Serene Lin-Stephens | Macquarie University (original) (raw)
Papers by Serene Lin-Stephens
returnees ’ conceptions of positive career outcomes after graduating from
Universities worldwide are under increasing pressure to ensure graduate work-readiness upon degre... more Universities worldwide are under increasing pressure to ensure graduate work-readiness upon degree completion. However, the linkage between employability enhancement and disciplinary learning is problematic for many academics. To address this, a conceptual framework of student learning and career development is required. We propose the development of a Career Information Literacy Learning Framework (CILLF) by integrating three key theoretical frameworks, namely experiential learning, career development and information literacy. This study uses the CILLF to investigate capstone units, which are final year subjects. These units’ aim is to combine disciplinary knowledge and skills whilst preparing students for the next phase transitions (work, future studies or other life plans). We examine capstone units in three disciplines specifically: Information Systems, Information Technology and Engineering in an Australian university. Academic and professional staff involved in these capstone ...
International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 2018
The mixed graduate employment outcomes of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)... more The mixed graduate employment outcomes of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) have often been discussed in terms of social-economic factors, which are largely beyond educational institutions’ control. This study aims to examine an endogenous factor related to perceptions of career and employability development to inform course designs and facilitation. Building on a previous study, we examine STEM career information literacy learning emphases in generic, discipline-based and transformative learning. Specifically, we identify and describe the variance (a) between STEM student cohorts and (b) between STEM students and employers. In this nonexperimental, cross-sectional study, we collected responses via a career information literacy learning questionnaire, from final year STEM capstone unit students and their potential employers in an Australian university. The findings indicate that, overall, STEM student cohorts do not differ from each other in their emphases on d...
CONTEXT Inadequate preparation of Engineering students for the 21-century workplace is becoming a... more CONTEXT Inadequate preparation of Engineering students for the 21-century workplace is becoming a lightning rod for criticism. While STEM skills are set to underpin most of the emerging occupations, decades of efforts to re-engineer tech-based curricula seem to have made little headway in enhancing graduate employability. To date, studies contrasting different stakeholders’ views on the essential capabilities of graduate engineers have largely settled on leveraging generic skills in technical curricula. Yet the gap remains wide between academic training and the evolving engineering profession. It is questionable if the incorporation of generic transferable skills into discipline-learning alone is sufficient to produce engineers for the future.
Despite mounting pressure on universities to produce quality work-ready STEM graduates, the relat... more Despite mounting pressure on universities to produce quality work-ready STEM graduates, the relationship between discipline-based learning and employability is poorly understood. Applying the Career Information Literacy Learning Framework, we address this gap in a study on STEM students and employers/industry stakeholders. This paper reports findings from a subset of STEM disciplines: Information Systems, Information Technology and Engineering. Student data were collected from capstone units from the STEM faculty in an Australian university. A parallel STEM employer study was conducted concurrently. Four learning approaches and career development learning components across three levels of information literacy were examined. The study found this student cohort’s (N=160) emphases on and views of career development consistent with their peers within the same STEM faculty (N=492). However, their focuses differ significantly from STEM employers (N=62). Students focus on discipline-specif...
STEM employability is a non-homogenous phenomenon with mixed outcomes for graduates from differen... more STEM employability is a non-homogenous phenomenon with mixed outcomes for graduates from different disciplines. A myriad of factors may contribute to the diverse employability. Here we examine the heterogeneity of career and employability development focuses among different STEM student cohorts in the curricular context. We utilised a structured framework of Career Information Literacy (CIL) to map career and employability focuses of STEM students and employers. This paper presents findings from the Mathematics, Statistics, Physics and Astronomy cohort. Data was collected from final year capstone unit students at a STEM faculty in an Australian university (N=517, response rate 44%). Of which, Maths, Stats, Physics and Astronomy (MSPA) students were analysed as a cohort (N=80, response rate 73%). Concurrent data collection took place with STEM employers and industry stakeholders who engaged this faculty in recruitment and employability activities (N=62, response rate 78%). Upon compa...
