Efficacy of an Online Pedagogy on TVET Practical Skills Training Delivery: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

To commit to the ‘everywhere’ access to TVET practical skills (at and away from the training institution), there is need for empirical evidence that supports the idea of delivering practical skills training through an online pedagogy. As such, the purpose of this study was to analyse and compare delivery of TVET practical skills training of face-to-face and online pedagogies in order to determine the efficacy of an online pedagogy on TVET practical skills training. A quasi-experimental design was used for the study so as to identify a comparison group (face-to-face pedagogy) from which baseline data was captured and compared with outcomes of the treatment group (online pedagogy). The population sample (N) for this quasi-experimental study consisted of Instructors (n = 20), and Trainees (n = 69). Observation checklists and questionnaires were the instruments used for data collection of the study. Descriptive statistics were used to define and explain the characteristics of the data (mean and frequency) of the data and then inferential statistics (Independent-Samples Mann-Whitney U Test) was used to examine the significance of the identified difference(s) between the means. The findings of the study demonstrated that the processes of delivering a practical skill training online was as effective as delivery of the same face-to-face. The study recommends development of an online training framework and investment in online pedagogy enablers.