Pub Date : 2019-06-25DOI: 10.21153/jtlge2019vol10no2art853
B. Oliver
This is a momentous year for the Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability – having started from scratch in 2010, this journal was established as an outcome of Curtin University’s ‘Curriculum 2010’ curriculum renewal initiative, particularly to create a forum where teaching academics might engage in scholarly reflection and research associated with graduate employability, a relatively new field in Australia at that time. In 2010, we welcomed contributions about any aspect of higher education teaching and learning which related to the broad topic of graduate employability, including but not limited to:Graduate employability and how it can be measured;The relationship between graduate employability and the achievement of graduate attributes, employability skills and preparation for global citizenship;Teaching and learning experiences, resources and assessments which enhance graduate employability;Industry partnerships and perspectives;Life-long learning.As we go forward, it is appropriate to note our achievements to date: this year, the journal will have been publishing for ten consecutive years: we published sixty-four peer-reviewed articles by May 2019, and ten editorials, and we have just published our first special issue (with plans for more). We are all interested not just in publications, but their impact. Citations clearly take time to build so focussing on our first six years (2010 to 2016) our thirty-three peer-reviewed articles were cited (in total) 570 times, and five articles were cited more than 40 times (to May 2019). Our most highly cited article to date – with 78 citations – is Catherine Caballero and Arlene Walker’s “Work readiness in graduate recruitment and selection: A review of current assessment methods”.
{"title":"Editorial","authors":"B. Oliver","doi":"10.21153/jtlge2019vol10no2art853","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21153/jtlge2019vol10no2art853","url":null,"abstract":"This is a momentous year for the Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability – having started from scratch in 2010, this journal was established as an outcome of Curtin University’s ‘Curriculum 2010’ curriculum renewal initiative, particularly to create a forum where teaching academics might engage in scholarly reflection and research associated with graduate employability, a relatively new field in Australia at that time. In 2010, we welcomed contributions about any aspect of higher education teaching and learning which related to the broad topic of graduate employability, including but not limited to:Graduate employability and how it can be measured;The relationship between graduate employability and the achievement of graduate attributes, employability skills and preparation for global citizenship;Teaching and learning experiences, resources and assessments which enhance graduate employability;Industry partnerships and perspectives;Life-long learning.As we go forward, it is appropriate to note our achievements to date: this year, the journal will have been publishing for ten consecutive years: we published sixty-four peer-reviewed articles by May 2019, and ten editorials, and we have just published our first special issue (with plans for more). We are all interested not just in publications, but their impact. Citations clearly take time to build so focussing on our first six years (2010 to 2016) our thirty-three peer-reviewed articles were cited (in total) 570 times, and five articles were cited more than 40 times (to May 2019). Our most highly cited article to date – with 78 citations – is Catherine Caballero and Arlene Walker’s “Work readiness in graduate recruitment and selection: A review of current assessment methods”.","PeriodicalId":37004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41842727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-31DOI: 10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO2ART783
Michael B Whelan, A. Reichelt-Brushett
In 2015 the threshold learning outcomes (TLOs) for Australian bachelor degree graduates in the discipline of Environment and Sustainability were released. This study road tested the Environment and Sustainability TLOs in the workplace via environmental science students’ internship placement. The study, which incorporated surveys of host-supervisors, students and teaching staff, was conducted over four years. The surveys enabled comparisons between the performance expected of a new graduate by employers with the level of performance students achieved while on placement. Overall, hosts expect new graduates to be ‘Capable’ performers (2.8 on a 5 point scale). Host-supervisors also rated the overall performance of interns as ‘Capable’ (3.4/5). Expected performance of a new graduate for individual TLOs was compared with the performance of interns. Students exceeded the expectations of host-supervisors for all TLOs. In contrast, teaching staff rated the performance of students lower than students themselves and host-supervisors. Fundamental differences in the way students are assessed in the workplace and the classroom may account for the difference in perceived student performance. The results of the surveys can be used as evidence that the degree is meeting the needs of industry and for graduates to undertake professional work in the Environment and Sustainability discipline. The methodology has the potential to be used in any discipline that has published TLOs. The authors recommend that the Australian Qualifications Framework is reviewed and a rubric that describes student behaviour is used rather than vague terms such as ‘well developed’.
