New Perspectives of the Relationships between Higer Education and Employment

The relationships between higher educationand the world of work revived in 1990 as a major issueof debate. Growing enrolment as well as labour marketproblems in many industrialised countries fuelled thedebate. A close look reveals that the systematicinformation provided on graduate employment is ofteninsufficient or biased. In spite of controversialassessments of graduate employment and work, mostexperts, however, tend to agree that a growingdiversification is an appropriate response. Also,common views are widely held as regards the desirablecurricular approaches: emphasis ought to be placed ongeneral knowledge and flexibility, problem-solvingabilities, a confrontation of theory and practice,interdisciplinarity and international competencies.These views are advocated irrespective of whetherhigher education is expected to follow closely thepresumed demands of the employment system or whetherhigher education is called on to counteractinstrumentalist pressures and to prepare students fora proactive role in society.