Exploring the Situated and Cultural Aspects of Communication in the Professions: Implications for Teaching, Student Employability, and Equity in Higher Education

Abstract

One of the problematic features of the “skills discourse” is the view that skills are decontextualized bits of knowledge and disposition. Instead, how skills such as communication are defined and used are shaped by cultural, political, and situational factors. In this article, we integrate theory from communication studies, critical discourse analysis, and cognitive anthropology to examine how 96 students, educators, and employers in nursing and engineering define and describe communication skills. Thematic and social network analyses revealed multiple “genres” of communication, their association with specific situations, variation in the structure of situated notions of communication by role group, and cultural models underlying their use. Results suggest new approaches for research and practice regarding teaching and cultural diversity in higher education.

Noncognitive Skills, College Success, and Career Readiness: What Matters and to Whom?

“…In the employment literature, collaboration tends to be described as working with others for group success (e.g., ability to motivate others, relationship building, coaching), while in the higher education literature, collaboration is described as working with others for individual success (e.g., teamwork skills, followership). This is in alignment with Matthew Hora and colleagues’ recent work in the American Educational Research Journal , who caution that that vague lists of terms that employers look for in prospective employees does not explore how multifaceted (e.g., communication) many of these skills are, especially within a specific field of study (e.g., nursing and engineering; Hora et al, 2019).…”

Developing skills in higher education for post-pandemic work

“…Within the digitally based post-pandemic white-collar workplace, the extensive peerinteractions that are necessary to negotiate, implement and develop positive workplace culture and behaviours are likely to be largely absent. Because affective knowledge is culturally and socially constructed (Hora et al 2018(Hora et al , 2019Urciuoli 2008), it is critically important for employers and employees to find alternative ways to develop positive workplace cultures, and to enable new workplace entrants to understand, and contribute to, the organisation's affective knowledge base.…”

La simulación de entrevistas familiares en la formación de maestros y orientadores

“…Por otra parte, estudios recientes cuestionan el "discurso" de la formación en competencias descontextualizado de situaciones concretas. En concreto, en relación a la formación en la competencia en comunicación oral, Hora et al (2019) confirman que depende de factores culturales, políticos y situacionales diferenciados para distintas profesiones. Por tanto, por ejemplo, en la formación de maestros, la comunicación oral debe estar vinculada a situaciones reales que determinan los roles y modelos culturales en su uso.…”