{"title":"Using internship placements to road test threshold learning outcomes for environment and sustainability","authors":"Michael B Whelan, A. Reichelt-Brushett","doi":"10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO2ART783","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO2ART783","url":null,"abstract":"In 2015 the threshold learning outcomes (TLOs) for Australian bachelor degree graduates in the discipline of Environment and Sustainability were released. This study road tested the Environment and Sustainability TLOs in the workplace via environmental science students’ internship placement. The study, which incorporated surveys of host-supervisors, students and teaching staff, was conducted over four years. The surveys enabled comparisons between the performance expected of a new graduate by employers with the level of performance students achieved while on placement. Overall, hosts expect new graduates to be ‘Capable’ performers (2.8 on a 5 point scale). Host-supervisors also rated the overall performance of interns as ‘Capable’ (3.4/5). Expected performance of a new graduate for individual TLOs was compared with the performance of interns. Students exceeded the expectations of host-supervisors for all TLOs. In contrast, teaching staff rated the performance of students lower than students themselves and host-supervisors. Fundamental differences in the way students are assessed in the workplace and the classroom may account for the difference in perceived student performance. The results of the surveys can be used as evidence that the degree is meeting the needs of industry and for graduates to undertake professional work in the Environment and Sustainability discipline. The methodology has the potential to be used in any discipline that has published TLOs. The authors recommend that the Australian Qualifications Framework is reviewed and a rubric that describes student behaviour is used rather than vague terms such as ‘well developed’.","PeriodicalId":37004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45742111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-31DOI: 10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO2ART699
Gail De Blaquière, J. Nolan, Katie Wray
Employability is a complex, contested concept which has tended to be considered in terms of a dominant discourse of skills. This article argues that employability needs to be thought of more holistically, as ongoing, life-long, situated learning, whilst acknowledging that the contested language of skills and the need to demonstrate competency through examples is embedded in employers’ recruitment processes. Therefore the ability to articulate what a graduate can offer to employers, framed in terms of skills and expressed in narratives which provide convincing examples, is important in establishing potential employability. Research shows that undergraduate and postgraduate students can find this problematic. In addition, recent scholarship calls for research to create a theoretically informed understanding of why and how interventions aimed at enhancing employability are effective. The authors have researched a diverse range of interventions which have had a positive impact and which are based on the principles of enterprise education and experiential learning. Their findings, based on qualitative and quantitative data collected from participants, suggest that experiential learning can be helpful in enabling students to more confidently articulate their employability by providing examples of skilful practices applied in context. It is unusual for undergraduate (UG) and post graduate (PG) student learning experiences to be considered within the same research project however, the correlation of results and outcomes provides valuable points of reflection. The interventions explored provide examples of ways in which a practice architecture based on experiential learning can support understanding, confidence, metacognition and the creation of narratives, enhancing students' capacity to ‘join up the dots’, and tell the story of their employability.
{"title":"Joining up the dots: Telling the story of skills. How can students in Higher Education be supported to better understand and articulate their employability?","authors":"Gail De Blaquière, J. Nolan, Katie Wray","doi":"10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO2ART699","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO2ART699","url":null,"abstract":"Employability is a complex, contested concept which has tended to be considered in terms of a dominant discourse of skills. This article argues that employability needs to be thought of more holistically, as ongoing, life-long, situated learning, whilst acknowledging that the contested language of skills and the need to demonstrate competency through examples is embedded in employers’ recruitment processes. Therefore the ability to articulate what a graduate can offer to employers, framed in terms of skills and expressed in narratives which provide convincing examples, is important in establishing potential employability. Research shows that undergraduate and postgraduate students can find this problematic. In addition, recent scholarship calls for research to create a theoretically informed understanding of why and how interventions aimed at enhancing employability are effective. The authors have researched a diverse range of interventions which have had a positive impact and which are based on the principles of enterprise education and experiential learning. Their findings, based on qualitative and quantitative data collected from participants, suggest that experiential learning can be helpful in enabling students to more confidently articulate their employability by providing examples of skilful practices applied in context. It is unusual for undergraduate (UG) and post graduate (PG) student learning experiences to be considered within the same research project however, the correlation of results and outcomes provides valuable points of reflection. The interventions explored provide examples of ways in which a practice architecture based on experiential learning can support understanding, confidence, metacognition and the creation of narratives, enhancing students' capacity to ‘join up the dots’, and tell the story of their employability.","PeriodicalId":37004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability","volume":"759 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41274034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-31DOI: 10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO2ART827
J. Hart
Project-based learning units are often used for large scale work integrated learning (WIL) experiences in Liberal Studies Degrees as they offer scalability and sustainability of delivery to large cohorts. This systematic search and review evaluates the effectiveness of interdisciplinary project-based learning in Science Degree programs for developing discipline knowledge and employability skills. Education literature databases were searched for peer-reviewed journal articles that discussed undergraduate science-based degree programs with project-based learning units involving students from multiple disciplines. Data were analysed for evidence of a skill gain in 6 areas (Discipline knowledge, Communication, Teamwork, Interdisciplinary effectiveness, Critical thinking and problem solving, and Self-management). Projects were assigned to categories based on interdisciplinary breadth and depth. Data was analysed by cross-tabulations, Fisher’s Exact test and by calculating odds ratios (OR), which indicate the effect size. Perception of a skill gain was significantly more likely to be reported than an objectively measured skill gain (p<0.001). Real discipline skill gains were 6.6 times more likely in projects narrow in discipline mix (OR 6.6), however perceived discipline skill gains were high irrespective of project type. Projects with wide interdisciplinarity were significantly associated with perceived gains in interdisciplinary effectiveness (OR 32, p<0.05) and more likely to have perceived gains in communication (OR 2.5) and teamwork (OR 3.4) skills. When projects have greater interdisciplinary breadth or depth, perceived student employability skill gains increase, perceived discipline skill gains are unaffected, however actual discipline skill gains are less reported. Further research and evidence that project-based learning is meeting the desired WIL learning objectives of the curriculum is needed.
