin and Tynjala(2003) suggested that learning at work is necessary for professional development.Workplaces are serious learning environments where professional development can beenhanced (Cheetham and Chivers, 2001), employees can facilitate one anotherslearning (Ellinger and Cseh, 2007) and individual learning promotes the learning of theentire organisation (Lee and Roth, 2007). However, organisations may not alwaysrecognise their function as places for learning (Eraut, 2004).

Factors influencing the development of professional skillsPrevious studies have suggested that workplace learning is influenced by both theorganisational context in which the learning is supposed to take place (Billett, 2001;Confessore and Kops, 1998; Kelliher and Henderson, 2006; Mumford, 1992) and thecharacteristics of the individual learners (Schyns and von Collani, 2002; Sujan et al.,1994). Accordingly, we suggest that the factors affecting students development ofprofessional skills during their on-the-job learning periods can be divided intoindividual and organisational factors. The individual learning factors can be furtherdivided into the cognitive, attitudinal and motivational predispositions of students,whereas the organisational factors are related to the workplace learning setting thatthe organisation provides. In the following, each of the four factors impacting thedevelopment of professional skills in the workplace during an on-the-job learningperiod is discussed and the related hypotheses are posited.

Cognitive factorPrior knowledge of the field is a key issue in terms of students cognitive predispositionfor learning a profession in the context of an on-the-job learning period. Prior personal

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experience has been shown to promote the construction of new knowledge (Biemanset al., 2001). It has even been suggested (Ausubel, 1968) that what a learner alreadyknows is the single most important factor in determining subsequent learning.Previous literature suggests that an individuals prior knowledge has a positive impacton learning. For example, Seufert (2003) suggested that the level of prior knowledgeinfluences learning. Learners with a sufficient level of prior knowledge benefit fromguidance, whereas guidance does not help and may even prevent learning in those withinsufficient prior knowledge. It also does not benefit those with a high level of priorknowledge. The literature recognises the influence of prior knowledge on individuallearning in the context of workplace learning: Nembhard and Osothsilp (2002)proposed that previous experience helps workers learn faster than less experiencedworkers, and Lehesvirta (2004) suggested that prior learning enhances a learnersintuition.

Organisations are willing to hire workers whose prior knowledge matches theirpresent requirements because this type of knowledge is expected to make workersproductive from the first day on the job (Dokko et al., 2009). In the case of students,prior work experience in a studied field may help students acquire new concepts,mental models and skills needed in their future profession (Payne et al., 2002; Tsai andTsai, 2005). Furthermore, Anakwe and Greenhaus (2000) found that work experienceobtained during college graduates internships, when the internships were similar totheir current jobs, enhances task mastery and learning at work. There are only fewstudies that define students prior work experience in more specific terms than its mereexistence (Anakwe and Greenhaus, 2000; Krausz et al., 1999). Thus, following Anakweand Greenhaus (2000), the present study examines vocational students prior workexperience in regular tasks typical of their studied industries. Thus, we hypothesise:

H1. The more prior knowledge a student has from a particular professional field,the more he/she will develop his/her professional skills in this field during theon-the-job learning period.

Attitudinal factorFor a student to develop professional skills at work, an influential factor besides priorknowledge may be the attitudinal inclination the student holds towards work life. Ingeneral, an attitude is a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating aparticular entity with some degree of favour or disfavour (Eagly and Chaiken, 1993),that is, an evaluative response tendency towards an object. Attitudes exert a directiveinfluence on behaviour. Generally, positive attitudes towards an object lead tobehaviour that supports the object, whereas negative attitudes lead to unfavourablebehaviour toward the object. Thereby, a positive attitude towards work life wouldmake a student more likely to exert effort to succeed at work, whereas a negativeattitude would have the opposite impact. It is important to examine students attitudestowards the world of work and working because these attitudes affect the studentsacquisition of professional skills (Illeris, 2003). Specifically, negative attitudes towardswork negatively affect students development of professional skills. Furthermore,successful workplace learning requires that students consider the learning importantto their future (Matthews, 1999), a measure that reflects the students attitudes towardswork in general.

