SEEAIR 2007

GENERIC ATTRIBUTES: THE CASE OF MISSED PERCEPTIONS AND LINKS

Zarrin Seema Siddiqui

Tayyaba Khalil Siddiqui

Mohammed Emran

Tayyaba Bashir

Contact Details

Zarrin Seema Siddiqui

The Education Centre,

University of Western Australia,
M515, 35 Stirling Highway
Perth 6009
Australia

Ph: +61 8 9346 4863

Fax: +61 9346 3120

zarrin.siddiqui@.uwa.edu.au

Bibliographical details

At the time of study, Dr. Zarrin S Siddiqui was working as the Director General, Learning
Innovation at Higher Education Commission, which is an autonomous body to restructure Higher
Education in Pakistan. Dr. Siddiqui is currently associated with the Education centre, The
University of Western Australia

zarrin.siddiqui@uwa.edu.au

Tayyaba Khalil Siddiqui is lecturer at Baqai Medical University.

Tayyaba_edu@yahoo.com.au

Mohammed Emran is Assistant Professor at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology.

memran2@yahoo.com

Tayyaba Bashir is Lecturer at University of Azad Jammu & Kashmir

tayyaba_bashir2004@yahoo.com
Abstract

Knowledge based economy is the new buzz – word in the higher education and a lot of
investment in terms of resources both physical and human is made in Pakistan. It is
essentially required that we produce graduates which can further the process of
development of Pakistan and are equipped with necessary skills which are generic across
different disciplines.
The objectives of this study were to;
• identify the generic attributes required for a university graduate in Pakistan.
• examine if these attributes are in line with the societal demands for a
university graduate?
• identify where in the curriculum these attributes are incorporated? and
• how these are assessed?
In the first part of this study we ask university teachers from various disciplines to
identify the generic characteristics they would like to see in a university graduate for 21st
century. Later, we looked at different curricula to examine if these attributes are
addressed in the revised curricula.
The identified attributes were ranked according to the priority assigned and categorised
in major themes. Results show some misperceptions about the attributes considering the
age and stage of learners and have implications for higher education. Similarly none of
the examined curricula addresses these attributes in their outcomes so the question of
assessment does not arise.
There is an urgent need to define the generic attributes of a University graduate and
direct the learning outcomes in the curricula developed by the Higher Education
Commission to inculcate these attributes.
Introduction
Higher Education in Pakistan is currently undergoing a process of intense changes and is
responding to a number of challenges through inception of Higher Education Commission
(HEC) in 2002. One of the challenges that the higher education in Pakistan is facing is the view
that it is not preparing the graduates to meet the employer demands and that the graduates so
produced are not competent to participate actively in enhancing the knowledge based economy.
Since one of the objectives of the higher education is to equip the graduates meet with the
demands of industry and society, it is essential to know how this objective can be achieved
best. One of the ways to deal with this challenge is to identify what are the core competencies
required of a university graduate irrespective of the course and program studied? The set of
these core competencies are usually called as generic or graduate attributes.
Graduate attributes are the qualities, skills and understandings a university community agrees
its students should develop during their time with the institution (Bowden et al, 2000) The
Higher Education Council report in Australia emphasises that these skills should represent the
central achievements of higher education as a process (Higher Education Council, 1992). These
attributes include the disciplinary expertise as well as may include but not limited to teamwork,
leadership, communication and information and technology (Snoke, 2003). A lot of work and
research has been conducted worldwide in institutions of higher learning to identify and
incorporate the generic attributes within their mission statement and is also linked with quality
assurance protocols. However, no research studies from Pakistan have been reported to identify
and discuss the generic attributes. This is an increasingly important area to be addressed
because investment in higher education is one of the key areas of present government and a
huge amount of resources both in terms of financial and human have been allocated for the
higher education sector.
This study was conducted to
• identify the generic attributes required for a university graduate in Pakistan as
perceived by the academics at public universities.
• examine if these attributes are in line with the societal demands for a
university graduate.
• identify where in the curriculum these are incorporated? and
• how these attributes are assessed?
Methods
In the first part of the study we developed a short questionnaire which comprises two sections.
In the first section the faculty was required to identify five generic attributes in order of priority
that they will like to see among a university graduate in Pakistan while the second part
comprises closed ended questions regarding demographic data of the respondents.
The self – reported questionnaire was distributed among faculty members attending educational
activities arranged by the Division of Learning Innovation in Islamabad. Participation was
voluntary.
In the second part of the study we examined ten recently revised curricula to explore if
the identified attributes have been incorporated in the curricula and if so to what extent
the teaching and assessment methodologies address the inculcation of these attributes.

Results
Part A of the study
We received 172 complete forms. The closed ended responses were entered in the SPSS
version 10 for the purpose of analysis. The open ended responses were examined individually
by the authors to identify the common themes and to assign weighting according to the priority
given to each attribute. Of the one hundred and seventy two respondents, eighty (46.5%) were
female and ninety-two (53.5%) male respondents. The age group of the respondents was 35 or
less (58%), Between 36 and 50 yrs (25%) and above 50 yrs (17%).
The generic attributes identified by the respondents are listed in Figure 1.

40 Personal skills
37
35
Ethical & social
30 responsibility
Religious knowledge
25
Nationalism
20 18

15 12 12 Discipline related
knowledge
10 8 7
6 Thinking skills

5
Interpersonal skills
0

Figure 1 Generic Attributes identified by respondents (in percentages)

Part B of the study

We examined ten recently revised curricula available at HEC website to examine the extent of
coverage that these curricula offered for developing these attributes if any. Surprising none of
the curricula examined address the notion of generic attributes and only relies on discipline
specific knowledge in still traditional forms of teaching and assessments.

