Skilful symbiosis: Optionality and employability in Political Studies assessment

In this article, I discuss using assessment optionality – allowing students choice in their mode of assessment – for the development of employability skills for Political Studies students. Higher Education, and Political Studies in particular, has struggled with the embedding of employability into a range of different curriculums, with staff and students alike often resisting changes. However, there is a need for students to graduate with a stronger awareness of the skills developed during their studies. It is not that current education practices are lacking in skills development, but that they do not provide students with enough opportunities to reflect on the skills that are being developed and therefore become able to articulate those skills. This article builds on research into assessment optionality in Political Studies to make a novel argument: assessment optionality provides a fruitful opportunity to allow students to engage with employability in a way that does not interrupt the norms of their education, while also providing a host of other benefits. By setting up a situation wherein students must make a choice on how they are assessed, students are provided with an opportunity to consider the skills they have gained and those they wish to develop.