Analysis of factors influencing the effectiveness of MET instructors

The Maritime Education and Training (MET) instructors play an important role in maritime safety. They educate, train and prepare new and existing seafarers for efficient and safe job performance and ultimately shape the safety and sustainability of shipping operations. To assist instructors in performing their tasks appropriately, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has developed various IMO model courses. The paper addresses the factors that bear upon the effectiveness of instructors at MET institutions. The authors developed a questionnaire with the aim of identifying the most significant factors from the instructors’ perspective and investigating whether there were correlations between factors and if they affected each other. The survey included 113 participants from 26 countries. In addition to descriptive statistics, Fisher’s exact test and chi-square test were used to analyse the obtained data and investigate the possible correlation between instructors’ competencies and perceptions of the factors affecting the teaching effectiveness. Finally, the research findings and the main conclusions and recommendations that emerge from these findings are presented.