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In the previous chapter we saw that there was a clear link between the ways in which students perceived their workplace experience and the skills and qualities they believed they had developed as a result of the experience.
In the present chapter, we attempt to make explicit the connections between the experience of students, the intentions and assumptions of academic staff and employers in creating a particular context of workplace learning and the eventual learning outcomes. We consider learning and satisfaction for employers and academics as well as for students. We do this through the analysis of interview data collected from students, academic staff and employers in the four case study courses.
At one level, it can be argued that all the eight courses in our sample made similar claims about their intentions in establishing work-based programs and about the ways in which students typically benefited. A content analysis of the descriptive documentation from the courses summarised in Chapter 3 would certainly support such a claim. Interviews of those involved with the courses, however, revealed that beneath a common rhetoric which lionised an ideal of ‘opportunities for theory to be made practical’, for ‘industry and universities to work more closely’ and for students to get a ‘taste’ of the ‘real world’ of work, there were clear divides. These divides were not concerned with how the program should be structured in terms of time in the workplace and time in universities. (This has been one of the most enduring debates in the literature; see, for example, Kitson 1993). These divides were instead to do with the way academic staff, in particular, saw the fundamental purpose and intention of the program.
These interviews established that not only do the academic staff who have major responsibility for these placement programs aim to achieve different outcomes, there is also a demonstrated link between what they intend and what they do. A particular intention leads to a particular practice which, in turn, leads to a particular learning outcome. Students’ experiences of work placements differ because academic staff conceive of workplace learning in different ways and they understand what has to be done to help students learn in the workplace differently. Consequently, students do learn differently. Interviews with employers and students indicate that these differences are not just espoused by academic staff, but are quite clearly perceived by students and by employers.
A number of academic staff contribute to the work placement and there is, undoubtedly, variation in the range of understandings and intentions demonstrated by staff within a course. Nevertheless, just as a classroom-based course is driven and organised from a particular perspective, so is the work placement component. There is undoubtedly a common tone, common assumptions, and considerable agreement, even though we acknowledge a degree of disagreement. (See the analysis in the second half of this chapter).
In the first half of this chapter, we illustrate, in some detail, the different understandings academic staff have of work placements and the ways in which these are manifested in practice, that is, in the design and support of placements. We also demonstrate the link between intentions and practice and outcomes with the comments of students and employers concerning their experiences of the schemes.
The main questions asked were as follows.
- What is the background to this placement and what is different or special about it?
- What is the placement trying to achieve?
- What is done to ensure the placement is successful?
- What is done to assess the learning outcomes of the placement and to evaluate the scheme overall?
Electronic engineering is a subject where knowledge and development of that knowledge by industry and business is moving at lightning speed. Two lecturers argued that subject content taught in second year was likely to be out of date by final year. The focus of the course had to be on helping students gain a strong grasp of significant and fundamental principles and on problem solving.
You keep in touch in this field by doing, by working closely with the industry, because they are pushing the knowledge area to develop the goods... You don’t so much spend time with the journals. Knowledge and thinking is usually being stretched by the industry. We have to have a close relationship with them to keep in touch.
(Lecturer)
The larger companies have their own research and development sections and placement of a student, or student team, in such a company involves entering an industrial-research community and working on a state of the art problem. All placements, in large or small companies, focus on a real problem to be addressed, and it is the further development of students’ problem solving capacities, together with the strengthening of industry university ties, which is central to the scheme, which is coordinated by a Marketing Manager.
Competition for placement in the scheme by students is extreme. Students and academic staff put several months work into tendering for projects; companies pay the university for the opportunity to have a range of tenders to select from and pay up to $12 500 for each selected student and their academic supervisors over a period of around 40 weeks. Those students who do not get taken by a company spend the same amount of time as placed students working within the university on a project problem which may have recently been tendered by a company and which has been modified by the university.
Overall, the scheme is extremely popular with companies and with students. The only concern came from an academic staff member who commented that excellent students were often recruited into industry and lost to the university’s research programs.
We sometimes seem to shoot ourselves in the foot because the really good students then go into the companies instead of doing a research program with us.
(Lecturer)
Aims and Outcomes (What is the placement trying to achieve?)
In the documentation, as well as in the comments of interviewees, two major aims were dominant and closely linked:
Its mission was always to do more than supply students with industry work experience. It was intended to be a vehicle for educational value-adding to industry, and for promoting R&D activity in industry and community.
(Jarrott 1991)
As the comments below illustrate, this spirit of cooperation is embedded in the view of all participants—students, employers and academic staff:
We have to work side by side, it’s for the good of the discipline, as well as for the good of the department and the industry.
