Celebrating Skills in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Celebrating Skills in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Call for Evidence

January 2017

About this project

The British Academy believes that there is a growing need for a better understanding of whether the UK has got the right balance of skills, skills levels and disciplines for the future. We believe it is timely to hold an intelligent debate about the place of education and skills in securing prosperity for society.To date, the Academy’s focus has been on addressing areas with marked deficits – languages and quantitative skills. As the National Academy for the humanities and the social sciences, the Academy is ideally placed to extend this work to look at skills across the range of its disciplines, as well as those that are common across all the arts, humanities and social sciences (AHSS).

This flagship project aims to articulate the skills that are inherent to the study of AHSS, their value to the individual, and the contribution they do make and could make in future to society as well as those skills that are important for educators of AHSS students to introduce directly.The Academy hopes to stimulate and facilitate a national debate about the nature and value of these skills, and set the agenda for a wider Skills Programme to 2020.

About the Call for Evidence

To inform the flagship project, the British Academy wishes to establish an evidence base about the skills developed by studying AHSS and the contribution that individuals with those skills make to society and the economy. In recent years, the identification and definition of skills and the articulation of their value has been a topic of considerable debate in the general media and among policy makers in higher education and therefore a large body of material addressing the issue already exists.

The British Academy, under the guidance of the project Steering Group, has produced a summary and initial analysis of key evidence on AHSS skills. This document briefly summarises the key sources in this area, and explores the extent to which they provide the evidence which is required for the flagship project. It is structured around six questions:

• What do we mean by skills?
• What skills should studying AHSS develop?
• What skills do individuals who have studied AHSS demonstrate?
• What contribution do individuals with AHSS skills make to society and the economy?
• What skills do employers want?
• What skills are needed for the future?

This document underpins our Call for Evidence. In responding, we would like you to refer to this summary and bring to our attention other sources which we have not identified which can be used to provide evidence on the issues we have identified, as well as suggesting other areas which we should investigate through the project.We are also interested in learning about comparative studies from other countries. Respondents should not feel limited by the questions posed below: we would welcome any additional thoughts or information. Equally, respondents should answer those questions in which they have an interest and not feel obliged to answer them all. A response form is provided as annex to this document.

Who should respond?

The Academy is seeking the views of a broad range of stakeholders in the education and skills sector, including but not limited to education providers, learned societies, careers advisory services, students, employers and policy-makers. If you do not fall into one of these categories and would like to submit evidence, please do so as you consider appropriate.

How to respond

Please ensure that all responses are in Microsoft Word format (not PDF), and that they include concrete examples wherever possible and are fully referenced where appropriate. Responses should not exceed 3000 words and should be as clear and succinct as possible. Please submit your completed response to Wednesday 15 March 2017.

What we will do with the responses

Evidence submitted will be analysed by policy staff at the British Academy, and Steering Group members. It will be used to inform the work of the project and its conclusions and recommendations. Unless we receive a clear instruction to the contrary, all written evidence submitted will be published on the British Academy’s project web page when the final report is published. Publication is expected in Autumn 2017.

CALL FOR EVIDENCE

Table of contents

Section. 1. What do we mean by skills?

Questions

Section. 2. What skills should studying AHSS develop?

Questions:

Section. 3. What skills do individuals who have studied AHSS demonstrate?

Questions

Section. 4. What contribution do individuals with AHSS skills make to society and the economy?

Questions

Section. 5. What skills do employers want?

Questions

Section. 6. What skills are needed for the future?

Call for Evidence Response Form

Section. 1. What do we mean by skills?

‘Skills’ are regarded as of vital importance to economic growth and to successful and productive societies. Accordingly they are the focus of much attention from researchers, policy-makers, employers, and education providers. However, the term ‘skill’ is difficult to define. As Green observed: “‘skill’ is at once held to be a pivotal object for modern social and economic life, while also a concept with no consensus as to what exactly it refers to.”[1] In addition, there are many synonymous terms in common use such as ‘ability’, ‘competence’ and ‘attribute’, often used interchangeably. For this project, a broad definition of ‘skills’ has been adopted, which goes beyond ‘what you can do’, to include attitudes and behaviours, as proposed by Green and Henseke.[2]

