ERIC Number: ED539806
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1548-6613
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Assessment of Industrial Attachment: Issues and Concerns of Chinhoyi University of Technology's Undergraduate Degree Programme, Zimbabwe
Chinyemba, Fredreck; Bvekerwa, Sailos T.
Online Submission, US-China Education Review B 12 p985-996 2012
This article presents findings from an action research that explored industrial attachment supervision and assessment issues and concerns of CUT's (Chinhoyi University of Technology) undergraduate degree programme. The study was motivated by the observation that there is no research project contacted in order to determine the social and economic value of the programme objectives. The study used a cross-sectional survey technique to establish the strengths and weaknesses in the supervision and assessment practices of industrial attachment using 78 academic staff (including 13 industrial attachment coordinators) and 116 forth-year students drawn from six schools. They were required to fill in self-completion questionnaires containing closed and open-ended items. A t-test statistic for mean differences was used to confirm descriptive data at 5% level of significance and thematic generation was used to synthesize qualitative data. The study found that at df = 14, the calculated t = 0.314, one tailed test, critical t = 1.761 led to the conclusion that the supervision and assessment of industrial attachment was not competency-based. Authentic assessment of students on industrial attachment only takes place where the student is attached at credible organizations and is exposed practically to the broad categories of the specific field of study. The study raises several organizational weaknesses on the assessment process and techniques employed by academic and workplace supervisors. As such, authentic assessment of students on industrial attachment effectively takes place where the student is attached at credible organizations and only in cases where he/she is exposed practically to the broad categories of the specific field of study. The study raises several organizational weaknesses on the assessment process and techniques employed by both academic and workplace supervisors. As such, workplace assessment is not competency-based. Lecturers and students concurred that there is a need for attachment coordinators to communicate with and involve employers in the assessment process. The researchers recommend professional development of lecturers to handle competency-based assessments as footholds for improving connectivity between workplace and learning.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Action Research, Workplace Learning, Undergraduate Study, School Business Relationship, Partnerships in Education, Work Experience Programs, Competence, Performance Based Assessment, Formative Evaluation, Evaluation Methods, Program Effectiveness, Teacher Attitudes, Supervision
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Zimbabwe
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A