Journal of Innovation In Education in - ROCARE - … Ghana Chapter Journal.pdfERNWACA decided to establish its own journal; Journal of Innovation in Education in Africa (JIEA). JIEA

Journal of Innovation In Education in

Africa (JIEA)

ERNWACA GHANA

Ghana Chapter of Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWACA Ghana)

ii

©ERNWACA GHANA All rights reserved including translation. No part of this publication should be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, photocopying, or any other form of duplication or retrievable form without prior permission in writing or authorization from the National Coordinator of ERNWACA Ghana Published in Ghana by the Ghana Chapter of Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWACA Ghana) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] ERNWACA Website: www.ernwaca.org Copyright © 2016 ERNWACA Ghana, 2016 ISSN 2508-1152 Credits – Graphic Design and Layout: Samuel Kwesi Nyan Printed in Ghana

iii

JOURNAL OF INNOVATION IN EDUCATION IN AFRICA (JIEA)

Volume 1, No 1 July, 2016

ISSN 2508-1152

PUBLISHED BY GHANA CHAPTER OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NETWORK FOR

WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA (ERNWACA GHANA)

Aim and scope Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWACA) is a multinational research based organization interested in Educational Research. The Network is in 17 West and Central African Countries and made up of professors, lecturers, other academics, and administrators interested in educational research. The vision is to be at the forefront in providing research services and advice for educational development in Africa. Our mission is to nurture and promote African expertise in Educational Research and culture to improve Education Policy and practice in Africa. With the quest to disseminate research findings in order to stimulate public dialogue and advocacy in Education, the Network established two journals at the regional level which publish papers in both English and French. In order to give further push and impetus to the agenda of dissemination of research findings among members, especially in Anglophone West and Central Africa, the Ghana Chapter of ERNWACA decided to establish its own journal; Journal of Innovation in Education in Africa (JIEA). JIEA is fully dedicated to innovative educational research covering any subject matter that deals with teaching and learning and management of education at any level of education in Africa. The Journal will publish in English Language only and will be in print and online on the ERNWACA Platform. We hope that this Journal will contribute to making known findings of cutting edge research in Africa that would not have been given any publicity, especially members of ERNWACA. By so doing, we will be contributing to providing vital information that will inform educational policy decisions in member countries of Africa and also enrich the academic discourse among intellectuals interested in educational research in Africa. This is also an opportunity to make the African voice in the area of research more known to the international community. This Journal will be published three times a year so that members can derive the full benefits from it. However, since the quality of the Journal will be determined by the quality of papers presented in it, the Editorial Board will not

iv

compromise on quality. As such, publication of papers in this Journal will not be determined by ability to pay. Editorial Board Members

1. Professor Francis Amedahe – Chairman; Scientific Committee Chairman, ERNWACA Ghana

2. Professor Epah George Fonkeng – Member; Regional Scientific Committee member of ERNWACA

3. Professor Virgy Onyene – Member; ERNWACA Nigeria 4. Professor Damian Kofi Mereku – Member; ERNWACA Ghana 5. Dr. William Boateng – Member; ERNWACA Ghana 6. Alhaji Dr. Issifu Yidana – Mmember; ERNWACA Ghana 7. Professor Yaw Augustine Quashiga – Member; University of Education,

Winneba Editorial Coordinator - Dr. Wisdom H. K. Hordzi – Member; ERNWACA Ghana

v

GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS

Papers submitted for publication should be understandable to colleagues from a broad range of scientific disciplines. The manuscript (electronic) should be in APA format and font size 12 Times New Roman double-spaced and between 12 – 20 A4 pages with 1.5-inch margins on all sides. Subheadings should be used at reasonable intervals to aid the reader’s comprehension and to break the monotony of lengthy texts. The first-named author or the co-author who will be handling correspondence with the editor should include a complete address and email address. Abbreviations and acronyms should be spelled out at first mention. Footnotes and endnotes should be avoided as much as possible. The manuscript should be sent to [email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected]. The details are as follows: The title The title should be very brief and should describe the contents of the paper. The Title Page should include the authors’ full names and affiliations, the name of the corresponding author along with phone, fax and E-mail information. Present addresses of authors should appear as a footnote. The abstract The Abstract should be informative and completely self-explanatory, briefly present the purpose, the methodology (design, instrument, sample and sampling technique, summary of data collection procedure and method of data analysis), summary of major findings, a major conclusion and a major recommendation. Abstracts should not be more than 250 words. Complete sentences, active verbs, and the third person should be used, and the abstract should be written in the past tense. No abbreviations should be used in the abstract. No literature should be cited. Below the abstract should be about 3 to 6 key words. Introduction The Introduction should include a brief background to the study, a clear statement of the problem, the relevant literature on the subject, brief on the theories underpinning the study, purpose and objectives, research questions and or hypothesis. It is most preferable to have an introduction without subheadings. Also, the literature review should NOT have a separate heading with detailed review, but rather it should form part of the introduction. Similarly, the problem statement should NOT be separated under a subheading

vi

but should form part of the introduction, preferably getting to the end of the introduction. Methodology The methods should be complete enough to allow experiments to be replicated. It should involve the design, population, sample and sampling method, instruments (should contain types of items, reliability and validity), data collection procedure, data analysis, and ethical considerations. Results The results should be presented with clarity and precision. Here, authors should make brief comments on major findings and statistical values and their implications or meanings. Tables, graphs, pictures, etc should be very close to the comments. Tables and graphs should be introduced before they are presented. They should be kept to a minimum and designed to be as simple as possible. Tables and graphs should be self-explanatory with clear headings that indicate what one is expected to see in the table or graph. The results should be written in the past tense. The same data should not be presented in both table and graph form. The author should not do any discussion at this stage. Discussion The Discussion should interpret the findings in the author’s current work and in past studies on this or closely related topic. This means that the writer can compare his/her findings with similar findings in literature. He/she can indicate the differences and similarities in the current findings and what is in literature. He/she can make academic arguments, adduce reasons for the differences or similarities in the current results and what is in literature. Thus, results should be explained with reference to the literature. During the discussions one can do calculated academic speculation and detailed interpretation of data. Previously published findings should be written in the present tense while the current ones should be in the past. Conclusions There should be clear conclusions derived from the results of the current study. References The APA format must be used both in text and in the reference column. References should be listed at the end of the paper in alphabetical order. Articles in preparation or articles submitted for publication, unpublished observations, personal communications, etc. should not be included in the reference list but should only be mentioned in the article text. For example, (M.

vii

Banker, Association of Ghanaian Psychologists, Ghana, personal communication). The latest version of the APA format can be obtained on the Internet. Acknowledgements Where necessary, the acknowledgments of people, grants, funds, etc should be brief. Disclaimer It should be noted that authors are fully responsible for the quality and mistakes in their papers and for the accuracy of the references. Note 1. For position papers, the layout should be properly done so that readers can

easily follow the sequence of the presentation. 2. Once a manuscript is presented implies that the work has not been

published before, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, or thesis. It should also not be under consideration for publication elsewhere.

viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Editorial Board registers its sincerest appreciation for the Regional Coordination of ERNWACA in Mali, Bamako and donor partners for financially supporting the conference at Windy Lodge Hotel, Winneba, Ghana which produced the papers published in this volume of the Journal. We are equally grateful to the Executive Secretary of ERNWACA and the Board Chairman for leading a high powered delegation to support us during the conference. We are also appreciative of all the encouragements given by the Executive Secretariat of ERNWACA in Mali Bamako to the Ghana Chapter of ERNWACA to come out with this Journal.

ix

EDITORIAL

This edition of the Journal; Volume 1, No.1 benefited from papers presented at the first international conference of ERNWACA Ghana held at Windy Lodge Hotel, Winneba, Ghana from 9th to 11th November, 2015. In all there were 33 papers presented. This edition contains 10 of such papers. Efforts are underway to publish the remaining papers in subsequent editions. The papers cut across various aspects of education. The first paper presented by Dr. Abdul-Wahab Ibrahim is titled “Entrepreneurship in Higher Education: An Evaluation of Employability of Higher Education Institutions’ Graduates in Nigeria”. This study sought to establish the direction of the pull and push of the relationship between acquisition of entrepreneurial skills, abilities to create new ventures and employability amongst Jigawa State government-sponsored graduate apprentices in Nigeria. The author concluded that practical orientation, venture creation, business planning, enterprise skills developments and networking events are the most significant potent predictors of employability of graduate apprentices. Aishatu Salihu Bello, Olowoselu Abdulrasheed and Mariya Adamu Nyako took the story further by looking at involvement of lecturers in Teacher Education Management: Mechanisms and Challenges in Adamawa State, Nigeria. This study came out with some interesting revelations and concluded among others that effective management mechanism of planning, organizing, controlling and good leadership are what should be embraced by the top management teams of the colleges of education studied in repositioning teacher education for effectiveness and efficiency in the management system. The story did not end there but continued with Victoria Afoma Ifeanacho who reviewed the literature on innovative Open and Distance Learning (ODL) as a panacea for transformation and development in 21st Century Africa. The author came out with some strong points and concluded that the latest generation of open and distance learning provides ample opportunity for learning to take place irrespective of the usual constraints of time and space. Patience Asieduah Danquah, Modesta Efua Gavor and Irene Tawiah Ampong also looked at performance of two sewing thread types in a Ghanaian real wax cotton print industry. This work also makes interesting reading because the authors came out with findings that will be of tremendous benefit to tailors and seamstresses. Dr. Olusola A. Thomas also further pushed the story by taking a journey into the kingdom of Entrepreneurship Education. Here, he looked at

x

the strategic approach for promoting national development in Nigeria. He concluded that to salvage the country out of the numerous challenges resulting from the high rate of unemployment, there is the need for an articulated and integrated entrepreneurship education programme streaming from the school setting to the business environment. Oshionebo, Esther Emike wrote on quality of educational facilities and academic performance of students in secondary schools in Education District II, Lagos State. The study revealed that the quality of educational facilities will greatly enhance the academic performance of students. That, human, material and physical resources are indispensable to a meaningful transformation and academic progress of students. Professor S. B. Owusu-Mintah researched into employability of tourism graduates and asked if there were lack of relevant skills or job avenues. He concluded among others by saying that some of the employers commended their employees for exhibiting industry required skills. However, some of the employers bemoaned the lack of industry required skills by some new graduates that made them spend much time and resources in preparing them for their jobs in industry. Madumere, S.C., Okeleke, Q.O., Ikedife Chizoba Gloria; Okpala Uchechukwu Love and Virgy Onyene also researched on the topic “Education and human resource management: towards meeting quality work life mandate”. Their findings revealed that there exist significant relationships between motivation, interpersonal relationship, involvement in decision making process as well as training and quality work of life mandate. It was recommended that value-added working environment; employee recognition, show of love and respect has a direct correction with the workers morale and productivity. Also, Ogechi Okafor, Charity Iriobe, Chijioke Nwajiaku and Virgy Onyene studied service compensation and social prestige as predictive of Nigerian teachers’ inclination to job retention. The findings call for appropriate retention strategies that will derive internal and external desire to job retention inclination. On the basis of the findings the study concludes that these factors have substantial roles in determining teachers’ job retention inclinations in the organization. Finally, Fatima Mohammed Joda and Olowoselu Abdulrasheed dwelt on the assessment of the quality of teaching practice programme of Teacher Education Colleges in North Eastern Nigeria. This study came out with findings that, lack of good welfare packages for supervisors and standardized general teaching practice assessment instrument for all the Colleges of Education were the major challenges of teaching practice supervision in teacher education. It was

xi

therefore recommended among other things that, adequate welfare packages should be provided for supervisors on teaching practice supervision.

xii

CONTENTS

PAGE Aim and scope …………………………………………………………... iii Editorial Board Members ……………….……………………………… iv Guidelines for contributors ……………………..……………………… v Editorial …………………………………………...……………………... ix Entrepreneurship in Higher Education: An Evaluation of Employability of Higher Education Institutions’ Graduates in Nigeria - ABDUL-WAHAB, IBRAHIM …...…….…………………... 1

Involvement of lecturers in Teacher Education Management Mechanisms and Challenges in Adamawa State, Nigeria - AISHATUSALIHU BELLO, OLOWOSELU ABDULRASHEED AND MARIYA ADAMU NYAKO ………………….....…………… 16

Innovative Open and Distance Learning (ODL) As A Panacea for Transformation and Development in 21st Century Africa: A Literature Review - VICTORIA AFOMA IFEANACHO …..……… 28

Performance of two sewing thread types in a Ghanaian real wax cotton print - PATIENCE ASIEDUAH DANQUAH, MODESTA

EFUA, AND IRENE TAWIAH AMPONG ……….………………… 41

Entrepreneurship Education: A Strategic Approach for Promoting National Development in Nigeria - OLUSOLA A. THOMAS ….… 56

Quality of Educational Facilities and Academic Performance of Students in Secondary Schools in Education District II, Lagos State - OSHIONEBO, ESTHER EMIKE………………….....……………… 71

Employability of tourism graduates: lack of relevant skills or job avenues – S. B. OWUSU-MINTAH …………………......…………… 82

Education and human resource management in University of Lagos: towards meeting quality work life mandate – S. C. MADUMERE, Q. O. OKELEKE, IKEDIFE CHIZOBA GLORIA, OKPALA UCHECHUKWU LOVE AND VIRGY ONYENE …...… 104

Service compensation and social prestige as predictive of Nigerian teachers’ inclination to job retention – OGECHI OKAFOR, CHARITY IRIOBE, CHIJIOKE NWAJIAKU AND VIRGY ONYENE ………………………….……………...……………………... 119

Assessment of the Quality of Teaching Practice Programme of Teacher Education Colleges in North Eastern Nigeria - FATIMA

MOHAMMED JODA AND OLOWOSELU ABDULRASHEED ... 136

1 ©ERNWACA GHANA

Journal of Innovation in Education in Africa (JIEA) Volume 1, No. 1, July 2016, pp . 1-15

ABDUL-WAHAB IBRAHIM (PHD) Department of Education, Faculty of Education, SuleLamido University,

Kafin-Hausa, Jigawa State, Nigeria Email - [email protected]

Tel: +2348033438023 and +2348186077636 Introduction

In the last decade, there has been increasing pressure on higher education in Nigeria to contribute directly to national economic regeneration and growth. Increasingly, national and international assessments of the role and purposes of education indicate a need for higher education to contribute significantly to meeting the needs of the economy, not least to ensure future competitiveness (Ball, 2009). Given the continuing economic difficulties facing the country, the need for Nigerian Higher Education Institutions

Entrepreneurship in Higher Education: An Evaluation of Employability of Higher Education Institutions’

Graduates in Nigeria

Given the continuing economic difficulties facing Nigeria, the need for Nigerian Higher Education Institutions to stimulate and support entrepreneurial development, economic renewal and growth, has never been more pressing. Adopting a descriptive survey design, stratified random and simple random sampling techniques were employed in choosing a sample of 498 graduate apprentices for the study from the five skills acquisition training centres in Jigawa State, Nigeria. The instrument used was a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Multiple Correlation and Stepwise Multiple Regression statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The results showed that practical orientation, extra-curricular activities, business idea generation, business planning, venture creation, networking events, enterprise skills developments significantly combine to influence employability of graduate apprentices. However, a non-significant difference existed in the entrepreneurial abilities to create new ventures amongst graduate apprentices. It was concluded that Higher Education Institutions should intensify efforts to equip students with skills and entrepreneurial training so that they would be job creators instead of job seekers. It is imperative for graduates to learn and continuously update their skills to make them work-ready.

Key words: Higher Education Institutions, entrepreneurship, enterprise skills development, venture creation, business idea generation

2

Abdul-Wahab Ibrahim (Ph.D.) Entrepreneurship in Higher Education: An Evaluation of

Employability of Higher Education Institutions’ Graduates in Nigeria

Journal of Innovation in Education in Africa (JIEA) Volume 1, No. 1, July 2016, pp . 1-15

(HEIs) tostimulate and support entrepreneurial development, economic renewal and growth has never been more pressing difficulties facing the country, the need for Nigerian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) tostimulate and support entrepreneurial development, economic renewal and growth has never been more pressing. There certainly continues to be debates on the purpose, goals, values and pedagogies of enterprise education, together with new thinking (Ibrahim & Ajeigbe, 2012). Lewis (2011) asserted that there is entrepreneurship struggled to gain academic legitimacy at a moral, pedagogical and theoretical level, with the quality and focus of research being constraints. Controversially, she asserted that the unresolved tension of the twin goals of enabling students to become entrepreneurs or to understand and operate within an enterprising society, together with an over-dependence on government policy initiatives, have prevented this legitimacy. Blenker et al., (2011) proposed a progression from existing paradigms of education to a new one of facilitating entrepreneurship as everyday practice and, like Lewis (2011) saw the development of an entrepreneurial mindset being an outcome of the educational process. Jones (2011) argued the importance of entrepreneurship education being underpinned by an explicit teaching philosophy grounded on student learning, whilst Jones and Matlay (2011) developed a conceptual framework centred on the students and their dialogic relationships with the educator, institution, educational processes and community. Emergent issues and challenges facing educators were reported by Carey and Matlay (2011), whilst Rae (2010) proposed that a ‘new era’ of responsible entrepreneurship and related education was required to address the failures of market capitalistic entrepreneurship which contributed to the global financial crises of 2008-2011. These and other debates inform the intellectually diverse space of entrepreneurship education and educators, into which this study, attempted to measure provision and assess the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education policy in Nigerian Higher Education Institutions. These issues continue to be significant ones, and as public funding declines the question of whether entrepreneurship has both academic legitimacy and direct appeal to students remains important (Ibrahim & Olatunde, 2015). According to Ibrahim and Olatunde (2015) one area of increasing interest is in the contribution by Nigerian education curriculum that has quite often been criticised over time. The early critics include members of the Phelps-Stokes and Advisory Commissions who submitted their separate reports in 1925. They observed that education in Africa, nay Nigeria, generally had not been adapted to the needs and aspirations of the people. In their various reports, the

3

Abdul-Wahab Ibrahim (Ph.D.) Entrepreneurship in Higher Education: An Evaluation of Employability of Higher Education Institutions’ Graduates in Nigeria

Journal of Innovation in Education in Africa (JIEA) Volume 1, No 1, July 2016, pp . 1-15

Commissions suggested that the subjects taught in African schools should henceforth be related to African life and culture. It is interesting to note that a few decades after the publication of the Phelps-Stokes and Advisory Committees Reports, particularly after World War II, slight adjustments were made in school curriculum which was slightly oriented towards African life. But the progress in this direction was not remarkable, for as late as the 1960s, education in African schools, particularly in Nigerian Universities, was still “too literary, not practical, not adapted to the needs of a developing agricultural nation” (Adeyinka, 2002). The words of Ajayi and Obidi (2005) are apposite here when they asserted that this type of academic education only “tends to produce proud, lazy people who dislike manual labour and prefer white-collar jobs”. Also, Obanya (2007) observed that the early 80s were characterized by changes in the structure of African national educational systems. Thus the inherited colonial structure was replaced by the 6-3-3-4 structure in Anglophone West Africa and by the 8-4-4 structures in Kenya. Beyond the new nomenclatures for the structures (the bare bones of the system), nothing seems to have changed in the fundamentals–the goals of education, the processes and the outcomes (Obanya, 2007). This assertion by Ajayi and Obidi (2005) is representative of the opinions of later critics of the Nigerian educational curricula in general. The flaws in this aspect of Nigerian education have been traced to missionary influence or British colonial rule in Nigeria. The colonial masters placed too much emphasis on civil service and company jobs with little motivation for self-employment (Kpee & Lekia, 2011; Ibrahim & Olatunde, 2015). In a related vein, Akpomi (2009) reported that Nigerian educational institutions as few as they were, remained factories for producing white collar jobbers with no special professional or entrepreneurial skill envisaged in the education system. This means that before now, there had been complete absence of enterprise education in the educational system. On employability of graduates of Higher Education Institutions in the country, Osibanjo (2006) determined the labour market needs in Nigeria revealed that 44 percent of the 20 organizations rated Nigerian science graduates as average in competence, 56 percent rated them as average in innovation, 50 percent rated them average in rational judgment, 63 percent as average in leadership skills and 44 percent as average in creativity. On needed skills like literacy, oral communication, information technology, entrepreneurship, analytical, problem solving and decision making, 60 percent rated them as poor. By any standard, the above statistics reflect a poor assessment of Nigerian higher

4



Journal of Innovation in Education in Africa (JIEA) Volume 1, No. 1, July 2016, pp: 1-15

institution graduates and further buttress the argument that Nigerian Higher Education Institutions’ graduates are unemployable. Available information by the National Universities Commission (NUC) (2004) reiterated that the massive unemployment of Nigerian universities’ graduates in the country is traceable to the disequilibrium between labour market requirements and lack of essential employable skills by the graduates (Danabia, 2013). Recent data show that graduates’ unemployment has been rising. Based on the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics (NNBS) (2015) survey, unemployment rates of graduates from various higher institutions increase by 24.20 per cent in the first quarter of 2015. That means, between January and March this year, nearly one out of every four Nigerian graduate was unemployed. A 10-year employment statistics from 2006-2015, also suggest a deteriorating phenomenon. In 2006, according to the NNBS (2015), unemployment figures averaged 15.97 per cent (more than one person in every 10 Nigerian graduates were unemployed). Though the figures at the fourth quarter of 2006 had dipped to 5.30 per cent (slightly less than one in every 20 graduates), it had climbed to 23.90 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011 (again, nearly one out of every four Nigerian graduates was jobless), to further increase to 24.20 per cent from January to March 2015. In the same vein, Danabia (2013) explained that the broad structure of the Nigerian labour market is that 10 per cent have salaried jobs, 38 per cent are engaged in family agriculture and 52 per cent are employed in the informal sector. With the labour force growing at the rate of 1.3 million per annum, the only realistic option for many young Nigerians is self-employment. As delineation from above, the bottom line of this study is that, at present, Nigeria is encountering high unemployment rate because students in Higher Education Institutions choose courses for which employment opportunities are dwindling and saturated while leaving areas where manpower is highly required. Hence, most of the Higher Education Institutions in the country have initiated and activated employment platforms such that willing students could work and still pursue their academic programmes. Also, such employment platforms such as block moulding, laundry, beads-making, leatherworks, hospitality industry, farming, and a host of others would encourage students to experience dignity of labour and assist indigent ones. Further, the programmes initiated by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), National Poverty

5



Eradication Programme (NAPEP), Bank of Industry (BoI), and National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), have all helped in creating some jobs. Specifically, and recently too, in a bid to solve the lacuna of unemployment among graduates, both the Bank of Industry and the National Youth Service Corps, in a joint initiative launched the Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF), which is a special empowerment programme for serving members of the NYSC (a one-year compulsory national service for graduates of higher institutions in Nigeria); with its objectives as: (a) to encourage graduates of tertiary institutions currently undergoing the compulsory one-year NYSC programme to venture into business and become employers of labour rather than job seekers; and (b) address the entrepreneurship capacity gap of the NYSC members who are expected to produce bankable business plans after the three-day capacity building programme (Bank of Industry, 2015). However, unemployment still persists in the country. The rate of unemployment compared with the number of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country shows that the SMEs are yet to grow and to create enough jobs in spite of their potentials to do this. This study sought to establish the direction of the pull and push of the relationship between acquisition of entrepreneurial skills, abilities to create new ventures and employability amongst Jigawa State government-sponsored graduate apprentices in Nigeria. Towards this end, two hypotheses were generated for the study, namely:

Ho1: Practical orientation, extra-curricular activities, business idea generation, business planning, venture creation, networking events, enterprise skills developments will not significantly combine to influence employability of graduate apprentices.

Ho2: There is no significant difference in the entrepreneurial abilities to create new ventures mongst graduate apprentices due to the acquired entrepreneurial skills.

Methodology

The study adopted a descriptive survey design. A descriptive survey research design allows for the collection of quantifiable data from a sample to explain a particular phenomenon (Upadhya & Singh, 2008). In carrying out this study, therefore, the data were collected from a subset of the population (intact class of graduate apprentices) in such a way that the knowledge to be gained is representative of the total population under study.

6




All unemployed graduates in Jigawa State who registered for a week-long training on Enterprise and Finance Counselling organized by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in conjunction with the Jigawa State Government, Nigeria, constituted the target population for the study. There were 1108 unemployed graduates who registered for the training which simultaneously took place in all five recognized Jigawa State sponsored-apprenticeship skills acquisition training centres across 5 zones of Dutse, Gumel, Hadejia, Kazaure and Ringim which comprised 27 Local Government Areas (LGAs) that make up Jigawa State, Nigeria. The unemployed graduates used in the study included graduates of higher institutions as Universities, Polytechnics, Monotechnics, and Colleges of Education in the state. Stratified random and simple random sampling techniques were employed in choosing 498 graduate apprentices as the sample for the study from the five skills acquisition training centres in Jigawa State. The instrument used was a researcher-constructed questionnaire which measured respondents’ ratings of job-relevant skills and elicited suggestions for improving career skills among graduate apprentices. Specifically, the research instrument used in the study namely: “Graduate Entrepreneurship Skills Questionnaire (GESQ)” (Ibrahim & Ajeigbe, 2012), is a 30-item self-developed questionnaire which was used to collect data for the study. It consisted of four sections. Section A sought for demographic information such as name of respondent, sex, age, year of graduation, course of study and department. Section B had items that measured the quality of enterprise education. Section C had items that elicited information on entrepreneurial capabilities, while Section D measured the adaptability of undergraduates to the changing Nigerian economy. Most of the items on the questionnaire were developed using the content of the training manual and were validated by the researcher by administering the instrument on 60 respondents, who were not participants in the study but graduates on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the state who were also attending the same training with similar course content. Their responses were analyzed to determine Cronbach’s Alpha and internal consistency reliabilities. The Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient obtained was 0.88, indicating a high internal consistency. Also, Spearman Brown Split-half reliability coefficient was 0.86. These co-efficient values were acceptable as appropriately high for study of human behaviour due to its complexity. Consequently, the instrument was accepted as being stable over time hence its usage in this study. The hard copies of the questionnaires were administered on the respondents by the researcher with the assistance of the training co-

7



ordinators and managers in the respective Centres and all the copies distributed were collected. Also, adequate time was provided for respondents to respond to all the items. By this method, 498 questionnaires administered were returned correctly filled and used for the analysis. The data obtained for this study to test the hypotheses were analysed with the use of Pearson product moment correlation One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Multiple Correlation and Stepwise Multiple Regression statistical methods using the updated SPSS version 17.0. All the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Results

Hypothesis One: Practical orientation, extra-curricular activities, business idea generation, business planning, venture creation, networking events, enterprise skills developments will not significantly combine to influence employability of graduate apprentices.

The results of the analysis are presented in Tables 1, 2, and 3 respectively. Table 1: Inter-Item Correlation Matrix of Job Relevant Skills’ Variables V

ariables

Practical

orien

tation

Ex

tra-curricu

lar activ

ities

Bu

siness id

ea g

eneratio

n

Bu

siness p

lann

ing

V

entu

re creation

Netw

ork

ing

ev

ents

En

terprise sk

ills d

evelo

pm

ents

Em

plo

yab

ility

Practical orientation

1.00

Extra-curricular activities

.497 1.00

Business idea generation

.117 .245 1.00

Business planning .147 .121 .111 1.00 Venture creation .028 .562 .186 .056 1.00 Networking events

.288 .348 .113 .125 .153 1.00

Enterprise skills developments

.335 .265 .002 .157 .059 .241 1.000

Employability .068 .051 .204 .162 .122 .115 .128 1.00

*Significant, p<0.05

8




The results in Table 1 reveal that there was a significant relationship between practical orientation and employability of graduate apprentices (r = 0.497; p<0.05); between business idea generation and employability of graduate apprentices (r = 0.245; p<0.05); between venture creation and employability of graduate apprentices (r = 0.562; p<0.05); between enterprise skills developments and employability of graduate apprentices (r = 0.335; p<0.05); between extra-curricular activities and employability of graduate apprentices (r = 0.288; p<0.05); between networking events and employability of graduate apprentices (r = 0.348; p<0.05). Further, in order to determine the combined effects of the predictor variables on employability of graduate apprentices, Stepwise Multiple Regression analysis was used and the results of the analysis are presented in Tables 2 and 3 respectively. Table 2: Model Summary and Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis of the Effects of Job Relevant Skills’ Variables

Model Sum of Squares

Degrees of Freedom

Mean Sum of Squares

F-ratio F-critical

Regression 3224.667 7 460.667 46.62* 2.02 Residual 4841.528 490 9.881 3.50 Total 40140.166 497

*Significant p<0.05 R = .952 R Square = .865 Adjusted R Square = .853 a. Predictors: employability (Constant), practical orientation, extra-curricular

activities, business idea generation, business planning, venture creation, networking events, enterprise skills developments

b. Dependent Variable: Employability of graduate apprentices Table 2 indicates that there were significant effects of practical orientation, extra-curricular activities, business idea generation, business planning, venture creation, networking events, and enterprise skills developments on the prediction of employability of graduate apprentices (R = .952; R2 = .865; R2 adj= .853; F = 46.62; p<0.05). This implies that practical orientation, extra-curricular activities, business idea generation, business planning, venture creation, networking events, and enterprise skills developments predict 85.3% of the variance in the employability of graduate apprentices. Similarly, in order to

9



determine the potency of the predictor variables, Beta Coefficients and t-values of practical orientation, extra-curricular activities, business idea generation, business planning, venture creation, networking events and enterprise skills developments was determined and the results of the analysis are presented in Table 3. Table 3: Beta Coefficients and t-values of the Potency of Job Relevant Skills’ Variables

Unstandardized Co-efficients

Standardized Co-efficients

Model Beta Std. Error Beta T Sig

Employability (Constant)

-0.11 .161 -.065 .000

Practical Orientation 1.000 .004 .605 9.14 25.018 .000 Extra-Curricular Activities

-.004 .003 -.003 7.83 -1.222 .000

Business Idea generation

-.005 .004 -.003 13.27 -1.324 .000

Business Planning 1.008 .004 .374 12.35 8.046 .000 Venture Creation 1.412 .095 .422 13.21 -9.98 .000 Networking Events 0.327 .070 .231 15.30 -6.90 .000 Enterprise Skills Developments

0.186 .024 .320 12.68 -4.48 .000

*Significant, p<0.05 Dependent Variable: Enterprise education The results in Table 3 reveal that practical orientation is the most significant potent predictor of employability of graduate apprentices (β = .605; t = 25.018; p<0.05). This is followed by venture creation (β = .422; t = -9.98; p<0.05); business planning (β = .374; t = 8.046; p<0.05); enterprise skills developments (β = .320; t = -4.48; p<0.05); and networking events (β = .231; t = -6.90; p<0.05). However, business idea generation (β = .003; t = -1.324; p>0.05) and extra-curricular activities (β = .003; t = -1.222; p>0.05) are not potent predictors of employability of graduate apprentices. Therefore, practical orientation, business planning, venture creation, networking events, and enterprise skills developments significantly influence employability of graduate apprentices. Considering hypothesis two, there is no significant difference in the entrepreneurial abilities to create new ventures amongst graduate apprentices due to the acquired entrepreneurial skills. The results of the analysis are presented in Table 4.

