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The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of students and teachers who had participated in a postgraduate work-based praxis course within a Master of mental health practice qualification.

This qualitative study used an interpretative phenomenological approach to understand the lived experience of students and course convenors participating in a work-based praxis course. Seven students and two convenors were recruited. Interview and reflective portfolio data were analysed thematically.

The main themes identified were the importance of planning, the value of partnerships, the significance of learning in the workplace and how the facilitation of work-based learning differs from coursework.

Work-based learning within postgraduate coursework qualifications can support higher-level learning, knowledge and skills has received limited attention in the literature. This study supported the value of providing postgraduate students with work-based learning opportunities, resulting in the application of new or advanced skills, within their existing work roles. This study is important, because it provides insights into the student experience of postgraduate work-based learning and the impact of this learning on professional practice.

The idea of the learning organisation as an aspiration for a continuous process of learning has become widely accepted by many organisations. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether demand‐led higher education work‐based learning programmes can help nurture a supportive culture of learning and continuous improvement that helps companies to become learning organisations.

An analysis of students’ work‐based negotiated projects was undertaken to determine the extent to which their projects facilitated organisational learning. The analysis was carried out using an organisational learning checklist, developed through reference to the literature and research on organisational learning and learning organisations.

The study highlights the fact that although work‐based learning programmes can facilitate some aspects of organisational learning, the principles of organisational learning are not necessarily embedded in work‐based programme design.

Although the results cannot be considered generalisable because they are based on a single case, further analysis of a greater range of work‐based learning programmes could establish external validity of the findings. Further research could include the development of an organisational learning taxonomy or action research to develop a work‐based programme that embeds organisational learning principles.

The principles of organisational learning should be considered when designing work‐based learning programmes.

The study highlights the importance of considering organisational learning when designing demand‐led, higher education work‐based learning programmes and outlines a method for analysing the extent to which existing programmes embed organisational learning principles.

This paper is of a complex and challenging collaboration. It aims to explore the challenges to both higher education (HE) and commissioners that stimulated different thinking and creative ways of delivering learning, assessing and the consequent impact on practice through a collaborative programme. The purpose of the collaboration was to design and deliver a postgraduate level programme focusing on the development of leadership practice in the health and social care sectors in London and on the development of a curriculum in leadership capabilities and knowledge leading to the award of a Masters in Work Based Learning Studies (Leadership). The two key players were the NHS as commissioners of the work and a London higher education institution (HEI), who worked in partnership to accredit the programme,

This case study explores the processes, the problems and the rewards that evolved came from an emergent partnership between HE and senior health and social care professionals to develop a postgraduate programme that would meet professional and academic requirements.

The outcome from this experience evolves around learning about the management of complexity in education partnerships; the importance of planning, and clarity; of roles, purpose and outcomes, and where authority lay. Each side gained a new respect for each other. Most importantly it was generally accepted by the commissioners, the university and the students themselves that the work made a difference to the way health care was delivered and managed, and thus to the patient experience.

This paper should be of value to anyone interested in establishing joint programmes between employers or commissioners and HEIs

The article identifies and examines key elements of a work-based learning framework to consider their use as part of the higher education response to the apprenticeship agenda for the public sector in England.

This article draws upon work-based learning academic literature and the authors 28 years’ experience of the development and implementation of work-based learning at higher education level in the UK and internationally.

The article suggests that while the experience of work-based learning at higher education level appears to offer many ready-made tools and approaches for the development and delivery of higher and degree apprenticeships, these should not be adopted uncritically and in some cases may require significant repurposing.

This article is intended to inform practitioners developing degree apprenticeships. Given the degree apprenticeship is still at a relatively early stage in its implementation, this has limited the extent to which it has been possible to review entire degree implementation to the point of participant graduation.

The article draws upon real-life implementation of innovative curriculum design and is of direct practical relevance to the design and operation of work-based learning for degree apprenticeships.

Degree apprenticeships have the potential to increase productivity and enhance social mobility. Effective design and implementation of degree apprenticeships in the public sector has the potential to make a significant impact on the quality of public services.

The article provides an informed and sustained examination of how degree apprenticeships, especially those designed for public sector employees, might build upon previous higher education experience in work-based learning.

Work-based placements are central to the university education of allied health and social work (AHSW) students. As a result of COVID-19, the clinical learning environment of students' work-based placements was dramatically altered resulting in numerous documented challenges. This inter-disciplinary study aimed to evaluate AHSW students' perceptions and experiences of completing a diverse range of work-based placements during COVID-19.

This study was a mixed-method inter-disciplinary study using an anonymous online survey consisting of multiple choice, Likert scale and free text questions. Mixed-methods design supported amalgamation of insights from positivism and interpretivism perspectives and enabled research questions to be answered with both breadth and depth. 436 students were invited to participate who were enrolled in five AHSW educational university programmes: speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, radiation therapy and social work. Data collected was analysed using both quantitative (descriptive and analytical statistics) and qualitative (thematic analysis) methods.

