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With increasing demand to enhance collaborative practices in Degree Apprenticeship (DA) programmes like Quantity Surveying Degree Apprenticeships (QSDA), there is a notable lack of models supporting employer engagement, particularly in curriculum design and delivery. This study aims to fill this gap.

A qualitative research approach was employed, utilising semi-structured interviews, focus groups and questionnaires to gather stakeholder perspectives involved in QSDA programmes in England. This process aimed to identify key practice areas, collaboration process and enablers needed to conceptualise a collaborative model for employer engagement in QSDA curriculum design and delivery.

The model highlights four collaborative stages, four practice areas, fourteen focus actions, and twelve enablers essential for provider-employer collaborations in QSDA curriculum design and delivery.

This study introduces a novel curriculum design model emphasising the collaboration process and enablers for provider-employer engagement. It offers new insights for QSDA programme curriculum development and is the first to address this area, contributing to the literature on Degree Apprenticeships in built environment education.

Project-based learning is one of the most effective methods of transferring academic knowledge and skills to real-world situations in higher education. However, its effectiveness is not much investigated focusing on the students' narrative. This study aims at evaluating the students' experience and perspective on adopting project-based learning in master by research and doctoral programmes for proactive skills development.

This study evaluates the self-reflection of 10 postgraduate students and their supervisor who have participated in developing a software tool for solar photovoltaics (PV) integrated building envelope design, management and the related education.

Findings reveal that the students have effectively improved their knowledge on the subject via collaborating with the industry, self-learning/observation, peer learning, problem-solving and teamwork. Dividing the project into student-led tasks has improved the decision-making and leadership skills, risks identification, planning and time management skills. The overall experience has (1) built up confidence in students, (2) enhanced their creativity and critical thinking and (3) improved their proactive skills and context knowledge.

A clear research gap can be seen in exploring the effectiveness of project-based learning for master by research and doctoral programmes, which mainly focus on extensive research. These programmes do not necessarily focus on developing students' proactive skills, which is the main requirement if they intend to work in the construction industry. This paper addresses the above research gap by demonstrating the effectiveness of project-based learning for developing the proactive skills in a research-intensive learning environment.

In view of the expanding global interest in leadership learning and development programmes for centre leaders, this study aims to investigate how an early childhood education leadership programme can enhance Norwegian centre leaders’ learning and development as a network professional learning community (PLC) by way of Schön’s reflective model, the hall of mirrors.

In this qualitative case study, we interviewed four centre leaders, the owner of the centres and a facilitator and/or coach from the local work and competence centre for inclusive work who was leading the leadership programme.

The findings demonstrate three aspects of the hall of mirrors that enhanced the centre leaders as a network PLC: engaging in collective inquiry towards shared visions and values, enhancing professionalism through distributed leadership and cultivating a trusting learning climate.

Data were collected in a single smaller municipality in Norway and therefore may not be generalisable to other areas.

The findings can be used to further discuss how early childhood education and care (ECEC) leadership development programmes can be employed to establish and sustain professional leadership teams and professional learning communities.

As there are parallels between the leadership programme and the workplace and the programme promoted a network PLC, this study contributes to existing knowledge by offering a transformative reflective model for leadership learning and change through the reconceptualisation of the hall of mirrors.

Studies highlight that poor labour supervision and inadequate labour training facilities are the primary factors that result in labour skill shortages and productivity-related challenges among construction firms. This study aims to assess the construction supervisors’ abilities in providing work-based training elements and evaluating labour skills in construction.

A construction supervisory training programme was newly designed with a set of labour training exercises using comprehensive approaches. A total of 64 construction supervisors were trained to deliver the labour training components for more than 250 labourers working on 23 construction projects in Sri Lanka. The supervisors’ competencies were assessed using a detailed marking guide developed through expert discussions and literature reviews.

The results show the detailed cross-section of a wide range of competencies of the construction supervisors in providing labour training elements with the levels of standards/descriptions. The generalisability of the study applications and the reliability of the results were ensured using statistical tests and expert reviews. The findings further describe the impacts of the well-improved competencies of construction supervisors on labour working patterns and work outputs.

