University and Access to Employment of Graduates: What are the Variables Which Really Matter?

Author(s):

Jesús García Álvarez(presenting / submitting)Alexandre Sotelino-Losada Ana Vázquez-Rodríguez

Conference:

ECER 2016

Network:

22. Research in Higher Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

22 SES 02 A, Entrance to the Labour Market

Paper Session

Time:

2016-08-23

15:15-16:45

Room:

NM-Theatre R

Chair:

Contribution

The adaptation of the Spanish University System to the new European Higher Education Area (EHEA) was carried out through the redefinition of the catalogue of existing qualifications. With the promulgation of the Royal Decree of official studies degree (RD 55/2005) and Postgraduate (RD 56/2005), the university structure was transformed, and with it, the responsibility to reorganize the qualifications. This legislation provided a legal framework that allowed to structure universities, with some flexibility and autonomy, of the official teachings to achieve harmonization with those established from the state level.

However, moving from a system with a certain structure (in the case of Spain difficult to compare with the rest of Europe) to another, and assume it, was unfeasible without the constant collaboration of various public agencies committed to this new challenge (Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, 2003). For this purpose, the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA), in this process of convergence, launched a network of universities, professional bodies and professional associations that would facilitatethe adaptation of qualifications to the new European context of higher education, prior development of a framework report (ANECA, 2004a).

The social and labour framework that has to project this new professionalizing dynamic, is marked by the appearance of changes in quick succession, affecting the employability conditions (economic situation, job offers, job demands, among others) and «occupability» (attitudes, skills and social factors). According to Romero, Perez, Vidal, & Juez (2004) and Sahlberg (2006), the collective is directly affected by these conditions, producing among other consequences: lack of knowledge about the configuration of their reference labour context, uncertainty about the new work situations, poor congruence between the training acquired and the market demands, emergence of new patterns interaction with the market in search of employment, meagre knowledge of new factors and resources in terms of employability, continuous readjustments in the content of each qualification or modification of expectations and academic and labour aspirations (ANECA, 2004b; Ventura, 2005).

In this context, where new economic development factors are involved,such as the above, itis important to realize the expectations of graduates (Rae, 2007). These expectations not only affect their situation, but also a tangible element on which to discuss and provide a full explanation to ascertain the transition from academic sphere to the labour market (Ronning & Kearney, 1998). We cannot forget that among the purposes of higher education, the labour insertion of graduates and their evaluation is a priority, as a way to take social responsibility for their results (Parellada, 2010; Santos Rego, 2005).

With our proposal we wanted to determine whether there are differences in the perception that students have about their preparation for access to employment depending on variables such as academic performance, labour situation and/or use of personal contacts. Namely, we aim to identify if the students with medium-high performance, currently working or possessing a wide network of personal contacts that facilitate access to employment, show a higher preparation to insertion than the students who are in the opposite case.

The labour insertion is one of the most controversial educational issues because of the instability of the labour market (Lorenzo Moledo, 2013), as the latter modifies the possibilities and opportunities to enable the first (Béchard & Grégoire, 2002). Discussing of employment involves reference to a binomial, which is formed by two realities: training and work (Wallenborn, 2010). In this sense, the current social and economic crisis makes it difficult to establish a precise link between the two realities, as a high qualification is not necessarily synonymous of an early labour insertion. The new training model to which we refer, does not guarantee a skilled labour position (Harvey, 2000).

Method

According to its design, this is a longitudinal study of non-experimental character. In order to collect information, we prepared a questionnaire consisting of 67 items, grouped in 5 blocks which referred to: 1) personal information, 2) access to university and choice of studies, 3) current studies, 4) situation in the labour market and 5) evaluation of the studies. In particular, we wanted to identify the situation perceived by students in relation to variables such as the degree of academic satisfaction, job expectations, the level of acquired knowledge, academic and labour aspirations, difficulties with the labour insertion, the degree of acquisition competences and skills for finding employment, academic-training implications of their situation and the general evaluation of their studies. Its development was based on scales previously prepared that had similar objectives, but as there was no instrument to respond to the same purposes, we were interested in some of its items as a source of ideas to generate its own questionnaire. For that, we consider the questionnaires prepared by the ANECA in his study on the employment of Spanish graduates, and questionnaires as built by the Agency for Quality Assurance in the Galician University System (ACSUG) for its study on the employment of graduates in the Galician University System. We start, of an estimated population (N) 227 senior students, with a production data sample of 130 subjects, all belonging to the graduates in Education from the University of Santiago de Compostela. These are mostly in an age range of 21-23 years (76.7%), except some cases extending the previous stretch to 32 years. Degree in Education is for 32% a study of first choice and, as in other studies, a majority presence of the female population (84.6%) occurs. Once finished the analysis and assessment of judges selected for this case, we are in a position to assert that the instrument used to measure the perception of the senior student in relation to their expectations of insertion, through the coefficient of Cronbach's alpha, has internal consistency and it is reliable (α=0,707).

