The educational worth of post-practicum processes and contributions and in prospect

Finding ways of augmenting, enriching and extending university students’ workplace experiences through educational interventions once they have completed those experiences is a key concern for contemporary higher education. This concluding chapter engages, summarises and synthesises the contributions of a set of projects that have sought to understand how and for what purposes post-practicum interventions can contribute to the effective learning experiences for students in their university studies. That is, it seeks to address the question of the educational worth of post-practicum interventions and how that worth can be most effectively realised. More than a mere summary of the project reported in this volume, the analysis here seeks to offer a synthesis and key findings as well as outlining the contributions of post-practicum interventions. It initially elaborates the interest in, purposes of, processes adopted and outcomes of these interventions and how they can contribute to achieving the kind of educational goals being requested by the community, government and students. This includes taking the lessons from post-practicum interventions and consider how these might be applied to other kinds and forms of educational interventions. That is, using the findings of these specific kinds of interventions to inform more broadly about how we can enrich the experiences of students and integrate them in ways that achieve the kinds of goals which they, their educational institutions, prospective employers and government want to be achieved. In this way, the outcomes here are used to inform how new and emerging forms of work-integrated learning might progress, such as those being considered in the elective/non-accredited options beyond the placement/practicum. This chapter contributes to the emerging discussions about how work-integrated education might be planned and enacted, and how this integration can support effective student learning in terms of preparing them more adequately to realise the transition between higher education and employment.