PERCEPTIONS ABOUT COOPERATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION INSTITUTES IN KUWAI

This study was undertaken to obtain the perceptions and attitudes of employers, faculty, and students toward the cooperative education programs at two-year post-secondary technical and vocational institutes in the State of Kuwait. To accomplish this, four groups affecting cooperative education were selected to respond to questionnaires designed to test seven hypotheses developed in this research to identify the perceptions and attitudes of the subject groups of cooperative employers, non-cooperative employers, faculty and students. A secondary purpose was to determine why employers are not participating in the program in the numbers anticipated by program planners.;To insure the validity of the questionnaires and to make certain the instructions and questions were clearly stated the instruments were pilot tested by five members of each group.;The study revealed varied perceptions and attitudes among the study subjects. Only non-cooperative employers were unaware of the program, and all the groups were found to favor the concept of cooperative programs. Co-op employers supported the program mainly as a service to the country or community and secondarily, as a means to cut personnel turnover. This study also showed that both employers and students preferred a variety of time formats designed to fit their needs, rather than the traditional arrangement of one term of work alternating with one term of study. All groups expressed interest in obtaining more information about the program.;The major findings of the study revealed a lack of confidence and communication between employers and co-op students, poor administration or coordination of the program by institute staff, lack of information among employers about the program due to a lack of appropriate publicity for the program. No economic or transportation problems appeared to be significant in this study. Based on the findings and conclusions of the study and the statement of the problem, several recommendations were developed.