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Sosyal Becerilerin Kavramsallaştırılmasında Yaşanan Zorluklar ve Üniversite-İstihdam İlişkisinde Sosyal Becerilerin Rolü

Year 2023, Volume: 43 Issue: 2, 459 - 480, 30.12.2023
https://doi.org/10.26650/SJ.2023.43.2.0049

Abstract

İş yaşamında gerçekleşen değişmelerin sonucunda giderek daha çok gündeme gelen ve gerekli görülen “sosyal beceriler” (soft skills), işe alım ve istihdam aşamasının yanı sıra iş yaşamındaki performans ve başarıda da etkili olmaktadır. Öte yandan “sosyal beceri” kavramı üzerinde henüz net bir uzlaşı oluşmamıştır. Kavramın tanımı ve sınıflandırması konusunda tutarsızlıklar vardır. Farklı disiplinlerde farklı yönleriyle ele alınıp araştırıldığı gibi, belli araştırmacılar tarafından “sosyal beceri” altında kategorize edilen bazı beceriler diğerleri tarafından farklı kavramlarla karşılanmaktadır. Ayrıca iş piyasaları etkili iletişim, eleştirel düşünme, etik anlayış gibi becerilerin üniversite mezunlarında olmasını beklemekte, buna karşılık çok sayıda araştırma üniversitelerin sosyal beceri kazandırmada yetersiz kaldığını gözler önüne sermektedir. Sistematik literatür değerlendirmesi niteliğindeki bu çalışmanın amacı “sosyal beceri” kavramı etrafındaki belirsizlikleri tartışmaya açmak ve bunların giderilmesine katkıda bulunmaktır. Bunun yanında yükseköğrenim ile geliştiği düşünülen bu becerilerin üniversitelerde kazanılma seviyesi ve bu seviyeyi etkileyen faktörlere ilişkin eleştirel bir analiz ortaya konması hedeflenmektedir. Özetle, bu çalışma sosyal beceriler kavramını çevreleyen belirsiz alana ilişkin öngörüler sağlamakta ve bu kavramın açıklığa kavuşturulmasına katkıda bulunmaktadır. Üniversitelerin bu becerileri edindirmedeki rolünü vurgulamakta ve edinimleri arttırma yöntemlerine öneriler sunmaktadır.

