Dissertation Books
Publications of the following books are financially supported by the project Linking Education and Labor Markets (LELAM), funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The LELAM Project (2017-2024) published the dissertation books.
Career Choice Among Diploma Level Engineering Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51474/Keywords:
career choice, engineering, academic interest, self-efficacy, financial benefits, non-financial benefits, family expectationsAbstract
Career choices differ from individual to individual and are affected by many factors. Since making a career choice becomes a turning point in each student’s life, making the right choice becomes imperative in their lives. However, as students feel confused about career choice and the career subjects they want to pursue, they are likely to make the wrong career choice. So, they face different challenges and problems when they try to give essence to their existence themselves. Students choose a specific career based on their interest, employability in a chosen field and encouragement from others, or economic growth in their lives. Such factors influence their decision to pursue or not to pursue their choice of career. The research studies identified five major factors that were found to be influential in making a career which are academic interest, selfefficacy, financial benefits, non-financial benefits, and family expectations. So this study aims to measure the level of the influencing factors and their associations, as well as to examine whether or not these factors differ across the demographic variables or not. The sample population for this study was 205 respondents pursuing a diploma in engineering stream in the first year from the year 2020 in constituent schools of Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT). It also includes schools with Technical Education in Community Schools (TECS) program within Kathmandu District, Nepal. This study was guided by post-positivism, which is a research philosophy, keeping in view objective reality. The notion aided to adopt a survey design as a suitable methodology and the scale to measure these factors was adopted from the literature to measure the factors influencing the career choice of engineering students. These factors were further categorized into intrinsic (academic interest and self-efficacy), extrinsic (financial and non-financial benefits), and interpersonal factors (family expectations) and found to be positively associated with each other. Among these factors, the intrinsic factor was found to be higher among the students than other factors. The statistical tool used for data analysis was an independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA with Welch and Brown-Forsythe tests in SPSS Version 25. Academic interest and family ii expectations were found statistically significant in male students than female students. However, the academic interest and family expectations showed the lowest correlation. Future research can be considered on other factors that influence the students’ career choice of the students and explore in other districts to generate new findings.
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Occupational Shift from Agricultural to Non-Agricultural Sectors in Semi Urban Area
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51474Keywords:
occupational shift, agriculture, agricultural productivity, modernizationAbstract
Despite considering agriculture as the primary economic sector, people in Nepal are rapidly moving away from this sector. Occupational shift from the traditional sector such as agriculture to the industrial sector and service sector is a global phenomenon because of modernity, urbanization, and search for comfortable life of people. People in Nepal also are abandoning agriculture as an occupation because of changing lifestyles, modernity, and national planning. As a result, the infantile industrial growth and insufficient employment generation in the service sector compelled thousands of youths to migrate daily to foreign lands for employment. Even within the country, youths migrating from rural to the urban area leaving their traditional agriculture occupation is a common phenomenon. This scenario triggered this researcher to understand the phenomenon of occupational shift and the dynamics of various elements playing a role behind it. To pursue the research purpose, a qualitative research design with the strategy of narrative inquiry was adopted to understand the experiences and perceptions of people who were on the verge of occupational shift. The four research participants; two from Kageshwori Manohara Municipality and two from Gokarneshwor municipality of Kathmandu valley were purposefully selected for the in-depth interview. In addition to listening and reflecting to their life stories about engagement to abandon agriculture occupation, their activities, emotions, and lifestyle were also narrated, observed, and analyzed. The qualitative analysis of participant’s narrations and observations of their daily life led to the major insights that various economic and socio-cultural dimensions of societal change were primarily associated with the occupational shift. People left agriculture as an occupation when they could not adopt modern technology. Therefore, they had work burden to follow the agriculture. Economic aspects like low and uncertain return from agriculture, comparatively higher benefit from non-farm occupations and access to foreign employment had encouraged people for the occupational shift. Likewise, the socio-cultural aspects such as urbanization, changing values of societies, peoples’ new lifestyle, and education system were also playing a vital role in the background to expedite occupational shift. The dynamics of these elements were viewed from the lenses of the modernization theory whereas analyses were made ii in the light of macro-micro interaction between structure and agency of the society. Despite the fading status of agriculture sector at present, the research concludes that potentiality of this sector is still high for the country to generate employment. The research indicates the importance to redefine the agricultural policy to attract youth in it thereby envisioning technical and vocational education. Likewise, the research also demonstrates the possibilities of increasing agricultural productivity and enhancing the social value of this occupation can revive the agriculture occupation again in Nepal by revisiting the education pattern of TVET.
