Changing roles and environments in experiential learning

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on the implications of new and unfamiliar roles for educators, students and employers generated by experiential learning (EL) activities. It considers how a series of tensions and instabilities in traditional role identities for each group arise from an expanded definition of university learning environments.Design/methodology/approachThe paper thus uses the concept of liminality, or “in-between-ness”, to explore processes of role transition via EL. This theme emerged from analysis of qualitative data gathered via focus groups and interviews with academic unit convenors, workplace supervisors and students across a range of disciplines.FindingsBecause none of the cohorts were fully supported in or securely ascribed to these new roles, the unsettled nature of EL is argued to be both a key benefit and challenge to educators.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper was based on a small-scale study of a specific EL programme. As such, it could be complemented by longitudinal and broader-scale research across different sites and national contexts, as well as with cohorts that the authors do not canvas here: university administrators, policy advisors and employers more broadly.Practical implicationsThe paper reflects on how higher education institutions can support participants in these new educational settings, as well as raising the question of whether new roles are still emerging from this process.Social implicationsThe paper canvasses impacts of EL on individual participants as well as the sector itself.Originality/valueThe authors believe that understanding EL activities through the lens of liminality provides a new approach to its impact at individual, institutional and social levels.