The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling, 2020
A visual narrative intervention – Serious Storytelling with Images – was proposed to manage inter... more A visual narrative intervention – Serious Storytelling with Images – was proposed to manage interview anxiety and performance. Its ability to evocate significant incidents and enhance narratives construction was evaluated ideographically in two case studies. The findings suggest varying levels of sophistication in interviewee actions, challenges encountered, and perceived roles of images. Counselors can refer to the hierarchical concepts when tailoring interview training and coaching. Further investigation is highly recommended to confirm and measure intervention effects.
Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 2020
Background: Visual stimuli are frequently incorporated into interventions that use narratives to ... more Background: Visual stimuli are frequently incorporated into interventions that use narratives to meet counseling, therapy, education, and clinical needs. However, the treatment efficacy of visual stimuli is unclear. This systematic review synthesizes and evaluates visual narrative interventions addressing anxiety. Methods: Databases (n = 9) and extended reference searches identified 13 original studies using visual artifacts in narrative interventions for adult anxiety. The visual stimulations were analyzed based on artifact origin, user interactivity, and functions of the stimuli. Results: Three types of visual artifacts-virtual reality (VR) (n = 4), videos (n = 4), and drawings (n = 5) were found. Dichotomous patterns of artifact origin (native vs. foreign) and interactivity (participatory vs. nonparticipatory) characterized the applications. A hierarchy of functionsengage, externalize, internalize, and rescript was observed. Most studies confirmed the positive effects on the varied anxiety conditions; however, unclear risk of bias and extraneous factors was present. Conclusions: Future visual narrative studies addressing adult anxiety are recommended to strengthen the current body of knowledge by using double-blinded randomized control trials with robust anxiety measures, incorporating artifact origin and user interactivity in intervention designs, considering alternative stimuli with high accessibility, such as images, and including employment-related anxiety conditions.
College & Undergraduate Libraries, 2019
Given that graduate employment is a clear outcome of education success, there is an urgent need t... more Given that graduate employment is a clear outcome of education success, there is an urgent need to conceptualize course design strategically to maximize students' chances of employment. In this paper, we present an Australian case study in which we used a structured career information literacy learning approach to build employability in a biological sciences capstone course, through collaboration between the university library, academics, and career service. We report the context, method, measurement, outcomes of collaboration, and roles of contributors in this partnership. This case study lends itself to potential ways of incorporating career information literacy into an academic context.
Australian Journal of Career Development, 2015
This paper reports the quantitative findings of a study on conceptions of positive career outcome... more This paper reports the quantitative findings of a study on conceptions of positive career outcomes held by Chinese students who returned home to work after gaining higher education qualifications in Australia. The study explores what positive career outcomes mean to Chinese returnees, the actual positive career outcomes Chinese returnees have experienced and contributing factors to the positive career outcomes achieved. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used and here the analysis of the quantitative findings is presented. The survey data show that Chinese returnees assign greater importance to ‘soft outcomes’ relating to personal and life fulfilment than ‘hard outcomes’ such as employment results. Also, the discrepancy between the returnees’ ideal and actual outcomes is greater in the soft outcomes than the hard outcomes. Statistical analysis indicates three emergent, distinct groups of conceptions of positive career outcomes. The qualitative findings will be pr...
Multimedia Tools and Applications
Serious storytelling as a media genre has the potential to accentuate the benefits of narrative i... more Serious storytelling as a media genre has the potential to accentuate the benefits of narrative interventions in health and education. To inform its application, it is necessary to identify effects of sensory inputs. Here, we focus on visual stimuli and observe their effects on an anxiety condition. We examine whether serious storytelling incorporating images, a type of basic visual stimuli, may reduce interview performance anxiety. In a double-blind randomised control trial, 69 participants with matched levels of anxiety received serious storytelling interview training and were allocated to exposure (image-based preparation) and control (standard preparation) groups. A week later, participants attended individual interviews with two independent interviewers and reported their interview anxiety. Analyses revealed a positive relationship between generalised anxiety and some dimensions of interview anxiety, but serious storytelling with images predicted a reduction in interview perfor...