References

  • A Scans Report for America, (2000). What work requires of schools. The secretary’s commission on achieving necessary skills U.S. Department of Labor, June 1991. https://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/ whatwork/whatwork.pdf google scholar
  • Ahmad, A. R., Awang, M. M., & Mohamad, N. A. (2021). The roles of social capital to promote soft skills among university students in facing the challenge of society 5.0 transformation. In H. Yoppy Purnomo (Ed.), Educational innovation in society 5.0 era: Challenges and opportunities. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Current Issues in Education (ICCIE 2020). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003206019 google scholar
  • Attewell, P. (1990). What is skill? Workand Occupations, 17(4), 422-448. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 0730888490017004003 google scholar
  • Awang, M. M., & Careemdeen, J. D. (2021). The relationship between social capital and soft skills among university students. Journal of Education, Society and Behavioral Science, 34(10), 40-46. https://doi.org/10.9734/jesbs/2021/v34i1030361 google scholar
  • Balcar, J. (2016). Is it better to invest in hard or soft skills? The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 27(4), 453-470. https://doi.org/10.1177/1035304616674613 google scholar
  • Barrie, S. C. (2004). A research-based approach to generic graduate attributes policy. Higher Education Research & Development, 23(3), 261-275. https://doi.org/10.1080/0729436042000235391 google scholar
  • Barrie, S. (2006). Understanding what we mean by the generic attributes of graduates. Higher Education, 51, 215-241. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-004-6384-7 google scholar
  • Bui, B. C., & Nghia, T. L. H. (2022). Using Bourdieu’s concepts of social field, habitus, and capital for employability-related research. In T. L. H. Nghia, B. C. Bui, J. K. N. Singh, & V. N. Lu (Eds.), Graduate employability across contexts: Perspectives, initiatives and outcomes (pp. 47-62). Springer. google scholar
  • Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Arteche, A., Bremner, A. J., Greven, C., & Furnham, A. (2010). Soft skills in higher education: Importance and improvement ratings as a function of individual differences and academic performance. Educational Psychology, 30(2), 221-241. https://doi. org/10.1080/01443410903560278 google scholar
  • Clark, M., Zukas, M., & Lent, N. (2011). Becoming an IT person: Field, habitus and capital in the transition from university to work. Vocations and Learning, 4, 133-150. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s12186-011-9054-9 google scholar
  • Evers, F. T., & Rush, J. C. (1996). The bases of competence. Management Learning, 27(3), 275-299. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507696273001 google scholar
  • Franco-Angel, M., Carabali, J., & Velasco, M. I. (2022). The internship performance of undergraduate students: Are hard or soft skills more important? Industry and Higher Education, 37(3), 384-396. https://doi.org/10.1177/09504222221127213 google scholar
  • Fugate, M., Kinicki, A. J., & Ashforth, B. E. (2004). Employability: A psycho-social construct, its dimensions, and applications. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65, 14-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jvb.2003.10.005 google scholar
  • Gündeş, S., & Atakul, N. (2017). Internship practices in architectural education: Student perspectives. Megaron, 12(3), 355-364. https://doi.org/10.5505/megaron.2017.86094 google scholar
  • Hurrell, S. A., Scholarios, D., & Thompson, P. (2012). More than a “humpty dumpty” term: Strengthening the conceptualization of soft skills. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 34(1), 161-182.https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831x12444934 google scholar
  • Jackson, D. (2014). Employability skill development in work-integrated learning: Barriers and best practice. Studies inHigherEducation, 40(2), 350-367. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.8422 google scholar
  • Katz, R. L. (2009). Skills of an effective administrator. Harward Business School Publishing Corporation. google scholar
  • Kember, D., Leung, D., & Rosa, M. (2007). Characterizing learning environments of nurturing generic capabilities in higher education. Research in Higher Education, 48, 609-632. https://doi. org/10.1007/s11162-006-9037-0 google scholar
  • Macaulay, L., Webber, W., & Fraunholz, B. (2023). Successful university students from low socio-economic backgrounds’ perspectives on their academic success: A capital-based approach. Higher Education Research & Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2023.2197191 google scholar
  • Majid, S., Eapen, C. M., Aung, E.M., & Oo, K. T. (2019). The importance of soft skills for employability and career development: Students and employers’ perspectives. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 13(4), 8-39. google scholar
  • Majid, S. M., Liming, Z., Tong, S., & Raihana, S. (2012). Importance of soft skills for education and career success. International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education [Special Issue], 2(2), 1036-1042. https://doi.org/10.20533/ijcdse.2042.6364.2012.0147 google scholar
  • Matteson, M. L., Anderson, L., & Boyden, C. (2016). “Soft skills”: A phrase in search of meaning. Libraries and the Academy, 16(1), 71-88. https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2016.0009 google scholar
  • Nair, C. S., Patil, A., & Mertova, P. (2009). Re-engineering graduate skills-a case study. European Journal of Engineering Education, 34(2), 131-139. google scholar
  • O’Brien, K., Venkatesan, S., Fragomeni, S. Ve Moore, A. (2012). Work readiness of final-year civil engineering students at Victoria University: A survey. Australasian Journal of Engineering Education, 18(1), 35-48. https://doi.org/10.7158/22054952.2012.11464072 google scholar
  • Odusami, K. T. (2002). Perceptions of construction professionals concerning important skills of effective project leaders. Journal of Management in Engineering, 18(2), 61-67. https://doi. org/10.1061/(ASCE)0742-597X(2002)18:2(61) google scholar
  • Patacsil, F. F., & Tablatin, C. L. S. (2017). Exploring the importance of soft and hard skills as perceived by internship students and industry: A gap analysis. Journal of Technology and Science Education, 7(3), 347-368. https://doi.org/1s0.3926/jotse.271 google scholar
  • Pekerşen, Y., Güneş, E., & Sivrikaya, K. K. (2018). Çalışma hayatında temel yetkinliklerin önemi: Gastronomi ve mutfak sanatları eğitimi alan öğrenciler üzerine bir araştırma. VII. Ulusal III. Ulusararası Doğu Akdeniz Turizm Sempozyumu içinde (s. 150-158). Hatay, Türkiye. google scholar
  • Peterson T. O., & Van Fleet, D. D. (2004). The ongoing legacy of R. L. Katz: An updated typology of management skills. Management Decision, 42(10), 1297-1308. https://doi. org/10.1108/00251740410568980 google scholar
  • Radcliffe, D. F. (2005). Innovations a meta-attribute for graduate engineers. International Journal of Engineering Education, 21(2), 194-199. google scholar
  • Ratnaningsih, D. J. (2013). Open and distance education systems: Do they enhance graduates’ soft skills? The results from 2009 Universitas Terbuka Tracer Study. Open Praxis, 5(4), 289-299. https://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.5.4.85 google scholar
  • Schulz, B. (2008). The importance of soft skills: Education beyond academic knowledge. NAWA Journal of Language and Communication, 146-154. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(93)90452-7 google scholar
  • Succi, C. (2019). Are you ready to find a job? Ranking of a list of soft skills to enhance graduates’ employability. International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 19(3), 281-297. google scholar
  • Suleman, F. (2017). The employability skills of higher education graduates: Insights into conceptual frameworks and methodological options. Higher Education, 76, 263-278. https://link.springer. com/article/10.1007/s10734-017-0207-0 google scholar
  • Şentürk, M., Akbıyık, M., Ağırman, N., Solmaz, F., Turan, B., Palaz, F. S., Çiçek, N., Ünüvar, S., İnan, İ. Y., & Allahverdiyeva, L. (2017). İstanbul Üniversitesi öğrenci profili araştırması. EDAM. google scholar
  • Tambe, S. (2021). Soft skills for professional success. Bodhi International Journal of Research in Humanities, Art and Science, 5(3), 3-7. google scholar
  • Tan, Q., Li, C., Wu, P., Abbas, S., & Teng, L. (2022). Family capital, social stratification, and access to higher education: An empirical study in mainland China. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https:// doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1035715 google scholar
  • World Economic Forum. (2023). Future of jobs report 2023. https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2023/ google scholar

