Enhancing Quality of Outcome Based Technical and Vocation Education and Training Delivery: The Case of Polytechnic Colleges in Addis Ababa
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Date
2021-04
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This research study has dealt with enhancing the quality of Outcome Based Technical and Vocational Education and Training Delivery. The major problem which calls for the need to improve and enhance the quality of the outcome based TVET is the lower passing rate of the graduates (57.7% in 2019) against national competency assessment. Prioritizing quality challenges based on the degree of their significance, setting respective scientific solutions and designing sustainable & continuous quality improvement modes through the process of conducting in-depth root cause analysis for prioritized quality challenges were core matters. The research approach is descriptive. It is case study type as well and has taken into consideration the case of six polytechnic colleges found in Addis Ababa City Administration. The study used a mixed research design, employing both quantitative and qualitative data. The target population which has been taken for this study were 42 TVET manager /policy makers/ from Federal, City and college levels,36 private sector representatives/practitioners associated to the case study, 56 TVET experts and advisors, 36 trainers, 270 regular trainees from level 3 a total of 440. Stratified sampling was employed to determine the particular sample size for each category of population and hence, total actual sample size was 210. Purposive sampling, expert sampling, quota sampling and simple random sampling techniques have been used. The data have been collected using survey questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions. The secondary sources such as reports, publications and policy documents have been also utilized in addition to primary data sources. Both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques were applied. SPSS and SQC tools were extensively applied to process and analyze data. The Pareto chart analysis, fishbone diagram analysis, process flow charts, frequency distribution and percentage were some of statistical tools and descriptive analysis techniques mainly used. The qualitative data obtained through interview and focus group discussion were analyzed using qualitative analysis mainly deductive, inductive and interpretative analysis methods whereby the sustainable quality improvement model development process has based on. The study finding has revealed that the quality challenges which have been highly affecting the outcome based TVET delivery (based on professional rating) were basically five top ones such as less equipped workshops (12.29%), poor quality of trainers (12.28%), poor quality of managers (12.16%), poor quality of TTLMs (11.65%) and poor quality of cooperative training (12.62%) while the impact of other challenges in the system have been rated 4.44% in average. The respective scientific solutions have been set for prioritized challenges based on root cause analysis and the solutions have been validated whereby the result showed the solutions are fairly relevant (mean of 4.3-4.8). The study has also revealed that a single model could not be adequate for sustainable and continuous quality improvement. Instead, complementary model which has comprised of the three different models such as internal TVET process quality improvement model, strategic private sector engagement model and national TVET quality award assessment model in a complementary way could be sustainable solution. The models could be taken as a contribution to the body of knowledge as far as outcome based TVET is considered. In order to ensure the process of establishing high quality and strong TVET system in Ethiopia, the leading and implementing actors in the system need to focus on the prioritized quality challenges and implement solutions for strategic maximization of the outcomes and also optimize the resource constraints such as finance, human resource, and time. The study basically recommends proper implementation of complimentary model shall be considered to ensure sustainable and continuous quality improvement of outcome based TVET delivery.
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Keywords
Outcome based TVET, quality tools, prioritization of challenges, root cause analysis, Quality improvement, sustainable model