The Model of Project Management as a Sustainable Pedagogical Device: Case Study Research in the Tertiary Education Environment

Abstract

The objective of the research was to analyse the use of project management as a sustainable pedagogical device capable of fostering in tertiary education students the development of those transversal skills that enhance their sustainable employability. The qualitative research design was the emergent grounded theory, applied through a case study methodology (first exploratory and then explanatory). The “Seven-factor model of project management as a sustainable pedagogical device” for the development of transversal skills in tertiary education was the main result presented. It is composed of the factors that can be transposed from practice into the context of tertiary education and contains a description of the method for this translation. Moreover, the “holistic project management integration approach in tertiary education” was presented, and it was explained why it is an effective top-down transformation process for integrating project management in every program or academic level. Learning project management proves effective in enhancing students’ employability by fostering a process of critical reflection that enables them to develop a sustainable career aligned with their expectations and personal growth as individuals, professionals, and sustainable citizens.

1. Introduction

Since 2016, with the Future of Jobs reports [1,2,3,4], the World Economic Forum has been warning that in all economic sectors the labour market is already experiencing a revolutionary change that is making many skills obsolete, replaced by others, more innovative. The “human skills”, non-cognitive abilities that machines cannot replace, at least in the short term [1,3], will become increasingly important if developed in tandem with technological ones. These reports indicate that the new trajectories linking occupations and professional roles require new competencies associated with strategic and systemic vision [5] as well as integrative thinking [6].

This is, therefore, a social, economic, and productive transformation that involves every activity, with sweeping repercussions for the employment and employability [7] of individuals who need a change of perspectives in order to demonstrate the capacity to adapt and manage complexities [8]. Indeed, “Developing and enhancing human skills and capabilities through education, learning and meaningful work are key drivers of economic success, of individual well-being and societal cohesion” [9] (p. 8).

Beyond the drivers of the fourth industrial revolution [8] such as globalization and the technological revolution (finally the rapid ascent of artificial intelligence in everyday decision-making), an additional global phenomenon impacting individuals’ employability is represented by climate change. New competencies are already demanded to steer sustainable development within an integrated vision of environmental, economic, social, and governance perspectives [5,10]. New models of organizational configuration are characterizing the human–machine relationship in Industry 5.0, in which technology serves humans and not the other way around. “Industry 5.0 is the shift of focus from technology-driven progress to a thoroughly human-centric approach” [11] (p. 15).

In fact, in its report published in 2018 [12], the ILO estimated that the achievement of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) goals [13] by 2030 will produce a global loss of 6 million jobs, but will create 24 million jobs related to renewable energy, efficient use of existing resources, electric mobility, the energy efficiency of buildings and green buildings, with a positive balance of 18 million new jobs [12] (p. 37). The circular economy can create an additional 6 million jobs [12] thanks to the shift from the “extrapolate-produce-use-discard” model to the “recycle-reuse-reproduce” one [14,15,16].

To fully capitalize on climate change employment opportunities at national and global levels, the ILO recognizes the importance of raising environmental awareness. This approach facilitates the development of skills that contribute to creating a greener overall economy [12] (p. 138). An effective policy instrument for enhancing environmental awareness is the incorporation of “Core Skills” within education systems at all levels [17]. “Core skills are non-vocational and non-technical competencies that are needed to perform at work and in society” [12] (p. 138), [18]. Transition to a greener and more sustainable economy requires skills such as “environmental awareness and willingness to learn about sustainable development” [17] (p. 107).

In the context of sustainable development, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development [19] is the most effective document for macro and micro-level political, strategic and economic choices, also influencing the professional roles (see, for example, the Corporate Social Responsible and the Sustainability Manager). It represents “a comprehensive and forward-looking set of universal, transformative and people-centred goals and targets” [19] (p. 3) and provides suggestions on possible educational and training interventions that enhance adult learning and their development of soft skills [20].

“People must learn to understand the complex world in which they live. They need to be able to collaborate, speak up and act for positive change’ [5] (p. 15), [21]. We can call these people ‘citizens of sustainability” [22], [5] (p. 10). The new ‘citizens of sustainability’ must possess fundamental skills that go beyond problem-solving, combining creativity and the spirit of self-organisation [5]. “The sustainability key competencies represent what sustainability citizens particularly need to deal with today’s complex challenges” [5] (p. 11).

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic presented an additional challenge to employability, intensifying concerns regarding the future of work. Aligned with the European Green Deal [23], the European Commission has issued the “European Skills Agenda for Sustainable Competitiveness, Social Fairness and Resilience” [24], outlining a comprehensive set of 12 specific actions aimed at promoting the development of skills that are in line with European policies related to sustainable competitiveness, social fairness, and resilience.

Three new non-cognitive competence frameworks are aligned with the Agenda. “GreenComp: The European sustainability competence framework” [25] and the renewed framework “DigComp 2.2: The digital competence framework for citizens” [26] respond to the Agenda’s Action 6 “Skills to support the green and digital transitions”. “LifeComp: The European framework for the personal, social and learning to learn key competences” [27] responds to the Agenda’s Action 8 “Skills for life”. In doing so, European Commission emphasizes the significance of embracing a new mindset to cope resiliently [28] with disruptions to our established norms caused by increasingly frequent emergencies.

Within the outlined social, environmental, and economic context, the research endeavoured to examine how project management, as a methodology, standard, body of knowledge, and discipline, can actively promote the cultivation of transversal, non-cognitive skills among sustainability citizens, thus enhancing their sustainable employability.

Why use project management?

In 1959, in the first scientific article published on project managers’ profession, Gaddis made this definition [29]:

He [the Project manager] is the man in between management and the technologist […] But he is not a superman. He cannot be expected to double as a member of the executive committee and as a scientist equally well. Being a little of both, he is different from both—and it is precisely this quality which makes him so valuable. […]

(pp. 93–94).

The project manager possesses a combination of both hard and soft skills that allow them to operate cross-functionally within initiatives that are born to and respond innovatively and holistically to diverse and occasionally conflicting needs, bringing change. Such initiatives are called projects, which are temporary, cross-functional, and uncertain [30] and, therefore, highly complex. In the project context, the project manager is the central profession responsible for planning, delegation, controlling and monitoring all of the variables delimiting the project context (time, cost, quality, benefits, risks, and scope) [30]. Hence, the project manager is the profession that manages complexity through projects, according to an integrated, systemic, and reflective modus operandi.

