Work-integrated learning (WIL) provides students with the opportunity to apply their learning from academic studies to relevant experiences and reciprocate learning back to their studies. WIL is an umbrella term; opportunities exist in various formats both on-campus and off-campus. Although WIL shares some of the same offerings as
work-based learning
"Work-based learning (WBL) is an educational strategy that provides students with real-life work experiences where they can apply academic and technical skills and develop their employability." It is a series of educational courses which integrate ...
(WBL), it is distinct in that WIL is part of school curriculum and often guided by learning objectives, while WBL is primarily grounded in the workplace and not necessarily connected to academic studies. WIL opportunities include but are not limited to:
apprenticeships, field experience, mandatory professional practice,
co-operative education,
internships
An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...
, applied research projects, and
service learning
Service-learning is an educational approach that uses community service to meet both classroom learning objectives and societal needs. It has been used with students of all grades and stages. Projects based in communities are designed to apply cla ...
.
[Turcotte, J.F., Nichols, L., Philipps, L. (2016) Maximizing Opportunity, Mitigating Risk: Aligning Law, Policy and Practice to Strengthen Work-Integrated Learning in Ontario Toronto: Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.] In Canada, WIL is defined by 9 types of experiential learning: (1) Co-op Work Term, (2) Internship, (3) Clinical Placement, (4) Field Placement, (5) Apprenticeship, (6) Applied Research, (7) Entrepreneurship, (8) Service Learning, and (9) Work Experienc
WIL is found to offer career, academic, and personal benefits in addition to benefits for employers and the academic institutions they are part of. Evidence links WIL to high levels of
self-efficacy
In psychology, self-efficacy is an individual's belief in their capacity to act in the ways necessary to reach specific goals. The concept was originally proposed by the psychologist Albert Bandura in 1977.
Self-efficacy affects every area of hum ...
and strong professional networks and is a strong determinant of graduate employability. Students who participate in WIL are employment ready and may fare better in their job search and the transition from school to full-time employment.
The benefits of WIL have made this programming popular in the post-secondary environment, with research from around the world, including Australia, Canada.
Numerous stakeholders are involved in WIL, including members of industry, students, administration, faculty, and in some instances, government. Due to the broad range of both categories and stakeholders, challenges exist in addition to the benefits of WIL. Power, equity, cost, and measurability have been flagged as areas of concern across WIL practices.
Despite these concerns, WIL continues to experience growth and international attention.
References
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Educational practices
Experiential learning