Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Department

Educational Administration and Leadership

First Advisor

Robert Calvert Ph.D.

First Committee Member

Laura Hallberg Ed.D.

Second Committee Member

Jinzhu Gao Ph.D.

Abstract

Many colleges and training institutions have shifted to Competency-Based Education/Learning (CBE/L) after using the traditional time-credits approach. Students’ achievements and progress are accumulated, not only by credit hours for theoretical knowledge but also, through demonstrating their practical competences.

In CBE/L, students are assessed based on their ability to perform specific tasks using the knowledge and skills (competencies) required for each task in their academic course, regardless of how long such progression might take. The traditional method of learning was time-based on course credits, which last for a specific period of time, and through which students are learning more theoretical knowledge than practical or applied knowledge and skills. This quantitative study was designed to establish whether CBE/L had a significant impact on students’ achievements in knowledge and skills based on their college and marketplace assessments. It has also explored whether the CBE/L approach had a significant impact on employers’ decisions to recruit CBE/L graduates in comparison with traditional credit-based graduates.

A survey targeting Kuwait major workplaces has been conducted online and 442 replies was received in addition to the utilization and analysis of archiving data from Kuwait College for Technological Studies (CTS), Kuwait Civil Services Commission (KCSC), and Kuwait Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE). CTS has also provided the researcher with a large number of documents that show their planning, implementation, and follow-up processes, as well as their agreements with various workplace sectors and government entities.

After conducting the analysis for the survey’s and archival data, the researcher concluded that CBE/L implementation at CTS had a significant impact in improving student’s competencies that enables them to perform their entry-level job tasks and duties. Such improvements in CTS graduated competencies have increased major workplaces satisfaction, trust, and confidence in CTS graduates which have reflected in their shorter waiting for employment periods compared to graduates from CTS before CBE/L implementation.

Pages

202

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