Title: Employability and learning transfer: what do students experience during their placements?
Source document: Studia paedagogica. 2015, vol. 20, iss. 4, pp. [123]-138
Extent
[123]-138
-
ISSN1803-7437 (print)2336-4521 (online)
Persistent identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.5817/SP2015-4-8
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/134941
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
This article examines learning transfer as an alternative framework for investigating transitions of students between higher education and the workplace. It highlights some of the shortcomings of the current framework provided by human capital theory and employability concepts and describes the learning transfer model as an alternative that focuses on the transition and continuity of students' work-placements experiences. Drawing on the findings of an empirical study that gathered qualitative data from interviews, observation and written reflections of undergraduate students during and after their one year work-placement, this paper draws attention to the problems of narrow views of learning transfer and the limitations of human capital theory to explain current professional paths.
Note
This research is cofunded since March 2015, by the European Social Fund and the Operational Programme of Human Potential, through the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) scholarship referenced SFRH/BD/99596/2014.
References
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[35] Readings, B. (1996). The University in Ruines. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
[36] Stake, R. E. (1994). Case Studies. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research. London: Sage Publications.
[37] Støren, L. A., & Aamodt, P. O. (2010). The Quality of higher education and employability of graduates. Quality in Higher Education, 16(3), 297–313. | DOI 10.1080/13538322.2010.506726
[38] Sutherland, L., Howard, S., & Markauskaite, L. (2010). Professional identity creation: Examining the development of beginning preservice teachers' understanding of their work as teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3), 455–465. | DOI 10.1016/j.tate.2009.06.006
[39] Tan, E. (2014). Human capital theory: A holistic criticism. Review of Educational Research, 84(3), 411–445. | DOI 10.3102/0034654314532696
[40] Tomlinson, M. (2012). Graduate employability: A review of conceptual and empirical themes. Higher Educational Policy, 25(4), 407–431. | DOI 10.1057/hep.2011.26
[41] Tymon, A. (2013). The student perspective on employability. Studies in Higher Education, 38(6), 841–856. | DOI 10.1080/03075079.2011.604408
[42] Weiss, R. S. (1995). Learning from Strangers: The Art and Method of Qualitative Interview Studies. New York: The Free Press.
[43] Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[44] Wenger, E., McDermott, R. A., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Harvard: Harvard Business School Press.
[45] What are the Social Benefits of Education? (2013). Paris: OECD Publishing.
[46] Williams, G. (1999). State finance of higher education: An overview of theoretical and empirical issues. In M. Henkel & B. Little (Eds.). Changing Relationships Between Higher Education And The State. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[47] Wilton, N. (2011). The impact of work placements on skills development and career outcomes for business and management graduates. Studies in Higher Education, 37(5), 603–620. | DOI 10.1080/03075079.2010.532548
[48] Wolf, A. (2002). Does Education Matter? Myths about education and economic growth. London: Penguin Books.
[49] Yorke, M., & Knight, P. T. (2014). Learning & Employability: Embedding employability into the curriculum. Heslington: The Higher Education Academy.
[2] Atkins, M. J. (1999). Oven-ready and self-basting: Taking stock of employability skills. Teaching in Higher Education, 4(2), 267–280. | DOI 10.1080/1356251990040208
[3] Barr, N. (2005). The benefits of education: What we know and what we don't. In N. Barr & I. Crawford (Eds.), Financing Higher Education: Answers from the UK. London: Routledge.
[4] Beach, K. (1993). Becoming a bartender: The role of external memory cues in a work-directed educational activity. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 7(1), 191–204. | DOI 10.1002/acp.2350070304
[5] Beach, K. (1999). Chapter 4: Consequential transitions: A sociocultural expedition beyond transfer in education. Review of Research in Education, 24(1), 101–139.
[6] Beach, K. (2003). Consequential Ttransitions: A developmental view of knowledge propagation through social organizations. In T. Tuomi-Grèohn & Y. Engestrèom (Eds.), Between School and Work: New Perspectives on Transfer and Boundary Crossing. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing.
[7] Becker, G. S. (1993). Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education. USA: University of Chicago Press.
[8] Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives: A Strategic Approach to Skills Policies (2012). Paris: OECD Publishing.
[9] Bransford, J. D., & Schwartz, D. L. (1999). Rethinking transfer: A simple proposal with multiple implications. Review of Research in Education, 24(1), 66–100.
[10] Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. | DOI 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
[11] Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2012). Thematic analysis. In H. Cooper, P. M. Camic, D. L. Long, A. T. Panter, D. Rindskopf, & K. J. Sher (Eds.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
[12] Brown, S., & Sessions, J. G. (2005). Signaling and screening. In G. Johnes & J. Johnes (Eds.), International handbook on the economics of education. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
[13] Chevalier, A., Conlon, G., Galindo-Rueda, F., & Ncnally, S. (2003). The Returns to Higher Education Teaching. London: Centre for the Economics of Education.
[14] Cole, D., & Tibby, M. (2013). Defining and developing your approach to employability: A framework for higher education institutions. Heslington: The Higher Education Academy.
