Guest editorial

Citation

Price, A. (2018), "Guest editorial", Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 2-4. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-12-2017-0097

Academics involved in work-based learning (WBL) and enterprise education tend be to enthusiastic and vocal advocates for their approach to learning in HE. They embrace progressive pedagogy, they are comfortable in educational situations what other educators find “risky” and they have faith in learner’s capacity to make valuable meaning from the active “experience of learning”. But, surprisingly these two distinct educational approaches are rarely discussed, analysed, evaluated or debated in the same forums. This special edition of HESWBL is an attempt to offer an opportunity for academics to present a range of perspectives on the intersection of WBL and enterprise education and to understand how this is being played out across a range of higher educational programmes and courses.

For the casual observers, it may seem that enterprise education is “what” is being taught and WBL is how it is being learnt. What is hoped is that the submissions in this publication will demonstrate that enterprise education is in of itself a form of pedagogical practice and for the aficionados a distinct and valuable form of WBL. They are both rely heavily on problem-based and active, experiential learning and as such have much in common.

WBL generally concerns itself with the conventional “employment” situations and the pedagogy and practice that are involved. However, many HE educators are engaged with enterprise and entrepreneurship education that implicitly involves the “doing” of enterprise with students as either active sole agents or collaborators in a significant element of WBL. An entrepreneur is after all involved in a particular form of work. It is important to understand the distinctiveness of this WBL, in terms of how it underpins the ultimate success of the entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs and how it feeds back to pedagogic theory, practice and understanding. It is hoped that the exploration of different approaches to enterprise education within this special issue will stimulate and inspire other academic colleagues to adapt and develop their pedagogy on the basis of what they read.

The aim of the special publication is therefore is twofold; to raise awareness amongst the WBL academic community of the concept of WBL being intrinsic to enterprise and entrepreneurship education and to attempt to uncover new, novel and distinct pedagogies, issues and debates that will help successfully progress WBL in enterprise and entrepreneurship education.

The articles in this special edition are suitably diverse, but a number of themes occur within them. The first is that they highlight a significant amount of innovative pedagogy, including such things as enterprise placements, students as producers and coproducers and learning for intrepreneurship. Most strikingly, strategies for moving traditionally extra-curricular enterprise activities (and their WBL) safely and successfully into the curriculum should be of interest to many practitioners.

Another notable feature is the role of civic learning, social projects and social enterprise approaches in a number of them. In the pursuit of authentic learning and effective work-based, experiential learning social and civic pedagogical situations appear to be very fruitful.

A further point made in a number of the submissions is the positive impact of enterprise education and WBL on the development of non-cognitive skills of the participating students. Such things as personal development, team working, creativity self-reliance, etc. appear to be regularly enhanced by learning this way. This also ties in with another notable theme covered by a number of authors: employability. It is certainly the case that the progressive and innovate nature of the pedagogy developed here not only improves students learning and engagement, but also contributes to institutional graduate careers targets both in terms of conventional graduate careers, but also business start-up and self-employment.

There is no doubt that our colleagues in business schools do an excellent job and submissions in this special edition prove that. However, it is also worth reiterating that enterprise education and WBL is not the preserve of the business school and has a place in all disciplines. As the articles demonstrate it facilitates interdisciplinarity, it develops non-cognitive skills, it provides an engaging pedagogical vehicle for active, experiential learning and improves graduate prospects.

Gibson and Vasilios explore the impact “live” civic engagement projects have for students that use WBL pedagogy within the curriculum to embed enterprise skills. These projects show high levels of student engagement and satisfaction. Their study shows a significant impact of the student population sampled on enhancing entrepreneurial competencies and mindsets. They argue that WBL pedagogical approach can be applied to all subject areas allowing enterprise education to be embedded throughout the university curriculum and that WBL provides an excellent example of authentic assessment. The also claim that the approach described is relevant to all universities seeking to embed enterprise within all curriculum in line with the QAA draft guidelines (2012). They believe that it provides a clear methodology that can be customised for application to curricular enterprise education in all subject areas in all universities in the UK.

