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Practitioners' Perception of Landscape Education in Universities
Abstract
This study investigates the practitioners` perception of Landscape Education in the universities in order to satisfy the demands of the rapidly changing industry. The survey was conducted for 257 practitioners to analyze the overall perception of Landscape Education, the importance and utilization of each course in universities, and the importance and utilization of each landscape process step. The overall perception of Landscape Education was slightly negative, and more practical education was demanded to improve the students` adaptability on the job. Practitioners suggested that universities should teach more practical expertise and related fields. They re-educated deficient aspects such as practical skills, computer techniques and legislational knowledge through the new employee training. The survey also showed that professors should be most responsible for a better education; however, students and practitioners have to endeavor together. According to the findings, planting design, landscape design, landscape materials, landscape planning and landscape construction as well as management were important. They are also considered as practical courses. However, practitioners perceived that university education was not sufficient for the constructional process. This means that Landscape Education in the universities has been more focused on planning and design. Because the universities are essentially for the research and study, changing the curriculum as practitioners suggested is not necessary. Nevertheless, it suggests for more practical education and balanced curriculum including construction and management that should be seriously considered. This study was focused on the practitioners` perception. Many of the respondents were from Seoul metropolitan area, therefore, it`s hard to generalize the findings. A further study should be considered that would include instructors as well as students.
A syllabus can be considered to be a masterplan for good educational results. This study tries to diagnose the current status of landscape architectural design education and suggest improvement strategies for better landscape design courses through the analysis of the syllabi of mid-level landscape design studio classes collected from the four-year undergraduate programs. The findings and suggestions are as follows. First, it is necessary to take advantage of a syllabus as a contract as well as a plan and a learning tool. Second, it is crucial to make more detailed statement from the perspectives of learners. Third, more customized components for design courses should be developed; the syllabus should give the structure of a design class as an integration and synthesis of other courses. Fourth, it is necessary to increase the interrelationship and relevance among the components, especially between course objectives and evaluation criteria, and course activities and references. Fifth, a syllabus needs to function as a communication tool in a flexible manner. Sixth, a syllabus needs to give a comprehensive information about the site and the design project. Finally, instructors need to introduce a set of detailed evaluation rubrics or criteria acceptable to students in order to increase the fairness and transparency of the evaluation.
To train the manpower to meet the requirements of the industrial field, the introduction of the National Qualification Frameworks(hereinafter referred to as NQF) was determined in 2001 by National Competency Standards(hereinafter referred to as NCS) centrally of the Office for Government Policy Coordination. Also, for landscape architecture in the construction field, the "NCS -Landscape Architecture" pilot was developed in 2008 to be test operated for 3 years starting in 2009. Especially, as the `realization of a competence-based society, not by educational background` was adopted as one of the major government projects in the Park Geun-Hye government(inaugurated in 2013) the NCS system was constructed on a nationwide scale as a detailed method for practicing this. However, in the case of the NCS developed by the nation, the ideal job performing abilities are specified, therefore there are weaknesses of not being able to reflect the actual operational problem differences in the student level between universities, problems of securing equipment and professors, and problems in the number of current curricula. For soft landing to practical curriculum, the process of clearly analyzing the gap between the current curriculum and the NCS must be preceded. Gap analysis is the initial stage methodology to reorganize the existing curriculum into NCS based curriculum, and based on the ability unit elements and performance standards for each NCS ability unit, the discrepancy between the existing curriculum within the department or the level of coincidence used a Likert scale of 1 to 5 to fill in and analyze. Thus, the universities wishing to operate NCS in the future measuring the level of coincidence and the gap between the current university curriculum and NCS can secure the basic tool to verify the applicability of NCS and the effectiveness of further development and operation. The advantages of reorganizing the curriculum through gap analysis are, first, that the government financial support project can be connected to provide quantitative index of the NCS adoption rate for each qualitative department, and, second, an objective standard is provided on the insufficiency or sufficiency when reorganizing to NCS based curriculum. In other words, when introducing in the subdivisions of the relevant NCS, the insufficient ability units and the ability unit elements can be extracted, and the supplementary matters for each ability unit element per existing subject can be extracted at the same time. There is an advantage providing directions for detailed class program and basic subject opening. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Employment and Labor must gather people from the industry to actively develop and supply the NCS standard a practical level to systematically reflect the requirements of the industrial field the educational training and qualification, and the universities wishing to apply NCS must reorganize the curriculum connecting work and qualification based on NCS. To enable this, the universities must consider the relevant industrial prospect and the relation between the faculty resources within the university and the local industry to clearly select the NCS subdivision to be applied. Afterwards, gap analysis must be used for the NCS based curriculum reorganization to establish the direction of the reorganization more objectively and rationally in order to participate in the process evaluation type qualification system efficiently.
