A Symposium held in Melbourne, 19 June 2008, aimed to share findings from research conducted in order to characterise best practice in the integration of career development learning into work integrated learning in Australian universities (visit http://www.usq.edu.au/nagcascarrickproject/symposium/default.htm for more information).
Career Development Learning is defined as an "overarching term pertaining to deliberate activities that go toward the improvement of an individual’s career. Career development can be conceived of as a professional activity performed by Career Development Practitioners and alike; it can also be conceived of as a subjective experience-in-process of developing one’s career" (p. 8 of the symposium pre-reading by Belinda McLennan, PVC Teaching and Learning Victoria University).
In the newly formed comprehensive universities, I imagine, there is often different perspectives between colleagues from the former academic university and from the former technikons in South Africa (now universities of technology) about the role of universities to prepare graduates for work readiness. I agree with a comment in the pre-reading that there is a fine balance between the needs of (a) commerce, industry, government and communities and (b) the university's role.
The pre-reading emphasise that Australian universities strengthened their commitment to blending academic learning and workplace experience, which is recognised as a unique and valuable learning environment/site. I quite like the notion of Learning in the workplace and/or Community (LiWC). It expands the potential learning sites to service learning. The pre-reading regards work-integrated learning (WIL) as an overarching/generic term to include career l;earning, engaged learning, internships, practica, clinical service, service learning, field work, cadetship, workplace projects, workplace research, sandwich years, etc. (I do not agree with the inclusion of cooperative learning, which is about learning in groups. Group learning can be used very well in reflecting about individual WIL to enhance learning.)
Three important and integrated readiness dimensions are highlighted:
- Work ready: Graduates moving seamlessly into employment ('hit the workplace running' - an ideal of the universities of technology) with employability skills, knowledge and experience; with the required graduate attributes needed by the occupational field; lifting productivity and addressing skills and labour shortages.
- Career Ready: Graduates have transferable skills and knowledge to manage their way through a changing world with intensified global competition, that is unpredictable and pluralistic; able to re-learn and re-inventing themselves (lifelong learning) as their careers proceed and develop.
- Future/life ready: Graduates have the skills and capabilities to continue to learn and contribute, as well as being adaptable as citizens of a changing world with new challenges.
I personally have a problem with an over emphasis of generic graduate attributes (critical cross-field outcomes in the South African contexts) as the be all and end all of in vivo learning. Yes, I agree that the workplace is an ideal environment to accomplish some or most of the critical cross-field outcomes. However, the occupational knowledge and skills that are best acquired through active engagement in real-life (in vivo) settings, are a very important aspect of the curriculum. The in vivo learning must be structured, properly guided, mentored and assessed to ensure graduate readiness. However, this further implies that for in vivo learning to succeed universities must have many partnerships to provide the necessary learning sites (environments) for the required learning to take place. These partners must be involved in the design, the planning and the delivery of the in vivo learning, and must be committed to the learning of students. Without such partnerships a university will struggle to offer the blended learning qualification/s.
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Posted by: David Burta | 10 August 2008 at 23:33