Introduction
In Latin America, and Colombia is not the exception, the gap between the academy and business has been a topic of deep reflection. Many efforts have been made by governments and the private sector to narrow this gap. Thus, initiatives emerge such as the German dual model, which the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá puts into context, creating Uniempresarial. This higher education institution’s model is based on the German dual education model adapted to Latin America, to provide a relevant alternative to the development of human talent at a higher education level.
Since its inception, Uniempresarial has consolidated a culture of strategic management, based on measurements that promote the continuous improvement of its quality educational system. After a few years of operation and contribution to the training of young adults to develop the talent required by companies, the institution’s organizational development required the creation of instruments to measure the perceptions of entrepreneurs and graduates to verify whether the model satisfied expectations that brought about its creation, and under which programs were adopted at a professional university level, obtaining the endorsement of the Ministry of National Education.
The two measuring instruments were developed for Uniempresarial within the framework of a doctoral thesis in pedagogy (Rojas, 2014), in compliance with the scientific rigor required for the design of this type of measurement tools. The tools were tested with appropriate samples of information using statistical software, applied to a database of graduates and entrepreneurs linked to Uniempresarial.
A descriptive statistical analysis was completed based on the implementation of these instruments, and on the information obtained, as well as a univariate analysis using contingency tables and a multivariate analysis, through exploratory factor analysis.
The designed instruments were validated in two pilot tests that yielded a Cronbach’s Alpha greater than 0.8 (Rojas, 2015). The instrument for entrepreneurs consists of 58 items and 48 items for graduates, grouped in dimensions that, in turn, consist of different categories with their respective indicator.
Perception measurements in graduates and entrepreneurs are becoming increasingly important in higher education institutions to measure the impact of their pedagogical model. However, these instruments are mostly not shared, which makes it challenging to compare instruments of this nature. The specialized literature on dual education shows that the idea of perception has been the object of psychology, and focuses on what happens in people’s minds according to an experience previously lived by their senses; however, in qualitative research of a social nature, it is the basis to determine the perception of a service (Gallo, 2001). Thus, our instruments have been designed to measure the perceptions of students and entrepreneurs from the quality of service. This approach allows discovering trends of professional performance; therefore, foreseeing the scope of its design and validity is essential, through the use of relevant parameters of specific software, as well as the designation of suitable samples.
Methodology
The selected sociological neo-institutionalism approach prompts qualitative research that uses documentary research with a hermeneutical approach. This strategy is accompanied by interviews with experts to qualify the view on the limits and possibilities from the current normative framework, in parallel, the information delivered and its assessment allows defining the existing capacities and the lines of development of institutional capacities.
The sources considered are the rules and regulations, information systems, and members of the Army, including professional reserve officers, as well as documents and studies associated with the topic of disasters or with the very role of the army in disasters.
The processes of institutional change start, in general, from an evaluation of the existing, then, the formulation of the changes to be introduced; in this case, as adjustments in regulations and abilities. Subsequently, the changes are adopted and implemented, requiring a process of organizational communication and innovation in the technologies that make institutional knowledge management operational1. This approach of continuity and institutional change is present throughout the study.
Questionnaire addressed to graduates
Table 1 shows the dimensions and indicators used to create the tool for graduates.
Validation of the instrument for graduates:
A pilot test of 19 individuals was carried out for graduates to test the suitability of the instruments. The questions, based on Likert, yielded a Cronbach’s Alpha of .966 (considering that the minimum required is .6, according to the Cronbach’s Alpha theory), which proved its reliability to be applied later to the group of graduates by disposition.
The tabulated Likert-type data were uploaded to the SPSS software, version 21, to obtain the different statistical data and thus proceed with the respective analysis.
The individual surveys to validate the instrument were completed either via the Internet or in person.
Implementation:
Once the instrument for graduates was validated, these surveys were made available through the Institution’s area for graduates some through surveys available in free Internet software and others in events for graduates, without detecting difficulties or hesitations in the target public for its completion.
Questionnaire addressed to entrepreneurs:
A questionnaire was designed using Likert questions for a directed interview, complemented by closed questions (dichotomous and with several response alternatives), and a minimum percentage of open questions (Hernández, Fernández, and Baptista, 1991).
The questionnaire consists of 58 items, 45 in the Likert scale. The answers, according to the questions, were designed as follows:
1. Totally disagree; 2. Disagree; 3; Agree nor disagree (indifferent); 4. Agree; 5. Totally agree
1. Not at all important; 2. Unimportant; 3. Indifferent 4. Important; 5. Very important
1. Very inferior; 2. Inferior; 3. Superior nor inferior (indifferent); 4. Superior; 5. Much superior
Complemented with 11 closed questions, which also provided valuable information for this work; and two open questions that were codified at the time of the tabulation if similarities in the answers were found, which usually happens with these questions.
For its operationalization, the questionnaire was grouped by dimensions (Abreu, 2012) as shown in Table 2.
Validation of the instrument for entrepreneurs:
The tabulated Likert data was uploaded to the SPSS software, version 21, to extract the different statistical data and then proceed with the respective analysis.
To test the suitability of the instruments, a pilot test for entrepreneurs was conducted with 20 individuals, which yielded in the questions based on Likert, a Cronbach’s alpha of .850 (considering that the minimum required is .6, according to the Cronbach’s Alpha theory), which proved its reliability to be applied later to the group of entrepreneurs.
Implementation:
After the validation of the pilot test for entrepreneurs, the survey was made available through a specialized research cojmpany (Global Research) who were provided with instructions and training to the surveyors. No difficulties or hesitations were detected in the target public for its completion.
Conclusions
In the design of these instruments to measure the perception of entrepreneurs and graduates, regarding the pedagogical models of education and with the intention that they could be validated using statistical software, that would provide certainty of their reliability it was necessary to have a majority percentage of Likert questions.
Likewise, it was found that grouping each of the questions that represent an indicator within the research, in dimensions and categories, made it easier to design these tools, which would respond to the main objectives of the research for which they were designed.
On the other hand, the validation of the instruments in pilot tests, before their final implementation to the representative samples, ensured the reliability and ease of the application of the same.