Using conceptions of graduate attributes for research-led systematic curriculum reform

Abstract

In seeking to accommodate new demands and reinterpret their purpose over the past decade, universities in many countries have attempted to clarify the nature of the education they offer to their students and their contribution to society through a description of the generic qualities and skills their graduates possess (Barnett 2000). Even though claims of graduate attributes sit at a vital intersection of many of the forces shaping higher education today, they by and large lack the support of a conceptual framework or theoretical underpinning (Clanchy & Ballard 1995, Holmes 2000). Universities' endeavors to describe and foster the development of generic attributes of graduates are characterised by a plurality of view-points and approaches and, despite extensive funding in some quarters, have met with limited success (Kemp & Seagraves 1995, Drummond et al 1998, Coaldrake 1998).