The Research

Where do these Guidelines come from?

This site is an outcome from an Ako Aotearoa funded research study conducted in 2017, Identifying authentic teaching strategies that build employability skills of vocational education graduates

The guidelines have been designed for use by:

• Teachers in ITP organisations, and particularly those teaching programmes at Level 3-5 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework

• Teachers of vocation-based programmes, and those whose students have work experience, work placement or internships as an integrated element in their qualification

• Teacher trainers and educational developers who work with the above groups of teachers, and with teachers new to tertiary teaching who have little experience or knowledge of teaching and learning pedagogy or the principles of adult learning.

Background to the Research

This project was designed to assist teachers in vocational education to embed ways to enhance employability skills within their teaching practices. The aim was to improve learning by producing a toolkit of ideas and teaching strategies drawn from case studies of current practice across a range of contexts. The focus was not on what the students do or say, but rather the strategies teachers used to enable or encourage these skills in the learners.

The guiding research question was: How are teachers in Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) embedding employability skills into their teaching practices?

Researchers in the project team from eight institutes of technology and polytechnics identified a range of approaches and strategies being used by excellent teachers to enhance the employability skills in their students.

Research Process

Information was gathered in two ways; firstly, by observing classroom and online practices of 23 selected teachers from a range of disciplines at seven participating ITPs. Secondly, the researchers interviewed the teachers they had observed and asked them to elaborate on the ways they develop employability skills in their learners. They were asked to answer semi-structured questions which asked them to identify how they consciously develop a selected list of employability skills.

The list of ten capabilities were taken from seven desirable attributes outlined in an ‘Employability Skills Framework’ (Careers NZ, 2017); namely, positive attitude, communication, teamwork, self-management, willingness to learn, thinking skills, resilience, plus the three additional categories of innovation, entrepreneurship and cultural competence.

A total of eighty-four teaching strategies were documented, which form the basis of this project’s contribution to the Ako Aotearoa community and our colleagues across the wider tertiary education sector.

Project Team

Leader:

Gerard Duignan, Wellington Institute of Technology

Project team:

Carmel Haggerty, Whitireia NZ

Agustilia Rodrigues, Whitireia NZ

Cath Fraser, Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology

Scott Casley, Eastern Institute of Technology

Deb Stewart, Eastern Institute of Technology

John Hitchcock, Wellington Institute of Technology

Leah Seno, Wellington Institute of Technology

Anne Webster, Wellington Institute of Technology

Stephen Hannam, Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre

Beverly Taylor, Waikato Institute of Technology

Kate Ross, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology

Publisher

Ako Aotearoa National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence

PO Box 756, Wellington 6140

This project was supported through the Ako Aotearoa Regional Hub Project Fund