1539 Dean (FINAL) Dean, B.A. et al. (2022). Career development learning in the curriculum: What is an academic’s role? Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 13(1), 142–154. 142 The Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability ISSN: 1838-3815 (online) Journal Homepage: https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/jtlge/ Career development learning in the curriculum: What is an academic’s role? Bonnie Amelia Dean1, Sarah Ryan1, Tracey Glover-Chambers 1, Conor West 1, Michelle J. Eady1, Venkata Yanamandram 1, Tracey Moroney 1, and Nuala O’Donnell 1 Corresponding author: Bonnie Dean (bonnie_dean@uow.edu.au) 1University of Wollongong Abstract Career development learning (CDL) is an approach to developing student employability that enables students to reflect on and plan their future careers through engaging in activities outside or within their degree. Building on literature arguing for the benefits of integrating CDL within curriculum, this study examines academics’ perceived roles facilitating CDL. Informed by the principles and processes of Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), 55 academics were interviewed from one institution, enabling responses to be examined through a common lens of teaching, policy and governance structures. Findings demonstrate that while some participants broadly understood the value of CDL, the term CDL is not well known. Further, while CDL strategies within teaching contexts occur, they are mostly unplanned or dialogic. This paper presents a taxonomy of current practice, featuring 11 diverse roles for facilitating CDL within curriculum grouped as absent, implicit and explicit approaches. The paper offers recommendations for a university-wide agenda for employability that features CDL strategies embedded across core curricula. Keywords career development learning; employability; career readiness; higher education; academics Introduction Universities are placing greater attention on how they prepare students for their lives beyond graduation and for the world of work (Jackson & Bridgstock, 2021). Supporting students to reach their career goals is an increasingly common strategic priority, with graduate employment data featured prominently in university rankings, government funding processes and university marketing campaigns (Healy et al., 2020). To improve graduate employment outcomes, students need to understand the vagaries of the labour market, recruitment processes, and the employability value of their degree (Smith et al., 2018). Employability relates to the development of attributes, qualities and skills considered essential to employers (Yorke, 2004). During university studies, employability is viewed as a learning process of self-awareness and reflection, impacted by personal qualities and situational factors that progress a graduate’s ability to achieve employment and career goals (Divan et al., 2019; Smith et al., 2018). Employability has been described as a ‘moral duty’ for higher education providers, and a key return on significant private and public investments (Artess et al., 2017). It offers Dean, B.A. et al. (2022). Career development learning in the curriculum: What is an academic’s role? Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 13(1), 142–154. 143 universities ‘political legitimacy’ by helping students realise their potential, become effective workers and global citizens (Artess et al., 2017). To engage students in developing employability skills, knowledge and experiences, academics and university professionals implement a range of approaches and strategies, for example work-integrated learning (WIL) and co-curricular experiences (Jackson & Dean, 2022). One of the key elements to approach the development of graduate employability includes teaching students about career options, tools, and possibilities (Bridgstock, 2009). Career development learning (CDL) centralises purposeful strategies and interventions to ‘help individuals self-actualise, transition to the labour market, make the best use of their skills and knowledge and live happy and fulfilled lives’ (Artess et al., 2017, p. 39). While CDL has been described as a crucial and interdependent component of employability (Dacre Pool & Sewell, 2007; Watts, 2006), approaches to enacting CDL vary across institutions. Recent research demonstrates CDL strategies integrated into curriculum and experienced as part of a degree program, rather than as separate or in addition to a student’s studies, can positively impact graduate employability (Jackson & Bridgstock, 2021). Yet, this approach can also surface challenges, as it moves the responsibility for teaching career skills into an academic’s portfolio. This paper builds on previous work that explores the challenges and opportunities of embedding CDL into curriculum (Bridgstock et al., 2019) and the attitudes and practices of academics in non-vocational degrees for teaching work-integrated learning strategies and career development (Amiet et al., 2020; Lloyd et al., 2022). Our research addresses a gap regarding academics’ perceptions and understandings of CDL, across disciplines, including how they see their responsibility for teaching career development. It seeks to conceptualise and organise these diverse roles in order to better understand how students experience