The emergence of soft skills in agricultural education (original) (raw)

Perceived Soft Skills Needs of Agriculture Students in Public Universities in

The authors thank the academic staff of the various institutions used for their assistance in collecting quality data. We also appreciate the chief editor of AESON journal and all those who painstakingly reviewed the article to its present status. Authors' contributions: ACN (40%) Conceptualization, analyzed data, wrote the draft manuscript and carried out the editorial work of the manuscript. AOM (45%) Conceptualization, supervised the entire research process, coordinated data collection, analyzed data and grammar editing. MEC (15%) Data collection and wrote the original draft manuscripts.

Perceived soft skills needs of agriculture students in public universities in Niger Delta, Nigeria

Journal of Agricultural Extension, 2023

The authors thank the academic staff of the various institutions used for their assistance in collecting quality data. We also appreciate the chief editor of AESON journal and all those who painstakingly reviewed the article to its present status. Authors' contributions: ACN (40%) Conceptualization, analyzed data, wrote the draft manuscript and carried out the editorial work of the manuscript. AOM (45%) Conceptualization, supervised the entire research process, coordinated data collection, analyzed data and grammar editing. MEC (15%) Data collection and wrote the original draft manuscripts.

Leading students towards a new soft-skills perspective: development for employment

Journal of Education Culture and Society, 2021

Aim. Based on similar studies, this research work aims to investigate the perception of students and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) of learning about the importance of soft skills for their education and employment since these skills are increasingly sought-after by potential employers. Methods. The Kendall Tau b test and Mann Whitney U test have been applied to show the relationship between soft skills and job preparedness for students. This study investigates a selection of 100 students from a private HEI (UBT College) and 100 students from a public HEI (University “Haxhi Zeka”), both in Kosovo. A total of 200 valid responses were collected from July to September 2020. Goldsmith inventory for 15 soft skills has been distributed as a questionnaire has been distributed to the students of these universities. Results and conclusion. The research results indicate that in soft skills development of the UBT College students is significantly higher than the soft skills developed of ...

Hard Skills and Soft Skills as a Result of Industrial Practices and Their Impact on Graduates Job Performance

Proceedings of the 6th UPI International Conference on TVET 2020 (TVET 2020), 2021

Industrial practice is a real learning process carried out in industry. Educational institutions collaborate with industry to foster students to have soft skills and hard skills according to the needs of the job market. This study aims to determine the effect of graduate perceptions on student soft skills and hard skills as a result of industrial practice learning and their effects on job performance. The research sample is graduates of agro-industrial technology education study programs who have been and are currently working in the industry. The research method uses descriptive methods with a quantitative approach. Hard skills and soft skills are independent variables, while job performance is the dependent variable. The results showed a high category for hard skills and a very high category for soft skills as a result of industrial practice learning on job performance. The general perception of graduates about hard skills and soft skills as a result of industrial practice learnin...

Soft Skills Formation Through the Prism of University Students’ View: Analysis of Survey Results

2021

Fundamental changes in the educational paradigm of the Ukrainian education modern system have led to a revision of the process of improving the university students’ professional training. The issue of students’ soft skills formation as mandatory for the diversification of career opportunities in the labor market is relevant. Unification with European standards has led to the necessity to fill the new content of university education to ensure personal development and self-development of future professionals in the course of mastering fundamental and special disciplines and the soft skills formation, which determines the novelty of the issue. The purpose of the study was to carry out a theoretical analysis of the problem of students’ soft skills formation and empirical study of the students’ attitude (pedagogical specialty) of Ukrainian universities to this process in the context of preparation for their future career. The main method was a survey conducted by respondents filling out ...

A NATIONWIDE COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ SOFT SKILLS

The main function of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) is to produce skilled and knowledgeable workforce who are able to not only function with minimal guidance but also to contribute effectively to the hiring organizations. Many studies have indicated that most HEIs have somewhat similar course content and thrived at producing students with good academic achievement. But what differentiated them from one another is their ability to develop knowledge workers with the right employability skills or 'soft skills' such as communication, problemsolving, interpersonal and other skills deemed important as the foundations by which they require to function at work regardless of the nature of employment. This paper reports findings of a large-scale study looking into the soft skills attainment of Malaysian HEI graduates. A quantitative survey design was employed whereby data were obtained through the administration of an instrument called the Malaysian Soft Skills Scale (My3S). My3S consists of 180 items covering seven elements namely Communications, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Teamwork, Moral and Professional Ethics, Leadership, Life Long Learning and Entrepreneurial aspects. The mean scores for the seven My3S subscales were found to be between 6.3 and 7.8 from the maximum possible score of 10. Specifically, comparisons were made between graduates of public and private institutions with respect to the seven elements. Findings of the study suggest that, in general, students of public HEIs scored higher in all seven skills. With respect to gender, male students scored higher than female students in all elements except for teamwork skills and moral and professional ethics. A comparison between fields of study showed that for both types of HEIs, technical students scored the highest in all skills except for moral and professional ethics. Based on the findings of this study, it is suggested that in addition to offering specific courses to improve soft skills attainment, HEIs need to embed soft skills in their academic curricula.

Determination of soft skills expected for professionals in the urban food system industry

Master of ScienceDepartment of Horticulture and Natural ResourcesCandice ShoemakerThe importance of soft skills in professional and life success is not a new concept but there is a growing awareness of these non-cognitive skills as part of the higher education experience, including in agriculture. In 2011 researchers identified seven soft skills needed for successful employment in agriculture, natural resources, and related careers and suggested they should be considered in curriculum revitalization. Currently, many universities successfully teach agriculture students technical skills and theoretical knowledge. However, to be successful, there is a clear and urgent need for agricultural professionals to develop soft skills. The goal of the Urban Food Systems graduate program at Kansas State University is to prepare students for positions such as director/program managers in not-for-profit organizations, city governments or extension programs in urban districts facilitating community...

Soft Skills Development Among Students of Transylvania University of Brasov

SERIES V - ECONOMIC SCIENCES, 2021

The aim of the paper is to determine the importance of soft skills development among students of Transilvania University of Brașov to improve their level of employability and reduce the number of unemployed graduates. In order to discover a solution to the problem represented by the lack of soft skills among students, a quantitative research among Transylvania University’s students has been considered necessary. The purpose of the research was to discover the main soft skills that students need to improve in order to increase their level of employability. The study is based on a psychological approach, which has the role of examining students’ thoughts, based on behaviour and attitudes in various situations.