Tempus IVStructural Measures 2009

Developing a Strategic Plan for the Reform of Environmental Studies in the Higher

Education System of Palestine

Report on

Assessment of present higher environmental education situation and needs assessment to develop partnerships

between environmental higher education with enterprises in Palestine

Prepared by:Marwan Haddad and Salah Yasin

May 2011

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Contents

Project Team 9Acknowledgements 10Preface 11Foreword 12Executive Summary 141. Introduction 19 1.1 Introduction 19 1.2 Background 23 1.3 Study Objectives 25 2. Literature Review 26 2.1 Higher Education System in Palestine 26 2.2 The Search for Reform: the Bologna Process 30 2.3 Globalization and Higher Education 31 2.3.1 General Implications: 31 2.3.2 One System 32 2.3.3 None-Educational Needs 32 2.3.4 National Development Implications 32 2.3.5 Globalization and Education Reform 33 2.4 Strategic Planing for the Reform of Environmental Studies 33 2.4.1 The Need for Reform and its implementation 33 2.4.2 Teachers’ Capacities and Expertise 35 2.4.3 Courses Offered and Research Nature 35 2.4.4 Teaching - Learning Environment 36 2.4.5 Learning Spaces/Facilities 38 2.4.6 Stakeholders Interaction (participation/involvement) 38

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2.4.7 Governance 39 2.4.8 Academic Standards and Education Reforms 40 2.4.9 Higher Education under Conflict and Military Occupation 40 2.4.10 Higher Education and Institutional Diversity 41 2.4.11 Hig her Education and Environmental Excellence 41 2.4.12 Higher Education and Socio-Economic Development 423. Methodology 43 3.1 Introduction 43 3.2 Instrumentation 43 3.3 Description of the Questionnaire 43 3.4 Reliability of the Questionnaire 46 3.5 Statistical Analysis 46 3.6 Focus Groups 464. Results 50 4.1 General Data of Study Population; 50 4.1.1 Overall Responses Evaluation 50

a. Male Versus Female Views of Students Enrolled 51b. Responses of Students Enrolled from the Three Universities 53c. Responses of Alumni from the Master’s programs 55d. Comparison Between Responses of the Three Universities 59e. The main summary of all questionnaires 60

4.2 Questionnaires Results 62 4.2.1 Students enrolled in the Master’s program on Environmental Studies 62 4.2.2 Alumni of the Master’s Program of Environmental Studies 63 4.2.3 Teaching Staff 64 4.2.4 Stakeholders 66 4.3 Focus Group Procedures 68

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5. Discussion 71 5.1 Identification of Common Themes 71 5.2 Main Problems 74 5.2.1 Problems Identified by Students’ and Alumni’s Responses 74 5.2.2 Problems Identified by Teachers Responses 75 5.2.3 Problems Identified by Stakeholders Responses 756. Conclusions 77 6.1 Conclusions 77 6.1.1 Main Themes 77 6.1.2 Programs Main Problems 77 6.1.3 Additional Concluding Remarks from Questionnaires Results 78 6.1.4 Focus Groups 80 6.2 Recommendations 81 6.3 Future Directions 81References 82Appendices 88

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List of Tables

Table 1: List of Palestinian Universities 28Table 2: List of Palestinian Technical Colleges 28Table 3: List of Palestinian Community Colleges 29Table (4): Domains of Each Targeted Group 48Table (5): Number Of Items An Objective Question In Each Domain 49Table 6: Sample Distribution by University and Target Group 50Table 7: One-way ANOVA for All Domains of Students Enrolled by Gender 51Table 8: One-way ANOVA for All Domains of Students Enrolled For the Three Universities 53Table 9:Means of All Students Enrolled For the Three Universities by Domains 54Table 10: One-way ANOVA for All Domains of Alumni by Gender 55Table 11: Means of Alumni’s Responses for All Domains and Total 56Table 12: Means of Alumni’s Responses by Gender 57Table 13: Means of Alumni’s Responses by Domain and University 57 Table 14: Means of Alumni’s Responses for all Subjects by Domain and University 57Table 15 Alumni’s Means by Gender 58Table 16: Alumni’s Means 59Table 17: One-way ANOVA for All Domains of Alumni by University 59Table (18): Summary for the Four Targeted Groups of All Domains 61Table 19: The Identified Common Themes and Related Questions. 72Table 20: List of Problems Identified by Students and Alumni Responses 74Table 21: List of Problems Identified by Teachers Responses 75Table 22: List of Problems Identified by Stakeholders Responses 76

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List of Figures

Figure 2.1 Means of Males and Females Responses by Enrolled Student’s 52Figure 2.2 Means of Enrolled Student’s Responses by University 54Figure 2.3 Means of Responses by Alumni Males and Females 56Figure 2.5 Means of Alumni’s Responses by University 57Figure 6.1 Alumni’s Means for the Three Universities 60

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Developing a Strategic Plan for the Reform of Environmental Studies in the Higher Education

System of Palestine

Project Team

Marwan Haddad: Team LeaderSalah Yasin: Team MemberKhaled Hammad: Research AssistantNizam Abdallah: Research Assistant

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Acknowledgements

This project, titled “Strategic Plan for the Reform of Environmental Studies in the Palestinian Higher education system” is implemented

under an EU-TEMPUS, Tempus IV-Structural Measures 2009 call. We are grateful to the European Union for the financial support given to this project.

A special thank is due to our colleagues in the Study and Project Team for reviewing the questionnaires and content validity, various feedbacks, par-ticipating in the focus groups workshops, and other innumerable tasks. Also thanks are due to the institutions involved in the study: An-Najah Nation-alUniversity, Al Quds University, and Birziet University, Ministry of Higher Education, National Technical University of Athens-Greece, Loughborough University- the UK, Royal Institute of Technology-Sweden for providing information about their graduate programs, executing the quantitative-focus groups workshops in their campuses, and the implementation of study in-struments.

Finally we wish to express our profound gratitude to all enrolled students, alumni, the Ministry of Higher Education staff members, and all related and concerned parties and institutions involved in the Environmental Science and Engineering Master’s program for sharing their experiences, valuables views, completing the questionnaires, and participation in the focus groups.

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Preface P

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This report records the authors’ effort over the course of one year to capture in words an assessment of needs and a description of the main

problems and future directions of the environmental studies in the Higher Education system in Palestine.

The study represented a platform where all concerned parties in the three Palestinian universities offering Master’s program in environmental stud-ies and engineering including staff members, enrolled students, alumni, and various stakeholders in the public and private sector met and discussed issues facing the Master’s programs under consideration and their future reform.

Chapter One will introduce the reader to the current situation of the Mas-ter’s program in the three local universities, the aim of this study, and the objective of the project and related tasks.

In chapter Two, literature review including statistical data about the higher education system in Palestine, globalization and higher education translating to the need for reform and strategic planning as well as how to successfully implement these goals.

In Chapter Three, Methodology consisting of research instrumentations with descriptions, statistical analysis methods used in this study and focus group procedures.

Chapter Four, Study results including those of enrolled students from the

three universities and Alumni from the Master’s programs, results of teach-ing staff, and finally results of stakeholders, followed by a brief of the focus group results.

Chapter Five, Analysis of results which summarize the identification of common themes, and the main problems emerging from the four groups participating in this study.

And finally, Chapter 6 refers to the conclusions and recommendations of this study, as well as future vision and appendices.

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Foreword

The central thesis of this work is that the Master’s programs for Envi-ronmental Sciences can be improved through field research and that

staff members, students, stakeholders and Alumni and other related parties and organizations are best to meet and share their ideas and experiences in this inquiry.

The final aim of the project is to develop a strategic plan for the reforma-tion of Environmental Studies in the Palestinian Higher Education system, on the basis of both local and international practices and curricula.

In specific, this report deals with two tasks of the study, activity 1.2: Assess-ment of present higher environmental education situation in Palestine, and activity 2: Conducting a needs assessment to develop partnerships between environmental higher education with enterprises:

This study in the Palestinian higher education was conducted in three local institutions. It is the first study of quantitative and qualitative approach to as-sess the quality of graduate teaching and leading practices. Besides evaluat-ing and reforming the existing Master’s program, the results and outcome of this study can be used as a model for assessing all Master’s and Undergradu-ate programs in Palestine.

To respond to societal needs, Palestinian universities have to produce grad-uates who have the necessary knowledge, understanding, tools, and skills in their respective academic discipline, who can thinks critically, and who can problem solve. Graduates that can be a leader in the field where they can bridge the gaps between their knowledge and the practice they are involve in.

This study gathers data from all related parties including enrolled grad-uates students, stakeholders, alumni, and teachers involved and concerned about the Master’s Program in Environmental Sciences and Engineering.

The study is intended to be a catalyst for renewed attention and towards solving the future environmental problems in Palestine, especially emphasiz-ing what is being done so far and what needs to be done now on to reach the anticipated reform.

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The results of this study provide baseline information on writing the stra-tegic reform plan for environmental higher education, as well as providing modification and developing classroom instructions and learning methods of the Master’s program courses.

In addition, this study will assist institutions and decision makers to iden-tify short and long term issues related to reforming and upgrading the Mas-ter’s Program in Environmental Science and Engineering.

One of the most effective ways to confronting a country’s development and reform challenges are explored and conducted today through the framework of the university Master’s programs.

On the other hand, improving the quality of all Master’s programs would lead to improving the quality of Palestinian university and their Master’s Programs.

This part of the study will also help the overall study teams in the project for their ongoing efforts in developing and writing the strategic reform plan for environmental studies in higher education in Palestine.

The findings indicate that the Palestinian Universities need to continue its emphasis to strengthen the research scientific skills and tools, improve com-munications skills, improve applications in the field, increase extracurricular activities, enhance homogeneity of the graduates from Master’s programs by integration and interconnection between universities, using students cen-tered approaches in teaching, and increase the use of information technology by Master’s students.

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Executive SummaryE

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This progress report provides detail, insight, and analysis of the proj-ect tasks delegated to Water and Environmental Studies Institute

(WESI) at An-Najah National University, within Tempus IV, Structural Measures 2009 project No. 158686-1-PS-TEMPUS-SMHES on “ De-veloping a Strategic Plan for the Reform of Environmental Studies in the Higher Education System of Palestine”, namely:

• Activity 1.2: Assessment of present higher environmental education situation at Palestine

• Activity 2: Conduct needs assessment to develop partnerships between environmental higher education with enterprises:

• Activity 2.1: Prepare and distribute questionnaire• Activity 2.2: Analyze questionnaire results

There are 15 universities in Palestine of which nine are located in the West Bank and six in the Gaza Strip. There are 14 technical schools and 20 com-munity colleges in Palestine. The university education in Palestine consists of 4 years of a college education to obtain a bachelor’s degree and additional 2 years for a Master’s degree.

The education system in the Palestinian Territory at one point was and is still affected by the prolonged Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian land and resources while also being affected by general factors facing third world countries such as poor socio-economic conditions, lack and/or poor institutional arrangements, and poor technical and human capacities.

The university system in Palestine which was initially geared towards pro-ducing graduates for governmental jobs will be shifting in the near future towards producing graduates for the private sector. Accordingly, changes in graduates skills need to be (a) carefully chosen and effectively and efficiently passed to students and (b) intellectual, professional and practical, and trans-ferable, to fulfill society’s demand in years to come. Therefore, the issue is not the number of graduates and/or jobs available or secured, more precisely, graduates quality and skills which arranged to help society’s current and fu-ture sustainable development.

Demand for higher education has increased significantly in the past de-

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cade, with students enrolled in higher education institutions more than tri-pling between 1995 and 2006.

The three institutions that offer Master’s degrees in environmental science and/or engineering in the West Bank, namely An-Najah National, Birzeit, and Al-Quds University, did start their academic programs with low aca-demic technical and/or human capacities and without any coordination and/or integration between each other. This has resulted in lower efficiency and effectiveness of the aforementioned programs.

Successful institutional leadership and management is to be a continuous process in which all related and relevant parties are present and learning must link theory to practice.

It was noted that being involved in the whole development process, which was characterized by cycles of action and reflection, made both students and teaching staff become more adept at adjusting and adapting along the way.

Although statistics showed that 4.2 percent of the general population in Palestine is enrolled in higher education institutions, many graduate pro-grams are with very low enrolment and suffering from closure or freeze. Ac-cordingly, higher education institutions in Palestine have much to fear about the future of such programs if no change in the educational environment will take place.

Inter-university cooperation programs supported by partners such as the European Union, UNESCO and the UNDP are underway in the Palestin-ian Territory. These programs are time and fund limited. There is a need for a more effective and sustainable inter-university cooperation mechanism.

Many important lessons were learned from published literature on assess-ment of the present higher environmental education situation including:

Continuing dialogue to achieve a common language and a shared under-standing of that language is needed among various stakeholders,

Curricular integration (inter-institutional cooperation, mobility schemes and integrated programs of study, training and research) is a necessary con-dition, a priority, and a valuable instrument for awarding joint degrees by

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higher education institutions either at the national or regional level,

Globalization, political and economic systems, and the competitive market forces have generated a massive growth in the knowledge industries that are having profound differential effects on educational institutions and nations in general,

As higher education sector serves the public interest, the systems of higher education, its governance, its role in developing science and technology, and its interrelation with general education are important issues to be continu-ously looked at and upgraded as a country’s development goes on.

Any higher education institution gains social legitimacy only by fulfilling the specific responsibility of providing the next generation with the capaci-ties, beliefs, and commitments deemed necessary to ensure society’s goals.

To achieve world excellence in science and technology, the public must promote and defend two complementary and indivisible freedoms: the free-dom of scientists to investigate and the freedom of entrepreneurs to innovate and market their products to the world.

Strategic planning should cover teacher’s capacities and expertise, courses offered, learning environments, instructional facilities, institution governance, and stakeholders’ participation and involvement. These factors, changes, and issues are briefly talked about below.

Investigating the main two objectives in this project was done by combin-ing quantitative and qualitative data to investigate activates of interest and to provide additional layers of triangulation to validate findings:

• For the first (the quantitative method) four questionnaires were sub-mitted to the subjects. Each questionnaire consisted of three parts: part one deals with general information of participant, part two of the ques-tionnaire deals with participant’s attitude towards specific educational domains of concerns for each group of participants, and part three cov-ers objective questions.

• For the qualitative method a focus group three main workshops were held in the three campuses: one workshop at An-Najah National Uni-versity, one workshop at Al-Quds University, and one workshop at Birzeit University. All workshops were conducted, transcribed, and ana-lyzed as the focus groups during May and June 2010.

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The population of this study consisted of:

• students enrolled in program in the year 2010 (59.8% of total), • teaching staff (12.2% of total), • stakeholders (4.9% of total), • Alumni of the Master’s program since 1994 (23.2% of total).

In analyzing the data collected from the quantitative part, three main themes or factors were identified which explain 58% of the variability of the data. The three themes are:

1. The Quality of the MSc. Program Content and its Application. 2. Availability of Extracurricular Activities. 3. Availability of Training and Support Environment (in class and in the

field)

Problems identified by students’ and alumni’s responses could be grouped mainly in two groups:

• Availability and provision of extracurricular activities• Training and practical skills either in technical and/or communication

organizational areas

Problems identified by teachers’ responses could be grouped mainly in five groups:

• Environmental problems should be left to the experts • taking our class to a social activity• Teaching courses unrelated to educational background• Inviting decision makers in the field to class to share experiences with

students• Sufficiency of laboratories needed

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Problems identified by stakeholders’ responses could be grouped mainly in three groups:

• Unavailability of both communication and cooperation between stake-holders and academic departments and/or staff at local universities

• Stakeholders got the negative impression of teaching and analytical laboratories availability at local universities (environmental programs)

• Graduates although not difficult to understand, have difficulties in get-ting along within the work environment

For the qualitative method or the focus group workshop results, the follow-ing main responses were observed:

• There is a weakness in scientific research skills, in terms of report writ-ing or instrumentation.

• There is a weakness in communications skills. • There is a weakness in practical training and lab experiments and dem-

onstrations. • Students in the program are coming from different disciplines create

educational teaching problems including diversity of knowledge and lack of homogeneity

• There is strong opposition to teaching method of dictation • There is absence of a body or unit at the university which follows up

alumni and directs them to conferences or to pursue their higher studies or even knowledge upgrade.

• There is a need to introduce a course in environmental education to the program,

• There are weak linkages between students from different universities and there is a lack of relationship between universities and government and civil institutions,

• There is a need to enhance the role of the environmental community for communication between graduates in different universities and among the graduates themselves.

• There is a need to introduce new topics that are related to strength background knowledge such as geology courses, especially Geology of Palestine and Hydrology.

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1.Introduction 1.1 Introduction

Almost everybody sees education as essential to development, but un-til recently very few of those responsible for formulating education

policy for the developing world have acknowledged the value of higher education (Bloom, 2002).

Higher education plays a vital role in developing the social, political and economical situation of the Palestinian people, it is considered as the main wealth of the Palestinian people in the absence of other natural resources (Habayeb 2005).

Data showed that the population of the Palestinian Territory is young; the percentage of individuals in the age group (0-14) was 41.9% of the total population in the Palestinian Territory midyear 2009, The elderly population aged (65 years and over ) was 3.0% of the total population in Palestinian Ter-ritory in midyear 2009 (PCBS 2010-a).

The education system in the Palestinian Territory at one point was and is affected by the Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian land and re-sources and on the other hand it is affected by general factors facing third world countries such as poor socio-economic conditions, lack and/or poor institutional arrangements, and poor technical and human capacities. It was reported that more than 1,300 Palestinians schools have been disrupted by curfews, and closures (SFG 2007).

Also, expectations on the political side lead to the conclusion that an inde-pendent Palestinian State will prevail in the Palestinian Territory in the near future (in less than 10 years). The newly formed Palestinian State will face, among others, enormous needs and challenges in both the education and higher education and the development arena.

The central link between education and development in the Middle East (Arab region) was summarized by UNDP as follows: “despite a rich and time tested intellectual tradition, and notwithstanding the region’s tremen-dous human capital, the potential of people in the Arab region is constrained by barriers to knowledge acquisition, dissemination, production and utiliza-tion” (UNDP 2002 and Brookings Institution 2007 and 2008).

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However, the Palestinian National Authority currently possesses a very large amount of formal employment undertaken by the government since its initiation in 1995. A PCBS labor force survey results showed that employ-ment in the public sector constitutes about one fourth (23.5%) of the total employed persons, distributed as 15.7% in the West Bank and 46.9% in Gaza Strip (PCBS 2010-b). This will not allow for much new labor absorbance in this sector.

It is worth mentioning that the university system in Palestine in the past was mostly geared towards producing graduates for governmental jobs. This will be shifted in the near future to adapt for the change of most jobs in the future will be created in the private sector. Accordingly, changes in the higher education system need to take place to accommodate for the private sector needs.

Taking this into account then, the Palestinian Authority, by some calcula-tions, needs to generate approximately 1.68 million new jobs over the next 10 to 15 years. This poses a considerable challenge for all interested parties.

While the purpose of universities is to help society meet its skills needs to build a sustainable national competitive advantage for the future; these skills on the other hand need to be (a) carefully chosen and effectively and efficiently passed to students and (b) intellectual, professional and practical, and transferable, to fulfill society’s demand in years to come. Therefore, the issue is not the number of graduates and/or jobs available or secured, more precisely, graduates quality and skills which arranged to help society’s current and future sustainable development.

The three institutions that offer Master’s degrees in environmental science and/or engineering in the West Bank, namely ANU, Birzeit, and Al-Quds University, did start their academic programs with low academic technical and/or human capacities and without any coordination and/or integration between each other. This has resulted in lower efficiency and effectiveness of the aforementioned programs.

One of the lessons learned from other experiences in the world in analyz-ing teaching–learning interactions and reforms in higher education and we benefited from in this project is that successful institutional leadership and

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management need to be a continuous process in which all related and rel-evant parties need to be there and learning need to be by linking theory to practice.

It was noted that being involved in the whole development process, which was characterized by cycles of action and reflection, made both students and teaching staff become more adept at adjusting and adapting along the way. People are generally resistant to being ‘reoriented’ unless they regard the changes being proposed in organizational structure, mission, staffing, incen-tives, accountability, etc., as serving some compelling or transcendent pur-pose (Uphoff et al., 1991, Whyte 1991, and Vernooy et al., 2008). We think that in this project we have such a purpose and we could benefit from letting all relevant parties be collectively involved in the reform or development process.

Although statistics showed that 4.2 percent of the general population in Palestine are enrolled in higher education institutions (PCBS 2010-a), many graduate programs are with very low enrollment and suffering from closure or freeze. Accordingly, higher education institutions in Palestine have much to fear about the future of such programs if no change in the educational environment will take place. In this regard Rowley and Sherman (2001) in-dicated that “it’s not going to be education as usual.” and have clearly spelled out in their book “From Strategy to Change” that this is true and everyone associated with colleges and universities must learn if their institution is go-ing to survive and prosper. They identified two central themes of concern (1) the playing field is changing and (2) effective implementation of strategy is going to be the critical success factor.

This project main aim was to develop a reform strategic plan towards en-vironmental higher education system serving Palestinian people and society for the short and medium future. In specific, this progress report detail, in-sight, and analyze the project tasks delegated to Water and Environmental Studies Institute (WESI) at An-Najah National University, namely:

• Activity 1.2: Assessment of present higher environmental education situation at Palestine

• Activity 2: Conduct needs assessment to develop partnerships between

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environmental higher education with enterprises: • Activity 2.1: Prepare and distribute questionnaire• Activity 2.2: Analyze questionnaire results

As the authors will draft and develop task number 6: a national plan to re-form environmental education in Palestine, the literature survey section was extended to cover the various aspects of higher education reform.

