Rethinking Graduate Employability in Context: Discourse, Policy and Practice

Preface
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Introduction: Rethinking Graduate Employability in Context
	Part I: Critical Perspectives on the Theory of Employability
	Part II: Graduate Employability and Social Inequalities in Different National Contexts
	Part III: Graduate Employability as a Career and Identity Process
	References
Part I: Critical Perspectives on the Theory of Employability
	Chapter 2: Graduate Employability and Its Basis in Possessive Individualism
		Introduction
		Frames of Reference for Graduate Employability Research
		Problems with the Skills and Attributes Perspective
		Policy Origins of the Skills and Attributes Perspective
		The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism
		Self-contained Individualism
		Language and the Need for Conceptual Clarification
		Conclusion
		References
	Chapter 3: Relative Employability: Applying the Insights of Positional Competition and Conflict Theories Within the Current Higher Education Landscape
		Introduction
		Part I: Early Theories on Positionality of Education and Employability
		Positional Conflict in the Graduate Labour Market
		Higher Education Systems: Ranking and Stratification
		Part II: The Growing Relevance of Relative Employability
			Labour Market Positioning: Continuous Growth in the Supply of Qualified Graduates and Recent Labour Market Shocks
			Educational Positioning: Growing Segmentation of Higher Education at the Top
			Social Positioning: Greater Effort Is Afforded by Those Wanting to Distinguish Themselves
		Discussion: Outlining a New Policy and Research Agenda
		References
	Chapter 4: Boosting Employability Through Fostering an Entrepreneurial Mindset: Critical Analysis of Employability and Entrepreneurship in EU Policy Documents
		Introduction
		Governmentality Perspective on Employability and Entrepreneurial Mindset
		Critical Analysis of the EU’s Education Policy Documents
		Entrepreneurship Education as a Solution to Employability Problems
			Problem 1: Lack of Entrepreneurial Skills
			Problem 2: Obsolete Higher Education
			Problem 3: Risk Society and Risky Labour Markets
		Discussion: Empowered or Neurotic Citizens?
		Appendix A: Analysed Documents
		References
	Chapter 5: The Affective Life of Neoliberal Employability Discourse
		Introduction
		Ideas of Affect
		Affect, Governance and Graduate Employability in Higher Education
		Affect and Discursive Repertoires in a Qualitative Study of University Students
		Conclusion
		References
	Chapter 6: Grounding Employability in Both Agency and Collective Identity: An Emancipatory Agenda for Higher Education
		Introduction
		Conceptualising Employability as a Capacity for Collective Agency
		Collective Identity Underpins Agency Within Workplaces
		Practical Implications for Universities and Employers
		Conclusions
		References
Part II: Employability and Inequalities in Graduate Labour Markets
	Chapter 7: Are Graduates Working in Graduate Occupations? Insights from the Portuguese Labour Market
		Introduction
		The Benefits of Education
			The Assignment of Graduates and Overeducation
			Education and the Labour Market: Studies from Portugal
		Data and Method
		Empirical Evidence and Discussion
			The Supply of Graduates
			The Distribution of Graduates Across Types of Occupation
			Industry Affiliation: Education and Occupations
			Wages: Education and Occupations
			Discussion of the Findings
		Concluding Remarks
		References
	Chapter 8: Institutionalisation of Employability Capital in Employment Markets
		Introduction
		Revisiting the Empirical Study
		Conceptualising the Institutionalisation of Employers’ Beliefs About Graduate Employability from a Capital Perspective
		Reinterpretation of Cai’s (2012) Findings from the Employability Capital Perspective
		Implications of Cai’s (2012) Study on Interactions Between Graduates and Employers
		Discussion
		Conclusion
		References
	Chapter 9: The Vocational Drift of French Higher Education and the Employability of Graduates
		Introduction
		French Higher Education System
		Graduate Employment and the Vocational Drift in the French Higher Education
		Access to Labour Market and Representation of Employability, a Review of Recent French Studies
		Conclusion
		References
	Chapter 10: Re-Framing Employability as a Problem of Perceived Opportunities: The Case of Internships in a U.S. College Using the Student Perceptions of Employment Opportunities (SPEO) Framework
		Introduction
		Limitations in Employability Research: Issues with Ambiguity, Dimensionality, and Causality
		Additional Insights from Cognitive Psychology and Intersectionality Research
		A New Approach: The Student Perceptions of Employment Opportunities (SPEO) Framework
		An Empirical Example: Internship Experiences of Latinx Students at a Texas University
		Findings
		Factors Leading to Student Perceptions of Not Being Competitive/Limited Opportunities
		Influence of Pay and Housing on Students’ Ability to Take Internships
		Role of Texas College as Vehicle for Social Capital/Information Resource
		How Do these Multi-Level Factors Intersect in the Lives of Actual Students?