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A specific concept related to students attitudes towards work life in general is workalienation. Work alienation means detachment, estrangement or separation from theworld of work and the work role (Ceylan and Sulu, 2011; Hirschfeld, 2002; Nair andVohra, 2010) and implies an overall disaffection regarding participation in work life,not just a temporary dissatisfaction with ones current job (Hirschfeld, 2002; Hirschfeldand Feild, 2000). Work alienation manifests as a lack of work motivation (Halbeslebenand Clark, 2010), ignorance of work processes and a reluctance to develop in ones work(Sulu et al., 2010). Overall, work alienation has been argued to have a negative impacton work performance (Hirschfeld, 2002) and learning at work. Hence, we posit:

H2. The more alienated an attitude towards work a student has, the less he/shewill develop his/her professional skills during the on-the-job learning period.

Motivational factorsThe third individual-level factor impacting the development of students professionalcompetence is related to the self-motivational drive derived from the studentsperformance orientation and work-related efficacy beliefs. Previous literaturediscussed in this section provides evidence of the positive influence of performanceorientation and efficacy beliefs related to work on students development ofprofessional skills. Focusing on performance at work (Kohli et al., 1998) is importantfor students workplace learning for two reasons. First, the development of professionalskills occurs through profession-related performance in daily situations, and second,students demonstrate their skill levels to workplace instructors through theirperformance. According to Sujan et al. (1994), people with performance orientations areinterested in positive evaluations regarding their abilities and performance fromco-workers, and they are willing to exert a great deal of effort to improve their jobperformance. Since it increases job effort, performance orientation is expected to have apositive effect on workers learning (Sujan et al., 1994). It is important to aperformance-oriented person that his/her co-workers see him/her as professionally able(Kohli et al., 1998). Hence, performance orientation accurately describes students whoare learning profession-related skills through work and are dependent on theworkplace instructors guidance and assessment. Since performance orientationincreases the likelihood that a student is willing to work hard to learn to perform wellin daily work situations, it has a positive impact on student learning.

Self-efficacy (Bandura, 1986) refers to an individuals belief in his/her capacity toaccomplish a given task. Self-efficacy beliefs have a guiding influence on humanbehaviour through cognitive, emotional and selective processes. A key source of astrong sense of self-efficacy in an activity is the gaining of personal experiences ofmastery and success. Many empirical studies have shown that perceived self-efficacyplays a central role in human agency and influences how people think, feel, act andmotivate themselves. A strong sense of self-efficacy promotes high involvement,perseverance and performance, as well as psychological well-being. In contrast, peoplewho doubt their capabilities tend to exert less effort, make more negative attributionsand perform worse. Self-efficacy has been used as an explanatory variable in numerousorganisational and profession-related studies (Schyns and von Collani, 2002) and isrelated to the successful acquisition of skills (Downey and Zeltmann, 2009; Grundlachet al., 2003). A high level of self-efficacy has been shown to result in effective learningand improved performance and to facilitate successful performance in different

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environments and changing situations (Chen et al., 2001). A high level of self-efficacyalso makes students more prone to take on challenging tasks, thus enhancing thedevelopment of their professional skills. A high level of work-related self-efficacy maymanifest itself through students performance sureness and fluency, both of which areneeded to develop true professionalism (Metso and Kianto, 2012). Based on theprevious arguments, we posit:

H3. A high performance orientation and a sense of work-related self-efficacy arepositively associated with the students development of professional skillsduring the on-the-job learning period.

Organizational factorsIn addition to individual-level factors, organisational factors also affect studentson-the-job learning (Billett, 2001; Confessore and Kops, 1998; Kelliher and Henderson,2006; Mumford, 1992). In fact, it has been argued that students learning depends on theworkplace learning setting provided by the organisation (Dornan et al., 2007; Grealishand Ranse, 2009). Hence, it can be claimed that organisational factors have a strongpositive impact on students development of professional skills during workplacelearning. First, students need guidance during on-the-job learning to develop theirprofessional skills in the right direction and to acquire new perspectives on taskaccomplishment. Fuller and Unwin (2007) found that successful apprenticeshipsdepend heavily on the commitment made by the organisation to guide newcomers.Research has found managers support to be important for successful workplacelearning conditions (Lehesvirta, 2004; Li et al., 2009) and recognised managerspotential as learning facilitators (Turner et al., 2006). Furthermore, Virtanen et al. (2012)suggested that guidance discussions and assessments with the workplace instructorsthat concentrate on students development of professional skills are important forsuccessful on-the-job learning.

