Want students to engage? Contextualise graduate learning outcomes and assess for employability

The ability of graduates to proactively develop, adapt and repackage their capabilities (or attributes) is an essential aspect of employability. This study was conducted at Deakin University, where graduate capabilities have been recast as graduate learning outcomes, and employability is frequently referenced. In light of significant curriculum reform to make graduate capabilities prominent, we investigated student perceptions of graduate capabilities and associated learning outcomes, as well as preparation for employment, to better understand how we can engage students in developing and showcasing their employability. We interviewed 45 students across 10 focus groups and qualitatively analysed their responses for commonly recurring themes. Focus groups were completed in two stages with data analysis and adjustment of questions between stages to enable validation and greater depth of understanding. Our analysis suggests that even with capabilities renamed as learning outcomes, students find graduate learning outcomes too generic to be meaningful and are most likely to engage with learning outcomes that are contextualised and assessed. Our case study illustrates ways to combat this – particularly the importance of assessment design and consistent, student-focused communication in engaging students in the development of capabilities and in the curation of evidence for employability. Students also suggest that advice from employers, professionals and recent graduates, and exposure to industry-related experiences could help make graduate capabilities more meaningful.     

What works to improve the quality of student learning in developing countries?

We conducted a systematic review to identify policy interventions that improve education quality and student learning in developing countries. Relying on a theory of change typology, we highlight three main drivers of change of education quality: (1) supply-side capability interventions that operate through the provision of physical and human resources, and learning materials; (2) policies that through incentives seek to influence behaviour and intertemporal preferences of teachers, households, and students; (3) bottom-up and top-down participatory and community management interventions, which operate through decentralisation reforms, knowledge diffusion, and increased community participation in the management of education systems. Overall, our findings suggest that interventions are more effective at improving student performance and learning when social norms and intertemporal choices are factored in the design of education policies, and when two or more drivers of change are combined. Thus, supply-side interventions alone are less effective than when complemented by community participation or incentives that shift preferences and behaviours.     

What can research into graduate employability tell us about agency and structure?

Traditionally theorists who have written about agency and structure have eschewed empirical research. This article uses the findings of an empirical study into graduate employability to inform the sociological debate on how they relate to each other. The study examined how Dutch and British final-year students approach the labour market right before they graduate. The study revealed that the labour market and education structures are mirrored in how students understand and act within the labour market. It also showed that the interplay between agency and structure is mediated by an intersubjective framework shared by other students. The article argues that previous theoretical views on employability have failed to understand this and suggests how to improve our understanding of agency and structure.     

Assessing graduate attributes for employability in the context of lifelong learning： The holistic approach

To promote economic and personal growth, higher education students＇ employability, ensuring their preparedness for the workforce, is emphasized. From the employer＇s perspective, judging whether a graduate is employable depends upon whether the graduate exhibits the attributes which employers value. Yet, with the growing emphasis on lifelong learning, it is important for higher education to re-consider and reframe the development and assessment of attributes of graduates in the context of lifelong learning. In this paper, these attributes will be explored in that context, and the issue of how assessment helps the development of graduate attributes is to be considered. Student engagement is proposed in this paper as the holistic, useful approach for the development of employability and lifelong learning. The holistic approach reflects the fact that what is required in a workforce is not the acquisition of knowledge, skills and dispositions per se, but the capability to make an engagement through which knowledge, skills and dispositions are connected as a whole. The lack of emphasis on students＇ engagement could lead to mistakenly selecting as important for the focus of assessment simply the acquisition of skills, knowledge or dispositions, rather than the holistic connection of these to their application in the workforce.     

The treasure within: Learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be. What is the value of that treasure 15 years after its publication?

This is an English translation of a speech held by French economist and politician Jacques Delors, former President of the European Commission, on 7 November 2011 at the opening of the International Congress on Lifelong Learning in Donostia/San Sebastián, Spain. Fifteen years after the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century submitted its report entitled Learning: The treasure within to UNESCO, Delors briefly reviews the four pillars of education and then considers the current growth of continuing education, its primary functions and general trends. Next, he discusses how basic education and continuing education might be combined into a lifelong learning approach. This is followed by some thoughts about the educational society and the challenges of current changes it is facing which include the challenge of globalisation, the phenomenon of contemporary individualism, the influence of the media and modern technologies and the dominant economic (market-orientated) ideology. Delors concludes his speech by stressing that lifelong learning is essential for gaining self-esteem and the ability to take control of one’s own life.     

‘The degree is not enough’: students’ perceptions of the role of higher education credentials for graduate work and employability

The UK Government is calling upon higher education students to see their learning as an investment that will give them direct benefits in the labour market. At the same time, the relationship between educational credentials and their returns in labour market has been changing in recent times. Based on a qualitative study with 53 final‐year undergraduate students in a pre‐1992 university, this article examines the way higher education students understand the role of their educational credentials in relation to their future employability. It shows that students perceive their academic qualifications as having a declining role in shaping their employment outcomes in what is perceived to be a congested and competitive graduate labour market. While academic credentials are still seen as a significant dimension of their employability, students increasingly see the need to add value to them in order to gain an advantage in the labour market.     

