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Public Perception in South Korea. International Journal of Public Opinion, 20(2), 237-
249.
Marcus, B.K. (2009). "Capitalism". BlackCrayon.com Dictionary. Retrieved August 23,
2014, from www.blackcrayon.com
McConnell, C. R. & Bruce, S. L. (2008). Microeconomics: Principles, Problems and
Policies. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Onyenemezu, C. E. & Okanezi, B. (2013). Sustainable National Development through well
Managed Adult Education. Journal of Developing Country Studies, 3 (12), 179-189
Sani, A. (2017). Entrepreneurship Skills and Career Performance among Self- employed
University Graduates in North-west Geo-political Zone of Nigeria. Unpublished
Doctorate Thesis submitted to the School of Post-Graduate Studies, Kampala
International University, Kampala, Uganda.
Umar, R. T. (2010). Comparative Analysis of Exposition and Inquiry Methods of Teaching
and Learning Financial Accounting in Senior Secondary Schools in Kaduna State.
Unpublished M. Ed (Business Education) Dissertation submitted to the School of
Post- Graduate Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
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Adopting Concept Maps for Facilitating Analytical Reasoning and
Retention amongst Electrical Installation Students in Technical Colleges
Caleb Emmanuel Ezekiel & Aniefiok Edet Udofia Ph.D
Department of Vocational Education
University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State
Abstract
This study sought to determine the effect of utilization of concept map model of instructional
on skills acquisition as well as retention amongst electrical installation students in Technical
Colleges of Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. A quasi-experimental design utilizing the pre-test,
post-test control group design was used for the study. The population was 542 students,
which was made up of all Electrical Installation and maintenance Senior Technical Two (ST.
II) students in the six public Technical Colleges in Akwa Ibom State in the 2016/2017
session. The sample consists of 108 Senior Technical II Electrical Installation and
Maintenance work students in two intact classes drawn from two selected Technical Colleges
in Akwa Ibom state. Data for the study was collected using the researchers’ developed
instrument called “Electrical Installation Practical Checklist” (EIPC). Scores for retention
were obtained by administering the test again to the same sets of students after two weeks of
the post test. Mean and Standard deviation was used to answer the research questions while
Analysis of Covariance was used to test the null hypothesis 1 at .05 alpha level and t-test
used to test null hypothesis 2 at .05 alpha level. The findings reveal that the use of concept
mapping instructional strategy can aid the retention of taught materials. It was
recommended amongst others that Technical College teachers should consider using the
Concept mapping method during instruction in Electrical Installation Works and other
Technical Practical Courses.
Keywords: Concept Maps, Skills, Recall, Technical Students, Skills Acquisition
Introduction
The goals of any good instruction in Technology Education goes beyond just
assisting students to grapple with subject matter, but to facilitate the acquisition of soft skills
as well as technical skills. Technology Education students, whose strength has always been
on the use of technical skills, now, also need to focus on developing soft skills such as
critical thinking and problem solving skills, which will enable them to be adaptable to
changes in technology and job descriptions. Science and technological education training
programmes have seen the adoption of instructional methods in classrooms that mirrors the
new global industrial environment. These instructional methods develop both the technical
(hard) skills and non-technical (soft) skills demanded by industries for adaptation. One of
such methods that can be used to develop critical thinking skills as well as technical skills is
the use of concept maps.
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Concept mapping is defined as a visual representation of the relationships between concepts
held by an individual, materials of a lecture, textbook, or laboratory exercise (Novak,
2006).A concept map consists of concept labels that identify specific ideas (concepts) and the
links between them, which explain how concepts are related to make meaning. (Hay, Kinchin
& Lygo- Baker, 2008). The above definitions portray a concept map as a schematic device
for representing a set of interrelated, interconnected conceptual meaning networked in a
hierarchical fashion. Concepts and ideas are linked with phrases that illustrate the
relationships among them. According to Novak (2006), concepts are defined as patterns or
“regularities” in events or objects and objects are simply defined as “things” and events as
“happenings”. Concepts are commonly denoted by names, symbols or signs of our language
Similar to an outline or a flowchart, a concept map is a way of representing or
organizing knowledge. However, a concept map goes beyond the typical outline, in that,
concept maps show relationships between ideas/concepts, including bi-directional
relationships. They include concepts, usually enclosed in circles or boxes of some type, and
relationships between concepts indicated by a connecting line linking two concepts (Novak
& Alberto, 2008). A concept map therefore, could be said to be divided into circles (nodes)
and lines (links); the circles representing various concepts; and links representing the
relationships (propositions) between concepts. Words are used to label the links in order to
explicitly depict relationships.
The theoretical framework for concept mapping is given by Ausubel’s learning
psychology (Ausubel, 1968; Asuubel, Novak & Hanessan, 1978).The fundamental idea in
Ausubel’s cognitive psychology is that learning takes place by the assimilation of new
concepts and propositions into existing concept and propositional frameworks held by the
learner(Novak& Alberto, 2008). Succinctly put, Ausubel believes that learning of new
knowledge relies on what is already known. That is, construction of knowledge begins with
observation and recognition of events and objects through concepts already known. Students
learn by constructing a network of concepts and adding to them. Furthermore, Ausubel (cited
inIoana, Silvia & Cristina, 2011),stated that the most important single factor influencing
learning is what the learner already knows; which the teacher ascertains and teach the
learner accordingly. Thus, meaningful learning results when a person consciously and
explicitly ties new knowledge to relevant concepts they already possess. Ausubel suggests
that when meaningful learning occurs, it produces a series of changes within ones entire
cognitive structure, modifying existing concepts and forming new linkages between
concepts.
Concept-mapping has been identified as creating a stimulating learning environment
which facilitates critical thinking, by encouraging students to connect new knowledge to their
prior learning as well as providing students opportunity to gain further, wide and varied
knowledge of a number of concepts in a short period of time. Consequently, because
knowledge is stored hierarchically, it becomes easy for recall. It follows that concept map
instructional strategy can aid retention and enhance academic performance of students.
According to Chabelli, (2010), concept-mapping is an integral teaching method to
facilitate critical thinking. Concept-mapping encourages meaningful understanding by
helping students to organize and connect the information they already know about a subject
with the new knowledge. The understanding according to Akinsanya and Williams (2004) is
brought about by the student’s ability to meaningfully connect, link and integrate new ideas,
thoughts, concepts and statements to their existing body of knowledge. The students are able
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to link and cross-link the concepts and describe their relationship. They then see the ‘bigger
picture’ of the phenomenon. Through concept-mapping, the teacher can determine the
intellectual growth of students and also diagnose their misunderstanding through misdirected
links or wrong connections. The student’s conceptual knowledge is illustrated well through
concept-mapping. In a concept map, each word or phrase is connected to another and linked
back to the original idea, word or phrase. They are a way to develop logical thinking and
study skills, by revealing connections and helping students see how individual ideas form a
larger whole. Thus concepts maps aid the teacher in assessment.
Concept learning is an active process that is fundamental to understanding science
concepts, principles, rules, hypotheses, and theories. It is the responsibility of the Technical
College teacher to organize learning experiences in a way that will facilitate student learning.
As students are introduced to new concepts in electricity, electronics, mechanical technology
and building technologies, they embark on a cognitive process of constructing meaning and
making sense by consciously or subconsciously integrating these new ideas with their
existing knowledge. This is best facilitated by Concept Maps. In the view of Safdar (2010), if
teachers learn how to construct concept maps and use them for planning and assessing
lessons, they will be able to teach students better how to make concept maps to organize their
thoughts and ideas. Technical Education teachers can use concept maps to determine the
nature of students’ existing ideas, and make evident the key concepts to be learned and
suggest linkages between the new information to be learned and what the student already
knows. From the foregoing, it could be deduced that application of concept maps in
instructional process serve many purposes amongst them are; knowledge construction;
learning; assessment, where it can be used as a pre-post assessment of what students’ prior
knowledge and what they have learned; to evaluate how students organize their knowledge;
record of understanding and misconceptions and instruction.
Beyond knowledge construction, concept maps can be used to outline the processes
and techniques involved in production and can aid in the acquisition of practical technical
skills. Each word or phrase linked/connected to another word or phrase can be used to
describe activities to be carried out by the students. The nodes and links can also be used to
show what activities should come first and what activity should follow next. It can also be
used to describe the process and link one process to another in the skills acquisition process.
This can help the students acquire skills even in the absence of the teacher, because, a
detailed concept map is more or less a do-it-yourself approach and students, following the
map, can actually develop practical skills by themselves. Beyond acquiring skills, the
concept map learning process also develops critical thinking and problem solving skills,
analytical and initiative taking skills which are embedded in the process of reading and
interpreting maps.
Statement of the Problem
Concept mapping requires the learner to operate at all six levels; knowledge,
comprehension, application, analysis, evaluation, and creation (synthesis) of Bloom’s
educational objectives of cognitive domain. Concept mapping is an instructional tool that has
been demonstrated repeatedly to have a positive impact on the quality of student learning
(Nesbit & Adesope,2006; Ritchhart, Turner, & Hadar, 2009)and especially within nursing
education (Hunter, 2012; Gerdeman, Lux, & Jacko,2013).The question then is: Will concept
mapping, used in the classroom as an instructional method, affect the information searching
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of Electrical Technology students and by extension influence their academic performance
positively? Will concept mapping aid recall and retention among Electrical Technology
students in technical colleges?
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study was to determine the effect of concept mapping
instructional model on skills acquisition of Electrical Technology students in Technical
Colleges. Specifically, the study sought to
1. Determine the difference in the acquisition of electrical installation skills by
students when taught using concept mapping as against the conventional method
in Technical Colleges.
2. To ascertain the mean recall rate of students’ in electrical installation when taught
using concept mapping model and conventional instructional method.
Research Questions
The following research questions guided the study
1. What is the difference in the acquisition of electrical installation shooting skills by
students when taught using concept mapping as against the conventional method
in Technical Colleges?
2. What is the difference in the recall rate of students’ in electrical installation when
taught using concept mapping and conventional instructional methods?
Null Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were tested at .05 alpha level
Ho1: There is no significant difference in the acquisition of electrical installation skills by
students when taught using concept mapping as against the conventional method in Technical
Colleges.
Ho2: There is no significant difference in the recall rate of students’ in electrical installation
when taught using concept mapping and conventional instructional methods.
Methodology
A quasi-experimental design using the pre-test, post-test control group method was
employed for the study. This design was deemed appropriate since the study involved
students in Senior Technical Two (ST II) using two intact classes in electrical installation
work and in two independent groups. The population is 542 students. The population of the
study comprised all Electrical Installation and maintenance Senior Technical Two (ST. II)
students in the six public Technical Colleges in Akwa Ibom State. The sample consists of
108 Senior Technical II Electrical Installation and Maintenance work students in two intact
classes drawn from two selected Technical Colleges in Akwa Ibom state. Simple random
sampling technique was used to select the two schools from six Technical Colleges in the
study area. The two schools were randomly assigned to treatment and control schools. Data
for the study was collected using the researcher developed instrument titled “Electrical
Troubleshooting Practical Checklist” (ETPC). Scores for retention (recall) were obtained by
administering the test again to the same sets of students after two weeks of the post test.
Mean and Standard deviation was used to answer the research questions while Analysis of
Covariance was used to test the null hypotheses at .05 alpha level.
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Presentation of Results
Research Question 1: What is the difference in the acquisition of electrical installation skills
by students when taught using concept mapping as against the conventional method in
Technical Colleges?
Table 1:Summary of Posttest Scores of Students in Concept Map and Conventional Methods
Teaching methods n Mean Std.
Concept Mapping 59 73.34 Dev.
61 68..65 5.32
Demonstration
6.23
As shown in Table 1, the mean scores for students taught with concept map method is 73.34
while that for students in demonstration method is 68.65. This implies that students in
concept map method performed better than those in demonstration method in electrical
installation skills.
Null Hypothesis 1
There is no significant difference in the mean scores of students’ in electrical installation
when taught using concept mapping and conventional instructional methods.
Table 2:Summary of Result for Significant Test of Students’ Academic Performance in
Electrical Troubleshooting
Source of variation Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
Pretest (covariate) 7027.542 1 7027.542 97.072 .000
Explained 726.344 1 726.344 10.033 .002
Main Effect 443.706 1 443.706 6.129* .015
(Teaching Methods)
Residual 7384.280 103 72.395
Total 345988.000 105
*= significant at P < .05 alpha level.