(University supervisor)
There is no doubt we benefit through this scheme. We as a company, as well as the students.
(Employer)
A focus in the scheme’s original mission on the development of ‘distinguished’ graduates is also reflected in the more recent comments of interviewees:
It’s a wonderful opportunity to have eager and highly capable young minds address it (the problem) and to have the back up of the university. We select the best through the tendering process.
(Employer)
You feel you’ve really achieved something, you feel that you have some standing in the discipline and the area when you’ve come through one of these placements.
(Student)
It’s instructive to see academics work with the industry. They are very different, sometimes there’s some friction, but sometimes there has to be for useful outcomes to emerge and they usually do.
(Student)
The specific generic skills the scheme aims to develop are problem solving, team work and professional communication. The comments of interviewees particularly support the successful development of the first two skills:
In some subjects there are these things called problem sheets and the problems on a problem sheet are about as far away from a real problem... I mean, a real problem you find in a company or in industry, as you can imagine. In this course you really learn what a real problem is. This experience is the pinnacle of that because it’s not just facing a real problem, it’s being under real pressure to address it in a satisfactory way.
(Student)
I felt anxious about my ability to deal with problems of this sort but this has given me confidence and capacity.
(Student)
One of the things we really like about this scheme is that it really ensures that the students know how to work as a team member... to be honest, that’s something that’s very hard to find... You can find bright kids and clever kids and inventive kids but getting that and someone who can work constructively in a team situation is not so common.
(Employer)
Strategies for Achieving Outcomes
This is seen by all involved as a highly structured and tightly managed program. A Marketing Manager sells the scheme to employers and deals with the administrative and business side of the scheme. The program itself is structured by a series of timelines and guidelines.
In the initial tendering for the project, students, with help from academic supervisors, define their own aims and objectives, strategies and expected outcomes, together with timelines and budgets. During this process the unrealistic or unlikely scheme is sorted out:
It’s easy to have grand ideas... The thing is, you’ve not just got to solve something on paper, you’ve got to do it for real... This focuses your mind considerably.
(Student)
In addition, a web of quality assurance measures are woven into the scheme to ensure that individual projects do achieve successful conclusions and that they work within timelines and the budget limits.
Interviewees, students, academic staff and employers clearly appreciate these measures:
The thing I like is that you have a clear timeline. Now my experience with R&D projects with some universities is that you don’t have that. You can make one, but it’s never kept to. Here you know it will be kept to, because the student’s course is dependent on it.
(Employer)
One of the benefits is that you know precisely what you have to do by when. I have a sister who did a business placement and she just had no guidance about what to do or what was expected.
(Student)
Not just what is expected but what is an acceptable standard is also made clear within this scheme:
You are getting feedback from the company and from your lecturers, so really there’s plenty of feedback. It’s not often you feel unsure about how you’re going because you’re getting a good deal of feedback.
(Student)
It seems like a long time for a project, but actually, it’s often quite tight and we know from experience that students have to be performing from the word go, so we expect results at each meeting and they know that.
(Academic staff member)
Collaboration between University, Student and Employer
At the heart of this scheme is the intention to build mutually beneficial partnerships between industry and the university. This is an intention embedded in the scheme’s practice and clearly stated by all those involved. The team formed to work on the project includes both company and university representatives as well as students. University supervisors are always of senior status (usually senior lecturer level or above), and often have a strong research or development background themselves. The company also typically commits senior staff to the project, both to the designing of the project and to its monitoring. Both company and university take the program very seriously:
A lot is expected of these projects and you’ve got to know what you’re doing to be involved in supervising them.
(University supervisor)
We put a lot of resources into developing and monitoring the projects, so naturally we’re looking for a good result. The more you put in the more you expect back.
(Employer)
During term time, while working on the project, students will spend time in the university as well as in the workplace and will see both groups of supervisors. There are also full meetings between university and workplace team members at least once every three or four weeks. The final presentation of the project sometimes occurs twice, in both locations, but it is always before an audience of university and company representatives. Both university and workplace supervisors comment on the time demanding nature of their task, but agree that it is this which makes the scheme so strong:
There is no doubt that working on one of these projects is very demanding in terms of time and in terms of input... You have to think about how many of these you can take on because your own research work can suffer. But in the end it is the time you put in which leads to a good outcome.
(University supervisor)
We’re a business not an education institution, so obviously our priorities are different to those of the university; nevertheless, we know, I know, that this is a great educational opportunity for the students and a great development opportunity for us... We all work hard to maximise that.
(Workplace supervisor)
Students comment that the close interest by both parties sometimes means they feel under considerable pressure.
