Students' Involvement in Internal Quality Assurance Practices for Employability in Nigerian Universities:Implications for Education Leadership

Abstract

Quality within the realm of university efficiency can be determined by an economic indicator—the employability of graduates. This study assessed students' involvement in internal quality assurance to promote employability and graduate employment in Ogun State, Nigeria. The Theory of Student Agency, as proposed by Klemencic in 2015, serves as the theoretical foundation for this study. Three research questions were raised and answered. The researchers used the descriptive study design. Three hundred ninety-one (391) postgraduate students were selected through purposive sampling from one federal, one state, and three private universities in Ogun State. The study employed the Internal Quality Assurance Practices Questionnaire (IQAPQ) as the data collection instrument. The questionnaire was used to investigate students' involvement in IQA practices, considering the dimension of graduate employability. The study's findings revealed that students were not adequately involved in the majority of the processes and tools related to employability. Students' involvement in IQA practices related to employability was not significantly different across private, state, and federal universities. Additionally, there was a notable difference in students' involvement in IQA practices related to employability across the humanities, social sciences, and science disciplines. The study recommends that university management integrate employability-related quality assurance practices into university quality policies.