Student communicative competence and the psychological safety at the university

Abstract

The modern university must ensure the psychological safety of its educational environment, which depends largely on the quality of interpersonal relationships. A key factor in this context is students’ communicative competence, which may influence the establishment of safe and supportive relationships. However, while separate studies address communicative competence (A. N. Tretyakova, E. V. Bondarenko) and psychological safety (I. A. Baeva, A. V. Kozlova, M. I. Rozhkova), the direct link between these two constructs remains underexplored. This study aimed to examine the relationship between communicative competence and psychological safety among first-year university students. Methods included the Learning Activity Satisfaction Questionnaire (L. V. Mishchenko), the Communicative and Organizational Inclinations Test (V. A. Sinyavsky), and the Group Psychological Climate Questionnaire (A. N. Lutoshkin). Results indicate that first-year students generally experience psychological safety: they report satisfaction with both the learning process and the psychological climate within their groups. However, their overall communicative competence was found to be underdeveloped. No significant correlation was identified between specific communication skills and perceived psychological safety. This suggests that factors such as trust, peer and teacher support, and the absence of conflict may play a more critical role in ensuring safety than individual communicative abilities. The study also identified a significant positive correlation between the quality of the psychological climate in student groups and their satisfaction with academic activities. This highlights the importance of a supportive group atmosphere for educational effectiveness. Based on these findings, it is recommended that universities and psychological support services focus not only on developing students’ communication skills but also on fostering trust, reducing conflicts, and strengthening social cohesion within academic groups. Such efforts can enhance both psychological safety and learning outcomes, particularly during the critical adaptation period.