In a recent research report that investigated the offering of work experience and placements in higher education institutions in the UK, it became clear that the last decade has seen a diversification of types of work experience options offered to students, and an expansion throughout the sector (Atfield et al., 2021). In the particular field of education, workplace experience is now an integral element of many degrees, both in the UK and beyond (Holman and Richardson, 2020).

This expansion and focus on creating opportunities for students to take a short-term placement, a full year sandwich placement or a simulated placement experience (Atfield et al., 2021) follows the longstanding narrative in employability related literature of the widespread benefits of placements (inter alia, Dalrymple et al., 2021). Indeed, literature has highlighted benefits in the development of generic skills and personal attributes (Wilton, 2012), transferable skills (Jackson, 2016), and the better access to work communities, their tools (Stanley, 2013), language and culture (Gracia, 2010). Literature has also suggested that placement experiences allow students to improved academic results (Kettis et al., 2013) and explore career choices (Mello et al., 2021). Overall, research seems almost unanimous in the positive impact that placements will have for undergraduates’ studies and future transition into work.

However, one limitation in the literature just presented is the focus on undergraduates that are using placements as their first experience in the world of work. Such limitation has also been highlighted by Lavender (2020) in relation to employability definitions, and the overall focus on a skills-centered approach which is also visible in the literature on the benefits of placements (e.g., Wilton, 2012; Jackson, 2016).

The clear issue in this argument is that mature students, defined by the Office for Students (2018, p.1) as “those aged 21 or over at the time of starting their course”, often enter higher education with previous professional experience, and therefore might not require or benefit from an introduction to a workplace. For example, in a recent study with Australian undergraduates, Jackson and Tomlinson (2022) reported that mature students felt they had better career networks than other students. These findings highlight the international scope of the issue and seem to reinforce the argument that placements and overall work experiences might have a different value for mature students.

Embedded into a wider study on second year students’ experiences of a short-term placement within an Education Studies BA in the UK, questions on the impact to mature students soon emerged. Although the following research questions directed the wider research project, this presentation will share the findings from research question 1, with a specific focus on mature students.  

1. How do students experience the transition between university and the workplace in their short-term placements?
   1. What are the perceived benefits and challenges experienced by the students in the transition between university and the workplace, in short-term work-placements?
   2. How do students contextualize their placement experiences regarding notions of employability?
   3. To what extent do students develop a professional identity in their short-term placements?
   4. To what extent do students frame their placements as mediational transitions (i.e. “as if” experiences)?
   5. What are students’ experiences of the placement module as a mediator in the transition between university and a workplace?
      1. To what extent do the module’s activities support or constraint students’ transitions between university and the workplace?

The presentation is based on an instrumental case study (Stake, 1995) involving students attending an optional, second-year placement module in the BA Education Studies, in a UK University, during the academic year of 2021/22. As the module started, there were 51 students enrolled, but only 36 (71%) agreed to participate in the study. Of these, 31 were female students (89%) and 4 were male (11%). It is also relevant to note that there were 6 participants (17%) that were considered mature students. The 36 participants were in a variety of placement settings, from schools to charities, engaging in a range of formal to informal educational practices. Still, the majority of students did have a placement in either a primary or secondary school. The data set for the study includes a mix of workshop activities completed in class (e.g., mind-maps, lists, drawings), voluntary writing tasks completed by the students in their own time, placement logs of hours worked and tasks completed, a reflective report, and semi-structured interviews. The data set per student reflects their overall engagement with the module and the activities proposed both in class and in the placement, and it is therefore varied. For example, Nadia’s data set included workshop activities, written tasks, placement logs, a reflective report and an interview, while Henry’s data set was much more reduced, including only a few workshop activities, since he did not complete the module. Regarding the semi-structured interviews, all students were invited to take part (N=36), but only 7 students (19%) replied to the invite and were interviewed during the Summer after the module was completed. Overall, the interviews lasted around 30 minutes and, for students’ convenience were conducted online, via MS Teams. In total, the study includes 355 data items; 7 semi-structured interviews, 18 written tasks, 34 placement logs, 35 reflective reports, and 261 workshop activities. Interview data was fully transcribed and similarly to the other data items, data is now being coded and analyzed thematically (Braun and Clarke, 2006). The thematic analysis is following the recursive process proposed by Braun and Clarke (2022), which has been useful to manage both the textual and visual data produced by the students. Finally, the study followed BERA’s (2018) guidelines and was approved by the FREC committee at De Montfort University.

The presentation aims to discuss the experiences of mature students on a short-term placement module called Preparing for Professional Practice. Early in the delivery of the module, it was clear that mature students had a specific outlook on the module, a different approach to the placement and, for one particular student, the sentiment of not seeing their experiences reflected in the wider “employability” agenda and literature. Therefore, the presentation draws on the insights provided by these students to question current narratives around the value and benefits of work placement experiences and explore their suitability to the specific context of mature students. Framing this topic within a landscape of the promotion of widening participation and lifelong learning, it seems pertinent to address the experiences of mature students with short-term placements and explore their potential impact beyond the context of this particular module, of education as a subject, and of the UK as the context. The nature of discussion will be exploratory in the sense that it aims to raise new questions and explore new avenues for research.

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