You can’t help but be aware that a lot is expected of you. But I guess that that’s when you achieve best... You know it’s going to be pressured before you go in. And you’re not usually alone, there’s a couple of us in my project and that’s quite usual that two or three or so students work on something together.
(Student)
Another comment of students is that there is sometimes disagreement between university and company supervisors though it is generally agreed that this can be a learning experience as well as a distraction.
They just have different ideas about what’s important. For the company it’s the product, for the department it’s the problem and the solving of the problem. So the department might want more time finding elegance or depth in problem solving propositions, whereas the company wants a product that is reliable... I mean, it may result in the same thing but there’s sometimes a bit of friction there... And if you’re not very clever you can suffer.
(Student)
I sometimes feel I’m the meat in the sandwich. I try to look on these differences as an opportunity to learn... And I do, but it can be uncomfortable.
(Student)
Academic staff and employers acknowledge there can be some disagreement, but seem less concerned by it than students are:
Of course we disagree, but it’s the company’s product; in the end they have to be satisfied. Our role is often not to insist on something but just to make students aware of alternatives. It’s not usually a problem.
(University supervisor)
Assessment of Placement and Evaluation of the Scheme
The success of the student is judged by the success of the project outcome and the success of the scheme by the number of employers who are regularly involved. The Marketing Manager argues that over time the number of projects won each year has increased. This, he claims, is an achievement in a tight economic climate. The popularity of the scheme with students and employers, and the adoption of the scheme by other universities, is seen as ample evidence that the scheme is doing as well as can be hoped.
There are evaluation opportunities and questionnaires for everybody involved and, of course, these are looked at, but overall you just know by the popularity of the scheme with everyone involved that things are going extremely well.
(Scheme’s Marketing Manager)
I think when you have other universities wanting to take up the scheme and benchmark with you then you know you’ve got something good.
(University supervisor)
A point commented on by work-based supervisors was that the way in which students worked in this placement was not the way employers typically worked. It was pointed out that working on a single project allows students to focus in on it and this can have negative as well as positive effects.
They are often a bit aloof... they’re not part of the staff, really. Their responsibility is very limited. In the workforce you have a number of projects going and a number of teams to work in and negotiate with and a number of different demands to balance.
(Work-based supervisor)
In brief, this is a high status program in a fast developing field. Industry and the university mutually benefit from the sharing of problems and resources. The problems generated by companies for the scheme are experienced as real and significant. Sometimes, with the larger companies, the problems have an obvious ‘research’ bias, but always they involve students pushing their understanding to develop state of the art solutions.
The skills students see themselves developing most are ones related to problem solving and team work. Their experience is a very focused one, with a highly specific end in mind. The university and the company work in a committed and collaborative way to get the most out of the project.
Context and Focus (What is the background and what is special?)
The Medical Laboratory Science program is preparing students for a profession which has recently developed a detailed set of competency based standards. The detailed list of aims and objectives of the program reflects these competencies as does the list of activities which students must undertake while in the placement. These lists are clearly supported and applauded by both workplace and academic staff who appear to find the detail of the lists useful in thinking through the responsibilities and demands of professional endeavour in this area.
New technologies for testing and analysis have recently been introduced into the industry and this is a good time for such competency standards to be introduced.
(Work-based supervisor)
It’s important for us, as well as for the students, that they develop good skills and the standards help us in that.
(Work-based supervisor)
It’s a lot easier for everyone to know what’s expected when there are detailed guides such as these around. It helps us in the university as well as those in the workplace.
(University supervisor)
Academia, industry and the Department of Health have collaborated in a scheme which allows students to be paid a bursary while on placement in the laboratories. The scheme is seen by both the university and the workplace as an excellent example of mutual endeavour and mutual benefit.
We all benefit. The students benefit because they’re guaranteed a minimum wage and they don’t pay HECS for this part of the course. The university benefits because the students take this very seriously and we have considerable control over what is not formally part of their course, but because it isn’t formally part of the course the labs feel a major responsibility as well.
(University supervisor)
Often, students are employed permanently as a result of the placement and it is common for students to finish the final year of the course part time, in order to take up the positions offered them while on placement. At the moment, there is a greater labour market demand than the course can meet.
Aims and Outcomes (What is the placement trying to achieve?)
The simple claim that the practice should produce competent practitioners is made almost as often in the interviews as in the documentation for the placement. In particular, the term ‘competent scientist’ is used several times by students, work supervisors and academic staff.
This is an area where you cannot allow mistakes... You not only have to do things right, but have a whole system of checks and balances that things have been done right. This is what being a good scientist means.
(Work-based supervisor)
You can only get to be a competent scientist by practising. That’s why the placement is so important.
(Student)
The need for there to be clarity of objectives, and for work in the university to be different but complimentary to that in the work-based setting, was something commented on by both university and laboratory staff.
