Abstract:

The article focuses on work supportive studies in the context of higher education. The number of full-time university students who work at the same time is high in Estonia. Social pressure has left the higher education institutions (HEI) facing the challenges of adapting to this situation, the impact of the global economy, the technological developments and social relationships that are increasingly more focused on the individual. This situation requires HEI to find solutions for considering the needs of adult learners when planning studies and for putting learning into a professional context. Studying that supports working is a combination of teaching and studying based on constructivist learning and the characteristics of adult learners.

The objective of the article is to find out how students, teachers, and employers understand studying that supports working and to create guidelines for teachers that help them assess and understand teaching in the context of studying that supports working. Data were collected by way of semi-structured interviews from teachers, students and representatives of employers.

The results indicated that studying that supports working is associated with the constructivist approach to learning. Studying that supports working is based on the active role of the student and studying is promoted with the use of active learning methods and solving practical work-related exercises in an environment that is as authentic as possible (incl. in the working environment). The cooperation of all three parties – the student, the teacher, and the employer – is important in the case of studying that supports working, because knowledge is constructed in a cooperative and supportive atmosphere in consideration of the student’s work experience and the opportunities created under the professional instruction of teachers. The guidelines give teachers the opportunity to assess how much the learning activities led by them comply with the principles of studying that supports working.

Keywords:

Higher education, cooperation, studying and working, employability.