Interest in project management has grown considerably over the past two decades [31]. Stewart [32] calls it the profession of the 21st century; Gauthier and Ika, drawing upon the ideas of Pinto and Kharbanda [33], describe project management as “the wave of the future in global business” [31] (p. 5), and in line with Cleland and Ireland [34] as “a major management philosophy, or as a the means for dealing with change” [31] (p. 5). Several studies have investigated the relationship between “sustainability” and “project management” [35,36] because “Projects play an instrumental role in realizing the sustainability strategies of organizations and thereby the sustainable development of society” [35] (p. 353).

In fact, in the World Economic Forum’s five-year forecast of 2023 [4], the project manager emerges as one of the fastest-growing professions (around +23%), ranking 26th out of 106 professions analysed (p. 30). Furthermore, it appears among the top 6 “Key roles for business transformation” in 27 countries:

• First place: Republic of Korea and Malaysia.
• Second place: Israel, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, and Turkey.
• Third place: Canada, China, Germany, Singapore and Spain.
• Fourth place: Czech Republic, France, India, Latvia, Sweden, Thailand, UK, and USA.
• Fifth place: Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland, and United Arab Emirates.
• Sixth place: Pakistan.

The profession emerges among those keys to business transformation in eight out of nine regions: Central Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Western Balkans.

The project manager is crucial for advanced manufacturing, education and training, electronics, energy technology and utilities, government and the public sector, media, entertainment and sports, medical and healthcare services, non-governmental and membership organisations, oil and gas and real estate.

Interestingly, the project manager was placed in the eleventh position in the World Economic Forum’s forecast of the professional profiles that will be in growing demand worldwide by 2025 [1] (p. 30), and it was ranked among the top ten profiles for Brazil, Germany, Japan, India, Italy, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Spain. It appeared marginally in the predictions of the 2016 Report [3] and did not appear in the 2018 one [2].

It emerges that the project manager plays a crucial role at both the organizational and governance levels in driving meaningful and influential changes.

2. The Context and Research Constructs

2.1. The Research Context

The research context was tertiary education in Italy, EQF Level 5 [37], focused mainly on empowering students with innovative technical and professional skills and less with soft ones. Since sustainable employability is “[…] the ability not only to secure a first job but also to remain employable throughout life” [38] (p. 7), the research was focused on those skills that the scientific literature identifies as effective in supporting tertiary education students to foster their sustainable employability [7,38,39,40] as well as on the active learning methodologies and pedagogical devices that may support students’ acquisition process. In this context, the project management method was used as a pedagogical device to integrate students’ cognitive learning with their autonomous process of developing non-cognitive, emotional, and social skills [41].

The research referred to the following constructs for the definition of its design and objectives:

• Employability.
• Sustainability.
• Project management.
• Forms of learning of citizens of sustainability.
• Pedagogical device.

2.2. Employability

In 2006, Yorke provided the most widespread definition [40] of employability: “a set of achievements—skills, understandings and personal attributes—that makes graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy” [39] (p. 8).

Employability is a complex construct, multidimensional and associated both with theories of human capital innovation and economic performance [40,42]. The research referred to employability studies that:

• Understand the construct not as the ability of new graduates to find a first job after their studies but as a lifelong critical learning process linked to critical reflection and the acquisition of soft skills, defined as “non-job specific skills, closely connected with attitudes” [43] (p. 9), transferable from one work context to another, and, therefore, defined as “transversal” [43]. “There is a link between transferability skills and the risk of losing a job or failing to find another one. Employability of individuals is based on specific skills, but transversal skills support it” [43] (p. 9).
• Raise the question about how tertiary education institutions can provide students with critical and reflective thinking capabilities. Yorke and Knight [7] consider employability as influenced by four broad and interconnected elements defined in the USEM model: Understanding (“key outcome of higher education”), Skills (“skilful practice”), Efficacy Beliefs (“the extent to which students feel that they might ‘be able to make a difference’”) and Metacognition (“self-awareness regarding the student’s learning, and the capacity to reflect on, in and for action”) (p. 4). Tertiary education learning should provide students with knowledge about the disciplines and support them to develop “skilful practices” while nurturing the “efficacy beliefs” and “metacognition”. Therefore, universities should embed employability into curricula [7].

2.3. Sustainability

Sustainability remains an open category “with myriad of interpretations and context-specific understandings” [44] (p. 681), often connected to “sustainable development” [45] by virtually conflating “sustainability” with “sustainable economic growth” [44]. Indeed, sustainable thinking of “citizens of sustainability” [22] requires a new “person/environment” relationship [46] (p. 4) to overcome the “dialectic of the I-world antinomy” [46] (p. 3).

In the research context, the category of sustainability was understood in the interrelation with the following three aspects:

• Sustainable employability and sustainable career.
• Complex, systemic, and integrative thinking of sustainability citizens.
• Space-time overcoming through designing and managing projects that guarantee lasting benefits for all stakeholders.

2.3.1. Sustainable Employability and Sustainable Career

“Sustainable employability” [38], drawing on Knight and Yorke’s studies [47], refers to the ability of individuals to remain employable throughout their lives. “[Employability] does not rest when the first graduate job is achieved [but needs] to be constantly renewed to be sustainable” [38] (p. 46). Hence, the construct includes “not only the wider range of attributes required to be successful within jobs; […] [but also] the attributes required to manage ones’ career development in ways that will sustain one’s employability” [38] (p. 7).

The construct of sustainable careers [48,49,50,51] is connected with Watts’ definition of sustainable employability when the author refers to “career development learning” [38] (p. 1), [52] and “effective management of their [students’] careers” [38] (p. 8). Van der Heijen and De Vos refer to four dimensions to define sustainable careers [51] (p. 2): Time, Social Space, Agency [53] and Meaning. Havermans et al. summarise as follows [50]:

• Time: careers of predictable duration are disappearing.
• Social space: life spheres and contextualized factors in organizations.
• Agency: in a world characterised by complexity and increasing choices and options, individuals must adopt a proactive attitude with a long-term view.
• Meaning: an individual’s career success is connected to the balance between what the individual is achieving and their expectations or “internal anchors” [54] (p. 349).

