Does soft skill development vary among the students? A gender perspective

Year 2020, Volume: 9 Issue: 3, 205 - 221, 31.07.2020

Md. Roknuzzaman Siddiky

https://doi.org/10.19128/turje.658198

Abstract

The study was intended to examine the extent to which soft skill development varied among the university students by gender via their participation in co-curricular activities (CCAs). Moreover, the study aimed to find out whether there was a significant difference between male and female students concerning soft skill development. The study has shown that males have developed diverse personal skills and social skills, that is, soft skills more than females excepting one which is presentation skill. The study has pointed out that soft skill development significantly varies among the students by gender excepting presentation skill development. The study has proposed that the significant difference between male and female students regarding soft skill development may be attributed to their difference in participating in various CCAs. Since the males are more likely to participate in CCAs, they are more likely to develop diverse soft skills than the females. The study has indicated that Muslim female students face several personal and social barriers including lack of confidence, conservative family values, and people’s negative attitudes to participate in CCAs, which requires proper policy to address.

Keywords

Co-curricular activities, Personal skill development, Social skill development, Soft skills, Soft skill development

Supporting Institution

Noakhali Science and Technology University

Project Number

N/A

Thanks

I am very much thankful to the Research Cell of Noalhali Science and Technology University for accepting my Project,

References

• Ahmed, T., & Sen, B. (2018). Conservative outlook, gender norms and family wellbeing: evidence from rural Bangladesh. World Development, 11, 41-58.
• Akter, M. (2018). Socio-economic barriers against women equal right in the society: a case of Bangladesh. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 6, 156-166.
• Babic, V., & Slavkovic, M. (2011, June). Soft and hard skills development: A current situation in Serbian companies. Paper presented at the Management, Knowledge and Learning International Conference 2011, International School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Slovenia.
• Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. (2017). Education scenario in Bangladesh: gender perspective. Dhaka: Author.
• Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. (2018). Labour force survey (LFS) 2018. Dhaka: Author.
• Bartkus, K. R., Nemelka, B., Nemelka, M. & Gardner, P. (2012). Clarifying the meaning of the extracurricular activity: a literature review of definitions. American Journal of Business Education, 5(6), 693-704.
• Brandfon, J. (2018). The impact of cocurricular involvement and leadership roles on the perceived development of employability skills (Doctoral dissertation), University of Miami, Florida, USA. Retrieved from, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/fd69/f36c57bff85024215717a6e255168390b18e.pdf
• Chua, C.J. E., Chuatoco, I.A. G., Dela Pena, A. M.C., Jimenez, D.L.F., & Co, D. A. (2017). The influence of participation in extracurricular activities to the employability of industrial engineering graduates of one private university in the Philippines. Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 5(2), 163-170.
• Cimatti, B. (2016). Definition, development, assessment of soft skills and their role for the quality of organizations and enterprises. International Journal for Quality Research, 10(1), 97-130.
• Corder, G.W., & Foreman, D. I. (2009). Nonparametric statistics for non-statisticians: a step-by-step approach. New Jersey: Wiley.
• Cornalli, F. (2018, June 20-22). Training and developing soft skills in higher education [Paper presentation]. The 4th International Conference on Higher Education Advances, Valencia, Spain. DOI: 10.4995/HEAd18.2018.8127
• Daniyal, M., Nawaz, T., Hassan, A. & Mubeen, I. (2012). The effect of co-curricular activities on the academic performances of the students: A case study of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Bulgarian Journal of Science and Education Policy, 6(2), 257-272.
• Dhanmeher, B. R. (2014). Impact of co-curricular activities on the non- academic development of junior college students (Unpublished master’s thesis). DY Patil University, Navi, Mumbai, India.
• Educate A Child. (2016). Education and the SDGs. Occasional Paper No. 2. Retrieved from, https://educationaboveall.org/uploads/library/file/2a8e15847d.pdf
• Hayes, J. H. (2014). Skill builders: perceived skills enhanced by students through participation in high school extracurricular activities (Published doctoral dissertation). Education and Dissertations Projects, 12. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a786/8c54935299a1a78ab8818ad517d6bf254eed.pdf
• Ingale, A. R. (2014). Role of co-curricular activities in student’s life. Scholarly Research Journal for Humanity Science & English Language, 1(4), 592-594.
• Ismail, M., Nadeem, M., Hussain, M. H., Shaheen, M. A., Shahid, M., Ahmad, R., & Mehmood, U. (2016). Role of ECA’s (extra-curricular activities) in personality development. International Journal of Research Studies in Biosciences, 4(11), 47-56.
• Ivaniushina, V. A., & Zapletina, O.O. (2015). Participation in extracurricular activities and development of personal and interpersonal skills in adolescents. Journal of Siberian Federal University, 2408-2420.