CDL facilitated by academics and to consequently offer recommendations to offer a more purposeful strategy around career development. Two core research questions are proposed: What are academics’ understandings of CDL? And, how do academics perceive their role for facilitating CDL in their subjects? This paper first turns to unpack CDL literature including what we already know about how academics perceive their roles. Next, the study and results are presented before offering a taxonomy to represent the range of roles academics assume integrating CDL in curriculum. The paper closes with implications for higher education providers. Career Development Learning CDL describes strategies and approaches that aim to personalise higher education by enhancing awareness of the relationship between discipline studies, WIL, and personal aspirations to support decision-making through work and life (McIlveen et al., 2011). It has been defined as, ‘the process of managing life, learning, work, leisure, and transitions across the lifespan in order to move towards a personally determined future’ (Career Industry Council of Australia, 2019, p. 27). CDL empowers students to reflect on all aspects of their university experience and make sense of those experiences in terms of their future career, to inform career decisions and action plans. As such, it is a crucial element of employability and an enabler for individuals to recognise the value of a wide range of experiences and skills: disciplinary learning, extra- and co-curricular learning, WIL, service learning, previous career experience and part-time work and use this to make informed career decisions (Dacre Pool and Sewell, 2007; Artess et al., 2017). CDL engages students in self-assessment to appraise their priorities and relate situated learning to their future career or profession. Examples of CDL might include identifying personal skills, knowledge and interests and evaluating priorities, developing strategies for searching career opportunities, using tools for networking, showcasing strengths and creating short/medium term career action plans. As a self-managed process, CDL aligns with educational approaches that employ reflection, critical thinking and application of knowledge and skills to make meaning connections to work and career (McIlveen Dean, B.A. et al. (2022). Career development learning in the curriculum: What is an academic’s role? Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 13(1), 142–154. 144 et al., 2011). CDL has been shown to have positive effects for graduate outcomes and employability (Watts, 2006), and confidence in making career decisions (Brown et al., 2019). Although current CDL approaches and definitions (see Career Industry Council of Australia 2019) espousing personalised, life-long philosophies are widely accepted and endorsed within higher education, earlier approaches to career education upheld different principles. Earlier approaches to career education, spanning across organisation and educational contexts, sought to match a person with their environment (or vocation) often through psychometric methods (McIlveen & Patton, 2006). Assumptions underpinning these traditional concepts of career typically centralised cognitive processes, or approaches where occupation is singular and where types of people are suited to certain jobs (Isaacson & Brown, 1993). Such philosophies and practices have been critiqued over the years to draw out problems with measuring or predicting a person’s career (Smith et al., 2018). Shifts in our concepts of work in the post-industrial era require a more flexible, constructivist approach to careers guidance to enable flexibility, afford greater agency, and recognise personal and social outcomes (Hooley & Dodd, 2015; Patton, 2006). From these critiques, a call to action surfaces towards a reflexive approach that enables broader realisations of career (McIlveen & Patton, 2006). In the higher education context today, a reflexive approach to employability is necessary to build graduates’ capabilities and skills for navigating labour market complexity (Buchanan et al., 2022). Graduates who understand and apply the wider value of their qualifications through transferable skills and knowledge, will be better equipped to succeed in a dynamic economic conditions and distributed workplace environments (Bayerlein et al., 2021; Daubney, 2021). Most universities offer career services, where qualified practitioners support students in career related decisions and goals (Donald et al., 2019). These centres work closely alongside or within faculties to provide bespoke advice and resources, a source of collaborative expertise and relationship with students, academics and industry (Bridgstock et al., 2019). The most recent and significant shift, however, is the move to integrate CDL within the curriculum. CDL in the curriculum Integrating CDL into curriculum, where it is facilitated by the staff who teach students, has been argued as an effective approach for engaging students in career processes (Ameit et al., 2020; Bridgstock, 2009; Bridgstock et al., 2019). Teaching staff are viewed by students as disciplinary experts and a key source for career advice and information. Students have reported that they expect academic staff to assist with their career development (Bennett et al., 