Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to introduce a theoretical framework based on authentic learning approaches that can be taken into consideration in higher education (HE) contexts to design activities that enable students to develop employability skills. Design/methodology/approach-Three methods were used to develop the framework: desk research on current demand and supply of new graduate's employability skills; interviews in four European HE institutions to identify authentic learning scenarios; and asynchronous online focus group to validate the framework. Findings-The paper takes a competence-centred approach to the concept of employability skills and sets out a taxonomy of skills required to enhance new graduates' employability. It also gives criteria and examples of authentic learning scenarios in HE settings that promote the acquisition of these skills. Research limitations/implications-The framework developed remains theoretical. In a second phase, the framework will be applied to implement authentic activities in different programmes and subjects of five HE institutions, and the results will be reported in future publications. Practical implications-The framework gives directions to create real and practical ways to enhance new graduates' employability skills by improving the connection between HE curricula and the demands of the real world. Originality/value-The added value of the paper lies in adopting a learner-centred, genuine and effective learning approach, such as authentic learning as a catalyst for bringing work experience to formal learning in HE institutions, in order to better develop graduates' employability skills.

The aims of this paper are to develop knowledge about scaffolding when students in Swedish schools use digital educational material and to investigate what the main focus is in teachers' interventions during a Learning Design Sequence (LDS), based on a socio-cultural perspective. The results indicate that scaffolding were most common in the primary transformation unit and the most frequent type was procedural scaffolding, although all types of scaffolds; conceptual, metacognitive, procedural, strategic, affective and technical scaffolding occurred in all parts of a learning design sequence. In this study most of the teachers and students, think that using digital educational material requires more and other forms of scaffolding and concerning teacher interventions teachers interact both supportively and restrictively according to students' learning process. Reasons for that are connected to the content of the intervention and whether teachers intervene together with the students or not.Keywords: Technology; Scaffolding; Knowledge. Estruturas de apoio e intervenção entre estudantes e professores num Modelo de Aprendizagem Sequenciada (MAS)Resumo O objetivo desse artigo é conhecer as Estruturas Educacionais de Apoio (EEA) quando alunos em escolas suecas utilizam material educacional digital e investigar qual é o principal foco nas intervenções dos professores durante um Modelo de Aprendizagem Seqüenciada (MAS), baseado numa perspectiva sócio-cultural. Os resultados indicam que as EEA foram mais comuns nas unidades de transformação primárias e o tipo mais freqüente foi a EEA de procedimento, embora todos os tipos tenham sido identificados -conceitual, metacognitiva, processual, estratégica e afetiva. EEA técnica ocorreu em todas as etapas do MAS. Nesse estudo a maioria dos professores e alunos, pensam que para utilizar material de educação digital é necessário outras formas de MAS. Além disso, de acordo com o processo de aprendizado dos alunos, as intervenções dos professores foram consideradas tanto de apoio quanto de restrição. Os motivos para isso estão relacionados ao conteúdo das intervenções e se os professores intervem junto aos alunos ou não.Palavras chave: Tecnologia; Estruturas educacionais de apoio; Conhecimento. Estructuras de apoyo e intervención entre estudiantes y profesores en un Modelo de Aprendizaje Secuencial (MAS) ResumenEl objetivo de este artículo es conocer las Estructuras Educacionales de Apoyo (EEA) cuando alumnos en escuelas suecas utilizan material educacional digital, e investigar cual es el foco principal en las intervenciones de los profesores durante un Modelo de Aprendizaje Secuencial (MAS), apoyado en una perspectiva socio-cultural. Los resultados indican que las EEA fueron más comunes en las unidades de transformación primarias y el tipo más frecuente fue la EEA de procedimiento, pese a que todos los tipos fueron identificados -conceptual, metacognitiva, procesal, estratégica y afectiva. EEA técnica ocurrió en todas las etapas del MAS. En este estudio la mayor parte de los ...

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This article contributes to knowledge about mentoring in preschool, which is important as research on mentoring of preschool teachers is limited. The study examines how in-service preschool teachers perceive their assignment as a mentor. The aim is to develop the understanding of mentoring as support among preschool teacher mentors in Swedish preschools (children's age 1-5). The data consists of 75 inservice preschool teachers' self-reflective texts from a university mentoring course. A phenomenographic approach was adopted and three qualitatively different categories were identified. Mentoring as support was experienced as: mentoring as personal, professional and team support. Apart from the finding that the mentor's role is complex, the preschool settings present other challenges and place different demands on the mentor because they comprise a team including preschool teachers, childcare attendants and parents, when compared to their counterparts in compulsory school settings. The paper has implications for how to reflect on and problematize concepts of mentoring, and it could also have an impact on mentoring in school, on mentoring education, and on induction programmes internationally. Mentor support for professional practices directed at team building should influence early childhood teacher preparation for pre-and inservice teachers.