Pub Date : 2023-02-05DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2023.2174957
Eva Klope, Maria Hedlin
ABSTRACT In the hairdressing occupation emotional labour has often come to overshadow other vocational skills. The present study, using ethnographic methods, explores how students and teachers in vocational education and training (VET) for hairdressers in Sweden describe and explain the emotional labour being carried out when a hairdresser perform good service. The results show that to look happy and smile has a central position in students’ and VET teachers’ descriptions of how an ideal service worker is expected to act. A positive attitude and a special voice are other signs that characterise the hairdresser who provides good service. The happy ideal is both reproduced and challenged from students in the hairdresser education. One conclusion is that an ideal service worker reinforces femininity norms to act as a professional, which is in line with the requirements of the hairdresser education and the customer’s and employers’ expectations. At the same time, the happy ideal limits students’ opportunities to challenge and question prevailing power structures, which is also part of the Swedish upper secondary school mission.
{"title":"Always happy: an ideal is reproduced and challenged in hairdresser vocational education and training","authors":"Eva Klope, Maria Hedlin","doi":"10.1080/13639080.2023.2174957","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2023.2174957","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In the hairdressing occupation emotional labour has often come to overshadow other vocational skills. The present study, using ethnographic methods, explores how students and teachers in vocational education and training (VET) for hairdressers in Sweden describe and explain the emotional labour being carried out when a hairdresser perform good service. The results show that to look happy and smile has a central position in students’ and VET teachers’ descriptions of how an ideal service worker is expected to act. A positive attitude and a special voice are other signs that characterise the hairdresser who provides good service. The happy ideal is both reproduced and challenged from students in the hairdresser education. One conclusion is that an ideal service worker reinforces femininity norms to act as a professional, which is in line with the requirements of the hairdresser education and the customer’s and employers’ expectations. At the same time, the happy ideal limits students’ opportunities to challenge and question prevailing power structures, which is also part of the Swedish upper secondary school mission.","PeriodicalId":47445,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Education and Work","volume":"36 1","pages":"237 - 250"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41400356","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 : 2023-01-27DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2023.2167955
Gary Chapman, Washad Emambocus, Demola Obembe
ABSTRACT Higher education students are required to demonstrate value beyond their curricula achievements to secure jobs in increasingly competitive labour markets. Focusing on extracurricular activities as one-way students can do so, this paper uses a motivation perspective to examine what drives students to engage in extracurricular activities, and how student motivation varies between early and late-stage students. We conducted 46 in-depth interviews with students in a post-92 widening-participation university and found that four motivations – extrinsic, intrinsic, social, and pro-social – explained extracurricular participation. The motivations varied across types of extracurricular activities; extrinsic motivation was prominent for employment, academic, society and volunteering extracurriculars; intrinsic and social motivations were vital for sports and societies; and pro-social motivation for academic, volunteering, and society extracurriculars. Moreover, we found important differences between the motivations of early-year and final-year students, suggesting that motivations vary across the university journey. Our paper contributes to the literature on extracurricular activities within higher education by providing new evidence on the motivations that propel students to engage in (different) activities in the current marketised higher education environment and by identifying the level of study as an important boundary condition shaping motivations for extracurricular participation.
