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1.
ABSTRACT

In Australia, the IT workforce and employment outcomes for university IT bachelor graduates have a complex interrelationship. The likelihood of IT bachelor graduates to work in a professional IT role is infrequently discussed in the research literature. It has been suggested that “deficient” undergraduate IT curricula are one contributor to poor employment outcomes for graduates. Using the latest available Australian national census data, we present a detailed analysis of the occupational outcomes for graduates of undergraduate IT programmes, and the makeup of the IT workforce in Australia. This analysis presents important findings for those designing undergraduate IT curricula that seek to equip students to prepare for the best employment outcomes. The finding that, even immediately post-graduation, a significant proportion of Australian IT bachelor graduates do not work in IT roles, even though professional IT job roles outnumber IT bachelor graduates nearly two-to-one, has implications for undergraduate IT education.  相似文献   

2.
Despite the importance of preparing socially responsible graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to address the current state of poverty and inequality, very few studies in higher education have examined the development of STEM students’ outcomes critical to promoting a more equitable society, typically focusing on the impact of one program or course. To address this gap in the literature, this study used frameworks of undergraduate socialization as well as social justice perspectives in STEM education to examine the undergraduate experiences and institutional contexts that predict STEM bachelor’s degree recipients’ development of two democratic educational outcomes seven years after college entry: social agency and values toward conducting research that will have a meaningful impact on underserved communities. The study utilized multilevel modeling on a national longitudinal sample of 6341 STEM bachelor’s degree recipients across 271 institutions. Longitudinal student data from the 2004 Cooperative Institutional Research Program’s (CIRP) Freshman Survey and 2011 Post-Baccalaureate Survey were merged with institutional data from the Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System and CIRP Faculty Surveys. Various undergraduate socialization experiences and institutional contexts were found to predict STEM bachelor’s degree recipients’ democratic educational outcomes, including academic majors, participation in student organizations and research, experiences with faculty, and peer and STEM faculty normative contexts. Implications of the findings for research, policy, and practice are discussed.  相似文献   

3.
Despite rapid growth of the biotechnology industry worldwide, a number of public concerns about the application of biotechnology and its regulation remain. In response to these concerns, greater emphasis has been placed on promoting biotechnologists’ public engagement. As tertiary science degree programmes form the foundation of the biotechnology sector by providing a pipeline of university graduates entering into the profession, it has been proposed that formal science communication training be introduced at this early stage of career development. The aim of the present study was to examine the views of biotechnology students towards science communication and science communication training. Using an Australian biotechnology degree programme as a case study, 69 undergraduates from all three years of the programme were administered a questionnaire that asked them to rank the importance of 12 components of a biotechnology curriculum, including two science communication items. The results were compared to the responses of 274 students enrolled in other science programmes. Additional questions were provided to the second year biotechnology undergraduates and semi‐structured interviews were undertaken with 13 of these students to further examine their views of this area. The results of this study suggest that the biotechnology students surveyed do not value communication with non‐scientists nor science communication training. The implications of these findings for the reform of undergraduate biotechnology courses yet to integrate science communication training into their science curriculum are discussed.  相似文献   

4.
The development of a strong and vibrant knowledge‐based economy is linked in direct ways with successful graduate outcomes. Building evidence‐based insights on such outcomes plays an important role in shaping planning and practice. With this broad objective in mind, this article analyses findings from the Graduate Pathways Survey, the first national study in Australia of bachelor degree graduate outcomes five years after course completion. It begins by discussing key rationales and research contexts to position the study internationally and in terms of research on graduate careers, quality assurance and planning. Focus is then turned to highlighting findings from the study, which involved a census of graduates from all Australian universities. It looks at graduates' perceptions of their degree and of its relevance to their work, their pathways into study and work and their salaries and satisfaction with their jobs. The article concludes by discussing the contribution of the findings for understanding graduates' work and development, and for enhancing higher education quality and planning.  相似文献   

