Satisfaction with Higher Education and Transition to Work

Authors

  • Elisabete Sousa Universidade do Porto
  • Carlos Gonçalves Universidade do Porto

Abstract

The current economic crisis of contemporary western societies, along with the exponential increase of unemployment, will delay the entry into the working world of younger generations looking for their first job, anticipating this climate of uncertainty for students who are in the final phase of their higher education. This research aimed to analyze the perceptions that the graduate students of a higher education institution, in the economics and management area, ascribe to the transition into the labor market, after concluding their studies, regarding the degree of satisfaction with the academic training received, taking into account the variables of gender, study life-cycle, associativity, and residence status. The instruments used in this study, based on a sample of 227 students, were: a socio-demographic questionnaire, created within the framework of this study; a scale of the meanings of transition from higher education to work (Escala de Significados da Transição do Ensino Superior para o Trabalho; Monteiro, Santos, & Gonçalves, 2015), and a higher education satisfaction scale (Escala de Satisfação com a Formação Superior; Ramos & Gonçalves, 2014). The results indicate significant differences regarding gender, study lifecycle and associativity with regard to the perception of the transition from university to work, and the degree of satisfaction felt towards the academic training received.

Keywords:

transition, satisfaction, job market, higher education