TEACHING AND BEYOND: GRADUATE DESTINATIONS AND EDUCATIONAL ALIGNMENT AS EVIDENCE FOR CURRICULUM EVALUATION IN ENGLISH EDUCATION

Abstract

This study examined the post-graduation destinations of Undergraduate English Education graduates and how closely those destinations aligned with the program’s intended graduate profiles, field of study, and educational level. A descriptive quantitative tracer-study design was used to describe patterns across graduating cohorts. The analysis covered five consecutive cohorts from 2019 to 2023 at Universitas Negeri Surabaya and included 376 graduates who were employed, self-employed, or pursuing further study. Three forms of alignment were analyzed: formal graduate-profile alignment, horizontal alignment, and vertical alignment. Overall, 61.4% of graduates followed the program’s formal profiles. Most entered the main profile of English teaching or further study (57.4%), while only 4.0% pursued entrepreneurship in English language education. Formal alignment was lower in the 2019 and 2020 cohorts and increased from 2021 onward. Horizontal alignment was generally stronger in later cohorts, with 74.1% of the 2023 cohort reporting destinations that were closely or very closely related to their field. Vertical alignment was consistently high, ranging from 91.9% to 96.3% across cohorts. These findings show that graduates may move beyond the formal profiles while still entering careers related to English Education and appropriate to their qualification level. The results are based on self-reported data from a single institution and do not establish that the curriculum caused these outcomes. For curriculum review, they suggest maintaining the linguistic and pedagogical core while providing broader opportunities to develop transferable, digital, professional communication, and entrepreneurial skills.