Reflection in a workplace qualification: challenges and benefits

• Published in: The journal of workplace learning 2011-10, Vol.23 (8), p.531-540
• Main Authors: Hegarty, Pauline M, Kelly, Henry A, Walsh, Anita
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Associations; Awards; Case studies; Chemistry; Chemists; Corporate Education; Cost Effectiveness; Critical thinking; Departments; Education; Educational Environment; Employment; Foreign Countries; Graduate Study; Graduates; Higher education; Informatics; Information Science; Inplant Programs; Lifelong Learning; Molecular Biology; On the Job Training; Organic Chemistry; Pharmaceutical Education; Pharmaceutical industry; Professional Development; Professional Training; Qualifications; Quality Assurance; Quality control; R&D; Reflection; Research & development; Research and Development; Thinking Skills; United Kingdom; Workplace Learning
• ISSN: 1366-5626; 1758-7859
• DOI: 10.1108/13665621111174889

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to discuss the challenges and benefits that arose from the implementation of an innovative example of employer responsive provision, i.e. of a postgraduate programme that is work-based and designed specifically to meet the needs of the organisation.Design methodology approach - The approach is to outline the principles and challenges involved in designing a postgraduate programme that combines both scientific and personal professional development in a way that is extremely unusual. In order to achieve this, in addition to assessment of technical scientific skills, it was necessary to integrate pedagogy that would support critical reflection on wider professional practice into the programme. The use of reflection on practice adopted an approach which is not familiar to the scientific community.Findings - Adoption of reflection on practice introduced particular challenges for programme design and delivery that required those involved to review their own practice critically. This provided particular challenges in the context of a scientific community, due to the required change in perspective. However, now the programme is established, it appears that the inclusion of critical reflection has provided the organisation with some additional benefits and unexpected observations.Originality value - The originality value of the paper derives from two elements. One is the consideration of a programme that integrates a technical scientific perspective together with reflective practice. The other is in the indication from the outcomes that such a combination may be of demonstrable organisational benefit. Evaluation of the organisational benefits of work-based learning (as opposed to the individual benefits) has in the past proved challenging.