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1.2 Background

The current status of the Palestinian water and environmental resources in West Bank and Gaza Strip is in a devastating state and experienc-

ing an annual deterioration. It is necessary to evaluate the environmental status in Palestine, its main profile, and the danger resulting from environ-mental deterioration to formulate strategies to protect the Palestinian envi-ronment for the future generations. The sources of the environment pollution are mainly from industries, agriculture and from domestic household waste. In Palestine all the wastewater coming from the industries are disposed di-rectly to environment without any treatment. Farmers are using considerable quanitities of pesticides and fertilizer without any regulation or restriction, causing damage to the whole ecosystem. It is estimated that about 35% of the total population in Palestine are connected to centralized sewage net-work, where only small percentages of this wastewater are treated and most of it discharged uncontrolled to receiving water bodies. As a result of the above situation the water and environmental resources are suffering from weak management and scattered, uncoordinated efforts aiming at environ-mental protection. Most individuals currently within the sector lack adequate knowledge, understanding, and tools and skills to comprehend these envi-ronmental issues while those who are aware of the issues are frequently not educated to an adequate level.

In Palestine, and particularly in the West Bank, there are three higher edu-cations that offers Master’s programmes in water and environmetal engi-neering and sciences (Birzeit University through the Institute of Environ-mental and Water Studies, Al-Quds University through the department of Applied Earth and Environmental Sciences and An-Najah National Uni-versity through the Water and Environmental Studies Institute). All of these institutes have been dealing with environmental and water issues in Palestine since they were established. However, there is almost no coordination be-tween the three institutes.

The three institutes have other activities rather than teaching. All of the three organizations are offering training courses, carrying out research and serving the local society in Palestine. Unfortunately, all of these activities have been carried out without any joint coordination. Therefore, this lack of coordination leads to the waste of efforts in terms of financial and human resources.

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The number of students who successfully obtained their Master’s degree from those universities in the last 8 years exceeds 400. All of these Alumni have Master’s degree in Water and Environmental engineering or water and environmental sciences. Most of those graduates are working at Palestinian ministries, governmental associations and other firms, which are involved in the water and environmental issues, related to Palestine.

The main aim of establishing the three institutes is to serve and support the society. Hence, in order to optimize their benefits, it becomes vital to carry out a scientific study to know or discover the opinions of stakehold-ers and the employers of the alumni from the Palestinian universities in the environmental and water topics. Also, it is very important to take the feed-back from the graduated students about the courses that they have studied at their universities. Studying the current status of the alumni from the three different universities becomes as urgent issue. Such study should deal with issues related to the importance of the courses that the alumni were studied and the beneficial of those courses for them in the real life. Furthermore, it is important to know what gaps exist between the theories given by the three organizations in Palestine and practical application.

The environmental higher education system in Palestine is not up to date to the requirements of the Palestinian society at different levels. It is neces-sary to review the strategy of the environmental higher education system at each level and to develop a reform strategic plan to support the environ-mental higher education system to satisfy all societal levels and to meet the requirements and needs of industries, students, teachers, public sectors ...etc.

The Palestininan higher education sector should learn from the European experience in the field of water and environmental education. There is a need to knew the EU experience in the environmetal higher education and its re-lation with the society, gender and the organizations working in the field of water and the environment.

It is worth to mention that the role of women in protecting the environ-ment has to be highly considered in this project. Within Palestinan culture, as with most Arab societies, women operate as the individual responsible for domestic affairs. In this regard, it is important to include proper education of household water and environmental practices as part of a holistic strategy to

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alleviate demands on limited resourcesDuring writing this proposal, a meet-ing with some representatives of women’s associations was carried out and the possibilities to cooperate in educating and training the women was dis-cussed. They are very interested to cooperate and they suggested including ‘raising the awareness towards environmental issues’ as an essential activity for these associations.

1.3 Study Objectives

The main aim of the project is to develop a strategic plan for reform-ing environmental studies in the Palestinian higher education system,

on the basis of local and international practices and experience. The specific objectives of the proposed project are to:

1. Evaluate the current status and practices of Environmental Studies in Palestinian Higher Education Institutes (or System), in order to as-sess their effectiveness for addressing current and future environmental problems and challenges in the area.

2. Disseminate best practices and know-how resulting from the experi-ence of the EU partner countries, in higher education environmental studies.

3. Develop a strategic plan to foster gradual change in environmental studies in the Palestinian Higher Education, on the basis of interna-tional experience and identified deficiencies of the sector.

4. Enhance awareness and improve communication among different so-cietal groups, women in particular, and other stakeholders involved (di-rectly or indirectly) in environmental issues, e.g. environmental enter-prises, Palestinian Water Authority, Ministry of Higher Education, other universities, research centres, Ministry of Agriculture, NGOs, etc..

5. Change the attitudes of the different stakeholders towards environ-mental issues, and the need to protect our ecosystem to preserve sus-tainable resources for the next generation through capacity building programme.

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2. Literature Review

2.1 Higher Education System in Palestine

The university education consists of 4 years of a college education to obtain a Bachelor’s degree and additional 2 years for a Master’s degree.

Some colleges provide 2 years of education for a diploma (MOEHE 2006 and 2008, World Bank, 1999 and Wikipedia 2010).

There are a relatively large number of universities in Palestine, and Pales-

tinians have a high proportion of higher education and university graduates. The number of students enrolled for Bachelor’s degrees in the Palestinian traditional universities in 2007/2008, was102,125 students of which 55,070 or 53.9% were females. The number of students enrolled in graduate studies was 15,435 of which 8,966 or 58.1% were females. Gross male enrollment ratio for higher education was 47.3% (MOEHE 2008).

More higher education students are enrolled in humanities academic pro-grams such as social science, education, and arts, with lower percentages studying science and engineering.

There are 15 universities in Palestine of which nine in the West Bank and six in the Gaza Strip. There are 14 technical schools and 20 community col-leges in Palestine. These are listed in Tables 1, 2, and 3 below. While most universities are public, university and community colleges are either gov-ernmental or private. The languages of instruction adopted by Palestinian universities are Arabic and English. Three university and community colleges were established and operated by UNRWA. The majority of higher educa-tion institutions in Palestine are non-profit institutions, Fundraising is relied upon for for infrastructure and equipment support, which is then supple-mented by government funding.

Demand for higher education has increased significantly in the past decades with students enrolled in higher education institutions more than tripling between 1995 and 2006. Palestine higher education system needs not only to satisfy the increasing demand from the growing population of secondary education graduates, but also to maintain quality and relevance to meet the changing demands of the global economy. In addition, public financing for

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higher education is weak, given current financial circumstances. The system heavily depends on student fees, which is 60 percent of universities’ operat-ing costs (Heyneman, 1997, World Bank, 1999, Jaramillo and Hiromichi, 2009, and Wikipedia 2010)

Since early eighties, several international institutions including AMID-EAST supported the Palestinian Faculty Development Program (PFDP) which seeks to increase capacity within the higher education sector in the West Bank and Gaza. PFDP intended to address long-term issues of reform in teaching and learning practices, thereby setting in motion a process that will address the quality of higher education well beyond the project’s life span. These faculty development programs have intensified with the estab-lishment of Palestinian National Authority and MOEHE.

The MOEHE has developed new student loan schemes for higher educa-tion. The objectives of this loan scheme are:

1. To create a sustainable resource that will assist students into the future, 2. To ensure that students understand their responsibility to share the

cost of their education, 3. To provide a strong, streamlined repayment system that is easy and fair

(repayments of loans must be collected from all students), and 4. To provide a collection mechanism that will ensure sustainability- a

revolving fund (Heyneman, 1997, Jaramillo and Hiromichi, 2009).

Inter-university co-operation programs are underway in the Palestinian territory, such as TOKTEN, PEACE and MEDCAMPUS. They are sup-ported by partners such as the European Union, UNESCO and the UNDP. The PEACE program (Palestinian-European Academic Co-operation in Education) involves 23 Palestinian and European universities. It has been particularly noteworthy for having allowed students and educators from the West Bank to be sent to European faculties at a time when university estab-lishments in Gaza and the West Bank were closed. In a second phase, it is to provide for the dispatch of missions of volunteer academics, on sabbatical, from Europe, North America and the rest of the world to the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinian students wishing to obtain a doctorate must study in Israel or overseas (Nicolai, 2007).

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Table 3: List of Palest

inian Com

munity C

ollegesC

omm

unity Colleges

Com

munity C

ollegesIn the W

est Bank

In the Gaza Strip

Nam

eStatus

Nam

eStatus

1.Al-O

mm

ah 2.A

l-Ibrahimiyah

3. Modern C

omm

unity 4.A

l-Raw

dah 5.A

n-Najah

6.Hishm

Hijjaw

i Tech. College

7.Applied Professions - PP Public

8.Com

munity H

ealth Public 9.C

ollege of Nursing-H

ebron Private 10.A

ndaleeb El-Am

ad Nursing Public

11.Nursing C

oll. -Inash El-Usra Public

12.Nursing C

oll. - Karitas H

. Public 13.N

ursing Coll.- A

lmaqasid H

. Public 14.Taleetha K

omm

ee15. Edw

ard Said National C

onserva-tory of M

usic

Governm

entalPrivatePrivatePrivate Public PrivatePublicPublic PrivatePublicPublicPublic PublicPublic

Public

1.Intermediate Studies - A

l-Azhar

2.Applied Sciences &

Tech.- Al-Islam

iyah 3.A

rab Com

m. R

afah 4.G

aza Com

munity

5.Gaza C

omm

. For Tourist Studies

PublicPublicPrivateU

NRW

APrivate

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i

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e

r

a

t

u

r

e

R

e

v

i

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w

Tabl

e 1:

List

of P

alest

inia

n U

nive

rsiti

esU

nive

rsiti

es

U

nive

rsiti

esIn

the

Wes

t Ban

k

In th

e G

aza

Stri

pN

ame

Stat

usN

ame

Stat

us1.

Al-Q

uds U

nive

rsity

2.

Al Q

uds O

pen

Uni

vers

ity

3. B

irzei

t Uni

vers

ity

4. A

n-N

ajah

Nat

iona

l Uni

vers

ity

5. H

ebro

n U

nive

rsity

6.

Bet

hleh

em U

nive

rsity

7. A

rab

Am

eric

an U

nive

rsity

- Je

nin

8. H

ebro

n U

nive

rsity

9.

Pal

estin

e Po

lyte

chni

c U

nive

rsity

Publ

icPu

blic

Publ

icPu

blic

Publ

icPu

blic

Priv

ate

Publ

icPu

blic

1. A

l-Azh

ar U

nive

rsity

- G

aza

2. Is

lam

ic U

nive

rsity

of G

aza

3. U

nive

rsity

in G

aza

for G

irls

4. U

nive

rsity

of P

ales

tine

5. A

l Qud

s Ope

n U

nive

rsity

6.

Al A

qsa

Uni

vers

ity

Publ

icPu

blic

Publ

icPu

blic

Publ

icG

over

nmen

tal

Tabl

e 2:

List

of P

alest

inia

n Te

chni

cal C

olle

ges

Uni

vers

ity C

olle

ges

Uni

vers

ity C

olle

ges

In th

e W

est B

ank

In

the

Gaz

a St

rip

Nam

eSt

atus

Nam

eSt

atus

1.Pa

lest

ine

Tech

nica

l-Tul

kare

m

2.Pa

lest

ine

Tech

nica

l-Al-A

roub

3.

Pale

stin

e Te

chni

cal-G

irls-

Ram

alla

h 4.

Educ

atio

nal S

cien

ces -

5.

Wom

en C

omm

unity

6.Ed

ucat

iona

l Sci

ence

Fac

ulty

- 7.

Ram

alla

h M

en’s

Tra

inin

g C

ente

r8.

Ibn

Sina

Nur

sing

Al-D

awa

Kal

klia

9.

Bet

hleh

em B

ible

10

.Nih

ad A

bu G

harb

ieh

Tech

nolo

gy In

st.

Gov

ernm

enta

l G

over

nmen

tal

Gov

ernm

enta

l U

NRW

A

Publ

icU

NRW

A

Gov

ernm

enta

l G

over

nmen

tal

Priv

ate

Priv

ate

1.Pa

lest

ine

Tech

nica

l-2.

Dei

r Al B

alah

Sci

ence

&

Tech

nolo

gy

3.Pa

lest

ine

Nur

sing

/K

han

Youn

is

4.A

l-Daw

a G

aza

Gov

ernm

enta

l

Gov

ernm

enta

lG

over

nmen

tal

Gov

ernm

enta

l

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Table 3: List of Palest

inian Com

munity C

ollegesC

omm

unity Colleges

Com

munity C

ollegesIn the W

est Bank

In the Gaza Strip

Nam

eStatus

Nam

eStatus

1.Al-O

mm

ah 2.A

l-Ibrahimiyah

3. Modern C

omm

unity 4.A

l-Raw

dah 5.A

n-Najah

6.Hishm

Hijjaw

i Tech. College

7.Applied Professions - PP Public

8.Com

munity H

ealth Public 9.C

ollege of Nursing-H

ebron Private 10.A

ndaleeb El-Am

ad Nursing Public

11.Nursing C

oll. -Inash El-Usra Public

12.Nursing C

oll. - Karitas H

. Public 13.N

ursing Coll.- A

lmaqasid H

. Public 14.Taleetha K

omm

ee15. Edw

ard Said National C

onserva-tory of M

usic

Governm

entalPrivatePrivatePrivate Public PrivatePublicPublic PrivatePublicPublicPublic PublicPublic

Public

1.Intermediate Studies - A

l-Azhar

2.Applied Sciences &

Tech.- Al-Islam

iyah 3.A

rab Com

m. R

afah 4.G

aza Com

munity

5.Gaza C

omm

. For Tourist Studies

PublicPublicPrivateU

NRW

APrivate

L

i

t

e

r

a

t

u

r

e

R

e

v

i

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w

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2.2 The Search for Reform: the Bologna Process

It was suggested that the Bologna Follow-Up Group (BFUG) take a lead role in ensuring coherence across the different strands affected by learn-

ing outcomes. It was also recognized that the pace and nature of change will not be uniform across all countries or all disciplines, and accordingly con-tinuous dialogue to achieve a common language and a shared understanding of that language is needed among various stakeholders (Edimburgo 2004).

Fontes (2003) reported that further involvement of students is needed at all levels of decision making. This involvement should not only be legally permitted but effectively encouraged by providing the means necessary for active participation both in the formal and informal approaches.

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) is the objective of the Bo-logna process - to create more comparable, compatible and coherent systems of higher education in Europe. Under the Lisbon Recognition Convention of the Council of Europe, degrees and study periods are recognized mutu-ally. Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education.

To increase the development of modules, courses and curricula at all lev-els with ‘European’ content, orientation or organization, a Bologna process follow-up seminar reached a European shared vision on the implications and prospects of curricular integration and found that curricular integration (inter-institutional cooperation, mobility schemes and integrated programs of study, training and research) is a necessary condition, a priority, and a valu-able instrument for awarding joint degrees by higher education institutions either at the national or regional level (Mantova 2003). The vision indicated that Joint degree programs based on integrated curricula is one of the ma-jor priorities for the building of a European “identity” within the common European Higher Education Area, as they provide the learners in all cycles – including doctoral studies - with a coherent, recognizable and challenging experience of European diversity. This is also an obvious added value to na-tional HE systems (Mantova 2003).

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2.3 Globalization and Higher Education

The term ‘globalization’ is a complex cultural and social theory con-struct and a convenient euphemism concealing contested meanings

and dominant perspectives and ideologies. It was suggested that globaliza-tion, political and economic systems, and the competitive market forces have generated a massive growth in the knowledge industries that are having pro-found differential effects on educational institutions and nations in general (Zajda and Geo-JaJa 2009).

2.3.1 General Implications:UNESCO-IIEP (1999) indicated that the potential effects of globaliza-

tion are many and far-reaching, due to this phenomenon’s scale and nature. It was also stated that globalization has major implications for regional and na-tional economies, which, in turn, affect economic growth potential, resource available, work requirements, and the role of the state and consequently, it has major impact on the development of education systems, which has not been assessed. Among the foreseen implications of globalization were: the transformation of culture, the widespread use of information technology, and the increased decentralization and privatization of higher education.

After presenting three main points:

First, higher education is essential to promoting sustainable human devel-opment and economic growth. It is no longer a luxury that only rich countries can afford, but an absolute necessity for all countries, and especially for poor countries.

Second, the pressures of globalization make it urgent that we devote substan-tially more resources to the tertiary education sector, and that we also reform it at both the level of individual institutions and the system as a whole.

Third, good ideas are not enough – focusing on implementation is at least as important as policy design. The harsh realities of taking an idea to the field and bringing it to scale must be considered in the design of policy.

Bloom (2002) argued that globalization exerts new pressures on higher education, making reform essential. But ideas on reform are not enough –

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and here’s another contradiction relating to both development and higher education: the policy community spends an inordinate amount of time com-ing up with clever ideas for reform, but very little time working out how to implement the policies effectively. This, of course, applies to most develop-ment priority areas.

2.3.2 One System:

It is important to remember that one higher education system cannot fit the needs of all nations of this world. There might be a desire in de-

veloping countries to build new universities using US or EU universities as models. This cannot work for developing countries including Palestine sim-ply because what the US, EU, or elsewhere in the developed world want and need from their higher education programs is different from that of develop-ing countries. It is better to base higher education on local needs and use and benefit from lessons learned elsewhere.

2.3.3 None-Educational Needs:

Not only educational needs but also differences in culture, demographic characteristics, and national motivations play and important role in

the success of higher education programs. In a review of globalization expe-riences of American business schools and American universities’ success in opening branches worldwide, Lovett (2010), indicated that it was clear that demography and culture, not politics, placed limits on the ability of Ameri-can business schools to clone themselves successfully abroad, even when con-ditions were favorable and suitable local partners could be found.

2.3.4 National Development Implications:

Bennell and Pearce (2003) illustrated that the internationalization of higher education has far-reaching implications for the development

of higher education in the developing and transitional countries. They found that national institutions will be faced with increasingly intense competition from foreign providers, which, without appropriate protective measures by the institutions themselves as well as the governments, could seriously affect their status and survival in the medium to long term.

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2.3.5 Globalization and Education Reform:

It was shown that a complex nexus is taking place between globalization, ideology and education reforms– where, on the one hand,

“ globalization is perceived as positive element in achieving democratiza-tion and progressive pedagogy which is equated with equality, inclusion, eq-uity, tolerance and human rights”,

While on the other hand

“globalization is perceived (by some critics at least) to be a totalizing force that is widening the socio economic gap between the rich and the poor, and bringing power, domination and control by corporate bodies and powerful organizations (Zajda, 2010)”.

Therefore, Zajda (2010) concluded that we need to continue to explore critically the new challenges confronting the global village in the provision of authentic democracy, social justice and cross-cultural values that genuinely promote a transformative pedagogy. We need to focus on the crucial issues at the centre of current and on-going education reforms, if genuine culture of learning, and transformation, characterized by wisdom, compassion and intercultural understanding, is to become a reality, rather than rhetoric.

2.4 Strategic Planing for the Reform of Environmental Studies

2.4.1 The Need for Reform and its implementation:

As higher education sector serves the public interest, the systems of higher education, its governance, its role in developing science and

technology, and its interrelation with general education are important issues to be continuously looked at and upgraded as a country’s development goes on.

The traditional forms of higher education put a high premium on continu-ity, on the careful accretion and testing of knowledge, in which teaching and learning are conducted within a well-understood and respected framework

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of institutional and teacher-student relationships. Within such stable and assured frames, major advances in knowledge and the techniques for acquir-ing it could be confidently secured (Gornitzka et. al., 2005). In Palestine the political and consequent socio-economic contexts within which higher edu-cation institutions work have great importance and influence on the quality, turbulence, and performance of the sector.

All higher education institutions, both public and private, both nonprofit and for-profit, from state colleges to research universities to community col-leges to a wide variety of technical and professional schools, serve a public purpose. Considerable variation in quality, purpose, and aspirations exists in each of these sectors (Shapiro 2003). However, public purpose develop and change with time and accordingly higher education needs to cope with such change and reform.

It is also important to recall that any higher education institution gains social legitimacy only by fulfilling the specific responsibility of providing the next generation with the capacities, beliefs, and commitments thought nec-essary to ensure society’s goals.

It was stated that to achieve world excellence in science and technology, the public must promote and defend two complementary and indivisible free-doms: the freedom of scientists to investigate and the freedom of entrepre-neurs to innovate and market their products to the world (PDS, 2002).

Rowley and Sherman (2001) indicated that the future of academic institu-tions will be determined by highly astute, well-informed administrators who are capable of making the right choices. This means knowing how the play-ing field has changed over time and what will be the best position to take on that field. This certainly includes proper strategic planning and the adoption of the best way to planned strategy implementation. Strategic planning is better aligning the college or university with its environment including the balance between institutional philosophy (small-specialty-comprehensive, educational-research, profit- non-profit, governmental-private, etc), available resources (human, technical, technological, financial, etc), and expected risks.

Two main issues are of concern when discussing higher education reform: the extent to which reform and change is needed, and what changes are ex-pected to occur in the short, medium, and long term. Accordingly, strategic

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planning should cover teachers’ capacities and expertise, courses offered, edu-cational environment, learning facilities, institution governance, and stake-holders’ participation and involvement. These factors, changes, and issues are briefly talked about below.

2.4.2 Teachers’ Capacities and Expertise:

Driel et. al. (2001) found that reform efforts in the past have often been unsuccessful because they failed to take teachers’ existing knowledge,

beliefs, and attitudes into account. They recommended long-term profes-sional development programs are needed to achieve this objective including multi-method designs of (a) learning in networks, (b) peer coaching, (c) col-laborative action research, and (d) the use of cases. In examining the students’ satisfaction in higher education Butt and Rehman (2010) found that teach-ers’ expertise is the most influential factor among all the variables, therefore it requires special attention from policymakers and institutes.