10




Table 4: One-way ANOVA on difference in entrepreneurial abilities to create new ventures among graduate apprentices

Variables N Mean SD

High ability Moderate ability Low ability

75 154 269

20.34 20.17 18.93

2.17 2.06 2.36

Sources of Variance Sum of Squares

Degrees of Freedom

Mean of Squares

F-ratio

Between Groups Within groups (Error) Total

120.8 43826.9 43947.7

2 495 497

60.4 88.54

0.682(ns)

NS= Not Significant, (F (2,495) =1.52), p>0.05; Critical F = 3.02 Table 4 shows that graduate apprentices with high ability of creativity statistically significantly manifested high entrepreneurial traits (�̅� = 20.34), followed by those with moderate ability (�̅� = 20.17), while those with low ability had the lowest manifestation of entrepreneurial traits (�̅� = 18.93). One-way Analysis of Variance was used thereafter to determine whether these mean (�̅�) scores were significantly different. The result of the analysis showed that a calculated F-value of 0.682 resulted as the difference in entrepreneurial abilities due to the acquired entrepreneurial skills. This calculated F-value was insignificant since it was less than the critical F-value of 2.02 given 2 and 4955 degrees of freedom at 0.05 level of significance. This led to the retention of the null hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference in the entrepreneurial abilities to create new ventures amongst graduate apprentices due to the acquired entrepreneurial skills. Discussion

The results of the present study revealed that practical orientation, extra-curricular activities, business idea generation, business planning, venture creation, networking events, enterprise skills developments significantly combine to influence employability of graduate apprentices. Further, the findings showed that practical orientation is the most significant potent predictor of employability of graduate apprentices, followed by venture creation, business planning, enterprise skills developments and networking events. However, business idea generation and extra-curricular activities are not potent predictors of employability of graduate apprentices. These results contradict the proposition that higher education should be about training graduates for jobs rather than improving their minds. On the contrary, in a rapidly changing world, graduates need to be lifelong learners.

11



The primary role of higher education is increasingly to transform students by enhancing their knowledge, skills, attitudes and abilities while simultaneously empowering them as lifelong critical, reflective learners. Yet, the transformational role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is contingent on a shift of emphasis to empowering the learner but depended on two propositions: (a) that higher education will need to be transformed to achieve this purpose; and (b) transformed (enhanced and empowered) graduates play a key role as transformative agents in society (Harvey & Knight, 2006). The new realities, that encourage a closer look at the relationship between employment and higher education, should not, then, be conceived as a nexus in isolation of a far more fundamental review of higher education. The higher education-employment interface should not be seen as an ‘add-on’ to academic study. Conversely, the ‘employability’ of graduates should not be seen as the primary focus of higher education. Rather, employability is a subset of, and fundamentally contingent on, transformative lifelong learning (Harvey & Knight, 2006). These findings are in consonance with the earlier studies by Ibrahim & Ajeigbe (2012); Mohammed (2013); and Ibrahim & Olatunde (2015) who respectively concluded that there existed a nexus between the academy and employment. Specifically, Ajeigbe and Ibrahim (2012) reported that there is a meaningful interaction between the quality of the training facilities, adequacy of the training instructions, effectiveness of skills’ acquisition adopted by the training centres and apprentices’ employability. Meanwhile, Mohammed (2013) identified skills acquisition as formidable instrument that could help turn the tide against the massive unemployment trend in Nigeria. According to Mohammed (2013), the skills set was deliberately chosen in order to effectively equip the young graduates with skills of the 21st century so that the desire of the federal government to position the country among the 20 strongest economies by the year 2020 is not only a legitimate aspiration but an achievable one. This goal could only be met when the country had in place a vibrant and properly skilled workforce that was equipped to service a 21st century economy under a globalised world. In the light of the findings in this study, one might be tempted to declare unequivocally that Higher Education Institutions have direct and critical effect on graduate employability. A likely reason for this reasoning obviously is that throughout the length and breadth of Nigeria, youth unemployment rates are particularly high among university graduates, and Nigerian policymakers often look for innovative and effective policies to facilitate the transition of the youth from education to work. In economies characterized by constrained

12




labour demand from the private sector and high rates of youth unemployment, entrepreneurship-support interventions targeting students are promising policy options. Entrepreneurship training has the potential to enable graduates to gain skills and create their own jobs, as well as possibly also better align their skills with private employers’ needs. No doubt, entrepreneurship is a key building block of productivity growth and a large share of the labour force in most developing countries is self-employed. Another finding of this study was that there was no significant difference in the entrepreneurial abilities to create new ventures amongst graduate apprentices due to the acquired entrepreneurial skills. The researcher is of the opinion that entrepreneurship courses being taught at the higher institutions aim to foster enterprising attributes, not to produce entrepreneurs. The courses are mostly practical as well as academic but have not achieved their aims in terms of helping graduates develop enterprise skills. Until now, we have only anecdotal evidence (i.e. field reports) of the success of our students. The review of this programme has provided the impetus for much needed research into its effectiveness in achieving our stated aims, hence this research. This finding is consistent with earlier ones which alluded to the fact that it was possible to encourage students’ entrepreneurial or enterprising attributes by adopting a focus for learning that would look to the future rather than look back to the past, aim for creativity rather than critical analysis, insight rather than knowledge and promote active learning rather than passive understanding (Bridge, O’Neill & Cromie, 2001). Some authors, (Henry et al., 2003) argue that entrepreneurial capabilities are not inborn and as such entrepreneurship is a behavioural not a personality trait but can be learned. All the same, the attempts at stimulating entrepreneurial activities through formal training and education and therefore assume that they may be enhanced or developed by a guided entrepreneurial education. Others, (Blenker et al., 2011) believe that entrepreneurship is inborn, that is, personality trait not behavioural. There are yet others (Kpee & Lekia, 2011) including this researcher who believe that entrepreneurship is primarily learned by experience and discovery and that entrepreneurial learning should be conceived as a lifelong process, where knowledge is continuously shaped and revised as new experience take place. Conclusion and Recommendations

On the basis of the findings of this study, it is concluded that practical orientation, venture creation, business planning, enterprise skills developments and networking events are the most significant potent predictors of

13



employability of graduate apprentices. However, business idea generation and extra-curricular activities are not potent predictors of employability of graduate apprentices. It is also concluded that there was no significant difference in the entrepreneurial abilities to create new ventures amongst graduate apprentices due to the acquired entrepreneurial skills. Hence, the following recommendations are proffered for effective entrepreneurship education in Nigerian universities, namely: a. The federal government in collaboration with state governments should

create a database for the employment needs of the country as this would avail policymakers the required data to tackle the high unemployment rates in the country;

b. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) should intensify efforts to equip students with skills and entrepreneurial training so that they would be job creators instead of job seekers;

c. Tertiary institutions should also adjust their admission quota to suit such human resources and job needs; and

d. Given the need for graduates of all subject disciplines to possess not only enterprising skills, but also attributes of self-efficacy and flexibility, every HEI should consider ensuring that all students are given the opportunity to experience enterprising learning and skill development within their degrees.

There is a need to build on, rather than repeat, enterprise education in the school curriculum. There are many successful examples of embedding enterprising learning into the curricula of non-business subjects, such as in art & design, science and healthcare. This needs to become the norm, in the interests of graduates, employers and HEIs themselves (CBI, 2009). Acknowledgement

Gratitude is due to the Vice Chancellor of SuleLamido University for making available the funds to attend and present this paper at the first Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWACA), at Winneba, Ghana. References

Adeyinka, A. A. (2002). Current problems of educational development in Nigeria. Ilorin Journal of Education, 12(12), 1-11.

Ajayi, J. F. A. and Obidi, S. S. (2005). Culture and education in Nigeria: An historical analysis. Ibadan: University of Ibadan Press.

14




Akpomi, M. E. (2009). Achieving millennium development goals (MDGS) through teaching entrepreneurship education in Nigeria Higher education Institution (HEIs). European Journal of Social Sciences, 8 (1), 152 – 159.

Ball, S. (2009). More means different: Widening access to higher education. London: Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce.

Bank of Industry (BoI) (2015). Graduate entrepreneurship fund: Call for entries. Daily Trust, 37 (88), 49.

Blenker, P. Korsgaard, S. Neergaard, H. &Thrane, C. (2011). The questions we care about: Paradigms and progression in entrepreneurship education. Industry & Higher Education, 25 (6), 417-428.

Bridge, J. O’Neill, P. &Cromie, H. (2001). Kingston fashion students give a glimpse of the next millennium. The Monthly Journal of Kingston University, 21, 1.

Carey, C. &Matlay, M. (2012). Emergent issues in enterprise education. Industry & Higher Education, 25 (6), 441-450.

Confederation of British Industry (CBI) (2009). Thinking Ahead: Ensuring the Expansion of Higher Education in the 21st Century. London: CBI.

Danabia, M. (2013). Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) (NYSC Initiative). The Punch, 354 (67), 13.

Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) (2007). Labour Market and Skill Trends, 1998–2009. Sudbury, Suffolk: Business Strategies Ltd and Glyn Owen Publications.

Harvey, L. & Knight, P. T. (2006). Transforming higher education. Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) and Open University Press.

Harvey, L. Moon, S. & Geall, V. (2007).Graduates work: Organisational change and students’ attributes. Birmingham: Centre for Research into Quality (CRQ) and Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR).

Henry, C. Hill, F. and Leitch, C. (2003). Entrepreneurship education and training. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.

Ibrahim, A. &Ajeigbe, T. O. (2012). Entrepreneurship training evaluation: An analysis of entrepreneurship-support interventions in fostering self-employment among Lagos State sponsored-apprenticeship graduates. Journal of National Association of Educational Researchers and Evaluators, 11(2), 62-71.

Ibrahim, A. &Olatunde, F. A. (2015). Teaching Creativity and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education: An Evaluation of Employability of University Undergraduates in Nigeria. Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education, 3 (1), 51-56.

15



Jones, C. & Matlay, H. (2011). Understanding the heterogeneity of entrepreneurship education: Going beyond Gartner. Education & Training, 53, 8 (9), 692-703.

Jones, C. (2011). Teaching entrepreneurship to undergraduates. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 17 (4), 591-600.

Kpee, G. G. and Lekia, N. (2011). Entrepreneurship education and reforms: Challenges and prospects for undergraduate students in Nigerian Universities. Nigerian Journal of Educational Research and Evaluation, 10 (2), 88-98.

Lewis, H. (2011). A model of entrepreneurial capability based on a holistic review of the literature from three academic domains. Industry & Higher Education, 25 (6), 429-440.

Muhammed, A. (2013). More skills acquisition training centres ready soon. The Guardian, 29 (no 12,570), 85.

National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education (NCIHE) (2001). Higher Education in the Learning Society. London: HMSO.

National Universities Commission (NUC) (2004). National Universities Commission (NUC) Accreditation Exercise. FCT, Abuja: NUC Publication.

Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics (NNBS) (2015). Social statistics in Nigeria. Nigeria: FGN Press.

Obanya, P. (2007). Reforming educational reforms. National Conference on Educational Reforms. University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.

Osibanjo, O. (2006). Concept of entrepreneurship. A paper Presented at the Workshop on Entrepreneurship and innovation for 200 Level students of University of Ibadan, Trenchand Hall, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria.

Rae, D. (2010). Universities and enterprise education: responding to the challenges of the new era.

Upadhya, B. & Singh, Y. K. (2008). Advanced educational psychology. New Delhi: APH Publishing

16 ©ERNWACA GHANA


AISHATUSALIHU BELLO1, OLOWOSELU ABDULRASHEED2 & MARIYA ADAMUNYAKO3

1 & 2. Department of Science Education, Modibbo Adama University of Technology; P.M.B 2076 Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria.

Email- [email protected]; [email protected] 3. Adamawa State Scholarship Trust Fund, Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria

Email- [email protected] Introduction

The Nigerian National Policy on Education (FGN, 2004) unequivocally states that no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers. This expression sets standards for education in Nigeria. Education can be regarded as the key that unlocks the personal development, national potentials, and all other kinds of rights in the world. The increasing awareness of the importance of education for sustainable development in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. The success of education in Nigeria depends particularly to a very large extent on the teachers’ education, which paves the way for regular supply of teachers in adequate quantity and quality for primary and secondary schools in Nigeria.

Involvement of lecturers in Teacher Education Management Mechanisms and Challenges in Adamawa

State, Nigeria

This study investigated involvement of lecturers in teacher education management mechanisms and challenges in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The sample for the study was 150 lecturers from two colleges of education in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The instrument for data collection was a 14 items questionnaire. Two research questions were answered using descriptive statistics of percentages and means. The findings revealed that, there was communication gap between management and staff; and lack of adequate funding hampered the smooth management of teacher education programmes. It was recommended that managements of the colleges should use regular staff meetings as mechanism for discussing vital issues concerning the improvement of teacher education in these colleges of education and that management should involve the lecturers in issues concerning their welfare. Keywords: Teacher Education, Management, Mechanisms, Sustainable, Development.

17

Aishatusalihu Bello1, Olowoselu Abdulrasheed2 & Mariya Adamunyako3 Involvement of lecturers in Teacher Education Management Mechanisms and Challenges in Adamawa State, Nigeria

Journal of Innovation in Education in Africa (JIEA) Volume 1, No 1, July 2016, pp: 16-27

Okoye (2002) posited that management is the process of guiding and directing people towards the achievement of organizational objectives. The management of teacher education through effective and efficient mechanism is paramount to sustainable development in Adamawa State. Management mechanisms are organizational structural means used to promote effective management system. It involves organizational arrangement and socio-structural means of facilitating management system (Fernandez & Sabherwal, 2010). The four control mechanisms of management are planning, leading, organizing and controlling (O’Connor, 2015). In the context of planning, the establishment and maintenance of colleges of education plans compel the management team to think about the major issues that affect teacher education programmes to succeed. These factors include admission procedures, organization matrix, staff establishment unit, teaching strategy, and student services (Fernandez & Sabherwal, 2010). Management periodically reviews and updates the plan as conditions change. A needs assessment report is an additional tool to help management define goals and requirements prior to the initiation of major projects for teacher education (Aina, 2002). In this study, management mechanism refers to the structural means that coordinate the efforts of the staff to accomplish stated goals and objectives of the college by using resources available effectively. A good leader communicates with his or her staff and encourages the staff members to maximize their productivity. Regular staff meetings are useful means of communication; even a complaint box works in certain circumstances (Chenhall, 2003). Granting employee incentives, bonuses and pay raises are effective ways to improve morale and college loyalty. Providing colleges of education employees with funds for international conferences, additional training courses and the chance for advancement is a critical factor in the establishment of a stable and committed work force in the colleges of education (Akinwumi & Ojedele, 2007). Organizing and maximizing the resources of colleges of education is the key to an optimal college organization and structure (Akinwumi & Ojedele, 2007). College organizations can be viewed, among many characteristics, in terms of layers and rigidity of structure in colleges, direction and effectiveness of information flow, impact of leadership in decision making and freedom of action for staff in the colleges (Fernandez & Sabherwal, 2010). Particularly important are the environmental conditions that can influence organizational design, including the healthy standard of the college, the level of competition, the speed of technological change, the extent of globalization, the degree of

18



professionalization in the field of teacher education, and advancement of new knowledge creation (Chenhall, 2003). Chenhall (2003) defined management control as asystematic use of management strategy to direct the behaviour and action of the college staff to achieve mission of the college. O’Connor (2015) proposed that it is a system that includes a combination of control mechanisms designed and implemented by college management to increase the likelihood that college staff will work in a manner consistent with the colleges of education goals. The management control system comprises formal and informal mechanisms used by colleges to measure, monitor and manage their performance in order to implement strategies and achieve their mission. O’Connor (2015) further demonstrated that, the colleges of education management must have specific characteristics that make the staff effective, such as the alignment with the strategies and aims of the teacher education programme, the compatibility of the college structure with the management responsibility for decision, the motivation of staff to achieve the targets of the college strategic plan. These mechanisms depend on the information flow, which needs to be structured to meet the systems of college staff, facilities, procedures, documents and communications, so as to collect, validate, transform, store, retrieve and present data to be used in planning, budgeting, accounting, control and other management processes for various administrative purposes (O’Connor, 2015). The structured flow must be able to measure the level of the evaluated performance in relation to student-teachers’ academic achievement. Teaching involves the use of a wide body of knowledge about the subject being taught. Teachers at all levels of educational system are very important in the overall development of Nigeria (FGN, 2014). Teacher education is the process of nurturing prospective teachers and updates qualified teachers’ knowledge and skills in the form of continuous professional development (Aina, 2002). It is on this basis that education managers play several roles in teacher education in Nigeria. Teacher education revolves around the policies and procedures designed to equip prospective teachers with the knowledge, attitude, behaviour and skills required in effective classroom teaching and in other educational gatherings (Fabunmi, 2005). Nwagbara (2002) defined the teacher as a person that has relevant skills, knowledge and competencies required in relevant training, in a well-established teachers’ college, or institution. On issues of human resource development, teachers should undergo regular orientation on capacity building

19



training programmes, to up-date their knowledge in line with current issues in the world. The two cardinal principles of concern in teacher's appraisal are teacher's personal characters and performance effectiveness. Akinsolu (2007) defined sustainable development as an economic and social development that meets the needs of the present generation without endangering the ability of the future generations and satisfying their needs in line with their chosen life style. The implication of this is that any development that aimed at the present socio-economic needs without minding its consequences on the future needs of the people is unsustainable. Similarly, Bryant (2003) considers sustainable development as policies that are conceptualized, instituted, maintained overtime and which are considered essential to the vitality, general welfare and continued existence of people in the environment. In the context of the above description, sustainable development includes infrastructural policy and behavioural or attitudinal development. These infrastructural policies and behaviour are programmed, instituted and maintained to serve the present and future needs of the people in their environment (Aina, 2002). Teacher education is a process and procedure designed to equip prospective teachers with the knowledge, attitude, behaviour and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom and school (Balogun, 2010). The objective of Nigerian teacher education emphasizes on the training of highly motivated, conscientious and successful classroom teachers for all educational levels. It also encourages potential teachers to imbibe the spirit of improving creativity, nationalism and sense of belongingness to the society (FGN, 2004). Draft (2008) posited that inputs of teacher education are the materials, human and financial resources used in the training process of teacher education. The material inputs include infrastructural facilities provided by the colleges of education for teaching and learning process. Financial inputs are funding which comprises staff emolument, teaching practice supervision allowances and students’ activities. Human inputs are the teaching and non-teaching staff. The transformation process is geared towards the management determination and ability to make use of human and material resources to translate the inputs into outputs (Akinsolu, 2007). Similarly, the teacher education output elements include students’ academic achievement in public examinations, students’ level of discipline and professionalism in teaching activities in the society (Draft, 2008). Therefore, the aims and objectives of Teacher education in Nigeria are anchored on five value objectives enshrined in the National Policy on Education (FGN, 2004).These are to:

20



a. produce highly motivated, conscientious and efficient classroom teachers’ for all levels of our educational system,

b. encourage further the spirit of enquiry and creativity in teachers, c. help teachers’ to fit into the social life of the community or society at large

and to enhance their commitment to national objectives, d. provide teachers with intellectual and professional background adequate

for their assignment and to make them adaptable to any changing situation not only in their country but in the global world,

e. enhance teachers’ commitment to the teaching profession. However, it is evident from the above that the aims and objectives of teacher education in Nigeria should not just be the production of teachers in large quantities, but rather they must fulfill the three major thrusts of possession of: a. certain positive behavioural qualities, b. professional skills, techniques and use of ICT in teaching, c. body of knowledge and understanding. Colleges of education are educational institutions where teachers receive professional training, which involves a lot of teaching and learning interactions in accordance with the objectives of National Policy on Education (FGN, 2004). The achievements of such objectives are possible through effective management of teacher education between the individual and institution. However, some college administrators have been greatly criticized for neglecting effective control mechanisms in their institutions. As an outcome of this, many lecturers get dissatisfied with the management mechanism used in their colleges. Akinwumi and Ojedele (2007) warned that dedicated lecturers in colleges of education could be frustrated and rendered unproductive due to lack of motivation and good management planning. In recent times, students’ academic achievement in secondary schools in Adamawa State has been very low in external examinations (WAEC, 2014) which is a major concern to the parents. Most teachers have been receiving blame from parents on failures recorded by their wards. These challenges reoccur yearly and transformed into major challenges to the teaching profession. Therefore, this study investigated teacher education and management mechanisms in order to suggest the way forward towards quality instruction and good students’ academic achievement for sustainable development in Adamawa Sate, Nigeria.

21



The main objective of this study was to identify the effective management mechanisms that could be employed in repositioning teacher education for sustainable development in Adamawa State. Specifically the objectives of the study were to ascertain the: 1. Styles of management mechanisms used by colleges of education in

Adamawa State. 2. Challenges associated with management of teacher education in colleges of

education in Adamawa State. The following research questions guided the study. 1. What are the styles of management mechanisms used for managing teacher

education in colleges of education in Adamawa State? 2. What are the challenges associated with management of teacher education

in colleges of education in Adamawa state? Methodology

This investigation adopted a descriptive research design with a survey approach. The researchers adopted this approach because, it permit the use of questionnaire to gather information from the sampled group and to measure their opinions toward some issue. Population of the study comprises lecturers in the two colleges of education in Adamawa State. Simple random sampling method was used to sample 150 lecturers, that is; 75 lecturers from Adamawa State College of Education Hong and 75 lecturers from Federal College of Education Yola. It is important to note that, Adamawa State has two colleges of education, saddled with the responsibility of training teachers who would be issued Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE). The instrument for data collection was a 14 item questionnaire title: Teachers’ Education and Management Mechanisms Questionnaire (TEMMQ) which was designed for the study. The instrument was validated by 3 experts from department of science education, Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola. Their criticism and amendments were put to use before the final draft was produced. The researchers adopted the Cronbach Alpha method to determine the reliability of the instrument. A reliability index of r0.81 was obtained. The instrument was administered personally and all copies administered were returned and found valid for analysis. A 4 point Likert scale of Strongly Disagree (SD) = 1, Disagree (DA) = 2, Agree (A) = 3, and Strongly Agree (SA) = 4 was used for the items. In this case any mean between 2.5 and 3.4 was considered as agreed and a value between 3.5 and 4.0 considered as strongly agreed. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean for the

22



analysis. An item with a mean score of 2.5 and above was accepted, while an item with a mean score of less than 2.5 was not accepted which stands as the decision rule. Results

Research Question 1: What are the styles of management mechanisms used for managing teacher education in colleges of education in Adamawa State? The mean responses of items1, 2, 6 & 7 were above the average mean score of 2.5. This means that, lecturers agreed with the items. Meanwhile items 3, 4 & 5 in Table 1 were less than 2.0. This indicates that lecturers disagreed with the items, concerning the styles of management mechanism used in teacher education in colleges of education in Adamawa State. Table 1: Mean responses of lecturers on styles of management mechanisms used for managing teacher education in colleges of education in Adamawa State.

S/N Items Mean Decision

1 Lecturers were involved in decision making on teaching practice evaluation.

3.0

Accepted

2 Lecturers were involved in planning of teacher education programme

2.5

Accepted

3 Lecturers were involved in planning budget for managing teacher education

1.5

Not Accepted

4 Lecturers were involved in marking decision for teaching practice allowance.

1.0

Not Accepted

5 Lecturers were involved in decision made on students discipline

1.5

Not Accepted

6 Lecturers were involved in making decision on students assessment

2.5

Accepted

7 Lecturers were involved in decision made on their promotion

2.5

Accepted

Research Questions 2: What are the challenges associated with management of teacher education in colleges of education in Adamawa State, Nigeria? The mean responses of all items in Table 2 were 2.5 and above. This indicated that all items identified under the research question two were generally agreed upon by lecturers of colleges of education as challenges related to teacher education in colleges of education in Adamawa State, Nigeria.

23



Table 2: Mean responses of lecturers on challenges associated with management of teacher education in colleges of education in Adamawa State, Nigeria.


1 College management took longer time to decide on an issue of planning and organizing activities in the colleges.

2.5

Accepted

2 Sometimes lack of fund hindered teacher education programmes in the colleges.

3.0

Accepted

3 Lecturers have severally experienced challenges of attending international conferences on teacher education.

3.0

Accepted

4 Academic staff union and other group pressuresforce the college management to conform to good quality decision.

3.0

Accepted

5 Lecturers’ welfare is still a critical issue in colleges of education.

2.5

Accepted

6 Lecturers’ incessant strikes affect teachers’ productivity in colleges of education.

2.5

Accepted

7 Causes of the strike are linked to disagreement between lecturers and top management of colleges of education.

2.5

Accepted

Discussion

The findings in Table 1 revealed that the lecturers agreed with item 1 which revealed that, lecturers were involved in decision making on teaching practice evaluation with mean rating of 3.0 which signifies involvement of staff in decision making in the colleges of education in Adamawa State. Respondents also agreed with item 2 that lecturers were involved in the planning activities for the management of teacher education programmes in colleges of education with mean rating of 2.5 which is acceptable. Item 3 which dwelt on lecturers’ involvement in budget planning for managing teacher education have mean rating of 1.5 which is below the average mean of 2.0. This means that lecturers were not involved in the planning of budgetary aspect for teacher education in colleges of education. The findings have laid credence to the finding of Adefemi (2011) who found that, involvement of lecturers’ in making decision on teaching practice planning yielded good teaching practice supervision process in teacher education. Omoniyi (2010) also demonstrated that, lecturers on teaching practice should be involved in making decision on the budgetary aspect of the programme.

24



Item 4 which contends that lecturers were involved in marking decision on their teaching practice welfare shows mean rating of 1.0 which indicated that, College management do not involve lecturers in making decision with regards to teaching practice welfare which in turn affects proper supervision. Item 5 which revealed that lecturers were involved in decision making on students discipline received mean rating of 1.5 indicating that, lecturers were not involved in matters about student discipline. Item 6 in Table 1 indicates that lecturers were involved in making decision on students’ assessment with an acceptable mean of 2.5. Item 7 which revealed that lecturers were involved in decision made on their promotion received mean rating of 2.5. In summary, 3 items in Table 1 have shown that respondents generally disagreed with some of the issues raised concerning management mechanisms used for managing teacher education in colleges of education in Adamawa State. This finding is in agreement with the finding of Suleman (2009) who found that, good welfare packages for supervisors enhance thorough supervision processes during teaching practice. Apparently, Musa (2007) asserted that, promotion of lecturers when due tends to advance good attitude towards their job in the colleges. In Table 2, item 1 with mean rating of 2.5 from lecturers, agreed that, it takes a longer time to decide on an issue of planning and organization in the colleges. This indicated that half of the lecturers agreed that, delay in planning and organizing of teacher education activities is a challenge affecting teacher education in colleges of education in Adamawa State. Items 2, 3 & 4 had acceptable mean of 3.0 indicating that the lecturers agreed on the items which were associated challenges of teacher education in the state. This signified that lecturers accepted the fact that, there are challenges facing teacher education in Adamawa State. This finding is in support of the finding of Adewale (2011) who found that, dawdling of teacher education activities will lead to several challenges to teacher education programmes in the colleges. Item 5 with mean rating of 2.5 from lecturers agreed that their welfare is still a critical issue in colleges of education. Item 6 with mean rating of 2.5 from lecturers indicated that, lecturers incessant strike could affect teachers’ productivity in colleges of education, which the lecturers viewed as a challenge to teacher education. The last item in the table has mean rating of 2.5 from lecturers. This indicated that lecturers agreed that their opinion on causes of strike action could be linked to disagreement between lecturers and top management staff of colleges of education in Adamawa state. This finding is in consonant with the findings of Bamiro (2015) who said that lecturers’ national strike posed serious challenge to educational system in Nigeria.

