Designing an Innovative IT-Based Educational Model to Enhance Employability Skills of Educational Sciences Students
Keywords:
Information Technology, Employability Skills, Higher Education, Instructional Design, Educational SciencesAbstract
This study aimed to design and validate an information technology-based educational model to enhance the employability skills of educational sciences students. This applied research employed a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design. In the qualitative phase, thematic analysis was conducted using semi-structured interviews with faculty members and IT experts to identify the dimensions and components of the model. In the quantitative phase, a cross-sectional survey was conducted using a researcher-developed questionnaire. The statistical population consisted of educational sciences students at Islamic Azad University, Bushehr Branch, during the 2025–2026 academic year, from which 350 participants were selected through stratified random sampling. Data were analyzed using second-order confirmatory factor analysis along with reliability and validity indices . The results indicated that the proposed model comprises five main dimensions: professional-skill, technical-technological, social-communicative, attitudinal-cultural, and cognitive. Each dimension includes three components, totaling 45 indicators. Path coefficients for the technical-technological dimension exceeded 0.70 and were significant at p < 0.001. The average variance extracted was above 0.50, and composite reliability reached 0.916, confirming strong convergent validity and internal consistency. The findings demonstrate that the proposed model has an adequate fit and can serve as an effective framework for enhancing employability skills among educational sciences students through IT-based educational approaches.
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