Development of soft and hard skills of high-school students via Young Physicists' Tournament

TL;DR

The paper investigates how participation in the Young Physicists' Tournament enhances high-school students' hard and soft skills, showing positive perceptions and significant skill development compared to regular classes.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence on the impact of YPT on students' skill development and compares it with traditional educational activities.

Findings

Positive perception of YPT's role in skill development

Significant improvement in students' physics, math, and soft skills

Teachers perceive YPT as more beneficial than regular classes

Abstract

The Young Physicists' Tournament (YPT) inspires high-school students to immerse themselves into an inquiry process closely resembling the real physics research. Using questionnaires' replies from the students and their teachers engaged in YPT, we investigated the perception of teachers and students on how the preparation for YPT contributes to the development of hard skills (physics content knowledge, mathematics, modelling...) and soft skills (communication, team work, organization...) of the students, and how it compares to regular classes and other activities. This comparison shows a positive role of YPT among students, and even a more positive perception among teachers. The significant development of a wide range of advanced skills justifies the substantial effort, resources and dedication of both teachers and students required for the participation in YPT.