Social Sciences and Humanities Open (Jan 2023)
Weaving gaps in garments education technology: Crafting a skill-based E-toolkit based on Taba's curriculum development model
Abstract
The study aims to aid in resolving the gap of skills mismatch between workplace competency standards and the actual skills needed. An e-toolkit was developed to address this gap. A mixed method research design was used in this study that includes two large Tech-Voc schools offering garments education technology (GET). The researchers used a checklist and an interview to identify the problems encountered by the students and the industry managers/owners during the work immersion (WI). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and narrative analysis. The findings of the study show that the most common problems encountered by the students during the WI program are: 1) lack of practice on how to draft patterns; and 2) difficulty in understanding the procedures for operating various garment equipment. As to the problems encountered by the industry managers/owners during the WI program, these include the following: 1) the students’ lack of know-how in drafting patterns; and 2) their continuous dependence on asking their teacher for help when they encounter problems. In terms of the type of intervention that could be used to address the gap, the majority of the students, teachers, and industry partners ranked the development of a skill-based material resource as the top priority. The result on the content validity of the material, as assessed by experts, was given a rating of 3.84 out of 4.00. Overall the material is considered to be highly valid (3.92 out of 4.00), as evaluated by the partner industry representatives. The acceptability of the e-toolkit was evaluated to be highly acceptable with a general mean rating of 3.88 (out of 4.00). With these findings, this research study concluded that the developed e-toolkit could certainly address the skills deficit exhibited by the GET students during their WI program, as the lessons are skills-oriented and industry-responsive.
