In a society where individuals can control their own destiny, socioeconomic origins would have little bearing on educational outcomes or earnings prospects. This ideal has driven the work of generations of Illinois educators, activists, policymakers, and employers, and it animates current statewide efforts to provide equal opportunities and…

This article critically examines the early career experiences and mid-career outcomes of domestic and international doctoral graduates from public German universities in the social sciences and humanities over two decades. We develop triadic thought as a spatial theory to conceptualise professional careers as situated coproductions in the complex…

Despite unprecedented demand for digital media skills many digital media graduates struggle to transition into employment because of the gap between university pedagogy and real-world professional practice. Traditionally, studio-based learning has been used to give students authentic experiences of the non-linear, interactive cycle of feedback,…

Imagine what education would look like if upon completion every graduate was guaranteed a job paying a living wage, democratically created, doing meaningful work… This is a political possibility in most countries in the world today: Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) demonstrates that, provided a country has sovereignty over its currency, which most now…

This paper explores the experiences of educators in Australia with doctoral qualifications and how they perceive their knowledge and research skills to be valued and leveraged as legitimate funds of knowledge in school environments. Findings from an online survey and four semi-structured interviews provoke further consideration of how teachers'…

Background: Engineering curricula are built around faculty and accreditors' perceptions of what knowledge, skills, and abilities graduates will need in engineering careers. However, the people making these decisions may not be fully aware of what industry employers require for engineering graduates. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study is…

In work-based learning (WBL), autodidactic, informal, nonformal, and formal approaches to learning are viewed not as dichotomous, distinct, or divergent spheres along a continuum but as intersected and clustered spheres. In WBL, prior learning, professional development, advanced standing, and other forms of learning are therefore formally…

The problem addressed in this study is that the performance of biomedical (BioMed) equipment technician (BMET) graduates from online programs is inferior to that of graduates from traditional vocational institutions. The purpose of this qualitative Delphi study was to build consensus among a panel of BioMed career field experts on key performance…

Context: Active engagement and participation in professional practices are an important requirement for expertise development in vocational domains. However, not much is known about how work contexts foster or hinder such expertise development. To further fill this research gap, this study investigates two vocational domains, namely sales…

Average-wage-by-major statistics have become widely available to students interested in the economic ramifications of their college major choice. However, earning a major with higher average wages does not necessarily lead individual students to higher-paying careers. This essay combines literature review with novel analysis of longitudinal…

Purpose: The present study aims to investigate the reasons for the gap between academic education and the required skills of the labor market in Iran. Design/methodology/approach: For this purpose, the authors adopted a thematic analysis method. The participants in the study were connoisseurs from universities and research institutes in Iran, who…

This study examines the social networks and networking behavior of students graduating from higher education and transitioning to the labor market. To obtain an in-depth understanding of graduating students' social networks, a mixed method social network study was conducted. Network data from 12 graduating students were collected. The results…

Higher education students in Finland and all over the world are often engaged in a paid job alongside their studies. The purpose of the present study is to explore how humanities students' work experience is related to their career engagement and metacognitive awareness. More precisely, the aim is to investigate how the nature and amount of work…

Recent higher education accountability policies and proposals have often linked programs' or institutions' federal aid access to students' postcompletion earnings. But proposals differ regarding when to measure earnings. Policymakers may want to know how fast earnings typically grow and when in an individual's career earnings growth rates change.…

Short-term certificate (STC) programs at community colleges represent a longstanding policy priority to align accelerated postsecondary credentials with job opportunities in local labor markets. Despite large investments in developing STCs, little evidence exists about where and when STCs are opened and whether community colleges open new programs…