Action learning: challenges that impact employability skills

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the perceived value of an action learning experience (i-Week) on the development of important soft employability skills applying expectation confirmation theory (ECT). Design/methodology/approach A total of 1,295 activities were offered in 36 cities of ten countries. Each activity had a faculty member and multidisciplinary teams to address an authentic situation during one full-time week. The ECT was applied to assess the disparity between what was expected from the students and their actual learning experience. A total of 929 students answered a Perceived Value Questionnaire to measure 14 transversal competences categorized on five employability skills. Findings Achievements were statistically higher than expectations in 5 out of 14 transversal competences. The perceived value of the i-Week reflects the impact on soft skills: self-skills, personal, learning, social and systemic. The paper proposed an integrated model to learn these competences from action learning experiences. Research limitations/implications The questionnaire is a self-assessment and not an actual performance measure. Besides transversal competences, there were more disciplinary competences that are not included in the study. Practical implications The perceived value model of the i-Week could be applied for different educational levels and contexts considering a lower scale. A new version of the Perceived Value Questionnaire on Competences is provided for educational research. Originality/value The educational experience, instruments and analysis described in the study might be easily transferred to other action activity used to measure perceived learning results on multiple skills.

Development of Diversity Competency in Health Professionals: Preliminary Investigation

“…The instrument used a Likert scale from 1 to 5, where 1 was "totally agree," and 5 was "totally disagree." The pre-test measured the expectations and preferences of the students, and the post-test measured the achievements of the students in Tec Week according to the Confirmation Theory of Expectations (Olivares et al, 2019).…”

The Perceived Value of the Tec Week in the Development of Transversal Competences

“…This approach incorporated some strategies to have a more profound impact on professional identity and competency development. Previous research from i-Week showed competency development on problem-solving, innovation, critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, among others (Olivares et al, 2019).…”

“…Participants were first-year students from several academic programs. A pre-test and posttest self-perception instruments were adapted from Olivares et al (2019) to compare expectations (pre-test) from achievements (post-test) as proposed by the Expectations Confirmation Theory. Results showed that Tec Week offers development for Self-concept, Wellness and Self-awareness, Collaboration, and Diversity.…”

The Relationship between Organizational Learning at the Individual Level and Perceived Employability: A Model-Based Approach

“…It is worth emphasizing that employability is an important and impactful research subject in the contemporary world [8][9][10]. Although the notion of employability was introduced into the subject literature in the early 20th century by Beveridge [11] and became prevalent in the 1990s, in the 21st century, theoreticians and practitioners are still wrestling with the concept [12][13][14]. Moreover, the current market conditions imply a need for continuous learning and the perpetual development of competencies as the basis for increasing one's employability in the present-day labor market.…”