It’s not possible, based on what this entry says about these studies, to conclude that soft skills cannot be taught in the classroom. What can be concluded is that current curricula do not produce increases in soft skills. In other words, teaching someone the content knowledge required for a business or engineering degree does not automatically confer either knowledge of or ability to demonstrate soft skills. From the information that’s given in this entry, it does not seem that the relationship between a curriculum designed to teach soft skills and the actual demonstration of those skills was studied.

I definitely believe in the effectiveness of experiential learning activities. However, there is nothing in these studies to indicate that a curriculum that explicitly teaches soft skills is ineffective. Would such a curriculum be more effective if paired with experiential learning activities? I don’t doubt it. But to leap to the conclusion that soft skills can’t be taught in the classroom based on the findings of these studies is a logical fallacy.