Academic Achievement Gap

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America’s unyielding academic achievement gap has been a national priority for a long time. Although closing this gap remains a national priority, Wolk (2011) noted that after “30 years of unprecedented effort and enormous expenditure,” student performance has not improved; a third of the graduates are still not prepared for work (p. #). For institutions to close the achievement gap, curriculum experts need to reconsider their educational practices, especially the content of what is being taught. America’s academic achievement gap is not solely the lack of college curriculum; it also includes students not having the soft skills and experiences necessary to succeed beyond the classroom (Strong American Schools, 2008). Thus more and more institutions of higher learning are adding a soft skills component to their already existing curriculum. According to Christopher (2012) “until recently, there has been little attention and importance placed on soft skills” (p. 52). In fact, it is difficult to quantify soft skills. But more and more colleges, universities and employers are realizing that while an individual’s hard (technical, academic, and scientific) skills will move them ahead quickly, it is their lack of soft skills that can derail their advancement. In the 21st century's global economy, the new challenges of job security and employability are evident. For students, the realization of merely possessing technical knowledge is no longer a guarantee for a successful career or future.
In the article by Andrews and Higson (2008) their studies were aimed at conceptualizing and identifying key individual skills and competencies required by employers of graduates and to discover whether higher education programs are meeting the needs...

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...te employability and further suggests that the teaching of soft skills should be an integral part of the undergraduate curriculum (Fallows and & Stevens, 2000; Pittenger et al., 2004). It would seem that in order to promote graduate employability within the increasingly competitive global environment, colleges and universities need to develop programs whereby students are strongly encouraged to actively acquire and sharpen the necessary soft skills required for success.
These studies findings support the issues raised in this literature review as well as other studies, citing work experience and the ability to learn and utilize the softer skills are vital to personal and professional development and student and graduate employability. It is imperative that students include soft skills in their approach to learning technical skills in preparation for the workforce.

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