Perceptions of the effectiveness of the chemical engineering curriculum in a selected five-year college in Taiwan

The aims of technical education focus on learning practical knowledge and on whether or not graduates can be accepted by the industrial society. The curriculum is an important factor in deciding the effectiveness of technical education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the chemical engineering curriculum in a selected five-year college in Taiwan based on employer, teacher, and graduate perceptions. This study illustrated the labor market demand for, and preparation of trained personnel in the advanced field of chemical operations technology requiring a college degree. It will also determine the skills and knowledge requirements for chemical operations technology.;A researcher-developed survey instrument was used to collect data from teachers, graduates, and current employers of these graduates in a selected five-year college. Six-point Likert-type scales were used to measure respondents' perceptions toward the general, required, and elective courses comprising a chemical engineering curriculum. Their perceptions of the quality of education in a selected five-year college indicated that it did prepare chemical engineering graduates with skills, abilities, professional attitudes, self-confidence, and humanistic qualities, as well as perceptions in adding a separate chemical engineering ethics course in the curriculum. This survey also included the perceptions of teachers, employers, and graduates concerning the future development of chemical engineering (in twenty years). In addition, an open-ended question in the survey assessed the perceptions of teachers, employers, and graduates concerning changes in the general, required, and elective courses. Descriptive analyses, parametric tests, and nonparametric tests were performed on the data, and the results of this study were tested at the 0.05 level of significance.;The following findings emerged from the study. In the chemical engineering curriculum, art, geography, and history were the least effective courses, needing some changes or improvement. Teachers, employers, and graduates did not have different perceptions concerning the effectiveness of any courses with the exception of the quality control course. Employers thought the quality control course was more effective than did the teachers. Similarly, employers thought that preparing students with interpersonal skills, self-confidence, and good humanistic qualities was more effective than did the teachers. Employers thought that preparing students with total graduate abilities was more effective than did the graduates from the chemical engineering department.