There’s a different emphasis in the university; obviously, we’re trying to help students understand the underpinnings of the subject, but we sometimes need to be clear about what that means. In the labs they are being the scientist, doing the analysis. This is a different experience, but it also needs very careful thinking through. It’s important that the practice is thought through very carefully so this practice can be developed, so that they can be helped to be a good scientist as well as a good student.
(Academic supervisor)
We’ve worked closely with (name of university) over the last few years. I think it’s helped us think about how we want things to be here for the students and for ourselves and I think its has helped the department think a bit about what it does and how that might change... There’s been discussion about these things and that can only be for the good of everyone.
(Work-based supervisor)
In brief, it seemed evident that the placement was to allow for the development of good scientists. It was repeatedly underscored that this involved thinking through what was required of a good scientist and the competency based standards developed for medical scientists was a great help in this.
Strategies for Achieving Outcomes
The scheme’s organiser talked of annual meetings between university and laboratory staff, of a training scheme for work-based supervisors and of the joint development of materials used by students in the placements.
The students and the work-based and university-based supervisors themselves, however, emphasised the materials students used, the journal they kept, the eight units of competence outlined in the workbook that they had to work through and the reports that had to be filled in for each student.
I thought the journals were a bit of a waste of time at first, but you can actually get something out of them. It takes a bit to get into them... But it does help you think about what you’re learning.
(Student)
It’s a help to have the guidelines of the competence units because without these you’d be working in the dark really. I’ve found these to be a real bible, both for myself and for the students.
(Work-based supervisor)
The reports on students from the labs have been a lot more focused and useful now that the workbooks are being used... It really helps to think about what it is they are getting the student to do and how well they are expecting the student to perform.
(Academic supervisor)
There’s a lot of criticism of competency standards by academics and I know what they’re saying. But in our case I find them helpful; they’re not everything... There’s still a huge need for interpretation within the categories, but at least it helps break up what is a hugely complex area that we have always made comment on and probably not very systematically. I think practice and certainly, learning and practice during the placements, will improve because of them.
(Academic supervisor)
Collaboration between University, Student and Employer
As has already been indicated, the documentation provided to guide students and their work-based supervisors was extensive. There can be little doubt that all parties were aware of what students had to achieve and how they were expected to demonstrate this achievement.
There’s heaps of paper to guide us. I don’t think you can be in serious doubt as to what to do.
(Work-based supervisor)
We’re told exactly what we’re supposed to do. There’s always room for interpretation but that’s the case with anything. Besides, you can always check over the phone with your lecturer or with your supervisor here or with another student.
(Student)
I sometimes think we’ve gone for overkill with all this documentation, but at least everything is clear.
(Academic supervisor)
There was some suggestion by students, however, that while documentation might be adequate, more visits from university supervisors would be welcome.
You know what you’ve got to do, but in a way you feel a bit abandoned...because you’re in this strange situation of being part student and part worker, but you’re not really supported by the lecturers that much and sometimes, particularly at the beginning, it would have been good to have had a visit or two. It’s a bit like being in hospital really. You’re all right, but you’d like to feel you’re not forgotten.
(Student)
This was not a need expressed by work-based supervisors. In fact, one supervisor who considered the possibility commented:
The scheme runs extremely well and particularly if you have a good student. I’m not sure more contact with the university is necessary given all the other demands... They’re on the end of the phone, we know that, we know the department, we have good contacts. More contact, particularly for the student, might be reassuring, but it is a nice extra, I think.
(Work-based supervisor)
Assessment of Placement and Evaluation of the Scheme
There are more laboratories willing to take students than there are students available and students are often employed by the workplace before they have completed their degree. This, together with positive feedback from students and work placement supervisors, is seen as sound evidence that the program is a success overall, though there are minor revisions and changes to documentation, for instance, that are made annually. During the year of the present study, the concern of some students to have more academic visits was noted and arrangements were considered for increasing the frequency of visits. The students appeared well satisfied with their experience. They had very positive responses to the overall experience of the placement. Several claimed that the assessment tasks in themselves helped them to gain from the workplace environment.
It’s easy to just get in a routine and stop thinking about what you’re doing. That’s why the journals and the reports are good because they make you think and make you take your work more seriously than you might otherwise.
(Student)
I don’t see it as just knowing how to do the job. I see it as knowing how to do the job better and understand what’s going on so you can maybe improve and change. If you’re aiming for this, and I think that’s appropriate at this level, then you need to think and take note and keep tabs on things and that’s what you’re encouraged to do in the work we have to do for the department.