Table 2 shows the Analysis of Covariance test for students’ academic performance scores in
electrical troubleshooting when taught using concept mapping and demonstration
instructional methods. The table indicates that the calculated F-value is 6.129 with the
significant of F at .015 at P≤.05. Therefore the null hypothesis stating that there is no
significant difference in the mean scores of students’ academic performance in electrical
troubleshooting when taught using concept mapping and demonstration instructional
methods is rejected. This implies that, there is significant difference between the mean scores
of students’ academic performance in electrical troubleshooting when taught using concept
mapping and demonstration instructional methods, with those taught with concept maps
performing better than those taught with demonstration method.
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Null Hypothesis 2
There is no significant difference in the mean retention scores of students’ in electrical
installation when taught using concept mapping and conventional methods.
Table 2: Summary Of Significant Test For Retention Scores Of Students In Electrical
Troubleshooting When Taught Using Concept Mapping And Demonstration
Instructional Methods.
Teaching Std. tcal Sig.of t Decision
methods n Mean Dev. df
Concept 59 61.24 6.20 103 4.455 *
Mapping 61 48.65 19.07 0.001
Demonstration
*=significant at p≤.05.
Table 2 shows the summary of the t-test of significance for retention scores of students
taught with Concept Mapping and Demonstration Instructional Methods. The result shows
that students taught with concept mapping had higher Mean performance scores than students
taught with demonstration method. Table 2 further reveals that the significance of p is 0.001,
this is less than the alpha level of .05. Since p≤.05, the null hypothesis is rejected. Thus,
there is a significant difference in the mean retention scores of students’ in electrical
troubleshooting when taught using concept mapping and demonstration instructional
methods, with the students taught using concept mapping retaining more taught material than
those taught with demonstration.
Discussion of Findings
The findings of this study has shown that students taught electrical trouble shooting
using concept mapping performed significantly better when tested as against those taught
using demonstration. This could be because electrical troubleshooting will require students to
think and explore different ways of rectifying a malfunction unlike straight tasks where little
or no thinking maybe required. Troubleshooting requires students to draw from previous
knowledge, use problem solving skills as well as creative skills. A concept mapping learning
environment encompasses these skills and it thus becomes easy for students to develop these
skills during instruction using concept mapping. This findings is in line with Kehinde (2013),
which found that a careful integration of concept mapping instructional strategy in the
classroom helps students perform complex tasks as routine tasks as it helps them through the
cognitive process of problem solving.
The study also found a significant difference in the mean retention scores of
students’ in electrical troubleshooting when taught using concept mapping and demonstration
instructional methods, with the students taught using concept mapping retaining more taught
material than those taught with demonstration. This could be as a result of the fact that
information stored in schema is easy to retrieve. This findings is supported by the findings of
Haynie (2003), Savage and Sterry (2003) which concurred that the important element of
retention is comprehension because the easier the material followed the easier it is to recall
that material. The scholars asserted that a teacher who wants his or her students to remember
what is taught could work hard to invest it with all the strategies for enhancing
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comprehension and mastery of skills. This is in line with the findings of Eppler (2006),
which opined that concept mapping is a tool that promotes a greater level of reflection on
learning that encourages the student to uncover the systematic relationships between
concepts.
Conclusion
From the findings of the study, it is established that the use of concept mapping
instructional strategy makes learning visible and can help learners comprehend their existing
knowledge and aid them in relating new concepts to those they already hold. Also the
strategy can aid the retention of taught materials. It is the view of the researchers that concept
maps if developed properly and applied in Technical Colleges, can be used to develop
technical skills effectively among Electrical Technology students even in the absence of the
teacher.
Recommendations
1. Technical College teachers should consider using concept mapping instruction in
Electrical Technology courses and other Technical Practical Courses.
2. Technical College teachers should explore the use of concept maps in teaching the
theoretical aspects of Electrical Technology instruction as materials taught can be
easily remembered by students in diagrammatical/pictorial forms.
References
Akinsanya, C. & Williams, C. (2004). Concept-mapping for meaningful learning, Nurse
Education Today 24, 41−46
Ausubel (1968). Educational psychology: a cognitive view, New York: Holt, Rinehart, and
M Winston.
Ausubel, D.P., J.D. Novak, & H. Hanessan. (1978). Educational psychology: A cognitive
view.
NewYork: Holt, Rinehart andM Winston
Chabelli, M. (2010). Concept-mapping as a teaching method to facilitate critical thinking in
nursing education: A review of the literature’, Health SA Gesondheid 15(1),1-7
Eppler, M. J. (2006). A comparison between concept maps, mind maps, conceptual diagrams,
and visual metaphors as complementary tools for knowledge construction and sharing.
Information Visualisation, 5, 202–210.
Gerdeman, J. L., Lux, K., & Jacko, J. (2013). Using concept mapping to build clinical
judgment Skills. .Nurse Education in Practice, 13, 11–17.
Hay, D. B., Kinchin, I. M., & Lygo-Baker, S. (2008). Making learning visible: The role of
concept mapping in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 33, 295–311.
Hunter, R. S. M. (2012). Concept maps and nursing theory: A pedagogical approach. Nurse
Educator, 37,131–135.
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Ioana S., Silvia, M. Cristina, M. (2011). Concept maps, amust for the modern teaching-
learning process. Romanian Reports in Physics, 63(2), 567–576.
Kehinde, A.O. (2013). Concept mapping: A useful tool for child science education in Ekiti
State, Nigeria.Research Journal in Organizational Psychology & Educational Studies
2(4),150-153
Nesbit, J. C., & Adesope, O. O. (2006). Learning with concept and knowledge maps: A
meta- analysis. Review of Educational Research, 76, 413–448.
Novak, J. D. (2006). Introduction to concept mapping. Available at:http://uwf.edu [Accessed:
31/08/2016]
Novak, J. D. & Cañas, A. J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and how to
construct and use them, Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 01-2008,
Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, 2008, available at:
http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.p
df [Accessed: 31/08/2016)
Ritchhart, R., Turner, T., & Hadar, L. (2009). Uncovering students’ thinking about thinking
Usingconcept maps. Metacognition Learning, 4, 145–159.
Safdar, M. (2010). A comparative study of Ausubelian and traditional methods of teaching
physics at secondary school level in Pakistan. Unpublished Ph.D thesis. Islamabad.
National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, 66-70.
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Guidance and Counselling Services on Secondary Students Choice of
Business Subjects as Career and Sustainable National Development
Umar, Rahmat Talatu, Ph.D
Vocational and Technical Education
Faculty of Education
Ahmad Bello University,
Zaria
Email : [email protected]
Abstract
This study investigated the influence of guidance and counselling services on choice of
business subjects as career among secondary school students in Gombe state, Nigeria for
sustainable national development Two specific objectives, two research questions and two
null hypotheses were raised. Survey research design was adopted for the study. The
population of the study was 21,465 secondary school students and 377 of them were
randomly used for the study. Four rating scale structured questionnaire titled Choice of
Business Subjects among Students (CVSS) constructed by the researcher were used for data
collection. Data collected were analyze using mean score and standard deviation to answer
the research questions while simple logistic regression was employed in the test of the two
null hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level of significance. The study revealed among others that
guidance and counselling services can influence the choice of business subjects as career
among secondary school students which will encourage self-reliance thereby sustain
economic development. The resultant effect is that most secondary school students perceived
that business subjects are either meant for academic misfits or female students. Based on the
outcome of the study, the researcher recommended among others that counsellors in schools
should help to instill positive attitude in students towards business subjects that will help to
develop their interest and choice of the business subjects beginning from the grassroots at
secondary school level. This will build their passion for self-reliance and it will go a long to
sustain national development
Keywords: - Guidance and Counselling, Business Subjects, Secondary Students.
Introduction
Business subjects is an aspect of vocational and technical education programme
designed to guide, support, or create practice for job opportunities after graduation or to be
self-reliance. The role of business education in the economic growth of individuals and the
nation at large triggered policy makers into giving greater importance to business subjects in
Nigeria. It is commonly believed that the introduction of business subjects is an imperative
that will make a positive contribution to improving the business subjects’ orientation of
students, leading to the acquisition of skills, creativity, confidence, drives and job creation
among the school leavers. According to Amakaino and Amiaya (2014), business education
provides students with the needed competencies, skills, knowledge, understanding and
attitudes to perform as workers in industries, civil service and also as proprietors of business.
The educational programme has been identified globally as essential tool that equips
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recipients with requisite skills required for work that enables the recipients to remain relevant
in the face of increasing global competition in the labour market. The foundation of business
education is based on the philosophy which was mainly established for self-employment and
self-reliance of the individual(s) who partake in it. Generally, business subjects at secondary
school level which include business studies, economics, commerce, marketing and principles
of accounting have positive image in the growth and development of the youths and nation at
large which goes a long way to sustain national development.
In education, guidance can be defined as the process of helping an individual to
develop and accept an integrated and adequate picture of himself and of his role in the world
of work, to test this concept against reality and to convert it into reality with satisfaction to
himself and benefit to the society in general. In school, the role of guidance service of
creating awareness by providing information needed for students cannot be overemphasized.
Specifically, in secondary school, guidance service is responsible for making students to see
and explore their unlimited endowed options. It is indisputable fact that the major service
areas of guidance service are to assists students in their choice of career and prepare for an
occupation that is compatible with their interests, capability and aptitudes. Adamu and
Mohammed (2013), reported that guidance assumes significant responsibilities of informing
students about job opportunities by creating awareness necessary for students to look for
work, secure an appropriate job and move ahead in careers. The role of guidance in school
according to Federal Republic of Nigeria (2012) is to:- (i) increase students understanding,
interests and values; (ii) enable students to identify those occupational areas that suit them;
(iii) help students to develop an acceptable self-image and realistic attitude towards academic
achievements as a necessary prelude to vocations/careers; (iv) motivate oriented towards
appropriate career and orientation as well as creation of awareness of opportunities; and (v)
inculcate in students the dignity of labour. It therefore follows that the role of the guidance is
crucial for career choice and development of secondary school students. Hence it is not over
statement to say through guidance service students overwhelming ignorance and difficulties
of career choice and personality maladjustment will be sensitized and eliminated to some
extent.
Guidance service plays a key role on career exploration of students. Through
guidance, students gain a wider acquisition not just of knowledge and skills, but of an
understanding about how to use them. In this context, the mission of career guidance has
widening and become part of lifelong learning an even acquired higher profile as countries
adopt more active approaches to unemployment and to welfare reform. This explains why
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2003) argued that the
service of guidance units plays a key role in helping students to decide on a job or a course
and broader development of career management skills. Sari (2010) posits that school
counsellor is an important team player or part of the educational leadership team that provide
valuable assistance to students. Considering the role of guidance service on choice of
subjects and career plans of secondary school students prompted the researcher to investigate
the influence of guidance service on attitude and choice of business subjects among
secondary school students in Gombe state
Statement of the Problem
Business subjects are recognized universally as the tool for solution to socio-
economic problems of the world. Through business subjects, problems of poverty,
unemployment and security will be solved to some extent. This explains why developed
nations such as America, China, Russia and Britain aspire towards equipping youths with
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business skills and training for their self-reliance. The aim of business subjects according to
National Policy on Education (2012) is to provide: - (i) trained manpower; (ii) technical
knowledge and business skill; (iii) training in production of craft-man; and (iv) training to
men and women to have intelligent understanding.
Despite the laudable importance of business subjects, the researcher observed that the
general behaviour of students towards the subjects is not impressive and encouraging.
Interaction with students showed that the need for introducing business subjects into
secondary school curricula is not felt as students have negative perception towards the
subjects. By now, secondary school students in Nigeria ought to embrace the subjects, offer it
in their school and even practice it upon graduation, but reverse is the case. In Nigeria, it is
unfortunate to mention that business subjects have remained a subordinate discipline in terms
of societal recognition, interest and its choice among secondary school students. It dismal
that in Nigeria students believe that business subjects are reserved for students who cannot
succeed in areas like science or social science. According to Azubuike (2011), students and
even counselors seem not to understand what business subjects is all about and consequently
continue recommending it to students that are below average. Similarly, Adamu and
Mohammed (2013) posit that most school counselors believe that commercial subjects such
as commerce, economics and principles of accounting are meant for academic misfits and
down trodden students with low talent and abilities needed for students to cope with serious
educational challenges. These promoted the researcher to investigate the influence of
guidance service on attitude and choice of business subjects among secondary school
students in Gombe state.