25



In discussing the findings, the study revealed that the respondents were of the same opinion in their mean rating. It can therefore be deduced that the lecturers believed that if they were involved in planning, organizing teacher education activities and also involved in making decision about their welfare. The style of managing teacher education would have been effective and efficient in advancing teacher education in Adamawa State. This finding agrees with the finding of Akinwumi (2006) who asserted that, lecturer’s participation in planning and organizing of teacher education activities of an educational institution will deliver effective and better management system and productive teacher education. In response to research question two, the findings revealed that lecturers agreed to all items listed in Table 2 which are problems associated with teacher education in colleges of education in Adamawa State. All the mean ratings of lecturers were above 2.0 postulating that, lack of adequate funding hindered the smooth management of teacher education in colleges of education. This finding laid credence on the findings of Balogun (2010) who opined that, proper funding of teacher institutes will yield to good teacher productivity in the society. Fundamentally, lecturers themselves agreed that, strike action sometimes affect the planning process in teacher education activities. This finding was in consonant with Akinsolu (2007) who posited that teacher institutions must avoid a gap in the instructional process of teacher education activities. Conclusion

Quality teacher education implies quality teaching, and quality teaching begets quality education which in-turn will transform Adamawa State communities. From the findings, the authors concluded that effective management mechanism of planning, organizing, controlling and good leadership are what should be embraced by the top management teams of these colleges of education in repositioning teacher education for effectiveness and efficiency in the management system. Proper communication channels should be harmonized using college congregational meetings and suggestion box as a medium of getting feedback from the lecturers. Recommendations

1. The top management team of colleges of education should use regular staff meetings as a good mechanism for discussing vital issues concerning teacher education.

26



2. The management should work with lecturers in every stage of planning activities in colleges of education.

3. Lecturers should be involved in making decision on student academic assessment.

4. The management should endeavour to make quick decision on matters that involve planning and organizing of teacher education activities.

5. The management should involve staff on issues about staff welfare and promotion.

References

Adefemi, A. (2011). Teaching Practice planning and supervision in Teacher Education. Challenges and Way forward. Journal of Educational planning and policy, 4, 16-34.

Adewale, M. O. (2011). Teacher Education and Lecturers Job Satisfaction; Prospects and Challenges. Journal of Educational Research and Policy, 3, 51-68.

Akinsolu, A. O. (2007). Challenges in Planning Education in Nigeria. A paper presented at the first international conference of Teacher Education. University of Lagos, Nigeria.

Akinwumi, F. S. (2002). Mode of Supervision and Teacher Productivity. International Journal of Clinical Psychology and counseling, 7, 2-14.

Akinwumi, F. S. & Ojedele. (2007). Training and Retraining of Teachers: a sine-qua-non for Teacher education in Nigeria. Being a paper delivered at the 1st International conference on Teacher Education. University of Lagos, Nigeria.

Aina, O. (2002). Alternative modes of financing higher education in Nigeria and the implications for university governance. Africa Development, 27(2), 236 – 262.

Balogun A. M. (2010). Challenges of higher education in Nigeria: A manager’s perspective. Beinga paper presented at the maiden edition of the Faculty of Education Annual Lecture Series, University of Ado-Ekiti, March 2nd.

Bamiro, O. A. (2015). The Nigerian University System and the Challenge of Building a world-Class Science and Technology Institution. Convocation Paper Presented at ModibboAdama University of Technology, Yola, August 14.

Bryant, M. A. (2003). Sustainable Development: Its Application in Nigeria. Proceedings of the 44th Annual Conference of Science Teachers' Association of Nigeria.

Chenhall, R. H. (2003). Management control systems design within its organizational context: findings from contingency-based research and

27



directions for the future. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 28(3), 127-168.

Draft, R.L. (2008). New Era of Management, USA: Thompson Corporation. Fabunmi, M. (2005). Perspectives in Educational Planning. Ibadan: Awemark

Industrial Press. Federal Government of Nigeria (2004). Teacher’s Education in Nigeria. Kaduna:

National Teacher’s Institute. Federal Government of Nigeria (2004). National Policy on Education. Abuja:

Federal Ministry of Education. Federal Government of Nigeria (2004). Teachers’ Registration Council

Bulleting. Abuja. Fernandez, I. &Sabherwal, R. (2010). Knowledge Management: System and Process.

New York: Armonk Press. Musa, B. A. (2007). Dimensions of Teaching Practice Supervision. Challenges

and Solution. Journal of Humanity and Social Science Research, 2, 31-48. Nwagbara, C. (2002). Quality Factors in Education. Realities for the Pre-Primary

and Primary Levels in Nigeria. Educational Perspectives, 5(1), 28-35. O’Connor, P. (2015). How Do Control Mechanism Affect the Four Function of

Management. USA. Demand Media. Retrieved from www.mtransformation.com

Okoye, C. U. (2002).“Farm Management”. An Unpublished Monograph for Farm Management and Accounting Practice. Department of Agriculture Economics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Omoniyi, B. O. (2011). Challenges of Teacher Education in the 21st Century; Challenges and Solutions. Paper Presented at Private School Teachers’ Training Seminar in Lokoja. July 13.

Suleman, U. (2007). The Relationship between Management System and Job Satisfaction of Lecturer in Teacher Education. Journal of Educational Foundation, 5, 51-66.

28 ©ERNWACA GHANA


VICTORIA AFOMA IFEANACHO Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze

Anambra State, Nigeria [email protected] & [email protected]

Introduction

Africa lags behind in virtually all development indices and takes the lead in

underdevelopment indicators. In education particularly, Africa paints abysmal

picture of a continent at the periphery of development. According to the state

of the World Children Report (2014), the secondary school net attendance ratio

for West and Central Africa is 41.5 while in Latin America and Caribbean, the

ratio is 78. The net ratio means the number of children attending secondary or

tertiary school, who are of official school age expressed as a percentage of the

total number of children of official secondary school age.

Innovative Open and Distance Learning (ODL) As a Panacea for Transformation and Development in 21st

Century Africa: A Literature Review

The advancement in information and communication technology (ICT) has impacted positively on the latest generation of open and distance learning (ODL) programmes. This paper explores some of these ODL platforms that could be employed to achieve the goals of education for all (EFA). It addresses the use of Global System of Mobile Communication for open and distance learning; identified pitfalls in such innovative platforms; and suggested a way forward. Most importantly, it conceives mobile technology as one of the latest innovation that could be tapped to reach the unreached and achieve our educational goals. Under computer-based learning platform, the natural classroom setting is simulated; and there is the incorporation of some of the advantages of traditional learning such as student-student and student-teacher interaction effects. Elsewhere, the mobile technology is fast gaining ground, but in Nigeria the envisaged challenges include dearth of ICT skills especially among instructors who still rely heavily on traditional methods of instruction, poor internet quality and the problem of power. It is argued that these problems are not insurmountable. Given a conducive environment, innovative ODL programmes can be sustained in Nigeria. Key Words: Open and distance learning, mobile learning, global system of mobile communication, technology, innovation.

29

Victoria Afoma Ifeanacho Innovative Open and Distance Learning (ODL) As a Panacea

for

For Transformation and Development in 21st Century Africa: A Literature Review


The ratio for Nigeria is 54. The report on higher education is even worse. Every year, only about twenty per cent (20%) of candidates seeking admission into higher institutions eventually make it owing to low capacity of our institutions to accommodate the rest of 80% (Arenyeka & Asomba, 2013). Nigeria needs to create wider access to education in order to absorb millions of her youths yearning for higher education. In response to this need, open and distance learning becomes a readily available means to the goal of education for all. In trying to meet the enormous demand for formal education, Nigerian government established some institutions for distance learning (Adeyemi, 2011). These include the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), the National Open University (NOUN) among others. The NOUN first began in 1983 but was suspended in 1985 by the then military government. It was however restarted in 2004. Mac-Ikemenyima (2005) stated that “the reopening of NOUN is part of the commitment of the Olusegun Obasanjo government towards Universal Basic Education”. The move was justified by the reality that while there are approximately 1.5 million applications per year for a place to attend university, the university system could only accommodate 20 per cent of this number. Tremendous advancement in information and communication technology (ICT) has since then provided a platform for innovative education opportunities, not only in Nigeria but in the entire African continent and the world at large. This paper explores some vast opportunities offered by the latest generation of open and distance learning that can provide the needed panacea for transformation and development of Africa. It identifies possible challenges to the adoption of these innovative platforms and suggests possible solutions to mitigate the challenges. Concept of Open and Distance Learning

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) is a generic term that encompasses several distinct modes of learning. As a result, the concept is replete with several interpretations according to the perspective of the ‘definer’. Fagbamiye (1999) defined open and distance learning (ODL) as all patterns of student-centred learning process in which the teacher has only a limited role. The old forms of correspondence education external or extra-mural studies and home-based study come under this description. All of them have certain characteristics that keep them separate from the traditional pattern of face-to-face learning. The most outstanding characteristics are the physical distance between the students and the teacher.

30


for



The programme of ODL is a self-paced learning process wherein the student can frame his own time-table according to the time at his/her disposal. This makes it possible for the people employed in full time jobs and youths waiting for employment to carry on with their education at their leisure. This therefore provides an opportunity for personal enhancement in career and life-long learning. The correspondence education perhaps is the foremost distance learning mode in history. In Nigeria, it was used as a means of preparing candidates for the General Certificate in Education (GCE), a prerequisite for the London Matriculation Examination. Tait (2003) noted that the University of London is the first Open University because of using correspondence education to impart students all round the world, but principally within the British Empire and its dominions. The practice of correspondence education could be described unarguably as the first generation of open distance learning programme. The second generation ODL reflected an industrial design, production and exploitation model that heavily relied on ready-made comprehensive (mainly print-based) packages. This approach represents a supply-driven mode of education. Distance learning is presented as a revolutionizing solution to distribute learning opportunities, to enlarge access to education, to deliver more effective and efficient education and to realize demand-driven education (Aderinoye, Ojokheta & Olojede, 2007). The third generation approach relies heavily on the potential of information and communication technology (ICT). The ICT is expected to facilitate and support basic characteristics of a specific educational approach underpinning the distance learning model. More than anything else, it is the advancement in ICT that has provided enormous platforms for innovations in open and distance learning. The most important feature of the third generation ODL is online learning. Online learning is conceptualized as where instructors and learners are separated by physical distance and online delivery media are used to bridge the instructional gap (Ekoja, Gshwe & Zachariah, 2012).Instructional gap constitute the absence of teachers’ behaviour that induce learning in a real classroom context. An online computer-mediated environment includes synchronous (real time) and asynchronous (delayed) communication, web-based instruction, web search, online resources and technical support. The use of networks of computers to facilitate interaction between spatially separated learners and teachers has made online learning possible. Some of the components include electronic mail, computer conferencing, and online data-bases (Calder, 2005).

31


for



With the advancement in (ICT), especially in mobile technology, the introduction of mobile phones with internet capabilities, online learning has widened in scope to accommodate the possibility of mobile learning. Mahammad (2014) asserts that access is usually the most important criterion for deciding on the appropriateness of technology for open or distance learning. Using this assertion as criterion of judgment, the mobile technology accessibility quality stands as a distance learning platform of the present time. Mobile Learning

Mobile learning is a relatively new area in the delivery of instruction. It is the use of any mobile or wireless device for learning on the move. According to Aderinoye, Ojokheta and Olojede (2007), mobile learning is any service or facility that supplies a learner with general electronic information and educational content that aids acquisition of knowledge, regardless of location and time. Mobile learning has capacity to deliver learning or educational content to learners anytime and anywhere they need it. A look at the influx of mobile technology in Nigeria in recent times suggests that the country is a fertile ground for mobile learning. The telephone density in Nigeria today is 106 per cent (Adepetun, 2015). Telephone density or ‘teledensity’ is the number of telephone connections for every hundred individuals living within an area. Phone subscriptions in Nigeria are 148 million with MTN, Globacom, Airtel having market shares of 43, 21 and 20 per cents respectively. A partnership with these companies could provide wider opportunities to citizens. In fact, internet users on both the global system for mobile communication (GSM) and the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks have continued to rise on monthly basis. A report by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) indicates that phone subscribers increased to 93, 551, 811 in July 2015 (Orinnsan, 2015). The data also show that of these internet users, 93,403, 147 were on GSM networks, while only 148, 668 users were on the CDMA. Oyeyemi and Noah (2012) tested the efficacy of mobile device assisted learning, using all phone features like mobile internet and text message (SMS), using secondary schools in Lagos, Nigeria. The data analysed showed that mobile internet search engines, for instance Google, Teoma, Zworks, Mamma and so on can facilitate flexible learning in and outside the classroom environment. More so, the study revealed that message (SMS) is capable of helping students to correct spelling mistakes through the use of mobile dictionary, improve their vocabulary, which enhances good communication skills. It concluded that

32


for



mobile device assisted learning could mitigate the problem of power outage in educational system. Mobile learning can also be blended with conventional education in the areas of instructional delivery and evaluation. Course materials can be delivered on mobile technologies to be accessed from anywhere and at any time (Ally, 2007). This innovation will also take care of energy problems that seem to undermine the application of ICT in teaching and learning. ODL and Technology

The ODL has passed through several generations that today, it is being propelled by advanced technology. Thus, current information technology provides ideal opportunities for development of ODL environments. Various technologies are used to facilitate ODL. Computers and tablets allow students and teachers access to websites and other progrmmes such s Microsoft word, Power Point, PDF files and images. In Turkey, the Faith Project is putting tablet computers in the hands of every student from grade 5 to 12, and interactive whiteboards in every classroom (Counts and Tucker, 2002). The National Teachers’ Institute, Nigeria has since adopted this trend of distributing tablet to students of the Institute to facilitate learning. Nigeria however, still has a long way to go in terms of technology-readiness to facilitate the ODL. Citing the Economic Intelligence Unit, Okiki (2011) observed that Nigeria ranks 62 among the nations in terms of the ability of a national institutions to use ICT to achieve their mission and vision. Nigeria ranks below South Africa and Egypt-which rank 39 and 57 respectively. Thus, Nigeria’s e-readiness ranking highlights the need to seek innovative solutions to improve teaching and learning. It is interesting to note however that the country is responding to these challenges through various initiatives such as:

National Policy on Computer Education ;

National Policy on Information Technology;

National Information Technology Development Agency(NITDA) The key players in the development of their sector in Nigeria includes the National Communication Commission (NCC), the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) and private Telecommunication Firms, namely MTN, Globacom, Airtel, Etisalat, e.t.c. With strong policy and political will alongside efficient services among the players in the sector a strong technology based environment will be achieved and this will have immense impact on open and distance learning in Nigeria.

33


for



Global Mobile Communication System (GSM)

The liberalization of the communication sector in Nigeria during the Obasanjo administration heralded the penetration of the GSM and fixed telephone. As at 2009, the collaborative survey of socio –economic activity in Nigeria by the National Break of statistics, central Bank of Nigeria and National Communication Commission showed that individual ownership of mobile handsets stood at 43.6 percent, while household ownership of mobile telephone was 59 percent (National ICT Policy, 2012). By 2015, the telephone density had increased to 106 percent with phone subscription of about 146 million people (Adepetron, 2015). This influx of mobile technology has good prospect of open and distance learning in Nigeria. The GSM offers wide range of services ranging from short message service (SMS), media messaging service (MMS), voice calls, and the more sophisticated handsets have internet and e-mail facilities. Text messages allow the user to send short messages quickly to a specific individual. Text messaging is one of the fastest growing communications media in the United States. In June 2008, 75 billion text messages were sent in the U.S. alone (Steinhaurer & Holson, 2008). It is used extensively by business and in the political arena. For instance, Barrack Obama announced his vice president selection to 2.9 million mobile users via text messages (Ceccucci, Peslak & Sendall, 2010). An extension of SMS, multimedia messaging service (MMS) allows users to exchange multimedia communications between technology enabled mobile phone and other devices. MMS protocol defines a way to send and receive wireless messages that include images, audio and video clips in addition to texts. Cell phone has become essential to social life. According to Perking (2009), people aged 14 to 29 would rather give up their relationship partner than their cell phone, by a ratio of 2:1 margin. In a study of daily communication methods and usage among teens Lenhart (2009) found out that cell phone based communication is dominant with nearly 2 in 5 teens sending text messages everyday as shown in Table 1.

34


for



Table1: Teen’s daily activities

Activity Percentages Send text daily 35% Call on phone daily 36% Talk on landline 32% Spend time with friends outside school 29% Send messages via social networks 26% Send e- mail daily 16%

There is the need therefore to take opportunity of this youth’s interest for educational advantage. Open and distance learning via GSM platform can provide a unique and motivational experience for learners across ages and cultures Computer-Based Learning (CBL)

This refers to self-paced learning activities delivered on a computer or hand-held device such as a tablet or smartphone. Computer-based learning often delivers content via CD-ROM, and typically presents content in a linear fashion, much like reading an online book or manual. Computer-based learning is conceptually similar to web-based training, the primary difference being that web-based trainings are delivered via internet using a web browser. Assessing learning in a CBL is often by assessments that can be easily scored by a computer such as multiple-choice questions, drag and drop, radio button, simulation or other interactive means. Assessments are easily scored and recorded via online software, providing immediate end-user feedback and completion status. Users are often able to print completion records in the form of certificates (Ally, 2007). CBLs provide learning stimulus beyond traditional leaning methodology from textbooks, manual or classroom based instruction. For example, CBLs offer user-friendly solutions for satisfying continuing education requirements. Instead of limiting students to attending courses or reading printed manuals, students are able to acquire knowledge and skills through methods that are much more conducive to individual learning preferences. It offers visual learning benefits through animation or video not typically offered by any other means. Highlighting the strengths of CBL using the experience in Australia as point of reference, Herrmann, Fox and Boy (2010) summarized it as follows:

The convenience of an asynchronous communication mode, which liberates users from both time and space constraints,

35


for



Its value as a medium of written communication within a system in which students are graded essentially on the quality of their written work,

The enhanced levels of interactivity between and amongst students, tutors, course developers, and other members of a widely dispersed learning community, and

The reduction of the isolation felt by many distance learners and the potential of computer mediated communication for collaborative learning.

It may be concluded that under this form of computer-based-learning (CBL) platform, the natural classroom setting is simulated; and there is the incorporation of some of the advantages of traditional learning environment such as student-student and student-teacher interaction effects. Varieties of Innovative Models in ODL

Countries have varieties of models for their open and distance learning experiences. It is increasingly recognized that open and distance approaches to education and training can result in very different types of provision (Calder, 2005). A key feature in two of these models was that support for learners lessened over time; although the option to access support at a later stage remained. It recognizes that learners become self-directed overtime, thus reducing the costs without putting those learners who may continue to need higher level of support at a disadvantage. The UK models are either workplace-based or public based. While they share some factors such as the contexts of training, the input to the programmes in terms of teaching components and types of support made available, the actual process of delivery, one missing factor however is the output. In-service open and distance learning is not interested in summative assessment, but on acquisition of necessary competencies by trainees rather than the acquisition of a qualification which attests to their level of competence. Hermann, Fox and Boyd (2006) explored the computer conferencing learning context (CCLC) in Australia and concluded that this has provided the greatest benefits to students in the long run. The design of the CCLC:

encourages contact between students and faculty;

develops reciprocity and cooperation among students;

uses active learning techniques

gives prompt feedback;

emphasizes time on task;

communicates high expectations;

36


for



respects the diverse talents and ways of learning In Nigeria, different forms of distance learning are presently in practice. They include independent study option, web-based course and teacher-mediated option (Mbonu & Alabekee, 2010). The independent study option allows students including adults to study at a distance. This option is print-based and is a carry-over of the first generation distance learning programmes. Web-courses are internet based courses. They are taught by lecturers who may be off-site. Assignments are submitted online by students to lecturers and final examinations are also onsite. The teacher-mediated option is usually delivered either in evenings within the school days or within the weekends or both. It uses varieties of technologies and teacher facilitation. Challenges of Innovative Open Distance Learning

Dearth of ICT Skills The latest generation of open and distance learning relies heavily on the computer and other ancillaries that together have been termed information and communication technology (ICT). The ICT skills have become a prerequisite for the success of innovative distance learning programmes. However, reports indicate that the situation on the ground could be anything but conducive for the desired innovation in our educational system. For instance, Nwokike (2013) surveyed ICT skills possessed by Business Studies teachers in Enugu Education Zone of Enugu State, Nigeria, and found that teachers did not process 5 out of 7 media skills necessary to adjudge them ICT literate. These skills included among others, the ability to produce electronic slides and overheads for effective teaching as well as knowledge of characteristics of different media/strength and weaknesses of different media. The report is not restricted to Business Studies teachers in Enugu Education Zone. In another study among secondary school teachers in Imo State of Nigeria, Ezekoka and Nwosu (2010) revealed that teachers lacked the basic Microsoft word skills, had a few internet skills and no skills in Excel. A situation such as this calls for redress. This is because, though teachers may play marginal role in open and distance learning, they are not entirely removed from the system. They will continue to play facilitating role to students. Poor Internet Quality While the use of ICT especially the phone has grown phenomenally, there have been incessant complaints from customers about poor quality of service (QoS). Some of the common complaints include: poor sound quality/network leading to financial losses in airtime and sluggish internet operation. On the side of

37


for



telecommunication service providers, some of the challenges being cited as factors affecting service efficiency include: instability in power supply, lack of security of critical National Information Infrastructure (NII), call setup failure, call retention/call drop and congestion. Aliyu and Uwaje (2015) observed that a recent study revealed that about 78 per cent of the total cost of operations by GSM operators goes into the provision of power through generators and its fuelling. This also translates to high call cost and data rate for consumers. If the mobile technology will play its role effectively and add value to open and distance learning in Nigeria, it must not only be effective as a tool of learning but efficient and economical for end users. Funding Problem The issue of underfunding of the education sector has remained on the front burner for over two decades. From primary to tertiary education, and across various institutions, the story has been how to improve educational funding in the midst of other competing interests. The incapacity of Nigerian tertiary institutions to absorb hundreds of thousands of admission seekers is a problem of underfunding. With inadequate infrastructural provision to strengthen the capacity of our telecommunication sector, the idea of using the third-generation open distance learning platforms may not materialize. Power Problem The third generation distance learning relies heavily on electricity. It needs electricity to energize facilities and make communication possible. Africa generally is faced with energy crisis. Okere (2015) cited report from the World Bank (2009) that Africa needs an expansion of hydro-electric power generation capacity by over 54,000MW to fight poverty in Africa. Nigeria’s power sector is a pathetic picture with less than 3,000MW capacity for a population of about 180 million. Foster and Briceno-Garmendia (2010) observed that Africa’s infrastructure services are twice as expensive as elsewhere, reflecting both diseconomies of scale in production and high profit margins caused by lack of competition.Open and distance learning provides a panacea for the transformation and development of Africa. In other to make the third (some say fourth) generation digital ODL possible, identified challenges need to be holistically addressed. The Way Forward

The poor quality of service of mobile technology platform is a consequence of expansion in customer base without a corresponding growth in the network infrastructure in Nigeria. This needs to be strategically addressed by taking both short and long term consideration (Aliyu & Uwaje, 2015). Investment

38


for



should also be directed to upgrade and modernize the existing infrastructure to match the demand. The NOUN should be enjoined to innovate on the use of mobile technology to pilot-test this aspect of distance learning. This will make for comparability and strategic decision making. The university can partner with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and other international agencies to develop and pilot the mobile device assisted learning for Nigerian students. In considering the GSM as an innovative platform, there is the need to employ the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to predict and explain the GSM usage behaviour; that is what causes potential adopters to adopt or reject its use.The choice of TAM is because it is the most cited theory of technology adoption (Korpelainin, 2011). TAM is based on the Theory of Reasoned-Action, using the constructs: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Conclusion

The latest generation of open and distance learning provides ample opportunity for learning to take place irrespective of the usual constraints of time and space. Mobile technology most importantly offers learners additional incentive of learning even while “on the move”. Nigeria can tap into this opportunity and offer her teeming population a chance for flexible, cost-effective and quality education. As many countries of the world are exploring various ways to reach the unreached in the area of education provision, Nigeria cannot afford to stand aloof to this development. The time to do this is now. References

Adeptun, A. (2015). Telephone density hits 106% as phone subscription is 148m. The Guardian August 5, 2015.

Aderinoye, R. Ojokheta, K. O. & Olojede, A.A. (2007). Integrating mobile learning into nomadic education programmes in Nigeria, issues and prospective. International Review of Research in Open andDistance Learning, 8(2).

Adeyimi, N. (2011. The inevitability of distance education in Africa: paper presented at the 8th World Conference on Development, Delhi India: Open University Press.

Ally, S. (2007). Literacy enhancement assistance programs: Mild Project Assessment. New York: Oxford University Press Aliyu, G. & Uwaje, C. (2015). Telecom sector: strategic imperatives for quality

of service. The Guardian, September 16; p.21.

39


for



Arenyeka, L. & Asomba, I. (2013), UTME Aftermath candidates charge institutions to

Admit on merit. Vanguard, May 16, P. 25. Calder, J. (2005) Models of delivery in open and distance education in the United

Kingdom. UK: Open University. Ceccucci, W Peslak, A. & Semdall, P.(2010) An empirical study of behavioral

factors in fluency text messaging intention. Journal of information Technology Management 21 (1), 16-34.

Counts B. & Tucker, J (2002) Using technology to create a dynamic classroom experience. Journal of College of Teaching and learning, 9(2), 121-128.

Ekoja, A.A., Goshwe, M.I. & Zachariah, N.D. (2012). Motivating adult distance learners in Nigerian tertiary institutions through online learning. TheNigerian Educational Psychologist, 10, 68-75.

Ezekoka, G.R. & Nwosu, S.N. (2010). Identification of Information and communication Technology (ICT) Skills of teachers in Imo State Secondary Schools. Journal of Studies in Education, 1(1), 244-250.

Fagbamiye, M. (1999). Historiacal antecedents of distance education in Nigeria. Adult Education in Nigeria 2(8), 7-26.

Forster, V. & Briceno-Garmendia, C. (2010). Africa’s infrastructure: a time for transformation. World Bank Publication.

Herrmann, A., Fox, B. & Boyd, A. (2006). Using the worldwide web in distance education programs in Australia. Centre for educational advancement, Curtin University of Technology.

Korpelainen, E. (2011) Theories of ICT system implementation and adoption-a critical review Science and technology Working paper A of university of Helsinki.

Lenhart, A (2009) Teens and mobiles phones over the past five years pre internet looks back pre internet and American life project.

Mac-Ikemenyi, D. (2005). E-education in Nigeria: challenges and prospects. Being a presentation at the 8th UN ICT Taskforce meeting, April 13-15, Dublin, Island.

Mbonu, F.O. & Alabekee, C.V.C. (2010). Trends, types and features of open and distance education in Nigeria. Journal of Studies in education, 1(1), 163-171.

Monday, C.P. (2014). Instructional design models and theories: computer-based instruction theory.

Muhammad, A.A. (2014). The Internet: the basis for information services. Tambari Kano Journal ofEducation, 9(3), 118-127.

Nwokike, F.O. (2013). Information and Communication Technology skills possessed by Business studies teachers in Enugu Education Zone: a prerequisite for quality assurance in teaching and learning of business studies. Nigerian Journal of Business Education, 1(2), 13-22.

40


for



Okere, R. (2015). Africa needs 54,000mw of electricity to fight poverty.The Guardian, September 16; p. 27.

Okiki, C.O (2011) information communication technology support for e-

learning environment at the university of Lagos Nigeria Library philosophy and practice retrial from http //www.webpages. video. edu /mbolin/ okiki.3.htm.

Orimisan, B. (2015). Internet users in Nigeria rise to 93.5m. The Guardian, September 16, p. 20.

Oyeyemi, S.O. & Woah, A. O. (2012). Efficacy of mobile device assisted learning: a flexible instructional tool. Nigerian Journal of Sociology of Education. 6(1), 172-181.

Perkins, B. (2009) Texting rules. Computer world, May,11,p.26. Steinhauer J & Holson , L.M (2008) As text message fly, danger lurks. The New

York times. September. Tait, A. (2003) Reflections on student support in open and distance learning.

Retrieved September 10, 2015 from www.undp.org/info21/public/distance/pb-dis2.html.

UNICEF (2014). State of the world children report. New York: UNICEF.

41 ©ERNWACA GHANA


PATIENCE ASIEDUAH DANQUAH1, MODESTA EFUA GAVOR2, IRENE TAWIAH AMPONG3

Department of Vocational and Technical Education, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.