{"title":"Interdisciplinary project-based learning as a means of developing employability skills in undergraduate science degree programs","authors":"J. Hart","doi":"10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO2ART827","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO2ART827","url":null,"abstract":"Project-based learning units are often used for large scale work integrated learning (WIL) experiences in Liberal Studies Degrees as they offer scalability and sustainability of delivery to large cohorts. This systematic search and review evaluates the effectiveness of interdisciplinary project-based learning in Science Degree programs for developing discipline knowledge and employability skills. Education literature databases were searched for peer-reviewed journal articles that discussed undergraduate science-based degree programs with project-based learning units involving students from multiple disciplines. Data were analysed for evidence of a skill gain in 6 areas (Discipline knowledge, Communication, Teamwork, Interdisciplinary effectiveness, Critical thinking and problem solving, and Self-management). Projects were assigned to categories based on interdisciplinary breadth and depth. Data was analysed by cross-tabulations, Fisher’s Exact test and by calculating odds ratios (OR), which indicate the effect size. Perception of a skill gain was significantly more likely to be reported than an objectively measured skill gain (p<0.001). Real discipline skill gains were 6.6 times more likely in projects narrow in discipline mix (OR 6.6), however perceived discipline skill gains were high irrespective of project type. Projects with wide interdisciplinarity were significantly associated with perceived gains in interdisciplinary effectiveness (OR 32, p<0.05) and more likely to have perceived gains in communication (OR 2.5) and teamwork (OR 3.4) skills. When projects have greater interdisciplinary breadth or depth, perceived student employability skill gains increase, perceived discipline skill gains are unaffected, however actual discipline skill gains are less reported. Further research and evidence that project-based learning is meeting the desired WIL learning objectives of the curriculum is needed.","PeriodicalId":37004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43247353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-03DOI: 10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO1ART790
H. Oraison, L. Konjarski, S. Howe
One of the primary goals of tertiary education is to prepare students for employment. There is debate as to whether university courses adequately provide students with 21st century workplace skills (Kaminski, Switzer, & Gloeckner, 2009; Kivunja, 2014). In a rapidly changing workforce, institutions must constantly adapt to maintain the practical utility of their courses. A thematic analysis was conducted to explore the degree of alignment between graduate attributes, accreditation requirements and industry employability criteria in nursing, psychology and education courses at an Australian University. Graduate attributes were obtained from the Course Approval and Management System. Relevant accreditation requirements were sourced from the respective bodies. A search of advertised job positions for the three discipline fields was conducted from a popular job-search engine (SEEK) to ascertain employability criteria. This analysis identified clear alignment between the university’s graduate attributes and the standards articulated by accreditation bodies for psychology, nursing and education. However, there were differences between graduate attributes and the employability criteria identified by job searches across the three disciplines. Analysis of the employability criteria suggest that employers seek and prioritise graduates who possess practical competencies and 21st century skills such as problem solving and communication. However, there was little to no mention of cultural understandings and attitudes towards inclusion and diversity, both a core graduate attribute and an aspect of professional accreditation. The findings of this study may inform the development of future graduate attributes that better reflect preparedness for the workforce. Alternatively, a reflection on graduate attributes and professional accreditation criteria might produce job advertisements that better reflect work contexts in an increasingly diverse society.