Objectives of the Study
The study wishes to: -
1. Determine the influence of guidance and counselling services on the choice of
business subjects among secondary school students in Gombe state.
2. Establish the influence of guidance and counselling services on choice of business
subjects among secondary school in Gombe state based on gender
Research Questions
The study wishes to answer the following research questions: -
1. What is the influence of guidance and counselling services on the choice of business
subjects among secondary school students in Gombe state?
2. What is the influence of guidance and counselling on choice of business subjects
among secondary school in Gombe state based on gender?
Null Hypotheses
In line with the objectives of the study, the following hypotheses are formulated and to be
tested by using simple regression at 0.05 level of significance
1. There is no significant influence of guidance and counselling services on the choice
of business subjects among secondary school students in Gombe state.
2. There is no significant influence of guidance and counselling services on gender
difference on choice of business subjects among secondary school in Gombe state.
Methodology
Research design adopted for the study was descriptive survey. The population of the
study was 26,210 SS I secondary school students in public secondary schools in Gombe
state. Sample size used was 10 percent of the population. According to Odukunle (2005), 10
percent of population of 26,000 and above is adequate for a research. 2,621 students as
recommended was used. Instrument used for data collection was questionnaire. The
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instrument was validated by experts in business education, department of Vocational and
Technical and research methodology expert, all from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; their
suggestions were incorporated into the final copy of the questionnaire. The questionnaire was
subjected to pilot study using test - retest. Data collected from the pilot study were subjected
into Cronbach alpha statistical analysis. The analysis gave reliability coefficient of 0.76.
The researcher personally administered the instrument assisted by four research
assistants. The respondents were required to fill the questionnaire based on the extent of their
agreement or disagreement. Completed questionnaire was subjected to statistical analysis
using weighted mean score and standard deviation to answer the research questions. An
index mean score of at least 2.5 was used as a criterion for agree. In the test of hypotheses,
regression was used in the test of the null hypothesis one while t-test was employed to test
null hypothesis two. All the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. In the test of
the null hypotheses, where the probability value was greater than 0.05, the null hypotheses
was retained. On the other hand, where the probability value was less than 0.05, the null
hypotheses was rejected.
Results of the Study
Analysis of data used to answer the research questions is as presented in Table 1 and 2
Research Question 1: What is the influence of guidance and counselling on the choice of
business subjects among secondary school students in Gombe state?
Table 1: Mean opinions of students on influence of guidance and counselling on their choice
of business subjects among students
S/no Statement Total Agree Disagree Mean S.D. Remark
agree
1. Guidance and counselling units encourage us 462 345 117 3.0 0.55 Agree
to study business subjects to become self-
reliance
2. Influence of guidance counselling encourage 544 359 185 2.6 0.48 Agree
me to study business subjects to own business
of my own
3. Guidance and counselling units in our schools 561 363 198 2.6 0.47 Agree
encourage students to offer business related
subjects to contribute to national development
4. Students above average are placed in science 522 426 96 3.2 0.56 Agree
class automatically
Business subjects is always consider for good 532 362 170 2.7 0.48 Agree
5. academic backward students by guidance and
2621 1855 766 2.8 0.58 Agree
counselling units
Total
The commutative responses of respondents used to answer research question one
revealed the commutative score 2621 with score of 1855 for those opined that guidance and
counselling has influence on the choice of business subjects. Those that had contrary opinion
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scored 766 with mean score of 2.8 and 1.2 respectively. From the result of the analysis the
calculated value was found to be greater than the benchmark for agreed (2.8>2.5). Based on
the result, it was concluded that guidance and counselling has influence on the choice of
business subjects among secondary school students in Gombe state.
Research Question 2: What is the influence of guidance and counselling on gender disparity
on choice of business subjects among secondary school in Gombe state?
Table 2: Mean opinions of students on influence of guidance and counselling on gender
difference on the choice of business subjects among students
S/no Statement Total Score SD. Remark
Agree Disagree Mean
agree
1. Guidance and counselling do not show 501 319 182 2.8 0.49 Agree
disparity on placement of students in business
subjects.
2. Influence of guidance counselling favour male 511 407 104 3.0 0.46 Agree
and female students to do what they are capable
of doing best and not opt for science alone
3. Guidance and counselling units in our schools 531 411 120 2.9 0.45 Agree
also advocate for sustain economic
development related subjects for the students.
4. Not only female students are placed in 529 391 138 2.6 0.39 Agree
commercial subjects in our school
5. Not only female students are considered as 549 412 137 2.6 0.39 Agree
academic backward, hence guidance units 8
mostly encouraged all to opt for commercial
subjects.
Total 2621 1940 681 2.8 0.30 Agree
Analysis of data used to determine the influence of dependent on independent
variable is as presented in Table 2. From the table cumulative score of 2621 was obtained
with score of 1940 (2.80) for those who opined that guidance counselling has influence on
gender disparity on the choice of business subjects among students. Those that disagree
scored 681 (1.20) with standard deviation of .309. Based on the outcome of the analysis, the
calculated value was found to be greater than the benchmark for agree (2.80>2.5), hence the
result shows that guidance and counselling has influence gender disparity on the choice of
business subjects among secondary school students in Gombe state.
Test of Hypotheses
Results of the analysis of data used to test the null hypotheses were as presented in Table
3 and 4.
HO1: There is no significant influence of guidance and counselling on the choice of
business subjects among secondary school students in Gombe state.
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Table 3: Regression analysis of influence of guidance and counselling (G&C) on choice of
business subjects (CBS) among secondary school students
Model B Std. Error T Sig. Beta r-crit R R Square Adjusted R Square
G&C 5.694 .648 8.787 .000
0.622 0.088 .860 .740
(Constant) .696
CBS 0.053 .015 3.665 .001
The regression analysis to test the influence of G&C on CBS in Table 3 indicated an r
value .860 and at α = 0.05. The summary of the analysis shows the constant value of 5.694
which indicates that the regression equation needs to be adjusted by 5.694 upward. The
probability value was 0.00 while the R-square which was 0.74 signified that 74% of the
variance that influence CBS was accounted by G&C. The observed 0.860 was significant,
this can also be seen in the r-cal found to be greater than the r-crit (.0860>0.088). Based on
the analysis it was concluded that G&C has significant influence on CBS among secondary
school students in Gombe state. The null hypothesis was therefore rejected.
HO2: There is no significant influence of guidance and counselling on gender disparity on
choice of business subjects among secondary school in Gombe state.
Table 4: Regression analysis of influence of guidance and counselling (G&C) on gender
disparity on choice of business subjects (GDCBS) among students
Model B Std. Error T Sig. Beta r-crit R R Square Adjusted R Square
G&C 5.694 .648 8.787 .000
0.622 0.088 .683 .467
(Constant) .453
GDCBS 1.572 .085 2.955 .001
Analysis of data used to test null hypothesis two shows the Constant Beta value of
5.694 with t-value of 8.787 for G&C. Gender disparity on choice of business subjects
(GDCBS) among students has 1.572 with t-value of 2.955. The R-cal was greater than the
R-crit (.683>0.088). The result shows the R2 value of .467, indicating that 47% of the
variance of students’ choice of business subjects is attributed to G&C. The null hypothesis is
therefore rejected.
Discussion of the Findings
The study revealed that guidance service in secondary schools in Gombe state has
influence on the attitude of students towards business subjects. This confirms the study of
Grubb, (2002) and Tricot (2002) highlighted that career guidance assumes high influence on
choice of subjects among secondary schools ‘students. Quek (2001) opined that guidance
counsellors constitute a setback on attitude and choice of art and social science subjects
among secondary school students. The study of Adamu and Mohammed (2013) shows that
schools counsellors negatively affects the choice of commercial subjects among secondary
school students in Nigeria. The author added that because guidance units considered business
subject inferior to other discipline they continue to recommend it to slow learners.
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The analysis revealed that finding of null hypothesis two shows that guidance service
has significant influence on gender disparity on choice of business subjects among secondary
school in Gombe state. This finding agreed with that of Angeline (2011) reported that the
perceptions and attitude of teachers teaching in school may be discouraging. The author
observed that attitude often makes boys to drop commercial subjects to take science subjects
that will make them to read courses like medicine, engineering, architecture and so on, while
girls will only study to become secretaries, teachers, and businessmen. This perception or
attitude of teachers inform how they teach and attend to the girls in classes especially
mathematics and science, and these end up affecting the performance of the girl child. Sanjib
(2011) who highlighted that career counseling gives an understanding to the students the
importance of one’s academic potential and gender Azubuike (2011) revealed that interest,
gender, socio-economic status, the qualification of teachers’ instructors and guidance
counsellors were the five major factors that influence students in the business subjects in
schools. Adamu and Mohammed (2013) attributed this stereotype to teachers, school
guidance as well as the perception of students. The authors observed that male are
considerably less interested in business subjects than females, and this can be attributed to
the stereotype that it is only for the females or “tom girls”. Research by Payam (2013) also
shows that teachers more especially guidance units have the conception that commercial
subjects is better for female students.
Conclusion
Generally, the research work shows that significant relationship exists between
guidance service and resultant negative effect of attitude and choice of business subjects
among secondary schools in Gombe state. Based on the information provided of students,
most of them perceived business subjects are meant for academic and social misfits,
problematic and lawless students. By implication these made most secondary school students
to prefer science subjects to business subjects.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommended that: -
1. Teachers most especially should develop positive attitude towards business subjects
and stop recommending business subjects to academic and social misfits’ students
2. Government and stakeholders in education should organize public awareness
programmes on importance of business subjects to students. This will assist in
curbing the negative attitude of male students towards the subjects.
3. Guidance and Counselling services towards self-reliance of the future of tomorrow
should be taken very important for sustainable economic development
References
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Adamu, I. & Mohammed, I.A. (2013). Analysis of Roles of Guidance Service on Students’
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Payam, Z. (2013) “Closing the Gender Gaps for Women in Science”, Immpress Magazine.
Quek, A.H. (2001). Designing counselor education and training programmes for public
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di Malaysia]. Paper to be presented at National Seminar on Standardisation of
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Executives: From http://careercounseling.blogspot.com/ (April 18, 2011)
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23-07- 2013.
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Classroom Management Strategies and Students’ Interest in Business
Subjects in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Uyo
Local Government Area
Usen, S. M. Ph.D, Ekanem, A. P., & Foster, D. L.
Department of Vocational Education, Faculty of Education,
University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State
[email protected]
[email protected]
Abstract
The main focus of the study was to assess classroom management strategies and students’
interest in business subjects in technical vocational education and training (TVET) in Uyo
Local Government Area. A survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the
study comprised of 150 vocational business teachers. A sample size of 100 vocational
business teachers were selected for the study using proportionate stratified sampling
technique. The instrument was a 15 item structured questionnaire used for data collection.
The reliability of the instrument was ascertained using Cronbach Alpha reliability method.
The reliability coefficient showed 0.78 indicating that the instrument was suitable for the
study. Pearson Product moment correlation was used to answer the two research questions
and was applied to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the
study revealed that both authoritative and democratic styles are good classroom
management strategies because these two strategies have significant relationship between
classroom management and students’ interest in Vocational Business subjects. Based on the
findings of the study, it was concluded that authoritative and democratic classroom
management strategies can improve behavior and sustains students interest in vocational
business subjects. Hence, it was recommended among others that the commissioner and
directors in the State Ministry of Education should organize seminars at the three senatorial
districts of the state on the title “Techniques of teaching and classroom management.
Keywords: Classroom management, Effective Classroom management Authoritative,
Democratic, and strategies.
Introduction
Classroom management is a cardinal feature of the total education process. It contains
all the steps through which interaction between the educator and the learner take place.
