Stakeholders’ Perspectives on Development and Acquisition of Soft Skills among Information Technology Undergraduate Students in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

This study investigated stakeholders' perceptions of the development and acquisition of soft skills among IT undergraduate students among universities within the Nairobi Metropolitan area, using the mixed-methods approach. The study employed the two-stage cluster sampling procedure to select 10 out of 31 universities (five private and five public) in the Nairobi Metropolitan Region. The study selected 1,143 Information Technology undergraduate students from 3,814 enrolled students. A semi-structured questionnaire collected quantitative data, specifically capturing stakeholders' thoughts on soft skills. Data analysis encompassed quantitative techniques such as descriptive statistics and linear regression. The findings reveal a notable disparity between perceptions of stakeholders and actual development of soft skills among the IT undergraduates. Therefore, there is a need to enhance teaching methods, closely align curricula with stakeholders' expectations, and incorporate specialized modules to cultivate soft skills.