A social realist study of employability development in engineering education

This qualitative case study of a course pairing offered to final-year electrical engineering students at the University of Cape Town in 2015 was undertaken in order to better understand the ways in which participation in undergraduate courses can prepare engineering students for the workplace. The course pairing consisted of New Venture Planning and Professional Communication Studies. While the former aimed to expose students to the knowledge relating to starting a new business, the latter focused on teaching students how to create written and oral texts to support such an endeavour. Using Roy Bhaskar’s critical realism as a theoretical underlabourer, the study develops understandings regarding the generative mechanisms at work during the two courses. In support of this, the study posits an understanding of employability that moves beyond the acquisition of discrete workplace skills. Rather, employability is conceptualised as discursive transformation, with students being deemed “work-ready” when they develop discursive identities as engineers. Data generation took place by means of focus group and individual interviews, ethnographic observation and documentary research. Margaret Archer’s social realist tools – in particular, analytical dualism and the morphogenetic framework were used to trace the students’ transformations over the course pairing. It was argued that those students who developed discursive identities of engineers were those who, in Archer’s terms, emerged as social actors at the end of the course pairing. Two characteristics of the courses were found to enable this transformation: those parts that promoted deepened understanding of what the role of “engineer” entailed and the parts that provided spaces for students to develop their own personal identities. The findings of the study indicated that discursive identities as engineers were more likely to be developed through the group work and spaces for reflection engendered by the courses than as a result of the formal curriculum. The implications of the research are that, while a focus on employability in engineering education is valid and productive, this needs to be supported by opportunities for authentic learning experiences which afford students the opportunity to engage in learning that promotes real-life application of knowledge.Thesis (PhD)--Rhodes University, Faculty of Education, Education, 201

Perceptions of student teamwork in professional programmes in higher education: a comparative study of Spain and South Africa

[EN] Teamwork is a fundamental employability skill and, as such, is fostered in professional programmes. This study presents a comparative analysis of higher education students' perceptions, development, and experiences of teamwork at two universities: one in South Africa and the other in Spain. These study sites provided a fruitful opportunity for comparison, given their contextual similarities. Through a survey of 395 3rd and 4th-year students of professional degrees, the authors explored how these students developed the teamwork skills required within their curricula. The findings showed that respondents from both institutions perceive teamwork similarly, but there are significant differences in how these skills are developed. While most South African respondents had participated in courses focused on team functioning, the Spanish had learnt to function in teams during project work. Furthermore, the South African sample was more aware of the impact of socio-cultural factors on team functioning than the Spanish one. The former reported feeling marginalised due to their race, gender and language to a greater extent than the Spanish. The paper outlines the potential benefits of successful teamwork, such as improving social cohesion. The results could be useful to policymakers and lecturers designing context-specific interventions to develop students' teamwork skills.Nudelman, G.; Kalil, C.; Navarro-Astor, E.; English, J. (2022). Perceptions of student teamwork in professional programmes in higher education: a comparative study of Spain and South Africa. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability. 13(1):94-108. https://doi.org/10.21153/jtlge2022vol13no1art14639410813

Assessment of communicative modes used by engineering and built environment professionals

South African engineering and built environment professionals often present and need to transfer complex data to diverse recipients. This study of 91 respondents (via a Likert scale survey) explores communicative skills and formats used in their workplaces. Skills for seeking work (curriculum vitae, letters of application. networking through social media and interviews) was followed by analysis of technical writing to gain and keep work (proposals, reports and correspondence). Finally, the showcasing of work was reviewed via audience analysis, presentations and graphics, technical presentations, verbal and non-verbal delivery, visual literacy formats, integration of PowerPoint and posters. Conclusions were that the importance of the activity does not always align with the attention the practitioner gives it, nor the standard of output achieved. This disparity occurred particularly with citation and referencing, digital and traditional CVs, writing up proposals and responding to tender requests, and in creating and integrating visual material. However, there was alignment in the attention to and importance and standard of interviews, reports and summaries. It appears that emphasis must be on giving attention to the areas of communication which are deemed to be important but which currently are not of a high standard

Language Enrichment revisited: evolving theories and practice in Professional Communication Studies

The Professional Communication Studies (PCS) department at the University of Cape Town offers courses at senior undergraduate and postgraduate level. This study evaluates new developments since 2011 of the language development support classes, which are offered to linguistically weak students. The content and structure of the classes is considered in light of current theoretical debates as to the value of explicit teaching of grammar in the context of non-technical generic competencies for engineers. A pilot study of the programme over two years encompassed four modules attended by a total of 62 participants, comprising students from the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment.Results were positive. The majority of students (above 70%) strongly agreed that the intervention had aided them, with no students giving a negative response. Open-ended questions elicited the areas of tuition most needed: weaknesses in sentence structure, verb-noun concord, use of conjunctions and punctuation. Conclusions, supported by literature, are that as a supplement to formal classes, a language enrichment module is effective in improving students’ English written communication, that it supports other interventions and that the module be expanded