Pauline Armsby

Work-Based Learning Assessed as a Field or a Mode of Study.

Work‐based learning is used and assessed in higher education a variety of ways. In this paper we look particularly at the differences between the assessment of WBL when it is constructed as a field of study, i.e., using generic and transdisciplinary criteria and when it is constructed as a mode of study, i.e., when it is assessed using subject specific criteria but the criteria have been met through work‐based practice. We draw data from a workshop that took place at a Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UK) WBL conference that aimed to codify the various types of work‐based learning being practiced in UK higher education and to ascertain how these are presently being assessed. We also drew data from our own experience as practitioners running international programmes in higher education WBL. Most universities approached WBL as a mode of learning, however there were a few who approached WBL as a field of study and some others that used both approaches to assessment. We conclude that the field of study approach to assessing WBL more closely matches the learning experience of the work‐based students.

The legitimisation of knowledge: a work‐based learning perspective of APEL

Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) is now an established but relatively underused process in higher education (HE). In our review article, we argue that this is because APEL not only challenges the traditional university monopoly of knowledge but also challenges other established processes and social constructions. Work‐Based Learning (WBL) has used APEL to great advantage in allowing people to gain access to HE. Also, it has done much to challenge traditional discipline based assumptions associated with APEL practice through seeking to recognise the knowledge and abilities that come about through the three spheres of work, the academic and the personal. This article examines the perspectives of five tutors who regularly support the development of, and assess the APEL claims of WBL students. The perspectives of the tutors are presented as vignettes. These, together with three short case examples, are used to illustrate themes that are related to the APEL process: power and control within the infrastructure of universities; the power of the disciplines to skew the depth and significance of prior and experiential learning; the pressure from government for universities to foster employee learning; competing value positions of academics and of students; and the social influence of students and assessors’ gender, race and class. We look at these five overlapping themes and how the field of WBL may have certain features that can help overcome these constructions in the APEL process. We also consider the struggles of WBL and its own emerging value positions.

Methodologies for undergraduates doing practitioner investigations at work

Purpose – Development activities at work require the use of abilities that include a range of methodological knowledge. This research seeks to develop and promote these abilities into the curriculum.Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses information from a variety of subject areas about the teaching and learning of practitioner‐led research and development projects. An action research approach was used in which staff across one university were asked to draw on best practice and expertise.Findings – Differing approaches to practitioner‐led research were identified. A web‐based resource to facilitate the understanding of methodology in the practitioner‐led projects of students on work‐based and work‐related university programmes was developed.Research limitations/implications – It is difficult to learn how to become a successful practitioner researcher outside of the “real‐time” contexts of the work environment.Practical implications – To manage successful developments at work, students need to be...

Research influences on a professional doctorate

The article is concerned with the research approaches and nature of methodologies and epistemologies used by practitioner‐researchers in a range of occupational areas. The authors use the experiences of candidates on a generic Doctorate in Professional Studies who undertake a module on research and development for professional practice. They also bring their experience as tutors and programme leaders and the results from focus groups with their peers in other universities to this current and topical area of the higher education curriculum. Part of the module asks candidates to write an assignment in which they investigate the methodologies and epistemologies used as a practitioner‐researcher. A close analysis of ten of these assignments reveals that the methodologies selected for practice‐based projects may be as a result of the candidates’ personal, professional and disciplinary backgrounds as well as a time imperative and desire for brevity that arises from an immediacy in the situation. The authors also conclude that a range of factors were important to the practitioner‐researchers and that these have important epistemological implications. The social‐science‐oriented approaches introduced on the programme offer tried and tested ways to research, but more practice‐based approaches to practitioner‐research could be developed further.

Developing the ethics of worker-researchers through phronesis

Engaging with research methods requires, we argue, not only adherence to ethical codes of conduct, but caring for the researched. Researchers, who are also workers in the same organisation or community where the research will take place, have an additional duty not to violate the dignity of the researched, and that is the ethic of care. We discuss how this concern can be progressed through a research methods course that uses reflective diary writing as a way for researchers to reflect and articulate the complexities of their approach to ethical considerations in their research. We conclude that although reflection does not necessarily lead to action, reflective diaries are useful in capturing a period of personal transition. This is demonstrated through the diaries of a student and a competent worker.

