85-RT-A0067: Trends in Work Integrated Learning

Transcription

1 85-RT-A0067: Trends in Work Integrated Learning Associate Professor Heather SMIGIEL 1 * and Mr John HARRIS 2 1,2 Staff Development and Training Unit, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Ph , Fax * Heather.Smigiel@flinders.edu.au John.Harris@flinders.edu.au Abstract - This paper reports on a university-wide investigation into the trends in various faculties and schools at Flinders University regarding Work Integrated Learning (WIL). Anecdotal evidence suggests that variations of WIL are occurring in a growing number of faculties and practice is varied across the institution. Past meetings with academic and general staff responsible for WIL suggests that there are many common problems across the institution and a variety of solutions being trialled to improve learning outcomes and experiences for students. This research project is assisting in the identification of successful models of practice and resources used to support these initiatives. Successful practice and supporting documentation will be shared as part of the delivery of this paper. There is a brief summary of the initial findings and a discussion of trends within schools and faculties. A particular focus of this project has been the identification of successful models and strategies and of partnerships and positive working relationships with institutions and businesses outside the university. Keywords - Work Integrated Learning, Partnerships, Industry Placement, Peer Mentoring, Parliamentary Internship I. INTRODUCTION An audit of Experiential Work-based Learning at Flinders University commenced in December 1998 and, after its completion in March 1999, a number of practicum forums were held to produce recommendations for future directions. One of the major issues emerging from the 1999 audit report was the identification that the potential value in having links between Flinders University and the wider community through student placement in agencies may not have been effectively utilised. It was considered at the time that when properly resourced and supported, there existed an opportunity for Flinders University to strengthen its ties with outside agencies and to gain a better profile and greater collaborative research opportunities. In November 2006, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) and the Director, Academic Development Human Resources Division, commissioned a new audit of all practicum, work integrated learning, field experience, work-based learning or work experience in industry programs, to ascertain the degree to which recommendation for future directions, as determined in 1999, had been achieved and the impact of recent Federal Government legislation on those programs. The Practicum Audit collected data during January March 2007, for 2006 practicum programs from all faculties and divisions of Flinders University, using an on-line questionnaire developed by the university s Flexible Delivery unit. From a student population of 15,110 the Practicum Audit identified 5,604 practicum or Work Integrated Learning placements in 960 hospital wards, school classrooms, legal offices, hotels or other agencies, plus a further 600 work experience placements in association with the WorkReady Internship Program and the INSPIRE Peer Mentoring Program. The Practicum Audit also identified that there were 221 academic staff involved with the coordination, management, supervision and teaching of practicum programs in 2006, more than double the number of academic staff involved in These 221 academic staff represent 33% of all academic staff employed at Flinders University and are supported by a further 39 staff with academic status, 73 general administration staff and more than 300

2 part time sessional or clinical supervision staff to assist with supervision and liaison between the university and the agencies. II. MODELS AND PRACTICE The Practicum Audit identified a number of key issues related to work experience. Of concern were the different practices adopted by each program. For example, in relation to pre-work place briefings, some programs run a series of lectures to support students and provide information that will assist them once they are in a placement, a few programs just run a one-off briefing session and several program have no briefing or information for students prior to them undertaking a work placement. This variance was also evident in the role that is played by the workplace supervisor. Some programs have the workplace supervisor playing a supervisory role, some are responsible for providing one-off or ongoing feedback, some programs require the workplace supervisor to act as a mentor, while others require the workplace supervisor to assess the student against a number of criteria. Not all workplace supervisors are required to write a report on each student. The greatest concerns for those who completed the audit were: the need to provide visible university support for work placements; the need to work closely with workplace supervisors to ensure the best experience for students and the associated difficulties of getting workplace supervisors together; the problem of getting the best feedback for students in relation to skills demonstrated while on the work placement; meeting accommodation costs in rural areas and managing the placement process for large numbers of students. Finding placements was identified as the greatest issue of concern for university-based coordinators. An example of a typical comment regarding difficulties with work placements appears below: two key issues (a) pressure to increase the number of graduates but struggle with limited number of practicum places available (b) Non-clinical academic staff focus their efforts on research and do not acknowledge the importance of the practicum. Many qualitative comments also related to the need for work integrated learning to be more closely linked with each academic program. For example: we must ensure that (a) The student s learning on the placement is clearly guided by the university and (b) that learning is assessed by the university, and University tends to reward research and not involvement with practicum. We need to raise the profile for the sake of the students In spite of the issues identified above, there were a number of good models of practice identified through the audit. One example is The Inspire Peer Mentor Program, now in its fourth year of operation and which provides student mentors to schools. The INSPIRE Peer Mentoring program has demonstrated that ways of working with teachers in both primary and secondary schools to overcome difficulties associated with trainee teacher placements in schools can be achieved. The INSPIRE Peer Mentoring program, administered by Catherine Koerner from the Careers & Employment Liaison Centre, is a model of university to community engagement within formal and alternative learning environments in low socio-economic areas. The model has been closely integrated with a new teaching practicum in the Bachelor of Education program due to feedback from school students, trainee teachers and teaching staff that there is greater benefit for Education students to maintain an ongoing relationship with

