Competence development as perceived by degree and non-degree graduates in Japan: A longitudinal study

SummaryBackgroundA degree programme is believed to prepare graduates with a higher level of competence than their diploma counterparts. However, there have been inconsistent findings reported as to whether or not degree-graduates outperformed those who take diplomas.ObjectivesThis study aimed to identify graduates' perceptions of competence development in their first year of employment, and to compare the competence levels of graduates with different educational backgrounds.DesignThis study adopted a longitudinal design.SettingsThis study has been performed in five hospitals in Japan.Participants122 Japanese graduates participated in this study.MethodsThe self-assessed competence of the graduates was collected in the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th months of their employment using a survey method. The data were analysed using a linear mixed model.ResultsThe results suggested that the graduates perceived their competence to be rapidly growing during the first half of the graduate year, and slowly later. The results also indicated that the graduates' perception of their competence showed a significant variation. The most striking finding of the study was that, on average, the non-degree graduates rated their competence higher than their degree counterparts.ConclusionsThe current university orientation on emphasising intellectual and theoretical components of education, with less focus on practical components might have led to the development of lower competence among the BN graduates. A fine balance between theoretical and practical components needs to be established in a university curriculum.