[15] Decuir-Gunby, J. T., Marshall, P. L., & McCulloch, A. W. (2011). Developing and using a codebook for the analysis of interview data: An example from a professional development research project. Field Methods, 23(2), 136–155. | DOI 10.1177/1525822X10388468
[16] Education at a Glance 2014 – Highlights. OECD Indicators (2014). Paris: OECD Publishing.
[17] Engle, R. A. (2006). Framing interactions to foster generative learning: A situative explanation of transfer in a community of learners classroom. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 15(4), 451–498. | DOI 10.1207/s15327809jls1504_2
[18] Engle, R. A., Lam, D. P., Meyer, X. S., & Nix, S. E. (2012). How does expansive framing promote transfer? Several proposed explanations and a research agenda for investigating them. Educational Psychologist, 47(3), 215–231. | DOI 10.1080/00461520.2012.695678
[19] Eraut, M. (2004). Informal learning in the workplace. Studies in Continuing Education, 26(2), 247–273. | DOI 10.1080/158037042000225245
[20] Eraut, M. (2007). Professional knowledge and learning at work. Knowledge, Work and Society, 4(3), 45–62.
[21] Eraut, M. (2011). Informal learning in the workplace: Evidence on the real value of workbased learning (WBL). Development and Learning in Organizations, 25(5), 8–12. | DOI 10.1108/14777281111159375
[22] Education and Training Monitor 2014 (2014). Brussels: European Commission. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/education/monitor
[23] Gallagher, P. (2015). Graduate transition into work: The bridging role of graduate placement programmes in the small- and medium-sized enterprise workplace. Journal of Education and Work, 28(5), 461–480. | DOI 10.1080/13639080.2013.820261
[24] Harvey, D. (1998). University, Inc. The Atlantic Monthly, 282(4), 112–116.
[25] Healy, A., Perkmann, M., Goddard, J., & Kempton, L. (2014). Measuring the Impact of University-Business Cooperation, Final Report. European Commission. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
[26] Holland, D., Lachicotte, W., Skinner, D., & Cain, C. (1998). Identity and Agency in Cultural Worlds. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
[27] Holmes, C., Keep, E., & Mayhew, K. (2012). Ten big questions for higher education. SKOPE Issues Paper, 31(1). Retrieved from http://www.skope.ox.ac.uk/publications/ten-bigquestions-higher-education.
[28] Jackson, D. (2014). Modelling graduate skill transfer from university to the workplace. Journal of Education and Work, 1–33.
[29] Knight, P. T., & Yorke, M. (2003). Employability and good learning in higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 8(1), 3–16. | DOI 10.1080/1356251032000052294
[30] Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[31] Lundvall, B. Å. (1996). The Social Dimension of the Learning Economy. DRUID Working Papers. Aalborg: Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
[32] Lundvall, B. Ä., & Johnson, B. (1994). The learning economy. Journal of Industry Studies, 1(2), 23–42. | DOI 10.1080/13662719400000002
[33] Macqueen, K. M., McLellan, E., Kay, K., & Milstein, B. (1998). Codebook Development for Team-Based Qualitative Analysis. Field Methods, 10(2), 31–36. | DOI 10.1177/1525822X980100020301
[34] Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods. California: SAGE Publications.
[35] Readings, B. (1996). The University in Ruines. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
[36] Stake, R. E. (1994). Case Studies. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research. London: Sage Publications.
[37] Støren, L. A., & Aamodt, P. O. (2010). The Quality of higher education and employability of graduates. Quality in Higher Education, 16(3), 297–313. | DOI 10.1080/13538322.2010.506726
[38] Sutherland, L., Howard, S., & Markauskaite, L. (2010). Professional identity creation: Examining the development of beginning preservice teachers' understanding of their work as teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3), 455–465. | DOI 10.1016/j.tate.2009.06.006
[39] Tan, E. (2014). Human capital theory: A holistic criticism. Review of Educational Research, 84(3), 411–445. | DOI 10.3102/0034654314532696
[40] Tomlinson, M. (2012). Graduate employability: A review of conceptual and empirical themes. Higher Educational Policy, 25(4), 407–431. | DOI 10.1057/hep.2011.26
[41] Tymon, A. (2013). The student perspective on employability. Studies in Higher Education, 38(6), 841–856. | DOI 10.1080/03075079.2011.604408
[42] Weiss, R. S. (1995). Learning from Strangers: The Art and Method of Qualitative Interview Studies. New York: The Free Press.
[43] Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[44] Wenger, E., McDermott, R. A., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Harvard: Harvard Business School Press.
[45] What are the Social Benefits of Education? (2013). Paris: OECD Publishing.
[46] Williams, G. (1999). State finance of higher education: An overview of theoretical and empirical issues. In M. Henkel & B. Little (Eds.). Changing Relationships Between Higher Education And The State. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[47] Wilton, N. (2011). The impact of work placements on skills development and career outcomes for business and management graduates. Studies in Higher Education, 37(5), 603–620. | DOI 10.1080/03075079.2010.532548
[48] Wolf, A. (2002). Does Education Matter? Myths about education and economic growth. London: Penguin Books.
[49] Yorke, M., & Knight, P. T. (2014). Learning & Employability: Embedding employability into the curriculum. Heslington: The Higher Education Academy.