The study aimed to identify the most important reasons that lead to the poor harmonization between the General Diploma graduates and the requirements of higher education in the Sultanate of Oman. The study also aimed to identify differences among the study sample responses regarding these reasons. The third aim of the study was to determine the most prominent requirements for aligning the outcomes of the general diploma with the requirements of higher education.
In order to achieve the objectives of the study, two instruments were developed and distributed by the researcher. The first is a questionnaire to determine the reasons of the poor alignment between the outcomes of the general diploma and the requirements of higher education. Second, Delphi approach was used to identify the requirements for aligning the outcomes of the general diploma with the requirements of higher education. The study sample consisted of experts and faculty members from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education, and Sultan Qaboos University. Data was analyzed using SPSS to calculate frequencies, means, test analysis of variance (One-way ANOVA), and Scheffe Test.
The main findings of the study were as following: First, the sample showed an agreement about the high impact of the reasons specified in the three domains as reasons of poor harmonization. Second, there were statistically significant differences among the responses of the sample regarding the reasons of poor alignment can be attributed to the work institution. Third, the most requirements for aligning the outcomes of the general diploma with the requirements of higher education, according the analysis of Delphi data, were involving the community in the evaluation of policies and plans of education at different levels; conducting an objective evaluation of the outcomes of the innovation and development programs of post-basic education; establishing joint research between higher education institutions and the Ministry of education will be helpful for achieving harmonization.