IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/lrc/larijb/v4y2014i9p27-42.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Undergraduate Competences as Labour Market Mechanism for Curriculum Alignment in Ghana: Case of University of Cape Coast School of Business

Author

Listed:
  • Anthony Akwesi Owusu

    (Principal Research Assistant, Department of Arts and Social Sciences Education, University of cape coast,)

  • Edward Marfo-Yiadom

    (Associate Professor and Dean, School of Business, University of Cape Coast,)

  • Georgina Asi Owusu (Mrs.)

    (Faculty Officer, School of Business, University of Cape Coast,)

Abstract

The increasing graduate unemployment rate in Ghana is a matter of concern not only to government but also to stakeholders in education. In an era of globalisation, the issue has culminated in discourses about curriculum planning and alignment. Using a concurrent mixed method, the study purposely focused on exploring graduate competences as a labour market mechanism for curriculum alignment. In this regard, 63 participants comprising alumni, Human Resource Managers and lecturers were sampled using multiple procedures. In the end, the study showed that employers’ highly ranked integrated curriculum and their responses favoured an amalgamation of education and practical training tailored to promote organisational growth. A significant difference was found between responses of lecturers and alumni regarding their preference for graduate competences as the basis for curriculum alignment. The study finally advocated, among other things, for competency-based curriculum philosophy as the underpinning variable to underlie Business Education curriculum in Ghana.

Suggested Citation

  • Anthony Akwesi Owusu & Edward Marfo-Yiadom & Georgina Asi Owusu (Mrs.), 2014. "Undergraduate Competences as Labour Market Mechanism for Curriculum Alignment in Ghana: Case of University of Cape Coast School of Business," International Journal of Business and Social Research, LAR Center Press, vol. 4(9), pages 27-42, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:lrc:larijb:v:4:y:2014:i:9:p:27-42
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://thejournalofbusiness.org/index.php/site/article/view/559/464
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. William Baah-Boateng, 2013. "Determinants of Unemployment in Ghana," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 25(4), pages 385-399.
    2. Marcel R. van der Klink, Jo Boon, 2003. "Competencies: the triumph of a fuzzy concept," International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 3(2), pages 125-137.
    3. Stasz, Cathleen, 2001. "Assessing Skills for Work: Two Perspectives," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 53(3), pages 385-405, July.
    4. Heijke, J.A.M. & Meng, C.M., 2006. "Discipline-specific and academic competencies of the higher educated: their value in the labour market and their acquisition in education," ROA Working Paper 9E, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anthony Akwesi Owusu & Edward Marfo-Yiadom & Georgina Asi Owusu (Mrs.), 2014. "Undergraduate Competences as Labour Market Mechanism for Curriculum Alignment in Ghana: Case of University of Cape Coast School of Business," International Journal of Business and Social Research, MIR Center for Socio-Economic Research, vol. 4(9), pages 27-42, September.
    2. Frank Iyekoretin Ogbeide & Hilary Kanwanye & Sunday Kadiri, 2016. "Revisiting the Determinants of Unemployment in Nigeria: Do Resource Dependence and Financial Development Matter?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 28(4), pages 430-443, December.
    3. William Baah-Boateng, 2016. "The youth unemployment challenge in Africa: What are the drivers?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 27(4), pages 413-431, December.
    4. Jih-Hua Yang & Shih-Chieh Fang & Ching-Ying Huang, 2017. "The Consequences of Perceived Usefulness of Training (PUT): The Self-Efficacy Perspective," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(12), pages 80-87, December.
    5. Heijke, Hans & Meng, Christoph & Ris, Catherine, 2003. "Fitting to the job: the role of generic and vocational competencies in adjustment and performance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 215-229, April.
    6. Hans Heijke & Christoph Meng & Ger Ramaekers, 2003. "An investigation into the role of human capital competences and their pay‐off," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(7), pages 750-773, November.
    7. Festival Godwin Boateng, 2021. "Why Africa cannot prosecute (or even educate) its way out of road accidents: insights from Ghana," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-11, December.
    8. Adetunji Adeniyi, 2021. "Factors Affecting Sectoral Employment in Nigeria during the Period of Growth (1981-2014)," International Journal of Learning and Development, Macrothink Institute, vol. 11(2), pages 6393-6393, June.
    9. Heijke,Hans & Meng,Christoph & Ramaekers,Ger, 2003. "An investigation into the role of human capital competences and their pay-off," ROA Research Memorandum 001, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    10. Robert I. Lerman, 2008. "Widening the Scope of Standards Through Work-Based Learning," Working Papers 2009-05, American University, Department of Economics.
    11. Kautz, Tim & Heckman, James J. & Diris, Ron & ter Weel, Bas & Borghans, Lex, 2014. "Fostering and Measuring Skills: Improving Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills to Promote Lifetime Success," IZA Discussion Papers 8696, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Christopher Opoku Nyarko & William Baah-Boateng & Edward Nketiah-Amponsah, 2014. "Determinants of Job Search Intensity in Ghana," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 8(2), pages 193-211, May.
    13. Fee, Anthony & Gray, Sidney J., 2013. "Transformational learning experiences of international development volunteers in the Asia-Pacific: The case of a multinational NGO," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 196-208.
    14. Asongu, Simplice & Tchamyou, Vanessa, 2015. "The Impact of Entrepreneurship on Knowledge Economy in Africa," MPRA Paper 70237, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Aug 2015.
    15. Kuenn, A.C. & Meng, C.M. & Peters, Z. & Verhagen, A.M.C., 2013. "Competencies: requirements and acquisition," ROA Report 006, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    16. Mañé Vernet, Ferran, 2010. "El retorno a las competencias para los titulados universitarios catalanes," Working Papers 2072/179591, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    17. Jih-Hua Yang & Shih-Chieh Fang & Ching-Ying Huang, 2017. "The Mediating Role of Competency on the Relationship between Training and Task Performance: Applied Study in Pharmacists," International Journal of Business Administration, International Journal of Business Administration, Sciedu Press, vol. 8(7), pages 16-24, November.
    18. James Heckman & Tim Kautz, 2013. "Fostering and Measuring Skills: Interventions That Improve Character and Cognition," Working Papers 2013-019, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    19. William Baah-Boateng & Eric Twum, 2019. "Economic Complexity and Employment for Women and Youth: The Case of Ghana," Working Papers idrcdprughana, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    20. Adetunji Adeniyi, 2021. "Job Absorption Capacity of Nigeria’s Mining and Quarrying Sector," Journal of Business Administration Research, Journal of Business Administration Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(1), pages 1-51, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:lrc:larijb:v:4:y:2014:i:9:p:27-42. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Al Hossain (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.thejournalofbusiness.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.