Educational orientation and employer influenced pedagogy practice and policy insights from three programmes in Europe

© Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2042-3896. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between educational orientation and employer influenced pedagogy and to consider some implications for work-based learning (WBL) higher education (HE) policy and practice in Europe. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on purposefully selected case studies to describe the key attributes of WBL related pedagogy associated with three HE programmes in Finland, Spain and the UK. Findings: The national regulatory environment has a key role to play in issues associated with WBL pedagogy. The case studies also demonstrate a pluralistic approach to pedagogy and the key role that employers play in both providing regular intelligence to inform curriculum design and contributing to pedagogy. Research limitations/implications: The small number of case studies limits the opportunity for generalisation and the level of analysis masks subtle and interesting differentiations in pedagogy worthy of further exploration. Practical implications: The paper highlights implications for government to provide the vision and regulatory environment to encourage WBL and for universities and academics to design and implement innovative, pluralist pedagogies. Originality/value: The paper provides a new framework and a unique analysis of programme level case studies from three European countries.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-03-2015-0010