التصورات الاجتماعية المستقبلية لدى طلبة جامعة السلطان قابوس نحو التعليم و العمل

Abstract EN

study aims to identify the social perceptions of the sultan Qaboos university students towards the future of education and work in light of the increasing number of job seekers with a university degree resulting from the mismatch of the graduates of higher education institutions with the requirements of the labor market.

This study also aims to discover to what extent these perceptions are consistent with the aspirations of Oman Vision 2040 and to measure the impact of the gender variable on these perceptions, as well as providing proposals that can contribute to increasing the engagement of youth in the issues related to education and work.

This study follows a descriptive and analytical approach using the electronic questionnaire tool.

The researchers used Steven Thompson’s equation to determine the appropriate sample size for this study.

The sample size was (505) students from the Omani university youth community aged between (18) - (25) years old and enrolled in the different colleges of Sultan Qaboos University to obtain a bachelor›s degree.

This study comes up with many results, most notably: The positive perceptions towards the future in general, among (61.2 %) of the total study sample of Omani university students.

More than half of the study sample (51.9 %) stated that their current ambition is to be academically successful, with some concerns related to finding a job in the future.

As for the perceptions of the Omani university youth towards the future of education, they have a positive point of view, especially with regard to their care of attaining educational achievements and relying on modern technologies in the educational process.

Youth perceptions about the future of work focused on the expansion of e - commerce and the emergence of electronic stores and markets.

They showed interest in self - employment with the possibility to migrate and look for job opportunities outside the Omani society.

The study revealed a lack of harmony between the positive view that is consistent with the aspirations of Oman Vision 2040 towards the future of education, and the negative and anxiou s view that is inconsistent with the aspirations of Oman Vision 2040 towards the future of work due to the issue of job seekers among educated people.

This issue is resulted from the imbalance between the educational programs provided to youth and the requirements of the labor market.