(Student)
This placement has been developed to help rationalise the competency demands developed by the profession. The focus on these standards has assisted the industry to know what these standards look like in practice and the initiative has been welcomed by the industry. The whole focus of the placement is on developing the competent scientist and there is a range of documents and guidelines to help students, laboratory staff and academic staff to ensure that appropriate levels of competence are achieved.
The scheme is extensively assessed and evaluated, but the high demand for students, both within the placements and as employees, is seen as one of the most significant measures of success.
Context and Focus (What is the background and what is special?)
In Accounting, the work placement program, (the Cooperative Education program) has been developed as a compulsory third year in a four year program. Its aim is to provide students with the opportunity to apply the theory learned in the first two years of the course. The idea of the placement as being about practising theory is repeated in the comments of academic staff and students as well as in the course documentation:
It’s important that you find out whether what you’ve learned makes sense in practice. That’s what the coop year is about.
(Student)
In any vocational subject you have a head start if your students can be seen as practitioners on graduation. We believed that having this year would give them a head start. They’ve got the theory and they’re practised at using that in practical situations.
(Academic supervisor)
There is also an emphasis on developing students as professionals.
They have to see and know what goes on in the professional sphere and they can only get to know that by being there. There’s something of a mystery surrounding professional practice and the only way to get access to that mystery is to become part of it.
(Program organiser)
The assumption is that this development takes place best in the presence of existing professionals; this assumption is emphasised elsewhere:
You’ve got to be on the inside and know what it is like. That’s the way you learn about becoming an accountant. You can’t learn to be a real professional in the classroom. There’s more to it.
(Student)
A Faculty Cooperative Education Office and academic staff with responsibility for Cooperative Education attempt to find paid placements for students. But the increase in overseas students and the shrinking capacity of Australian business to take on additional staff has meant that over recent years placement of all students has not been possible.
The range of employers worked with is huge. There is are number of large firms which always support the scheme with several placements. There are a number of smaller companies which regularly provide the odd placement, but there are also huge numbers of occasional employers often brought in by the students themselves hunting out placements.
In response to the problem of finding placements, a program has been developed which involves skills training, together with unpaid work opportunities, for students who do not secure placements. The introduction of this program for unplaced students has been successful in that students have developed skills and, in some cases, found paid employment.
The popularity of the program amongst students has led to some modifications in the original program. Students now return to university two or three times a semester for a program of workshops on aspects of professional practice. The intention is that following the seminars, back in the workplace, students observe aspects of selected practice in their professional work colleagues; they attempt to adopt good practice themselves and they undertake an assignment on some aspect of professional practice which involves relating theoretical constructs to observation of colleagues and self.
Aims and Outcomes (What is the placement trying to achieve?)
The aims of this program remain to help students apply the theory they have learned in the classroom to the workplace, to develop professional status and understanding and, ultimately, to begin a promising business career. If students can be given the opportunity to work in a professional setting, and they have been taught appropriate business concepts in the classroom, then, it is argued, they will acquire professional understanding and status and will be sought after by employers.
We believed that having this year would give them a head start. They’ve got the theory and they’re practised at using that in practical situations. That would give them a real advantage in employment and career stakes. It would make them a target for the head hunters.
(Academic supervisor)
These sentiments are echoed by employers, although there is sometimes reservation about the extent to which students are prepared for the work experience.
This is a good opportunity for us to do a bit of recruiting if the students are good. The theory behind the scheme is that they come here to practise what they’ve learned. That makes sense but I think there should be more preparation of students before they come to us. I’ve seen a number and often they are just not prepared for the common sense things. It’s not that they lack theoretical understanding. It’s, for instance, that they’re not careful enough, that they don’t check those sorts of things.
(Workplace supervisor)
The final fourth year is expected to play an important role in the final preparation of the student for professional life and work; projects undertaken in fourth year are designed to build on students’ practical experience. However, there is clearly, some reflection by both academic staff and students about the extent to which this happens.
It’s an important consolidating year, but we could probably make more use of the fourth year. Often, students seem to have outgrown study and while they’re much more aware, they’re much less tolerant of academic exercises.
(Academic supervisor)
I’m not looking forward to going back. I’m not sure what it will give me, to be honest... I think after this (the placement) I’m probably ready to go into the workforce.
(Student)
Strategies for Achieving Outcomes
Students are expected to use the theoretical concepts learned in the classroom in the day to day work of their professional placements. Typically, it seems it is not anticipated that there will be too many problems in the students doing this and applying theory to practice. It is assumed that what is required is simply the opportunity to practise and, perhaps, a sympathetic workplace which does not expect too much too soon.