Deshields et al. (2005) found that faculty performance and classes were the key factors which determined the quality of college experience of students, which in turn led to satisfaction.

Concerning sources of funds and quality effects in higher education, Brown (2001) suggested that a greater reliance on private subsidies is associated with higher measures of teacher quality. Consistent with this, he found that a greater reliance on public subsidies leads to lower teacher quality ratings.

2.4.3 Courses Offered and Research Nature:

The nation’s faculties have built up an enormous store of materials and ideas that provide the overall structure and content of their courses.

Given the new technological capacity to convert this capital into instruction-al programs to be delivered over the internet, private interests have mobilized the financial capital needed to capture a new revenue stream from students unable to study on campus (Shapiro, 2003). For the copyright, two issues of concern were discussed:

• the area of copyright: material, one could assume faculty ownership and • the area of patents: one could assume university ownership.

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Stes et. al., (2010) revealed that more attention should be given to studies researching behavioral outcomes, thereby drawing not only on self-reports of participants, but also measuring actual changes in performance. In examin-ing research into teaching, learning and assessment in higher education in terms of structure and agency, Ashwin (2008) argued that although issues of structure and agency are seen as crucial in social theory, there has been very little focus on them and they were very little discussed in research associated with teaching, learning and assessment in higher education.

2.4.4 Teaching - Learning Environment:

Ashwin (2009) indicated that while the importance of the dynamic na-ture of teaching–learning interactions is clearly recognized in texts

aimed at improving teaching–learning processes in higher education, the in-teractive aspects of such processes are currently put in the background of research in this area. He also noted that there are two mainstream approaches to analyzing teaching–learning processes in higher education:

• The ‘Approaches to Learning and Teaching’ perspective: which has giv-en a clear indication of how students’ and academics’ perceptions of teaching–learning environments are consistently related to the quality of their learning and teaching and to the quality of students’ learning outcomes.

• the’ Social Practice’ perspectives: which has provided insights into the issues that students face in understanding the cultural context of their programs of study

The 21st Century Learning Environment will blur the line between on- and off-campus experiences and remove barriers to learning and research- greatly improving the quality of education for students globally. It was clear that students are comfortable with new technologies and expect to use them in the education environment (Wilen-Daugenti, 2007).

Lesch (2009) described that nearly all the discussions about contemporary education which are now taking place seem to concern the possible attempt to reform schools as they now stand. Seldom do serious discussions take place concerning what effective learning is and how that process may or may not be tied to the process of schooling. Learning and schooling may not only

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be entirely different endeavors, it is also possible that the latter may on occa-sion be an actual impediment to the former.

The Internet has already enabled the transformation of higher education by streamlining campus administrative processes, enhancing facilities such as dorms and classrooms, enabling digital libraries, expanding access to dis-tance learning, and creating more-engaging learning environments through video and simulations. In this environment, learners have complete access to any higher-education resource, including experts, lectures, content, course-ware, collaborative dialogs, information exchanges, hands-on learning, and research—no matter where they are located (Wilen-Daugenti, 2007).

It was indicated that web-based collaborative learning either as life-long learning, or distance learning, and/or informal learning will become a popu-lar learning approach in the higher education field along with the develop-ment of a web-based environment ( Jianhua and Akahori, 2001).

Eaton (2002) described that distance or distributed learning raises a stra-tegic and financial challenge for every type of higher education institution. Advancements in technology and expansion of markets for distributed learn-ing pose questions for college and university presidents, regardless of their institutional mission.

Accordingly, the main learning environment challenge to higher education institutions is how they will adapt to and use the surge of new technologies to stay relevant, manage an environment where students have unlimited ac-cess to information, can easily collaborate with others no matter where they are located, and will tap into expertise outside the campus walls to enhance and customize their learning.

In answering the question: Does the technology affect how faculty mem-bers teach and how students learn?”, St. Clair and Martin (2005) indicated that it all funnels down to a course that an instructor teaches with the goal of students learning using technology tools as appropriate.

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2.4.5 Learning Spaces/Facilities:

Webber and Ehrenberg (2010) found that student service expendi-tures influence graduation and persistence rates and their marginal

effects are higher for students at institutions with lower entrance test scores and higher Pell Grant expenditures per student. They also suggested that reallocating some funding from instruction to student services may enhance persistence and graduation rates at those institutions whose rates are cur-rently below the medians in the sample

The Center for Teaching and Technology (2006) found that as we have

come to understand more about learners, how people learn, and technol-ogy, our notions of effective learning spaces will change. Increasingly and with time, those spaces are flexible and networked, bringing together formal and informal activities in a seamless environment that acknowledges that learning can occur anyplace, at any time, in either physical or virtual spaces. The effective design of learning spaces-whether a classroom, a laboratory, a library, or an informal space-can enhance learning (ELI, 2006). More and more we see the power of built pedagogy (the ability of space to define how one teaches) in colleges and universities (Oblinger, 2006).

2.4.6 Stakeholders Interaction (participation/involvement):

Mayo et al (2004) illustrated that conflicting family/work demands, financial issues and academic concerns were the factors identified by

students as possible reasons for attrition.

In discussing the possibilities and contradictions of the interaction between sustainable development and higher education, Gough and Scott (2007) ar-gued that sustainable development presents universities with a wide range of opportunities to fulfill their proper functions in teaching and research, that higher education has an essential role if any sort of sustainable development is to be achieved, but that the realization of this shared potential is likely to be fraught with pitfalls.

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2.4.7 Governance:

Governance in general covers the relationship between government and higher education, funding, steering mechanisms, quality and accredi-

tation. Sayed (2000) indicated that the debate about higher education gov-ernance is reflective of positional and organizational locations. Those outside direct state apparatuses may perceive certain forms of regulation as control, while the state may perceive such regulation to be supervision. The politics of policy is thus about the positionality of individuals and groups. It was noted that differentiation, which denotes the presence of community colleges, has a democratizing effect: it increases overall enrollment in postsecondary in-stitutions as well as decreases the gap in enrollment between students from different social strata (Roksa 2008).

In analyzing the rise in total financial resources for higher education where there has been a significant shift in the share of resources coming from tu-ition and fees and a decline in the share coming from state appropriations, Berger and Kostal (2002) simulations of policy options illustrated the dif-ficulty of maintaining enrollment levels in the face of tuition fee increases. They indicated that if tuition fees continue to rise, states are faced with re-ducing supply through lower state appropriations, or attempting to maintain current supply by increasing the amount of regulation in higher education.

Byrd (2001) indicated that there is increasing evidence that higher educa-tion is in a process of transformation, where institutions of higher education are becoming more business-like, more like virtual and corporate universi-ties, and are heavily engaged in retooling their products. Global universi-ties, virtual universities, and corporate universities are together adapting new technologies to academic needs. In consequence, higher education is becom-ing more affordable, while moving away from buildings and campuses, fo-cusing on developing the critical thinking skills of students, and developing noteworthy faculty.

It was argued that centralization and decentralization reforms in educa-tion reflect a neo-liberal ideology at work, they do not necessarily capture a complexity of forces fuelling educational and policy change. Academic standards, performance and quality of schooling continue to dominate the reform agenda globally, especially the performance league tables. At the same time, there are also politically determined curricular reforms affecting the nature and the content of history school textbooks (Zajda 2010).

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2.4.8 Academic Standards and Education Reforms:

It has been argued that the politics of education reforms surrounding national curricula, standards, excellence and quality, as well as outcomes-

based curriculum reforms have ‘largely come from Northern, often World Bank, ideologies’ (Zajda 2010, Watson 2000, p. 140; see also Zajda 2005; Zajda and Geo-JaJa 2009). At the same time, others argue that high stakes testing reforms, driven by political and cultural ideology and concerns for ef-ficiency and economic productivity, serve to impede the development of real equality of educational opportunity, particularly for disadvantaged students (Zajda 2010, Moses and Nanna (2007).

2.4.9 Higher Education under Conflict and Military Occupation:

Since 1967 and until present, more than 1,300 Palestinians schools, uni-versities, and colleges have been disrupted by the Israeli Army through

imposed curfews, and closures in the Palestinian Territory. Additionally, many students have been tortured, held in detention, or under arrest, and/or in jails.

A report by Strategic Foresight Group has mentioned the academic cost of conflict in the Middle East. Following the start of the 2003 US war in Iraq, there has been a deliberate targeting of educational establishments by mili-tants. In 2007, 353 academics were assassinated. Almost 800,000 children are currently out of school, and over 3,000 academics have fled the country. Over 30% of children and 40% of university students stay at home due to fear, and paucity of schools near them (Wikipedia 2010).

In the Lebanon 2006 war, Lebanese children were some of the worst af-fected, where 33% of all civilian deaths were children and 390,000 children were displaced. 40,000 children had their education disrupted during the war, with over 300 schools having been damaged (Wikipedia 2010).

It is important to mention that by putting these pressures on faculty and students, a brain drain process occurs in which the best quality of academic and research capacities leave for outside areas in search of better socio-eco-nomic conditions and political stability. This issue will hinder the success and implementation of any higher education reform plan.

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2.4.10 Higher Education and Institutional Diversity:

Diversity has been identified in the higher education literature as one of the major factors associated with the positive performance of higher

education systems. Well-planned and directed institutional diversity in high-er education systems represents an important element of policy making. The following advantages of institutional diversity have been identified (Birn-baum, 1983 and VanVught, 2009):

1. Increased diversity in a higher education system is an important strat-egy to meet student needs.

2. Diversity provides for social mobility. 3. Diversity is supposed to meet the needs of the labor market. 4. Diversity serves the political needs of interest groups.5. Diversity permits the crucial combination of élite and mass higher edu-

cation. 6. Diversity is assumed to increase the level of effectiveness of higher edu-

cation institutions. 7. Diversity is assumed to offer opportunities for experimenting with in-

novation.

2.4.11 Hig her Education and Environmental Excellence:

Higher education is one of the nation’s most valuable assets and is the reference for natural and human resources development. Colleges and

universities continue to be stewards of environmental research, education, and innovation. Colleges and universities as a sector are committed to im-proved public health, environmental protection and conservation, and com-pliance with environmental laws by formulating curriculum around these cri-teria.(CSHEMA et. al., 2002). Higher education programs at colleges and universities would, among others, help in the following directions:

1. Identifying regulations that need to be tailored to the higher education community.

2. Creating performance-based environmental standards that encourage pollution prevention and protect the environment.

3. Creating interpretive guidance for the regulated community and for federal, state and local regulators to enhance consistency and under-

42

standing of compliance expectations, and4. Expanding compliance assistance to address specific situations on a na-

tional basis.

2.4.12 Higher Education and Socio-Economic Development:

Higher education should be the milestone for any society’s socio-eco-nomic development. If this sector is operating under limited condi-

tions and is unable to provide the requirements for country’s socio-economic development, it has potential to act negatively, i.e., hold back development.

Shapiro (2003) indicated that universities, like other social institutions and even individuals, ought to serve interests that include, but move beyond, nar-row self-serving concerns as both a responsive servant and a thoughtful crit-ic. In other words, universities should not serve our interests alone. He noted that this idea, while applauded in principle, is easily lost in the challenge of meeting one’s day-to-day responsibilities.

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3. Methodology

Reform of environmental studies in higher education in Palestine is timely and necessary, but must be initiated appropriately so that no

damage is caused to existing institutions and programs.

3.1 Introduction

This section presents the design and the procedures used in investigat-ing the main two objective concerns of project.

3.2 Instrumentation:

New trends in research currently combine quantitative and qualitative data to investigate activities of interest and to provide additional layers

of triangulation to validate findings (Bernard, 2006). A stratified sample for both the quantitative and qualitative methods is comprised of four group-ings:

1. Students enrolled in the Master’s program on Environmental Studies.2. Teaching Staff,3. Stakeholders, 4. Alumni of the Master’s Program of Environmental Studies

To answer the questions related to the two activities (quantitative and qualitative) in this project, and to analyze results, two types of instruments and procedures were used. For the first (the quantitative method) four ques-tionnaires were submitted to the subjects, and for the qualitative method a focus group at three workshops at the campuses of the three universities were held to collect data.

3.3 Description of the Questionnaire

As part of our effort to evaluate the effectiveness of the Master’s pro-grams for the three universities, four instruments were used to collect

data for evaluation to achieve the objectives of the project:-

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Each questionnaire consisted of three parts

Part One:

Part one of the questionnaire deals with general information of the par-ticipant. Twelve queries of “fill in space” statements dealing with general information about the participant including:- • When did you start your Master’s program? • Gender• Marital status• Family size (number) • Age• Are you a full-time or part-time student? • What is your current work? • Are you working in a full- time job? • Name the graduate program that you were enrolled on • University Name • How many credit hours did you finished so far? • What is your Grade Point Average (GPA)? • Are you working in the environmental field?

Part Two

Part two of the questionnaire deals with participant’s attitude towards spe-cific educational domains of concern for each group of participants. Tables (4) and (5) page 28 lists the overall domains that the questionnaire is de-signed to measure each of the four targeted groups:

• Teaching Staff• Stakeholders• Students Enrolled in the Master’s program on Environmental Studies• Alumni of the Master’s program of Environmental Studies

Each of these domains consisted of different items depending on the tar-geted subject in the investigation, where the range of possible answers for each item in the questionnaire was designed in accordance with the Likert scale (1 = strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=neutral, not relevant, 4= Disagree, 5= strongly disagree).

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Part Three

Each domain was followed by objective questions which vary in numbers from domain to domain. Inquires were formulated as yes or no questions, open-ended answers or of types similar to the following examples:

I. Rate (from 0 very poor – 5 excellent) the merits your education gave you in terms of how well it prepared you for working life.

1. General knowledge _____ 2. Ability in your major subject / study program _____ 3. Ability in your minor subject / minor studies _____ 4. Communication skills_____ 5. Scientific knowledge in and solutions of environmental issues and

problems _____

What problems, if any, have you experienced concerning advice during the course of your Master’s of Environmental Sciences?

II. Rate the following statements on a scale from zero to four (1 =does not describe my attitude at all, 2 = describes my attitude quite poorly, 4 = describes my attitude quite well, 5 = totally describes my attitude, 3 = unable to answer or not relevant)

(See Appendixes the final four questionnaires for more details in describ-ing these objective questions)

To ensure the questionnaire validity, the questionnaires were revised and validated by the members of the project committees from the six universities. Only minor changes were made in terms of wording morphology and

After making the changes proposed by the expertise, a final version was approved to measure what was designed for.

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3.4 Reliability of the Questionnaire

Reliability coefficient for each domain was calculated by using SPSS Cronbach Alfa. Cronbach’s alpha will generally increase as the inter-

correlations among test items or groups increase, and is thus known as an in-ternal consistency estimate of reliability of test scores. For comparing groups, Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.7 to 0.8 are regarded as satisfactory. For all the four questionnaires conducted in this study, Cronbach’s alpha values ranging from 0.82 to 0.87 were obtained concluding that the four questionnaires has good internal validity.

3.5 Statistical Analysis

The data collected were analyzed for means, percentages, standard de-viation, and regression using ANOVA and factor analysis using the

Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS).

3.6 Focus Groups

In assessment of the current higher education environmental sciencesin Palestine (task 1.2), three main workshops were held in the three cam-

puses: one workshop at An-Najah National University, one workshop at Al-Quds University, and one workshop at Birzeit University. All workshops were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed as focus groups during May and June 2010. Workshop programs consisted of the following:

1. Call of graduates from previously prepared lists by all available means (newspapers, An-Najah radio, personal contacts, e-mails, hoe phone, mobiles, classmates, etc.)

2. Inviting lecturers from the university and other universities through letters and e-mail for workshops

3. Inviting the relevant institutions and NGOs officially. 4. Inviting all the participants in the project. 5. Inviting the engineering final-year students at the opening, 6. Communication with Public Relations for media coverage and photog-

raphy

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The project team leaders of each university acted during the workshop as focus group moderators. After an opening session where participants were introduced to the project and its activities and tasks, the four target groups were set and separated in four rooms. A moderator for each target group was assigned. Each target group was asked face to face to talk freely about the Master’s programs.

48

Tabl

e (4

): D

omai

ns o

f Eac

h Ta

rget

ed G

roup

Targ

et G

roup

Dom

ain

1D

omai

n 2

Dom

ain

3D

omai

n 4

Dom

ain

5D

omai

n 6

Dom

ain7

Teac

hing

Sta

ff

Ince

ntiv

es to

teac

h in

an

envi

ronm

en-

tal p

ostg

radu

ate

prog

ram

Rel

evan

ce o

f the

en

viro

nmen

tal

high

er e

duca

tion

prog

ram

(pro

-gr

am’s

rela

tions

hip

to st

uden

t int

eres

ts

and

empl

oyer

ne

eds)

.

Lect

urer

Fee

dbac

kof

tool

s use

d, sk

ills

and

capa

bilit

ies

deve

lope

d

Ado

ptio

n an

d pr

ac-

tice

of e

xtra

cur-

ricul

ar a

ctiv

ities

Ado

ptio

n a

nd

prac

tice

of t

he

prin

cipl

e of

col

lec-

tive

parti

cipa

tion

and

team

Stud

ents

Enr

olle

d in

the

Mas

ter P

ro-

gram

on

Envi

ron-

men

tal S

tudi

es

Stud

ents

’ vie

ws o

n en

viro

nmen

tal i

s-su

es a

nd p

robl

ems

Qua

lity

and

Rel

evan

ce o

f the

en

viro

nmen

tal

high

er e

duca

tion

prog

ram

Qua

lity

and

Rel

-ev

ance

of t

each

ing

staf

f and

adm

inis

-tra

tive

supp

ort

Teac

hing

tool

s us

ed, s

kills

de-

velo

ped

and

team

w

orki

ng p

ract

iced

.

Extra

cur

ricul

um

activ

ities

``

````

````

````

`

Stak

ehol

ders

Vie

ws o

n en

viro

n-m

enta

l iss

ues a

nd

prob

lem

s

The

envi

ronm

enta

l hi

gher

edu

catio

n pr

ogra

m (p

rogr

am

rela

tions

hip

to e

x-pe

rienc

e, in

tere

sts

and

empl

oyer

s ne

eds)

.

Org

aniz

atio

n’s

Expe

ctat

ions

: C

larit

y of

pro

gram

le

arni

ng o

bjec

tives

an

d co

mpl

ianc

e w

ith in

tern

atio

nal

Stan

dard

s.

Org

aniz

atio

n’s

Expe

ctat

ions

: C

larit

y of

pro

gram

le

arni

ng o

bjec

tives

an

d co

mpl

ianc

e w

ith in

tern

atio

nal

Stan

dard

s.

Lect

urer

’s q

ualit

y an

d co

mm

itmen

t (le

ctur

er a

cade

mic

qu

alifi

catio

ns a

nd

intu

ition

, ded

ica-

tion

and

sinc

erity

).

Ado

ptio

n a

nd

prac

tice

of

extra

curr

icul

ar

activ

ities

(soc

ial,

spor

t, to

uris

tic, a

c-tiv

ities

with

in th

e ac

adem

ic p

rogr

am

impl

emen

tatio

n an

d af

ter g

radu

-at

ion

Ado

ptio

n an

d pr

actic

e of

pa

rtici

patio

n an

d te

am w

orki

ng

(stu

dent

invo

lve-

men

t, pa

rtici

patio

n,

inte

ract

ion,

etc

)

Alu

mni

of t

he

Mas

ter P

rogr

am

of E

nviro

nmen

tal

Stud

ies

Stud

ents

’ vie

ws o

n en

viro

nmen

tal i

s-su

es a

nd p

robl

ems

Qua

lity

and

Rel

evan

ce o

f the

en

viro

nmen

tal

high

er e

duca

tion

prog

ram

Qua

lity

and

Rel

-ev

ance

of t

each

ing

staf

f and

adm

inis

-tra

tive

supp

ort

Prog

ram

s Qua

lity

Teac

hing

tool

s us

ed, s

kills

de-

velo

ped

and

team

w

orki

ng p

ract

iced

````

````

````

`

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Table (5): N

umber O

f Items A

n Objective Q

uestion In Each D

omain

Description

General

Informa-

tion

Dom

ain 1D

omain 2

Dom

ain3D

omain4

Dom

ain 5D

omain 6

Dom

ain 7

Teaching Staff N

o. of items

No. of objective questions

107

1113

148

7

00

50

0Students enrolled in environ-m

ental Studies N

o. of items

No. of objective questions

117

616

139

07

616

139

0Stakeholders N

o. of items

No. of objective questions

1310

97

116

610

00

00

00

0A

lumni of the M

aster Program

of Environmental Studies

No. of item

s N

o. of objective questions

107

714

2213

1013

819

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4. Results

This chapter includes the main results obtained in this study. Results are listed in three parts: general data of study population, the four

questionnaires analysis or results, and the focus groups’ results.

4.1 General Data of Study Population;

The population of this study consisted of four target groups related to the Master’s Program on Environmental Studies: students enrolled

in program in the year 2010 (59.8% of total), teaching staff (12.2% of total), stakeholders (4.9% of total), and alumni of the Master’s program since 1994 (23.2% of total). Table 6 shows the distribution of the study population by university and target group.

Table 6: Sample Distribution by University and Target GroupUniversity Alumni

Enrolled Students

Stakeholders Teachers Total

Berizet University 17 53 1 6 77Al-Quds University 9 18 3 8 38An-Najah National University 12 27 4 6 49Grand Total 38 98 8 20 164

4.1.1 Overall Responses Evaluation

This section focused on testing the difference in personal variables of participants in the study, within their current level of the domain sat-

isfaction according to Likert Scale.

