The renewed emphasis on developing flexible learning practices in higher education underscores the importance of understanding pedagogies for students who are based in the workplace or undertake significant work-related elements of study. This paper draws on research that explores how work-based learning (WBL) pedagogy operates in UK higher education using three main perspectives that help to conceptualise the existing range of practice: discipline-centred, learner-centred and employer-centred. Data was collected from twenty academic practitioners with expertise in WBL using qualitative interviews, documents and observations at fourteen different institutions from seven regions in England. The research findings suggest that there are both commonalities and distinctive attributes across the range of practice that influence how academics develop and orient their pedagogy. It is argued that the characteristics and discursive features of these WBL perspectives present pedagogical approaches that could be adapted to inform more flexible mainstream provision.Key words: flexible learning, pedagogy, work-based learning, experiential learning, workforce development
IntroductionAs higher education (HE) institutions embed more flexible approaches in teaching and learning for the twenty-first century learner, work-based learning (WBL) pedagogy continues to present innovative ways to develop curricula for engaging learners and workplace partners in order to widen access to higher education. The purpose of the paper is to provide a critique of three central pedagogical perspectives in the existing range of WBL pedagogy in the United Kingdom (UK) that could be conceptualised and adapted across a wider spectrum of the HE curriculum. These pedagogical perspectives and the experience of those delivering WBL could inform academic and academic related practitioners who are not directly involved in WBL programmes.As a WBL academic practitioner, my interest in WBL pedagogy is based on a professional commitment to contribute to an international body of knowledge within HE and to use evidence-based practice for my academic work with students. This paper draws on research that was designed to provide greater understanding of the WBL pedagogic range in use for learners based in the workplace. The findings were gathered as part of a larger research project during a recent period of expansion for work-based pedagogy and are here re-examined in terms of how these findings might inform a wider application. This paper addresses the need to provide research that critically examines WBL pedagogy within HE. The last sections and conclusion of the paper consider implications derived from the research as they align with current higher educational trends. The paper argues that understanding the nuances of the perspectives and distinctions in the academic discourses across the range could enable academics to apply and embed into their practice various elements of existing WBL pedagogy to address the current need for more flexible provision.
Work-bas...