Abstract:

Enduring skills have increasingly been emphasised by governments, industries, and universities alongside disciplinary knowledge and skills. Enduring skills, such as critical thinking, communication, and digital literacy, can be applied across disciplines and contexts, and have become more valuable amid the rapid technological change and societal and economic uncertainty. In higher education, these skills are also recognised as essential for navigating the complexities in life, work and continuous learning. In this context, however, students’ perceptions of enduring skills and, more importantly, their self-efficacy in identifying and articulating them remain underexplored. This study thus examines students’ perceptions of enduring skills and their skill self-efficacy, specifically in the context of artificial intelligence, aiming to pinpoint areas where additional support is needed to enhance students’ skill development in higher education. We employed a mixed-methods design consisting of a quantitative survey and qualitative focus groups. The survey gathered responses from 189 students (including both undergraduate and taught postgraduate students). Additionally, focus group discussions were conducted with 10 students to gain deeper insights into their experiences with skill development and perceived needs. Survey data were analysed statistically to identify trends in perceptions and confidence, while focus group transcripts were examined using thematic analysis to uncover common themes and perspectives. Results indicate that students overwhelmingly recognise enduring skills as crucial for their future success. Notably, digital literacy was highlighted as increasingly important given the rise of AI technologies. Students generally agreed that universities should actively teach and foster these competencies. However, many reported that current courses often do not explicitly emphasise or assess enduring skills, making it difficult for students to identify and articulate the skills they are developing. Focus group insights further revealed that students want more support to bridge this gap: they suggested implementing skill mapping tools to track and visualise their skill development and incorporating guided self-reflection activities to heighten their awareness and confidence in their skill sets. By providing a student-centric perspective on skills, this research complements industry and educator viewpoints and provides directions for educators and institutions to enhance skills development.

Keywords:

Skill, perceptions, self-efficacy, higher education.