Email of corresponding author: [email protected] Introduction

Seam is the basic structural element of a garment or household textile item. It is the means by which two pieces of fabric are joined together. Seams may be created with thread by hand or machine or with fusion through chemical bonding (Heaton, 2003). According to LaPere (2006), the row of stitching joining two or more pieces of fabrics is known as the stitch line. The stitch line is expected to play an important role in the tensile behaviour of an assembly making the study of the physical properties of seams in garments very important. According to Gribaa, Amar and Dogui (2006) sewing a textile fabric is a very pointed operation which is governed by a broad spectrum of parameters like the type of sewing machine, the stitching velocity, the structure of sewing operation, fabric type being sewn as well as the sewing thread type

Performance of two Sewing Thread types in a Ghanaian Real Wax Cotton Print

The study investigated the performance of two sewing thread types in plain seams for real wax printed cotton fabric. The performance was measured in terms of seam breaking strength, elongation and efficiency. The strip test method was employed and the specimens were selected using random sampling. The breaking strength and elongation of the fabric and the seams were determined using the tensile testing machine (Hounsfield H5K-S) at a speed of 100mm/minute. Means, standard deviations and inferential statistics were used for analysing the data. The results indicated that with regard to plain seams in the TexStyle Real Wax cotton printed fabric, differences existed between thread type and seam strength, elongation and efficiency. The fabric had greater strength (Mean 40.0 kgf) than the seam stitched with thread type B (Mean 30.8 kgf) but not thread A (Mean 42.6 kgf). In terms of elongation however, both threads performed above the fabric employed for the study. With the two thread types giving different strength, elongation and efficiency values, it shows that garment makers need to be particular about the type of threads they select in assembling garment pieces together in order to achieve quality in seams. Keywords: Effect of sewing thread type, strength, elongation, efficiency, plain seam, real wax print.

42

Patience Asieduah Danquah1, Modesta Efua Gavor2, Irene Tawiah Ampong3

IRENE TAWIAH AMPONG3 Performance of two Sewing Thread types in a Ghanaian Real Wax Cotton Print


used in stitching. The sewing thread type used in a tensile assembly is as important as any other parameter as they combine to produce quality seams. In the view of Gribaa, et al. (2006), the use of a suitable sewing thread is fundamental to ensure the desired properties (e.g. strength, elongation, efficiency, appearance) for the assembly. American and Efird Inc. (2009) added that although thread only makes up a small percentage of the cost of the finished product, it shares 50% of the seam responsibility. Though Stamper, Sharp and Donnel (1991) asserted that thread selection is a very important aspect of seam formation and can affect durability, appearance and even comfort, they indicated that one very important aspect of thread/fabric coordination is that the thread should be weaker than the fabric it joins, but they did not state how weak it should be. Stamper et al. (1991) stated that broken stitches can be repaired but if the thread is too strong, excessive stress will cause the fabric to split at the seam lines and there is no way to repair this type of damage and still maintain the garments original size and other aesthetic properties. Mehta and Bhardwaj (1998) also asserted that when woven fabrics are seamed, the absolute seam strength is not, in the majority of cases, of paramount importance, provided it is reasonably high, and it is accepted that, with a seam efficiency of 60 to 70 percent, the seam will be commercially acceptable. Currently, the range of sewing threads available on the market has increased significantly (Jonaitiene & Stanys, 2005) making it difficult to establish which type will turn out best possible performance. Jonaitiene and Stanys (2005) reported that there are many reasons for this; the development of new fibres, the development and improvement of new thread manufacture processes as well as the continuously increasing demand from the industry to get various sewing threads designed for sewing a wide assortment of articles. Sewing threads of cotton and polyester (PES) are known to be the most commonly used in the manufacture of garments (Kalaoglu, 2001). American and Efird Inc. (2009) made it known that for fibre type of thread; some fibres are stronger than others and have greater loop strength contributing to greater seam strength. For example, a 100% spun polyester thread will give greater seam strength than a 100% cotton thread of the same size. Synthetic fibres like polyester and nylon are much more resistant to abrasion and chemical degradation (such as bleach) than cellulosic fibres. Cellulosic fibres on the other hand have superior heat resistance. AMANN Inc. (2009) went on to state that core-spun threads feature a better abrasion resistance than other fibre threads. Multifilament threads were noted to be the best. Coarser threads they noted tend to be more resistant to abrasion than finer threads, but concluded that this could be tricky too, because

43




coarser threads are more prominent; thus increasing the abrasion stress which can even reverse the expected result. AMANN Inc. (2009) therefore, stated that the sewing thread must correspond to the care requirements of the fabric regarding the washing, bleaching, ironing, dry-cleaning or tumble-drying. Thread size plays important roles in the overall performance of seams in apparel. American and Efird Inc. (1997) for example indicated that to prevent seam puckering, individuals should use the smallest thread size available that will maintain adequate seam strength and sewing performance. American and Efird Inc. (2009) reported that given a specific fibre type and thread construction, the larger the thread size, the greater the seam strength. They stated, however, that in many cases, a smaller thread size will imbed itself in the seam making it less prone to surface abrasion. Doshi (2006) indicated that different thread sizes are available in the market, but finest threads are preferred more as longer length of finer threads can be wind around the lock stitch machine and they do not acquire much space in the seam and this avoids seam puckering. Gurarda (2008) asserted that thread extensibility (elongation) has a part to play in achieving seam extensibility but with conventional needle, thread is not an overriding factor. Cotton thread, she noted, typically have extensions at break of 6-8 percent, synthetic threads have 15-20 percent and higher for certain specialty threads for specific end uses. Mukhopadhyay, Sikka and Karmakar (2004) observed that seam strength and elongation increased with yarn thickness; work of rupture of seam was higher for coarser yarn than that of finer yarn. In fact, many typical sewing problems occur such as skipped stitches, thread breakage, fabric damage, faulty seam appearance (Inui & Yamanaka, 1998) and puckering, which reduce productivity and seam quality. The adjustment of any of the sewing parameters will be a good route to ensure quality. There is, however, no reported literature on the impact sewing thread types have on the strength, elongation and efficiency of seams in Ghanaian real wax cotton prints. The main purpose of this study was therefore, to present an experimental study, which aimed to investigate the influence of two sewing thread brands in the Ghanaian market on seam performance properties (strength, elongation, efficiency) in a Ghanaian real wax cotton print. Three research questions and two null hypotheses were developed for the investigation due to the exploratory nature of the study.

44




The research questions were: 1. What are the differences between fabric strength and the strength of seams

stitched with two sewing thread types? 2. What are the differences between fabric elongation and seam elongation

when two different sewing thread types are used for stitching? 3. What are the differences between the efficiency of seams in a real wax cotton

print stitched using two sewing thread types? The hypotheses were: 1. There is no significant difference between the strength of plain seams

stitched with two sewing thread types in a real wax cotton print. 2. There is no significant difference between the elongations of plain seams

stitched with two sewing thread types in a real wax cotton print. Since there is limited documented research on the performance of seams in real wax prints used extensively in the Ghanaian community, this study would provide empirical bases for existing choices and also help with interpretation of data for quality control. It would also provide additional documentation on the performance of Real Wax African prints and two sewing thread types in terms of seams. The results might also serve as literature for further research work. Materials and Methods

The strip test method was employed in this study.The standard test methods employed for the experimental procedure required the use of the strip test method. The standard test methods were ISO 13935-1, 1999, Seam tensile properties of fabrics and made-up textile articles, Part 1: Determination of maximum force to seam rupture using the strip method and ISO 13934-1, 1999, Textile- Tensile properties of fabrics- Part 1: Determination of maximum force and elongation at maximum force using the strip method. The strip test method is a tensile test in which the full width of the test specimen is gripped in the jaws of the tensile testing machine (International Organisation for Standardization 13934-1, 1999).This is the test method employed by Ghana Standards Authority in carrying out investigations regarding tensile properties of textile products. Other researchers have also employed the standard test methods to test performance of seams. For example, Germanova–Krasteva and Petrov (2007) employed the method for testing seam strength, Gribaa et al. (2006) also used the method to test seam performance. A real wax cotton printed fabric from TexStyle Ghana Limited (GTP) formerly Ghana Textile Printing Company and two commonly used 100% polyester

45




sewing threads (thread A and thread B) on the Ghanaian market were purchased for the investigation. Three each of the sewing threads were purchased and one each was selected for making the seams for the investigation. Twenty-nine test specimens (small pieces of fabric removed from the fabric sample purchased) were prepared for carrying out the investigation. The specimens were selected using random sampling method, where specimens were cut from different locations on the fabric in order to obtain a true representation of the whole fabric. From the 29 specimens, 19 were not stitched. The 19 specimens were used in testing for fabric weave, fabric strength, elongation, weight, and thread count. The fabric’s weight, count, and fabric weave were noted for the description of the fabric. Fabric weave used 1 specimen measuring 2.5cm2; tensile strength and elongation of fabric used 10 specimens (5 in warp direction and 5 in weft direction). In preparing specimens for tensile strength and elongation of the fabric, the specimens were in both warp and weft directions in the size of 30cm×7cm as indicated by ISO 13934-1:1999(E) strip test method for fabric tensile properties (International Organization for Standardization test standard 13934-1, 1999). The 30cm×7cm samples were frayed at both sides in their lengthwise directions to achieve 30cm×5cm required for testing. Five specimens, each with an area dimension of 0.015m2, were used for weight determination. Thread count used three specimens with each measuring 2.5cm in the weft and 2.5cm in the warp (ie. 2.5cm2). For each thread brand 50 strands with a length of 50cm each was cut for testing linear density. The remaining 10 specimens out of the 29 specimens were stitched with plain seams (301-SSa -1). Each thread type was used in making plain open seams using a butterfly hand sewing machine with needle size 14 and the threads chosen (100% polyester thread A and B) were used as both upper and under threads in stitching all specimens. The 301 lock-stitches were used in the stitching with seam allowance of 2cm. The 301 lockstitch seam as indicated by Olsen (2008) is the standard laboratory seam used in the testing of seam quality. It is also the most common seam used by seamstresses in Ghana. Stitches were made in 12 SPI (stitch density). The stitch density employed for this study was selected based on the SPI’s indicated by some researchers and authors for woven medium weight fabrics and spot check of stitch densities used by seamstresses in Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana, which also indicated SPIs within which the 12 SPI falls. For instance, Brown and Rice (1998)

46




(cited in Chowdhary & Poynor, 2006) identified fabric type and weight as the influencing factors to determine stitch density. They reported that lightweight and woven fabrics should use 15-18 SPI, medium weight fabrics 12-14 SPI and heavy-weight fabrics 6-10 SPI. The real wax fabric used for the study is a medium weight fabric with a weight of 111.3kg/m2. The stitched specimens were obtained by cutting 350mm ×700mm of fabric. This cut fabric was folded in half with the fold parallel to the longer dimension 700mm and the seam was made in this direction (Figure 1) as indicated in ISO 13935-1: 1999 (E) for the strip test method. The seams were sewn parallel to the weft direction meaning warp seams were investigated. The ISO 13935-1: 1999 (E) indicated that the sewn seam can be sewn for testing parallel to the warp or weft direction, or both and the writers used the weft direction. This is because when sewing African prints the weft yarns run in the vertical direction (Kuma-Kpobee, 2013), which is unusual, in order to get the motives stand right; in this case the vertical seams which are the ones that usually carry the stress are made parallel to the weft yarns. For each 700mm×350mm stitched piece of fabric (Figure 1), five test specimens of width 100mm×350mm were cut (Figure 1) for each sewing thread type. In all 2 samples of 700mm×350mm for both threads (1 for thread B, 1 for thread A) were prepared. Out of the 2 samples, the 10 specimens of widths 100mm×350mm were obtained. After obtaining the 100mm×350mm specimens, 4 cuts of 25mm length at 10mm distance from the seam as shown in Figure 2 were made. The area shaded and labelled 25mm (Figure 2) were frayed so that an effective sample width of 50mm was obtained for the investigation. All specimens for the investigation were conditioned in moisture equilibrium with air having a temperature of 27ºC±2ºC and relative humidity of 65%±2% for 24 hours in a relaxed state as indicated by ISO 139 (2005) for tropical and subtropical countries. All the procedures stated in this text for the selection, preparation and testing were done according to the standard test methods employed by the Ghana Standards Authority in carrying out the stated tests.

350mm 700mm

Figure 1. The piece of fabric from which 5 specimens were taken for each SPI.

100mm 100mm 100mm Seam allowance

20mm

47




50mm

50mm

Figure 2. Test specimen for seam strength and elongation. A Butterfly hand sewing machine with needle size 14 was used in the stitching of specimens. The hand sewing machine is mostly used among seamstresses and the 14 needle size is the type most of them employ in stitching. A tensile testing machine (Hounsfield H5K-S) at a speed of 100mm / minute was used in testing the tensile strength of fabric and seams. A magnifying glass was employed in determining the weave of the fabric and fabric count. Weighing balance was used in determining the weight of the fabric and yarn linear density. A pair of scissors was used in the cutting of threads and specimens and a sample cutter was used in cutting specimens for weighing. These instruments were obtained and used at the Ghana Standards Authority textile testing laboratory. Five specimens with the area of each being 0.015m2 were cut with the help of a sample cutter. The five specimens for testing the weight of fabric were placed on a weighing balance (Adams equipment, B215846278), one at a time, and their readings recorded. The weights of the five specimens were averaged to obtain the fabric weight, which was calculated as grams per square meter. Three specimens each measuring 2.5cm in the warp direction and 2.5cm in the weft direction of the fabric (ie. 2.5cm2) were tested for thread count using a magnifying glass. For this test, the number of yarns in the warp and weft directions of the fabric was counted 5 times and each recorded. After that an average warp and weft count of 2.5cm2 of fabric was calculated. The type of weave was determined with the help of a magnifying glass.

10mm 10mm

25m

m

25m

m

25m

m

48




Specimens were tested for fabric strength and elongation and seam strength and elongation with the aid of the tensile testing machine (Universal Hounsfield) model H5K-S serial number 1058 at a speed of 100mm / minute. Specimens were inserted into the testing machine vertically and carefully clamped to avoid slippage at the gauge length of 200mm±1mm. As the clamps moved, load between 1.0 and 3.0kg was applied on each test specimen. The breaking strength of each test specimen was recorded. The machine was capable of indicating the breaking strength as well as the produced elongation of each test specimen. Fabric and seam elongations were recorded in millimeters and calculated using the formula below:

100lengthoriginal

elongationelongationbreaking

.

Seam efficiency was calculated using the formula that follows,

100strengthfabric

strengthseamefficiencyseam

adopted from Chowdhary and Poynor (2006), LaPere (2006) and Sarhan (2013). For interpretation purposes Chowdhary and Poynor (2006) indicated that if the percentage efficiency is greater than 100, the seam is stronger than the fabric. If it is less than 100%, the fabric is stronger than the seam. Readings were recorded for each of the tests identified from stitched and unstitched specimens. The statistical software that was used in the analysis of the data was Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for windows version 17. Means, standard deviations and Independent sample t-test (at 0.05 alpha levels) were the statistical tools used in the analysis of the data. Results

The fabric was 100% cotton with a plain weave of 1×1 repeat in both directions. The sewing thread types used for the investigations were 100% polyester threads A and B with thread B having a higher linear density of 21 Tex as compared to A with linear density of 15 Tex. From the linear density values of the two threads, it can be deduced that thread B is a thicker thread compared to A and A is a fine thread. Table 1 presents the results on the quality of fabric in terms of thread count, fabric weight, tensile strength and elongation of a 100% real wax cotton printed fabric.

49




Table 1: Quality of fabric in terms of thread count, fabric weight, tensile strength and elongation of 100% real wax cotton printed fabric

Attribute N M SD

Fabric thread count Warp 5 80 2.864 Weft 5 69 3.421 Fabric Weight 5 111.3kg/m2 1.027 Tensile strength Warp 5 40.0kgf 2.460 Weft 5 27.7kgf 1.826 Elongation Warp 5 6.3% 0.101 Weft 5 21.7% 0.677

N=Number of specimens used, M=Mean, SD= Standard Deviation Table 1 indicates that the fabric had higher thread count in the warp direction (mean 80) than the weft (mean 69). The tensile strength of the fabric in the warp direction was higher (mean 40.0kgf) than in the weft direction (mean 27.7kgf), but for elongation the weft direction was higher (mean 21.7%) than the warp direction (mean 6.3%). To answer the research questions, and test the hypotheses, means, standard deviations and independent sample t-test were employed and the results are presented in Tables 2 to 4. Table 2: Comparisons between fabric tensile properties and seam tensile properties (strength and elongation, weft seams)

Samples M (kgf) SD

Strength Fabric

40.0

2.460

Thread A 30.8 0.611 Thread B 42.6 5.375 Elongation Fabric 6.3 0.101 Thread A 6.9 1.215 Thread B 7.9 1.003

M=Mean, SD= Standard Deviation Results from Table 2 portray that the fabric (Mean 40.0kgf) had greater strength than the seam stitched with thread A (Mean 30.8kgf) but not thread B (Mean 42.6kgf).

50




Mean statistics revealed that both threads had higher mean percentage elongations than the fabric (6.3%) with thread B having the highest mean percentage elongation (7.9%) (Table 2). The results presented in Table 3 depict that the efficiency produced by thread B (Mean 106.3%) was higher and exceeds 100, but that of thread A (Mean 76.8%) was below 100. Table 3: Seam efficiency by two thread types

Thread type Fabric strength (warp)

Seam strength Seam efficiency (%)

Thread A 40.0 30.8 76.8 Thread B 42.6 106.3

Hypothesis 1and 2 Table 4 shows that there is no significant difference between thread type and seam strength (p=.115, t=-4.877, df=8).The analysis again showed no evidence of significant difference between thread type and seam elongation (p=.801, t=-1.460, df=8) (Table 4). Table 4: Influence of thread type on seam tensile properties (strength and elongation)

Thread type M (kgf) SD Df t-value p-value

Strength Thread A 30.8 0.611 8 -4.877 0.115 Thread B 42.6 5.375 Elongation Thread A 6.9 1.217 8 -1.460 0.801 Thread B 7.9 1.003

Significant p<0.05, M=Mean, SD=Standard deviation, df=Degree of freedom Discussion

The result presented in Table 1 shows that the number of yarns in the warp direction of the fabric was more than the weft. It was also noted that the fabric was stronger in the warp direction than the weft, but with regard to elongation the weft direction was higher than the warp. This result proves the general accepted idea that the warp direction of fabrics is stronger than the weft, and weft threads stretch more than warp threads. It is also noted that the fabric strength recorded for both directions of the fabric conform to the standard set by Ghana Standards Authority (2012) for real wax prints.

51




Results indicated in Table 2 show that the fabric used for the investigation was stronger than the seams made with thread A (Mean 30.8kgf), but not thread B (Mean 42.6kgf). This indicates that thread B is stronger compared to thread A, which conform to the fact that thread B has a higher linear density compared to thread A. In addition thread B will not be appropriate in stitching the fabric used for the study at the SPI (12) used. This is because when threads used for stitching a particular fabric is stronger than the fabric, it can damage the fabric when the garment is exposed to excessive stress during use. As noted by Stamper et al. (1991) one very important aspect of thread/fabric coordination is that the thread should be weaker than the fabric it joins. Broken stitches they stated can be repaired but if the thread is too strong, the excessive stress will cause the fabric to split at the seam lines and there is no way to repair this type of damage and still maintain the garments original size and integrity. In this case, thread A becomes more appropriate in stitching the fabric used for the study. Again from Table 2 it can be noted that both threads had higher elongations than the fabric with thread B having the highest. As noted by Mukhopadhyay et al. (2004) as linear density of the thread increases the elongation also increases in effect influencing elongation which is supported in this study since the linear density of thread B is higher than that of thread A. The finding is also consistent with what ASTM D6193-09 (2009) indicated, that the elongation of a sewn seam should be slightly greater than that of the material which it joins. This ASTM D6193-09 (2009) stated will enable the material to support its share of the forces encountered for the intended end use of the sewn item. In addition, the result of this study is in agreement with what Chowdhary and Poynor (2006) noted that seams had significantly higher elongation than the fabric in both warp and weft directions for all the stitch densities they used for their study on impact of stitch density on seam strength, seam elongation and seam efficiency. The current results show that with regard to elongation, both threads performed well. To determine differences in seam efficiency with regard to the two threads selected for the investigation, the outcome as presented in Table 3 depict that the efficiency produced by thread B exceeded 100, but that of thread A was below 100. This result conforms to the results presented in Table 2 where the seam produced by thread B was stronger than the fabric. This is because efficiency is a percentage representation of the ratio between the seam strength and the fabric strength; therefore percentage efficiency greater than 100 is an indication of the seam being stronger than the fabric. Additionally, this goes to support the earlier conclusion by some writers that thread A will perform better

52




when used in stitching the fabric used for the study than thread B. This can be supported by the assertion of Mehta and Bhardwaj (1998) that when woven fabrics are seamed, the absolute seam strength is not, in the majority of cases, of paramount importance, provided it is reasonably high, and it is accepted that, with a seam efficiency of say 60-70 percent, the seam will be commercially acceptable. Chowdhary and Poynor (2006) stated that Amaco Fabrics and Fibers Company reported that for most test fabrics, seam efficiency ranged between 60 and 90% for single stitched seams and 70 – 85% for the double rows of stitching. The mean of 76.8% for thread A in a single stitched seam is therefore acceptable. The findings from the investigation revealed that there is no significant difference between thread type and seam strength (Table 4). The researchers therefore failed to reject the null hypothesis. A scrutiny of the mean statistics however indicates that differences do exist between the two types of threads employed for the study. Thread B (Mean 42.6) had higher strength compared to thread A (Mean 30.8) (Table 4). From the linear density values of the two threads, where thread B had higher linear density (21 Tex) as compared to thread A (15 Tex), it can be deduced that thread B is thicker than thread A; and this could be the cause of the differences in their seam strength values. Mukhopadhyay (2008) noted increase in seam strength with increase in linear density of sewing thread. In addition, Mukhopadhyayet al. (2004) also noted that seam strength and elongation increased with yarn thickness, work of rupture of seam was higher for coarser yarn than that of finer yarn. Looking at the mean statistics of the two threads in the current study, it can be said to be in agreement with what Barbulov-Popov, Cirkovie and Stepanovic (2012) also noted that stitch density and type of sewing thread used for a particular assembly have great influence on defining seam strength. Again Sarhan (2013) found that sewing thread size, stitch density and fabric type influence seam strength, elongation and efficiency. For example Sarhan (2013) noted that for heavy weight fabrics increase in sewing thread size and stitch densities led to increase in strength and elongation of seams. In addition, no evidence of significant difference between thread type and seam elongation was noted (Table 4). The writers failed to reject the null hypothesis due to the finding. Looking at their mean values however, thread B had a mean value of 7.9% while thread A had a mean value of 6.9% (Table 4). This could as well be due to the differences in their linear density values. As noted by Mukhopadhyay et al. (2004) as linear density of the thread increases the thread strength and elongation also increase in effect influencing seam strength and elongation.

53




Conclusion

Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions can be drawn. The sewing thread types selected influence seam strength, elongation and efficiency. Thread A will perform better when used in stitching the fabric used for the study with the stitch density of 12 employed than thread B. The results of this study however, relates only to the fabric and the threads used for the research. The results of this current study has brought to light that the threads on the Ghanaian market will produce different results when used in stitching real wax fabrics of the same specifications used in the study. It would therefore be useful to explore different stitch lengths with a variety of thread types in the Ghanaian market used for sewing on various fabrics. References

AMANN Inc. (2009). No quality product without quality seams. Retrieved October 5, 2009, from www.amann.com/fileadmin/pdfs/fthread Aus2-Kap1-en.pdf.

American & Efird Inc. (1997). Selecting the right SPI. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from http://www.amefird.com/selectingspi.pdf.

American & Efird Inc. (2009). Seam engineering. Retrieved May 5, 2009,from http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/technology-industry-article/seam-engineering/seam-engineering4.asp.

ASTM D6193-09. (2009). Standard practice for stitches and seams. Retrieved May 6, 2009, from http://www.astm.org/standards/D6193.htm.

Barbulov-Popov, D., Cirkovic, N., &Steponavic, J. (2012). The influence of stitch density and of the type of sewing thread on seam strength. TEM Journal, 1(2), 104-110.

Chowdhary, U., & Poynor, D. (2006). Impact of stitch density on seam strength, seam elongation and seam efficiency. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 30 (6), 561-568.

Doshi, G. (2006). Essentials for enhanced seam strength. Retrieved May 6, 2009, from http://ezinearticle.com/?Essentials-for-Enhanced-seam-strength&id=349820.

Ghana Standards Authority. (2012). GS 124: 2012 - Textiles specifications for traditional African prints (3rded). Accra, Ghana: Ghana Standards Authority.

Gribaa, S., Amar, S.B., &Dogui, A. (2006). Influence of sewing parameters upon the tensile behaviour of textile assembly. International journal of clothing science and Technology, 18 (4), 235-245.

54




Gurarda, A. (2008). Investigation of the seam performance of PET/Nylon-elastane woven fabrics. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from http://www.trimsindia.com/services.php#

Heaton, L. (2003). Seams and seam finishes. Retrieved April 23rd, 2009,from http://www.inf.vtt.fi/pdf.

http://www.testingtextiles.com/index.php. International Organization for Standardization 13934-1. (1999). Textile- Tensile

properties of fabrics- Part 1: Determination of maximum force and elongation at maximum force using the strip method. Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization.

International Organization for Standardization 13935-1. (1999). Seam tensile properties of fabrics and made-up textile articles. Part 1: Determination of maximum force to seam rupture using the strip method. Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization.

Inui, S., & Yamanaka, T. (1998). “Seam pucker simulation”. International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, 10 (2), 128-42.

Jonaitiene, V. & Stanys, S. (2005). The analysis of the seam strength characteristic of the PES-PTFE air-jet-textual sewing threads. Retrieved May 9, 2009, from http://www.Emeraldinsight.Com/Insight/ViewContentservlet?ContentType=Articles & Filename=Published/Emeraldfull.

Junkindia.com. (n.d.). Knowledge of the sewing thread. Retrieved October 5, 2009, from http://www.junkindia.com/itemlist/knowledge-of-The-sewing-Thread.pdf.

Kalaoglu, F. (2001). “Holding it together”: TM, International Textile Magazine, No.1. Retrieved November 11, 2009, from www.emeraldinsight.com/insight/ViewContentServlet?.../pdf.

Kuma-Kpobee, M. A. (2013). The evolution and current manufacturing practice applied to the traditional dress of women in Ghana. International Journal of Technology and Management Research, 2, 86-102.

LaPere, C. (2006). The effects of different fabric types and seam designs on the seams efficiency. Retrieved July 11, 2009, from https://dspace.emich.edu:8443/dspace/bitstream/1970/365/2/theshon06LaPereC.pdf.

Mehta, P.V., & Bhardwaj, K.S. (1998). Managing quality in the apparel industry. India: New age international publishers Ltd.

Mukhopadhyay, A. (2008). Relative performance of lockstitch and chainstitch at the seat seam of military trouser. Retrieved November 12, 2009, from http://www.jeffjournal.org.

Mukhopadhyay, A., Sikka, M., & Karmaker, A. K. (2004). Impact of laundering on the seam tensile properties of suiting fabric. Retrieved May 9, 2009, from

55




http//www.eneraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=Published/EmeraldfullTextArticle/Articles/05.

Olsen, T. (2008). Development in testing seams. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from Sarhan, T. M. (2013). Interaction between sewing thread size and stitch density

and its effects on the seam quality of wool fabrics. Journal of Applied Sciences Research, 9 (8), 4548-4557.

Stamper, A.A., Sharp, S. H., & Donnell, L. B. (1991). Evaluating apparel quality. New York: Fairchild.

56 ©ERNWACA GHANA


OLUSOLA A. THOMAS, PH. D Department of Educational Administration University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria.

[email protected] +234 803 308 5330

Introduction

The 21st century is full of challenges especially in the developing countries like Nigeria. These challenges range from urban population, rural stagnation, illiteracy, climate change, youth restiveness, violence, insurgency, unemployment to poverty. While these are negative ills in the society, they are not permanent features of any nation and as such can be eradicated. However, their presence is an impediment to national development and they are as a result of the kind and level of education offered to the citizens. Education is the key to national development because

Entrepreneurship Education: A Strategic Approach for Promoting National Development in Nigeria

This paper focused on entrepreneurship education as a strategic approach that can be used to promote national development. Historical antecedents of education in Nigeria were used to bring to the fore the need for entrepreneurship education to meet the challenges of modern societies where self-reliance and self-employment are the order of the day. Entrepreneurship education is conceived as a means through which the government could attain development. It involves preparing, training, developing and upgrading the operational efforts and other competencies required for effective self-reliance and self-employment practices especially in a school setting. The importance of entrepreneurship education in national development was analyzed with emphasis on functional, behavioural and environmental approaches of entrepreneurship education necessary to promote national development. The paper concludes that to salvage the country out of the numerous challenges resulting from the high rate of unemployment, there is the need for an articulated and integrated entrepreneurship education programme streaming from the school setting to the business environment. Recommendations made includes among others, that entrepreneurship education which is practical in approach, should be entrenched into the school curriculum at all levels of education and government support should be intensified through provision of funds. Key words: Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Education, Strategic Approach, National Development.