{"title":"Does university prepare students for employment? Alignment between graduate attributes, accreditation requirements and industry employability criteria","authors":"H. Oraison, L. Konjarski, S. Howe","doi":"10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO1ART790","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO1ART790","url":null,"abstract":"One of the primary goals of tertiary education is to prepare students for employment. There is debate as to whether university courses adequately provide students with 21st century workplace skills (Kaminski, Switzer, & Gloeckner, 2009; Kivunja, 2014). In a rapidly changing workforce, institutions must constantly adapt to maintain the practical utility of their courses. A thematic analysis was conducted to explore the degree of alignment between graduate attributes, accreditation requirements and industry employability criteria in nursing, psychology and education courses at an Australian University. Graduate attributes were obtained from the Course Approval and Management System. Relevant accreditation requirements were sourced from the respective bodies. A search of advertised job positions for the three discipline fields was conducted from a popular job-search engine (SEEK) to ascertain employability criteria. This analysis identified clear alignment between the university’s graduate attributes and the standards articulated by accreditation bodies for psychology, nursing and education. However, there were differences between graduate attributes and the employability criteria identified by job searches across the three disciplines. Analysis of the employability criteria suggest that employers seek and prioritise graduates who possess practical competencies and 21st century skills such as problem solving and communication. However, there was little to no mention of cultural understandings and attitudes towards inclusion and diversity, both a core graduate attribute and an aspect of professional accreditation. The findings of this study may inform the development of future graduate attributes that better reflect preparedness for the workforce. Alternatively, a reflection on graduate attributes and professional accreditation criteria might produce job advertisements that better reflect work contexts in an increasingly diverse society.","PeriodicalId":37004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43067308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-03DOI: 10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO1ART791
R. Walker, Chad Morrison, I. Hay
Over recent years, much has been said about the quality of Australian initial teacher education. Concerns about the preparation of pre-service teachers and the capacity of graduates to meet the demands of the classroom have re-emphasised professional experience as a fundamental component of high-quality teacher preparation. Simultaneously, this focus on professional experience has emphasised the importance of partnerships. Through policy, the formalisation of partnerships between initial teacher education providers and early learning centres and schools has been linked to quality assurance and auditing cycles which report on the ways that providers prepare graduates for teaching. The employability of suitably-prepared graduates and their early career traction are of particular interest to policy makers, regulators and teacher educators alike. As a result, establishing an evidence base for quality in professional experience partnerships is paramount. This paper reports on the evolution of a strategic partnerships model between one provider and its growing network of partner schools. This model has been developed through a comprehensive evaluation process, examining the nature of formal partnerships and the outcomes associated with them. Data presented here highlights outcomes identified by stakeholders as influential and enacted through formal partnerships. Analysis of data also emphasises ongoing priorities for partnership development, implementation and evaluation, collectively understood to be closely connected to graduate employability.
{"title":"Evaluating quality in professional experience partnerships for graduate teacher employability","authors":"R. Walker, Chad Morrison, I. Hay","doi":"10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO1ART791","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO1ART791","url":null,"abstract":"Over recent years, much has been said about the quality of Australian initial teacher education. Concerns about the preparation of pre-service teachers and the capacity of graduates to meet the demands of the classroom have re-emphasised professional experience as a fundamental component of high-quality teacher preparation. Simultaneously, this focus on professional experience has emphasised the importance of partnerships. Through policy, the formalisation of partnerships between initial teacher education providers and early learning centres and schools has been linked to quality assurance and auditing cycles which report on the ways that providers prepare graduates for teaching. The employability of suitably-prepared graduates and their early career traction are of particular interest to policy makers, regulators and teacher educators alike. As a result, establishing an evidence base for quality in professional experience partnerships is paramount. This paper reports on the evolution of a strategic partnerships model between one provider and its growing network of partner schools. This model has been developed through a comprehensive evaluation process, examining the nature of formal partnerships and the outcomes associated with them. Data presented here highlights outcomes identified by stakeholders as influential and enacted through formal partnerships. Analysis of data also emphasises ongoing priorities for partnership development, implementation and evaluation, collectively understood to be closely connected to graduate employability.","PeriodicalId":37004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45328739","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-03DOI: 10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO1ART781
M. Teychenne, Kate Parker, D. Teychenne, Shannon Sahlqvist, S. Macfarlane, S. Costigan
