Getting in, getting on: fragility in student and graduate identity
Journal Article
Smith, S., Sobolewska, E., & Hunter, D. (2019)
Getting in, getting on: fragility in student and graduate identity. Higher Education Research and Development, 38(5), 1046-1060. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2019.1612857
Over a period of three years this longitudinal study explored new approaches to consider student identity during the transition from university to employment. Students were fo...
Equality of opportunity for work experience? Computing students at two UK universities “play the game”
Journal Article
Smith, S., Taylor-Smith, E., Bacon, L., & Mackinnon, L. (2019)
Equality of opportunity for work experience? Computing students at two UK universities “play the game”. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 40(3), 324-339. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2018.1489219
A recent UK Government commissioned study found concerning levels of unemployment among computing students from disadvantaged, black and minority ethnic backgrounds. The study...
From work-integrated learning to learning-integrated work: motivations and apprehensions of Graduate Apprentices
Conference Proceeding
Smith, S., Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, C., & Varey, A. (2018)
From work-integrated learning to learning-integrated work: motivations and apprehensions of Graduate Apprentices. In Proceedings of the 3rdInternational Research Symposium on Cooperative and Work-Integrated Education, Stuttgart, Germany (199-207
Graduate Apprenticeship (GA) degrees bring new collaborations between universities and employers and new opportunities for apprentices—to gain a university degree, while also ...
Placement or practicalities? Barriers and disincentives to work experience, as reported by computing students
Presentation / Conference
Taylor-Smith, E., Smith, S., & Smith, C. (2017, December)
Placement or practicalities? Barriers and disincentives to work experience, as reported by computing students. Paper presented at Society for Research Into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Conference, Newport, Wales
Having relevant work experience, such as a placement or internship, is valued by employers in the technology sector and can improve employment outcomes for computing graduates...
Towards graduate employment: exploring student identity through a university-wide employability project
Journal Article
Smith, S., Smith, C., Taylor-Smith, E., & Fotheringham, J. (2019)
Towards graduate employment: exploring student identity through a university-wide employability project. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 43(5), 628-640. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2017.1390077
Students have expectations of their university education leading to graduate careers, with universities investing considerable resources in institution-wide initiatives design...
Taking education for granted: the role of placement in computing science
Presentation / Conference
Smith, S., Smith, C., Taylor-Smith, E., & Gemma, W. (2017, June)
Taking education for granted: the role of placement in computing science. Presented at Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland
The importance of placements and internships was highlighted in the 2016 Shadbolt Review of Computer Science Degree Accreditation and Graduate Employability – indeed the secon...
In search of graduate employability: An exploration of student identity
Journal Article
Smith, S., Smith, C., Taylor-Smith, E., & Fotheringham, J. (2017)
In search of graduate employability: An exploration of student identity. Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 18(1), 15-24
Universities are adopting institution-wide projects to increase student work placements and work-related learning across all subject disciplines. However, there are large vari...
Supporting student transitions to placement and work: developing a new self-identity
Journal Article
Webster, G., Smith, S., & Smith, C. (2016)
Supporting student transitions to placement and work: developing a new self-identity. New Directions in the Teaching of Physical Sciences, 11(1),
Moves towards the marketisation of higher education together with concerns over the challenges of graduate employment have led to an increased prioritisation of students under...