2024 Theses Doctoral

Learning Journals and the Reflective Journey to Employment

Rimmer, Addie May

Interpersonal skills, which are variously called soft skills, employability skills, people skills, and noncognitive skills, are critically important in personal, academic, and workplace settings. This descriptive case study explored how individuals from underserved communities described the use of reflective learning journals in an interpersonal skills course during their short-term training to become employed in full-time information technology roles. The 13 trainees, who were from four cohorts in three locations, participated in semi-structured interviews and took a survey that attempted to assess how the participants valued using the learning journals to develop and enhance their interpersonal skills.

The training was sponsored by Workforce Opportunity Services, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Dr. Arthur M. Langer in 2005 following a five-year workforce development study at Columbia University. The curriculum for the interpersonal skills course is based on the Langer Workforce Maturity Arc, a development tool designed to measure workplace literacy skills. Langer’s research suggested that individuals from underserved communities were capable of doing the technical work but needed additional mentoring and training to further develop their communication skills and bolster their self-esteem.

Overall, the findings from analyzing the learning journals, the interviews, and the survey indicate that most participants found reflective learning journals during the WOS job training program were useful in self-reflection, gaining new perspectives on experiences, and facilitating personal and professional development. Based on the thematic analysis of the learning journals, two themes emerged: self-awareness and relationship building. Goal setting was the most frequently mentioned interpersonal skill, followed by learning skills. Teamwork emerged as the most cited skill under relationship building.