We have been continuing with our student-centred approach to develop a novel intervention to improve psychological literacy/employability for Psychology Undergraduate students. Our student RAs have conducted a questionnaire study with students from Levels 4-6 (n=42). Less than half of participants (43%) reported being able to define psychological literacy. Participants recognised the importance of psychological literacy for their future careers but rated it as “neither important nor unimportant” (median response) for situations in everyday life. We initially thought that students would prefer an intervention that could be peer-delivered but questionnaire results indicated that they wanted an intervention to be delivered by staff and integrated within an existing unit.
The research team, consisting of students and staff, have designed a Psychology Literacy Toolkit consisting of two arms:
- Focus on key psychological skills learnt at each Level – students can learn about each skill, where it is taught on the course and how it may apply to real-world (specifically employability) settings
- Focus on careers – students can explore different job specifications (e.g. educational psychologist, marketing, PhD studentship), read employment case studies from graduates and understand the skills required for each one
The toolkit will be developed over the next month and, based on student requirements identified by the questionnaire, students will use the toolkit independently but with scheduled meetings with a personal tutor throughout the year.
The student research assistants will be presenting details of this project on the 3rd May at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference.
