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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 models 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). I would now update ‘workplace’ to
‘work-space’ or ‘work context’, and add that work does not have to be paid
work. Only a small proportion 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 so that the content is
partly learned in the workplace. Apprenticeship-type
programmes are often described as WIL, but following Jonathan Garnett I argue
that they should be conceptualised slightly differently, as
‘learning-integrated work’ (LIW). In a
recent paper I define LIW as ‘employment based
around a defined programme of learning that integrates the practical and the
theoretical and normally leads to some form of qualification or formal
recognition’. Degree Apprenticeships and integrated professional
programmes 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 and other higher-level apprenticeships
are also are forming minority entry routes in many other professions
including accountancy, law, surveying, medicine and architecture. I have worked on
several projects concerned with Degree Apprenticeships including leading a
review for QAA of work-integrated degrees, the Edge Foundation funded study
into sustaining degree apprenticeships, reviews led by Middlesex University,
and with UVAC to extend the government-funded Apprenticeship Workforce Development
Programme into higher education. ► “Higher
and Degree Apprenticeships: a perspective from UK professions”, Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning (2026) ► Higher and Degree Apprenticeships as professional
entry and progression routes, UVAC research report (2025) ► Assessment
issues in integrated professional development, UVAC (2024) ► Beyond Degree Apprenticeships: conceptualising
integrated professional development, UVAC (2024) ► Sustainable
Degree Apprenticeships (report
for the Edge Foundation by Stan Lester and Darryll Bravenboer, 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 (Lester, Bravenboer & Webb report
for QAA 2016) ► “Towards an integrated approach to professional competence
and academic qualification”
(Bravenboer & Lester), Education
+ Training (2016). 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 or modular credit
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 over 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 began to decline
around a decade ago, and learners were often directed towards Degree
Apprenticeships; following the recent policy switch away from higher-level apprenticeships
there is some evidence of renewed interest in 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. I have subsequently 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, and more recently with UVAC
to explore ways to promote and support negotiated WBL. ► Learning
at Work: negotiated work-based learning in higher education, UVAC conceptual paper (2026) ► “The history and future of work-based learning: a
personal D&R perspective”, keynote at the OU/UVAC
WBL R&D symposium, April 2026 ► “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” (Lester & Costley), 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” (Costley
& Lester), 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 2025 |
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