An examination of all demographic variables (such as gender, marital sta-tus, University…etc) in each questionnaire revealed no significant differences between universities as well as target groups. Some results are presented here, while others will be shown in Appendix B.

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Male Versus Female Views of Students Enrolled

“Is there is a significant difference between males and females in their re-sponses for all domains in the questionnaire related to the enrolled student”. One way analysis (ANOVA) was used students’ means as the dependent variable with gender as an independent variable. The ANOVA result for the five domains under investigation was obtained using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The ANOVA results related to gender are presented in Table (7)

Table 7: One-way ANOVA for All Domains of Students Enrolled by Gender

Sum of

Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

totald1 Between Groups .372 1 .372 1.763 .188

Within Groups 18.575 88 .211 Total 18.947 89

totald2 Between Groups .460 1 .460 1.717 .194

Within Groups 23.049 86 .268 Total 23.509 87

totald3 Between Groups .702 1 .702 3.341 .071

Within Groups 18.488 88 .210 Total 19.190 89

totald4 Between Groups .005 1 .005 .025 .876

Within Groups 19.261 88 .219 Total 19.267 89

totald5 Between Groups .354 1 .354 .985 .324

Within Groups 31.659 88 .360 Total 32.013 89

toatd1d5 Between Groups .156 1 .156 1.198 .277

Within Groups 11.733 90 .130 Total 11.889 91

Note totald = Total Domain

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The above table 7 shows that the results indicate no difference in all do-mains between male and female. This is because the range of sp value (Sig) in the last column in the table range from 0.071 to 0.876, with none less than 0.05.

Figure 2.1 reveals that the male and female means are very close. This may prove that the enrolled students answer the questions in the same mode for both male and female. This may be as they face the same problems. The mean of males is greater than females only for domain one titled “Students’ views on environmental issues and problems”

In the four other domains the blue column representing female means is greater than the green for males.

Figure 2.1 Means of Males and Females Responses by Enrolled Student’s

totald1 means: Students’ views on environmental issues and problemstotald2 means Quality and Relevance of the environmental higher educa-

tion programtotald3 means Quality and Relevance of teaching staff and administrative

supporttotald4 means Teaching tools used, skills developed and team working

practiced.totald5 means Extra curriculum activitiestoatd1d5 means Total of all domains

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Responses of Students Enrolled from the Three UniversitiesTo answer the question “Are there significant differences between the re-

sponses of students enrolled at the three Universities that participated in filling the questionnaires?”

One way ANOVA results shows that there are no significant differences pair wise between the enrolled students, as Table (8) shows

Table 8: One-way ANOVA for All Domains of Students Enrolled For the Three Universities

Sum of Squares df

Mean Square F Sig.

domain1 Between Groups .727 2 .364 .964 .392 Within Groups 12.449 33 .377 Total 13.176 35 domain2 Between Groups .625 2 .313 .903 .415 Within Groups 11.420 33 .346 Total 12.046 35 domain3 Between Groups 1.201 2 .601 2.093 .142 Within Groups 8.320 29 .287 Total 9.521 31 domain4 Between Groups .196 2 .098 .402 .673 Within Groups 6.352 26 .244 Total 6.549 28 domain5 Between Groups .200 2 .100 .188 .829 Within Groups 13.812 26 .531 Total 14.013 28 domaintotal Between Groups .063 2 .032 .276 .762 Within Groups 1.948 17 .115 Total 2.012 19

The above table indicates that the results reveal no significant differences in all domains are between male and female are clear. The range of p values (Sig) in the last column of the table is from 0.142 to .0 .829, with no values less than 0.05.

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Table 9:Means of All Students Enrolled For the Three Universities by Domains

University totald1 totald2 totald3 totald4 totald5 toatd1d5

dimension1Najah 1.9573 2.2220 2.3965 2.1699 2.4218 2.1910

Al-Quds 1.9788 2.2778 2.3768 2.1061 2.7647 2.3008Birzeit 1.9636 2.1465 2.5326 2.2005 2.6276 2.2942

Figure (2.2) the above results for the total domains are clear, from the bars for the three universities

Figure 2.2 Means of Enrolled Student’s Responses by University

The highest means for the sum of the five domains was Al-Quds Univer-sity while the lowest domain was for An-Najah.

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Responses of Alumni from the Master’s programs

“Are there significant differences between males and females in their re-sponses for all domains in the questionnaire related to the Alumni?” One way analysis (ANOVA) was used students’ means as dependent Variable with gender as independent variable. The ANOVA results for the five domains under investigation is shown in Table (10)

Table 10: One-way ANOVA for All Domains of Alumni by GenderSum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

domain1 Between Groups .012 1 .012 .032 .859 Within Groups 13.164 34 .387 Total 13.176 35

domain2 Between Groups .001 1 .001 .003 .956 Within Groups 12.044 34 .354 Total 12.046 35

domain3 Between Groups 1.922 1 1.922 7.588 .063 Within Groups 7.599 30 .253 Total 9.521 31

domain4 Between Groups .763 1 .763 3.562 .070 Within Groups 5.785 27 .214 Total 6.549 28

domain5 Between Groups .023 1 .023 .044 .836 Within Groups 13.990 27 .518 Total 14.013 28

domain total Between Groups .800 1 .800 11.886 .074 Within Groups 1.212 18 .067 Total 2.012 19

The above table shows that a result of no differences in all domains be-tween male and female. Because that the range of p values (Sig) in the last column in the table, 0.070 to 0.956 which not less than0.05

Domain1 means: Students’ views on environmental issues and problemsDomain2 means: Quality and Relevance of the environmental higher edu-

cation programDomain3 means: Quality and Relevance of teaching staff and administra-

tive support

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Domain4 means: Programs QualityDomain5 means: Teaching tools used, skills developed and team working

practicedDomtotal means Total of Domains.

The five other domains display that the blue column (female) means is greater.

Figure 2.3 Means of Responses by Alumni Males and Females

The highest mean was for the female in domain 3 titled by “domain3 means: Quality and Relevance of teaching staff and administrative support” and the lowest mean for male in domain one (See Tables 11 to 14 below).

Table 11: Means of Alumni’s Responses for All Domains and Total

Domain Meandomain1 2.0437domain2 2.5509domain3 2.6641domain4 2.6431domain5 2.4483

domain total 2.4984

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Table 12: Means of Alumni’s Responses by Gender

Gender domain1 domain2 domain3 domain4 domain5 domtotalfemale 2.0204 2.5444 2.9420 2.8231 2.4793 2.6984male 2.0584 2.5556 2.4479 2.4969 2.4231 2.2984

Table 13: Means of Alumni’s Responses by Domain and University

University domain1 domain2 domain3 domain4 domain5 domtotalNajah 1.9643 2.6970 2.6875 2.5300 2.3736 2.5105

Al-Quds 1.8571 2.6296 2.3125 2.6900 2.3516 2.3661Birzeit 2.1964 2.4063 2.8125 2.7071 2.5282 2.5295

Table 14: Means of Alumni’s Responses for all Subjects by Do-main and University

University totald1 totald2 totald3 totald4 totald5 toatd1d5Najah 1.9573 2.2220 2.3965 2.1699 2.4218 2.1910

Al-Quds 1.9788 2.2778 2.3768 2.1061 2.7647 2.3008Birzeit 1.9636 2.1465 2.5326 2.2005 2.6276 2.2942

Figure 2.5 Means of Alumni’s Responses by University

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Table 15 Alumni’s Means by Gender

Gender domain1 domain2 domain3 domain4 domain5 domtotalfemale 2.0204 2.5444 2.9420 2.8231 2.4793 2.6984male 2.0584 2.5556 2.4479 2.4969 2.4231 2.2984

FIGURE TITLEDomain1 means: Students’ views on environmental issues and problemsDomain2 means: Quality and Relevance of the environmental higher edu-

cation programDomain3 means: Quality and Relevance of teaching staff and administra-

tive supportDomain4 means: Programs QualityDomain5 means: Teaching tools used, skills developed and team working

practicedDomain total means Total of Domains.

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Comparison Between Responses of the Three UniversitiesTo answer the question “Are there significant differences between Alumni

responses from each of the three universities that participated in filling the questionnaires?” One way ANOVA results show no big differences between alumni groups. Table (16) shows the means in each domain and Table 17 shows the ANOVA for all domains.

Table 16: Alumni’s Means

Name Univrsty domain1 domain2 domain3 domain4 domain5 domtotalNajah 1.9643 2.6970 2.6875 2.5300 2.3736 2.5105

Al-Quds 1.8571 2.6296 2.3125 2.6900 2.3516 2.3661Birzeit 2.1964 2.4063 2.8125 2.7071 2.5282 2.5295

Table 17: One-way ANOVA for All Domains of Alumni by University

Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.domain1 Between Groups .727 2 .364 .964 .392

Within Groups 12.449 33 .377 Total 13.176 35

domain2 Between Groups .625 2 .313 .903 .415 Within Groups 11.420 33 .346 Total 12.046 35

domain3 Between Groups 1.201 2 .601 2.093 .142 Within Groups 8.320 29 .287 Total 9.521 31

domain4 Between Groups .196 2 .098 .402 .673 Within Groups 6.352 26 .244 Total 6.549 28

domain5 Between Groups .200 2 .100 .188 .829 Within Groups 13.812 26 .531 Total 14.013 28

domtotal Between Groups .063 2 .032 .276 .762 Within Groups 1.948 17 .115 Total 2.012 19

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Figure 6.1 Alumni’s Means for the Three Universities

The main summary of all questionnaires:

Each of the domains listed in Table (18) consisted of different items whose numbers depend on the targeted subject in the investigation. The level of answer for each item in the questionnaire was designed in accordance with the Likert scale.

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Table (18): Summ

ary for the Four Targeted Groups of A

ll Dom

ains

Target Group

Dom

ain 1D

omain2

Dom

ain3D

omain 4

Dom

ain 5D

omain 6

Dom

ain 7

Teaching Staff M

eanStan devN

umber

2.26.918

2.70.688

2.040.838

2.15.738

2.71.698

00

Students Enrolled in the M

aster’s Program in Envi-

ronmental Studies

Mean

Stan devN

umber

1.96.4595

2.19.5293

2.47.4795

2.17..4695

2.60.6395

2.27.3597

0

StakeholdersM

eanStan devN

umber

1.28.3710

2.17.5410

2.26.3710.

2.17.3210

2.43.3510

2.78.7510

2.34.5410

Alum

ni of

the M

aster’s Program

of Environmental

Studies

Mean

Stan devN

umber

2.043.6136

2.55.5936

2.66.5532

2.45.4829

2.50.70729

..00

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4.2 Questionnaires Results

The results of the four questionnaires are listed in Appendix B (Tables B1 to B23). A brief description of each questionnaire results is listed

below.

4.2.1 Students enrolled in the Master’s program on Environmental Studies.

Table (B 1) representing students’ views on environmental issues and problems show that the highest mean, for item 5, was 3.4043 (highly

disagree), “Environmental problems should be left to the experts” and the lowest, for item 7, was 1.4574 (highly agree), “A combination of factors such as science, technology, research, awareness and understanding can solve envi-ronmental problems. It is obvious from students’ responses that they would like to learn and know more about environmental issues and accordingly contribute their abilities.

Table (B 2) describing student responses on quality and relevance of the environmental higher education program show that responses are very close in weight (agreeing to neutral on all items raised). The highest mean (2.2903) was for item 2, “The quality of courses was generally appropriate for the level of a degree program”, and the lowest (2.0220) was for item 1, “It was pos-sible to pursue courses in subjects that I am interested in”. Although mostly in agreement, students responses show non-decisiveness on the quality and relevance of the environmental higher education program

Table (B 3) shows students’ responses on the quality and relevance of teaching staff and administrative support. It reveals that the highest mean (highly disagree) was for item 14 = 3.7872, “My department organized sport activities for the class during the Master’ss program”. This response indicates the high concern of participants to extracurricular activities such as sport activities. The lowest mean (just agree) was for item 1= 1.9574. , “Staff were enthusiastic about the topics they presented”. It is clear from this table that students pinpoint the lack of extracurricular activities in the program and non-decisive attitudes on the quality and relevance of teaching staff.

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Table (B 4) includes students views on teaching tools used, skills devel-oped and teamwork practiced. Student’s responses were very close in weight (agreeing to neutral on all items raised) indicating weak acceptance and/or approval of the quality of teaching tools used, skills developed and teamwork practiced. It shows that the highest mean was for item 7 = 2.9022, “I got an internship in the course field during the Master’s program” and the lowest was for item 8= 1.7021. , “It is relevant for me to use computer software on the course subject and its applications”.

Table (B 5) includes student views on extracurricular activities provided and/or practiced by local universities. It is interesting to note that all the re-sponses were ranging in weight from neutral to disagree. Knowing that most students were just entering the program or had spent one semester in it, these responses were considerably stronger than anticipated. Responses show that the highest mean was for item 3 = 2.9570, “The University provides adequate supporting facilities (health, counseling, food, sports, dormitory, etc.) for graduate life.” and the lowest was for item 5= 2.3696. , “Social life on and off campus has been good”.

4.2.2 Alumni of the Master’s Program of Environ-mental Studies

Table (B 6) lists alumni’s views on environmental issues and problems and shows that the highest mean was for item 5 = 3.7027 (highly

disagree), “Environmental problems should be left to the experts.” and the lowest was for item 3= 1.4474 (highly agree), “People should care more about protection of environmental issues and problems”. Alumni differ from enrolled students in their views by having higher sharpness or decisiveness in their responses.

Table (B 7) gives alumni’s views on the quality and relevance of the envi-ronmental higher education program. Surprisingly, alumni responses indi-cated a neutral view on all questions, a result which indicates very little trust in the quality and relevance of the program. It shows that the highest mean was for item 2 = 2.7838, “The quality of courses was generally appropriate for the level of a degree program.” and the lowest was for item 12.0541 “It was possible to pursue courses in subjects that I am interested in”

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Table (B 8) includes alumni’s views on the quality and relevance of teach-ing staff and administrative support. Alumni’s views here are diverse and differ from enrolled students in their sharpness or decisiveness in responses, ranging from agreement (staff was helpful and friendly) to highly disagree-ing (availability of extracurricular activities). It shows that the highest mean was for item 14=3.8378, “Has your department organized sport activities for your class during the Master’s program.” and the lowest was for item 3= 1.9189 “Staff were helpful and friendly”.

Table (B 9) includes alumni’s responses to programs quality. The responses to the detailed twenty questions were mostly neutral to disagree putting a raising questions on the program’s quality. Responses show that the highest mean was for item 13=3.0588 “Contributed to promotions to a higher level in organization” and the lowest was for item 1= 2.0000 “Increased knowledge about role played by the Environmental Science Master’s program”

Table (B10) concerns alumni’s views on teaching tools used, skills devel-oped and team working practiced. Responses were mostly around the neu-tral point indicating weak trust in teaching tools used, skills developed and team working practiced. A result indicating shared views on the subject mat-ter with the enrolled students. It shows that the highest mean was for item 5=3.2258 “Have you had practical training in your courses” and the lowest was for item 8= 2.0294 “How relevant is it, for you, to use computer software on the course subject and its applications”.

4.2.3 Teaching Staff

Table (B11) includes teaching staff views on the incentives to teach in an environmental postgraduate program. Most responses were with

‘agree’ weight indicating positive attitude towards teaching incentives. Re-sponses show that the highest mean was for item 5=3.6250 “Environmental problems should be left to the experts” and the lowest was for item 4= 1.8571 “I think each of us can make a significant contribution to environmental protection”.

Table (B12) includes teaching staff views on the relevance of the environ-mental higher education program (program’s relationship to student inter-ests and employer needs). Most responses were towards the disagree weight indicating the low relevancy of the program in fulfilling students interest

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and employer’s needs. Responses show that the highest mean was for item 8=3.3750 “I taught courses unrelated to my educational background” and the lowest was for item 11= 1.8750 “.

Table (B13) gives lecturer’s feedback on the program, the process, the re-search, and interaction with students. Responses were mostly in the neutral range with a tendency to agree. This result indicates weak confidence of the teaching staff in the program, the process, the research, and interaction with students. Responses show that the highest mean was for item 12=2.5000 “I do highly value/rate my university program in comparison to other local university programs” and the lowest was for item 6 = 2.1250 “Master’s thesis research offered to students relate well to local needs”.

Table (B14) gives lecturer’s views on the sufficiency of tools used, skills and capabilities developed (technical support, training and internships, discus-sions, etc). Responses on the fourteen statements were mostly in the highly agree to agree range. This result indicates that the teaching staff knows what is needed for the program in tools, skills, and capabilities and supports their application in the program. Responses show that the highest mean was for items 7 and 9=2.3750 “I have used practical training in my courses” and “ I have assisted students to obtain internships relevant to the course “, and the lowest was for items 1 and 2 = 1.1650 “I am aware of which core skills we need to pass on to students” and “I have used one or more of the core skills in my courses “.

Table (B15) gives lecturer’s views on the adoption and practice of extra-curricular activities (including social, sport, touristic, activities) within the academic program implementation and after graduation. Responses on the eight statements were mostly in the neutral to disagree range which indicate the weak application of extracurricular activities either during the program implementation or afterwards. Responses show that the highest mean was for item 6=3.6260 “I have considered taking our class to a restaurant as a so-cial activity” and the lowest was for item 5 = 2.1250 “I maintain contact with students after graduation “.

Table (B16) gives lecturer’s views on the adoption and practice of the prin-ciple of collective participation and teamwork (student involvement, partici-pation, interaction, etc). Responses on the seven statements were mostly in the highly agree to neutral range which indicate the relatively positive at-

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titude of the teaching staff towards students participation and involvement. Responses show that the highest mean was for item 4=2.750 “Students’ ideas and opinions are difficult to understand, and are contradictory or incompat-ible with my own ideas and beliefs” and the lowest was for item 7 = 1.6250 “I understand how my work fits into department/program objectives, mission and values “.

4.2.4 Stakeholders

Table (B17) gives lecturers’ views on environmental issues and prob-lems. Responses on the ten statements were mostly in the highly agree

range which indicate the strong stakeholders support to and positive attitude towards environmental issues and problems faced. Responses show that the highest mean was for items 8 and 9 =1.500 “I think the organization I am working with has confidence in the quality of environmental higher educa-tion programs offered by Palestinian universities” and “ I think the orga-nization I am working with needs the knowledge and skills developed in graduates of environmental higher education programs offered by Palestin-ian universities “ and the lowest was for item 7 = 1.100 “Science, technology and research, combined with awareness and understanding can solve envi-ronmental problems”.

Table (B18) gives lecturer’s views on the relevance of the environmental higher education program (program relationship to experience, interests and employers needs). Responses on the nine statements were diverse from high-ly agree to neutral range which indicate the positive interest and supportive attitude of stakeholders towards program relationship to experience, interests and needs. Responses show that the highest mean was for item 3=3.100 “My organization knows in details the environmental higher education programs offered by Palestinian universities” and the lowest was for item 5 = 1.500 “My organization has adopted an environmental quality management system in their daily work “.

Table (B19) gives lecturer’s views on the organization’s expectations: Clar-ity of program learning objectives and compliance with international stan-dards. Responses on the seven statements were mostly in the highly agree to neutral range which indicate the relatively positive attitude of stakeholders towards clarity of program learning objectives and compliance with interna-

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tional standards. Responses show that the highest mean was for item 5=3.400 “Palestinian universities provide sufficient financial and technical support to students working on their Master’s theses” and the lowest was for item 3 = 1.7778 “Student research work for Master’s theses at Palestinian universities is conducted in coordination with my organization”.

Table (B20) gives lecturer’s views on the sufficiency of tools used, skills and capabilities developed (technical support, training and internships, discus-sions, etc). Responses on the eleven statements were mostly in the highly agree to neutral range which indicate the confidence and positive attitude of stakeholders towards sufficiency of tools used, skills and capabilities de-veloped by local universities. Responses show that the highest mean was for item 7=3.0000 “Environmental sciences and/or engineering Master’s pro-grams at local universities are supported by sufficient analytical laboratories” and the lowest was for item 7 = 1.6250 “My organization employs graduates who have different components of core skills “.

Table (B21) gives lecturer’s views on lecturer quality and commitment (lec-turer academic qualifications and intuition, dedication and sincerity). Re-sponses on the six statements were mostly in the highly agree to neutral range which indicate two distinct issues (1) stakeholders have positive at-titude of the quality of the teaching staff and (2) stakeholders have negative respect on the level of communication practiced with them by the teaching staff at local universities. Responses show that the highest mean was for item 5=3.4000 “Lecturers in environmental MS programs at Palestinian universi-ties regularly communicate with my organization to discuss organizations and market needs” and the lowest was for item 2 = 1.8889 “My organization invites lecturers/experts in the field working at local universities to share ex-periences with employees “.

Table (B22) gives lecturer’s views on the adoption and practice of extra-curricular activities (social, sport, touristic, activities within the academic program implementation and after graduation). Responses on the six state-ments were diverse ranging from agree on their support of local universities to conduct extracurricular activities to highly disagree on the financial sup-port provided for these activities. These indicate that the support provided is in-kind and not financial. Responses show that the highest mean was for item 6=4.2222 “My organization gives financial support to local universities for extracurricular activities” and the lowest was for item 2 = 2.0000 “Our

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organization has helped local universities in making extracurricular activities available to students “.

Table (B23) gives lecturer’s views on the adoption and practice of partici-pation and teamwork (student involvement, participation, interaction, etc). Responses on the ten statements were diverse ranging from highly agree on the graduates good quality and adaptation to work environment and highly disagree on the opposite of it. Responses show that the highest mean was for item 4=3.5714 “Employees graduated from local universities are difficult to understand” and the lowest was for item 10 = 1.5556 “Employees gradu-ated from local universities get along quickly either with supervisors or/and co-workers “.