Powel and Walsh explore the strategy developed at Birkbeck, University of London to develop an innovation culture and “intrapreneurial” skills and capabilities. The distinct nature of Birkbeck (as a university, which has traditionally catered for a local community of older, mature, in-work learners) sets the context for this approach. Building on its unique educational philosophy and its long tradition of providing flexible learning, the college has established the Birkbeck Engagement, Employability and Employment Ecosystem (B4E). This paper focusses on two elements of the B4E: first, the development of entrepreneurial skills and competence through the range of extra-curricular activities which are designed to build and nurture a community of students who are interested in innovation, entrepreneurship, start-ups and scale ups, providing them with the skills necessary to start and maintain their own business. Second, the learners “in work” should develop intrapreneurial skills and capabilities through WBL project modules moving from an “employee mind-set” to taking psychological ownership of their working activities and becoming “intrapreneurial”.

Brown examines the innovative approach of “students as producers” as advocated by Professor Mike Neary of the University of Lincoln. The study is of a year-long project, which aimed to bridge the gap between foundation degree curriculum and a revised curriculum where research and enterprise education was interwoven throughout. A fundamental principle of the curriculum redesign was for students to learn primarily by engagement in real research projects, or projects which replicate the process of research in their discipline. Engagement was created through active collaboration amongst and between students, lecturers and social enterprises.

MacDonald evaluates an educational model addressing the pedagogical challenge of interdisciplinary learning through enterprise education and WBL. Noting the siloed structure of many tertiary institutions, she claims that while creativity and innovation are found within many disciplines, the opportunity to develop a tangible skill set and share ideas with contemporaries can be limited. The Workshop for Innovation and Entrepreneurship developed at the Aalborg University in Denmark is one solution to this and validates the centrality of entrepreneurship education and as a discipline which has the capacity to unite staff and students approaching problems from various fields. The workshop design adapted to the changing needs and expectations of staff and students and was successfully replicated overseas.

Manning utilises a theoretical model developed by Ambad and Damit (2016) to evaluate the impact of WBL in the form of work placements on student’s self-reported entrepreneurial intention in the rural economy. In particular, it examines the differential effect that gender has on this factor, as well as the legacy of being a part of an entrepreneurial legacy through family context.

Hardy examines an innovative social enterprise model of coproduction: The People’s Academy within the School of Health and Social Care at London South Bank University and how service design can be enhanced in such an enterprising, learning environment. This entrepreneurial education approach is predicated on collaborative WBL where users become volunteers and participants working alongside students in professional education programmes.

Watkins’ Watkins position places graduate prospects in terms of employment and employability as central to an analysis of industrial placements involving product design students. The study helpfully examines the role of student “enterprise placements” through the universities “Hive” enterprise support facility. This combination of flexible pedagogy and authentic learning through self-directed WBL is seen as a progressive response to the institutional needs of enhanced graduate employment.

Castro-Spila explores the novel concept of the “Relational University” and how a strategy promoted by a Social Innovation Excubator (SIE) supports a programme of Social Innovation Calitalisation (SIC). The conceptual framework of Relational University is an innovative and integrative model (companies, social organizations, public sector and civil society) that develops a work-based learning strategy through the SIE infrastructure. The SIE has a strong implication for social sciences developing an experimental space to explore, exploit and evaluate local social problems. The paper proposes a conceptual and empirical framework to develop the Relational University through a new learning strategy linking work-based learning and social innovation.

The intersection and interrelationship of WBL and enterprise education is a fascinating one, and from the submission received would appear to have a robust and sustainable future. The challenge of producing authentic, future facing learning for our students is clearly met through an innovative pedagogical approach that contextually utilises both approaches in an informed and intelligent way.