Purpose: There is strong evidence that year-long work placements make students more employable and produces better academic performance. Despite this, UK participation rates remain stubbornly low. The authors examine the influence of academic performance on students' willingness and ability to complete work placements. Design/methodology/approach:…

This article provides a review of existing research on youth transitions within regional, remote and rural communities. Results were organised according to the Systems Theory Framework of Career Development, highlighting the importance of geographical location as an environmental influence within the career decision-making process. By deploying a…

This sequential, explanatory mixed-methods study examined students' intentions to stay in or leave engineering industry careers upon graduation. We gathered survey data from 128 second-year engineering students about their intentions and attitudes. The participants were enrolled in a two-week interdisciplinary engineering summer course at…

As universities prioritise employability, there is increased attention to promoting students' career decidedness. In this mixed method, cross-sectional study, we explore whether and how students' interest in their academic subject affects their career decidedness. Using surveys of 428 undergraduates studying sciences in a UK university (60% F,…

Ofsted requires UK schools to help students understand the working world and gain employability skills. However, the aims of education are much broader: Education should enable flourishing long after leaving school. Therefore, students' career decisions should be conducive to long-term flourishing beyond career readiness and educational…

The paper draws on evidence from a survey of Australian and UK students (N = 433) on students' career values and their relationship to their proactivity in career self-management. Much of the dominant approaches to careers have focused on career competencies and adaptability in the context of increased movement from traditional to more…

Governments recognise that careers guidance, underpinned by accurate labour market information, can help learners make post-secondary education choices that match their interests, aptitudes and abilities, and lead to rewarding employment. For this reason, they have invested in building linked education/employment information systems and other…

This report looks at the scale of the gender pay gap between male and female graduates and the factors that may influence this. It finds the overall graduate gender pay gap is not wholly accounted for by subject of study, type of university attended, prior attainment, social background or ethnicity. It also explores differences in approaches and…

A stated ambition for universities is to help all students develop meaningful career trajectories and make positive contributions to local, national and global communities. To achieve this ambition, universities need to reflect in depth on how approaches to assessment help develop global talent. The present article explores, from a…

This book addresses central questions regarding parental involvement across European educational systems; exploring the commonalities and differences across European countries and the extent to which current policy and practice pertaining to parental involvement is inclusive of diversity. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach that draws from the…

This study investigates the role of personal values as motivational antecedents for understanding higher education (HE) student career decidedness among university business school (UBS) students. We propose a new "protean"-informed HE student career decidedness model for theorizing how both personal values and social capital mediators…

An analysis of 12 semi-structured interviews with university-based scientists and non-scientists illustrates their life journeys towards, or away from, science and the strengths and impact of life occurrences leading them to choose science or non-science professions. We have adopted narrative approaches and used Mezirow's transformative learning…

Despite numerous criticisms of the UK National Student Survey (NSS) institutional managers still strongly support its use in informing student choice, quality and assurance and quality enhancement activities. This article outlines a granular and nuanced benchmarking system for the NSS which provides both a "raw" score (weighted student…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and significance of flexibility in decisions about education and training options. This is done through an examination of the relevance of real options valuation (ROV) to our understanding of educational and training choices. Through this examination, the paper aims to contribute to the…

This paper is based on in-depth interviews carried out with students in their first and final years of undergraduate study. The paper examines how students approached career decision-making and the rationale underpinning the approach they adopted. The research found that students were not utilising the type of rational approaches to career…