What can research into graduate employability tell us about agency and structure?

Abstract

Citation: Tholen, G. (2015). What can research into graduate employability tell us about agency and structure?. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 36(5), pp. 766-784. doi: 10.1080Education, 36(5), pp. 766-784. doi: 10. /01425692.2013 This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. What can research into graduate employability tell us about agency and structure? Permanent Gerbrand TholenTraditionally theorists who have written about agency and structure have eschewed empirical research. This article uses the findings of an empirical study into graduate employability to inform the sociological debate on how they relate to each other. The study examined how Dutch and British final-year students approach the labour market right before they graduate. The study revealed that the labour market and education structures are mirrored in how students understand and act within the labour market. It also showed that the interplay between agency and structure is mediated by an intersubjective framework shared by other students. The article argues that previous theoretical views on employability have failed to understand this and suggests how to improve our understanding of agency and structure.

The winner takes it all, the loser has to fall: Provoking the agency perspective in employability research

“…In the conceptual literature, self‐perceived employability is often advanced as conditional upon both personal and contextual features (e.g., Forrier et al, ; Vanhercke et al, ). Yet, despite a few exceptions (e.g., Okay‐Somerville & Scholarios, ; Tholen, ), self‐perceived employability in many studies is seen as a personal resource without much contextual influence. This neglect of context is surprising, given that contextualisation ties in with insights from HCT and COR that have implications for movement capital and self‐perceived employability studies.…”

“…This idea is not unique to COR: Similar dynamics have been described in social cognitive career theory: Individuals form their perceptions about career‐related matters along shared standards (Lent & Brown, ). Excellent illustrations in the realm of employability research come from Reeskens and Van Oorschot () and Tholen (): They show that macrolevel perceptions drive individual‐level employability perceptions. More specifically, Reeskens and Van Oorschot () show that the individual perception of labour market opportunities among European young adults is to a significant extent shaped by a shared perception about the labour market malaise.…”

Focusing in on employability: using content analysis to explore the employability discourse in UK and USA universities

“…Students want to know what a degree from a particular institution is worth and institutions are keen to point this out. Employability has become an investment project, with the measure of success being about how well an individual can match their human capital profile to the labour market demands, which are increasingly difficult to gauge (Tholen 2015). This also means that a longer-term view is less possible than one that is expectant of immediate results.…”

Consideraciones sobre empleabilidad en educación superior

“…En el proceso de difusión de este mito racionalizado, se identifica la problemática de su puesta en acción marcada por la aproximación dominante del agente (en el contexto de la instrumentalización de la empleabilidad) desde una visión monodimensional fundada en la capacidad de los individuos para adaptarse a las demandas del mercado laboral, incluyendo inversión en tiempo, esfuerzo y/o dinero para incrementar o mejorar sus habilidades, conocimientos, competencias u otros atributos requeridos, de acuerdo con Tholen (2013).…”