Higher Education Graduates Research Articles

Graduate employability: the higher education landscape in Australia

ABSTRACT The Dawkins white paper of 1988 was introduced by the Australian government to reshape the Higher Education (HE) landscape. Dawkins’ discussion paper of 1990, Nelson's policy document of 2003, the Bradley Review of 2008 and the Lomax-Smith Review of 2011 built on and extended Dawkins’ white paper. Such policy reforms have transformed the culture of Australian HE and contributed to shaping the employment outcomes of graduates of Australian HE institutions (HEI). However, rather than HE qualifications enhancing a resume, such qualifications are now expected. Today, HE graduates in Australia can face long periods to secure full-time jobs with many experiencing underemployment and unemployment. Using document reviews to research for this article, the article contributes to the discussion of HE graduates in Australia in several ways. Firstly, it reviews five key policies that led to the massification of HE in Australia. Secondly, it presents a comparison of the composition of university graduates in the period from 1989 to 2019. Thirdly, it examines how policy reforms contributed to shaping graduate employment prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic occurring. Finally, and importantly, this article will assist as a point of reference when researching graduate employability outcomes post COVID-19 global pandemic. This article represents a knowledge base for all stakeholders in the HE sector to draw from in terms of policy and planning with the end goal to enhance the employment prospects and employability of HE graduates. This article also presents numerous areas for future research.

SOCIALIZATION OF EDUCATION AS A MEANS OF CHANGE OF THE PARADIGM OF SUBJECTS DEVELOPMENT OF THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR OF ECONOMY

This article summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scope of a scientific discussion on the issue of socialization of education as a means of the paradigm of the efficiency of managing the agrarian sector of the economy. The main purpose of the study is to highlight the peculiarities in the development of the socialization of education and its impact on the development of subjects in the agrarian sector. It is shown that the role of higher education institutions is not only in the providing of educational services, but also in informing higher education graduates of values recognized in society, and integration of youth in society. It is proved that in higher education institutions it is possible, through their main functions, to promote the ideas of social responsibility that contribute to the balance of peace, and well-being in society. The research of this issue in the article is carried out in the following way: domestic and foreign experience; affiliation to a generation and educational process; formation of skills of socially oriented direction; the dominant tendencies of socially oriented development in higher education institutions of Ukraine; integration and effective development on the basis of holistic development as a new type of development of society. The research used the following methodological methods: historical and logical (study of theoretical views on the essence of socialization of education), monographic (studying the peculiarities of formation and best practices of the development of socialization of education in other countries of the world), system-structural analysis and synthesis (studying and generalization of structural proportions and shifts in the socialization of education of subjects of the agrarian sector of the economy). The study period covers the years 1922-2020. The article presents the results of empirical analysis and the importance of the socialization of education as a new paradigm in the development of society, as well as generalized modern scientific approaches to its formation. It is substantiated that on the basis of socialization of education, a close relationship with the level of moral development of the personality of a future specialist is formed. It is proved that higher education institutions in the process of their own activities bear direct and indirect social responsibility for the effective use of public resources, ensuring the unity of education and upbringing, the inclusion of learners of higher education and academia, research and teaching staff in a variety of social practices (their social responsibility).

No experience, no employment: The effect of vocational education and training work experience on labour market outcomes after higher education

Higher education graduates with work experience enter the labour market more smoothly. This study analyses how work experience from vocational education and training (VET) affects labour market outcomes after higher education. To account for selection into VET, we use the regional enrolment rate as an instrument for upper-secondary VET. Results suggest that work experience gained during VET leads to significantly higher wages of 7% to 19% one year after graduation from higher education and two months less search time for first employment but does not significantly lower the probability of an internship in the post-graduation year. However, these positive effects do not persist: the effect is no longer robustly significant for wages, unemployment or employment position after five years. The effect operates through the human capital (specific and general), screening and signalling channels, not the social network channel. Our results suggest that upper-secondary VET is an equivalent pathway to academic education, not merely the second-best, for individuals planning on higher education.

