In recent years, one of the issues facing higher education is how and what we teach students at the university level. Also competence-based curriculum has received much attention in the field of education. As the conception of core competence draws mo...
In recent years, one of the issues facing higher education is how and what we teach students at the university level. Also competence-based curriculum has received much attention in the field of education. As the conception of core competence draws more and more attention, many researchers have tried to define and diagnose core competences. Communication competence is one of the essential and transferable skills that are commonly required in performing one``s duties of work regardless of profession. The aim of this study is to diagnose the communication competence of college students and to seek for the direction of improvement in higher education. Specifically, this study examines the relations among college education, individuals’ communication skills, types of educational experiences affecting communication competence. Data from 733 college students participating in K-CESA (Korea Collegiate Essential Skills Assessment) was analyzed. Results suggest that communication competence is positively associated with GPA and academic years. These findings support that there is a value-added of college education in Korea. Furthermore, many students responded that extracurricular activities such as club, internship, part-time job are more helpful than taking regular classes for developing communication skills. Findings imply that it is required to apply the problem or situation based curriculum in higher education.