Search Results for
"Higher education"

Purpose – To analyse the key factors shaping student satisfaction in VET studies and how this satisfaction influences students' intention to recommend the programme and their perception of its institutional and social reputation. Design/methodology/approach – On-site surveys through a link to students of VET higher education studies (n = 158) in Extremadura (Spain) from the professional families of administration and management and commerce and marketing. The methodology used is structural equation modelling to evaluate the causal relationships of the proposed theoretical model. Findings – Students’ perception of how well their VET studies prepare them for future professional life is the most influential factor in determining satisfaction, above academic aspects, expectations or infrastructure. Additionally, satisfaction has a direct impact on both the intention to recommend the programme and the perceived reputation of VET studies. Practical implications – Educational institutions can improve the perceived value of VET studies by strengthening ties with the professional world, incorporating active methodologies focused on real-world skills and enhancing reputation through alumni involvement, outreach activities and communication strategies based on student satisfaction. Originality/value – The study contributes to the still limited body of research on satisfaction in VET by proposing and validating a model that connects satisfaction with future attitudes, such as recommendation intention and perceived reputation, offering a useful framework for understanding and enhancing the long-term positioning of VET programmes. © 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore employers’ perspectives of business graduates’ work-readiness and expectations of the desired soft skill sets graduates should possess in a developing country context. Design/methodology/approach – Guided by the interpretivist paradigm, a qualitative study was undertaken through exploring the perspectives of 24 industry experts, who were identified via purposive sampling based on industry type, managerial level and experience. Findings – Industry experts conceptualized soft skills either narrowly via the prism of “skills” or broadly in terms of “attributes” and “capabilities.” Further, there is a generalized perception of lack of work-readiness of business graduates from the state universities. Industry professionals prioritized and highlighted communication and teamwork, as the most desirable among soft skills although problem-solving, interpersonal, critical thinking skills were also mentioned. Practical implications – For higher education institutions, there is a practical need to strengthen university–industry collaboration via direct (work placements) and indirect engagement (employer input for curriculum design) to minimize the skills gaps as employers perceive business graduates as lacking work-readiness. In the case of industry, sharing insights on the changing nature of business environment and the resultant (soft) skills requirements to higher education institutions are imperative to bridge the theory–practice gap. Originality/value – This study, while exploring employers’ perspectives in a relatively under-researched, developing economy context, contributes to the literature on graduate work-readiness and expected soft skills from the demand aspect of graduate employability. © 2026 Emerald Publishing Limited

This Work-In-Progress paper underscores the impact of a 6-week summer internship program for high school upperclassmen in a cohort of participants. The purpose of this study is to explore how participation in the internship program affects students’ STEM career interests. Lent, Brown, and Hackett’s 1994 Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) provides the theoretical framework for this investigation of different elements of career interest. Kolb’s 1984 experiential learning theory connects SCCT to the internship experience. The high school students in this study were assigned to the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and guided through a research project on a STEM topic of their choosing by two immediate supervisors. These topics were required to be related to the host employer’s work and have ample current literature available to explore. The internship also featured cohort-based activities including site visits to museums, workplaces, and learning institutions. Other features include professional development sessions, guest speakers, and a culminating event where participants presented their work and research via scientific posters to a diverse audience. The study underway employed surveys and semi-structured interviews as the primary data sources to investigate students’ experiences and how they relate to STEM career interests. In addition to the pre-survey, post-survey, and exit interviews, we also collected secondary data from weekly reflection writings from each participant. Quantitative data from each survey will be analyzed using a Wilcoxon signed rank sum test to determine differences between pre- and post-responses. Qualitative data will be coded using reflexive thematic analysis to identify themes and sub-themes of students’ experiences. Currently, the analysis is in the data familiarization stage. The expected results include increased self-efficacy and an emphasis on the importance of an engaged supervisor for developing student’s career interests. © American Society for Engineering education, 2025.

To meet society’s changing demands, the responsive development of curricula is vital, and curriculum developers need to increasingly foresee and incorporate changes into their curricula in a timely manner. However, responsive curriculum development is a complex problem for curriculum developers in vocational and (higher) professional education, and comprehensive research on this theme is scarce. This study focused on responsive curriculum development processes in a Dutch higher professional education institution (N = 77 experts). A group concept mapping study into the supportive factors of this process revealed six factors: (1) a vision of education and learning, (2) a continuous and iterative development process, (3) teamwork, (4) involving stakeholders, (5) a conducive environment and conditions, and (6) agency. Participating experts highlighted the importance of ensuring that equal attention is devoted to each of these factors. However, the results also reveal the challenges that curriculum developers face. To deal with these, a framework of factors is suggested to facilitate curriculum conversations in which developers can negotiate–and give meaning to–the desired change in the curriculum context. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

