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Employability of Teacher Education Graduates of an

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Vol. 9 · August 2012
JPAIR: Multidisciplinary Research
Print ISSN 2012-3981 • Online ISSN 2244-0445
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7719/jpair.v9i1.12 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research is produced by PAIR,
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Employability of Teacher Education

Graduates of an Asian Public University

HELEN BIHAG-BOHOLANO
[email protected]
Associate Dean, College of Teacher Education
Cebu Normal University

Abstract - The employability of graduates from an institution is

very important to note. It is through education and proper training
that one may get a decent job after graduation. This study intends to
show the employability of teacher education graduates in an Asian
public university. The methodological approach was both quantitative
and qualitative. Interviews were semi-structured and used a standard
set of questions; however graduates were encouraged and motivated
to share stories and explain how and why they had arrived at their
conclusions and to describe any relevant experiences in the workplace.
The findings reveal that the graduates who specialized in English,
Mathematics and Sciences are academically talented and motivated
group with considerable aspirations to be the teaching model. The
study also highlights that Science majors are the most employable
graduates while Mathematics majors able to handle other learning
areas such as Computer Education and Economics. Many Mathematics
major graduates can diversify further through postgraduate studies,
either into research or advanced courses in Mathematics in order to be
promoted an also for professional and academic growth. It is therefore
concluded that there are three top priorities in the workplace for
graduates, these includes: challenging/interesting work, a high salary
and professional growth.

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 International Peer Reviewed Journal

Keywords - teacher education graduates, Asian public university,

employability, workplace

INTRODUCTION

The study focused on the employability of the English, Mathematics

and Sciences graduates of the College of Teacher Education in Cebu
Normal University. It is through education and proper training that
one may get a job after graduation. Education is formal schooling
before the first job. Many educators will attest to the effectiveness of
learning if the students are able to apply them in everyday living.
There is a very strong competition of having a job after graduation.
In Hills, Robertson, Walker, Adey, and Nixon (2003) as cited in de
Guzman and de Castro (2008), a role of the higher education sector is
to supply suitably skilled graduates to the workplace.
In most cases, students will enroll in any higher institution to
gain and acquire new knowledge and skills that is applicable in
the workplace. The responsibility of University/College in training
students is not limited to imparting academic skills.
The development of employability skills in teacher education
institutions requires members of the academe to have informed
knowledge of current industry practice and an awareness of how
different workplaces are structured and function. Teaching skills,
as well as knowledge, means that faculty members are required
to move beyond traditional lecturing and use a range of teaching
methods (Commonwealth of Australia, 2007). As well as teaching
‘about’ particular skills, professors can model those skills and
develop them through the teaching methodologies they use. Certain
courses, such as science or information technology, have always had
a strong practical component, in both teaching and assessment, yet
increasingly universities are encouraging the use of different teaching
methodologies to develop graduate attributes in their students
(Commonwealth of Australia, 2007).
Employability in teaching depends on many factors such as
educational qualification, academic performance, communication
skills, technology skills and demonstration skills. Warraich (2008)
stressed that graduates will have to develop market oriented skills

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JPAIR: Multidisciplinary Research

to meet the challenging as well as changing needs of the employers.

Graduates have to improve their communication skills, attitude in
problem solving and decision making, information literacy, technology
skills, presentation skills and proficiency in English language.
The employability of graduates has become an aim that governments
around the world have, to varying extents, imposed on national higher
education systems (Yorke, 2006). This interest in employability reflects
an acceptance of human capital theory (Becker, 1975). Under human
capital theory, the task of government is to foster conditions that
encourage growth in the stock of human capital, since this is seen as
vital to the performance of knowledge based economies in a globalized
society. It is, however, given little attention in other societies, many of
which prefer to consider the ‘work-readiness’ of graduates as a means
of guaranteeing economic competitiveness in an increasingly global
market-place (Little, 2003).
The main objective of the study is to determine the percentage of
employment of the CNU graduates and the factors that influence the
employability of the teacher education graduates.

FRAMEWORK

Education and training providers have a statutory duty to evaluate

their own activities and participate in external evaluations. Evaluation
is used to collect data in support of education policy decisions and
as a background for information- and performance-based steering.
According to Levin (1989), skills are earned through education. The
major function of schools is to prepare workers to meet the labor
demand and skills requirement. Education therefore should design
curricula that prepare workers for job compatibility. The implication
of this theory is that educational institutions should design curricula
for “Social efficiency” by preparing workers for the existing economic
stability.
Smith et al (2000) mentioned that employability has been used as
a performance indicator for higher education institutions. According
to Hills, Robertson, Walker, Adey, and Nixon (2003) in de Guzman
(2008) a role of the higher education sector is to supply suitably skilled
graduates to the workplace. The growing awareness of employability

