Attitudes of trainees and trainers towards the: 8-4-4 secondary schools' power mechanics course in Kenya

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to find out the attitudes of trainers and trainees towards the 8-4-4 powermechanics course offered in secondary schools in Kenya. The attitudes and other related aspects obtained from the trainers and trainees were used as evaluative devices for the course and hence the graduates of the course. A comparison between the 8-4-4 power mechanics graduates and non-power mechanics trainees was done to establish how well they fit into the job market in the automotive industry and in further training institutions. All the automotive engineering trainers in middle level training institutions and Automotive Industry and 31 secondary school graduates of the power mechanics course were used as subjects. They were selected from institutions and industries in Nairobi, Thika and Mombasa towns. Likert type of questionnaires were used to obtain the required information for the attitude evaluation study. Data was analyzed using ;percentages, means, standard deviations, variances, t-test, chi-square and the ANOVA statistical methods. Tests for significance were carried out at the 0.05 level of significance. It was found that there is no significant difference between the attitudes of the trainers and trainees towards the course and the graduates. In addition, the positive attitudes of both the trainers and the trainees were dependent on the respondent's level of education [whether a trainee or a trainer]. A significant difference was realised in the following areas; job performance, trainability and performance in training examinations bet ween the 8-4-4 power mechanics secondary school graduates and their non-powermechanics counterpart s. The 8-4-4 power mechanics secondary school graduat es are superior in all the above measured aspects. However, despite the 8-4-4 powermechanics graduates being better as compared to others who had not taken the course, they were lacking in the supervisory Skills, Creativity, Mathematics, application of knowledge to practical situations, independence at work, innovativeness, and interpersonal skills. It was recommended that it is necessary for all those involved in the vocational educational system to respect the views of the learners, to guide and counsel them in view of the fact that their future lives are laid presently whilst they are undergoing their training. It was also recommended that secondary schools should adopt teaching methods which foster learning of concepts found lacking. In addition, the need for consultative efforts between the school and industry in designing the curriculum was highlighted.