Creating a University-Based Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Indonesia

Being a country with the fourth largest population in the world, but with an entrepreneur rate that only rank six at the ASEAN level, is a challenge for Indonesia. Entrepreneurship education plays an important role to increase entrepreneurial graduates of higher education. Global awareness of the importance of the role of entrepreneurship and innovation, in line with the growing awareness of higher education institutions, especially universities, to walk the entrepreneurial path. This study aims to form an entrepreneurial university model using a systems approach, where the university should not carry its own burden in carrying out the responsibilities of a third mission to help accelerate community development. The model produced using the Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) method describes the sub-elements as the driver factor that influence the transformation process towards an entrepreneurial university. The elements of the entrepreneurial university model are come from the elements in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. One of the results showed that in Indonesia, producing entrepreneurial graduates as entrepreneurs is a very important factor and will encourage other factors, such as product commercialization, patents, and realizing science and techno parks, as has been achieved by several leading universities in the world.
 
 Received: 2 November 2020 / Accepted: 11 December 2020 / Published: 17 January 2021

El emprendimiento social de base universitaria en Latinoamérica: caso Zacatecas, México

La globalización exige que los egresados de la educación superior cuenten con habilidades que impacten en el desarrollo económico. Y una de las habilidades más apreciadas actualmente es el emprendimiento social. La presente investigación está precedida por el trabajo denominado El emprendimiento social de base universitaria en Latinoamérica, en el cual se encontró que solo 3.4 % de los 5243 estudiantes encuestados de 26 universidades de ocho países está liderando algún emprendimiento social, esto a pesar de que 62 % desea hacerlo. El propósito del presente estudio fue comparar los resultados del contexto internacional con el local. Para ello, se partió del modelo de ecuaciones estructurales usado en el estudio previo. Se aplicó un cuestionario a una muestra de 301 alumnos de la Unidad Académica de Contaduría y Administración de la Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas. En los resultados se encontró que solo 0.7 % de ellos lidera un emprendimiento social. Se concluye que falta mucho por hacer por parte de la institución educativa, ya que el constructo “Soporte institucional” no contribuyó de manera significativa en la intención emprendedora. Sin duda es pertinente generar acciones que permitan a los alumnos llevar a cabo proyectos y que estos no queden en intenciones.

Effective formative assessment strategies contribute positively to the work-readiness of new graduates in higher education

Effective formative assessment strategies contribute positively to the work-readiness of new graduates in higher education

Factors Affecting Work Stress And Performance With Compensation Moderation In Working Load Relationships On The Performance Of Private Teachers In East Kalimantan

Lecturers as the spearhead in producing quality graduates in higher education are expected to always give the best performance at work. Good lecturer performance is influenced by many factors including workload, work conflict compensation and lecturer work stress so it is interesting to do further field research. The purpose of this study is to analyze and investigate the influence of work conflict and workload factors as internal factors among lecturers that have an impact on work stress and performance as well as the role of compensation mediators on the relationship between workload and lecturer performance in private universities in East Kalimantan. This study also took a sample of 259 lecturers as respondents in several districts and cities in East Kalimantan Province. Questionnaires were distributed to all samples to determine respondents' perceptions of the variables studied and collected in tabulated data. The tabulated data results were further analyzed using Smart PLS 3.3.2 software and descriptive statistics and inferential statistics to solve the equation structure model used in this study. The study found that work conflict has a positive and significant direct effect on job stress and performance. Workload has a positive and significant effect on work stress and performance. Meanwhile, work stress has a positive but insignificant effect on performance. Compensation is not able to strengthen the relationship between workload and performance.

Employability for graduates in Saudi Arabia: A review paper

In Saudi Arabia, unemployment problem has been a big problem. Higher education in Saudi Arabia has previously been chastised for failing to meet labor market requirements. Higher education graduates, according to research, have focused on disciplines that are not in high demand in the work market. Furthermore, students of institutions of higher learning have been shown to lack the broad competences required in today's competitive market. The purpose of this chapter is to show how Saudi Arabia's higher education institutions are closing the gap between higher education and the labor market. Despite the fact that the private higher education sector in the United States is still relatively new, the data shows that higher education institutions have already been attempting to address graduate employability issues through their courses, extra curricular, and career-related services. Topics taught, instructional approaches used, and the usage of English in the classroom are all examples, as are planned project experience and career counsellor services.

The Gender Gap in Early-Career Wages of Universities’ and Vocational Education Institutes’ Graduates

Data from the Federal Statistical Sample Survey of Employment of Vocational Education and Higher Education Graduates is used to measure the gender wage gap and analyze the factors explaining gender inequality. The Mincer equation with Heckman sample selection bias correction as well as the Blinder–Oaxaca and Neumark decomposition methods are applied to measure gender differences in earnings. Findings show that women are paid 18–20% lower than men, the educational and socio-demographic characteristics as well as labor market factors being controlled for. The gender wage gap is largely dependent on education attainment, reaching 25% among graduates from skilled-worker vocational programs, 20% among mid-level professionals, and 18% among college graduates. Decomposition of the gender wage gap allows assuming an essential proportion of unexplained differences that may arise from discrimination and unobservable factors.

Approaches regarding to the entrepreneurial practices of student in Romania

Entrepreneurship is a skill that can be learned, so you do not have to be born with this skill to be a successful entrepreneur, but you can become a successful entrepreneur by learning and training certain skills. Entrepreneurial education contributes to the development of skills, knowledge and aptitudes necessary to achieve the objectives that stakeholders have set for themselves to become responsible and enterprising. These are relevant aspects for people with entrepreneurial education who are a real help in accessing a job more easily or more chances in setting up their own companies. The development of entrepreneurship among students generates a number of benefits both personally and in the community in which they live, such as: individual well-being, job creation, reduction of poverty and social inequities, economic growth. Therefore, this study aims to debate the topic of entrepreneurship and especially the identification of the main entrepreneurial practices that will be of real use in the development of entrepreneurial skills among students who want to opt for this field. The mentioned aspects will result in the increase of confidence, of the multiple perspectives and opportunities in the establishment and development of successful businesses of the graduates of higher education in Romania.

The Depreciation of Diploma in Tunisia: Rising Unemployment Rate of Graduates of Higher Education

The Depreciation of Diploma in Tunisia: Rising Unemployment Rate of Graduates of Higher Education

A Real-Life Machine Learning Experience for Predicting University Dropout at Different Stages Using Academic Data

High levels of school dropout are a major burden on the educational and professional development of a country’s inhabitants. A country’s prosperity depends, among other factors, on its ability to produce higher education graduates capable of moving a country forward. To alleviate the dropout problem, more and more institutions are turning to the possibilities that artificial intelligence can provide to predict dropout as early as possible. The difficulty of accessing personal data and privacy issues that it entails force the institutions to rely on the Academic Data of their students to create accurate and reliable predictive systems. This work focuses on creating the best possible predictive model based solely on academic data, and accordingly, its capacity to infer knowledge must be maximised. Thus, Feature Engineering and Instance Engineering techniques such as dealing with redundancy, significance of the features, correlation, cardinality features, missing values, creation or elimination of features, data fusion, removal of unuseful instances, binning, resampling, normalisation, or encoding are applied in detail before the construction of well-known models such as Gradient Boosting , Random Forest , and Support Vector Machine along with an Ensemble of them at different stages: prior to enrolment, at the end of the first semester, at the end of the second semester, at the end of the third semester, and at the end of the fourth semester. Through the construction of these predictive models that serve as inputs to a decision support system, the application of effective dropout prevention policies can be applied.

Педагогічні дослідження в діяльності науково-педагогічного працівника: актуальні питання теорії та практики

Purpose. The author goals to explore the theoretical and methodological aspects of pedagogical research in the activities of research and teaching staff, to determine their role in improving the quality of the educational process of higher education institutions. Methodology. A system of general scientific theoretical research methods was used to solve the set tasks: theoretical analysis and synthesis, cognitive method, argumentation method, system method, generalization method. The scientific novelty lies in the in-depth theoretical analysis of the concept of «pedagogical research», determining the levels of pedagogical research and scientific methods depending on the studied pedagogical phenomenon, revealing the relationship between the need for pedagogical research and legal requirements in higher education. Overcoming the contradictions that accompany the pedagogical process is impossible without a deep understanding of the essence of pedagogical phenomena, which requires pedagogical research. Scientists use different approaches to the definition of «pedagogical research». Almost all definitions emphasize that the basis of this concept is the process of forming the new pedagogical knowledge about the patterns of learning, education and personal development. The success of the pedagogical research depends on the observance of the general dialectical scheme of cognition of pedagogical phenomena, which provides for empirical, theoretical and metatheoretical levels of research. Each of these levels is characterized by the certain methods of scientific and pedagogical research. In the course of pedagogical research, scientific and pedagogical staff should choose such research methods that would allow to fully reveal the internal contradictions of the studied pedagogical phenomena, to fully understand the patterns of their development and functioning. According to the requirements of the higher education legislation, one of the priority areas of pedagogical research is to justify the mechanisms of acquiring universal competencies of higher education graduates: the ability to learn, to process information, to master the new technologies quickly, critical thinking and creativity. The studies concentrated at solving the problem of ensuring the quality of higher education as a priority factor in the formation of an innovative society are very important. Conclusions. The main task of the pedagogical research is to reveal the internal contradictions of the pedagogical phenomena being studied, to establish the ways of solving the problems in order to improve the quality of the educational process of higher education institutions. Successful pedagogical research requires adherence to the general dialectical scheme of cognition of pedagogical phenomena. The defining component of the development of pedagogical science are the methods of scientific and pedagogical research, the use of which makes it possible to deepen and develop pedagogical theories, expand the range of their application, improve the educational process. Keywords: pedagogical research; pedagogical phenomenon; theoretical level; empirical level; metatheoretical level; methods of scientific and pedagogical research.

