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YOU ARE IN » Home page > News and information main menu > Graduate Market Trends > Working Class Students (Aut 08)

Working Class Students, the Career Decision-Making Process and Employability (Autumn 08)

• Summary
• Introduction
• Methodology
• Findings
• Research conclusion
• Recommendations
• Putting Research into Practice
• Results
• Conclusion
• Further information

Summary

In this article, Dr Paul Greenbank (Reader in Educational Development) and Sue Hepworth (Senior Careers Adviser) from Edge Hill University, report on their research into how working class undergraduates make their career decisions. The findings were explored under three headings: financial issues, networks and values. Implications of the research results and how they are being used to improve on career practice are also discussed.

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Introduction

This qualitative study by Paul Greenbank and Sue Hepworth, examined how working class undergraduates in their final year of study at Edge Hill University make decisions about their careers. It was funded by The Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU)and took place from February to May 2007. Existing evidence suggests that working class students are disadvantaged in the graduate labour market because they lack the economic, social and cultural capital possessed by their middle class peers. This study focused on the rationale behind the approach they adopted, and whether it contributes to their disadvantage in the graduate labour market.

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Methodology

An initial survey of final year students from a range of subject areas resulted in the return of 165 questionnaires. This was followed by in-depth interviews with 30 working class students about how they made career decisions.

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Findings

The results of the study were analysed under three main headings: financial issues, networks and values.

(i) Financial issues

It is claimed that a lack of money forces working class students to term-time working. Consequently they do not have time to pursue the non-paid extra-curricular activities that would help develop their employability. It is also argued that working class students lack the time to engage in career decision-making activities and job hunting.

This study found that financial factors did not appear to be the key factor influencing behaviour. Students failed to participate in non-paid extra-curricular activities because they were unaware of the employability value of this experience. Furthermore, students concentrated on achieving a ‘good degree’ rather than other activities, believing that this was pivotal to success in the graduate labour market.

Students also tended to adopt a ‘serial approach’ to study and careers. Rather than undertaking a number of tasks simultaneously, students prioritised activities (e.g. assignments) and completed them serially, i.e. one at a time. Career planning activities were inevitably suspended as students completed more pressing tasks. As most students had an income on graduation via their term-time jobs, this also acted as a disincentive to action. Moreover, many of their peers were adopting similar strategies so students felt their approach to careers was ‘normal’.

It is also suggested that a lack of money acts as a constraint on working class students’ geographical mobility. However, the students’ lack of geographical mobility tended to arise not because of financial constraints, but because of a psychological need to remain close to family and friends. Some families also seemed to exert emotional pressure on students to remain close to home.

(ii) Networks

Students’ networks are complex, involving people such as parents, relatives, friends and professionals (i.e. teachers, lecturers and careers advisers). Networks are forms of social capital that may be utilised in the career decision-making process, and it is argued that working class students will have poor levels of social capital. Whilst this was generally true of the students in this study, ambiguities arose because many students had family and friends from more middle class backgrounds. Students discussed careers issues with teachers, lecturers, and to a lesser extent, careers advisers. Some of these people (particularly teachers and older siblings) became role models for the students.

The reluctance of students to approach the Careers Centre for advice arises for a number of reasons. These include the following:

• They preferred to talk to people they were more familiar with, so students often approached their lecturers rather than professional careers advisers.

• Some students felt intimidated by careers advisers, fearing that their lack of knowledge about careers issues would result in embarrassment or even humiliation.

• A minority of students had already decided on a career path and did not, therefore, feel the need for careers advice. These students mistakenly believed that careers advisers were only there to help with career choices; and were not aware of the wider range of services.

• Many students did not approach careers advisers because they were concentrating on their studies and were not at the stage of seriously considering careers.

• The Careers Centre seemed to be invisible to some students. They were not conscious of its existence; and those who were aware of it did not always seem to know where it was located.

• Some students were alienated from Careers by their previous experience of Careers, especially at school and college.

• A number of students admitted to lacking the motivation to arrange a careers interview.

(iii) Values

According to research, the working class are said to value informal (‘hot’) information, rather than formal information and rarely take a rational (i.e. comprehensive) approach to decision-making. This view was supported by our research, but not always for the reasons advanced in other studies. A rational approach to career decision-making is time consuming, and the students were focused on their academic studies. The students preferred ‘hot’ information, particularly their own direct experience and the experiences of people they know. Using such limited sources of information may be a factor contributing to the students’ lack of understanding of graduate employment.

It is also suggested that working class students lack a future orientation and have a fatalistic, pessimistic attitude to life. Whilst not pessimistic, the students in this study did appear to lack a future orientation. The vast majority had no clear career aspirations. This, combined with a poor understanding of the graduate labour market, gives the impression that they lack a future orientation. However, in practice, the students were concerned about the future: they just did not know what they wanted to do - or if they did - how they should prepare for it.

