Our research using hermeneutic phenomenology positions a pre-service or graduate teacher's learning to be a teacher as a process of formation which involves relational sensibilities and ontological understandings that are often taken for granted and can be drawn from teacher's everyday experiences of 'being-in' their practice. We live in…

Work-integrated learning (WIL) research is heavily steeped in particular contexts making it highly suited to flexible, multiple perspective methodologies, such as case study. However, case study methodology is often criticized for being too specific, not generalizable and limited in what it can contribute to theory. In addition, there is often…

Debriefing is used across many disciplines and for different purposes in work-integrated learning (WIL), but there remains much ambiguity about what debriefing actually is, and what it entails. This study explored conceptualizations of debriefing for 35 WIL practitioners. located across a range of disciplines, professions, institutions and…

The research reported in this article attends to the learning and knowing that students experience in workplace practice. The research enquiry is propelled by the theories of workplace learning and the recent 'practice turn' in the literatures of organisational studies that accommodate student learning that is impromptu and emergent in the…

Over the last 20 years, research focused on work-integrated learning (WIL) has expanded considerably. While early research predominantly utilized quantitative study designs, recently a more diverse set of methodologies is being used to address questions and issues arising from a range of WIL models. This Special Issue is intended to present…

The demand for relevant skills for the labor market constitutes one of the fundamental challenges facing the post-school system in South Africa. The South African government has therefore proposed a policy on professional development teacher education programs for Technical and Vocational Education and Training and the South African Department of…

Grounded theory is an inductive enquiry that explains social processes in complex real-world contexts. Research methods are cumulative cyclic processes, not sequential processes. Researchers remain theoretically sensitive and approach data with no preconceived hypotheses or theoretical frameworks. Literature is reviewed as lines of enquiry and…

A recent (2017) study of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the unemployment rate for 20-24-year-olds, the age when many graduate from university and enter the workforce, is nearly twice that of all other age groups. The startling statistic suggests that more can be done to better prepare undergraduates for the workplace.…

Universities, industry and professional bodies advocate work-integrated learning (WIL) as a valuable way to prepare graduates to meet the challenges of contemporary society. When organizations preference particular students over others to host on placement, the full individual and collective potential of WIL is not realized. This paper reports…

There is broad acknowledgement that higher education should produce career-ready graduates and the role of practical experience--such as part-time employment, unregulated extra-curricular internships and work-integrated learning (WIL)--in achieving this. WIL is critical for developing the non-technical skills, disciplinary expertise and career…

Insider research studies are common in work-integrated learning (WIL) research, yet little has been written about the methodological and ethical dilemmas that WIL researchers face. Using a case study narrative, the position of an insider researcher is justified, and the challenges faced, when a researcher undertakes an in-depth study of their own…

An employment contract between the student and the host organization may be the unintended consequence of a work-integrated learning (WIL) placement. The student, as an 'inadvertent employee' of the host organization, can expose the university to risk. A case study involving thirteen Australian university lawyers identifies the legal and…

Little is known about how university institutions are coping with increased placement demands in professional disciplines, and what this means for the quality and integrity of the Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) experiences offered within degree programs for all partners concerned. The first stage of a critical ethnographic study is reported in…

The importance of work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences in the development of work ready graduates is well known. Despite the centrality of WIL to graduate employability, the vast majority of studies relating to student feedback tend to focus on the evaluation of learning and teaching in the classroom context. This article reports on the…

Research indicates that work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences enable students to develop both generic and work skills as well as helping students identify their future academic and career directions. This study used pre- and post-survey instruments to evaluate the effectiveness of a WIL placement to develop work skills of students in…