They can usually make use of what they’ve learned if they’re given the opportunity. It just takes a bit of patience and a bit of practice. Sometimes they get a job where they’re given that and they do really well. Sometimes they’re not really given that opportunity and they don’t flourish professionally. If they could all get the right opportunities it would be fine. Unfortunately, that just isn’t the case.
(Academic supervisor)
This sentiment is often reflected by students. The difference between a good and a bad placement is described in terms of being given interesting things to do, having time to work things out and not being put under too much pressure at first.
I’ve been lucky because I’ve been able to do some really quite interesting things and I’ve been given time to come to terms with them. Now I’m expected to show results, but at first the pressure wasn’t on very much.
(Student)
The recent innovation of having a series of seminars within the university focusing on a specific concept to be followed up in the workplace reflects a different view of how students might be helped to develop professional competence. An academic supervisor explained that it is known that there is considerable variation in the experience of students and that this innovation, amongst other things, is an attempt to provide some substance and some professional content and focus, particularly in workplaces where students were not being given the opportunity to develop professionally. This sentiment and the innovation as a whole is endorsed by a student.
If you get a good placement you get a good experience, but if you don’t you can have an awful time... This program means that you and the workplace have something to focus on as part of the deal and that’s good because often you would just be used rather than educated.
(Student)
There is also support for this innovation from employers who have, on the whole, welcomed some guidance as to their part in the professional development process.
We are a responsible company and we believe we have a duty to those students who come here, but it’s hard when you don’t get much guidance from the university as to what might be the focus. I think this is a step in the right direction... I think it could go further, in fact.
(Employer)
One student went further and suggested that an individual contract should be drawn up between each student, the workplace and the university. This way, there would be closer consideration of what was to happen in the workplace and of what students should do and how they might be helped to develop.
For the present, however, the university makes few demands and gives limited guidance to employers as to how students should be employed or helped to develop. It is argued that this development will happen differently in different workplaces and that because the employer is paying the student the university can make few demands on what the student does.
Collaboration between University, Student and Employer
Although the university is involved in establishing the work placement and each student is provided with both a work and an academic supervisor, it seemed as though there was limited collaboration between students, employers and academic staff once the placement was under way. Indeed, this was a concern expressed by all parties. The expectation appeared to be that students should get more frequent visits from their academic supervisors, though there appeared to be variation in perception of the purpose of such visits.
It’s very isolating if you don’t have a good placement. I would have really appreciated a visit from my lecturer... It’s just someone else to talk things through with. I’m not sure she could have helped but it would have been a support.
(Student)
I would like to see the university representatives out here more... It’s fine if the students are fine, but that’s not always the case and it would be useful to check a few things with someone else, who knew the student and was in an authority position. I think regular meetings should be established even if they were only telephone contacts. Once the relationship had been established that would be adequate.
(Workplace supervisor)
I wanted guidance actually because I was being given work which was frankly beyond me and I needed, well, academic help. I tried numerous times to ring but I could never get him.
(Student)
The academic supervisors agreed that more frequent visits would be nice, but that their workload prevented it.
I know that I should keep more in touch with students more, but it’s just not possible given my other commitments. The way it works is that I leave those that seem okay to themselves and attend to the problem areas.
(Academic supervisor)
Clearly, there was a degree of concern about the extent the three groups worked together during the placement year. The introduction of the newly introduced workshop series where students returned to the university was not seen by students or by employers as a substitute for regular contact with an academic supervisor.
It’s early on that contact is needed. And frankly, it’s to address the concerns I have that I’d like to see someone.
(Employer)
The workshops are a help, but I really would have liked more support in there. That’s what would be valuable.
(Student )
Assessment of Placement and Evaluation of the Scheme
The scheme is evaluated through questionnaires given to students and to the employers. As with the other schemes in the case studies the acid test of success is seen to be in the numbers of students who are offered placement through the scheme and the number who ultimately gain employment. In the case of this accounting course, however, the increased number of overseas students and the downturn in the economy are seen to be a reason why these two crucial indicators are not as healthy as might be hoped. However, representatives of the course are quick to point out that compared with similar accounting courses in Australia, the employment rate of graduates is high.
The assessment of students in the scheme is based on a report from the workplace supervisor, a presentation by the student to the workplace and the academic supervisor and a series of written observations about experiences of learning in the placement.
The changes introduced into the scheme have been prompted by a concern about the learning of some students in placements which have been made evident through assessment data.
It has become clear that some experiences were not as rich as others and we needed to help. This scheme seemed a good way to... It had proved successful with the non-placement students and it seemed likely to be beneficial here.
