Underlying pedagogical principles for generic skill development: A systematic literature review

In the evolving post-graduate landscape, characterised by mobile careers and changing societal demands, students face challenges as they transition from the stable higher education environment to dynamic professional contexts. This shift has prompted higher education institutions to pivot their focus from job-specific skills to cultivating a broader set of transferable professional competences. However, despite well-intentioned efforts, these initiatives often yield mixed results. Given the myriad of skill-development methods being employed (e.g., mentoring, portfolios, problem-based learning) across diverse educational domains, those underlying effective mechanisms become ambiguous. As such, this study aims to address this uncertainty by providing a comprehensive overview of effective skill development practices and their contextual conditions, addressing the research question: What pedagogical principles underlie effective generic skill development in higher education? Specifically, this review aims to bridge the recognised gap by conducting a systematic review of existing empirical studies, categorising pedagogical interventions based on their characteristics, related to content, duration, format, and level. By delving into this complexity, this study not only seeks to contribute to the theoretical understanding of effective skill development, but also to provide valuable insights for the practical implementation of evidence-informed frameworks in educational settings.