Personal Development Planning and Employability: Chicken and

Egg

Dr John Peters NTF, FHEA

Associate Director [Research], Centre for Recording Achievement

Academic Development and Practice Unit

University of Worcester

Outcomes

• Define PDP and employability

• Critically discuss the relationship between PDP and employability

• Relate UW PDP practice to national policy and drivers

• Evaluate current research evidence for PDP’s value in supporting employability

Centre for Recording Achievement

• Seeks to ‘promote the awareness of recording achievement and action planning processes as an important element in improving learning and progression throughout the world of education, training and employment’.

• CRA is an Associate Centre of the Higher Education Academy and offers a range of services to HEIs and their communities aimed at supporting the implementation of Progress Files, Personal Development Planning and e-portfolios.

CRA Support

• Access to the expertise of a practitioner network across sectors

• Extensive website & resources– Relevant recent policy documents– Case studies of PDP practice– Members area with e-journal

• Regular and ‘one-off’ events • Input into policy development• With HE Academy: JISC-mail list PDP-UK• www.recordingachievement.org

Two views of the relationship: which comes first employability or PDP?

Employability PDP

PDP Employability

3 definitions of employability

• The ability of graduates to find a ‘graduate job’ quickly

• Work experience and work-related curriculum provision

• A set of relevant individual characteristics [achievements and potential]

Employability definition: HESA

• HESA use the DLHE survey to produce the performance indicator for Universities in terms of employability.

• ‘The indicator is the percentage of the base population who are working or studying. The indicator is defined as those graduates working or studying (or both) as a proportion of the numbers working or studying or seeking work. All other categories are excluded from this indicator.’ (HESA 2009)

Employability definition: CBI• ‘The CBI has identified a number of “employability skills”

or competencies: skills, attributes and knowledge that help graduates to secure employment, to enjoy their life at work, and to contribute to their employer’s success.’

• Positive attitude - a 'can-do' approach• Self-management – eg readiness to accept responsibility • Team working • Business and customer awareness • Problem solving • Communication and literacy • Application of numeracy • Application of information technology (UUK, 2008)

Employability definition: Yorke

• ‘A set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal attributes – that makes graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupation, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy’ (Yorke 2004)

A set of achievements…

• Skills – core skills, key skills, transferable skills & generic skills. Transferability skills

• Understandings – meta cognition, ability to learn and adapt, context sensitivity, nous,

• Personal attributes – self-awareness, self-regulation, self-efficacy

• What about knowledge and experience?

Cross Sectoral Agreement: Defining PDP

• ‘a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and / or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development.’

(QAA et al, 2001)

Cross Sectoral Agreement: PDP Quality Standards

• The nature and scope of opportunities for PDP, and the recording and supporting strategies will be determined by each institution.

• Students should participate in PDP in a range of learning contexts at each stage or level of their programme.

• Institutions must assure themselves that PDP is being implemented effectively.

(QAA et al, 2001).

University of Worcester

• PDP Quality Standards - student entitlements

• Independent student PDP – SQP & PebblePad

• Personal tutorial system – primary focus

• Curriculum – across all taught and research provision

Self Evaluation Where am I

now?

Target Setting:

Where do I want to be?

Action Planning:

How will I get there?

Action and Practice

Reflection: How well did

I do?

Personal Development

Record: Portfolio or Record of

Achievement

Model of PDP

Personal

EducationalCareer

Personal, e.g. Self-awareness, own values,

recreation, family life

Educational, e.g. Learning the subject,

acquiring study skills

Career e.g.Career management skills

e.g. learning to learn, approach to learning, learning styles, critical thinking

professional learning and work related learning

e.g. cv compilation, personal career decisions

e.g. self-efficacy, self-actualisation, purposeful learning for life

Personal Development Planning

Concept related to theories of:

• Experiential learning [Kolb]

• Self-regulated learning [Zimmerman]

• Self-efficacy [Bandura]

• Person-centred learning [Rogers]

• Autonomous learning & intentional learning

Spot the difference

Employability PDP

PDP

Employability

Work Experience

Career Management

Skills

Self Efficacy

Skills

Self Efficacy

Career Management

Learning from Experience

Academic Achievement

Vocational Knowledge

The relationship between PDP and employability

• PDP is a process for structuring learning about oneself, one’s subject and one’s life choices – including career and employment

• Employability is about being able to apply what has been learnt and the learning process in order to function effectively in, and gain fulfilment from, the world of work

• ‘The significance of PDP processes for employability development is … an important dimension of the University’s approach’ (UW 2008)

EPPI Systematic Literature Review

• Review Question: What evidence is there that processes that connect reflection, recording, planning and action improve student learning?

• “The review provides evidence … that the processes and actions that underlie PDP do have a positive impact on student attainment and approaches to learning”

See: [Gough et al 2003] http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/EPPIWeb/home.aspx?page=/reel/review_groups/EPPI/LTSN/LTSN_intro.htm

Self report grade and PDP tool/system use

(all respondents)

ABCD

Pe

rce

nt

50

40

30

20

10

0

Use of tool/system

no

yes

12

44

21

5

9

26

45

7

Significant difference:

Mann-Whitney U Test:

U=1840, Z=-2.7, P<0.01

Self report grade and PDP tool/system use

(those who engage in PDP)

ABCD

Pe

rce

nt

50

40

30

20

10

0

Use of tool/system

no

yes

13

46

21

4

10

31

42

7

Significant difference:

Mann-Whitney U Test:

U=1156, Z=-2.2, P<0.05

Research evidence

• ‘Of the students who completed questionnaires on four of the pilot studies in 2002–3, over 70 percent expressed positive statements on the value of progress files in facilitating their learning experience.’

