Abstract:

Soft skills play a crucial role in today's highly dynamic and competitive business environment. Soft skills are a set of intrapersonal and interpersonal skills that include common sense, the ability to deal with people, and a positive flexible attitude. The assessment of soft skills is fundamental in order to value the process of learning and the personal growth and empowerment. The use of active methodologies combined with technological tools, to promote the development and subsequent assessment of soft skills, is fundamental to provide a practical teaching at higher education institutions. The use of business games, role play, flipped classroom and simulations are active methodologies that enable students to experience practice within a learning context.

Business Simulation Course I and II at Oporto School of Accounting and Administration, aims to provide future graduates the opportunity to complete their studies through a series of activities in a simulated practical environment. The pedagogical model is aimed at a particular aspect of the skills training process that shapes the teaching methodology and the assessment system itself. The fundamental purpose of this education and training practice is to bring theory and practice together. This requires transforming the learning experience into a professional one, in which the students have time to become an active part of the process. The student and his motivation are placed in the centre of the process – flipped classroom -leading to a change in his critical thinking skills and problem-solving attitude. This study explores the perceptions of accounting undergraduate students about their learning path in the Business Simulation course. It aims to perceive the self-awareness of the students regarding their accomplishments on a specific set of soft skills. An already tested questionnaire, which combines a set of questions regarding assessment and development of a set of soft skills. The questionnaire was created on Google Forms and sent to all the students of the business simulation course. Teachers informed students about the aim of this study and asked them to participate by filling in the questionnaire. There were assessed skills such as analytical and creative thinking, interpersonal relationships, leadership and social influence, resilience, flexibility and agility, problem-solving, technological literacy, motivation and self-awareness, empathy, active listening, emotional intelligence and team work. The research is based on a mixed-methodology approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods, the data gathered had a statistical and a content analysis to the questions answered by 80% of these students.

The results show that the students perceived the Business Simulation course as an opportunity to develop a set of transversal and smart competencies although with different degrees of perception. The statistical analysis allowed us to know the distribution and variability of these skills among the students' perceptions. The study emphasizes the importance of integrating practical experiences, such as business simulations, flipped classroom in the course curriculum to promote the development of technical and interpersonal skills. The results contribute to a better understanding of students' perceptions regarding the acquisition of soft skills in the context of accounting education.

Keywords:

Accounting education, soft skills assessment, business simulation, technological tools, active methodologies.