Indecisiveness and negative thinking regarding career pathways can hinder university students’ career planning, motivation, and mental health. Students intending to enter the workforce after graduation therefore need to develop skills related to career adaptability (i.e. career planning, decision-making, problem solving/confidence and exploration), particularly since career planning and construction is linked to gaining employment. This study aimed to test the effectiveness of an online career planning module on students’ career adaptability. The career-focussed online module, based on the constructs of Savickas’ (2005) theory of career construction, and tailored to students’ skills and interests, was developed and embedded into the University curriculum of a second-year exercise and public health-related unit. In 2018, 80 students completed the online module, along with pre- and post-intervention questionnaires assessing career adaptability elements including career planning, decision making, problem solving/confidence, and exploration. Dependent t-tests were conducted to assess differences in these measures pre- and post-intervention. Post-intervention, significant increases in career-planning strategies used (t(69)=5.45, p<0.001), career planning concern (t(69)=3.73, p<0.001), decision making (i.e. career path identification) (t(70)=3.86, p<0.001), decision making confidence (t(65)=2.69, p<0.01), and problem solving/confidence (t(65) = 2.16, p=0.03) were observed. Further, 80% of participants identified jobs at post-intervention not previously identified pre-intervention (exploration) and 71% of participants perceived improvements in confidence regarding job ideas/making career choices. Findings from this research indicated that completing a brief online career education module, tailored to an individual’s skills and interests, improved all dimensions of the participating students’ career adaptability. Further research utilising longer-term follow-up and randomised controlled trial designs are required to confirm the reliability and transferability of the findings.
{"title":"A pre-post evaluation of an online career planning module on university students’ career adaptability","authors":"M. Teychenne, Kate Parker, D. Teychenne, Shannon Sahlqvist, S. Macfarlane, S. Costigan","doi":"10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO1ART781","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO1ART781","url":null,"abstract":"Indecisiveness and negative thinking regarding career pathways can hinder university students’ career planning, motivation, and mental health. Students intending to enter the workforce after graduation therefore need to develop skills related to career adaptability (i.e. career planning, decision-making, problem solving/confidence and exploration), particularly since career planning and construction is linked to gaining employment. This study aimed to test the effectiveness of an online career planning module on students’ career adaptability. The career-focussed online module, based on the constructs of Savickas’ (2005) theory of career construction, and tailored to students’ skills and interests, was developed and embedded into the University curriculum of a second-year exercise and public health-related unit. In 2018, 80 students completed the online module, along with pre- and post-intervention questionnaires assessing career adaptability elements including career planning, decision making, problem solving/confidence, and exploration. Dependent t-tests were conducted to assess differences in these measures pre- and post-intervention. Post-intervention, significant increases in career-planning strategies used (t(69)=5.45, p<0.001), career planning concern (t(69)=3.73, p<0.001), decision making (i.e. career path identification) (t(70)=3.86, p<0.001), decision making confidence (t(65)=2.69, p<0.01), and problem solving/confidence (t(65) = 2.16, p=0.03) were observed. Further, 80% of participants identified jobs at post-intervention not previously identified pre-intervention (exploration) and 71% of participants perceived improvements in confidence regarding job ideas/making career choices. Findings from this research indicated that completing a brief online career education module, tailored to an individual’s skills and interests, improved all dimensions of the participating students’ career adaptability. Further research utilising longer-term follow-up and randomised controlled trial designs are required to confirm the reliability and transferability of the findings.","PeriodicalId":37004,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43923581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-03DOI: 10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO1ART792
S. Male, R. King
Industry engagement, commonly implemented as a 12 week industry placement during a vacation towards the end of the degree, has traditionally been a provider-mandated component of externally accredited professional engineering degrees in Australia. Such placements are intended to bridge knowledge and capability gaps between academic study and engineering employment and contextualise the final phase of academic study. Changes in the composition of Australia’s engineering industries have made it progressively harder to source such placements. In-curriculum exposure to engineering practice has also been expected, but has been delivered with considerable variability. In 2014 the authors completed a national project, led by the Australian Council of Engineering Deans (ACED), with peak industry bodies and several partner universities, funded from the Commonwealth Department of Industry Workplace Innovation Program, to explore how improving industry engagement could contribute further to engineering graduates’ learning outcomes and employability. The data collected from the engineering students and employers, reported in this paper, can now be regarded as baseline data on industry engagement, against which subsequent developments can be referenced. For the first time, students’ ratings of the value of different methods for industry engagement are shown to be related to their ‘authenticity’. Several industry-inspired in-curriculum interventions were also trialled at partner universities. Guidelines for good practice were developed from melding the experiential findings with theoretical perspectives. In the years since completing the project, the accreditation body, Engineers Australia, has updated and intensified its focus on engagement with practice (including changing its language from ‘exposure’ to ‘engagement’), and many engineering faculties have significantly enhanced their models and requirements for work integrated learning and industry engagement. This paper outlines these changes and examples of new implementations, including virtual and electronically-mediated methods that also reflect ongoing changes in engineering industry practice.
