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The School of the Future. Does it Have the Room for Soft Skills Development?

Zoya Talitskaya

DOI 10.55140/2782-5817-2022-2-2-40-51

The so-called soft skills — a set of personal and social skills and qualities — are increasingly becoming the subject of studies and public discourse lately. However, school and University education still remains focused on knowledge. Will the School of the Future place as much emphasis to the development of soft skills as to substantive learning? We are starting a series of publications dedicated to the models of the School of the Future. Our first conversation is about what role the school plays in developing soft skills in children.

Zoya Talitskaya

Expert, Gladway Foundation for the Development of Media Projects and Social Programs

FROM RESEARCH AMONG ENGINEERS TO GOOGLE EMPLOYEES

Scientists discovered long ago that in-depth knowledge and even good grades at school and the University do not necessarily translate into success in life and career. For example, the National Soft Skills Association of America describes the findings of a study covering several thousand American engineers, conducted more than a hundred years ago, in 1918. Even then, about 85 % of engineers cited personal qualities as the most important factor influencing success in an engineering career — compared to 15 % citing technical knowledge and skills (Mann, 1918).

Among the much more recent findings is information from Google, which analyzed data on the hiring, career development and dismissal of its employees between 1998 and 2013. The study showed that technical knowledge and skills in the respective field ranked last among the eight most important qualities of the best Google employees. All the seven more important success factors were represented by social skills: being a good mentor; good communication and listening skills; ability to understand others (including recognition of others’ values and perspectives); empathy and support for one’s peers; ability to think critically and solve problems; and ability to establish linkages between complex ideas (Strauss, 2017).

WHAT ARE SOFT SKILLS?

The term "soft skills" lacks a clear definition in Russian or in English language. In fact, even though the term "soft skills" prevails, the concept can be described using different names, such as common skills or core skills. This includes skills, abilities, and personality traits that are important and needed in any profession, as well as generally in every person’s life. Typically, soft skills include critical thinking, problem-solving ability, ability to speak in public, work in a team, be a leader, creative thinking ability, and so on. Soft skills are hard to measure, unlike hard skills, that is, knowledge and skills in specific areas and professions.

James Heckman, Nobel Prize winner in economics, dedicated a lot of time to education research, including that in vocational training. He showed that high IQ level only increases a person’s chances of financial success by 1–2 %. Instead, soft skills like conscientiousness and diligence, perseverance, and self-discipline are more likely to lead to financial success (Faye, 2016).