57

Olusola A. Thomas, Ph.D Entrepreneurship Education: A Strategic Approach for Promoting

National Development in Nigeria


it unlocks the economic potentials of people; empowers and equips them with adequate knowledge and skills; provides the basis for economic, political and social transformation, and facilitates national development (Aluwong, 2010 as cited in Maina, 2013). The Nigerian former educational system inherited from the British colonial government prepared individuals for white-collar jobs. This was soon redesigned in a way that could meaningfully contribute to national development. The first attempt was the National Curriculum Conference in 1968. The government focused on the educational sector, redesigned the educational system inherited from the British colonial government, fashioned out educational goals and objectives in the National Policy on Education and instituted educational agencies to optimally develop the educational sector. However, the achievement recorded so far has not been able to meet the ever increasing demands of the society for an education that will prepare individuals for self-employment and self-reliance. In recent years, national issues such as political instability and economic recession with its vices of unemployment and poverty are on the increase. This necessitated the need for entrepreneurship education. According to Arogundade (2011) the need for entrepreneurship education emerged in the mid 1980’s when the Nigerian economy collapsed and graduate unemployment hit the roof. Akinyemi (1987) as cited in Ojeifo (2012) buttressed the point further that Nigeria’s educational system has remained factories for producing white collar jobbers with no special professional nor entrepreneurial skills. In the same vein, Arogundade (2011) observed that higher education policy has not properly included philosophy of self-reliance and issue of self-employment. Rather, it mainly concerned itself with development of a higher system and middle level manpower. Gradually, jobs were lost; unemployment and poverty were on the increase among the youth in the society. The implication is that the government cannot absorb all its educated youths into the labour force and as Nwagwu (2007) noted, this is because the youth and graduates from higher institutions are not equipped with appropriate skills needed to exploit the natural resources that abound in Nigeria. The problem was compounded with Nigeria’s industrial policy that concentrated attention on the establishment of big multinational companies neglecting the development of small scale entrepreneurs. This neglect invariably killed entrepreneurship considered to be essential for economic growth at the micro level in Nigeria (Uzoagulu, 2012). In the past, anyone opportune to attend higher institution is assured of a paid job after graduation. The reverse is the case today as the nation’s unemployment rate has in the second quarter of 2015 risen to 8.2 per cent from the 7.5 per cent rate which was

58

Olusola A. Thomas, Ph.D Entrepreneurship Education: A Strategic Approach for

Promoting



recorded in the previous quarter. This brings to three the consecutive rise in unemployment rate in the country since the third quarter of 2014 (National Bureau of Statistics, 2015). This is opposed to what is at stake in countries like Japan, China, India and Korea who have joined the community of industrialized nations by strengthening their small scale industries (Ojeifo, 2012; Mania, 2013). Akpomi (2009) noted that government efforts in most developing countries, particularly Nigeria, have failed because graduates of educational institutions lack the practical entrepreneurial skills nor do they acquire the type of education that enhances their employability in the new age labour market. The present state of Nigeria’s depressed economy and high rate of unemployment and poverty demand that entrepreneurship education be strengthened at all levels of education but most especially at the higher education level in Nigeria. Entrepreneurship education has become a strategy to salvage the present problem of unemployment. Henry (2003) viewed entrepreneurship as the engine driving the economy of nations, creating new industries, young entrepreneurs, employment and wealth. Besides, Osifeso (2012) considered the different propositions of some economists, educationists and entrepreneurs on the type of education that facilitate and expedite economic growth and development in developing countries and concluded that entrepreneur education should be given prominent attention. Supporting this assertion, Thomas and Thomas (2013) affirmed that only a well rooted entrepreneurship education that is practically oriented will transform economic, social and political life of the nation. Hence, the need for government to develop a culture of entrepreneurship thinking through policies and actions that will entrench entrepreneurship into the educational system and facilitate a legal environment that will continually promote national development (Ejiogu, 2013). It is against this backdrop that this paper examines entrepreneurship education as a strategic tool for promoting national development. Conceptual issues

Defining Entrepreneurship The term entrepreneurship has been defined by various scholars from different fields and as such, connotes different things to different people based on their conceptual perspective. In entrepreneurship, the individual or the entrepreneur develops a business activity to sustain the socio-economic environment by genuinely utilizing resources in more innovative ways. Thus Ejiogu (2013: 19) defined entrepreneurship as “practical creativeness which manipulates opportunities and resources for advantage in new ways”. Similarly Schumpeter (1994) as cited in Maina (2013) sees entrepreneurship as the ability to prepare

59




and undertake business opportunities taking advantage of scarce resource utilization. Jegede, Ojo-Ajibare and Aitokhuehi (2012) viewed it in its traditional usage to involve helping entrepreneurs to acquire the required competencies, skills, aptitudes, knowledge and capacity for self-employment. However, Brinders, Memela and Mlosy (2002) as cited in Ejioju (2013) considered entrepreneurship in its broadest sense to involve the use of capability of people to combine scarce resources in new ways in order to respond to opportunities. The different views from the two extremes adjudged for the general view, sees entrepreneurship as a response to the different opportunities that fill the gap between what exists and that which needs to be explored within an environment by an individual (Thomas, 2012). In this parlance, entrepreneurship according to Ejiogu (2013) is not about invention but the ability to seek out investment opportunities in an environment, be able to establish and run it successfully in order to generate wealth (Gana, 2000 as cited in Osifeso, 2012). Entrepreneurship Education According to Bassey (2005) as cited in Odiba and Baba (2013), entrepreneurship education is the process of inculcating in the citizenry appropriate skills, habits and competencies necessary for self and paid employments. Another view of entrepreneurship education by Ajuonuma and Oguguo (2012) is that it focuses on developing understanding and capacity for pursuit of entrepreneurship behaviour, skills and attributes in widely different contexts. Similarly, Ahmad (2005) as cited in Umar and Adamu (2012) referred to entrepreneurship education as a “broad scope of behavioral modification plans aimed at preparing, training, developing and upgrading the operational efforts and other competencies required for effective self-reliance and self-employment practices especially in a final school setting. Entrepreneurship education aims to prepare and equip individuals with relevant self-reliant skills and knowledge that will enable them contribute to national development. Furthermore, Raimi and Towobola (2011) reiterated that entrepreneurship education by its nature has been found to precipitate employment generation, assist with growth and development in a number of nations. Their findings covered different surveys which showed how Ghana and South Africa were not left out in using entrepreneurship schemes to stimulate high rate of self-employment among the youth. It also shows that even the developed nations like Japan and America utilize entrepreneurship education for improving their human capital.

60


Promoting



Entrepreneurship and National Development in Nigeria Development usually does not only refer to economic growth but also the qualitative and quantitative increase in the well-being of individuals. In other words, development is an indication of the transformation of societies economically, socially, and politically and it is essential for the sustenance and growth of any nation. It implies improvements in conditions of human existence; physical security and livelihoods; and expansion of life chances (Joseph, 2014). National development therefore can be described as “the overall development or a collection of socio-economic, political as well as religious advancement of a country or nation” (Lawal & Oluwatoyin, 2011: 238). State of Entrepreneurship Education in Nigeria The desired ambition of any country of the world is to see that its citizens are fully employed and can be self-reliant to fight against unemployment, poverty and other social ills. In Nigeria, this desire is far from being achieved despite laudable policies and programmes put in place by the government. In addition, the fact that entrepreneurship education which has been recognized globally as an important instrument for establishing a viable and suitable economy is seldom used in Nigeria is worrisome. Unfortunately, in Nigeria, the reality that stares people in the face is that in spite of the lofty objectives of education as documented in the National Policy of Education (2004), the country’s education has failed to produce appropriate and commensurate values and development. Education particularly, higher education has failed to produce in school leavers a combination of skills and value system that could make them self-reliant (Oni &Alade, 2008). The Federal Government of Nigeria in 2002 directed that entrepreneurship studies should be integrated into the curriculum of higher institutions. In response to this directive, the Federal Ministry of Education introduced entrepreneurship education into the curricula of the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education through their reputable regulatory/supervisory agencies. This was backed with technical support and massive awareness at workshops for students and the academic communities on the virtues of entrepreneurship education. For instance, the National Universities Commission (NUC) developed the General Studies (GST) programme in Entrepreneurship and Innovations with the aim of training and equipping undergraduates in the universities with skills necessary to be self-employed. In most of the federal government owned universities, such as the University of Ibadan, University of Benin and University of Ilorin, Entrepreneurship Centres were established to fulfill this purpose. While the state owned universities also embraced it, though at a slow pace, the private universities that embraced it

61




have outstanding cases as their formation and orientation put them at a vantage position to use entrepreneurship as a strategic tool for boosting enrolment from inception. The polytechnics and colleges of education were not left behind. For instance the current Minimum Standard Document for Colleges of Education made provision for entrepreneurship programme. Unfortunately, all these measures have not yielded the desired result as unemployment rates among undergraduates continue to increase. This is largely due to the design and implementation of the programme. According to Adeogun and Osifila (2010), Akuegwu, Anijaobi-Idem and Ekanem (2011), and Thomas (2012), the design of the curriculum for entrepreneurship education is not different from the conventional courses and the focus is more on the theoretical than the practical aspect of the programme. In recent times, there has been the move to entrench entrepreneurship education in the school curricula at all levels. In this regard, the basic and secondary schools have provision for entrepreneurship education in the new Basic Education and Senior Secondary School Curriculum. However, the extent to which it will improve economic opportunities for the Nigerian youth depends on its successful implementation. Objectives of Entrepreneurship Education Entrepreneurship education remains the only functional education that can qualify the individual to be self-employed and self-reliant (Odiba & Baba, 2013). Entrepreneurship education according to Osuala (2010) as cited in Maina (2013) is structured to achieve the following objectives: 1. provide meaningful education for the youth which could make them self-

reliant and subsequently encourage them to derive profits and be self-independent,

2. provide graduates with training and the necessary support that will help them establish a career in small and medium size businesses,

3. offer graduates adequate training in risk management to make uncertainty bearing feasible,

4. serve as a catalyst for economic growth and development by stimulating industrial development in less developed areas,

5. provide graduates with training that will help them to be creative and innovative in identifying new business ventures, and

6. create a modern industrial economy where there will be opportunities for graduates to receive training, tutoring as well as employment.

62


Promoting



Entrepreneurship Education and National Development The reality of transforming the Nigerian economy and sustaining national development has led to the clarion call for entrepreneurship education as a way of reducing poverty and unemployment. Ramsden (2010) extensively examined the importance of entrepreneurship education towards national development and justifiably identified that it has the potential to prepare students for fieldwork, provide graduates with employment and equip citizens with the vision and resources to turn opportunities into realities. The importance of entrepreneurship education to national development cannot be overemphasized. There is a nexus between entrepreneurship education and overall development of a nation; hence it is established as a key success factor to sustaining the economy. It has been documented that entrepreneurship is an essential ingredient for achieving the Transformational Agenda and Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty in Nigeria. In most developing countries, it is used in wealth creation and found to be crucial for improving the quality, number and variety of employment opportunities. Economically, entrepreneurship education leads to realization of potentials and opportunities; establishment of business enterprises and promotion of new products and services. Socially, entrepreneurship education brings about changes in behavior and attitude which include self-awareness, self-realization and empowerment, and helps to re-orientate the individual towards innovation and creativity. These changes are contributory elements to economic growth and development of a nation. Amadi’s (2014) study of universities in Nigeria revealed that entrepreneurship education is capable of developing occupational skills that will enhance the potentials of individuals, reinforce their self-sufficiency and improve their quality of life. Buttressing this view, Ayozie (2004) as cited in Ibrahim, Usman and Salihu (2013) posited that entrepreneurship is a key aspect of economic dynamism, industrialization and wealth creation of any nation. It is thus imperative for any country seeking transformation to embrace entrepreneurship education. This is because, it helps to generate employment and sufficiently curtail poverty, thereby accelerating industrial development. With the latter effort, it contributes towards utilization of local resources (human and material) and tends to increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country which in turn contributes to national development. Most importantly, entrepreneurship education brings about the development of the private sector. One would not be able to justify a quantum of national development without contributions from the private sector. Incidentally, realization of economic policies; development of employment opportunities

63




through emerging markets and nurturing of graduates towards entrepreneurship would be a mere waste of effort without the private sector that will serve as the engine for economic growth. This has led to the development of public private partnership in education. Model of Entrepreneurship Education for National Development Entrepreneurship education has a significant effect on the nation’s economy as it helps to build economic base and provide job opportunities for citizens. The adapted entrepreneurship education for national development model in Figure 1 shows that positive changes that could lead to national development could be realized through entrepreneurship education. The model maintains that development of entrepreneurial skills and recognition of opportunities required for the creation of business ventures must be supported by social values and re-orientation; the government and institutions (school, family and social groups). In other words, improved performance in entrepreneurship practice depends on the individual and societal vision, attitudes, aspirations, motivation and needs. Furthermore, the model in Figure 1 depicts that there is the need to entrench entrepreneurship education in schools so that students can develop their potentials and identify opportunities needed to exploit the emerging business ventures. This will eventually contribute to national development. Figure 1: Model of Entrepreneurship Education for National Development Source: Adapted from Ofuasia et al. (2010). Figure 1 shows a model of entrepreneurship education for national development, showing the process of entrepreneurship education and development, supported by social values and institutions to provide impetus for job creation and national development.

1. Entrepreneurial

Skills Development

and Training

2. Entrepreneurial

Career Section

3. Opportunity,

Recognition and

Identification

Business

Start-up or

Venture/Job

Creation

Social Value

and Re-

orientation

National

Development

Entrepreneurship

Education

Government/

institutions

support

Entrepreneurship

development

64


Promoting



Challenges of Entrepreneurship Education in Nigeria It is abundantly clear that entrepreneurship education plays a vital role in equipping individuals with the necessary intellectual capacity, skills and the right type of attitude to be able to harness their potentials, seek opportunities and create jobs for the growth of the nation. However, entrepreneurship education is confronted with myriad of challenges which include the following: First, most of the time, the entrepreneurship curriculum is inefficiently implemented, hence the difficulty in achieving its goals. The curriculum objectives are not translated into practical realities at the implementation stage for the benefits of learners as a result of inadequate experts or competent lecturers in the field of entrepreneurship as well too much emphasis on theoretical knowledge as opposed to practical knowledge (Sofoluwe et al., 2013). Also, there is poor planning, supervision, and evaluation of the programmes. This is coupled with inadequate teaching materials, equipment and infrastructural facilities. Second, finance and funding are the major twin hurdles facing not only entrepreneurship education but educational development in Nigeria generally. Most of the educational programmes are facing underfunding. The situation is worse in the case of entrepreneurship education that is capital intensive. This has led to inadequate provision of resources required to effectively implement the programme (Odiba & Baba, 2013). Third, political and social instability in the face of insurgency, insecurity, violence, strike actions, religious crisis in most parts of the country pose serious threats to meaningful entrepreneurship education development (Odiba & Baba, 2013). In addition, absence of social consensus; dialectic relationship between the ruling class and the bourgeois, collapse of political order and the presence of bureaucratic and administrative bottlenecks had led to corruption which permeates through all political and social structures thereby inhibiting necessary microeconomic policy issues and technical support needed to sustain small business ventures. Fourth, the poor enabling business environment is a major challenge to entrepreneurial education in Nigeria. The business conditions, especially for new entrants is not conducive neither does it promote entrepreneurship education. Gaining sponsorship, bank loans, tax certificates and collaterals for business start-up is difficult. Also, there is evidence of technology infraction, inflation, poverty and providing the requirement for new business venture is a big hurdle to cross in Nigeria.

65




Finally, besides, the echoes of unpleasant experiences of self-employed graduates send wrong signals to undergraduates still in school rather than mentoring them and preparing an open access business that they can key into (Gabadeen & Raimi, 2012 as cited in (Sofoluwe et al, 2013). Strategic Approaches for Promoting National Development through Entrepreneurship Education The strategic approaches for promoting national development through entrepreneurship education proposed in this paper is a tripod approach focusing on the functional, behavioural and environmental elements. The functional approach focuses on entrepreneurial skills development and training which is embedded in the school curriculum. This is the first stage as shown in the Model of Entrepreneurship Education for National Development in Figure 1. The functional approach involves equipping the undergraduates in higher institutions with identified entrepreneurial skills that will help to alleviate the problem of unemployment and poverty. It also entails that entrepreneurship education should be provided to pupils and teachers practically for the primary level both as conventional subject content specified in the curriculum. This is a situation where the pupils and teachers become entrepreneurs from the school setting. The attention here is on building the youth with appropriate skills that will enable them to identify their business potentials, plan, initiate and operate small business enterprises after graduation. The functional approach can only be viable with provision of purposeful entrepreneurship centres in schools, practical hands-on curriculum and development of entrepreneurship internship programmes in the form of apprenticeship and peer facilitation. The latter refers to a situation where students encourage each other through sharing of experiences, thoughts, observations, concerns; brainstorm and assume responsibility for their actions. Corroborating the functional approach recipe, Ogundele and Abiola (2012) recommended a massive evangelistic entrepreneurial education, training and development as a must for national development in Nigeria. There is the need to draw experience from the recent development in South East Asia where the Asian tigers have developed and equipped their human assets with orientation and capacity for spontaneous responses to opportunities of wide ranging patterns and appropriate entrepreneurial education, training and development. For example, right from childhood, Indonesia has made every six out of ten of her people entrepreneurs. Adoption of the functional approach will help to respond to challenges of human capacity and capability development in Nigeria. This is because the development of a skilled workforce and expansion of human capacities through high quality systems of entrepreneurship

66


Promoting



education, training, skills acquisition and lifelong learning is important for helping the youth and graduates to be self-reliant (Ojeifo, 2012). The behavioural approach focused on the development of the individual towards entrepreneurial career which is the second stage on the model in Figure 1. The best practice for this approach to be internalized is through transformation or reform of the educational sector and re-orientation of the youth and undergraduates. It is time for the Nigerian government to take goals realization as paramount and not dwelling on blueprints that lack the characteristics of implementation. Transformation has been given different connotations which hitherto have not brought appreciable impact especially in the educational sector. Hence, it should be considered in its real sense to connote radical attitudinal change that touches on every component and level of the educational system in Nigeria. The behaviour of would be entrepreneurs needs to be transformed by building in them appropriate entrepreneurial attitudes, beliefs, motives and needs that will shape their entrepreneurial characteristics and personality, and above all enhance their social value and orientation. The third strategic approach is the creation of the right environment where opportunities can be recognized and identified. At this point, support by government and institutions (family, social and religious groups, and interest groups) is paramount for the entrepreneurship environment to thrive. While the government and private initiatives provide financial support, the institutions provide nurturing support. This is a process that seeks changes in the educational policies and programmes as well as government financial role. Also, adoption of the entrepreneurship culture, which is strong enough to train and develop the people right from childhood, create and sustain the middle class (the technocrats) which in the past was considered not important in the economic scheme should set the pace for transformation. It is this class that promotes and sustains entrepreneurs who directly contribute to the national growth. Conclusion and Recommendations

Entrepreneurship education plays a significant role in developing the individual as well as the entire nation. It brings about innovative processes and activities necessary to transform novel ideas into business reality. Thus, it is a reliable approach that would foster self-reliance. There is the need for entrepreneurship education at all levels of education to reduce the problem of unemployment. Salvaging the country out of the numerous challenges

67




resulting from high rate of unemployment, occasioned by the inherited colonial system of education and emphasis on white collar job, requires a new functional, behavioural and socio- cultural orientation towards entrepreneurship education. The Nigerian society today more than ever needs an articulated and integrated entrepreneurship education programme streaming from the school setting to the business environment. Entrepreneurship education is the key driver to shaping the entrepreneurship environment which will bring about national development. Against this backdrop, the following recommendations are proffered. 1. The entrepreneurial educational policy of the federal government of Nigeria

should be strictly and practically embraced. There should be commitment, accountability and integrity on the part of the policy makers, implementers and other stake holders in education to ensure that this is not another lofty idea on paper. This will involve the development of a viable curriculum for entrepreneurship education, which is practical in approach at all levels of education. This should also be supported with adequate funding from the government.

2. There should be the establishment of entrepreneurship institutes in academic institutions and adoption of public private partnership to sustain such centres. This will encourage school- based enterprises where students will identify their potentials and begin to ravage the opportunities in it for themselves.

3. There should be the creation of friendly business environments for entrepreneurs in order to encourage graduates to discover their business potentials, key into it to create wealth.

References

Adeogun, A.A. & Osifila, G.I. (2010). Higher education and youth preparation for the labour market: The case of universities. In P.T. Nowakowski (ed.), Higher education in Nigeria: Selected aspects (pp.125-141). USA: Trafford Publishing.

Ahmad, M. (2005). Modalities and requisite of promoting entrepreneurship in Nigeria technical institution. Paper presented at Conference on Entrepreneurship Education at Abuja, Nigeria. June 2– 5.

Ajuonuma, J. & Oguguo, B. (2012). Assessment of entrepreneurship education at tertiary education: Imperative for sustainable development in Nigeria. In T.A. Bolarin&I.A.Kolo. Entrepreneurial education. Proceedings of the 27th Congress of the Nigerian Academy of Education (pp.74-82). Lagos: Toptune Educational Publishers.

68


Promoting



Akerele, W.O. (2009). Preparing the youth for the labour market in the 21st century: the challenges of Nigeria’s higher education. Journal of Education Review, 2 (2), 224-235.

Akinyemi, S.O. (1987). Entrepreneurship Education. Ibadan: Landmark Publishers.

Akpomi, M.E. (2009). Achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDG) through teaching of entrepreneurship education in Nigerian higher education institutions. European Journal of Social Science, 8 (1), 18-21.

Akuegwu, B.A., Anijaobi-Idem, F.N. &Ekanem, E.E. (2011). Higher institution students’ access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Nigeria: Management imperatives for labour market preparations. Journal of Education and Practice, 2 (9), 31-43.

Aluwong, S.W. (2010). Entrepreneurship and functional business education as a means of achieving the national objectives of vision 2020 in Nigeria. Paper presented at Conference of Association for Research Development at Nasarawa State University, Nigeria. September, 13-17.

Amadi, M.N. (2014). Entrepreneurship in higher education in Nigeria: an imperative for sustainable development. Lagos Education Review, 14 (1), 11-24.

Arogundade, B.B. (2011). Entrepreneurship education: An imperative for sustainable development in Nigeria. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies, 2 (1), 26-29.

Ayozie, D.O. (2004). The role of SMEs in the development of Nigeria. Development Universal Consortia, Ikot-Ekpene, Nigeria. August, 13 -15.

Bassey, U.S. (2005). Leadership and governance in higher education and sustainable development in Africa. International Journal of Education Administration Planning and Research, 4(5), 8-19.

Brinders, J., Memela, B., &Mlosy, C. (2002). African Renaissance 2003: entrepreneurship and small business management in Africa. Conference on NEPAD Priorities, at Port Elizabeth, South Africa. October, 22-24.

Ejiogu, A. (2013). Fundamentals of entrepreneurship, quality assurance and corporate governance. Abuja: Lux Terra Leadership Foundation.

Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004). National policy on education. Lagos: NERDC. Gabadeen, W.O. &Raimi, L. (2012). Management of entrepreneurship

education in Nigerian higher institutions: Issues, challenges and way forward. Abuja International Journal of Education and Management Sciences, 2, 1-26.

Gana, J.S.S. (2000). Entrepreneurship. Jos: Jofegan associate Publishers. Henry, F.I. (2003). Entrepreneurship development in third world: A realistic

approach. New York: McGraw Hill Inc.

69




Ibrahim, A.M., Usman, B.U. &Salihu, S. (2013). Achieving national transformation agenda in Nigeria through entrepreneurship. Journal of Management and Corporate Governance, 5 (2), 1-11.

Jegede, O.I., Ojo-Ajibare, J.O. &Aitokhuehi, O.O. (2012). Entrepreneurship through higher education in Nigeria. Journal of Education Review, 5 (2), 209-216.

Joseph, O.A. (2014). National development strategies: Challenges and options. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention, 3 (4), 51-58.

Lawal, T. &Oluwatoyin, A. (2011). National development in Nigeria: Issues, challenges and prospects. Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research, 3 (9), 237-241.

Maina, S. (2013). The role of entrepreneurship education on job creation among youths in Nigeria. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary studies, 2 (7), 21-29.

National Bureau of Statistics (2015). Nigeria unemployment rate. Retrieved from www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/

Nwagwu, I.O. (2007). Higher education for self-reliance: An imperative for the Nigerian economy. Lagos: NAEAP Publication.

Odiba, I.A. & Baba, P.A. (2013). Entrepreneurship education in Nigeria universities: A recipe for national development in the 21st century. Journal of Education and Practice, 4 (20), 36-39.

Ofuasia, J.N., Nwalado, E.N. &Dede, P.U. (2010). Entrepreneurship education for youth employment in Nigeria: Implication for social studies education. European Journal of Social Studies, 15 (1), 146-150.

Ogundele, O.J.K. &Abiola, J.O. (2012). Entrepreneurship and national development: A proposal for evangelistic agenda. European Scientific Journal, 8 (6), 134-148.

Ojeifo, S.A. (2012). Entrepreneurship education in Nigeria. Journal of Education and Practice, 3 (4), 78-82.

Oni, A.A. &Alade, I.A. (2008). The future of higher education in Nigeria: Global challenges and opportunities. In J. Babalola, L. Popoola, A. Onuka, A. Oni, W. Olutokun& R. Agholahor (eds.), towards quality in African higher education (pp.300-318). Ibadan: Higher Education and Research Policy Network/Postgraduate School, University of Ibadan.

Osifeso, G.A.T. (2012). Entrepreneurship education: A strategic approach to for sustaining the economy in developing countries. Journal of Education Review, 5 (3), 413-418.

Osuala, E.C. (2010). Principles and methods of business and computer education. Enugu: Cheston Agency Ltd Pub.

70


Promoting



Raimi, L. &Towobola, W. L. (2011).Open Distance Learning (ODL): A catalyst for educational and entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. Continental Journal of Education Research, 4 (3), 1 – 11.

Ramsden, R.A. (2009). The development of entrepreneurship education. Oslo: Djer Publication.

Schumpeter, P. (1994). Tough times never last, but tough people do. U.S.A.: Thomas Nelson Inc.

Sofolowe, A.O., Shokunbi, M.O, Raimi, L. &Ajewole, T (2013). Entrepreneurship education as a strategy for boosting human capital development and employability in Nigeria: Issues, prospects, challenges and solution. Journal of Business Administration and Education, 3 (1), 25-50.

Thomas, A.S. & Thomas, O.A. (2013). The roles of higher education in entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. East African Journal of Educational Research and Policy, 9, 231-251.

Thomas, O.A. (2012). Entrepreneurship education and preparing Nigerian graduates for the labour market. In T.A. Bolarin&I.A.Kolo. Entrepreneurial education. Proceedings of the 27th Congress of the Nigerian Academy of Education (pp.63-73). Lagos: Toptune Educational Publishers.

Umar, N.B. &Adamu, M.A. (2012). Entrepreneurship education at tertiary levels: a Panacea for graduate unemployment. In T.A. Bolarin&I.A.Kolo. Entrepreneurial education. Proceedings of the 27th Congress of the Nigerian Academy of Education (pp.89-94). Lagos: Toptune Educational Publishers.

Uzoagulu, A.E. (2012). Entrepreneurship education. Keynote address presented at the 27th Annual Congress of the Nigerian Academy of Education,5th -9th November, Minna.

71 ©ERNWACA GHANA


OSHIONEBO, ESTHER EMIKE Faculty of education

Department of Educational Administration University of Lagos, Akoka, Nigeria.

[email protected] & [email protected] Telephone: +2348139261874

Introduction

The concept of education is closely linked to teaching and learning. It involves the process of drawing out the innate capabilities and potentials of the individuals. It is a process by which the individual is helped to develop and be useful to oneself and the society at large. Thus, the notion that education is a powerful instrument for social change and development suggests that a nation that lacks a sound educational culture and philosophy stands the risk of decay where as a nation that sees to the development of its education is bound to achieve great success. Secondary education in Nigeria is the education after primary education and before tertiary education. Secondary education on its own has the

Quality of Educational Facilities and Academic Performance of Students in Secondary Schools in

Education District II, Lagos State

This paper investigated the role of educational facilities in the transformation of the quality of students' academic performance in senior secondary schools in Education District 11. Two research questions and two hypotheses were raised to guide the study. The study adopted survey design method and random sampling was used to select 60 teachers from six selected schools in the District. A questionnaire containing various descriptions related to the role of educational facilities in the transformation of the quality of students’ academic performance in secondary schools was administered. Data collected were analyzed using mean ratings. Findings revealed that the quality of educational facilities will greatly enhance the academic performance of students. That human, material and physical resources are indispensable to a meaningful transformation and academic progress of students. The study recommended that policy makers should ensure improvement in the quality of facilities to aid educational transformation. Key Words – Quality, educational goals, academic performance, facilities, excellence.

