Abstract
This paper details the development of the Graduate Attributes Scale (GAS), a tool that has been devised to help evaluate the acquisition of a set of generic attributes that underpin the profile of university graduates. Commencing with a set of 37 variables that target desired attributes, the tool was administered to 3493 alumni after graduation. We applied four mathematical models to derive an optimal subset of items that captures sufficient diversity in response, without producing any substantial reduction in data quality. Determinant-based methods, and particularly the Two-stage method, produced the most useful subset of items for application and evaluation of attributes. Findings from this research provides a roadmap for universities to develop similar instruments that can evaluate and monitor desirable graduate attributes. Such a tool can assist both faculty and career educators in the development of sound teaching and learning practice aimed at shaping graduates prepared for the world of work.
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Notes
The Treaty of Waitangi is considered to be New Zealand’s founding document. It was signed in 1840 by Māori rangatira (chiefs) and representatives of the British Crown. It represents an agreement in which Māori gave the Crown rights to govern and to develop British settlement while the Crown guaranteed Māori protection of their interests and status, and full citizenship rights. The Treaty has two texts, one in te reo Māori (the Māori language) and one in English. The English text is not an exact translation of the Māori text. Though the signing of the document, and interpretation of its meaning stimulates debate, it has been shown to be the most important single event shaping the narrative of biculturalism for Aotearoa New Zealand irrespective of ethnicity (Liu 2005).
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Sampson, K.A., Moltchanova, E., Robertson, I. et al. A Roadmap for the Evaluation of Attributes in University Graduates. NZ J Educ Stud 53, 119–134 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-017-0102-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-017-0102-3