More than you would expect: Gains in Employability in Student Partners in a Pedagogical Consultancy Partnership Program

Abstract

A link between Students as Partners (SaP) activities and the development of employability attributes has often been noted. Still, it has seldom been a key focus of investigation, especially regarding pedagogical consultancy practices, a mode of SaP that is not only proliferating rapidly but is more challenging and therefore holds more transformative potential. This article reports on specific employability attributes developed by eight Student Partners serving as Pedagogical Consultants in a partnership program at Lingnan University, and how their partnership experiences contributed to the formation of these employability attributes. The Student Partners first completed a comparative survey on graduate attributes, which are considered foundational employability attributes. Then they answered an open-ended question on employability attributes they perceived the program had helped them develop. To probe SPs written answers further, in-depth interviews were held, recorded and transcribed, then analysed thematically. In relation to employability beyond the given graduate attributes, responses could be placed under three general themes, each with several sub-themes: (1) Relationship-oriented skills and attributes; (2) Workplace-related skills and attitudes; and (3) Future career options/directions, a knowledge-related category. This latter category reveals an unexpected aspect of the transformative impact of the Pedagogic Partnership practice on the participants.