Generic skills are essential because today’s jobs and the future of work require flexibility, initiative, and the ability to undertake many different tasks. While higher education graduates in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries recognize the contribution of these skills in their academics and workplace performance, generic skills development is not a consistent part of their education, which has led to socioeconomic challenges. If higher education placed a great emphasis on developing generic skills, students would expect to have pragmatic benefits, such as academic success, boosting workplace performance, positive interpersonal relationships, and better health and overall well-being. To the best of our knowledge, no systematic review has been conducted to examine generic skills development outcomes in the GCC. Hence, this systematic review aims to identify, evaluate, and summarize findings from peer-reviewed and policy-related studies that have documented generic skills development outcomes in the GCC countries, including identifying broad definitions used and areas for future research. The findings demonstrated conclusive evidence regarding the effectiveness of generic skills development at the higher education level in enhancing graduate outcomes in employability promotion skills, enhancing stakeholder engagement in curriculum and instruction, academic or workplace performance, influences on health, and effects on social dimensions.
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the evolving ways library users engaged with services and resources and how library services adapted to meet their needs, in order to improve practice post-pandemic.Design/methodology/approachDuring Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, nine studies were conducted which examined the usage of space, services and resources; and employee and student perspectives. Findings from these studies were synthesized for this investigation through a process of qualitative meta-synthesis.FindingsThe themes from this meta-synthesis point to an ongoing need for streamlining services and processes, to improve efficiency as well as enable the Libraries to be prepared for the next crisis.Originality/valueWhile change takes time for large organizations, the existence of system-wide processes and services enabled library employees to continue assisting users across all Penn State campuses, demonstrating that the University Libraries could be considered a model for the “One Penn State” vision that the university strives to achieve by 2025.
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