Advancements in education and the perceived necessary educational outcomes require advanced psychometric approaches. This is particularly true when we consider noncognitive assessments -- assessments that aim to measure soft skills, otherwise untested in classrooms today. Noncognitive skills have gained traction in recent years due to the…

Generation Z members are our future leaders. They are eventually going to run the world and are starting to make their unique characteristics known. Due to the current generational transitions, they will assume leadership roles earlier than previous generations, mainly owing to the increased migration of Baby Boomers out of the workforce.…

Employers indicate their new employees lack the employability skills to be successful in the workplace. These skills are integral to the career and technical education (CTE) curriculum in Ohio. CTE teachers are responsible for grading and assessing student mastery of employability skills. This study examines Ohio CTE teachers' grading and…

Career readiness has become an expected outcome of earning a college degree, but employers and much of the public believe that graduates lack the skills necessary to be effective in the workplace. However, undergraduates, and especially those involved in cocurricular activities, routinely describe themselves competent in their abilities prior to…

In this study, I investigated how information technology (IT) professionals learn/acquire soft skills. Little is understood about how IT professionals describe and apply the soft skills that they consider necessary for their own employability. Exploring how IT professionals describe and apply soft skills is important to their future work and…

Recognizing the significance of soft skills in workplace success, some organizations have implemented strategies such as internships, conferences, and workplace coaching to aid employees in developing these skills. Given that Generation Z employees are now entering the workforce in greater numbers, it becomes imperative to employ methods that…

This qualitative research study addressed a notable gap in existing literature by examining the perceptions and relationship between experiential learning and college and career readiness within the homeschooling context. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 13 homeschooled students from northwestern Florida. To gather data, indepth,…

Many organizations utilize formal mentoring as a means of human resource development. Positive mentoring experiences can lead to positive outcomes for the mentor, mentee, and organization; however, negative mentoring experiences can have the opposite effect. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to examine how mentees describe…

Adoption of competency-based education systems in post-secondary education has received support. A body of literature has developed with this expansion. Despite this body of evidence, opponents make arguments about the efficacy of competency-based classroom instruction and pedagogy. The inability of implicit learning being taught through explicit…

Health Information Technology (HIT) is an in-demand occupation across Illinois and as such community colleges offer related preparation programs in the form of one-two semester Career and Technical Education (CTE) Certificates and Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees. Community college applied programs aim to meet the needs of local…

The increased use of technology has not decreased the need for soft skills, which are critical for companies that provide interchangeable products and services. Employers are looking to recruit applicants with technical and soft skills, but research has revealed that new hire soft skills are not meeting employers' expectations. Employers expect…

Studies show that students are less successful in their freshman year of high school than in elementary and middle school. The causes of this decline in success range from new schedules, changing of relationships, increased rigor, and less involvement from educators. This applied study will explore the effectiveness of soft skill interventions in…

The purpose of this interpretive case study was to investigate how several community colleges work with local industry partners to create market alignment and uncover the social outcomes within their communities. Most studies within labor market alignment focus on the economic outcomes, but this study sought to review the social outcomes. This…

Higher Education and its evolution in the twentieth century has seen a paradigm shift and an increased focus on the disconnect of the classroom with the employment field and market. Higher education has been presented with the challenge of not only understanding how one behaves and adapts to transitions but the approach and how to analyze a change…

Interpersonal skills, which are variously called soft skills, employability skills, people skills, and noncognitive skills, are critically important in personal, academic, and workplace settings. This descriptive case study explored how individuals from underserved communities described the use of reflective learning journals in an interpersonal…