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Description:
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Personally observed variability among construction education internship programs prompted this investigation . The schools of construction that form the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC ) encourage its members to provide curricula that produces qualified professionals for the construction industry . There is agreement within ASC that a practical component along with classroom curriculum is needed for construction students ? ? education (Senior , 1997 ) . Although construction programs have different ways of accomplishing this experiential component , most do have some sort of internship or cooperative program (Chapin , et al . , 2003 ) . Construction internships vary greatly from one program to the next ? ? in length , supervision , academic deliverables , and whether credit is earned . No common set of internship field experience standards or best -practices guidelines have been developed for construction education .
This study was divided into three subproblems . Subproblem One describes the status of construction internship programs currently administered in selected American undergraduate universities . Subproblem Two identifies elements that students , companies and schools perceive to support valuable , satisfying internship experiences .
And , Subproblem Three incorporates findings from Subproblems One and Two to identify common elements to provide a structure for construction internship programs , in order to develop a set of guidelines for construction education internship programs .
Three constituencies were surveyed : 1 ) university undergraduate construction programs , 2 ) construction companies , and 3 ) students of the respective construction programs . The school survey utilized ASC membership rosters to survey 91 schools , with 56 participating (62 % ) . The company survey randomly sampled 200 of the Top 400 U .S . Construction Companies listed in Engineering News Record ? ?s ENR Sourcebook 2003 , with 75 participating (37 .5 % ) . The student survey had 31 students from eleven schools in nine different states voluntarily participate .
Univariate analyses on only one variable at a time served to describe the survey population , and by extension , the population from which the sample was selected . The data were analyzed utilizing frequency percentages and summary averages including mode and mean .
Based on the findings of this study , it was concluded that a set of ? ?best -practices ? ? guidelines were needed for construction education internship programs . A set of best practices guidelines for developing construction education internship programs are provided . |