Attitudes towards Communication Skills among Engineering Students

Abstract

Good communication skills are of utmost importance in the education of engineering students to promote not only their education, but also to prepare them for the demanding and competitive job market. The purpose of this study was to compare the attitudes towards communication skills after formal instruction between the students of engineering studies in the first and sixth semesters. Data were collected using the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) which consisted of 14 items. The target population included 31 students of engineering studies who attended the communication skills course in the first semester, and 31 students of engineering studies who attended the same course just before completion of the undergraduate study programme. The results are in accordance with previous studies suggesting that senior and more mature students have higher positive attitudes compared to students at the beginning of their undergraduate studies. Although both groups had noticeable positive attitudes towards learning communication skills, negative attitudes should also be taken into consideration and attempt should be made to decrease or eliminate them.