5.
The development of transferrable skillsets, articulated in statements of graduate learning outcomes, is emphasised in undergraduate science degree programmes. Science students enrolled in dual (double) degrees comprise a significant minority of Australian science undergraduates. Research comparing perceptions of single and dual degree students on their science learning outcomes has rarely been explored. The Science Students Skills Inventory was used to compare the perceptions of single (n = 640) and dual (n = 266) degree undergraduate science students. The instrument explored science graduate learning outcomes across six indicators: importance; the extent to which outcomes were included; the extent to which they were assessed; improvement; confidence; and likely future use. Analysis of findings, employing the planned–enacted–experienced curricula framework, offers insight into potential avenues towards coherence of the experienced curriculum by arguing the need for shared perceptions of graduate learning outcomes for single and dual degree science students. The key contribution of this study is a shift towards progressive curriculum development that draws on both single and dual degree student perspectives to achieve graduate learning outcomes. Recommendations include: whole-of-programmes curricular pathways premised on progressive development of learning outcomes that are inclusive of dual degree students, explicit interdisciplinary learning opportunities, and adoption of dual/single status as a demographic variable reported in future research.  相似文献   

6.
This paper reports a study of science graduates who are employed in positions outside their discipline specialisation. The research was designed to uncover the reasons for them choosing to study science at university, the competencies they utilise in their work and their lives, and how these relate to their undergraduate education in science. The study is seen as important in that already about one‐half of science graduates are in such positions and it is argued that there is a need in scientific and technologically based societies to have a greater representation of such people in decision‐making positions in government and industry. The directions for the science degree that can be drawn from the data gathered are congruent with those arising from other relevant studies. That is, attention should be paid to widely used skills, such as communication and problem‐solving, and to developing an understanding of science within its social and ethical context. An argument is mounted for considering the way the science degree is presented to potential students and to the general public.  相似文献   

7.
ABSTRACT

This study investigated students’ perceptions of their graduate learning outcomes including content knowledge, communication, writing, teamwork, quantitative skills, and ethical thinking in two Australian universities. One university has a traditional discipline-orientated curriculum and the other, an interdisciplinary curriculum in the entry semester of first year. The Science Students Skills Inventory asked students (n?=?613) in first and final years to rate their perceptions of the importance of developing graduate learning outcomes within the programme; how much they improved their graduate learning outcomes throughout their undergraduate science programme; how much they saw learning outcomes included in the programme; and how confident they were about their learning outcomes. A framework of progressive curriculum development was adopted to interpret results. Students in the discipline-oriented degree programme reported higher perceptions of scientific content knowledge and ethical thinking while students from the interdisciplinary curriculum indicated higher perceptions of oral communication and teamwork. Implications for curriculum development include ensuring progressive development from first to third years, a need for enhanced focus on scientific ethics, and career opportunities from first year onwards.  相似文献   

8.
This paper reports a study of the alternative conceptions held by junior secondary science teachers enrolled in an in-service teacher training program. The subjects completed a written instrument which probed their understanding of biological concepts in the integrated science curriculum. The subjects, particularly the nonbiology graduates, were found to show serious misunderstanding in concepts concerning diversity of life, photosynthesis and respiration, reproduction, and detecting the environment. This finding supports the assertion that our science teachers, being graduates in specific areas, are inadequately prepared to teach a broad and balanced junior science curriculum. To strengthen the subject matter knowledge and pedagogical skills of prospective and practicing junior science teachers, a number of provisions are suggested for teacher training programs, undergraduate science courses, and school-based activities.  相似文献   

