A Case Study in the Development of a Work-Based Learning and the Possibility of Transfer to Continental European Universities: The WBIS program at the University of Chester, England

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of a highly flexible program for work-based learning developed in one university in North West England. The paper demonstrates how pedagogic practices originally developed in the U.S. crossed the Atlantic and enabled the creation of a distinct program – Work Based and Integrative Studies (WBIS) – in response to the requirements of students, businesses and policymakers, incorporating many developments in learning theory and pedagogic practices. WBIS is a robust, academically rigorous program that offers a precise alignment of the learning needs of individuals within a coherent curriculum of accredited academic study. An academic microculture has developed to facilitate the program that is transdisciplinary, focused upon student learning and entrepreneurial. Having developed from U.S. practices, the program is now at the point at which there is the possibility of transference to other European nations.

Keywords: work-based learning, experiential learning, nonformal and informal learning