Classroom management is the process of ensuring that classroom lessons run smoothly
despite the disruptive behavior by students. According to Ali (2000), the term also refers to
the prevention of disruptive behavior of students. Classroom management includes planning
and preparation of teaching and learning materials, organization of materials, decoration of
the classroom, creation of expectation, establishment and enforcement of rules and regulation
in the classroom. The way teachers manage the classroom matters and has a deep influence
upon their own teaching and learning by the students. To Duck (2007), classroom is a place
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where the closest interaction between the students and the teachers take place. Effective
classroom management creates positive impact on teaching quality and students learning
attitude. It creates a sound, supportive and friendly environment in classroom where students
feel safe, respected, cared for and secured. For this purpose, effective teachers create
conditions of cooperation, discipline and responsibility both for themselves and for their
students. Teachers are the ultimate decider of the classroom atmosphere. Teachers who
manage their classroom effectively, overcome many classroom problems such as disruptions,
deviant behavior or misbehaviours of students. Here, Aly (2007) wrote that different teachers
have different ways of instinctively managing the classroom environment and patterns of
setting up classroom that best fits their purpose.
According to Martin and Baldwin (2004), strong, consistent management and
organizational skills have been identified as leading to fewer classroom discipline problems.
The roles of students, their behaviours, choices and the overall targets and tone of the schools
are determined by the organizational skills. Ali (2000) revealed that today many urban and
rural schools in Pakistan comprise of such children who are disenchanted, disturbed and
disruptive. Many of such children live in rural areas with parents who are either not educated
or have a disturbed family relationships. In the view of Al. Maged (2004), children who live
in a subjected environment both at home and school have greater propensity towards
inappropriate behavior in the classroom.
Bauman and Del (2006) aim to encourage students towards learning and promote
positive behaviours. These authors further stated that positive classroom management
contributes to enhance academic achievements of students, increased teacher efficacy,
improved students behavior and teachers teaching.
According to Cains and Brown (2006), effective teachers create focused and
nurturing classrooms that result in increased students learning. Cartledge and Johnson
(2007) said, these teachers teach and rehearse rules and procedures with students, anticipate
students’ needs, possess a plan to orient new students, and offer clear instructions to students.
In the view of Duck (2007),teachers use a minimum number of rules to ensure safety and
productive interaction in the classroom, and they rely on routines to maintain a smoothly
running classroom. In addition, Dodge and Colker (2007) noted that, classroom management
skills are essential in a classroom for a teacher to get anything done.
Effective classroom management is the major concern and pre-requisite to successful
classroom teaching. Hence, Wolfgang and Glickman (2006), discussed different classroom
management strategies which include: authoritative, democratic, permissive, indulgent,
assertive strategies. However, for the purpose of this study, the discussion will be limited to
authoritative and democratic classroom room management strategies.
Authoritative strategy is characterized by numerous behavioural regulations, it is
punitive and restrictive. Here, students have no say in management or explanation. The
teacher using this strategy may possess a character that is cold and even punishing. The
authoritative teacher may use a loud voice to get the attention of her students. The teacher
may be shocked and angry when students do not follow directives. The “benefit” of the style
is that the teacher frequently gets the immediate compliance from students. The cost of the
authoritative style includes student anxiety and minimal long-term positive effects.
Authoritative strategy encourages independent work nurturing. This style is considered as
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the best form of classroom management and is clearly associated with appropriate students’
behavior. Authoritative strategy of classroom management in the hands of an expert teacher
can produce students who will be socially competent and responsible. This teacher has a
positive, kind and supportive relationship with students, but the students know when the
teacher “means business.” This is because the teacher has an effective discipline plan for the
classroom which makes it orderly. There is trust and respect from the students. This teacher
feels empowered and energized because of positive growth and development seen on the
students. Students feel safe and capable to handle difficult task in school.
Democratic strategy tends to put more power in the students’ hands, rules and
obedience are weakened. Few demands or constraints are placed on students, as students are
empowered to “do your own thing.” The students’ impulses and actions are accepted by the
democratic teacher and students are not monitored. A teacher who embraces this style strives
not to hurt the student’s feelings and has difficulty saying no to a student because the teacher
believes that the students surely have something of value to say. Discipline, tends to be
inconsistent. The democratic teacher cares for students very much and is very involved in
their lives. Students’ feelings are highly regarded and take precedence over classroom
control. Sometimes, the feelings of students may dictate the trajectory of the classroom.
While this classroom may be embraced by majority of students, some may feel that the
unstructured setting does not ensure learning or challenges to learn. The danger here is that
students frequently have lower motivation due to the fact that the teacher is friendlier than
an instructor.
Statement of the Problem
Classroom managements is the process of ensuring that classroom lessons are
properly organized by the teachers for the purpose of achieving quality teaching, through
retaining students attention and interest in the subjects. But, many at times the teachers
failed, may be because the teachers adopted inappropriate strategies in classroom
management and teaching. This leads to disturbance and behavior disruptive in the
classroom, loss of students’ interest in business subjects, poor performance in examination
and, even reduction in student’s enrollment in the subject(s) in the final examination.
Therefore, to sustain students’ interest in business subjects, and prepare the students
adequately to attain good performance in examination, there is need to use strategies that will
enhance effective classroom management in Technical Vocational Education and Training
(TVET) to promote teaching of business subjects.
Objective of the study
The general objective of the study was to determine the relationship between
classroom management and students’ interest in business subjects in Technical Colleges in
Uyo Local Government Area. The specific objectives were to determine:
1. How authoritative classroom management strategies relate with students’ interest in
business subjects.
2. How democratic classroom management strategies relate with students’ interest in
business subjects.
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Significance of the study
The findings of this study will be of benefit to the teachers, students and school
administrators. It will help teachers to know the type of classroom management strategies to
adopt in managing the class in order to achieve the instructional objectives. Students will
benefit immensely by understanding the teacher’s classroom management strategies which
help them to improve in academic performance, while the school administrators will know
how to supervise teachers appropriately. The future researchers will benefit because this
work will remain as a reference material.
Research Questions
1. How does authoritative classroom management strategies relate with students’
interest in business subjects.
2. How does democratic classroom management strategies relate with students’ interest
in business subjects.
Null Hypotheses
Ho1: Authoritative classroom management does not relate significantly with students’
interest in business subjects.
Ho2: Democratic classroom management does not relate significantly with students’
interest in business subjects.
Methodology
A survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised of 150
vocational business students. A sample size of 100 vocational business students were
selected for the study using proportionate stratified sampling technique. The instrument was
a 13 item structured questionnaire used for data collection. The reliability of the instrument
was ascertained using Cronbach Alpha reliability method. The reliability coefficient showed
0.78 indicating that the instrument was suitable for the study. Pearson Product moment
correlation was used to answer the two research questions and was applied to test the null
hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that both
authoritative and democratic styles are good classroom management strategies because these
two strategies have significant relationship between classroom management and students’
interest in Vocational Business subjects
Data Analysis and Results
Research Question 1
How does authoritative classroom management strategies relate with students’ interest in
business subjects?
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Table 1: Summary of responses on authoritative classroom management and students’
interest in business subjects.
Variable ∑x ∑x2 ∑xy r,cal
2492 0.39
Authoritative strategy (x) ∑y ∑y2
Students’ interest (y) 268 3998
229 2765
The result in Table 1 revealed that there is a relationship between authoritative classroom
management strategies adopted by teachers and students’ interest in business subject with r-
cal 0.39 which is greater than 0.05.
Research Question 2
How does democratic classroom management strategies relate with students’ interest in
business subjects?
Table 2: summary of response on democratic classroom management and students’ interest
in business subjects.
Variable ∑x ∑x2
∑xy
r,cal
∑y ∑y2
Democratic strategies (x) 222 3060
2756 0.79
211 2685
Students’ interest (y)
Table 2 presented the result on democratic strategies, the r-cal showed 0.79 which is greater
than 0.05 and confirmed that there is a relationship between democratic classroom and
students’ interest in business subject.
Testing of Null Hypotheses
Null Hypothesis 1
The null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.
Ho1 There is no significant relationship between authoritative strategies in classroom
management and students’ interest in business subjects.
Table 3: Pearson product correlation analysis on authoritative strategy and students’ interest.
Variable ∑x ∑x2
∑xy r,cal r,crit
Authoritative strategies (x) ∑y
Students’ interest (y) 268 ∑y2
Significant at 0.05 Alpha level
229 3998
2492 0.39 0.33
2765
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Table 3: revealed that the computed value of 0.39 is greater than the r,critical of 0.33 at 0.05
level of significance with 38 degrees of freedom based on this result, the null hypothesis was
rejected while the alternative was upheld. Therefore it was concluded that there is a
significant relationship between authoritative strategy and students’ interest in business
subjects. .
Null hypothesis 2: There is no significant relationship between democratic management
strategy and students’ interest in business subjects.
Table 4: Pearson Product Correlation Analysis of Democratic strategy and students’ interest.
Variable ∑x ∑x2
Democratic strategies (x) ∑y ∑y2 ∑xy r,cal r,crit
222 3060 2756 0.79 0.33
Students’ interest (y) 211 2685
Significant at 0.05 alpha level
Table 4: Revealed that the computed value of 0.79 is greater than the critical value of 0.33 at
0.05 level of significance with 38 degrees of freedom. Based on this result, the null
hypothesis was rejected while the alternative was upheld. Therefore it was concluded that,
there is a significant relationship between democratic strategy and students’ interest in
business subjects.
Discussion of Findings
The finding of hypothesis one showed significant relationship, this is because
authoritative teacher encourages independent, work and nurturing student behavior and make
them socially competent and responsible. This is in line with the finding of Martin, Yin and
Baldwin (2004) who confirmed that authoritative style showed significant positive
correlations between average class enrollment and improve students’ behavior and interest on
the subject. The finding of hypothesis two revealed a significant relationship between
democratic classroom management strategy and students’ interest in business subjects. This
however showed that the students’ impulses and action are accepted by the democratic
teachers, and that a democratic teacher does not hurt the students’ feelings. This is in
consonance with the study of Aly (2007) who found that the way a teacher manages the
classroom brings positive change on the thinking of the students towards learning. The
democratic teacher cares for students very much and is very involved in their lives, students
feelings are highly regarded and take precedence over classroom control.
In order to support this study the work of Martin and Baldwin (2004) is cited, the
authors investigated on the relationship between classroom management attitudes and
classroom management training, class size and graduate study. Data were collected from 281
certified teachers, who were primarily female working in urban schools. Most of the teaches
were Caucasian (69.9%) with overall average of 14 years of teaching experience. Results
showed significant difference on the instructional management subscale of the ABCC
regarding classroom management training as well as significant positive correlations between
average class enrollment and, teachers’ scores on the people Management and Behaviour
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Management subscales of the ABCC. A one-way analysis of variance did not yield
significant difference between the teachers who had enrolled in graduate courses in the last 6
months and those who did not. Although class size has a direct impact on the nature of
instruction as well as teacher – student instruction, the results of this study showed no
significant difference in teachers’ classroom management styles regarding to class size.
Conclusion
Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that authoritative and democratic
classroom management strategies have a significant relationship with students’ interest in
business subjects. These enhance effective teachers to create sound supportive, friendly and
conducive atmosphere for study where students feel safe, respected, cared for and secured.
These strategies (democratic and authoritative) adopted by teachers, equally, create
conditions of cooperation, discipline, compliance, responsibility which improve behavior and
sustain students’ interest in business subjects.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study and the conclusion drawn, it was recommended that:
1. Principals of school should maintain effective monitoring and supervision of teachers inthe
school so as to achieve effective teaching and conditions to create compliance and
responsibility.
2. The Principal of school should organize Inter class Team Teaching in business subjects to
create conditions of cooperation discipline and responsibility for the teachers and improve
students behavior.
3. Principals of school can organize Experience Teachers Interaction Day where newly
employed teachers can be given workshop on teaching approaches, classroom
management and classroom organization, here emphasis will be on authoritative and
democratic strategies.
4. The commissioner and Directors in State Ministry of Education should organize seminars
at the three Senatorial Districts of the State on the title: “Techniques of teaching and
classroom management”.
References
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Comparing Physical, Verbal and Relational Bullying. Journal of Educational
Psychology, 98(1), 219-231.
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the perceptions held by B.Ed and PGDE- Trained primary teachers of their Training
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Cartledge, G. & Johnson, C. T. (2006). Inclusive Classroom for Students with Emotional and
Behavioural disorders: Critical Variables. Theory into Practice, 35,51-57.
