ERIC Number: EJ1430361
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-5692
EISSN: EISSN-1465-3346
Job-Seeking Narratives: In Search of Graduate Capitals Acquired during Student Placements
Sally Smith; C. F. Smith
British Journal of Sociology of Education, v45 n3 p402-419 2024
Being a graduate is no longer sufficient to secure a fulfilling and rewarding graduate role. This paper drew on Tomlinson's Graduate Capital Model to analyse the job-seeking narratives of recent computing graduates searching for a graduate job. Participants (n = 38), drawn from a national placement programme, were interviewed up to 12 months after they had graduated. Narrative interviews were analysed using the five graduate capitals of the Model, providing empirical evidence of the acquisition and application of graduate capitals, in particular through experiences of student work placements. The study found strong claims of human and cultural capital, arising from placement experience, while social and identity capital acquisition was found, but to a lesser extent. Fragile psychological and identity capitals were eroded by multiple unsuccessful job applications. This work empirically tested the Graduate Capital Model, contributing to understanding of capitals and their interplay.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, College Graduates, Job Search Methods, Employment Potential, Student Placement, Job Placement, Social Capital, Human Capital, Cultural Capital
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A