Expected Outcomes

The data analysed invite to reflection on the perception university students about some of the elements included in the study. These elements, according to other studies, are central to the labour dynamics. Once you have finished and taking into account the preliminary data, we are able to affirm that, in general, the university graduate feels little motivated to begin work. Most of them continue their academic career away from the labour market and a very high percentage estimate that their studies do not favour access to employment. In this regard, we believe that the training actions for labour guidance and insertion that promoting the access to employment, should be increased markedly, accompanied by the need to establish a real link between training and labour market. In the same way, students with a medium-high performance manifest a more positive view of their preparation for employment in relation to those low achievers. Likewise, students who are in possession of an extensive network of personal contacts that facilitate access to a job, have a positive perception of their labour insertion. This also occurs with students who had worked before finishing their studies. In summary, the employability of university graduates, regardless of their studies, is a major challenge in educational, social and professional key. In this regard, this research should lead to issues of great interest both for the training of graduates in Education, and their employment opportunities. These are good opportunities to deepen in the analysis of the academic and educational world in the university context, with specific inquiry of the skills associated with potential trajectories of employability in a historical situation marked by uncertainty and high levels of job insecurity.

References

ANECA (2004a). Libro Blanco. Título de Grado en Pedagogía y Educación Social. Volumen 1. Madrid: ANECA. ANECA (2004b). Los procesos de inserción laboral de los titulados universitarios en España. Factores de facilitación y obstaculización. Madrid: ANECA. Béchard, J. P., & Grégoire, D. (2005). Entrepreneurship Education Research Revisited: The Case of Higher Education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(1), 22-43. Harvey, L. (2000). New realities: the relationship between higher education and employment. Tertiary Education and Management, 6, 3-17. Holden, A., & Kearney, M. L. (1998). Graduate prospects in a changing society. Paris: UNESCO. Lorenzo Moledo, M. (2013). Pedagogía laboral y sociedad cosmopolita: formación y gestión de la incertidumbre. In M. A. Santos Rego (Ed.),Cosmopolitismo y educación. Aprender y trabajar en un mundo sin fronteras (pp. 163-176). Valencia: Brief. Parellada, M. (2010). Graduados universitarios y mercado de trabajo. Barcelona: Fundación Conocimiento y Desarrollo. Rae, D. (2007). Connecting enterprise and graduate employability: Challenges to the higher education culture and curriculum? Education + Training, 49(8/9), 605-619. Romero, V., Pérez, E., Vidal, S., & Juez, M. (2004). Inserción ocupacional.Barcelona: Altamar. Sahlberg, P. (2006). Education reform for raising economic competitiveness. Journal of Educational Change, 7, 259-287. Santos Rego, M. A. (2005). La Universidad ante el proceso de convergencia europea: un desafío de calidad para la Unión. Revista Española de Pedagogía, 230, 5-16. Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (2003). La integración del Sistema Universitario Español en el Espacio Europeo de Enseñanza Superior. Documento-Marco. Madrid: MECD. Ventura, J. (2005). El practicum en los estudios pedagógicos y la inserción laboral. Nuevos enfoques ante el reto europeo. Barcelona: Universidad de Barcelona. Wallenborn, M. (2010). Vocational Education and Training and Human Capital Development: current practice and future options. European Journal of education, 45(2), 181-198.

Author Information

Jesús García Álvarez (presenting / submitting)

University of Santiago de Compostela

Department of Theory of Education , History of Education and Social Pedagogy

Santiago de Compostela

Alexandre Sotelino-Losada

University of Santiago de Compostela

Theory of Education, History of Education and Social Pedagogy

Santiago de Compostela

Ana Vázquez-Rodríguez

University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain

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