2016). Supporting students’ self- awareness and applications of knowledge towards future worlds of work within discipline studies promotes the relevance of their learning. However, Bridgstock et al. (2019) point out that the integration of CDL into curriculum is challenging. They highlight that an employability focus may reduce space for academic autonomy, as it positions academics to undertake a service that they do not see as part of their role, expects more to be added to an over-crowded curricula, and requires those with a lack of expertise to facilitate CDL (Bridgstock et al., 2019). To address these concerns, Bridgstock et al. (2019) recommend a whole-of-course model for CDL in curricula as an iterative and reflective process of career identity building from first year progressing through the higher education journey. Academic’s roles in student CDL CDL has not traditionally been part of academic positions, nor is it typically incorporated into formal education or accreditation of higher education programs. Historically, it has not been recognised in workload tools or probation or promotion processes (Bennett et al., 2016; Hustler et al., 1998). It is no wonder then, that academics have identified barriers and challenges to implementing CDL. For over Dean, B.A. et al. (2022). Career development learning in the curriculum: What is an academic’s role? Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 13(1), 142–154. 145 two decades, researchers have found that most academics believe it is not their role to be specifically involved with preparing students for employment (Hustler et al, 1998). In recent years, however, studies have found academics to be more amenable to incorporating employability and CDL in their courses (Amiet et al., 2020; Sin et al., 2019). Sin et al. (2019) for example, explored the perceptions of 70 academics in Portugal, to report degrees of acceptance of the broader employability agenda. They noted discipline differences, with Business and Engineering academics more accepting of learning for employability, while those teaching in arts disciplines, prioritised academic learning. All academics however, engaged in teaching practices associated with developing employability, where ‘employability, although not a guiding principle, may be a consequence of their pedagogical practices determined by their understanding of employability as ‘ability’ and not as ‘employment’ (Sin et al., 2019, p. 929). In an Australian study, Amiet et al. (2020) found that most academics believed CDL to be the responsibility of all university staff. They investigated the attitudes towards CDL of 27 academics in three non-vocational undergraduate health-science degree programs. Their study highlighted that although willing, academics lacked confidence in careers advising as many had limited industry experience. It recommended that CDL be formally recognised in position descriptions and promotional guidelines. Ameit at al’s (2020) study also suggests academics have a key role in supporting their students’ career development, but require appropriate support, recognition and training. The importance and increased involvement of academics in CDL, leads to further inquiry into academics’ perceptions and lived experiences of their roles. The research in this paper, therefore builds on previous work to investigate academics’ perceptions of their role facilitating CDL in their classes. Methodology This study employs the principles and processes of Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) (Smith et al., 2009). IPA is conducive to our study, as it offers a qualitative approach that is less concerned with a means of analysis, and more in favour of better understanding the participant who is trying to make sense of their experiences (Smith et al., 2009). As a methodology therefore, ‘IPA shares the views that human beings are sense-making creatures, and therefore the accounts which participants provide will reflect their attempts to make sense of their experience’ (Smith et al., 2009, p. 4). IPA research studies adopt purposive sampling approaches, with participants selected from a homogenous sample. Smith et al. (2009) highlight that the homogeneity of research participants enables rich and descriptively deep analytical insights that allow researchers to examine convergence and divergence in detail. While the homogeneity of the sample in IPA studies may differ (Smith et al., 2009), in this study, homogeneity referred to selecting participants within the same institution, who teach within an institutional context with the same overarching practices and policies of CDL, This enabled responses to be examined through a common lens of teaching, policy and governance structures. Therefore, the sample in our study, consisted of 55 academics from across disciplines (see Table 1) within a regional, research-intensive Australian university. Drawing participants from the same institution allowed for the data to be analysed within the same teaching, policy and governance context. Dean, B.A. et al. (2022). Career development learning in the curriculum: What is an academic’s role? Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 13(1), 142–154. 