Second, the psychological climate of an organisation affects students learning atwork. The psychological climate determines how individuals experience their dailyworking environment (Biswas and Varma, 2007). A psychological climate that isperceived to be positive fulfills individuals working environment requirements andneeds. Organisations can create a favourable psychological climate for their studentsworkplace learning by investing in proper orientation, sufficient help and recognitionof work well done (Amenumey and Lockwood, 2008), thus improving studentsprofessional skills development. The workplace instructors impact is crucial becauseinstructors are responsible for students orientation to organisation-specific practices(Metso and Kianto, 2012). By providing sufficient resources for workplace instructorsto help their students when needed (Amenumey and Lockwood, 2008), organisationscan demonstrate their willingness to invest in workplace learning. An absence of theseresources can result in superficial learning that is not connected to the organisation(Kelliher and Henderson, 2006). Furthermore, receiving feedback from workplaceinstructors is important to the development of students professional skills (Tynjala,2008). Turner et al. (2006) emphasised the importance of positive feedback and anorganisational climate that rewards learning. Specifically, managers commitment toquality and the recognition of high-quality work enhances high-quality performance(Amenumey and Lockwood, 2008).

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Third, organisations are in an ideal position to enhance students learning ofrelevant profession-related knowledge. Specifically, appropriate profession-specificwork experiences are key in students construction of professional skills. Relevantwork experience provided by organisations to enhance students development ofprofessional skills may include several dimensions, for example, proper learningopportunities (Chonko et al., 2003), opportunities to gain work experience outside usualworking tasks/sectors (Bryson et al., 2006) and challenging tasks (Aksu and Ozdemir,2005). For the reasons discussed previously, we hypothesise:

H4. Organizational factors (e.g., guidance, a positive psychological climate andopportunities to acquire profession-related knowledge) have a substantialpositive effect on students development of professional skills.

Relationship between organizational factors and the attitudinal factorBesides the direct relationship between individual and organisational factors and thedevelopment of professional skills, there may be a connection between organisationalfactors and work alienation (the attitudinal factor) in the sense that organisationalfactors can decrease an individuals work alienation. Miller (1967) found thatorganisation-related factors such as supervision, freedom of choice regarding tasks, aprofessional climate and encouragement from the organisation all mitigate workalienation. Alternatively, Sulu et al. (2010) suggested that the absence of autonomy inwork tasks, not being able to influence decision-making and the feeling of being treateddifferently from other workers cause work alienation. According to Nair and Vohra(2010), alienation from work can also be caused by work without meaning, a lack ofways to express oneself in work and poor work relationships. Furthermore, Sarros et al.(2002) suggested that organisational leaders with a transformational leadership stylecan mitigate work alienation, thus confirming the relationship between organisationalfactors and work alienation. In the context of students workplace learning,organisational factors such as workplace instructors actions and interest towards thestudents may decrease or prevent work alienation. Thus, we hypothesise:

H5. Organizational factors (e.g. guidance, a positive psychological climate andopportunities to acquire profession-related knowledge) are negativelyassociated with work alienation.

Figure 1 represents the theoretical model of the five study hypotheses.In sum, the proposed theoretical model suggests that individual-level and

organisational factors have a direct effect on the development of students professionalskills. Furthermore, it suggests that the attitudinal factor (work alienation) is a possiblemediator between the organisational factors and the development of professionalskills. Since the proposed model indicates that the organisational factors have a directeffect on the development of students professional skills, the suggested mediatingeffect is only partial. The results of the empirical study regarding these hypotheses areshown in Figure 2.

MethodResearch context and participantsIn Finland, the need to provide complementary ways for students to learn professionalskills beyond school-based formal education has been well recognised. All students

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undergoing VET education have a mandatory on-the-job learning period, during whichthey work as members of an organisation and conduct tasks related to their area ofeducational specialisation. The learning goals of the on-the-job learning period arebased on a curriculum to which the students, workplace instructors and teachers are allcommitted. The length of such an on-the-job learning period is about six months,spread over the three years of studies. During this time, the employing organisation isrequired to supply the student with a nominated workplace instructor, who isresponsible for guiding and advising the student with workplace tasks and for servingas a mentor to the student.

