6533b870fe1ef96bd12cfddc

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Instructional factors and over-education of university graduates

subject

description

The aim of this work is to test the role of the level of generic competences developed during University studies and the professional and practice orientation of instruction (PPOI) in the prediction of graduates’ initial vertical fit and vertical fit change over an 8-year period. The study sample comprised 334 graduates who finished their degrees two years before they were interviewed for the first time (Time 1). Four and eight years later they were interviewed again (Times 2 and 3, respectively). All of them had employment at Time 1, 2 and 3. Hypotheses were tested by means of Latent Growth Curve Analyses. Contrary to our expectations only PPOI was positive and significantly related to graduates’ rate of change in vertical fit over time, meaning that the rate of change of graduates who received a more professional and practice-oriented instruction was faster than the rate of change of graduates who received a less professional and practice-oriented instruction. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/HEAd15.2015.423