146 Table 1: Participants and Disciplines Discipline Vocational/ Non-vocational No. participants Data labelling (participant no.) Nutrition science Vocational 15 P01-P15 Business administration Vocational 7 P16-P22 Geography Non-vocational 8 P23-P30 Maths Non-vocational 7 P31-P37 History Non-vocational 6 P38-P43 Physics Non-vocational 5 P44-P48 Criminology Non-vocational 4 P49-P52 Sociology Non-vocational 3 P53-P55 Total 55 The disciplines were identified by senior academic administrators to represent a mix between vocational and non-vocational courses. Given Amiet et al.’s (2020) interest in academic’s perceptions in non-vocational degrees, we felt the breadth across disciplines, both vocational and non-vocational, is more representative of a university-wide context and will build on the findings on their study. Aligned with IPA, semi-structured interviews were conducted. With ethical approval from the University’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC 2019/123), one research assistant conducted 45-60 minute interviews with 55 academics. Participants were asked open-ended questions about their subject, and their perceptions and experiences with CDL. Two main questions were proposed: (1) What is your understanding of CDL? and, (2) What do you see is your role in facilitating CDL? These questions aim to unpack participants’ perceptions of/attitudes towards their own involvement with career development learning. The main questions were followed by probing to focus the participant on topics raised and to uncover the elements that made up each concept. Respondent debriefing was conducted at the end of all interviews, where the interviewer clarified statements, highlighted key points, and asked for feedback on the interview process in order to engage in reciprocal reflection. This process of reflection and clarification helped establish credibility in the data (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). As the collected data set was large, a series of steps for analysis were taken. Data was initially analysed by two researchers who read through each participant’s accounts, engaging in discussion, and noting any interesting observations. Next, the research team independently read 12 participants’ transcriptions and developed notes or codes based on common ideas or patterns that remained close to participant’s own words, employing a clear phenomenological focus. The research team next met to discuss their observations, noting anything of further interest and allowed a set of descriptive and exploratory comments to be developed (Smith et al., 2009). These were developed into codes and used to analyse data through NVivo. Then, a small group of four researchers analysed the data set to develop these codes into themes. Themes and patterns within and across each participant’s experiences were explored and organised into groups as the researchers searched for connections and areas of difference. In our analysis, we were concerned with notions of trustworthiness and were informed by Schwartz- Shea’s (2006) concepts for evaluating interpretive, qualitative data. This included conducting the project with ethical considerations and approvals and ensuring all participants’ transcripts were Dean, B.A. et al. (2022). Career development learning in the curriculum: What is an academic’s role? Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 13(1), 142–154. 147 member-checked and included the opportunity to expand and evaluate the accuracy of data. Schwartz-Shea (2006) recommends reflexivity is essential to evaluating qualitative data, and therefore our analysis included iterations of discussion, reading and reflections on data. Findings This section comprises two parts based on the two core research questions. The first section outlines academics’ familiarity and understanding of the term CDL. The second section expands on participants’ diverse responses, reflecting on their role to include CDL into the subjects they design and teach, and organises these into themes. Academic’s understanding of CDL Several participants demonstrated an understanding of CDL as it linked to employability, broad skill development, lifelong learning, engaging students in reflections on career and developing professional identities. However, the dominant narrative across the data was that, as both a term and concept, CDL was unfamiliar. For some academics, the broad sentiments and goals of CDL were ascribe to, even though the specific term had not been used or was unknown to them. One academic who said they were unfamiliar with CDL, made the following comment, ‘I don't want to make that binary distinction between the real world and the learning world, but I feel like there needs to be a stronger sense of connection to the potential pathways that [the students] will take’ (P24). Another academic acknowledged there was little to no focus on helping students learn CDL concepts, however, went on to mention, ‘by the nature of it, being a professional subject… career is always at the fore of mind for these students’ (P05). One academic was very clear that they had never heard the term CDL, stating, ‘wouldn't have a clue within the context of how you're talking about it’ (P18). Yet after hearing the definition (we offered the definition above by Career Industry Council of Australia, 2019), this academic gave a specific description in their teaching that included reflection, which is vital in CDL, ‘… at the end of each module, [the students] are encouraged to write three takeaways, so three things that they have learned from that particular class or that resonated with them, or that they’re going to use moving forward’ (P18). There were also academics who described the term CDL as a form of ‘jargon’ (P22), as ‘vague’ (P29), ‘diffuse’ (P31) and as ‘not a term that I relate to’ (P2). Despite saying they had not heard of CDL, some academics attempted to make links based on the term, ‘presumably it's about helping students to understand how to build a career and […] develop a career path?’ (P25) and, ‘I suspect it probably relates to the idea of students learning about things that will be applicable for their future careers’ (P06). Others were more enthusiastic about the term: I think it sounds like a great idea because I know a lot of students struggle finding a job when they finish the degree, and somehow my impression is that that [CDL] is trying to help them in these steps, right? (P31). Overall, academics had mostly limited understandings of CDL as a term although were able to unpack certain practices that aligned to the characteristics of CDL strategies. Various perspectives for facilitating CDL Overall, analysis revealed eleven key themes across the data that describes participants’ involvement in teaching with CDL. 1. Academics are not career advisors Dean, B.A. et al. (2022). Career development learning in the curriculum: What is an academic’s role? Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 13(1), 142–154. 148 Marking a clear distinction between the role of an academic and the responsibilities of a career advisor, several academics were resolute, ‘I don’t see that it’s our role necessarily to be doing career advice, there are people employed in the university for that purpose’ (P13), and another, ‘Well I don’t know that that is my job. I don’t think it can be. I don’t know that I can fit another layer of responsibility in’ (P29). Others deflected, ‘What do I know? They should see a career development person’ (P41) or mulled over their position, ‘We're not necessarily offering them career suggestions because we're not career advisors’ (P19). 2. Academics are not equipped to support CDL The notion that CDL requires specific skills and experiences was highlighted given one academic’s employment at the university, stating ‘I’m also a career academic. I haven’t done anything else outside of being an academic’ (P52). Another reflected on their own experiences, finding them confronting, ‘I will find myself being asked to give advice on things ... I’m really guessing, and I feel a little bit of an imposter around certain components’ (P27) and further expanded, ‘We can sometimes be put in positions where we’re looked to for expert understanding that we may or may not have’ (P27). Reflecting on other academics as career advisors also drew out strong feelings about advising on working in industry: Some academics would not have the first clue what it [CDL] involves because they have never done it. They have an academic career. It would be a mistake to assume that all academics are capable or interested in helping students develop their career (P32). 3. Academics are career realists The hostility of the labour market and changing nature of work was motivation for some to comment on the complexity of finding work after graduation, ‘I barely mention what kind of opportunity they are going to have in that subject because I know that 15% of them, they will never make it’ (P44). Another more encouraging response normalised the complexity: I can appreciate that students are keen to get out there and get into the workforce and get some stability in a career. But sometimes, life isn't that straightforward and to be okay with that and to know that sometimes you pursue many paths, and you still get there in the end … And that's okay (P11). 4. Academics are cautious about curriculum replacements The presence of CDL in curriculum was met with caution for some, who saw it as competing with an already packed curriculum, ‘I just become a bit afraid that it starts to become a replacement for those more basic skills’ (P25). Another academic warned not to spend too much time contemplating careers and rather develop broad skills in HE, ‘because it becomes obsolete, or if not, you're going to find it in your textbook anyway’ (P44). 5. Academics are focused on higher education The provision of university education was explored in relation to where CDL fits with the overall mission of higher education to increase knowledge and facilitate learning, ‘I don’t really think that the academic’s role is to develop careers for students. I think the academics role is to educate and provide environment in which students can learn and grow’ (P25). Academics grappled with the distinction of higher education and institutions for learning work skills, ‘But this not is not TAFE right? I mean that’s the definition of the University. That it is knowledge, it’s not working skills’ (P44) and ‘If that’s what the world wants maybe the university is not the institution we need so much anymore’ (P29). One academic pondered the duality of university learning and learning for work, ‘I want my graduates to Dean, B.A. et al. (2022). Career development learning in the curriculum: What is an academic’s role? Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 13(1), 142–154. 