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Skills Assumptions in Humanities and Social Sciences

By Claire de Than.

Published by The Learning Collection

A problem facing most universities is how best to adapt time-honoured teaching methods to the skills and needs of new generations of students. There is strong evidence that employers, particularly in the professions, still expect graduates to have the same skills which have long been taught in law schools (see e.g. E. Peden and J. Riley, ‘Law Graduates’ Skills – A Pilot Study into Employers’ Perspectives’ Sydney Law School Legal Studies Research Paper No. 07/81, 5). However, increasing numbers of students in the United Kingdom show weaknesses in skills which used to be assumed to be provided by schools and other secondary education providers. The issue is what and who is it that needs to change: expectations of universities and employers, or assumptions and practices of students. As noted by many employers of graduates in the United Kingdom, strong grades at university level are not necessarily an indication of having the necessary skills for entering the job market in any profession. Similarly, strong grades at secondary education level are not necessarily an indication of having strong skills for entering a particular field of study, such as law, at university level; the assumptions which universities make about their incoming students need to be revisited regularly and adjustments to provisions made accordingly. Many academics report that undergraduate students seem to perform far better in the classroom than in written assessments. In our paper, we will look at changes in secondary education which lead to different student expectations and skills, appropriate assessment methods and feedback at universities, and whether different models of skills support are now necessary for even the strongest student at university level. We will primarily use the examples of British law degrees throughout the paper, but it will be of relevance to many disciplines in many countries.

The International Journal of Learning, Volume 17, Issue 8, pp.217-226. Article: Print (Spiral Bound). Article: Electronic (PDF File; 614.847KB).

Claire de Than

Director, City Law School, City University London, London, England, UK