An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Significant Learning Practices on University Students Acquisition of Workplace Relevant Skills in South – South, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined teaching and learning practices that engender the acquisition of higher order learning skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and team work and collaboration, which are workplace relevant skills that not only make university graduates employable but engender excellence and global competitiveness. “Significant Learning” ( SL) practices, developed by Dee L. Fink in 2013 is now accepted globally as a successor to  the Bloom’s taxonomy and has been found to be effective in achieving these higher order skills and more. This study investigates the effect of implementation of “Significant Learning” practices of integrated course design, active learning strategies and educative assessment on university students’ acquisition of workplace relevant skills. The study used a mixed design of survey and quasi-experimentation, while purposive sampling was used to select ten lecturers based on willingness to participate in the research. Data collection involved the training of the lecturers in SL practices for two days; the trainees then implemented these practices in their courses for one semester using the course manual provided by the researchers as a guide. The lecturers’ implementation of the SL techniques was monitored and mentored by the researchers. The population of the study comprised of all 300 and 400 level students offering the selected courses for the study, approximately 410 students. Data collection involved a pre-test and post test survey of students perceived acquisition of workplace relevant skills using the “Students Perceived Workplace Relevant Skills Acquisition Questionnaire”(SPWRSAQ) “ The data generated was  analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions and Analysis of Covariance   (ANCOVA) to test the hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level, Scheffe multiple comparison  and the Cohen effect size Meta analyses to measure the level of  impact of the significant learning practices. The results from data analyses revealed significant effects of SL practices on the students’ perceived acquisition of workplace relevant skills across disciplines, with higher impact being perceived by the Chemistry, English and Education students. The study concluded that the students saw themselves acquiring workplace relevant skills better when significant Learning teaching and learning techniques were intergraded into their instruction. It was recommended that application of global best practices such as Significant Learning be part of lecturers’ requisite professional development training in Nigerian Higher Educational institutions