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Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Tvet) Program Experiences for Persons with Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury in Nepal: A Narrative Inquiry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51474/Abstract
This study explores the experiences of TVET programs for persons with traumatic SCI in Nepal. Recently, the National Planning Commission published the 15th plan that aims to encourage the country as a prosperous, independent, and socialist-oriented national economy through healthy, educated, decent citizens who enjoy equal opportunity (National Planning Commission, 2019). In terms of economic growth, it ensures inclusive and equitable access to quality technical education and vocational skill development. Persons with traumatic spinal cord injury are eligible for ensuring the aforementioned equitable access and high living standards. TVET emphasizes linking persons with traumatic spinal cord injury and the labor market to achieve economic success. The deepening stories by the research question that how do persons with traumatic spinal cord injury narrate their experience of TVET programs are included in the study. Through are view of disability and TVET related literature, I learned that the TVET program acted as a bridge between employment and disability. Besides, employment made affirmative impacts on economic independence for persons with traumatic spinal cord injury. Several types of research justified showing a significance of the program in diverse Asian countries such as Taiwan, Bangladesh. I could not find the study associated with TVET and spinal cord injury patients in Nepal. Many researchers investigated the effects of TVET on persons with physical disabilities, but the cases were blended with different types of disabilities. Thus, comprehensive findings could be partially applicable for persons with the injury. In this study, I used a narrative inquiry within the interpretative framework. Also, I conducted an in-depth interview to pay attention to the voice of persons with traumatic spinal cord injury. The interview helped me to understand the stories. Especially five participants who were experienced in TVET programs were purposefully selected for the study. I considered that my participants are the range of twenty-one to forty years of ii age. The participants were six months post-injured. A total of five participants were interviewed physically and through telephone communication. The stories and information were analyzed and interpreted based on the theory of the social model. The social model concentrated on social oppression to make unjust circumstances rather than physical impairment. The stories of the study show that persons with traumatic spinal cord injury are excluded from the main stream in TVET program. They have frequently been deprived of the opportunity of participating in the program due to physical limitations. To be specific, their stories interpreted some similarities that motivation: encourage to be independent, low accessibility: information, disability-friendly educational environment, lack of awareness of disability in society, limited training curricula, devasting economic consequences. Reintegration signifies not economic empowerment but emotional independence. As firstly said, despite persons with traumatic spinal cord injury has faced uncountable barriers in training, it is sure that supported them to reintegrate into the community. On the other hand, TVET provides an essential opportunity to back to the community, but circumstantial constraints restrict the chance. Most private TVET institutes are not prepared for disability-friendly education environments. For instance, the institution is located on the 2nd floor without a lift. People with wheelchairs have no access to the program. Like this, disability is not considered training conditions, insufficient space to move a wheelchair, steps have prevailed. Financial hardship was a critical problem for my participants. Moreover, they appealed to the attitude of TVET educators. When TVET stakeholders whom my participants met, they showed disrespectful attitudes about disability. Although participants were in difficulties, they succeeded in completing the vocational training. The training led them to innovate life through generating income. Now they could maintain livelihood, looking after children. By discovering participants' stories, I came to know the importance of hearing their experiences in the TVET program. Otherwise, fundamental interests and needs overlooked TVET programs are likely to be planned. It may decline the effectiveness iii of the program. My participants’ experiences refer that ensuring education rights in TVET programs is the first step to improve the quality of life of persons with traumatic spinal cord injury.