Though the study findings were limited to the Sri Lankan construction sector, the study applications can have a considerable impact on the current/future practices of the construction sector in developing countries as well as other developing industries.

The study outcomes may contribute to a rapid increase in the number of construction supervisors becoming certified assessors of National Vocational Qualifications up to certain levels. This paper describes the further extensive implications and future scopes of the study elaborately.

The study adds new characteristics and values to construction supervision practices that can be remarkable in achieving higher levels of performance and productivity in labour operations. Importantly, the study contributes to adorning the job role of construction supervisors with the title of “labour training expert”.

To explore the benefits and challenges of WBL in MET in Thailand.

A qualitative approach was used, involving interviews and surveys with participants from MET.

WBL offers practical experience, improved employability, networking opportunities, and real-world problem-solving skills, industry knowledge, professional development, and better learning outcomes, but faces challenges like language barriers, environmental issues, limited placement availability, time limits and task management, safety concerns, limited resources, and assessment issues.

Provides insights into WBL in the Thailand maritime sector and highlights areas for improvement to enhance student preparedness for industry roles.

This paper aims to address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 “quality education” through the adoption of heutagogic ideas in improving work-based learning for individuals.

This paper locates a discussion of heutagogy within the wider context of vocational and higher education, as well as through reference to the theoretical discourse on learning theory.

Heutagogy is concerned with the development of individual capability through the creation of a learner-determined curriculum that is attuned to professional goals. Organizations that adopt heutagogic approaches enhance corporate adaptiveness through personalized learning.

This briefing provides the reader with an accessible insight into both the individual and organizational benefits of adopting heutagogic ideas in professional development. As organizations confront an increasingly uncertain external environment, this paper offers an insight into how to develop individual capability.

In this paper we explore the gendered ways in which academic staff resistance and compliance is configured in a post-1992 University in England, including the emotions implicated in the navigation of neo-liberalisation and research intensification of their academic institution and its associated disciplinarian mechanisms.

We draw on data from an interview study of a diverse sample of 32 academics of different gender, discipline and academic grade. Analysis informed by a feminist post-structuralist framework of power and discourse explored different forms of academic resistance and compliance; how the embodied academic subject was (re)negotiated within gendered discourses of neo-liberal research excellence and managerialism and the gendered emotions generated in processes of resistance and compliance.

Institutional change and expectations to engage with research performativity generated fear, anxiety and anger. Female staff appeared to actively resist the masculinized research subject performing all hours work and individualism in the context of private and institutional gendered relations and labour. Male staff though actively resisted the feminization of higher education and the neo-liberal instrumentalization of caring and therapeutic cultures and ideologically resisted the surveillance mechanisms of higher education including the REF.

Our work contributes to scholarship problematizing the assumed neutrality of resistance and compliance and highlighting women’s symbolic struggle to (dis)identify with a masculine professional norm. In terms of theorising academic resistance to neo-liberalism and identity construction, further attention should be given to the mobilization and symbolic capital of academics and emotions positioned differently due to their gender and intersecting differences.

Our study addresses a gap in the scholarship of academic resistance and compliance by advancing the understanding of gender inequalities and emotions implicated in the process of resistance and compliance against neo-liberalism.

The sustainability of the construction industry is associated with the productivity, profitability and competitiveness of the firms, which are significantly affected by inefficient site supervision and labour management approaches. This study aims to use a case study with mixed methods to evaluate the site supervisory characteristics in labour management, labour performance assessment and labour productivity measurement towards developing meaningful guidelines in polishing construction supervision attributes.

Well-developed modern apprenticeship elements were applied to 62 construction supervisors who were selected using the snowball sampling method, and their relevant competency characteristics were assessed using a comprehensively developed grading mechanism connected with useful training manuals/tools. Academic reviews, experts’ consultations and other meticulous mixed approaches were applied at different stages of the research plan’s sequential layout.

