In the actual scenario of the European labour market characterized by a continuous advancement in knowledge and a workforce high mobility rate, universities in European Union are questioning themselves how preparing their students for future work. This issue is of high relevance from a European perspective as well as globally (European Commission/ EACEA/Eurydice, 2014; European Union, 2016; European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2018). Two possible responses given by the European higher education system are related to the implementation of strategies to support: a) the acquisition of skills considered as strategic in enhancing students’ employability and b) the development of faculty professionalism (Cleary, Flynn and Thomasson, 2006; Denecolo and Reeves, 2013; Mishra, 2014). In Italy, the need to increase and improve the quality of these strategies has been observed by both universities and organizations in the labour market (Boffo, 2017; Boffo and Gioli, 2017; Boffo, Gioli and Terzaroli, 2017). In a research conducted in 2015, for example, 3000 questionnaires were collected from five Italian universities selected on the base of their geographical position and the number of students enrolled. Students, in their last year, were asked to answer questions regarding teaching practices used by faculties in their courses. Data collected seems to indicate a widespread presence of teaching practices that are less than effective in developing soft-skills in students. Based on these data, it seems possible to conclude that a large part of the teaching culture pervading the Italian Universities is still based on traditional models (Fedeli, Grion and Frison, 2016; Fedeli, Serbati and Taylor, 2016). Observations and reflections that arise from the university stakeholders in the labour market are even clearer, since they indicate the need to align specialist and soft-skills (Unioncamere-Ministero del Lavoro, 2016; De Giovanni and Melacarne, 2017).

Melacarne, C., Orefice, C., Giampaolo, M. (2018). Supporting key competences and soft skills in Higher Education. In P. Federighi (a cura di), Educazione in età adulta: ricerche, politiche, luoghi e professioni (pp. 181-186). Firenze : Firenze University Press.

Supporting key competences and soft skills in Higher Education

Claudio Melacarne
;
Carlo Orefice
;
Mario Giampaolo
2018-01-01

Abstract

In the actual scenario of the European labour market characterized by a continuous advancement in knowledge and a workforce high mobility rate, universities in European Union are questioning themselves how preparing their students for future work. This issue is of high relevance from a European perspective as well as globally (European Commission/ EACEA/Eurydice, 2014; European Union, 2016; European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2018). Two possible responses given by the European higher education system are related to the implementation of strategies to support: a) the acquisition of skills considered as strategic in enhancing students’ employability and b) the development of faculty professionalism (Cleary, Flynn and Thomasson, 2006; Denecolo and Reeves, 2013; Mishra, 2014). In Italy, the need to increase and improve the quality of these strategies has been observed by both universities and organizations in the labour market (Boffo, 2017; Boffo and Gioli, 2017; Boffo, Gioli and Terzaroli, 2017). In a research conducted in 2015, for example, 3000 questionnaires were collected from five Italian universities selected on the base of their geographical position and the number of students enrolled. Students, in their last year, were asked to answer questions regarding teaching practices used by faculties in their courses. Data collected seems to indicate a widespread presence of teaching practices that are less than effective in developing soft-skills in students. Based on these data, it seems possible to conclude that a large part of the teaching culture pervading the Italian Universities is still based on traditional models (Fedeli, Grion and Frison, 2016; Fedeli, Serbati and Taylor, 2016). Observations and reflections that arise from the university stakeholders in the labour market are even clearer, since they indicate the need to align specialist and soft-skills (Unioncamere-Ministero del Lavoro, 2016; De Giovanni and Melacarne, 2017).
2018
978-88-6453-751-1
Melacarne, C., Orefice, C., Giampaolo, M. (2018). Supporting key competences and soft skills in Higher Education. In P. Federighi (a cura di), Educazione in età adulta: ricerche, politiche, luoghi e professioni (pp. 181-186). Firenze : Firenze University Press.
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
EducaAdulti2018.pdf

non disponibili

Tipologia: PDF editoriale
Licenza: NON PUBBLICO - Accesso privato/ristretto
Dimensione 3.34 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
3.34 MB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11365/1059029