A reflective account of WIL: From the students' perspective

Abstract

The educational benefits of traditional coursework are complemented through work integrated learning (WIL). Recognition of this is evident in the widespread acceptance of work placements in academic curricula. However, this recent emergence of WIL within established educational programs means the specifics of integrating work-related learning, teaching and assessment is in its infancy. This paper, therefore, presents an empirical description of how students experience WIL for the purposes of better understanding how to formulate and improve WIL teaching, learning and assessment. This experiential learning perspective is adopted under the assumption that the students' experiences are constructed as much by their own doing as by academic structure. It is also assumed that understanding students' experiences of WIL will provide us an opportunity to enhance their learning, our teaching, and the respective assessment of both. The empirical data for this study is drawn from the reflective journals of students enrolled in an undergraduate internship course currently offered by the Griffith Business School. The findings demonstrate that this course has provided the students with unique and unforeseen opportunities to learn, grow and develop, both personally and academically. The students articulated their appreciation of this experience well before the completion of the course and thus sought to more directly engage with the context, the people and the project, to the benefit of all concerned. More specifically, they expressed an increased confidence and consequent intent to excel, following their efforts to overcome the challenges faced. From a practical perspective, this reinforces the significance of reflective writing as an assessment requirement within the process of WIL. It also begins to indicate that the potential depth of student learning is reflective of the challenges faced and successfully overcome. The challenges of WIL, therefore, involve a serious commitment in terms of appropriate support for both students and academics.