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Perceptions of Apprentices on the Dual Apprenticeship Programme in Benin: A Narrative Inquiry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51474/Abstract
This study explores the perceptions and experiences of apprentices of the dual system in Benin. This system has been traditionally built up and with the TVET reforms in 2005, it has been formalized which led to the dual apprenticeship programme. Every year, thousands of apprentices are admitted to the programme. The dual apprenticeship programme combines educational institution’s instruction and workplace training. Likewise, several similar practices exist around the world and the Benin dual apprenticeship model is partly inspired by the Swiss dual VET model according to our context and realities. However, some shortcomings are linked to the lack or insufficiency of training manuals and tools and the distribution of apprentices in training centres located very far from their homes. Those issues oblige some apprentices to drop out of the programme before their graduation. Even those who complete the programme do not have enough job opportunities. In light of such a situation, this study explored how apprentices perceived and experienced the dual system with their expectations of the programme in Benin. Based on the nature of the study, I used a narrative inquiry which helped me to use the framework under the interpretive paradigm to investigate the ways apprentices perceived and experienced the dual system through their stories. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I could not have physical interactions with my participants. The study was conducted in Benin and my participants were purposefully selected until the data saturation. They (my participants) were interviewed online through WhatsApp audio calls and the information accumulated was analyzed and interpreted using the expectancy-value and social capital theories. The findings of the study show that apprentices choose the apprenticeship for various motivations such as passion, economic reasons or promising expectations. Likewise, my participants recognize the relevancy, usefulness and opportunities of this programme, which allows them to learn new knowledge using many new tools which they have never experienced before in their ii craft occupations. Similarly, after their graduation, apprentices’ social networks have been broadened and they receive full consideration from their parents as well as their fellow master craftsmen. However, they have been facing some challenges such as the long distances between the vocational training centres and their homes, lack or insufficiency of training manuals, lack of training monitoring and evaluation, lack of financial resources to purchase the appropriate tools and set up their workshops after their graduation. To overcome these challenges, the apprentices suggested the decentralization of training centres in all localities of the country, the extension of the programme to all craft occupations, the strengthening of training monitoring and impact evaluation, the provision of sufficient training manuals, the authorization of master craftsmen who were trained in the traditional system and wish to graduate from the dual apprenticeship programme and the organization of a periodical skills development programme for the graduates. Finally, the implications of this study can help policy-makers and Benin TVET stakeholders to take provisions to come up with a new National Qualification Framework, create graduates’ allowance fund, extend the dual system to other sectors such as commerce, hotels, restaurants, tourism, health, arts, fish farming and information and communication technology and recognize the CQP certificate in the formal education system and thus allow graduates to return to school for further education.
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Perceived Organizational Support and Organizational Commitment Among the Graduate Nurses
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51474Keywords:
graduate nurses, perceived organizational support, organizational commitment, NepalAbstract
In the challenging landscape of the healthcare sector, nursing occupation as one of the major disciplines of TVET, play a key role in delivering high-quality patient care in hospitals. Hence, nurses working in a hospital require support from different aspects to ensure organizational commitment (OC) for quality patient care and exhibit higher level of performance. However, the influence nurses’ perceived organizational support (POS) on their OC still remains understudied in Nepal. With this research gap in the backdrop, this study sets three research objectives: i.) to examine the POS among the nurses of the private hospitals in Kathmandu, ii.) to assess effect of POS of the nurses on their OC and iii.) to assess whether the organizational commitment of the nurses differs across demographic variables (prior job experience, voluntary experience, academic qualifications and nature of workstation) or not. The researcher used cross-sectional survey method. The study area was the private hospitals of 25 to 100 bed capacity situated in the Kathmandu district. The population of the study was graduate nurses of proficiency certificate level and bachelors' level and having the job experience of less than one year. Data was collected from 223 graduate nurses using paper-based selfadministered questionnaire adopting previously validated scale of POS and OC. The results show that around one fourth of the nurses had already switched their job within one year. More than one fourth also had worked as volunteers before getting a paid job. Most of the nurses were working for less than Rs. 20,000 per month. There was a moderate association among POS and OC as well as its components. Using simple linear regression analysis, it was found that POS has modest effect on OC in which the effect was relatively higher on normative commitment while lower on continuance commitment. But despite of medium level of POS and OC among the nurses, the level of continuance commitment was the lowest. OC was higher among the nurses with prior work ii experience compared to completely fresh ones. It was also higher among those working in critical areas compared to general wards. The research concludes that providing organizational support to the nurses is instrumental in increasing their organizational commitment and highlights the urgency to increase their remuneration. The implications of the findings are discussed in this study.
