Abstract
There are chalenges within the delivery of Media Production degree courses that stem from a misalignment of student/employer expectations, and can be summed up thus: Most students attend Media Production courses to improve employment prospects within the industry and believe that this is best achieved by focusing on acquiring technical/practical expertise. As a result they are often reluctant to engage with broader aspects of education associated with critical thinking. Potential employers, however, are not overly concerned with new recruits having expertise of current technologies. Of equal, if not of more importance are ‘transferable’ skills, many of which are developed through critical thinking exercises.
As a result, graduates from Media Production courses enter the work place believing they are sufficiently prepared for what is a very competitive industry, but, in reality, they lack the skills employers look for. Inevitably the academic reputation and credibility of these courses is progressively undermined, and graduate dissatisfaction increased.
The process of creating media product, however, draws heavily on the same transferable skills most employers seek in new recruits. The proposition, then, is that increasing critical thinking elements within these courses will simultaneously enable students to perform better at subject level AND increase their employability, both within the media industry and beyond. But how might this be achieved if students feel critical thinking contributes little to their employability?