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Social Sciences
Special Issues
Transition from Higher Education to Employment
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Transition from Higher Education to Employment

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Work, Employment and the Labor Market".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 16902

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Karen Arnold

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Lynch School of Education, Boston College, MA 02467, USA
Interests: higher education; college student access; talent development; experience sampling methods
Ms. Kathy Chau Rohn

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Lynch School of Education, Boston College, Newton, MA 02467, USA
Interests: higher education; college student access and success; charter schools

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will examine the transition from higher education to employment in the transforming contexts of work and postsecondary education. Career frameworks and concepts recognize the emergence of non-linear, boundary-less work lives amid radically changing labor force opportunity structures. Employers are frequently at odds with the academy about what learning outcomes and competencies students should obtain from an undergraduate degree.

On the higher education side, the student population demographics are shifting, with accompanying changes in students’ career motivations, aspirations, and behaviors. The rise of mass higher education around the world has been accompanied by credential inflation and increased stratification by institutional prestige. New forms of higher education have emerged such as online education, for-profit universities, competency-based education, and micro-credentialing. Student cohorts graduating in the Great Recession or the COVID-19 pandemic era face particularly challenging and uncertain conditions for beginning adult life. All of these higher education and social factors affect students’ experiences and outcomes in the university-to-work transition.

In short, higher education students, colleges and universities, and the world of work are each in a period of transformative change. Understanding and supporting the transition from higher education to employment for new graduates require research and theory at the nexus of these transforming contexts.

We invite you to contribute to the topic of the transition from higher education to employment in changing contexts. We seek research papers and conceptual or theoretical papers from various fields of social science such as education, vocational psychology, organizational and industrial psychology, sociology, and economics. We encourage international and comparative perspectives. Submissions should engage with the relevant literature and be written in a non-technical style accessible to a broad interdisciplinary audience. 

Dr. Karen Arnold
Ms. Kathy Chau Rohn
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Higher education
  • Career development
  • College-to-work
  • Employment
  • Transitions
  • Workplace entry
  • COVID-19 impacts
  • College students
  • Changing contexts
  • Emerging adulthood