‘Skills’ are also often divided into different types or categories, such as ‘generic’ or ‘core’, and ‘technical’ skills. This distinction could refer to the extent that these skills cut across disciplines or are subject-specific, or how they relate to occupations, where generic skills can apply to a wide range of occupations, and technical skills relate to specific tasks required by distinct occupations. Skills can be further divided into ‘cognitive’ and ‘non-cognitive’. ‘Cognitive skills’ can generally be understood as requiring thinking activities and encompass a wide range of skills, from literacy and numeracy, to problem-solving, information technology and communication.[3] ‘Non-cognitive skills’, also referred to as ‘character skills’, ‘personality traits’, ‘soft skills’ and ‘life skills’, refer to attitudes, preferences, behaviours and strategies and include things like conscientiousness, motivation, creativity, perseverance, self-control and resilience.[4] Skills may also be referred to as ‘employability skills’, essentially the skills which are needed in the workplace, largely regardless of the sector of employment.

A further distinction is that between high- and low-level skills. High-level skills can be considered to be those required for ‘high-skilled occupations’, defined by the UK Government as major occupation categories 1-3 in the Standard Occupational Classification (Managers, directors, senior officials, professional occupations and associate professional and technical occupations).[5] A number of different frameworks exist to map graduate qualifications to occupational categories, which makes the term ‘graduate job’ difficult to define, but it is generally accepted that these jobs typically require a degree-level qualification. This project aims to deal with high-level skills, meaning those skills developed through the study of AHSS at degree level and above, including in the early stages of a career in research in these subjects.

Surveys of employers provide a useful insight into how employers understand skills, and the language they use to describe them, which is another important dimension to this project. In addition to high-level categories such as ‘work preparedness’, these surveys often look at both ‘skills and competencies’ and non-cognitive skills or values such as attitude, personality and motivation. The UKCES Employer Skills Surveys - one of the most high-profile employer skills surveys - divides skills into ‘technical and practical skills’ and ‘people and personal skills’. ‘Technical and practical skills’ include job-specific knowledge, reading/writing, numeracy, complex problem-solving, communication, and IT skills. ‘People and personal skills’ include time-management, customer handling, persuading and influencing, instructing, teaching and training people, making speeches and presentations and managing own and other’s feelings.[6] The CBI/Pearson employer skills survey looks at employer satisfaction in terms of information technology skills, technical skills, teamworking ability, numeracy, literacy, attitude, problem-solving, resilience, analytical skills, communication skills, job-specific knowledge, international cultural awareness and language skills which their employees have.[7]

In these studies, the focus is largely simply on whether individuals have, or need, particular skills, with no reference to how well an individual executes them. One possible avenue of exploration for this project is calibration of the quality of skills demonstrated by individuals who have studied AHSS.

Questions

1. How should we define ‘skills’ for this project?
2. How important is it to consider how well an individual demonstrates a particular skill?
3. Does evidence exist on how well AHSS students execute particular skills? If not, is this something the project should explore?

Section. 2. What skills should studying AHSS develop?

It is difficult to provide a comprehensive list of the skills developed through the study of AHSS in higher education, and to separate them from generic characteristics of all graduates.An initial informal consultation with AHSS subject communities produced the following list:

• Advocacy and the ability to present a case
• Analysis and evaluation of evidence, weighing up arguments and understanding multiple perspectives, awareness of the possibilities and limitations of data, methodological rigour
• Ability to notice and describe, and to contextualise, pointing out and unravelling complexity
• Imaginative objectivity, persuasion, diplomacy, negotiation, listening, empathy
• Leadership, independence, initiative, problem solving
• Creative enthusiasm, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, self-management
• Resilience, cultural awareness, adaptability, flexibility and the ability to navigate change

There are a number of other sources which could substantiate and expand this list.A series of national reference points define the skills which students should develop at different stages of higher education, and some of these are subject-specific. For undergraduates (bachelors degree with honours) and some taught masters programmes, subject benchmark statements define the nature of a subject area, the teaching, learning and assessment methods typical to the subject and the knowledge, understanding and skills which students should gain.[8] In most of these statements, the skills are described as either ‘subject specific’, referring to skills which are essential to the study of the subject, or ‘generic’ or ‘transferable’, referring to skills which have a broader application. The UUK review of skills collated a list of these transferable skills.[9]Both subject specific and transferable skills may be relevant after the student has graduated, depending on the further study or employment they enter or other routes they take. Subject benchmark statements are written by the relevant subject community and are revised periodically, so mostly reflect the views of those who teach the subject within higher education, with some input from employers of graduates of the subject area.

