CONSIDERATION OF POST-BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULA FOR THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE OMANI LABOR MARKET IN LIGHT OF THE NATIONAL STRATEGY OF EDUCATION 2040 FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF CURRICULUM SPECIALISTS
The aim of the current study was to identify the extent to which post-basic education curricula take into account the requirements of the Omani labor market in light of the National Education Strategy 2040 from the point of view of curriculum specialists. It also aimed to identify whether there were statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α≤0.05) in the extent to which post-basic education curricula take into account the requirements of the Omani labor market in light of the National Education Strategy 2040 attributed to the variables of the participants’ subject areas and gender. The study sample consisted of 41 curriculum specialists who were selected intentionally. A questionnaire and interviews were used to answer the questions of the study. The results showed that the curricula of the eleventh and twelfth grades take into account the skills of the labor market to a high degree. There were no statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α≤0.05) in the extent to which post-basic education curricula take into account the requirements of the Omani labor market in light of the National Education Strategy 2040 attributed to participants’ subject areas. However, there were statistically significant differences attributed to gender in favor of female curriculum specialists. In light of these results, the study recommended developing the curricula for the eleventh and twelfth grades to be more sensitive to labor market skills in light of the National Education Strategy 2040.
Keywords: Post-basic education, labour market skills, national education strategy, Soft Skills, Hard Skills