Authentic learning for soft skills development and environmental sustainability

Soft skills, intra- and interpersonal skills for personal growth, social engagement and workplace success are vital in a changing world, yet their intangible, unpredictable and contingent nature means that soft skills are best learnt experientially. This case study investigates a 15-week course at a Thai technological university, which was based on the principles of authentic learning where students are actively involved in real-world interactions with real-world impacts. Promoting participation in environmental sustainability, the course task required students to propose and implement an innovation with environmental benefits on the university campus. Six proposals were selected by the university community through participatory budgeting, and support systems such as mentors were used to help students make their innovations a reality. The 42 students’ reactions and learning were investigated through corpus and qualitative analyses of their reflective journals. Findings showed extensive use and learning of diverse soft skills (particularly organisational, communication and teamwork skills), raised awareness of the environment and workplace practices, and a sense of pride and achievement. Although challenging and problematic to assess, an authentic learning approach provides beneficial experiences for learning soft skills.