VOCATIONAL EDUCATION STUDENTS’ ACQUISITION OF PRACTICAL SKILLS AT IRBID NATIONAL UNIVERSITY IN JORDAN

Abstract

Vocational and technical education is an integral part of national development strategies in many societies because of its impact on human resource development, productivity, and economic growth. Vocational education leads to the acquisition of practical and applied skills and basic scientific knowledge. Therefore, this study aimed to reveal the practical skills acquired by vocational education students at Irbid National University in Jordan. To achieve the aim of the study, the descriptive survey method was used. A sample of 70 vocational education students was randomly selected at Irbid National University for the academic year 2022/2023. A questionnaire was used as a data collection tool and consisted of 29 items distributed over three domains (practical skills, thinking skills, and life skills). After verifying its validity and reliability, the questionnaire was applied to the study sample. The results showed that the degree of acquisition of practical skills by vocational education students at Irbid National University ranged between medium and low. The results also showed no statistically significant differences at a = 0.05 due to the effect of the gender variable in all domains except for the domain of practical skills; the differences were in favor of males. Additionally, it was found that there were statistically significant differences (a = 0.05) in the practical skills acquired by vocational education students at Irbid National University as a whole; the differences were in favor of males as well. Keywords: Practical Skills, Vocational Education, Irbid National University DOI： https://doi.org/10.35741/issn.0258-2724.58.2.40