THE FACTORS AFFECTING EFFECTIVE DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLS COMPETENCIES AMONG POLYTECHNIC STUDENTS IN ZIMBABWE: A LECTURER PERSPECTIVE
Abstract
The study sought to establish the factors affecting development of skills competencies among polytechnic students in Zimbabwe: A lecturer perspective. A case study of two polytechnic colleges in the Midlands province was undertaken. A survey of sixty lectures from various departments revealed that both lectures and students have a positive attitude towards the development of skills competencies in Polytechnics. Results of the study showed that the development of skills competencies is influenced by several factors namely; size of the classes, availability of resources, nature of curriculum, admission policy and attitude of lecturers and students. Furthermore, the findings indicated that, the development of skills competencies is affected by the admission policy, nature of the curriculum and the certification of competencies. Hence, for effective development skills competencies the positive attitude of both lecturers and students must be supported, class sizes must be manageable and the programme must be supported with resources.
Key words: Practical Application, Skills Competencies, Policy Administration, Curriculum, Training
CITATION: Watadza, M. L., & Lungu, A. (2021). The factors affecting effective development of skills competencies among polytechnic students in Zimbabwe: A lecturer perspective. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 8 (3), 754 – 772.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v8i3.2058
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