4.3 Focus Group Procedures

All discussions from the three workshops at the three universities were recorded and a summary of issues raised is given below:

1. There is a weakness in scientific research skills, in terms of report writ-ing or instrumentation. From the program perspective, students are part-time students who come to the university two days maximum and because of this it is not possible for them to earn these skills.

2. There is a weakness in communications skills. Some of these weaknesses can be seen in how to approach the practical world after graduation and go through the work stages from interviews to dealing with bosses and employees of different levels.

3. There is a weakness in practical training and lab experiments and dem-onstrations. This places pressure on students especially when they start working after graduation in different sites and fields, as they cannot employ the information and skills they have acquired in practical terms. There is a feeling that much of the information gained is not applicable because of the difference between practice and applied programs. The practical part of the program needs to improve, this can be achieved by:• Field visit and site investigations.• Laboratory work and analysis technique.• Conferences and workshops.

4. Students in the program are coming from different disciplines (math, agriculture, chemistry, engineering, etc.) so they do not have the same

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base level of knowledge. Instructors are forced to go back to deal with principles and to spend time to assimilate this knowledge. Students with strong backgrounds are disappointed from the level of knowledge that they receive. This kind of conflict between instructor and students needs a solution. Few instructors follow old traditional methods of teaching, which depends on reading the material.

5. There is a need to introduce new topics that are related to strength background knowledge such as geology courses, especially Geology of Palestine and Hydrology.

6. There is lack in information flow between the Alumni and the depart-ment. This problem can be solved through student and alumni clubs or associations.

7. There is also a lack in coordination between governmental, public, civil institutions and alumni.

8. There is a weakness in the scientific side, due to two reasons: a. Poor training infrastructure in terms of the possibility of training students to various organs and the provision of the different needs of this segment both in terms of specialized human resources and the high cost of the training. b. The fact that students are not regularly engaged (part-time) to work in Master’s programs due to lack of full time employment because of their work in different locations and the lack of scholarship, which would provides a monthly stipend for the student to live and practice scientific activities.

9. There is a diversity of knowledge and lack of homogeneity and by the fact that students have different scientific backgrounds, which means that there is variation in the fields of knowledge which results in weak attainment and the difficulty of educational of some of them and re-peating of teaching materials for some specialists, forcing the teacher to balance between diverse scientific backgrounds of the students.

10. There is strong opposition to the ongoing traditional teaching method of education practiced by some teachers based upon the fact that their style of dictation of knowledge without much analysis, discussions and applications is not appropriate for graduate level teaching.

11. There is lack of appropriate places for students to perform field visits with the possibility of applying some of the experiences they want to do in the field.

12. There is a need to introduce a course on the subject of geology of Pales-tine to the program, since this course is part of the environment, water and writing scientific of related reports. This course needs to be sup-

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ported with, scientific visits to sites. In addition to securing appropriate sites, additional resources must be made available for transportation, as well as the need to post more than one professor specialized in differ-ent disciplines to accompany the students to these sites and familiarize students with the problems from different points of view.

13. There is a need for courses to be taught to serve the scientific outcome of the student, either in the process of thesis preparation, or in the writ-ing of reports.

14. There is absence of a body or unit at the university which administers follow-up communication with alumni and directs them to conferences or to pursue their higher studies and knowledge upgrade.

15. There is a need to introduce a course in environmental education to the program, since many of the alumni work in schools or in civil institu-tions with a relationship towards awareness or directly teaching envi-ronmental awareness.

16. There are weak linkages between students from different universities a manifestation of the lack of relationships between universities and government and civil institutions, which lin turn has led to a lack of knowledge of the work of these institutions in addition to weak links with them.

17. The creation of an environmental club, the role of whichis for com-munication between graduates in different universities and among the graduates themselves.

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5. Discussion

5.1 Identification of Common Themes

SPSS Output of factor analysis (extraction method: principal component analysis), shows an abridged version of the R-matrix. The top half of

this table contains the Pearson correlation coefficient between all pairs of questions whereas the bottom half contains the one-tailed significance of these coefficients. The correlation matrix was used to check the pattern of relationships.

First, after scanning the significance values and the correlation coefficients, it was found that correlation coefficients are less than 0.9 and multicollinear-ity is not a problem for this data. Therefore, there is no need to consider eliminating any questions at this stage.

Second, Factors with eigenvalues greater than two were separated. Conse-quently, Three main themes (main factors) were identified which explain 58% of the variability of the data. The three themes are:

1. The twenty five questions that load highly on factor 1 seem to all relate to program quality and the quality of its application.. Therefore we might label this factor The Quality of the MSc. Program Content and its Application.

2. The eight questions that load highly on factor 2 seem to all re-late to program quality and the quality of its application. Therefore we might label this factor Availability of Extracurricular Activities.

3. The eight questions that load highly on factor 3 seem to all relate

to program quality and the quality of its application. Therefore we might label this factor Availability of Training and Support Environ-ment (in class and in the field)

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The domain questions under each theme are listed in Table below.

Table 19: The Identified Common Themes and Related Questions.

Location* Questions Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 3

3/6 Lecturers encouraged students to think critically, in and out classroom X

3/5 Lecturers added value to the subject matter, in-creased my interest in the Master’s program X

3/7 Lecturers gave clear instructions for assignments and other activities in their course X

2/2 The quality of courses was generally appropriate for the level of a degree program X

3/2 Staff were properly prepared X

2/5 The knowledge and training obtained helped me advance my career objectives X

3/1 Staff were enthusiastic about the topics they pre-sented X

4/5 I had practical training in my courses X3/3 Staff were helpful and friendly X

3/4 Lecturers were fair and unbiased towards their students. X

3/10 The Master’s program that I enrolled in meets in-ternational standards. X

4/9 I was introduced to and used computer programs in both the course subject and its applications X

5/6 Housing in the university area is reasonable and adequate. X

3/16 I feel that there is a great relation between the courses at the Master’s program and my work now

X

4/13 I did practice collective and team work practices during the courses X

3/9 Adequate support and resources were provided by my University X

4/2 It is relevant for me to use different components of Core Skills X

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Location* Questions Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 3

3/13My department organized/considered taking the class to a restaurant as a social activity during the Master’s program

X

1/7A combination of factors such as science, technol-ogy, research, awareness and understanding can solve environmental problems

X

5/3The University provides adequate supporting fa-cilities (health, counseling, food, sports, dormi-tory, etc.) for graduate life.

X

1/4 I think each of us can make a significant contribu-tion to environmental protection X

5/4 The University area provides a reasonable social environment for my stay. X

1/3 People should care more about environmental is-sues and problems X

4/8 It is relevant for me, to use computer software on the course subject and its applications X

4/12 It is relevant for me, collective and team work practices during the courses X

4/7 I got an internship in the course field during the Master’s program X

5/1 The university campus provides a friendly and supportive environment for graduate students. X

3/12My department organized/considered taking the class on an outing (e.g. excursion) during the Master’s program

X

4/10 It is relevant for me, to go on a field trip relevant to course subject and applications X

4/6 It is relevant for me, to have internship in the course field X

2/3 The amount of work required for the degree is ap-propriate for the level of a degree program X

2/6 After graduation, I was will be able to pursue my immediate career goals X

1/5 Environmental problems should be left to the ex-perts X

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.3 components extracted* = Domain/Question

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5.2 Main Problems

After studying the responses’ means, standard deviation, percentage share, and number of respondents for the four questionnaires em-

phasizing the disagree and strongly disagree responses, the following three groups of rejections were found. All other issues were either strongly agree or agree on.

5.2.1 Problems Identified by Students’ and Alumni’s Responses

Eleven issues were rejected or strongly rejected by students and alumni (see Table below). Enrolled students emphasized the issue of unavail-

ability and inaccessibility of extracurricular activities in the programs. How-ever, the issues rejected or strongly rejected by students and alumni could be grouped mainly in two groups:

• Availability and provision of extracurricular activities• Training and practical skills either in technical and/or communication

organizational areas

Table 20: List of Problems Identified by Students and Alumni Responses

Issue MeanHas your department organized sport activities for your class during the Master’s program?

3.8378

Environmental problems should be left to the experts 3.7027My department organized/considered taking the class to a restaurant as a social activity during the Master’s program

3.4516

Has your department organized/considered taking your class to a restaurant as social activity during the Master’s program?

3.3243

Has the program coordinator discussed career preparation steps with you and the class?

3.2432

Have you had practical training in your courses? 3.2258

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Issue MeanHas your department organized/considered taking your class to an outing (e.g. excursion) during the Master’s program?

3.1351

Did you get an internship in the course field during the program? 3.1250Prepared to manage external functions of an organization 3.0278Contributed to promotions to a higher level in organization 3.0588Increased skill in conducting effective meetings 3.0571

5.2.2 Problems Identified by Teachers Responses

Five issues were rejected or strongly rejected by university teachers (see Table below). The issues in part intersect with those raised or rejected

by students and alumni, but add some specifics such as the insufficiency of laboratories and the teaching of major courses.

Table 21: List of Problems Identified by Teachers Responses

Issue MeanEnvironmental problems should be left to the experts 3.6250I have considered taking our class to a restaurant as a social activity 3.6250I taught courses unrelated to my educational background 3.3750I do invite related Palestinian Authority decision makers in the field to my class to share experiences with students

3.2500

How sufficient are the laboratories needed for your courses? 3.1250

5.2.3 Problems Identified by Stakeholders ResponsesTen issues were rejected or strongly rejected by stakeholders (see Table

below). The issues rejected by stakeholders could be grouped mainly in three groups:

• Unavailability of both communication and cooperation between stake-holders and academic departments and/or staff at local universities

• Stakeholders got the negative impression of teaching and analytical laboratories availability at local universities (environmental programs)

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• Graduates, although not difficult to understand, have difficulties in get-ting along with work environment

Table 22: List of Problems Identified by Stakeholders Responses

Issue MeanEmployees that graduated from local universities are difficult to understand 3.5714Our organization has considered inviting graduate classes from local universities to tour our premises

3.5556

Palestinian universities provide sufficient financial and technical support to stu-dents working on their Master’s theses

3.4000

Lecturers in environmental MS programs at Palestinian universities regularly communicate with my organization to discuss organizations and market needs

3.4000

Employees at my organization, graduated from environmental higher education programs at Palestinian universities praise their professors at Palestinian universi-ties

3.1250

My organization knows in details the environmental higher education programs offered by Palestinian universities

3.1000

Local universities employ lecturers in the environmental MS program who have quality experience and knowledge of local environmental problems and needs.

3.1111

Environmental sciences and/or engineering Master’s programs at local universi-ties are supported by sufficient analytical laboratories

3.0000

Lecturers in environmental MS programs at Palestinian universities regularly communicate with my organization to explore joint research and development in the field.

3.0000

Employees graduated from local universities get along quickly with work environ-ment

3.0000

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6. Conclusions

6.1 Conclusions

Based on the results obtained in this study the following concluding points were summarized:

6.1.1 Main Themes

Three main themes (main factors) or groups of program deficiencies were identified including:

1. The Quality of the MSc. Program Content and its Application.

2. Availability of Extracurricular Activities. 3. Availability of Training and Support Environment (in class and in the

field).

6.1.2 Programs Main Problems

Three main groups of problems within the environmental MSc pro-grams at the universities were indentified:

a. Problems identified by students and alumni responses including:

• Availability and provision of extracurricular activities• Training and practical skills either in technical and/or communication

organizational areas

b. Problems identified by teacher responses including:

Five issues were rejected or strongly rejected by university teachers and concentrated about the three themes stated in section 6.1.

c. Problems identified by stakeholder responses including:

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• In-availability of both communication and cooperation between stake-holders and academic departments and/or staff at local universities

• Stakeholders got the negative impression of teaching and analytical laboratories availability at local universities (environmental programs)

• Graduates although not difficult to understand, have difficulties in get-ting along with work environment

6.1.3 Additional Concluding Remarks from Ques-tionnaires Results

The following are additional to the above concluding remarks drawn from the four questionnaire results:

a. Students enrolled

• Students would like to expand their knowledge about environmental issues and accordingly contribute to environmental quality.

• Students responses show non-decisiveness on the quality and relevance of the environmental higher education program

• Students pinpointed the lack of extracurricular activities in the program

• Students were non-decisive on the quality and relevance of teaching staff.

• Student’s indicated weak acceptance and/or approval of the quality of teaching tools used, skills developed and team working practiced.

b. Alumni

• Alumni differ from enrolled students in their views on environmental issues and problems by higher sharpness.

• Alumni indicate low trust in the quality and relevance of the program and have reservations about the programs quality including teaching

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tools used, skills developed and teamwork practiced.

• Alumni agree that teaching staff were helpful and friendly.

• Alumni highly disagree on the availability of extracurricular activities.

c. Teaching Staff

• Teaching staff have positive attitude towards teaching incentives.

• Most teaching staff responses indicated the low relevancy of the pro-gram in fulfilling students’ interest and employer needs.

• Teaching staff indicated weak confidence in the program, the process, the research, and interaction with students.

• Teaching staff are aware of what is needed for the program in tools, skills, and capabilities and support its application in the program.

• Teaching staff acknowledge the weak application of extracurricular ac-tivities either during the program implementation or afterwards.

• Responses on the seven statements were mostly in the highly agree to neutral range which indicate the relatively positive attitude of the teach-ing staff towards students participation and involvement.

d. Stakeholders

• There is strong stakeholder support and positive attitude towards envi-ronmental issues and problems therein.

• Stakeholders have positive interest and supportive attitude towards program relationship to experience, interests and needs and agree on the graduates’ good quality and adaptation to work.

• Stakeholders hold relatively positive attitudes toward the clarity of pro-gram learning objectives and compliance with international standards and toward sufficiency of tools used, skills and capabilities developed by

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local universities.

• Stakeholders have positive attitude of the quality of the teaching staff.

• Stakeholders have negative respect on the level of communication prac-ticed with them by the teaching staff at local universities.

• Stakeholders believe that adoption and practice of extracurricular ac-tivities is the university’s responsibility.

6.1.4 Focus Groups• There is a weakness in scientific research skills, in terms of report writ-

ing or instrumentation.

• There is a weakness in communications skills.

• There is a weakness in practical training and lab experiments and dem-onstrations.

• Students in the program are coming from different disciplines create educational teaching problems including diversity of knowledge and lack of homogeneity

• There is strong opposition to teaching method of dictation

• There is absence of a body or unit at the university which follows up alumni and directs them to conferences or to pursue their higher studies or even knowledge upgrade.

• There is a need to introduce a course in environmental education to the program,

• There are weak linkages between students from different universities and there is a lack of relationship between universities, government and civil institutions,

• There is a need to enhance the role of the environmental club for com-munication between graduates in different universities and among the

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graduates themselves.

• There is a need to introduce new topics that are related to strength background knowledge such as geology courses, especially Geology of Palestine and Hydrology.

6.2 Recommendations

6.3 Future Directions

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Bloom, D., (2002). Mastering Globalization: From Ideas to Action on Higher Education Reform. Text of speech delivered at University of Laval conference “Globalisation: What Issues Are at Stake for Universities”, September 18-21, 2002, Quebec, Canada.

Brown, W., (2001). Sources of funds and quality effects in higher education. Eco-nomics of Education Review 20 (2001) 289–295.

Butt, B., and Rehman, K., (2010). A study examining the students satisfaction in higher education. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 2 (2010) 5446–5450.

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AppendicesDeveloped QuestionnairesA.1 Students enrolled in the Master’s program on Environmental Studies A.2 Teaching StaffA.3 StakeholdersA.4 Alumni of the Master’s Program of Environmental Studies

Questionnaire’s Results

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GeneralStudents Enrolled in the Master Program on Environmental Studies

This questionnaire will help in improving and upgrading the master pro-gram you were enrolled in and graduated from. This is a process which as-sesses the quality of all the graduate programs, and your responses are critical to the viability and future development of this program.

The graduate programs at An-Najah, AlQuds, Birzeit are under continu-ing review by the Graduate programs Committee. The present questionnaire was developed in the framework of the TEMPUS Project: “Developing a Strategic Plan for the Reform of Environmental Studies in the Higher Edu-cation System of Palestine (DRSP)”.

The questions below are not intended to limit your responses to this evaluation. Please add anything you wish. Specific comments are most helpful. If the space provided is not adequate please include additional pages and number your additional remarks accordingly.

Every response you return on the questionnaire(s) will be considered carefully by the Review Committee. Your opinions and comments are valuable and your efforts are very much appreciated. We appreciate your input which will enable the three Universities to maintain and enhance the quality of its graduate education reform of Environmental studies.

Thank you.

Note: You can complete objective questions in the questionnaire in Arabic or English

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Program Evaluation Questionnaire: Current StudentsDirections: As part of our effort to evaluate the effectiveness of this pro-

gram, we would appreciate your completing this questionnaire. You need not indicate your name.

General InformationWhen did you start your masters program? ___ / ___ / ___

1. Gender Female ___ Male ___

2. Marital status Single ___ Married ___ Other ___

3. Family size (number) (0-2) (3-5) (6-8) (9 & over)

4. Your age 20-25___ 26-30 ___ 31-35 ___ Over 35___

5. Are you a full-time or part-time student? Full-Time___ Part-Time___

6. What is your current work: Is it related to

______________________________________

Private___ Government___ NGO ___ Other ___

7. Are you working in a full- time job? Yes NoPosition ___________________Title _____________________

8. Name the graduate program that you were enrolled on

____________________________________

9. University: An- Najah ___ AlQuds___ Birzeit___

10. How many credit hours did you finished so far

Your Grade Point average (GPA)

_____________________

_____________________

11 Are you working in the environmental field? Yes No

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Domain (1)Students’ views on environmental issues and problems

No. Item 1 2 3 4 51 Science and technology can solve all environmental prob-

lems 2 I am willing to have environmental problems solved even

at the expense of many goods 3 People should care more about environmental issues and

problems 4 I think each of us can make a significant contribution to

environmental protection 5 Environmental problems should be left to the experts 6 I would like to know and understand more about environ-

mental protection7 A combination of factors such as science, technology, re-

search, awareness and understanding can solve environ-mental problems

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3 = Neutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

Domain 2Quality and Relevance of the environmental higher educa-

tion program Ref. Item 1 2 3 4 5

1 It was possible to pursue courses in subjects that I am interested in

2 The quality of courses was generally appropriate for the level of a degree program

3 The amount of work required for the degree is appropri-ate for the level of a degree program

4 The amount of work required for the degree was appro-priate for the degree that I sought.

5 The knowledge and training obtained helped me ad-vance my career objectives

6 After graduation, I was will be able to pursue my imme-diate career goals

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3 = Neutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Objective Questions1. Why did you decide to get a master degree?

( Please select those items which are most appropriate in order of priority, with 1 being the highest and 5 being the lowest)

(a) Needed for Job ______ (b) Wanted degree _____ (c) Self-fulfillment ______ (d) Family expected it_______ (e) Social status _________ (f ) Other ________________

2. How did you learn of the degree you are pursuing? (Check all items that apply) a- Recruiter____ b- Recommended by a friend____ c- University ______ d- Media ____ e- Personal research_____ f-Other _______

3. Was your involvement worth the time and effort? Yes____ No____ If no (specify why):

4. Please rate the difficulty in obtaining the Master degree from your University:

Very difficult ______ Difficult ______ Average______ Rather Easy ____ Easy____

5. In your own words, briefly indicate the one or two personal benefits gained as a result of participating in this program:

6. In what ways do you plan to apply the knowledge gained through your graduate degree?

(Rank the responses with “1” being the most important and 5being least important. Rank only those which apply).

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• Continue on towards the doctorate ___________________• Seek employment in the private sector_________________• Seek employment in the public sector__________________• Seek a promotion or career advancement _______________• Teach at the university level_________________________• Teach at the community college level__________________• Other (specify) ____________________________________

7. Compare the tuition fees at your University with other programs. Too high__________ Fairly high __________ Average __________ Fairly low ____________ Too low__________

Should your University make the program more flexible in schedule ? Yes _____ Undecided____ No_____

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Domain (3)

Quality and Relevance of teaching staff and administrative support

No. Item 1 2 3 4 51 Staff were enthusiastic about the topics they presented2 Staff were properly prepared3 Staff were helpful and friendly4 Lecturers were fair and unbiased towards their students.

5 Lecturers added value to the subject matter, increased my interest in the master program

6 Lecturers encouraged students to think critically, in and out classroom

7 Lecturers gave clear instructions for assignments and other activities in their course

8 The lecturers created an environment conducive to learning9 Adequate support and resources were provided by my University10 The master program that I enrolled in meets international Standards.

11 The program coordinator discussed career preparation steps with me and the class

12 My department organized/considered taking the class on an outing (e.g. excursion) during the masters program

13 My department organized/considered taking the class to a restaurant as a social activity during the masters program

14 My department organized sport activities for the class during the mas-ters program

15 My teachers discussed practical examples and linked them with the business of different enterprises

16 I feel that there is a great relation between the courses at the Master program and my work now

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3 = Neutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Domain (4)

Teaching tools used, skills developed and team working practiced.