No ‘self’ left behind? Part-time distance learning university graduates: social class,graduate identity and employability

Higher education (HE) is regarded as a pathway to upward social mobility for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Social mobility is itself seen as important both for individual and national prosperity and is a key driver of government funding for HE. While access to HE has substantially increased over the past number of years, the evidence suggests that social inequalities continue to be reproduced, with working-class students more frequently accessing lower status institutions and courses. This in turn can impact negatively on their labour market outcomes. This paper offers a critical appraisal on the employability discourse. Drawing on a survey of 268 distance graduates from an Irish university, together with 5 individual interviews, findings indicate that distance graduates are likely to be from lower socio-economic backgrounds and have delayed participation in university education for reasons relating to social class. Although mostly in employment, they are motivated to participate in HE by their concerns regarding their long-term employability. The literature identifies that our employability is something we negotiate with others. This paper posits that, for distance graduates, in addition to this process of convincing others, the graduate must also convince themselves of the value of their own achievement. Transitioning to graduate employment, and developing a graduate identity, can therefore be a slow internal and external process of negotiation.     

What do the participants gain? Group counselling to enhance agency at work

Group counselling was carried out in an IT enterprise. The task was to study structured group counselling as a space for enhancing participants’ agency at work. The first research question concerned changes the participants reported regarding the group and their collaborative and individual work. The second research question asked what kinds of individual courses of development emerged based on changes in the participants’ self-observation and action patterns.     

What works,for whom,and in what circumstances? Towards a critical realist understanding of learning in international and comparative education

The article explores the potential for a critical realist approach to researching learning in international and comparative education (ICE) with a particular focus on the emerging post-2015 education and development agenda. It provides a critique of existing empiricist and interpretivist approaches to researching learning. It is suggested that whilst both have strengths, they are based on an ontologically reductionist view of learning with implications for research, policy and practice. As a ‘third’ research approach critical realism has the potential to build on the strengths whilst avoiding the pitfalls of both empiricism and interpretivism. Such an approach it is argued needs to start from an ontologically inclusive and laminated view of learning. Further, it is suggested that comparative research should focus on the development of theories of learning that are able to explain the natural and social structures and causal mechanisms that give rise to and inhibit learning at different scales and levels and in different contexts. The development of theory ought to embrace epistemological pluralism drawing critically on, cross-cultural, inter-disciplinary and mixed methods enquiry and making use of abductive and retroductive forms of inference. In this way it is argued it becomes possible to move beyond the dominant ‘what works’ agenda favoured by empiricists to critically consider what works, for who and under what circumstances.     

Can the integration of field and classroom-based learning enhance writing? The life on our shore case study

There is a need to evaluate the benefits to children of integrated classroom and field-based learning. In this article, we describe a case study that involves children in the production of a field guide: an authentic task which integrates learner autonomy and open enquiry with field work, information and communication technologies (ICT) and classroom-based activities. We consider the impact that this task has had upon aspects of the children's factual writing. Although we found no improvement in the ability of the children to write sentences and only a marginal improvement in their ability to write for composition and effect, we did find a significant improvement in their ability to write about the ecology of an animal that they had encountered firsthand when compared to an animal that they had not encountered in life.     

How to augment the learning impact of computer simulations? The designs and effects of interactivity and scaffolding

Two investigations were conducted in this study. In the first experiment, the effects of two types of interactivity with a computer simulation were compared: experimentation versus observation interactivity. Experimentation interactivity allows students to use simulations to conduct virtual experiments, whereas observation interactivity allows students to observe segmented video clips of the simulation at their own pace and sequence. In the second experiment, the effects of two types of scaffolding for experimentation interactivity were compared: the driving question versus structured prompt scaffolding. A total of 128 eighth-grade students were involved. The learning outcomes examined include the students’ understanding of the concepts in the simulation, their learning time, total numbers of virtual experiments conducted or observed, and learning efficiency. All four designs resulted in comparable learning gains for the students. The driving question scaffolding resulted in better learning efficiency, whereas the structured prompt scaffolding supported students in conducting more virtual experiments.     

Ageing and learning: What do they mean to elders themselves?

This paper is about a quantitative study which has examined and elucidated the conceptualizations of ageing and learning by a group of elders in Hong Kong. In more specific terms, the study has investigated how this group of older people understood the meaning of successful ageing and elder learning in the context of their later lives. Based on the ‘Learning and Ageing Survey 2013’ with a sample of 519 older adults in Hong Kong, the study aimed, first, to describe and conceptualize the meaning of ageing and learning as elders experienced it in later life; second, to investigate why and how elders engaged or did not engage, in organized learning, by comparing the differences between the ‘learning’ and ‘non-learning’ groups in terms of their personal characteristics, conceptualizations of learning, and the barriers to participation; third, to identify important learning issues for older learners, including their interests, needs, motivations, and learning preferences; and finally, to investigate the relationship between learning and successful ageing, and between learning and the overall well-being and satisfaction of elders in their later lives. The research findings and outcomes of the study provide insights into the experience and views of elders concerning ageing and learning, which contribute to the global understanding and knowledge base for elder learning and successful ageing; and which serve to inform the development of policy and practice geared to the planning and provision of programmes for learning in older age.     

