رویکردهای نوین آموزشی (Feb 2024)
Explanation of Indicators for Improving the Quality of Evaluating Learners' Abilities in Technical and Vocational higher Education with Emphasis on Skill-oriented and Employability
Abstract
The present study aimed to explaining the indicators of improving the quality of learners' in vocational and technical higher education by employing the employment approach. The research was done with an applied purpose and using an exploratory mixed methods research approach. The statistical population of the qualitative section consisted of curriculum experts, faculty members of technical and vocational universities and employers in Iran, among whom 18 participants were selected via a purposive sampling method. The statistical population of the research in the quantitative part included 571 teachers of Shariati Technical and Vocational University of Tehran in 2021, and 230 of them were selected by stratified sampling method. Research data were collected through the semi-structured interviewing technique and a researcher-made questionnaire. Content validity was used to determine the validity of the interview questions and the questionnaire and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. According to the research findings in the qualitative part, in order for the evaluators to be able to evaluate the capabilities of the learners in the most favorable way, it is necessary to perform performance tests, provide periodical feedback, emphasize practical work and group projects, surveys of the competent and relevant factors of the internship environment, evaluation based on all educational goals, continuous evaluation and evaluation by peer groups. Also, the results in the quantitative section revealed; the explained methods are effective in improving the evaluation quality. Therefore, based on the results of the research, it is necessary for the evaluation method in technical and professional higher education to have a different direction compared to other subsystems of higher education, and to be based on skill-oriented and employability.Introduction The purpose of this research is to explain the indicators of improving the quality of student evaluation in technical and vocational higher education with emphasis on skill-oriented and employability. Important technical and professional goals is achieved through quality curricula. One of the main factors affecting the quality of technical and professional higher education programs is the quality of evaluation in these programs. What makes the evaluation process sensitive in technical and vocational trainings is the emphasis of these trainings on learning the skills and techniques of doing work and professions, so the evaluation methods in this type of training are similar to the conventional methods used in other educational sub-systems is very different. Despite the importance of evaluating educational progress in higher technical and vocational education and its effect on educational quality, no detailed studies have been conducted in this field yet. In fact, in the research literature, in the technical and vocational higher education evaluation system, there is still no specific approach, model, and method for evaluating students' performance (Ho, Ho, and Tran, 2020, Ojusamson, Liniyan, Ogunjeboy, and Eduga, 2020). Therefore, due to the importance of the quality of higher technical and vocational education curricula and its importance in employment and provision of human resources needed by the society, and considering that the quality of evaluation methods remains elusive, an effort has been made in this research. It is tried first to identify the indicators of improving the quality of student evaluation in technical and vocational university, and then determine how effective these indicators have been in improving the quality of student evaluation methods in technical and vocational university. Research MethodologyThis research is an applied research based on the goal. In carrying out different parts of this research, both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used, and the research approach is a combination of exploratory type. The participants of the research in the qualitative part included faculty members of Shariati Technical and Vocational University of Tehran, curriculum experts and employers in 2019, among which 18 of them were selected using the purposeful and snowball sampling method. These people included 7 faculty members of Tehran Shariati Technical and Vocational University, 6 curriculum specialists and 5 employers. The statistical population of this research, in the quantitative part, included all of the teachers at Shariati Technical and Vocational University of Tehran in 2018-2019 (including 571 people), through using Cochran's formula, 230 of them were selected as statistical sample size.A semi-structured interview was used to collect information in the qualitative section in order to explain the indicators of improving the quality of the learners' evaluation. In the quantitative part of the research, a researcher-made questionnaire was used in order to determine the effect of indicators on improving the quality of technical and vocational university evaluation methods. Content validity was used to determine the validity of the interview questions and the questionnaire, and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to estimate the reliability of the questionnaire. Research FindingsAccording to the research findings in the qualitative part, the most important indicators of improving the quality of student evaluation in technical and vocational higher education are paying attention to performance tests, providing periodical feedback to correct students' performance, emphasizing practical work and group projects, survey of the competent and relevant factors of the internship environment, evaluation based on all educational goals, learning assessment based on the roles and duties of students in learning groups, and evaluation by student groups. Also, the findings in the quantitative section revealed that explained methods are effective in improving the quality of performance evaluation of learners. DiscussionSince the main goal of a technical and vocational university is job creation and skill-oriented, the course evaluation method should also be in line with the realization of these goals. The evaluations that are used in technical and professional education should be able to measure the ability and skills of the students in achieving the competencies needed to do the work. Based on the results of the research findings and the views of the interviewees, in order for evaluators to evaluate the performance of technical and vocational students in a favorable manner, it is necessary to perform performance tests, provide periodical feedback, emphasize practical work and projects in a group, conduct a survey of competent and relevant factors of the internship environment for evaluation, evaluation based on all educational goals, and evaluation through peer groups.The results of this research are in line with some of the research findings of Shaykh al-Islami (2012) and Amini et al. (2011) regarding the importance of assigning importance to students' working groups, continuous evaluation and providing feedback to learners' performance. In his research, Amin Bidakhti (2017) mentions evaluation based on competence and performance as an effective factor in improving the quality of technical and professional education, which is in line with the current research. Also, it is consistent with the research of Kadkhodaei et al. (2016) regarding the necessity of evaluation by peers, evaluation based on work group and performance evaluation.Fathi Azar (2017) in his research indicated the use of sufficient and diverse evidence for judgment, functional evaluation and continuous evaluation and presenting a clear picture of learners' performance, which is in line with the present research. Also, it is in line with the research of Baqerzadeh and Uzra (2014) regarding the practical aspect of evaluation and providing useful and constructive feedback.
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