Linking student assessment and graduate employability: a study in the Omani higher education context

Al Zaabi, Younus Mohammed Saif (2025). Linking student assessment and graduate employability: a study in the Omani higher education context. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

In recent years, there has been considerable emphasis on the need for higher education (HE) to facilitate graduate employability and readiness for the modern, fast-changing labour market. Producing employable graduates equipped with essential capabilities and attributes has become a major objective and concern for modern higher education institutions (HEIs). Among the various initiatives and activities leveraged by these HEIs to support this imperative, significant attention has been directed to student assessment (SA) as a critical activity for realising this goal. However, aligning SA with graduate employability development (GED) has proven to be a formidable task. This study explores the relationship between SA and GED, using the University of Technology and Applied Sciences, the largest HEI in Oman, as a case study. Specifically, the study aims to understand how SA relates to and can be effectively aligned with GED, and to identify the barriers and enablers of this alignment from the perspective of HE lecturers.
The study utilised a mixed-method sequential case study design, employing a questionnaire, documentary analysis, and reflection-aided semi-structured interviews as data collection methods. It adopted a sociocultural perspective based on Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), which views student assessment as a social activity system (SAAS) with GED as its central objective. This framework provided a comprehensive and systematic approach to examining the SA-GED link, thoroughly analysing the interactions between the system components. The novel combination of CHAT and Boud et al.’s (1985) reflection model proved powerful in understanding the operational dynamics of SAAS, recognising its central objective and identifying its systemic contradictions.
The study revealed that while SA is a potent facilitator of GED, several factors impede its full alignment with GED at the research setting. The study emphasises the pivotal importance of conceptualising SA as a social activity system with GED as its central objective. This conceptualisation enhances clarity and understanding among SA community members, including lecturers, leaders, and students, by distinguishing the central objective of SA from its short-term goals such as grading student performance and ensuring accountability of assessment processes. The study illustrates how this conceptual framework critically supports the alignment of authentic assessment tools and systemic components – rules, community dynamics, and role distributions – with the overarching objective of SA.
The study also revealed that successful implementation of authentic assessment hinges on effectively addressing systemic contradictions across all components of SA. These contradictions pose significant challenges to all community members involved. Specifically, the study underlines the critical role of the community component, which necessitates active and comprehensive engagement of leaders, students, workplace representatives, and lecturers in SA processes. Drawing on these insights, the study introduces an original “Model for Collaborative Engagement in GED-oriented Assessment”, thereby making theoretical and practical contributions to the fields of SA and GED in both the Omani context and similar international settings.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):