Sociology and Employability

C-SAP have recently published a 60 page report looking at employability and sociology in higher education. "Getting into Work: The Benefits of a Sociology Degree" is written by Max Farrar and Anna Gruszczynska and explores a range of issues such as graduate attributes and the role of community based learning. The relatively high rates of employment for sociology graduates was noted in the 2009 UK Government's Framework for Higher Education 'Higher Ambitions ', so it is useful to see how academics of the subject see the issues.

Some recent QAA publications

The QAA has published an information bulletin summarising some of the findings from the IQER process relating to Foundation Degrees. While a significant number of areas of good practice and innovation are identified, areas around assessment, work-based learning, student support and public information continue to be areas in which significant scope for improvement is identified. As highlighted in the publication of another recent report by QAA Scotland ‘Making it work – a guidebook to work-based learning’ – the challenges of developing such learning are not unique to Foundation Degrees. There is much still to learn in all these areas.

Policing and Higher Skills

Much of the higher skills provision delivered by social scientists over the last few years has been in the areas of police training and development. The Higher Education Forum for Learning and Development in Policing was formed a couple of years ago by representatives from HEIs working in this field and now has over twenty institutional members. They are holding their annual conference at UCLAN in September, with speakers from both education and policing sectors. More details can be found on the conference website.

Criminology and Employability

This event may be of interest.

*Support for student employability: Criminology a case study*

The University of Lincoln would like to invite you or a representative from your institution to our Social Science Careers Information Day on July 14th.

The aim of the event: To help you to better support those students who are considering pursuing a non-vocational degree in one of the ‘Social Science’ subjects, including criminology, politics, sociology and social policy.

This free event includes lunch and is supported through funding awarded for a current C-SAP mini-project.

Background: Lincoln University was awarded funding in 2009 to carry out research into the employability of criminology graduates; we think the results of this research will be helpful to any staff involved in advising students through the university application process or about employability issues.

Programme: We have put together what we hope will be an interesting and entertaining programme including contributions from academics, students, HE careers professionals and alumni. A draft programme is included with this invitation.

Location and time: The event is taking place in the new Enterprise@Lincoln centre at the University of Lincoln. Start time 10am until 3pm.


In order for us to plan the catering please could you book your place at the event by emailing Victoria Worricker at vworricker@lincoln.ac.uk by 30th June.
Please also state if you have any specific dietary requirements.


We look forward to seeing you on July 14th.

Jill Jameson – Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences

Mandy Jones – Head of Opportunities


****************

Draft Programme

Start 9.45 for 10.00

Coffee on registration

Welcome and Introduction to the research project.

What is criminology: Myth and Reality?

• Ice Breaker: What do you think criminology is?
• What employers think criminology is.
• Criminology: The academic discipline.

Coffee

Career aspirations and destinations:

• Undergraduate aspirations.
• DLHE results.
• Alumni destinations.

Employability in the undergraduate criminology curriculum:

• Criminology in the professions: a specialist employability module?
• Student experience.
• ‘Life after criminology’ DVD presentation.

World Café Lunch: Implications for practice beyond criminology…what do you think?

• Pre-entry guidance.
• Employability in the curriculum.
• Graduate careers guidance.

Round-up and departure 15.00 approx

Well Worth Reading

Those looking for case examples and conceptual discussions of experiential practice orientated learning in politics should look at a recent edited collection by Steven Curtis and Alasdair Blair. Their book The Scholarship of Engagement for Politics: Placement Learning, Citizenship and Employability is published at C-SAP and is can be accessed in e-format for free. It includes sixteen papers exploring practice at a range of higher education institutions and includes some papers written by students, reflecting on their experiences of placement learning.

The third most popular FD choice

HEFCE have just published the latest edition of Foundation degrees: Key Statistics. Much of the initial focus is on the overall number of students now enrolled on FDs - 99,475 - which is very close to the government's target for 2010-11.

Looking at the stats for subject areas Social Studies come in as the third most popular area for part-time students with 12% of 2008-09 entrants (behind Education and Business and Administrative Studies) and third for full-time students at 10% of entrants (behind Creative Arts and Design). No breakdown is given for the different areas of study within the Social Studies which includes economics, politics, sociology and social work.

Work-based learning survey

fdf has commissioned the Student Assessment and Classification Working Group (SACWG) to produce a Guide to good practice in the during 2010.

The Guide will include a series of examples of effective, different or innovative assessment that have been or are being used in this aspect of assessment of Foundation degree students. We are therefore interested in specific examples of assessment practice rather than assessment strategies and policies concerning how work-based learning is or should be assessed.

If you have an example of assessment practice that you would be willing to share with colleagues please complete the brief survey at:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=blMEa3qUMepm6dLrVfh8yg_3d_3d

Every example that is included in the Guide will be formally acknowledged with the name of the institution, the title of the Foundation degree concerned and the name of the contact.

If you have any questions about the Guide in particular, or about SACWG more generally, please contact Harvey Woolf at H.Woolf@wlv.ac.uk

Another relevant conference

Here is another conference that is likely to be of interest...

Work Based Learning Futures 4 - Work Based Learning: Policy into Practice?
Wednesday 14th April – Thursday 15th April 2010
Middlesex University, Hendon Campus, The Burroughs, Hendon London NW4 4BT

The Work Based Learning Futures conference series began in 2007. Conferences have been organised and hosted alternately by University of Derby Corporate and the Institute for Work Based Learning at Middlesex University.

This conference, to be held at Middlesex University on 14 -15th April 2010, aims to illuminate the relationship between Policy (institutional, regional, national and international) and higher education level Work Based Learning (defined as learning through, at and for work). These policies could then be interrogated from a work based learning perspective and with consideration to the flexibility and capacity of work based learning in higher education to impact in the policy arenas.
Key policy areas which the conference will cover include:
- Higher education funding council policy: ‘Employer Engagement’, Enhancing Learning, Teaching and Assessment, Widening Access.
- Economic and business growth national policy: financing WBL and the position of WBL in the fees debate. Contributions relating to the potential of Work Based Learning to engage with the problems of the current economic downturn and preparing work based learners in coming out of the economic downturn would be particularly welcome.
- EU lifelong learning policy: Developing the Knowledge Economy, Widening Participation in Higher Education through Work Based Learning
- Research policy: research informed curriculum for WBL, Research Councils and WBL research, multi and trans-disciplinarity debates in research

Abstracts (300 words) of papers/workshops are invited by 22nd Feb 2010. Please email your abstract to Natasha Shukla n.shukla@mdx.ac.uk

Confirmation of acceptance of abstracts will be given by 5th March 2010
Three well received and nationally distributed collections of edited papers from the earlier conferences have been published www.uvac.ac.uk and a fourth volume resulting from this conference will be published in 2010 with highlights sent to key policy makers.

To register your interest in the Conference please email Janet Bain j.bain@mdx.ac.uk
The Conference rate is £100 including conference dinner (note that the conference is partly funded by the Centre for Excellence in Work Based Learning)
Work Based Learning Futures 4 is sponsored by the Centre for Excellence at Work Based Learning, Middlesex University and University of Derby Corporate.

ASET Conference 2010

Details of the 2010 ASET conference 'Enhancing the Student Experience through Work Based and Placement Learning' and call for papers have now been published. I have never been to an ASET conference myself, but have heard good reports from colleagues who have attended.