Metacognition and Undergraduate-Student Employability—Saffron Passam,
Aberystwyth University
A research study at Aberystwyth University is taking a psychological approach to why
some undergraduate students
engage in activities which may
promote their employability
whilst others do not. The employability of graduate students
remains a key strategic concern for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). HEIs are under
pressure to produce graduates
with the skills held attractive by
employers, supporting those
individuals to compete in a
changing labour market. From
a wider perspective, investment in employability is seen
by many as an essential
means of reducing future unemployment. However, despite
this focus and the range of initiatives offered by HEIs designed to enhance employability, it is frequently reported anecdotally that students disengage from employment-related
development.
In response to the problem,
this research is interested in
the readiness of undergraduate students to monitor and
direct their behaviour towards
a goal of maximizing their employability on graduation. The
project forms part of a doctoral research project carried
out by Saffron Passam, supervised by Professor Kate
Bullen and Professor John
Grattan, and funded by the
Higher Education Academy.
Using a model of selfregulated learning, developed by Schraw, Crippen &
Hartley (2006), the project
will consider the impact of a
student’s
meta-cognitive
development and motivation
in relationship to a measure
of
employability.
Selfregulated learning is our
ability to understand and
control our environment using strategies to maximize
our chance of a positive outcome. It is suggested that
this capacity to regulate behaviour towards a known
goal is regulated, in part, by
our meta-cognitive development and motivation (which
in this model consists of selfefficacy and epistemological
belief). The proposition is
that, although most students
will be aware of an overall
goal of being employable,
some students will be psychologically better equipped
to gradually direct them-
selves towards this goal
throughout their studies.
Thus a student who knows
about, and is well practiced
in, regulating their own cognitive
strategies
(metacognition), and furthermore
believes they can achieve
their desired goal (selfefficacy), in addition to holding
world-views
about
knowledge
generation
which support this growth
(epistemological belief), will
be more likely to access
experiences which support
their development of employability throughout their
degree. Existing literature
details how all of these psychological constructs (selfregulated learning, metacognition, self-efficacy and
epistemological beliefs) can
be encouraged and supported within educational settings. The aim of this PhD is
to identify potential relationships between these concepts and employability empirically, and to support the
development of appropriate
teaching
interventions
based on existing pedagogic literature.
The questionnaire is roughly
split into three sections: demographics;
validated
measures relating to selfregulated learning; questions
about the students’ current level
of experience in skills desired
by employers across five
awarenesses (technical, commercial, ethical, communication
and project), and questions relating to engagement with careers, activities, and work experience. This final section formulates a score for the student,
indicating the student’s employability in comparison to their
peers. Although at an early
stage, preliminary trends indicate positive correlations between meta-cognitive development and self-efficacy, with a
negative correlation for epistemological belief. Ultimately, the
developed tool could be used to
identify students at risk of disengagement or in need of additional support, as well as to
providing a means for students
to monitor personal development.
The questionnaire has been
distributed across universities in
the United Kingdom, but more
responses are needed. Can
you help to distribute the questionnaire to students? Please
contact Saffron directly on
[email protected] for recruitment
details
or
visit
www.graduateemployability.co.uk for study
information.
References
Schraw, G., Crippen, K. J., &
Hartley, K. (2006). Promoting
self-regulation in science education: Metacognit [ۈ\