149 get jobs when they’re finished, but I also want them to not see it [HE] in such a utilitarian fashion’ (P52). 6. Academics are cultivating global citizens Concepts of growth, citizenship and social justice were prioritised by some academics, ‘My role is not to engage them in terms of career, but I think more broadly in terms of citizenship’ (P42) and ‘to understand the world in a different way and read the world in a different way’ (P52). This includes fostering diverse, global perspectives ‘[…] helping people to be really active and optimistic citizens […] going to take part in a broader national process […] I think being in university is as much real life as being out of it’ (P43). These perspectives centralise the development of students as global citizens, which although aligned to definitions of CDL, was not the explicit intention of the participant when discussed. 7. Academics are champions of critical thinking skills Making the connection to employability skills useful for future employment, academics pointed to the importance of critical thinking, ‘I think we have a mission to develop critical thinking, and just understanding of what the world is and how it works’ (P27) and ‘my job is to teach them to think critically, whether that’s about the subject material or politics or just life in general’ (P52). One academic reflected on the changing nature of work and the significance of generic skills: […] those kinds of skills are going to be important as jobs change. Being able to think, and argue, analyse, talk, present, persuade. In the 50 years I have been in the workplace that has never changed, and I can’t see it changing […] I think that making them better learners, more sophisticated communicators, that’s worth doing (P40). 8. Academics are informal mentors Engaging students on a deeper level and providing mentoring was linked with supporting individuals and their careers, ‘academics don't engage with [students] as deeply as they could, and the students don't get that level of mentoring which I think they need to get. I try to fill in the gaps’ (P48). This role includes being open to students, ‘I think often it just comes when you develop a good rapport with students and they are feeling a bit lost, and they come to chat to you [… ] I am always happy to do that with students’ (P08), suggesting mentoring emerges as the need arises and in conversation or dialogue, rather than as a planned and formal opportunity. 9. Academics are career cartographers Several academics described their role as helping to demystify or map the workplace landscape. One academic said, ‘it's important to set them [students] on the right path and then just let them follow the path’ (P37). Later they elaborated on this as capacity building: ‘I mainly see myself as the person that gives them a lot of tools they can use in their future career. And that's somehow, the way we as mathematician help them […] we are like tool providers’ (P37). Another expressed how they show students what it means to be a professional, ‘I prefer to talk about being a professional rather than work. I tend to talk about what's the ingredients of being a professional, one of which is taking responsibility for what you do and responsibility for your further development’ (P32). 10. Academics are curriculum and career connectors Linking theory to applications in practice and possible jobs was a role many academics spoke about. For example, one academic said, ‘I try and pack in as many examples, real-world stuff, articles from the newspaper […] that will hopefully make them go, ‘Oh. Okay. Here's what I can do with this thing’ (P8). Another recalled, ‘I try and embed that when I'm teaching them, I always try and tell them, ‘this is how you would use it’ (P26). Connecting learning directly to a profession, this academic explained, Dean, B.A. et al. (2022). Career development learning in the curriculum: What is an academic’s role? Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 13(1), 142–154. 150 ‘you can take this into a wide array of jobs. And this technique that you're learning, or this suite of techniques can be applied to a whole bunch of problems [...] that's what I try to do’ (P10). Thinking about the future, one academic pondered, ‘[…] having it formally embedded […] there are definitely ways that I could do it and I would like to do more of it, definitely’ (P08). ‘These reflections indicate that links to CDL are dialogic and emerge during the practice of teaching, as verbal statements and examples. This is demonstrated by the ‘tell them’ phrases. Other career connections may be more designed into the curriculum, such as the addition of ‘real-world’, resources that exemplify the topic in practice. 