Files and links (1)
The role of extra- co-curricular activities and work on law graduates initial employment outcomes1.29 MB
Published VersionCC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
The role of extra-/co-curricular activities and work on law graduates’ initial employment outcomes
Higher Education Research and Development, Vol.45(1), pp.156-172
2026
Abstract
Developing student employability is a strategic priority for higher education institutions and is often measured by transition to initial employment. Extra-/co-curricular activities, in addition to in-curriculum programs, can develop different aspects of student employability, supporting students in securing and transitioning to work post-graduation. This study examines the perspectives of 7000 graduates of Australian law degrees on their engagement in, and the value gained from, extra-/co-curricular, employability-building activities and paid employment during their studies between 2020 and 2023. The results indicated declining overall participation in extra-/co-curricular activities over the four-year period, and relatively greater engagement among female, younger, international and/or students with a disability compared to their demographic counterparts. There was a reported rise in full-time employment during study, particularly in roles related to legal education. The data indicated differences in initial employment outcomes across diverse groups and emphasised the benefits of engaging in mentoring activities and paid work aligned with university study to improve the transition to work. The findings help to decipher the value of employability-building activities to support increased provision and improved access for diverse groups in legal education and beyond.
Details
- Title
- The role of extra-/co-curricular activities and work on law graduates’ initial employment outcomes
- Authors
- Denise E Jackson (Corresponding Author) - Edith Cowan UniversityCraig Cameron (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative Industries
- Publication details
- Higher Education Research and Development, Vol.45(1), pp.156-172
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1080/07294360.2025.2482807
- ISSN
- 1469-8366; 0729-4360
- Copyright note
- © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Business and Creative Industries
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991113250802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
1 File views/ downloads
29 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Education & Educational Research
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites