Defining and Assessing Competence in Generic Skills

Abstract

It is widely believed that today's student population would benefit from receiving explicit training in generic skills, but there is substantially less agreement concerning the best way in which to bring this about. It is argued in this paper that it is very difficult, and perhaps impossible, to establish the skills levels that students should reach by the various stages of their degree courses. There appear to be two issues: the different needs of various disciplines and courses on the one hand, and the differing needs and expectations of the UK's diverse student population on the other. These issues are discussed via a case study of one academic teaching department that is running a stand‐alone module in generic skills, which is mandatory for all first‐year students.