In knowledge-based societies, the importance of higher education in facilitating employability is generally recognised. For universities, a key challenge is how to identify the proper balance of specific knowledge (ie, the knowledge specifically needed for a particular task) and generic knowledge (ie, general skills and capabilities) that are conducive to employability. Today, universities face the challenge of anti-intellectualism, a negative attitude towards the "life of the mind", characterised by a relatively low level of interest theoretical content and critical and analytic thinking. Relying on a questionnaire-based survey of 945 students, the paper discusses the influence of three employability factors on students' anti-intellectualism in college and the subsequent impact on their overall satisfaction with college education. The findings show that students' value of college-provided soft skills is low, raising the issue of the substantive impact of anti-intellectualism on their work integration and employability in the context of the knowledge economy.

Challenges to higher education in the knowledge economy: anti-intellectualism, materialism and employability

Patrizia Gazzola;VATAMANESCU, ELENA MADALINA;BOLISANI, ETTORE
2018-01-01

Abstract

In knowledge-based societies, the importance of higher education in facilitating employability is generally recognised. For universities, a key challenge is how to identify the proper balance of specific knowledge (ie, the knowledge specifically needed for a particular task) and generic knowledge (ie, general skills and capabilities) that are conducive to employability. Today, universities face the challenge of anti-intellectualism, a negative attitude towards the "life of the mind", characterised by a relatively low level of interest theoretical content and critical and analytic thinking. Relying on a questionnaire-based survey of 945 students, the paper discusses the influence of three employability factors on students' anti-intellectualism in college and the subsequent impact on their overall satisfaction with college education. The findings show that students' value of college-provided soft skills is low, raising the issue of the substantive impact of anti-intellectualism on their work integration and employability in the context of the knowledge economy.
2018
https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tkmr20
education; employability; Generic and specific knowledge; knowledge economy; learning; students’ anti-intellectualism;
Gazzola, Patrizia; Valeriu, Frunzaru; Vatamanescu, ELENA MADALINA; Bolisani, Ettore
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11383/2072952
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