Marketing students' meta-skills and employability: between the lines of social capital in the context of the teaching excellence framework

Barkas, Linda Anne, Scott, Jonathan Matthew, Hadley, Karen ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9341-651X and Dixon-Todd, Yvonne (2021) Marketing students' meta-skills and employability: between the lines of social capital in the context of the teaching excellence framework. Education + Training, 63 (4). pp. 545-561.

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Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine the role of social capital and higher order meta-skills in developing the employability of marketing students at a UK university.

Design/methodology/approach: This conceptual article, bolstered by illustrative primary data, provides a broader conceptualisation of employability. This is to address the specific research question on how social capital (contacts and connections) is deployed (via capability-based higher order meta-skills) in a UK university developing the employability of a specific group of students. The article is situated in the highly fraught context of teaching excellence measurement schemes [such as the teaching excellence framework (TEF) in the UK].

Findings: The research findings highlighted the role of social capital and higher order meta-skills in developing the employability of marketing students at a UK university.

Research limitations/implications: While the illustrative primary data are not generalisable, as they are limited to one group of marketing students in one UK university; the conceptual development, including a new social capital based definition of employability that incorporated the capabilities, provided by higher-order meta-skills, is widely applicable.

Practical implications: The article has highlighted how the impact of social capital, etiquette and meta-skills, while being “between the lines” of the employability discourse and the metrics of the TEF, explains the differing perceptions of the value of employability initiatives. The article highlights the grey area of between the reasons given as to why some candidates are valued over others. Perhaps no rhyme or reason sometimes, just the “hidden” perception/interpretations of the interview panel of the “qualities” of one candidate over another.

Originality/value: The difficulty in ascertaining the influence of social capital (and how it can be deployed through higher-order meta-skills as capabilities) results in challenges for universities as they endeavour to respond to the data requirements of “learning gain” within teaching excellent measurement schemes such as the UK teaching excellence framework.

Item Type:	Article
Journal / Publication Title:	Education + Training
Publisher:	Emerald
ISSN:	0040-0912
Departments:	Institute of Business, Industry and Leadership > Business
Depositing User:	Christian Stretton
Date Deposited:	25 Jan 2021 14:34
Last Modified:	26 Feb 2024 22:46
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/5898

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