McCord, K H; Ayer, S K; Lamanna, A J; Eicher, M; London, J S and Wu, W (2023) Construction education needs derived from industry evaluations of students and academic research publications. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 19(1), pp. 77-98. ISSN 1557-8771
Abstract
In recent years, the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) has shifted to outcomes-based accreditation standards for higher education construction programs, allowing greater customization of educational strategies. Past research efforts have analyzed the demands of industry and strategies used in academia, but these studies occurred before the shift to outcomes-based accreditation. This paper presents an updated analysis of construction industry needs and academic priorities and aims to provide insight into the status of industry and academia in the context of this outcomes-based focus. Thematic analysis of five years of direct evaluations of student performance during industry internships provides insight into industry demands. Parallel analysis of construction education research publications from a corresponding time period is leveraged to understand developments within the academic research community. Results suggest that both sectors recognize the need for experiential learning and software competencies among construction graduates. However, differences in trends were observed with a greater industry focus on personal attributes and a greater academic emphasis on sustainability learning competencies. The contribution of this paper is in providing an up-to-date evaluation of industry and academic trends in order to guide subsequent developments in construction education while addressing the needs of industry.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction education; curriculum development; internship programs; student learning outcomes |
| Index terms: | thematic analysis, program, construction education, curriculum development, internship, publication, experiential learning, strategy, academia, learning outcome, construction industry, customization, student performance, higher education |
| Subjects: | learning methods, educational institutions, industry analysis, student development, management, software systems, methods and analysis, professional development, construction manufacturing, curriculum development, research dissemination and communication, professional education |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Business Strategy, Information Management, Research Practice, Education |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
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