Author:
Ahmad Sajjad,Ameen Kanwal,Ullah Midrar
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the university information professionals (UIPs) preferred modes of soft skills learning and differences in their opinions based on gender, designations and experience.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative research design using a questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were analyzed through SPSSS version 20.0, using descriptive and inferential statistics. The population of the study included all the UIPs working in the central libraries of the general public sector 33 universities in Pakistan, with nearly a population of 560.
Findings
The major findings showed that “mentoring sessions by experts” was the most preferred mode of soft skills learning followed by “learning from colleagues”. It showed that UIPs preferred to learn soft skills from experts and colleagues. Independent-samples t-test results found that “mentoring session by experts” was more preferred by females than males. A one-way ANOVA results found significant differences of opinion regarding the “mentoring session by experts” method between librarians and assistant librarians (p = 0.044). Results were statistically significant also between more experienced and less experienced regarding “real project/assignment-based method” and “mentoring session by experts”. In addition, for “formal online courses” and “self-training through reading books”, results were statistically significant between experienced groups of 1-5 years and 11-15 years. Overall results indicated that from UIPs’ perspective, soft skills should be taught to them using face-to-face methods.
Originality/value
This is the first study in Pakistan that dealt with the preferred modes of soft skills learning of UIPs by using a large group (N = 372) of respondents.
Subject
Library and Information Sciences
Reference51 articles.
1. Changing scenario of librarianship in Pakistan: managing with the challenges and opportunities;Library Management,2011
2. The need and impact of learning ‘personality development & communication skills’ in LIS education: a case study;Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science,2013
3. Soft skills of new teachers in the secondary schools of Khon Kaen secondary educational service area 25, Thailand;Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,2014
4. Soft skills: the new curriculum for hard-core technical professionals;Techniques: Connecting Education and Careers (J1),2007
Cited by
9 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献