Work-based learning at higher education level: value, practice and critique

Since the 1980s there has been significant growth in the engagement of higher education with workforce development, with among other things the emergence of a distinct if varied area of provision commonly referred to as work-based learning. Recent examination of practice and literature indicates a growing sophistication in the way that work-based learning is being theorised and facilitated in higher education, with its gradual emergence as a distinct field of practice and study supported by relevant pedagogies and concepts of curriculum. Tensions continue to exist between the demands and opportunities provided by the workplace and the need to develop capable practice, support personal development and maintain academic validity; however, universities are beginning to engage with these issues at a deeper level than that suggested by simple notions of employer engagement and skills development, and the evidence indicates that well-designed work-based programmes are both effective and robust

Capability and its development: experiences from a work-based doctorate

The idea of 'capability', popularised through the Royal Society for Arts' Education for Capability project, is applicable to the growing need for professionals to move beyond discipline-specific expertise and engage with what Schön terms the 'swampy lowland' of practice. Middlesex University has developed a generic doctorate designed to assist practising professionals and managers to enhance their high-level capability. Candidates joining the doctorate are required to complete a reflective Review of Previous Learning, describing their development to date and demonstrating preparedness for doctoral work. While common themes emerge, of working with change and taking the lead, these reviews point to capability as based in personally unique 'envelopes' of abilities. They emphasise the central role of experiential learning to developing high-level capability, and in particular, the importance of opportunities for personal and professional growth, events which provide turning points or spurs to action, and practitioners' own motivations to succeed or change