Students-staff classroom co-creation as model of employability skills development in a Nigerian university

Abstract

PurposeThe paper explored students-staff classroom co-creation and students' involvement in out-of-class engagements as means of fostering employability skills in higher education institutions (HEIs). The paper aimed to present an alternative but equally effective means that HEIs can leverage to foster relevant 21st Century employability skills among undergraduates using day-to-day in-class and out-of-class activities and other non-formal campus activities.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted descriptive survey design. A total of 350 undergraduates who participate in out-of-class activities were purposively selected from seven (7) faculties. An instrument designed by the author was used to gather data for the study. The instrument was subjected to Cronbach Alpha analysis for item-by-item consistency and it yielded the reliability co-efficient of 0.88. Data collected from the respondents were analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency count, mean and standard deviation.FindingsInteractive classrooms, where students and lecturers co-create to provide solutions to problems enhance students' self-esteem, problem solving, analytical, communication and leadership skills amongst others. It was also found that students who got involved in one or more out-of-class activity on campus acquire specific competencies such as networking, collaboration, communication, leadership, multidisciplinary thinking, etc.Research limitations/implicationsDue to a limited sample size, it might be inappropriate to generalize findings. Researchers are encouraged to test this proposition further.Practical implicationsThe paper highlights the need for HEIs to leverage student-staff co-creation and out-of-class engagement in their bid to produce employable graduates.Originality/valueThis paper clearly presents alternative but effective means of fostering employability in HEIs.