Education + Training, 2022
Purpose-Stories of employability are told in employment and educational settings, notably the sel... more Purpose-Stories of employability are told in employment and educational settings, notably the selection interviews. A popular training approach guiding higher education students to construct employability stories has been the past-behaviour storytelling method. However, insufficient research exists regarding the method's effectiveness and optimisation. This study examines whether the method (1) increases the quantity and quality of interview narratives in story forms and (2) can be enhanced by image stimuli. Design/methodology/approach-In a double-blind randomised control trial with repeated measures, participants submitted four weekly interview narratives. After receiving past-behaviour serious storytelling training in Week 3, they were randomly allocated to an exposure group using images and a control group using keywords as a placebo to continue producing interview narratives. The interview narratives were assessed based on the number of stories and quality ratings of narrative conformity, relevance and conciseness. Results before and after the training, and with and without the image stimuli, were analysed. Findings-Training increased the number of stories. Training and repeated practice also increased narrative quality ratings. However, the image-based intervention was the strongest predictor of improved quality ratings (effect size 2.47 points on the observed scale of 0-10, p < 0.01, 95% CI [1.46, 3.47]). Practical implications-A pre-existing ability to tell employability stories cannot be assumed. Training is necessary, and intervention is required for enhancement. Multi-sensory narrative interventions may be considered.
The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling, 2020
A visual narrative intervention-Serious Storytelling with Images-was proposed to manage interview... more A visual narrative intervention-Serious Storytelling with Images-was proposed to manage interview anxiety and performance. Its ability to evocate significant incidents and enhance narratives construction was evaluated ideographically in two case studies. The findings suggest varying levels of sophistication in interviewee actions, challenges encountered, and perceived roles of images. Counselors can refer to the hierarchical concepts when tailoring interview training and coaching. Further investigation is highly recommended to confirm and measure intervention effects.
Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 2020
Background: Visual stimuli are frequently incorporated into interventions that use narratives to ... more Background: Visual stimuli are frequently incorporated into interventions that use narratives to meet counseling, therapy, education, and clinical needs. However, the treatment efficacy of visual stimuli is unclear. This systematic review synthesizes and evaluates visual narrative interventions addressing anxiety. Methods: Databases (n = 9) and extended reference searches identified 13 original studies using visual artifacts in narrative interventions for adult anxiety. The visual stimulations were analyzed based on artifact origin, user interactivity, and functions of the stimuli. Results: Three types of visual artifacts-virtual reality (VR) (n = 4), videos (n = 4), and drawings (n = 5) were found. Dichotomous patterns of artifact origin (native vs. foreign) and interactivity (participatory vs. non-participatory) characterized the applications. A hierarchy of functions-engage, externalize, internalize, and rescript was observed. Most studies confirmed the positive effects on the varied anxiety conditions; however, unclear risk of bias and extraneous factors was present. Conclusions: Future visual narrative studies addressing adult anxiety are recommended to strengthen the current body of knowledge by using double-blinded randomized control trials with robust anxiety measures, incorporating artifact origin and user interactivity in intervention designs, considering alternative stimuli with high accessibility, such as images, and including employment-related anxiety conditions.
COLLEGE & UNDERGRADUATE LIBRARIES, 2019
Given that graduate employment is a clear outcome of education success, there is an urgent need t... more Given that graduate employment is a clear outcome of education success, there is an urgent need to conceptualize course
design strategically to maximize students’ chances of employment. In this paper, we present an Australian case study in
which we used a structured career information literacy learning approach to build employability in a biological sciences
capstone course, through collaboration between the university
library, academics, and career service. We report the context,
method, measurement, outcomes of collaboration, and roles
of contributors in this partnership. This case study lends itself
to potential ways of incorporating career information literacy
into an academic context.
