Student attitudes towards cooperative construction education experiences

This paper reports on the findings of a study that examined the attitudes of students at a historically disadvantaged institution (HOI) compared with those at a previously advantaged institution (PAl) in South Africa. PAis in South Africa have been almost exclusively white in the past while HOls have been predominantly black-both with respect to their academic staffing and student population. It is argued that higher education institutions have given students in general too little that will be of real value beyond a credential that will help them get their first jobs. The opinions of first year students were surveyed before, and third and final year students after, their practical periods of employment in construction. The study concludes that all the cooperative partners in cooperative education can do much more to improve this approach to construction education.