Making Informal Adult Learning Visible. The Recognition of the Third Sector Professionals’ Key Competences

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The paper aimed at recognising the characteristics of third sector professionals’ key competences and the ways to enhance them. It offers an overview of the characteristics of key competences of third sector managers and executives and some pedagogical suggestion about how to recognize the key competences of third sector professionals.
The paper is clearly written and precisely identifies the focus of the research. It accurately describes the path followed and the results achieved

However, it would have been interesting to focus more attention on the nature of the identified competences, which are listed but not adequately discussed and analyzed. For future developments it could be more useful to understand how the pedagogical tools identified could be used to favor the process of recognition of the skills of third sector professionals and what characteristics these tools should have to respond to the needs of those professionals.

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 1 Comments

Point 1: However, it would have been interesting to focus more attention on the nature of the identified competences, which are listed but not adequately discussed and analyzed.

Response 1: The identified areas represent an integrated whole as a constellation in which the different competences interact.

Personal / social competences are conceived as positive behaviors that allow individuals to effectively face the needs and challenges of daily life; the ability to maintain relationships with others, maintaining an empathic, open attitude, respecting values and points of view even if they come from a different culture. They also include availability and flexibility in the face of new situations.

Team and colletive competences mainly rely on having the ability to work in a network, in local networks of services and in social networks. The characteristics of the collective competences of a team are related to the development of a common operational framework; that is, having a common representation of the problems to deal with.

Change management and leadership competences make it possible to deal effectively with changes, using systems analysis strategies, needs assessment, statistical data. They also include the ability to adapt the management style to the context and individual characteristics of the collaborators.

Communication competences highlight the ability to express oneself in a clear, structured way, to know how to listen and confront in a constructive way, to know how to adapt one's communication to the context.

Point 2: For future developments it could be more useful to understand how the pedagogical tools identified could be used to favor the process of recognition of the skills of third sector professionals and what characteristics these tools should have to respond to the needs of those professionals.

Response 2: Research methods on adulthood are more and more converging towards qualitative models applied to human growth in a complex society, to the extension of the acknowledged relevance of experiential approach, of biographies as resources for development. These are cultural and scientific tendencies emphasizing the components regarding the subjective creation of meaning and the generative value of actions, and going beyond the restricted limits resulting from the adoption of the functional rationality paradigm, which assess human actions merely in terms of efficacy and effectiveness.

The pedagogical tools aimed to transform individual experiences into conscious, reflective, pro-active acquisitions and learning. The focus is on the human capability to generate and use knowledge effectively, intelligently, creatively and proactively. In today’s knowledge society, individuals, with their set of knowledge and competencies, are the actual treasure for themselves and for the community.

Pedagogical tools develop reflective practices based on specific criteria such as organisational autonomy, biographical improvisation, learning interdependence, creative leadership. They are a guidance tools applied usually to support transitions of individuals towards the education and job market. The pedagogical tools pattern envisages auto-biographical phase (such as life-history and narrative interview), and can be applied to adult learners with the purpose of reinforcing their capacity of reflection on their educational and work paths/experiences, and of developing a critical and proactive thinking on their life experience. Such tools has proved to possess a strong educational value and very good didactic potentiality for the development of reflectiveness, or of reflective thinking.

Reviewer 2 Report

The paper is complete, clear and well-organized. The significance of the problem and the applicability and interest to the field are good. I considered the research design, the method and the literature review appropriated for the field.

The objectives and hypotheses correspond to the approach and proposals. The methodological approach and techniques used are in line with the objectives and hypotheses formulated and the procedures are correctly applied. The interpretation of the findings is accurate and useful.

Finally, regarding the possible future lines of research and considering the importance of further research related to the professionals’ key competences, it would be interesting to provide more information on the lines that the authors propose to follow, in order to enrich this discourse and offer other possible work proposals.

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 2 Comments

Point 1: Finally, regarding the possible future lines of research and considering the importance of further research related to the professionals’ key competences, it would be interesting to provide more information on the lines that the authors propose to follow, in order to enrich this discourse and offer other possible work proposals.

Response 1: In this sense, a future line of research concerns the study and the recognition of the transversal competences of civil service volunteers. The civil service represents an important opportunity of training and personal and professional growth for young people who are an indispensable and vital resource for the cultural, social and economic progress of the country.

Reviewer 3 Report

The paper undoubtedly presents very significant results for the readers of this journal, although it is advisable to carry out more advanced statistical analyzes.

The discussion must be confronted with a greater number of scientific investigations at the international level.

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 3 Comments

Point 1: The discussion must be confronted with a greater number of scientific investigations at the international level.

Response 1: A widespread literature in the fields of politics, sociology and economics calls on the need for meaning making as strategy to deal with complexity and more generally to face present and future social challenges.

Internationally, the importance of non-cognitive competencies determining success in life is widely recognized.

Key competences focus on the learner - because of the importance of motivation, volition and critical reflection on one’s own learning experience.

Key competences can be considered as strategic competences for individuals. They mobilize the energies of individuals and proactive behaviors for lifelong learning. This in turn provides people with the tools they need to adapt to the challenges of ever-changing global societies.

Following Le Boterf, key competences do not lie in the resources of individuals, but rather in the actual process of mobilization of such resources.