• Pilots across the University of Glamorgan [East 2005]

Research evidence

• ‘There are indications … that undertaking PDP benefits students in several ways. In particular, it appears to impact on student retention by clarifying career goals and increasing motivation towards the chosen degree programme.’

• A 1st year PDP module [Monks et al 2006]

Research evidence

• ‘Practising therapists evaluated it very positively as a tool to support development within their role whereas an adaptation of the tool trialled by undergraduate dental students (not therapists) was very unpopular.’ [Haig 2008 on Fry 2002]

• ‘Fry et al. (2002), and Pee et al. (2002) in their work with dental therapy students report that undergraduate students disliked the experience, although they recognised its value.’ [Clegg & Bradley 2006]

University of Worcester Students say PDP supports

• Target setting

• Self-assessment, self-analysis and self-awareness

• Reflection

• Professional development

• Personal progression

• Understanding of skills for employers

National Action Research Network on Researching and evaluating PDP and ePortfolio

• 16 HE institutions

• 3 year project

• Grow practitioner researcher capability

• Produce broader evidence base

• Research questions include PDP’s link to developing employability

Ongoing issues 1• Different conceptions in different subjects

– Professional– Skills and employability– Learning (Clegg & Bradley 2006)

• ‘Staff engagement is seen as key to successful implementation. This is more likely where PDP is promoted as a tool to improve learning in the discipline rather than focusing on employability per se.’ (Haig 2008)

Ongoing issues 2

• ‘Staff engagement is seen as key to successful implementation. This is more likely where PDP is promoted as a tool to improve learning in the discipline rather than focusing on employability per se.’ (Haig 2008)

Some Ongoing Drivers

• ‘There should continue to be evaluation of the impact of [sic] learning and the representation of learning and achievement of different forms of PDP.’ [Burgess Report 2004]

• Roberts Review and QAA Code of practice: postgraduate research programmes [QAA 2004]

• Foundation Degrees• ‘Encourage e-based systems of describing

learning achievement and personal development planning (PDP).’ [HECFE e-learning strategy, implementation plan, 3.4]

References 1• Burgess, R. [2004] Measuring and recording student achievement: Report of the Scoping Group

Available at: http://bookshop.universitiesuk.ac.uk/ downloads/measuringachievement.pdf • Clegg, S. (2004) ‘Critical readings: progress files and the production of the autonomous learner’

Teaching in Higher Education 9, 3, 287-298 • Clegg, S. & Bradley, S. (2006) ‘The Implementation of Progress Files in Higher Education: Reflection

as National Policy’, Higher Education 51, 4, 465–86.• Clegg, S. & Bradley, S. (2006) ‘Models of Personal Development Planning: Practice and Processes’,

British Educational Research Journal 32, 1, 57–76.• Croot, D. & Gedye, S. (2006) ‘Getting the Most Out of Progress Files and Personal Development

Planning’, Journal of Geography in Higher Education 30, 1, 173–9.• East, R. (2005) ‘A Progress Report on Progress Files’, Active Learning in Higher Education, 6, 2, 160–

71.• Fry, H., Davenport, E. S., Woodman, T. & Pee, B. (2002) ‘Developing Progress Files: A Case Study’,

Teaching in Higher Education 7, 1, 97–111.• Gough D.A.. Kiwan D. Sutcliffe S. Simpson D. and Houghton N. [2003] A systematic map and synthesis

review of the effectiveness of Personal Development Planning on improving student learning. http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/EPPIWeb/home.aspx?page=reel/review_groups/EPPI/LTSN/LTSN_intro.htm

• Haigh, J. (2008) ‘Integrating progress files into the academic process: A review of case studies’ Active Learning in Higher Education, 9, 1, 57-71

References 2• HESA [2009] performance indicators web site accessed January 2009

http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/content/view/1186/141/ • Jackson, N. & Ward, R. (2004) ‘A Fresh Perspective on Progress Files – A Way of Representing

Complex Learning and Achievement in Higher Education’, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 29, 4, 423–49.

• Kneale, P. (2002) ‘Developing and Embedding Reflective Portfolios in Geography’, Journal of Geography in Higher Education 26, 1, 81–94.

• Monks, K. Conway, E and Muireann Ni Dhuigneain, (2006) ‘Integrating personal development and career planning: The outcomes for first year undergraduate learning’, Active Learning in Higher Education, 7, 1, 73–86

• QAA, UUK, SCoP & CoSHEP, [2001] Guidelines for He Progress File http://www.qaa.ac.uk/crntwork/progfileHE/guidelines/progfile2001.htm

• QAA, [2004] Code of Practice: Postgraduate Research Programmes, http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/codeOfPractice/default.asp

• Roberts, G. [2002] SET for Success: The supply of people with science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, HM Treasury http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/enterprise_and_productivity/research_and_enterprise/ent_res_roberts.cfm

• University of Worcester [2008] ‘Student employability and community engagement strategy’• UUK [2008] ‘UUK/CBI Employability Report: Survey for case studies’• Yorke, M. [2004] Employability in HE: what it is and what it is not LTSN