{"title":"Higher education student motivations for extracurricular activities: evidence from UK universities","authors":"Gary Chapman, Washad Emambocus, Demola Obembe","doi":"10.1080/13639080.2023.2167955","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2023.2167955","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Higher education students are required to demonstrate value beyond their curricula achievements to secure jobs in increasingly competitive labour markets. Focusing on extracurricular activities as one-way students can do so, this paper uses a motivation perspective to examine what drives students to engage in extracurricular activities, and how student motivation varies between early and late-stage students. We conducted 46 in-depth interviews with students in a post-92 widening-participation university and found that four motivations – extrinsic, intrinsic, social, and pro-social – explained extracurricular participation. The motivations varied across types of extracurricular activities; extrinsic motivation was prominent for employment, academic, society and volunteering extracurriculars; intrinsic and social motivations were vital for sports and societies; and pro-social motivation for academic, volunteering, and society extracurriculars. Moreover, we found important differences between the motivations of early-year and final-year students, suggesting that motivations vary across the university journey. Our paper contributes to the literature on extracurricular activities within higher education by providing new evidence on the motivations that propel students to engage in (different) activities in the current marketised higher education environment and by identifying the level of study as an important boundary condition shaping motivations for extracurricular participation.","PeriodicalId":47445,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Education and Work","volume":"36 1","pages":"138 - 152"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47645678","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 : 2023-01-26DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2023.2167953
Richard Poole, F. Cook, Stuart Sims, J. Brindley
ABSTRACT This study explores the lived experience of apprentices on a degree-level programme and their perceptions of how elements of apprenticeship study that aren’t components of traditional degree study – i.e. off-the-job training – impact their learner journey. This article undertakes a thematic analysis following qualitative interviews with eleven apprentices, who are early-career academic professionals nearing the end of their apprenticeships. Key findings offer a mixed picture, and suggest that the study habits and preferences of apprentices are personal to individuals and are impacted on by employment workload and access to off-the-job study time. Apprentices indicate that many factors encroach on their ability to utilise the allocated off-the-job study time, primarily the ability to be released from employed work and conflicting priorities around meeting study, business, and personal needs. Apprentices suggest that in reality it is almost impossible for them to spend 20% of their working time on their studies. Recommendations are offered to both institutions and individuals, regarding the need for sound dialogue and the removal of barriers to ensure that apprentices can meet the contractual requirements of apprenticeship study.
{"title":"Challenges, barriers and strategies for engaging in level 7 apprenticeship studies","authors":"Richard Poole, F. Cook, Stuart Sims, J. Brindley","doi":"10.1080/13639080.2023.2167953","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2023.2167953","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study explores the lived experience of apprentices on a degree-level programme and their perceptions of how elements of apprenticeship study that aren’t components of traditional degree study – i.e. off-the-job training – impact their learner journey. This article undertakes a thematic analysis following qualitative interviews with eleven apprentices, who are early-career academic professionals nearing the end of their apprenticeships. Key findings offer a mixed picture, and suggest that the study habits and preferences of apprentices are personal to individuals and are impacted on by employment workload and access to off-the-job study time. Apprentices indicate that many factors encroach on their ability to utilise the allocated off-the-job study time, primarily the ability to be released from employed work and conflicting priorities around meeting study, business, and personal needs. Apprentices suggest that in reality it is almost impossible for them to spend 20% of their working time on their studies. Recommendations are offered to both institutions and individuals, regarding the need for sound dialogue and the removal of barriers to ensure that apprentices can meet the contractual requirements of apprenticeship study.","PeriodicalId":47445,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Education and Work","volume":"36 1","pages":"153 - 168"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46795205","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 : 2023-01-18DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2023.2167956
S. Antera
ABSTRACT Experiencing a teacher shortage, Sweden has allowed vocational teachers to gain employment without teaching qualifications. In this context, a population of non-qualified vocational teachers has emerged, a group of people rarely captured by national statistics and previous research. This study aims to shed light on the profile of non-qualified vocational teachers. By highlighting the potential differences between qualified and non-qualified teachers, with reference to competence, this study identifies competence they perceive as important (importance scale), as well as competence they think they have developed during their work (achievement scale). The data collection was realised with a questionnaire, focusing on a 27-item competence set that teachers evaluated. According to findings and concerning importance, statistically significant differences were found for nine items, with the majority of them being direct learning outcomes of formal teacher education. Regarding achieved competence, statistically significant differences were reported for 17 items. Non-qualified teachers evaluated these items lower than qualified ones, showing that they perceive these competencies as underdeveloped. In conclusion, non-qualified vocational teachers expressed underdeveloped competence in comparison to qualified, which can have implications in the formation of their teacher identity and the values they promote to their students.
