Role of Holistic Education in Empowering University Students for Industrial Development in Tanzania

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to explore the role of holistic education in empowering university students for middle economy development in Tanzania. The government has made various attempts to reform its education system to prepare university learners to manage, develop the country for the middle industrialization economy. Holistic education could be a functional tool for empowering youth for industrial Development. The study was guided by three objectives: To determine the contribution of skills taught at the University in empowering the learners for Industrial Development, examine the education system to industrial development, to determine the attitude of university learners towards self-reliance in Tanzania. The survey design was adopted and purposive sampling, stratified, simple random selection method were used to select 150 participants from a population of 2000 students from five universities. Forty lecturers were selected from a population of 500. Five university deans, and 5 university managers were purposive sampled, this made a total of 200 participants. The study utilized mixed methods, convergent parallel research methods designs, which involved quantitative and qualitative research methods. The instruments for data collection were a questionnaire, in-depth interview guide, and observation. Validity and reliability were checked, the result of Cronbach's alpha was 0.861 indicating that the instruments were valid and reliable. Data was collected, coded using expressive statistics with the support package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21. Qualitative information were coded by the naming of conceptual categories and main themes to obtain numerous realities. The results demonstrated that majority of graduates in Tanzania were preparing for white collar's job, they lack capacity to transfer theoretical to work place situation which is needed. The study suggested: Educational Curriculum needs to be reviewed to meet the demand of the people, commence an intensive mentoring programs by formulating link with other industry investors, alumni, professional, and business professions so that university learners can acquire knowledge and skills for industrial development.