		Conclusions and Next Steps
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 11: Working-Class Adult Students: Negotiating Inequalities in the Graduate Labour Market
		Introduction
		Taking a Critical Look at Employability
		A Discussion on Class
		A Note on Methodology: Using Biographical Methods
		Working-Class Student Perspectives on Employability
			Class, Gender and Age
			Economic Social and Cultural Capital
		Summary
		References
Part III: Graduate Employability as a Career and Identity Process
	Chapter 12: Health as Employability Potential in Business Graduates’ Career Imagination
		Introduction
		Health as a Social Practice in the Neoliberal Governance of Workers
		Thematic Analysis of Business Graduates’ Interviews
		Health in Terms of Timescapes of Working Life: Normalising Intensive and Stressful Working Life
		Health as a Driving Force and Enabler of Vitality
		Health as Risk Awareness and Skilful Risk Management
		Health in Terms of Time Maps: Constructing Employability Potential in Career
		Work-Life Balance as Postponed to Future Career
		Health as Achieved Equilibrium
		The Counter Stories of Intensive Working Life and Flexible Career—The Discourse of Balance
		Discussion
		References
	Chapter 13: Finnish University Students Constructing Their Ideal Employable Identities: A Case Study of Top Performing Experts
		Introduction
		The Ideal Employable Identity
		Data and Methods
		Findings
			1. Employability as a Long-Term Goal
				1a. Early Vision About Future Employment
				1b. Applying to Study in University
				1c. Accumulating Work Experience During Time Spent in Education
				1d. Gaining Extensive Work Experience from the Field After Graduation
			2. Constructing Employability in a Specific Field
				2a. University Degree as a Minimum Demand
				2b. Available Vacancies in the Field
				2c. Developing One’s Competence Continuously
				2d. Free Time and Hobbies
			3. Harnessing Personality to Strengthen Employability
				3a. Maximising Efficiency at Work
				3b. Being Passionate About Work
				3c. Personality as an Asset
		Discussion
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 14: Strategies Undertaken by International Graduates to Negotiate Employability
		Introduction
		International Graduates’ Employability from Different Perspectives
		Conceptual Frameworks
		Methodology
		Participants
			Data Collection and Analysis
		Results
		Possessional Approach: Building Human Capital as Guided by Study Programmes
		Positional Approach: Being Positioned as a Disadvantaged Group in the Host Labour Market
		Processual Approach: Enacting Various Forms of Agency to Negotiate Employability
		Discussion and Conclusion
		References
	Chapter 15: Employability as Self-branding in Job Search Games: A Case of Finnish Business Graduates
		Introduction
		Self-branding as Performances of Employable Graduate Identities
		Methodological Issues
			Participants
			Method and Analysis
		Results
			Performing Difference to Other Job Seekers
				The Tactical and Unique Job Seeker Versus the Average Highly Educated Job Seeker
			Performing Sameness Enough
				Good Novice Employee “on paper” Versus Credible by Experience
			The Self-branding Dilemma of Authenticity Versus Fabrication
				Boundaries of Authenticity Versus Fabrication
				Boundaries of the “curated self”
		Discussion
		References
	Chapter 16: Negotiating (Employable) Graduate Identity: Small Story Approach in Qualitative Follow-up Research
		Introduction
		Data and Methods
		Small Story Approach in the Reading of Joel’s Follow-up Interviews
			The Creation of Accounts for Ruptures
			Negotiation of Continuity Versus Change as a Good and Valuable Employee
			Continuity in the Construction of a Jobseeker Who Is Not Well-Networked
			Change in the Construction of Experience as a Jobseeker and Employee
			Changing Positions Towards the Future and a Dream Job
		Negotiation of Graduate Identity in Relation to Employability in Small Stories
		Conclusion
		References
	Chapter 17: Epilogue
		Ways Forward in the Field
		References
Index