ABSTRACT
Placements and work-based learning have a significant role in Education Studies degrees. They are also often closely linked to university key performance indicators relating to employability and further study. This is because, as with many of the social sciences, Education Studies is both career- and practice-orientated, bringing together the professional and the academic, theory and practice, so as to enhance understanding of educational processes and contexts. The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) benchmark for Education Studies sets out the role of learning in the workplace: ‘Knowledge, understanding and critical analysis to inform current and future professionals […] may be achieved through learning in the workplace’ (QAA, 2015: 6).
