Abstract
Through the use of signalling theory, this chapter considers how students conceptualise graduate attributes by examining the content, strength, and sources of the messages they receive and how they are interpreted. We explore undergraduate students’ perspectives from four disciplines (medicine, law, history, and management) at a research-intensive university in Scotland. The data demonstrate that students conceptualise graduate attributes in a multi-layered way that is firmly embedded in disciplinary understandings rather than registering messages generated centrally from the university. The chapter argues that if graduate attributes are to have a useful place in articulating the attributes and skills with which students graduate, they must be articulated and taught within the formal curriculum as well as developed and facilitated through the informal curriculum. Furthermore, graduate attributes should be communicated clearly across all levels, from the centre through to teaching, in ways that are meaningful and relevant to students.
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Jones, A., Pate, J. (2019). Students’ Perceptions of Graduate Attributes: A Signalling Theory Analysis. In: Lygo-Baker, S., Kinchin, I., Winstone, N. (eds) Engaging Student Voices in Higher Education . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20824-0_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20824-0_14
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