The Relationship Between Experiential Learning and Career Outcomes for Alumni of International Development Studies  Programs in Canada

Tiessen, Rebecca; Grantham, Kate; Cameron, John

doi:10.47678/cjhe.v48i3.188187

Cited by 12 publications

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“…The data from the quantitative section of the survey were analyzed to examine possible correlations between specific features of a graduate’s education and the subsequent employment experiences and an overview of some of these findings are summarized below. The public report on the research findings presents analysis of the aggregate data (Tiessen and Cameron, 2017)[3]. In this paper, we provide an overview of some of the main survey findings as context for the detailed analysis of the qualitative open-ended question responses.…”

Section: Methodology and Study Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These challenges may result in graduates pursuing alternative career paths. Students could be better informed of the challenges, as noted in the study overview report (see Tiessen and Cameron, 2017), to prepare them for norms and expectations in the international development job market.…”

Section: Implications For Curriculum Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Large proportions of graduates identified interpersonal and cross-cultural skills (82 percent) and second language skills (78 percent) as “very important” – and international study and work experiences can be highly effective ways to develop these skills. Nevertheless, in the context of the massive financial resources that would be required to substantially increase international mobility among Canadian university students, there may be other more cost-effective strategies to help students develop the skills and competencies which graduates report are most important in the development of professional careers including opportunities for enhanced locally-based experiential learning (Tiessen et al , 2018), “internationalization at home” or community-based global learning (Hartman et al , 2018) including course-based community service learning options.…”

Section: Implications For Curriculum Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The value of liberal arts education for finding professional employment

Cameron

Tiessen

Grantham

et al. 2019

JARHE

Self Cite

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Purpose Debates about the role of liberal arts education in finding employment highlight both its benefits and the challenges of finding work after graduation – debates that are now well-documented and outlined in this paper. Adding to these debates, the purpose of this paper is to bring in the voices of recent graduates from social sciences and humanities programs who have firsthand and recent experience as they enter the professional job market. Their experiences guide our understanding of the nature of liberal arts programs and shed light on areas of improvement in line with improved career paths and employment outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The methodology involved a quantitative data study using an online survey completed by 1,901 graduates. Findings A survey completed by 1,901 graduates of IDS programs in Canada provided rich data about the challenges and opportunities of their education in relation to professional employment. Additional follow-up qualitative data provided by survey participants was also analyzed. Practical implications From these findings, several implications for curriculum design are highlighted to strengthen (not replace or alter) existing program offerings. Implications for curriculum design: The quantitative data and narrative responses from the survey of IDS graduates on their career paths highlight several important considerations for IDS and other liberal arts programs that are grappling with questions about whether and how to redesign curricula to better address concerns about the employability of students. Social implications The central lesson from this research is that the perspectives of university graduates can provide valuable insights for debates about the roles of universities and the design of university curricula. While the voices of university administrators, professors, politicians, industry leaders and media pundits are all prominent in these debates, the perspectives of graduates are often left out, despite their firsthand experience in making the transition from campus to career. Originality/value This research project offers one model that other fields of study could follow to learn more from their graduates about the competencies and skills which they most value in navigating complex career paths and overcoming barriers to professional employment.

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Section: Methodology and Study Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implications For Curriculum Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implications For Curriculum Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The value of liberal arts education for finding professional employment

Cameron

Tiessen

Grantham

et al. 2019

JARHE

Self Cite

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“…Riesen et al (2014) reported “lack of established relationships with employers” (p. 36) as one of the high impact barriers for school to work transition for students with disabilities. WIL was proven to build graduates’ career related skills and their professional networks (Thune and Støren, 2015; Tiessen et al ., 2018).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work integrated learning resources for students with disabilities: are post-secondary institutions in Canada supporting this demographic to be career ready?

