If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to report how one University has sought to test the effectiveness of strategies to enhance employability skills, and the key themes which emerged from this investigation. Design/methodology/approach -A survey tool has been used to record staff perceptions of where employability skills are strongly developed and assessed in a sample of courses. The results have been triangulated against explicit statements/mapping in course documentation, and top level University strategies and policies. Key performance indicators have been reviewed, and focus groups have been conducted to appraise student perceptions. An external scan of selected comparator benchmark institutions has also been undertaken. Findings -Key emerging themes include issues surrounding the role of higher education; deficiencies in the classification of graduate destinations; the challenge of predicting the needs of employers of the future; and gaps between strategies, perceptions and realities. Research limitations/implications -A number of the outcomes of the audit are University specific. However, some of the key themes and issues that have emerged are relevant to the sector as a whole. This paper highlights these broader issues, whilst acknowledging that individual Universities will find their own unique responses to these challenges. Originality/value -This paper shares an approach to the critical evaluation of the effectiveness of strategies to enhance employability skills development, which may be of value to educational establishments wishing to review their own provision. The paper also draws attention to key issues relating to the enhancement of graduate employability. Background and contextCourses that deliver improved employability will prosper; those that make false promises will disappear (Browne, 2010).
This cover sheet may not be removed from the document.Please scroll down to view the document. | P a g eExploring the influence of individual and academic differences on the placement participation rate among international students: A UK case study Abstract Purpose: The paper investigates the low placement participation rate among international students compared with UK students, by examining the impact of individual factors such as gender and domicile and academic achievement such as prior academic qualification, prior academic results and subsequent academic results on students' choices of degree programmes as well as their graduation status. Methodology:This study adopts a quantitative approach by using 268 accounting and finance students in a UK university. Findings:The analyses show that UK students on entry are 35% more likely than international students to choose a degree programme with a placement module after controlling for individual and academic differences. Among females, international students who switch to a degree without placement following entry significantly and statistically underperformed their UK counterparts who complete a degree with placement from the first year onwards. This trend is not observable among male students. Instead, male students who select and graduate with a degree without placement are the worst performers, regardless of their nationalities. Research limitation:The quantitative data used here are collected in a UK institution so the results reported here may lack generalisability. Practical implications:International students need to know more about the benefits of undertaking placements on their academic performance and the development of generic skills before entry. Moreover, UK universities need to provide more assistance to international students, especially females about how to secure placements and how to widen their search for potential placements. | P a g eOriginality/value: To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to explain the low participation rate among international students in UK higher education.Keywords: Placements; international students; academic performance; self-selection; accounting and finance students IntroductionAccording to the OECD report (2014), the United Kingdom was one of the top three most popular destinations for international students. This has made UK higher education an important arena in which to understand how international students develop and settle in English speaking settings. The increasing presence of international students in UK higher education raises a pedagogic question of whether the UK higher educational system is designed to afford all students the opportunity to participate in an educational offering such as placements, regardless of individual and academic differences. Placements require students to undertake a period of work experience during their degree study period (Little and Harvey , 2006) and can improve their chances of obtaining good degrees (2.1 or above) and/or better academic results in the fi...
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