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Skills Mismatch in Entry-level Programmer Positions: Employer Expectations vs. Observations in Lalitpur, Nepal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51474/Keywords:
skill mismatch, entry-level programming, software industry, skill expectations, workforce readinessAbstract
Despite an annual influx of programming graduates from Information Technology (IT)-focused educational institutions, software companies struggle with the persistent challenge of finding qualified candidates for entry-level programming roles. In this context of skill shortage, this study explored the crucial issue of skill mismatch of IT graduates, by assessing the employers’ expectations and observations vital for entry-level programming positions. This study employed a quantitative survey approach to delve into this skills mismatch issue. Professionals within 128 software development companies in Lalitpur were surveyed, all holding managerial positions and possessing programming experience. Utilizing a Likert scale questionnaire distributed through Google Forms, these industry experts rated their expectations and real-world observations concerning the specific skills requisite for entry-level programming positions. The analysis of expectations of skills showed that learning attitude (personal), basic concepts of programming (technical), and organizational culture fit (interpersonal) were considered the most important skills. Personal or college projects and skills in version management and testing were considered equally important. The analysis of skill expectations versus observations uncovers noteworthy disparities, mostly observed in personal skills, with expectations significantly exceeding actual observations. Almost 50% of the skills were found to have high importance and high gaps, most of which were personal skills. The discrepancy was comparatively less in interpersonal and technical compared to personal skills. Perceptions regarding the alignment of knowledge, skills, and attitude (KSA) were mixed in which most of the respondents indicated moderate to strong alignment between expectations and observations for knowledge and skills, while weak alignment for attitudes. Statistical analysis confirmed significant mean differences between expected and observed skills across all skill categories, reaffirming the existence of a skills mismatch. Notably, employers overwhelmingly advocate ii addressing these skill mismatches through training and development initiatives. These findings shed light on the multifaceted nature of the skills mismatch challenge in Lalitpur’s entry-level programming job market, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to bridge this gap and foster alignment between employer expectations and the skills of recent graduates. Aligning curriculum with industry needs and designing skill development approaches is of utmost importance to enhance graduates’ workforce readiness, facilitating a smoother transition for entry-level programmer positions.
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Job Satisfaction Among Technical and Vocational Education and Training Instructors: A Survey of Koshi Province, Nepal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51474/Keywords:
TVET instructors, job satisfaction, retention, competency, motivationAbstract
Instructors are the key to an effective TVET in any country. TVET instructors are responsible for educating students with applicable skills and information for the job market, and they play a vital role in determining student achievement. As a result, it is critical for a TVET instructor to be satisfied. Their satisfaction, competency, and motivation are very important in this regard. It is also important that they could be retained in the system. To explore the study, it looked at the level of job satisfaction among TVET instructors. Also, the study explored to what extent the factors (supervision, promotion, job itself, coworker, pay, recognition, and job security) influence job satisfaction and differ across the demographic variables. The study used a quantitative method to gather information from a sample of instructors from CTEVTrelated TVET schools. Further, the SPSS was used to analyze the data for this study. The result shows that the job satisfaction levels vary depending on different factors, but they're all positively related. This means that one factor positively affects the other factors that contribute to job satisfaction. TVET school instructors have moderate job satisfaction levels. To increase their motivation and satisfaction, a specific strategy is needed. Similarly, there is a positive relationship between job satisfaction factors; however, they differ across variables. In this regard, social and institutional contexts matter for job satisfaction. The finding shows that the motivator factor (recognition, job itself, promotion) is more influential than the hygiene factor (supervision, coworker, pay, job itself) among TVET instructors, especially in Koshi Province. Based on these findings, this study first implicates the policymaker with evidence of job satisfaction, which contributes to increased job satisfaction of the instructors. Second, TVET leaders need to consider the socio-economic factors of TVET instructors to improve the quality of education. Third, future researchers who are interested in exploring why TVET school instructors have different levels of job ii satisfaction and what factors influence these differences may find the findings of this study useful.
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