Towards Identifying the Soft Skills Needed in Curricula: Finnish and Italian Students’ Self-Evaluations Indicate Differences between Groups

Valeria Caggiano, Kai Schleutker, Loredana Petrone and Jerónimo González-Bernal
Additional contact information
Valeria Caggiano: Department of Training Sciences, Università degli Studi Roma TRE, 00154 Roma, Italy
Kai Schleutker: Business Department, Turku University of Applied Science, 20520 Turku, Finland
Loredana Petrone: Department of Psychology, University la Sapienza di Roma, 00185 Roma, Italy
Jerónimo González-Bernal: Department of Psychology, University of Burgos, 09001 Burgos, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-10

Abstract: Background: The identification of soft skills by Higher Education (HE) students is important for curriculum design, as is to evaluate if the students’ soft skills are adapted to the needs of the socioeconomic environment. This paper presents a study conducted to determine to what extent Finnish and Italian students’ perceptions of their own soft skills differ. Methods: The cohort of the study consisted of 80 Finnish and 80 Italian HE students. Results: The results reveal that, regardless of cultural aspects, both groups share specific soft skills whilst showing significant differences in others. The observed differences in the profiles of the two countries are explained on the basis of the cultural and curricula design frameworks that are well established in Finland and Italy. Conclusions: The implications of the findings for HE teachers and researchers are presented, which may bear relevance in guiding the implementation of curriculum design in Finland, Italy and beyond.

Keywords: soft skills; curriculum design; competence; organizational culture; higher education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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