Sustainable career perspective takes the form of a dynamic process, enabling individuals to continue working throughout their lives, in the way that best suits them [48].

2.3.2. Complex, Systemic, and Integrative Thinking of Sustainability Citizens

Individuals need to acquire “alternative ways of thinking about causality” [55] (p. 7) to cope with the complexity of today’s world. In order to contribute to this need, UNESCO identified the eight core competencies for sustainability, the first one being “Systems Thinking Competence” defined as “Recognising and understanding relationships; analysing complex systems; thinking about how systems are embedded within different domains and scales; managing uncertainty” [5] (p. 10).

Dale and Newman link sustainability education to "complex adaptive systems" theories that study the relationship between interconnected elements in a specific environmental context [56]. These systems reflect the complexity of modern human society, which moves like a super-organism within the biosphere. “Both human social systems and ecological systems are complex adaptive systems” [56] (p. 355). Therefore, education for sustainability must refer to complex systems and consider the interrelationships between the aspects of sustainability (ecological, environmental, economic, political, and social) in the context of human societies, where individuals should manage, in a flexible, adaptive, and integrative way [6], the unexpected problems that arise due to climatic, social, and economic changes. Education for sustainability should be transdisciplinary and broad.

“Integrative thinking” is defined as “the ability to deal constructively with the tension between opposing models in order not to choose one at the expense of the other, but to generate a creative solution […] of a new model that contains elements of the previous individual models but is superior to each of them” [6] (p. 17). Through integrative thinking, individuals can learn to deal with the complexity of sustainable development as capable agents of new and transformative responses deriving from the tension between seemingly opposing problems. Indeed, UNESCO defines “Integrated Problem-solving Competence” [5] (p. 10) as one of the eight core competencies for sustainability.

2.3.3. Space-Time Overcoming

Given that projects are means by which we introduce change, they are also means for the effective implementation of sustainable development strategies [35,36]. The relationship between sustainability and project management has been widely treated by project management scholars [35,57] in two ways:

• “Sustainability by the project: the sustainability of the deliverables or results that the project realises.
• Sustainability of the project: the sustainability of the delivery and the management processes of the project” [35] (p. 353).

The project manager, as a “man in between” [29] (p. 93) holds the responsibility of steering the project towards its defined trajectory. They ensure the satisfaction of all stakeholders while delivering products that yield long-term returns on investment, aligning with the strategic objectives that initiated the project.

Sustainability was addressed in the research through the interrelationship between these three aspects: Project management (aspect 3), used as a sustainable [5,56,58] pedagogical device [59], which enables the acquisition in students of those transversal skills (aspect 2) that foster their sustainable employability (aspect 1).

2.4. Project Management

The concept of “Project management” refers to the ability to master any complex process that requires management techniques and could result in a project [60]. Projects, whatever their nature, arise as means for introducing change, “influencing behaviour and or circumstances in the real world” [30] (p. 378).

Project management originated in the 1960s as a management discipline, coming into vogue by the late 1980s and leading to the emergence of methods and bodies of knowledge [61], while research on project management dates back to the mid-1990s [31,60]. Project management stems from the practical need to develop successful projects. The recent history of project management shows that, although there is a global understanding of the phenomenon, it remains a relatively new discipline [61].

The project manager assumes the crucial role of overseeing the day-to-day management of the project, necessitating not only technical expertise in project management theory and practical experience, but also soft skills. These soft skills enable them to manage the project management team while keeping the project within the defined tolerances.

The human element is crucial to the project approach [62]. Indeed, a significant portion of success stems from the communication processes, leadership style, trust between the team members and both the team and project managers, empathy, and a cohesive team culture. These factors, as internal elements of the project organization, evolve and shape its outcome throughout the implementation process. The relevance of the human element is already evident in the terminology used in defining the project as “a temporary organisation that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to an agreed business case” [30] (p. 37).

Projects serve as frameworks for generating new knowledge, and a well-structured project that employs project management is an opportunity for experiential learning [63] and for assessing the generated knowledge and personal growth of involved individuals. Engaging in experiential learning [63] through project management empowers individuals to adopt an approach of critical reflection and transformative dialectics [64]. This approach enables them to autonomously embark on a path of transversal skills development [65], essential in the constantly evolving world of work.

Knowing how to manage projects, be they educational, professional, family, or personal, impacts the attainment of results that instigate transformative change and yield benefits closely aligned with sustainable transformation processes. In the realm of research, learning project management involves acquiring the skills necessary to navigate the complexities of a world characterized by uncertainty, constant change, and ambiguity.

2.5. Forms of Learning for Citizens of Sustainability

To ease adults in acquiring the necessary skills to navigate the complexities of sustainability, educational methods must evolve and adapt to the collaborative processes that post-modernity and the knowledge society request [66]. In fact, according to socio-constructivist theorists referring mainly to Vygotsky [67], learning is a cognitive process that occurs within the individual in the socio-cultural context where they are situated. Personal engagement in the cognitive process is necessary, for authentic learning occurs when there is a meaningful and enduring shift in an individual’s knowledge framework. In the theoretical context of adult learning, Mezirow added a new definition of learning, as “the process of using a previous interpretation to construct a new or revised interpretation of the meaning of one’s experience as a guide to future action” [68] (p. 5). Fostering independent thinking in adults and facilitating the reinterpretation of their “Frames of references” is a fundamental objective of adult education, and transformative learning endeavours to achieve this goal. “Frames of references are the structures of assumptions through which we understand our experience” [69] (p. 5).

The cognitive-relational socio-constructivist transformational theory, led by Mezirow [70], explores the processes of meaningful change within a specific frame of reference. It employs critical reflection and dialectic methods to empower individuals to develop the skills, vision, and mindset of democratic citizens and future professionals through “self-reflexive critique” [71], [72] (p. 60) and “reflective judgement” [72] (p. 60), [73].