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Duck, L. (2007). Using Sounder Foundations to Help Avoid the “Why New Teachers Cry”
Phenomenon. The Clearing House, 81(1): 29-36.
Edwards, C. H. (2004). The Impact of Class Heterogeneity on students with Learning
Disabilities. Aistralian Journal of Learning Disabilities. 4,11-16.
Martin, N. & Baldwin, B. (2004). Beliefs regarding Classroom Management style:
differences between Novices and Experience Teachers, paper presented at the annual
meeting of the Southwest Educational Research Association. San Antonio, TX.
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differences between pre-service and Experienced Teachers. Papers presented at the
annual meeting of the Mid-South educational Research Association. Knoxville, TN.
Wolfgang, C. H. & Glickman, C. D. (2006). Solving Indiscipline Problems: Strategies for
Classroom Teachers, 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
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Self-Development Strategies and Public Sponsorship as Determinant
of Stability of Educational Resource Centres in South-South Zone of
Nigeria
1Okworo, Gibson S. (Ph.D), 2Gabriel, Chibuzor Job (Ph.D)
& 3Udo, Agnes Lambert
1Department of Educational Technology
and Library Science Faculty of Education,
University of Uyo,
Uyo, Nigeria
[email protected]
2National Open University of Nigeria,
Port-Harcourt Study Centre Port-Harcourt
3Akwa Ibom State College of Education
Afaha Nsit, Akwa Ibom State
Abstract
The study examined self-development strategies and public sponsorship as determinants of
stability of Educational Resource Centres (ERCs) in two States of South-South zone of
Nigeria. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. An ex-post facto
survey research design was used for the study with 30 subjects as the population of the study.
A questionnaire tagged “Self-Development Strategies and Public Sponsorship
Questionnaire, (SDSAPSQ)” developed by the researcher, validated and with a reliability
index of .72 was used for data collection. The research questions were answered with
percentages while the hypotheses were tested with Chi-square statistical technique. Findings
were that: formal/informal engagement of ERC staff in discussions related to the operations
of the ERC was the most imbibed strategy followed by assessment of current job skills
amongst the 14 identified self-development strategies for the study; ERC staff least imbibed
the strategy of video-conferencing and attendance in virtual workshops/conferences; they
had 36.67% access each to Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Chevron Joint
Venture Scholarship and Tertiary Education Trust Fund among the six sponsorship schemes
identified in the study; self-development strategies and public sponsorships were seen to
have significant influences on the stability of ERCs. It is therefore recommended among
others that staff of ERCs, particularly the ones in the South-South zone of Nigeria should
develop themselves by getting involved in relevant discussions related to the promotion of
stable ERCs, whether formally or informally. Corporate bodies such as NNPC Chevron Joint
Venture, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) and others who provide public
sponsorship in educational area, should create more awareness of their existence by going
on air regularly and sending their fliers/posters periodically to Ministries of Education and
ERCs in particular.
Keywords: Self-Development Strategies, Public Sponsorship, Stability of Educational
Resource
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Introduction
Every educational institution should have a functional and stable resource centre
where peculiar school academic activities are supposed to be built around. These activities
could range from designing, production, utilization, storing and retrieval of various hardware
and software for instructional needs. These resource centres are variously named according
to where they are located, but all having a peculiar similarity in function of being a place that
provides (Udo, Harrison and Bassey, 2010) information and resources for students, educators
and all others interested in education. Salawu, Afolabi and Taiwo (2001) reported that at a
meeting of the Joint Consultative Council Reference Committee (JCCRC) held in 1990,
decision was taken to name the resource centres at the different levels. It recommended,
among other things that:
1. The resource centre at the Federal level should be called National Educational
Technology Centre (NETC) and this was upgraded to the status of an institution and
called National Educational Technology Institute (NETI). This has now been annexed
with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) as a media centre for the
University.
2. The resource centre at the State level should be called Educational Resource Centre
(ERC). This should be at the State capitals in the Ministry of Education (MOE) but
should have zonal offices in each Local Government Area (L.G.A).
3. The resource centre at the tertiary institutions level (Universities, Polytechnics and
Colleges of Education) should be named Centre for Education Technology (CET).
4. Resource centre should be named Learning Resource Centres (LRC) for the ones in
Teacher Colleges, Secondary Schools and Primary Schools.
In this study, emphasis is laid on the one that operates at the State level – Educational
Resource Centre (ERC). An ERC has been defined by different scholars in various ways. For
instance, Abimbade (2006) views it as a setting (space) where educational resources such as
materials, tools and equipment can be designed, utilized, borrowed and stored. Ekanem
(2008) sees it as a store house of knowledge where learners and teachers are adequately
motivated to maximally utilize educational resources for effective teaching and learning
activities. Similarly, Udo, Harrison and Bassey (2010) opined that ERC is a place where a
wide variety of instructional materials are, media services and facilities are provided to
promote and enhance the achievement of educational objectives.
Given these definitions, an ERC can summarily be said to be a place where teachers
receive assistance to teach better and students learn better through the use of alternative
instructional resource materials. It is a setting where most educational resource materials are
carefully designed, developed, distributed, stored and displayed so that their retrieval would
be easy.
Educational Resource Centres (ERCs) which operate basically at the State level are
designed to perform these different functions:
1. Planning and organizing educational broadcasting.
2. Designing and producing innovational instructional materials.
3. Acquiring and circulating educational equipment and materials.
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4. Carrying out research, evaluation and organizing training programmes
5. Liaising with the National Educational Technology Centre (NETC) and other States’
ERCs to develop Educational Technology in the country.
6. Liaising with the zonal education offices and Local Government Education offices
(Abimbade, 2006).
Other major functions are:
7. Identifying, acquiring, organizing and disseminating material information and
supplies that are pertinent to the curricular;
8. Serving as a clearing house, where teachers and students have easy access to variety
of teaching and learning materials and equipment;
9. Giving teachers and students optimal assistance in preparation and production of
teaching and learning materials;
10. Organizing micro-teaching sessions for student-teachers as well as lecturers, to
develop new teaching skills and also to revitalize already acquired ones;
11. Planning and executing in-service training programmes for both academic and non-
academic staff through seminars, workshops and conferences, as a way of updating
knowledge and skills in tune with present day educational practices; and
12. Make information accessible by collecting and organising materials; providing access
to materials that are up-to-date and relevant to users; and providing a pleasant
environment for learning and training.
Harnessing the above, it is obvious that the role and functions of an ERC are fundamental in
promoting and enhancing the quality of teaching and in schools. Therefore, ERCs are not
luxuries any State should ill-afford, but should be a stable setting not just for reading but also
for research, study, preparation and production of teaching resources and presentations. A
place that can promote individualise learning.
Concept of Stability
Stability in its simplest form may be defined as a relatively unchanging, permanent,
firm, established or consistent condition in an organization. It means resistance to change,
especially sudden change or deterioration. It is the state or quality of being stable. It is the
firmness in position or continuance without change. It has to do with permanence or
steadiness in particular establishment constancy, as of character or purpose.
Rao (2011) asserted that stability involves maintaining the status quo or growing in a
methodical but slow manner following safety oriented types of strategies without effecting
any major changes in its present operations, by putting the existing resources on operations to
achieve moderate, incremental growth. Similarly, stability as defined by Burchell and Kolb
(2006) means maintaining the status quo in organisational features and processes, including
all aspects of acquired learning and accepted practices. The authors noted that stability can be
associated with terms such as centralization, conflict reduction, conformity, consensus,
consistency, continuity, control, formalization, hierarchy, integration, maintenance, order,
security, status quo and standardization (Burchell and Kolb, 2006). Practices associated with
stability often underpin organisational efficiency and profitability. Leena and Barry (2000)
opines that stability should be recognised for its contribution to organising and managing
enterprises, gaining efficiencies for profitability, consolidating gains made, knowledge
accumulation, reliability and cooperation.
From the foregoing, it implies that the stability of an ERC is the ability of an ERC to
continue in its existence regardless of the unpredictable and dynamic environments which it
operates. It follows that the initial purpose for which ERCs was established (designing and
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producing innovational instructional materials) must be maintained steadily following
oriented types of strategies. It can be deduced that for an ERC to be stable, it has to be
consistent in its operations; there must be conformity, continuity and standardization in order
to meet the challenges of the users, create new and lasting experiences; and practically solve
instructional (teaching and learning) problems leading to educational effectiveness in the
country.
A stable ERC can be described as that which can permanently organize meaningful
and regular workshops for teachers, lecturers, educationists as well as postgraduate students
for improved practices in various areas of education. Assessing the stability of an ERC
entails re-examining what has already been done, what is lacking, or where it is lagging
behind and then proceed cautiously to implementing every modality necessary to putting in
place every identified missing variable(s) of ERC
As earlier mentioned, ERCs in Nigeria have witnessed lots of challenges that has
disrupted efficiency in their activities. Having discussed the concept of stability, this study
identifies the variables of self-development and public sponsorship; to examine if they could
determine the stability of an ERC.
Self-Development Strategies and Stability of ERC
The only permanent thing in this life is change. An Educational Resource Centre
(ERC) established 10-15 years ago would be regarded obsolete owing to the dynamic nature
of our society, especially as it has to do with the trends of resources integrated in the present
instructional process. Correspondingly, the staff of ERCs should move in line with the
current trend in terms of updating their knowledge and skills relevant for effective running of
a stable ERC. As noted by Akwang and Etim (2010), staffs are the backbone and
indispensable tools in any organization, for quality service delivery. It is obvious that any
ERC that acquires relevant and recent resources alongside appropriate facilities but no
competent staff to provide the needed services is just as good as not existing. An ERC staff
(especially the education officers) should be competent in Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) skills which is very paramount in today’s working environments. He
should be professionally developed. Professional development here refers to the knowledge
and skills acquired for both personal and career development. This knowledge and skills may
be acquired through attending conferences, mentoring programs, and consultations among
other activities. Professional development may be undertaken by people of different
professions depending on their own personal areas of interest. It is the skills and knowledge
an employee gains to optimize his/her personal development and job growth.
(http://www.ask.com/question/what-is-professional-development)
However, circumstances abound where staff members of the ERC, on self
assessment, realize they lag behind in certain aspects in the course of discharging their duties.
They may lack certain skills and knowledge relevant in operating certain facilities in the
centre. This unpleasant development could be inimical to the proper functioning and stability
of ERCs in Nigeria. In order to continually update skills and remain relevant and marketable
in the workplace, it is necessary for staff members to embark on self-development.
Self-development according to Boldt (2003) is defined as the process of taking
personal responsibility of one’s own learning and development through a process of
assessment, reflection and taking action. It is the internal urge within an individual to thrive
towards acquiring a set of skills or qualities due to some external influences encountered.
The believe is that on acquiring these skills, knowledge and qualities, the individual would
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live a happier life and be more meaningful in discharging his duties. All of these are based
upon the intrinsic capacity of an individual to visualize futuristic greatness for himself, his
organization and for others. Imevbore (2014) stated that self-development is the sum total of
the various conscious and active investments that are made to make one’s dream a reality.
Self-development makes a great difference in an individual’s growth.
Self-development can be synonymous to personal development which includes
activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potentials, build human
capital and facilitate employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of
dreams and aspirations. In specific terms, Aubrey (2010) asserted that when personal or self-
development takes place in the context of institutions, it refers to the methods, programmes,
tools, techniques and assessment systems that support human development at the individual
level in organizations. The author proceeded to identify the following as activities of self-
development:
a) Improving self-awareness
b) Improving self-knowledge
c) Improving or learning new skills
d) Developing strengths or talents or talents
e) Identifying or improving potentials
f) Improving social ability
g) Building renewing identity/self-esteem (Aubrey, 2010).
As organizations and labour markets become more global, the ERCs are not left out.
Responsibility for development has shifted from the Centre to the individual. Hence, Dracker
(1999) noted that it is up to an individual to carve out time, to know when to go for a course,
training or programme and keep himself engaged and productive during a work life.
