Teaching in offshore programmes: an assessment of university faculty’s self-efficacy, cultural competence and preparedness

The importance of soft skills in the university academic curriculum: The perceptions of the students in the new society of knowledge

“…This feeling seems to tune up with the demands of a demanding labour market regarding commitment and responsibility. The importance assigned to autonomy by the students is consistent with the markets' perception and it is in line with those who argue that generic and transferable skills in the academic curriculum facilitate personal development and enhance performance (Chen, 2016;Ibáñez-Martín, Fuentes & Barrio, 2012;Pereira, 2015;Tejada, 2012). According to Badia and Becerril (2016), Munthe, Malmo andRogne (2011), Smidt (2015) and Thongthew (2014) the change of curricula is a pillar of economic reform and the change of society.…”

“…The undergraduate degree holder should master these skills. And yet, students should also be able to master new skills because they are players in the labour market (Chen, 2016;Hawkins & Winter, 1996). Therefore, they should be endowed with "meetings skills, negotiation skills and networking Skills" (Hawkins & Winter, 1996, p. 5).…”

“…These are the characteristics of a new paradigm, potentially alternative to the dominant paradigm, the status quo, because the latter one has given great signs of inability to guide the population toward a welfare economic model, whilst endeavouring to reduce the emergence of societal biases. In fact, in a holistic perspective, the underlying cultural component to a curriculum is a form of personal development and human capital within organisations (Chen, 2016;Pereira, 2013a;Tejada, 2012). Therefore, students should be driven and eager to acquire new skills to achieve self-efficacy, and respond to pluralism and social inclusion (Ibáñez-Martín, Fuentes & Barrio, 2012;Tejada & Ruiz, 2016).…”

“…Therefore, students should be driven and eager to acquire new skills to achieve self-efficacy, and respond to pluralism and social inclusion (Ibáñez-Martín, Fuentes & Barrio, 2012;Tejada & Ruiz, 2016). Hence, curricula are a pool of cultural competences which allow people to interact with different economic, social, cultural and emotional backgrounds and inspires respect for diferences, so believe Badia and Becerril (2016) and Chen (2016).…”

“…In this light, in a knowledge-based economy one advocates that competence involves a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes and that education should promote diversified skills, which is contrary to the traditional knowledge-based model. In this context, cultural competence outshines as a determining factor of personal and professional success (Chen, 2016).…”