Effective Communication Skills among University Students

This study aimed to assess the level of effective communication skills among students at the University of Baghdad and to examine differences in these skills according to gender and academic specialization.The study employed a descriptive-analytical approach and included a sample of 240 male and female students drawn from several scientific and humanities colleges.Data were collected using the final version of the Effective Communication Skills Scale, which comprised 63 items rated on a five-point Likert scale, after its psychometric properties-including validity, reliability, and item discrimination-had been verified.The data were analyzed using arithmetic means, standard deviations, Pearson's correlation coefficient, Cronbach's alpha, a one-sample t-test, and an independent-samples t-test.The findings revealed that the students demonstrated a relatively high level of effective communication skills.Their mean score was 210.48, with a standard deviation of 42.25, compared with the scale's hypothetical mean of 189; this difference was statistically significant at the 0.05 level.The results also indicated statistically significant gender differences in favor of male students, as well as statistically significant differences according to academic specialization in favor of students in scientific disciplines.In light of these findings, the study recommends incorporating effective communication skills into university programs and activities and organizing training courses and workshops to enhance students' expression, dialogue, active listening, and positive interaction skills, with particular attention to groups that obtained lower scores on the scale.