11. Academics are career allies In this dialogic approach, academics also found themselves having conversations with students about careers. One academic stated, ‘having the kind of conversations on career path strategies and this kind of stuff to actually get to a job, or that specific job, is something which I think is more relevant for them [undergraduate students]’ (P42). Another recalled a recent experience: I do often see people just for general chat about careers, like I had someone a couple of weeks ago that had read an article about there being no jobs for [our discipline] and so came in and was like, I am really nervous, and I am really worried, so we had a bit of a chat about different things you can do. (P08) Through dialogue, teachers can elicit students’ concerns and understandings of their careers and offer advice and guidance. These academics make themselves explicitly available to individuals, often outside of class time, for discussions about career possibilities. Discussion The findings suggest academics perceive that they are assuming a range of roles when it comes to supporting their students’ career development and employability. Academics connected many of their existing behaviours, attitudes, and values in higher education to the CDL definition, although the term ‘career development learning’ was unfamiliar to many. Discussion of CDL often evoked intense emotion in participants, who shared the realities of their role to justify an absence of CDL, an implicit provision of some CDL or a committed focus on explicitly supporting CDL. Through the findings, we have observed these various levels of involvement with teaching CDL as falling within clusters of CDL practices, these are absent, implicit or explicit within curriculum. We present this as a taxonomy in Figure 1. Figure 1: Taxonomy of Academic’s Perceived Involvement in Facilitating CDL Dean, B.A. et al. (2022). Career development learning in the curriculum: What is an academic’s role? Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 13(1), 142–154. 151 In this taxonomy, academics’ involvement and assumed roles in CDL were not found to be mutually exclusive or representative of an individual. Rather, academics’ responses usually aligned with multiple roles within one area, denoting their general approach to CDL as absent, implicit, or explicit. For example, an academic who affirmed a focus on the role or purpose of higher education was likely to also express a focus on developing generic critical thinking skills for real world applications. Although these activities - connecting theory to practice, reflection, and development of generic skills - are common pedagogical approaches, when used in the context of making connections to an individual’s future career options they could be summarised as potentially conveying either an unknowing or implicit approach to CDL. At times, academics would acknowledge their potential involvement in CDL did not align with their overall approach. However, these academics would then outline contextual barriers that would not allow them to enact this role. For example, while many academics approved to acting as career mentors to their students (i.e., explicit CDL), several identified workload and student numbers as barriers. Academics showed varying levels of confidence and career knowledge to deliver meaningful CDL. Aligning with previous research (Amiet et al., 2020; Hustler et al., 1998; Sin et al., 2019), it is apparent from the discussions many academics did not see themselves as being career advisors nor did they feel equipped to provide career guidance. Some academics did not appear to perceive their academic identity beyond that of a researcher and subject matter expert (Winter, 2009), though several did draw on their own career experiences to communicate or advise students on career pathways available. This reluctance to embed CDL within teaching practice connects to broader tensions between traditional academic identities and perceptions of institutional pressure for reconstructed academic identities more aligned to economic concerns (Dugas, et al., 2020), such as employment and employability. However, this reluctance may not be fixed, as Dugas et al. (2020) found that academics’ job satisfaction was not determined by the amount of excessive workload, but whether the excessive workload expected of them was line with their own job priorities. Within a lens of academic identities as responsive ‘unfinished project[s]’ (Barrow, Grant & Xu, 2020, p. 241), this suggests that investing resources to develop a personally meaningful sense of CDL’s importance to academics is a crucial step to ensuring its inclusion in everyday learning and teaching. The findings suggest that while there are various degrees of involvement with CDL, the overwhelming majority of CDL activities are dialogic and informal, emerging during teaching delivery, rather than purposefully designed into curriculum. This was clear from the perceived implicit and explicit clusters that highlight conversations with students and the use of informal examples during teaching as the primary CDL practice, rather than purposefully designed CDL interventions. The spontaneous or unplanned inclusion of CDL reflect opportunities for academics to make planned links in the curriculum, including sense-making, self-reflection, decision making and action planning involved in ‘moving towards a personally determined future’ (Career Industry Council of Australia 2019, p. 27). It is these elements of CDL, that relate to all aspects of an individual’s situation, that have traditionally been the role of professional career advisors. To ensure that students receive multiple opportunities to engage in meaningful career development activities, a closer look at how to formalise embedding CDL as a core curriculum activity is required. To address this concern, it would be beneficial for academics and careers professionals to develop a shared vision, understanding and nomenclature of CDL (Bridgstock et al., 2019). As identified in earlier studies (Amiet et al., 2020), to better support students and their career learning, there need to be more opportunities for academics to be supported to design CDL in their curriculum. Dean, B.A. et al. (2022). Career development learning in the curriculum: What is an academic’s role? Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 13(1), 142–154. 152 Implications The taxonomy can be used to spark conversation around current practice for integrating CDL into curriculum. We recommend that in consultation or wider professional learning contexts, career professionals use the taxonomy with academics to identify how they see themselves using CDL and recognise existing good practice. Drawing on the three categories more broadly, academics can name their practice along the areas of absent implicit and explicit, and use this as a starting point to discuss the meaningful contribution of CDL for their curriculum, in their teaching and for their students. The aim here is not to saturate curriculum with CDL, but instead to find meaningful opportunities within teaching contexts, for students to contemplate their transitions, reflect on their priorities and connect skills and knowledge to their future practice. In this way, aligned to Bridgstock et al. (2019), we therefore recommend a whole of course or degree approach to CDL that is embedded within a broader employability framework. To intentionally build a range of CDL strategies into the learning outcomes, activities and even assessments, across a program of study would ensure all students have access to career learning throughout their studies. While emergent links to careers during teaching is advantageous and rich, it does depend on the discretion and individual experiences of the teacher. Therefore, we suggest academics’ personal accounts and approaches are integrated with purposefully designed activities, in order to build students confidence and ability to navigate their future careers. Identifying and using champions who are closely associated with course management is one strategy to enable CDL to become overt and identifiable. Recognising champions in a community of practice may also provide CDL support to other academics. This will also align to establishing a course-wide approach to CDL (Bridgstock et al., 2019). It would also assist to develop CDL as a shared responsibility among students, academics and professional staff including careers services. Identifying and clarifying the role of the university careers service in the provision of CDL, and in providing structured activities and content in both curricula and co-curricula contexts, will also address the concerns of academic staff expressed at the ‘absent’ end of the continuum in Figure 1. Harnessing the expertise of career development professionals and the genuine interest from academics in their students’ career development, together with a formal course-based strategy means not all academic subjects need take a structured approach to embedding CDL. Collaborative, professional learning can ensure a shared understanding of CDL. Coupled with agreed roles of academic staff and career development professionals and a collaborative approach, structured activities and enabling practices could inform a whole of institution approach. Finally, CDL is a crucial part of a broader strategic priority toward student employability. Therefore, an institution-wide framework for employability is recommended to build students’ capacities and awareness to prepare them for transitions across work, learning and life. Conclusion With the growing need to focus on the employability of students, CDL is an important part of meeting this need. Embedding CDL in curriculum can benefit students as it assists them to develop more self- awareness and fosters career learning and professional practice (Bridgstock et al., 2019; Jackson & Bridgstock, 2021). This study has shown that academics describe their roles in developing students’ careers in various ways. While some argue it is not part of their position, others seek opportunities to coach students through career conversations. Overall, this research shows these roles are largely informal and dialogic, and emerge naturally in teaching contexts. We present the various roles in a taxonomy and in areas of absent, implicit, and explicit practices for integrating CDL in curriculum. This Dean, B.A. et al. (2022). Career development learning in the curriculum: What is an academic’s role? Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 13(1), 142–154. 153 taxonomy is a useful starting point to ignite conversation on current CDL practices in order to recognise good practice and identify opportunities for meaningful integration. Further work is required to identify CDL champions, foster career development understandings through professional learning, and integrate intentional career activities across degree programs. This study is limited to one institution and therefore we are mindful that the range of roles will differ across contexts. This may also largely depend on how the institution engages career centres with faculty and their strategic approach to employability. 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