Experiences that matter: developing behavioural competencies through experiential learning

Behavioural competencies showed to be extremely important for young people employability and effectiveness. However cross cultural studies demonstrated a general dissatisfaction with the level of behavioural competencies possessed by graduates, which underlined the need to investigate deeper how these competencies can be learned. Drawing on the Experiential Learning Theory this study wants to investigate if different kinds of personal extracurricular experiences favor the development of different behavioral competencies. In order to answer this question we conducted an empirical study on a sample of students of an Italian University University using Partial Least Squares Path Model. This work adds to competency-based literature by considering the effect of different personal experiences on the level of possession of different behavioural competencies and has educational implications concerning the possible integration of personal experiences in behavioural skills development programs. Moreover, the managerial implications concern the process of inferring behavioural competencies from the presence of extracurricular activities in a student’s curriculum vitae, which is a well-known common practice, but still based more on a common feeling, rather than on scientific inquiry.