International Journal of Innovations in Science and Mathematics Education, 2018
The mixed graduate employment outcomes of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)... more The mixed graduate employment outcomes of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) have often been discussed in terms of social-economic factors, which are largely beyond educational institutions' control. This study aims to examine an endogenous factor related to perceptions of career and employability development to inform course designs and facilitation. Building on a previous study, we examine STEM career information literacy learning emphases in generic, discipline-based and transformative learning. Specifically, we identify and describe the variance (a) between STEM student cohorts and (b) between STEM students and employers. In this nonexperimental, cross-sectional study, we collected responses via a career information literacy learning questionnaire, from final year STEM capstone unit students and their potential employers in an Australian university. The findings indicate that, overall, STEM student cohorts do not differ from each other in their emphases on different attributes of career information literacy, except for the Mathematics, Statistics, Physics and Astronomy cohort. However, when combined and analysed as a group, the STEM students exhibit significantly different career information literacy focuses from STEM employers. The results point to a critical need for STEM students to be educated about employer perceptions. Further implications and limitations of the study are discussed.
This paper reports the quantitative findings of a study on conceptions of positive career outcome... more This paper reports the quantitative findings of a study on conceptions of positive career outcomes held by Chinese students who returned home to work after gaining higher education qualifications in Australia. The study explores what positive career outcomes mean to Chinese returnees, the actual positive career outcomes Chinese returnees have experienced and contributing factors to the positive career outcomes achieved. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used and here the analysis of the quantitative findings is presented. The survey data show that Chinese returnees assign greater importance to 'soft outcomes' relating to personal and life fulfilment than 'hard-outcomes' such as employment results. Also the discrepancy between the returnees' ideal and actual outcomes is greater in the soft outcomes than the hard outcomes. Statistical analysis indicate three emergent, distinct groups of conceptions of positive career outcomes. The qualitative findings will be presented separated.
returnees ’ conceptions of positive career outcomes after graduating from
Universities worldwide are under increasing pressure to ensure graduate work-readiness upon degre... more Universities worldwide are under increasing pressure to ensure graduate work-readiness upon degree completion. However, the linkage between employability enhancement and disciplinary learning is problematic for many academics. To address this, a conceptual framework of student learning and career development is required. We propose the development of a Career Information Literacy Learning Framework (CILLF) by integrating three key theoretical frameworks, namely experiential learning, career development and information literacy. This study uses the CILLF to investigate capstone units, which are final year subjects. These units’ aim is to combine disciplinary knowledge and skills whilst preparing students for the next phase transitions (work, future studies or other life plans). We examine capstone units in three disciplines specifically: Information Systems, Information Technology and Engineering in an Australian university. Academic and professional staff involved in these capstone ...
International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 2018
The mixed graduate employment outcomes of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)... more The mixed graduate employment outcomes of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) have often been discussed in terms of social-economic factors, which are largely beyond educational institutions’ control. This study aims to examine an endogenous factor related to perceptions of career and employability development to inform course designs and facilitation. Building on a previous study, we examine STEM career information literacy learning emphases in generic, discipline-based and transformative learning. Specifically, we identify and describe the variance (a) between STEM student cohorts and (b) between STEM students and employers. In this nonexperimental, cross-sectional study, we collected responses via a career information literacy learning questionnaire, from final year STEM capstone unit students and their potential employers in an Australian university. The findings indicate that, overall, STEM student cohorts do not differ from each other in their emphases on d...
CONTEXT Inadequate preparation of Engineering students for the 21-century workplace is becoming a... more CONTEXT Inadequate preparation of Engineering students for the 21-century workplace is becoming a lightning rod for criticism. While STEM skills are set to underpin most of the emerging occupations, decades of efforts to re-engineer tech-based curricula seem to have made little headway in enhancing graduate employability. To date, studies contrasting different stakeholders’ views on the essential capabilities of graduate engineers have largely settled on leveraging generic skills in technical curricula. Yet the gap remains wide between academic training and the evolving engineering profession. It is questionable if the incorporation of generic transferable skills into discipline-learning alone is sufficient to produce engineers for the future.
