The Generation And Relevance Of The Knowledge And Skills Of Economics Graduates

Abstract

Education is directed at transmitting knowledge and skills to individuals. However, individuals also acquire knowledge and skills outside education, for example by taking jobs before, during and after their studies, by taking additional training, and by carrying out social activities outside one’s working environment. The existence of all these sources of learning and experience makes it difficult to determine to what extent the knowledge and skills that individuals have can be attributed entirely to education. Insofar as education is in fact important in this respect, it is also difficult to determine which aspects of the educational programme are responsible for the generation of which knowledge and which skills. Are the relevant elements the tracks taken, the structure of the educational programme, the educational system used, or should we (also) look at other aspects of the curriculum? For curriculum development, the answers to these kind of questions are of vital importance, however. Given the objectives of education, it is essential to establish the importance of the knowledge and skills generated by the educational programme for the occupational practice. The latter is also a difficult task. In this paper we nevertheless wish to make an attempt to acquire some empirical insight in the questions raised. This is only the start of a process that will require further improvement.