To successfully improve oneself, Rich (2010) identified the following strategies to be
imbibed by the individual; he/she must:
i. Have enough discipline and determination
ii. Stay focused for long periods of time
iii. Take quality action
iv. Stay positive
v. Improve his/her confidence level if he/she had a low esteem
Pearce (2009) on his part gave the following as hints for self-development:
i. Participate and be active in anything you are passionate about
ii. Be patient and do not be too hard on yourself since developing oneself and learning
does not usually happen overnight
iii. Gain control, keep in control and stay in control
iv. Decide what you want to achieve – this will give and provide the focus needed to
develop yourself
v. Decide and discover how you will get to where you want to be
vi. Establish where you are now; you cannot really go anywhere, learn more or develop
yourself until you establish where you are now and where you would like to be.
vii. Look at all the available options out there for you. Do not jump into the first thing
you see, instead think long and hard about what you want to learn, how you want to
develop and why.
Here are some specific means of achieving self development as identified by Ajidahun
(2007):
1. On-the-job training
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2. Off-the-job classroom/lecture method
3. Self-study
4. Electronic teaching media
5. Simulation, games and role-playing
6. School and outside seminars
7. Consultant and special training
Others are:
8. Apprenticeship
9. Study visits
10. In-service training
11. Industrial attachments
12. Formal education programmes leading to certification
13. Discussions
However, care should be taken in identifying the specific skills lacking in the personnel and
the resources available to provide the skills. Hence, the following should form the core of
any training programme for an effective, functional, and stable ERC:
a. Computer training
b. Compact Disc (CD) ROM use
c. Networking and information technology skills
d. Systems analysts, systems designing, software engineering and telecommunications
e. Electronic publishing skills
f. Human resources in Education
g. Personnel management skills
h. Preparation of teaching or instructional resources.
Public sponsorship and Stability of ERCs
Sponsorship in its simplest meaning refers to the act of one or an organization being
responsible for somebody else’s education, apprenticeship or probation. It is the negotiated
provision of funds, goods, resources and services to schools or individuals. It is the financial
support, backing and patronage received from another person, group or organization. It is the
act of one assuming responsibility for another person or a group during a period of
instruction or apprenticeship. Cambridge Online Dictionary defines sponsorship as the act of
supporting a person, organization, or activity by giving money, encouragement or other help.
Sponsorship is one of the information sources consumers use to form their impressions of an
organization (Javalgi, Traylor, Gross and Lampman, 1994).
The individual or group that provides the sponsor is called the sponsor or benefactor
while the person being sponsored is called the sponsoree or beneficiary. According to
Barnnbach and Heinonen (n.d.) “sponsorship involves planned environmental change by
government agencies, business firms and Universities to create new organizations and
increase the likelihood of their survival …; a deliberate attempt to provide a significantly
higher and more stable level of resources for new organizations … Sponsorship generally
requires cooperation between the public and private sectors to be effective”. To sponsor in
the context of this study is to support an ERC staff financially through the provision of funds
and other incentives in order to assist him develop and acquire improved skills and
knowledge relevant to him in the discharge of his duties.
When the sponsorship is a communal effort, it is known as public sponsorship. Public
sponsorship could come from the government either at the local, State or Federal
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Government level. Corporate bodies and companies also participate in sponsorship schemes.
Javalgi, Traylor, Gross and Lampman (1994) reported that the number of companies
participating in sponsorship, as well as corporate expenditure for sponsorship events, is on
the rise.
The importance of corporate sponsorship is now generally acknowledged, but little
research has been done to understand its value and effectiveness. Outlined below are the
benefits of sponsorship an individual could derive:
1. Ensuring high-quality performance, broadcasts and events for the community.
2. Media exposure – the sponsored becomes exposed to various digital media available
for a stable and modern ERC
3. Equivalence – sponsorship creates an opportunity for equity in service delivery
4. Reinforces awareness – sponsorship revitalizes awareness in the sponsored who
might have been aware of certain gadgets but could not operate them.
5. Provides events for promoting good relations with clients in the ERC
6. Sponsorship reduces the urge to opt out of an organization because of the feeling of
comfort and job satisfaction is derived.
7. Sponsorship showcases services and products and helps get rid of outdated inventory
in an ERC.
8. Sponsorship provides broad opportunities for reaching goals.
9. Sponsorship enables young people work towards discovering their individual
potentials.
10. It makes an individual become confident, interdependent and participative citizens.
11. It creates opportunity to demonstrate expertise.
In addition, Ajidahun, (2007) enumerated the following as benefits of staff
sponsoring/training:
i. Enhances productivity
ii. Upgrades human intellect and skills for productive employment
iii. Improves performance and promotes management efficiency
iv. Improvement in employee morale
v. Availability for future personal needs of the organization (ERC)
vi. Reduced supervision (Chandan, 2000)
vii. Personal growth and organizational stability
Public sponsorship for educational institutions usually comes in form of financial assistance
from recognized bodies that might be governmental or non-governmental agencies. Some of
these public sponsorship agencies prevalent for Nigerians are:
1. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Chevron Joint Venture University
Scholarship.
2. Agbanni undergraduate scholarship.
3. Federal Government scholarship Awards in Nigeria.
4. Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) scholarship programme.
5. Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) Scholarship Awards for Undergraduates,
Masters and Doctoral (Ph.D) programmes
6. Federal Government Oversea Scholarship for undergraduates and postgraduate
students.
7. Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) for workers in tertiary institutions in
Nigeria.
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8. Agip scholarships for Undergraduate students.
9. Mobil Nigeria Scholarship for Undergraduate students.
10. Shell Scholarship for Nigeria University students.
The list is not limited to the above. More could be found online at
nigerianuniversityscholarship.com/… One can avail his/herself of the laudable opportunities
provided by these bodies and access their sponsorship schemes not only to develop himself
but also for effective and efficient service delivery in the organization where he works, which
as well lead to the stability of the organization.
Statement of the Problem
Despite the laudable expected functions of the ERCs, it has been observed with
dismay that that the ERCs which are supposed to be operating at the State level, as reported
in section 11, sub-section 101b of the National Policy on Education, (Federal Republic of
Nigeria, FRN, 2004), ERCs are either existing in principles or have been turned into
warehouses/stores for irrelevant and non-functional media resources, against the initial vision
for their establishment. Salawu and Afolabi (n.d.) clearly noted that functional and stable
ERCs are found mostly in the Universities that run Degrees in Educational Technology, and
at this level they are called Centre for Educational Technology (CET). The authors expressed
disappointment in the fact that other Universities that may have structures labeled CET, are
mere stores as such do not meet the institutional purposes expected.
Steps have been taken by State governments in establishing ERCs, but there seem to
be instability in the affairs of the centres. A lot of problems confronting effective functioning
and stability of ERCs have been identified by scholars. Typical amongst these are: funding,
non-availability of some of the equipment/facilities in Nigerian markets, the erratic nature of
power supply in Nigeria, poor maintenance culture, administrative bottlenecks, insufficient
human resources (specialist in Educational Technology), lack of teachers’ competencies to
engage in the design and production process due to lack of funds for training, and lack of
incentives for teachers and staff of the centre as a means of motivating them to create
awareness and strive towards ensuring the available facilities in the centres are maximally
utilized (Salawu and Afolobi, n.d. and Ekanem, 2008).
Though several recommendations have been made by earlier researchers as way
forward to removing these challenges, the reality of an ERC as envisioned by the FRN
(2004) is still a mirage. Moreover, in the review of literature related to this study, none of
them have talked about self-development among the staff and public sponsorship as
determinants of stability of ERCs in Nigeria. With this identified gap, this study therefore
sets out to examine these two variables to ascertain if they could determine the stability of
ERCs in South-South zone of Nigeria.
Objectives of the Study
The Objectives of the Study are to:
1. ascertain what strategies of self-development have been imbibed by staff of
Educational Resource Centres (ERCs) in South-South zone of Nigeria;
2. determine which public education sponsorship programmes have been accessed by
staff of ERCs in South-South zone of Nigeria;
3. determine the influence of self-development strategies on the stability of ERCs in
South-South zone of Nigeria; and
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4. determine the influence of public sponsorship on the stability of ERCs in South-South
region of Nigeria.
Research Questions
The following research questions were postulated to guide the study:
1. What strategies of self-development have been imbibed by staff of ERCs in South-
South zone of Nigeria?
2. Which public sponsorship programmes have been accessed by staff of ERCs in
South-South zone of Nigeria?
Null Hypotheses
1. There is no significant influence of self-development strategies by staff of ERCs on
the stability of ERCs in South-South zone of Nigeria.
2. There is no significant influence of public sponsorship for staff of ERCs on the
stability of ERCs in South-South zone of Nigeria.
Methodology
The study used an ex-post facto research design to find out the strategies of self-
development and mode of sponsorship employed by the staff of the ERCs. It also employed a
descriptive survey design to ascertain whether self-development strategies and public
sponsorship could serve as determinants of stability of ERC. The study was carried out in
two States of the South –South zone of Nigeria; Cross River and Delta. These were the only
States that had functional ERCs in the zone as at the time of this study. The ERCs were
located inside the States’ Ministries of Education as Units. Thirty staff (21 males and 9
females) from the two States (11 from Cross River and 19 from Delta), formed the
population of the study and incidentally, all were used for the study. The research instrument
used was a 32-itemmed questionnaire entitled “Self-Development Strategies and Public
Sponsorship Questionnaire (SDSAPSQ)” developed by the researcher.
The questionnaire was made up of four sections; A, B, C and D. Section A contained
items that elicited information about the respondents’ demographic variables. Section B
contained items on self-development strategies to find out which of the strategies were
imbibed by the respondents. Section C had a list of identified public sponsored programmes
to ascertain which ones have been accessed or not by staff of ERCs to enable them function
effectively, thereby making the ERCs stable. Section D contained twelve (12) items to
ascertain the influences of self-development strategies (items 1-6) and public sponsorship
progammes (items 7-12) on the stability of ERCs.
The validity of SDSAPSQ was established by showing its items to two Professors of
Educational Technology in Universities of Ilorin, Kwara State and Calabar, Coss River State;
and also the Director of Centre for Educational Technology (CET) in Emmanuel Alayande
College of Education, Oyo State, where there are two stable and functional Centres for
Educational Technology. A reliability index of .72 was obtained after a split-half treatment
followed by subjecting it to a statistical technique of Cronbach Alpha of 16 copies of the
questionnaire hitherto administered to CET staff of Emmanuel Alayande College of
Education, Oyo State, who were not part of the study.
The questionnaire was personally administered by the researcher face-to-face to the
respondents in the two States (Cross River and Delta) on two different days after permission
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had been sought from the Directors of the Centres. Same number of the questionnaires
administered were filled and returned on the spot, thus recording a 100% rate of instrument
return. Data generated from questionnaire were analysed using percentages for the research
questions, while the hypotheses were analysed using Chi-square statistical technique at .05
level of significance.
Findings
Research Question 1: What strategies of self-development have been imbibed by staff of
ERCs in South-South zone of Nigeria?
Table 1: strategies of self-development imbibed by staff of ERCs in South-South zone of
Nigeria
S/N Items Often Rarely Not at all
n% n %n %
1. On-the-job training related 13 43.33 17 56.67 0 0.00
to the ERC
2. Of-the-job classroom 5 16.67 20 66.67 5 16.66
training related to the ERC
3. Engagement in any form of self-study 13 43.33 13 43.33 4 13. 34
related to the ERC
4. Attending self-sponsored training 10 33.33 20 66.67 0 0.00
programme to improve
on-the-job productivity.
5. Embarking on study visits to
deepen knowledge and skills related to 12 40.00 14 46.66 4 13.34
the ERC.
6. Engagement in formal/informal discussion
on ways to improve service delivery in 26 86.66 4 13.34 0 0.00
the ERC
7. Assessment of current job skills and
knowledge to improve on areas of 23 76.66 6 20.00 1 3.34
observed weakness
8. Having a feeling of dissatisfaction in 60.00 8 26.66 4 13.34
the way work is done and therefore 18
desirous of improvement.
9. Becoming involved in professional 16 53.34 3 10.00
organizations that can help develop 11 36.66 Page 69
job skills
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10. Finding a mentor who can provide 6 20.00 3 10.00
support or advice to improve job skills 21 70.00 10 33.33 7 23.34
11. Engagement in online webinar to
deepen Knowledge and skills on the 13 43.33
operations of ERCs.
12. Involvement in virtual workshops through 15 50.00 11 36.66
Videoconferencing or virtual laboratory on 4 13.34
the operations of the ERC.
