Learning Through Work Placements and Beyond

by Dr. Brenda Little and Professor Lee Harvey

July, 2006

A Report for HECSU and the Higher Education Academy’s Work Placements Organisation Forum

Rationale and aims

Work-based learning at higher education level has long been a feature of UK higher education: for example, in the 1950s, the National Council for Technological Awards advocated that undergraduate programmes in engineering and technology should incorporate planned periods of industrial placement. Since that time, undergraduate programmes incorporating such work-based placements have been introduced across a wide range of subject areas. In some programmes, the placement is a year-long activity ‘sandwich’ between significant periods of on-campus learning; in other programmes (often those seen as meeting both academic and professional development objectives) shorter ‘blocks’ of placements are interspersed throughout the undergraduate programme. More recently, there has also been a growth in undergraduate programmes wherein students can opt to take a ‘work-based’ unit (which will involve a short 6-10 week placement) as part of their overall programme.

Recent studies of the relationship between work placements (in sandwich courses) and subsequent short-term employment outcomes tend to find sandwich students are advantaged in the labour market, at least in the early part of their careers. Given employers positive views about graduates who have undertaken periods of work experience during their undergraduate programme (in that employers consider graduates have acquired many of the skills essential for success at work, including communication and interpersonal skills, in addition to acquiring attributes such as team-working, and an awareness of workplace culture) we should not be surprised at these findings.

However, although recently-reported studies of work placements continue to cite personal skills development as an important feature of placement learning, less is known/ reported about the extent to which there is a positive transfer of learning from the placement to subsequent stages of an individual’s learning through the taught programme of studies.

Thus, the overall aims of the study were to:

• Investigate students’ perceptions of learning from placements (planned as part of the undergraduate curriculum)

• Explore how values and ethical positions are developed on placement

• Investigate the extent to which students build on such learning in subsequent stages of the taught curriculum.

• Identify what aspects of the students’ subsequent taught curriculum facilitate and/or hinder the continuing enhancement of knowledge, skills and attributes developed through placements.

Conclusions:

• Considerable variation in length of placement, size and type of organisation, range and complexities of work activities

• Tangible gains from work experiences – but need to be pro-active

• Increased confidence, + more self-aware + more aware of others

• Positive changes to approaches to study + more active engagement

• Clearer about future intentions

Learning through Work Placements and Beyond

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