EMBEDDING EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE IN THE CURRICULA Dr - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

EMBEDDING EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE IN THE CURRICULA

Dr Jana Fiserova

Kosovo, September 2016 EUFORIA Entrepreneurial Universities for Industry Alliances

OUTLINE

• Staffordshire University
• Graduate attributes
• Staffordshire Graduate Attributes
• Embedding GAs in curriculum
• Lessons from embedding SGAs

STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY

• UK Regional University in Stoke-on-Trent
• 23,500 students in the UK
• 47% from disadvantaged backgrounds
• 34% mature students
• 98% state schools
• 57.7% first degree graduates take up

graduate level employment or further study (2017)

• Approx. 90% for Oxford/Cambridge
• 54.7% (2016), 53.6% (2015), 48.9%

(2014)

GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES

GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES: CURRENT TRENDS

• An

increased interest in the development and embedding

• f

Graduate Attributes (GAs) within Universities

• GAs

should demonstrate to stakeholders such as employers what are the core learning

• utcomes of a university education

GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES: WHAT ARE THEY?

Graduate attributes are commonly understood as an articulation of “…the qualities, skills and understandings a university community agrees its students should develop during their time with the institution. These attributes include but go beyond the disciplinary expertise or technical knowledge that has traditionally formed the core of most university

• courses. They are qualities that also prepare graduates as

agents of social good in an unknown future.” (Bowden et al

2000)

Bowden, J., Hart, G., King, B., Trigwell, K. & Watts, O. (2000) Generic Capabilities of ATN University Graduates. http:/www.clt.uts.edu.au/ATN.grad.cap.project.index.html

GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES: WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?

“a set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal attributes – that makes graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen

• ccupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce,

the community and the economy.”

Yorke, M. (2006), “Learning and Employability: Employability in higher education – what it is, what is it not”, HEA Academy

GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES: ASSESSMENT

• It is increasingly recognised that there is a need to

demonstrate achievement of GAs because

• Employers value GAs and often seek evidence of such

achievements from applicants

• Governments expect evidence of GA achievement because of

links made with the knowledge economy, innovation and national well-being

• If graduate attributes are not assessed they will not be

taken seriously by students or teachers

• Assessment of GAs supports students and teachers in

their monitoring and development

STAFFORDSHIRE GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES

IMPLEMENTING THE STAFFORDSHIRE GRADUATE

• A University Panel considered proposals made by Programme
• teams. Each Programme Specification was approved by the

Faculty which was to deliver it and included a detailed mapping

• f where in the curriculum the skills associated with SGAs were

located and assessed.

• Most staff teams felt they had already facilitated to some extent

the SGAs in their programmes, many felt this had previously

• ften been only implicit;
• Initially SGAs were to be delivered as part of a single module to

first year students which focused

• n

developing Soft (Transferable) Skills; Students were then required to complete a compulsory work-related experience of min 25 hours as part of the continued module in their second year.

LESSONS LEARNT

• GAs need to be embedded into all modules; it is not

sufficient nor it is effective to create a single ‘employability module’ and make it simply an additional module in a course

• Rectors and Deans need to be on board to support their

staff in implementing the change (e.g. professional development – PGCHPE/FHEA)

• Staff need training to understand and appreciate the

importance of the soft skills

• Staff perceptions of soft skills delivery need to change

– Not my problem / why should I care? – Important but not my role to deliver them – They are not relevant to my discipline

EXAMPLES OF EMBEDDING GAS IN THE CURRICULUM

• Formative assessment – research poster

presentation in a team

• Reflection and PDP
• Conference (or other event) organisation
• Start-up business plan
• Problem/practice-based learning approach to

teaching – marketing plan for a product launch; customer opinion survey

• Flipped classroom – technology enhanced

teaching (e.g. vodcasting)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Any questions?

CONTACT DETAILS

Dr Jana Fiserova BA(Hons), MSc, PhD, PGCHPE, SFHEA

Doctor of Business Administration Programme Director Senior Lecturer in Business Economics and Strategic Management Faculty of Business, Education and Law Staffordshire University Leek Road Stoke-on-Trent ST4 2DF Tel.: +44 (0)1782 294724 Twitter: @DrJanaFiserova Email: Jana.Fiserova@staffs.ac.uk Web: staff profile LinkedIn: Dr Jana Fiserova ResearchGate: Research profile