International experience,universities support and graduate employability – perceptions of Chinese international students studying in UK universities

Recent policy developments in English Higher Education have resulted in employability placed in the spotlight, whereby the success of universities will be measured based on graduate employment. This represents the latest focus placed on employability in the sector, as universities are increasingly expected to provide employment-ready graduates to meet the demands of a global economy. In response universities have invested considerable energy into initiatives and services to enhance the employability outcomes of graduates. However, institutions have largely been UK-centric on their focus, with limited attention paid to the employability needs of international students. In this paper, we report the outcomes of a study centred on the largest group of non-EU domiciled international students in the UK, those from Mainland China. Drawing on survey data we examine Mainland Chinese students’ attitudes to their employability and the support they engage with through their UK University. We pay specific attention to the opportunities presented through the ‘international’ nature of the HE experience, and consider how these are utilised by both the students, and their institutions, to develop their future employability. We conclude by proposing recommendations for universities and institutions to enhance the support offered to this often overlooked, but significant group of students.     

The contribution of research to teachers’ professional learning and development

This paper summarises findings from several systematic research reviews about the contribution of research to effective continuing professional development and learning (CPDL) activities and their impact on pupils and teachers. It starts with a review of how teachers engage in and with research as part of CPDL, how teachers and researchers shape professional learning activities and identifies key processes linked to positive outcomes. Finally it explores how different research contributions can be developed to make a more visible contribution to CPDL.The paper highlights common characteristics of effective CPDL, including: sustained collaboration with professional colleagues, including both making use of specialist expertise and structured peer support for embedding specialist contributions; an understanding of and commitment to professional learning, including enquiry-oriented learning and learning to learn from looking; a focus on refining teaching and learning, working towards aspirations for specific pupils side by side with theory; and effective scaffolding and modelling of learning by both teachers and leaders for colleagues and for pupils. The key implications of these findings are explored in the conclusions and include the importance of conceptualising researchers’ contributions to CPDL as specialist expertise and/or researchers and Masters tutors harnessing the potential of peer support between teachers. They also explore overlaps between core research and teaching skills and the need for a shared language between teachers and researchers to enable concepts like analysis, theory and criticality to be valued as practical tools for enhancing professional practice.     

What impedes or enhances my studying? The interrelation between approaches to learning,factors influencing study progress and earned credits

The aim of the study is to explore how students' experiences of enhancing and impeding factors and approaches to learning are related to students' study progress. A total of 93 students from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities participated in the study by answering a Learn-questionnaire regarding their experiences of the enhancing and impeding factors and their approaches to learning. Regression analysis showed that working impeded study progression whereas interesting teaching enhanced it. However, the results revealed that the factors that enhance or impede studying appear to be closely mediated by students' approaches to learning. For example, working was not problematic for students with good organising skills. The findings suggest that it may not be possible to identify the factors that would enhance or impede studying without taking individual differences into consideration. In addition, the results imply that the focus in teaching should be in developing students' self-regulation skills.     

What Paves the Way to Conventional Language? The Predictive Value of Babble,Pointing, and Socioeconomic Status

A child's first words mark the emergence of a uniquely human ability. Theories of the developmental steps that pave the way for word production have proposed that either vocal or gestural precursors are key. These accounts were tested by assessing the developmental synchrony in the onset of babbling, pointing, and word production for 46 infants observed monthly between the ages of 9 and 18 months. Babbling and pointing did not develop in tight synchrony and babble onset alone predicted first words. Pointing and maternal education emerged as predictors of lexical knowledge only in relation to a measure taken at 18 months. This suggests a far more important role for early phonological development in the creation of the lexicon than previously thought.     

What Happens to Efficiency and Equity? The Cost Implications of Developmental Education Reform

Research in Higher Education - Florida passed legislation in 2013 that exempted many students from developmental education, and required colleges to implement new instructional modalities for...     

Youth work,performativity and the new youth impact agenda: getting paid for numbers?

A growing policy emphasis on measurement and outcomes has led to cultures of performativity, which are transforming what educators do and how they feel about themselves in relation to their work. While most analysis of performativity in education has focused on schools, this article investigates parallel developments in youth work. Youth work is a practice of informal education, in which young people learn and develop through activities, conversation and association. Its evaluation and monitoring have changed over the past two decades, as funding has become tied to targets and measureable outcomes. This article focuses on the English context, where government and third sector organisations are promoting a ‘youth impact agenda’, encouraging organisations to predefine and measure their outcomes. Drawing on data from interviews and focus groups with youth workers, the article argues that the current emphasis on impact risks further marginalising youth work at a time when this practice is already suffering from extensive spending cuts. The article concludes that we need to re-think the purposes and processes of evaluation and accountability - in youth work and beyond – in ways that genuinely value the perspectives of young people and grassroots practitioners.