Teaching and learning strategies for embedding key skills: reshaping a marketing programme

Information, communication and technology skills (ICT) are directly relevant to the development of graduate skills, the benchmarking of the Business and Management Subject, employer requirements for more skilled and prepared graduates, quality of education provision and the government's policy on lifelong learning (Dearing, 1997). Employers have expressed concern regarding graduates in that, "whilst new recruits may have the expected knowledge and understanding, they display a serious inability to apply that knowledge effectivelyto real workplace situations" (DfEE, 1998:30). As such, the role of higher education is increasingly to inculcate the development of the type of skills that will ultimately bridge the developing training gap between education and employability for graduates.

This paper will explore the training needs identified by employers and discuss the research undertaken at Edge Hill College of HE to integrate and contextualise ICT and other key skills within an undergraduate marketing programme in order to ensure that graduate are not excluded from the workplace. The action research and implementatin of teaching and learning strategies has been undertaken through collaboration between Library and Information Services (LIS) and the subject area of Business, Management and Leisure (BML).

The objectives of the research were to:
Identify and define the concept of graduate skills with specific reference to ICT;
Evaluate how experiential learning can facilitate the development of ICT skills;
Analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of the revised curriculum;
Evaluate the collaboration between LIS and BML in supporting the development of effective teaching and learning strategies.

The paper will consider and evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching and learning strategies, including the design of the curriculum, the focus on experiential learning activities adn the learning materials and resources produced (including web based). It will also provide an analysis of student feedback and recommendations for future developments in key skills embedding withn an undergraduate programme.

Assiter, A. (ed.) (1995), Transferable skills in higher education, Kogan Page.

Brockbank, A. and McGill, I. (1998) Facilitating Reflective Learning in Higher Education, DRHE and the Open University Press.

Brown, J. (1999), "Embedding Graduateness and Demonstrating Standards," Internal Research Paper Series, Centre for Business and Management, Edge Hill.

Bruce, C.S. (1999), "Workplace experiences of information literacy," International journal of information management 19, p.33-47 (online version).

Dearing, R. (1997), The National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education. A summary report, http://wwww.leeds.ac.uk/educol/ncihe/docsinde.htm (28/5/98).

Dennison, B & Kirk, R. (1990), Do, Review, Learn, Apply. A Simple Guide to Experiential Learning, Blackwell.

DfEE (1998a), "Towards a National Skills Agenda," National Skills Taskforce, DfEE SKT1, p.15.

DfEE (1998b), The Learning Age. A renaissance for a new Britain, consultation paper, Secretary of State for Education and Employment.

Edge Hill (1999), Edge Hill Learning and Teaching Strategy, December.

Edge Hill (1998), Key Skills for Graduates, GDE4_98_2nd Edition, September.

Hawkins, P and Winter, J. (1995), Skills for Graduates in the 21st Century, Skills and Enterprise Briefing, October.

Jarvis, P. Holford, J. and Griffin, C. (1998), The Theory and Practice of Learning, Kogan Page.

Hull, B. (2001), "How does exclusion occur and is it curable?" Ethics, ICT and Social Exclusion Conference, Bolton Business School, 8-9 February.

Moser, C. (1999), A fresh start. Improving literacy and numeracy. Report of the working group chaired by Sir Claus Moser, Department of Education and Employment, cited in Hull, B. (2001), How does exclusion occur and is it curable? Ethics, ICT and Social Exclusion Conference, Bolton Business School, 8-9 February.

Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (1998), An Agenda for quality, Higher Quality. The bulletin of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, Consultation Issue, 1 (3).

Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (2000), Subject Benchmark Statements for General Business and Management, http://www/qaa.ac.uk

Rowley, J. (2000), JISC User behaviour and monitoring framework, JISC, http://www.jisc.ac.uk (01/12/00).

Stoddard, J. (1991), "Higher Education in the 1990’s," Paper presented at the Confederation of British Industry, London.

Stoffle, C.J. (1996) "The emergence of education and knowledge management as major functions of the digital library," Follett Lecture Series, paper presented at the University of Wales, Cardiff 13th November 1996.

Svensson, L. (1984), "Skill in learning," in Zuber-Skerritt, O. (1992) Action Research in Higher Education, Kogan Page, p. 22.

Wright, P. (1992), "Strategic Change in the Higher Education Curriculum," in Loder, C., (ed) Quality Assurance and Accountability, London: Bedford Way Series.

Zuber-Skerritt, O. (1992), Action Research in Higher Education. Examples and Reflections, Kogan Page.