Despite mounting pressure on universities to produce quality work-ready STEM graduates, the relat... more Despite mounting pressure on universities to produce quality work-ready STEM graduates, the relationship between discipline-based learning and employability is poorly understood. Applying the Career Information Literacy Learning Framework, we address this gap in a study on STEM students and employers/industry stakeholders. This paper reports findings from a subset of STEM disciplines: Information Systems, Information Technology and Engineering. Student data were collected from capstone units from the STEM faculty in an Australian university. A parallel STEM employer study was conducted concurrently. Four learning approaches and career development learning components across three levels of information literacy were examined. The study found this student cohort’s (N=160) emphases on and views of career development consistent with their peers within the same STEM faculty (N=492). However, their focuses differ significantly from STEM employers (N=62). Students focus on discipline-specif...
STEM employability is a non-homogenous phenomenon with mixed outcomes for graduates from differen... more STEM employability is a non-homogenous phenomenon with mixed outcomes for graduates from different disciplines. A myriad of factors may contribute to the diverse employability. Here we examine the heterogeneity of career and employability development focuses among different STEM student cohorts in the curricular context. We utilised a structured framework of Career Information Literacy (CIL) to map career and employability focuses of STEM students and employers. This paper presents findings from the Mathematics, Statistics, Physics and Astronomy cohort. Data was collected from final year capstone unit students at a STEM faculty in an Australian university (N=517, response rate 44%). Of which, Maths, Stats, Physics and Astronomy (MSPA) students were analysed as a cohort (N=80, response rate 73%). Concurrent data collection took place with STEM employers and industry stakeholders who engaged this faculty in recruitment and employability activities (N=62, response rate 78%). Upon compa...
The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling, 2020
A visual narrative intervention – Serious Storytelling with Images – was proposed to manage inter... more A visual narrative intervention – Serious Storytelling with Images – was proposed to manage interview anxiety and performance. Its ability to evocate significant incidents and enhance narratives construction was evaluated ideographically in two case studies. The findings suggest varying levels of sophistication in interviewee actions, challenges encountered, and perceived roles of images. Counselors can refer to the hierarchical concepts when tailoring interview training and coaching. Further investigation is highly recommended to confirm and measure intervention effects.
Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 2020
Background: Visual stimuli are frequently incorporated into interventions that use narratives to ... more Background: Visual stimuli are frequently incorporated into interventions that use narratives to meet counseling, therapy, education, and clinical needs. However, the treatment efficacy of visual stimuli is unclear. This systematic review synthesizes and evaluates visual narrative interventions addressing anxiety. Methods: Databases (n = 9) and extended reference searches identified 13 original studies using visual artifacts in narrative interventions for adult anxiety. The visual stimulations were analyzed based on artifact origin, user interactivity, and functions of the stimuli. Results: Three types of visual artifacts-virtual reality (VR) (n = 4), videos (n = 4), and drawings (n = 5) were found. Dichotomous patterns of artifact origin (native vs. foreign) and interactivity (participatory vs. nonparticipatory) characterized the applications. A hierarchy of functionsengage, externalize, internalize, and rescript was observed. Most studies confirmed the positive effects on the varied anxiety conditions; however, unclear risk of bias and extraneous factors was present. Conclusions: Future visual narrative studies addressing adult anxiety are recommended to strengthen the current body of knowledge by using double-blinded randomized control trials with robust anxiety measures, incorporating artifact origin and user interactivity in intervention designs, considering alternative stimuli with high accessibility, such as images, and including employment-related anxiety conditions.