13. Attendance in professional conferences 10 33.33 18 60.00 2 6.67
related to ERCs operations
14. Attendance in professional workshops
related to ERCs operations 11 36.66 15 50.00 4 13.34
Table 1 above reveals that the most often used strategy is formal and or informal discussion
on ways to improve service delivery in the ERC (item 6) with 86.66%, followed by
assessment of current job skills and knowledge to improve on areas of observed weakness
(item 7), with 76.66%. Finding a mentor who can provide support or advice to improve on
job skills (item 10) had a percentage of 70 while that which had to do with a feeling of
dissatisfaction in the way staff do their work and therefore desirous for improvement had a
percentage of 60. The least often used strategy as revealed in the table is involvement in
virtual workshops through videoconferencing or virtual laboratory on the operations of the
RECs, with 13.34%.
The table also reveals that the most rarely used strategies were off-the-job classroom
training related to the ERC and attendance in self sponsored training programme to improve
on-the-job productivity (items 2 and 4) with 66.67% each.
The strategy of getting involved in virtual workshops through videoconferencing or
virtual laboratory on the operations of the ERCs (item 12) recorded the highest percentage of
not being used at all with 36.66% followed by online webinar to deepen staff knowledge and
skills on operations of ERCs (item 11) with 23.34%.
Research Question 2: Which public sponsorship programmes have been accessed by staff of
ERCs in South-South region of Nigeria?
Table 2: Accessibility or non-accessibility of public sponsorship programmes
S/N Items Accessed Not Accessed
n % n%
1. Nigeria National Petrolum Corporation (NNPC) 5 16.67 25 83.33
Chevron Joint Venture University Scholarship
2. Federal Government scholarship Awards in Nigeria 4 13.33 26 86.67
16.67 25 83.33
3. Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) 5 13.33 26 86.67
0.00 30 100.00
4. Mobil Nigeria Scholarship 4 10.00 27 90.00
5. Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) Scholarship 0
6. Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) 3
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Table 2 above reveals that the most accessed public sponsored development
programmes were Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Chevron Joint Venture
University Scholarship (item 1) and Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFUND (item 3) with
16. 67% each, followed by Federal Government Scholarship Awards in Nigeria (item 2) and
Mobil Nigeria Scholarship (item 4) with 13.33% each. The least accessed public sponsorship
development programme was Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF (item 6)
with 10%.
Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) Scholarship was reported not accessed by all
(100%) the respondents. Whereas 90% of the respondents had not accessed the PTDF,
86.67% each, did not access the Federal Government Scholarship Awards in Nigeria and
Mobil Nigeria Scholarship as public sponsorship programmes. Nigeria National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) Chevron Joint Venture University Scholarship and TETFUND had
83.33% each of non-accessibility by the respondents.
Hypothesis 1: There is no significant influence of self-development strategies by staff of
ERCs on the stability of ERCs in South-South zone of Nigeria.
Table 3: Influence of self-development strategies by staff of ERCs on the stability of ERCs
Column
Count SA A D SD 2
Count 13 13 4 0
Expected count 16.35 12.84 3.46 1.63
Count 3 3 12 12
Expected count 2.94 4.06 13.38 14.61
Count 0 1 12 17
Row
Expected count 1.86 2.11 11.68 15.26
Count 34.18*
1 4 10 15
Expected count 2.24 3.73 9.78 18.12
Count 7 18 5 0
Expected count 6.27 20.52 6.38 2.11
Count 4 16 7 3
Expected count 3.16 14.72 6.43 4.82
* Significant P<.05, df = 15, 2 = 25.00 cri
tt
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Table 3 above indicates that the calculated chi-square value of 34.18 is greater than the
critical value of chi (25.00) with the degrees of freedom 15 and at .05 level of significance.
This implies that there is a significant influence of self-development strategies by staff of
ERCs on the stability of ERCs. Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant influence is
rejected for its alternative.
Hypotheses 2: There is no significant influence of public sponsorship for staff of ERCs on
the stability of ERCs in South-South zone of Nigeria.
Table 4: Influence of public sponsorship for staff of ERCs on the stability of ERCs
Count Column
SA A D SD 2
Count 7 16 6 1
Expected count 6.93 13.68 5.11 2.12
Count 13 10 4 3
Expected count 11.68 8.29 6.03 2.18
Count 10 16 1 3 Row
Expected count 12.82 14.94 2.62 2.96
36.96*
Count 0 6 11 13
Expected count 2.11 3.63 9.13 15.12
Count 10 13 4 3
Expected count 11.64 15.43 3.87 2.91
Count 7 14 4 5
Expected count 5.26 16.26 3.76 6.28
* Significant P<.05, df = 15, 2 = 25.00 cri
Table 4 above indicates that the calculated Chi value of 36.96 is greater than the critical
value of Chi (25.00) with degrees of freedom 15 and at .05 level of significance. This implies
that there is a significant influence of public sponsorship for staff of ERCs on the stability of
ERCs. Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant influence is rejected for its alternative.
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Discussion
The study was carried out to find out if self-development strategies and public
sponsorship programs are determinants of the stability of ERCs in south-south zone of
Nigeria. One of the findings of this study as revealed in table 1 is that formal and informal
discussion on ways to improve service delivery in the ERC is the most often used self
strategy imbibed by staff of the ERCs followed by assessment of current job skills. The
finding corroborates the assertion of Ajidahun (2007) who identified participation in
intelligent discussions as one of the specific means of acquiring self-development, which can
lead to efficient job delivery in an organization.
The second part of the finding agrees with the opinion of Boldt (2003), that for an
individual to develop himself he must regularly assess his current skills and interests. In
addition, the researcher attributes the finding to the fact that in any organization, there is
bound to be exchange of ideas amongst the staff through casual discussions. These
discussions help in one way or the other to improve job performance in the organization,
example an ERC.
Table one also revealed that getting involved in virtual workshops through
videoconferencing or virtual laboratory on the operations of the ERCs recorded the highest
percentage (36.66) of not being used at all by staff of the ERCs studied, followed by online
webinar to deepen staff knowledge and skills on operations of ERCs with 23.34%. This
finding could inhibit the growth and stability of the ERCs, because there would be no avenue
for reduced cost and increased productivity which Brecht (2012) noted as the benefits of
video-conferencing in a workplace.
It was also found from table 2, that of all the identified public sponsorship
programmes that could boost the morale of ERC staff to be more proficient in their job skills,
only 16.67% of the respondents had access to NNPC Chevron Joint University Scholarship
and TETFUND. The rest of the sponsorship programmes had very high percentages of
inaccessibility. This finding is not in line with one of the functions of an ERC as stated by
Abimbade (2006), to make information accessible and providing access to materials
(programmes) that are up-to-date and relevant to users. Moreover, in the course of this study,
it was discovered, by interacting with the staff, that most of them were not even aware of the
existence of the public sponsorship programmes identified in the study.
With a calculated Chi-square value of 34.18 being higher than its critical (25.00),
table 3 presents a finding that there is a significant influence of self-development strategies
by staff of ERCs on the stability of ERCs. This finding has a lot to be deduced from recent
studies (Ray 2006; Dalton, Ghosal, and Mani 2010; Bernard, Dercon, and Taffesse 2011 as
cited by Wydick, 2013), which suggest that internal constraints of an individual that reflect
low aspirations may lead to poverty traps. Thus, the outcome of this study confirms that
imbibing self-sponsored strategies leads to significant high levels of self-esteem, aspirations,
and self-expectations by ERC staff and lower levels of hopelessness, thus leading to greater
productivity and a stable ERC.
Also in this study, it was found that there is significant influence of public
sponsorship for staff of ERCs on the stability of ERCs, as presented in table 4. This decision
was arrived at based on the value of calculated Chi-square (36.96) being greater than its
critical value (25.00). This finding is in line with Ajidahun (2007), who stressed that public
or corporate sponsorship improves performance and promotes management efficiency.
Improvement in performance could be viewed in the angle of staff output, while management
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efficiency may be viewed in this context as the ability of the ERC to maintain its status quo
and stability in terms of meeting the goal to which it was established.
Conclusion
An Educational Resource Centre (ERC) must be stable in its operations and service
delivery in order to meet the goal to which it was established and for the staff members to be
able to bring their wealth of experiences necessary for its effectiveness, to bear. ERCs in
Nigeria, especially those in the South-South, have over the years experienced setbacks that
have caused instability in their functioning. Based on the findings of this study, it is
concluded that ERC staff involvement in formal and informal discussions related to the
improvement of efficient service delivery in the ERC; assessment of current job skills; and
seeking professional advice from experts at regular intervals through attendance of
workshops and conferences are key strategies of self development that can stabilize an ERC.
Public sponsorship schemes such as Tertiary Education Fund (TETFUND), NNPC Chevron
Joint University Scholarship, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), etc are sure
ways of enhancing ERCs’ stability by exposing staff to current job skills for proficiency.
Hence, the laudable function of an ERC amongst others, to design, produce, utilize,
disseminate, store and retrieve educational resource materials at all levels, as envisioned by
the Federal Government of Nigeria in its education policy would be a dream come true
without any deterioration of any kind.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of this study, it is hereby recommended that:
1. Staff of ERCs in South-South zone of Nigeria should develop themselves by getting
involved in relevant discussions related to the promotion of stable ERCs, whether
formally, through attendance of workshops and conferences organized by
professional bodies (like Nigeria Association for Educational Media and Technology
(NAEMT), National Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC),
Curriculum Organisation of Nigeria (CON), Nigeria Association for Advancement of
Knowledge (NAFAK), etc;) or informally in their workplaces as they interact with
one another.
2. Staff of ERCs should as a matter of necessity enroll in on-the-job and off-the-job
trainings related to the operations of the Centre in order to function well and derive
joy in their job, thereby enhancing a stable ERC.
3. At regular intervals, Directors of ERCs should develop personal development plan
that identifies learning needs and goals whereby individual staff of the Centre can
assess their current job skills. This might come in form of newly identified skills
relevant to the operations of the Centre being put down on paper for the staff to
ascertain their level of awareness and proficiency of such skills.
4. Corporate bodies such as PTDF, NNPC Chevron Joint Venture and TETFUND who
provide public sponsorship should create more awareness of their existence either by
going on air in radios and or televisions at prime times as well as sending
fliers/posters at regular intervals to ERC units of State Ministries of Education.
5. There should be regular supervision by relevant bodies of Education on the
functionality and stability of the ERCs in the country. This will reveal the strength
and weaknesses of the Centres, thereby taking urgent steps to bridge gaps where
necessary.
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APPENDIX A
SELF DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND PUBLIC SPONSORSHIP
QUESTIONNAIRE (SDSAPSQ)
SECTION A
PERSONAL DATA
Please fill in the blank space and tick (√) in the columns as they apply to you.
A. The Educational Resource Centre (ERC) where you work is located in which State?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………..
B. What type of staff are you in the ERC? (please tick in the box provided)
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Administrative [ ] Technical [ ]
C. Gender: Male [ ] Female: [ ]
D. Educational level: OND/NCE: [ ] HND/B.Ed/B.Sc./B.A: [ ]
PGDE: [ ] M.Sc./M.Ed/ M.A: [ ] Ph.D & Above: [
]
SECTION B
SELF DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES
Please tick (√) in the columns provided as they apply to you.
Very Often Rarely Not at
all
ITEMS often
Page 77
S/N For the period you have been working in an ERC,
how often have you:
1. engaged in any on-the-job training related to the
ERC?
2. engaged in any off-the-job classroom training
related to the ERC?
3. engaged in any form of self-study related to the
ERC?
4. attended self-sponsored training programme to
improve your on-the-job productivity?
5. personally embarked on study visits to g1
deepen your knowledge and skills related to
ERCs?
6. engaged in any formal/informal
discussion on ways to improve your service
delivery in the ERC?
7. assessed your current job skills and knowledge to
improve on areas of observed weakness?
8. had a feeling of dissatisfaction in the way
you do your work and therefore desirous of
improvement?
9. personally become involved in professional
organizations that can help develop your job
skills?
10. attempted to find a mentor who can provide
support or advice to improve your job skills?
11. engaged in online webinar to deepen your
knowledge and skills on the operations of ERCs
12. got involved in virtual workshop through
videoconferencing or virtual laboratory on the
operations of the ERCs
13. attended professional conferences related to ERCs
operations
14. attended professional workshops related to ERCs
operations
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SECTION C
PUBLIC SPONSORED DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES
Assess the public sponsorship agencies listed below and tick (√) that which corresponds to
whether or not you have accessed or benefitted from them.