72

Oshionebo, Esther Emike Quality of Educational Facilities and Academic Performance Entrepreneurship Education: A Strategic Approach for Promoting

of Students in Secondary Schools in Education District II, Lagos State


broad aims of preparing students for useful living within the society and preparing them for higher education. However, a cursory look at the secondary schools in recent times suggests that the schools are not living up to expectation in the provision of qualitative education. This is evidenced in the provision of infrastructure in the schools and the results from the academic performances of students in the West Africa School Examinations and the internal termly results. The importance of adequate instructional facilities to teaching and learning in Educational District 11, Lagos State and the provision of adequate instructional facilities for education cannot be over emphasized. The dictum that teaching is inseparable from learning but learning is not separable from teaching is that teachers do the teaching to make the students learn, but students can learn without the teachers. Learning can occur through one's interaction with one's environment. Environment here refers to facilities that are available to facilitate students’ learning outcome. It includes books, audio visual, software, hardware of educational technology, so also school building, size of class-room, sitting position and arrangement, availability of tables, chairs, chalkboard, shelves on which instruments for practicals are arranged, laboratory, libraries, recreational equipment, apparatus and other instructional materials (Agun , 2002). The criteria for measuring the standard of education would naturally relate to the availability and quality of the educational facilities for the educational enterprises, the condition under which students learn, the type and nature of the physical facilities and the quality of the product of the education system that obtained credit in five relevant and core subjects that will qualify them for university admission. Attempts at scoring excellent grades in externally conducted examinations begin with good grades obtained in internal examinations conducted termly by the schools. (Vandiuer, 2011). The National Policy on Education (2004) proposed the objectives of education at all levels. The government spelt out ways through which these objectives could be met. The policy designed the content of study in Junior Secondary Schools to be both pre-vocational and academic, in other to enable people to acquire further knowledge and develop skills. The policy document also highlighted the relevance of vocational and technical subjects in senior secondary schools, and the awareness by the government of prevalence of limited facilities for the new secondary school system. It further expressed government’s strong intention to expand the facilities in terms of building, textbooks, libraries, introductory technology equipment and workshop, science materials etc. As part of efforts aimed at implementing the policy, government

73




embarked on massive importation of science equipment, establishment of more technical colleges, building of more classrooms, laboratories and workshops. All these notwithstanding, one issue that still needs serious consideration is the adequacy and quality of educational facilities in public secondary schools and their roles in students' academic performance. Indeed, every society (Lagos State inclusive) is interested in judging the quality of education which her citizens receive. This quality of education can be judged through academic performance of the students and its corresponding contribution to the well-being of the society. The availability , relevance , adequacy and quality of these facilities contribute to students’ achievement while unattractive school building , crowded classroom , non –availability of playground , flower beds and surroundings that have no aesthetic beauty as observed in this District by the researcher can contribute to poor performance (Ahmed, 2003) . Hallack (2000) found that students in classrooms with large windows, natural lighting and well-designed skylights performed 19 to 29% better than their peers in classrooms without these features. One of the fundamentals that points to economic growth and development of any country is that all children have the opportunity to attend good schools. This is because high quality education is a prerequisite for learning and human development. Quality of education is affected by factors both inside and outside the classroom; which include issues from availability of teachers and teaching aids, facilities, language of communication in schools to overcrowded classes. Insufficient focus on quality of education in schools has resulted in a great number of children attending schools without acquiring the basic skills during their schooling. Quality facilities are needed to ensure that all children acquire quality education that will enable Nigeria to meet both internally stipulated goals; Millennium Development Goals and Education for All Goals. This can only be achieved if adequate attention is paid to the quality of education. By investing in high quality education, each individual child can be given the opportunity to learn and develop. UNESCO identifies six basic key elements that influence the quality of education to include:

the teacher and teaching methods,

educational content,

learning environment,

school management,

pre conditions for pupils, and

74




funding and organization. Literature indicated that students' achievement depends upon the physical school facilities, its age, the design and the condition of the school (Broome, 2003; Hughes, 2005; Lyons, 2001). School facilities constitute the major components of both direct and indirect action element in the environment of learning. Several studies have shown that a close relationship exists between the physical environment and academic performance of students. Akinfolarin (2008) and Agun (2004) maintained that the quality of education that children receive bears direct relevance to the availability or lack of physical facilities and overall atmosphere in which learning takes place. The school facilities consist of all types of building for academic and non-academic activities, areas for sports and games, landscape, farm and garden including trees, roads, and paths. Others include furniture and toilet facilities, lighting, acoustics, storage facilities and packing lot, security, transportation, ICT, cleaning material, food services, and special facilities for physically challenged persons. According to Oni (2000) facilities constitute a strategic factor in organizational functioning. This is so because they determine to a very large extent the smooth functioning of any social organization or system including education. He further stated that their availability, adequacy and relevance influences efficiency and high productivity. He opines that the wealth of a nation or society could determine the quality of education in that land; emphasizing that a society that is wealthy will establish good schools with quality teachers and learning infrastructure that students may learn with ease, thus bringing about good academic achievement. Writing on the role of facilities in teaching, (Bandele, 2002) submits that no effective science education programme can exist without equipment for teaching. This is because facilities enable the learner to develop problem-solving skills and scientific attitudes. In their contribution, Ajayi and Akinwumiji (2008) reiterated that when facilities are provided to meet relative needs of school system, students will not only have access to the reference materials mentioned by the teacher, but individual students will also learn at their own pace. The net effect of this is increased overall academic performance of the entire students. The need to improve the quality of education in Education District II, Lagos State, is very important. Old educational models and methods no longer work as converging trends require policy makers to transform their school systems to meet new demands. This is based on the trust that transformational attitudes

75




can lay the foundations for educational advancement. Situation analysis of the schools in this Education District shows that educational facilities that will provide students with lifelong learning experiences relevant to their current and future needs (Ogunmoyela, 2001) are pertinent. Transforming the educational system requires a thorough assessment of every facet of the educational system such as: a. Who goes to school? b. What curriculum is provided? c. What facilities are used? d. How are the teachers prepared? e. What evaluation method is used? etc. Strategic implementation of such transformational policies such as the Eko project which is aimed at overhauling the entire educational system will lay a foundation for excellent academic progress if followed through in Lagos State Education District 11. To recommend change means that the educational system should be transformational and be more concerned with standards and student outcomes. The future of secondary education and the expected impact of secondary level learning will significantly transform positively on the students in future, as the idea of transformation in education has become valid. It is useful to note that institutions with new technologies will have an edge in the increasingly competitive world of educational growth as we are contemplating introduction of new technologies. It is equally necessary to think of the educational facilities that are required to aid new skill acquisition and new approaches to day-to-day tasks in schools. Emphasis on this work is mainly related to how we can leverage on school facilities and assets to achieve desired educational outcomes for the students, establish new facilities to aid students’ success and employ best practices for staff recruitment and retention. Vandiuer (2011) opined that educational facilities are materials designed to serve specific purposes. In the school system, there are multiplicities of facilities, which facilitate teaching and learning. They are used:

to illustrate concepts;

provide opportunity for firsthand experience;

for experimentation and demonstration;

for scientific investigation and discovery;

76




to provide diversity of thoughts;

for observation and inquiry;

for development of scientific attitudes and skills;

to protect the individual and also provide comfort. It is against this background that the research is necessitated to carry out investigation on the quality of educational facilities and academic performance of students in senior secondary schools. The quality of output in any productive engagement is a function of the input used in producing such output. Without doubt, quality education rests upon adequate provision of required resources. There is therefore, a need to research these problems and propose relevant remedies so that the educational system can regain its pride and return the nation to socio-political and economic progress. The purpose of the study was to assess the role of educational facilities in students' academic performance in some selected Senior Secondary Schools in Education District II, Lagos State. The specific objects were to: 1. find out the quality of educational facilities available in our public senior

secondary schools in Lagos State and how they affect performance. 2. identify the problems arising from poor resources available in the public

senior secondary schools in Lagos Education District II and how that undermine the actualization of education goals.

The following questions guided the study: 1. To what extent will the quality of educational facilities improve students'

academic performance in Education District II, Lagos State? 2. To what extent will inadequacy in educational facilities undermine the

actualization of educational goals of the school and society in Education District II, Lagos State?

Research methodology

Survey design was applied to the study because it allows for accuracy of results especially when data is required from a large population. The study population comprised 50 public senior secondary schools in Lagos Education District II. Six schools were selected from the population using the random sampling method, and respondents chosen from the six schools constituted the sample size for the study. On the whole, 60 respondents were randomly selected for the study. Questionnaire was the instrument used to elicit information from the respondents.

77




The questionnaire items were drawn and coded on a 4-point scale as follows: Strongly Agree (SA) at four points, Agree (A) at three points, Disagree (D) at two points, and Strongly Disagree (SD) at one point. These responses were based on positively worded items while the reverse was for the negatively worded items. The average score from the coded data (4+3+2+1 = 10/4) was 2.50. This was taken as cut-off point for answering the research questions. Validity of the instrument was done through face validation by allowing colleagues in the Faculty of Education, University of Lagos to make inputs. Those who validated the instrument re-structured the instrument to meet the objectives and content of the study. Their comments were useful in the drafting of the final copy of the questionnaire. To determine the reliability of the instrument, copies of the questionnaire were administered on 30 respondents in a pilot study done in District I which is another District. The researcher personally administered copies of the instrument used for the reliability test. The data obtained from the administration of the instrument were analysed using test-retest and a coefficient of 0.75 was obtained. This indicated that the instrument was reliable and capable of yielding desired result. The questionnaire developed was personally administered on face to face basis in each of the schools to the respondents and they were collected back immediately. Return rate was 100% and the questionnaires were found usable. Data collected were grouped and analysed using frequency counts and rated means. Results

Answers to Research Question 1 To what extent will the quality of educational facilities influence improve students' academic performance? In order to answer this question, the responses to item 1, 13 and 15 in the questionnaire were used to measure the influence of quality of educational facilities on students' academic performance. The summary of the responses is given in Table 1.

78




Table 1: Mean ratings of quality of educational facilities and students' academic performance

S/N Item Mean Decision

1. Provision of adequate school equipment and physical structures, facilitate high students’ academic performance in schools.

3.46

Agree 13. Well-funded schools in terms of quality

laboratories can improve the academic performance of students.

2.12

Disagree 15. Adequate provision of resources such as

technological equipment and text books will encourage the students to learn faster.

3.25

Agree

Table 1 shows that participants reacted positively that provision of school equipment will facilitate higher academic performance of students with a mean score of 3.46 which is well above 2.50 indicating their agreement. Above 70% of the respondents agreed that provision of adequate equipment and physical structures facilitate high students’ academic performance. In response to whether well-funded schools with good laboratories can improve academic ratings, a mean rating of 2.12 was obtained. The item on whether adequate provision of resources such as technological equipment and textbooks will encourage students to learn faster had a mean rating of 3.25, which was positive. Over 60 percent of the respondents agreed with the fact that educational facilities have a lot to do with academic performance of students. Analysis of the end of term results of the students revealed a strong relationship between the quality of educational facilities and the academic performance of students in core areas such as Mathematics, English language and Biology. Research Question 2 To what extent will inadequacy of education facilities undermine the actualization of education goals of the school and society? Table 2 presents the findings that answer research question 2.

79




Table 2: Educational facilities adequacy and actualization of educational goals


2. Non-availability of school buildings, furniture and consumables like chalk, chemicals etc. will affect the aim of education.

2.68

Agree 5. Inadequate educational resources will lead to

poor students’ performance, high rate of drop outs and low manpower in the country.

3.15

Agree 20. Provision of adequate and quality educational

resources in schools will bring about development in education and the nation at large.

3.75

Agree

Table 2 shows that non-availability of school buildings, furniture and consumables had a mean rating of 2.68. This revealed that 81.6 per cent of the respondents have a positive response to the statement that non-availability of school buildings, furniture and consumables like chalk, textbooks, chemicals etc will affect the aim of education. The statement that inadequate educational resources will lead to poor student’s performance, high rate of drop outs and low quality man power development in the country, had a mean rating of 3.15; revealing that there was agreement by the respondents. The respondents agreed that provision of adequate and quality educational resources in schools will bring about development in education and the nation at large with a mean rating of 3.75. In all, the respondents agreed to the fact that inadequate educational resources will go a long way to undermine the actualization of educational goals of the schools and the society. Discussion of findings

The results revealed that the quality of educational facilities influence students' academic performance. This finding is in line with that of (Ogunniyi, 2003), who posited that education facilities can affect teachers ability and students' learning to perceive knowledge and skills successfully. These facilities are designed to enhance the process of teaching and facilitate the learning process. Proper school facilities are important for education because they enable a skilful teacher to achieve a level of instructional effectiveness that far exceeds what is possible when they are not provided. Hallack (2000) submitted that educational facilities form one of the potent factors that contribute to academic achievement in the school system.

80




The results also revealed that inadequate education resources have a negative influence on the actualization of educational goals. This result tallies with the findings of Akinwumiju and Orimoloye (2000) that educational institutions from nursery to university levels require buildings for effective operations. Classrooms, offices, assembly halls, laboratories and staff quarters are needed. Important items like furniture for staff and students, books, science equipment games and sport equipment should be adequate in number and they should all be in good conditions for schools to function properly. Conclusion

On the basis of the findings made, the following conclusions were drawn: the quality of educational facilities and students' academic performance are significantly related. However, the problem is not merely the provision of the facilities but the manner of management of resources and general commitment to duty by school personnel. Human, material and physical resources are all indispensable to the meaningful development and progress of the educational enterprise. They all constitute vital part in ensuring students' academic performance. In the light of the above statement, policy makers and educational planners should ensure that adequate resources for education are made available for the achievement of educational objectives. Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that:

The Ministry of Education should strictly ensure that before approval is given for establishment of senior secondary schools in the District, the required educational facilities must be in place.

The Federal Government should as a matter of urgency improve upon the state of resources in schools so as to enhance academic standards.

Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) should work harmoniously to properly maintain the existing school facilities.

Regular inspection should be carried out by monitoring and inspectorate officers of the Ministry of Education to ensure that available facilities are maintained.

Teachers' educational programs should involve a thorough practical training that will inculcate in the teachers skills of maintenance and how to adequately utilize school facilities.

81




References

Agun, J. (2002). The place of Educational facilities in curriculum development. Education and development, 2(2), 5-9.

Ahmed, T. (2003). Education and national development in Nigeria. Journal of Studies in Education, 10, 35-46.

Ajayi, A. & Akinwumiju, A. (2008). Personnel performance and capacity building. Ibadan: Odusote Press.

Akinfolarin, O. (2008). Resource factors as correlates of secondary school effectiveness in Ekiti State. Nigerian Journal of Counselling and Applied Psychology, 11, 109-115.

Education for All: An Achievable Vision. Paris: UNESCO. htt://www.unesco.org/education/efa/globalco/policygroup/efabrochure.p

df 6th Oct. 2015. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004). National policy of education. Abuja: NERC

Press. Hallack, J. (2000). Investing in the future: Setting educational priorities in the

developing world. Paris: Pergonion Press. Lyons, O. (2001). How textbooks affect achievement in developing countries:

Evidence from Thailand. Educational evaluation and policy analysis winter, 8(4), 379-392.

Ogunmoyela, A. (2001). Secondary Education in Nigeria: Trends, progress, problems and issues. Ile - Ife: Obafemi Awolowo University Press.

Oni, O. (2000). Resource and resource utilization as correlates of school academic performance. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, University of Ibadan.

Stoner, M. Freeman, J. & Gilbert, R. (2006). Effective educational environments. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin Press.

Vandiuer, I. (2011). The planning process: A system approach to management. Chicago: Markham Publishing Company.

82 ©ERNWACA GHANA


S. B. OWUSU-MINTAH Department of Tourism, Cape Coast Polytechnic,

P. O. Box AD 50, Cape Coast, Ghana. Email: [email protected]

Introduction

It is an open secret that the continuous increase of unemployed graduates joining those already searching for unavailable job opportunities on the streets of Ghana's major cities is a recipe for disaster. It is like a time bomb waiting to explode, especially in the case of the misdirection of the pent up energies of these youths, who have been starved of jobs long time after graduation. According to the Institute of Statistics Social and Economic Research (ISSER), there are over 200,000 unemployed graduates in Ghana and that about 71,000 young graduates from the country’s tertiary institutions enter the job market annually (Daily Graphic, 2015). It is also known that the government of Ghana is the largest employer of labour in the formal sector of the country (Amankrah, 2001). This is due to the fact that the private sector of the country has not expanded large enough to employ most of the young men and women who graduate from the nation’s tertiary institutions annually.

Employability of Tourism Graduates: Lack of Relevant Skills or Job Avenues?

Several comments and observations have been made about the increasing numbers of unemployed graduates roaming the streets of Ghana's towns and cities in search of non-existent white-colour jobs. This paper examines the views of employers and some tourism graduates on what constitutes relevant skills needed for employability of graduates. The paper was based on a tracer study conducted in June and July 2012 at the Tourism Department of Cape Coast Polytechnic, in Ghana. The study, which was cross sectional, involved a sample of 205 tourism graduates, selected using snowball sampling and 25 of their employers selected through multi stage sampling. The study revealed that 17% of the graduates were unemployed, several years after graduation. The results of the study further indicated that though not much difference existed between the views of the employers and the graduates on the relevant employability skills for industry, most of the employers used other criteria apart from the relevant skills for filling the few vacancies in their establishments. Implications for policy makers and industry employers were discussed. Key words: Tourism Education, employability, generic skills, unemployed graduates

83

S. B. Owusu-Mintah Employability of Tourism Graduates: Lack of Relevant Skills or Job Avenues?

Avenues?


The unemployment problem faced by graduates in the country has been exacerbated by the government’s freeze of employment in the public sector, for the past three years, except for pre-tertiary educational institutions and in the health sector. In 1994, the development of the tourism sector of the country led to the creation of a separate Ministry for Tourism, which was thought at that time to help in the reduction of unemployment in the country. This was premised on the fact that direct employment in the tourism industry at the time of the study was estimated globally to be about 235 million people and that as the tourism industry kept growing at 4% a year, by 2019 a total of 296 million jobs would have been created in the industry worldwide (WTTC, 2010). This made the tourism industry one of the largest employers of labour globally. In Ghana, in 2013, the tourism sector contributed GHC6, 235.8 million to the national economy, which was 7.2% of GDP. This was projected to rise by 4.4% to GHC10, 501.9 by 2019. The sector supported 311,000 jobs, which was 5.8% of total employment, and was expected to grow by 2.3% per annum to 414,000 in 2024 (Turner, 2014). The linkage between tourism and job creation partly motivated the introduction of tourism education at the tertiary level in the country in 1996 by the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses in tourism (Akyeampong, 2008). This was aimed at preparing students for managerial and administrative positions in the tourism and hospitality industry as well as faculty appointments in the country’s tertiary institutions (Owusu-Mintah, 2012a). In 2000, the Cape Coast Polytechnic (CCP) also started a Higher National Diploma (HND) programme in Tourism Studies so as to fulfill one of its mandates of providing opportunities for skills development in the tourism and hospitality industry. This was followed by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, where a Tourism and Culture Programme was started in 2005. Of late, other public and private tertiary institutions in the country, such as Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), the Regency University College (RUC) and Zenith University College (ZUC) all in Accra, as well as Ho and Takoradi Polytechnics are running Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) degree programmes either in Tourism or Hospitality Management, or both, with the College of Technology Education, Kumasi campus of the University of Education, Winneba offering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Tourism and Hospitality Education. All these institutions are aiming at helping to develop the human

84

S. B. Owusu-Mintah Employability of Tourism Graduates: Lack of Relevant Skills or Job

Avenues?

Avenues?


resources needed to meet the demands of the nation’s tourism and hospitality industry so as to help to reduce graduate unemployment in the country (Owusu-Mintah & Kissi, 2012). It is expected that the more people receive higher education, the higher their chances of getting a good job, as education and training are undertaken to provide people with employable skills required by industry. These skills could be specific (Lu & Adler, 2008; Rutter, 1993), required for employment within the relevant industry; or generic, which Raybould and Wilkins (2005) describe as “those transferable skills which are essential for employability at some level” (p. 204). Importance of generic skills has received much attention in the literature. To Mayer (1992) generic skills have often been referred to as ‘core skills’, ‘transferable skills’, ‘key competencies’ or ‘underpinning skills’. On their part, Wang, et al. (2009) listed generic skills to include critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, teamwork skills, creativity, organizational ability, work ethics and technology. These are also referred to as employability skills, which are acquired through active learning (Rasul, Rauf, Mansor & Puvanasvaran, 2012) and enable beneficiaries of higher education to be easily employable after graduation. Raybould and Wilkins (2005) further noted that skills could be manual or practical, and may include plumbing, carpentry, weaving or waiting in a restaurant or hotel. On the other hand, some skills could also be mental; such as computer programming, accounting, marketing or management. The latter group of skills are most of the times referred to as higher skills and are acquired through the reception of higher education. It is therefore expected that those who acquire mental skills must be easily employable where job avenues are available mostly in the private sector. Other skills that are important for success in industry include organisational, leadership and motivational skills (Christou, 1999). These skills, which are important for management of businesses, are not incorporated in specific courses or subjects taught at college. They are acquired through mentorship and by specifically following the footsteps of successful business people, who help to empower employees to make decisions that influence organisational direction and performance (Luria et al. 2009). Wang et al. (2009) argued that there are also operational skills, such as customer service skills and attention to detail, which are customer contact related and are pertinent for jobs in tourism and hospitality. In the case where people receive higher education and acquire most of these employability skills but do not get jobs after a long search, does it mean that employers of industry do not accept

85


Avenues?


such skills as relevant or the graduates did not know that such skills were irrelevant to industry? Or that job avenues were absent and that the graduates are unable to create their own jobs? These questions could be best answered if the views of employers and their employees on skills required are compared. Nearly two decades after the introduction of tourism education at the tertiary level in the country, most of the graduates produced remain unemployed. A recent study of tourism graduates showed that 17% of 205 graduates surveyed were unemployed (Owusu-Mintah, 2014). Another major problem identified was the complaint by some employers that most higher education graduates lacked the necessary skills demanded by industry. In view of this, graduates they employed had to be given some orientation before they could settle down to their jobs, which was always done at a cost to their business organizations. Is this complaint by employers about lack of skills of graduates of higher education institutes shared by the employed graduates? This study was necessitated by the dearth in literature on the issue of skills required by industry that was found to be lacking by graduates of tertiary education in the developing world. This paper therefore examines the views of employers and their employed graduates from higher education institutions regarding employability skills required by industry that had been acquired by the graduates. The main objectives of the study therefore were to: 1. ascertain the differences between the views of employers and graduates

regarding employability skills needed by industry, 2. examine these differences between the ranking of the skills by both

employers and the graduates so as to provide understanding of the real reason for graduate unemployment in the country, and

3. determine whether these skills alone are enough to secure jobs for the graduates in industry.

The research identified 20 skills or work attributes that are required by industry and acquired by graduates of higher education. These skills had earlier on been studied by Wang, Ayres and Huyton (2009). They used twenty seven skills and work attributes required by industry, to study the views of some employers and their employees, which were itemized and compared to ascertain the differences or similarities on these specific skills or work attributes demanded by industry. It was decided to replicate the study to find out whether the results obtained on the issue of skills required by industry elsewhere could be confirmed in Ghana. In view of this, the following null hypothesis was formulated:

86


Avenues?

Avenues?


Ho: There is no significant difference between the views of employers and graduates on skills needed for employment by industry. The Theoretical Framework

The theory of gap analysis, supplemented with content analysis, constituted the theoretical framework, upon which this paper was based. This framework was used by Wang et al (2009) in their study on employability skills and attributes for industry. In their study, they compared the views of both managers of tourism and hospitality facilities and their employers about these skills. Their study revealed differences between attributes and skills of the graduates (employees), and the managers’ perceptions of importance of the skills to their jobs. Several other studies by Dickinson (2000); Raybould & Wilkins (2005); Swanger and Gursoy (2007), have also reported that a growing gap exists between the skills that educational institutions transmit to their students and what is demanded by managements of industries. Haywood and Maki (1992) developed a conceptual model for studying the relationship between employers’ demands and what is produced by educational institutions. They also identified a gap existing between expectations of employers and the educational sector, which could be studied by using a gap analysis model. According to Kozak (2002) in using the gap analysis model, the mean values of identified variables of interest are compared with those of another in a different destination. Therefore, the traditional approach assumes that there must be a gap between the host and the partner–to allow the determination of strengths and weaknesses, by prioritizing and selecting what is regarded as the benchmark (McNair & Leibfried, 1992). Ordinarily, the theory of gap analysis considers differences in performance levels of businesses by using ranking of their performance as provided by independent assessors. According to Wang et al (2009), in using the gap analysis model, both respondents (employers and graduates) are asked to rank the skills and work attributes, from the highest to the lowest ranks (i.e. 1, 2, 3, etc) and the differences computed. When the score (differences between A and B) is greater than zero, it is regarded as strength for ranked skills according to A (i.e. employers) and weakness for skills ranked by B (i.e. graduates). This is regarded as a positive gap. On the other hand, when the score is less than zero, or negative it means that the ranking on the specific attribute favours B, i.e. the graduates (strength) over A, i.e. employers (weakness). This negative gap, when very large, could be an indicator that a radical change is required.

87


Avenues?


Methods

This study, which was cross sectional, employed mixed methods by combining quantitative and qualitative research techniques (Felizer, 2010, Owusu-Mintah & Amenumey, 2014). This approach was taken to be able to ascertain people’s reasoning behind some decisions taken in relation to skills required by industry. The quantitative method was facilitated by using structured, 20-item questionnaires prepared and used to collect data from both the graduates of the Tourism Department of Cape Coast Polytechnic and some of their employers. The qualitative method consisted of interviews conducted with four of the graduates and their employers involved in the study and the results added to the analysis. The target population for this study consisted of 581 past students who had graduated from the department between 2003 and 2008 (Owusu-Mintah, 2012a). The structured questionnaires were prepared and administered to a sample of 232 of the graduates, selected using a sample size determination table by Krejcie and Morgan (1970). The questionnaires had four parts: respondents’ profile, organizational characteristics, job placement, and views on skills acquired and required by industry. The questionnaires were administered either personally or by email. The survey was conducted in business organizations and industries not only in some major towns of the country but also in some countries abroad (USA, Sweden and the UK), where some of the respondents were residing working. Snowball sampling technique was used to administer the questionnaires to the graduates. In using this technique, a handful of the graduates were initially identified, who provided email addresses of some of their classmates for questionnaires to be administered to them (Owusu-Mintah, 2012a). At the end of the fieldwork that took place in June and July 2012, 205 questionnaires were retrieved, recording a response rate of 88%, which was considered satisfactory. Internal consistency calculated for the instrument via the use of SPSS, was 0.75. The hypothesis mentioned earlier was tested by a t test calculated from ranking the work attributes and employability skills by both the employers and graduates presented in Table 2. Out of the 205 questionnaires retrieved from the tourism graduates, 170 were employed, while 35 were unemployed. Data from the 170 employed graduates and 15% (25) of their employers were used for the study. The employers were selected using multistage sampling for the administration of the questionnaires. This sampling procedure involved the initial use of selecting a cluster of employers (from specific businesses), choosing a subset of the cluster and then

88


Avenues?

Avenues?


using simple random sampling to select the sample to be administered with the questionnaires. These employers, who by virtue of their relative seniority in the jobs were in positions to comment on the issues relating to the skills used by the graduates under their supervision (Major & Evans, 2008). However, 25 of the questionnaires which were satisfactorily completed were retrieved and used for the study. For the qualitative method, a prepared interview guide was used to interview four each of the graduates and their employers selected from the major job groupings that emerged from the retrieved questionnaires (tourism and hospitality, educational, financial and culture). Taking a cue from Christou (1999), the points in the interview schedule used for the discussion revolved around the following issues: the knowledge and skills gained from studies of the graduates; the courses studied that provided them with the skills; specific skills required by industry the amount of practical experience obtained during their attachment; and other criteria apart from relevant skills used by employers for employment. In addition, the relevance of the courses they studied and the skills they obtained from studying those courses that prepared them for industry, were discussed. Although the interviews were guided without directly influencing the answers provided, attempt was made to ensure that the issues above were covered in the interviews. With the permission of the interviewees, the conversations were recorded and later transcribed and used for the analysis. Results and Discussion

The profile of the tourism graduates (including their age, gender and occupational distribution) are presented on Table 1. It was revealed that the 205 respondents had a median age of 26 years and as such were matured enough to make informed decision. It was also found out that 122 (60%) were males and 83 (40%) were females, showing that there were more males than females in the study. King, McKercher and Waryszak (2003) reported that in most countries across Southeast Asia and Oceania, females outnumbered males in student populations and number of hospitality and tourism graduates. At the Tourism Department of CCP however, males had outnumbered females until 2010 when a parity of 47 males to 47 females, was achieved.

89


Avenues?


Table 1: Profile of the Graduates

When the unemployed rate of 15% is compared with the general national unemployment rate of around 30% (UNDP, 2010), it cannot be considered to be too high. However, employment statistics for developing countries like Ghana are sometimes unavailable or unreliable (Owusu-Mintah, 2014a; UNDP, 2007). Among the 170 employed graduates, 92 (54%) were males and 72 (46%) females. The employed graduates were spread in various types of businesses as shown in Figure 1. These businesses included those in the accommodation subsector, the national parks of the wildlife division, tourism administration, at the airport and with some shipping companies, airlines and other tourist attractions such as the castles, under the auspices of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB). There were also those graduates working with some government ministries and agencies as well as managers of popular hotels and guesthouses in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Cape Coast. This was an indication that graduates of the Department were contributing to the development of tourism in the country. From Figure 1, although the group employed in tourism and hospitality related businesses was the largest (35.4%), it accounted for less than 40% of the graduates. This shows that a larger percentage of the tourism graduates were employed in businesses other than tourism and hospitality (Owusu-Mintah, 2012b).

