The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Career Preparedness of Chemistry Graduates
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29311/ndtps.v0i17.4084Keywords:
Employability, Careers, Transferable Skills, Chemistry, COVID-19Abstract
Recent research has established that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a shift in University student expectations of their graduate prospects due to unavoidable changes in their learning experiences during the pandemic, as well as the decrease in number of available jobs because of the economic impact of measures put in place to reduce COVID-19 transmission. This study used a survey to investigate: (a) the impact of the pandemic on student destinations six months after graduation and (b) the variations in perceptions of personal level of career preparedness between pre-pandemic graduates and graduates at different stages of the pandemic (i.e. the graduating classes of 2020 and 2021). 40 University of Leicester chemistry graduates engaged with the survey and analysis of the data revealed a non-statistically significant negative impact on employment six-months after graduation that appears to only affect graduates in 2020. The data also suggests that increased experience of the blended learning approaches adopted at the University of Leicester during the pandemic studies may better prepare graduates for remote working practices (e.g. using remote video conferencing software).
References
Agasisti, T. & Soncin, M. (2021). Higher education in troubled times: on the impact of Covid-19 in Italy. Studies in Higher Education, 46(1), 86-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1859689
Appleby, J. A., King, N., Saunders, K. E., Bast, A., Rivera, D., Byun, J., Cunningham, S., Khera, C. & Duffy, A. C. (2022). Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the experience and mental health of university students studying in Canada and the UK: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 12(1), e050187. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050187
Arthur, R. (2021). Studying the UK job market during the COVID-19 crisis with online job ads. PLoS ONE 16(5: e0251431). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251431
Baloran, E. T. (2020). Knowledge, Attitudes, Anxiety, and Coping Strategies of Students during COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 25(8), 635-642. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2020.1769300
Blackburn, R. A. R. (2018). Write My Next Lecture: Prelecture Problem Classes and In-Lecture Discussion to Assist Case-Study Teaching of Synthesis. Journal of Chemical Education, 95(1), 104-107. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00528
Blackburn, R. A. R., Villa-Marcos, B. & Williams, D. P. (2019). Preparing Students for Practical Sessions Using Laboratory Simulation Software. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(1), 153-158. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00549
Carr, R. M., Lane-Fall, M. B., South, E., Brady, D., Momplaisir, F., Guerra, C. E., Montoya-Williams, D., Dalembert, G., Lavizzo-Mourey, R. & Hamilton, R. (2021). Academic careers and the COVID-19 pandemic: Reversing the tide. Science Translational Medicine, 13(584), eabe7189. https://doi.org/doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.abe7189
Davis, J., Wolff, H.-G., Forret, M. L. & Sullivan, S. E. (2020). Networking via LinkedIn: An examination of usage and career benefits. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 118, 103396. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103396
Deryugina, T., Shurchkov, O. & Stearns, J. (2021). COVID-19 Disruptions Disproportionately Affect Female Academics. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 111, 164-168. https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.20211017
Desrochers, M., Naybor, D. & Kelting, D. (2020). Perceived Impact of COVID-19 and Other Factors on STEM Students’ Career Development. Journal of Research in STEM Education, 6(2), 138-157. https://doi.org/10.51355/jstem.2020.91
Erlam, G. D., Garrett, N., Gasteiger, N., Lau, K., Hoare, K., Agarwal, S. & Haxell, A. (2021). What Really Matters: Experiences of Emergency Remote Teaching in University Teaching and Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic [Original Research]. Frontiers in Education, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.639842
Farnell, T., Skledar Matijević, A., Šćukanec Schmidt, N. E. C., Directorate-General for Education, Y., Sport, & Culture. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on higher education: a review of emerging evidence: analytical report. Publications Office. https://doi.org/doi/10.2766/069216
