Exploring the Value of Values: Does Higher Education Need to Abandon a 'Skills Transferability' Focus in Favour of 'Values Transferability'?
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| Title: | Exploring the Value of Values: Does Higher Education Need to Abandon a 'Skills Transferability' Focus in Favour of 'Values Transferability'? |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Jeffrey Naqvi |
| Source: | Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability. 2026 17(1):1-20. |
| Availability: | Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability. Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3125. Web site: https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/jtlge/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 20 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research Tests/Questionnaires |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Higher Education, Transfer of Training, Values, Foreign Countries, Lifelong Learning, Career Choice, Career Development, Employment Potential, Entrepreneurship, Anxiety, College Students |
| Geographic Terms: | Australia |
| ISSN: | 1838-3815 |
| Abstract: | Higher education institutions (HEIs) in Australia have responded to their environment -- driven by government and industry -- and cultivated a skills focus when it comes to employability of its graduates. However, this has led to criticisms of a 'job factory' with minimal thought given to longer-term lifelong learning orientations and at the core, the students themselves and their values. With a quasi-field experiment design, using both phenomenology and surveys, 15 undergraduate and postgraduate students were exposed to a range of experiences exploring the role of values in career choice and career development. Findings reveal that students appreciate the focus on values as a currency of the employability equation. Five core themes arose out of the research: amplified career awareness; entrepreneurial thinking; anxiety; educational purpose; and understanding personal values. These findings pose questions for HEIs: whether to incorporate a discussion on values as part of employability; how to achieve this in a manner which reaches all students; and when is best to do so. Participants unanimously felt that the penultimate year of study is the ideal time to have a conversation with students not based on skills transferability into the workplace, but values transferability. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1494856 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Higher education institutions (HEIs) in Australia have responded to their environment -- driven by government and industry -- and cultivated a skills focus when it comes to employability of its graduates. However, this has led to criticisms of a 'job factory' with minimal thought given to longer-term lifelong learning orientations and at the core, the students themselves and their values. With a quasi-field experiment design, using both phenomenology and surveys, 15 undergraduate and postgraduate students were exposed to a range of experiences exploring the role of values in career choice and career development. Findings reveal that students appreciate the focus on values as a currency of the employability equation. Five core themes arose out of the research: amplified career awareness; entrepreneurial thinking; anxiety; educational purpose; and understanding personal values. These findings pose questions for HEIs: whether to incorporate a discussion on values as part of employability; how to achieve this in a manner which reaches all students; and when is best to do so. Participants unanimously felt that the penultimate year of study is the ideal time to have a conversation with students not based on skills transferability into the workplace, but values transferability. |
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| ISSN: | 1838-3815 |
