Win-Win-Win: Reflections from a Work-Integrated Learning Project in a Non-Profit Organization

Abstract

This paper reports on the educational aspects of an information systems work-integrated learning (WIL) capstone project for an organization which operates to alleviate homelessness in the Australian non-profit sector. The methodology adopted for the study is Action Design Research (ADR) which draws on action research and design research as a means for framing a project's progress. Reflective insights by the project stakeholders, namely, students, academics, and the non-profit client, reveal a curriculum at work through internal features of the organization; personal features of the participants and features of the external environment. Preliminary findings suggest that students in a WIL project for a non-profit are highly engaged, especially when they become aware of the project's social value. As well, the improvement of professional skills and emotional intelligence by students is more likely in real-life practice settings than in other less authentic WIL activities, equipping graduates for the workforce with both strong disciplinary and generic skills. Win-win-win synergies through project collaboration represent worthwhile outcomes to education, industry and research.

Action design research as a means for organizing workplace learning: case studies of e-learning platforms

“…Case studies do also allow to investigate research objectives and questions that explicate findings from research projects that have adopted a particular methodology or approach (Klein and Myers, 1999;Runeson and Höst, 2009). Then although there are plenty of empirical studies on how ADR has been used in the field of IS (Lempinen et al, 2012;Maccani et al, 2014;Haj-Bolouri et al, 2016;Keijzer-Broers et al, 2016;McCurdy et al, 2016;Petersson and Lundberg, 2016;de Vries and Berger, 2016;Leinhard and Legner, 2017;Dreyer et al, 2017), very few have emphasized the use of ADR for WPL (MacKrell, 2016). Hence, we seek to generate new insights on how and why the ADR method is a sufficient alternative for organizing WPL research in particular, by focusing on two successful case studies, where ADR was used to organize WPL.…”