Thesis
An investigation into the impact of presentation skills training on engineering students' development of professional communication skills : a case in the Pakistani context
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2026
- Thesis identifier
- T18014
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 201760301
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- This study investigates the impact of teaching of presentations skills on engineering students in one of the major Pakistani universities. An ethnographic qualitative approach was employed, and data was gathered through classroom observations, semi structured interviews with teachers and focus group discussions with students while the supportive documents were reviewed to contextualise the findings. The findings after the thematic analysis revealed the challenges encountered by students, including a lack of English language proficiency due to diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, insufficient prior knowledge and lack of confidence. Teachers also face several hurdles that includes large class sizes, limited time and resources and students diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Interactive teaching methods, instead of direct instruction (the most employed method), were preferred by participants to increase students’ involvement. Findings from the observations highlighted the use of lecture methods and limited allocated time to these courses making it challenging to individually support all students. The study highlights the pressing need for teaching reforms which includes adopting interactive methods, ensuring the provision of structured feedback according to individual needs, and a conducive learning environment. The study recommends that policy makers introduce reforms in curriculum design, provide sufficient resources to teachers and students, ensure frequent access to teacher development programs, and allocate an appropriate amount of time to these courses. The study argues that by addressing these challenges, engineering students can be well equipped with effective communication and presentation skills to better perform in both academic and professional settings. This study contributes to the understanding of presentation skill development in a culturally diverse and resource constrained environment, and provides valuable insights for students, teachers and policy makers to enhance academic and professional outcomes.
- Advisor / supervisor
- Wall, Kate
- Huang, Alan
- Resource Type
- DOI
Relations
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PDF of thesis T18014 | 2026-05-19 | Public | Download |