According to transformative theory, experiential learning [63,74] can be impactful when adults actively participate in practices of critical reflection, which enable them to revisit their meaning perspectives and deepen their learning experience [75]. Experiential learning, rooted in sociocultural constructivism [67] is a holistic theory [74,76] that recognizes the integration of learning from real-life experiences and formal education. It acknowledges interdisciplinary learning that goes beyond specific academic disciplines.

For this reason, the theory can be applied as a framework for educational innovation [74], combining well with the needs of knowledge management in the post-modern [77], reflexive society [78], where learning is characterised by the following [78,79]:

• The learner assumes a central role in the learning and teaching process.
• Learning is approached in a participatory way.
• Experience is gained in formal, non-formal and informal contexts, such as work, personal life and “incidental learning” [79] (p. 225), [80], in a lifelong learning process.
• Learning cannot be separated from continuous critical reflection on lived experience.
• Individuals acquire knowledge, skills, behaviour, values, emotions, and beliefs in every sphere of life. Therefore, their knowledge spectrum extends beyond their conscious awareness, including both an explicit knowledge and a tacit one [81,82,83].

In order to meet the needs described above, formal education makes use of active learning methodologies [70,84,85] learner-centred [86] socio-constructivist educational strategies that emphasize idea generation, exchange of experiences with peers, and the ability to draw inferences and conclusions that go “beyond that which were presented during the course” [87] (p. 32).

The research drew upon the following active learning methodologies for developing the project management-based pedagogical device:

• The operational strategies of action science [82,88] born to study the development of learning in organizations [70]. They involve communities of inquiry between practitioners and researchers and the use of the inquiry device to investigate the cognitive activity that transforms work experience into a tacit learning process.
• York-Barr’s method [89] takes its cue from Schön’s (1983) reflection construct to design a methodological device that allows reflective practice to become a structural component of formal learning through a critical interpretation of the initial problematic event. The reflective practice cycle begins with a purpose (grounded in purpose). The next steps include observation and learning (presence); being open to inquire (inquiry); knowledge gaining from learning and dialogue (insight); action taking based on generated knowledge (action). It finishes with regularly questioning “Are we seeing the results that we want to see?” [89] (p. 8). The teacher acts as a coach.
• Action learning [75,90,91] is a peer collaborative problem-based approach that uses experience as a learning laboratory, summarized by Revans [92] as: L (Learning) = P (Programmed knowledge) + Q (Questioning). By employing critical reflection as a methodological device for validating assumptions and addressing common learning errors in professional practice, Fabbri and Romano [70] reformulate the new transformational approach of action learning as: L = (Q1 + P) + Q2 (ability to reformulate new questions). Action learning is structured into three phases [90]: (1) Problem analysis through a problem poser and group members asking cognitive, exploratory, and interpretative-reflective questions. (2) Group members actively seek solutions and gather empirical data to support propositions and hypotheses, with the guidance of a facilitator and according to an inquiry process. (3) The group presents the proposal (research report, presentation, or design of a training device) to the problem poser for discussion and feedback, along with criticalities, strengths, and weaknesses using a reflective self-assessment approach. Being "problem-based", the focus is on the process that leads to solving the challenge.
• Project-Based Learning [93,94,95,96,97,98] translates specialized professional practice within the formal learning experience [99] and enables integration of both skills acquisition and application into a single learning process and context [96]. Learners are actively involved in solving a problem through the creation of an artefact or project work. Social interaction acquires a deep formative role since learning is considered “social” in both its form and content [80]. Therefore, the learning environment, not necessarily the physical one, represents “the person’s experience in the social environment” [74] (p. 200) and extends beyond the classroom and the teacher–student relationship. Indeed, “situationists” [94,100] see learning as “becoming able to participate in a community of practice” [94] (p. 293), [101,102,103]. Project-Based Learning, therefore, allows one to contextualize practice, from the professional/organizational domain to the formal learning realm [59] through the vehicle of the “project”.

2.6. Pedagogical Device

The connection between project management and Bernstein’s pedagogical device can be found in the following elements:

• The classification of knowledge: Project management may fall within “regions of knowledge” [59] (p. 70), characterised by practice-oriented and low classified knowledge rather than an “academic discipline” (strong classification of knowledge). Bernstein explains “… recontextualising singulars into larger units which operate both in the intellectual field of disciplines and in the field of external practice. Regions are the interface between disciplines (singulars) and the technologies they make possible” [59] (p. 52). Project management is characterised by a strong connection to practice; it is multidisciplinary and can be applied in all disciplines.
• The principle of recontextualization: knowledge is selected from the field where it is produced and translocated to the pedagogical context. Recontextualization represents the context of practice rather than the structure of knowledge, which is linked to “academic subjects” [59] (p. 220). In the process of translocation, practice is often modified and adapted to the pedagogical needs of the formal learning context [59,94,99]. Project management allows accessing projects that address real problems and creating multidisciplinary teams, that intentionally act through reflection and inquiry to solve problems related to the academic/disciplinary journey.

Bernstein opens the perspective of a pedagogy that goes beyond disciplinary boundaries for knowledge acquisition through “generic modes which it is hoped will realise a flexible transferable potential rather than specific performance” [59] (p. 59).

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Research Objectives

The general objective of the research was to analyse project management as a sustainable pedagogical device capable of fostering in tertiary education students, EQF Level 5, the development of those transversal skills that favour their sustainable employability.

The research had five specific objectives:

SO1—To understand if project management enables the development of transversal skills in individuals who apply it in their profession (informal learning) and what the enabling factors are.

SO2—To identify if project management enables the development of transversal skills in students who learn it in tertiary education (formal learning) and what the enabling factors are.

SO3—To understand how project management learning can foster the process of critical reflection and transformative dialectics in students, thus fostering their employability.

SO4—To develop a pedagogical device through project management capable of promoting in tertiary education students at EQF Level 5 the acquisition of those transversal skills that foster their employability.

SO5—To emphasise the benefits of a 24 h project management course for learners at EQF Level 5 in terms of essential transversal skills that enhance their employability.

The article presents the finding of the research, “Seven-factor model of project management as a sustainable pedagogical device”, which achieved its general objective.