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in higher education is viable in the context of the development of a

knowledge based economy, a more diverse student intake, and changes
in the nature of graduate employment (Harvey, Locke & Morey, 2002;
Kimani, 2005; Shah et al, 2004) as cited in de Guzman (2008).
For employers, a general ‘graduates’ (HEQC, 1997) appears to be
deemed to be sufficient, which should be understood to include the
possession of general dispositions, qualities and skills. (Purcell and
Pitcher, 1996, noted that for many years over 40% of advertisements
for ‘graduate jobs’ had been more or less indifferent to applicants’
subject of study.
Students, therefore according to Yorke (2006) will develop their
employability in ways that reflect their particular circumstances. It
might be hoped that they would become ‘capable’ in the sense outlined
by Stephenson (1998): Capable people have confidence in their ability
to: 1. take effective and appropriate action; 2. explain what they are seeking
to achieve; 3. live and work effectively with others, and 4. continue to learn
from their experiences, both as individuals and in association with others, in
a diverse and changing society. [. . .]
The Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines (public
and private institutions) are aware that today’s employers are looking
for more than just a degree qualification. Academic qualifications
alone no longer guarantee that an individual will get a job. School/
colleges and universities should be a place where students grow
intellectually (cognitive competence), morally (character education),
socially (interpersonal skills), and personally (self-reliant, self-
confident, resilient and a lifelong learner). According to the DOLE in
the Philippines, the unemployment, which had averaged about 4.5
percent during the 1970s, increased drastically following the economic
crises of the early 1980s, peaking in early 1989 at 11.4 percent.
In matching theory, labor market ‘failure’ on the part of individual
graduates – unemployment or underutilization of graduate-level
skills in employment -- reflects mismatches between graduates and
employers which may come about for a number of reasons (Mason,
2006). For example, Coles and Smith (1998) emphasize that in a random
matching model mismatches between job-seekers and employers may
arise because of imperfect information, resulting in time and search
costs for prospective partners to obtain information about better

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JPAIR: Multidisciplinary Research

matches.
According to Mason (2006), in a recent investigation of labor market
mismatches in the Netherlands, Allen and van der Velden (2001) find
that ‘education-job mismatches’ (individuals holding jobs for which
their formal qualifications are higher or lower than required) do not
correspond closely with ‘skill-job mismatches’ (individuals holding
jobs for which their skills are above or below those required).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study conducted includes the graduates of the College of

Teacher Education in the Bachelor of Secondary Education from
Academic Year 2008-2010.
The methodological approach was both quantitative and qualitative.
Interviews were semi-structured and used a standard set of questions;
however graduates were encouraged to share stories and explain how
and why they had arrived at their conclusions and to describe any
relevant experiences. Most interviews were face-to-face and most were
one-on-one. Some of this was through face book especially if they were
not in Cebu City.
For the graduate questionnaire, the most used standard breaks
include year of graduation, field of specialization, degree program
attended, economic sector in which employed, employment status
and special skills that makes them competitive in the workplace. The
generated tables formed the basis for data analysis and interpretations.

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 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1. Number of CNU graduates employed as teachers in the public schools

2008 2009 2010

Degree Pro- No. of Employed % No. of Grad- Employed % No. of Employed %
gram & Major Gradu- (Public uates (Public School Graduates (Public
ates School System) School Sys-
System) tem)
BSED Physi- BSED
cal Physical
Science 9 50% Science 4 30.77%

18 13
BSED Science 52 41 78.85%
BSED Biologi- BSED Bio-
cal logical
Sciences 15 57.69% Sciences 8 42.1%

26 19
BSED
Mathematics 62 48 77.42% 60 34 56.67% 52 21 40.38%

BSED
English 72 53 73.61% 72 37 51.39% 84 33 39.29%
Other Field of
Specialization
(Social Sciences, 48 10 20.83% 54 14 25.93% 48 8 16.67%
MAPEH, Fili-
International Peer Reviewed Journal

pino)

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JPAIR: Multidisciplinary Research