This study involved a sample of graduating Finnish vocational students who allcompleted a questionnaire after finishing their last on-the-job learning period. Thegraduating students were chosen as the target group because they were about to enterwork life and had received all the knowledge and on-the-job learning experiences thatcan be offered within the framework of VET. To collect the data, an internetquestionnaire was sent to 600 graduating students in two Finnish vocational colleges,from whom 289 responses were received. After removing incomplete answers, the

Figure 1.Theoretical model

Figure 2.Structural model

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number of observations in this study was 285. The data were collected betweenFebruary and May 2012. The sample (n 285) consisted of 60 per cent female and 40per cent male respondents. One respondent did not indicate gender. A total of 84 percent of the respondents indicated ages between 18 and 22. The students represented theentire set of the Finnish VET sectors, including Culture, Natural Sciences, Technologyand Transport, Natural Resources and the Environment, Social Services, Health andSport, Tourism, Catering and Domestic Services and Social Sciences, Business andAdministration. These study sectors include professions such as artisan, electrician,painter, rural entrepreneur, hairdresser, cook and practical nurse. The questionnairewas constructed after a careful literature review and pre-tested with a group ofstudents before presenting the final version to the study sample.

MeasuresApart from the background data, all study items were measured on a six-point Likertscale anchored by strongly disagree and strongly agree. The option n/a was alsoprovided in the questionnaire but removed from the analysis. The constructs and itemsof the model are presented in Table I.

Cognitive factor. The students prior knowledge of their study fields was measuredthrough work experience. Following Anakwe and Greenhaus (2000), this studystressed the characteristics of prior work experience rather than simply whether or notit existed for a given student. Specifically, the characteristics of prior work experiencein this study referred to the similarity of the students prior work experience to thetasks performed during workplace learning. Hence, the students prior knowledge wasexpressed in terms of previous work experience in the studied industry whenperforming regular tasks typical to that field. The students work experience includedsummer jobs and working during evenings or weekends. It did not include formercurriculum-based workplace learning periods. The item was constructed by asking thestudents to indicate the extent of their prior work experience as belonging to one of fivecategories: one to three months, four to six months, seven to nine months, ten to 12months or over a year. If the students had no prior work experience in the studiedindustry, they were able to choose the option no work experience. The scale consistedof several categories of relatively short time periods because students do not typicallyhave much work experience due to their young age. Furthermore, recent economicrecessions have reduced opportunities for part-time or summer jobs.

Attitudinal factor. The three items related to the students attitudinal factors andmeasured through work alienation were taken from Hirschfeld and Feild (2000) andHirschfeld et al. (2000). They reflected the students general attitudes towards work lifeand work: attitudes towards getting a job after graduation, enthusiasm towards workin general and attitudes towards performing ordinary work.

Motivational factors. Motivational factors were captured in two categories. The firstcategory, a performance orientation item adapted from Sujan et al. (1994), indicated theimportance of co-workers opinions regarding a students ability to act as aprofessional. The second category, self-efficacy, was measured through three items.The first item, adapted from Hellriegel and Slocum (2007), described students ability toperform sensibly in different work situations, whereas the other two items, adaptedfrom Chen et al. (2001), measured students belief in their ability to master difficult anddifferent types of tasks.

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Construct ItemsStandardized

loading SE CR/AVE

Cognitive Work experience in the studiedindustry, regular tasks

0.98 0.18 0.97/0.97

Attitudinal 0.69/0.43Work alienation I wonder why I should get a job

after I have graduated0.50 0.08

I find it difficult to imagineenthusiasm concerning work

0.83 0.08

Ordinary work is too boring to beworth doing (items of workalienation are adapted fromHirschfeld and Feild, 2000 andHirschfeld et al., 2000)

0.60 0.08

Motivational 0.80/0.50Performance orientation It is important to me that my co-

workers consider me a professional(adapted from Sujan et al. 1994)