(Manager of the cooperative program)
This scheme was introduced during a time of high optimism in the business world. The placement of all students was not a problem and the development of professional competence by simply being in the workplace was not seen to be problematic. The issue of finding adequate placements has already been addressed through the introduction of a new program. It is now acknowledged that students do not necessarily develop as professionals just because they are in a placement. It is recognised that support and guidance for students in the workplace may be necessary if the most is to be made of the work placement. This is the purpose of the new workshop series; so far, it has the support of employers as well as students.
Aims and Outcomes (What is the placement trying to achieve?)
The overall aim of the placement, (in this course, it is called field practice), is to provide an opportunity for ‘reflective practice’, an opportunity for students to reflect on their practical involvement in a youth work agency, to reflect on its function and on the way the agency works to fulfil its function.
There is a placement in each of the three years of the course. The first year placement focuses on observation of activities in a youth work agency more than on practice in the agency and the third year placement focuses on a research project in an agency. It is, consequently, the second year placement when students are most closely involved in working with young people and when essential group work skills are expected to be practised and improved. The focus of academic staff appears to be to prepare students for the range of situations and circumstances they will confront and on being a non-judgemental ‘resource’.
A professional is someone who is unflinching, who is never judgemental, who is strong but tolerant and supportive. It demands great personal strength. This is one of the things they have to work towards.
(Academic supervisor)
It’s important to confront the reality of youth work which can be quite traumatic. We have to prepare young people for that... And there’s nothing much you can do except let them experience it in a slightly sheltered way through placement.
(Academic supervisor)
However, there is also a feeling that it is very difficult to prepare for the range and complexity of issues students are likely to confront.
You can never really prepare students. It has to be in the experiencing that they learn... It’s important to have the fieldwork so they can get this experience and be protected.
(Placement organiser)
Five years or so ago the course had around 60 percent of mature students. Over recent years, because of changes in quotas, the course has taken a much larger percentage of school leavers. The mature students had often already been involved with youth, social or community work and came for a better understanding of theoretical issues and for a qualification. In this situation, the placement component was less crucial and students needed less preparation and guidance. Concern by the profession meant that the course introduced a new first year subject, ‘professional practice’. The retirement of the academic organiser of the fieldwork placements means that they are also currently reorganising the fieldwork.
Strategies for Achieving Outcomes
Students work in a range of agencies with different functions or purposes, funded in varying ways and working with different sorts of programs. Some students might work in a hostel, where young people might receive temporary help or accommodation. Others might work in a youth centre and be involved in programs ranging from help for young, unsupported mothers to reading programs for illiterate teenagers.
There is a range of general skills and experiences which students are expected to be involved in, but given the range and sometimes temporary and underfunded nature of agencies in which students are accommodated, it is left to the student to negotiate with their academic supervisor and the agency a contract detailing appropriate aims for the placement and strategies for activities through which the aims might be achieved.
There are a number of days before the placement when students visit the agency. During this time, they are expected to collect information and negotiate a contract with the agency. The contract is supposed to be complete and sanctioned by the academic tutor before the fieldwork begins. It appears that in some cases this contract is not adequately negotiated and again, in some cases, placement experiences are not as beneficial as they might be.
There is supposed to be a learning contract...but it’s not taken that seriously by some students. They seem to get by without completing it properly, or in some cases, really doing it at all.
(Student)
I can’t be sure what should go in the contract because you can’t really be sure what’s going to happen here...it’s run to a large extent by volunteers and you can’t rely on things. The other thing is that you work from one crisis to another often. It’s not really an organised situation. It’s not the sort of place where that sort of planning is possible.
(Student)
These agencies and these students are, on the whole, great, but I’m afraid things like learning contracts...well, they’re not high on their list of priorities.
(University field tutor)
Students are also expected to work on a major assignment which applies what they have learned to theoretical understandings. This piece of work appears to be taken more seriously than the learning contract.
I’ve spent a lot of time working on and thinking about the assignment during the time on the placement. I actually think it’s too theoretical a piece of work. I think that something more practical would be appropriate. It’s the thing you fail on though. You don’t much fail the placement, but people often have to resubmit the assignment.
(Student)
A log book is kept by students during placement and the purpose of this is both to help encourage reflection and to provide data for the written assignment. With some students at least, the log book was seen to be particularly helpful:
It’s hard keeping journals and logs at first, but by second year you are really used to it and it is a help in keeping note of what happens and making you think. I actually think it’s more useful than the assignment because this is really practical whereas the assignment has a large theoretical component again, and, if anything, it detracts from the practical experience because you’re concerned about getting it in.
(Student)
Collaboration between University, Student and Employer
The placement is currently organised by a year placement officer. In the past, a placement officer was responsible for the whole of the course placements. Once that placement has been arranged, however, there is only limited communication between the university and the agency. The agencies are currently expected to write a report on the student doing the placement, but there were comments that the agencies welcome the opportunity for more ongoing and closer relationships.
