A bibliographic mapping of work-integrated learning in South Africa

Abstract

Research in the field of work-integrated learning (WIL) is growing worldwide. South Africa has been implementing WIL in higher education, especially at universities of technologies for decades to enhance the learning experience and employability of students. While there is expertise on the implementation of WIL from a South African perspective an overall picture of the WIL research landscape in South Africa is unclear. This article provides a better understanding of the most influential papers and researchers that can assist researchers in identifying research collaborators and publishing opportunities. To get a snapshot of the current research on WIL in South Africa, a bibliographic mapping was conducted. The objectives were to determine the extent of recent WIL research in South Africa using bibliographic techniques and to identify how the WIL articles included in the study are interconnected. Using the Scopus database, 127 articles were included in the bibliographic mapping. The results included the author keyword co-occurrence, citation, co-authorship, bibliographic coupling and co-citation networks. The results provide an overview of the current research on WIL in South Africa and identified that there are authors and institutions in South Africa that are driving the research of WIL as well as collaboration with the international community that positions South Africa in the WIL research landscape. It is hoped that similar research will be conducted in future to provide new insights as the field evolves.