Graduate employability in context: theory, research and debate

This book explores the contested area of graduate employability and employment which is paid so much attention by both researchers and policy-makers. This is driven largely by concerns over the wider economic impact and value of graduates as increasing numbers complete their studies in higher education. At a time when graduates are seen as key to economic success, the critical question remains as to how their employability plays out in a changing labour market. This collection brings together essays from 17 authors, which include innovative approaches and research to present an extensive...  [+] Show more

This book explores the contested area of graduate employability and employment which is paid so much attention by both researchers and policy-makers. This is driven largely by concerns over the wider economic impact and value of graduates as increasing numbers complete their studies in higher education. At a time when graduates are seen as key to economic success, the critical question remains as to how their employability plays out in a changing labour market. This collection brings together essays from 17 authors, which include innovative approaches and research to present an extensive survey of the field. It provides insight on what is a complex and often elusive social and economic problem, ranging from how graduate employability is constructed as an economic and policy agenda to explorations of how graduates manage the transition from higher education to paid employment and finally to suggest future directions for curricula, policy and research. The differing approaches taken by the authors span a wide range of differing contexts, structural changes, psycho-social dynamics and other personal factors and in so doing help provide new insights to better understanding the variety and complexity of issues related to graduate employability.

Edited excerpt from publisher's website.

The contents are as follows: Introduction: graduate employability in context: charting a complex, contested and multi-faceted policy and research field / Michael Tomlinson (pages 1-40); Graduate employability: a critical oversight / Andrew Rothwell and Frances Rothwell (pages 41-63); Employability, employment and establishment of higher education graduates in the labour market / Staffan Nilsson (pages 65-85); Critical perspectives on graduate employability / Ciaran Burke, Tracy Scurry, John Blenkinsopp, and Katy Graley (pages 87-107); Developing a more coherent and robust basis for employability research: a critical realist perspective / Paul Cashian (pages 109-128); Boundaryless and protean career orientation: a multitude of pathways to graduate employability / William Donald, Yehuda Baruch, and Melanie Ashleigh (pages 129-150); Employability and depth psychology / Phil McCash (pages 151-170); Graduate's learning across educational and professional settings: outlining an approach / Mariana Gaio Alves (pages 171-193); International students' employability: what can we learn from it? / Zhen Li (pages 195-211); Cultivating the art of judgement in students / Geoffrey Hinchliffe and Helen Walkington (pages 213-235); Who is to be positioned as employable?: adult graduates' educational and working life pathways / Paivi Siivonen (pages 237-254); Graduate employability as social suitability: professional competence from a practice theory perspective / Ola Lindberg and Oscar Rantatalo (pages 255-272); Encouraging students to develop their employability: 'locally rational', but morally questionable? / Paul Greenbank (pages 273-293); Graduates' psycho-social career preoccupations and employability capacities in the work context / Melinde Coetzee (pages 295-315); Developing graduate employability: the CareerEDGE model and the importance of emotional intelligence / Lorraine Dacre Pool (pages 317-338); The university and the knowledge network: a new educational model for twenty-first century learning and employability / Ruth Bridgstock (pages 339-358); Graduate employability: future directions and debate / Leonard Holmes (pages 359-369).