Relationship between Subject-Specific and Generic Competencies: Evidence from a Survey on Japanese Universities

Abstract

This paper aims to clarify the relationship between subject-specific competencies (SSC) and generic competencies (GRC) using the results of a questionnaire survey in 2015, which asked students, academic staff, and graduates of Japanese universities about graduates’ SSC in six subjects and GRC. The empirical results show that recognition of SSC and GRC has a positive relationship with different levels of correlation among stakeholders and subjects; the relationship in students shows relatively weak ties compared with that of other stakeholder. Factor analysis indicates the existence of factors that impact both SSC and GRC in all subjects with heterogeneous structures by subjects.