0.58 0.05

Self-efficacy I know the right thing to do indifferent working situations(adapted from Hellriegel andSlocum, 2007)

0.71 0.04

When facing difficult tasks, I amcertain that I will accomplish them(adapted from Chen et al., 2001)

0.71 0.05

I am confident that I can performeffectively on many different tasks(adapted from Chen et al., 2001)

0.81 0.05

Organizational 0.89/0.53Perceived usefulness ofguidance

Guidance during this on-the-joblearning period has improved mywork performance (adapted fromStone et al., 2007)

0.78 0.06

Psychological climate The workplace instructor took timeto orientate me

0.75 0.08

The workplace instructor wasresponsive to my requests for help

0.78 0.06

The workplace instructorrecognized and appreciated mygood job (items of psychologicalclimate are adapted fromAmenumey and Lockwood, 2008)

0.70 0.07

Knowledge transfer,obtaining knowledge

Seniors supported my efforts togain work experiences (adaptedfrom Wilkesmann andWilkesmann, 2011)

0.62 0.06

Development of professionalskills

0.90/0.74

I am satisfied with the extent of myprofessional skills developmentsince entering this on-the-joblearning period

0.90 0.06

(continued )

Table I.Constructs, items and

measurement ofconfirmatory factor

analysis convergentvalidity

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Organisational factors. Organisational factors were examined through several items. Anitem adapted from Stone et al. (2007) was used to measure the perceived usefulness ofguidance on improved performance during the students workplace learning. In this study,guidance referred to the guidance provided to the students by workplace instructorsduring the workplace learning period. It is a common practice in most European countriesfor workplaces to appoint a workplace instructor for each student to rely upon whenhe/she needs guidance. Three items adapted from Amenumey and Lockwood (2008)measured the workplace instructors actions. The items included the workplaceinstructors focus on the students orientation at the beginning of workplace learning, theirresponsiveness to the students requests for help and their recognition of a job well done.Finally, seniors support in obtaining work experiences during the on-the-job learningperiod was captured by an item adapted from Wilkesmann and Wilkesmann (2011).

Development of professional skills. The three items related to the studentsdevelopment of professional skills were adapted from Pascarella and Terenzini (1980).They measured the students satisfaction towards the extent of their skillsdevelopment during the workplace learning period, their overall satisfaction towardsthe work experience obtained during the on-the-job learning period and the positiveimpact of this work experience on professional growth.

ResultsA two-step method was adapted to test the measurement model and the structuralmodel (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988). First, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) withLisrel 8.80 was conducted to assess the measurement model using the covariancematrix and the maximum likelihood estimation method. The items with low loadingswere removed. To identify the measurement items causing poor fit, the largest negativeand positive standardised residuals were studied. The items with the largest absolutevalues were removed step by step.

Assessment of the measurement model confirmatory factor analysisWe conducted a CFA on the five latent constructs (see Table I). The Chi-square wassignificant with x 2 148.94, ( p 0.000341), df 95 and x 2/df 1.57, but all other

Construct ItemsStandardized

loading SE CR/AVE

My on-the-job learning periodexperience has had a positiveinfluence on my professionalgrowth

0.92 0.06

I am satisfied with my workexperience at this on-the-joblearning period (items ofprofessional skills learning areadapted from Pascarella andTerenzini, 1980)

0.76 0.05

Notes: x2 148.94, ( p , 0.05); df 95; x2/df 1.57; RMSEA 0.04; NNFI 0.98; CFI 0.98;SRMR 0.04; SE Standard error; CR Composite reliability; AVE Average variance extractedTable I.

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indices were good: the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) 0.04, thenon-normed fit index (NNFI) 0.98, the comparative fit index (CFI) 0.98 and thestandardised root mean square residual (SRMR) 0.04. The ratio x 2/df should be assmall as possible for a good fit of the model, such that in the absence of absolutestandards, a result of 2 or 3 is considered good or acceptable, respectively(Schermelleh-Engel et al., 2003, p. 33). RMSEA values between 0.05 and 0.08 aresufficient for an adequate fit (Schermelleh-Engel et al., 2003). NNFI values exceeding0.97 indicate a good fit (Schermelleh-Engel et al., 2003). According to recentsuggestions, the CFI value should be 0.95 or higher for an adequate model (Matsunaga,2010; Russell, 2002; Schermelleh-Engel et al., 2003). The value of the SRMR should be# 0.08 (Lei and Wu, 2007).

