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Higher education is facing new challenges in preparing students for the workforce. As demands increase for students to differentiate themselves when seeking employment, it becomes necessary for higher education and vocational providers not only to understand these challenges, but also to provide a pathway for students to develop the skills necessary to become sought-after employees. This paper presents a learning orientated internship approach as one such pathway that aims to provide students, as adult learners, with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and gain new skills in a work context. The paper provides insight into students self-reported learning outcomes after undertaking the learning orientated internship program. Preliminary findings reveal that communication, interpersonal skills and personal insights are common areas of self-development through this program.

Purpose – Due to recent bottlenecks in the apprenticeship market the transition from general schooling into the German employment system has become more and more problematic for many pupils over the past years. In particular, young persons with migrant backgrounds, low academic achievement or missing school graduations need special help from “Managing transition” projects. The purpose of this paper is to present some findings from a formative evaluation of a mentoring project. Design/methodology/approach – The evaluation of the mentoring programme was done in a case study manner. A formative evaluation design with a threepart survey was chosen. The survey also used standardised questionnaires as oral interviews. Findings – In the survey, it could be found that the mentoring programme had many problems to overcome. For example, it did not succeed in building a continuous and trustworthy communication between mentors and pupils. Moreover, the pupils were unsuccessful in getting an apprenticeship training position despite overcoming lethargy in order to start applying. Furthermore, the mentors felt insufficiently prepared with regards to content and methodological design of the mentoring. Research limitations/implications – Considering the small sample (six students and eight mentors), it was quite clear that the evaluation study could not generate a representative analysis. The research should be regarded as an explorative case study only. Practical implications – As a result of the formative evaluation, some recommendations are given that should optimise the continuation and extension of the mentoring programme. Originality/value – The findings of this mentoring programme are useful for people planning to start similar projects because practical problems and possible solutions are mentioned. © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

This edited volume aims to evaluate the promises of workplace learning by addressing the following related questions: What are current developments in theory that informs workplace learning research? How can learning in the workplace be measured? What is the impact of various organizational settings (e.g., team-based work and call centres) on workplace learning? Which are the promising new avenues for research? And which research-based recommendations can be made to boost learning opportunities in various work contexts? The topic is conceptualized as an interaction between the individual and the work context, as a combination of individual and collective processes, as a link between cognition and action, and as a political process. With a wide array of contributions from academics such as Stephen Billet, Tara Fenwick and Victoria Marsick, this volume will be an important research and reference tool with all those academics and practitioners who are interested in the field of human resource development. Targeted at researchers, (post) graduate students, and reflective practitioners and managers interested in the area, "Workplace Learning" provides must-read material for anyone wanting to advance the theory, research, and/or practice of learning in the workplace. © 2010 Marianne Van Woerkom and Rob Poell. All rights reserved.

Within the new framework set out in the final report of the Working Group on 14-19 Reform (2004), an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) was proposed in England to foster the development of students' independent study skills. Widespread national provision of a fully accredited EPQ, as a stand-alone Level 3 qualification, began in September 2008, preceded by a fully evaluated pilot. A survey of students taken during the pilot explored the relationship between students' approaches to learning and their achievement on the EPQ, in addition to assessing the extent to which the new qualification fulfilled its aims. On the basis of questionnaire responses from students, a set of models was fitted to describe the extent to which attainment and engagement with the pilot EPQ were influenced by learning approach. Results showed that, notwithstanding the contribution of previous academic achievement, attainment on the EPQ was positively related to intrinsic motivation; clearly a desirable attribute for lifelong learning but also an indication that the qualification may encourage students to be more innovative and creative about their learning. Furthermore, students' engagement with the project appeared independent of their prior achievement - a feature which has the potential to help lower the barriers to participation. © 2010 British Curriculum Foundation.

This paper evaluates the development of skills during a work placement year within a Scottish accounting degree. It discusses the history of placements within higher education, the advantages and disadvantages of placements from student and employer perspectives, and work placement as a vehicle for developing personal transferable skills. students and employers involved in work placements agreed that they were effective in developing a range of skills. Their views were then compared with those of students at a similar university without a placement degree. Degrees including a work placement were found to be a useful complement to more traditionally structured degrees. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd.