S/N Public Sponsorship Agencies Accessed Not
Accessed
1. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Chevron
Joint Venture University Scholarship
2. Federal Government scholarship Awards in Nigeria
3. Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND)
4. Mobil Nigeria Scholarship
5. Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) Scholarship
6. Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF)
Scholarship Programme
Note: If there is any public sponsorship programme you have been engaged in related to your
service delivery and/or your professional development in the ERC, which has not been
included in the list above, please do well to identify it by writing it in the spaces provided
below
a) …………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………….
b) …………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………...................................
SECTION D
SELF DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC SPONSORSHIP ON ERC STABILITY
Instruction: For each of the statements in this section, indicate your degree of agreement or
disagreement as they apply to you. The response key is provided below.
SA ------- Strongly Agree
A -------- Agree
D ------- Disagree
SD ------ Strongly Disagree
S/N STATEMENTS SA A D SD
1. Attempts to develop myself have made me discover my Page 78
work potentials
2. There have been no new collections in our ERC, hence I
see no need to go for any further training
3. I feel I am redundant in my services in the ERC since my
present skills and knowledge do not rhyme with the
present collections in the Centre.
4. There would always be no point for ERC staff
development since the work in an ERC does not really
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need expertise.
5. Embarking on self-development programmes promote
good relations with clients of ERCs.
6. Self-development can stabilize an ERC since it develops
in a staff member, the skills of flexibility and adaptability.
7. Public sponsorship can provide opportunities for ERC
staff to acquire media exposure.
8. I buy the idea of periodic sponsorship for staff
development in an ERC because it makes staff members
confident and interdependent when doing their jobs.
9. I usually believe that regular staff sponsorship can lead to
ERC stability.
10. The public sponsorship programme that some staff of our
ERC once embarked upon did not yield any good impact
towards stabilizing the Resource Centre.
11. Public sponsorship sharpens the skills of team work that
contributes to stabilizing an ERC.
12. The instability observed in our ERC is partly caused by
lack of sponsorship for training programmes.
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Use of e-Journals and Teaching Effectiveness of Faculty Lecturers in the
University of Uyo-Nigeria
Etim, P. J. & Ema, I. B.
Department of Educational Technology and Library Science,
Faculty of Education, University of Uyo, Uyo,
Akwa Ibom State
Abstract
To lecture in the University is very demanding and tasking. This calls for assembling of facts
from many sources to be able to deliver. This study was therefore conceived to examine the
influence of use of e-Journals in enhancing lecturers teaching effectiveness. The study is
based on the descriptive survey design and Pask’s Conversation theory. Two hypotheses
were postulated to guide the study. 78 lecturers in the Faculty of Education, University of
Uyo were selected from 109 of them in the Faculty using stratified random sampling
technique. A structured questionnaire tagged Use of e-Journals and Teaching Effectiveness
Questionnaire (UEJTEQ) was developed and served to the respondents. The instrument was
validated by two experts and had reliability co-efficient of .76 using Cronbach alpha
statistics. Their responses were collated and treated to t-test descriptive statistics. The results
showed a significant influence of use of e-Journals and frequency of use of e-Journals on
lecturers teaching effectiveness. Recommendations were made to facilitate the use of e-
Journals as resource materials for proper lecturing activities to include that lecturers should
use e-Journals and frequently too among other recommendations.
Keywords: e-Journals, Resources. Faculty lecturers and Teaching effectiveness
Introduction
Internet revolution has prompted speedy information transmission, sharing, storage
and retrieval of such information in time and in space. The development and adoption of web
technologies have really facilitated transmission of information in various forms and formats.
These technologies have really brought people together in sharing information and ideas.
People irrespective of location can now collaborate with each other in sharing research
information and crossbreed ideas. E-Journals are internet-based and facilitate easy access to
scholarly contribution to knowledge and events within the environment especially in
creativity, information sharing and collaboration among users (Clough, 2010).
The emergence of globalization and Communication Technology has necessitated
scholars and researchers to generate innovative instructional strategies for meaningful and
purposeful teaching and learning in the classroom. The use of information technology is the
century’s most significant development affecting scholarly communication. The application
of computers to information processing has brought several products and services to the
scenes. Consequently, the academic community has undergone tremendous changes during
these years, assuming new dimensions influenced by technology-driven applications.
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Libraries have witnessed a great metamorphosis in recent years both in their
collection development and in their service structure. Over the last several years, a significant
transformation has been noticed in collection development policies and practices. Print
medium is increasingly giving way to the electronic form of materials (Sharma, 2009). Ani
(2008) opined that the transition from print to electronic medium apart from resulting in a
growth of electronic information has provided users with new tools and applications for
information seeking and retrieval.
Electronic Journals also known as e-journals are scholarly journals or intellectual
magazines that can be accessed through electronic transmission. In practice, this means they
are usually published on the web. They are specialized form of electronic document. They
have the purpose of providing material for academic research and study and they are
formatted approximately like journal articles in traditional printed journals. Some electronic
journals are online-only journals; some are online versions of printed journals, sometimes
with extra video and interactive media materials.
According to Harold’s Librarians Glossary, e-Journal is a journal for which the full
end-product is available on optical disk, over a network or in any other electronic form,
strictly a journal in which the entire process is carried out electronically. In other word, an
electronic journal is one where writing, editing, referencing and distribution of item are
carried out electronically without paper intermediaries. E-journal is one whose input text may
be file transfer mechanisms in a machine readable form, whose editorial processing is
facilitated by a computer and whose articles are thus made available in electronic form to
readers. Accordingly, electronic journals are those journals which are available in electronic
medium and are available onlyin electronic medium. In general, a journal that is available in
electronic form through online host is called e-Journals.
The education axiom that when a learner has not learned that the teacher has not
taught is true and directly relate to the concepts of teaching and learning as a process of
inculcating the right values, attitudes, knowledge and modern life skill acquisition necessary
to make individuals benefit from the society as well as contribute meaningfully to the same
society. Waliku & Usman (2009) see teaching as a systematic, rational and organized process
of transmitting knowledge and skills. Naturally, the outcome of teaching is learning.
Learning is an overt product of teaching which the major function of the teacher is. Learning
occurs only when there is relatively positive permanent change in an individual’s behaviour.
Frequency of e-Journal utilization is expressed in the number of times, days or weeks
a user accesses the relevant information within contact periods with their learners. Research
report of Junco (2010) shows lecturers spend few hours per week in sourcing for information
for teaching. Kubey (2001) had reported that lecturers efficiency may be impaired if resource
materials are not frequently used.
No lecturer can teach effectively without the design and diversification of the
teaching process. The use of e-Journals as resource materials can generate innovation in
teaching and interest on the part of the learners. The use of electronic journals and other
resources may go a long way to helping the lecturers’ effect changes in behaviour of the
students. Effective teaching is to ensure that there is effective classroom communication in
skills and knowledge transfer. Most teachers do not diversify their pedagogical strategies and
exploit available resources. The total dependence on previous lecture notes without
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comparing notes with recent advances in knowledge does not convey quality and global
standards.
The call for application of e-journals is to infuse and inject teaching efficiency and
effectiveness in Faculty curriculum implementation. However, in developing countries like
Nigeria, use of e-Journals is challenged with the problem of material devices such as
computer, computer laboratories, internet and e-mail facilities, videophone systems,
teleconferencing devices, fax and wireless applications, digital library, digital classrooms
among others (Clough, 2005). This has adverse effect in the teaching –learning process. Most
lecturers only teach with the use of verbalism against the very active subject that should use
enormous resources. Most studies have been carried out on the use of other resources but
little or no studies have been reported on the use of e-journal to access research reports in the
teaching and development of concepts and ideas hence the importance of this study.
The main purpose of this study therefore is to investigate the perceived influence of
use of electronic journals on the academic productivity of the Faculty lecturers.
Methodology
The study adopts the descriptive survey design that deals with the homogenous subjects and
the information sought for is discrete. The study is also built on Pask’s Conversation theory
of 1976 who describes learning in terms of knowledge. The theory also describes interaction
between two or more cognitive systems such as a teacher and students, students and students
or distinct perspectives within one individual and how they engage in a dialogue over a given
concept and identify differences in how they understand the concept. The theory stipulates
that learning occurs through conversation about a subject matter which serves to make
knowledge explicit. Two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. 78 faculty lecturers
were randomly sampled from 109 lecturers in the seven departments that make up the
Faculty of Education using stratified random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire
tagged ‘Use of e-Journal and Teaching Effectiveness Questionnaire (UEJTEQ)’ was served
on the respondents. The instrument was developed on a four-point rating scale responses of
strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and strongly disagree. The instrument was validated by two
validates; one in the department of Educational Technology and the other from the
department of Educational Foundations, Test and Measurement unit all in the Faculty of
Education, University of Uyo, Uyo. The instrument was also tested for reliability with the
use of 10 lecturers who were not part of the main study. Test-retest strategy was adopted and
their responses from the respondent were treated to Cronbach Alpha reliability test and the
analysis yielded reliability co-efficient of .76. The instrument was therefore regarded as
being reliable for use in the study. Out of 78 respondents served with questionnaire only 72
were suitable for analysis giving a response rate of 92%. Data collected were subjected to
analysis with the help of t-test analysis.
Data analysis and Results
Hypothesis 1: There is no significant influence of use of e-Journal on teaching effectiveness
of Faculty lecturers in the University of Uyo.
Vol. 3(1) 2017 www.benchmarkjournals.com Page 82
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ASSESSORS
e-2536-7501, p-2536-751X
The analysis is as seen on Table 1
Table 1: t-test analysis of the influence of use of e-Journal on teaching effectiveness of
faculty lecturers
variablesN ̅ SD t-cal t-crit df Decision
Use of e-Journal20 44.10 6.56 5.51 1.98 2.02 Significant
Teachingeffectiveness20 27.90 6.56
*P=< 0.05
The analysis as shown on table 1 reveals a significant influence of use of e-Journals
on Faculty lecturers teaching effectiveness. The t-score of 5.51 was higher than the critical t-
value of 2.02. The hypothesis is thus rejected. This implies that use of e-Journal significantly
influence lecturers teaching effectiveness in the faculty of Education, University of Uyo.
Hypothesis 2: There is no significant influence of frequency of use of e-Journals on
lecturers teaching effectiveness.
The analysis is as seen on Table 2
Table 2: t-test analysis of the influence of frequency of use of e-Journal on lecturers teaching
effectiveness
variablesN n ̅ SD t-cal t-crit df Decision
Frequency of Use 20 46.70 5.87 8.15 2.02 38 Significant
Teaching effectiveness 20 25.30 5.87
*P=< 0.05
The analysis as seen on table 2 reveals a significant influence of frequency of use of
e-Journals on lecturers teaching effectiveness. The t-score of 8.15 was higher than the critical
t-value of 2.02. The hypothesis is therefore rejected. This implies that the frequency of use of
e-Journals significantly enhances lecturers teaching effectiveness in the University of Uyo.
Discussion of Findings
The study shows a significant influence of lecturers’ use of e- Journals on their
teaching effectiveness. The reason for this result is that e-Journals carries useful and current
research information capable of giving the lecturers impetus in gaining the current
knowledge of the subject matter. This additional information can enable the lecturers to teach
well. This finding is supported by the study of Clough (2010) who submitted that use of e-
Journals facilitate easy access to scholarly contribution to knowledge and events within the
environment and especially in creativity and information sharing and collaboration. It is also
in line with the submission of Ani (2008) who found out that use of e-Journals has provided
users with new tools and applications for information seeking and retrieval.
Vol. 3(1) 2017 www.benchmarkjournals.com Page 83
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African Journal of Educational Assessors (AJEA) is a multidisciplinary international, pear reviewed journal published three (3) times a year by the Forum of Educational Benchmarkers in Nigeria. This journal promotes the exchange of ideas by bringing together academics/researchers across the globe. As research has become increasingly interdisciplinary, the essence of a multidisciplinary journal is to show the inter-relatedness of academic disciplines through research. AJEA maintains an open access policy. The decisive criterion for accepting a manuscript for publication is scientific quality.
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