Followers of this blog may be interested in a conference just announced by the ceth CETL (Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning) which is developing work around the employability of humanities and social science students.
The announcement and call for papers is below.
Employability in the Curriculum: Beyond the Bolt-on?
First Call for Papers
A ceth conference; www.uclan.ac.uk/ceth
Key Note Speakers so far include:
- Professor Freda Tallantyre (HEA)
- Professor Lee Harvey (Copenhagen Business School)
- Professor Ronald Barnett (Institute of Education, University of London)
The University of Central Lancashire’s Centre for Excellence in Teaching and
Learning (ceth) invites you to explore the processes, value, and impact of
different ways of delivering employability within subject curricula and asks
whether we have moved beyond the bolt-on and to what effect?
You are invited to register and to submit a paper.
The main themes we wish to explore include:
• Embedding employability in non-vocational disciplines
• Work-based learning
• Learning spaces and real/realistic work environments
• Employer, community and alumni engagement
• Teaching, identifying and assessing employability skills
• Evaluation and impact
• The voice of the students
Further details can be seen at
http://www.uclan.ac.uk/ahss/ceth/conference.php along with registration
forms and details for submitting a presentation, or call us on 01772 892250.
Janet Lange
Director, ceth at the University of Central Lancashire, jlange@uclan.ac.uk
Sunday, 19 July 2009
Friday, 10 July 2009
Applicantion Patterns
UCAS figures published yesterday for applications to higher education course for 2009-10 show some interesting patterns for applications for social science degrees and foundation degrees.
Overall, there is a rise of 8.1% in applications for BA/BSc course, with politics achieving a 16.7% rise and Sociology a 4.3% rise. Social Policy applications, by contrast, have fallen by 2.8%.
Foundation degrees applications overall show an overall rise of around 20%, but the numbers applying to most social science Foundation degrees that are included in these figures is low. One application for a politics foundation degree and thirty three for sociology. Social Policy once again is rather different with a 64.2% increase in foundation degree applications at 944 overall.
Clearly there are many stories behind these figures. Some foundation degrees may use direct applications and there are technical points about the number of choices made by students on UCAS forms. For me, the key questions are whether the social sciences are making the most of the increased interest by applicants in foundation degree courses? Does the low application rate reflect the lack of interest by applicants in more vocational pathways within our subject areas or a lack attractive provision on our part?
Of course the outcome of all these applications depends in part on the degree to which the government may or may not fund further increases in student numbers – which is of course a political question.
Overall, there is a rise of 8.1% in applications for BA/BSc course, with politics achieving a 16.7% rise and Sociology a 4.3% rise. Social Policy applications, by contrast, have fallen by 2.8%.
Foundation degrees applications overall show an overall rise of around 20%, but the numbers applying to most social science Foundation degrees that are included in these figures is low. One application for a politics foundation degree and thirty three for sociology. Social Policy once again is rather different with a 64.2% increase in foundation degree applications at 944 overall.
Clearly there are many stories behind these figures. Some foundation degrees may use direct applications and there are technical points about the number of choices made by students on UCAS forms. For me, the key questions are whether the social sciences are making the most of the increased interest by applicants in foundation degree courses? Does the low application rate reflect the lack of interest by applicants in more vocational pathways within our subject areas or a lack attractive provision on our part?
Of course the outcome of all these applications depends in part on the degree to which the government may or may not fund further increases in student numbers – which is of course a political question.
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Some words of comfort?
David Lammy’s speech to the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) is worth a read. The headline message is a defence of the liberal arts within higher education – this being justified on the dual basis that it is both good for the economy and good in itself.
Perhaps the underlying message is ‘don’t fear the swallowing of DIUS by BIS’. Of course, beyond the rhetoric, funding decisions and policy will reveal the real balance of power and priority in the merged department and we will need to wait a little longer to see how that turns out.
For my part, I was interested in the rather traditional conception of higher education that seems to inform the speech. References to “music societies, film clubs, bridge clubs, sports clubs, science clubs, political clubs, voluntary societies, foreign language societies” and the “annual play put on in the German Department” suggest to me a particular type of higher education experience. My hope is that the commitment to a liberal conceptualization of higher education is one that all learners are able to benefit from.
Perhaps the underlying message is ‘don’t fear the swallowing of DIUS by BIS’. Of course, beyond the rhetoric, funding decisions and policy will reveal the real balance of power and priority in the merged department and we will need to wait a little longer to see how that turns out.
For my part, I was interested in the rather traditional conception of higher education that seems to inform the speech. References to “music societies, film clubs, bridge clubs, sports clubs, science clubs, political clubs, voluntary societies, foreign language societies” and the “annual play put on in the German Department” suggest to me a particular type of higher education experience. My hope is that the commitment to a liberal conceptualization of higher education is one that all learners are able to benefit from.
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