The Importance of Learning Skills as Perceived by Adolescents in a Hospital School in Romania vs. Their...

The purpose of this cross-sectional survey was to evaluate the perceived importance of key lifelong learning skills among adolescents with a history of oncology hospitalization compared to peers without such experience and to identify skills they perceived as underdeveloped. Competencies were categorized following the framework of the Council of the European Union (Jurnalul Oficial al Uniunii Europene, 2018). Hospitalized adolescents were found to more frequently prioritize STEM (23.7%), multilingual (15.8%), and digital skills (13.2%). Non-hospitalized peers emphasized entrepreneurial (21.1%) and STEM skills (15.7%). A higher proportion of non-hospitalized adolescents (31.0%) were unsure about important skills compared to hospitalized peers (7.9%). Regarding underdeveloped skills, hospitalized adolescents highlighted literacy (18.4%) and STEM (15.8%), while non-hospitalized peers reported STEM (19.7%) and entrepreneurial skills (12.7%). These findings suggest that hospitalized adolescents may demonstrate clearer awareness of essential competencies, whereas non-hospitalized peers more often express uncertainty. These exploratory results may point to the potential role of hospital schools in mitigating educational disruptions, supporting continuity of learning, and helping guide adolescents toward developing lifelong competencies aligned with European educational priorities.