| dc.description.abstract | The study was carried out in the Department of Adult and Community Education
(ACE) at Kyambogo University to assess the occupational skills training provided by
the Department for the graduates working in Kampala district. It was guided by three
objectives: to examine the possible competence gaps in respect to practical
performance of tasks by the graduates, examine the training curriculum provided by
the Department of ACE and analyse the pedagogical approaches employed by the
teaching staff during the training. The results from the study should have practical
implications for both the department and curriculum developers to improve the
curriculum, to produce graduates who might better meet the demands of the
workplaces. The inquiry used a descriptive study design taking a qualitative approach
based on a sample of 25 respondents comprised of the teaching staff, the graduates
already working and undergraduates in their final year. These were selected using
simple random and systematic sampling techniques. Data were collected using indepth
interviews, observation and documentary analysis. The main findings showed
that graduates were not able to perform well during the practical tasks. One important
reason to note for this situation is the fact that the training was basically theoretical
even on aspects that should have (based on the researchers' well founded meaning)
been practical. In terms of content in the curriculum, the department was giving quite
an elaborate range of course units and a good number of them were found to be
relevant to the work that the graduates were doing. The curriculum had however some
shortcomings. The major component lacking in the curriculum was Information
Communication Technology (ICT), and the graduates thought it was very vital, if they
were to perform their work effectively. The common pedagogical approach used by
the teaching staff during the teaching was lecture method. This was reported to be
more theoretical even on practical aspects in the curriculum. Other approaches used,
but on a small scale, were field placements during the recess terms, group tasks and
discussions. The study concluded that ACE training programme at Kyambogo
University was relevant to the activities the graduates participated in while at work.
Although the content was relevant, th theoretical mode of teaching had its
shortcomings in terms of equipping the graduates with relevant skills required by the
labour market. The detachment of the theory from the practice cannot equip the
graduates with the practical skills required of them to perform practical tasks. The
study recommends that the department should adopt a more ''hands-on" approach to
teaching which can involve the learners practically so as to help them see the
connections between the theory-based d the practice-based learning by moving, as
learners, from practice to theory and back again. | en_US |
