Workplace friendships have been linked to important employment outcomes. With the rise in remote work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences, there is concern about the implications of work mode for students' workplace relationships. Using a survey of co-operative education students, this study explored differences in the development of workplace…

Purpose: Climate change poses risks to society and the demand for carbon literacy within small and medium-sized enterprises is increasing. Skills and knowledge are required for organizational greenhouse gas accounting and science-based decisions to help businesses reduce transitional risks. At the University of Copenhagen and the University of…

Purpose: This study aims to explore the relationship between the number of co-operative (co-op) education work terms that students completed and the importance they attach to employer and job attributes (i.e. work values). Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from a large cross-sectional survey of co-op students (N = 2,097) from one…

Fresh approaches to trades training are essential for decolonizing educational access and success for Indigenous people. Holistic approaches to supporting student success are needed for the unique learning needs and contexts of Indigenous learners. Community-based training presents opportunities for this type of innovation. Using a Canadian case…

Co-operative education (co-op) programs enable students to gain real-world experience by alternating work and study terms. Understanding employers' expectations of students in different disciplines is therefore critical for success. To do this, the relationships between co-op job postings, required skills, and academic backgrounds can be modeled…

The University of Victoria, Canada, strives to enhance undergraduate students' labor market readiness through work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences. Students with disabilities have historically encountered low participation and success rates in WIL, potentially resulting in their under-representation in the post-graduation labor market. To…

Work-integrated learning (WIL) students are exposed to a range of stressors that can impact wellbeing. However, there is a paucity of research exploring stress prior to the work experience, such as in the job search and application process. To address this issue, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 undergraduate first-year…

Despite increases in Indigenous enrolment in post-secondary institutions (PSIs) in British Columbia, Canada, there are significant disparities in Indigenous student access, retention, and success in work-integrated learning (WIL) programs. By analyzing Indigenous-specific WIL literature, this article identifies existing barriers to Indigenous WIL…

Using data collected from co-operative education students at two different times over a four-month long work term, we test and find support for the hypothesis that students' approaches to learning explain the relationship between their lifelong learning characteristics and work adjustment. Students' lifelong learning characteristics were…

There is growing focus on graduating global citizens who can advocate for and operationalize sustainable futures by advancing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With the high volume of internships the University of Waterloo facilitates, there was need to better understand how these internships might be contributing to the…

Emerging research suggests that students from equity-deserving groups (EDGs) may experience barriers within work-integrated learning (WIL) that other students may not face, and such barriers may negatively impact students' participation in WIL. Guided by a social justice lens, this study used interviews of co-operative education (co-op) students…

Work-integrated Learning (WIL) seeks to bridge the gap between 'scholastic' training and work. This study explores the ironic fact that the WIL discourse remains formed by the idea of "academia" and the "real world," an idea that in decisive ways creates this gap. A genealogical discourse analysis of how this idea operates in…

WIL practitioners encounter ethical issues, dilemmas, or conflicts ('risks') in the delivery of work-integrated learning (WIL) programs. Ethical risks which are not properly managed can have reputational, legal, and financial consequences for the higher education institution (HEI). Whilst students' experiences of ethical risks, particularly in…

Student performance evaluations are a traditional method for assessing a student's skills during a work-integrated learning (WIL) experience. While these assessments provide students with feedback on the development of their skills, little documentation of student performance exists after the WIL experience. This paper explores the role of…

In late 2020 the Government of Alberta's Ministry of Advanced Education sent a guidance document to Alberta post-secondary institutions to lay out how work-integrated learning was to be conducted. This document also informed the institutions that work-integrated learning should be included in all future program proposals. The guidelines were sent…