Purposeful partnerships: Bridging the gap between academia and the workplace

John Bamber, Clara O'Shea

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

Abstract / Description of output

In their report, Review of Widening Participation Research: Addressing the Barriers to Participation in Higher Education, Gorard et al. (2006, p 121), state that a more explicit understanding of widening participation is required. This is likely to include who is to be targeted, whose responsibility it is, whether all institutions should play the same role, and whether it is institutions or individuals that are required to change.
The report’s primary point is that widening participation policy and practice need to address not just access to higher education – which has been the focus of much national and institutional policy-making in recent years in the U.K. – but also the experience of non-traditional learners once they enter higher education (ibid, p 120). The report argues for a movement away from the prevailing deficit model in relation to non-traditional learners, while appreciating that such learners are not homogeneous. The challenge, they argue, is for researchers to consider specific teaching and learning strategies rather than to focus on the putative needs of a particular category of learners, such as ‘non-traditional’.
This chapter takes up the challenge by drawing from a recent investigation into work-based and part-time routes to professionally endorsed qualifications in the field of community learning and development (CLD) in Scotland (Bamber and O’Shea, 2008). The investigation focused mainly on the practice of institutions delivering qualifications in Community Learning and Development, while drawing selectively from relevant literary sources and research, and consisted of analysis of course documentation, an online survey of 102 current CLD learners (28% of the overall population of such learners within Scotland), individual and group interviews with educators, learners and employers, consultative workshops with key stakeholders and observation of teaching and learning processes.
Participants in these vocationally-oriented degree programs tend to be mature females, with non-standard entry qualifications and significant domestic and work commitments - circumstances that can make it difficult to engage with higher education. This chapter moves beyond issues of access at pre-entry level and focuses on the nature of the learning experience and on the opportunities it presents for access to a career and professional development. In considering this wider notion of access, the paper presents a model of purposeful academy-workplace partnership. The model highlights the importance of three interlinking elements: ‘responsive academies’ attuned to the needs of work-based and part-time learners, ‘expansive workplaces’ that are systematically supporting learning and development in the workplace, and ‘active learners’ who take responsibility for their own learning. We argue for an integrated approach to training in which the key to success involves helping learners to connect work experience, program content and their own professional development. Much depends on unlocking the potential in the respective roles and contributions of training providers, employers and learners and in creating opportunities for these key stakeholders to work together in a purposeful way.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHigher education in diverse communities
Subtitle of host publicationGlobal perspectives, local initiatives
EditorsFran Ferrier, Margaret Heagney
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherEuropean Access Network
Pages96-104
ISBN (Print)9788021047174
Publication statusPublished - 2008

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