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"Article"

Purpose: This study aims to undertake a theoretical and technical exploration of the literature on Work Readiness (WR) through the implementation of a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis. The present study addresses seven distinct research questions: (1) an examination of the descriptive features characterizing the literature on WR, (2) an analysis of trends in annual scientific publications related to WR, (3) the identification of the most pertinent and high-impact sources contributing to WR, (4) the delineation of the globally cited articles exerting the most influence on WR, (5) the determination of the most relevant countries associated with WR, (6) an evaluation of the outcomes derived from Bradford’s Law of Scattering and Lotka’s Law of scientific productivity in the context of WR, and (7) the identification of the prevailing research avenues that hold significance for future studies on WR. Design/methodology/approach: The present study employed Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and bibliometric analysis mapping techniques to analyze 521 articles extracted from the Scopus database. The analysis utilized Biblioshiny software and VOSviewer software as the primary tools. Findings: The findings reveal that WR constitutes a steadily expanding subject discipline, showcasing a notable 9.12% annual growth in scientific production spanning from 1975 to 2023. Australia, the USA, and Canada emerged as the most productive countries within the field of WR, as evidenced by their cumulative scientific production. The thematic map of keyword analysis suggests several burgeoning pathways for future researchers in the WR domain, including workplace learning, functional capacity evaluation, graduate WR, digital literacy, blended learning, resilience, and curriculum. Originality/value: This study contributes to the WR discourse by providing a comprehensive literature review. The findings of this study hold significance for graduates, universities, employers, the higher education industry, and the broader community. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Purpose: Research internships are integral components of undergraduate programs that nurture students' skill sets. However, the current trend of these internships adopting a direct apprenticeship model, often termed “cookbook” laboratory sessions, falls short of cultivating 21st-century skills. Therefore, this study proposes an innovative Outcomes-directed Research Internship Model (ODRIM) designed to enhance research competencies. Design/methodology/approach: This study introduces a pioneering research internship model by integrating the course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) framework with principles rooted in outcomes-based education (OBE). To evaluate its effectiveness and compare it with traditional research internship models (TRIMs), a two-group pretest-posttest design was utilized. Statistical analysis was performed on data collected from 66 participants to assess their research competencies. Findings: The results revealed a significant positive difference in utilizing the tailored innovative ODRIM track (pre-mean = 17.525, post-mean = 19.875; p = 0.009) compared to the TRIM track (pre-mean = 19.769, post-mean = 19.615; p = 1.000) in enhancing overall student research competency. Specifically, this innovative internship model notably enhanced students’ abilities in conducting research, showcasing technical skills, collaborating within teams, and disseminating research outcomes, encompassing the composition of research articles and reports. Originality/value: This tailored approach to the “Research Internship” encourages a harmonious blend of hands-on, inquiry-based learning and clear, measurable learning goals. It not only cultivates an immersive and thorough research experience to improve students’ research competencies, but also guarantees a concentrated alignment with predetermined research learning objectives. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Purpose: The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education in the UK focuses on maintaining, enhancing and standardising the quality of higher education. Of significant impact are the development of subject benchmark statements (SBS) by the QAA, which describe the type and content of study along with the academic standards expected of graduates in specific disciplines. Prior to 2022, the QAA did not have a SBS to which higher education policing programmes could be directly aligned. Design/methodology/approach: Over 12-months, a SBS advisory group with representatives from higher education across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, The College of Policing, QAA, Police Federation of England and Wales and policing, worked in partnership to harness their collective professional experience and knowledge to create the first UK SBS for policing. Post publication of the SBS, permission was sought and granted from both the College of Policing and QAA for members of the advisory group to reflect in an article on their experiences of collaborating and working in partnership to achieve the SBS. Findings: There is great importance of creating a shared vision and mutual trust, developed through open facilitated discussions, with representatives championing their cause and developing a collaborative and partnership approach to completing the SBS. Practical implications: A collaborative and partnership approach is essential in developing and recognising the academic discipline of policing. This necessarily requires the joint development of initiatives, one of which is the coming together of higher education institutions, PSRBs and practitioner groups to collaborate and design QAA benchmark statements. Social implications: The SBS advisory group has further driven forward the emergence of policing as a recognised academic discipline to benefit multiple stakeholders. Originality/value: The SBS for policing is the first across the UK. The authors experiences can be used to assist others in their developments of similar subject specific benchmarking or academic quality standards. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Purpose: American Community colleges are vital to the country's economic mobility and are leaders in developing and facilitating career, technical, and workforce education. This study explored employer perspectives on employees' common and specialized skills across industries in the United States. Design/methodology/approach: Employers were profiled for one year using a case study and content analysis method. They submitted performance records for at least three employees who graduated from community college career, technical, or workforce programs. Findings: Data revealed that overall, employees were successful at work, but employers focused on employability skills across disciplines (common skills); specialized skills employers focused on were associated with business operations and processes and seemed to be something other than industry-specific technical knowledge. Originality/value: This article and the research it refers to constitute original work that has not been reproduced or published. The value of this article is premised on new longitudinal data, which could be used to improve and progress institutional CTE and WD programs. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.