No. Item 1 2 3 4 51 I did use one or more of the Core Skills in my courses

2 It is relevant for me to use different components of Core Skills

3 It is relevant for me, to have different levels of Core Skills

4 It is relevant for me, to have practical training as part of courses

5 I had practical training in my courses

6 It is relevant for me, to have internship in the course field

7 I got an internship in the course field during the mas-ter program

8 It is relevant for me, to use computer software on the course subject and its applications

9 I was introduced to and used computer programs in both the course subject and its applications

10 It is relevant for me, to go on a field trip relevant to course subject and applications

11 I did go (with the class) on field trips relevant to course subject and applications

12 It is relevant for me, collective and team work prac-tices during the courses

13 I did practice collective and team work practices dur-ing the courses

* Core Skills = Communications, Numeracy, Information Technology, Working with Others, Problem Solving

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3 = Neutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Domain (5)

Extra curriculum activities No. Item 1 2 3 4 5

1 The university campus provides a friendly and sup-portive environment for graduate students.

2 The library collection and services are adequate for my graduate work.

3The University provides adequate supporting facili-ties (health, counseling, food, sports, dormitory, etc.) for graduate life.

4 The University area provides a reasonable social en-vironment for my stay.

5 Social life on and off campus has been good

6 Housing in the university area is reasonable and ad-equate.

7 The size of the faculty is just right

8 I was intellectually challenged by the teaching of the faculty.

9 The length of time required for my degree is reason-able

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3 = Neutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Questionnaire No. 2: Teaching Staff

General

This questionnaire aims at improving the environmental higher educa-tion Master Program at Palestinian Universities (An-Najah, Al-Quds, and BirZeit through a process assessing the quality of all graduate programs. Your responses are critical to the viability and future development of the program.

The present questionnaire was developed in the framework of the TEM-PUS Project: “Developing a Strategic Plan for the Reform of Environmen-tal Studies in the Higher Education System of Palestine (DRSP)”.

The questions below are not intended to limit your responses to this

evaluation. Please add anything you wish. Specific comments are most helpful. If the space provided is not adequate, please include additional pages and number your additional remarks accordingly. You need not in-dicate your name.

Every response you return on the questionnaire(s) will be considered care-fully by the Review Committee. Your opinions and comments are valuable and your efforts are very much appreciated. We appreciate your input, which will enable the three Universities to maintain and enhance the quality of their graduate education and the reform of Environmental Studies

Thank you.

Note: You can complete objective questions in the questionnaire in Arabic or English

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General Information

1. Gender Female ___ Male ___

2. Marital status

Single ___ Married ___ Other ___

4. Age 20-25___ 26-30 ___ 31-35 ___ Over 35___

5. Educational background _____________________________________

6. Position _____________________________________

7. University: An- Najah ___ AlQuds___ Birzeit___

8 Years at the university ___________________________________

Name of the Master Program you teach in ___________________________________

9. Number of Courses Taught ___________________________________

10 Number of Master Thesis supervised ___________________________________

Note: You can complete objective questions in the questionnaire in Arabic or English

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Domain (1)

Incentives to teach in an environmental postgraduate program

No. Item 1 2 3 4 5

1 Science and technology can solve all environmental prob-lems

2 I am willing to have environmental problems solved even at the expense of many goods

3 People should care more about environmental issues and problems

4 I think each of us can make a significant contribution to environmental protection

5 Environmental problems should be left to the experts

6 I would like to know and understand more about environ-mental protection

7A combination of factors such as science, technology, re-search, awareness and understanding can solve environ-mental problems

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=neutral, not relevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Domain (2)

Relevance of the environmental higher education program (program’s relationship to student interests and employer needs).

No. Item 1 2 3 4 51 The courses I teach are very relevant to the market needs

2 I researched market needs relevant to the courses I teach

3The department/faculty responsible for environmental MS program do hold regular meetings with lecturers in the program?

4The department/faculty responsible for environmental MS program do listen to critics and feed back received from and expressed by lecturers in the program

5 There are sufficient information about employers in the field in the department

6 How consistent are the goals and principles of the envi-ronmental higher education program at your department?

7 How sufficient are the laboratories needed for your courses?

8 I taught courses unrelated to my educational background

9 I feel that students are really interested in the program

10Environmental higher education programs at my depart-ment would help in creation of sustainable Palestinian environment in which people can live and work

11 I give actual/real examples or case studies from and/or relevant to Palestinian environment

Additional Comments

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Domain (3)

Lecturer FeedbackNo. Item 1 2 3 4 5

1 My university provides adequate resources for an ef-fective learning experience

2 Adequate support was provided by my University

3 This program seems to be very important to all de-partment members

4 I feel I am excited about the topics I am teaching

5 I do prepare my lecture carefully before going to class

6I do consider the individual student as a friendly person that I am obliged to deal with in a friendly manner

7As a teacher, I do feel obliged to pass on knowledge and understanding of the topic under consideration to students

8 Master thesis research offered to students relate well to local needs

9 The university provides sufficient financial and tech-nical support to master thesis students

10 Using English in graduate courses is academically beneficial

11 I am satisfied with the program curriculum

12 I do highly value/rate my university program in comparison to other local university programs?

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Obtaining a graduate degree in environmental sci-ences and/or engineering from your university is worth the time and cost

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Objective Questions1. What negative aspects from your experience, if any, you observed in the

master program?

2. What weaknesses, if any, have you observed in the delivery of the master programme?

3. Can you imagine your department/university achieving any positive academic developments? If so, please describe these achievements.

4. 16 Are you proud of your university’s reputation?

5. Are you satisfied with the curriculum of the program?

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Domain (4)

Sufficiency of tools used, skills and capabilities developed (technical support, training and internships, discussions, etc).

No. Item 1 2 3 4 5

1 I am aware of which core skills* we need to pass on to students

2 I have used one or more of the Core Skills in my courses

3 It is relevant for individual students to have different components of Core Skills

4 It is relevant for individual students to have different levels of Core Skills

5 Introducing core skills is appropriate for all students

6 It is relevant for individual students to have practical training in the course material

7 I have used practical training in my courses

8 It is relevant for individual students to have internship experience in subjects relating to the course

9 I have assisted students to obtain internships relevant to the course

10It is relevant for individual students to use computer programs and applications relevant to the course sub-ject

11 I have introduced students to and used computer pro-grams and applications relevant to the course subject

12 It is relevant for individual students to go on field trips relevant to the course subjects

13 I have taken the class on field trips relevant to the course subject

14 In class I use maps, diagrams, rankings and other forms of visualization tools to support my teaching

* Core Skills = Communications, Numeracy, Information Technology, Working with Others, Problem Solving

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Domain (5)

Adoption and practice of extracurricular activities (including social, sport, touristic, activities) within the academic program implementation and after gradu-ation

No. Item 1 2 3 4 5

1 Involvement in extracurricular activities during the course is relevant to the students

2 I have included extracurricular activities during the course

3 I have discussed career preparation steps with stu-dents

4 I have considered taking our class on a tour

5 I maintain contact with students after graduation

6 I have considered taking our class to a restaurant as a social activity

7 I do invite external experts in the field to my class to share experiences with students

8I do invite related Palestinian authority decision makers in the field to my class to share experiences with students

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Domain (6)

Adoption and practice of the principle of collective participa-tion and team working (student involvement, participation, interaction, etc)

No. Item 1 2 3 4 5

1 Students’ ideas are relevant to the development of my course

2 I learn from the students I teach

3 Effective teaching depends on mutual trust be-tween lecturers and students.

4Students’ ideas and opinions are difficult to under-stand, and are contradictory or incompatible with my own ideas and beliefs

5 I invite external experts in the field to my classes to share experiences with students

6At the end of the course I ask students how well they have understood the subject and its applica-tion in the field

7 I understand how my work fits into department/program objectives, mission and values

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Questionnaire No. 3 Stakeholders

General

This questionnaire aims at improving the environmental higher educa-tion Master Program at Palestinian Universities (An-Najah, Al-Quds, and BirZeit through a process assessing the quality of all graduate programs. Your responses are critical to the viability and future development of the program.

The present questionnaire was developed in the framework of the TEM-PUS Project: “Developing a Strategic Plan for the Reform of Environmental Studies in the Higher Education System of Palestine (DRSP)”.

The questions below are not intended to limit your responses to this eval-

uation. Please add anything you wish. Specific comments are most helpful. If the space provided is not adequate, please include additional pages and number your additional remarks accordingly. You need not indicate your name.

Every response you return on the questionnaire(s) will be considered care-fully by the Review Committee. Your opinions and comments are valuable and your efforts are very much appreciated. We appreciate your input, which will enable the three Universities to maintain and enhance the quality of their graduate education and the reform of Environmental Studies

Thank you.

Note: You can complete objective questions in the questionnaire in Arabic or English

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Program Evaluation Questionnaire: StakeholdersDirections: As part of our effort to evaluate the effectiveness of this pro-

gram, we would appreciate your completing this questionnaire. You need not indicate your name.

General Information

1. Gender Female ___ Male ___

2. Marital status Single ___ Married ___ Other ___

4. Age 20-25___ 26-30 ___ 31-35 ___ Over 35__

5. Type of work ___________________________________

6. Position ___________________________________

7. Educational Background

8. Name of Organization

9 Organization Field

10 Years in the field

11 Number of employees

12 Number of Employees with environmental master de-gree from Palestinian Uni-versities

13 Which University An-Najah BirZeit Al-Quds

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Domain (1)

Table 17 Views on environmental issues and problems No. Item 1 2 3 4 5

1

The organization I am working with considers the environmental higher education programs offered by Palestinian universities as an important tool to Pal-estinian environmental quality management

2The organization I am working with is willing to have local/organization specific environmental prob-lems solved even if this means financial investment

3The organization I am working with should care more about protection of the local environmental problems

4I think the organization I am working with can make a significant contribution to Palestinian environmen-tal protection

5 I think the organization I am working with is aware about environmental problems in Palestine

6I think the organization I am working with would like to know and understand more about environ-mental protection in Palestine

7Science, technology and research, combined with awareness and understanding can solve environmen-tal problems

8I think the organization I am working with has confi-dence in the quality of environmental higher educa-tion programs offered by Palestinian universities

9

I think the organization I am working with needs the knowledge and skills developed in graduates of en-vironmental higher education programs offered by Palestinian universities

10

I think the organization I am working with has con-fidence in the administration/ managing of the envi-ronmental higher education programs at Palestinian universities

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=do not know or not relevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Domain (2)

Table 18 Relevance of the environmental higher education program

(program relationship to experience , interests and employers needs).No. Item 1 2 3 4 5

1The environmental graduate programs offered by Pal-estinian universities are relevant to my organization’s needs

2 My organization looked for what are their needs in the field of environmental sciences/engineering

3My organization knows in details the environmental higher education programs offered by Palestinian uni-versities

4 My organization maintains contacts with Palestinian uni-versities regarding their needs

5 My organization has adopted an environmental quality management system in their daily work

6 My organization is interested in recruiting graduates from Palestinian universities

7My organization trusts the quality of graduates from en-vironmental programs offered by Palestinian universi-ties

8Representatives of environmental higher education pro-grams at Palestinian universities regularly visit and/or communicate with my organization

9

Environmental higher education programs offered by Palestinian universities may help in creating a sustain-able environment in Palestine suitable for people’s live and work

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=do not know or not relevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Domain (3)

Table 19 Organization’s Expectations: Clarity of program learn-ing objectives and compliance with international Standards.

No. Item 1 2 3 4 5

1

Skills, knowledge, and application tools that graduates have obtained during the environmental higher education programs offered by Palestinian universities fulfill my organization’s expectations

2Graduate environmental higher education pro-grams at Palestinian universities are more theo-retical than applied

3Student research work for masters’ theses at Pal-estinian universities is conducted in coordination with my organization

4 Student research work for masters’ theses at Pales-tinian universities is driven by local needs

5Palestinian universities provide sufficient finan-cial and technical support to students working on their masters’ theses

6Obtaining a graduate degree in environmental sci-ences and/or engineering from Palestinian univer-sities is worth the cost and time spent

7My organization is proud of Palestinian univer-sities environmental sciences and/or engineering programs reputation

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=do not know or not relevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Domain (4)

Table 20 Sufficiency of tools used, skills and capabilities developed

(technical support, training and internships, discussions, etc).No. Item 1 2 3 4 5

1 My organization knows the tools used and skills de-veloped at local Palestinian Universities

2Local Palestinian Universities offer students training to up-to-date computer software in environmental sciences and/or engineering applications

3 My organization employs graduates who have differ-ent components of Core Skills (*)

4

My organization invites students to conduct applied training and give internships to graduate students en-rolled in environmental sciences and/or engineering master programs

5 My organization thinks that introducing core skills is appropriate for all students

6 My organization thinks that field training and intern-ships are appropriate for all students

7Environmental sciences and/or engineering master programs at local universities are supported by suf-ficient analytical laboratories

8Environmental sciences and/or engineering master programs at local universities are supported with good information and library resources

9

Graduates from environmental sciences and/or engi-neering programs at local university become aware of environmental problems Palestinian society is fac-ing through training

10 Lectures are freely posted by lecturers at university website for student use

11 Electronic lectures are freely posted by lecturers at university website for student use

* Core Skills = Communications, Numeracy, Information Technology, Working with Others, Problem Solving

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=do not know or not relevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Domain (5)

Lecturer’s quality and commitment (lecturer academic qualifica-tions and intuition, dedication and sincerity).

No. Item 1 2 3 4 5

1

My organization experiences and communication with environmental MS programs lecturers at Palestinian universities indicate that they have a good knowledge of their field.

2My organization invites lecturers/experts in the field working at local universities to share experiences with employees

3

Employees at my organization, graduated from envi-ronmental higher education programs at Palestinian universities praises their professors at Palestinian uni-versities

4Local universities employ in the environmental MS program lecturers who have good experience and knowledge of local environmental problems and needs.

5Lecturers in environmental MS programs at Palestin-ian universities regularly communicate with my orga-nization to discuss organizations and market needs

6

Lecturers in environmental MS programs at Palestin-ian universities regularly communicate with my orga-nization to explore joint research and development in the field.

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=do not know or not relevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Domain (6)

Adoption and practice of extracurricular activities (social, sport, touristic, activities within the academic program implementation and

after graduation)No. Item 1 2 3 4 5

1 Involvement in extracurricular activities during the course is relevant to the students

2Our organization has helped local universities in making extracurricular activities available to stu-dents

3Our organization has discussed career preparation steps with graduate program planners at local uni-versities

4 Our organization has considered inviting graduate classes from local universities to tour our premises

5Our organization sends feedback on the perfor-mance of alumni from local universities to their de-partments

6 My organization gives financial support to local universities for extracurricular activities

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=do not know or not relevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Domain (7)

Adoption and practice of participation and team working (student involvement, participation, interaction, etc)

No. Item 1 2 3 4 51 The ideas of employees graduated from local uni-

versities are very relevant and valid to the devel-opment of my organization

2 Employees graduated from local universities are very actively involved in organization’s quality

3 Alumni’s of environmental MS programs of Pal-estinian universities have mutual trust with their lecturers and department

4 Employees graduated from local universities are difficult to understand

5 Employees graduated from local universities are excellent in team working

6 Employees graduated from local universities are innovative and take initiatives

7 Employees graduated from local universities get along quickly with work environment

8 Employees graduated from local universities are positively active in my organization’s develop-ment

9 Employees graduated from local universities proved to be excellent and active in team working

10 Employees graduated from local universities get along quickly either with supervisors or/and co-workers

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=do not know or not relevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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General

Alumni of the Masters Programs in Environmental Studies

This questionnaire will help in improving and upgrading the master pro-gram you were enrolled in and graduated from. This is process which assesses the quality of all the graduate programs, and your responses are critical to the viability and future development of this program.

The graduate programs at An-Najah, AlQuds, Birzeit are under continu-ing review by the Graduate programs Committee. The present questionnaire was developed in the framework of the TEMPUS Project: “Developing a Strategic Plan for the Reform of Environmental Studies in the Higher Edu-cation System of Palestine (DRSP)”.

The questions below are not intended to limit your responses to this evaluation. Please add anything you wish. Specific comments are most helpful. If the space provided is not adequate please include additional pages and number your additional remarks accordingly.

Every response you return on the questionnaire(s) will be considered carefully by the Review Committee. Your opinions and comments are valuable and your efforts are very much appreciated. We appreciate your input which will enable the three Universities to maintain and enhance the quality of its graduate education reform of Environmental studies.

Thank you.

Note: You can complete objective questions in the questionnaire in Arabic or English

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Program Evaluation Questionnaire: Alumni’sDirections: As part of our effort to evaluate the effectiveness of this pro-

gram, we would appreciate your completing this questionnaire. You need not indicate your name.

General Information

When did you graduate from your university with a masters degree? __/__/___

1. Gender Female ___ Male ___

2. Marital status Single ___ Married ___ Other ___

3. Family size (number) (0-2) (3-5) (6-8) (9 & over)

4. Your age 20-25___ 26-30 ___ 31-35 ___ Over 35___

5. Were you a full-time or part-time student?

Full-Time___ Part-Time___

6. What is your current work: Is it related to

_____________________

Private___ Government___ NGO ___ Other ___

7. Are you working in a full- time job?

Yes NoPosition ___________________Title _____________________

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8. Name the graduate program that you were enrolled on ________________________________

9. University: An- Najah ___ AlQuds___ Birzeit___

10. Your Grade Point average (GPA)

____________________________

Did you write a master’s the-sis?

Yes No

Are you working in the envi-ronmental field?

Yes No

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Domain (1)

Students’ views on environmental issues and problems

No. Item 1 2 3 4 51 Science and technology can solve all environmental

problems 2 I am willing to have environmental problems solved even

at the expense of many goods 3 People should care more about environmental issues and

problems 4 I think each of us can make a significant contribution to

environmental protection 5 Environmental problems should be left to the experts 6 I would like to know and understand more about environ-

mental protection7 A combination of factors such as science, technology, re-

search, awareness and understanding can solve environ-mental problems

1 = strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=neutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Domain No. (2)

Quality and relevance of the environmental higher education program

Ref. Item 1 2 3 4 51 It was possible to pursue courses in subjects that I

am interested in 2 The quality of courses was generally appropriate

for the level of a degree program3 The amount of work required for the degree is ap-

propriate for the level of a degree program4 The amount of work required for the degree was

appropriate for the degree that I sought. 5 The knowledge and training obtained helped me

advance my career objectives6 After graduation, I was able to pursue my immedi-

ate career goal1 = strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=neutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Objective Questions

1. What aspects of your master’s program training do you find to be the most satisfying with respect to your career goals and achievements?

2. What area(s) or aspect(s) of your graduate program do you consider to be the strongest?

3. What area(s) or aspect(s) of your graduate program need to be im-proved?

4. Are there aspects of your master’s training that you are particularly dis-appointed by, given your experiences in your field of work?

5. What, if any, changes to your graduate master’s degree program would you recommend?

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6. Was your department or University involved in your job search? Yes …. No…..

If yes, please specify how they were involved or assisted.

7. While on your program, how many research presentations (including poster presentations) have you made in or out class?: -

8. What sorts of skills did you derive from your environmental scientific training that have proved valuable in your work since graduation?

9. If you had or are still having difficulty finding a job, to what do you at-tribute these difficulties?

10. What sorts of skills did you derive from your environmental scientific training that have proven valuable in your work since graduation?

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Domain No. (3)

Quality and Relevance of teaching staff and administrative support

No. Item 1 2 3 4 51 Staff were enthusiastic about the topics they presented2 Staff were properly prepared3 Staff were helpful and friendly4 Lecturers were fair and unbiased towards their students.5 Lecturers added value to the subject matter, increased my

interest in the master program 6 Lecturers encouraged students to think critically, in and out

classroom7 Lecturers gave clear instructions for assignments and other

activities in their course8 The lecturers created an environment conducive to learning9 Adequate support and resources were provided by my Uni-

versity10 The master program that I enrolled in met international

Standards11 The program coordinator discussed career preparation steps

with me and the class12 My department organized/considered taking the class on an

outing (e.g. excursion) during the masters program13 Has My department organized/considered taking the class

to a restaurant as a social activity during the masters pro-gram

14 My department organized sport activities for the class dur-ing the masters program?

15 My teachers discussed practical examples and linked them with the business of different enterprises

16 I feel that there is a great relation between the courses at the Master program and my work now

1 = strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=neutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Objective Questions

1. What problems, if any, have you experienced concerning advice during the course of your Master of Environmental Sciences?

2. Overall planning of the graduate program was good, including core and tentative courses, text materials, homework/projects, exams, etc. ______ (1strongly disagree to 5 strongly agree).

3. Did you receive advice about future course offerings? No Yes -Some Yes - Extensive

4. Did you receive advice about degree requirements? No Yes -Some Yes - Extensive

5. Did you receive advice about certification requirements? No Problems- Some Problems Many problems

6. Did you have opportunity to meet with an advisor or an advisory com-mittee?

No Problems- Some Problems Many problems

7. Did you receive adequate advice in your area of specialization or em-phasis?

No Problems - Some Problems Many Problems

8. To what extent would you be willing to recommend your program to prospective graduate students who are interested in pursuing a degree in the same area of study?

Would Recommend Without Reservation Would Recommend With Reservation Would Definitely Not Recommend Would Not Comment Either Way

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Rate the overall QUALITY, UTILITY, and RIGOR of your graduate program.

QUALITY: Poor Fair Good Excellent

UTILITY: Of No Use Somewhat Useful Very Useful Most Useful

RIGOR:Not Rigorous Somewhat Rigorous Very Rigorous Most Rigorous

10. Lecturers introduced practical aspects of the course, and gave applied examples and solutions _____ (1strongly disagree to 5 strongly agree).

11. Lecturers had experience and work in the Palestinian environmental market ______ (1strongly disagree to 5 strongly agree).

