Perceived Features of Practicum Effectiveness and Acquired Professional Competences Among Graduate Class Students in Dilla University

Abstract

Background: Even though practicum is required to integrate and apply acquired theories, skills, and knowledge recently, there is a huge disparity between types of skills and knowledge, taught in pre-service programs and the realities of work place practice. Objective: The objective of the study was to examine perceived features of practicum effectiveness and acquired professional competence of graduate class students. Methods: The quantitative research approach with descriptive design was employed. Total of 169 graduate class students of Dilla University were selected through multistage sampling. Questionnaires were used as tools of data collection. Mean, standard deviation, person correlation and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. Result: The result revealed that the readiness for future work was (M=2.0809, SD=58024), creativity enhancement (M=1.7678, SD=.61876), and practice of the learned concept (M=2.1302, SD=.42897) respectively. With regard to graduate students, acquired the professional competence: student’s knowledge, skills and ethics that students, gained from the field trip, were (M=2.0000, SD=.48659), (M=2.1550, SD=.43300), and (M=1.9172, SD=.48428) respectively. Further, person correlation analysis showed that perceived features of practicum effectiveness and acquired professional competence were moderately positively correlated r (169) = 0.367, p < 0.05. Besides the result, demonstrated by one-way ANOVA, there was a statistically significant difference in students’ satisfaction with practicum education host organization services, in that Psychology students (F(11,11) = 3.477, p = .025), and Journalism students(F(8,5) = 5.747, p = .035) respectively. Conclusion: Practicum is/was less effective in enhancing student’s creativity and ethics. Thus, Universities, and host organizations have to work to promote students’ professional competence.