Integrating Workplace Experiences in Formal Educational Programs

• In Event: Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: Preparation for Working Life: Utilizing Workplace Experiences to Support Initial Occupational Preparation

Abstract

Purpose: The study reported here aimed to build on the expertise of experienced practitioners and experts to provide insights into how workplace learning can be embedded across different contexts in formal educational programs so that they contribute to the development of occupational competencies.

Theoretical Framework: Despite the increasing attention that workplace learning has been receiving, high-quality programme design for these programmes remains a challenge and the translation into practice remains sometimes inadequate (OECD, 2010). Exemplary research of Akkerman and Bakker (2012) shows that what students are expected to learn at work is rendered invisible by the technology-mediated, scripted and socially distributed nature of their work. In a similar way, Billett (2010) argued that activities and interactions at work have their limitations including the risk of incomplete or uninformed learning as well as unavailable co-workers. The more important question is, therefore, how these activities and the learning they (potentially) entail are enacted and integrated in a curriculum. Virtanen et al. (2014) describe three ways in which employees workplace learning differs significantly from students’ learning at work: while the learning of employees at work is largely incidental and is often only a side-effect of the work itself (e.g. Colling 2005; Marsick and Watkins, 1990; Virtanenm Tynjala and Collin, 2009) the learning of students at work is (1) goal-oriented, (2) guided and (3) assessed.

Participants and Methods: These three elements guided our two-step Delphi study in which we have build on the expertise of experienced practitioners and experts to elucidate their shared opinions about: (1) specification of competencies, (2) acquisition of competencies and (3) evaluation of competencies. Our Delphi study took place in Flanders (the Dutch speaking part of Belgium) and was conducted in two rounds. In the first round, we interviewed 14 experts, using a structured questionnaire. After the initial round, we collected and analysed the data. Our analyses focused on clear similarities and notably unusual responses. This analysis led to the formulation of further and deeper questions, which we subsequently presented to five respondents during a focus in the second round of the Delphi study. The selection of respondents was based on two criteria: (1) experience and expertise relating to workplace learning and (2) distribution across various training contexts (i.e., vocational training, secondary education, higher education, part-time vocational education).

Findings: As a result of the first round of the delpi study, we were able to generate a series of insights on successful ways to integrate workplace experiences of students in formal educational programs that resulted in a model of integrating workplace experiences after the second Delphi round.

Significance: The model can be used by both researchers and practitioners in the field to consider how best the experiences for securing positive educational outcomes can be achieved for such students.

Authors

• David Gijbels, University of Antwerp

• Vincent Donche, University of Antwerp

• Piet Van den Bossche, Maastricht University