{"title":"Competence importance and acquisition: comparing qualified and non-qualified vocational teachers","authors":"S. Antera","doi":"10.1080/13639080.2023.2167956","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2023.2167956","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Experiencing a teacher shortage, Sweden has allowed vocational teachers to gain employment without teaching qualifications. In this context, a population of non-qualified vocational teachers has emerged, a group of people rarely captured by national statistics and previous research. This study aims to shed light on the profile of non-qualified vocational teachers. By highlighting the potential differences between qualified and non-qualified teachers, with reference to competence, this study identifies competence they perceive as important (importance scale), as well as competence they think they have developed during their work (achievement scale). The data collection was realised with a questionnaire, focusing on a 27-item competence set that teachers evaluated. According to findings and concerning importance, statistically significant differences were found for nine items, with the majority of them being direct learning outcomes of formal teacher education. Regarding achieved competence, statistically significant differences were reported for 17 items. Non-qualified teachers evaluated these items lower than qualified ones, showing that they perceive these competencies as underdeveloped. In conclusion, non-qualified vocational teachers expressed underdeveloped competence in comparison to qualified, which can have implications in the formation of their teacher identity and the values they promote to their students.","PeriodicalId":47445,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Education and Work","volume":"36 1","pages":"109 - 124"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44843615","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 : 2023-01-18DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2023.2167954
Raphaela Kogler, S. Vogl, Franz Astleithner
ABSTRACT At the end of compulsory schooling, young people face an important transition: they have to decide whether to pursue either further schooling or vocational training. Choices are crucial phenomena in transitions: they are based on what a person considers to be options and follow preferences shaped by their social position and context. Using a qualitative longitudinal interview approach, we explore the development of educational and occupational orientations from the last year of compulsory schooling through the two years after in Vienna, Austria. We subsequently develop a typology of young people’s orientation processes over time: ‘Determined’, ‘resigning’, ‘step-by-step aspiring’ and ‘drifting’. Taking the perspectives of young people seriously, we gain an understanding of thoughts, ideas and worries during this transitional phase. We also learn about institutional and social constraints and the resources that shape the orientation process and related patterns in time.
{"title":"Transitions, choices and patterns in time: young people’s educational and occupational orientation","authors":"Raphaela Kogler, S. Vogl, Franz Astleithner","doi":"10.1080/13639080.2023.2167954","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2023.2167954","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT At the end of compulsory schooling, young people face an important transition: they have to decide whether to pursue either further schooling or vocational training. Choices are crucial phenomena in transitions: they are based on what a person considers to be options and follow preferences shaped by their social position and context. Using a qualitative longitudinal interview approach, we explore the development of educational and occupational orientations from the last year of compulsory schooling through the two years after in Vienna, Austria. We subsequently develop a typology of young people’s orientation processes over time: ‘Determined’, ‘resigning’, ‘step-by-step aspiring’ and ‘drifting’. Taking the perspectives of young people seriously, we gain an understanding of thoughts, ideas and worries during this transitional phase. We also learn about institutional and social constraints and the resources that shape the orientation process and related patterns in time.","PeriodicalId":47445,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Education and Work","volume":"36 1","pages":"94 - 108"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49549503","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 : 2023-01-14DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2023.2167957
María-Paola Sevilla, V. Rangel, Elsa Gonzalez
ABSTRACT Women face many barriers to entry into and persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Drawing on expectancy-value theory (EVT) and using a qualitative approach, this study sought to deeply understand women’s entry and persistence in STEM-related postsecondary Vocational Technical Education (VTE) programs that lead to male-dominated skilled trades in construction, metalworking, and mining sectors in Chile. The findings revealed that, depending on the economic sector women were preparing to work in, different motivational patterns of EVT beliefs emerged that allowed women to overcome the high costs imposed by the gender stereotypes they encountered in their studies. Therefore, to improve women participation in VTE programs related to STEM fields, institutional and government policies must consider these different motivational profiles, as well as different strategies to improve women identity with these male-typed skilled trades.
