Abstract
This chapter explores the translation of employability into employment outcomes and career development in South Africa’s teaching industry, using the perspectives of currently employed teachers and employers. Thirteen interviews with principals revealed that employers made hiring decisions based on graduates’ teaching qualifications and experience, hard and soft skills, and other qualities. Besides, 15 interviews with currently employed teachers indicated that they succeeded in securing the job by demonstrating their employability through their subject-area strengths, student and classroom skills, non-discipline skills, and personal attributes. In these teachers’ and employers’ views, employed teachers can sustain their employability in the teaching job market through skills development, lifelong learning, teamwork, technological competence, and work ethics. This chapter also discusses the findings and provides some implications for better translating employability into employment outcomes.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abukari, A. (2005). Conceptualising lifelong learning: A reflection on lifelong learning at Lund University (Sweden) and Middlesex University (UK). European Journal of Education, 40(2), 143–154. https://doi.org/10.2307/3496962
Brown, P., Hesketh, A., & Williams, S. (2003). Employability in a knowledge-driven economy. Journal of Education and Work, 16(2), 107–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/1363908032000070648
Bui, C. B. (2013). Teachers’ micropolitics and school change in Vietnam. International Journal of Educational Reform, 22(2), 182–197. https://doi.org/10.1177/105678791302200205
Castleberry, A., & Nolen, A. (2018). Thematic analysis of qualitative research data: Is it as easy as it sounds? Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 10(6), 807–815. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2018.03.019
Clarke, M. (2018). Rethinking graduate employability: The role of capital, individual attributes and context. Studies in Higher Education, 43(11), 1923–1937. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1294152
Coetzee, M., Ferreira, N., & Potgieter, I. L. (2015). Assessing employability capacities and career adaptability in a sample of human resource professionals. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 13(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v13i1.682
Cranmer, S. (2006). Enhancing graduate employability: Best intentions and mixed outcomes. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 169–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070600572041
DeMonte, J. (2013). High-quality professional development for teachers: Supporting teacher training to improve student learning. Center for American Progress. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED561095.pdf
Donitsa-Schmidt, S., & Zuzovsky, R. (2020). The effect of formal, nonformal and informal learning on teachers’ promotion to middle leadership roles in schools. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 23(4), 371–387. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2018.1508754
Garrido, M., Sullivan, J., & Gordon, A. (2012). Understanding the links between ICT skills training and employability: An analytical framework. Information Technologies & International Development, 8(2), 17–32. https://itidjournal.org/index.php/itid/article/view/895.html
Graham, L., & Mlatsheni, C. (2015). Youth unemployment in South Africa: Understanding the challenge and working on solutions. In A. D. Lannoy, S. Swartz, L. Lake, & C. Smith (Eds.), South African Child Gaude (pp. 51–59). University of Cape Town. http://www.ci.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/367/Child_Gauge/South_African_Child_Gauge_2015/Child_Gauge_2015-Unemployment.pdf
Guion, L. A., Diehl, D. C., & McDonald, D. (2011). Conducting an in-depth interview. EDIS, 2011(8). http://greenmedicine.ie/school/images/Library/Conducting%20An%20In%20Depth%20Interview.pdf
Hartung, P. J., & Cadaret, M. C. (2017). Career adaptability: Changing self and situation for satisfaction and success. In K. Maree (Ed.), Psychology of career adaptability, employability and resilience (pp. 15–28). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66954-0_2
Hillage, J., & Pollard, E. (1998). Employability:Developing a framework for policy analysis (Research Brief No. 85). Institue for Employment Studies.
Holmes, L. (2013). Competing perspectives on graduate employability: Possession, position or process. Studies in Higher Education, 38(4), 538–554. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2011.587140
Kagan J. (2020, January 30). Hard skills. Investopedia. Retrieved October 17, 2020, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hard-skills.asp
Kenton, W. (2020, June 30). Soft skills. Investopedia. Retrieved October 17, 2020, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/soft-skills.asp
König, L. S., & Maškarin Ribarić, H. (2019). Is there a mismatch between employers’ and university teachers’ perceptions on graduate employability in Croatia? Management: Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, 24(1), 87–102. https://doi.org/10.30924/mjcmi.24.1.6
Kristof, A. L. (1996). Person-organization fit: An integrative review of its conceptualizations, measurement, and implications. Personnel Psychology, 49(1), 1–49. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1996.tb01790.x
Kristof-Brown, A. L., Zimmerman, R. D., & Johnson, E. C. (2005). Consequences of individual’s fit at work: A meta-analysis of person-job, person-organization, person-group, and person-supervisor fit. Personnel Psychology, 58(2), 281–342. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2005.00672.x
Marginson, S. (2011). Higher education in East Asia and Singapore: Rise of the Confucian model. Higher Education, 61(5), 587–611. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9384-9
Mason, G., Williams, G., & Cranmer, S. (2009). Employability skills initiatives in higher education: What effects do they have on graduate labour market outcomes? Education Economics, 17(1), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645290802028315
Mertens, D. M. (2005). Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods (2nd ed.). Sage.
