Soft skills and the Erasmus+ programme : A qualitative study of Swedish Erasmus+ students and their experiences of exchange studies

Abstract: Traditionally, higher education has put a lot of emphasis on cognitive ways of knowing. Although the focus on theoretical knowledge still remains, the labor market’s demand for social skills have increased rapidly over the past decades. Investments in the internationalisation of higher education have created a platform in which the learning of noncognitive ways of knowing is promoted. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand how exchange studies have influenced the Swedish students participating in the Erasmus+ programme focusing on the development of soft skills. Nine students from Uppsala university were interviewed to understand how they regarded and viewed their exchange studies. In centre of interest is the growth of social learning through cultural experiences. To broaden the analysis, an additional expert interview was conducted with a study- and career counsellor involved with the Erasmus+ programme at Uppsala university. Using a Bourdieusian framework, the findings of this work indicate that soft skills could be viewed as being part of the cultural capital. By focusing on the importance of learning outside your comfort zone, the participants identified personal development through intercultural experiences. Viewing soft skills as cultural capital and by identifying that knowledge becomes embodied through social interaction, exchange studies could be seen as a great platform for learning and developing intercultural experiences.