Embedding non-placement, community-engaged work-integrated learning in the first year: A curriculum model for vocational identity and belonging

Abstract

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is increasingly conceptualised as a curriculum-embedded process that may include non-placement activities designed to make professional practice visible early in a degree. This study evaluates a first-year, community-engaged WIL model embedded within a sport development degree. The curriculum integrated practitioner interaction, site visits, applied learning tasks, and structured reflection to support students’ early engagement with professional and community contexts. Using a convergent mixed-methods design (n = 89), the study examined whether participation in this curriculum was associated with students’ vocational identity and sense of belonging during transition to university. Health-related degrees, in which professional exposure is typically deferred, were used as a contextual comparison. Students who experienced the first-year WIL curriculum reported stronger vocational identity, particularly in relation to professional belonging and identification with a future profession. Qualitative findings indicated that practitioner interaction, authentic tasks, and guided reflection helped students visualise professional roles and develop clearer understandings of career pathways, whereas students without structured early exposure described a more exploratory first-year experience centred on disciplinary learning and peer connection. The study contributes to WIL scholarship by positioning first-year, non-placement, community-engaged WIL as an identity-forming process rather than solely a late-stage employability intervention. It proposes a scalable curriculum model for supporting transition, belonging, and career development through practice-visible learning.