Strategic pathways to engineering education research: case study of a top-down initiative

In this paper we first present a line of research into potential pathways to facilitate broader participation of engineering educators in education research, one that we propose to develop in various international contexts. Then in the main part of the work we focus on an application of our approach in one specific national context, that of Malaysia. A top-down pathway is proposed to describe recent developments in engineering education research in Malaysia. Analysis of publications from 2000 to date has indicated an increase in engineering education research since the introduction of outcome based education in the country. A Community of Practice in engineering education is beginning to emerge and some research universities are establishing research groups and centres of excellence for research in the field

The Imperatives of Technical Drawing Skills in Teaching TVET Subjects: The Case of Nigeria

This paper focuses on the perceived imperatives of technical drawing knowledge and skills in teaching TVET Subjects. The concept of technical drawing is considered as an important means of communication in engineering, technology, industry and vocational fields. Therefore, the paper discusses the challenges militating against effective teaching and learning of technical drawing in Nigerian institutions. Some of the recommendations proffered are Technical Teachers teaching technical drawing should be given an inductive course in modern methods and techniques of teaching technical drawing to effectively impart the appropriate knowledge and skills of technical drawing to their students. Technical drawing should be made compulsory in all secondary schools in Nigeria. It should be accorded the same status as Mathematics and English, as these subjects form the entry requirements for all science, engineering and technological courses in tertiary institutions in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world. The paper concludes that government should pay closer attention to TVET programmes by putting in place the required infrastructures, facilities and equipment to provide a conducive environment in TVET schools for effective teaching and learning of TVET subjects particularly technical drawing as a key to technological breakthrough. Keywords: technical drawing, Skills, teaching, TVET Subjects, Nigeria

Architectural building safety and health performance model for stratified low-cost housing: education and management tool for building managers

The safety and health performances aspects of a building are the most challenging aspect of facility management. It requires a deep understanding by the building managers on the factors that contribute to health and safety performances. This study attempted to develop an explanatory architectural safety performance model for stratified low-cost housing in Malaysia. The proposed Building Safety and Health Performance (BSHP) model was tested empirically through a survey on 308 construction practitioners using partial least squares (PLS) and structural equation modelling (SEM) tool. Statistical analysis results supports the conclusion that architecture, building services, external environment, management approaches and maintenance management have positive influence on safety and health performance of stratified low-cost housing in Malaysia. The findings provide valuable insights for construction industry to introduce BSHP model in the future where the model could be used as a guideline for training purposes of managers and better planning and implementation of building management

A review of effective doctoral supervision: what is it and how can we achieve it?

The success of doctoral students greatly depends on effective supervision. Many factors however, are involved in ensuring effective supervision. This study identifies the different definitions of effective supervisions, types of doctoral outcomes and the associated factors that contribute to these outcomes, with a view of proposing a framework to achieve the goal of effective supervision. A systematic review was conducted on published articles from the year 2000 to the year 2018. The documents were selected based on the three major components of doctoral supervision namely, management system, students and supervisor, thus framing the systematic review. The review resulted in several key findings namely, definitions, domains of doctoral outcomes and factors that can potentially contribute to doctoral outcomes. Diverse definitions of effective supervision were observed; often associated with self-development, professional growth and career development of doctoral students. Four domains of doctoral outcomes were identified: knowledge-base, research skills, attitudes and professional skills. Factors that influence doctoral outcomes include environment, attitude and aptitude of doctoral students, and experience and training of supervisors. The findings of this review provide useful information for guiding the implementation of an effective supervision framework

Pattern Transformations: Supporting Learning of Symbolic Representations Among TVET Trainees

Symbolic representations are a form of language that is routinely used in technical communications. Trainees in Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) are thus, expected to master symbolic representations concurrently with skills acquisition.  Electrical circuit diagram is an example of symbolic representations in use to communicate information on the components and working concepts of an electrical circuit.  Mastering symbolic representations in circuit diagram however, can be challenge to some which often lead to miscommunications and poor job performance. Problems are further compounded when trainees need to learn symbols associated with abstract concepts. Inability to master the “symbols language†if remain unchallenged will impact subsequent learning. Appropriately designed instructional materials to address learning of symbolic representations are thus crucial. The aim of this paper is to assess the efficacy of two instructional materials for learning symbolic representations and electrical concepts. A quasi-experimental study with three groups of TVE trainees participated in this study. One group used the existing learning materials (control) while the other two groups used specifically designed pattern transformation materials that are available in two media, print-based and video-based materials. Overall, both experimental groups achieved greater learning on symbolic representations and concepts compared to the control group. Equivalent status was also observed among the experimental groups. This indicates that pattern transformation materials irrespective of media used can be effective at learning symbolic representations in electrical related content

