Appraisal of the key factors behind the decision making of the Saudi high schools��? graduates to enroll at the colleges of technology

Abstract

Mansour Abdullah Al-miman

This article aimed at investigating the human and the socio-behavioral factors which motivate Saudi high schools' graduates to enroll at the Jeddah College of Technology (J.C.T), Saudi Arabia. A proportionate stratified random sample of 340 students who attended the J.C.T six terms program in (2011/2012) has been drawn and asked to rate the impact of a host of fourteen factors over their decision making to join up the J.C.T. In the Part I of this study, we report on seven factors, namely, the parents' aspiration, the family professional success, the location proximity, peers influence, the society esteem, fear of theoretical courses and the job availability at graduation. The sample drawn has managed students that emanate from 11 sections (sub-strata) and, readily, administrated into four independent Depts., i.e., Management & Tourism, Mechanical Technology, Electrical Technology and Civil & Architecture. As we purposed to compare findings seemingly and at a large scope, the study has considered three pooling schemes (strata) wherein students were grouped as per: i) Depts., ii) living location (inside versus outside Jeddah city), iii) and, students seniority at the J.C.T. As for the study concern, the students enrolling in terms I and VI have been disregarded as it we will argued further. And, given a pooling scheme, the correlation between the students' decision making to enroll at the J.C.T and the study factors, has been appraised using the nonparametric Chi-square test.