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Article
Publication date: 29 September 2020

Sarah Johnson, Liz Thyer and Paul Simpson

The proliferation of undergraduate paramedicine programs has led to a surge in demand for work integrated learning (WIL), placing pressure on domestic ambulance service placement…

Abstract

Purpose

The proliferation of undergraduate paramedicine programs has led to a surge in demand for work integrated learning (WIL), placing pressure on domestic ambulance service placement capacity. The objective of this study was to establish a baseline understanding of international WIL in paramedicine university programs.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional study design was utilized to gather data from Australasian universities offering undergraduate paramedicine. A telephone survey was used to gather quantitative and qualitative data using a tailored questionnaire.

Findings

Of 15 eligible paramedicine programs, seven program leads participated. All offered international WIL, predominantly short-duration format in locations including United Kingdom, USA, Israel, Nepal, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, New Zealand, South Africa, Finland, Canada and Vanuatu. Two distinct models were identified: academic-accompanied, group “study tours” and unaccompanied individual placements. International WIL is common in paramedicine but placement models, rationale and expected learning experiences are diverse.

Originality/value

International WIL is an increasing component of paramedicine and other health discipline degrees, yet the pedagogical rationale for their inclusion and typology is not always clear. This paper provides an insight into the variance in international WIL typology in a single health discipline highlighting the heterogeneity and need for future research linking into the structure, support and assessment of international WIL.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 November 2015

Catriona Gribble, Jill Blackmore and Mark Rahimi

The purpose of this paper is to report on a three-year Australian study of international business and accounting students and the transition to employment. For international

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on a three-year Australian study of international business and accounting students and the transition to employment. For international students seeking to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive global labour market, foreign work experience is now an integral part of the overseas study “package”. Work-integrated learning (WIL) is seen to provide critical “employability” knowledge and skills, however, international students have low participation rates. The high value placed on WIL among international students poses challenges for Australia as well as opportunities. Understanding the issues surrounding international students and WIL is closely linked to Australia’s continued success in the international education sector which has broad, long-term, social and economic implications.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on 59 interviews with a range of stakeholders including international students, universities, government, employers and professional bodies. Central to the paper is an in-depth case study of WIL in the business and accounting discipline at one Australian university.

Findings

Providing international students with access to discipline-related work experience has emerged as a critical issue for Australian universities. The study finds that enhancing the employability skills of internationals students via integrated career education, a focus on English language proficiency and “soft skills” development are central to success in WIL. Meeting the growing demand for WIL among international students requires a multipronged approach which hinges on cooperation between international students, universities, employers and government.

Originality/value

This project aims to fill a critical knowledge gap by advancing theories in relation to international students and WIL. While there is a significant body of research in the fields of international education and WIL, there is an absence of research exploring the intersection between the two fields. The study will contribute to the advancement of knowledge in both fields by exploring the emerging issue of WIL and international students.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 29 August 2017

Norah McRae and Karima Ramji

Canadian postsecondary institutions are increasing their emphasis on internationalization, sending many students abroad and welcoming students from far and wide onto their…

Abstract

Canadian postsecondary institutions are increasing their emphasis on internationalization, sending many students abroad and welcoming students from far and wide onto their campuses. Also, Canadian organizations and multinational corporations have an increasingly diverse workforce. These trends require postsecondary institutions to prepare students adequately for this global village of the 21st century. At the University of Victoria’s (UVic’s) Co-operative Education Program and Career Services, we have created a strategy to help develop global ready graduates using a framework derived from Earley and Ang’s work on cultural intelligence (Earley & Ang, 2003). Cultural intelligence (CQ) is defined as an individual’s capability to function and manage effectively in culturally diverse settings (Ang & Van Dyne, 2008). A recently completed research project to measure the development of cultural intelligence of students participating in the UVic’s CANEU-COOP program formed the impetus for developing this CQ strategy (McRae, Ramji, Lu, & Lesperance, 2016). The strategy involves a framework that includes curriculum for inbound international students, outbound work-integrated learning (WIL) students, and all students preparing to work in diverse workplaces. In addition to developing specific curricula for these audiences, the strategy includes tools to assess the intercultural competencies that students gain during their WIL experiences, as well as helping students use these competencies to transition to the 21st century global village. This strategy and the Intercultural Competency Development Curriculum (ICDC) are discussed in this chapter.