Nguyen, K., Griffin, P., & Nguyen, C. (2007). Generating criteria for assessing lecturers in Vietnam's universities: A conceptual paper. Proceedings of the Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference, Adelaide, pp. 1–16.
OECD. (2017). Education at a Glance 2017: OECD Indicators. Author. https://doi.org/10.1787/eag-2017-5-en
Parks-Yancy, R., & Colley, D. (2018). Who gets the job? First-generation college students’ perceptions of employer screening methods. Journal of Education for Business, 93(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2017.1409691
Patton, M. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Sage.
Richards, L. (2005). Handling qualitative data. Sage.
Roth, A. E., & Sotomayor, M. (1990). Two-sided matching: A study in game-theoretic modeling and analysis. Cambrdige University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL052139015X
Ryan, A. M., & Schmit, M. J. (1996). An assessment of organizational climate and P-E fit: A tool for organizational change. The International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 4(1), 75–95. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb028842
Sangonet. (2016). South-Africa’s unemployment crisis worst in the world. http://www.ngopulse.org/article/2016/04/21/south-africas-unemployment-crisis-worst-world
Schein, E. H. (2004). Organizational culture and leadership. Jossey-Bass.
Seth, D., & Seth, M. (2013). Do soft skills matter?—Implications for educators based on recruiters’ perspective. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 7(1), 7–20. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2256273
Stats SA. (2019). Youth graduate unemployment rate increases in Q1: 2019. http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=12121. Accessed 23 September 2019.
Stols, G., Ono, Y., & Rogan, J. (2015). What constitutes effective mathematics teaching? Perceptions of teachers. African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(3), 225–236. https://doi.org/10.1080/10288457.2015.1080934
Suleman, F. (2018). The employability skills of higher education graduates: Insights into conceptual frameworks and methodological options. Higher Education, 76(2), 263–278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0207-0
Tomlinson, M. (2012). Graduate Employability: A review of conceptual and empirical themes. Higher Education Policy, 25(4), 407–431. https://doi.org/10.1057/hep.2011.26
Tomlinson, M. (2017). Forms of graduate capital and their relationship to graduate employability. Education and Training, 59(4), 338–352. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-05-2016-0090
Tran, L. H. N., Singh, J. K. N., Pham, T., & Medica, K. (2020). Employability, employability capital, and career development. In L. H. N. Tran, T. Pham, M. Tomlinson, K. Medica, & C. D. Thompson (Eds.), Developing and utilizing employability capitals: Graduates’ strategies across labour markets (pp. 41–65). Routledge.
Turban, D. B., Lau, C.-M., Ngo, H.-Y., Chow, I. H. S., & Si, S. X. (2001). Organizational attractiveness of firms in the People’s Republic of China: A person–organization fit perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(2), 194–206. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.2.194
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2020, September 1). How to become a kindergarten or elementary school teacher. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/kindergarten-and-elementary-school-teachers.htm#tab-4
Veld, M., Semeijn, J., & van Vuuren, T. (2015). Enhancing perceived employability. Personnel Review, 44(6), 866–882. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-05-2014-0100
Walsh, K., & Tracy, C. O. (2004). Increasing the odds: How good policies can yield better teachers. National Council on Teacher Quality. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C44&q=+Increasing+the+Odds%3A+How+Good+Policies+Can+Yield+Better+&btnG=
Wong, P. M. (2009). Teachers and promotion: Research evidence on the role of gender, career intentions, promotion criteria and teacher satisfaction. In L. J. Saha & A. G. Dworkin (Eds.), International Handbook of Research on Teachers and Teaching (Vol. 21, pp. 511–523). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-73317-3_33
Yorke, M. (2006). Employability in Higher Education: What it is—What it is not. Learning and Employability (Series One). The Higher Education Academy.
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my gratitude to Candice Wilson-Stykes at the University of Houston’s College of Education, for her comments to improve the manuscript of this chapter.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Msezane, S.B. (2022). Translating Employability Capital into Employment Outcomes and Career Development: South African Teachers’ and Principals’ Views. In: Nghia, T.L.H., Bui, B.C., Singh, J.K.N., Lu, V.N. (eds) Graduate Employability Across Contexts. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3959-4_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3959-4_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-19-3958-7
Online ISBN: 978-981-19-3959-4
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)