行业参与通常是在学位结束前的假期中进行为期12周的行业实习，传统上是澳大利亚外部认可的专业工程学位的供应商强制组成部分。这样的实习旨在弥合学术研究和工程就业之间的知识和能力差距，并将学术研究的最后阶段具体化。澳大利亚工程行业构成的变化，使得找到这样的职位越来越困难。在课程中接触工程实践也是预期的，但交付时存在相当大的差异。2014年，作者完成了一个国家项目，由澳大利亚工程学院院长委员会(Australian Council of Engineering Deans)牵头，由联邦工业部工作场所创新计划(Commonwealth Department of industry Workplace Innovation Program)资助，与顶尖行业机构和几所合作大学合作，探索如何提高行业参与度，从而进一步提高工程专业毕业生的学习成果和就业能力。本文报告的从工程专业学生和雇主那里收集的数据现在可以被视为行业参与的基线数据，后续的发展可以作为参考。这是第一次，学生对不同行业参与方法的价值评分与他们的“真实性”有关。一些受行业启发的课程干预措施也在合作大学进行了试验。良好做法的指导方针是将经验发现与理论观点相结合而制定的。在项目完成后的几年里，认证机构澳大利亚工程师协会(Engineers Australia)更新并加强了对实践参与的关注(包括将其语言从“暴露”改为“参与”)，许多工程学院也大大提高了他们的工作模式和要求，将学习和行业参与结合起来。本文概述了这些变化和新实现的例子，包括虚拟和电子媒介方法，这些方法也反映了工程行业实践中正在发生的变化。
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Pub Date : 2019-05-03DOI: 10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO1ART785
R. Bridgstock, Michelle Grant-Iramu, Alan McAlpine
Career development learning has a demonstrable positive impact on the graduate employability of higher education learners. This is particularly the case if it is integrated into the curriculum rather than experienced as an add-on or included in finite curriculum elements. However, integration of career development learning into curriculum is a significant and challenging undertaking in course design, and also in facilitation of learning experiences. Academics manage crowded curricula in their disciplinary areas, and many also have external course accreditation requirements to deal with that may not include career development elements. In many institutions there is mixed understanding of what career development learning entails, no clear top-level strategic support, and unprecedented numbers of enrolled students across digital and on-campus provision. This article explores challenges and opportunities in integrating career development learning into curriculum in higher education, and identifies effective strategies for doing so at institutional, school, and program levels. It draws upon case studies comprising more than 30 interviews across nine universities in Australia and internationally, exploring how cross-disciplinary collaboration between career development practitioners, learning and curriculum designers, and academic units can be effective in enacting curricular career development learning at scale. The article suggests strategies for institutional leaders, academics, and careers practitioners in higher education insitutions at different stages in the curricular career development learning journey.
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Pub Date : 2019-05-03DOI: 10.21153/JTLGE2019VOL10NO1ART782
Cath Fraser, Gerard Duignan, Deb Stewart, A. Rodrigues
Knowing how well higher education providers prepare learners for the working world is becoming increasingly important at all programme levels, and this is nowhere more apparent than with vocational education training. Ensuring our learners can hit the ground running and become immediately productive is essential for the relevance, and probably the survival, of New Zealand’s Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs). Yet while there is much commentary about the challenges of transitions from tertiary study into employment and the ‘employability skills gap’, there is all too little given to how this is being addressed in teaching. This paper describes the work of an inter-institutional research collaboration into current approaches being used to embed skills that enhance employability. Drawing on a number of frameworks and models, the research team selected ten core attributes: positive attitude, communication, teamwork, self-management, willingness to learn, thinking skills, resilience, innovation, entrepreneurship and cultural competence. The team then identified a range of strategies being used by highly commended teachers to enhance the ten employability skills: firstly, by observing classroom and online practices of 23 selected teachers from participating organisations; and secondly through follow-up interviews with the same teachers. The key takeaway of this research is raised awareness and intentionality of the overt and covert approaches vocational educators are using to enhance the employability of their students.
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