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Article
Publication date: 27 December 2021

Thuy Thu Nguyen and Diep Ngoc Do

This study aims to investigate the structural relationships between pedagogy methods, creativity and entrepreneurial intentions. This study theorizes that work-integrated and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the structural relationships between pedagogy methods, creativity and entrepreneurial intentions. This study theorizes that work-integrated and active learning methods positively influence personal creativity, which in turn positively influences entrepreneurial intention. Moreover, entrepreneurial inspiration moderates the impact of creativity on entrepreneurial intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 701 valid questionnaires from university students is used to investigate the proposed research model empirically. As the methodological approach, structural equation modelling with multigroup analysis is used.

Findings

The statistical results confirm the positive impacts of work-integrated and active learning methods on individual perceived creativity and of creativity on entrepreneurial intentions. Further, inspiration towards entrepreneurship moderates the link between individual creativity and entrepreneurial intentions.

Originality/value

This research fills the gap in the realm of examining the structural relationship among learning methods, creativity and entrepreneurial intentions in an emerging economy context. Specifically, this study confirms experiential teaching methods as important predictors of the development of students’ creativity capability and the moderating role of entrepreneurial inspiration in the relationship between perceived creativity and entrepreneurial intention. These results add to the academic literature on entrepreneurial intentions in emerging economies and provide new insights into how universities in emerging economies can foster the entrepreneurial intentions of their students.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 October 2008

Tobias Ley, Armin Ulbrich, Peter Scheir, Stefanie N. Lindstaedt, Barbara Kump and Dietrich Albert

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a way to support work‐integrated learning for knowledge work, which poses a great challenge for current research and practice.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a way to support work‐integrated learning for knowledge work, which poses a great challenge for current research and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors first suggest a workplace learning context model, which has been derived by analyzing knowledge work and the knowledge sources used by knowledge workers. The authors then focus on the part of the context that specifies competencies by applying the competence performance approach, a formal framework developed in cognitive psychology. From the formal framework, a methodology is then derived of how to model competence and performance in the workplace. The methodology is tested in a case study for the learning domain of requirements engineering.

Findings

The Workplace Learning Context Model specifies an integrative view on knowledge workers' work environment by connecting learning, work and knowledge spaces. The competence performance approach suggests that human competencies be formalized with a strong connection to workplace performance (i.e. the tasks performed by the knowledge worker). As a result, competency diagnosis and competency gap analysis can be embedded into the normal working tasks and learning interventions can be offered accordingly. The results of the case study indicate that experts were generally in moderate to high agreement when assigning competencies to tasks.

Research limitations/implications

The model needs to be evaluated with regard to the learning outcomes in order to test whether the learning interventions offered benefit the user. Also, the validity and efficiency of competency diagnosis need to be compared to other standard practices in competency management.

Practical implications

Use of competence performance structures within organizational settings has the potential to more closely relate the diagnosis of competency needs to actual work tasks, and to embed it into work processes.

Originality/value

The paper connects the latest research in cognitive psychology and in the behavioural sciences with a formal approach that makes it appropriate for integration into technology‐enhanced learning environments.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 12 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 February 2009

Sarojni Choy

This paper aims to discuss the teaching and assessment strategies for an organisation‐centred curriculum.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss the teaching and assessment strategies for an organisation‐centred curriculum.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a case study. Data were collected from interviews and a focus group with worker‐learners enrolled in a Graduate Certificate in Education (Educational Leadership) course.

Findings

The study finds that a project that piloted an organisation‐centred curriculum framework where learning was integrated in the context of the workplace met the needs of both individuals and their workplace. The success of such learning for a cohort of worker‐learners was contingent on especially designed teaching and assessment strategies, aligned learning and assessment to the strategic goals of the organisation where the cohort was based and to needs of the individuals. The evaluation of the strategies in the framework shows their potential to optimise learning outcomes for other cohorts and courses. It also highlights the importance of skilling learners for work‐integrated learning and making explicit the pedagogies and affordances available in the workplace.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates the transition from university‐centred to organisation‐centred curriculum that employs work‐integrated learning to meet the needs of the workplace and the learners.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 November 2020