9.
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of university and vocational education, and other influences on a variety of labour market outcomes for Australian youths aged between 16 and 25. The six labour market outcomes investigated are: occupational status, hourly and weekly earnings, employment, unemployment and full-time work. The study finds that a bachelor’s degree has clear positive effects on each of these youth labour market outcomes, in contrast to vocational qualifications. Among men, vocational qualifications show no sizable positive effects on these outcomes. Among women, the higher-level vocational diploma is beneficial for employment and unemployment. In no instance are the positive effects of vocational education stronger than that for a bachelor’s degree. Many of these labour market outcomes are strongly associated with prior experiences of employment and unemployment. The findings suggest that policies, rather than focusing on expanding and reforming vocational education, should aim to ensure that young people quickly secure employment, preferably full-time, and avoid unemployment.  相似文献   

10.
Abstract

Effective communication of science is a ubiquitous learning outcome for most science degrees, and a national threshold learning outcome for science in Australia. Evidence suggests that employers and academics are dissatisfied with the communication skills of many science graduates. Our study examines communication tasks used in summative assessment in bachelor of science (BSc) degrees. We compiled public information for all units of study from the BSc programmes at five research-intensive Australian universities. Our analysis suggests that science academics place high value on developing the ability of students to communicate, with 66% of all science units (n?=?1225) using one or more communication tasks as assessment (mean weighting 44%). However, opportunities for students to communicate in a variety of contexts are lacking. We found that communication tasks from eight majors (n?=?683) across the five universities addressed a very narrow range of contexts; an audience of scientists (including students) in the same discipline (97%), in the mode of traditional writing (79%) and for the purpose of interpreting and presenting results (66%). As such, assessment practice does not match the variety of contexts required by the Australian threshold learning outcomes or guiding statements in other countries. We identify opportunities and offer practical recommendations to help correct this mismatch.  相似文献   

11.
ABSTRACT: Thirty-two recent graduates from the joint food science program of Washington State Univ. (WSU) and The Univ. of Idaho (UI) and 12 of their employers participated in a survey study to assess food science program outcomes. The objective of this study was to assess the joint curriculum in its ability to prepare undergraduate students for critical thinking, problem solving, and technical competence in the food industry. Two survey tools, 1 for graduates and 1 for their employers, were designed to assess job preparedness and the skill set attained by food science program graduates. Graduates of the joint food science program generally indicated satisfaction with their food science education and suggested that they were adequately prepared for their jobs. Both students and employers indicated that most of the identified Success Skills are used daily on the job, and that graduates were well prepared with Success Skills. Graduates and employers reported adequate preparation in Food Processing and Engineering competence. Some significant differences ( P < 0.05) were found in perceived and assessed competence. Specifically, while student indicated that they were well prepared with Food Chemistry and Analysis, Food Safety and Microbiology, and Applied Food Science competence, employers indicated only adequate preparation in Food Chemistry and Analysis, and Applied Food Science competence, but poor preparation in Food Safety and Microbiology competence. The findings suggest that students should be given opportunities for self-evaluation in undergraduate courses. Because the survey models are based on Institute of Food Technologists requirements, it is expected that the surveys can be readily adopted by other institutions to assess student learning and program effectiveness.  相似文献   