12. In general, I would rate the teaching staff very highly. _____ (1strongly disagree to 5 strongly agree).

13. I would rate the support by the Master program office very highly._____ (1 strongly disagree to 5 strongly agree).

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Domain No.(4)

Program’s QualityRef Item 1 2 3 4 51 The master program increased my knowledge and under-

standing of environmental problems and their solutions 2 The master program prepared me for getting better/higher

management position in any organization 3 My program increased my level of skills in dealing with

legal aspects of environmental issues and problems4 I received a quality education through my master program 5 My program prepared me with transferable skills useful to

various different organizations 6 My program prepared me to manage internal functions of

a nonprofit organization 7 My program prepared me to manage external functions of

an organization 8 My program increased my networking opportunities 9 My program increased my skill in marketing in an orga-

nization 10 My program contributed to increases in management re-

sponsibility 11 My program contributed to promotions to a higher level in

organization 12 My program contributed to increase in my salary 13 My program gave me increased competence in managing

employees 14 My program gave me an increased desire to read about re-

search in the environmental sciences field 15 My program increased my skill in public relations 16 My program increased my skill in conducting effective

meetings 17 My program increased my skill in conflict management 18 My program prepared Students for Nonprofit Careers 19 My program prepared Students to Integrate Theory and

Practice 22 My program had a positive impact on Graduates’ Careers

1 = strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=neutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Objective Questions

1. I. Rate (from 0 very poor – 5 excellent) the merits your education gave you in terms of how well it prepared you for working life.

2. General knowledge _____ 3. Ability in your major subject / study program _____ 4. Ability in your minor subject / minor studies _____ 5. Communication skills_____ 6. Scientific knowledge in and solutions of environmental issues and prob-

lems _____

II. Rate the following statements on a scale from zero to four (1 =does not describe my attitude at all, 2 = describes my attitude quite poorly, 4 = de-scribes my attitude quite well, 5 = totally describes my attitude, 3 = unable to answer or not relevant) 1. The education corresponded to my expectations when I started my

studies. 2. The quality of the education was high. 3. The education was demanding. 4. The education was motivating. 5. The studies were interesting. 6. The education gave me good skills for work/professional life. 7. The study atmosphere was positive. 8. Ability to work internationally _____ 9. Team-working skills _____ 10. General leadership skills _____ 11. Skills in human resources management _____ 12. Data processing/management skills _____ 13. Ability to learn new things _____ 14. Ability to solve problems _____ 15. Ability to perform in public

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Domain No (5)

Teaching tools used, skills developed and team working practiced

No. Item 1 2 3 4 51 I did use one or more of the Core Skills in my courses2 It is relevant for me to use different components of

Core Skills3 It is relevant for me, to have different levels of Core

Skills4 It is relevant for me, to have practical training as part

of courses5 I had practical training in my courses6 It is relevant for me, to have internship in the course

field7 I got an internship in the course field during the mas-

ter program8 It is relevant for me, to use computer software on the

course subject and its applications9 I was introduced to and used computer programs in

both the course subject and its applications10 It is relevant for me, to go on a field trip relevant to

course subject and applications11 I did go (with the class) on field trips relevant to

course subject and applications12 It is relevant for me, to have collective and team work

practices during the courses13 I did practice collective and team work practices dur-

ing the courses* Core Skills = Communications, Numeracy, Information Technology, Working with Others, Problem Solving

1 = strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=neutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Objective StatementsPlease respond to the following statements by indicating your agreement

or disagreement on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

1. The university campus provides a friendly and supportive environment for graduate students.

1 2 3 4 5

2. The library collection and service are adequate for my graduate work. 1 2 3 4 5

3. The University provides adequate supporting facilities (health, counsel-ing, food, dormitory, etc.) for graduate life.

1 2 3 4 5

4. The University area provides a reasonable social environment for my stay

1 2 3 4 5

5. Social life on and off campus has been wonderful. 1 2 3 4 5

6. Housing in the area is reasonable and adequate. 1 2 3 4 5

7. Research assistantships from the department have been a great help to me financially

1 2 3 4 5

8. I was able to obtain instruction (courses) in subjects that I am inter-ested in.

1 2 3 4 5

9. The students in the Department are generally friendly and helpful1 2 3 4 5

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Objective Questions1. In your own words, briefly indicate the one or two personal benefits

have gained as a result of participating in this program.

2. Was your involvement worth the time and effort? Yes --- no--- If no (specify)

3. Why did you select your University? Check all items that apply a- Recruiter_____ b- Recommended by friend____ c-University _____

d- media _____ e- personal research _____ f-Other _______

4. Compare the tuition and your University with Other programs.Too high__________ A little high __________ A average __________A little low ____________ too low__________

5. Please rate the difficulty in obtaining the Master degree from your Uni-versity.

Very difficult______ Difficult______ Average_______Easy__________

6. Should your University make the program more flexible in schedule for you

Yes_____ undecided_____ No_____

7. Do you feel that the English proficiency requirement is fair for an aca-demically well –qualified international adult learner to attend Ameri-can schools?

Yes_____ undecided_____ No_____Comments______________________________________________

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8. Do you feel that academic proficiency and experience should be more important than the English proficiency to study in a master program?

Yes_____ undecided_____ No_____

9. Please list the types of procedures and activities you have independently developed during your master program.

A. Procedures

B. Activities

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Appendix B

Questionnaire’s Results

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B.1 Enrolled Students Questionnaire ResultsTable (1): Domain (1) Students’ Views on Environmental Issues

and ProblemsNo. Item mean SD N

1 Science and technology can solve all environmental problems 2.2000 .90624 93

2 I am willing to have environmental problems solved even at the expense of many goods 2.2556 .75790 90

3 People should care more about environmental issues and problems 1.4891 .84508 92

4 I think each of us can make a significant contribution to environmental protection 1.5326 .73307 92

5 Environmental problems should be left to the experts 3.4043 1.16692 94

6 I would like to know and understand more about en-vironmental protection 1.4835 .77978 91

7A combination of factors such as science, technolo-gy, research, awareness and understanding can solve environmental problems

1.4574 .72830 94

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3 = Neutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Table (2): Dom

ain (2) Quality and Relevance of the Environm

ental Higher Education Program

Ref.

ItemM

eanSD

NPercentage

Rank

1It w

as possible to pursue courses in subjects that I am interested in

2.0220.71458

9140.44%

6

2The quality of courses w

as generally appropriate for the level of a de-gree program

2.2903.80191

9345.81%

2

3The am

ount of work required for the degree is appropriate for the level

of a degree program2.3226

.7247493

46.45%1

4The am

ount of work required for the degree w

as appropriate for the degree that I sought.

2.2273.70674

928844.55%

3

5The know

ledge and training obtained helped me advance m

y career objectives

2.0870.89752

9241.74%

5

6A

fter graduation, I was w

ill be able to pursue my im

mediate career goals

2.1667.79676

9043.33%

41 = Strongly agree, 2= A

gree, 3 = Neutral, do not know

or irrelevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

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Tabl

e(3)

: D

omai

n (3

), Q

ualit

y an

d Re

leva

nce

of T

each

ing

Staff

and

Adm

inist

rativ

e Su

ppor

tR

ef.

Item

Mea

nSD

NPe

rcen

tage

Ran

k1

Staf

f wer

e e

nthu

sias

tic a

bout

the

topi

cs th

ey p

rese

nted

1.94

57.6

1776

9238

.91%

162

Staf

f wer

e pr

oper

ly p

repa

red

2.05

32.7

9470

9441

.06%

133

Staf

f wer

e he

lpfu

l and

frie

ndly

1.95

74.8

7884

9439

.15%

154

Lect

urer

s wer

e fa

ir an

d un

bias

ed to

war

ds th

eir s

tude

nts.

2.28

26.8

8113

9245

.65%

85

Lect

urer

s add

ed v

alue

to th

e su

bjec

t mat

ter,

incr

ease

d m

y in

tere

st in

the

mas

ter p

rogr

am

2.00

00.7

4377

9540

.00%

14

6Le

ctur

ers e

ncou

rage

d st

uden

ts to

thin

k cr

itica

lly, i

n an

d ou

t cla

ssro

om2.

0851

.771

2594

41.7

0%12

7Le

ctur

ers

gave

cle

ar in

stru

ctio

ns fo

r ass

ignm

ents

and

oth

er a

ctiv

ities

in

thei

r cou

rse

2.15

05.7

7944

9343

.01%

10

8Th

e le

ctur

ers c

reat

ed a

n en

viro

nmen

t con

duci

ve to

lear

ning

2.12

90.6

7929

9342

.58%

119

Ade

quat

e su

ppor

t and

reso

urce

s wer

e pr

ovid

ed b

y m

y U

nive

rsity

2.64

521.

0492

893

52.9

0%5

10 T

he m

aste

r pro

gram

that

I en

rolle

d in

mee

ts in

tern

atio

nal

Stan

dard

s.2.

4842

.861

2695

49.6

8%6

11Th

e pro

gram

coor

dina

tor d

iscu

ssed

care

er p

repa

ratio

n st

eps w

ith m

e and

th

e cl

ass

2.82

981.

0538

094

56.6

0%4

12M

y de

partm

ent o

rgan

ized

/con

side

red

taki

ng th

e cl

ass o

n an

out

ing

(e.g

. ex

curs

ion)

dur

ing

the

mas

ters

pro

gram

2.83

521.

1280

691

56.7

0%3

13M

y de

partm

ent o

rgan

ized

/con

side

red

taki

ng th

e cl

ass

to a

rest

aura

nt a

s a

soci

al a

ctiv

ity d

urin

g th

e m

aste

rs p

rogr

am3.

4516

1.20

250

9369

.03%

2

14M

y de

partm

ent o

rgan

ized

spo

rt ac

tiviti

es fo

r the

cla

ss d

urin

g th

e m

as-

ters

pro

gram

3.78

721.

1535

194

75.7

4%1

15M

y te

ache

rs d

iscu

ssed

pra

ctic

al ex

ampl

es an

d lin

ked

them

with

the b

usi-

ness

of d

iffer

ent e

nter

pris

es2.

2526

.850

1495

45.0

5%9

16I f

eel t

hat t

here

is a

gre

at re

latio

n be

twee

n th

e co

urse

s at t

he M

aste

r pro

-gr

am a

nd m

y w

ork

now

2.

4421

.975

4095

48.8

4%7

1 =

Stro

ngly

agre

e, 2=

Agr

ee, 3

= N

eutra

l, do

not

kno

w or

irre

leva

nt, 4

= D

isagr

ee, 5

= St

rong

ly d

isagr

eeA

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

135

Table (4): Dom

ain (4) Teaching Tools Used, Skills D

eveloped and Team W

orking Practiced.

No.

ItemM

eanSD

NPercentage

Rank

1I did use one or m

ore of the Core Skills in m

y courses2.0421

.7567595

40.84%7

2It is relevant for m

e to use different components of C

ore Skills1.9474

.6419595

38.95%11

3It is relevant for m

e, to have different levels of Core Skills

2.1075.68306

9342.15%

64

It is relevant for me, to have practical training as part of courses

2.0421.88625

9540.84%

85

I had practical training in my courses

2.76601.13994

9455.32%

26

It is relevant for me, to have internship in the course field

2.2151.94235

9344.30%

47

I got an internship in the course field during the master program

2.90221.18655

9258.04%

18

It is relevant for me, to use com

puter software on the course subject and its ap-

plications1.7021

.7453094

34.04%13

9I w

as introduced to and used computer program

s in both the course subject and its applications

1.8737.80215

9537.47%

12

10It is relevant for m

e, to go on a field trip relevant to course subject and applications1.9684

.8685195

39.37%10

11I did go (w

ith the class) on field trips relevant to course subject and applications2.5474

1.1276895

50.95%3

12It is relevant for m

e, collective and team w

ork practices during the courses2.0105

.8055095

40.21%9

13I did practice collective and team

work practices during the courses

2.1789.97826

9543.58%

5* C

ore Skills = Com

munications, N

umeracy, Inform

ation Technology, Working with O

thers, Problem

Solving1 = Strongly agree, 2= A

gree, 3 = Neutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= D

isagree, 5= Strongly disagree

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

136

Tabl

e (5

): D

omai

n (5

) Ex

tra

Cur

ricul

um A

ctiv

ities

No.

Ite

mM

ean

SDN

Perc

enta

geR

ank

1Th

e uni

vers

ity ca

mpu

s pro

vide

s a fr

iend

ly an

d su

ppor

tive e

nviro

nmen

t for

gra

du-

ate

stud

ents

. 2.

4526

1.02

903

9549

.05%

7

2Th

e lib

rary

col

lect

ion

and

serv

ices

are

ade

quat

e fo

r my

grad

uate

wor

k.

2.70

211.

0557

694

54.0

4%3

3Th

e U

nive

rsity

pro

vide

s ade

quat

e su

ppor

ting

faci

litie

s (he

alth

, cou

nsel

ing,

food

, sp

orts

, dor

mito

ry, e

tc.)

for g

radu

ate

life.

2.

9570

1.09

260

9359

.14%

1

4Th

e U

nive

rsity

are

a pr

ovid

es a

reas

onab

le so

cial

env

ironm

ent f

or m

y st

ay.

2.70

212.

2231

994

54.0

4%4

5So

cial

life

on

and

off c

ampu

s has

bee

n go

od2.

3696

.847

9892

47.3

9%9

6H

ousi

ng in

the

univ

ersi

ty a

rea

is re

ason

able

and

ade

quat

e.

2.74

47.9

3827

9454

.89%

27

The

size

of t

he fa

culty

is ju

st ri

ght

2.63

44.8

6959

9352

.69%

58

I was

inte

llect

ually

cha

lleng

ed b

y th

e te

achi

ng o

f the

facu

lty.

2.45

65.8

5694

9249

.13%

69

The

leng

th o

f tim

e re

quire

d fo

r my

degr

ee is

reas

onab

le2.

3936

.930

0094

47.8

7%8

1 =

Stro

ngly

agre

e, 2=

Agr

ee, 3

= N

eutra

l, do

not

kno

w or

irre

leva

nt, 4

= D

isagr

ee, 5

= St

rong

ly d

isagr

ee

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

137

B.2 Alumni Questionnaire Results

Table (6): Domain (1) Students’ Views on Environmental Issues and Problems

No. Item Mean SD N Percentage Rank

1 Science and technology can solve all en-vironmental problems 2.1842 .98242 38 0.74054 3

2 I am willing to have environmental problems solved even at the expense of many goods

2.2973 .90875 37 0.45946 2

3People should care more about protec-tion of environmental issues and prob-lems

1.4474 .97807 38 0.43684 7

4 . I think each of us can make a significant contribution to environmental protection 1.5263 .92230 38 0.3421 6

5 . Environmental problems should be left to the experts 3.7027 1.12706 37 0.33684 1

6 I would like to know and understand more about environment protection 1.7105 1.03735 38 0.30526 4

7

a combination of factors such as science, technology, research awareness under-standing can solve environment prob-lems

1.6842 1.06809 38 0.28948 5

1 = strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=neutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

138

Table (7): Domain (2) Quality and Relevance of the Envi-ronmental Higher Education Program

Ref. Item Mean SD N Percentage Rank

1 It was possible to pursue courses in sub-jects that I am interested in 2.0541 .81466 37 0.55676 7

2 The quality of courses was generally ap-propriate for the level of a degree program 2.7838 .82108 37 0.54594 1

3The amount of work required for the de-

gree is appropriate for the level of a degree program

2.5135 .73112 37 0.52972 6

4The amount of work required for the

degree is appropriate for the degree that I sought.

2.5556 .87650 36 0.51578 5

5 The program in general met my expecta-tions 2.6486 1.08567 37 0.51112 3

6 The knowledge and training obtained will help me advance my career objectives 2.7297 .96173 37 0.5027 2

7 After graduation, I will be able to pursue my immediate career goal 2.5789 .88932 38 0.41082 4

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3 = Neutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= Dis-agree, 5= Strongly disagree

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

139

Table (8): Dom

ain (3) Quality and Relevance of Teaching Staff and Adm

inistrative

SupportN

o. Item

Mean

SDN

PercentageR

ank1

Staff was enthusiastic about the topics they presented

2.1316.70408

380.76756

132

Staff was properly prepared

2.5526.89132

380.66486

93

Staff was helpful and friendly

1.9189.75933

370.64864

144

Lecturers were fair and unbiased tow

ards his students.2.2432

.7960137

0.6270212

5Lecturers added value to the subject m

atter, increased my interest in the

master program

2.3684

.6333538

0.5513611

6Lecturers encouraged students to think critically, in and out classroom

2.6316.94214

380.55

8

7Lecturers gave clear instructions for assignm

ents and other activities in their course

2.63891.01848

360.52778

7

8The lecturers created an environm

ent conducive to learning2.4054

.8647237

0.5263210

9A

dequate support and resources were provided by m

y University?

2.75681.06472

370.51052

5

10D

id the master program

that you enrolled in meet the international Stan-

dards.?2.7500

.8409236

0.481086

11H

as the program coordinator discussed career preparation steps w

ith you and the class?

3.24321.16441

370.47368

3

12H

as your department organized/considered taking your class to an outing

(e.g. excursion) during the master program

?3.1351

1.0583637

0.448644

13H

as your department organized/considered taking your class to a restaurant

as social activity during the master program

?3.3243

1.3134837

0.426322

14H

as your department organized sport activities for your class during the

master program

?3.8378

1.0932537

0.383781

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3 = N

eutral, do not know or irrelevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

140

Tabl

e (9

): D

omai

n (4

) Pr

ogra

ms Q

ualit

yR

efIte

mM

ean

SDN

Perc

enta

geR

ank

1In

crea

sed

know

ledg

e abo

ut ro

le p

laye

d by

the

mas

ter e

nviro

nmen

tal s

cien

ce

prog

ram

2.

0000

.792

8236

40.0

0%20

2Pr

epar

ed fo

r man

agem

ent p

ositi

on in

any

org

aniz

atio

n 2.

6389

1.12

511

3652

.78%

153

Incr

ease

d kn

owle

dge

usef

ul to

car

eer

2.44

441.

0808

636

48.8

9%18

4Pr

ogra

m re

leva

nt to

car

eer s

ince

gra

duat

ion

2.50

00.8

7831

3650

.00%

165

Incr

ease

d sk

ill in

lega

l asp

ects

of o

rgan

izat

ion

2.

7429

.780

0035

54.8

6%13

6R

ecei

ved

a qu

ality

edu

catio

n 2.

7714

.910

2635

55.4

3%12

7Pr

epar

ed to

tran

sfer

skill

s acr

oss d

iffer

ent o

rgan

izat

ions

2.

8000

.833

1435

56.0

0%8

8Pr

epar

ed to

man

age

inte

rnal

func

tions

of a

non

profi

t org

aniz

atio

n 2.

4722

.877

8636

49.4

4%17

9Pr

epar

ed to

man

age

exte

rnal

func

tions

of a

n or

gani

zatio

n 3.

0278

.909

8236

60.5

6%3

10In

crea

sed

netw

orki

ng o

ppor

tuni

ties

2.80

00.9

3305

3556

.00%

811

Incr

ease

d sk

ill in

mar

ketin

g in

an

orga

niza

tions

2.

9143

1.06

747

3558

.29%

512

Con

tribu

ted

to in

crea

ses i

n m

anag

emen

t res

pons

ibili

ty

2.88

241.

0944

734

57.6

5%7

13C

ontri

bute

d to

pro

mot

ions

to a

hig

her l

evel

in o

rgan

izat

ion

3.05

88.8

8561

3461

.18%

114

Con

tribu

ted

to in

crea

se in

sala

ry

2.28

57.9

2582

3545

.71%

1915

Incr

ease

d co

mpe

tenc

e in

man

agin

g em

ploy

ees

2.88

57.9

3215

3557

.71%

616

Incr

ease

d de

sire

to re

ad a

bout

rese

arch

in e

nviro

nmen

tal s

cien

ces fi

eld

2.80

00.7

9705

3556

.00%

817

Incr

ease

d sk

ill in

pub

lic re

latio

ns

2.94

29.8

7255

3558

.86%

418

Incr

ease

d sk

ill in

con

duct

ing

effe

ctiv

e m

eetin

gs

3.05

71.9

0563

3561

.14%

219

Incr

ease

d sk

ill in

con

flict

man

agem

ent

2.80

00.7

9705

3556

.00%

820

Prep

arin

g St

uden

ts fo

r Non

profi

t Car

eers

2.

6571

.905

6335

53.1

4%14

1 =

Stro

ngly

agre

e, 2=

Agr

ee, 3

= N

eutra

l, do

not

kno

w or

irre

leva

nt, 4

= D

isagr

ee, 5

= St

rong

ly d

isagr

ee

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

141

Table (10): Dom

ain (5) Teaching Tools Used, Skills D

eveloped And Team

Working

PracticedN

o.Item

Mean

SDN

PercentageR

ank1

Have you used one or m

ore of the Core Skills in your courses?

2.22861.08697

3564.52%

102

How

relevant is it, for you, to use different components of C

ore Skills?2.2571

1.0387535

62.50%8

3H

ow relevant is it, for you, to have different levels of C

ore Skills?2.1429

1.0885235

56.47%11

4H

ow relevant is it, for you, to have practical training as part of courses?

2.26471.23849

3453.53%

75

Have you had practical training in your courses?

3.22581.08657

3148.82%

16

How

relevant is it, for you, to have internship in the course field?2.3939

1.0588733

47.88%6

7D

id you get an internship in the course field during the program?

3.12501.26364

3245.29%

2

8H

ow relevant is it, for you, to use com

puter software on the course subject and

its applications?2.0294

.9040434

45.14%13

9H

ave you been introduced to and used computer program

s in the course sub-ject and applications?