Details

Work-Integrated Learning in the 21st Century
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-859-8

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 September 2020

Deborah Agnew, Elizabeth Abery, Sam Schulz and Shane Pill

International work integrated learning (iWIL) placements for university students are widely promoted within universities. However, they cannot be offered and sustained without a…

Abstract

Purpose

International work integrated learning (iWIL) placements for university students are widely promoted within universities. However, they cannot be offered and sustained without a great deal of time and effort; most commonly the responsibility of an assigned university facilitator. Preparation and support are essential for a positive student experience and iWIL outcome. However, not all experiences and outcomes are positive, or predictable.

Design/methodology/approach

Personal vignettes of university iWIL facilitators are used to create a collaborative autoethnography (CAE) of experiences and outcomes where placements have been affected by unexpected or unprecedented “critical incidents” and the impact incurred on these academics. The vignettes are analyzed according to the Pitard (2016) six-step structural analysis model.

Findings

Analysis of the vignettes identifies a resulting workload cost, emotional labor and effect on staff wellbeing. Due to the responsibility and expectations of the position, these incidents placed the university iWIL facilitator in a position of vulnerability, stress, added workload and emotional labor that cannot be compared to other academic teaching roles.

Practical implications

It is intended through the use of “real life” stories presented in the vignettes, to elicit consideration and recognition of the role of the iWIL facilitator when dealing with “the negatives” and “bring to light” management and support strategies needed.

Originality/value

Research is scant on iWIL supervisor experience and management of “critical incidents”, therefore this paper adds to the literature in an area previously overlooked.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 November 2021

Uraiporn Kattiyapornpong and Shamika Almeida

Work integrated learning (WIL) activities, especially internships, are essential for career preparation and development. This paper applies career adaptability and capital…

Abstract

Purpose

Work integrated learning (WIL) activities, especially internships, are essential for career preparation and development. This paper applies career adaptability and capital theories to examine how international internships help undergraduate business students in their career exploration, preparation and development.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used data from 20 interviews, including 15 undergraduate business students from two universities in Australia and Thailand who undertook internships in Asian countries, three internship administrators across two universities, and two overseas internship partners. Thematic-based analysis using the Nvivo program and duoethnographic reflections of the internship coordinators in Australia was applied for data analysis.

Findings

The data analysis indicates that international internship experiences facilitate students to become culturally savvy, build their international professional networks, enhance the level of self-perceived competency and cultivate a globalised career adaptability perspective.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to theory-building within the WIL literature, international internship experiences, students’ career adaptability and capital.

Practical implications

Although international internship opportunities are available to students, few students are willing to challenge themselves in a foreign setting. The study’s insights provide a better understanding of how university administrators could set up a task force of academics and professional staff to consider a cohesive resourcing structure for the long-term sustainability of the international internship programs.

Originality/value

This study highlights how the international internships enhanced students’ globalised social, cultural and human capital and their ability to adapt to culturally diverse business contexts. The international internship experience can also increase student’s confidence to enter the global labour market and seek opportunities beyond their original country of residence.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 64 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 November 2019

Frank Sligo and Teresa Heinz Housel

The purpose of this paper is to explore US students’ experience in for-credit, unpaid internships overseas with particular reference to their personal development, how they…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore US students’ experience in for-credit, unpaid internships overseas with particular reference to their personal development, how they mobilised their knowledge across contexts, their learning as acquisition and as participation, and what they contributed. Students were thought likely to encounter three forms of cultural differences: national, workplace and academic.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 17 students in communication, marketing or related fields from the USA were placed in four-week internships in Wellington, New Zealand. Outcomes for them were assessed first, via weekly discussions in which they described what they had encountered that week, second, via the presentations they gave at the end of the course to internship hosts and university staff on the subject of what they had found challenging and what they had learned and contributed, and third, through assessment of students’ formal written assignments to discover what they said they had learned and what they had contributed.

