performance would be acceptable, (3) scholastic
aptitude or the ability to learn new things readily, and (4)
self-objectivity or the ability to recognize one’s own
strengths and weaknesses. Although these four component
dimensions are distinguishable, in the current study, it is
the combination of these four constructs that together make
up the construct of competence at continuous learning.
Work that demands these skills requires competence at
continuous learning. While we might have simply measured
continuous learning skill demands using a global
measure and asking respondents to rate ‘‘continuous
learning skill demands,’’ this would leave the definition
relatively open to interpretation and might mean different
things to different people. In the present study, we instead
made the definition more concrete and specific by
employing four key skills from the literature and asking
respondents to rate each of them. This had the effect of
removing some of the subjectivity and variability across
respondents in defining continuous learning skill and tied it
to valid constructs from the literature.