Author(s): |
Fischer, Karin |
Source: |
Chronicle of Higher Education, Mar 2013 |
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Pub Date: |
2013-03-04 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive |
Peer Reviewed: |
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Descriptors:
Job Applicants; College Graduates; Communication Skills; Employees; Career Centers; Education Work Relationship; Surveys; Adjustment (to Environment); Problem Solving; Personnel Selection; Employment Qualifications
Abstract:
Employers value a four-year college degree, many of them more than ever. Yet half of those surveyed recently by "The Chronicle" and American Public Media's "Marketplace" said they had trouble finding recent graduates qualified to fill positions at their company or organization. Nearly a third gave colleges just fair to poor marks for producing successful employees. And they dinged bachelor's-degree holders for lacking basic workplace proficiencies, like adaptability, communication skills, and the ability to solve complex problems. What gives? These days a bachelor's degree is practically a prerequisite for getting one's resume read--two-thirds of employers said they never waive degree requirements, or do so only for particularly outstanding candidates. But clearly the credential leaves employers wanting. While they use college as a sorting mechanism, to signal job candidates' discipline and drive, they think it is falling short in adequately preparing new hires. The tension may lie partly in changes in the world of work: technological transformation and evolving expectations that employees be ready to handle everything straightaway. And perhaps managers are right to expect an easier time finding employees up to the task--after all, three times the proportion of Americans have bachelor's degrees now as did a generation or two ago. While some institutions tout their career centers, internship offerings, and academic programs designed with industry input, others argue that workplace skills ought to be taught on the job. Higher education is meant to educate broadly, not train narrowly, they say: It is business that is asking too much. And if college graduates are not up to scratch, some campus leaders ask, why do employers keep hiring them? The unemployment rate for Americans with bachelor's degrees, after all, is less than 5 percent; for those with only high-school diplomas, it is nearly double. Well, because even though employers may kvetch about college graduates, they generally make better employees than those who finished only high school. If nothing else, having gone through four--or five or six--years of schooling proves that they can stick with a task.
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Author(s): |
Tynjala, Paivi |
Source: |
Vocations and Learning, v6 n1 p11-36 Apr 2013 |
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Pub Date: |
2013-04-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Information Analyses; Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
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Descriptors:
Workplace Learning; Vocational Education; Education Work Relationship; Communities of Practice; Expertise; Competence; Literature Reviews; Holistic Approach; Models; Educational Research; Organizational Development; Work Environment; Teaching Methods; College Instruction; Learning Processes; Educational Trends
Abstract:
The interest in research focusing on learning taking place at work, through work and for work has considerably increased over the past two decades. The purpose of the paper is to review and structure this wide and diverse research field. A tentative holistic model--the 3-P model of workplace learning--is presented, in relation to which the following six lines of research are identified: (1) studies describing the nature of workplace learning, (2) research on work identities and agency in workplace learning, (3) studies on the development of professional expertise, (4) analyses of competence development in education-work contexts in vocational education and training as well as in higher education, (5) research on communities of practice, and (6) research on organisational learning. The research lines and the holistic 3-P model should be seen as analytic tools for understanding the diversity in workplace learning research. They may also serve as a kind of map for individual researchers, helping them to locate their main areas of interest in this broad field of research and to outline research designs for future studies.
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Author(s): |
Rausch, Andreas |
Source: |
Vocations and Learning, v6 n1 p55-79 Apr 2013 |
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Pub Date: |
2013-04-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
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Descriptors:
Workplace Learning; Vocational Education; Learning Processes; Task Analysis; Predictor Variables; Research Methodology; Trainees; Novelty (Stimulus Dimension); Feedback (Response); Diaries; Education Work Relationship; Regression (Statistics); Helping Relationship; Office Occupations; Clerical Occupations; Sales Occupations
Abstract:
Most learning in the workplace occurs while pursuing working rather than learning goals. The studies at hand aimed to identify task characteristics that foster learning in the workplace. Task characteristics are supposed to exert a major effect on the learning potential. However, the fact that learning is more often than not a rather unconscious by-product of working poses methodological challenges because respondents might not be capable of accurately recalling daily work experiences. Diaries were applied in order to bring measurement closer to the processes. Three diary studies were conducted in the field of office work within vocational education and training, with trainees requested to record particular work tasks several times a day. Each diary record, i.e., each work task, required a rating of ten standardized items relating to task characteristics including the perceived learning potential of the present task. Eighteen trainees aiming to become retail salespersons recorded 488 work tasks, 10 trainees aiming to become bank clerks recorded 1,113 work tasks, and 20 trainees aiming to become industrial clerks recorded 573 work tasks. The aim of these studies was to explain the variance in the perceived learning potentials from further task characteristics using regression analyses. The extent of the explained variance ranged from 46.6% in study 1 to 77.8% in study 3. Interestingness, novelty, assistance from others, and feedback turned out to be the best predictors, whereas scope of action even showed negative influences. Practical implications for workplace learning as well as methodological recommendations for using diary methods in the workplace are discussed.