Convergent validity was assessed through a study of the indicator loadings. AsTable I indicates, the standardised factor loadings were between 0.50 and 0.98 andwere statistically significant ( p , 0.05). Composite reliability (CR) and averagevariance extracted (AVE) were used to assess reliability. CR values were 0.97 for thecognitive factor, 0.69 for the attitudinal factor, 0.80 for the motivational factors, 0.89 forthe organisational factors and 0.90 for the development of professional skills. CRvalues should exceed 0.60 (AL-Majali and Mat, 2011; Fornell and Larcker, 1981). Sincethe CR values for each scale were above the threshold value, they fulfilled the reliabilitycriterion. Discriminant validity was assessed by examining the factor correlations andthe square roots of the AVE. AVEs for each construct should be 0.50 or above (Fornelland Larcker, 1981; Ping, 2004). The AVE value for the attitudinal factor (0.43) wasmarginally below the threshold value but deemed acceptable (Sinha and Batra, 1999).Adequate discriminant validity requires that the square roots of the AVEs shouldexceed the correlations between constructs (Katono, 2011). Table II shows that theconstructs are distinct and thus indicate adequate discriminant validity.

The structural modelThe observed variables, cognitive, attitudinal, motivational and organisational factorsexplained 44.7 per cent of the variance in the development of professional skills.Organisational factors explained 9.4 per cent of the variance in the attitudinal factor.Again, the Chi-square was significant x 2 153.52 ( p 0.000226), degrees offreedom (df) 97 and x 2/df 1.58 but the overall fit of the proposed structuralmodel was acceptable with RMSEA 0.05, NNFI 0.98, CFI 0.98 andSRMR 0.05 (see Table III).

M SD 1 2 3 4 5

Cognitive 2.17 3.00 0.98Attitudinal 2.61 1.46 20.12 * * 0.66Motivational 4.61 0.84 0.13 * * 20.19 * 0.71Development of professional skills 4.96 0.96 0.05 * * 20.41 * 0.43 * 0.86Organizational 4.72 1.15 20.02 * * 20.30 * 0.41 * 0.60 * 0.73

Notes: *Significant at p , 0.05; * *not significant at p , 0.05; diagonals represent the square root ofAVE; n 285

Table II.Means, standard

deviations, andcorrelations among the

latent constructs

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To examine the suggested partial mediating effect, a model with full mediation wasconstructed by deleting the path between the organisational factors and thedevelopment of the professional skills (Hair et al., 2006). This model showed thatx 2 191.83 ( p , 0.05), df 98, x 2/df 1.96, RMSEA 0.06, NNFI 0.96,CFI 0.97 and SRMR 0.08 (see Table III).

To further examine mediation, the following steps were taken (Hair et al., 2006,p. 867). As Figure 2 indicates, the organisational factors are significantly related to thedevelopment of professional skills and the attitudinal factor. Furthermore, theattitudinal factor is significantly related to the development of professional skills. Therelationship between the organisational factors and the development was examined intwo cases. First, the attitudinal factor as an additional predictor was included in themodel and, second, it was left out. Figure 2 shows that the path between theorganisational factors and the development of professional skills is statisticallysignificant with b 0.45. In the second case, the path between the organisationalfactors and the development of professional skills is significant with b 0.53 (seeTable III). Since the relationship between the organisational factors and thedevelopment of professional skills was reduced but remained significant when theattitudinal factor was included as an additional predictor, the suggested partialmediation is supported (see Table III).

The hypotheses were tested using an investigation of the path coefficients. Thisapproach showed the completely standardised LISREL estimates and their respectivet-values. The structural model based on the theoretical model represented in Figure 1 isdescribed in Figure 2. The numbers show the standardised path coefficients (thecritical t-value is ^1.645).

