Building up Undergraduate Skills: empirical evidence from a Portuguese University

Salford – 14 September 2007

Building up Undergraduate Skills:empirical evidence from a Portuguese University

Eva Dias de OliveiraMiguel Sottomayor

Ana MeirelesAna Martins

FFaculdade de aculdade de EEconomia e conomia e GGestãoestãoUUniversidade niversidade CCatólica atólica PPortuguesaortuguesa

FEG|UCPFEG|UCP

http://www.porto.ucp.pt/ucp.htm


Undegraduate Students 3165

Post-Graduate Students 1451

Academic Staff 315

Non-Academic Staff 250

Undergrad Courses 14

Postgrad (Masters) 22

Other Postgrad Courses 14


Employers

Graduates | University


Employers


Market-Valued Skills

Students self-assessment

To thinkTo communicateTo act upon

Coaching Curricula Development

Savic

kas

(200

2)


Pers

on

-En

vir

onm

ent

Fit

(Sw

anso

n &

Fo

uad, 19

99)

Savic

kas

(200

2)

CONGRUENCE

individuals – environment

feedback process

Co

ach

ing

Employers








Pers

on

-En

vir

onm

ent

Fit

(Sw

anso

n &

Fo

uad, 19

99)

Cabra

l-C

ard

oso

et

al

(200

6)

Sta

rfish

-Model

(Evans

et

al,

20

01)

Savic

kas

(200

2)

CONGRUENCE

individuals - environment

feedback process

Co

ach

ing

Employers








Pers

on

-En

vir

onm

ent

Fit

(Sw

anso

n &

Fo

uad, 19

99)

Cabra

l-C

ard

oso

et

al

(200

6)

Sta

rfish

-Model

(Evans

et

al,

20

01)

Savic

kas

(200

2)

CONGRUENCE

individuals - environment

feedback process

Co

ach

ing

Employers







Study 1Study 2


Study 1Objective:

to identify the Market-Valued Skills Profile of Economics and Business Graduates


In

terv

iew

s Employers

(SONAE, UNICER, AXA, Salvador Caetano, AENOR)

Individual

Focus Groups

Alumni

Management and Economics

Con

ten

t an

aly

sis

Method:Study 1


JOB RELATED SKILLSSubject matter relevant to work tasks

METHODOLOGICAL SKILLSPersonal Management

Problems SolvingCreativity

Systemic Thinking

LEARNING SKILLSMotivation to LearnFlexibility / Openness to ChangePursuit of Quality / ExcellenceKnowledge Management

SOCIAL SKILLSCommunication

AssertivenessInterpersonal Relationship

Team Work

Results: “Starfish-Model”

VALUES AND ATTITUDESInitiative and entrepreneurshipCommitment and persistenceResponsibilityIntegrity and ethics

Study 1

(Evans, 2001) adaptation


Study 2Objectives:

to assess the resulting Market-Valued Skills Profile amongst students

to assert how confident were the students regarding such skills, at the early stage of their studies

to relate the skills’ development to both individual characteristics and to life experiences


Fir

st-

year

stu

den

ts(N

=10

0)

Market-Valued Skills Profile Self-Report(Miles & Grummon, 2006; University of Salford, 2006)

Student Career Concerns Inventory(Savickas, 2002; Ramos et al, 2002)

Method:Study 2

Vocational Experiences(open-ended questions)


Results:Study 2

students’ soft-skills development

very positiveself-perception

extra-curricular activities

very limited experiences

Social Skills:

Values & Attitudes:

Methodological Skills:

Mobility:

Volunteer-work:

Civic Engagement:

4.09 (0.56)

3.79 (0.61)

3.78 (0.66)

1.38 (0.79)

1.64 (1.01)

2.35 (1.45)


Results:Study 2


vocational experiences

vocational development

Correlational Analysis


Results:Study 2


vocational experiences

vocational development

0.16*

0.39**

0.19*

0.26**

ns

students’ unrealistic self-perception


Final Remarks:Study 1 & 2

Research findings draw attention to the need for

developing new practices of teaching and assessing

students’ progress, explicitly focused on:

(1) the development of the soft skills most valued

by employers and former students, and

(2) the students’ self-perception of skills’

development and related job expectations.


self-evaluation

Integrated System of Skills Development

process

pres

enta

tion

prof

esso

rs v

iew

peer

s vi

ew

deve

lopm

enta

lai

m

coaching

Where did I start from?

Evidences collected

What can I say about my skills?


Thank you!

[email protected]

Governo República Portuguesa

Building up Undergraduate Skills: empirical evidence from a Portuguese University

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