Investigation of Performance of Students in Engineering Drawing in Ethiopian Universities – A Case of Wolaita Sodo University

Abstract

In Ethiopian higher education curriculum, engineering drawing is the basic engineering skills needed by all engineering professionals to increase their creativity and productivity. It is the main communication language within professional engineers. However, the performance of students in the course has been declined in recent years in most Ethiopian universities. Therefore, this research was aimed to identify the problems that had contributions for law performance of students and suggest some possible solutions. Study of pre-engineering students’ performance in engineering drawing course was the first phase of the study, using Wolaita Sodo University as a case study. The eight consecutive year’s results of students were collated and analyzed. Then constraints encountered in poor performance of students were surveyed. Interviews were designed and held with some students and instructors in the university. Finally, the author suggested some possible solutions to overcome these problems. The results of the research indicated that only 68.49% students scored pass mark. The factors behind this are lack of teaching facilities, negative attitude of students, old style teaching methodology, and poor classroom management. Fulfilling teaching facilities, exploring modern instructional methods, creating peaceful classroom environment are some feasible suggestions for improving students’ performance in engineering drawing.