{"title":"Understanding motivational beliefs of women in postsecondary STEM- vocational-technical education. Evidence from Chile","authors":"María-Paola Sevilla, V. Rangel, Elsa Gonzalez","doi":"10.1080/13639080.2023.2167957","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2023.2167957","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Women face many barriers to entry into and persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Drawing on expectancy-value theory (EVT) and using a qualitative approach, this study sought to deeply understand women’s entry and persistence in STEM-related postsecondary Vocational Technical Education (VTE) programs that lead to male-dominated skilled trades in construction, metalworking, and mining sectors in Chile. The findings revealed that, depending on the economic sector women were preparing to work in, different motivational patterns of EVT beliefs emerged that allowed women to overcome the high costs imposed by the gender stereotypes they encountered in their studies. Therefore, to improve women participation in VTE programs related to STEM fields, institutional and government policies must consider these different motivational profiles, as well as different strategies to improve women identity with these male-typed skilled trades.","PeriodicalId":47445,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Education and Work","volume":"36 1","pages":"125 - 137"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48928637","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 : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2022.2162018
C. Xu, Yin Ma
ABSTRACT This article investigates how regional inequalities shape the employment seeking experiences and behaviour of graduates by drawing on the case of Chinese Master’s graduates under COVID19. Based on interviews with graduates who chose to work as the ‘targeted selected graduates’ (TSG) of University A, located in the underdeveloped regions of North-western China, we show how their employment seeking was jointly impacted by three different but inter-related fields, the national economic, higher education, and graduate employment fields. These students were situated in a unique juncture across these fields; while their elite credentials from University A qualified them for these elite TSG programmes, they were disadvantaged by being excluded from TSG recruitments at economically developed regions. Importantly, we highlight that institutionalised cultural capital in the form of academic credentials from elite HEIs does not work in a ‘straightforward’ manner, but it has to be considered in conjunction with the geo-economic locations of their HEIs. We, therefore, propose the notion of ‘geography-mediated institutionalised cultural capital’ to capture this significant but under-theorised aspect of the graduate employment scene. This conceptual innovation enlightens the analysis of regional differences in different countries by considering how official or unofficial regional authorities’ interventions shape graduate employment.
{"title":"Geography-mediated institutionalised cultural capital: regional inequalities in graduate employment","authors":"C. Xu, Yin Ma","doi":"10.1080/13639080.2022.2162018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2022.2162018","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article investigates how regional inequalities shape the employment seeking experiences and behaviour of graduates by drawing on the case of Chinese Master’s graduates under COVID19. Based on interviews with graduates who chose to work as the ‘targeted selected graduates’ (TSG) of University A, located in the underdeveloped regions of North-western China, we show how their employment seeking was jointly impacted by three different but inter-related fields, the national economic, higher education, and graduate employment fields. These students were situated in a unique juncture across these fields; while their elite credentials from University A qualified them for these elite TSG programmes, they were disadvantaged by being excluded from TSG recruitments at economically developed regions. Importantly, we highlight that institutionalised cultural capital in the form of academic credentials from elite HEIs does not work in a ‘straightforward’ manner, but it has to be considered in conjunction with the geo-economic locations of their HEIs. We, therefore, propose the notion of ‘geography-mediated institutionalised cultural capital’ to capture this significant but under-theorised aspect of the graduate employment scene. This conceptual innovation enlightens the analysis of regional differences in different countries by considering how official or unofficial regional authorities’ interventions shape graduate employment.","PeriodicalId":47445,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Education and Work","volume":"36 1","pages":"22 - 36"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42316595","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 : 2023-01-02DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2023.2169995
Ulpukka Isopahkala-Bouret, Gerbrand Tholen, A. van Zanten