This paper explores the integration of STEM activities in teaching and learning, emphasizing the importance of innovative pedagogical approaches in effectively introducing theoretical concepts, such as variables and functions, and merging them with practical applications. Drawing on existing literature, this study investigates the integration of STEM activities with real-world applications to enhance mathematics learning, highlighting intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy beliefs, and goal orientation as key factors in fostering student engagement. This case study explores the integration of a STEM activity to introduce students to variables and functions through a pendulum experiment. The aim is to demonstrate the impact of this approach on students' understanding of abstract mathematical concepts, as well as their problem-solving skills. By combining cognitive and social constructivism with technological modes (virtual labs), the study showcases the transformative potential of innovative techniques in STEM education. The outcomes of the study highlight, to some extent, the positive effects of STEM activities on students' engagement, motivation, understanding of theoretical concepts, and problem-solving skills. The focus on hands-on activities supports practical learning experiences and fosters critical thinking. Additionally, virtual labs enrich students' exploration of complex mathematical phenomena, enhancing their ability to apply prior knowledge to new contexts and transcend the boundaries of traditional lab settings. Overall, the findings underscore the transformative potential of innovative pedagogical approaches and technological modes in creating engaging learning environments within STEM disciplines. © 2024, The Design and Technology Association. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION. This article analyses the situation of entrepreneurship in the university, knowing and understanding the guiding actions that are implemented to stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit, as well as the development of entrepreneurial projects in university students. METHOD. A qualitative methodology was applied, with a phenomenological approach, by means of 17 semi-structured interviews with technical professionals who are experts in career guidance and entrepreneurship, including 2 lecturers of master’s degrees who work on the creation of entrepreneurial ideas; all of them belonging to 12 public and Spanish universities where the Bachelor’s Degree in Pedagogy is taught. The data obtained were analysed using a system of categories (deductive and inductive) and with the support of Nvivo software, version 12. RESULTS. The findings allow us to obtain an overall view of the entrepreneurial situation at the university, identifying the guidance methods that professionals use in counselling and guidance sessions, and highlighting the possible needs and improvements of university students in terms of entrepreneurship from the perspective of these professionals. DISCUSSION. The results obtained allow conclusions and proposals for improvement to be drawn that help to promote the development of nascent entrepreneurial projects at the university. Accordingly, this study raises important actions and implications at the level of university policy and management, improving the training and guidance of entrepreneurial professional projects that increase student impact on the labour market, and that respond to the needs detected in university students. © Sociedad Española de Pedagogía.

What are the challenges and prerequisites for successfully reshaping instructional practices for home-based or remote digital learning? The success of organizational change processes is largely contingent on the willingness of those involved. This article investigates the factors influencing teachers' readiness to digitize their daily work routines, particularly in terms of teaching and learning processes. A total of 72 teachers from vocational schools in Germany participated via the SmartSurvey App during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The quantitative analysis is structured across three levels: firstly, assessing how teachers adapted to the new reality of remote work; secondly, analyzing their readiness to navigate the new instructional landscape characterized by remote teaching and learning processes; and thirdly, exploring teachers' overall attitudes towards digital media and their competency in media-didactics, drawing connections to the remote utilization of digital tools. © 2024, Redfame Publishing Inc.. All rights reserved.

Industry 4.0 is revolutionizing manufacturing processes and has a powerful impact on globalization by changing the workforce and increasing access to new skills and knowledge. World Economic Forum estimates that, by 2025, 50% of all employees will need reskilling due to adopting new technology. Five years from now, over two-thirds of skills considered important in today’s job requirements will change. A third of the essential skills in 2025 will consist of technology competencies not yet regarded as crucial to today's job requirements. In this study, we focus our discussion on the reskilling and upskilling of the future-ready workforce in the era of Industry 4.0 and beyond. We have delineated top skills sought by the industry to realize Industry 4.0 and presented a blueprint as a reference for people to learn and acquire new skills and knowledge. The findings of the study suggest that life-long learning should be part of an organization’s strategic goals. Both individuals and companies need to commit to reskilling and upskilling and make career development an essential phase of the future workforce. Great efforts should be taken to make these learning opportunities, such as reskilling and upskilling, accessible, available, and affordable to the workforce. This paper provides a unique perspective regarding a future-ready learning society as an essential integral of the vision of Industry 4.0. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2022. corrected publication 2022. Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Objective/Research Question: There is a growing demand for skilled workers in engineering and technology fields. However, the number of engineering technology degrees awarded is much less compared to engineering, and a high percentage of students in engineering technology do not persist beyond the first year. To meet the demands for skilled workers, it is important to understand the experiences of engineering technology students to identify factors that contribute to their matriculation and persistence. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the research that exists on the academic and personal experiences of engineering technology and welding technology students. The research questions guiding this study are: (a) what are the academic and personal experiences of engineering technology and welding technology students at 2- and 4-year institutions? and (b) what are students’ experiences with persisting in engineering technology? Methods: Using our research questions and predetermined inclusion criteria, we performed a literature review of relevant articles retrieved from Scopus and ERIC ProQuest databases. Results: We identify three areas of opportunities for future research examination: (a) experiences of students of marginalized populations in engineering technology, (b) how to leverage career and technical education and 2-year engineering technology programs to support matriculation, and (c) ways to address the negative stigma associated with engineering technology programs. Conclusions/Contributions: To meet the demands of the nation’s economy and future workforce, it is important to further examine the experiences of engineering technology students. © The Author(s) 2024.

Following the mandatory adoption of project-based learning (PjBL) in Indonesian vocational education, there has been a revival in popularity as a prevalent instructional approach in higher education. However, no research on students' attitudes toward mandatory PjBL in Indonesia has raised concerns about its acceptance. This article describes Indonesian vocational college students’ attitudes toward PjBL in English language courses. The study specifically focuses on cognitive, affective, and behavioral attitudes and how students perceive the advantages of PjBL for their English skills and career aspirations. This quantitative study included 336 Indonesian vocational students from twelve state and private colleges in Indonesia. The results of this study revealed that students had a positive attitude toward PjBL in their English courses. Students’ cognitive, affective, and behavioral attitudes indirectly influenced their career aspirations, with English skill benefits acting as mediators. This study proves that how students feel, think, and behave affects their future career goals by shaping how they perceive improvement in their English language skills. © 2024, Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved.