Search Results for
"Higher education"

Disadvantaged young people face disproportionate challenges in accessing education and employment. higher education serves as an aspirational destination and recommended route to entry for certain industries, yet young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely to apply and enrol in higher education programmes. Disadvantaged young people may also be underrepresented within the workforce of certain sectors, compounding barriers to entering desired industries. Solutions to reduce barriers into education and employment are required. The paper presents a postmortem from a collaborative game development project with aims of addressing social inequalities and positive destinations towards the games industry. The project involved a third sector social enterprise delivering economic regeneration and community-based support, an eight-person interdisciplinary team of game development students, and a practice-based research group exploring multiple themes of game-based research practice. The paper captures the experiences of student developers, young people, and engagement officers in reviewing the value and impact of the project. The intention of this paper is to present a case study of collaborative practice which shows positive impact on addressing community support outcomes for young adults within its service, with the potential to apply similar practices to wider initiatives related to outreach, engagement, and employability pathways. © The Author(s) 2025.

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of using IVR to help Indonesian EFL students cope with the twenty-first century. We examined 53 Indonesian university students in this study to see how immersive virtual reality (IVR) impacts their English as a Foreign Language (EFL) proficiency and transferable skill development. The pre-experimental design used a mixed methodology approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Statistical analysis, using paired sample t-test and ANOVA, showed that post-test scores (mean = 84.72, SD = 7.83) were significantly higher than pre-test scores (mean = 58.96, SD = 8.16, p < 0.001). Using t-test and ANOVA, we compared students’ pre- and post-test EFL proficiency levels within and between the two groups. We analyzed the quantitative data with qualitative descriptions of changes in transferable skills and participants’ opinions about the impact of IVR on their English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and transferable skills. The integration analysis revealed that students felt an improvement in transferable skills, but their English skills still needed improvement in pronunciation and vocabulary. In addition, IVR helped undergraduate students overcome English learning difficulties. They reported a decrease in the anxiety they experienced when using IVR in real-life scenarios, although they saw it as a useful tool to improve transferable skills. According to the results of the study, IVR had a statistically significant effect on undergraduate students' transferability of skills. Although most users found IVR to be an engaging learning experience with realistic settings and fun activities, they recognized that the use of avatars could sometimes be a hindrance in designing stories using EFL. We offer implications for improving foreign language learning using IVR technology. By implementing the most effective teaching models in the metaverse, it is important to create, design, and manage VR platforms in a structured way that reflects modern student-oriented learning, learning satisfaction, and improve learning outcomes based on these results for future education, namely in design thinking, computational thinking, and critical thinking, as well as improving overall language competence. While research has found some difficulties in integrating IVR for language learning, it has also found substantial links between IVR use and greater engagement, critical thinking, and the development of creative skills in the twenty-first century. © The Author(s) 2025.

Students’ well-being has received increasing international attention. However, research on well-being among higher vocational education (HVE) students, particularly in non-WEIRD contexts, remains limited. This study addresses this gap by investigating the relationships between goals, motivation, and well-being for HVE students in China through the lens of self-determination theory. A survey was administered to 1106 HVE students at a vocational college in China to collect data on their goal content, motivation, and well-being. Quantitative analyses revealed that motivation plays a dual role, acting as both a mediator and a moderator in the relationship between goals and well-being. This dual role is crucial for understanding not only how goals influence well-being but also under what conditions different types of goals promote or hinder well-being. Specifically, intrinsic goals, when paired with autonomous motivation, were found to significantly predict increased well-being. While extrinsic goals combined with controlled motivation also reliably predicted well-being, this relationship should be interpreted cautiously within the specific cultural context of the study. Furthermore, positive relationships between extrinsic goals and well-being, as well as between amotivation and well-being, were observed, contrasting findings from ‘WEIRD’ contexts. This study provides novel insights into how motivation functions as both a moderator and mediator in the goal-well-being relationship within a ‘non-WEIRD,’ specifically Chinese, HVE context. These findings underscore the importance of supporting students in pursuing goals to enhance their well-being. Further research is needed to explore these relationships in diverse cultural settings. © The Author(s) 2025.

This study investigates the impact of project-based learning (PBL) on student employability within the domain of digital cultural and creative disciplines in higher vocational education. Drawing upon data collected from 169 students across six PBL modules, the study assesses three fundamental dimensions of PBL - Inquiry Learning (IL), Reflective Learning (RL), and Teamwork (TE) - and their effects on four critical employability domains: General Ability for Work (GA), Professional Ability (PA), Attitude at Work (AA), and Career Planning and Confidence (CP). Utilizing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and Importance-Performance Map Analysis (IPMA), the results indicate that TE exerts a substantial and consistent influence across all four employability dimensions, whereas RL only affects CP, and IL demonstrates no statistically significant impact. The IPMA findings further confirm that both TE and RL are identified as high-importance, high-performance components. This study offers empirical validation for embedding TE and RL practices within PBL-integrated curricula to strengthen employability outcomes in educational programs oriented toward the creative industries. © 2025 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how graduate employability is conceptualized and operationalized in higher education through educational interventions. It provides a comprehensive review of how these interventions are implemented and the results they report as well as the levels of governance that motivate their implementation. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic review of peer-reviewed publications was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Findings – Interventions offering practical experiences had the greatest positive impact on graduate employability. Programs focused on employability skills and career planning showed mixed results, with limited links to employment outcomes. Interventions motivated via direct labor market demands were more effective, suggesting strong communication between higher education institutions and employers is pivotal. Conversely, government-mandated interventions often had inconclusive results, possibly due to weak institutional collaboration. Research limitations/implications – The study highlights the need for standardized evaluation of graduate employability interventions to enhance comparability and effectiveness. Practical implications – Our findings should inform future graduate employability policy designs. Specifically, policies should promote effective communication and collaboration among policymakers, institutions and employers to improve outcomes, rather than relying solely on higher education institutions to achieve these goals. Originality/value – This review offers insights for educators in selecting effective graduate employability interventions. It underscores the importance of effective communication and collaboration between policymakers, institutions and employers to improve outcomes. © 2025 Helena Barachino, Anneke Timmermans, Viktor Andreas Venhorst and Jouke van Dijk

Purpose – This study investigates the long-term school-to-work trajectories of children of immigrants (CI) in Norway, focusing on the potential benefits of vocational education and training (VET) compared to general education (GEN). The research aims to determine whether VET provides CI with advantageous career prospects, with a special focus on gender differences and poor-performing pupils. Design/methodology/approach – Utilizing detailed annual register data from four Norwegian birth cohorts, this study employs social sequence analysis and linear probability models to examine the association between educational trajectories and variables such as gender, immigrant descent and school grades. The data covers a 15-year period, tracking individuals annually from ages 16 to 30. Findings – Findings reveal that VET offers a secure pathway to employment for native male students but not for male CI. The gap in labour market inclusion for CI is linked to lower apprenticeship enrolment. Explanatory factors such as discrimination and immigrant drive towards higher education are discussed. Originality/value – Empirically, we apply a method rarely used in the literature on CI’s social mobility. Social sequence analysis is unique in that it enables us to understand not only specific outcomes at given time points – but also how the duration and timing of key transitions in young people’s life courses impact long-term outcomes. We contribute to the literature on CI’s incorporation by bridging the link between theories on the VET-system’s inclusiveness with theories of CI’s educational choices. Together, this enhances our understanding of the long-term consequences of CI’s educational transitions within the Norwegian educational system. © 2025 Jannike Gottschalk Ballo, Asgeir Skålholt and Marianne Takvam Kindt