Our findings

What we discovered.

Researching how to embed employability in the curriculum 

There is recognition that additive development of disciplinary knowledge is an insufficient preparation for students’ futures. Teaching staff, particularly when prompted by the literature on the future of work and the fourth industrial revolution, identify multiple transformational shifts in their students that will be needed if they are to thrive in an uncertain future. The 4 studies described below developed and tested a framework to support academics who want to embed graduate capabilities into their university courses using the 4Es of Employability model

Study 1: Staff perceptions of employability

To understand teachers’ perspectives on the development of employability attributes, interviews were held with 20 staff who came from the Auckland University of Technology, University of Auckland, University of Canterbury and University of Otago. Participants included management, research, teaching, careers and academic development staff. Participants were from Arts, Business, Creative Industries, Mathematics, Medical and Science disciplines. To read more about this study, click here.

Study 3: Talking to positive deviants – a validation of the framework

This study assessed the validity and practical relevance of the 4Es pedagogical framework. In-depth interviews were conducted with academics known for their successful employability teaching. To read more about this study, click here.

Study 2: Developing the pedagogical framework

Developing the graduate capabilities of students requires transformational teaching practices that move beyond students  ‘knowing more’ to students ‘becoming more’. The 4Es of Employability model describes the essential features of teaching that encourages transformation,  deep learning and the development of transferable graduate capabilities. The aim of the framework is to promote transformational teaching practices. For more information about The 4Es of Employability model, click here.

Study 4: Adoptability testing

In this final study we adopted an educational design research approach. Through a series of 6 workshops delivered at universities in New Zealand we investigated and improved our educational design. We established that the 4Es pedagogical framework could be effectively mastered and applied to course and session design plans. Read more about Study 4 here.

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