There will always be differences between agencies like us and places that train youth work officers... I think we would work better together if we worked together more and the placement would present an excellent way for that to happen.
(Agency officer)
I think better things would result if we worked together with these students a bit more. We often are not sure what a student is meant to be doing and we can’t help in these situations.
(Agency worker)
We rarely have time to give much guidance; we need hands on help. There has to be some guidance for the students, but I really feel it should come more from the university.
(Agency officer)
Students also reflected a picture of little contact between agencies and academic staff and little support once on the field study placement.
Once you’re out here there’s not much contact with the lecturers. I don’t think they’ve got time to visit really. They might come in once or at the most, twice, but they’re not much use anyway because they often don’t seem to know what’s going on and what you’re doing. They’d have to be visiting a lot more to really be across it.
(Student)
The only time you get visits is when you’re in trouble...that’s what we were told last year and it seems to be the case.
(Student)
Academic staff themselves agreed that more contact would improve the experience for students. There was concern about the amount of time visits took, but also more general concern about how to ensure that the visits were time well spent. Once again, the importance of the placement in generating reflection on action was emphasised.
Visits are hugely time consuming and not very rewarding... The thing is, we have to put a lot more time into thinking about the placement if we really want to make it worthwhile. Just visiting more isn’t enough. We’ve got to think about what we should be visiting for and how it fits into the overall scheme and the role of the agencies as well as the students. We have to be aware of what we are trying to do and I still come back to the idea of the reflective practitioner.
(Academic supervisor)
Assessment of Placement and Evaluation of the Scheme
Students are assessed through a written report provided by the youth work agency and by a major written assignment. As we have already commented, they are also expected to keep a log book of their observations, actions and reflections during placement.
There was concern amongst some students that assessment consisted of being able to attend to the theoretical demands of the course even in the practical subject.
Of course, a university has to have an interest in theory, but I feel it is over played. There seems to be too little attention paid to whether you can actually work with young people and too much to if you theorise about it.
(Student)
This concern was reflected by one fieldwork officer.
Even though we write a report, I feel that the real interest of the university is not so much on their practical attainments, but on how they can write about them. I think more attention needs to be paid to how they are doing the work in the field.
(Fieldwork officer)
The scheme is evaluated through a questionnaire provided to students as well as informally through contacts with the fieldwork profession. The course is aware of dissatisfaction with the fieldwork experience and is working to improve it.
I know there is unhappiness... You can’t change everything at once and we have been working with other aspects of the course. The fieldwork component is obviously ripe for revision and we intend to do that.
(Academic supervisor)
When the present Youth Affairs course was established, students were typically mature with some experience in working with young people or within the community. The course is gradually being adapted to meet the needs of a new student population and the fieldwork component is to be revised. At the moment, although there are a number of strategies for ensuring students benefit from the fieldwork, such as the fieldwork contract, it is clear that these strategies are not working as intended in all cases. The youth agencies and academic staff are agreed that students need more help to think through and to practise aims, objectives and strategies within their placements. Students also seem concerned that they be helped to focus more on practice during the placement.
The literature on work experience has typically assumed that all work placement experience is directed towards the same, or very similar, ends. Most common amongst the claims are that the aim of workplace experience is, on the one hand, to help students relate theory to practice and on the other hand, to provide students with the experience of working in a professional environment (see, for example, Business/Higher Education Round Table 1991). This is reflected both in existing literature on work placement (see Chapter 2), and in the documentation about the workplace components received from all eight of the courses (see Chapter 3).
The interviews conducted in the four case study courses suggest that this is not the case. Analysis of the interviews shows that these courses have different goals and that students achieve different learning outcomes and experience varying degrees of satisfaction with their work placements. Most importantly, there are clear links between the way academic staff directing the placements make sense of the way
learning in the workplace happens and the level of perceived benefit students experience. The way a work placement is conceived, planned and supported by academic staff has a considerable impact on the quality of student experience and the development of skills and attributes.
Put simply, sometimes staff assume that workplace learning is non-problematic and that students will learn so long as the context is right. Consequently, there is little more to planning a work placement than matching willing employer with willing student. At the other extreme, however, learning in the workplace, like learning in the classroom, is seen to be deeply problematic. Students are most likely to learn if both the learning environment and the learning activity is carefully staged and if the planning of the environment and the learning tasks is the joint concern of employer and academic staff.
To put things simply, however, so often involves over simplification. One way to help readers get to the core of what is described in the interview data, without doing a violence to the essential meaning of that data, is to conduct a phenomenographic analysis of the data (see Marton 1981). Such a task is undertaken in the following chapter.