An investigation of written communication in the curriculum of entrepreneurship education in Malaysian vocational college

Abstract

Entrepreneurship curriculum has been implemented in recent years in Malaysian vocational colleges as a platform to expose school leavers to entrepreneurship skills and provide them the basic know-how needed to engage in an entrepreneurial career. Among this knowledge is written communication which involves the skill of preparing the necessary documents and correspondence in a start-up business. However, research findings indicate that very little is known about Malaysian vocational college graduates’ competency in this area after completing the entrepreneurship course. Moreover, existing studies show significant weaknesses or a lack of competency in communication skills, including writing among our graduates. This study aims to explore the implementation of written communication component taught in the entrepreneurship course in Malaysian vocational colleges by examining its curriculum content, teaching approaches and students’ perception towards their learning experience. The study applied the mixed method approach, whereby the semi-structured interview and document analysis methods were employed to gather qualitative data, while a semi-structured survey questionnaire was utilised to gather quantitative data. Under qualitative data collection, 15 instructors from 10 vocational colleges located throughout Peninsula Malaysia participated in the interviews. Meanwhile, the document analysis included description, modules and assessments of the entrepreneurship course. The quantitative data collection involved 79 out of 100 participants from 2 vocational colleges in Klang Valley, after which the data were analysed using SPSS, Version 22. The results revealed that the business plan model is applied to form the fundamental structure of written communication component in the entrepreneurship course. However, several key challenges were found in its implementation, including the inconsistency in the key focus point of the syllabus within the written communication knowledge area i.e. between forming the business profile and objective, developing product description and establishing correct financial statements. Additionally, short and inconsistent course delivery period, untrained and unspecialized instructors in the field of entrepreneurship and limitations in facilities and funding were also identified as barriers to effective implementation of the target knowledge as well as the course in general. Kurikulum keusahawanan telah diperkenalkan baru-baru ini ini di kolej-kolej vokasional di Malaysia sebagai satu platfom bagi mendedahkan pelajar-pelajar lepasan sekolah kepada kemahiran keusahawanan dan memberi mereka pengetahuan asas yang penting bagi menceburkan diri dalam kerjaya berasaskan keusahawanan. Di antara kemahiran ini adalah komunikasi bertulis yang melibatkan kemahiraan dalam penyediaan dokumen-dokumen dan surat-menyurat yang perlu dalam perniagaan permulaan. Walau bagaimanapun, penemuan penyelidikan menunjukkan bahawa terlalu sedikit yang diketahui tentang kompetensi graduan kolej vokasional Malaysia dalam kemahiran ini setelah mereka menamatkan kursus keusahawanan. Walaubagaimanapun, kajian sedia ada melaporkan kelemahan yang ketara atau kekurangan kecekapan dalam kemahiran komunikasi, termasuk kemahiran penulisan di kalangan graduan kita. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk meneroka pelaksanaan komponen komunikasi bertulis yang diajar dalam kursus keusahawanan di kolej vokasional Malaysia dengan mengkaji kandungan kurikulum, pendekatan pengajaran dan persepsi pelajar terhadap pengalaman pembelajaran mereka. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kaedah gabungan (mixed method), di mana kaedah temubual separa berstruktur dan kaedah analisis dokumen digunakan untuk mengumpul data kualitatif, manakala tinjauan soal selidik berstruktur digunakan untuk mengumpul data kuantitatif. Dalam pengumpulan data kualitatif, 15 tenaga pengajar dari 10 kolej vokasional di seluruh Semenanjung Malaysia telah mengambil bahagian dalam temubual. Sementara itu, bagi analisis dokumen, kajian merangkumi deskripsi, modul dan penilaian yang dikendalikan dalam kursus keusahawanan. Pengumpulan data kuantitatif melibatkan 79 daripada 100 peserta dari 2 kolej vokasional di Lembah Klang; seterusnya, data yang didapati dianalisis dengan menggunakan perisian SPSS, Versi 22. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa model rancangan perniagaan membentuk struktur asas komponen komunikasi bertulis dalam kursus keusahawanan. Walau bagaimanapun, beberapa cabaran utama ditemui melibatkan pelaksanaannya, termasuk ketidakkonsistenan dalam titik tumpuan utama sukatan pelajaran dalam bidang pengetahuan komunikasi bertulis iaitu antara membina profil dan objektif perniagaan, membangunkan penerangan produk dan mewujudkan penyata kewangan yang betul. Selain itu, tempoh penyampaian kursus yang pendek dan tidak konsisten, tenaga pengajar tidak terlatih dan berpengalaman dalam bidang keusahawanan dan batasan dalam kemudahan dan pembiayaan juga telah dikenal pasti sebagai halangan-halangan kepada keberkesanan pelaksanaan ilmu sasaran serta kursus keusahawanan secara umum.