State-of-the-Art Best Construction Practices Integration into Higher Education Curricula

Abstract

The integration of best industry practices into construction curricula can be used to advance the knowledge base of construction graduates and better prepare them to effectively respond to industry challenges. Arguably, construction programs in North American colleges and universities are rather slow in the adoption of industry best practices. This study assesses the state-of-the-art best construction practices integration into higher education curricula. Through the analysis of data collected by means of an online questionnaire, major findings regarding the level of academic awareness on best industry practices, and the level of integration of best practices into higher education curricula, are reported. This study makes three fundamental contributions to the body of knowledge. First, it provides factual data about the extent of use of industry best practices in various construction programs. Second, it discovers that graduate courses are a better fit for delivering information on best practices to the students. Finally, it unveils the weakness of the link between professional organizations and the academia. The findings presented should mutually help academia and industry to improve in an effort to produce high-caliber, job-ready employees.