Assessing Educators’ Soft Skills: Developing a Self-Assessment Instrument

Abstract

Educators play multifaceted roles in supporting students’ academic growth, necessitating a diverse knowledge base and a variety of soft skills. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes in the education environment, compelling educators to adapt to these new demands. Consequently, nurturing soft skills among educators has become crucial to effectively address evolving educational challenges. This paper presents the development and validation process of an online questionnaire aimed at measuring Te Pūkenga educators’ self-assessment of their soft skills before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire comprises 28 Likert-type scale questions, encompassing 14 identified soft skills, alongside 6 additional questions on sociological and academic factors. A two-stage approach for questionnaire development and validation was used. In stage one, the questionnaire was created through a literature review and the identification of soft skills and independent variables. Stage two involved a content validity check by 10 educators and academic experts, leading to refinement based on their feedback. Subsequently, a pilot study was conducted with 50 random respondents to determine the validity and reliability of the instrument, and a preliminary data analysis was performed. The results of the validation process confirmed the questionnaire’s validity and reliability, as we hypothesised, indicating its potential as a useful research tool for a planned research project. Further research involving a broader range of tertiary institutions can enhance the scale’s validity and reliability, thereby strengthening its applicability to be utilised by diverse educational institutions and in diverse research settings to measure educators’ self-assessments of their acquired soft skills and self-evaluations of how challenging experiences and events in their professional environment influence the implementation of these skills. By embracing and fostering soft skills among educators, educational institutions can better equip their staff to meet the evolving demands and complexities of modern education.

Rationale for Embedding Soft Skills in Teaching and Assessment in Higher Learning Institutions

“…Soft skills significantly develop the student's personality, potentially enhancing their career prospects (Albert & Husni, 2023). In this progressively competitive and changing world, every academic institution strives to develop its employees and upgrade their performance to enhance the positive impact on its students (Al-sa'di et al, 2023). Irrespective of the technical skills required, it is imperative to develop various soft skills such as problem-solving, interaction, and communication skills to utilise technical knowledge and skills in a workplace effectively.…”

“…Irrespective of the technical skills required, it is imperative to develop various soft skills such as problem-solving, interaction, and communication skills to utilise technical knowledge and skills in a workplace effectively. Al-sa'di et al (2023) further accentuate that soft skills are intangible assets that characterize and qualify an individual's personality to meet the requirements of workplace competence. By acquiring these soft skills, teacher educators, for instance, can elevate their overall effectiveness and adaptability in the constantly changing educational landscape.…”