Developing professional learning and identity through the recognition of experiential learning at doctoral level

This article reports on an exploratory study regarding the first 12 graduates of a new type of Professional Doctorate by Public Works (PDPW) programme in the UK, that uses an in-depth reflective and critical analysis of prior high-level work-based learning with attendant evidence as its main product for assessment. The main aim of this research was to illustrate the effects of undertaking this process on the candidates’ professional learning and identity. A case study approach was used to enable focus from a variety of perspectives on to the single case of the PDPW programme, and interview, questionnaire, focus group and participant observation methods were employed with candidates and staff involved with their learning, teaching and assessment process (N = 32). The results are indicative and presented alongside practice-based experience of facilitating and assessing the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) on another professional doctorate with a very similar pedagogical and philosophical perspective. The pedagogic processes described in the article appeared to facilitate doctoral candidates’ reflexive understanding of their experience and knowledge. By drawing on individual understanding about workplace learning the process also provided another way of learning about themselves. The implications of the findings for theory and practice in promoting RPL through an ontological turn for higher education, to reconceptualise learning to affect ways of being rather than or as well as ways of knowing, is discussed.

CETL for work based learning: enhancing innovation and creativity in teaching and learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss three case studies reflecting areas of innovation and creativity which CETL funding made possible through a work-based learning CETL. CETL sponsored evaluations of funded projects and teaching initiatives informed further curriculum developments. Design/methodology/approach – Using a case study approach the paper explores the experiences of three different projects and the impact upon staff and students in a CETL for work-based learning. Three case studies are used, the first describing progression from a Performing Arts Diploma to a degree, facilitated by the use of learning technologies and social networking; the second considers the impact upon experienced professionals and stakeholders involved in a new Doctorate programme by Public Works. The third case study demonstrates the importance of rewarding investment in and evaluation of learning approaches, assisted by learning technology, with the resultant development of a model which facilitates reflective learning from work activities. Case studies were focused on teaching and learning practice. Findings – These were all programme developments which arose from practitioners and impacted upon academic practice and curriculum development. They impacted upon future learning initiatives thus demonstrating that the CETL investment impacted a wide range of learning activities at different academic levels. Dissemination of impact beyond the original project was evident through qualitative feedback and practitioner practice. Social implications – This was more of an analytical exploration of funded innovations in teaching and learning than formal research and therefore is not presented as traditional research. However, a case for case study approach in included, but data methods not explored. Practical implications – The CETL funding of teaching and learning innovations impacted upon work-based learning and the student learning experience within several schools across the university. These innovations have become significant for future WBL curriculum developments within the University. It is also evidenced that additional funding for five years of the CETL project enabled projects to grow and develop over a period of time. Therefore the indications are that sustained funding and evaluations at development points contribute to embedding and enhancing academic curriculum innovations. Originality/value – This paper highlights the importance of long-term investment in teaching and learning initiatives and the impact that such investment can have over a period of time, particularly in relation to CETL funding, of which the long-term effects on teaching and learning in HE are as yet unknown.

The design of doctorate curricula for practising professionals

ABSTRACT Expansion and changes in doctoral education globally have challenged universities to meet the needs of practising professionals. Values and purposes, structure and content and pedagogy of the provision are key considerations. This curriculum evaluation work investigated the views of 68 higher education staff mainly from Europe and North America involved in the development and delivery of professional doctorates on current issues in designing an appropriate curriculum for practitioners. Analysis of views from two international workshops suggested that while the social benefits of practitioner research were acknowledged, staff struggled with tensions in their higher education contexts to manage practitioner-focused elements, including the balance between theory and practice, recognition of practitioner methodologies and provision of appropriate supervision. The paper concludes that a wider understanding of the values and purpose of doctoral education within and beyond the academy is required that recognises the production of knowledge through practice, and supports ethical social action.

Higher Education Quality and Work-Based Learning: Two Concepts Not yet Fully Integrated.

ABSTRACT This short paper recognises the growth in emphasis in work‐based learning as Europe moves forward on economically driven life‐long learning. We support such a move and point to issues which still need to be resolved.