The working class are said to lack ambition and have low aspiration levels. Indeed, widening participation policy often focuses on raising the aspiration levels of those from lower socio-economic groups. Yet the students in this study had realistic rather than low aspirations. There were, however, no students with very high aspirations and there was a small minority of students who lacked the confidence to even apply for graduate jobs.

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Research conclusion

The working class students in this study often exhibited values or behaviour that contradicted existing empirical research and theory. There was a significant degree of heterogeneity in the decision-making behaviour of the students in this research. This is perhaps not surprising, because although the students all come from working class backgrounds, the influences upon them can often be very different.

Despite these differences some common themes emerged from this research:

• The students made little attempt to improve their employability due to a lack of awareness of the importance of developing their ‘personal capital’.

• The students did not consider a wide range of career options because they did not take a comprehensive approach to career decision-making, and they often had limited social capital.

• In spite of having poor levels of social capital the working class students in this study did not offset this disadvantage by making greater use of professional careers advice.

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Recommendations

It would appear that working class students need to be better informed about how to approach career decision-making. Solutions that advocate better information are, however, overly simplistic. It is recommended that the following is taken into account when attempting to improve the students’ career decision-making:

• Due to the practical difficulties involved in targeting working class students for additional support we would suggest that compulsory careers education is introduced on all undergraduate programmes. We would expect working class students (and other disadvantaged groups) to obtain more benefit from this than other students.

• Students should be encouraged to make greater use of careers services.

• Careers advice and education should be student centred so that account is taken of the circumstances and values of the students.

• However, a critical approach should be adopted. The use of group work, more practical exercises, case studies and ‘analogical encoding’ (see later) would help students to critically evaluate how they undertake the process of career decision-making and encourage them to consider alternative approaches.

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Putting Research into Practice

Following completion of the study, the findings were presented to the Careers Centre team at Edge Hill University. The team felt it was important to establish a more student centred approach. Each issue identified as a deterrent to students in using the Careers Centre was examined, and actions were put in place to counter these issues during the subsequent academic year (2007-2008).

(i) Increasing familiarity

Each academic department already had a linked careers adviser in order to foster an ongoing relationship with students. However, given the staffing ratio of one careers adviser per every 2,430 students*, it is unlikely that students will ever be as familiar with careers advisers as they are with lecturers. To address this it was decided to educate and engage academic staff, with the aim of increasing awareness of, and signposting to the Careers Centre. A new information leaflet for academic staff about the Careers Centre was produced, and academic staff were briefed on the services by careers advisers.

Additionally, to develop a relationship from an early stage, more work was done with Level 4 students. These activities aimed to encourage students to view careers staff as careers specialists, in the same way that they would view a hospital consultant or mechanic as a specialist in that area.

(ii) Developing approachability

Careers Centre staff were dismayed that some students felt intimidated by them. However, it was recognised that some approaches in group settings designed to ‘shock students into taking action’ may have contributed to this fear. Staff took on a more encouraging, supportive role, and emphasised to students that not knowing about careers issues is very common, and is one of the best reasons to seek advice. The careers website and student information leaflet were re-written to reinforce this message.

Less formal, friendlier language was adopted. Staff avoided using formal terms such as ‘guidance’ and ‘career aspirations’, using phrases such as ‘help and advice’ and ‘plans for the future’ instead. Language was changed in both spoken and written communication, with the aim of helping students relate more easily to careers staff and the support being offered.

A stronger focus was placed on customer service, especially from the initial point of contact, with staff endeavouring to be friendly, helpful and accommodating. In peak periods when waiting times for appointments reached three weeks, extra appointments were created by changing and cancelling other work. Students were telephoned the day before their appointment to remind them of it. If they could no longer attend, the slot was offered to another student. This allowed more timely access for students, decreased the number of missed appointments and improved student satisfaction.

(iii) Developing awareness of the range of services

To correct misunderstanding by students, greater attention was paid to publicising the full range of services. In group settings advisers ensured they communicated clearly the range of support offered at all stages of career planning. A new careers website was designed and a new student information leaflet was written. For the coming academic year, the slogan ‘more than careers advice’ has been adopted and will be used in all communication with students to reinforce the message.

(iv) Addressing the ‘serial approach’

Careers advisers used their increased understanding of this and acknowledged it with students. Staff emphasised that students were welcome to access the Careers Centre at any stage, at times which were mutually convenient and that there was no limit to the number of visits they could make. Staff also became more accepting of students who may have previously been regarded as having left it too late.