Difficulties in Conceptualizing Soft Skills and the Role of Soft Skills in the University–Employment Relationship

Year 2023, Volume: 43 Issue: 2, 459 - 480, 30.12.2023
https://doi.org/10.26650/SJ.2023.43.2.0049

Abstract

Given the changes in business life, “soft skills,” which are increasingly on the agenda and considered necessary, are effective in the performance and success of business life, including in the recruitment and employment phase. From another aspect, no clear consensus exists on the concept of “soft skills” yet. The definition and classification of this concept are inconsistent. In addition, job markets expect university graduates to have skills such as effective communication, critical thinking, and ethical understanding. However, many studies revealed that universities are insufficient in providing these soft skills. This study aims to open the ambiguities around the “soft skills” concept to discussion and contribute to their elimination through a systematic literature review. Furthermore, the study aims to present a critical analysis of the acquisition level of these skills at universities and the factors affecting this level. In summary, this study provides insights into the ambiguous area surrounding the soft skills concept and contributes to clarifying this concept. The study emphasizes the role of universities in acquiring these skills and offers suggestions for ways to increase acquisitions.

References

  • A Scans Report for America, (2000). What work requires of schools. The secretary’s commission on achieving necessary skills U.S. Department of Labor, June 1991. https://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/ whatwork/whatwork.pdf google scholar
  • Ahmad, A. R., Awang, M. M., & Mohamad, N. A. (2021). The roles of social capital to promote soft skills among university students in facing the challenge of society 5.0 transformation. In H. Yoppy Purnomo (Ed.), Educational innovation in society 5.0 era: Challenges and opportunities. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Current Issues in Education (ICCIE 2020). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003206019 google scholar
  • Attewell, P. (1990). What is skill? Workand Occupations, 17(4), 422-448. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 0730888490017004003 google scholar
  • Awang, M. M., & Careemdeen, J. D. (2021). The relationship between social capital and soft skills among university students. Journal of Education, Society and Behavioral Science, 34(10), 40-46. https://doi.org/10.9734/jesbs/2021/v34i1030361 google scholar
  • Balcar, J. (2016). Is it better to invest in hard or soft skills? The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 27(4), 453-470. https://doi.org/10.1177/1035304616674613 google scholar
  • Barrie, S. C. (2004). A research-based approach to generic graduate attributes policy. Higher Education Research & Development, 23(3), 261-275. https://doi.org/10.1080/0729436042000235391 google scholar
  • Barrie, S. (2006). Understanding what we mean by the generic attributes of graduates. Higher Education, 51, 215-241. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-004-6384-7 google scholar
  • Bui, B. C., & Nghia, T. L. H. (2022). Using Bourdieu’s concepts of social field, habitus, and capital for employability-related research. In T. L. H. Nghia, B. C. Bui, J. K. N. Singh, & V. N. Lu (Eds.), Graduate employability across contexts: Perspectives, initiatives and outcomes (pp. 47-62). Springer. google scholar
  • Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Arteche, A., Bremner, A. J., Greven, C., & Furnham, A. (2010). Soft skills in higher education: Importance and improvement ratings as a function of individual differences and academic performance. Educational Psychology, 30(2), 221-241. https://doi. org/10.1080/01443410903560278 google scholar
  • Clark, M., Zukas, M., & Lent, N. (2011). Becoming an IT person: Field, habitus and capital in the transition from university to work. Vocations and Learning, 4, 133-150. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s12186-011-9054-9 google scholar
  • Evers, F. T., & Rush, J. C. (1996). The bases of competence. Management Learning, 27(3), 275-299. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507696273001 google scholar
  • Franco-Angel, M., Carabali, J., & Velasco, M. I. (2022). The internship performance of undergraduate students: Are hard or soft skills more important? Industry and Higher Education, 37(3), 384-396. https://doi.org/10.1177/09504222221127213 google scholar
  • Fugate, M., Kinicki, A. J., & Ashforth, B. E. (2004). Employability: A psycho-social construct, its dimensions, and applications. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65, 14-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jvb.2003.10.005 google scholar
  • Gündeş, S., & Atakul, N. (2017). Internship practices in architectural education: Student perspectives. Megaron, 12(3), 355-364. https://doi.org/10.5505/megaron.2017.86094 google scholar
  • Hurrell, S. A., Scholarios, D., & Thompson, P. (2012). More than a “humpty dumpty” term: Strengthening the conceptualization of soft skills. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 34(1), 161-182.https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831x12444934 google scholar
