The relationship between student employability and student engagement: working toward a more unified theory

As the field of Psychology evolves there is much interest in understanding how educational practices can be shaped to facilitate the recruitment and engagement of students (Halpern and Hakel, 2010). Highlighting the multiplicity of research approaches within Psychology is one way in which to advance the field. Indeed, in her recent article Rees (2013) argues that the multiplicity of research topics and methodologies is especially important to the discipline and that “promoting and highlighting this should be considered as a potentially effective recruitment strategy” (Rees, 2013 p. 1). Rees argues that the tension in Psychology between the traditional use of scientific method and the inappropriateness of this approach to many of the phenomena of interest create a dialectic that is both an opportunity and a threat. A threat in that such conflict may be off-putting but an opportunity in that methodological pluralism may be a selling point. Rees goes on to support Henriques (2013) in arguing that attempting to unify Psychology around a commitment to research methodology is flawed and that conceptual unification is necessary. It is Rees’s argument that highlighting the unique nature of empirical Psychology is a necessity for student recruitment that is the focus of this paper. Rees suggests that only by highlighting the unique plurality of approaches to our incoming students can we ensure that they become aware of the dialectic that is idiosyncratic to the field of Psychology. By further developing an understanding of this dialectic it is possible that our students will come equipped with a more realistic understanding of what are the unique contributions that Psychology can make to our everyday lives. It is this latter aspect of the Rees model that has great utility and the potential for significant impact on the recruitment, engagement, and subsequent retention of talented undergraduate students. However, such a model only describes one mechanism for student engagement and as such it needs to be developed further before it can contribute to the “unified theory which focuses on providing a conceptual map of the full breadth of psychological enquiry” (Rees, 2013 p. 1). In order to do this one must consider the unique mindset of the students themselves as the central and significant component of the model before we can arrive at such a unified theory. Nearly all UK undergraduate students are engaged in employment during their studies and consideration of successful employability post graduation is now a key motivator for undergraduates (Blackwell et al., 2001; Bridgstock, 2009). In light of this, by understanding the needs and expectations of the undergraduate student around employability it is possible to develop a more ecologically sound approach to effective student engagement1. The importance of successful entry into the graduate job market is a significant extrinsic motivator for undergraduate students (Cassidy and Wright, 2008). Within the UK HE sector alone there has been