Year of Graduation Total

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

N 28 39 42 27 32 37 205

Age at Graduation Frequencies

< 26 years 14 20 22 17 23 29 125

26 ≥ years 14 19 20 10 9 8 100

Gender

Male 21 28 24 14 19 16 122

Female 7 11 18 13 13 21 83

Current Employment Status

Employed 26 35 37 25 23 24 170

Unemployed 2 4 5 2 9 13 35

Percentages 13.7 19.0 20.5 13.2 15.6 18.0 100

90


Avenues?

Avenues?


Figure 1: Occupational Distribution of the employed Graduates (N=164) The total of 25 employers, who returned the questionnaires administered, comprised 22 males and 3 females. These included head teachers of basic schools, managers of some financial institutions as well as managers or proprietors of tourism and hospitality facilities, where some of the graduates were working. The gender imbalance in the employers in favour of males seems to be a true reflection of the status of employers or managers of most businesses in Ghana, where males dominate as managers or supervisors. The issue of gender imbalance in the management of industries, including tourism and hospitality in favour of males in Ghana was not surprising. Studies in some developing and even some developed countries suggest that relatively few women aspire to senior management positions in industry (Doherty et al., 2001; Li & Leung, 2001; King et al. 2003). Socio-cultural factors are responsible for this problem. For tourism and hospitality industries, which have more female employees, this situation is not the best, although some female employees felt comfortable working under male supervisors than their fellow females (Owusu-Mintah, 2012b). Occupational Distribution of the Employers

The employers involved in the study were from industries and businesses ranging from financial, educational, hospitality and tourism, culture, health services to non-governmental organizations (Figure 2). As shown in Figure 2, a

91


Avenues?


substantial proportion of the employers (36%) were from financial institutions including banks and micro finance organizations.

Figure 2: Occupational Distribution of the Employers (N=25) This was followed by tourism and hospitality (24%) with the educational sector making up 23% of the employers. Those in the minority groups include those in culture, health services and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) such as World Vision International (WVI). It was not easy to understand the refusal of more employers from the tourism and hospitality industries to contribute to the research, because they were the main target of the study as the graduates were mostly prepared to work for them after graduation. Employers involved in the study were found to be working in four regions in the country, as shown in Figure 3, although some of the graduates were working in some of the other regions in the country; they were not involved in the study as it was limited to only these four regions of Ghana.

92


Avenues?

Avenues?


Figure 3: Regional Distribution of the Employers (N=25) The regions were the Central and Greater Accra Regions (36% each) followed by the Western (16%) and the Ashanti Region (12%). No questionnaires for the employers were received from the other regions such as Brong Ahafo, Volta, Eastern, and Northern, from where some of the graduates participated in the research, although reminder notices were mailed to them in March 2011. It was not surprising that only employers from these four regions were involved in the survey. Comparing Important Skills and Work Attributes

This section of the study presents the data on the views of employers and graduates about skills or work attributes required by industry for employing people. The presentation is also meant to provide information on the comparison of the importance attached by employers and the graduates to these specific skills and work attributes. It is expected that the data will also help to determine whether employers’ demands regarding job requirements expected from the graduates, have been met. It would also help tertiary curriculum developers and reviewers to know which skills to give particular attention to, in courses to be studied by students in order to best equip them for industry. Both the graduates and their employers were requested to rank the skills and work attributes listed in Table 2 and the differences computed. The differences between the ranked skills and work attributes by the employers and the graduates were used to test the hypothesis that there were no significant differences between skills acquired by the graduates and work attributes

93


Avenues?


expected by employers. In testing that hypothesis, reference is made to Table 2. It emerged from Table 2 that results of the t-test performed revealed that there were statistically significant differences between the perceptions of the employers and the graduates on almost all the skills and work attributes listed. This was due to the fact that the two tailed test produced values of between .174 and .990, for all the skills and work attributes except for Academic Grades, which produced a t-value of 2.292 and was significant (p = .023). Table 2: Employers’ and graduates’ ranking of Skills or Work Attributes acquired by graduates and required by industry

Skills/Work Attributes

Employers ‘A’ (N=25)

Graduates ‘B’ (N=205)

Diff. of Rank

t-test

Mean Rank Mean Rank t- value

Sig.(2 -tailed)

1 Customer Service skills 3.56 1 3.75 1 0 1.363 .174

2 Team working skills 3.56 1 3.53 6 -5 .188 .851

3 Creativity 3.56 1 3.44 10 -9 .786 .433

4 Time Management 3.52 4 3.59 2 2 -.444 .657

5 Problem solving skills 3.48 5 3.48 9 -4 .013 .990

6 Critical Thinking 3.44 6 3.57 4 2 -.810 .419

7 Confidence 3.44 6 3.59 2 4 1.058 .291

8 Computer Skills 3.44 6 3.50 7 -1 -.397 .691

9 Leadership ability 3.40 9 3.27 13 -4 .762 .447

10 Decision making skills 3.40 9 3.57 4 5 1.359 .176

11 Academic Grades 3.32 11 2.91 19 -8 2.292 .023*

12 Oral Communication 3.32 11 3.49 8 3 1.063 .289

94


Avenues?

Avenues?


Skills/Work Attributes

Employers ‘A’ (N=25)

Graduates ‘B’ (N=205)

Diff. of Rank

t-test

Mean Rank Mean Rank t- value

Sig.(2 -tailed)

13 Written Communication 3.28 13 3.37 11 2 -.534 .594

14 Practical Skills 3.24 14 3.34 12 2 -.619 .537

15 Attention to detail 3.16 15 3.04 18 -3 .675 .500

16

Event Management skills 3.16 15 3.19 14 1 -.177 .860

17 Organizational skills 3.12 17 3.19 14 3 -.481 .631

18 Industry Knowledge 3.04 18 3.07 17 1 -.188 .851

19 Research Skills 2.92 19 3.12 16 2 1.218 .225

20 Relevant work experience 2.76 20 2.89 20 0 -.738 .461

*Significance value <.0.05 Note: Rank in order of importance: 1 = highest mean score, 20 = lowest mean score. As the p value was less than the significant value of 0.05, for only academic grades, but not for the rest of the skills, we reject the null hypothesis related to academic grades that there is no significant difference between the ranking of skills and work attributes required by employers and deemed important by the graduates. This means that in that particular case there were differences between the views of the employers and the graduates on employability skills required for employment by industry. It could also be noted that not higher rankings were given by both parties to written and oral communication and attentions to details, which Ladkin (2012) referred to as soft skills’ There was however a great disparity on their views on one of the Ladkin’s soft skill; which was ranked among the number 1 by the employers, but was ranked 10th by the employees (creativity). It was also surprising to note that the graduates ranked

95


Avenues?


academic grades lower than the employers, as students do everything to get good academic grades as an important criterion for getting a job after graduation. It would however be noted later that employers mostly looked beyond academic grades of candidates in deciding on whether to employ someone or not. Factors that Employers considered Important for Recruitment

Although academic grades may be one of the acceptable standards for measuring students’ performance, it is known that academic grades obtained by graduating students do not always translate into employment (McKinney, Carlson, D’Angelo & Connerley, 2003). Nowadays, employers seem to look for intelligent, well rounded individuals, who can help solve emerging problems, who are computer literate, who know and understand what the organisational goals are and can work under pressure, without considering very much the class obtained by the prospective employee. Furthermore, Self (2005) had noted that employers could settle for employees who are not very strong academically, if only they can show achievement in extracurricular activities, leadership and work experience that were not reflected in academic grades. McKinney et al. (2003) went on to explain that majority of recruiters refrain from using the grade point average (GPA) in screening applicants for employment, but sometimes even select against high GPA levels (Self, 2005), if the candidate demonstrates the smartness needed to help employers in achieving their organisational goals. One reason for such a selection without reference to high academic grades may be due to the fear that such applicants may not stay for long with them as they may want to continue their education with such high GPAs. It seemed that most of the graduates involved in the study were aware of this fact hence their responses produced a ranked mean of the work attribute of academic grade 19 out of 20, while the mean ranking of academic grades by employers was 11th out of 20. Although the values of the two tailed t-test were mostly not significant, there were some notable differences between the ranking of skills and work attributes of the employers and that of the graduates. The differences between the views of the employers and the graduates were mainly on several of the skills and attributes except the first and last skills and attributes compared, i.e. customer service skills and relevant work experience. It was however surprising that the employers ranked relevant work experience last among the list of skills or work attributes required by industry. It is an open secret that most advertisements by businesses for prospective employees mentioned two, three or even five years working experience required. May be

96


Avenues?

Avenues?


requirements for employment are changing. The rest of the analysis of the required skills is explained as follows: First, employers placed a higher value on team work and creativity than the graduates did. However, the graduates placed a higher value on time management and critical thinking than employers did. Second, it was not surprising that the employers considered problem solving skills as important, while the graduates considered decision making skills and oral communication as more important, because problems arise in everyday management of businesses that must be resolved. Finally, most of the skills that the employers considered as important, such as problem solving and leadership ability, could be described as human relations and conceptual, and confirms the findings of a study by Nelson and Dopson (2001). In that study, some 302 randomly selected American hotel executives were asked to rank important skills needed for their businesses. They ranked skills such as identifying and solving managerial problems, leadership abilities and development of a positive customer relationship, among the most important skills deemed necessary for tourism and hospitality graduates. Employers’ views about Skills needed by Industry and other criteria for recruitment

The four employees selected for the interviews were from the four business groups with the highest number of graduates employed. They were one each from the financial institutions, tourism and hospitality facilities, educational institutions and the Ministry of Culture, represented by the Regional Centres for National Culture. It was noted that all the employers interviewed agreed that their employees showed knowledge of customer service, whether at the bank or in the classroom. This was important because it was the skill that was ranked highest by both the employers and the graduates. Customer service skills are important for tourism and hospitality education because the industry is customer contact in nature and all the businesses represented in the interviews provided services to their customers. Regarding the area of computer skills under which Information Communication Skills (ICT) falls, all the respondents agreed that the knowledge of the graduates had to be upgraded. This meant that the graduates were not well grounded in the practical application of ICT for industry. The employers wished that they had employed graduates who were well vexed in the use of simple computer applications such as Microsoft Word for typing, Excel for the preparation of spreadsheets and some PowerPoint and SPSS for

97


Avenues?


analysis and presentations. The employers lamented that though during their interviewing before employment most of the graduates professed to have learnt the use of computers at studies, the story was different when they faced the real situation at work. An area that received much complementary comments by the employers was problem solving skills as well as confidence displayed by the graduates at work. One of the employers, who was a manager of a private financial institution in Takoradi was full of praises for one of the graduates employed as a Marketing Officer with credit and Loans Company. In spite of the good comments about the skills exhibited by their employees, the employers considered other criteria apart from skills for recruitment. Three of the employers who were directly involved in recruitment, mentioned very good testimonials from former bosses, recommendations from head of institutions and direct introduction by people they knew, as important criteria for recruitment. One of the employers intimated that candidates who were directly referred to them by an acquaintance, had a higher degree of being employed in her hospitality establishment. In their studies on what hospitality industry employers require from their potential employees, Harpe et al. (2000) and Sharp and Qu (2009) had noted that such employers are seeking for multi-skilled employees who are willing and able to continue learning. These skills are however not lacking in the tourism graduates who have been prepared to fit in most job situations especially those that are service oriented. Views of the Graduates about Skills they acquired at the Polytechnic

All the four graduates interviewed agreed that they received more theoretical knowledge than practical skills in most of the business and hospitality courses they learnt at the polytechnic, especially in the business and catering courses. This was not the best for polytechnic education, which placed more emphasis on the acquisition of practical and problem solving skills. They however agreed that they were prepared for employment in industry because the few chances they had for industrial attachment gave them practical exposure of real work situations in industry where they were encouraged to think critically to solve problems and also manage their times judiciously, which are all important skills and work attributes for success in industry. Three out of the four employed graduates interviewed complained about their inability to gain important communications skills especially in the use of French as a second language. Knowledge of a second language such as French was very necessary for working effectively in tourism and hospitality facilities and even

98


Avenues?

Avenues?


in some financial institutions in Ghana as the country is sandwiched between Francophone countries, whose citizens are frequent tourists to the country. The fluent use of French for communicating with such tourists would have proven to be more advantageous to tourism and hospitality facilities in Ghana as a host to these tourists, most of whom at times can speak and understand English better than even some Ghanaians. The unemployed graduates attributed their inability to secure jobs to four main reasons: the first one being the fact that they did not know personally most of the employers they approached for jobs. Secondly, they admitted that they lacked certain skills such as advanced computing skills and finally, the embargo on employment in the public sector, as a result of the freeze by the government on employment in government businesses, which prevented them from being employed in the public sector. The following were some of the comments made by the employed graduates from the interviews conducted regarding some of the skills they acquired from the polytechnic that they thought were needed by industry and were ranked very high in Table 2.

“Without good customer service skills, I would not have been employed”.

“Computing skills that I acquired have been important for my success at work”.

“I know that critical thinking ensured my employment in industry”.

“As a hotel manager, I am able to manage my time very well”. Regarding views of graduate employees on skills they had acquired for industry, Humburg et al., (2013) found that 50-60% of graduates surveyed across the European Union (EU) countries indicated that their programmes of study provided them with employability skills. Also, a tracer study conducted by Boateng et al. (2014) noted that most of the graduates surveyed indicated that they were generally satisfied with their professional situation and employability skills acquired at the university. These show that most tertiary graduates agree that they have employability skills; however job avenues for them were rather limited or nonexistent. Conclusions

This study covered a comparison of the skills acquired by the graduates and those required by employers in industry using the gap analysis model and also tried to find reasons for the unemployment of some of the tourism graduates. It was realized that there was no significant difference between the ranking of

99


Avenues?


job skills and attributes required by employers and those acquired by the graduates, (confirming findings by Wang et al, 2009), except for academic grades, which was significant. In addition it was noted that majority of these tourism graduates worked outside the tourism and hospitality industry. It was also known that apart from employability skills that the graduates were expected to have acquired, other considerations such as personal knowledge of the candidates and their being introduced or recommended by acquaintances enhanced their chances of getting a job after graduation. Moreover, it was noted that some of the employers commended their employees for exhibiting industry required skills. However, some of the employers bemoaned the lack of industry required skills by some new graduates that made them spend much time and resources in preparing them for their jobs in industry. Finally, the government’s freeze of employment in the public sector was blamed for the unemployment of some of the graduates, considering that the government is the highest employer of labour in the country. A case in point is that according to the15 Year National Tourism Development Plan (2013) tourism development offices should be created in all the 216 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the country. This could have created jobs for most of the country’s unemployed graduates. Implications of the Study

Results of the study provide some implications for tourism educators, industry employers and the government of Ghana, in particular. First, tourism and hospitality educators must know that majority of their graduates prefer working in other industries to working in tourism or hospitality facilities. This is due to the fact that customer service skills acquired are easily transferable to other service industries such as banking or health. There is therefore the need for tourism educators to concentrate more on other practical employability skills needed especially in tourism and hospitality facilities, so that most of their graduates may not be lost to other service industries such as insurance or banking. Second, some employers’ lamented on some graduates’ lack of certain generic skills that are acquired after much industry exposure. As some of the graduates complained of lack of industry exposure because they could not get placement for industrial attachment, tourism and hospitality educators need to make industrial attachment compulsory, hence the need to collaborate with industry including those in tourism and hospitality so as to ensure industry placement for their students in order to promote acquisition of practical skills required by

100


Avenues?

Avenues?


industry. This collaboration could be in many forms. Industry must be requested to submit inputs for the development and review of curriculum so as to incorporate the skills most needed by industry (Lovejoy, 2000). It is therefore pertinent that empirical input from the tourism industry be provided for tourism curriculum design so as to offset the limitations from educators and policymakers on the right skills to develop in their students (Wang, 2008), thereby bridging the gap between tourism education and industry regarding skills relevant to the latter. Third, industry should support research by final year students in tertiary institutions, who might have undertaken industrial attachment in that industry and might have identified specific problems there. Findings of those research works could be disseminated to industry and interested stakeholders so that research works of students that may benefit industry, may not continue to be forgotten and gather dust on faculty shelves in higher education institutions. Finally, considering the importance of the ability of graduates working in the tourism and hospitality industry to communicate in a second international language such as French, such modern languages should be taught throughout the higher education programme. This will enable graduates to have working knowledge of such modern languages especially in Ghana, which is surrounded by francophone countries such as the Republics of Togo, Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast. Finally, the government should go ahead with implementation of the requirements of the 15 year Tourism development plan. MMDAs should endeavour to expand their income generation base so as to employ some of the tourism graduates from the nation’s tertiary institutions. These young men and women could be used to open Tourism Information Offices nationwide, not only to provide information to tourists but also to help speed up the country’ tourism development until the government decides to lift the ban to pave way for them to be put on the MMDAs’ government payroll. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research

As expected in all social research, this study has some limitations. One of such limitations with this study is sampling bias, as it employed Snowball sampling technique, (Owusu-Mintah, 2012a; 2012b). However, the initial selection of the graduates was made to reflect not only gender balance, but also representation of all the various year-groups of the graduates. This activity to a large extent, helped to minimize under coverage in the administration of questionnaires. However, the use of snowball sampling technique resulted in obtaining a

101


Avenues?


relatively smaller sample size for the study. An increased sample size in future research could also take care of non-response bias, associated with such a survey. Besides, an evaluation of the views of employers of graduates outside the country could provide additional insights. Moreover, a comparison of their views with those of industry employers in the country could provide interesting information. Finally, a comparison of the views of Catering and Tourism graduates, who are being trained and prepared for the tourism and hospitality industry, could provide results that could enhance the development of curriculum for present students in both programmes. References

Akyeampong, O. (2008). A proposed framework for tourism education and training in Ghana, In O. Akyeampong, & A.B. Asiedu, (Eds.) Tourism in Ghana: A Modern Synthesis, (pp. 124–140) Accra, Ghana: AGLC Press.

Amankrah, J.Y. (2001). Preparing Ghana’s future workforce to respond to labour market dynamics, Journal of the Centre for Social Policy, 1(2), 3-15.

Christou, E. (1999). Hospitality management education in Greece: An exploratory study, Tourism Management, 20(1), 633-691.

Daily Graphic (2015). Unemployed graduates heading online for jobs, Daily Graphic, Monday September 12th, Page 30, Column 3.

Dickinson, M. (2000). Giving undergraduates managerial experience, Education + Training, 42(3), 159-169.

Felizer, M. Y. (2010). Doing mixed methods research pragmatically: Implications for the rediscovery of pragmatism as a research paradigm, Journal of Mixed Research, 4(1), 6-16.

Harpe, B., Radloff, A. & Wyber, J. (2000). Quality and (Professional) Generic Skills. Quality in Higher Education, 6(3), 222-243.

Haywood, K. M., & Maki K. 1992. A conceptual model of the education/employment interface for the tourism industry. In J. R. B Ritchie., & D. Hawkins (Eds.). World Travel and Tourism Review, (pp. 237–248). Oxford, England: CAB.

Humburg, M., van der Verde, Rolf., & Verhagen, A. (2013). The employability of higher education graduates: The employers’ perspective. European Union, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Ito, H., & Kawazoe, N. (2015). Active learning for creating innovators: Employability skills beyond industrial needs, International Journal of Higher Education, 4(2), 81-91.

King, B., McKercher, B., & Waryszak, R. (2003). A comparative study of hospitality and tourism graduates in Australia and Hong Kong. International Journal of Tourism Research, 5(6), 409-420.

102


Avenues?

Avenues?


Kozak, (2002). Comparative analysis of tourist motivations by nationality and destinations. Tourism Management, 23(3), 221-232.

Krejcie, R.V., & Morgan, D.W. (1970) Determining sample size for research activities, Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30(1), 607-610.

Ladkin, A. (2012). The Tourism Workforce in 2020: People matter, Hosteur, Spring/ Summer. 21(1), 19-20.

Lovejoy, B. (2000). Its career and technical education. Techniques, Connecting Education and Careers, 75(1), 40-42.

Lu, T.Y., & Adler, H. (2009). Career goals and expectations of hospitality and tourism students in China. Journal of Teaching in Travel and Tourism, 9, : 63-80

Luria, G., Gal, I., & Yagil, D. (2009). Employees’ willingness to report service complaints, Journal of Service Research, 12(2), 156-174.

Major, B., & Evans, N. (2008). Reassessing employer expectations of graduates in UK travel services. International Journal of Tourism Research, 10, 402- 422.

Mayer, E. (1992). Putting general education to work: The key competencies report. Canberra: Australian Educational Council and Ministers for Vocational Education, Employment and Training.

McKinney, A., Carlson, K., Mecham I, R., D’Angello, N., & Connerly, M. (2003). Recruiters’ use of GPA in initial screening decisions: Higher GPA’s don’t always make the cut. Personnel Psychology, 56, 823-832.

McNair, C. J., & Leibfried, K. H. J. (1992). Benchmarking: A tool for continuous improvement. New York, NY: Harper Business.

Ministry of Tourism (2012) National Tourism Development Plan (2013-2127), Accra, Ministry of Tourism and United Nations Development Programme.

Nelson, A. A., & Dopson, L. (2001). Future of hotel education required skills and knowledge for graduates of U.S. hospitality programs beyond the year 2000, (Part 1). Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education 13(5), 58-67.

Owusu-Mintah & Kissi, M. (2012). Assessing the effectiveness of internship in tourism education and training in Ghana. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, (IJCRB), September, .Vol. 4(5), 521-540.

Owusu-Mintah, S. B. (2012 a). Tourism education and training in Ghana: An evaluation of the HND Tourism Curriculum of cape Coast Polytechnic [Unpublished Ph D Thesis submitted to the University of Cape Coast), Cape Coast, Ghana.

Owusu-Mintah, S. B.(2012b). Tourism education in Ghana: Occupational distribution of graduates. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, (IJCRB), August, 4(4), 523-546.

Owusu-Mintah, S. B.(2014). Entrepreneurship education and job creation for tourism graduates, Education + Training, 56(8/9), 826-835.

103


Avenues?


Owusu-Mintah, S.B. & Amenumey E.K. (2014). Evaluation of teaching methods for knowledge retention in tourism and hospitality education, Journal of Educational Management (JEM) 6(1&2), 185-205.

Rasul, M.S; Rauf, R.A, Mansor, A.N., & Puvanasvaran, A.P. (2012). Employability skills assessment tool development, International Education Studies, 5(5), 43-56.

Raybould, M., & Wilkins, H. (2005). Over qualified and under experienced: Turning graduates into hospitality managers’. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 17(3), 61-68.

Rutter, D. (1993). Catering education in Britain and Germany, Tourism Management, 4(1), 70-73.

Self, J. T. (2005). 20-20 Hindsight: A qualitative analysis of hospitality graduates. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 17(1), 33-37.

Sharp, A. & Qu, H. (2009) Do programs effectively prepare their students for the hospitality Industry? Hosteur 18(1), 15-18.

Swanger, N., & Gursoy, D. (2007). An industry-driven model of curriculum for programs housed in accredited colleges of business: program learning outcomes – Part III. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 19(2), 14-22.

Turner, R. (2014) Travel & Tourism Economic Impact on Ghana, 2014. London: World Travel & Tourism Council.

United Nations Development Programme (2007). Human Development Report, New York, NY: UNDP.

United Nations Development Programme (2010). Human Development Report, New York, NY: UNDP.

Wang, J., Ayres, H., & Huyton, J. (2009). Job ready graduates: A tourism industry perspective. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 16(1), 62-72.

World Travel & Tourism Council. (2010). Economic impact data ANI Report: Tourism research, Retrieved: January 23, 2011, from http://www.wttc.org.eng/Research/ Tourism_Research_Economic_Research.

104 ©ERNWACA GHANA


S.C. MADUMERE1, Q.O. OKELEKE2 ([email protected]), IKEDIFE CHIZOBA GLORIA3 ([email protected]),

OKPALA UCHECHUKWU LOVE4 & VIRGY ONYENE5 Faculty of Education; University of Lagos; Akoka, Nigeria.

Introduction

Education all over the world is generally accepted as an instrument of building the human stock toward developing human capital. Education builds quality work life mandate by maintaining its capacity through the acquisition of skills, knowledge and abilities. Education generally is a process whereby an individual acquires skills and knowledge which develops competence, attitude and behaviours in order to become productive and functional in various activities (Ofojebe and Eugoh, 2014). The implication of this statement is that education and strategies of human resource management will bring about change and quick development of economic and political status. Higher education produces professional human resource managers for the

development of the organization. Human resource management is a strategic

and coherent approach to the management of an organization’s most valued

Education and Human Resource Management in University of Lagos: Towards Meeting Quality Work

Life Mandate

This study examined Higher Education and Human Resource Management as an indicator for promoting quality work life mandate. The study was guided by three research questions as well as three hypotheses. Simple random sampling technique was adopted to select 25 academic and 25 administrative staff from 4 faculties out of 13 in the University of Lagos summing up the sample size to 200 participants. A researcher constructed instrument titled human Resource and Quality Work life Mandate Questionnaire (HRQWLMQ) was used for data collection. Data collected were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The results show that there exist significant relationships between motivation, interpersonal relationship, involvement in decision making process as well as training and quality work of life mandate. It was recommended that value-added working environment; employee’s recognition, show of love and respect has a direct connection with the workers’ morale and productivity. Key words: Higher education, human resource, management, quality work life and mandate

105

S.C. Madumere1, Q.O. Okeleke2 Ikedife Chizoba Gloria3 Okpala Uchechukwu Love4 Virgy Onyene5

Education and Human Resource Management in University of Lagos: Towards Meeting Quality Work Life Mandate


assets, the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives (Chike-Okolie, 2014). Human Resource Management is a designed pattern of operation through which human capital is maximized so as to attain the objectives of an organization. Expanding our study on this subject with reference to the school system involves the selection, training, motivation, promotion, decision making and training of the workforce in an institution of higher learning, the University of Lagos as a case study. Human resource in an educational organization is generally referred to as personnel or employees, which consists of academic and administrative staff of the institution. In order for an educational organization to achieve its objectives of producing highly qualitative and efficient graduates, the managers of human resources need to plan for personnel, recruit the right people for the job, train managers, provide incentives, evaluate employee performances and communicate with all the employees. The ultimate aim of human resource management is to increase productivity of any organization by improving the effectiveness of its employees as well as its quality work life mandate. Creating a sense of belonging amongst members of staff in an organization promotes personal development, employee satisfaction, inter and intra personal communication and adherence to stipulated policies as they are able to identify with the objectives of the organization. The structure of human resource management differs with respect to the nature of the organization in which it operates. The emphasis in achieving the goals of the organization is based on control and change of employee behaviour via reviews, appraisals, incentives, training and compensation of services. The survival of any organization relies on three major resources which are physical, financial and human resources. Ofojebe and Chukuma-Ezugoh (2014) posit that human resource is the greatest and most important asset of any organization and therefore should be properly managed for higher productivity. Therefore, this study examines the nature of human resource management and its way in guaranteeing quality work life mandate in University of Lagos state. Management of personnel in any organization is key to quality life mandate which involves paying attention to the personnel needs of an organization .Satisfying the financial and psychological needs of the work force of an organization engenders quality work life. Quality work life mandate can engender employee satisfaction and enhances organizational effectiveness. Quality work life is not only limited to improving life at work but outside the work. Human resource management should ensure that all the staff are carried

106




along, giving them financial and moral reward that will spur them to activities toward meeting quality work life mandate (Aja-Okorie, 2014) Managing human resources is in multiple phases, which is very complex. The challenges in harmonizing these phases could be based on personnel dispositions, expectations and goals that must be accomplished in consonance with that of the organization. The organization goals of increased productivity and maximizing profit will be in congruence. The right managerial style improves working condition, workers incentives, recognition and in enabling environmental work places. Human resources managers should be intuitive, which involves having the vision of both the organization and the staff at heart. Human resource managers should team up with the workers to meet their needs, since this will propel them to perform better. Human beings are prone to responding positively to a satisfactory management. Chike –Okoli (2014) asserts that staff will respond constructively if treated with consideration and respect, and as responsible individuals who wish to serve the organization well. This statement implies that recognizing an employee’s worth and efforts encourages him to perform his task effectively and efficiently as it creates respect, bonding and a sense of belonging, trust and dedication of the workers are built by creating a platform for cordial relationship among the members of staff. Ejiogu (2010) explicates the processes involved in creating a sense of value among employees as follows: “ know and understand others’ feelings, needs, problems and frustration; take an interest in the employee as a total person, not just a worker; capitalize on the employee’s strengths rather than weakness, using a positive reward than punishment; develop a sensitivity and alertness to “the little things” that frustrate employees and assist each employee to continuously grow and realize his or her potential…if you treat a person as he is he will continue as he is, but if you treat him as he is capable of becoming, will become what he is capable of becoming”(p.69) Human resources management is the process of motivating workers in an organization so as to obtain maximum output through utilizing available resources towards achieving productivity (Chike-Okoli, 2014). Quality work life mandate can be fostered through reward of meritorious and unprecedented services of the employees. The employees must be involved in communication and decision making processes which will improve the level of the employees so that they can work independently. The success and productivity of any

107




organization depends on the availability and utilization of the human resource (Nwaham, 2011). The theoretical frame work of this study is based on Douglas McGregor’s theory x and y. The McGregor theory x and theory are based on the assumptions of employers about the employees. Theory x assumptions make managers assume the average person dislikes work and will try to avoid it. Under theory x assumptions, most people need to be coerced, controlled, directed and threatened with punishment to get them to work towards organizational goals. The average person wants to be directed, shuns responsibility, has little ambition and seeks security above all. Under theory y assumptions, most people do not dislike work. The physical and mental effort involved is as normal as play or rest. People would exercise self-direction and of the assumptions that are employing self-control to reach goals to which they are committed to external control and threat. Punishments are not the only means for ensuring effort toward organizational goals. The workers commitment to goal attainment is a function of rewards available, particularly rewards that satisfy esteem and self-actualization of workers will make workers to willingly discharge their duties when working conditions are favourable, the average person learns not only to accept but also to seek responsibility. There are myriads of problems and challenges which affect the quality work life mandate in any organization, notwithstanding the skills and knowledge acquired by human resource managers. These problems vary according to the indifferent attitudes of employers of labour and management staff, such as non-recognition of the workers, non-involvement of the staff in decision making, inadequate communication flow and inability to motivate workers. All these constrains have negative effects on the quality work like of the employees as a result of ignoring the place of employees who usually find themselves a in a poor working condition, and thus reducing the performance of the employees. However, in order to have the goals of any organization achieved, the human capital must be treated well by creating a cordial relationship between the employees as well as proper training. The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between human resources management and quality work life mandate of University of Lagos. Specifically, the study sought to:

determine the extent of interpersonal relationship and quality work life mandate of academic and administrative staff of university of Lagos.

