Corrigendum

Maria Cinque

doi: https://doi.org/10.18543/tjhe.2895

E-published: November 2023

CORRECTION TO THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE CONTENT:

Cinque, Maria. 2016. “‘Lost in translation’. Soft Skills Development in European Countries.” Tuning Journal for Higher Education 3, no. 2 (May): 389-427. doi: https://doi.org/10.18543/tjhe-3(2)-2016pp389-427.

The correction consists of clarification and appropriate attribution of some of the material used in the above-mentioned article.

MATERIAL CONCERNED:

Page 169, section II.3, 2^nd paragraph:

[…] are skills that are applicable and useful in various contexts, and thus they can be supposedly transferred among different work occupations. They include soft skills and additional abilities, such as literacy, numeracy, technology use etc. Soft skills are considered a subset of generic skills.

This text is now attributed to: Kechagias 2011, 33.[1]

Page 169, section II.3, 3rd paragraph:

The expression “key competencies” refers to those generic skills that warrant special recognition for their outstanding importance and applicability to the various areas of human life (educational and occupational, personal and social). Indeed, the adjectives ‘generic’ and ‘key’ are sometimes used as synonyms. In one of its papers, the Information Network on Education in Europe, Eurydice, outlines its position as follows.

This text is now attributed to: Kechagias 2011, 32.

Pages 169 (section II.3, 4th paragraph)-170:

“Basic skills” are not the same as “key competencies”. Most experts usually talk about “basic skills” when referring to the sub-group of generic or key competencies that are instrumentally essential in a given culture for every person and job, and particularly as we use ‘basic’ skills to communicate with one another and for continuous learning. Classic examples of basic skills are: carrying out basic arithmetical calculations (adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing), and reading and writing in one’s mother tongue. Since the 1990s, at least two more basic skills, the outcomes of both economic globalisation and accelerated technical progress, have come to the fore: speaking foreign languages and using electronic Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

This text is now attributed to: Kechagias 2011, 33.

Page 170, 1^st and 2^nd paragraphs:

Different generic/key/basic skills schemes have been developed in many countries. In some countries, more than one scheme has been developed, either sponsored by different organizations or because the original scheme has been modified as a result of experience. These schemes represent taxonomies of skills, to varying levels of complexity, and as taxonomies, they are informative about the theoretical bases (most of which are tacit) that formed the foundations for the development of these schemes.

As far as the identification of the skills is concerned, three approaches can be identified in the delineation of them. First, skills have been identified by employer organizations through interviews with and focus groups of employer representatives and reviews of other schemes. Second, skills have been identified through analyses of the skills enacted by practitioners in workplaces. Third, a discipline-based approach has been taken in the DeSeCo Project in which academics from six discipline groups were commissioned to propose lists of generic skills.

These paragraphs (pages 169-170) are attributed to: Kechagias 2011, 36.

Pages 170 (3^rd paragraph)-171 (1^st paragraph):

There is no one definitive list of generic skills; instead, there are a number of lists. Each list has been compiled under the influence of both global and local factors and reflects a particular situation. Some common elements are the following:

•Basic/fundamental skills, such as literacy, using numbers, using technology

•People-related skills, such as communication, interpersonal, teamwork, customer-service skills

•Conceptual/thinking skills, such as collecting and organizing information, problem-solving, planning and organizing, learning-to-learn skills, thinking innovatively and creatively, systems thinking

•Personal skills and attributes, such as being responsible, resourceful, flexible, able to manage own time, having self-esteem

•Skills related to the business world, such as innovation skills, enterprise skills

•Skills related to the community, such as civic or citizenship knowledge and skills

It might be discussed which of these skills belong to the category of “soft skills”. Nevertheless, all the discussion reveals the importance that the modern approaches give to the development and assessment of soft skills.

These paragraphs are attributed to: NCVER 2003.[2]

Pages 180 (1st paragraph, lines 7-13):

The importance of soft skills for enhancing employability, personal fulfilment and social participation is widely accepted. […] the educational institutions have accepted that they should prepare their students for a complex and uncertain society and labour market. While they appear to have accepted their new vocational role, there is considerable confusion over how […] generic competencies, soft skills, attributes or capabilities […] should be defined and implemented.

This text is attributed to: Kechagias 2011, 55, 56.

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