The appropriateness of built environment tertiary education

Abstract

PurposeConstruction is a complex process which requires the co‐ordination of and co‐operation between stakeholders. Most construction projects require the skills and services of various built environment disciplines and the effective integration of these skills determines the success of the project. However, built environment students continue to receive discipline‐based education. Construction shapes the built environment; therefore knowledge and understanding, to varying degrees of depth and complexity, of an array of subject areas are one required to suitably equip entrants into the built environment arena. Furthermore, the outdated education system is challenged by academics, built environment practitioners, and media reports. The purpose of this study is to question the suitability of built environment tertiary education in terms of current trends, technologies and practices.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire developed from literature related to the diverse content, appropriateness, empowering effect, and delivery methods of built environment education, was used to survey built environment academics and postgraduate students. The questionnaire also aimed at determining the interconnectedness and cohesion between the five disciplines of architecture, quantity surveying, civil engineering, project management, and construction management.FindingsThere is a perceived need for both university of technology and university programmes, built environment tertiary education is relatively diverse in terms of content, there is a perceived need for a common first year and common subjects at other levels, and there is a trend towards perpetuation of traditional technologies, practices and systems within built environment education.Originality/valueCertain subject areas should form an integral part of all built environment tertiary education programmes, in particular construction science and technology, management theory, information technology, and project management. This conclusion and the percentage responses relative to other subjects highlight the inadequacy of architecture and, to a lesser extent, civil engineering tertiary education.