Of the 54 subject benchmark statements, around 30 cover AHSS subjects. This is a rich resource for the project, and it would be possible to carry out a mapping exercise which analyses the skills defined in the statements, identifying themes common across AHSS subjects and those specific to individual subjects or groups of subjects. This analysis could be compared to the qualification descriptors in the UK national qualification frameworks for higher education, which describe the generic characteristics of a graduate, regardless of subject area, in order to identify the extent to which AHSS is distinctive.[10]The generic qualification descriptors define the minimum abilities which a graduate must demonstrate, while subject benchmark statements may also include a ‘typical’ or ‘excellent’ level, which gives some indication of different levels of performance.

The UK qualification frameworks, alongside other publications maintained by QAA, are the main reference points for the skills developed by students studying research master’s and doctoral degrees, where the individual nature of the research undertaken by each student makes it difficult to define the knowledge and skills at a subject level.[11] A further generic reference point for the skills developed through research degrees and in the early stages of a research career is the Vitae Research Development Framework, a self-assessment and development tool.[12] More specifically, the Research Councils define the skills which should be included in doctoral training programmes in their subject areas.[13] Again, these are rich resources for the project.

For some subject areas within the AHSS group, a professional body, learned society or subject association may maintain a set of criteria against which higher education programmes are accredited, and these typically include requirements for the subject knowledge and skills which students should develop during their studies. In order to reduce burden on higher education providers, these may align with the relevant subject benchmark statement,[14] but they may also be distinct, particularly where they relate to requirements for gaining professional recognition, as opposed to the academic qualification.[15] Some bodies have developed separate statements defining the characteristics of their subject area. The target audience for these materials is often prospective students, or current ones,and they set out the benefits to be gained by studying the subject, generally at undergraduate level.[16] Statements of this kindare also produced by individual universities, where they go down to the level of individual courses, or groups of courses in a subject area, and these may be used in the record of a student’s studies, such as their higher education
achievement report (HEAR).[17]

Some universities have also produced institution-wide statements of graduate characteristics, and for Scotland, a sector-wide enhancement theme on Graduates for the 21st Century resulted in a shared set of graduate attributes.[18]The Association for Graduate Careers Advisory Services and Prospect maintain an online portal What can I do with my degree, that describes the subject specific skills and career options a graduate has by discipline.[19]Analysis of these materials could provide further evidence for the project, where it is possible to determine the subject-specific contribution of AHSS.

An alternative perspective on the skills developed by studying AHSS can be gained by considering the areas which have been identified as ‘skills gaps’ and has hence led to activity to attempt to redress the deficit, leading to a change in the skills gained by students as a consequence. In recent years, the British Academy has led two such programmes, on languages and quantitative skills. The former has been focused on maintaining provision in languages, both whole programmes and courses which may be followed alongside study of other subjects across all discipline areas.[20] The latter has sought to promote the inclusion of quantitative skills training across largely the social sciences, and is paralleled by work done by the ESRC.[21] Where the initiatives deriving from these programmes have been implemented, the skills which students develop through their studies will have a different profile, which could be articulated.

Questions:

1. Are there other sources which describe what skills studying AHSS should develop?
2. Has work already been done to map and analyse skills defined in Subject Benchmark Statements, either across AHSS subjects or in individual subjects or groups of subjects? If so, please tell us about them. If not, is this something the project should explore?
3. To what extent can generic sources describing skills developed at different levels of higher education be drilled down into to identify skills specific to AHSS disciplines? Has this already been done? If not, is this something the project should explore?
4. (for learned societies, subject associations, professional bodies, HEIs) What activities do you undertake (e.g. statements, accreditation) to define the skills AHSS graduates should have?

Section. 3. What skills do individuals who have studied AHSS demonstrate?

A significant limitation to all the evidence sources described in the previous section is that they are statements of what skills students should or could develop through their studies. Subject benchmark statements for example are not a ‘national curriculum’, but a guiding framework, and exactly how they are interpreted and implemented depends on the degree-awarding body which approves the programme. The reach of the languages and quantitative skills programmes has been limited thus far and it would be necessary to evaluate the extent of their impact to understand how they have influenced the skills gained by students. The Research Council frameworks set out the skills which training programmes funded by them should include; this does not guarantee that students successfully develop those skills. Therefore, it is necessary for this project to establish what skills students who study AHSS actually demonstrate: how far does theory map to reality?