Written specifically for teachers, this book offers a wealth of research-based principles for motivating students to learn. Its focus on motivational principles rather than motivation theorists or theories leads naturally into discussion of specific classroom strategies. Throughout the book these principles and strategies are tied to the realities of contemporary schools (e.g., curriculum goals) and classrooms (e.g., student differences, classroom dynamics). The author employs an eclectic approach to motivation that shows how to effectively integrate the use of extrinsic and intrinsic strategies. Guidelines are provided for adapting motivational principles to group and individual differences and for doing 'repair work' with students who have become discouraged or disaffected learners. © 1997 Th e McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 2004 Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. © 2010 Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved.

Globalization has changed the way people behave in different aspects of life. One of the significant differences is that people are now competing with everyone around the world, not just people within or near their own regions. A good way of remaining competitive is to provide quality education that can help students meet the needs of the competitive economy. However, not all nations are responding in the same way. Using a quantitative approach, this explorative study seeks to discover if, and how, cultural dimensions fit into the process of meeting the demands of the competitive economy by means of education across regions. Forty-three regions with different ratings on the Power Distance Index (PDI), Individualism (IDV), Masculinity (MAS), and the Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) are included in this study. The results show that UAI, PDI and IDV are significant factors relating to this issue. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.

Schools are held more responsible for evaluating, quality assuring and improving their student assessments. Teachers' lack of understanding of new, competence-based assessments as well as the lack of key stakeholders' involvement, hamper effective and efficient self-evaluations by teachers of innovative, competence-based assessments (CBAs). While evaluating two CBAs in Agricultural Vocational Education and Training institutions, two interventions in the evaluation process aimed to tackle these problems were examined: (1) starting with explicating the CBA in the teacher team using a concrete explication format and (2) qualitatively involving key stakeholders (i.e., teachers, students and employers) in the evaluation of the CBA through mixed-group interviews. Quantitative and qualitative analysis, as well as stakeholders' perceptions are used to find indications for the added value of these interventions for evaluation and further improvement of the CBAs. Results show that external facilitation is needed to make both interventions work. However, under this condition, explicating the CBA led to more complete, concrete and shared understandings of the actual CBA among teachers and mixed-groups interviews resulted in more concrete and elaborate evaluations of the CBAs' quality and more ideas for improvement. Both interventions can facilitate building up elaborate, more valid and concrete arguments for CBA quality in self-evaluations, certainly in the case of evaluating innovative assessments. Lessons learned will provide guidelines for incorporating the interventions into other evaluations of innovative programs. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology's involvement in international mobility for culinary internships has experienced exponential growth over the past 5 years with the assistance of European Leonardo da Vinci and Erasmus funding for European placements. The main thrust behind the European Commission funding ventures for mobility (experiential learning) is to enhance students' cultural awareness, cultivate their language skills, and develop their professionalism in their fields of study. It is generally accepted that experiential learning in the workplace provides many learning opportunities for culinary students. In spite of the acceptance that experiential learning is a "good thing," students in the field of culinary arts have never been the subject of any research to establish the benefits of experiential learning through culinary international internships. This article starts to address the abyss in knowledge by reviewing the European Commission's Mobility Action Plan as a process of developing Europe's education and training strategy. It examines the Lisbon Agenda and various reports such as the Copenhagen declaration and the Nice Council report (EU Commission, 2004b) to develop an understanding of the mechanisms driving culinary internships in the School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

A large number of British university programmes in tourism and hospitality feature an internship of some sort. This element is intended to provide a vocational dimension to what can be a predominantly academic curriculum. Not only do internships provide familiarity with professional practice, they raise graduate labour-market value and, arguably, enhance the individual's maturity before returning to the final degree year. This paper uses research funded by the UK Centre for Professional Placement Learning, Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning, into the experiences of students on 12 month internship away from the UK. © Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education.