An Exploratory Study of Soft Skills Development Expectations in Two-Year Generation Z College Students

Workplace demands around competent demonstration of soft skills have been steadily increasing; therefore, institutions of higher education have started focusing attention on instilling these skills within their student populations. The latest generational cohort to enter college and the workforce, Generation Z, has only recently begun to be studied for the impact of its members’ attitudes towards work and how those might change employer expectations around soft skills. A research gap exists, however, regarding students in Generation Z attending two-year schools and which soft skills they feel are most valuable to their future careers. This study sought to explore those attitudes by answering the research question: Which soft skills do members of Generation Z within Liberal Arts and Sciences courses at two-year schools find most relevant to their future careers? Study participants were enrolled in a two-year higher educational institution in Minnesota in Generation Z as defined by Twenge (2023) and taking courses in the Liberal Arts and Sciences. The present study is non-experimental in design and focused on exploratory research. A variety of soft skills (the dependent variables) were studied in relationship to the constant, two-year college students within Generation Z. A questionnaire was utilized that included a Likert scale rating the value of nine soft skills along with demographic questions and questions about future career goals. The findings of this study indicated that all participants valued certain skills that are also in demand by employers, such as communication and metacognition. Participants disagreed, however, on the value of an in-demand employer skill, creativity. Additionally, the study results indicated strong differences among gender cohorts of participants regarding the value of several key skills. Implications for further research include further exploration of those soft skills that generated greatest disagreement among participants and between participants and in-demand skills; additionally, further research could establish stronger correlations between the soft skills valued by Generation Z and their future career goals

Analysis of Self: How My Story Became My Purpose

In this analysis of self, information is shared that has led to pursuing a master\u27s degree in counseling. Personal stories and experiences are shared that aid in reflecting on essential relationships as well as the impact of those relationships. Individual mental health components are also explored. Assessment results and interviews conducted with loved ones are explored, as well as how the results and interview responses deepened the analysis of self. Theoretical orientation is explored, including how components of selected theories resonate both personally and professionally. Finally, the impact of conducting the analysis of self is explored, as well as a plan for continued professional development Keywords: mental health, self-analysis, personal growt

The Effectiveness of the Homework, Organization, and Planning Skills (HOPS) Intervention for High School Students

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder can present challenges for students in the school setting. This includes executive functioning deficits in planning, organization, and initiation. This project examined the use of the Homework, Organization, and Planning Skills (HOPS) intervention with a 16-year-old high school student with ADHD and consisted of six, one one-on-one sessions. Throughout the implementation of the intervention, the HOPS manual was used to help the student learn how to effectively organize his homework materials. Data collected during this project included the HOPS Organizational Skills Checklist criteria, number of missing assignments, and pre and post interventions results using the Executive Skills Questionnaire. The results demonstrated that the student increased the number of criteria met on the Organizational Skills Checklist. However, the number of missing assignments increased by the end of the intervention and the self-reported Executive Functioning skills remained consistent. These results do not support the use of HOPS as an effective intervention for a high school student with ADHD

The Impact of Project Based Learning on Student Motivation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between student motivation and project-based learning. It was believed that engaging students with a project related to factors cognizant of the real world would help to increase student motivation in all areas. In order to improve student motivation in the classroom, the author sought to find ways to increase student learning using a project-based learning approach. This study utilized the qualitative research method with a case study design. Participants were observed in their natural settings through the implementation of a Project Based Learning Unit. Research has shown that students’ motivation, and most importantly intrinsic motivation, can be significantly increased through the hands-on learning activities, such as project-based learning (Beerenwinkel, 2017; Antonetti and Garver, 2015; Ryan & Weinstein, 2009). Students of all ages thrive on the ability to design their own experience for learning. Project-Based Learning provides a vehicle for students to gain valuable life skills such as critical thinking and collaboration. This study adds to the body of literature of PBL on motivation in language arts classrooms