Recognising that students may not always make the time to complete recommended action from interviews, more second interviews were booked and a follow-up system was set-up. Feedback from students indicated that this was much appreciated, and in many cases prompted them to take action they would not otherwise have prioritised.

To encourage active engagement in career decision-making, careers advisers delivered ‘hands- on’ workshops wherever practicable. Data from the research was used to develop resources for use in analogical encoding.

Greater account was taken of student needs when planning and delivering workshops. By consulting carefully with students at the start of sessions, careers advisers tailored activities to best meet the needs of the students. Feedback from such sessions indicated that students felt they had gained from the workshops, and would be more likely to make an appointment with a careers adviser.

(v) Increasing the visibility of the Careers Centre

It was decided to improve communication and to use as many ‘student-friendly’ methods as possible. The new careers website was designed in consultation with students, and takes account of the information they were most likely to need and respond to. Language used on the site is less formal e.g. ‘download zone’ and ‘email a careers adviser’ rather than ‘downloadable careers resources’ and ‘e-guidance’. The design and content of the new student information leaflet was similarly market-tested with students. As a result, more photographs were included, the layout was changed and the language was modified.

Plasma screens around the university were used to promote specific events, and a DVD ‘Creating the Future’ was produced in conjunction with students. The DVD can be viewed via the careers website and gives an overview of careers centre services. The student internet portal was also used to publicise events and services at key times of the year, and a new student bookmark with the ‘more than just careers advice’ slogan was developed for distribution at Freshers’ Fairs.

As an alternative way for students to access careers advice, a more efficient e-guidance system was introduced. Notwithstanding the fact that the system was not initially highly publicised, there was a threefold increase in the number of email queries received.**

(vi) Reversing previous experience of Careers

Careers advisers held workshops with students to examine their attitudes to the Careers Centre, and to ascertain their needs. It emerged that contact at school or college had been patchy, and was not always with qualified careers advisers. The workshops enabled staff to de-bunk misconceptions, and explain the differences between university and school careers provision. To enhance students’ perception of a quality service, staff placed greater emphasis on publicising the regional and national awards gained by the Careers Centre.

(vii) Encouraging active engagement in the career decision-making process

In order to increase engagement in career decision-making, careers advisers delivered ‘hands-on’ workshops wherever practicable. Greater account was also taken of student needs when planning and delivering workshops. By consulting carefully with students at the start of sessions, careers advisers were able to tailor activities to meet the needs of students. Feedback from such sessions indicated that students felt they had benefited from the workshops and would be more likely to make an appointment with a careers adviser.

The study had suggested that students often have fixed ideas on how to approach the career decision-making process. This makes many students resistant to advice. Research on managerial decision-making shows that asking managers to compare a number of cases - a process known as ‘analogical encoding’ - can help them to develop alternative decision-making strategies. To see if analogical encoding would work with students in relation to career decision-making, a pilot study was carried out. Case studies obtained from the original research were used with a small number of students in the Business School. The results indicated that the technique has the potential to encourage students to question and change the way they planned to approach career decision-making. HECSU has subsequently agreed to sponsor a three-year project involving a larger number of students and a rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of analogical encoding.

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Results

It can be argued that efforts to promote the Careers Centre and its range of services have succeeded. During the academic year 2007-8 there was an unprecedented 60% increase in the number of students accessing careers guidance (see figures in Table).

Additionally, the number of academic staff accessing careers guidance for personal benefit has also increased.

The results of the pilot study utilising analogical encoding suggest that it encourages students to have a more positive attitude to the idea of engaging in extra-curricular activities, and to finding term-time employment that is relevant to their career aspirations. The students also appeared to become better aware of variations in the quality of different sources of advice. As such, they demonstrated a greater willingness to use the Careers Centre for advice. Analogical encoding also seemed to increase the students’ awareness of different sources of graduate jobs.

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Conclusion

The research carried out for HECSU and meetings with the Careers Centre team at Edge Hill have led to a number of new initiatives. These have centred on: encouraging students to make better use of the university’s Careers Centre; persuading them to become more actively involved in the career decision-making process, and on influencing them to develop their employability. Early indications suggest that the initiatives have been successful. The effectiveness of the initiatives will continue to be evaluated, and it is intended to try to establish the extent to which they are influencing different groups of students. The three-year project on analogical encoding will involve evaluating the degree to which the students’ social background affects their responses.

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Further information

For further information please contact: hepworts@edgehill.ac.uk. The report Working Class Students and the Career Decision-making Process can be downloaded at www.hecsu.ac.uk/hecsu.rd/research_reports_278.htm

* FTE full time equivalents

** Measured against the same seven-month period in 2007