AVAILABILITY AND THE EFFECTIVE UTILIZATION OF CHEMISTRY LABORATORY EQUIPMENT ON STUDENTS

Thesis Overview

<p> <b></b> </p><div></div> <div><b>1.0 INTRODUCTION</b></div><div><b>1.1 BACKGROUND STUDY</b></div><div><br></div><div>Electrical Installation and Maintenance Works Programme is one of the TVE programmes which, according to the curriculum of the programme (National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, 2003) provides training that leads to the production of skilled personnel like craftsmen and technicians who could either secure employment at the end of their&nbsp; training, set up their own businesses or further their studies in Polytechnics, Colleges of Education (Technical) and Universities. The curriculum of the Electrical Installation and Maintenance Works programme covers a period of three years. In the course of the programme, students are expected to use a variety of tools and equipment, culminating in the</div><div><div><div>following behavioural objectives:&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;1) Demonstrate various experiments involving resistors, capacitors and inductors (Series/parallel connection);&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;2) Undertake both domestic and industrial installation;&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;3) Install electrical machines;&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;4) Prepare and join electrical cables;</div><div>5) Install/connect batteries for charging systems;&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;6) Use tools to dismantle, recoil and recouple an electrical machine (generator or motor); and&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;7) Undertake tests on installations and machines using appropriate tools (NBTE, 2003)</div><div>All the above skills require the use of practical teaching. That is why the Nigeria National Policy on Education (FGN, 2004) specifies that the approach to instruction is both class teaching and practical work. Practical teaching, according to Omosewo (2000) develops in students, appreciation of the spirit and methods of problem solving. Andural and Ikyumen (2006) added that today a lot emphasis is being placed on practical teaching which prepares recipients for various occupations. That is why the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE, 1992) Standards and Criteria for Accrediting Programmes in Technical Colleges, recognizing the importance of practical teaching, recommended that the class size for workshop practical work shall be 15 – 20 students and the teacher-student ratio shall be kept</div><div>at 1:20. Physical facilities play vital roles in students’ learning, for without them, according to Omosewo (2000) practical work is very difficult to organize. That was why Yaduma and Moses (2005:82) stressed that “For technical and vocational education to achieve its objectives, equipment, materials and tools (workshop facilities) must be available and adequate.” Omosewo (2000), Ngada (2001) and Yakubu and Mumah (2001) concluded that for any meaningful TVE programme, facilities are indispensable.</div><div>The curriculum of the Electrical Installation and Maintenance Works Programme (NBTE, 2003) provides a list of facilities and equipment that is required in running the programme. It was this list that the study addressed. It was necessary to address that aspect of the programme because students failed their examinations due largely to lack of available relevant educational facilities, resulting in their being inefficient, ineffective and unemployable (Olaitan, Nwachukwu, Onyemachi, Igbe and Ekong, 1999). Consequently, in the words of Olaitan (1996), Njoku (1997), Abubakar (2000) and Jen (2002), employers of labour were dissatisfied with the level of preparation of the graduates as the graduates were</div><div>unable to meet the employment requirements of the employers. Therefore, since facilities in </div><div>TVE are related to students’ academic achievement, (Abubakar, 2000; Alio, 2001; Akpa, </div><div>2003; Okoro, 2006), this study seeks to obtain empirical data by evaluating the facilities of </div><div>the Electrical Installation and Maintenance Works Programme of technical colleges in the North- East of Nigeria.</div><div><br></div><div><b>1.2 Purpose of the Study</b> </div><div><br></div><div>The study had the following specific purposes </div><div>1. Ascertain the extent to which facilities for EIMW programme are available for a minimum class size.</div><div><br></div><div> <div><b>1.4 Research Questions</b> </div><div><br></div><div>The following research questions were formulated to which answers were sought </div><div>1. To what extent are facilities for EIMW programme available for a minimum class size? </div><div>2. What is the level of utilization of the EIMW facilities by students during practical lessons?</div><div><br></div><div><b>1.5 Hypotheses</b> </div><div><b><br></b></div><div>The following hypotheses were stated and tested at 0.05 level of significance: </div><div>Ho1: There is no significant difference in the mean responses of principals, teachers and </div><div>workshop attendants on the extent to which facilities are available for a minimum class </div><div>size </div><div>Ho2: There is no significant difference in the mean scores of teachers, workshop </div><div>attendants and students on the level of utilization of facilities by students during </div><div>practical lessons </div> <br></div> <br></div> </div> <div></div> <br><p></p>