There is strong evidence that learning gained in, through and for work, whether it is through employment, voluntary, community, domestic or any other kind of work, helps to equip people with the capabilities that can improve their working lives, their employability and their life skills (Lester and Costley, 2010, Beehives, 2018, WEXHE, 2019).…

Purpose: This article explains how business internships can be used to develop innovation skills in undergraduates. Design/methodology/approach: Using work-integrated learning and current literature on innovation, this article proposes a theoretical framework to design, implement, and measure outcomes of Innovation-Focused Internships (IFIs). The…

Increasingly those working in higher education are tasked with targeting their teaching approaches and techniques to improve the "employability" of graduates. However, this approach is promoted with little recognition that enhanced employability does not guarantee employment outcomes or the tensions inherent in pursuing this agenda. The…

Work-based learning and the inclusion of the world of work into tertiary students' learning lie at the heart of the Australian vocational education and training (VET) system. Traditionally this has been through apprenticeships and traineeships, which have a strong focus on "on-the-job" training, but also through "work-oriented"…

This article describes a unique Australian infant mental health (IMH) service for families from pregnancy through to early parenthood (0-3 years) and training center for postgraduate clinical psychology students. The Australian Association for Infant Mental Health Incorporated, West Australia Branch (AAIMHI WA) "Competency Guidelines"®…

This paper reports on a work-integrated learning (WIL) internship program: a partnership between the Australian University of New England (UNE) and the New South Wales (NSW) Parliamentary Internship Program (PiP). In particular, it examines and proposes a tailored partnership or cooperative learning approach between university and industry with…

The author is in her final year of her double degree--Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary)/Bachelor of Arts at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga. She has just completed her internship of 11 weeks, broken into a 5 week block in Term 2 and a 6 week block in Term 4, at Northern Plains High School. In this article, the author shares her internship…

Work integrated learning (WIL) units can be discipline specific and constructed for majors or degrees with a strong vocational orientation. This paper describes an undergraduate unit with its genesis in a public relations internship. The original unit enjoyed strong support from industry partners and was instrumental in many graduates securing…

In the international higher education environment there is evidence of continuing growth and interest in creative and performing arts programs. While there is similar growth in the creative industries sector where these students will seek to develop a career, as well as further validation of the importance of creativity in the future workplace,…

In what ways can teachers build on youth culture to improve learning opportunities in the classroom? In this fascinating and highly readable collection, Korina M. Jocson brings together more than two dozen scholars, artists, educators, and youth workers to illustrate how nondominant youth can be engaged through various social justice arts…

Professional experience is a field increasingly defined by institutionally prescribed practices and outcomes. However, for the pre-service teacher, at an individual level, it is commonly navigated through complex and diverse experiences that for them may defy coherence. What is publicly shared is filtered frequently through a pre-service teacher's…

Higher education programs need to prepare their graduates for the practical challenges they can expect to face upon entering the workforce. Students can be better prepared if their academic learning is reinforced through authentic workplace experience, where the link between theory and professional practice can be realized. Increasingly, such…

Assessment is a significant issue for learning in the workplace. In some professions there are key indicators of success shared by workplace and academic supervisors alike. Beyond specific professions, however, assessment becomes more diffuse in workplaces that do not have explicit criteria established to judge performance of students in…

This paper discusses the role of praxis in peace education at the university level. An internship program is described as an example of how a program that integrates theory and practice might be implemented within a university context. Analysis of the program points to the potential of practical programs for maximizing student learning but also…

The Institute of Educational Administration (IEA) at Geelong, Victoria, Australia, is briefly described. Participants in IEA programs undertake a five-stage process: courses in educational administration; a four-week residential program; a fermentation exercise; advanced residential program; and an innovative project in their respective schools.…