Embedding Careers Advice and Personal Development Planning into the Social Sciences

This paper addresses several theoretical and practical issues raised by the emergence of enhancing employability through personal development planning (PDP). It briefly discusses the background, rationale and evidence for PDP followed by the problems associated with policy implementation: the practicalities of embedding PDP in programmes of study, and the problems of curriculum fragmentation, student attitudes and integration with student services. This discussion is followed by the description and evaluation of an innovative third-year social science module designed to tackle these challenges. Finally, the authors provide some recommendations for the further development of PDP in higher education