12.
This paper reports on a large scale study that investigated the quality of teaching and learning in science in Australian schools. Its purposes were first, to describe ideal practice in the teaching and learning of school science; second, to describe the nature of teaching and learning of science in Australian schools; and third, to make recommendations to move the actual closer to the ideal.Fundamental to the research was the belief that scientific literacy is a high priority for all citizens, helping them to be interested in, and understand the world around them, to be sceptical and questioning of claims made by others about scientific matters, to be able to identify questions, investigate and draw evidence-based conclusions, and to make informed decisions about the environment and their own health and well-being.Based on national and international reports and research literature, and substantial new data collected from teachers, students and other Australian stakeholders in science education, the ideal picture was described in nine themes relating to the curriculum, teaching and learning strategies, professionalism of teachers and their career path, resources and facilities, and the value of science and science education to the community. The actual picture was one of great variability, but overall, it was bleak. The actual curriculum implemented in most schools differs from the intended curriculum, which is focused on developing scientific literacy and helping students progress towards achieving the stated outcomes. Science in primary schools is generally student-centred and activity-based. When students move to high school, many experience disappointment, because the science they are taught is neither relevant nor engaging and does not connect with their interests and experiences. Disenchantment with science is reflected in the decline in science subjects taken by students in upper secondary school. Many science teachers feel undervalued, under-resourced and overloaded with non-teaching duties.The recommendations developed to improve the status and quality of science education were underlain by five fundamental premises: the purpose of science education is to develop scientific literacy, the focus for change is closing the gap between the actual and ideal, teachers are the key to change, change takes time and resources, and collaboration is essential for quality science education. Preliminary recommendations were prepared and scrutinised by members of a government-appointed Steering Committee for the project, critical friends, and teacher focus groups. Recommendations concerning awareness, teachers, resources, assessment, and national collaboration were developed incorporating feedback from the process described, each including a range of suggested actions for implementation that were feasible in the Australian context. If Commonwealth and State governments choose to act on these recommendations, the gap between the actual picture of science teaching and learning in Australia and the ideal will be significantly reduced.  相似文献   

13.

There has been a good deal of informal, anecdotal discussion about undergraduate computer science enrollment trends at liberal arts colleges. While this information can be helpful, it is difficult to do detailed planning on the basis of informal and unsubstantiated evidence. This article presents quantitative data about enrollments in the computer science program at Macalester College for the eight‐year period 1985‐1992. The article also compares our local data with information on computer science enrollments from 11 national liberal arts colleges. These data incorporate enrollments at all levels of the curriculum‐‐service, introductory, core, and advanced courses. They also include information on the number of majors and graduates. Based on the data, we draw a set of 10 “observations” about enrollments trends which can help computer science departments in their long‐term planning and budgeting process.  相似文献   

14.
Students and graduates alike are encouraged to enhance their skills and knowledge by moving to a different European country as both national governments and European institutions anticipate individual skill gains, closer European networks and a boost to national economies as a result. Using data from a longitudinal survey, this paper follows UK-educated intra-European mobile graduates from undergraduate courses into employment, further study or other activities, and compares their early pathway with graduates who remained in the UK (UK stayer). UK-educated mobile graduates are divided into three groups according to their residency and location after their undergraduate course: UK nationals moving to a different European country (UK movers); nationals of other European countries returning to their home country (returners); and nationals of other European countries moving to a third European country (other mobile graduates). Empirical findings show that mobility for UK movers is mainly employment-driven whilst mobility of returners and other mobile graduates is education-driven. However, if employed, UK-educated mobile graduates are more likely to work in skill-appropriate occupations compared to UK stayers. The transition to either employment or further study of most UK-educated mobile graduates does not take longer compared to UK stayers.  相似文献   

15.
We report on findings from a qualitative study of Australian scientists whose work brings them into contact with the public. This research sought to understand how a school science curriculum could better represent the work of scientists today. We discuss the views expressed by our participant scientists about the importance of openness and open-mindedness in their work, including their engagement with the public. They described openness as an important characteristic of science. Our participants also see open-mindedness on the part of both scientists and members of the public as important for productive relationships. They see the development of such relationships as an essential facet of their work. The views expressed by these scientists provide a provocative insight into the ways in which contemporary scientists see their work and relationships with their communities. Their perspectives have important implications for approaches to teaching science in schools.  相似文献   

16.
In many quarters, attempts are underway to identify learning outcomes in higher education which are context-neutral or ‘generic’; such measures could provide new ways to assess and compare outputs from higher education. This paper considers potential challenges in using such broad learning outcomes across contrasting disciplinary and national settings. An empirical contribution is provided by an analysis of data from the international REFLEX survey for Norwegian and English bachelor’s degree graduates. This sheds some light on the relationships between graduates’ broad learning outcomes (general competencies), their national contexts and their disciplinary area. It finds variations in competencies across subjects and countries, suggesting that general competencies of the type often suggested as generic learning outcomes may be unstable and problematic to compare across contrasting settings. It highlights the need for comparative research into variations in learning outcomes and graduate competencies considering disciplinary and national factors.  相似文献   

