What do we know about student participation in activities that develop transferable skills?

Abstract

Learners who are equipped to effect positive change in a rapidly changing world must develop useful and transferable skills in order to be productive members of the workforce and society. Transferable skills in areas such as communication, analysis and problem-solving, and the application of knowledge in real-world settings are critical components of an education that can empower individuals to deal with the complexity, diversity, and advances of the 21st century. Using data from the 2013, 2014, and 2015 administrations of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this session explores the participation of over 20,000 first-year and senior students in activities that promote the development of valuable skills such as verbal and written fluency and analytic inquiry at fourteen Canadian higher education institutions. NSSE annually collects information about first-year and senior students' participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. In this session, we focus on student participation in transferable skill development for the workplace.