Previous research and theoretical approach

The author and his colleagues completed two large research projects on mid-career learning (Eraut et al, 2000) and the first 3 years of learning after graduation (Eraut et al (2005ab). Three professions were chosen: chartered accountancy, engineering and hospital nursing. In order to start with a discourse of description rather than a discourse of justification, each of these 90 participants was observed at work for several hours, before being interviewed. This detailed work answered three questions: what is being learned, how is it being learned and what factors affect the level and direction of learning efforts. A commissioned monograph then expanded this previous work with individuals and small groups to include expertise in teamwork and organisational aspects of workplaces (Eraut & Hirsh, 2007). At each level the same four learning factors were used: formal and informal learning, contexts for work and learning, capability and performance. 

This paper concerns the quality of long, 8-12 month, 3^rd year placements in another university, where over 50% of their students took such placements in their third year. My activities were:

Year 1 (staff) Discussions with placement leaders in the departments, reading their

material and sharing relevant parts of my research on Early Career Learning. Writing papers summarising (1) departments’ activities and views and (2) the most relevant aspects of my own research.

Year 2 (students) A voluntary competition for 3^rd year returners’ views of their placements (28 competed for 5 prizes). Five adjudicators read them all: Riley (2010) also produced an overall summary, and I also interviewed 8 of them, focussing on the influence of those employees who most helped or hindered their work. These communications with university staff in Year 1 and students in Year 2 enabled the author to design an E-questionnaire for use in months 7and 8. The first analysis provided data at Faculty level.

Year 3 Term 1 Further work at Department level and release of final data.

One key problem in working between most university departments and other forms of employment lies in their different understandings of what counts as knowledge. Some employers come quite close to university science, and some make use of the arts; but most placement students have to come to terms with very different perspectives on what counts as good work, particularly when working with others. Our previous work has recognised six stages in transfers of knowledge from university contexts to workplace contexts, all of which present problems for new users (Eraut, 2004).

• The extraction of potentially relevant knowledge from the context(s) of its acquisition and previous use
• Understanding the new situation, a process that often depends on informal social learning
• Recognising which areas of knowledge are relevant to the new situation
• Focusing more precisely on what knowledge is needed for a particular assessment, decision or action
• Interpreting and/or transforming that knowledge to suit the new situation and context
• Integrating the relevant aspects of knowledge prior to or during performance.

Eames C & Coll RK (2010) Cooperative Education: Integrating Classrooms and Workplace Learning. In Billett S (Ed) Learning through Practice, pp180-196, Springer, Dordrecht. Eraut, M., Alderton, J, Cole, G, Senker, P (2000) “Development of knowledge and skills at work” in Coffield F (Ed) Differing Visions of a Learning Society, Vol 1, Policy Press, Bristol, pp 231-262 Eraut, M (2004) Transfer of knowledge between education and workplace settings. In H Rainbird, A. Fuller, & H Munro (Eds.), Workplace learning in context (pp. 201-221). London: Routledge. Eraut M, Maillardet F, Miller C, Steadman S, Ali A, Blackman C & Furner J (2005a) What is Learned in the Workplace and How? Typologies and results from a cross- professional longitudinal study, EARLI biannual conference, Nicosia Eraut M, Maillardet F, Miller C, Steadman S, Ali A, Blackman C & Furner J (2005b) An Analytical Tool for Characterising and Comparing Professional Workplace Learning Environments, BERA Annual Conference, Pontypridd Eraut, M (2007) Early career learning at work, In N Entwistle & P Tomlinson (eds) Student Learning and University Teaching, Leicester, The British Psychological Society Monograph Series II. Eraut, M & Hirsh, W (2007) The significance of workplace learning for individuals, groups and organizations. Oxford: SKOPE, Department of economics, University of Oxford. Powell RF & Van der Krogt FJ (2010) Individual Learning Paths of Employees in the Context of Social Networks, In Billett S (Ed) Learning through Practice, 197-221, Springer, Dordrecht. Riley, L (2010) Learning to be Professional: student stories of learning through work. In Jackson, NJ & Law, RK (eds) Enabling a more Complete Education: encouraging, recognizing and valuing life-wide learning in Higher Education, online at: http://lifewidelearningconference.pbworks.com/E-proceedings Thomas, KW (2000) Intrinsic Motivation at Work: Building energy and commitment, San Francisco, Berrett-Koehler.