Browsing by Subject "http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p21989"
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(2016)Objectives. University students should be given possibility to learn generic skills alongside discipline specific knowledge during their university studies. This study examines how bachelor's and master's graduates evaluated the development of different generic skills during their university studies. In addition study examines how bachelor's and master's graduates described learning environments of the generic skills, the most important generic skills and factors impeding the development of the generic skills and also what kind of suggestions bachelor's and master's graduates produced for the better development of the generic skills. Methods. The present study combined both quantitative and qualitative methods. The data were collected through an electronic questionnaire. The survey data in this study consisted of 438 bachelor's graduates and 578 master's graduates survey answers and five bachelor's and five master's graduates interviews. Bachelor's and master's graduates were from different faculties. Quantitative data were analysed using t-test and qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. Results and conclusions. The bachelor's and master's graduates evaluated that the different generic skills have been developed well during university studies. There were statistically significant differences in a few generic skills between bachelor's and master's graduates evaluations but the effect sizes were small. Bachelor's and master's graduates described similarly the learning environments of generic skills. Master's graduates emphasized the importance of working life alone in developing generic skills. Bachelor's and master's graduates perceived critical thinking as a most important generic skill. Bachelor's and master's graduates viewed that different factors which were related to learning methods, courses and teaching, degree, university practices and university as a learning environment, impeded the development of generic skills. For the better development of generic skills bachelor's and master's graduates suggested that university should focus on the professional development and the development of curriculum and teaching. Based on bachelor's and master's graduates evaluations and experiences, it might be that after bachelor's degree the generic skills do not develop significantly in master's degree studies. In the future, a stronger integration of generic skills to the teaching of discipline specific knowledge and paying attention to the students professional development could contribute to better development of generic skills during university studies.
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(2018)Objectives. In the light of previous research, so called working life orientation is more emphasised in university education and this is also what students wish. Previous studies have shown that there is a shortage of skills and knowledge among university students and employers' expectations. Especially students in generalist fields, i.e. those students who do not graduate from their studies to a certain profession, experience challenges in their working life transition. This study examines the experiences of generalist students in the competences they have learned in the university and what competencies they think it was useful to learn when transitioning to working life. The study also explores the challenges the graduated students face in working life on a more general level. Methods. The study examined 20 generalist students from the University of Helsinki and especially their experiences of learning working life skills and the challenges faced after the transition to working life. The data were collected with a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed using abductive content analysis method. Results and Conclusions. The students reported to learn competencies related to understanding and knowledge formation, and the least described competences were related to communication and interaction. Most of the students missed the least described communication and interaction competences, and also the challenges in working life were mostly related to these competences. It can be concluded that student learning of communication skills should be developed in order to prepare students for the demands of working life.
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