The mean performance scores of supervisors indicate proficient-level grades in the competency characteristics related to applying efficient labour management procedures and developing-level grades in designing productivity measurement tools, performing assessments on efficiency and productivity and proposing enhancement practices on efficiency and productivity for site operations. The findings point to a modern generalised guideline that establishes the ranges of supervisory attributes within the scope of the study. The validity, reliability, adaptability and generalisability of the findings were assured by using pertinent statistical tests and professional assessments.

Though the study’s conclusions/findings are primarily applicable to the construction environment of a developing country comparable to the Sri Lankan context, they will considerably impact current/future industrial practices in various other countries and emerging industries.

The research has produced a conceptualised modern tool that guides determining the capacity levels of supervisory attributes for carrying out labour management, labour performance assessment and labour productivity measurement aspects in construction. The research has opened a pump that inflows new values of highly workable supervision features for strengthening the site management structures and filling the industry’s knowledge vacuum in the methodical execution of apprenticeships.

A rise in productivity is associated with higher profits, competitiveness and the sustainability of an industry and a nation. Recent studies highlight inadequate labour supervision and training facilities as the main causes of productivity-related challenges among construction enterprises. This study aims to evaluate the construction supervisors' capabilities in applying the required elements of work practices for enhancing the performance and productivity of construction operations using a case study.

A new construction supervisory training programme was developed through comprehensive sequential processes, and 64 construction supervisors underwent training . Marking guides with different levels of descriptions/standards were developed through consultations with experts and literature reviews, and the supervisors' capabilities were assessed under 64 competency elements of 12 competency units.

The findings show a clear cross-section of all the required competencies of construction supervisors with various levels of standards/descriptions, leading to a new generalised guideline that helps to comprehend what degrees of skills can be taken into account in supervision attributes. Statistical tests and expert reviews were used to ensure the generalisability of the research applications and the reliability of the results.

Despite the study findings being limited to the Sri Lankan construction industry, its applicability could create considerable impacts on the current/future practices of the construction sector in developing countries as well as other developing industries.

The study adds new characteristics and values to construction supervision practices that can be remarkable in encouraging construction supervision to drive the sustainability of construction practices. The study findings are significant in decision-making/planning procedures related to technical comprehension, industry training, scientific documentation, adherence to workforce employment constraints and job outputs. This paper describes the further extensive implications and future scopes of the study elaborately.

This study addresses the knowledge gap in the industry related to the development of protocols and application methodologies necessary to track their performance. The study opens a new window that inflows knowledge attributes to the industry sector along with the necessary comparison of the relevant competency elements to predict/comprehend what levels of capabilities can be theoretically considered and practically applied in supervision characteristics.

Using a Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach, this paper examines whether internships can stand as a viable alternative to Higher Degree Apprenticeships (HDAs) within the UK Higher Education (HE) context. It was a process that was undertaken to identify work-integrated schemes as a part of a curriculum portfolio transformation project. This presented itself as a strategic avenue capable of fostering a competitive advantage (strategic differentiation), particularly in enhancing graduate employability through a differentiation in pedagogy employing Work-Integrated Learning (WIL).

This paper applied a PBL approach comprising of five distinct stages based on the McMaster Five-Point Strategy. This included the Problem Identification, Generating Solutions through a review of relevant literature and a case study, using an evaluation matrix to identify the best solution to Decide a Course of Action, Implementing the Solution and Evaluating the Solution. It presents an institutional and curriculum change project.

WIL can offer both strategic differentiation, an organisational distinctiveness within HE and Pedagogical differentiation, such as embedding internships in curriculum. This can be achieved by creating clear guidelines and expected outcome frameworks, bespoke feedback templates and enhanced collaboration, Experiential Learning pedagogy in the curriculum and the inclusion of other forms of WIL to further diversify and create a WIL organisational culture.

Practitioner use of applying problem-solving models for work-integrated curriculum planning.

We present a confluence of the concepts strategic differentiation and pedagogical differentiation using WIL as a conduit. We present this using a PBL evaluative review approach. The paper’s distinct contribution manifests in the formulation of three pivotal recommendations.