Enhancing employability: integrating real world experience in the curriculum

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report on pedagogical research into the student experience of an approach to enterprise education integrated into the curriculum in a large metropolitan university. The paper aims to explore the implications which the research findings have for pedagogy for enhancing student employability and to discuss the approach to integrating the employability experience within these students' programme of study. Design/methodology/approach - An explanatory case study approach was adopted which aimed to explore students' perspectives on studying in a simulated work environment. Using the case study approach, phenomena of the student experience and behaviour identified through a survey questionnaire were used as a benchmark to understanding how and to what extent students learn employability skills and attributes within the learning environment. The quantitative questionnaire was followed by in-depth focus group interviews which explored the ways in which students learned in interaction with each other and with clients and the effectiveness of the simulated work environment approach. Findings - The findings of research pointed to the value of real world experience to learner employability. Students were most motivated in the subject matter where they could engage in activity or situations which they were likely to encounter in the real world of business. This further influenced their behaviour - students demonstrated reflective thinking and enhanced confidence. The learning environment's design in terms of the interdependent way in which students were expected to work was considered to have equally high implications for learner engagement in employability. Originality/value - This paper contributes to the wider research on learner engagement in employability which is a challenging issue in higher education pedagogy. The paper has some implications for appropriate learning design which would be of interest to academics and practitioners in developing curricula for employability. An emphasis is placed on the need for further research in the areas of teaching transferability to students, effective employer engagement and the value of interdependent learning.