As the results indicate, the cognitive factor (measured through previous workexperience in the field studied) and the development of professional skills are notsignificantly related (b 0.00, t-value 0.009); thus, H1 is not supported. As H3claimed, there is a positive and significant (b 0.21, t-value 3.23) relationship betweenthe motivational factors and the development of professional skills. There is a strongpositive and highly significant association (b 0.45, t-value 6.58) between theorganisational factors and the development of professional skills, which supports H4.As H5 suggested, the organisational factors are negatively and significantly(b 20.31, t-value 23.70) related to the attitudinal factor. Finally, as H2 proposed,the attitudinal factor and the development of professional skills are negatively andsignificantly (b 20.23, t-value 23.51) related.

Model x 2 df RMSEA NNFI CFI SRMR

b betweenorganizational

factors anddevelopment of

professionalskills

Proposed model withpartial mediation

153.52 97 0.05 0.98 0.98 0.05 0.45

Model without themediating effect

168.37 98 0.05 0.97 0.98 0.06 0.53

Table III.Fit statistics forstructural equation modelcomparisons

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Discussion and conclusionsThe aim of this study was to examine the effects of organisational, cognitive,attitudinal and motivational factors on vocational students development ofprofessional skills during workplace learning. The model with a partial mediatingeffect of the attitudinal factor in the relationship between the organisational factors andthe development of professional skills indicated a good fit with the data. Regarding thefirst hypothesis, the result did not indicate that the students prior work experience inperforming regular tasks in the studied field (the cognitive factor) had a positiveinfluence on the development of professional skills. In this study, the students regulartasks in the field studied included summer jobs and working during evenings andweekends. They did not include former curriculum-based workplace learning periods.This result contradicts previous studies (Anakwe and Greenhaus, 2000; Tsai and Tsai,2005), which found a positive relationship between prior work experience and learning.

An explanation could be that in the present study, a majority of the respondents (74per cent) had only short periods of work experience ranging from one to six months.Furthermore, it has been argued that work experience in a specific field is notnecessarily the same as the knowledge necessary for that field (Quinones et al., 1995).Hence, the professional juniors prior work experience in their studied industries maynot have converted into the knowledge required for the development of professionalskills during workplace learning. In addition, the similarity between the tasks of priorwork experience and the current tasks are related to quicker learning of technical skills(Anakwe and Greenhaus, 2000) rather than a deep learning of professional skills.

The second hypothesis claimed that the attitudinal factor captured by workalienation has a negative impact on students development of professional skills. Theresult implied that the students enthusiasm towards work, as well as attitudes thatquestion the meaning of getting a job after graduation and that consider ordinary worktoo boring to be worth doing, decreased the development of professional skills. Thisfinding is in line with that of previous studies (Halbesleben and Clark, 2010; Sulu et al.,2010). Concerning the third hypothesis, the result confirmed that of previous studies(Chen et al., 2001; Sujan et al., 1994), showing that the motivational factors,performance orientation and self-efficacy are positively related to studentsdevelopment of professional skills. It was important for the students that theco-workers considered them professionals. Furthermore, the results indicated that thestudents confidence in their ability to manage different and difficult tasks and tohandle several different tasks successfully enhanced professional skills development.

With regards to the fourth hypothesis, the result showed that the organisationalfactors had a substantial effect on the students development of professional skills(Dornan et al., 2007; Grealish and Ranse, 2009). More importantly, the results stressedthe workplace instructors crucial impact on the students development of professionalskills. Finally, the fifth hypothesis claimed that the organisational factors (i.e. guidance,a positive psychological climate and opportunities to acquire profession-relatedknowledge) were negatively associated with work alienation. The result appears to bein line with previous findings (Miller, 1967; Sulu et al., 2010). The results suggested thatthe workplace instructors actions may mitigate or prevent the students workalienation. Following from H2, H4 and H5, the results supported a partial mediatingeffect of work alienation in the relationship between the organisational factors and thedevelopment of professional skills. When the workplace instructors succeed in their

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actions towards the students, work alienation was decreased, which in turn resulted ina positive impact from the organisational factors on the students development ofprofessional skills.

Research limitationsThe present study has some limitations. The findings were based on studentsself-appraisal of the factors under examination. Although this is a possible source ofproblems with a common method variance, it seems to be a commonly used approach(Virtanen et al., 2012). However, future research is needed to examine the workplaceinstructors, managers and vocational college teachers evaluations of the studentsdevelopment of professional skills. The design of the study was cross-sectional, and,thus, it is not completely clear that the independent variables occurred before thedependent variable. This problem is mitigated by the fact that the students responsesgiven after the workplace learning period were based on the entire period.

