The Development of Soft Skills via In-person Training in Secondary Education: A Case Study in Oujda-Angad Directorate, Morocco

Abstract

The digital revolution has brought about colossal changes in many social aspects. Thanks to the emergence of new digital technologies, many jobs have been executed by machines. Thus, employers are seeking different skills; they are known as soft skills. These skills are currently required for integrating the workforce. This article provides conceptual and empirical information related to employability skills development. It aims to explore the effect of soft skills training on the development of this skill among secondary school students. It is preliminary research to check students’ knowledge of three skills: Critical thinking, Collaboration and Communication. The theoretical frameworks mobilized for this study are the project-based learning theory and the experiential learning theory (Kolb, 2005). A mixed approach is adopted to examine the development of these skills via a one-month in-person training for students of Oued Eddahab high school. Quantitative data were collected via two web-based questionnaires: a pre-training and a post-training to compare students’ perceptions regarding the soft skills training. Qualitative data were collected by recording two focus groups. The quantitative results have revealed that there are many effective strategies to apply in order to enhance soft skills in high school. The qualitative results revealed that there is a positive relationship between the training workshops and the improvement of those skills. The majority of the students have expressed their satisfaction with the different workshops and stressed the importance of these skills for their academic and professional careers and for the improvement of their communicative capacities.