ERIC Number: EJ1175779
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1534-6102
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Using Service-Learning to Enhance Employability Skills in Graduate Business Capstones: A Dissertation Overview
Wickam, Molly J.
Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, v22 n1 p163-173 2018
This dissertation overview summarizes a study that examined the alignment between employability skills employers need and employability skills graduate business students gain through service-learning in business capstones. This nonexperimental, mixed-methods, comparative study assessed whether the inclusion of service-learning in capstone courses influences students' development of employability skills. The top three employability skills enhanced by service-learning were decision-making, presentation skills, and teamwork; only presentation skills showed a significant difference for students whose capstone included service-learning versus those whose did not. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) found a four-factor solution, and one factor, collaborative learning, was significant for service-learning. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews revealed that decision-making, teamwork, and presentation skills were enhanced by service-learning. Findings show alignment between collaborative learning skills needed by employers and those enhanced through service-learning, and that the instructor's role in structuring projects is key to learning.
Descriptors: Service Learning, Employment Potential, Job Skills, Curriculum, Graduate Students, Business Administration Education, Business Schools, Masters Degrees, Employers, Mixed Methods Research, Comparative Analysis, Teamwork, Cooperative Learning, Semi Structured Interviews, Decision Making
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
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Language: English
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