Development of Soft Skills among Students at the Catholic University of El Salvador

Abstract

The main purpose of this research was to classify the soft skills of students at the Catholic University of El Salvador. The study addressed three categories of soft skills required of professionals in the 21st century, identified the types of soft skills that students currently possess, and examined the types of soft skills developed through the teaching-learning process.

The study was conducted using a qualitative research approach. For data collection, surveys were administered to 343 first- and fifth-year students from the university’s four faculties. In addition, interviews were conducted with 24 instructors from humanities, general education, and specialized courses, and classroom observations were carried out with the same instructors who participated in the study.

The findings revealed that the soft skills most commonly possessed by students are teamwork, communication, perseverance, problem-solving, and service orientation. Meanwhile, instructors reported that the soft skills they most frequently foster in their classes are communication, empathy, punctuality, solidarity, respect, kindness, teamwork, and responsibility.