3 classroom students and teachers over a full semester or year than can be gained through traditional block teaching practicum as the predominant method of teacher-preparation for pre-service teachers. Previously, a number of education students had volunteered to act as mentors for the Inspire program in their second year (or first year graduate entry). Anecdotal evidence suggested these students were far better prepared for their teaching practicum and they demonstrated a greater awareness of the general operational aspects of a school. As one secondary principal remarked, the Inspire students knew what went on in the corridors of the school and their experience was not just restricted to a couple of classrooms. Another school principal commented on the high level of involvement by his staff with the Peer Mentoring program and praised the program for allowing trainee teachers to become involved in a much wider aspect of the school program than would normally have been possible. As the Inspire program developed and expanded with more secondary and then some primary and junior primary schools becoming involved, more second year and first year graduate entry students were gaining a school experience that clearly assisted their preparation for the teaching practicum the following year. Trainee teachers, as Peer Mentors, work in schools with identified disinclined students to improve their outlook on school and to increase retention rates. Many trainee teachers visit their school once a week during the school year. At a recent workshop for school principals, students and teachers, held at Flinders University for the INSPIRE Peer Mentoring program, a year 12 student from an identified disadvantaged school, spoke about how he had wanted to leave school in year 10, but had continued to attend and had, in fact, passed his year 11 subjects, only because of his peer mentor from Flinders. Many of these Inspire students continued to mentor a student or students over an extended period, even through to the end of their degree. The number of schools involved in the INSPIRE Peer Mentor program has increased from four to thirty five in the past two years [1]. The new Teaching Experience program was introduced in Semester 1, As part of the suite of practicum topics, a Teaching Practicum Elective topic was incorporated into the teaching experience program. Offering a range of choices, the teaching practicum elective also gave the Inspire mentors recognition for their work in schools. Inspire mentors were awarded a non-graded pass in the teaching practicum elective after completing a minimum of 120 hours of peer mentoring, completing a reflective journal, or a 1,000 word reflection of how the experience had benefited them as a beginning teacher and a brief report from their school. The overarching notion was to develop a partnership with schools where the professional experience was seen as an essential element of teacher education and a positive way to create links between university students and staff and professionals in the field. The recognition that in-school learning was the focus of professional experience, rather than mere assessment of the student teacher, creates a very different environment from traditional supervision practices. For pre-service (student) teachers, being welcomed into a school community led to learning and professional growth that could not be simulated in the university setting. The experience allowed them to observe teachers in all aspects of their role, experiment with pedagogical practices and begin to understand how supportive learning environments were established. Changing the language and terminology of the initial teaching experience was seen as a way of influencing changing attitudes and practices. School experience was different from a teaching practicum, which by necessity, had to be assessed. Supervising teachers were now referred to as teacher mentors and the university supervisor was now a university liaison to reflect the new role of linking university studies with the school experience. Another good practice model is The Parliamentary Internship Program which is in its sixth year of operation. It offers 36 students an opportunity to become an Intern, working in the South Australian Parliament for one semester. The Program opens with three weeks of formal teaching focusing on parliament - institutions, structures, processes, principles and practices. During this period, the arrangements are finalised for the research program which is the focus of the remainder of the semester.students work with a Parliamentary Supervisor, usually a Member of Parliament, on the basis of a mutually agreed interest in a policy issue. The formal task is research for a Research Report of 6000 words on the issue. The topics, over the life of the Program, have encompassed a wide range -