Findings

Students were surprised at how proactive their internship hosts expected them to be and at how little overt direction they received. While they valued their opportunity to make a contribution to their workplace, they found this challenging. Students gave instances of their learning both as individuals and in groups. No mention was made of academic cultural differences being an issue, but they often described the demanding nature of the national and workplace cultural differences that they encountered.

Research limitations/implications

The study reports on only one cohort of students in one year, so a longitudinal study of further cohorts might provide different findings.

Originality/value

Insights are provided into how students saw themselves as changing from their involvement. Students described the challenges they faced, how they reacted to those challenges and their most important forms of learning.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 62 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 July 2023

Tiyamike Ngonda, Richard Nkhoma and Thabo Falayi

The study compares how work-integrated learning (WIL) placement positioning, duration, assessment strategies and environment at three Southern African universities influence…

Abstract

Purpose

The study compares how work-integrated learning (WIL) placement positioning, duration, assessment strategies and environment at three Southern African universities influence engineering students' academic and employability outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a qualitative case study approach that drew on the principles of collaborative autoethnography (CAE). The researchers reflected on WIL placement practices, structure, assessment, environment and outcomes at their universities and then analysed the reflections using comparative descriptive techniques.

Findings

The study reports no uniformity among the universities in positioning WIL placement in the curriculum. It is done during end-of-year vacations, between the penultimate and final year or in the last year. The study found WIL placement positioning does not influence academic outcomes; however, the influence on employability outcomes needs further investigation. Components of WIL placement assessment are similar, presentations, logbooks and reports. However, there are differences in the weightings of the various assessment components and the contribution of the industry supervisor. There is a growing trend towards placing students within universities to mitigate the challenges of limited opportunities of placements available in the industry. The impact of this also needs to be further investigated. Lastly, there are policy-related challenges in placing international students. Work restrictions on student visas limit international students’ access to WIL placement. Southern African universities need to lobby the waivers to student visa restrictions that limit their participation in WIL programs if there are to succeed in their internationalisation efforts.

Originality/value

The study highlights the gaps in understanding Southern African universities' WIL placement practices, particularly relating to the positioning of WIL placement in the curriculum, the assessment methods used and the theory to work integration and employability outcomes.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 9 April 2021

Faith Valencia-Forrester and Bridget Backhaus

Work-integrated learning (WIL) and service learning are widespread approaches to experiential, practice-based learning in Australia. Both are associated with extensive bodies of…

Abstract

Work-integrated learning (WIL) and service learning are widespread approaches to experiential, practice-based learning in Australia. Both are associated with extensive bodies of research that support their benefits to students, industry, and the community at large. What is less explored, however, is the accessibility of such experiences. In Australia, there are several groups of students that are at a disadvantage in terms of participation in WIL and service learning. When considering access to higher education as an emerging human right, the importance of addressing these inequalities becomes even more clear.

This chapter draws on case studies of pedagogical and curriculum changes that challenge existing power structures from within the curriculum and improve the accessibility and inclusiveness of WIL. This includes a research project that informs redesigning WIL experiences to better suit the needs of students including, a pilot project to improve international student access to service learning, and the development of a Community Internship module that weaves First Peoples’ knowledge and perspectives throughout. While by no means exhaustive, these cases represent the start of ensuring that all aspects of higher education, including experiential, practice-based aspects, are accessible to all students.

Details

International Perspectives in Social Justice Programs at the Institutional and Community Levels
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-489-9

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 29 August 2017

Abstract

Details

Work-Integrated Learning in the 21st Century
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-859-8

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1976

H.L. Theuns

Nowadays it is — to a certain extent — popular to criticize international tourism to third world countries. These criticisms may base on widely divergent aspects of the…

Abstract

Nowadays it is — to a certain extent — popular to criticize international tourism to third world countries. These criticisms may base on widely divergent aspects of the phenomenon, ranging from for instance the economic impact to the environmental impact or the psychological impact. Without implicitly suggesting that the non‐economic effects of international tourism in developing countries are unimportant we will concentrate in the following on the economic impact. The reason for this is twofold:

Details

The Tourist Review, vol. 31 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0251-3102

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