118 students participated (response rate: 27%) representing a range of AHSW disciplines who attended diverse placement settings. While there was extensive disruption in the learning environment leading to increased levels of stress and concern, a triad of individual and systemic supports helped to ensure positive work-based placement experiences and student success for the majority of AHSW students during COVID-19: (1) university preparation and communication; (2) placement site and supervisor support; and (3) students' resilience and capacity to adapt to a changed work-place environment.

This inter-disciplinary study reports the work-based placement experiences from the professional education programmes of healthcare students during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving a unique view of their perspectives and learning during this unprecedented crisis.

The paper reports the outcomes of one module of a collaborative learning project aimed at the development of leadership capacity in district health management teams in the East Cape province of South Africa. A work‐based learning methodology was selected for the module with the intention of developing strategic and procedural knowledge bases within these teams as a way of addressing the complex problems of policy implementation in South African state organisations. The paper demonstrates the effectiveness of collaborative work‐based projects in developing team members’ capacity to solve difficult workplace problems and to implement strategy in a challenging operational environment. It endorses the role of leadership coaching in the development of, and ability to leverage, important strategic knowledge resources that reside within and between team members. The paper concludes with an example that demonstrates the developing ability of team members to initiate successful collaboration around the resolution of complex service delivery problems.

The purpose of this paper is to enhance understanding of the experience of qualified nurses managing the process of learning through work when enrolled on a work-based learning module.

The study was based on constructivist grounded theory using semi-structured interviews with purposive and theoretical sampling of 13 health professionals across acute and community settings. Constant comparative method of data analysis used.

A core category revealed a social process of learning to learn through work as the nurse shifted from a relatively passive view of the self in the workplace to one that actively constructed an environment that facilitated the realisation of learning objectives. The outcome was the development of metacognition skills of learning to learn promoting intentional learning behaviour towards a lifelong learning attitude.

If knowledge generated from work-based learning is to nourish the organisation, there needs to be opportunities for knowledge exchange in the workplace, consistent mentor support, protective time and a positive attitude to learning in work from colleagues. The study did not include master's students.

While studies have highlighted the influence and impact of organisations on the quality and scope of learning through work, less is known about how health care professionals, in particular qualified nurses, learn to learn in the workplace. This study is of value to those investigating and supporting individuals learning through work-based learning. Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge introduce a creative perspective to explore the meaning of learning through work.

This is a case study of an employment strategy for adults with learning disabilities developed in a local authority in a rural area in the South West of England. It describes a structured approach to work‐based training modelled on principles and practices associated with supported employment. It argues that this represents a more effective route into employment than day‐centre training or unstructured work experience. It provides a detailed account of the experience of one service user, based on interviews. It places this development in the context of the authority's strategic response to Valuing People.

To explore the conceptualisation and operationalisation of authentic assessment in work-based learning and research.

The relationship between authentic assessment and work-based learning and research is examined using a postgraduate degree program at a regional university in Australia as a case example to identify unique pedagogical features of work-based learning as they are linked to assessment.

A dynamic is created between formative and summative authentic assessment practices and the cross-current nature of learning in work and research, leading to a range of lifelong learning outcomes. A framework for such a dynamic is presented.

The pedagogy informing work-based learning emphasises developing higher-order thinking through reflective practice, developing competencies and capabilities associated with professional practice and developing academic writing and research skills to enhance professional identity at the postgraduate level for mid- to senior-career professionals. However, the relationship of authentic assessment to work-based learning and research has not been explicated in the literature and its application in post-COVID work environments has yet to be fully examined.

Mental health workforce development is crucial to successful mental health care reform. A postgraduate programme was developed in 2008 at Griffith University, Australia, to address this need. The programme was developed with an interprofessional focus and in an online format to ensure access for people with work or other commitments or living in rural and remote areas. This paper aims to describe the programme and outcomes of the evaluation.

The research involved mixed methods using semi‐structured interviews, brief sturctured interviews and a survey to allow triangulation of data. Ten people (two graduates and eight external key informants) were interviewed, 21 students who had withdrawn participated in a brief telephone interview and 20 current students completed the survey.

Overall the programme was viewed as providing a relevant contemporary qualification for the mental health sector. The online delivery offered flexibility, the interdisciplinary approach to learning was appreciated and the work‐based placements were highly valued. Mixed teaching‐learning modes employing a combination of online and supervised work‐based experience most effectively facilitated consolidation of knowledge in graduates. Enrolling students from a range of disciplines facilitates interdisciplinary learning, enhancing students' ability to understand other health professional's perspectives and work more effectively as a team.

Mental health tertiary programmes need to have a clear focus and understanding of the workforce needs, include work based learning experiences and address discipline specific as well as interdisciplinary learning needs to ensure students are work‐ready on graduation.