Philosophy and the Arts: A Textbook with Readings

Intended for advanced undergraduates, this textbook presents and explains five core topics in philosophy of art. Roughly half the text is a set of edited excerpts that range from antiquity to the early twentieth century. Among philosophers, Plato and Immanuel Kant receive the most attention. However, the editorial stance is that philosophers are not the exclusive source of philosophy of art. Most chapters contain excerpts from artists writing about their art form, such as Alfred Stieglitz, T.S. Eliot, and Virginia Woolf. Each reading is prefaced by an extended introduction that provides historical and philosophical contextual. Except for a segment on Eduard Hanslick\u27s musical formalism, the emphasis is on visual art and literature. There are numerous illustrations and examples.https://red.mnstate.edu/oer-books/1001/thumbnail.jp

Storytelling as Research Methodology and Pedagogy: Connecting the Researcher and Practitioner through Narrative Inquiry

The most effective teachers are reflective teachers. Reflective teachers are curious about their pedagogy and their impact on student learning and often seek out opportunities to formalize their reflective process and share their stories about their teaching practices. Teachers’ knowledge is founded in their stories of experience (Ciuffetelli et al., 2011). The author positions themselves as the researcher in this autoethnographic narrative inquiry, or self-study. As the researcher, they use the narrative inquiry methodology to study themselves and explore the learning process of using storytelling in their Social Studies methods course in a Teacher Education program while exploring the research question, “How can Journey Boxes be used as a storytelling inquiry that uses primary sources to explore one’s family story and familial identities while gaining an understanding of historical thinking?” As the subject of the article, the author shares their use of The Journey Box as a storytelling inquiry in the Social Studies methods course. The author discusses The Journey Box learning experience in depth while incorporating personal reflections and learnings throughout the process. The data collection process included the collection of personal journal entries of the metacognition processes from the researcher’s teaching and from dialogue with critical friends in Teacher Education. Results include the value of modeling and the benefit of using storytelling inquiry to explore historical thinking and current social issues facing preservice and in-service teachers today

A Psychocosocial Behavior Modification that Impacts Social Belonging in College Students

Disparities in educational attainment have been at the forefront of many educational leaders\u27 minds. For those in higher education, finding solutions to eliminate these disparities is critical to their viability. Research on these disparities has led to an encouraging discovery centered around the psychological construct of social belonging. Studies have been finding evidence that a student\u27s sense of social belonging impacts their academic success in college. Furthermore, researchers have discovered an intervention that fosters a student\u27s sense of belonging. This intervention has been shown to increase a student\u27s sense of belonging at college and, in turn, has increased the students\u27 academic success. The following research study implemented this intervention on first-year, full-time, domestic students at Minnesota State University Moorhead

Gender Disparity In Sentencing

Both male and female offenders face unequal justice within the criminal justice system because their gender determines legal outcomes more than do their offense level and criminal records. The discrepancy arises because judges exercise discretion and are influenced by public belief and traditional sex-based stereotypes in sentencing. Studies demonstrate that women typically receive lighter penalties than men when prosecuted for comparable crimes. The judge’s system displays significant differences when dealing with drug related and violent offenses. Therefore, this paper addresses; The root causes of gender disparity, how women’s pathways into the justice system differ from men’s, Potential alternatives and their impacts and Broader implications for justice and fairness. These two competing theories offer different explanations for how gender influences judicial decision-making. The Chivalry hypothesis which grants women lighter punishment because they are first time offender and has committed non-violent crimes. Woman gets longer sentencing because they break traditional feminine conduct. Committing violent crime and domestic violence or child abuse with the Evil Woman Hypothesis. The social circumstances justification for leniency toward women create unfairness in the legal system, which requires policy reforms to establish gender-neutral sentencing procedures

Examining the Nexus of Communication, Leadership, and Employee Satisfaction in Community Colleges: A Mixed-Methods Exploration

Employee turnover and attrition are not something that organizations look forward to. This is particularly significant at community colleges, where staff retention is important for stability and student success. While employees leave for a variety of reasons, dissatisfaction is one of the main reasons employees look for other jobs. This research seeks to answer the central question: How do different leadership styles and communication practices impact employee satisfaction levels at rural two-year community colleges? A mixed methods case study was conducted using survey and semi-structured interviews at four rural Midwestern colleges