3.2. Research Method

The adopted qualitative research design is the emergent grounded theory approach [104,105,106], applied through a case study methodology (first exploratory and then explanatory) [107,108,109]. The research was further enriched by in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with key testimonies, with the goal to contextualize the experiences, interpretations, and descriptions of involved individuals. The study aimed to identify similar case studies, highlight good practices and lessons learned, and ultimately elaborate a theory based on findings.

The research consisted of two phases: an exploratory and a second explanatory one.

The first exploratory phase started with the definition of an initial theoretical framework, defined as “a set of basic assertions” (Translated from Italian: “un insieme di asserti di base”) [109] (p. 159), substantiated through the study of literature, grey documents, and secondary sources, to describe and explain the research constructs and their correlation. Through the exploratory case study, it was possible to identify three research hypotheses, based on contextualized experience:

• I1—Project management, as a method of planning, delegating, controlling, and monitoring projects, could be functional to developing skills that facilitate employability.
• I2—Project management could have a transformative value: it could enable students to engage in critical reflection and transformative dialectics, challenging their assumptions and meaning perspectives generated by the interpretation of their experience, for autonomously developing transversal skills.
• I3—Project management, if used as “regions of knowledge” [59] (p. 70), could become a valid pedagogical device by integrating with academic disciplines through the contextualization of practice and a multidisciplinary approach.

Through interviews and focus groups with key testimonies, the initial hypotheses were further explored, leading to some preliminary conclusions, applied later in the explanatory case study. The engagement of key testimonies that shared the basic assumptions (the relevance of project management for individual employability) allowed the collection of new empirical evidence [109].

The exploratory phase allowed achievement of the specific objectives SO1, 2, 3 and 4.

During the second explanatory phase, the case study was applied to “describe and evaluate the effects (both visible and less visible) of specific educational interventions in real contexts, and study the situations in which a specific educational intervention does or does not produce the desired effects” (Translated from Italian: “descrivere e valutare gli effetti (visibili e meno visibili), in contesti reali, di specifici interventi educativi e studiare le situazioni in cui uno specifico intervento educativo provoca o non provoca gli effetti desiderati”) [109] (p. 158). This approach facilitated a more profound comprehension of the influence and results of educational interventions in authentic contexts.

The evaluation was conducted using the following tools: interviews, self-assessment questionnaires, observation, and the production of a project work.

The explanatory phase allowed achievement of the specific objective SO5.

Explanatory case study findings were compared with the exploratory phase’s initial predictions using the “pattern matching” data analysis and interpretation method [108,109].

Finally, “data and sources triangulation” [106,108,109,110] allowed the integration of different perspectives (key testimonies on one side and the researcher and students on the other) for validating assumptions, confirming hypotheses, answering research questions, and achieving its objectives. “By developing convergent evidence, data triangulation helps to strengthen the construct validity of your case study” [108] (p. 168).

The final version of the pedagogical device was then developed, achieving the general objective and answering the research question, “How can Project management, as a pedagogical device, enable tertiary education students, EQF Level 5, to develop sustainably and independently the transversal skills required by the current and future labour market?”.

3.3. Research Materials and Protocol

The protocols applied during the exploratory case study, focus groups and interviews, and the explanatory case study are explained below.

3.3.1. Exploratory Case Study

The case study consisted of a 24 h project management course delivered from March to April 2020, in two classes of an EQF Level 5 institute in Tuscany, Italy. Each course consisted of six sessions of 4 h each, involving a total of 47 students aged between 18 and 30 years.

The learning path was organised according to a learning outcome-oriented approach [76]. Knowledge, skills and technical and professional competencies [37] were described using Bloom’s taxonomy [111]. Targeted transversal skills were defined according to the PRINCE2^® project management method [30].

Three “learning mediators” [98] were used to enhance students’ learning:

• Project management theory (referring mainly to “PRINCE2^® Method”).
• Experiential laboratories to apply knowledge in project contexts.
• Case studies based on real projects to connect learning with the world of work.

Students, organised in groups, identified a problem related to their field of study and proposed a solution, delivered as a project work. Benefits management, risk management, project management team roles and responsibilities, product breakdown structure and project sustainability were part of the project work, structured as a mind map representing the project’s direction from general objective to the sustainability of benefits.

Findings from the evaluation of students’ learning were used to refine the initial hypotheses and to build focus group and interview themes. “The purpose of the single case study is to describe and understand the complex structure of relationships that identify and characterize the case itself, in its uniqueness and irreproducible specificity, and only secondarily to use the collected empirical evidence to shed light on more general themes” (Translated from Italian: “scopo del caso di studio singolo è descrivere e comprendere la struttura complessa di relazioni che individuano e caratterizzano il caso in sé, nella sua unicità e irripetibile specificità, e solo in secondo luogo utilizzare l’evidenza empirica raccolta per gettare luce su temi più generali”) [109] (p. 158).

3.3.2. Focus Groups and Interviews

Focus groups and interviews involved 10 professors of project management at tertiary education institutions in Chile, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom, possibly using the PRINCE2^® method. Sampling was purposeful for convenience [110]. On average, the interviewees had 12.2 years of experience in project management teaching, and 100% of them reported professional experience in project management before starting to teach it, but the majority (60%) were not certified as project managers.

In addition, three professionals from Axelos Ltd. took part in the focus groups as facilitators: Axelos Academia Manager, Project and Programme Management (PPM) Product Ambassador, and IT Service Management (ITSM) Product Ambassador.

The focus group and interviews achieved three specific research objectives (SO1, SO2 and SO3) through the following main themes:

• THEME 1: Experiential and informal learning through project management (SO1).
• THEME 2: Active learning methodologies for project management (SO3).
• THEME 3: The perceived benefits of students upon completing the project management course in terms of transferable skills for employability (SO2).
• THEME 4: Identification of good practices and lessons learnt (SO3).

Interviews and the focus group were conducted virtually between July and September 2020 using a semi-structured thematic guide [110,112]; a more conversational style was used for the focus group [108]. Five participants attended the focus group, which lasted approximately 2 h and 40 min. Four interviews were conducted with an average duration of 1 h and 20 min. One interview involved two participants and lasted 2 h and 20 min. In total, we obtained 595 min of recording.

