Baker, D. (2019). 'Potential implications of degree apprenticeships for healthcare education'. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning. 9(1):2-17

This paper by a health and social care academic in a UK university is the first I have read that is ostensibly about exactly the same area my research will focus on. However, on reading a little more deeply, it is much more about the broader implications of apprenticeships, rather than the impact on the apprentices themselves. 

Baker (2019) attempts to review the literature. I write 'attempts' because relevant literature was few and far between when she did this work, so most of the articles she found were not focused on health and social care apprenticeships. The majority were based in the UK but were mostly written before the major changes in apprenticeship provision.

Although Baker reinforces Hughes and Saiva (2019)'s recommendation that thorough and focused support for apprentices is required to ensure success, she doesn't explore this in a whole lot of depth in terms of academic support and focuses more on the support from employers and work-place learning environments.

She does note research stating that success is more likely for students who have achieved higher levels of educational attainment prior to starting their apprenticeship, which is surely a bit of a no-brainer! However, she stops short of exploring this in any further depth and even goes on to display a view that feels depressingly short-sighted: that educational "low achievers" (p. 12) ought to not be admitted to apprenticeship programmes by entry requirements being kept the same as for direct entry programmes. In my opinion, this view perpetuates the assumption that 'low achievers' are, by definition, also incapable of becoming high achievers (or even 'adequate' achievers). There is no acknowledgement of what could have caused that 'low achievement' and this automatically 'writes off' individuals who struggled at school. 

In fact, although Baker makes an interesting point that the stigma surrounding apprenticeships - that they are the option for those who didn't do well at school and that they are associated with "the acquisition of low level skills and competencies" (p. 11) - could impact their take-up and also subsequent career progression of apprentice graduates. This point is interesting to me because it suggests that the very concept of an apprenticeship and associated 'stigma' could impact on the mindset of those students who are studying them. What is the risk of this being a 'self-fulfilling prophecy' for apprentices, many of whom already don't see themselves as university students capable of studying academically?

I'm interested here in the connection between attainment and mindset as well - is it possible to have high attainment without a good mindset (growth, agency, curiosity)?  Baker refers to one study (Bishop, 2017) that suggests the impact of the apprentice's personality and associated preferred learning style (Bishop compares a more prescribed learning journey vs. one that requires initiative and drive on the part of the apprentice) on their ability to succeed. Again, this is interesting - where is the line between personality and mindset? How are each shaped by prior experiences? What is our role as HEIs in supporting students to make that shift from 'passive' to 'active' learner? I think this is more of the work that is encompassed by deschooling. 

Another element of mindset that Bishop (2017) refers to is that of "motivation to learn" (p. 10), which immediately drew me to ponder on the difference between 'motivation to learn' and 'motivation to get a qualification', which I think are very different things. This links with my blog post on Hughes and Saiva (2019)'s work and the way assessments could be viewed as 'hoops to jump through' rather than as opportunities to deepen learning and satisfy academic and professional curiosity. Is the 'motivation to get a qualification' the 'schooled' mindset and the 'motivation to learn' the 'deschooled' mindset?

 References

Baker, D. (2019). 'Potential implications of degree apprenticeships for healthcare education'. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning. 9(1):2-17.

Bishop, D. (2017). 'Affordance, agency and apprenticeship learning: a comparative study of small and large engineering firms'. Research in Post-Compulsory Education. 22(1): 68-86.

Hughes, C.J. and Saiva, G. (2019). 'Degree apprenticeships - an opportunity for all?'. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning. 9(2):225-236.