4 fisheries, health, mental health, domestic violence, unemployment, globalisation, reform of Parliament, the status of men, rural media, wine industry, energy, economic development, local government, prostitution law, and many others - and the research has encompassed areas across the State of South Australia. As well as the formal research project, Interns have a unique opportunity to be involved in the life of Parliament and in the life of Members. Through the Parliamentary Supervisor, the Interns experience the totality of the role of a Member - in the Parliament, in the electorate and in the party. This experience provides an opportunity to assess whether a career in politics - in a range of areas - is attractive. Many past students have made career decisions on the basis of their Internship experience. The formal project of a Research Report is the formal assessment for the Topic. The Reports become part of the public record, and are part of the collection of the Parliamentary Library, after the assessment procedure. The Members of Parliament are also able to use the Reports in their professional activities. Overall, the Internship offers a breadth of contact for the Interns in the "real" political community. It provides an opportunity for a substantive research project, as well as an opportunity to contact various elements of politics, and assess whether there is a career. Further, the Internship provides an opportunity for a broader understanding of the various components of politics - government, parliament and public service - and a working relationship with the public through people and groups related to the research focus. III. TRENDS In the area of teacher education, Flinders University has an especially close and well regarded relationship with schools and their staff in both the Government and Non-Government sectors in South Australia. Trainee teachers currently undertake a four week practicum placement in either a country or a metropolitan school in their third year and an six week practicum placement in their fourth year of the four year degree program. As well, a small number of trainee teachers from Flinders University are placed in interstate schools and in overseas schools. An initiative of the School of Education has been to develop over the past three years a network of University Liaison personnel throughout the metropolitan area and in the major country centres, including the South East, the Lower Eyre Peninsula, the Iron Triangle, The Mid North, the Riverland and the Yorke Peninsula regions of South Australia. Retired and semi-retired school principals, deputy principals, teachers and former university academic staff are employed on a casual basis to work with university academic staff to liaise directly with schools in the preparation of trainee teachers. University Liaison personnel attend Professional Learning workshops at Flinders University to gain firsthand knowledge of university policies and visit schools on a regular basis at times when trainee teachers are in the schools during their teaching practicum. Responses from schools clearly indicate a very high level of satisfaction with this direct form of liaison with the university and teachers value the opportunity to work closely with university personnel. There is a clear indication from teachers that they place a high value on their own role in the training of future teachers. Many teachers, in responding to a survey conducted in March 2005, indicated that trainee teachers need more than the minimum of four weeks in their third year and in their final year and, in fact, there is a strong sense that trainee teachers should spend 6 to 8 weeks each year in a school. Many teachers see their role as a mentor and are especially supportive of the trainee teacher program. Difficulties arise, however, in the implementation of trainee teacher programs, when a combination of an ageing teaching force, increasing teacher workloads, greater community demands and the closing of schools, reduces the number of places available in schools for trainee teachers. Recent increases in the intake of trainee teachers by the university has compounded this critical issue. A worrying trend is highlighted in the House of Representatives Report on the inquiry into teacher education, which, in its report Top of the Class, noted that;