  • Jackson, D. (2014). Employability skill development in work-integrated learning: Barriers and best practice. Studies inHigherEducation, 40(2), 350-367. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.8422 google scholar
  • Katz, R. L. (2009). Skills of an effective administrator. Harward Business School Publishing Corporation. google scholar
  • Kember, D., Leung, D., & Rosa, M. (2007). Characterizing learning environments of nurturing generic capabilities in higher education. Research in Higher Education, 48, 609-632. https://doi. org/10.1007/s11162-006-9037-0 google scholar
  • Macaulay, L., Webber, W., & Fraunholz, B. (2023). Successful university students from low socio-economic backgrounds’ perspectives on their academic success: A capital-based approach. Higher Education Research & Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2023.2197191 google scholar
  • Majid, S., Eapen, C. M., Aung, E.M., & Oo, K. T. (2019). The importance of soft skills for employability and career development: Students and employers’ perspectives. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 13(4), 8-39. google scholar
  • Majid, S. M., Liming, Z., Tong, S., & Raihana, S. (2012). Importance of soft skills for education and career success. International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education [Special Issue], 2(2), 1036-1042. https://doi.org/10.20533/ijcdse.2042.6364.2012.0147 google scholar
  • Matteson, M. L., Anderson, L., & Boyden, C. (2016). “Soft skills”: A phrase in search of meaning. Libraries and the Academy, 16(1), 71-88. https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2016.0009 google scholar
  • Nair, C. S., Patil, A., & Mertova, P. (2009). Re-engineering graduate skills-a case study. European Journal of Engineering Education, 34(2), 131-139. google scholar
  • O’Brien, K., Venkatesan, S., Fragomeni, S. Ve Moore, A. (2012). Work readiness of final-year civil engineering students at Victoria University: A survey. Australasian Journal of Engineering Education, 18(1), 35-48. https://doi.org/10.7158/22054952.2012.11464072 google scholar
  • Odusami, K. T. (2002). Perceptions of construction professionals concerning important skills of effective project leaders. Journal of Management in Engineering, 18(2), 61-67. https://doi. org/10.1061/(ASCE)0742-597X(2002)18:2(61) google scholar
  • Patacsil, F. F., & Tablatin, C. L. S. (2017). Exploring the importance of soft and hard skills as perceived by internship students and industry: A gap analysis. Journal of Technology and Science Education, 7(3), 347-368. https://doi.org/1s0.3926/jotse.271 google scholar
  • Pekerşen, Y., Güneş, E., & Sivrikaya, K. K. (2018). Çalışma hayatında temel yetkinliklerin önemi: Gastronomi ve mutfak sanatları eğitimi alan öğrenciler üzerine bir araştırma. VII. Ulusal III. Ulusararası Doğu Akdeniz Turizm Sempozyumu içinde (s. 150-158). Hatay, Türkiye. google scholar
  • Peterson T. O., & Van Fleet, D. D. (2004). The ongoing legacy of R. L. Katz: An updated typology of management skills. Management Decision, 42(10), 1297-1308. https://doi. org/10.1108/00251740410568980 google scholar
  • Radcliffe, D. F. (2005). Innovations a meta-attribute for graduate engineers. International Journal of Engineering Education, 21(2), 194-199. google scholar
  • Ratnaningsih, D. J. (2013). Open and distance education systems: Do they enhance graduates’ soft skills? The results from 2009 Universitas Terbuka Tracer Study. Open Praxis, 5(4), 289-299. https://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.5.4.85 google scholar
  • Schulz, B. (2008). The importance of soft skills: Education beyond academic knowledge. NAWA Journal of Language and Communication, 146-154. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(93)90452-7 google scholar
  • Succi, C. (2019). Are you ready to find a job? Ranking of a list of soft skills to enhance graduates’ employability. International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 19(3), 281-297. google scholar
  • Suleman, F. (2017). The employability skills of higher education graduates: Insights into conceptual frameworks and methodological options. Higher Education, 76, 263-278. https://link.springer. com/article/10.1007/s10734-017-0207-0 google scholar
  • Şentürk, M., Akbıyık, M., Ağırman, N., Solmaz, F., Turan, B., Palaz, F. S., Çiçek, N., Ünüvar, S., İnan, İ. Y., & Allahverdiyeva, L. (2017). İstanbul Üniversitesi öğrenci profili araştırması. EDAM. google scholar
  • Tambe, S. (2021). Soft skills for professional success. Bodhi International Journal of Research in Humanities, Art and Science, 5(3), 3-7. google scholar
  • Tan, Q., Li, C., Wu, P., Abbas, S., & Teng, L. (2022). Family capital, social stratification, and access to higher education: An empirical study in mainland China. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https:// doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1035715 google scholar
  • World Economic Forum. (2023). Future of jobs report 2023. https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2023/ google scholar
There are 37 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Subjects Sociology (Other)
Journal Section RESEARCH ARTICLES
Authors

