TY - JOUR
T1 - Appreciation of an alternative
T2 - Dutch alumni look back on their science master, a work-based learning vs a research-oriented approach
AU - Grooters, Saskia
AU - Zaal, Emma
AU - Ongena, Yfke
AU - Gerkema, Menno
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors received no direct funding for this research. We thank M.J. van den Nieuwenhof, J.Zevenberg, M.van Rijssel, B. Piersma and H.J. van der Windt for their helpful comments and thank student-assistants Allard de Vries and Nina van den Velden for coding and data support.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - The Science, Business and Policy Program (SBP) of the University of Groningen has been a work-based learning program for science master students since two decades. This program, a direct consequence of the Bologna declaration of education in Europe, has a distinctive position in European science curricula. Here, we use a web-based survey (N = 242), comparing alumni perceptions on the SBP program (N = 111) with a research oriented master (ROM, N = 131). Alumni from both programs predominantly had a content-driven motivation to choose for either the ROM or SBP format. For SBP alumni, this preference was also inspired by the master’s focus on society and a career outside academia. We assessed self-perceived learning outcomes using an extended version of the Science Student Skills Inventory. Both groups were positive about the academic level of their program. Scientific content knowledge and practical research skills were perceived as sufficient by both groups, although significantly higher in the ROM group. Both groups were equally positive about obtained skills in academic reasoning and would have preferred more disciplinary content knowledge. The SBP group perceived their skills on teamwork, multidisciplinary working, leadership, ethical thinking and project work to be significantly higher compared to ROM alumni. The SBP group felt significantly more prepared for a career outside academia and the ROM group for a career in academia. Relatively the ROM group missed career preparation. Both specific work-based learning and classical research approaches were seen as valid ways to obtain a high-quality, science master level, although for different career ambitions.
AB - The Science, Business and Policy Program (SBP) of the University of Groningen has been a work-based learning program for science master students since two decades. This program, a direct consequence of the Bologna declaration of education in Europe, has a distinctive position in European science curricula. Here, we use a web-based survey (N = 242), comparing alumni perceptions on the SBP program (N = 111) with a research oriented master (ROM, N = 131). Alumni from both programs predominantly had a content-driven motivation to choose for either the ROM or SBP format. For SBP alumni, this preference was also inspired by the master’s focus on society and a career outside academia. We assessed self-perceived learning outcomes using an extended version of the Science Student Skills Inventory. Both groups were positive about the academic level of their program. Scientific content knowledge and practical research skills were perceived as sufficient by both groups, although significantly higher in the ROM group. Both groups were equally positive about obtained skills in academic reasoning and would have preferred more disciplinary content knowledge. The SBP group perceived their skills on teamwork, multidisciplinary working, leadership, ethical thinking and project work to be significantly higher compared to ROM alumni. The SBP group felt significantly more prepared for a career outside academia and the ROM group for a career in academia. Relatively the ROM group missed career preparation. Both specific work-based learning and classical research approaches were seen as valid ways to obtain a high-quality, science master level, although for different career ambitions.
KW - alumni perceptions
KW - Business and Policy
KW - career
KW - curriculum comparison
KW - science
KW - work-based learning
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85141710084&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/2331186X.2022.2133506
DO - 10.1080/2331186X.2022.2133506
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85141710084
SN - 2331-186X
VL - 9
JO - Cogent Education
JF - Cogent Education
IS - 1
M1 - 2133506
ER -