Fostering development of soft skills in ICT curricula: a case of a transition economy

This paper contributes to the adjustment of teaching methods to a rapidly changing business environment and the technology evolution in Poland, a transition economy. It focuses on information and communication technology (ICT) students who, apart from professional knowledge and skills, need to acquire the ability to work in a business environment. In the course of the design-based research that involved a multiple case study, a blended learning framework was proposed. It aims at delivering ICT courses that support both development of domain knowledge and soft skills. Besides the skills recognized by previous research (communication, interpersonal skills, self-learning), the framework supports the development of the following soft skills that might be useful for future ICT professionals: active attendance, systematic work, self-assessment, and peer review. Since soft skills largely contribute to the success of an organization, the implementation of the framework should considerably improve the students’ position in the labor market.