The Higher Education Academy (HEA) is committed to enhancing the quality of learning and teaching for all university students in the UK, and the inaugural conference for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, held in April 2012 at Imperial College, London, aimed to showcase research and evidence-based educational…

Within the current economic climate students are seen as needing more than a degree to succeed in securing graduate employment. One way that students chose to enhance their employability is through engaging in voluntary work. In this empirical study, undergraduate psychology students' reasons for volunteering are explored within the context of…

Feedback from students on a Level 1 Research Methods and Statistics module, studied as a core part of a BSc Psychology programme, highlighted demand for additional tutorials to help them to understand basic concepts. Students in their final year of study commonly request work experience to enhance their employability. All students on the Level 1…

Within the UK, traditional subject-specific areas are increasingly being complemented by the provision of opportunities to foster students' personal development planning as an aide to support their future employment and lifelong learning. This paper describes an action research project which examined employability skills within a psychology…

In his article "Psychology in its Place," Radford (2008) argues that psychology as a discipline, subject, and profession needs to be debated to ensure one is not disadvantaging students, society, and the professions themselves in focusing on elements, systems, or content that are outdated or irrelevant now or in the future. In this article, the…

In this article, the author comments on John Radford's article "Psychology in its Place," which is a provocative and thoughtful piece on the state of psychology as a discipline in higher education. In his article, Radford introduces evidence that psychology graduates are attractive to employers for their numeracy and literacy skills and…

In response to the issues raised by Radford a clearer understanding of the psychology degree as part of the liberal education tradition is advocated in line with Newman (1982) and Graham (2005). Such a focus incorporates developments in employability and graduate competencies and reinforces rather than undermines concern with scholarship. Links…