Education for employability: the ePortfolio from school principals’ perspective

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the question of whether the school principals would use an educational ePortfolio for recruiting purposes. Design/methodology/approach To examine whether the school principals are willing to use the educational ePortfolio for recruiting purposes, a survey was carried out among 35 school principals. The final version of the survey was audited by a panel of four experts on education and instructional technology, and a board member of the Spanish Association of Human Resources Directors (AEDRH) to ensure the clarity, relevance and validity of the items in the survey. Findings The information collected from this study provides a better understanding of the perception and approval rating of ePortfolios as a job search tool in the education sector. The research findings reveal that an educational ePortfolio can count with a significant approval among school principals in the Spanish context. The insight gained from this study might encourage leaders of educational institutions to adapt ePortfolios and foster their implementation into curriculum as a part of the higher education system. Originality/value This study is relevant and contributes to advancing knowledge in the field as it is the only research on this topic, up to now, conducted in the context of Spanish-speaking countries.

Assessment of E-Portfolio in Higher Education

“…Note: Own development based on [9] It was proved that students who are not motivated to learn have difficulty learning and developing learning skills. E-portfolio documents achievements and success in the learning process, which allows students to easily analyze them [22].…”

“…Thus, these are "web-based collections of learning artifacts generated by students (documents, multimedia projects, speeches, images, etc.) and related reflections focused on learning and growth" [9]. A modern e-portfolio is a platform that can be used to compile, organize, and develop a digital presentation; it can be updated and adapted for different purposes and audiences.…”

“…The e-portfolio also provides academic advice and feedback due to interactivity (e-portfolios are accessible to students and advisors at any time; thus, advisors can monitor student progress in real-time); progress tracking (there is usually a list of grades to track student progress, but portfolios fully describe student activities in the learning environment and beyond); planning (portfolios allow teachers to provide detailed recommendations to help students achieve goals, determine the resources to improve academic performance); portability (students can take their portfolios with them from year to year or from university to university; teachers can use the portfolio to get acquainted with the student) [13]. In the academic environment, electronic portfolios are usually categorized into three types: showcase portfolio, which highlights major achievements; learning portfolio that demonstrates a learning process with a focus on feedback; assessment portfolio, which is used to assess the competency of students on specific standards or topics [9].…”

Enhancing graduate employability through targeting ePortfolios to employer expectations: A systematic scoping review

“…Only one study concluded that ePortfolios will be used in the same way as 'hard copy' job applications (Rowley & Dunbar-Hall, 2015), with another seeing it as a supplementary resource (Yu, 2012). In this more minor utilisation of the platform, a URL link to an online ePortfolio would be submitted with the standard application to use during initial screening and shortlisting (Ciesielkiewicz, 2019;Leece, 2005;Ndoye et al, 2012;Weber, 2018). While LinkedIn may be considered a form of online portfolio, it was not used in any of these studies.…”

“…Four studies reported that their participants saw ePortfolios as being useful during the interview process, however, two studies felt that the interview stage was not appropriate, with the remaining seven studies not commenting on this stage of the recruitment process. Five studies had participants who felt there was a benefit to using an ePortfolio to distinguish between candidates (Painter & Wetzel, 2005) and make the final hiring decision (Ciesielkiewicz, 2019;Painter & Wetzel, 2005;Snoeyink & Meyer, 2007;Weber, 2018;Yu, 2012).…”