Garrison, D. R. & Kanuka, H. (2004). Blended learning: Uncovering its transformative potential in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 7(2), 95-105. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2004.02.001
George-Williams, S. R., Blackburn, R. A. R., Wilkinson, S. M. & Williams, D. P. (2022). Prelaboratory Technique-Based Simulations: Exploring Student Perceptions of Their Impact on In-Class Ability, Preparedness, and Emotional State. Journal of Chemical Education, 99(3), 1383-1391. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c01116
Haelermans C, K. R., Jacobs M, de Leeuw S, Vermeulen S, van Vugt L, Aarts, B, Prokic-Breuer, T, van der Velden, R, van Wetten, S, de Wolf, I. (2022). Sharp increase in inequality in education in times of the COVID-19-pandemic. PLoS ONE, 17(2: e0261114). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261114
Leal Filho, W., Wall, T., Rayman-Bacchus, L., Mifsud, M., Pritchard, D. J., Lovren, V. O., Farinha, C., Petrovic, D. S. & Balogun, A.-L. (2021). Impacts of COVID-19 and social isolation on academic staff and students at universities: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 1213. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11040-z
Mahdy, M. A. A. (2020). The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Academic Performance of Veterinary Medical Students [Original Research]. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.594261
Mali, D. & Lim, H. (2021). How do students perceive face-to-face/blended learning as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic? The International Journal of Management Education, 19(3), 100552. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2021.100552
Miani, P., Kille, T., Lee, S.-Y., Zhang, Y. & Bates, P. R. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on current tertiary aviation education and future careers: Students’ perspective. Journal of Air Transport Management, 94, 102081. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2021.102081
Myers, K. R., Tham, W. Y., Yin, Y., Cohodes, N., Thursby, J. G., Thursby, M. C., Schiffer, P., Walsh, J. T., Lakhani, K. R. & Wang, D. (2020). Unequal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on scientists. Nature Human Behaviour, 4(9), 880-883. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0921-y
OECD. (2021). An Assessment of the Impact of COVID-19 on Job and Skills Demand Using Online Job Vacancy Data (OECD Policy Responses to Coronavirus (COVID-19), Issue. https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/view/?ref=1071_1071334-wh692jshet&title=An-assessment-of-the-impact-of-COVID-19-on-job-and-skills-demand-using-online-job-vacancy-data
Plakhotnik, M. S., Volkova, N. V., Jiang, C., Yahiaoui, D., Pheiffer, G., McKay, K., Newman, S. & Reißig-Thust, S. (2021). The Perceived Impact of COVID-19 on Student Well-Being and the Mediating Role of the University Support: Evidence from France, Germany, Russia, and the UK [Original Research]. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.642689
Pokhrel, S. & Chhetri, R. (2021). A Literature Review on Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Teaching and Learning. Higher Education for the Future, 8(1), 133-141. https://doi.org/10.1177/2347631120983481
Van Essen-Fishman, L. (2021). The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Graduate Outcomes 2018/19. https://www.hesa.ac.uk/insight/20-07-2021/impact-covid-19-graduate-outcomes
van Schalkwyk, F. (2021). Reflections on the public university sector and the covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. Studies in Higher Education, 46(1), 44-58. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1859682
Webb, A., McQuaid, R. W. & Webster, C. W. R. (2021). Moving learning online and the COVID-19 pandemic: a university response. World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, 18(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/WJSTSD-11-2020-0090
Williams, D. P. (2017). Learn on the Move: A Problem-Based Induction Activity for New University Chemistry Students. Journal of Chemical Education, 94(12), 1925-1928. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00399
Williams, D. P. (2022). vPBL: Developing a Facilitated Remote Approach to Problem Based Learning. Journal of Chemical Education, 99(4), 1642-1650. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c01068
Williams, D. P., Woodward, J. R., Symons, S. L. & Davies, D. L. (2010). A Tiny Adventure: the introduction of problem-based learning in an undergraduate chemistry course. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 11(1), 33-42. https://doi.org/10.1039/C001045F
Zawacki-Richter, O. (2021). The current state and impact of Covid-19 on digital higher education in Germany. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 3(1), 218-226. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.238
