Do colleges cultivate critical thinking, problem solving, writing and interpersonal skills?

Saavedra, Anna Rosefsky; Saavedra, Juan Esteban

doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2011.08.006

Cited by 57 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Some countries rely mostly on public sources and provide free tuition (like Argentina), while others-such as Colombia and Peru-rely more on private funds and thus, higher entry fees (see Arias Ortiz, Elacqua, and González, forthcoming). Irrespective of the type of financing or allocation system, the expansion in higher 2 Further evidence of differences in student choices by socioeconomic background can be found in Saavedra and Saavedra (2011) for Colombia and in Lavado, Martínez, and Yamada (2014) for Peru. 3 To estimate the causal impact, Solís exploits the sharp eligibility rules of two loan programs recently introduced to compare students around the cutoff and estimate access to credit.…”

Section: A Public-private Joint Venturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…18 By using a value-added approach, these measures take into account the students' academic baseline when assessing the results. These assessments have been used to document the new and growing academic literature that analyzes the contribution of higher education to skills formation (Saavedra and Saavedra, 2011;Balcázar and Ñopo, 2016). Value-added measures have also been used to inform career choices, as they are made publicly available to prospective students.…”

Section: The Means To Achieve the Endsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Learning Better: Public Policy for Skills Development

Busso¹,

Cristia²,

Hincapié³

et al. 2017

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC-IGO BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO) license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/legalcode) and may be reproduced with attribution to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed.Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC-IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inter-American Development Bank, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent. Preface New technologies that are fusing the physical, digital, and biological worlds are impacting all industries, countries, and individuals. This so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution will change the way we live and transform the way we work. Preparing this and future generations of workers for a fast-changing world is not only desirable, it's essential. At the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) we know that a key ingredient to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean is having the right skills to face the challenges of this new era. For this reason, we dedicated the 2017 edition of our flagship publication, Development in the Americas (DIA), to studying this topic and to proposing evidence-based solutions to address this critical problem.Undoubtedly, our region will be heavily impacted by sweeping trends around the world. Artificial intelligence, automation, the Internet of Things, 3D printing, and autonomous vehicles are not science fiction anymore. They are real and available in many parts of the world and beginning to find their way to Latin America and the Caribbean. These new trends are changing our jobs and the way we work. The full impact of these changes is still unknown, but clearly there will be a fundamental transformation in the way businesses do their business and workers do their work.A phrase by Robin Chase (co-founder of Zipcar) is telling: "My father had one job in his lifetime, I will have six jobs in my lifetime, and my children will have six jobs at the same time." Not only will our work not be a 9-to-5 job, but we will also not have the same job for our entire life. The Fourth Industrial Revolution will impose continuous and fast changes that will imply new challenges.A central challenge is how to prepare the workers of today for the jobs of tomorrow. I am optimistic because one of the region's principal assets is its people's talent. But much must be done, starting with helping the many workers in the labor force today find good jobs, and stay updated on t...

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Section: A Public-private Joint Venturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Means To Achieve the Endsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning Better: Public Policy for Skills Development

Busso¹,

Cristia²,

Hincapié³

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…On the other hand, while graduates' perceptions can be very useful if handled appropriately, the accuracy of these perceptions need to be tested objectively. As an example of what might be discovered, Saavedra and Saavedra (2011), in a pioneering example of how this might be pursued, use Colombian data to suggest (contrary to the perceptions of the present survey's respondents) that formal education does contribute measurably to the development of interpersonal skills. Such research, they suggest, can determine which characteristics of formal education are most effective at developing particular skills (1525).…”

Section: Conclusion and Further Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A s professors of political science and the social sciences more generally, we know that many of our students, their parents, and governments are concerned about how our BA programs are preparing graduates for the workplace (Saavedra andSaavedra 2011, 1516). As professors who care about our students, especially those for whom the BA will be a terminal degree, many of us share these concerns.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Workplace Relevance of the Liberal Arts Political Science BA and How It Might Be Enhanced: Reflections on an Exploratory Survey of the NGO Sector

Robinson

2013

APSC

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Reflecting on a survey of employees of NGOs based in Ontario, Canada, the article considers two questions: How well are our BA programs preparing students for the workplace? Can we enhance workplace relevance without sacrificing our commitment to liberal education? Key findings are presented, including the BA continues to be a desired and employable degree and skills associated with it are valued; employers are not convinced that graduates with BAs necessarily possess these skills; and respondents associate their formal education with individual skills and extracurricular activities with interpersonal skills. Three strategies to enhance the workplace relevance of BA programs without sacrificing liberal education are suggested, and faculty are encouraged to think more holistically about their BA programs and what students need from them.

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“…Other essay tests also measure CT skills; examples include the ACT Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (ACT, undated), the Critical Thinking Assessment Test (Tennessee Technological University, 2017), and the Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test (Ennis and Weir, 1985). These tests are most often used by postsecondary institutions for placement or to measure student learning (see, e.g., Saavedra and Saavedra, 2011).…”

Section: Many Tests Measure Critical Thinking Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%