To gather in-depth information on employability of the CNU-CTE

graduates, e-groups was retrieved and the researcher communicated
the respondents personally, via phone call or Face book. Structured
interviews was conducted and the interviews sought respondents’
views on definitions of employability; learning, teaching and
assessment of employment-related skills and knowledge; employer
involvement with programs of study; student work experience; and
other employability initiatives. The findings revealed that in 2008,
Science majors have the greatest employability rate in the public
schools. Out of 52 graduates 41 or 78.85% of them were employed
in the public high schools. With the Science majors, all respondents
acknowledged that they were competitive in the workplace especially
in terms of teaching strategies, creating, producing and using
instructional materials which are innovative in nature.
Table 1 also shows that Mathematics majors also have high
employability rate which is 77.42%. Aside from teaching Mathematics,
some of them were also assigned as Computer Education teacher
and Economics. BSED Math graduates possess knowledge and skills
that will enable them to make a contribution beyond other subject
areas particularly where a combination of analytic, numerical and
communication skills are valued (Hibberd et. al, 2006). Additionally
many Mathematics major graduates can diversify further through
postgraduate studies, either into research in universities or advanced
courses towards specialist employment opportunities within many
industrial and commercial sectors as mention by Hibbard in 2006. In
2004, 24% of all Mathematics graduates went into further study and
another 11% combined both employment with study (Hibberd et. al,
2006).
Furthermore, Table 1 reveals that BSED English majors are also
employable. There are good in communication skills and are trainable.
73.61% of them were in the public schools. According to Brennan et.
al. (2003) the employability of English graduates is rather poor light;
at six months after graduation over half of English graduates were
in full-time paid employment but this was below the proportions for
all English major graduates. Based on interviews with the graduates
employers can easily distinguish between graduates in English and
graduates in other Arts and Social Science subjects. One recent study

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of six large graduate employers reported that employers felt that

Arts and Humanities graduates could lack certain essential skills
(teamwork and project work with presentation elements) compared to
English majors graduates (Brennan, 2003)..
Conversely, other field of specialization such as Filipino, Music,
Arts, Physical Education and Health and Social Sciences have low
employment rate as teacher in both public and private school. Most of
them were employed as call center agents. Out of the 48 graduates in
2008, only 10 or 20.83% were teachers in the public schools.
Table 1 also discloses that in 2009, that the highest rates of
employment as teachers in the public schools were the Biological
Science majors. It was followed by the Mathematics majors then
Physical Science majors. This implies that teachers specializing in
English, Mathematics and Science have high hope to be employed as
teachers than those other field of specialization. English proficiency,
as well as the degree of this knowledge plays a significant role on
employment characteristics.
As shown in Table 1, the same trends were observed from 2008-
2010. BSED Science majors were mostly employed in the public
schools. This entails that they are academically talented and motivated
group with considerable aspirations. As cited in Verhaest and Omey
(2009), Wetch (1970) argues that education and skill possession
produce two effects-------more pay and more productivity. He is in
effect saying that education creates work effects which enable workers
to more productivity in terms of speed and quality of work which in
turn translates to more pay, because there is greater knowledge and
proficiency in understanding specific tasks within the context of the
work organization.
Mathematics and English are second and third, respectively. The
education and training provided to teachers should not only focus on
familiarizing them with various instructional models. But it should also
put emphasis on deepening their understanding of the mathematical
content, their interpretations of the mathematical content in the context
of facilitating meaningful learning, their knowledge of learners’
conceptions and learning difficulties (Shulman, 1986).
There is strong evidence supporting the need for teachers to
have rich mathematical content knowledge and deep understanding

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JPAIR: Multidisciplinary Research

(Brown & Borko, 1992, p. 209). Many studies prove teachers trait are
related to student achievements. Montalvo et al. (2007) stressed that
students will put forth greater effort and demonstrate a higher degree
of persistence if they like their teachers. In the study of Wayne and
Youngs (2003), they found out that teacher quality in their analysis
of studies, examined the characteristics of effective teachers and their
link to student effectiveness.
It was found out that basic skill, attitude and behaviors were
very important to be employed, while competence was seriously
considered in the supplementary education industry. Still, other filed of
specialization were the least number of teachers employed in the public
schools. It is revealed in the study that most of them were employed
in the company and other establishment. Chou (2011) stressed that the
employable skills required for the supplementary education industry
were mainly represented by work enthusiasm, responsiveness,
proactive approach, optimism, and communicative competence,
interest in teaching, caring, patience and a good expressive ability. As
a mathematics community there is an increasing call to enhance, to
better articulate and evidence the skills that are, or could be developed
in the study of mathematics-based program (Golden, 2008).

114
 Table 2. Number of CNU graduates employed as teachers in the private schools

2008 2009 2010

Degree Program & No. of Employed % No. of Employed % No. of Employed %
Major Graduates (Private Graduates (Private Graduates (Private
School) School) School)
BSED BSED
Physical Physical
Science 6 33.33% Science 6 46.15%

18 13
BSED Science 52 8 15.38%
BSED BSED
Biological Biological
Sciences 8 30.76% Sciences 8 42.1%

26 19

BSED 60 17 28.33% 52 21 40.38%

Mathematics 62 10 16.13%

BSED 72 11 15.28% 72 22 30.56% 84 39 46.43%

English

Other Field of
Specialization
(Social Sciences,
MAPEH, Filipino) 48 7 14.58% 54 11 20.37% 48 9 18.75%
International Peer Reviewed Journal

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JPAIR: Multidisciplinary Research