Melike Akbıyık 0000-0002-1838-380X

Publication Date December 30, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 43 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Akbıyık, M. (2023). Sosyal Becerilerin Kavramsallaştırılmasında Yaşanan Zorluklar ve Üniversite-İstihdam İlişkisinde Sosyal Becerilerin Rolü. İstanbul University Journal of Sociology, 43(2), 459-480. https://doi.org/10.26650/SJ.2023.43.2.0049
AMA Akbıyık M. Sosyal Becerilerin Kavramsallaştırılmasında Yaşanan Zorluklar ve Üniversite-İstihdam İlişkisinde Sosyal Becerilerin Rolü. İstanbul University Journal of Sociology. December 2023;43(2):459-480. doi:10.26650/SJ.2023.43.2.0049
Chicago Akbıyık, Melike. “Sosyal Becerilerin Kavramsallaştırılmasında Yaşanan Zorluklar Ve Üniversite-İstihdam İlişkisinde Sosyal Becerilerin Rolü”. İstanbul University Journal of Sociology 43, no. 2 (December 2023): 459-80. https://doi.org/10.26650/SJ.2023.43.2.0049.
EndNote Akbıyık M (December 1, 2023) Sosyal Becerilerin Kavramsallaştırılmasında Yaşanan Zorluklar ve Üniversite-İstihdam İlişkisinde Sosyal Becerilerin Rolü. İstanbul University Journal of Sociology 43 2 459–480.
IEEE M. Akbıyık, “Sosyal Becerilerin Kavramsallaştırılmasında Yaşanan Zorluklar ve Üniversite-İstihdam İlişkisinde Sosyal Becerilerin Rolü”, İstanbul University Journal of Sociology, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 459–480, 2023, doi: 10.26650/SJ.2023.43.2.0049.
ISNAD Akbıyık, Melike. “Sosyal Becerilerin Kavramsallaştırılmasında Yaşanan Zorluklar Ve Üniversite-İstihdam İlişkisinde Sosyal Becerilerin Rolü”. İstanbul University Journal of Sociology 43/2 (December 2023), 459-480. https://doi.org/10.26650/SJ.2023.43.2.0049.
JAMA Akbıyık M. Sosyal Becerilerin Kavramsallaştırılmasında Yaşanan Zorluklar ve Üniversite-İstihdam İlişkisinde Sosyal Becerilerin Rolü. İstanbul University Journal of Sociology. 2023;43:459–480.
MLA Akbıyık, Melike. “Sosyal Becerilerin Kavramsallaştırılmasında Yaşanan Zorluklar Ve Üniversite-İstihdam İlişkisinde Sosyal Becerilerin Rolü”. İstanbul University Journal of Sociology, vol. 43, no. 2, 2023, pp. 459-80, doi:10.26650/SJ.2023.43.2.0049.
Vancouver Akbıyık M. Sosyal Becerilerin Kavramsallaştırılmasında Yaşanan Zorluklar ve Üniversite-İstihdam İlişkisinde Sosyal Becerilerin Rolü. İstanbul University Journal of Sociology. 2023;43(2):459-80.