The knowledge-based society of the 21st century requires a new kind of professional. Studio education has been the core pedagogical method to bridge the practical world and higher education in the field of landscape architecture. However, it is questioned whether studio classes have truly been performed from the learners` perspectives to solidify the competencies to meet the demands of the changing society. This study tries to draw key issues related to studio pedagogy in order to make a foundation for the improvement of studio classes in landscape architectural education. Five issues regarding landscape architectural studio education have been suggested through the literature review of three categories: the core competencies required for the future professionals, the pedagogical paradigm shift, and the changes along the evolution of landscape professions and curricula. The first issue is suggested as to approach the competencies from the holistic and systematic approach to define landscape architectural professionals for the 21st century. Second, studio classes should be redefined in the context of an entire curriculum, and, as a consequence, the linkage among the individual courses is found to be important. Third, design studio classes need to be restructured to have differentiated pedagogical objectives for the development of the learning phase. Fourth, it becomes crucial to research the pedagogical methodology and the reflective actions of instructors. Finally, it is required to think about what it means to be practical in the context of studio classes and the enhancement of educational infrastructure for the studio classes is to be important.
It is widely accepted that one of the purposes of education in landscape architecture is to train students as experts for professional practice. But graduates rarely get positive evaluation from the professional practice in landscape architecture regarding their capability in real environments. Recently the international accreditation system for architectural education is introduced, and it requires a considerably high degree of education enhancing practical capability of students as practitioner. In this context, this study aims to seek an effective educational method for enhancing practical practice capability of students in landscape architectural design education by using the analysis method employed architectural educations in Korea in measuring student performance criteria. The results of the study suggest international education standard of environmental design course emphasizes the ingenuity of individuals. And integrating the knowledges of diverse fields into education system is necessity. Nowadays, handing over the hard skills emphasized in the past is changing toward fostering soft skills. As a conclusion, educational contents which satisfy the established objects are mostly composed of soft skills such as communication techniques, collectional capability of informations, personal relationships and vocational ethics etc.
A framework for the aesthetic education of landscape designers is offered in the context of ecological imperatives, ineffectual contemporary artistic strategies, and the neglect of 'form' and material practice in teaching institutions. The reinstatement of form-treated as landscape trajectories acknowledging process-and craft, along with a philosophy of utility and modesty in art: "the aesthetics of thrift," are together presented as a pertinent approach to education. Four currently popular approaches to aesthetics are examined and their limitations highlighted. The case for an emphasis on form-oriented, practical and empirical studies is made, along with the notion that the teaching of formal abstraction is also necessary. The aim of a 'thrift' approach in design education is to secure a close relationship between ethics and aesthetics by making central the judgment of utility of form-including the utility of art and of ecology-and by proposing humility as the basis of designer's resourceful making. © 2010 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.
The paper provides needed definition and description of international education in landscape architecture through an analysis of four principal sources of data, collected from CELA-participating landscape architecture programs between 2002 and 2005. The first two principal sources were two consecutive surveys of landscape architecture department heads concerning international education at their respective institutions. The third source was a series of focused interviews with landscape architecture department heads to supplement the two surveys. The fourth source comprised two web-based reviews of CELA-participating landscape architecture programs completed in 2002–3 and in 2005. The findings from the data were evidenced in five principal areas:
1. Program background in terms of the number of contemporary programs offering landscape architecture international education, the historical development of those programs, and contemporary factors that influence program change.
2. Program trends and variations in terms of study destination preferences, available activities, affiliation and exchange agreements, the timing of activities within the academic year, participating students and faculty, the extent of financial aid for students, unique study destinations, and unique activities.
3. Program approaches, program emphasis, the influence of university policy, and the role of international faculty and students in program activity, specifically in terms of internationalization and multiculturalism.
4. Student preparation and assessment in terms of student orientation and student surveys before and/or after participation in international education activities.
5. Perceived benefits and problems in terms of student and faculty international cultural experience, pedagogy, professional development, student recruitment, faculty research, program outreach, cost of participation, logistics, and administration.
The paper concludes with recommendations for further research on international education and its influence on the profession of landscape architecture.
This study examined research behaviors of landscape architecture faculty at North America universities and the existing research culture in which they function. The initial questionnaire was mailed to all assistant professors, associate professors, and professors listed as faculty in the 1998 Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) directory. The follow-up questionnaire was mailed to all department heads or equivalents of the North American Schools of Landscape Architecture listed in the CELA directory. The survey results indicate a relationship between age, level of education, and research productivity. The analysis suggests that the attitudes of department chairs and faculty colleagues have become more supportive of research activities, and that young, well-educated faculty are responding by producing more research than their colleagues.
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