An Investigation of Employers’ and Alumni’s Perspectives on the Bachelor of Arts Program in Japanese, Faculty of Liberal Arts, University of Phayao

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the opinions of external stakeholders, namely graduate employers and alumni, regarding the appropriateness of the Bachelor of Arts Program in Japanese at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, University of Phayao, in terms of curriculum structure, desired competencies, and instructional management, and to propose guidelines for curriculum development aligned with real-world applications and contemporary societal demands. The study employed quantitative research design, using a questionnaire as the primary data collection instrument. The sample comprised 21 organizations employing graduates and 60 alumni who had graduated within the past five years. The participants were selected through purposive sampling. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, to describe the general characteristics of the respondents as well as the levels of external stakeholders’ opinions toward the curriculum.

The findings revealed that alumni rated the overall appropriateness of the curriculum in terms of structure and course content at a high level (μ = 4.49, σ = .688). The highest-rated component was the flexibility of the curriculum in responding to social and technological changes (μ = 4.73, σ = .455), followed by the readiness of the curriculum to support cooperative education and internships (μ = 4.66, σ = .601).In terms of employers, their overall evaluation of graduates’ competencies was at a high level (μ = 4.00, σ = .753). The highest-rated Japanese language skill was the ability to use Japanese in real-life situations (μ = 3.90, σ = .700), followed by listening skills in real-life contexts (μ = 3.81, σ = .750) and reading skills for workplace documents (μ = 3.67, σ = .730).

The comparison between alumni and employers regarding the essential skills for future graduates and labor market demands indicated that both groups shared consistent opinions at a high to the highest level (μ = 4.32–4.70, σ = .610–.671). The skills most strongly agreed upon by both groups at the highest level were Japanese listening and speaking skills in real-life situations (alumni: μ = 4.60, σ = .806; employers: μ = 4.52, σ = .602). Additionally, the skill considered most essential for the labor market was business Japanese proficiency (alumni: μ = 4.86, σ = .342; employers: μ = 4.52, σ = .602).ส่วนบนของฟอร์ม