Sister-cousin TF model based on the influence of work preparedness and learning outcome

Abstract

This study analyzes how the Teaching Factory (TF) instructional model and industry relationships affect East Java Vocational School (VS) students' learning and employment preparation. The paper proposes the “sister-cousin” paradigm to improve TF quality by encouraging collaboration amongst schools with similar and distinct academic concentrations. Mixtures of observations, questionnaires, and in-depth interviews were used, with strong psychometric features of the survey tools. Eight public and private VS in six cities implemented the TF approach. The study examined the TF's infrastructure, management, soft skills, and learning implementation and found significant heterogeneity. Industry-school collaboration lagged behind TFs. Industry collaboration considerably affected the TF and joint impacts on learning outcomes, according to structural equation modeling (SEM-PLS). Learning outcomes were strongly linked to work preparation. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is changing manufacturing education, according to the report. Due to industry demands, reskilling and upskilling are urgently needed. Teaching Factories, a project-based learning method, can close the skills gap and prepare students for modern industrial jobs. The TF model in engineering education must overcome high operational expenses, infrastructure issues, and a shortage of instructors and industrial partners to be sustainable and effective. This study concludes that industrial collaboration, educational innovation, and the “sister cousin” model improve the TF learning paradigm. Vocational schools can better prepare students for the Fourth Industrial Revolution's changing labor market by addressing the listed difficulties and using the TF model. This research offers useful advice: (1) encourage regulatory oversight by the Directorate of VS or local governments to optimize TF management and make it more industry-oriented; (2) increase industry collaboration to support TF development; (3) improve curriculum relevance for prospective vocational teachers in higher education; and (4) improve vocational teachers' dual competency in subject matter expertise and industry knowledge.