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1165 KiB  
Article
Participation in Higher Education Curricula Development in Armenia and Possible Effects for the Labour Market—The Case of an “Organic Agriculture” Master’s Program
by Hasmik Hovakimyan, Milena Klimek, Bernhard Freyer and Stefan Vogel
Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(9), 331; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10090331 - 04 Sep 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2499
Abstract
Weak or unstructured stakeholder participation in higher education curricula development still remains a problem in Armenia. Change in outdated curricula development processes is needed, as they often do not meet students’ needs; do not adopt innovative teaching methods or tools; and do not [...] Read more.
Weak or unstructured stakeholder participation in higher education curricula development still remains a problem in Armenia. Change in outdated curricula development processes is needed, as they often do not meet students’ needs; do not adopt innovative teaching methods or tools; and do not fit the labour market’s demand. This paper traces the evolution of the participatory curriculum development process of the Organic Agriculture Master’s program at the Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU). Prioritizing mainly qualitative methods of research, five relevant stakeholder groups with approximately 10–12 members each at varying levels were involved in this action research. Additionally, paper-based and online surveys were conducted with 290 ANAU students. The results focus on the conceptual mapping of the process of participatory action research, bridging its relevance to the Armenian labour market’s needs. Moreover, the results highlight lessons learned from the process—shaping them around significant theories for participatory action research—and underline the possibilities of the Organic Agriculture Master’s development process as a model program at ANAU and perhaps elsewhere. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition from Higher Education to Employment)
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16 pages, 398 KiB  
Article
The Work Values of Portuguese Generation Z in the Higher Education-to-Work Transition Phase
by Joaquim Silva and Ana Carvalho
Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(8), 297; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10080297 - 05 Aug 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4428
Abstract
The cohort of young people born with or after the Internet has been dubbed Generation Z (Gen Z, or post-millennials). They are now entering the higher education-to-work transition phase, although this is yet to be studied. Previous studies have found that work values [...] Read more.
The cohort of young people born with or after the Internet has been dubbed Generation Z (Gen Z, or post-millennials). They are now entering the higher education-to-work transition phase, although this is yet to be studied. Previous studies have found that work values and work preferences vary across generations and national cultures, justifying regular and localised examination. However, very little is known to date about the work values of Portuguese Gen Zs. In this study, we describe the work values of Portuguese university students in the higher education-to-work transition phase and examine their influence on salient work-related preferences. We surveyed over 3000 students attending university degrees from eight main Portuguese universities. We find that Portuguese Gen Zs value social values above all, followed by intrinsic and then extrinsic work values, potentially configuring a unique profile. Work values partially explain work preferences such as employer size and salary expectations. Gender differences mark our results, with women expressing higher work values in all three dimensions and lower entry salary expectations. These results can be useful for employers seeking to attract the best university graduates, facilitate their integration and promote their development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition from Higher Education to Employment)
19 pages, 345 KiB  
Article
The Value of Critical Thinking in Higher Education and the Labour Market: The Voice of Stakeholders
by Valdonė Indrašienė, Violeta Jegelevičienė, Odeta Merfeldaitė, Daiva Penkauskienė, Jolanta Pivorienė, Asta Railienė, Justinas Sadauskas and Natalija Valavičienė
Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(8), 286; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10080286 - 27 Jul 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5354
Abstract
Critical thinking has been more than just a part of academic rhetoric and educational practice for some time now. In the rapidly changing world of information flow, critical thinking is often identified as the goal of higher education, and in the modern labour [...] Read more.
Critical thinking has been more than just a part of academic rhetoric and educational practice for some time now. In the rapidly changing world of information flow, critical thinking is often identified as the goal of higher education, and in the modern labour market, the importance of critical thinking to an organisation’s success is emphasised. Critical thinking is recognised as one of the tools for the formation and development of human and social capital. Nevertheless, there is a lack of evidence about the manifestation in the labour market of the critical thinking developed at institutions of higher education. This article seeks to reveal the attitude toward the importance of critical thinking in the modern labour market and toward the responsibility for developing it from the perspective of different stakeholder groups (lecturers, students, employers and employees) (the case of Lithuania). Quantitative research methodology was chosen, using a questionnaire for data collection. It was found that in both higher education and the labour market, critical thinking is treated as a developed and dynamic competence that encompasses both cognitive skills and dispositions. All of the stakeholder groups consider inference and argumentation to be the most important critical thinking skills in the modern labour market. Critical thinking dispositions such as self-confidence and fairness are the most valued. All of the stakeholder groups delegate responsibility for the development of critical thinking to the individual. In evaluating critical thinking, no divide was established between the higher education and labour market segments. The most differences in attitudes emerged in evaluating the assumption of responsibility for the development of critical thinking. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition from Higher Education to Employment)
14 pages, 1599 KiB  
Article
A Survey-Based Education Needs Analysis of Employment Support Programs for Hospitality Undergraduate Students
by Tae-Kyun Na and Sun-Ho Lee
Soc. Sci. 2021, 10(3), 103; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10030103 - 18 Mar 2021
Viewed by 2708
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to analyze employment support programs that should be prioritized for hospitality undergraduate students in Korea, given the lack of such programs that are tailored to students’ majors. Using a questionnaire survey, we measured the differences between the [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study was to analyze employment support programs that should be prioritized for hospitality undergraduate students in Korea, given the lack of such programs that are tailored to students’ majors. Using a questionnaire survey, we measured the differences between the perceived importance and the perceived current level of availability of employment support programs recognized by 384 students enrolled in hospitality-related courses. Both 2-year and 4-year majors recognized employment information support, certificate programs, career seminars, overseas training support, field practice programs, and overseas employment support as high-priority programs. Individual career counseling, mentoring, and industry–academic cooperation courses were the highest priority programs that should be applied to 2-year majors, but in the case of 4-year majors, these three programs were found to be relatively well supported by universities. Mock interviews, language programs, and employment-related courses were the top priority programs to support 4-year majors. However, 2-year majors perceived that mock interviews and language programs were of low importance, and there was little difference between the importance and current level of employment-related courses. It is necessary to develop support programs from the learner’s point of view by accurately grasping the needs for employment support programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transition from Higher Education to Employment)
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