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Stan Lester
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Work-based
learning at higher education level It is now fairly
well-accepted that learning that takes place at, through and in response to
work can, if it meets the relevant criteria, be recognised towards academic
awards at any level. I have been
involved in work-based learning developments at university level since the
late 1990s, from approaches driven by individual contexts and aspirations
such as negotiated work-based programmes and practitioner doctorates through
to more curriculum-driven programmes such as Degree Apprenticeships. ‘Work-based’ or ‘Work-integrated’? Work-based learning
(WBL) has been described as “all and any learning that is situated in the
workplace or arises directly out of workplace concerns” (Lester and Costley
2010). Only a tiny fraction of this is
related to higher education, but programmes can be created around WBL whether
it is learning ‘in the flow of work’ or more planned learning in response to
work concerns. Work-integrated
learning (WIL) can be described as “approaches and strategies that integrate
theory with the practice of work within a purposefully defined curriculum”
(Patrick et al 2008). WIL therefore
starts with a predefined programme and generally uses work placements,
internships or an on-and-off-job training programme such as an apprenticeship
so that the content is partly learned in the workplace. Degree Apprenticeships Degree
Apprenticeships (DAs) were officially introduced in the UK in 2015, although
some pre-existing programmes followed similar principles. The basic premise of a DA is that it
involves studying for a bachelor’s or master’s degree alongside full-time
employment, typically in a training post.
There is growing recognition that the most effective approaches
involve close integration of academic and practical learning and make
effective use of digital media rather than using the ‘parallel but
disconnected’ format familiar from day- and block-release courses. The most popular DAs are currently
management, engineering, information and communications technology, nursing
and policing. DAs are also are forming
minority entry routes in many professions including accountancy, law,
surveying and architecture, and a medical DA will start recruiting in 2023. I have worked on
several projects concerned with Degree Apprenticeships including leading a
review for QAA on work-integrated degrees, the Edge Foundation funded study
into sustaining degree apprenticeships, reviews led by Middlesex University,
and with UVAC on the Education & Training Foundation-led project to
extend the government-funded Apprenticeship Workforce Development Programme
into higher education. ► Sustainable
Degree Apprenticeships (report for the Edge Foundation by Darryll Bravenboer
and Stan Lester, 2020) ► “Creating
conditions for sustainable Degree Apprenticeships in England”, Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning
(2020) ► “Degree apprenticeships are far from
fake”, opinion piece in People Management (2020) ► Work-integrated degrees: context, engagement, practice and quality (report for QAA 2016) ► “Towards
an integrated approach to professional competence and academic qualification”, Education
+ Training (2016) ► “Bridging the gap from student to
capable practitioner”, 2012 article explaining why conventional
‘sequential’ routes are inefficient for professional careers Negotiated work-based learning Negotiated work-based
learning involves individuals or groups working with university tutors to
design a programme around their existing experience, current work and future
aims. Programmes can draw on existing
or newly-designed university courses (including digital and peer learning
modules), make use of activities such as action learning, coaching and
mentoring, or be based on individual learning from or connected to work
activities; many include a mix of different kinds of activity. Negotiated programmes can vary from a small
piece of work that leads to an undergraduate certificate through to master’s
degrees and doctorates. Work-based
learning can pose a challenge to traditional university structures and ways
of working; as I argued 20 years ago
in a short article (below) it requires a realisation or partnership approach
to working rather than the more usual concern with delivery. The intensive nature of this kind of
provision has tended to mean that universities have focused most strongly on
groups of learners from single employers or professions rather than fully
individually-negotiated programmes.
Individual programmes have fallen off in recent years and learners
have often been directed towards Degree Apprenticeships; the awaited
introduction of lifelong learning loans may help revive this innovative and
effective form of higher education. In 1998-2001 I
worked on the Ufi-Learndirect Learning through Work programme which
provided a set of principles, a web-based gateway, and an extensive range of
learning resources for people in work to apply to, and negotiate programmes
with, several participating universities from across the UK. More recently I have worked on several
projects with Middlesex University to research and contribute to aspects of
work-based learning, including the use of learning agreements, work-based
projects and the use of mobile devices for workplace learning. ► “Reconsidering
negotiated work-based learning in the digital age”, summary conference paper (2022). ► “A qualification system fit for
adults? Revisiting some ideas from the University for Industry”, Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning
(2015) ► “Work-based learning at higher
education level,” Studies in
Higher Education (2010) ► “Negotiated work-based learning: from
delivery to realisation,” Capability (2002). Practitioner doctorates The principles of
negotiated work-based learning were extended to doctoral level in the late
1990s, and several universities now offer what can be termed work-based or
practitioner doctorates (often designated DProf). Work-based doctorates differ from
conventional PhDs in that they focus on high-level practical issues facing
the doctoral candidate rather than on research problems in an academic
discipline, and they can emphasise development and change as much as
research. They also differ from conventional
professional doctorates in not being limited to a specific field, and
(typically) not including a taught component other than in relation to
research and development. Candidates
are often already experts in their fields and are looking to develop and
communicate innovative practical solutions rather than necessarily contribute
to a body of research; if the PhD is
characterised by making an original contribution to knowledge, the DProf can
be described as making an original contribution to practice. In turn this has implications for the
relationship between candidates and academics, as the latter need to act more
as advisors and mentors than as expert supervisors. I completed my own
DProf, in professional accreditation, at Middlesex University in 2002. Since then I have worked on the development
of the DProf at Middlesex, principally with Professor Carol Costley, and
contributed to the theory of and research on practitioner doctorates through
several papers, short studies and conference presentations. ► “Practice as
Research: developing the workplace project”, book chapter (2016) ► “Work-based doctorates:
professional extension at the highest levels” Studies in Higher Education (2012) ► “Creating
original knowledge in and for the workplace,” Studies in Continuing Education (2012) ► “Conceptualising
the practitioner doctorate," Studies
in Higher Education (2004). ©
Stan Lester 2023 |
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