Effectiveness of internships as pedagogical practices in promoting employability skills amongst graduating students in selected social science degree programmes in Zambia.
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Date
2021
Authors
Mwelwa, Kapambwe & Mawela, Ailwei S.
Journal Title
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Publisher
International Journal of Educational Methodology
Abstract
To explore their role in enhancing graduate employability, the study investigated the effectiveness of student internships as pedagogical practices in promoting employability skills amongst graduating students in four Social Science Degree programmes of selected universities in Zambia. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 162 participants through the questionnaires and interview guides using a mixed-methods approach. The participants included different actors in the labour industry as critical informants; graduating students taking Social Science Degree Programmes; Lecturers, and Employers. The quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using the SPSS version 24 and Atlas. Ti. Version 8, respectively. This study employed the Human Capability Approach and Human Capital theories. Findings indicated that although internship practices were considered an essential component in the social science degree programmes for skills development, their effectiveness in promoting employability skills amongst graduating students varied from one programme to the other. The findings have implications on how universities and the labour industry could work together to design and implement internship experiences for students in social
science degree programmes that are more effective in promoting the acquisition of employability skills in Zambia.
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