This Special Issue entitled Positionality and social inequality in graduate careers concerns the changing status of Higher Education (HE) graduates as privileged occupants of highly desirable jobs. As a result of the global expansion of higher education, there is now a large and diversified body of graduates in a crowded graduate labour market and, given the less dramatic expansion of high-skilled well-paid jobs, only a fraction of them will attain the leading positions and the ranks of top earners (e.g. Figueiredo et al. 2017; Tholen 2017; Brown, Lauder, and Ashton 2011). The recent labour market shocks have made graduates’ labour market entry and career trajectories even more complex. Within the last two decades, we have seen the global economic crisis in 2008, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2022, and, more recently, the influence of geopolitical armed conflict hurting (sections of the) graduate labour markets. The distribution of graduates’ labour market opportunities and the traditional role of credentials in facilitating access to desired forms of employment is in flux (e.g. Brown and Souto-Otero 2020; Tholen 2020; Tomlinson 2017; Isopahkala-Bouret and Ojala 2022). Within changing and uncertain labour market conditions, it is timely to ask how graduate careers actually develop. Furthermore, social inequality within the graduate labour market is among the most pressing issues to investigate in a critical and comprehensive manner. In labour markets where the supply outstrips the demand, positional competition is thought to be heightened (Brown, Hesketh, and Williams 2004) meaning that labour market opportunities increasingly will depend on how well graduates can signal their worth relative to other graduate competitors. Yet too often the positional competition for graduate jobs has become rather a mechanical queuing process through which supply and demand of educational credentials are coordinated. We need to have a more sophisticated understanding about the social, cultural
这期题为“毕业生职业中的地位和社会不平等”的特刊关注的是高等教育(HE)毕业生作为非常理想工作的特权居住者的地位变化。由于高等教育的全球扩张，现在在拥挤的毕业生劳动力市场上有一个庞大而多样化的毕业生群体，鉴于高技能高薪工作的扩张幅度较小，只有一小部分毕业生将获得领导职位和最高收入者的行列(例如Figueiredo et al. 2017;Tholen 2017;Brown, Lauder, and Ashton 2011)。最近的劳动力市场冲击使得毕业生进入劳动力市场和职业发展轨迹更加复杂。在过去二十年中，我们经历了2008年的全球经济危机，2020-2022年的COVID-19大流行，以及最近地缘政治武装冲突对毕业生劳动力市场(部分)的影响。毕业生劳动力市场机会的分布以及证书在促进获得所需就业形式方面的传统作用正在不断变化(例如Brown和Souto-Otero 2020;Tholen 2020;汤姆林森2017;Isopahkala-Bouret和Ojala 2022)。在不断变化和不确定的劳动力市场条件下，现在是时候问一下毕业生的职业生涯实际上是如何发展的了。此外，毕业生劳动力市场内的社会不平等是最紧迫的问题之一，需要以关键和全面的方式进行调查。在供大于求的劳动力市场中，职位竞争被认为会加剧(Brown, Hesketh, and Williams 2004)，这意味着劳动力市场的机会越来越多地取决于毕业生相对于其他毕业生竞争者的价值表现。然而，毕业生就业的职位竞争往往变成了一种机械的排队过程，通过这种过程，教育证书的供求得到协调。我们需要对社会，文化有更深刻的理解
{"title":"Introduction to the special issue: positionality and social inequality in graduate careers","authors":"Ulpukka Isopahkala-Bouret, Gerbrand Tholen, A. van Zanten","doi":"10.1080/13639080.2023.2169995","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2023.2169995","url":null,"abstract":"This Special Issue entitled Positionality and social inequality in graduate careers concerns the changing status of Higher Education (HE) graduates as privileged occupants of highly desirable jobs. As a result of the global expansion of higher education, there is now a large and diversified body of graduates in a crowded graduate labour market and, given the less dramatic expansion of high-skilled well-paid jobs, only a fraction of them will attain the leading positions and the ranks of top earners (e.g. Figueiredo et al. 2017; Tholen 2017; Brown, Lauder, and Ashton 2011). The recent labour market shocks have made graduates’ labour market entry and career trajectories even more complex. Within the last two decades, we have seen the global economic crisis in 2008, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2022, and, more recently, the influence of geopolitical armed conflict hurting (sections of the) graduate labour markets. The distribution of graduates’ labour market opportunities and the traditional role of credentials in facilitating access to desired forms of employment is in flux (e.g. Brown and Souto-Otero 2020; Tholen 2020; Tomlinson 2017; Isopahkala-Bouret and Ojala 2022). Within changing and uncertain labour market conditions, it is timely to ask how graduate careers actually develop. Furthermore, social inequality within the graduate labour market is among the most pressing issues to investigate in a critical and comprehensive manner. In labour markets where the supply outstrips the demand, positional competition is thought to be heightened (Brown, Hesketh, and Williams 2004) meaning that labour market opportunities increasingly will depend on how well graduates can signal their worth relative to other graduate competitors. Yet too often the positional competition for graduate jobs has become rather a mechanical queuing process through which supply and demand of educational credentials are coordinated. We need to have a more sophisticated understanding about the social, cultural","PeriodicalId":47445,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Education and Work","volume":"36 1","pages":"1 - 8"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48722309","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 : 2022-12-28DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2022.2162019
Gerbrand Tholen
ABSTRACT Three influential theories are used to understand why employers value and seek out educational credentials in hiring. Qualifications can function as proof of productive skills (Human Capital Theory), as a signal of desirable characteristics (Signalling and Screening theories) or as a means for social closure (Closure Theory). Although these explanations are not necessarily mutually exclusive, they tend to be presented as alternatives in the literature This article aims to better understand why employers value Higher Education degrees within the labour market by assessing these theoretical explanations in particular in cases where employers do not value HE credentials highly. It draws on semi-structured interview data with external recruitment consultants in England (N = 45). The article finds support for each of the three theoretical perspectives. Yet, the findings demonstrate that employers’ reasoning can include more than one of the three theoretical perspectives, creating hybrid forms. The article evaluates the implications for the positional competition for graduate jobs.
