Higher & Continuing Education, Instruction Methods, Student Life, Education 

How can educators ensure that young people who attain a postsecondary credential are adequately prepared for the future? Matthew T. Hora and his colleagues explain that the answer is not simply that students need more specialized technical training to meet narrowly defined employment opportunities. Beyond the Skills Gap challenges this conception of the "skills gap," highlighting instead the value of broader twenty-first-century skills in postsecondary education. They advocate for a system in which employers share responsibility along with the education sector to serve the collective needs of the economy, society, and students. Drawing on interviews with educators in two- and four-year institutions and employers in the manufacturing and biotechnology sectors, the authors demonstrate the critical importance of habits of mind such as problem solving, teamwork, and communication. They go on to show how faculty and program administrators can create active learning experiences that develop students' skills across a range of domains. The book includes in-depth descriptions of eight educators whose classrooms exemplify the effort to blend technical learning with the cultivation of twenty-first-century habits of mind. The study, set in Wisconsin, takes place against the backdrop of heated political debates over the role of public higher education.
 

Contents:
Introduction: Why study the skills gap in Wisconsin? -- Business, education, and the role of government -- The great education debate in the Badger State -- The skills gap narrative -- A critique of higher education -- Complicating the narrative -- A critique of the skills gap -- Culture theory and habits of mind -- Where schooling meets the world of work -- Converging views -- Comparing what employers and educators want -- Stories from the field -- Teaching habits of mind in the postsecondary classroom -- Building a skills infrastructure -- Leverage points for change -- Teacher-centered reform -- Support systems for improving postsecondary instruction -- Millennials face the future -- Support systems for today's college students -- A shared responsibility -- Strategic education-industry partnerships -- Conclusion: A new vision for the role of higher education in society.