The Higher Education Academy Subject Network Pedagogic Research Day March 2005

1
The Higher Education Academy Subject
NetworkPedagogic Research Day March 2005

• Using pedagogic research in the curriculum a
  case of employability skills
• Angela Maher

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Aims of session

• To present a brief overview of employability
  research
• To share some of the findings from my survey on
  graduate attributes for employability
• To provide an example of how research findings
  have influenced curriculum developments at Oxford
  Brookes

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Stakeholder perspectives

• Employers employability is about someone having
  the basic skills and experience to hit the
  ground running
• Students employability is about having skills,
  knowledge and experience AND an ability to
  articulate this to employers so they get
  recruited
• HE - employability is about enhancing students
  learning, broadening their perspectives and
  experience in a way that enables them to
  contribute to society

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Employability definitions (Harvey, 2005)
Getting a job
Getting a graduate job
Getting and retaining a graduate job
Getting and retaining a graduate job and
progressing
Developing a range of attributes employers want
Developing a range of attributes to become a
critical lifelong learner
Exhibiting a range of attributes that employers
anticipate will be necessary for the future
effective functioning of their organisation
First set, equate institutional graduate
employment rates with employability Second set,
focus on the development of attributes and
job-getting skills audits of activities
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Employability defined

• A set of achievements skills, understandings
  and personal attributes that make graduates
  more likely to gain employment and be successful
  in their chosen occupations, which benefits
  themselves, the workforce, the community and the
  economy.
• (Yorke and Knight 20037)

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USEM model

• SUBJECT UNDERSTANDING
• SKILFUL PRACTICES
• EFFICACY BELIEFS
• METACOGNITION
• (Knight Yorke 2004)

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Graduate attributes approach

• Personal qualities
• Core skills
• Process skills

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Approaches to embedding employability in the
curriculum

• Employability through the whole curriculum
• Employability in the core curriculum
• Work-based or work-related learning interspersed
  within the curriculum
• Employability related modules within the
  curriculum

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Graduate attributes survey results

• Importance for career Developed in degree
• ( ranked very/quite ( ranked developed a
• important) lot/somewhat developed)
• Self-confidence 97 57
• Prioritising 97 63
• Adaptability 96 58
• Stress tolerance 94 52
• Independence 94 70
• Self management 94 80

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Developing the curriculum

• U54089 Career Planning for Hospitality Tourism
• 15 credits at level 3
• Compulsory honours module
• Runs over 2 semesters in final year of study
• Semester 1 focuses on analysing strengths and
  weaknesses, researching the graduate labour
  market and confidence building
• Semester 2 on practical skills and experiential
  learning activities, including mock assessment
  centre
• Assessed by portfolio

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How are graduate attributes addressed within the
module?

• Self-confidence confidence in dealing with the
  challenges in employment and life
• Specific activities include
• Internet Work Attitude Motivation (iWAM)
  assessment
• Work Values self-assessment exercise
• Self presentation skills workshop
• Selling oneself in the labour market
• Hosting employers events
• Labour market research
• Practice assessment tests/interviewing

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How are graduate attributes addressed within the
module?

• Prioritising ability to rank tasks according to
  importance
• Specific activities include
• Teach and practice time management techniques as
  part of module
• Assessment activities at mock assessment centre
  such as in-tray exercise, team challenge exercise
• Development of personal career plan as part of
  portfolio

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How are graduate attributes addressed within the
module?

• Adaptability ability to respond positively to
  changing circumstances and new challenges
• Specific activities include
• Encouraging students to reflect in and on action
  using portfolio approach
• Evidence of understanding of labour market
  opportunities
• Identification of strengths and weaknesses in
  relation to career aspirations and graduate
  attributes
• Evidence of action planning for attribute
  development and career planning

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How are graduate attributes addressed within the
module?

• Stress Tolerance ability to retain
  effectiveness under pressure
• Specific activities include
• Practice assessment tests administered under test
  conditions
• iWAM assessment provides feedback on stress
  tolerance
• Time management techniques taught and practised
• Mock assessment centre activities

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Conclusions

• Feedback from students has been very positive
• Input from external experts and employers is
  crucial
• Accessing funding for both research and
  curriculum development can make a significant
  difference
• Ongoing feedback and development will be
  important

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Conclusions

• Looking towards next year
• Curriculum audit on employability
• Focus groups discussing graduate attributes for
  key stakeholders
• Using feedback from this year to improve module
• Making more use of ICT in module delivery and
  assessment
• Experiment with alternative assessment formats
  (audio visual portfolios, students setting their
  own learning outcomes for the module, etc)

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Useful resources

• HE Academy subject centre for Hospitality,
  Leisure, Sport and Tourism Employability Resource
  Guide
• http//www.hlst.ltsn.ac.uk/resources/employability
  .htmltop
•  
• HE Academy Resources
• http//www.heacademy.ac.uk/
• The Learning and Employability Series
• Employability Briefings
• Developing Institutional Strategies for
  Employability
• Key Publications
• Knight, P and Yorke, M (2004). Learning,
  Curriculum and Employability in Higher Education.
  London Routledge-Falmer
• Knight, P and Yorke, M (2003). Assessment,
  Learning and Employability in Higher.
  MaidenheadOpen University Press