Discussion
There seems to be a misperception among the notion of what attributes a university graduate
may have. If we look at the themes generated from the responses received the first theme
emerged is personal skills which may be justified. Similarly ethical and social responsibility is
a common theme identified in literature however nationalism and religious knowledge does not
appear in any reported literature that we have studied. This has got implications for higher
education because when any educational program is developed it needs to have clear outcomes
and these outcomes should reflect at the age and stage of the learner. These two themes
therefore need to be re- examined if this is the appropriate stage for the learners to be patriotic
and have religious knowledge to fulfil the required obligation or this should have been done at
some earlier stages of learning.
The remaining three themes i.e. discipline specific knowledge, thinking skills and interpersonal
attributes are again very important but the interpersonal themes receive lowest ranking among
all six themes which is alarming. The interpersonal themes including attributes like team work,
communication skills and sometimes also referred to as corporate management skills (O'Hare,
2004) are critically important set of skills that an individual should possess especially from the
perspective of employers. Table 1 provides an
overview of the employer demands from the higher Table 1 Employer perspective
education sector and communication skills is one of Employers want graduates with
the areas which when combined with in depth 1. In depth knowledge
knowledge of the discipline is the top most outcome 2. Effective communication skills
that employers expect from the prospective graduate 3. Independence and Creativity
(The University of Queensland, 2006). In another 4. Critical Judgment
study regarding professional development of the 5. Ethical and Social
academics in Pakistan communication skills was understanding
identified as the highest ranked area for further training (Siddiqui, 2006). One area that was not
identified by any of the respondents is the competence in information technology which is
again very important to be addressed if we want to develop lifelong learning and research skills.
In short there is clearly identify among academics and stake holders to reach a consensus on
identification of generic attributes which are in accordance with the societal demands and work
collaboratively to develop them among graduates.
Two models have been proposed for developing the graduate attributes. The first model
requires integration within curriculum and later as stand- alone modules. While none of the
curricula examined by authors address the generic outcomes it is encouraging to see that a lot
of efforts have been placed by offering stand alone modules through various discipline specific
committees by the Commission (Higher Education Commission, 2004). The courses are of
short duration and sporadic in nature which undermines the effectiveness of how useful they
have been in developing the required attributes as there is no means of assessment or evaluation
attached to them.
Literature suggests that graduate attributes are most effectively developed when they are
embedded in curricula and has been supported by evidence that increase in discipline-nuanced
generic skills has high positive correlation with increase in discipline-specific knowledge
(Bath, 2004). A set of recommendations is therefore proposed which will further enhance the
teaching and learning process in institutions of higher learning.
Recommendations
A working group may be formed within already existing discipline specific committees to
• oversee the development of an agreed set of generic attributes required of a university
graduate through consultations with stakeholders which may be applied across all higher
education courses
• develop and oversee the processes for the integration of these attributes within the
prescribed curricula. A well refined process for embedding these attributes in the curricula
is described by Bath et al in their case study (2004). (Table 2)
• assist the curriculum revision committees in incorporating these attributes within the
curricula
• identify ways to evaluate the development of these attributes among graduates and how
these can be linked to the process of quality assurance and accreditation.

Table 2 Process for mapping and embedding graduate attributes within

programs and courses

Phases Process Issues to be addressed

Phase One Graduate Attribute What do graduate attributes mean when
Transition applied to graduates of a
program/sequence of study?
Phase Two Course Stocktaking How does each course support the
development of graduate attributes?
Phase Three Program Stocktaking How does the whole program/sequence of
study support the development of these
attributes?
Phase Four Review and Revision How can the program/sequence of study
may be refined to ensure the
developmental sequence of graduate
attributes (across course and across the
whole program/sequence of study)?
Phase Five Graduate Attributes integrated (mapped and embedded) within
program/sequence of study.
Conclusion
As the government of Pakistan is providing maximum resources in terms of funding to restructure and
enhance higher education system, the institutions of higher learning are faced with challenge to
produce graduates that are competent not only in their discipline but also posses a set of skills that
helps them in contributing towards creating a positive image of Pakistan and be a socially responsible
individual. In this study we had attempted to explore the perceptions of academics towards what
attributes a university graduate may posses and if they are embedded in available curricula. Results
indicate that there is a need to enhance the knowledge of what is expected of a generic attribute and
why it is essential to be developed among a graduate. These may then be integrated in the curricula to
provide appropriate learning experiences to the students for the development of these attributes. A set
of recommendation has been therefore proposed in discussion which may be helpful for the policy
makers and planners. One of the limitations of the study is a fairly small sample that conveys the
perceptions of just one stakeholder i.e. the teacher. Further studies may be required to analyse the
values placed upon essential graduate attributes by different stakeholders represented by employers,
students, members of the general community and educational researchers and administrators. This
will help us in determining whether the different interest groups assign different values to the
identified attributes. Similarly research studies addressing various aspects of the role of university
education and generic attributes are required which could provide information within local context.

Acknowledgment
This study was conceptualised and initiated as a research project during Faculty Development
Program 2004 offered by the Learning Innovation Division of Higher Education Commission
(HEC).The authors are grateful to the support offered by Dr. Syed Sohail H Naqvi, The Executive
Director, HEC
References
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