Integration of Work-Based Learning Into Higher Education for Economic Development in Nigeria

Work-based learning (WBL) has a long history in higher education in Nigeria. The current WBL programs are the Students' Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) and the Graduate Internship (GI). They are sponsored by the federal government with the aim to improve employment outcomes. However, there is still a gross mismatch between the skills of graduates and the demands of employers. This chapter analyzes why the WBL programs in Nigeria have yet not been successful, and suggests alternatives. The analysis reveals a dysfunctional job placement process as a primary barrier and suggests consolidating the SIWES and GI into one school-to-work program, based upon the Graduate Employability Skill Development (GESD) model, along with strategies to improve the development, management, and quality assurance of placement. The chapter concludes by underscoring the integration and effective management of WBL at all levels of education, including continuing education as an important and realistic approach that Nigeria should strive for to attain economic development.

The Creative Disruption of Degree Apprenticeships in the UK

The introduction of an apprenticeship levy for employers with a payroll above £3m in 2017 has transformed the landscape for higher-level skills in the UK. While there is some evidence of the economic benefits of higher education, it seems to be largely operating to reproduce economic position rather than as an agent of social mobility. At the same time, UK employers have made it clear that graduates do not possess the range of skills that they require and yet have a poor record of investing in the development of their employees. In this problematized context, degree apprenticeships can operate to creatively disrupt our understanding of the relationship between higher education and work. Assumptions about the presumed differences between academic and professional standards, knowledge and competence, on-and-off-the-job learning are all challenged by the introduction of degree apprenticeships. Can universities overcome these challenges to rethink the role of higher education as the worlds of work and learning align?

Some Aspects of the Growth of University Student Internship in Japan

This chapter reviews the recent development of internship in Japanese universities to identify some characteristic aspects of the growth of internship in the universities. The government initiated promoting internship in the late 1990s and now almost all universities provide some internship programmes. The author focuses on the policy papers for the last 20 years, especially the successive reports of the education minister advisory body, which have led the direction of the promotion of internship. Authorizing internship in curriculum was aimed from the beginning. Career education also attracted educators and policymakers while internship was a policy focus, and internship was thought to be a useful means of quality career education. Internship has turned employers' attention while Japanese-style employment and recruiting systems were reconsidered. Internship has been settled down in university curriculum as general education rather than specialized education. However, how internship is set in a curriculum is the university's discretion.

Australia's National Work-Integrated Learning Strategy in University Education

This chapter describes how the development of work-integrated learning (WIL) has become an increasingly important component of both curriculum and pedagogy across a wide range of disciplines in Australia's universities. This has been driven by institutions reacting to government and industry demands for work-relevant degrees and work-ready graduates. The chapter analyzes five of the eight action areas in the National WIL Strategy. A number of barriers to further implementation are identified and discussed, including funding, institutional constraints, assessment challenges, and employer capacity, particularly in smaller companies. Ways forward include developing quality information and the resources to support implementation, growing champions of the process in institutions and employers, and developing alternative approaches to delivery given the pressure placed on industry for work placements by all sectors of Australian education.

Connecting Theory and Practice in Higher Education in Germany

This chapter reviews developments in the German educational system with regard to connecting professional and academic worlds of knowing within higher education programs. After setting the context by giving an overview on the segmentation of the higher education system and the vocational education and training system in Germany, the chapter focuses on recent developments enhancing permeability between these two sectors that manifest as new routes to higher education for professionals. These routes are combined in new ways within the German-wide state-funded competition “Advancement Through Education: Open Universities,” which is exemplary discussed. The chapter closes with summarizing challenges and outlining future perspectives.

Politics or Pedagogy?

This chapter deals with the struggle in South Africa to make sense of the phenomenon of workplace-based learning. Education institutions and policymakers alike recognize that there is enormous value in the practice. However, this value is being interpreted from different perspectives: education institutions see the practice in terms of enhanced learning, while policymakers view workplace-based learning as a means to solve critical social and economic problems. Consequently, the opposing epistemological views may seriously undermine the educational value of learning through work. The chapter provides an analysis of the prevailing workplace-based learning practices in South Africa. Using an emerging conceptual framework to evaluate current practices, it was found that most practices could successfully enhance a holistic curriculum seeking to balance learning at institutions and work, as an important vehicle for enhanced learning.

Work-Based Learning (WBL) in Higher Education and Lifelong Learning in the Netherlands

In this chapter, developments and issues in the Netherlands with regard to work-based learning (WBL) and its relevance for higher professional education (HPE) and lifelong learning (LLL) are discussed. While traditionally in LLL the emphasis was on formal and non-formal learning in organized settings (adult education), nowadays there is growing awareness of the importance of informal LLL in the workplace. Different and more intensive patterns of interaction between companies and HPE are being developed to improve the connection between learning in education and in the workplace. There are steps towards an effective pedagogy of WBL as employers and HPE strive for high-quality outcomes. As a final point, the authors discuss the recent developments with regard to accreditation of prior learning as a way to raise the qualification levels of the working population.

Work-Integrated and Workplace Learning in New Zealand

In New Zealand there is extensive and increasing use of various forms of work-based learning. The focus of the chapter is on work-integrated learning to read work-integrated learning in formal academic programs, as part of a broader state-backed strategy to improve employability among graduates. Alongside developments in practice there is also a considerable and growing body of accompanying research, much of it disseminated through The International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning (IJWIL) and other forums. These forums mean that dissemination of, and debate about, good practice regularly occur in the New Zealand environment. Collectively all these practices ensure that workplace learning and work-integrated learning in New Zealand maintain profile in policy, pedagogy, and programs. To date practice is principally aimed at younger people rather than older adults, resulting in, for example, limited use of recognition of prior learning (RPL).

Work-Based Learning in the United Kingdom

The term work-based learning has been widely used in higher education in the UK since the 1990s, and there is evidence of a spread in practice. However, it is not recognized as a subject by the UK Higher Education Statistics Authority so that the extent of practice is unknown. A small unpublished survey sheds some light on the varieties and extent of practice in England and Wales, identifying five different approaches. Different pedagogical practices can exist within single universities, and most of the chapter outlines how the University of Chester incorporates two practices. Its work-based learning (WBL) module is available for all full-time second-year undergraduates regardless of discipline. Its purpose is to enable all students of the university the opportunity to gain real-world workplace experience and sensitize them to the requirements of experiential and lifelong learning. By contrast the work-based and integrative studies (WBIS) is an example of a fully negotiated whole program designed to facilitate the development of practice for those already working.

Work-Based Learning in Ireland

The chapter reviews the development of work-based learning (WBL) in Ireland. As in other nations, WBL has been created following a combination of internal and external pressures. Tutors and students have recognized the need for change, but there has also been external pressure from government and employers to make education more relevant to the workplace. The change in practice has resulted in amendments to the traditional curriculum in higher education so that WBL is seen as a mechanism for preparing students for employment rather than as something for those already working. An important development has been increased recognition of prior learning, an often-essential element in WBL. Practice has been facilitated by time-limited projects, such as “Education for Employment” and the Roadmap for “Employment-Academic Partnership.”