Table 2 reveals the percentage of employment of CNU graduates

employed in the private schools. In the year 2008, out of 62 BSED
Mathematics graduates 10 or 16.13% of them were employed in the
private schools. A degree in mathematics does not train for a specific
job rather it gives a range of skills which enable teachers to enter any
of a wide range of careers. It is therefore a versatile qualification. A
number of studies found that teachers’ years of experience positively
correlate with students’ achievement. In the study of Betts, Zau and Rice
(2003 as cited by Ogbonnaya and Osiki (2007) reported that teachers’
experience significantly correlates with students’ achievement in
mathematics. It is followed by Science majors and then English majors.
Written and oral communication skills and critical thinking are just
some of the strengths mentioned by English graduates themselves
which will qualify them to be employed in private sectors.
Verhaest and Omey as cited by Chou (2011) believed that excessive
investment in education could influence the accumulation of working
experience [13]. From the perspective of the human capital theory, the
holder of a college degree is believed to have greater resources and
higher productivity than general and vocational high school graduates
in labor force utilization and work adjustment (Chou, 2011).
As shown in Table 2, other field of specialization (Social Sciences,
MAPEH, Filipino) had the lowest number of teachers employed in
the private schools. The job a graduate might hold six months after
completing his or her studies is very often one that the graduate would
not consider as permanent, or one that is a ‘real’ first destination
(Brennan, 2003). The main sectors for these graduates are business,
consultancy and research, wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing,
community, social and personal services.
Most of the BSED Biological and Physical Science majors were
employed in the private schools in 2009. Of the 44 graduates, 14 of
them or 31.82% were teachers in the private schools. Through face-
to-face interview, the respondents confirmed that professional and
personal development was given by the school administrators to them.
The trend is different, second highest percentage of employment as
teachers in the private school in 2009 was the English majors. The
program for English majors is designed to lay a foundation for careers
in writing, teaching, scholarship, and research, as well as for many

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other types of position in the business and professional world where

skills in communication, creative, critical, or analytical writing, public
relations, editorial skills, advertising, or the like are required. On the
other hand, 28.33% of the BSED Math graduates were also employed
in the private schools.
According to those who are employed in call centers and other
establishments, searching for employment starts way before graduation
for most of the graduates. The period of seeking employment
sometimes lasted for 3-6 months.
In 2010, most of the English majors were employed in the private
schools. Because English majors have learned how to write, analyze
material, and communicate effectively, and are good problem solvers,
they work in private schools and are highly appreciated. A large-scale
audit presents summary data at national level which do not account
for provincial and local variations in teacher employment policy and
planning. Science majors are employable followed by the Mathematics
majors. Hill, Rowan and Ball (2005) found that teachers’ specialized
mathematical knowledge was significantly related to student
achievement. Still the least number of graduates employed is Other
Field of Specialization (Social Sciences, MAPEH, and Filipino) which
is only 18.75%. Teachers in the private schools after the employment
contract will transfer to public schools for security purposes.

Table 3: Abilities, competencies and skills acquired

by the CNU graduates

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JPAIR: Multidisciplinary Research

The use of professional knowledge and skills acquired during

studies was a very important factor in job satisfaction. Table 3 presents
the abilities, competencies and skills acquired by the CNU graduates
and was developed in the workplace. Most of the graduates are
hardworking and trainable. Mathematics majors confirmed that their
superior usually commented on the hard work and perseverance they
have showed in the workplace. Most of the graduates are excellent in
written and oral communication skills.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, the study presented the percentage of employment

of Cebu Normal University graduates who are employed as teachers
in both public and private schools. The study showed that the Bachelor
of Secondary Education with specialization in Science, Mathematics
and English were mostly employed as teachers. They acquired
enough abilities, competencies and skills needed to be competitive in
the workplace. The qualifications should provide teachers with the
necessary amount of subject content and skills to become effective
in their classrooms. Furthermore, the findings reveal that the Cebu
Normal University graduates who specialized in English, Mathematics
and Sciences are academically talented and motivated group with
considerable aspirations. The study also discloses that these graduates
are employed as teachers in both public and private institution. Many
of them who are employed in the private schools want to transfer
to the public schools for security of tenure reasons. The study also
highlights that Science majors are the most employed graduates
while Mathematics majors able to handle other learning areas such as
Computer Education and Economics. As revealed in the study there
three top priorities in the workplace for graduates, these includes:
challenging/interesting work, a high salary and professional growth.

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ONLINE DATABASES

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/employability/
id116_employability_in_higher_education_336.pdf

http://www.dest.gov.au/highered/bihecc

http://maths.sci.shu.ac.uk/conferencepapers/23June2008/

Pursuant to the international character of this publication, the journal is

indexed by the following agencies: (1)Public Knowledge Project, a consortium of
Simon Fraser University Library, the School of Education of Stanford University,
and the British Columbia University, Canada; (2) E-International Scientific Research
Journal Consortium; (3) Philippine E-Journals; and (4) Google Scholar.

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