AGCAS Phoenix, June 2020 – The Research Issue

When we started planning this issue of Phoenix in early March, just like everybody else, we had no idea what was ahead of us. Our core aims were to share insights into the latest research in higher education careers and employability, demonstrate how research can be used to tackle key issues in the sector, and empower those new to research to consider how day-to-day careers and employability practice could become potential research material.

Fast forward a few weeks and it is clear, as the articles in this issue demonstrate, why research is important now more than ever. We can use research as a tool to build knowledge and insights, to inform service innovation, as a stimulus to important conversations, and to enhance our understanding of what’s happening around us.

Just as our lead article states: “research plays a key part in ensuring careers services respond knowledgeably to dynamic and uncertain contexts”. Research-informed careers and employability practice will be crucial in helping students and graduates to navigate an uncertain graduate labour market and the career disruption that will follow the Covid-19 crisis.  We know that AGCAS members have already been drawing on research-informed knowledge and insights from the 2008 recession as part of this work.

In this edition, you can read about a wide range of research projects, created for different purposes and delivered using various research methods. We hope that the reflections shared will inspire others to embark on their own research journeys and add to the collective mass of careers and employability research.

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