Academic and Professional Skills Development

This article discusses the importance of academic and social skills development for first-year university students. It covers key terms, study skills, social skills, and the transition period. The article cites relevant studies and provides recommendations for institutions to help students develop social skills.

Running Head: SKILLS DEVELOPMENT 1
Academic and Professional Skills Development
Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Introduction
The period of transition from high school to university presents a major change in the
lives of first-year students. These students face various challenges, and they develop various
ways of coping with them. While academic skills are often touted as a critical ingredient to
success in tertiary education, social skills play an essential role in stabilizing the life of the
student and allowing them to balance out their energy expenditure when operating in a
stressful environment (McMillan, 2014). Although there are cases of students with excellent
academic skills and few social skills succeeding academically, such are rare occurrences.
Studies have demonstrated the role that social skills play in ensuring a smooth transition to
university life such that they are successful in their tertiary education exploits.
Definitions of Key Terms
Academic skills are skills that incorporate critical thinking skills, exam skills,
presentation skills, study skills as well as digital capabilities. In most cases, students who
have qualified for university slots have good academic skills. Nevertheless, the students may
need to adopt new ways of applying these skills in a different learning environment. Social
skills involve interpersonal problem-solving, conflict resolution, and survival skills. They
also involve the ability to control emotions, self-awareness, and acceptance of other cultures.
Social skills help students develop healthy relationships and vibrant social life.
Argument
A review of past studies conducted reveals that social skills have a significant impact
on academic success during the transition period to university life. While academic skills are
also important, social skills carry more weight in determining student outcomes during this
period. It is therefore vital to pay attention to the development of social skills for first-year
students.

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Study Skills
Study skills have an impact on the academic performance of university students.
Various study skills, when used collectively and appropriately applied to the discipline a
student is focusing on act as a precursor to academic success. Time management is a vital
skill that often involves learning to reduce or avoid procrastination. Procrastination involves
the intentional delay of a specific course of action while being aware of the negative
consequences (Hassanbeigi et al., 2011). Through planning and appropriate use of time, a
student avoids a pile-up of tasks that can be overwhelming given the time constraints they
have. Concentration requires shielding the pursuit of academic goals from unwanted
distractions. Working memory is a crucial component of the concentration process. Working
memory involves function such as storage and retrieval of information from the long-term or
temporary memory storage. It is also related to cognitive abilities including learning,
problem-solving, and reasoning (Hassanbeigi et al., 2011). Note taking and note reviewing
are vital elements of the learning process in colleges. Note-taking is essential for students
even when they know they will not review the notes later (Hassanbeigi et al., 2011). Note-
taking leads to better performance just attending lectures and reviewing replicated content
distributed during the lessons. Motivation can either be intrinsic or extrinsic. Motivation
differs greatly from student to student. While some students are driven by doing something
that is enjoyable to them, some are driven by the prospect of career opportunities that will be
opened up when they complete their studies (Saklofske, Austin, Mastoras, Beaton &
Osborne, 2012). Another skill relates to organizing and processing information. Often,
students are faced with huge loads of information that they have to process. By organizing
information such that it is manageable, students are likely to be motivated (Saklofske et al.,
2012). Processing information involves techniques such as repetition, analyzing, memorizing,
relating, structuring, and critical thinking (Hassanbeigi et al., 2011).

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Social Skills
The paper “Thriving or just surviving? Exploring student strategies for a smoother
transition to university” explores strategies needed for the successful transition into a
university’s learning system (Richardson, King, Garrett, & Wrench, 2012). First-year
students encounter increased freedom alongside a largely unstructured learning system in
their new institutions. The paper presents the results of a survey carried out to determine the
health and well-being of first-year students. An anonymous online survey was sent to
students in the education and health faculties. The participation of students was voluntary,
and the responses would be anonymous. Out of 139 responses, 17 said they were thriving,
and 27 said they were just surviving (Richardson et al., 2012). These two groups had different
responses to other questions regarding their social life in their new place of learning. Thriving
students had developed new friendships in and out of classes while just surviving students
had temporary friendships in classes only. Thriving students had positive it reactions with
staff while just surviving students felt that support from staff was inadequate or did not meet
their expectations (Richardson et al., 2012). Just surviving students also recorded a reduced
social activity which was more pronounced if they had to relocate to attend school. These
students missed the old friends they had made in their hometowns as they had difficulty in
making new friends. Thriving students reported changes in social interactions but no change
or improvement in the frequency and satisfaction from these interactions. Thriving students
noted that their mental health did not change or it changed for the better during the transition
period. Most just surviving students reported that their mental health states turned for the
worse while only one reported an improvement. Thriving students had effective stress coping
mechanisms as they focused on taking action to handle the situation (Richardson et al., 2012).
Just surviving students were more accustomed to passive or avoidance coping strategies that
put off the stressful event for later. In both cases, students reported pressure with regards to

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work, life, study, and personal commitments balance (Richardson et al., 2012). Nevertheless,
the thriving students used more positive language to describe this situation that did the just
surviving segment (Richardson et al., 2012). This study reveals that the distinction to belong
to either group lied in the social skills possessed by each student. With good social skills,
students can cope with stress effectively, build beneficial relationships, organize their work
well, and balance requirements from the academic and social spheres.
Transition Period
Understanding the transition period from school to university is vital in assisting
students to complete the process smoothly and get accustomed to a new life in a tertiary
learning institution. A significant portion of students quit learning during their first year in
college (Briggs, Clark, & Hall, 2012). By understanding this period, students can be prepared
enough to address any issues they may face successfully such that they complete their studies
(Briggs et al., 2012). Life in college is different from life at home. Living alone or with a
roommate compounds this peculiarity. More so, the learning atmosphere is more relaxed than
that of a high school. The student makes decisions without being coerced by routine or
lecturers (Briggs et al., 2012). This is also the first phase of adult life for many students. They
are now exposed to certain pleasures of life such as alcohol or sex that may have been limited
by age. The institution has a role to play in ensuring the successful induction of new students
into its system. Social skills are vital in assisting students to become self-conscious and
develop relationships with others to enable them to thrive in the university environment
(Briggs et al., 2012).
Conclusion
A review of these papers reveals that academic and social skills are important
elements of the transition period to university life. Social skills are however often neglected

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by students as well as by the learning institutions (McMillan, 2014). To reduce the rate of
drop out and negative outcomes among new students, institutions develop a comprehensive
introductory course to assimilate fresh students into the culture of the university. The course
can include sections that encourage student guidance on how students can take the initiative
in developing social skills.

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References
Briggs, A. R., Clark, J., & Hall, I. (2012). Building bridges: understanding student transition
to university. Quality in Higher Education, 18(1), 3-21.
Hassanbeigi, A., Askari, J., Nakhjavani, M., Shirkhoda, S., Barzegar, K., Mozayyan, M. R.,
& Fallahzadeh, H. (2011). The relationship between study skills and academic
performance of university students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30,
1416-1424.
McMillan, W. (2014). ‘They have different information about what is going on’: emotion in
the transition to university. Higher Education Research & Development, 33(6), 1123-
1135.
Richardson, A., King, S., Garrett, R., & Wrench, A. (2012). Thriving or just surviving?
Exploring student strategies for a smoother transition to university. A Practice Report.
Student Success, 3(2), 87.
Saklofske, D. H., Austin, E. J., Mastoras, S. M., Beaton, L., & Osborne, S. E. (2012).
Relationships of personality, affect, emotional intelligence and coping with student
stress and academic success: Different patterns of association for stress and
success. Learning and Individual Differences, 22(2), 251-257.