Introduction of construction experience to the classroom: What approaches should be adopted

Abstract

The present day construction industry is characterized by a wide range of factors influencing it. Factors such as globalization, technological innovations, client base and expectations, increased project based work, amongst others have led to the increased need for higher education to improve their curriculum to adequately prepare graduates to meet the needs of the 21st century construction industry. Construction experiences are known to expose students to various convolutions of construction regarding its challenges, dynamics and limitations. This paper identifies the various approaches of introducing construction experiences into the lecture room in a bid to improve the level of construction pedagogy delivered to future construction professionals. An extant review of literatures was conducted from databases such as Taylor and Francis online, Springer, Emerald, Scopus, ASC conference proceedings amongst others. One of the primary finding stemming from the study revealed that construction site visits/field trips, hosting of guest speakers from the construction industry to deliver lectures and role-playing teaching are some of the key approaches by which HEI’s curricula could be improved with construction experiences. Hence, the findings of this paper provides a basis for integrating more construction experiences into HEI curricula to better equip the future employees of the construction industry.