Soft skills in higher education: importance and improvement ratings as a function of individual differences and academic performance

Three UK studies on the relationship between a purpose-built instrument to assess the importance and development of 15 'soft skills' are reported. Study 1 (N = 444) identified strong latent components underlying these soft skills, such that differences between-skills were over-shadowed by differences between-students. Importance and improving ratings on these skills predicted academic performance and accounted for the effects of personality on academic performance. Study 2 replicated the structure of the soft skills inventory and associations with academic performance in a larger sample (N = 1309). Examination of mean differences across faculties (humanities, life sciences, hard sciences) revealed higher soft skills ratings in 'softer' courses. Study 3 (N = 87) incorporated an IQ measure, which was found to be negatively related to importance ratings on soft skills. Results highlight the cohesive structure of beliefs concerning various non-academic skills and their significant links to educationally relevant individual differences. Theoretical, methodological and applied implications are considered.