Performance Improvement of Technical and Vocational Education in the Kingdom of Bahrain

This study is directed at improving quality of graduates coming out from the Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) system in Bahrain.The aim of TVE system is to equip the students with the skills, knowledge and work ethic required for various industries, such as electrical, electronic, telecommunications, building services, mechanical engineering and computer technology. The TVE system is a two-tier system of education comprising SBL (containing specialised technical modules delivered in the school environment) and WBL (including work placement periods) intended to equip the students/graduates with cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills essential for their future careers.

Recent TVE studies have indicated that a gap exists between the students’ skills acquired during SBL and WBL study and the skills required by industrial companies in Bahrain. A novel employability skills model was developed based on extensive literature survey and exploratory studies conducted by the researcher. The skills gap was determined through quantitative and qualitative analysis of the responses of the stakeholders to Questionnaire 1. Furthermore, to interlink employability skills requirements with teaching and learning provisions within TVE, the researcher has integrated two-dimensional (2D)models for cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains within the existing provisions. For the above purpose a new 2D model for affective domain skills has been developed. With an aim to improve teaching and learning provisions, the correlation between the existing approaches of teaching and learning practised in TVE educational environment with students’ learning styles was examined using Questionnaire 2. All the above was used for structuring learning activities in engineering courses so that a better match between the employability skills model and skills taught during SBL and WBL could be achieved.

To maximise the output from TVE system, a novel SWT (SBL-to-WBL Transition) module was designed and developed. This was to ensure that TVE students receive the necessary training required by industry before they go in work placement(included in WBL programme) which would enable them to perform at a very high level; within the industrial environment. The module design was based on the user-centered approach and included necessary elements to satisfy the requirements of the novel employability skills model and 2D models for cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. The developed SWT module contained five case studies which were related to real work examples. The learning activities included, challenged the students to recognise, make informed responses, and work comfortably with the diverse requirements of WBL environment. The user evaluation of the proposed e-learning package was done by the students and teachers who completed Questionnaire 3.

Based on the above a new quality framework for online courses was developed. The modified framework extends the existing information quality frameworks by incorporating features associate with pedagogical and technological contexts. The framework would be useful in determining adequacy of the new SWT module in providing workplace proficiencies, preparing TVE students for work placement, providing effective teaching and learning methodologies, integrating innovative technology in the process of learning, meeting modern industrial needs, and offering a cooperative learning environment for TVE students.

The proposed SWT module represents a major contribution to the improvement of TVE system in Bahrain because it challenges students and teachers to be capable of recognising, making informed response towards, and working comfortably with the diversity they encounter in WBL environment.