Book Review: Work Integrated Learning: A Guide to Effective Practice

This article review the book, “Work Integrated Learning: A Guide to Effective Practice”, by Lesley Cooper, Janice Orrell, & Margaret Bowden

The weaving of curved geometries

In the physical interpretation of states in non-perturbative loop quantum gravity the so-called weave states play an important role. Until now only weaves representing flat geometries have been introduced explicitly. In this paper the construction of weaves for non-flat geometries is described; in particular, weaves representing the Schwarzschild solution are constructed.Comment: 9 pages, THU-92/2

Publishing cooperative and work-integrated education literature: The Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education

The Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education (APJCE) was founded in 1999, with the first volume published in 2000. The journal strongly adhered to the philosophy of having freely and readily accessible information, and opted to be a free, fully online, open access journal. Over the last 12 years, the journal has grown and has become well-established in the cooperative (co-op) and work-integrated learning (WIL) community. The number of publications per year has steadily increased and the number of submissions has shown strong growth, especially in the last three years. APJCE articles are increasingly cited in other journals and significant book publications, and both its author and user bases have become more international. This article will discuss the advantages from the APJCE perspective of being an open access journal and provide an analysis of the growth of APJCE. The article will also discuss the performance of the journal in the context of co-op/WIL literature internationally and discuss some recent developments for the journal

Building an excellent foundation for research: Challenges and current research needs

The delivery of research-informed education is a fundamental principle held by universities and is a principle that work-integrated education (WIL) should not be exempt from. In the 1980s and 1990s, critical reviews of the WIL literature suggested WIL research required significant development. Since these reviews were conducted a significant, well-developed body of literature has formed and increasingly WIL models of delivery are relying on research findings to inform program design. However, despite these successes, significant challenges and research gaps still exist. Authors in this APJCE special issue have given attention to a number of areas that present as challenges. The area of negative and neglected research findings are highlighted and the reexamining the nature of the relationship between the student and workplace supervisor has been discussed. A model of enabling transformative learning is presented and an investigation of the influence of WIL experiences on undergraduate student study direction choices has been reported. Other areas in need of further research attention are also discussed

Values, ethics and empowering the self through cooperative education

Following the recent global financial crisis and the collapse of major organisations such as Lehman Brothers, and the earlier corporate failings of Enron and HIH, there has been a shift of focus towards the role of ethics education in the formation of business professionals. In other professional settings, such as policing and medicine, similar major crises have highlighted the significance of the early development of ethical practice in emerging professionals. This paper considers the nature of professional ethics for an emerging professional, arguing that professional ethics should be a key factor in cooperative education programs. The paper considers the role of values and ethics education in empowering the emerging professional to shape and change their workplace. Building on this argument, the paper suggests foundational elements of an approach to professional ethics in cooperative education programs concluding with a suggested research path for further exploration of the content and nature of such an approach

Students' perceptual change of professional ethics after engaging in work-integrated learning

When students undertake work placements, they become immersed in a relevant community of practice, where they are required to meet the social demands to perform within the norms of this community. These expected norms are shaped by several community aspects, such as cultural beliefs, ethical considerations, and moral positions. The workplace experiences are also where students start to shape and understand their own identity as a professional and their professional morality and ethics. With increasing industry demands for work-ready graduates (Archer & Davison, 2008; Lomax-Smith, Watson, & Webster, 2011), there needs to be consideration that ‘work-readiness’ includes professional identity and professional ethics. Identity development is strongly related to how a student engages with professional work-life (Reid, Dahlgren, Peticz, & Dahlgren, 2008). Perhaps not surprising then that increasingly values education, enhancing ethical knowledge and conduct, and professional identity development are being seen as important facets of student development (Campbell & Zegwaard, 2011a; Herkert, 2000; Keown, Parker, & Tiakiwai, 2005; Trede, Macklin, & Bridges, 2011). However, students engaged in undergraduate studies, tend to hold narrow conceptualisations of professionalism (Grace & Trede, 2011). The literature argues that to have effective development of professional ethical awareness and practice, then explicit emphasis must be placed in the curriculum on the learning and development of professional identity and professional ethics (Campbell & Zegwaard, 2011b; Trede, 2012)

Critical assessment issues in work-integrated learning

Assessment has long been a contentious issue in work-integrated learning (WIL) and cooperative education. Despite assessment being central to the integrity and accountability of a university and long-standing theories around best practice in assessment, enacting quality assessment practices has proven to be more difficult. Authors in this special issue on assessment highlight the need for balanced assessment approaches that reflect the highly variable experiences students encounter, and the need to keep validity and reliability paramount when constructing assessment structures. Increasingly quality and standards policies driven by more regulatory university environments are impacting on the design of assessment profiles. The value of workplace supervisors’ feedback in WIL contexts is discussed and the challenges of measuring the nuances of unpredictable, context-dependent WIL outcomes are explored. The benefits of ePorftolios are advocated and the use of these platforms as assessment tools that enable a creative way for students to provide evidence of employability capabilities highlighted

The economics of cooperative education: A practioners guide to the theoretical framework and empirical assessment of cooperative education by Yasushi Tanaka[Book Review]

This article reviews the book “The economics of cooperative education: A practioners guide to the theoretical framework and empirical assessment of cooperative education” by Yasushi Tanak

Book Review: Research Methods in Education, 7th Edition

This article reviews the book, “Research Methods in Education” by Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manion, Keith Morrison (Authors)