Perceived influence of mechanical engineering students’ work placement experiences on their occupational competency and self-efficacy

Author(s):  
Tiyamike Ngonda ◽  
Corrinne Shaw ◽  
Bruce Kloot

This paper proposes a qualitative systems dynamics model that explains how students’ work placement experiences either enhance or hinder the growth of their occupational competency and self-efficacy. The model is developed from qualitative analysis of work placement experiences of mechanical engineering students from a South African university of technology. Findings from the analysis show that students’ occupational competency and self-efficacy could be considered emergent outcomes of interactions of the learning environment, mentor posture, mentor capacity, mentor availability, meaningfulness of work, scope of work, agency, doing work, co-participating, participation trajectory and performance trajectory. The explanation of the factors and social mechanisms that influence students’ occupational competency and self-efficacy that is offered by the qualitative systems dynamics model would enable the implementation of work placement programs in a manner that would promote rather than hinder the growth of these two indicators of student employability.

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-93
Author(s):  
Nozuko Glenrose Mangi ◽  
Daniel Ter Goon ◽  
Elizabeth Matsidiso Yako

Introduction: Self-efficacy plays a major role in the behaviour of a human being by how he/she approaches a goal, task or a challenge so that a desired level of performance is produced. The objective of this paper is to review and analyse literature on self-efficacy and clinical performance among professional nurses regarding quality of care in implementation of NIMART programme. Methodology: A literature review was conducted using online resources. Search engines included EBSCO, Google Scholar, Medline, PubMed, Psych info and BIOMED Central articles and journals published between 2007 and 2017. Relevant papers on self-efficacy and clinical performance regarding the implementation of NIMART programme in South Africa were analysed. Results: 278 papers were identified and 22 eligible papers were selected for analysis. Reviewed literature exhibited that self-efficacy is very crucial in the clinical performance of nurses in the implementation of NIMART. Self-efficacy helps to predict motivation and performance of individuals. Lack of mentoring, support and exposure to clinical practice had negative effect on nurse’s self-efficacy. Conclusion: Given the paucity of information on self-efficacy and clinical performance of NIMART in the South African context, future studies are warranted to gain more understanding of self-efficacy in the clinical performance of professional nurses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-149
Author(s):  
Hloniphani Ndebele

Research and praxis in the field teaching and learning in the South African higher education context has been characterised by calls to expand the languages of teaching and learning through the inclusive use of African languages in higher education. Such calls are based on the realisation of the critical role that students’ home language can play in cognitive and linguistic development, among other things, in education. The focus of this paper is to ascertain the perceptions of students about the inclusive use of isiZulu, an African language, as a language of teaching and learning. Data were gathered through a survey which employed a questionnaire  targeting 120 students from a Faculty of Engineering at a South African university of technology. The study found that students’ understanding of the use of isiZulu for teaching and learning conflated issues of language as ‘problem’ and ‘resource’. The study also discovered elements of language ambivalence. The paper argues that helping students to shift their perceptions from a ‘problem’ viewof language to a view of language as a ‘resource’ could enhance their learning. Keywords: African languages; IsiZulu; Teaching and learning; Higher education; South Africa


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izabela S. Rampasso ◽  
Rosley Anholon ◽  
Dirceu Silva ◽  
Robert Eduardo Cooper Ordóñez ◽  
Osvaldo Luiz Gonçalves Quelhas ◽  
...  

PurposeThe Mechanical Engineering course at the University of Campinas is composed of different disciplines in the areas of materials, mechanical design, manufacturing (production and manufacturing), computational systems, thermal and fluids. In the manufacturing area, in particular, there is a discipline entitled Productive Systems whose main objective is to offer to the student a global vision about operations management. In the field of operations management, sustainability is gaining more and more importance; thus, it is important to develop in the students a critical sense about social and environmental aspects. Thus, this paper aims to present the main initiatives developed in the discipline to promote sustainability in engineering students.Design/methodology/approachSince 2015, the professors responsible for the Productive Systems discipline, assisted by post-graduate students and professors from other universities, have begun to redesign the discipline, including debates, lectures, projects and other initiatives to provide a critical view concerning the traditional concepts taught. The discipline has been performed three times with this new conception. The methodology to structure this research was literature review, documental analyses of the discipline records and meetings with professors that participated in the initiatives. An Action Research approach was performed by two professors and a graduate student. The authors of this paper also compared the results with those obtained by initiatives performed at Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden).FindingsThis study allowed to reinforce some results from initiatives performed at Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden); however, some differences were identified. For example, similar to the initiatives mentioned, the professors of University of Campinas had problems with didactic books, as they loosely integrate the basic operations management concepts with sustainable development fundamentals. On the other hand, debates related to social sustainability were considered positive from the point of view of the professors and students, differing from initiatives performed at Chalmers University of Technology.Research limitations/implicationsResults come from one field study (University of Campinas) when professors of the Mechanical Engineering course try to integrate operations management concepts and sustainable development. Different results may be observed by other higher education institutions.Practical implicationsThe authors of this paper believe that the diffusion of these initiatives can stimulate other professors and researchers in the field to broaden the academic debate about the insertion of sustainability into engineering courses.Originality/valueThere are few papers presenting didactic experiences and empirical results about the integration of operations management concepts and sustainable development. Results of this paper reinforce some good practices and they also present other ones, in a way that extend the debate about educational engineering.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umesh Ramnarain ◽  
Sam Ramaila

This study investigated the self-efficacy of first-year Chemistry students at a South African university. The research involved a quantitative survey of 333 students using the College Chemistry Self-Efficacy Scale (CCSS) developed by Uzuntiryaki and Capa Aydin (2009). Descriptive statistics on data for the CCSS scales suggested that students have positive beliefs in their capability to accomplish chemistry tasks. The students scored more strongly on the self-efficacy constructs of cognitive and psychomotor skills than on everyday application. There was a significant difference between students of different professional orientations for cognitive skills and everyday applications, with students enrolled for Chemical Engineering having the highest mean scores for these constructs. A multiple regression analysis was run in order to explore the relationship between chemistry self-efficacy and performance in a chemistry examination. The analysis indicated that cognitive skills significantly predicted chemistry performance, while psychomotor skills and everyday applications had no significant impact. The implications for research and instruction are discussed in terms of the relationship between chemistry self-efficacy and performance.


InterSedes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (43) ◽  
pp. 78-102
Author(s):  
Jose Fabián Elizondo González ◽  
Yannick Pilgrim ◽  
Andrea Sánchez Víquez

This article presents the design of the course Gear Up, an ESP course addressed to Mechanical Engineering students at the University of Costa Rica. To gather the necessary data, a needs analysis and a diagnostic test were conducted to determine the contents, macro-skills, and evaluated activities to be included in the course. This article presents the findings of these two major initial activities and the subsequent course design proposal to satisfy the needs, wants, and lacks of both the students and stakeholders that participated in the process. Consequently, Gear Up was created as a 16-week course in which the Task-Based Language Teaching approach would guide both the content and performance-based, assessed activities throughout the course.


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