Findings were used to develop the initial version of the pedagogical device using the project management method (SO4) tested during the explanatory case study.

3.3.3. Explanatory Case Study

The model of project management as a sustainable pedagogical device, exploratory phase finding, was tested in the academic year 2020/2021 in both courses held between January and February 2021 at the EQF Level 5 institute in Tuscany (same as the exploratory case study). Each course lasted 24 h (six sessions of 4 h each) and involved 38 students with the same characteristics and no prior knowledge of project management, like those in the exploratory case study.

Each course was conducted entirely virtually due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

Students’ learning process was guided by an outcome-oriented approach [76].

To establish and describe transversal skills, the following sources were consulted:

• Focus groups and interviews of the exploratory research phase: transversal skills that project management allows one to acquire in formal and informal learning contexts.
• “EntreComp: The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework” [113].
• “People” area of the “ICB4 Framework—Project management” [114] (pp. 63–101), where competencies are described in terms of “knowledge”, “skills” and “abilities”, with measurement KPIs. Competencies coincide with those set in “ISO 21500:2012” [115], specifically in chapters “3.9 Project staff competencies” and “4.3.20 Managing the project team” [114] (p. 159).
• “PRINCE2^® Method” [30] (p. 343).

Evaluation encompassed the assessment of (a) achieved transversal skills and (b) the value that project management can have in the transformative learning of students. Assessment was conducted in three stages: prior, during, and upon the course’s completion.

(a)

For assessing the competencies before and after the educational intervention, a self-assessment questionnaire was administered to students at two specific moments: before the first lesson and after the last one. It was constructed using the “EntreComp Framework” [113] for its structure and objectivity in assessing progress towards learning outcomes. A reflection was made on the “People” area of the “ICB4 Framework—Project management”, but it was difficult to objectify the link between learning outcomes related to “knowledge” and those related to “skills and abilities”. The “EntreComp Framework” includes three competence areas, each consisting of five competencies, further divided into threads with learning outcomes described according to an eight-level progression model. The Framework’s learning outcomes were adapted to project management terminology. The self-assessment questionnaire consisted of 20 items (competencies), using those codified through focus groups and interviews, with the exclusion of “Language skills” and “Skills for working in multicultural contexts”, as they were linked to international contexts of learning, not characterising the research’s case study. Each competence was described by seven personal statements (without indicating the progression level). The 20 competencies coincide with “ICB4 Framework—Project management” “People” Area [114] and are aligned with the “PRINCE2^® Method” [30]. To assess competencies during the course, the following tools were used: interviews with students on their expectations, in-class reflection activities, tests, systematic observation, and a project work evaluation grid.

(b)

To highlight the value that project management can have in the transformative learning of students, reference was made to learning theories previously described:

• Transformative learning [72].
• Experiential learning [63,74,78,79].
• Action theory [82,88].
• Situated learning [100].

The “learning mediators” [98] of the training pathway were developed using the following active learning methodologies (Figure 1):

• Project-Based Learning [70,93,94,96,97,98].
• The operational strategies of action science [70,82,88].
• The York–Barr Method [89].
• Situated learning [100].
• Action learning [75,91].

Each lesson was structured according to a circular approach, encouraging students’ participation in the collaborative reflection process, following Kolb’s experiential learning cycle [63] (Figure 2).

Students were guided to work in groups (created following alphabetical order) on a final project work based on a real, non-fictional project. The project work was a PowerPoint presentation composed as follows: Logical framework matrix; Organization chart; Client’s quality expectations, Product breakdown structure, Risk register, Gantt chart, Return on investment.

Based on the empirical evidence [109], findings were compared with exploratory phase predictions, facilitating the triangulation of data and sources to elaborate the final version of the pedagogical device.

4. Results

To answer the research’s general question and to achieve its general objective, data on achieved “Transversal skills that facilitate employability” (Section 4.1) and method “Enabling factors of project management” (Section 4.2) were triangulated to develop the “Seven-factor model of project management as a sustainable pedagogical device” (Section 4.3) and the “Holistic project management integration approach in tertiary education” (Section 4.4). Results are described below.

4.1. Transversal Skills that Facilitate Employability

To achieve the specific objectives SO1 and SO2, the research had to identify if learning project management allows the development of transversal skills and which. Coded text segments of interviews and the focus group’s transcriptions were grouped using the EntreComp Framework clusters of transversal skills [113].

Interviewed professors agreed that applying project management in informal contexts enables the development of transversal skills in individuals, and 19 were identified [116]: communication, problem-solving, self-organisation, managing change, leadership, teamwork, time management, planning, emotional intelligence, creativity, negotiation, learning to learn, self-esteem, managing people, skills to work in multicultural contexts, resilience, analytical and critical thinking, and presentation. The analysis of the coded text segments’ relative cumulative frequencies allowed the emergence of five transversal skills that represented more than 50% of citations: communication, leadership, problem-solving, people management and presentation.

All interviewees agreed that learning project management in formal contexts helps students to acquire transversal skills useful for their employability, confirming the previous 19 transversal skills and adding three more [116]: language skills, doing research, and self-awareness. Ninety percent of panel members agreed with communication and teamwork; 70% with presentation skills; 50% with leadership and 40% with creativity, self-esteem, doing research, time management, self-awareness, problem-solving, and resilience.

To achieve SO5, at the end of the explanatory case study, we analysed the self-evaluation questionnaires administered to students before and after the course. The analysis aimed to identify any skill enhancements and highlight the areas where students perceived the most significant improvements.

“Skewness” and Kurtosis indices indicated that data were distributed pseudo-normally. This allowed assessing the significance of the difference between the before- and after-course questionnaire averages using the T-test for independent samples, which revealed that eight transversal skills underwent significant (p < 0.05) change [116]. By calculating the effect size of these eight skills using the Cohen’s d index [117], it was revealed that the transversal skills with a substantial change (d > 0.8) were presentation (d = 1.005), planning (d = 0.935), and investigation/research (d = 0.918); risk management recorded a change above average (d = 0.756). Four other skills recorded a medium-size change: time management (d = 0.555), teamwork (d = 0.551), emotional intelligence (d = 0.513) and critical and analytical thinking (d = 0.476).