2.67651.03633

3444.71%

4

10H

ow relevant is it, for you, to go on a field trip relevant to course subject and

applications?2.2353

1.2075234

44.57%9

11D

id you go (with the class) on field trips relevant to course subject and ap-

plications2.8235

1.4242634

42.86%3

12H

ow relevant are , for you, collective and team

work practices during the

courses?2.0882

.9959834

41.76%12

13H

ave you practiced collective and team w

ork practices during the courses2.4412

1.1332834

40.59%5

* Core Skills = C

omm

unications, Num

eracy, Information Technology, W

orking with Others, Problem

SolvingB. A

ctivities

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

142

B.3 Teaching Staff Questionnaire ResultsTa

ble

(11):

Dom

ain

(1) In

cent

ives

to T

each

in a

n En

viro

nmen

tal P

ostgr

adua

te

Prog

ram

No.

Item

Mea

nSD

NPe

rcen

tage

Ran

k

1Sc

ienc

e an

d te

chno

logy

can

sol

ve a

ll en

viro

nmen

tal p

rob-

lem

s 1.

8750

.991

038

72.5

0%6

2I a

m w

illin

g to

hav

e en

viro

nmen

tal p

robl

ems s

olve

d ev

en a

t th

e ex

pens

e of

man

y go

ods

2.25

00.8

8641

845

.00%

2

3Pe

ople

sho

uld

care

mor

e ab

out

envi

ronm

enta

l is

sues

and

pr

oble

ms

2.00

001.

4142

18

42.8

6%4

4 I

thi

nk e

ach

of u

s ca

n m

ake

a si

gnifi

cant

con

tribu

tion

to

envi

ronm

enta

l pro

tect

ion

1.85

711.

5735

97

40.0

0%7

5En

viro

nmen

tal p

robl

ems s

houl

d be

left

to th

e ex

perts

3.

6250

1.18

773

840

.00%

1

6I

wou

ld li

ke to

kno

w a

nd u

nder

stan

d m

ore

abou

t env

iron-

men

tal p

rote

ctio

n2.

1429

1.46

385

737

.50%

3

7A

com

bina

tion

of f

acto

rs s

uch

as s

cien

ce, t

echn

olog

y, r

e-se

arch

, aw

aren

ess a

nd u

nder

stan

ding

can

solv

e en

viro

nmen

-ta

l pro

blem

s 2.

0000

1.51

186

837

.14%

5

1 =

Stro

ngly

agre

e, 2=

Agr

ee, 3

=neu

tral,

not r

eleva

nt, 4

= D

isagr

ee, 5

= St

rong

ly d

isagr

ee

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

143

Table (12): Dom

ain (2) Relevance of the environmental higher education program

No.

ItemM

eanSD

NPercentage

Rank

1The courses I teach are very relevant to the m

arket needs2.1250

1.356208

67.50%10

2I researched m

arket needs relevant to the courses I teach2.6250

1.597998

62.50%6

3The departm

ent/faculty responsible for environmental M

S program do hold

regular meetings w

ith lecturers in the program?

3.00001.41421

860.00%

3

4The departm

ent/faculty responsible for environmental M

S program do lis-

ten to critics and feed back received from and expressed by lecturers in the

program2.8750

1.356208

57.50%4

5There are sufficient inform

ation about employers in the field in the depart-

ment

2.5000.53452

855.00%

9

6H

ow consistent are the goals and principles of the environm

ental higher edu-cation program

at your department?

2.6250.51755

852.50%

7

7H

ow sufficient are the laboratories needed for your courses?

3.1250.99103

852.50%

28

I taught courses unrelated to my educational background

3.37501.50594

851.43%

19

I feel that students are really interested in the program2.7500

1.164968

50.00%5

10Environm

ental higher education programs at m

y department w

ould help in creation of sustainable Palestinian environm

ent in which people can live and

work

2.57141.27242

742.50%

8

11I give actual/real exam

ples or case studies from and/or relevant to Palestin-

ian environment

1.87501.12599

837.50%

11

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

144

Tabl

e (13

): D

omai

n (3

) Le

ctur

er F

eedb

ack

No.

Item

Mea

nSD

NPe

rcen

tage

Ran

k

1M

y un

iver

sity

pro

vide

s ad

equa

te r

esou

rces

for

an

effe

ctiv

e le

arni

ng e

x-pe

rienc

e1.

6250

1.06

066

832

.50%

12

2A

dequ

ate

supp

ort w

as p

rovi

ded

by m

y U

nive

rsity

1.62

501.

4078

98

32.5

0%7

3Th

is p

rogr

am se

ems t

o be

ver

y im

porta

nt to

all

depa

rtmen

t mem

bers

2.12

501.

1259

98

42.5

0%9

4I f

eel I

am

exc

ited

abou

t the

topi

cs I

am te

achi

ng2.

2500

1.03

510

845

.00%

45

I do

prep

are

my

lect

ure

care

fully

bef

ore

goin

g to

cla

ss2.

1250

1.12

599

842

.50%

11

6I d

o co

nsid

er th

e in

divi

dual

stud

ent a

s a fr

iend

ly p

erso

n th

at I

am o

blig

ed

to d

eal w

ith in

a fr

iend

ly m

anne

r2.

1250

.991

038

42.5

0%13

7A

s a

teac

her,

I do

feel

obl

iged

to p

ass

on k

now

ledg

e an

d un

ders

tand

ing

of th

e to

pic

unde

r con

side

ratio

n to

stud

ents

2.37

501.

1877

38

47.5

0%3

8M

aste

r the

sis r

esea

rch

offe

red

to st

uden

ts re

late

wel

l to

loca

l nee

ds2.

1250

.991

038

42.5

0%5

9Th

e un

iver

sity

pro

vide

s su

ffici

ent fi

nanc

ial a

nd te

chni

cal s

uppo

rt to

mas

-te

r the

sis s

tude

nts

2.37

501.

3024

78

47.5

0%6

10U

sing

Eng

lish

in g

radu

ate

cour

ses i

s aca

dem

ical

ly b

enefi

cial

2.00

001.

1952

38

40.0

0%8

11I a

m sa

tisfie

d w

ith th

e pr

ogra

m c

urric

ulum

2.25

001.

1649

68

45.0

0%10

12I d

o h

ighl

y va

lue/

rate

my

univ

ersi

ty p

rogr

am in

com

paris

on to

oth

er lo

cal

univ

ersi

ty p

rogr

ams?

2.50

001.

1952

38

50.0

0%1

13O

btai

ning

a gr

adua

te d

egre

e in

envi

ronm

enta

l sci

ence

s and

/or e

ngin

eerin

g fr

om y

our u

nive

rsity

is w

orth

the

time

and

cost

2.25

00.8

8641

845

.00%

2

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

145

Table (14): Domain (4) Sufficiency of Tools Used, Skills and Capabilities Developed.

No. Item Mean SD N Percentage Rank

1 I am aware of which core skills* we need to pass on to students 1.6250 1.06066 8 50.00% 13

2 I have used one or more of the Core Skills in my courses 1.6250 1.40789 8 47.50% 14

3It is relevant for individual students to have different components of Core Skills

2.1250 1.12599 8 47.50% 8

4 It is relevant for individual students to have different levels of Core Skills 2.2500 1.03510 8 47.50% 5

5 Introducing core skills is appropriate for all students 2.1250 1.12599 8 45.00% 9

6It is relevant for individual students to have practical training in the course material

2.1250 .99103 8 45.00% 10

7 I have used practical training in my courses 2.3750 1.18773 8 45.00% 2

8It is relevant for individual students to have internship experience in subjects relating to the course

2.1250 .99103 8 42.50% 11

9 I have assisted students to obtain in-ternships relevant to the course 2.3750 1.30247 8 42.50% 3

10It is relevant for individual students to use computer programs and applica-tions relevant to the course subject

2.0000 1.19523 8 42.50% 12

11I have introduced students to and used computer programs and applications relevant to the course subject

2.2500 1.16496 8 42.50% 6

12It is relevant for individual students to go on field trips relevant to the course subjects

2.5000 1.19523 8 40.00% 1

13 I have taken the class on field trips rel-evant to the course subject 2.2500 .88641 8 32.50% 7

14In class I use maps, diagrams, rankings and other forms of visualization tools to support my teaching

2.3750 1.18773 8 32.50% 4

* Core Skills = Communications, Numeracy, Information Technology, Working with Others, Problem Solving

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

146

Table (15): Domain (5) Adoption and Practice of Extracur-ricular Activities

No. Item Mean SD N Percentage Rank

1Involvement in extracurricular activi-ties during the course is relevant to the students

2.2500 1.03510 8 72.50% 7

2 I have included extracurricular activi-ties during the course 2.8750 1.35620 8 65.00% 3

3 I have discussed career preparation steps with students 2.8750 1.24642 8 57.50% 4

4 I have considered taking our class on a tour 2.6250 1.40789 8 57.50% 5

5 I maintain contact with students after graduation 2.1250 .99103 8 52.50% 8

6 I have considered taking our class to a restaurant as a social activity 3.6250 1.59799 8 52.50% 1

7I do invite external experts in the field to my class to share experiences with students

2.6250 1.30247 8 45.00% 6

8I do invite related Palestinian authority decision makers in the field to my class to share experiences with students

3.2500 1.66905 8 42.50% 2

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

147

Table (16): Domain (6) Adoption and practice of the prin-ciple of collective participation and team working

No. Item Mean SD N Percent-age Rank

1 Students’ ideas are relevant to the develop-ment of my course 2.0000 .92582 8 68.75% 4

2 I learn from the students I teach 2.1250 .99103 8 59.38% 3

3 Effective teaching depends on mutual trust between lecturers and students. 1.7500 1.38873 8 53.13% 6

4Students’ ideas and opinions are difficult to understand, and are contradictory or incom-patible with my own ideas and beliefs

2.7500 .70711 8 50.00% 1

5 I invite external experts in the field to my classes to share experiences with students 2.3750 1.18773 8 50.00% 2

6At the end of the course I ask students how well they have understood the subject and its application in the field

2.0000 1.60357 8 43.75% 5

7 I understand how my work fits into depart-ment/program objectives, mission and values 1.6250 1.06066 8 40.63% 7

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

148

B.4 Stakeholders’ Questionnaire Results

Table (17): Domain (1) Views on Environmental Issues and Problems No. Item Mean SD N Percentage Rank

1-

The organization I am working with con-siders the environmental higher education programs offered by Palestinian universi-ties as an important tool to Palestinian en-vironmental quality management

1.3000 .48305 10 26.00% 4

2-

The organization I am working with is will-ing to have local/organization specific en-vironmental problems solved even if this means financial investment

1.3000 .48305 10 26.00% 4

3-The organization I am working with should care more about protection of the local en-vironmental problems

1.2222 .44096 9 24.44% 7

4-I think the organization I am working with can make a significant contribution to Pal-estinian environmental protection

1.1111 .33333 9 22.22% 8

5-I think the organization I am working with is aware about environmental problems in Palestine

1.3000 .48305 10 26.00% 4

6-

I think the organization I am working with would like to know and understand more about environmental protection in Pales-tine

1.4444 .52705 9 28.89% 2

7-Science, technology and research, com-bined with awareness and understanding can solve environmental problems

1.1000 .31623 10 22.00% 9

8-

I think the organization I am working with has confidence in the quality of environ-mental higher education programs offered by Palestinian universities

1.5000 .97183 10 30.00% 1

9-

I think the organization I am working with needs the knowledge and skills developed in graduates of environmental higher edu-cation programs offered by Palestinian uni-versities

1.5000 .97183 10 28.00% 3

10-

I think the organization I am working with has confidence in the administration/ man-aging of the environmental higher educa-tion programs at Palestinian universities

1.4000 .69921 10 28.00% 10

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=do not know or not relevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

149

Table 18: Domain (2) Relevance of the environmental high-er education program

No. Item Mean SD N Percentage Rank

1The environmental graduate programs offered by Palestinian universities are relevant to my organization’s needs

2.7000 1.05935 10 62.00% 3

2My organization looked for what are their needs in the field of environmental sciences/engineering

1.7778 .66667 9 55.56% 7

3My organization knows in details the en-vironmental higher education programs offered by Palestinian universities

3.1000 1.37032 10 54.00% 1

4My organization maintains contacts with Palestinian universities regarding their needs

2.0000 1.15470 10 44.00% 5

5My organization has adopted an envi-ronmental quality management system in their daily work

1.5000 .97183 10 40.00% 9

6My organization is interested in recruit-ing graduates from Palestinian universi-ties

1.7000 .48305 10 36.00% 8

7My organization trusts the quality of graduates from environmental programs offered by Palestinian universities

1.8000 .42164 10 35.56% 6

8

Representatives of environmental high-er education programs at Palestinian universities regularly visit and/or com-municate with my organization

2.2000 1.03280 10 34.00% 4

9

Environmental higher education pro-grams offered by Palestinian universi-ties may help in creating a sustainable environment in Palestine suitable for people’s live and work

2.7778 1.20185 9 30.00% 2

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

150

Table (19): Domain (3) Organization’s Expectations No. Item Mean SD N Percentage Rank

1

Skills, knowledge, and application tools that graduates have obtained during the environmental higher education pro-grams offered by Palestinian universities fulfill my organization’s expectations

2.3000 .94868 10 46.00% 3

2Graduate environmental higher educa-tion programs at Palestinian universities are more theoretical than applied

2.1000 .73786 10 42.00% 4

3Student research work for masters’ the-ses at Palestinian universities is conduct-ed in coordination with my organization

1.7000 .82327 10 34.00% 7

4Student research work for masters’ the-ses at Palestinian universities is driven by local needs

1.9000 .87560 10 38.00% 6

5Palestinian universities provide suffi-cient financial and technical support to students working on their masters’ theses

3.4000 .96609 10 68.00% 1

6

Obtaining a graduate degree in environ-mental sciences and/or engineering from Palestinian universities is worth the cost and time spent

2.4000 .69921 10 48.00% 2

7My organization is proud of Palestinian universities environmental sciences and/or engineering programs reputation

2.0000 .66667 10 40.00% 5

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=do not know or not relevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

151

Table (20): Dom

ain (4) Sufficiency of Tools U

sed, Skills and Capabilities D

eveloped N

o.Item

Mean

SDN

PercentageR

ank

1M

y organization knows the tools used and skills developed at local Palestin-

ian Universities

2.40001.17379

1060.00%

3

2Local Palestinian U

niversities offer students training to up-to-date computer

software in environm

ental sciences and/or engineering applications2.2000

.7888110

57.78%5

3M

y organization employs graduates w

ho have different components of C

ore Skills (*)

1.7778.66667

948.00%

10

4M

y organization invites students to conduct applied training and give intern-ships to graduate students enrolled in environm

ental sciences and/or engineer-ing m

aster programs

1.8000.78881

1048.00%

9

5M

y organization thinks that introducing core skills is appropriate for all stu-dents

1.6000.51640

1044.00%

11

6M

y organization thinks that field training and internships are appropriate for all students

1.88891.05409

944.00%

8

7Environm

ental sciences and/or engineering master program

s at local universi-ties are supported by sufficient analytical laboratories

3.0000.86603

942.22%

1

8Environm

ental sciences and/or engineering master program

s at local universi-ties are supported w

ith good information and library resources

2.8889.78174

937.78%

2

9G

raduates from environm

ental sciences and/or engineering programs at local

university become aw

are of environmental problem

s Palestinian society is facing through training

2.1111.78174

936.00%

7

10Lectures are freely posted by lecturers at university w

ebsite for student use2.4000

1.1737910

35.56%4

11Electronic lectures are freely posted by lecturers at university w

ebsite for stu-dent use

2.2000.78881

1032.00%

6

* Core Skills = C

omm

unications, Num

eracy, Information Technology, W

orking with Others, Problem

Solving1 = Strongly agree, 2= A

gree, 3=do not know or not relevant, 4= Disagree, 5= Strongly disagree

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

152

Tabl

e (2

1): D

omai

n (5

) Le

ctur

er’s

Qua

lity

and

Com

mitm

ent

No.

Item

Mea

nSD

NPe

rcen

t-ag

eR

ank

1M

y or

gani

zatio

n ex

perie

nces

and

com

mun

icat

ion

with

env

ironm

enta

l MS

prog

ram

s le

ctur

ers

at P

ales

tinia

n un

iver

sitie

s i

ndic

ate

that

the

y ha

ve a

go

od k

now

ledg

e of

thei

r fiel

d.

2.00

001.

0540

910

40.0

0%5

2M

y or

gani

zatio

n in

vite

s lec

ture

rs/e

xper

ts in

the

field

wor

king

at l

ocal

uni

-ve

rsiti

es to

shar

e ex

perie

nces

with

em

ploy

ees

1.88

891.

0540

99

37.7

8%6

3Em

ploy

ees a

t my

orga

niza

tion,

gra

duat

ed fr

om e

nviro

nmen

tal h

ighe

r edu

-ca

tion

prog

ram

s at

Pal

estin

ian

univ

ersi

ties

prai

ses

thei

r pro

fess

ors

at P

al-

estin

ian

univ

ersi

ties

3.12

501.

1259

98

62.5

0%2

4

Loca

l uni

vers

ities

em

ploy

in th

e en

viro

nmen

tal M

S pr

ogra

m le

ctur

ers w

ho

have

goo

d ex

perie

nce a

nd k

now

ledg

e of l

ocal

envi

ronm

enta

l pro

blem

s and

ne

eds.

3.11

111.

0540

99

62.2

2%3

5Le

ctur

ers

in e

nviro

nmen

tal M

S pr

ogra

ms

at P

ales

tinia

n un

iver

sitie

s re

gu-

larly

com

mun

icat

e w

ith m

y or

gani

zatio

n to

dis

cuss

org

aniz

atio

ns a

nd m

ar-

ket n

eeds

3.

4000

.966

0910

68.0

0%1

6Le

ctur

ers

in e

nviro

nmen

tal M

S pr

ogra

ms

at P

ales

tinia

n un

iver

sitie

s re

gu-

larly

com

mun

icat

e w

ith m

y or

gani

zatio

n to

exp

lore

join

t res

earc

h an

d de

-ve

lopm

ent i

n th

e fie

ld.

3.00

00.9

4281

1060

.00%

4

1 =

Stro

ngly

agre

e, 2=

Agr

ee, 3

=do

not k

now

or n

ot re

leva

nt, 4

= D

isagr

ee, 5

= St

rong

ly d

isagr

ee

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

153

Table (22): Dom

ain (6) Adoption and Practice of Extracurricular Activities

No.

ItemM

eanSD

NPercentage

Rank

1Involvem

ent in extracurricular activities during the course is relevant to the students

2.5556.52705

984.44%

1

2O

ur organization has helped local universities in making extracurricular activi-

ties available to students2.0000

.9428110

71.11%2

3O

ur organization has discussed career preparation steps with graduate program

planners at local universities

2.33331.00000

951.11%

3

4O

ur organization has considered inviting graduate classes from local universi-

ties to tour our premises

3.55561.23603

951.11%

3

5O

ur organization sends feedback on the performance of alum

ni from local uni-

versities to their departments

2.55561.01379

946.67%

5

6M

y organization gives financial support to local universities for extracurricu-lar activities

4.22221.09291

940.00%

6

1 = Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3=do not know or not relevant, 4= D

isagree, 5= Strongly disagree

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b

154

Tabl

e (2

3): D

omai

n (7

) Ad

optio

n an

d Pr

actic

e of

Par

ticip

atio

n an

d Te

am W

orki

ng

No.

Item

Mea

nSD

NPe

rcen

tage

Ran

k

1Th

e id

eas

of e

mpl

oyee

s gr

adua

ted

from

loca

l uni

vers

ities

are

ver

y re

leva

nt

and

valid

to th

e de

velo

pmen

t of m

y or

gani

zatio

n 2.

7000

1.15

950

1054

.00%

3

2Em

ploy

ees g

radu

ated

from

loca

l uni

vers

ities

are

ver

y ac

tivel

y in

volv

ed i

n or

gani

zatio

n’s q

ualit

y2.

6667

1.22

474

953

.33%

4

3A

lum

ni’s

of

envi

ronm

enta

l MS

prog

ram

s of

Pal

estin

ian

univ

ersi

ties

have

m

utua

l tru

st w

ith th

eir l

ectu

rers

and

dep

artm

ent

2.25

00.8

8641

845

.00%

8

4Em

ploy

ees g

radu

ated

from

loca

l uni

vers

ities

are

diffi

cult

to u

nder

stan

d3.

5714

.975

907

71.4

3%1

5Em

ploy

ees g

radu

ated

from

loca

l uni

vers

ities

are

exc

elle

nt in

team

wor

king

2.44

44.5

2705

948

.89%

5

6Em

ploy

ees g

radu

ated

from

loca

l uni

vers

ities

are

inno

vativ

e an

d ta

ke in

itia-

tives

2.37

50.5

1755

847

.50%

7

7Em

ploy

ees

grad

uate

d fr

om lo

cal u

nive

rsiti

es g

et a

long

qui

ckly

with

wor

k en

viro

nmen

t3.

0000

.866

039

60.0

0%2

8Em

ploy

ees g

radu

ated

from

loca

l uni

vers

ities

are

pos

itive

ly a

ctiv

e in

my

or-

gani

zatio

n’s d

evel

opm

ent

2.44

441.

0137

99

48.8

9%6

9Em

ploy

ees g

radu

ated

from

loca

l uni

vers

ities

pro

ved

to b

e ex

celle

nt a

nd a

c-tiv

e in

team

wor

king

1.77

78.4

4096

935

.56%

9

10Em

ploy

ees

grad

uate

d fr

om lo

cal u

nive

rsiti

es g

et a

long

qui

ckly

eith

er w

ith

supe

rvis

ors o

r/and

co-

wor

kers

1.55

56.5

2705

931

.11%

10

1 =

Stro

ngly

agre

e, 2=

Agr

ee, 3

=do

not k

now

or n

ot re

leva

nt, 4

= D

isagr

ee, 5

= St

rong

ly d

isagr

ee

A

p

p

e

n

d

i

c

e

s

-

b