While immigrants and their children display bold educational aspirations, less is known about the relationship between their aspirations and educational outcomes. Using longitudinal survey data on students in upper secondary education in Barcelona, Spain, and Bergen, Norway, coupled with register data from Norway, we ask how the aspirations of students with immigrant backgrounds are connected to their educational outcomes, and in what way this differs between the cities. We find that, compared with their native peers, youth with immigrant backgrounds in Bergen have higher aspirations and those in Barcelona have somewhat lower aspirations. There is a higher mismatch between educational aspirations and outcomes for youth with immigrant backgrounds in both contexts. We argue that such empirical investigations are important, to avoid portraying immigrant aspirations as either a springboard to future success or as a ‘trap’, but rather as a part of pragmatic considerations and adjustments in varying contexts. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This study aims to describe the role of dual education in improving students’ academic achievement and mitigating youth unemployment in Kazakhstan. To examine this issue, a survey was conducted among 496 students from technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions. The survey results were analyzed using SPSS program to address four hypotheses. Our survey showed that dual education students are more confident in their demands in the labor market, are more satisfied with the results of their studies, and have higher academic achievement than school-based education students. © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Approximately 25% of vocational education and training (VET) applicants in Germany hold a university entrance diploma (Abitur). These students enter VET even though they could enter higher education (HE); the latter typically yields higher incomes and better career prospects. We extend research on the question of why students choose this seemingly less optimal career path by exploring the interplay between local labour-market conditions and social background. We focus on students’ path through (post-)secondary school and combine data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) with regionalised data to analyse students’ (1) aspirations for an Abitur in 9th grade, (2) chances of obtaining an Abitur (3), aspirations for HE over VET in 12th grade and (4) the transition to HE versus VET after obtaining an Abitur. Our results speak to the presence of two theoretical concepts: the ‘discouraged worker effect’ and ‘hedging’. In tight local labour markets, students from lower-status families are discouraged from entering VET and continue in general school. Hence, they aspire an Abitur and obtain an Abitur to avoid the VET market at first. Later, they use their Abitur as a hedge to take advantage of this higher educational credential in contested VET markets. © 2024 The Vocational Aspect of education Ltd.

Student employment is on the increase in many European countries. It takes many forms, from full-time employment to various types of flexible work, which involves short-term, non-standard and informal work. Despite its relevance and complexity, the connection between higher education and concurrent employment has been only partially explored in scholarly debate. This paper investigates the differing patterns of employment for university students, focusing on the role played by parental background, educational choices (i.e. field of study and residential status) and access to benefits. The analyses apply to the Italian higher education system and are based on data collected through a survey carried out among students enrolled at the University of Bologna, which has a highly developed student grant system and a large number of away from home students. Using multinomial logistic regression, the paper shows that students native of Bologna from lower socio-economic backgrounds and enrolled in the humanities and social sciences are more likely than their peers to be in employment. The findings on Right to Study are hence particularly important from a policy perspective, as they highlight the different roles that scholarships and tuition fee waivers play in employment choices whilst at university. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Skills and knowledge which increase the likelihood of university graduates finding employment is an increasingly important factor for higher education institutions. Even though subject matter expertise remains a primary objective, supporting students to build life skills that are desired by employers is essential to enhance graduate employability. Firstly, we draw on consultive interviews with 11 graduate recruiters to build a life skill ability scale. Through these interviews, we identify two constructs worth measuring (resilience and adaptability) not yet represented in extant life skill ability scales. Thereby contributing to life skills measures and their link to graduate employability. Secondly, this paper explores the influence of a team-based business simulation on the development of life skills at two higher education institutions in the UK for first- and fourth-year undergraduate students. Through a pre-survey and post-survey, this paper empirically finds that experiential learning by means of a team-based business simulation has an overwhelmingly positive influence on first-year students’ self-assessed life skill development as well as their course-specific subject matter expertise. Yet, the findings show less significant results for fourth-year students. This contributes to our understanding of business simulations as a pedagogical practice and its benefits for students beyond their education. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The global landscape and labour market are rapidly evolving in the twenty-first century, requiring individuals to adapt flexibly to new situations. Soft skills, such as problem-solving and communication skills, are becoming increasingly important for preparing students in higher education for future job opportunities. We conducted a bibliometric analysis of 4,358 research studies with the aim of guiding future research and practice. We sought to answer the following research question: What research themes involving soft skills are discussed in the literature, and what further research avenues can inform us about teaching soft skills? Given the interdisciplinary, cross-cutting nature of soft skills, we analysed research from various fields to uncover the relevance of and relationships among different soft skill topics and to identify which soft skill topics are particularly important in higher education settings. To help researchers develop a holistic approach to soft skills education, we provide a summary of existing soft skills research and identify directions for future research. In addition, we outline the evolution of keyword clusters to illuminate the future directions. This approach facilitates a deeper and more nuanced exploration of the relevant concepts. Our research supports practitioners and fosters a better understanding of the meaning of soft skills and how they can be taught in higher education, especially in digital environments. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.