In order to achieve the SO5 of the research, results obtained from analysing the self-assessment questionnaire were triangulated with the following:

• transversal skills identified in the scientific literature as contributing to individuals’ employability [116]: Frameworks of transversal skills for employability [1,5,12,118,119]; “PRINCE2^® Method” [30]; Area “People” of “ICB4 Framework—Project management” [114].
• transversal skills that emerged from the exploratory phase: informal learning context and formal one in tertiary education; and the explanatory phase: researcher/professor perspective and student interviews.

The identified transversal skills were categorized into three clusters of competencies according to the framework provided by the World Economic Forum [1]:

• Cluster Problem-solving: risk management, critical and analytical thinking, investigation/research, creativity, problem-solving and change management.
• Cluster Management/communication: planning, presentation, time management, communication, self-organization.
• Cluster Working with people: teamwork, emotional intelligence, negotiation, people management.

It was evident that the development of transversal skills through project management learning, in both informal and formal contexts, aligns with [116]:

• “Human Skills” [1] predicted by the World Economic Forum as those that will be decisive for employability because they cannot be replaced by machines.
• “Fundamental Skills for Sustainability” [5] crucial so that the “citizens of sustainability” [22] can act for a positive change.

Project management can contribute to the sustainable employability [38] of individuals, although recognizing that employability is a multifaceted process resulting from complex forms of learning, rather than solely relying on transversal skills [39].

4.2. The Enabling Factors of Project Management

Through the selective coding of the encoded text segments [105], it emerged that the enabling factors promoting the development of transversal competencies in project management learning within informal contexts (SO1) are also applicable in formal settings (SO2). This is achieved through learning mediators derived from active learning methodologies [116]. It was also observed that in both organizational and tertiary educational contexts, there exist factors that either hinder or facilitate the acquisition of transversal skills through project management, with the primary factor being the “culture of Project management”, “which requires understanding to acquire awareness” [116] (p. 1957).

When linked to didactic approaches that foster reflection, project management becomes the pedagogical device capable of producing a transformative approach in individuals who learn it and an autonomous acquisition of transversal skills (SO3) (Figure 3).

4.3. The Seven-Factor Model of Project Management as a Sustainable Pedagogical Device

“The Seven-factor model of project management as a sustainable pedagogical device” for the development of transversal skills in tertiary education (Figure 4) developed at the end of the exploratory research phase (SO4) was tested during the explanatory case study of the 24 h project management course. Figure 4 represents its final version, developed after triangulation of data and sources. It achieves the research’s general objective.

The headings highlight the factors that can be transferred from informal practice to the context of tertiary education. The lists accompanying each factor explain how it can be adapted and incorporated into formal learning. The numbering assigned is arbitrary, as all elements can be equally integrated into the model, with no order of importance.

Project management acts as a connector between the cognitive learning offered by formal education and the learning required by the world of work; it functions as a situated learning context (Factor 05), naturally oriented towards a practice related with solving problems that are born from the world of work. Therefore, project management encourages students to act as inquirers (Factor 07), seeking data and information, conducting interviews, and visiting work organizations to engage in work-based learning experiences with the goal of making realistic their project proposal beyond the laboratory setting. Project management represents practice-oriented knowledge [59] (Factor 06). It provides analytical and technical tools, fosters a process of critical reflection, and offers methods to recontextualize practice within the learning environment of tertiary education. Project management overcomes the challenge of modifying practice during this translation into the formal educational context [59,94,99] through the engagement of professors who are also practitioners (holistic approach), the involvement of organizations from the world of work as problem posers and project sponsors (Factor 04), and the promotion of social interaction between academic and professional domains.

Arising from practical experience, project management employs similar tools to cultivate transversal skills in both informal and formal contexts (Figure 3). The project manager necessitates a combination of hard and soft skills (Factor 02) to effectively fulfil the project, recognizing that team engagement and motivation are as vital as technical expertise. Collaboration and cooperation (Factor 01) are essential within the project management team, fostering an environment where all members feel a sense of belonging.

The project management team is cross-functional (Factor 03), as it consists of experts with diverse skills who collaborate for a defined duration to deliver an innovative final product. Adopting a multidisciplinary teaching approach to project management aligns with this authentic cross-functional experience of project environments. In the professional realm, the project management team operates cohesively (Factor 01), adhering to the project’s trajectory and promoting the decentralization of team members.

Each project is unique, stemming from its specific context, team composition, internal dynamics, stakeholder interests, needs, and objectives, as well as the nature of its deliverable. Consequently, every project encompasses a level of complexity that exceeds traditional management approaches, creating a situated learning environment (Factor 05). Within the educational setting, this environment mirrors a complex adaptive system [56], reflecting, on a smaller scale, the intricacies of modern human society.

Within the project context, the project manager is not the expert responsible for executing the products’ delivery, but rather the crucial figure who establishes a process that guides the project, enabling experts and team managers to focus on product delivery. This specific role requires the them to be transversal to the strategic requirements of project executives/sponsors and the technical needs of team managers, acting as a mediator (Factor 07). Hence, reflective practice [88] is inherent in the project manager’s role, which involves mediating [29] between project stakeholders’ needs and reflecting on strategies to keep the project aligned with its objectives despite changes, uncertainties, and risks.

Learning project management in formal contexts aligns well with active learning methodologies (Factor 05) that use of the “Construct of Reflectivity” [88] to enable reflective practice to become a structural learning component, such as action learning. Thanks to these methodologies, project management becomes a pedagogical device capable of generating a transformative approach in individuals through critical reflection and transformative dialectics. Students learn to effectively address unexpected problems in a flexible and adaptive way, acquiring critical and integrative thinking skills that are valuable for sustainable employability.

4.4. Holistic Project Management Integration Approach in Tertiary Education

As emerged from the interviews and focus group (exploratory phase), a holistic integration of project management in academia enhances the pedagogical device’s factors (Figure 5).