5 While universities are required to provide practicum placements for their students, there is no obligation on employing authorities or schools to offer places. In the absence of obligation, universities must rely on the goodwill of schools and individual teachers. As student numbers have increased, so too has the need to find places. Many universities reported that they are having difficulties in finding a sufficient number of placements for their students. and Teachers who supervise practicum students generally do not receive any form of accreditation or formal recognition for taking on the responsibility [2]. Of particular concern, is the decision by the rapidly expanding ABC Learning Centre network to only offer employment to trainee teachers who have completed a course conducted by the ABC Learning Centre s own training establishment and not to offer practicum places to students from Australian universities. John Halsey, Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Education Forum of Australia (REFA), in the November 2006 edition of Country Education Matters, echoes the lament of other practicum placement coordinators in citing the cost constraints of undertaking practicum in rural and remote placements. Not only do teaching students need to seek country placements, as the majority of job opportunities for graduates are in country locations, but also a significant number of Nursing & Midwifery students and Hospitality graduates are placed in rural and remote areas of Australia. The pre-service country teaching placement research done by REFA shows that there are five main costs that have to be met by students who take a country placement. They are the cost of travel to and from a placement, the cost of accommodation and any extras while away from home, the cost of maintaining their home base, the cost of getting prepared for a placement and loss of income because of not being able to maintain a paid job. Respondents to the REFA research also said they had to meet extra costs for providing care for dependents. Some students reported they were unable to return to their former job after completing a country placement and accommodation costs can be doubled for students who take a country preservice placement because they often have to pay for their country stay and maintain their usual rent or mortgage repayments [3]. The Flinders University WorkReady Internship Program [5] is an especially successful program which provides opportunities for some 450 students each year to undertake a range of projects for business, industry and government with leading companies, law and accounting firms, environmental agencies, government departments, councils and community organisations. WorkReady is a demonstration of Flinders University s commitment to fully prepare graduates with the knowledge and skills needed for employment. WorkReady placements operate throughout the year and the placement period is flexible depending on the organisation s needs and available resources. Projects can be undertaken either in a block period or spread over a number of weeks. Rachel Spencer, Senior Lecturer in Law at Flinders University, identified issues for Law students, in a paper presented at the National Association of Field Experience Administrators held at Flinders University in November, 2006, and in her responses to the 2007 Practicum Audit. In order to qualify as a lawyer in Australia, each law graduate must complete a recognised practical qualification. Upon completion of a recognised and accredited course of Practical Legal Training, potential lawyers must apply to the Supreme Court of the state in which they wish to practise for admission as a legal practitioner. At Flinders University, students complete their work experience Placement within the last twelve months of their studies within a topic called Legal Practice Management. They are required to attend a full week (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) of classes covering practice management, time management, trust accounting and Placement preparation. Students may commence their Placement any time after that first week of preparation, which is held in early February, before the start of the official academic year.

6 Many law firms and other legal offices prefer to have students on Placement on a full time basis. This creates several difficulties for many students. Many mature age students have children and find attending a Placement full time extremely difficult. Many cannot afford to pay for child care during this time and many students are not financially independent and have to work to survive, pay their rent/mortgage and put food on the table for themselves and their families. One student put it this way: Understand that this Placement does not pay. Therefore most students, particularly those living independently, cannot afford to take 6 weeks off work. I worked 7 days a week for 6 weeks or so and was exhausted; I didn t think I got as much out of my Placement as I could have because of this. [We] should have [been] given an option to only work 3 days per week for 3 months. Students are often keen to secure a Placement in a legal office where they would ultimately like to work. Many students have very fixed ideas about the type of work they would like to do and the area of law in which they would like to practice. These students will seek a Placement which matches their ideas about their future. However, it is of concern that this component of the practicum is sometimes seen as little more than a six-week job interview, with an emphasis on potential permanent future employment overshadowing the learning of important practical legal skills. Student feedback about Placements is, in the main, extremely positive. Comments like: This was the best part of the whole Practical Legal Training program are common. Students get very excited about working in a real legal team, in a real office with real clients. The challenges and pressures of legal practice are usually met with nervous excitement. Written feedback suggests that for many students, the Placement reinforces their decision to become a lawyer and most can t wait to be admitted and get started. The transition from student to lawyer is a rite of passage for many, and there is a strong sense of achievement in completing the practicum placement. Quite clearly, students relish the opportunities that the Placement provides and are very grateful to their host supervisors for sharing their time and expertise [4]. The overall strength of Flinders University Work Integrated Learning programs is a reflection of the growing commitment by institutions and businesses to continue to improve the quality of the practicum experience provided for students and to work closely with university personnel. IV. REFERENCES [1] C. Koerner and J. Harris, Inspired Learning: Creating engaged teaching and learning environments for university and school students through university to school mentor programs. In Proceedings of the 3rd annual AUCEA National Conference Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia. [2] Top of the Class. Report on the inquiry into teacher education. Chapter 5, Practicum and partnerships in teaching education. 5.10, 5.11 House of Representatives. Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training. February [3] J. Halsey (Ed.) Country Education Matters, Rural Education Forum of Australia (REFA), November, [4] R. Spencer, Your Place or Mine? Evaluating the perspectives of the Practical Legal Training Work Experience Placement through the eyes of the supervisors and the students. In Proceedings of the National Association of Field Experience Administrators Annual Conference Flinders University and Tabor Adelaide 16 and 17 November, 2006