Alex F. Leek

The challenge for policing in England and Wales is to evolve how it recruits and educates a workforce able to cope with the demands of contemporary policing. This paper will…

Abstract

Purpose

The challenge for policing in England and Wales is to evolve how it recruits and educates a workforce able to cope with the demands of contemporary policing. This paper will examine how forces, who aspire to become learning organisations, have embraced the transition from police training to higher and degree apprenticeships and work-integrated learning. This paper will also benefit practitioners, leaders, provider staff, police staff, policy makers, all who have an interest in police education and the transitions currently being implemented. It also seeks to contribute to the conversation about the transition of policing to a graduate profession and looks to add value, to inform practice, raise standards and enhance policing practice in general.

Design/methodology/approach

Case study and draws on the experience of the collaboration of four universities to develop a national offer to meet the requirements of the Police Education Qualification Framework (PEQF) and how this has been further co-created in partnership with three forces. The data are drawn from first-hand experience of working with university and force colleagues over 18 months, including meeting records, documentation that has been produced and scrutinised by the College of Policing and the four universities through shared, multi-university and force quality assurance and validation processes. This data have been considered against the conceptual framework developed by Senge and others to support an analysis of how the collaborative development activity undertaken has contributed to police forces moving towards becoming learning organisations.

Findings

The findings from the analysis of the forces' engagement with the process of change show that the collaborative development work undertaken is ongoing and does indeed contribute to forces becoming learning organisations. The forces do see the associated benefits, and this may in turn lead to better-trained police officers and more effective force organisations. In addition, the model of collaboration and co-creation that has been adopted can provide a model of good practice for other forces and other universities to follow and from which to learn.

Social implications

An aim of this paper is to encourage the development of police forces for become learning organisations. The implied benefits of this are various but primarily the greatest benefit is aimed at wider society. A more educated, informed and professionally competent police officer, who in turn is part of a learning organisation, will only serve to improve operational policing, community justice and community cohesion.

Originality/value

This paper examines a transition in policing which presents only once in a lifetime. The transition to a degree entry profession is critical to the evolution of policing in England and Wales. The work of the Police Education Consortium (PEC) and the three forces is a new initiative and covers ground not explored previously. This paper offers a conceptual frame to examine these lessons learned from the development of this initiative and partnership, with a view to share that learning across higher education, policing, criminal justice and those involved in degree level apprenticeships. It promotes the view that work-integrated learning, the workplace and higher education can coexist comfortably and engender the development of police forces as learning organisations.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 10 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 October 2020

Iro Konstantinou and Elizabeth Miller

Previous research suggests that higher education provision, the government's knowledge-based economic agenda and the attributes employers look for in graduates are not always…

Abstract

Purpose

Previous research suggests that higher education provision, the government's knowledge-based economic agenda and the attributes employers look for in graduates are not always aligned, leading to a skill shortage and the production of graduates who are not “work ready”. Degree apprenticeships (DAs) are well placed to address this gap because employers are involved in both the design and delivery of higher education and work with higher education institutions (HEIs) to develop the skills both parties believe graduates need through work-integrated learning (WIL). This paper will address how DAs can be utilised to that purpose.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on data collected from students, ranging from their first to final years, enrolled in the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA) programme at a higher education provider in London, UK. The national context of the UK is crucial both because of how DAs have been introduced by the government; how the pedagogical implications defer from other national contexts and work based provision and also because there are clear contrasts in how the private and public sector in the UK are “using” degree apprentices. The authors adopted an exploratory research design using semi-structured interviews and focus groups.