17.
This paper explores what work readiness means for two cohorts of graduate engineers, one from a traditional curriculum, the second from a largely project-based curriculum. Professional bodies and employers have defined a set of attributes for engineering graduates so that graduates will be ‘work ready’. Problem-based learning (PBL) is claimed to be a suitable approach to develop such skills. The graduates were interviewed some months after starting work, along with their managers. All the graduates recognised the benefits of taking PBL subjects as well as vacation work, with success in communication attributed more to PBL. Both cohorts had similar learning outcomes, high skill levels in project management, problem solving, communication skills, research and sustainability. A skills gap in ethics was identified for both cohorts of graduates and their managers. Further work is planned to link skill development with undergraduate learning experience.  相似文献   

18.

Positional competition in the labour market entails graduate opportunities that depend not only on graduates’ skills, experience and abilities, but also on how their educational credentials compare to those of others. In this study, we examined the positional competition in the Finnish labour market and compared the influence of different ‘degree types’ on the probability of obtaining high-paid, high-status jobs. We used a register-based 5% sample of 25–45-year-old Finnish higher education (HE) graduates from 2010 to 2012 (N?=?63 486). It was expected that the relative position of graduates would be affected by the degree level as well as the educational field and the binary division (university vs. non-university) of HE. Therefore, master’s and bachelor’s degree levels in all educational fields from universities versus universities of applied sciences (UASs) were included. The method of analysis was logistic regression. According to our results, the binary divide structured the opportunities to enter high-paid, high-status jobs within different fields of education. The university master’s degree graduates had the highest probability of succeeding in the Finnish labour market, and their status/rank elevated them above the competition by regulating access to certain professions or occupations through specific qualification requirements (i.e., credential social closure). Moreover, our results demonstrated how the degree rankings and the relative distance between university and UAS degrees vary in different fields. The Finnish case offers a valuable point of comparison to other HE systems with a binary structure.

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19.
Suggestions to improve the social relevance of university curriculum have emphasised interdisciplinary team work, linking theory and practice, and provision of social context. As an example of how a program embodying these proposals could be developed, the Master of Environmental Science degree at Monash University is discussed. This program begins with coursework to promote breadth, through background and understanding of a variety of disciplines, to provide a framework for integrating this information, and to allow candidates a degree of specialisation in their areas of interest; multidisciplinary team work focussed on practical projects and individual theses serve to integrate and extend aspects of the coursework. An indication of the success of this curriculum approach was sought through a survey of graduates designed to provide insight into what the graduates saw as being important about the program, and how the degree related to their jobs. The program was valued for the breadth of perspectives and knowledge it provided, and the personal development encouraged, while some problems were reported with the suitability of coursework and time constraints. Expectations held for the program were largely fulfilled, particularly in respect of providing breadth and perspective, and practical and multidisciplinary team experience. The majority also considered that the degree had been helpful in their job positions and careers. On the basis of these results it is suggested that there is a strong degree of contentment with the program's concept and its usefulness, while providing an example for how curriculum can be adapted to the requirements of society and a range of occupations.  相似文献   

20.
Emerging careers in technology-focused fields such as data science coupled with necessary graduate outcomes mandate the need for a truly interdisciplinary pedagogical approach. However, the rapid pace of curriculum development in this field of inquiry has meant that curricula across universities has largely evolved in line with the internal disciplinary strengths of each institution rather than in response to the needs of graduates. To assist with the development of data science subjects the themes and content that contribute to each subject should be objectively validated. We propose the use of an objective test for data science curricula to quantify whether a particular degree programme maintains an interdisciplinary perspective unconstrained by single discipline bias. The test analyses a given curriculum and quantifies the subject components by category using natural language processing (NLP) techniques.  相似文献   

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