Education-to-Work Transitions during the COVID-19 Lockdowns in Britain, 2020-2021

This paper uses official data, and the research conducted by policy think tanks and independent research organizations, to chart the experiences of Britain’s COVID cohort who either spent the final year of their full-time education and/or their first year in the labour market wholly or partly under the pandemic lockdowns which began in March 2020 and continued, with interruptions, until July 2021. The data show that government’s “no detriment” policies protected students from facing crucial examinations, and employees already in jobs were protected through furloughing. New entrants to the labour market were relatively unprotected. Yet despite the economic turbulence induced by the pandemic, lockdowns, followed by a “hard” Brexit at the end of 2020, rises in youth unemployment were confined to students seeking part-time jobs, and among them to particularly vulnerable groups, namely the least qualified and non-white ethnic minorities. However, it is argued that this success was at the cost of exacerbating ongoing trends with generally unwelcome consequences, specifically an increase in the number of higher education graduates entering jobs for which they are over-qualified, and an enlarged tail-end of low achievers who are at risk of becoming trapped in low-paid precarious work.

University graduates' skills-and-employability evaluation in Poland - a case study of a faculty of management in Warsaw

The purpose of this paper was to present an attempt to build an innovative and comprehensive system of gathering and analysing reliable, accurate and up-to-date feedback on employability of academic graduates in Poland. After a literature review on the nature of the mismatch between the labour market requirements and the knowledge and skills of higher education graduates, as well as challenges connected with obtaining feedback from graduates, a case study devoted to collecting and analysing labour market stakeholders' feedback undertaken by a small faculty of a non-public academy in Warsaw, Poland is presented. A sample of 31 opinions of the faculty's graduates was gathered and analysed, in the form of an arithmetic mean, minimum and maximum values and cross-plot charts. The main conclusion of both the literature review and the case study is that the labour market highly values technical, especially IT skills and business-related soft skills, such as team-working. The two main challenges for the academic decision-makers are to develop curricula that would foster the development of the desired knowledge and skills and to build effective communication channels with all their stakeholders. A further, more comprehensive research into the matter will be worth conducting.

THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY LABOUR MARKET DETERMINANTS AND THE NUMBER OF GRADUATES

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the existence of a relationship between tourism and hotel industry labour market determinants and the number of graduates in the sector in Croatia. Although, the expansion of Croatian tourism and hotel industry in recent years resulted in a growing number of higher education institutions in those sectors, the internationalization of study programmes and their redesigning to better meet the labour market is needed. Furthermore, there is a necessity of labour market features improving to create a motivating working environment for future employees. Design – The paper presents an explorative analysis designed to analyse Croatian tourism and hotel industry labour market and the number of higher education graduates in those sectors. Methodology – In investigating whether or not, and in what extend the number of tourism and hospitality graduates is affected by the sectors key development determinants and labour market features, the neural networks and the multiple regression methodology were used. Findings – The results showed that, although there is a relationship between the selected variables, the research hypothesis cannot be confirmed. In future, more efforts should be addressed in filling the gap, both in theory and practice. The originality of the research – The paper presents a new approach in modelling tourism-based issues combining alternative methods with traditional ones.

Time is Money: Could Deferred Graduate Retirement Finance Higher Education?