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Pub Date: |
2013-01-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
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Descriptors:
High School Students; Transfer Students; High Schools; School Schedules; Context Effect; College Attendance; Developmental Continuity; Education Work Relationship
Abstract:
The timing of a high school transfer may shape students' transitions to college through its (mis)alignment with the structure of the school year. A transfer that occurs during the summer interrupts the four-year high school career, whereas a transfer that occurs midyear disrupts both the four-year high school career and the structure of the school year. Using the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS), the investigators find that the penalty suffered after the transfer depends on the degree to which students' high school pathways synchronize with the curricular and extracurricular structure of the school year. Midyear transfer students appear to suffer the greatest postsecondary matriculation penalty. Students who transfer midyear are less likely to attend a four-year college compared with nontransfer and summer transfer students, whereas summer transfer students are less likely to attend a highly selective four-year college compared with their nontransfer counterparts. Curricular and extracurricular disruptions that transfer students experience after their school move explain some, but not all, of the negative associations observed between transferring and the transition to college. Directions for future research and the theoretical and policy implications of the results are discussed. (Contains 3 tables and 9 notes.)
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Pub Date: |
2013-00-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Human Capital; Educational Attainment; Outcomes of Education; Cost Effectiveness; Education Work Relationship; Health; Child Health; Spouses; Infant Mortality; Mortality Rate; Birth Rate; Parent Background; Cognitive Development; Psychological Patterns; Efficiency; Work Environment; Lifelong Learning; Citizen Participation; Civil Rights; Politics; Poverty; Crime; Conservation (Environment)
Abstract:
This paper estimates the effects of human capital skills largely created through education on life's chances over the life cycle. Qualifications as a measure of these skills affect earnings, and schooling affects private and social non-market benefits beyond earnings. Private non-market benefits include better own-health, child health, spousal health, infant mortality, longevity, fertility, household efficiency, asset management and happiness. Social benefits include increased democratisation, civil rights, political stability, reduced crime, lower prison, health and welfare costs, and new ideas. Individual benefits enhance community-wide development. New "narrow" social rates of return using UK Labour Force earnings correct for institutional costs, longitudinal trends and ability. The paper's objective, however, is to estimate these earnings plus non-market outcomes comprehensively without overlaps and also relative to costs. Non-market outcomes are measured by averaging regression coefficients from published studies that meet scientific standards. New UK "narrow" social rates of return average 12.1 per cent for short-cycle and 13.6 per cent for bachelor's programmes. Augmented with non-market effects on life chances, they are over twice that. Short degrees are found effective for regional development and have potential for developing countries. (Contains 2 figures, 3 tables, and 9 notes.)
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Pub Date: |
2013-00-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Numerical/Quantitative Data; Reports - Descriptive |
Peer Reviewed: |
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Descriptors:
Community Colleges; Enrollment; Enrollment Trends; College Credits; Student Characteristics; Two Year College Students; Online Courses; Dual Enrollment; High School Students; Academic Degrees; College Programs; Adult Literacy; Labor Force Development; Apprenticeships; Graduation Rate; Transfer Rates (College); Education Work Relationship; Outcomes of Education; Income; Adult Basic Education; Tuition; Fees; Student Financial Aid; Educational Finance; Expenditure per Student; Human Resources; School Personnel; College Faculty; College Administration; Salaries; Part Time Students; Full Time Students
Abstract:
Each fall, the Iowa Department of Education collects enrollment data from Iowa's community colleges on the tenth business day of the semester. The fall data pertain to the 2012-13 academic year (fiscal year 2013). This report is the only report on fiscal year 2013 until next year's "Annual Condition of Iowa's Community Colleges." Fall enrollment for 2012 was 100,519 students, a 5.2 percent decline from fall 2011. Since 2008, community college enrollment has grown rapidly, likely a result of the recession of 2008 and 2009. Table 2-1 displays enrollment figures for the latest five years. Enrollment fell at 12 of the 15 community colleges. More students were enrolled part-time (less than 12 semester credit hours) than were enrolled full-time. Students enrolled part-time accounted for 53.9 percent of total fall enrollment, compared to 51.8 percent last fall. The fall enrollment of full-time students fell from 51,107 (48.2 percent of total enrollment) to 46,354 (46.1 percent of total enrollment), a 9.3 percent decline, while the fall enrollment of part-time students dropped slightly (-1.3 percent) from 54,868 students in 2011 to 54,165 students in 2012. Although overall fall enrollment has increased more than tenfold since 1965, the number of full-time students as a percentage of total fall enrollment has steadily declined from 90.8 percent in 1965 to 46.1 percent in 2012. (Contains 272 tables and 105 figures.) [This data for this paper was compiled with the assistance of Geoffrey Jones.]
