This paper, which explores how curricula on higher and degree apprenticeships should be designed, is written by two academics from Solent University in the UK. It is based on their experiences of HDA delivery in the business studies sector. However, despite being focused on a different area than my work, much of its discussion is relevant. Their introduction describes the key value of HDAs in higher education (HE) as their obvious impact on widening participation and social mobility but highlight the importance of recognising the nature of students who apply for HDA courses. For instance, they tend to come to the course with a high degree of technical/industry skill and knowledge but a much lower degree of academic skill than more traditional HE students and highlight the need for institutions and academics to recognise, support and value these differences, explaining that course developers can't simply switch from a direct entry to an HDA course and need to pay close attention to the different profiles and demographics of HDA students.
As with the students in Pearce and Down's study (2011), the authors had already noted how "academic writing did not feel natural" (p. 226) to apprentices they'd taught. Indeed, one of the four key themes their analysis identified was the need for course designers to:
"define how support mechanisms can ensure a high-level "apprentice experience", whilst supporting them to balance the rigorousness of work and study." (p. 226).
(Which also emphasises the extra weight apprentices carry of needing to work and function as part of a team while studying). Hughes & Saiva (2019) suggest that more than just 'teaching' must be undertaken for HDAs and that courses should be designed to include elements that support them to gain confidence studying in HE.
One challenge the authors found that I have seen in many of our apprenticeship students is that they have been encouraged to come onto this course as a result of being high achievers within the level they are currently working at. They may have spent many years honing their skills at their current work and are looked to as leaders and role models. They arrive at university expecting to already know how to manage the course and with the impression that the course is simply a 'box to tick' that will give them a certificate to allow them to progress further. It can be a huge shock and a significant knock to confidence when they find that the HDA courses are much harder and more challenging than they thought. The authors argue the need for a relationship-focused approach with students having personal tutors to support them to navigate the course, which echoes the findings of Pearce and Down (2011) and my own understanding of the need for good relationships and a 'coaching' approach to student support. Hughes & Saiva (2019) emphasise the benefit of 1-1 time and detailed, bespoke support to enable students to become autonomous, deep learners who can apply theory effectively to practice.
The authors also describe the conflict between the need for academic rigour (deep learning) and the pragmatic need to manage workload effectively (possibly resulting in surface level), an issue aggravated, in my opinion, by the pressure in school to learn for the test. For students to be able to move away from this 'assessments as hoops to jump through' mentality to one of 'hunger for deep learning', I would argue that they need an intentional, proactive approach from academics and that this is part of 'deschooling'.
The paper ends with a clear recommendation:
"...research needs to be undertaken around the best pedagogic practices to support these non-standard [students] even more." (p. 234).
References
Hughes, C.J. and Saiva, G. (2019). 'Degree apprenticeships - an opportunity for all?'. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning. 9(2):225-236
Pearce , J. and Down, B. (2011). 'Relational pedagogy for student engagement and success at university.' Australian Association for Research in Education. 38:483-494
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