College & Undergraduate Libraries, 2019
Given that graduate employment is a clear outcome of education success, there is an urgent need t... more Given that graduate employment is a clear outcome of education success, there is an urgent need to conceptualize course design strategically to maximize students' chances of employment. In this paper, we present an Australian case study in which we used a structured career information literacy learning approach to build employability in a biological sciences capstone course, through collaboration between the university library, academics, and career service. We report the context, method, measurement, outcomes of collaboration, and roles of contributors in this partnership. This case study lends itself to potential ways of incorporating career information literacy into an academic context.
Australian Journal of Career Development, 2015
This paper reports the quantitative findings of a study on conceptions of positive career outcome... more This paper reports the quantitative findings of a study on conceptions of positive career outcomes held by Chinese students who returned home to work after gaining higher education qualifications in Australia. The study explores what positive career outcomes mean to Chinese returnees, the actual positive career outcomes Chinese returnees have experienced and contributing factors to the positive career outcomes achieved. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used and here the analysis of the quantitative findings is presented. The survey data show that Chinese returnees assign greater importance to ‘soft outcomes’ relating to personal and life fulfilment than ‘hard outcomes’ such as employment results. Also, the discrepancy between the returnees’ ideal and actual outcomes is greater in the soft outcomes than the hard outcomes. Statistical analysis indicates three emergent, distinct groups of conceptions of positive career outcomes. The qualitative findings will be pr...
Multimedia Tools and Applications
Serious storytelling as a media genre has the potential to accentuate the benefits of narrative i... more Serious storytelling as a media genre has the potential to accentuate the benefits of narrative interventions in health and education. To inform its application, it is necessary to identify effects of sensory inputs. Here, we focus on visual stimuli and observe their effects on an anxiety condition. We examine whether serious storytelling incorporating images, a type of basic visual stimuli, may reduce interview performance anxiety. In a double-blind randomised control trial, 69 participants with matched levels of anxiety received serious storytelling interview training and were allocated to exposure (image-based preparation) and control (standard preparation) groups. A week later, participants attended individual interviews with two independent interviewers and reported their interview anxiety. Analyses revealed a positive relationship between generalised anxiety and some dimensions of interview anxiety, but serious storytelling with images predicted a reduction in interview perfor...
Education + Training, 2022
Purpose-Stories of employability are told in employment and educational settings, notably the sel... more Purpose-Stories of employability are told in employment and educational settings, notably the selection interviews. A popular training approach guiding higher education students to construct employability stories has been the past-behaviour storytelling method. However, insufficient research exists regarding the method's effectiveness and optimisation. This study examines whether the method (1) increases the quantity and quality of interview narratives in story forms and (2) can be enhanced by image stimuli. Design/methodology/approach-In a double-blind randomised control trial with repeated measures, participants submitted four weekly interview narratives. After receiving past-behaviour serious storytelling training in Week 3, they were randomly allocated to an exposure group using images and a control group using keywords as a placebo to continue producing interview narratives. The interview narratives were assessed based on the number of stories and quality ratings of narrative conformity, relevance and conciseness. Results before and after the training, and with and without the image stimuli, were analysed. Findings-Training increased the number of stories. Training and repeated practice also increased narrative quality ratings. However, the image-based intervention was the strongest predictor of improved quality ratings (effect size 2.47 points on the observed scale of 0-10, p < 0.01, 95% CI [1.46, 3.47]). Practical implications-A pre-existing ability to tell employability stories cannot be assumed. Training is necessary, and intervention is required for enhancement. Multi-sensory narrative interventions may be considered.
The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling, 2020
A visual narrative intervention-Serious Storytelling with Images-was proposed to manage interview... more A visual narrative intervention-Serious Storytelling with Images-was proposed to manage interview anxiety and performance. Its ability to evocate significant incidents and enhance narratives construction was evaluated ideographically in two case studies. The findings suggest varying levels of sophistication in interviewee actions, challenges encountered, and perceived roles of images. Counselors can refer to the hierarchical concepts when tailoring interview training and coaching. Further investigation is highly recommended to confirm and measure intervention effects.
Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 2020
Background: Visual stimuli are frequently incorporated into interventions that use narratives to ... more Background: Visual stimuli are frequently incorporated into interventions that use narratives to meet counseling, therapy, education, and clinical needs. However, the treatment efficacy of visual stimuli is unclear. This systematic review synthesizes and evaluates visual narrative interventions addressing anxiety. Methods: Databases (n = 9) and extended reference searches identified 13 original studies using visual artifacts in narrative interventions for adult anxiety. The visual stimulations were analyzed based on artifact origin, user interactivity, and functions of the stimuli. Results: Three types of visual artifacts-virtual reality (VR) (n = 4), videos (n = 4), and drawings (n = 5) were found. Dichotomous patterns of artifact origin (native vs. foreign) and interactivity (participatory vs. non-participatory) characterized the applications. A hierarchy of functions-engage, externalize, internalize, and rescript was observed. Most studies confirmed the positive effects on the varied anxiety conditions; however, unclear risk of bias and extraneous factors was present. Conclusions: Future visual narrative studies addressing adult anxiety are recommended to strengthen the current body of knowledge by using double-blinded randomized control trials with robust anxiety measures, incorporating artifact origin and user interactivity in intervention designs, considering alternative stimuli with high accessibility, such as images, and including employment-related anxiety conditions.
COLLEGE & UNDERGRADUATE LIBRARIES, 2019
Given that graduate employment is a clear outcome of education success, there is an urgent need t... more Given that graduate employment is a clear outcome of education success, there is an urgent need to conceptualize course
design strategically to maximize students’ chances of employment. In this paper, we present an Australian case study in
which we used a structured career information literacy learning approach to build employability in a biological sciences
capstone course, through collaboration between the university
library, academics, and career service. We report the context,
method, measurement, outcomes of collaboration, and roles
of contributors in this partnership. This case study lends itself
to potential ways of incorporating career information literacy
into an academic context.
International Journal of Innovations in Science and Mathematics Education, 2018
The mixed graduate employment outcomes of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)... more The mixed graduate employment outcomes of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) have often been discussed in terms of social-economic factors, which are largely beyond educational institutions' control. This study aims to examine an endogenous factor related to perceptions of career and employability development to inform course designs and facilitation. Building on a previous study, we examine STEM career information literacy learning emphases in generic, discipline-based and transformative learning. Specifically, we identify and describe the variance (a) between STEM student cohorts and (b) between STEM students and employers. In this nonexperimental, cross-sectional study, we collected responses via a career information literacy learning questionnaire, from final year STEM capstone unit students and their potential employers in an Australian university. The findings indicate that, overall, STEM student cohorts do not differ from each other in their emphases on different attributes of career information literacy, except for the Mathematics, Statistics, Physics and Astronomy cohort. However, when combined and analysed as a group, the STEM students exhibit significantly different career information literacy focuses from STEM employers. The results point to a critical need for STEM students to be educated about employer perceptions. Further implications and limitations of the study are discussed.
This paper reports the quantitative findings of a study on conceptions of positive career outcome... more This paper reports the quantitative findings of a study on conceptions of positive career outcomes held by Chinese students who returned home to work after gaining higher education qualifications in Australia. The study explores what positive career outcomes mean to Chinese returnees, the actual positive career outcomes Chinese returnees have experienced and contributing factors to the positive career outcomes achieved. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used and here the analysis of the quantitative findings is presented. The survey data show that Chinese returnees assign greater importance to 'soft outcomes' relating to personal and life fulfilment than 'hard-outcomes' such as employment results. Also the discrepancy between the returnees' ideal and actual outcomes is greater in the soft outcomes than the hard outcomes. Statistical analysis indicate three emergent, distinct groups of conceptions of positive career outcomes. The qualitative findings will be presented separated.