Gatto

Pearce

Antonie

et al. 2020

HESWBL

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PurposeThe Government of Canada is adopting the pedagogical practice of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) to help youth develop the career ready skills needed to transition from school to work. As a result, colleges and universities are receiving funding to grow academic programs that link theoretical learning with practical work experience. However, there is limited research about the resources available to students with disabilities who engage in WIL. From an environmental scan of disability supports for WIL on 55 Canadian post-secondary institutions’ websites and survey results from WIL professionals we ask: Do post-secondary institutions in Canada help students with disabilities become career ready? The data reveals that 40% of schools have no reference to disability services for any career related activities and only 18% refer to disability supports for WIL. Survey respondents report they are not being trained nor have access to resources to support students with disabilities in WIL. The authors therefore recommend changes to public policy and resource allocation to ensure colleges and universities provide disability services for all WIL programs, train practitioners about career related disability management, and hire professionals who specialize in supporting students with disabilities in WIL.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted an environmental scan of 55 Canadian post-secondary schools with a student population of 10,000 or more and identified services and resources publicly advertised online for students with disabilities in relation to employment and/or WIL activities. From this broad search, codes were developed based on general themes found in the recorded information, such as the location of information and the type of resources and services advertised for students with disabilities. During the environmental scan, the authors also collected names and emails of people listed as working in career and/or WIL departments who received an anonymous survey about their experiences working with students with disabilities.FindingsAs the Government of Canada expands WIL to improve labour market outcomes for youth, the research findings of the authors provide valuable evidence that post-secondary institutions are not supporting youth with disabilities to become career ready. Surprisingly, 40% of post-secondary institutions have no reference to disability supports for career related activities and only 18% reference supports available for engaging in WIL on their websites. In addition, WIL practitioners are not receiving the resources nor training to support this demographic to transition from school to work. This research can provide direction on resource allocation; specifically, the need for disability related supports and dedicated professionals for students who engage in WIL programs in higher education.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation of the methodology in scanning public sites is that universities and colleges could have services or supports advertised on sites that can only be viewed by the faculty, staff and students from that school. Thus, it is possible that employment information for students with disabilities is available for those with login privileges. The authors attempted to mitigate this limitation by collecting survey responses about programs and services from WIL practitioners who work at the schools. The authors also did not measure marketing of services on social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram). Another limitation is that the WIL practitioner survey results are based on their perceptions. The sample size was not randomized, nor can the authors confirm it is a representative sample of all WIL practitioners in Canada.Practical implicationsAs countries continue to grapple with how to deal with the intersectionality of disability on an already disadvantaged demographic in the labour market, they must ensure that students with disabilities have access to career ready activities while in school. The authors therefore recommend public policy and resource allocation, not only in Canada but at a global level, that ensures post-secondary institutions: (1) create disability management programs and resources for all WIL and career activities; (2) hire dedicated professionals who specialize in working with students with disabilities in WIL; and (3) provide mandatory training for WIL practitioners on how to support students with disabilities in programs that develop their career ready skills.Social implicationsPreparing students with disabilities to be career ready when they graduate will benefit the Canadian economy. This wasted human capital not only negatively impacts a labour market with an aging demographic, it affects social service programs as Canadians with disabilities are one-third times more likely to live in poverty compared to Canadians without disabilities (Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017). The G20 report also stated that if employment rates for people with disabilities who are able to work were the same as for people without disabilities, economies around the world could increase their GDP by 3–7% (ILO and OECD, 2018).Originality/valueThere is no research in Canada to date that provides a national overview of the services in higher education advertised to support students with disabilities in WIL.

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“…The principles and practices of experiential learning have been widely adopted in models, programs to conduct academic courses such as competency-based education (Miettinen, 2000;Ahmed, 2018), professional training (Richard, Cowen & Kolb, 1995;Akhigbe, 2018;Amolloh, Lilian & Wanjiru, 2018;Tiessen, Grantham & Cameron, 2018;Stefano, Ruvolo & Mauro, 2019), college programs for adult learners, and prior learning assessment (Simosko, 1998;Andrews, Brown & Mesher, 2018;Awidi & Paynter, 2019;Bhati & Song, 2019), service learning (Angela, Bruce, Kevin, Mandar & Kurtis, 2011;Aissaoui, Alami, Oughdir & Allioui, 2018), problem-based learning (Bethell & Morgan, 2011;Gomez & Nasir, 2019;Harfitt, 2019;Stephanie, Lockwood, Hill & Randell, 2020;Setiyani, Harnanik, Lianighsih & Susilowati, 2020), action learning (Louise, 1994). The experiential lessons provide students with an opportunity to experience concepts, give students a more productive, more meaningful understanding of course concepts, and of how they operate in the real world.…”

Section: The Process Of Instruct Students To Perform Experiential Learning Activities In the Schoolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Guide Pedagogical Students to Design and Organize Experience-based Learning Activities in Schools

Nguyen

Mậu

2020

IJLTER

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In Vietnam, experiential activities and experience-based learning models were first introduced in 2018 into the general education curriculum and they will be applied when implementing this program. Therefore, the teacher training program at university of education should meet the requirements of general education reform. In particular, it is essential to guide pedagogical students to design and organise experiential learning activities in the school. This study describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a course of guiding to design and organise experience-based learning in schools for Vietnamese pedagogical students who will plan to implement experience-based learning activities into their teaching. A course in a 60-hour instructional process (including 30 hours of self-studying) with 5 activities designed to be experiential, enables our students to simultaneously explore and practice experience-based learning activities. The results of designing and organising 55 experience-based learning activity plans were obtained from one hundred and nine participants of the Faculty of Biology, Thai Nguyen University of Education, Vietnam who assessed the instructional process beneficially. The research group also proposed five effective measures to organise experiential learning in high school. This tutorial process will continue to be improved and implemented in subsequent courses to contribute to the renovation of higher education and meet the general educational improvement in Vietnam.

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The Relationship Between Experiential Learning and Career Outcomes for Alumni of International Development Studies Programs in Canada

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

The value of liberal arts education for finding professional employment

The value of liberal arts education for finding professional employment

Work integrated learning resources for students with disabilities: are post-secondary institutions in Canada supporting this demographic to be career ready?

Guide Pedagogical Students to Design and Organize Experience-based Learning Activities in Schools

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