Critical changes for successful cooperative education

While an increase in funding for cooperative education in the United States has seen the growth in work integrated learning (WIL), the reduction of government funding support in Australia for work placements has had the unintended effect of threatening the academic integrity of work placement programs.

The pedagogy around WIL programs is based on experiential learning theory and can be described by Kolb's learning cycle. The key to learning, particularly deep level learning, through WIL, however, rests on the students' ability to reflect on the work experiences, to integrate these experiences with their academic lessons and to conceptualise their learning so that they are able to ultimately bring together their work and their academic experiences to solve problems in unfamiliar environments.

The role of academics in supporting student learning through WIL has long been debated and while the evidence in the United States shows that programs that do not have the support and commitment from academics tend to fold, in Australia the commitment from academics to supporting student learning through WIL is very variable.

The change in the funding model for WIL programs introduced in Australia by DEST in 2005 could be seen as an incentive to strengthen the academic support in these programs. The impact of the changes has however, not necessarily had the desired outcome.

This paper outlines the pedagogy underpinning WIL, highlights the benefits of co-op to all stakeholders and examines one university's response to the change in DEST funding for WIL programs.