Expectation-Achievement Gap Analysis of Students’ Generic Competences

Abstract

Purpose Quality of education depends upon teachers’ competence which may have direct impact on students’ generic competence. The present study was carried out to analyse the gap between the expected and the achieved generic competences among the 1^st year students of Bachelor of Education. Methodology The sample of the study was collected from 10 universities of the Punjab (Pakistan). 1^st year students of Bachelor of Education were selected as the respondents of the study. Competence scale was used to collect data from the students. The scale, which included 19 competences, was adopted from the Reflex Project (an international project). Findings: The reliability of the scale was 0.81. Expectation-achievement gap was not observed in 12 out of 19 competences; but the gap was found in the rest i.e.  the seven competences including writing and speaking in a foreign language, mobilizing others’ capacity, performing well under pressure, using computers and the internet, readiness to new opportunities, and acquiring new knowledge rapidly. Implication to Research and Practice: This study revealed that both indicators (i.e. expectation-achievement) were less than the optimal level. The study also predicted that comprehensibly, sensitization and reorganization of the learning experiences might narrow gap between students’ expectation and their achievement of generic competences.