{"title":"The meaning of higher education credentials in graduate occupations: the view of recruitment consultants","authors":"Gerbrand Tholen","doi":"10.1080/13639080.2022.2162019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2022.2162019","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Three influential theories are used to understand why employers value and seek out educational credentials in hiring. Qualifications can function as proof of productive skills (Human Capital Theory), as a signal of desirable characteristics (Signalling and Screening theories) or as a means for social closure (Closure Theory). Although these explanations are not necessarily mutually exclusive, they tend to be presented as alternatives in the literature This article aims to better understand why employers value Higher Education degrees within the labour market by assessing these theoretical explanations in particular in cases where employers do not value HE credentials highly. It draws on semi-structured interview data with external recruitment consultants in England (N = 45). The article finds support for each of the three theoretical perspectives. Yet, the findings demonstrate that employers’ reasoning can include more than one of the three theoretical perspectives, creating hybrid forms. The article evaluates the implications for the positional competition for graduate jobs.","PeriodicalId":47445,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Education and Work","volume":"36 1","pages":"9 - 21"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2022-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44351344","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 : 2022-12-28DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2022.2162020
V. Goglio, S. Bertolini, P. Parigi
ABSTRACT The advantages of higher education have received significant attention over time. However, recent research seems to challenge this assumption. It highlights that returns to education may be subject to inflation, may vary in relation to skills, and may not be equally distributed, thus posing new questions about the role of formal education. Against this background, the growing popularity of new forms of online education and training such as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have emerged. Investigating the way different learners use MOOCs may contribute to a deeper understanding of the evolution of the labour market outcomes of both traditional and technologically-mediated educational qualifications. Based on 43 semi-structured interviews conducted with MOOC users in the USA and in Europe, this article explores the potential of MOOCs on the labour market. The positional competition approach can help frame the results, inasmuch as MOOCs emerge as ‘soft credentials’. These accessible and flexible educational tools seem to provide applicants in the job queue with additional resources, although their labour market value remains modest and ancillary to formal educational qualifications. From a long-term perspective, however, increasing reliance on this type of training may contribute to further shifting of responsibilities from collective actors to individual workers.
随着时间的推移，高等教育的优势受到了人们的广泛关注。然而，最近的研究似乎挑战了这一假设。报告强调指出，教育回报可能受到通货膨胀的影响，可能因技能而异，可能分配不均，因此对正规教育的作用提出了新的问题。在此背景下，mooc (Massive Open online Courses，大规模在线开放课程)等新型在线教育和培训形式日益流行。调查不同学习者使用mooc的方式，可能有助于更深入地了解传统和技术中介教育资格对劳动力市场结果的演变。基于对美国和欧洲的MOOC用户进行的43次半结构化访谈，本文探讨了MOOC对劳动力市场的潜力。位置竞争的方法可以帮助构建结果，因为mooc是一种“软证书”。这些方便和灵活的教育工具似乎为求职队伍中的申请人提供了额外的资源，尽管它们的劳动力市场价值仍然不大，并且是正规教育资格的附属品。但是，从长期的角度来看，增加对这类培训的依赖可能有助于进一步将责任从集体行为者转移到个别工人。
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