• Ivanova, V., Martins, K., & Kaftasev, S. (2017). About extra-curricular activities of the university graduate-student’ viewpoint. MATEC Web of Conferences, 91 (2017), 1-4. DOI: 10.1051/matecconf/20179101017
• Jamal, A. A. (2012). Developing interpersonal skills and professional behaviors through extracurricular activities participation: A perception of King Abdulaziz University medical students. Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Medical Sciences, 19(4), 3-24.
• Kumar, T. R., & Selvaraju, R. (2014). Personality development through co-curricular activities. Indian Journal of Research, 3(6), 59-61.
• Lane, A. (2017). Open education and sustainable development goals: making change happen. Journal of Learning for Development, 4(3), 275-286.
• Le, T. (2013). Does participation in extracurricular activities reduces risky behaviour? Youth in Focus. Youth in Focus Project Discussion Paper Series, No. 13, The Australian National University.
• Learning Disabilities Association of Canada. (n.d.) What are social skills? Ottawa. Retrieved from https://www.ldabc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/English-Social-Emotional.pdf
• Leung, C., Ng, C. W. R., & Chan, P. (2011). Can co-curricular activities enhance the learning effectiveness of students? An application to the sub-degree students in Hong Kong. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 23(3), 329-341.
• Lunenburg, F. C.(2010). Extracurricular activities. Schooling, 1(1), 1-4. Retrieved from, http://www.nationalforum.com/Electronic%20Journal%20Volumes/Lunenburg,%20Fred%20C%20Extracurricular Activities%20Schooling%20V1%20N1%202010.pdf
• Mehmood, T., Hussain, T., Khalid, M., & Azam, R. (2012). Impact of co-curricular activities on personality development of secondary school students. International Journal of Humanities and Social Welfare, 2(18), 139-145.
• Munir, E. T. (2014). The dynamics of wearing hijab for Muslim American Women in the United States (Published master’s thesis). Iowa State University, Iowa, USA.
• Nachmias, F. C., & Nachmias, D. (2008). Research methods in the social sciences. New York: Worth Publishers.
• National Association of School Psychologists. (2002). Social skills: Promoting positive behavior, academic success, and school safety. Maryland, USA. Retrieved from, http://mendocinousd.org/view/81.pdf
• Nghia, T. (2017). Developing generic skills for students via extra-curricular activities in Vietnamese universities: Practices and influential factors. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 8(1), 22-39.
• Patacsil, F. E. P., &Tablatin, C.L. S. (2017). Exploring the importance of soft and hard skills as perceived by it internship students and industry. Journal of Technology and Science Education, 7(3), 347-368.
• Prianto, A. (2016). The effect of the involvement intensity in extracurricular activities and soft skills towards readiness to work for higher education graduates in East Java Indonesia. The Journal of Business and Management Invention, 5(6), 79-87.
• Rahman, S.M., Islam, M.N., & Ferdousi, A. (2018). Is hijab a fashion statement? A study on Bangladeshi Muslim women. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 20 (12), 21-27.
• Rahman, R., & Islam, R. (2019). Employment, labour force participation and education: towards gender equality in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Centre for Development and Employment Research.
• Raihan, S. & Bidisha, S.H. (2018). Female employment stagnation in Bangladesh. A research paper on Economic Dialogue on Inclusive Growth in Bangladesh. Retrieved from https://asiafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/EDIG-Female-employment-stagnation-in-Bangladesh_report.pdf
• Rita, A. A. (2017). Assertion of wearing hijab in the community: An analysis. American Scientific Research Journal of Engineering, Technology and Sciences, 29(1), 340-347.
• Siddiky, M. R. (2019). Developing co-curricular activities and extra-curricular activities for all-round development of the undergraduate students: A study of a selected public university in Bangladesh. Pakistan Journal of Applied Social Sciences, 10, 61-82.
• Singh, A., & Mishra, S. (2015). Extracurricular activities and student’s performance in secondary school of government and private schools. International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Research, 1(1), 53-61.
• Taber, K.S. (2017). The use of Cronbach’s alpha when developing and reporting research instruments in science education. Research in Science Education, 48, 1273-1296. DOI: 10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. (2017a). Education for sustainable goals: learning objectives. Paris: Author. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002474/247444e.pdf
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. (2017b). Unpacking sustainable development goal 4. Paris: Author. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002463/246300E.pdf
• United Nations Development Program. (2019). Human Development Report 2019. Beyond income, beyond averages, and beyond today: Inequalities in human development in 21st centuries, New York: Author.
• Villalobos, A. S., Dulce, A.C., Fontilar, L.J., Gutierrez, D.C., Sawali, R.C., & Almero-Encio, H. (2016). Benefits of co-curricular activities to academic performance of financial and management accounting students. Asia Pacific Journal of Arts and Sciences, 3(1), 83-93.