Recently, there has been a clear focus in the literature on the accelerated changes and challenges that automation and digitalization are bringing to the labor market of Sultanate Oman. In all business and education sectors, new solutions for promoting skills related to these changes have been sought out persistently. Within this domain of influence, it is increasingly acknowledged that higher education curriculums need to respond to the challenging demands of digitalization. There is a need for curriculum designers, policymakers and educators to look ahead, be futuristic and empower college graduates with the required knowledge, skills and attitudes that make them employable, and ready to deal with jobs that necessitate knowledge of handling big data and complex problems that require skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, acronymed as STEAM skills. It is also evident in the literature that preparing college graduates for a dynamic innovative future requires the development of entrepreneurial thinking. Despite their interrelatedness and interdependence, the STEAM and Entrepreneurship Education are dealt with in Higher Education compartmentally, leading to several limitations among which is graduates’ inability of competence development. This paper proposes a contextualized conceptual framework that blends the two entities (STEAM and Entrepreneurial Education) together as interrelated variables moderated by lifelong learning. The proposed conceptual framework has been guided by the following question: How does blending STEAM and Entrepreneurship Education contribute to graduates’ preparedness for the labor market within the context of Sultanate Oman?

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A Conceptual Framework for Blending STEAM Education Principles with Entrepreneurial Thinking for Lifelong Learning: Towards Preparing Omani College Graduates for the Labor Market

  • Mohamed Elgeddawy

摘要

Recently, there has been a clear focus in the literature on the accelerated changes and challenges that automation and digitalization are bringing to the labor market of Sultanate Oman. In all business and education sectors, new solutions for promoting skills related to these changes have been sought out persistently. Within this domain of influence, it is increasingly acknowledged that higher education curriculums need to respond to the challenging demands of digitalization. There is a need for curriculum designers, policymakers and educators to look ahead, be futuristic and empower college graduates with the required knowledge, skills and attitudes that make them employable, and ready to deal with jobs that necessitate knowledge of handling big data and complex problems that require skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, acronymed as STEAM skills. It is also evident in the literature that preparing college graduates for a dynamic innovative future requires the development of entrepreneurial thinking. Despite their interrelatedness and interdependence, the STEAM and Entrepreneurship Education are dealt with in Higher Education compartmentally, leading to several limitations among which is graduates’ inability of competence development. This paper proposes a contextualized conceptual framework that blends the two entities (STEAM and Entrepreneurial Education) together as interrelated variables moderated by lifelong learning. The proposed conceptual framework has been guided by the following question: How does blending STEAM and Entrepreneurship Education contribute to graduates’ preparedness for the labor market within the context of Sultanate Oman?