For project management to effectively integrate problem-based and Project-Based Learning methodologies in support of student learning, tertiary education institutions need to undergo a comprehensive top-down transformation process. This process should entail the integration of project management as an integral module in every program or academic level, following what has been called a holistic approach.

This way, project management becomes a pedagogical device that promotes critical reflection (action learning) and subsequently serves as a process that enables students to develop a construct (Project-Based Learning) related to their field of study.

It is necessary to distinguish between project design and project management. Learning how to design a project is not sufficient; it is imperative to gain first-hand experience in managing its lifecycle, as this is a critical aspect of project management that embodies the reality of, and establishes a connection with, the professional world. It is through the project management environment that students are placed in a position to develop at least a double-loop learning [82], which involves changing the values of the theories in use [70].

The scientific value of project management is the main obstacle to its use in tertiary education [61], as it does not fall within the traditional scientific domains. Overcoming resistance to change and attachment to tradition is necessary to allow empirical practice to become scientific abstraction. As Dewey [120] argued regarding the science of education, empirical practice presents problems to which science responds with abstraction. The transition from an empirical condition to a scientific one takes time, especially when it is recent and, therefore, imperfect.

The top-down process of adopting project management within the formal education context assumes that all professors undergo a general project management learning process. In addition, project management teaching staff should demonstrate experience in managing projects and technical knowledge of project management methods, standards, or bodies of knowledge. This allows one to establish a multidisciplinary environment that facilitates dialogue, communities of practice [101], and more importantly, learning communities. Similarly, professors should consciously employ active learning methodologies, acting as coaches and learning facilitators, thereby fostering an independent process of knowledge acquisition by students.

Finally, teaching project management transcends all disciplines and is not, as traditionally believed, limited to specific disciplinary fields. Similarly, there is no relationship between the method, standard or body of knowledge of project management used and the development in students of transversal skills useful for their employability.

5. Discussion

The use of project management as a pedagogical device at the tertiary education level is a novel concept. While there are pedagogical discussions that link project management to Project-Based Learning [84,94,99], the research has shown that this connection is not entirely accurate. Indeed, project management is shown to be more closely aligned with problem-based and inquiry-centred active teaching methodologies, rather than solely tied to Project-Based Learning. However, the research shows that integrating these methodologies has a positive impact on students’ self-esteem.

The research contributes to the discussion about adopting innovative pedagogical approaches to effectively address the “complexity of non-mechanistic nature of managerial practices” [121] (p. 209) and the complexity of educating for sustainable development [5]. Aligning with studies on rethinking project management education [122,123,124], the article aims to shed light on the necessity for educational institutions to rethink project management as a reflective practice that deals with ambiguity and complexity, instead of considering it as purely mechanical competence, relevant only for some professions.

It is also necessary to rethink the role that project management competencies play for students of all disciplines, not only business and engineering. In fact, most studies related to project management education refer to these scientific domains [121,123,124]. The research intends to connect learning project management with all scientific fields, since “Project management exists in and for itself, with its own corpus of knowledge, concepts, organizations, methodologies, and lines of thinking” [61] (p. 664). It is characterized by multidisciplinary teams [60,123], is applicable in various contexts [124] and deals with the ambiguity, uncertainty and complexity [35,124] of project environments, and this is what makes it so valuable for “citizens of sustainability” [22] to be able to adopt system, integrative and complex forms of thinking [5] connected with sustainable development.

6. Conclusions

The research findings answered the research’s questions, achieved the five research objectives, and confirmed its hypotheses:

• Learning project management, both in informal and formal tertiary contexts, enables the development of transversal skills that the literature considers useful for the sustainable employability of individuals as citizens and professionals in a complex global context, where change is “normality”. Project management, as a pedagogical device that integrates the acquisition of technical competences with the development of transversal skills in the context of formal education, becomes effective if the seven factors identified as crucial to recontextualise practice within the realm of tertiary education are adopted (Figure 4).
• The pedagogical device of project management as a “region of knowledge” [59] should be integrated with academic knowledge. Therefore, the holistic approach of teaching project management in tertiary education plays a relevant role in enhancing the pedagogical device’s factors (Figure 5).
• If connected to didactic approaches that favour reflection, project management becomes a pedagogical device capable of producing a transformative approach in individuals who learn it. Reflective learning is achieved by combining the hard elements of project management (principles, techniques and tools for designing, planning, managing and controlling the project) with the soft ones (behavioural skills, “People” area of the “ICB4 Framework—Project management”), putting into practice an embedded approach for developing those transversal skills that are connected to complex forms of thinking and that, for this reason, facilitate the sustainable employability of individuals, including: complex and integrated problem-solving, analytical and critical thinking, systemic thinking, and emotional intelligence.
• Teaching project management has also proven to be effective in tertiary education, EQF Level 5, as it has contributed to the employability process of learners aware that this process derives from complex forms of learning and, therefore, cannot be assessed simply through transversal skills [39].

The research had some limitations:

• It was not possible, due to the Institute’s regulations on privacy, to pair the two samples that answered the self-assessment questionnaire on transversal skills before and after the project management course. This limitation did not allow us to check the improvement of the individual student, but to consider the two samples as independent, i.e., as members of two distinct groups, only obtaining general results.
• In the explanatory case study, we used the PRINCE2^® project management method. It is not possible to verify whether the same results could have been obtained with other project management methods, standards or bodies of knowledge, even though the interviewed professors stated that there is no relationship between the method, standard or body of knowledge used and the development in students of transversal skills, useful for their employability, also arguing that PRINCE2^®, as a method, facilitates students’ understanding and thus engagement.
• The profile of the project management professor was not sufficiently investigated.
• The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown did not allow the seven-factor model to be fully applied.

We consider these limitations as an opportunity for further investigating the use of project management as a pedagogical device in tertiary education.

The research focused on tertiary education EQF Level 5 and interviewed professors primarily teaching in disciplines related to engineering, economics, and political science. The contextualized results can serve as a basis for further qualitative and quantitative research on the benefits of using project management as a pedagogical device in other tertiary education levels (EQF Levels 6, 7, and 8), across all disciplinary fields, and with a larger sample of professionals and students. It would also be interesting to analyse the results obtained thanks to the use of project management in EQF levels 1 to 4.