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Full Text (3859K)
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Author(s): |
N/A |
Source: |
Tennessee State Board of Education |
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Pub Date: |
2013-01-31 |
Pub Type(s): |
Reports - Descriptive |
Peer Reviewed: |
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Descriptors:
Graduation Requirements; Higher Education; Educational Finance; Educational Attainment; Kindergarten; Graduation; Public Education; Elementary Secondary Education; Master Plans; Preschool Education; Access to Education; Teacher Supply and Demand; State Boards of Education; College Admission; Education Work Relationship; Partnerships in Education; High Schools; Academic Standards; State Standards; Accountability; Academic Achievement; Educational Indicators; Educational Improvement; College Readiness; Graduation Rate; Career Readiness; Alignment (Education)
Abstract:
This paper complies with the requirements established in T.C.A. Section 49-1-302(a)(10). The act directs the State Board of Education and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to provide a report to the Governor and General Assembly, all public schools, and institutions of higher learning and their respective boards. This report is to include, but is not limited to, a discussion of the following four areas: (1) Minimizing Duplication: The extent of duplication in elementary, secondary and postsecondary education; (2) Compatibility: The extent of compatibility between high school graduation requirements and admission requirements of postsecondary institutions; (3) Master Plan Fulfillment: The extent to which respective master plans of the board and the higher education commission are being fulfilled; and (4) State Needs in Public Education: The extent to which state needs in public education are being met as determined by such board and commission. This year's joint report marks the continuation of a new era for education in Tennessee, which began during the special session of the 106th General Assembly (2010) and included passage of the First to the Top and the Complete College Tennessee Acts. Both Acts focus on raising the level of statewide accountability and support in K-12 schools and institutions of higher education. Legislation from the 106th General Assembly provides the framework for collaboration between all state systems of education, addressing the overarching need to produce a higher proportion of college- and career-ready graduates. Tennessee will use this framework to make significant progress toward increasing postsecondary educational attainment to the national average by 2025. Appended are: (1) Tennessee High School Graduation Requirements; (2) Minimum High School Course Requirements for Regular Undergraduate Admissions to Tennessee Public Higher Education Institutions; and (3) Tennessee College and Career Ready Goals and Indicators. (Contains 3 tables, 1 figure and 3 footnotes.) [For "Annual Joint Report on Pre-Kindergarten through Higher Education in Tennessee, 2012", see ED540084.]
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Full Text (350K)
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Pub Date: |
2013-01-24 |
Pub Type(s): |
Reports - Research |
Peer Reviewed: |
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Descriptors:
College Graduates; Underemployment; Employment Patterns; Labor Utilization; Unskilled Workers; Labor Market; Education Work Relationship; Educational Attainment; Salary Wage Differentials; Majors (Students); Cost Effectiveness; Human Capital; Labor Supply; Enrollment Trends
Abstract:
Increasing numbers of recent college graduates are ending up in relatively low-skilled jobs that, historically, have gone to those with lower levels of educational attainment. This study examines this phenomenon in some detail, concluding: (1) About 48 percent of employed U.S. college graduates are in jobs that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) suggests requires less than a four-year college education; (2) The proportion of overeducated workers in occupations appears to have grown substantially; in 1970, fewer than one percent of taxi drivers and two percent of firefighters had college degrees, while now more than 15 percent do in both jobs; (3) About five million college graduates are in jobs the BLS says require less than a high-school education; (4) Comparing average college and high-school earnings is highly misleading as a guide for vocational success, given high college-dropout rates and the fact that overproduction of college graduates lowers recent graduate earnings relative to those graduating earlier; (5) Not all colleges are equal: Typical graduates of elite private schools make more than graduates of flagship state universities, but those graduates do much better than those attending relatively non-selective institutions; (6) Not all majors are equal: Engineering and economics graduates, for example, typically earn almost double what social work and education graduates receive by mid-career; (7) Past and projected future growth in college enrollments and the number of graduates exceeds the actual or projected growth in high-skilled jobs, explaining the development of the underemployment problem and its probable worsening in future years; and (8) Rising college costs and perceived declines in economic benefits may well lead to declining enrollments and market share for traditional schools and the development of new methods of certifying occupation competence. (Contains 12 figures, 4 tables, and 65 notes.) [This paper was written with the assistance of Anthony Hennen, Harrison Cummins, Daniel Garrett, Joseph Hartge, and Nicholas Wetzel.]
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