Impact of new subjects on the performance of graduates of the Panama migration academy

Abstract

The research is an effort to know how the new subjects included in the academic curriculum of the Training Course for Immigration Inspectors of the Manuel José Hurtado Immigration Academy, of the National Migration Service of Panama, have impacted the professional performance of graduates, trained in the period 2014-2019. The above from the opinion of the graduates, teachers, and immediate bosses. One of the main contributions is to suggest an academic strategy aimed at strengthening the curricular design of the Course, which translates into curricular adaptations or changes. For this, a population of 347 Inspectors graduated in the period under study was identified, formed with the new plan of the Course, which work in different areas of the Migration Service province of Panama, obtaining a probabilistic sample of 128 students, who were stratified between the number of graduates located in different offices of the institution and through stratified sampling the members to be surveyed were identified. The teachers who taught the 5 subjects were interviewed, in addition to 7 bosses who supervised the offices where the respondents worked. The result of the research revealed according to the opinion of the students that the new subjects provided them with competencies for their professional performance in their area of work. On the other hand, according to the opinion of teachers and bosses, it is necessary to adjust the 5 subjects and partially update the curricular design of the Course, to guarantee the effective fulfillment of the graduation profile.