Practical implicationsThis paper has a number of practical implications for managers, workplace instructorsand schools. Workplace learning is recognised as an effective way of learning (Dornanet al., 2007; Felstead et al., 2010; Grealish and Ranse, 2009), but we know less aboutfactors that influence students workplace learning. The present study stressed theimportance of organisational factors and the workplace instructors impact on thestudents development of professional skills recognised by previous literature(Lehesvirta, 2004; Li et al., 2009; Turner et al., 2006). It suggests that the followingorganisational factors influence the students workplace learning through theworkplace instructors actions: guidance (focused on the students improved workperformance), sufficient time for the students orientation, the provision of help whenrequested, recognition and appreciation of good work and support for students effortsto gain work experiences. It is important for managers to understand how these factorscan be used in practice to develop students professional skills. From the perspective ofschools, the paper points to the importance of selecting organisations for workplacelearning periods that recognise their role, especially the crucial role of workplaceinstructors and other seniors in supporting the students in learning about professionalpractice.

The orientation phase at the beginning of the workplace learning period isimportant because it enables the workplace instructors to observe students abilitiesand attitudes (Metso and Kianto, 2012). Hence, the instructors can plan guidance andtasks to fit the students present levels of professional knowledge, attitudes andmotivation. Thus, the orientation period substantially affects the rest of the studentsworkplace learning and provides a good basis for the development of professionalskills. Managers should prepare an overall framework for the orientation period andformulate clear instructions for proper use. At the beginning of the orientation phase,the workplace instructors should further design and implement each students plan. Awell-structured orientation period provides the students with a good kickoff and givesthe workplace instructors a concrete tool with which to enhance the studentsprofessional skills development.

Managers should plan the workplace instructors work to ensure that they will haveenough resources for the students without neglecting or disturbing their normal work.

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Planning work in advance may increase the workplace instructors commitment andhelp to integrate daily work smoothly in the requirements of the students workplacelearning. Successful workplace learning requires that the workplace instructors workclosely with the students during the entire workplace learning period. In practice, itmeans that, for example, work shifts, business trips, employee training and vacationsmust be planned in advance to fit the students workplace learning periods.Furthermore, workplace learning can go beyond superficial actions when theworkplace instructors have a structured schedule that leaves time for properconcentration on the students performance (e.g. by having time to recognise andappreciate the students good work) (Turner et al., 2006). Receiving help in authenticsituations when needed enhances the students development of professional skills andconnects their learning to the needs of the organisation (Kelliher and Henderson, 2006).

In conclusion, this study found that attitudinal, motivational and organisationalfactors all affect students development of professional skills during workplacelearning. Two important findings of this study highlight the crucial impact oforganisations on students professional skills development. First, the organisationalfactors were found to decrease or prevent the students work alienation (attitudinalfactor). Furthermore, work alienation functioned as a mediator between theorganisational factor and the development of professional skills. Second, theorganisational factors had a strong positive effect on the development ofprofession-related skills. More importantly, the results revealed the crucial impact ofthe workplace instructors actions on the students successful workplace learning.

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About the authorsSari Metso, MSc (Econ.), is a Postgraduate Student of Knowledge Management in the School ofBusiness at Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland. Her research focus is onknowledge management, professional skills learning and workplace learning. She has severalyears of experience developing and planning vocational education. Sari Metso is thecorresponding author and can be contacted at: [email protected]

Dr Aino Kianto is a Professor of Knowledge Management in the School of Business atLappeenranta University of Technology, Finland. Her teaching and research focus on knowledgemanagement, intellectual capital, creativity, innovation and organisational renewal. Her currentinterests include the knowledge-based view of the firm and measurement of knowledge-relatedphenomena in organisations. She has authored and co-authored several academic articles,papers, books and book chapters related to knowledge management, intellectual capital andinnovation. In addition to the academia, she has also worked with the Future Committee of theFinnish Parliament and regularly gives lectures at companies.

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