Main Article Content
Abstract
The study aimed to evaluate teacher preparation program in the College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University from the perspectives of its graduates of batches of 1990-2007. To collect data, a questionnaire was administrated to 639 graduates that represent 8% of the population (n = 7890). The questionnaire consisted of three dimensions: (1) the content, (2) teaching methods, and (3) assessment. Reliability of the three dimensions with alpha Cronbach was 0.82, 0.81, and 0.84, respectively. The questionnaire included also an open-ended question about difficulties faced by graduates in labor market attributed to the academic preparation. The results of the study were: in reference to the content, the graduates highly valued the contribution of the specialization courses compared to educational/professional courses that were considered to have medium contribution. The results showed that 40% of the sample believed that there was an overlap among the courses; lecturing was the main teaching method used compared to field trip method which was the least used. Essay questions were the main assessment method. Finally, the most common difficulty faced by graduates was the discrepancy between acquired knowledge in college and the required knowledge in the field. The study concluded with some recommendations.