Higher education is never free - the question is: who should pay for it? Current policy debates in Europe are increasingly focusing on raising the share of private funding. To date, policy discussions have centred on a relatively small number of alternatives, namely full public funding, tuition fees, either up-front or delayed and income-contingent, or a surtax on graduate incomes. Here, I present an alternative that, to my knowledge, has not been suggested previously, but sidesteps some important objections against other forms of private contributions. The basic idea explored here is to increase the statutory retirement age for higher education graduates relative to non-graduates. In principle, the resulting decrease in future public pension liabilities can be converted into increased funds for present spending on higher education. In this first discussion of the above proposal I consider important caveats, perform an order-of-magnitude estimate of financial feasibility, i.e. whether deferred graduate retirement (DGR) could potentially raise sufficient funds to replace tuition fees, and discuss advantages and disadvantages compared to more established policy options. I conclude that, at least in the European context, DGR is potentially feasible both financially and politically, has a number of desirable properties compared to the alternatives, and deserves more serious investigation.

UNIVERSITY CENTERS OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AS A DETERMINANT OF INCREASING THE LEVEL OF ECONOMIC STABILITY AND QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The relationship between technology transfer and the quality of education and financial support for the technology transfer center is shown. To form a successful career for future graduates with the active introduction of scientific activity elements, a tool is needed not so much for theoretical training (basic research) as for practical "cases" of successful implementation of research results in the real sector of the economy. In this case, the structure of higher education institutions should be a unit (units) of commercialization of research and transfer of knowledge and technology or a system that combines several structural units. Achieving high efficiency in the implementation of research results requires appropriate human resources. A team formed under the leadership of an experienced scientist from young scientists - graduates of higher education of the second and third level. In this case, training through research and ensuring a high scientific level of staff are important tasks of the higher education quality assurance system. The model of activity of the center of technology transfer with a combination of potential of each direction is offered: publishing activity, grant activity, intellectual property, actually commercialization of results of researches and transfer of technologies and knowledge. Examples of practical implementation of the model of financing certain areas of activity of the technology transfer center are presented. The main indicators for assessing the activities of free economic zones in the commercialization of research results and technology transfer are identified. The proposed model of technology transfer in free economic education as an indicator of quality assessment of higher education according to the criteria of accreditation of educational programs is branched and can be modified depending on the type of free economic education and the predominant source of research funding. The algorithms for financing the technology transfer process presented in the paper are adapted to specific application conditions. They can be a tool for knowledge management through the quality of research. Keywords: quality of education, technology transfer, financial indicators, relationship model.

Educational expansion and the economic value of education in Vietnam: An instrument-free analysis

Expansion of education has effects on many aspects of society. There are debates around a possible change in the economic return to education as it expands and by that education may have become a positional good. This study uses Vietnam Household Living Standards Surveys (VHLSS) data over the period of 2002 to 2014 with a sample of 212,521 individuals to explore how educational expansion influences the strength of the relationship between education (its absolute and relative measures) and income. The instrument-free method was employed to minimize bias. Results suggest that as higher education expands, the effect of the absolute measure of the years of schooling on labor market outcomes does not differ, but the effect of its positional measure on these outcomes does. Likewise, as higher education expands, the effect of the absolute measure of higher education graduation on labor market outcomes does not vary, but the effect of its relative measure on these outcomes does. The findings support the positional theory of education, which predicts that the absolute level of education is not critical, but rather its level relative to that of other individuals.

Long-Haul

For decades, community engagement scholars have built a robust body of knowledge that explores multiple facets of the higher education community engagement domain. More recently, scholars and practitioners from mainly Christian affiliated faith-based institutions have begun to investigate the complex inner world of community-engaged students’ meaning-making and spiritual development. While most of this fascinating cross-domain effort has been primarily based on “Western” influenced Judeo-Christian traditions, this study explores service-learning/community engagement themes, approaches, rationale, and strategies from an “Eastern” perspective based on the rich tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. This case study research focuses on curricular approaches, influences, and impacts of Buddhist philosophy/spirituality on community engagement endeavors in the context of Maitripa College, an urban graduate higher education institution located in Portland, OR. Researchers corroborate key findings from previous faith-based institutional studies as well as extend the literature in two specific areas: 1) providing strategies for and discussing the role of spiritual formation and development in relation to community engagement; and 2) the Buddhist view of seeing obstacles as opportunities (Thubten Zopa Rinpoche & ʼjig-Med-Bstan-Paʼi-Ñi-Ma, Rdo Grub-Chen III, 2001) as a way to increase effectiveness and harmony in all aspects of life, including academic service-learning endeavors.