Applied practice : theoretical and pedagogical foundations

Abstract

Applied Practice is an overarching term embracing a wide range of pedagogies that employ one or more forms of work experience for learning, including cooperative education (or co-op), professional practice, internships and apprenticeships, service learning, and many versions of Work-Integrated Learning (WIL). As used here, Applied Practice encompasses the theories, principles, approaches and programs that govern and inform the development of professional practices and practitioners across disciplines, and, in so doing, build individual, organisational, and community capacity to sustainably transform.
 
 As this monograph reveals, Applied Practice is a defensible means for building capabilities and dispositions demanded by the complex, global world of the twenty-first century. It achieves this by narrowing the theory–practice divide for which higher education has long been criticised. Narrowing of this gap is made possible by more fully integrating theory and practice, attained through pedagogies that mutually exploit the learning and experiences in academic study and practical work experience.
 
 Applied Practice and the various affiliated work experience for learning and Work-Integrated Learning programs are under-theorised and remain under-researched. Herein, the authors draw on a wide range of studies and scholarly literature, and attempt to bring together what can be ascertained with respect to applicable theory and pedagogy. The result of this synthesis is a four-pillar model, each of the four pillars representing a substantial theory stream and important foundation of Applied Practice: Adult Learning Theory (ALT), Experiential Learning Theory (ELT), Transformational Learning Theory (TLT), and Workplace Learning Theory (WLT).