Soft Skills and Hard Values: Meeting Education's 21st Century Challenges

This edited volume explores the various iterations of soft skills with a particular focus on their implications for values and evaluates ways in which soft skills and hard values can be integrated. The discourse throughout the 21st century has focused on the changing nature of work, the need for new skill sets, and the disruptive effects of new technologies. The solution is often seen to be in the development of a school curriculum that focuses on work-ready skills for an increasingly complex work environment. This book takes up that issue and lays out the multiple value systems that are available for the new 21st-century world, making it an important resource for policy makers, academics, and teachers with responsibility for a new generation.

Format: Hardback
Length: 218 pages
Publication date: 07 November 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

To aid researchers, educators, and policymakers in comprehending and endorsing the cultivation of 21st-century skills in schools, this edited volume delves into the diverse manifestations of soft skills, with a specific emphasis on their implications for values. It also assesses strategies for integrating soft skills and hard values.

Throughout the 21st century, discourse has centered on the evolving nature of work, the demand for new skill sets, and the disruptive impacts of new technologies. This discourse has been characterized by a neo-liberal ideology that prioritizes the needs of a productive workforce over personal and individual desires, aiming to achieve greater efficiencies and higher profits. The solution often proposed is the development of a school curriculum that focuses on work-ready skills to meet the demands of an increasingly complex work environment.

Agencies such as the OECD and UNESCO emphasize the importance of linking the skills agenda with complementary values. However, this process is still in its infancy. Proponents of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), for instance, highlight the transformative effects of new technologies on work and society, yet they fail to examine the values that would be necessary in these disruptive environments.

This book addresses this gap by presenting a comprehensive exploration of the various value systems that exist in the 21st century world. It serves as a valuable resource for policymakers, academics, and educators who are responsible for shaping the next generation. By examining the interplay between soft skills and hard values, this book provides insights into how individuals and organizations can navigate the complexities of the modern world and achieve success in an ever-changing landscape.

Weight: 589g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032113364