Findings

The authors argue that a reflective approach in assessed coursework, in conjunction with an explicit focus on the skill development of students, can enhance the experience of degree apprentices completing WIL modules. The authors highlight the potential of WIL modules in advancing the ability of degree apprentices to reflect on their practice while they are working and studying, a process which can have long- term benefits to their professional identity. The authors draw attention to the affordances given to apprentices to develop their professional identity drawing comparisons between the public and private sector in the UK.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the work on DAs and WIL currently being undertaken in the UK. By exploring the case study of a cohort of DAs engaging in productive reflection with regards to the skills they develop at the workplace and in the classroom, the authors point to a way in which module development can integrate such reflective elements.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 10 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 24 July 2023

Irene Bernhard and Anna Karin Olsson

The purpose of this study is to explore the benefits and barriers for learning in industrial PhD education through the perspectives of industrial PhD students. A work-integrated

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the benefits and barriers for learning in industrial PhD education through the perspectives of industrial PhD students. A work-integrated learning (WIL) approach is applied to highlight key issues that university and industry need to consider promoting mutual learning.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical context is a Swedish university profiling WIL offering PhD programs in three disciplines for industrial PhD students from both the private and public sectors. Data was gathered using qualitative methods; 19 semistructured interviews with industrial PhD students.

Findings

Findings show that industrial PhD students are developing practical and transferable skills, hence, contributing to research of interest for academia and work–life. Identified benefits for learning include proximity and access to data, project and networks and contextual understanding and tacit knowledge. Barriers for learning are the perceived limited understanding of employers, the dilemma of balancing and switching between different roles, lack of belonging and identity, deficient collaboration agreements and ethical dilemmas.

Research limitations/implications

Contributes insights into an industrial PhD education transforming along with societal needs promoting a future workforce of researchers with skills, new work practices and learning capabilities applicable in the work–life of contemporary society.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the emerging field of studies of alternative doctoral educations by identifying benefits and barriers for learning and providing recommendations for how university and industry may promote learning in a resilient industrial PhD education collaboration.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 35 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 June 2018

Meena Chavan and Leanne Carter

The purpose of this paper is to explore the expectations and reality perspectives accrued in a preliminary management course and understand if they impart and embed real-world…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the expectations and reality perspectives accrued in a preliminary management course and understand if they impart and embed real-world skills and develop work readiness.

Design/methodology/approach

Primary data collected for the research were qualitative. A total of six focus groups were conducted with a total of 52 students enrolled at a large metropolitan university in Australia. NViVO was used to code and analyse the data.

Findings

The study found that at the commencement of university studies, the expectations were simple like, making new friends, getting around the campus and settling well into the university culture, which over time extended to getting a part-time job, securing internships, memberships of associations, desire to participate in exchange programs and get work-ready by the close of the first year. The research outcomes show that those who held a part-time job while studying demonstrated a better understanding of the preliminary management subject matter taught in class and obtained better grades. Primarily, the preliminary management course did not specifically impart work-ready skills and it would be fitting to embed employability skills in the management curriculum from the commencement of their programs in the first year.

Research limitations/implications

Qualitative research is used to comprehend a research problem from the outlook perspectives of the local population it involves. The limitations of this methodology includes no objectively verifiable result, adept interviewing skills for interviewers, slow and time consuming during interviewing process and intensive category process also as qualitative inquiry is normally open-ended, the participants have more control over the content of the data collected.

Practical implications

The lack of skill mismatch and graduates who are not work-ready incurs significant economic and social costs. A number of policy implications emerge due to university-labour market links and skills mismatches and the impact on students and the labour market. The rise in unemployment and the skills mismatch seen after the economic crisis requires immediate attention. Job creation is crucial but so is the need to develop graduate with appropriate matching skills and qualities to do the job. Mandatory internships, apprenticeships and on-the-job training for university students would help. Governments can provide financial incentives and subsidies to organisations providing the above services and working cooperatively with the universities to get students work-ready. Universities must raise the educational requirements over time as jobs become more complex. Universities can build communities of practice with the assistance of this scheme to enable students to interact with the industry professionals. An additional year of vocational training could be recommended for the graduating students. This would help the young graduates to get work-related skills. Wheelahan et al. (2015) state that building better links between education and work can help provide a more rational approach to vocational development. They propose the use of vocational streams and productive capabilities in the education system and labour market to achieve this.

Social implications

This requires a combined effort from all stakeholders. A systematic approach needs to be adopted. First, the gap between the knowledge provided by the universities and the skills required by the employers need to be reduced. Second, the employers and the universities should keep a watch on the labour market and develop strategies to meet the dynamic requirements of the labour market collaboratively. Third, career guidance will help inform students make a career choice to match the labour market opportunities. This should be a part of the policy agenda for responding to the lack of work-ready graduates in the labour market.

