Accepting employability as a purpose of higher education? Academics’ perceptions and practices

Cristina Sin · Orlanda Tavares · Alberto Amaral

98 citations0/0 files storedStudies in Higher Education

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Higher Education and Employability Higher Education Governance and Development Human Resources and Workforce

Abstract

This study explores Portuguese academics’ acceptance of employability as a purpose for higher education further to the Bologna reforms, focusing on their understandings of employability and their teaching practices. The data were gathered through focus groups in which participated around 70 academics from 3 disciplinary areas, belonging to different institutional types. Findings suggest that there are different degrees of acceptance of employability as a purpose for higher education, varying by discipline and type of institution. Irrespective of the differences in perceptions of employability, all academics engage in teaching practices associated to the development of employability, although with different ends in mind. While Computer Engineering and Management academics aim to train professionals fitting into specific employment, for Arts academics such teaching methods aim to introduce students to artistic practice. These findings warn against equating employability with crude indicators of employment and using it as a performance indicator.

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References

1992Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques.1995Qualitative Research: Introducing focus groups 1994The methodology of Focus Groups: the importance of interaction between research participants 2001An Introduction to Varieties of Capitalism 1990Academic tribes and territories: Intellectual enquiry and the culture of the disciplines 2009The graduate attributes we’ve overlooked: enhancing graduate employability through career management skills 2000Using and analysing focus groups: Limitations and possibilities 2006Employability in higher education: what it is, what it is not

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