Bhattacharjee, S; Ghosh, S; Young-Corbett, D E and Fiori, C M (2013) Comparison of industry expectations and student perceptions of knowledge and skills required for construction career success. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 9(1), pp. 19-38. ISSN 1557-8771
Abstract
Construction education is designed to prepare students to work efficiently in the construction industry after graduation. Due to the inherent complexities of the construction industry and constantly evolving technologies, industry expectations of new graduates are continually changing. The purpose of this study was to compare industry expectations of recent graduates with student perceptions of requisite knowledge and skills for professional success. A survey was conducted among prospective employers and students nearing graduation to classify the expectations and the perceptions. Survey data was analyzed using Simple Relative Index and Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient techniques to identify the level of importance and degree of agreement between the responses of the employers and the students. Overall, the expectations of the industry and the perceptions of the students showed high agreement on required construction knowledge, but weak agreement on the necessary interpersonal skills. The findings provide important feedback for the construction programs to evaluate and revise their curricula to better prepare the students for professional success in the industry.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction education; construction knowledge; industry expectations; interpersonal skills; student perceptions |
| Index terms: | construction industry, program, career, construction education, interpersonal skill, complexity, survey |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, industry analysis, systems engineering, professional development, software systems, human factors and perception, professional education |
| Topics: | Education, Engineering Principles, Digital Applications, Research Practice, Information Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here