Originality/value

Learning and teaching activities must include industry interface and engagement right from the first year at university. The main findings from this research indicated the need for better understanding of first-year students’ expectations. The two significant student expectations that emerged were “need for collaborations” and “industry interface”.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 32 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2017

Liselott Lycke and Ingrid Tano

The purpose of this paper is to describe an approach to build a quality culture within a higher education institution.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe an approach to build a quality culture within a higher education institution.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on Action research and a Case study.

Findings

The authors show the result of the mapped processes of a higher education institution, Management planning and control, Education, Research and Support, and describe how the mapping was performed, working in cross-functional teams. Further on, they discuss the result of the pilot and the plan for implementation.

Originality/value

A process-oriented approach in higher education institutions, with its complexity, creates opportunities for successful quality assurance and control when having an integrated quality assurance system.

Details

International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, vol. 9 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-669X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 December 2019

Trevor Gerhardt

An analysis is conducted on the implementation of Capstone Projects (CAPP) at a private business college in the UK as part of their work-based learning (WBL) strategy. CAPP are…

Abstract

Purpose

An analysis is conducted on the implementation of Capstone Projects (CAPP) at a private business college in the UK as part of their work-based learning (WBL) strategy. CAPP are introduced for the first time in this college in the Autumn semester of 2017. The purpose of this paper is to study the continuity and impact of WBL through the CAPP.

Design/methodology/approach

Comparative data of student experience were collected and analysed from online polls throughout the Autumn and following Summer semester webinar lectures and a content analysis of formative assessment work included in the final submissions.

Findings

Data indicated that recommended changes after the Autumn semester were only partially successful by the Summer semester and that the continuity of the key pedagogical strategies identified in the Autumn semester were still noticed and mentioned (implicitly and explicitly) in the following Summer semester. Data indicated that the CAPP was a rewarding challenge, that the process of using a webinar was an appreciated and effective process overall and that good supervision made a significant impact on the success of the process.

Research limitations/implications

The implication of the research is that it indicates student experience from the application of WBL in the CAPP process.

Practical implications

Key future recommendations addressing improvements were mainly focussed upon the programme administration.

Originality/value

The work adds to a minimal amount of research on WBL within CAPP in the UK and adds to the knowledge within the field of WBL.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2021

Josephine Sarpong-Nyantakyi, Patrick Osei-Poku and Eric Francis Eshun

Graduate unemployment is widely reported not only in Ghana but also across the globe. The purpose of this study is to examine the relevance of the HND Commercial Art Programme…

Abstract

Purpose

Graduate unemployment is widely reported not only in Ghana but also across the globe. The purpose of this study is to examine the relevance of the HND Commercial Art Programme, Graphic Design (CAPGD) option, to the graphic art industry and to determine the work readiness of graduates of HND CAPGD at the world of work.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative, evaluative case study research design was adopted to examine the perspectives of stakeholders of CAPGD. It was a multiple case study, which involved faculty members, graduates and industry-based supervisors. The study was conducted using in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions to obtain in-depth interpretations and conclusions that reflected the perceptions of the stakeholders.

Findings

The qualitative results indicate that the existing curriculum, based on the old polytechnic educational system, does not provide adequate practical approach to teaching and learning processes. Hence the majority of graduates lack competencies to meet industry's expectations.

Research limitations/implications

The key limitation is lack of database on the HND Graphic Design graduates at Takoradi Technical University. This affected the data collection process as the HND Graphic Design graduate participants were not easily accessible, and, as such, much effort and risk were required to contact them. Considering the implication for education policy, the findings propose stakeholders' collaboration to ensure cross fertilization of ideas (Nwajiuba et al., 2020). Hence, a compilation of database could engender further study in this area and thus form the bases of a mixed method approach resulting in in-depth analysis for fresh insights into the study.

Originality/value

The findings provide unique insights into work readiness of Commercial Art graduates, specifically in Ghana, as it seeks to bridge a gap in literature.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

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