An international comparison of the effect of work-integrated learning on academic performance: a statistical evaluation of WIL in Japan and Hong Kong

Abstract

As the popularity of work-integrated learning (WIL) grows, there is a need for standard and more quantitative methods for evaluating the features of WIL over time as well as between different institutions and over national frontiers. Regression analyses examined WIL's effects on academic performance in the final year of university from data obtained in Japan (2008, 2009, and 2010 graduates) and Hong Kong (2010 graduates). Independent variables included first year [grade point average] GPA, gender, and faculty/school membership. While the WIL systems differed in the two different institutions, both displayed some effects of WIL on final year GPA - Japan for 2008 and 2009, but not 2010 (student participation versus none). For the Hong Kong sample, final year GPA related to the learning outcomes reported by students from their WIL experiences. The results are discussed in terms of the connections between academic learning and WIL, and potential implications for international comparative research.Published abstract.