A hybrid facilitation model for inexperienced students via integration of teacher-centred and student-centred roles

Inadequate experience in handling Student�Centred Learning (SCL) approaches may hinder teachers from demonstrating the full spectrum of the facilitation as proposed in the Heron facilitation model. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the utility of the Heron facilitation model in SCL among teachers and students of higher educational institutions who are relatively inexperienced in SCL. The participants were 177 teachers from a higher engineering educational institution, and a survey using questionnaires was carried out to gauge their experience with the SCL facilitation methods. The results obtained by using the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) indicate the presence of four new dimensions instead of six, as proposed in the Heron model, namely planning, shared decision-making, flexible teamwork, and shared outcome. The first construct indicates teacher-empowered teaching, while the other three indicate students’ empowered learning. The finding provides a set of new guidelines for novice teachers in planning the facilitation of SCL

ICT Integrations in TVET: Is it up to Expectations?

AbstractIn today's world where information and communication technology is playing a major role in people's daily lives, how a student learns is dependent on how the student reacts to the sophisticated system offered by these technologies. Thus, it is not surprising that online learning is accepted as an important tool in the general education sector. However its adoption in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is yet to reach the equivalence of the general education sector. With the availability of state of the art online learning technology, there is greater opportunity for acquiring the technology that can support TVET practices. The aim of this paper is to discuss the trend of ICT integration in teaching and learning in TVET based on a systematic review of ICT integration in post-secondary TVET. The focus is mainly on the “what’ and “how” aspects of ICT integration in TVET. The literature reviewed indicates that while ICT integration can be aimed at the learning goals in the three domains, the affective, cognitive and psychomotor domain; its effectiveness is more noted where learning goals are of the cognitive domains. More effective integration is also indicated where the blended mode is adopted as compared to the fully ICT mediated mode. Lessons learnt in light of these findings are discussed for future ICT integration in TVET

Students’ Perceptions of Their Teachers’ Performance in Teaching Engineering Drawing in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions

There have been concerns about the performance of Nigerian school teachers’ in delivering occupational related courses. However, there are currently limited empirical data on this phenomenon – in particular with respect to the teaching of engineering drawing – to justify further actions from educational managers and policy makers. The aim of this study was to assess teachers’ performance in teaching engineering drawing using students’ perception as indicator of teachers’ performance. The study utilized a cross-sectional research design method with the target population of technical education students drawn from four (4) Federal Colleges of education (Technical) in Northern Nigeria. Stratified proportionate sampling technique was used to arrive at the study sample of 253 technical education students. A specifically designed instrument, the Students’ Perceptions of Teachers’ Performance Scales (SPTPS) was used to gather data on the three performance dimensions namely contextual, task and adaptability performance. The exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis methods were conducted to validate the performance constructs. The instrument has a high reliability of 0.90 based on the Cronbach Alpha method. The result of the analysis using estimation method indicates that students perceive their teachers’ performance to be at a slightly above average level (M= 3.51 ± 0.05 at the 95% confidence level). The teachers’ task performance, in particular, is found to be the least developed among the three dimension of performance while their adaptability performance is the highest while still being less than excellent. The data support the conclusion that there are aspects of teachers’ performance in teaching engineering drawing that is less than excellent and in need of further enhancements

Students’ Perceptions of Their Teachers’ Performance in Teaching Engineering Drawing in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions

There have been concerns about the performance of Nigerian school teachers’ in delivering occupational related courses. However, there are currently limited empirical data on this phenomenon – in particular with respect to the teaching of engineering drawing – to justify further actions from educational managers and policy makers. The aim of this study was to assess teachers’ performance in teaching engineering drawing using students’ perception as indicator of teachers’ performance. The study utilized a cross-sectional research design method with the target population of technical education students drawn from four (4) Federal Colleges of education (Technical) in Northern Nigeria. Stratified proportionate sampling technique was used to arrive at the study sample of 253 technical education students. A specifically designed instrument, the Students’ Perceptions of Teachers’ Performance Scales (SPTPS) was used to gather data on the three performance dimensions namely contextual, task and adaptability performance. The exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis methods were conducted to validate the performance constructs. The instrument has a high reliability of 0.90 based on the Cronbach Alpha method. The result of the analysis using estimation method indicates that students perceive their teachers’ performance to be at a slightly above average level (M= 3.51 ± 0.05 at the 95% confidence level). The teachers’ task performance, in particular, is found to be the least developed among the three dimension of performance while their adaptability performance is the highest while still being less than excellent. The data support the conclusion that there are aspects of teachers’ performance in teaching engineering drawing that is less than excellent and in need of further enhancements