108




examine the extent the effect of motivation on quality work life mandate

determine the extent of staff involvement in decision making with regard to quality work life mandate.

The study provided answers to the following questions:

To what extent does the relationship between the employee and employer affect quality work life mandate in university of Lagos?

What is the extent of the effect of motivation on the quality work life mandate in the University?

To what extent does the employee involvement in decision making affect quality work life mandate in university of Lagos?

The following hypotheses were tested:

Ho1: There is no significant relationship between interpersonal relationship and quality work life mandate in University of Lagos

Ho2: There are no significant differences between motivation and quality work life mandate in University of Lagos.

Ho3: There are no significant differences in the involvement of staff in the decision making process and quality work life mandate.

Methodology

The research design employed in this study was descriptive survey and the research area covered University of Lagos. The population comprises academic and administrative staff of the University of Lagos. The sample size was 200. The instrument used for the study was researcher developed questionnaire titled Human Recourse and Quality Work Life Mandate Questionnaire (HRQWLMQ). The questionnaire contained two sections. Section A involved information about the staff while Section B involved twenty items to obtain information on university personnel management. The instrument was validated by experts in the department of educational administration. Reliability of the instrument was affirmed using the test-retest method. Twenty item test instruments were administered and retrieved by the researchers at an interval of one week. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Percentages, pie chart and bar chart were used to analyze demographic data and data for the research questions while Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) statistical tool was used to test the formulated hypotheses.

109




Results

Demographic characteristics of respondents have been presented in Figs. 1 to 6.

Fig 1: Gender of the respondents.

The gender distribution of the respondents revealed that 58% of them were males while 42% were females. This implies that majority of the respondents were males. Figure 2 shows that 55% of the participants were between the ages of 30 and 40 years old, 38% were between the ages of 40 and 50 years old, while 7% were 50 years old and above.

Fig 2: Age of the respondents

Series1, male, 113, 58%

Series1, female, 83, 42%

110




Figure 3 shows that 63% of the respondents were married, 26% were single while 12% were divorcees. Figure 4 revealed that 57% of the participants had Bachelor degrees, 31% had post graduates degrees while 12% of the participants had National Certificate of Education. Figure 5 shows that 82% of the participants were teaching staff while 18% were non-teaching staff. Table 6 revealed that 70% of the respondents were senior staff while 30% were junior staff.

Fig 4: Educational qualification

Series1, single, 49, 25%

Series1, married, 124, 63%

Series1, divorced, 23, 12%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

NCE Bachelor Postgraduate

Fig 3 : Marital Status

111




Fig 5: Job description

Series1, Junior, 59, 30%

Series1, Senior, 137, 70%

Fig 6: Position

112




Responses about interpersonal relationships have been presented in Table 1.

Table 1: Interpersonal relations

Interpersonal relations SA A D SD

Training and retraining and not retrenchment are the key principle of getting the staff aligned with modern technology

107 (54.6%)

25 (12.8%)

60 (30.6%)

4 (2.0%)

Both administrative and academic staff are working towards the same goals

48 (24.5%)

48 (24.8%)

91 (46.4%)

9 (4.6%)

There is a cordial relationship between the staff of University management

111 (56.6%)

7 (3.6%)

47 (24.0%)

31 (15.8%)

The communication flow between the academic and administrative staff and University management is an upward and downward communication

101 (51.5%)

40 (20.4%)

49 (25.0%)

6 (3.1%)

There is a good rapport between the subordinate and university management beyond office work environment

48 (24.5%)

99 (50.5%)

46 (23.5%)

3 (1.5%)

The university staff efforts are recognized so as to increase productivity

72 (36.7%)

20 (10.2%)

99 (50.5%)

5 (2.6%)

Source: field work Responses in Table revealed 54.6% and 12.8% of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed respectively that training and retraining and not retrenchment are the key principles of getting the staff aligned with modern technology, 31% disagreed while 2% strongly disagreed. On the other hand, 46% disagreed that both administrative and academic staff are working towards the same goals while 49% agreed with the same statement. In similar vein, 60% of the respondents agreed that there is a cordial relationship between the staff of the University and the management while the rest 40% disagreed. Similarly, 72% of the respondents agreed that the communication flow between the academic and administrative staff and University management is an upward and downward communication while 28% disagreed. More also, 75% of the respondents agreed that there is a good rapport between the subordinate and university management beyond office work environment while the rest

113




25% disagreed with the statement. On the other hand, about 53% of the respondents disagreed that their work or efforts are recognized so as to increase productivity while the rest 47% agreed with the statement. Table 2 contains responses concerning the motivation of staff.

Table 2: Motivation Motivation SA A D SD

Incentives are given to the staff of the University when they perform effectively and efficiently as a sign of appreciation

92 (46.9%)

28 (14.3%)

70 (35.7%)

6 (3.1%)

The workers are valued as precious assets and work under good condition

102 (52.0%)

26 (13.3%)

64 (32.7%)

4 (2.0%)

Awards, allowances, cash donation and word appreciation like thank you are used to boost the morale of the staff

59 (30.1%)

36 (17.8%)

98 (50.0%)

4 (2.0%)

Enough funds are invested in the training, retraining and restructuring of the University

49 (25.0%)

36 (18.4%)

106 (54.1%)

5 (2.6%)

Welfare of the staff is paramount to the University authorities

50 (25.5%)

84 (42.9%)

57 (29.1%)

5 (2.6%)

Human resources are provided so as to maximize productivity of the University

38 (19.4)

98 (50.0%)

55 (28.1%)

5 (2.6%)

Source: field work The responses in table 2 revealed that 61% of the respondents agreed that incentives are given to the staff of the University when they perform effectively and efficiently as a sign of appreciation while 39% disagreed. In the same vein, 52% and 13% of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed respectively that the workers are valued as precious assets and work under good condition, 33% disagreed while 2% strongly disagreed. Also, 48% of the respondents agreed that awards, allowances, cash donations and word appreciation like thank you are used to boost the morale of the staff while 52% disagreed. Similarly, 57% of the respondents disagreed that enough funds are invested in the training, retraining and restructuring of the University while 43% agreed. On the other hand, 68% of the respondents agreed that welfare of the staff is paramount to the University authorities while 32% disagreed. Also, 69% of the respondents

114




agreed that human resources are provided so as to maximize productivity of the University while 31% disagreed with the statement. The responses concerning decision making in the University have been presented

in Table 3.

Table 3: Decision making Decision making SA A D SD

The staff are involved in the decision making process and their own welfare.

45 (23.0%)

41 (20.9%)

104 (53.1%)

6 (3.1%)

Staff is carried along any time there are challenges facing the university organization.

42 (21.4%)

51 (26.0%)

100 (51.0%)

3 (1.5%)

Consent of the staff is sought when decision on any issue that affects the organization are made

74 (37.8%)

43 (21.9%)

75 (38.3%)

4 (2.0%)

Opinions of the staff are sought when there are challenges that need solutions

33 (16.8%)

70 (35.7%)

89 (45.4%)

4 (2.0%)

Both academic and administrative staff are involved in decision making process of the school

103 (52.6%)

18 (9.0%)

69 (35.2%)

6 (8.1%)

Participation of the staff in the decision making process makes them to be committed

132 (67.3%)

14 (7.1%)

44 (22.4%)

7 (3.6%)

Selection and recruitment of both academic and administrative staff are based on merit.

135 (68.9%)

13 (6.6%)

44 (22.4%)

4 (2.0%)

Different kinds of training are set aside for the staff

44 (22.4%)

40 (20.4%)

106 (54.1%)

6 (3.1%)

Source: field work Responses in table 3 revealed that 56% disagreed that the staff are involved in the welfare decision making process of the school or are told about the decision while 44% agreed with the statement. Also, 52% of the respondents disagreed that staff are carried along any time there are challenges facing the organization while 48% agreed. On the other hand, 60% agreed that consent of the staff are sought when decision on any issue that affects the organization are made while

115




40% disagreed. In addition, 62% of the respondents agreed that both academic and administrative staff are involved in decision making process of the school while 38% disagreed. Furthermore, 74% of the participants agreed that staff in the decision making process makes them to be committed while 26% disagreed. More also, about 75% agreed that selection and recruitment of both academic and administrative staff are based on merit while 25% disagreed. However, 57% of the respondents disagreed that different kinds of training are set aside for the staff while the rest, 43% disagreed. Results of the interpersonal relationship and quality work life have been presented

in Table 4.

Table 4: Interpersonal relationship and quality work life

Variables N Mean Std. Pearson Sig. Remark

Dev. Correlation (2-tailed)

Quality work life

196 13.85 2.03 0.344** 0.000 Significant

Interpersonal relation

196 17.45 2.45

P > 0.05, r-critical = 0.138 Table 4 reveals that the calculated r value of 0.344 is greater than the r critical value of 0.138 given 194 degree of freedom at 0.05 level of significance. Hence, the null hypothesis which states that there is no significant relationship between interpersonal relationship and quality work life mandate is rejected. It was therefore concluded that there was significant relationship between interpersonal relationship and quality work life mandate. Table 5 contains results of the relationship between motivation and quality work

life mandate.

Table 5: Relationship between motivation and quality work life mandate



Quality work life

196 13.85 2.03 0.618** 0.000 Significant

Motivation 196 17.40 2.41

Table 5 reveals that the calculated r value of 0.618 is greater than the r critical value of 0.138 given 194 degree of freedom at 0.05 level of significance. Hence,

116




the null hypothesis which states that there is no significant relationship between motivation and quality work life mandate is rejected. It was therefore concluded that there was significant relationship between motivation and quality work life mandate. Table 6: Relationship between staff involvement in decision making and quality work life mandate



Quality work life

196 13.85 2.03 0.354** 0.000 Significant

Staff involvement in decision making

196 23.48 2.49

P > 0.05, r-critical = 0.138 Table 6 reveals that the calculated r value of 0.354 is greater than the r critical value of 0.138 given 194 degree of freedom at 0.05 level of significance, hence the null hypothesis which state that there is no significant relationship between staff involvement in decision making and quality work life mandate is rejected. It was therefore concluded that there was significant relationship between staff involvement in decision making and quality work life mandate. Discussion of findings

The results of the study reveal that training and retraining but not retrenchment are positively related to the staff mastery of modern technology. Through the acquisition of skills of modern technology, the staff, both administrative and academic perform their roles effectively and efficiently. Individuals acquire skills and knowledge which developed competence, attitude and behaviour in order to become productive and functional in various activities (Ofojebe and Eugoh 2014). It was also discovered that there is a significant relationship between interpersonal relationship and quality work life mandate among the staff of University of Lagos. When the manager of human resources enforces good interpersonal relations, employees will interact and communicate with one and another. Such atmosphere creates team spirit and the goals of the organisation are accomplished (Onyene, 2007). The findings also showed that there is significant relationship between motivation and quality work life mandate. If an employee is recognized and

117




appreciated for his performance, such a person will become satisfied and therefore motivated towards greater performance (Ejiogu, 1990). Motivating the employees raises their morale. This motivation comes as reward, incentives and locomotion which will automatically add value to quality work life mandate. Adequate motivational strategies such as open door policy, delegation of duty, giving the employees free hands to participate in achieving organization goals and good human relations are essential tools for managerial effectiveness (Chike – Okoli, 2014). The study also revealed that there is a significant relationship between employees’ involvement in decision making and quality work life mandate. Human resource management is a strategic tool in managing most valuable assets in an organization when these employee are given opportunity to contribute to the decision making process as individuals and collectively, to the achievement of goals in an organization, the quality work life mandate is enhanced (Chike-Okoli , 2014). The implication of this is that the employees’ expertise, initiatives and creativity are synergized with the management to achieve maximum results as regards goal attainment of the organization. On the other hand, the employees are satisfied on the job because they can identify themselves with the success of the organization. Conclusion

This study therefore concludes that in the University, human resources management is highly correlated with quality life mandate of the staff. That when the employees are treated well and motivated through rewards and recognitions, promotion and involvement of employees in decision making process productivity is enhanced. Recommendations

The following recommendations were made: 1. Management of the University should endeavour to lay down structures

that will enthrone treatment of workers as precious valuables such as recognition, love, respect and understanding the feelings and needs of all the staff, so as to develop employee satisfaction.

2. Human resource management of the University should be given adequate training to enhance their ability to develop and motivate staff to function effectively.

3. Employees should be highly involved in decision making processes such that they will be carried along in respect of challenges affecting the

118




institution. This will reduce the burden on the management and workable solutions are created.

4. There should be a cordial relationship between the staff and the management.

5. The communication structure should be that of upward and downward type. The management should make efforts to listen to the yearnings of the employees and take active part in bringing solutions to their problems.

6. There should be establishment of total quality management which will help management to ensure that everything works and that employees are giving all necessary facilities for enabling working environment.

Reference

Aja-Okorie, U. (2014). Personnel management in school Administration. In G.O. Unachukwu & P.N. Okorji (Eds.) Educational management: A Skill building approach (pp. 230 – 252). Anambra: Rex Charles & Patrick limited.

Akuegwu, B. A. (2014). Quality higher education and sustainable development. In G.O. Unachukwu& P.N. Okorji (Eds.) Educational management: A Skill building approach pp. 142 – 167). Anambra: Rex Charles & Patrick limited.

Chike-Okoli, A.N. ( 2014 ). Effective human resource management for quality Educational outcome. In G.O. Unachukwu & P.N. Okorji (Eds.) Educational management: A Skill building approach (pp. 585 – 601) . Anambra: Rex Charles & Patrick limited.

Ejioogu, A.M (1990). Educational management: A system approach Lagos: Lantern Books Literamed Limited.

Ejiogu, A. (2010). Total involvement management: A 21st century imperative Lagos: Chartered Institute of Administration.

Heathfield, S. (2010). Human resource management. Retrieved from http://: www.whatishumanresource.com/human

Nwaham, C.O. (2011).School administration and supervision of instruction in Nigeria. Agbori Progress Printing Association

Ofojebe, W.N., & Chukwuma-Ezugoh, T.N. (2014). Managing education in Nigeria through effective human resource development and Capacity building. In B.O. Emunemu & F.S.

Akinwumi (Eds.), Educational management in Africa (pp. 536-550) Ibadan: The Department of Educational Management university of Ibadan.

Onyene, V (2007). Interpersonal skills for effective personal administration: the fad and the facts (2nded) Lagos. Vitaman Educational Books.

Weihrich, H., Cannice, M. V. & Koontz, H. (2008). Management: A global and entrepreneurial perspective. New Delhi; Tata Mc Graw-Hill Limited.

119 ©ERNWACA GHANA


OGECHI OKAFOR1, CHARITY IRIOBE2, CHIJIOKE NWAJIAKU3 & VIRGY ONYENE4

1, 2 & 4. Department of Educational Administration, University of Lagos, Nigeria

[email protected], [email protected], & [email protected]

3. School of Post Graduate Studies, University of Lagos, Nigeria [email protected]

Introduction

Teachers occupy a fundamental and indispensable position in the developmental process of nations including Nigeria. However, the most common challenge after recruitment of teachers is their retention. Many teachers leave their jobs when they encounter work environments that lack essential professional support. Furthermore, money that employees receive for services rendered is important to them not only financially for what it will buy but also psychologically for what it will provide in terms of status and recognition within and outside the organisation (Ejiogu, 2001). Compensation therefore, is a crucial component of employment and one of the most critical human resource coordination practices which involves their basic salary, bonus, benefits, promotions and recognition.

Service Compensation & Social Prestige as Predictive of Nigerian Teachers’ Inclination to Job Retention

Work person compensation is a critical factor in human resource management. It is the human resource tool that organisations use to manage their employees. This study examined three work value orientations in Nigerian teachers namely, economic returns, job prestige, and their willingness to be so retained. It also assessed effects of different categories of compensation devices, their social status and recognition which determine their inclination to remain in teaching until retirement. The study used questionnaire to collect data from 250 respondents. Data collected was analysed using the correlation statistics to ascertain the predictive potencies of the conjoint variables. The findings indicate that a significant relationship exists between compensation package for teachers, their social prestige and their career life inclinations. It was recommended that teachers’ status can be improved positively with adequate economic returns for services they provide. Key word: Resource, values, willingness, compensation, prestige, retention

120

Ogechi Okafor1, Charity Iriobe2, Chijioke Nwajiaku3 & Virgy Onyene4 Service Compensation & Social Prestige as Predictive of Nigerian Teachers’ Inclination to Job Retention


This useful compensation principle starts with ensuring fairness, equity in pay rates, punctual salary administration, with its inherent practical transparency. Effective service compensation which is properly designed and equitably utilized is indeed of essence. This has to motivate teachers to perform their roles effectively in their school. Social prestige, recognition and status are among what they expect to achieve in their place of work. Prestige as a social phenomenon has consequences for the individuals involved and for society at large. According to Ritzer (2009) social prestige denotes symbolic values expressed as a quality of honour and esteem that individuals and social groups may attain on the basis of desirable traits and achievements. Individuals and groups who enjoy high prestige are usually respected, esteemed and admired. It is related to status, and both concepts denote processes and outcomes of social evaluation that define the person in society. Enjoying high social prestige may be related to level of self-esteem, to influencing decision making in groups, and also to being relatively protected from exclusion and marginalization. The importance of social prestige ultimately is derived from the human desire to gain respect within one’s social environment and from the individual’s need for self-affirmation. Therefore, efforts to acquire or maintain a high level of prestige play an important role in individual motivation and encourages activities beneficial to the functioning and development of society. Retention is a complex concept and there is no single recipe for keeping teachers in their organisation. It refers to the teachers’ willingness to stay in a particular organization and the ability of the organization to maintain its employees in service. It is critical to retain high quality and qualified teachers to provide high quality education in schools. The teachers can be retained successfully only if they are satisfied with their jobs. Retention is driven by several key factors which include; organizational culture, communication, strategy adopted, pay and benefits, flexible work schedule and career development systems. Service compensation and social prestige in teacher job retention is very important because pay levels and job satisfaction are modest predictors of teachers’ decision to leave the organization. The degree to which teachers are satisfied with their job and their readiness to remain on the job is a function of compensation packages and reward system of the organisation. The teaching profession plays a significant role in supporting development of the country. Organizations must employ a wide variety of human resource management factors to influence retention and teacher commitment. Human resource is the pivot of organisational effectiveness and the greatest asset that an organisation can possess. Teachers are the organization’s key resources, and the success or

121



failure of organizations centres on the ability of the management to attract, retain, and reward appropriately. Compensation is the human resource management function that deals with every type of reward individuals receive in exchange for performing organizational tasks (Osibanjo, Adeniji, Falola & Heirsmac, 2014). Compensation can be described as financial and non-financial rewards received by teachers in an organization that serves to achieve satisfaction and retention as well as improve performance. Financial compensation includes wages, salaries, bonuses or commission while non-financial compensation includes incentives, medical benefits, achievement, autonomy, recognition, training and career development opportunities, housing allowance and annual leave allowances. Designing appropriate compensation programme is significant in personnel management because of its direct influence on teachers’ satisfaction, performance and job retention inclination. However, to avoid wrong perception and controversy by the teachers, compensation system must be clearly communicated to employees at the recruitment stage. According to Walker (2001) managing retention of promising employees’ is considered as a fundamental means of achieving competitive advantage among the organisation. Walker (2001), in his study identified compensation, appreciation, working relationship and good communication among major critical success factors to retain talented employees. Employees want to be paid well for the jobs they do, both for their self-esteem and as a practical means to living. The importance of compensation in teachers’ job retention inclination cannot be over looked in recent times. Teachers’ willingness to stay on the job largely depends on compensation packages of the organization which include not only salary, but also bonus, benefits, promotions and recognition. Regardless of the field, an employee wants to know whether his/her compensation package is competitive with what others who perform similar work and with the same qualification are earning. Many a time teachers quit their jobs due to reasons that include: lack of professional development, feeling unappreciated, excess workload, lack of feedback mechanism and loss of confidence in management. Motivation will influence behaviour and increase their job retention inclination. A study by Neog and Barua (2015) revealed that sixteen factors influence the retention of employees working in the automobile services which include job security, job satisfaction, compensation, training and development opportunity, career opportunities and promotion, reward and recognition.

122



Among them, job security was the most important factor for retaining employees in the automobile service workshops. Institutions are beginning to give greater recognition to individual pay and performance not only to encourage increased productivity and efficiency, but also to retain highly valued employees to achieve the firm’s objectives (Adeoye & Fields 2014). This is because the more encouragement employees receive, the higher their level of commitment to the firm. According to Decenzo and Robins (2006) low job satisfaction and high rate of absenteeism, staff turnover and moonlighting are some of the consequences of insufficient and inadequate compensation. To maintain job satisfaction and retention of teachers, service compensation in the form of wages received should be fair and adequate. Samuel and Chipunza (2009) in a study showed that non-financial compensational packages like training and development and sense of belonging significantly influenced retention amongst employees in both private and public sector organisations. Samuel and Chipunza (2009) argue that lack of training and development of employees’ skills was the largest determinant of turnover in organisations. However, some authors express contrary opinions. Providing teachers with the current training and development opportunities raises their market value (Bussin, 2002). Retention can be defined as a continuous and planned effort of taking all actions by the organization to retain the knowledgeable, skilled and competent employees selected (Shakeel & But, 2015). In today’s competitive environment, employees leave their organization for various reasons that include social prestige and recognition. Social prestige may result from such social roles as occupation or status and socio-political activities in an organization (The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 1979}. In addition, social prestige may be based on such psychological qualities as initiative, courage, and intellectualism or on such physical attributes as beauty. Other sources of social prestige are property, consumer goods, cultural values, and, in particular, social groups, institutions, and organizations. Social prestige is also related to authority, respect and influence. The bearer of social prestige is an individual who is endowed with this quality by society as a whole or by particular groups. The extent of social prestige often determines whether an individual or organization can successfully achieve an aim. Therefore, efforts to acquire or maintain a high level of social prestige play an important role in individual motivation, the activity in the organization and job retention inclinations. Huang, Lin and Chuang (2006) in a study identified that respected employee status was considered to have a great influence on

123



employee retention. Also a study of 25,000 employees in the hospitality industry revealed that organizational prestige was among the most mentioned reason for retention (Hausknecht, Rodda & Howard, 2009), According to Shakeel and But (2015) organization prestige motivates employees and retains them in the organization. Employees want to be associated with such organisations even when the pay package is low. The teaching profession is facing a lot of challenges in job satisfaction and performance relating to job retention in recent times. Teachers are important assets to national development. Teachers want to be paid well for the job they do, both for their self-esteem and as a practical means to living. However, despite the existence of a reward system in the teaching profession, the organisation still experiences a high employee turnover rate. This study therefore, examined the influence of compensation package (economic returns), social prestige and willingness to be retained in the work employed in Nigeria. The objectives of this study were to: 1. assess the relationship between economic returns, job prestige and teachers’

job retention inclination in Nigeria. 2. assess teachers’ perception of the importance of economic returns, social

prestige and job retention inclination on work values. 3. identify the factors that contribute to teachers’ willingness to remain

retained on teaching job as a professional career till retirement age. They following questions guided the study. 1. What is the relationship between economic returns, job prestige and

teachers’ job retention inclinations? 2. How do teachers perceive the impact of their economic returns, social

prestige on their job retention inclination? 3. What factors contribute to teachers’ willingness to remain retained on the

job as a professional career till retirement age? The hypothesis which was tested stated that: Ho1: There is no relationship between service compensation, social prestige and Nigerian teachers’ inclination to job retention. Methodology

Descriptive design involving cross-sectional survey was used for the study. Data was collected from in service teachers of the Lagos State Ministry of Education Nigeria. The simple random sampling technique was used to select 250 sandwich teachers out of 1000 at the University of Lagos Nigeria. Data were

124



collected with the aid of questionnaire. Responses to the items were adapted on the 4-point Likert type scale. The scale was further reduced to two with not very important and not important merged as not important and important and very important merged as important. The instrument was validated by four academic staff of educational administration and experts in educational management. This was to ensure face and content validity. The Cronbach alpha was used to determine the internal consistency of the instrument and a reliability coefficient of 0.80 was obtained. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. In order to quantitatively estimate the contributions of the service compensations and social prestige factors of the study against the job retention indicators, a Multiple Regression Model is constructed and analysed. In order to test the above hypothesis, the independent data collected on service compensation and social prestige were collated with Nigerian teachers’ inclination to job retention factors using Multiple Regression Analysis. Study Results

Research Question 1: What is the relationship between economic returns, job prestige and teachers’ job retention? Table 1 shows the economic returns, social prestige and teachers’ job retention inclinations. Table 1: Economic returns, social prestige and teachers’ job retention inclinations

Important Not Important

S/N Items Frequency of opinion

%

Frequency of opinion

%

1. Promotion based on merit

234 100 0 0

2. Receiving formal recognition from the society

224 95.7 10 4.3

3. Increment in bonuses and other financial incentives

234 100 0 0

4. Participation in decision making

218 93.2 16 6.8

125



Table 1 Continues

5.

Opportunities for career growth and other professional development

227 97 7 3.0

6. High esteem for the profession

230 98.3 4 1.7

Table 1 reveals that100% of the respondents agreed that promotions based on merit and increment in bonuses and other financial incentives are very important. Also, 95.7% of the respondents agreed that receiving formal recognition from the society is very important. In addition, 97% of the respondents agreed that opportunities for career growth and other professional development are very important for teachers. Further, 93.2% of the respondents agreed that participation in decision making is very important. From Table 1, it is deduced that there is a relationship between economic returns, social prestige and job retention inclinations. Research Question 2: How do teachers perceive the input of their economic returns and social prestige on their job retention inclinations? Table 2 shows frequency of respondents’ perception on economic returns, social prestige and job retention inclinations. Table 2: Teachers’ perceived input of economic returns, social returns and job retention inclination

Teacher Remuneration Elements.

Important Not Important

S/N Items Freq. of opinions

%

Freq. of opinions

%

1. Promotion 234 100 0 0

2. Pension Fund 234 100 0 0

3. Gratuity 234 100 0 0

4. Salaries 232 99.1 2 0.9

5. Job Security 229 97.8 5 2.2

6. Study Leave 228 97.4 6 2.6

7. Medical Allowance 227 97 7 3

8. In-service Training 227 97 7 3

126



Table 2 Continues

9. Housing Allowance 227 97 7 3

10. Reward for Outstanding Performance

224 95.7 18 7.6

11. Insurance Provisions 222 94.8 12 5.2

12. Leave and holiday Allowances

216 92.4 18 7.6

13. Transfer of Service 172 73.5 62 26.5

Social Prestige Factors 1. Good Reputation as a

teacher 234 100 0 0

2. Societal Influence 198 84.6 36 15.4

3. High Esteem for the Profession

230 98.3 4 1.7

4. Regard in the Society 221 94.4 13 5.6

5. Honour by local persons

221 94.4 13 5.6

6. Access to Power and Authority

172 73.5 62 26.5

7. Achieved Status as a Professional

227 97 7 3

8. Societal Regard 212 90.6 22 9.4

9. Pride of profession and Psychological contrast

212 90.6 22 9.4

10. Authority as a Professional

225 96.2 9 3.9

11. Societal Respect 228 97.5 6 2.6

12. Freedom of Movement and Association

210 89.8 24 10.3

Job Retention Factors

1. Sound Induction on the task

220 94 14 6

2. Academic Freedom/ functional Autonomy

224 95.7 10 4.3

3. In-service Training Opportunities

227 97 7 3.0

127



Table 2 Continues

4. Terminal Effect 213 91.1 21 9

5. Staff Union Membership

196 83.8 38 16.3

6. Staff Cooperative Societies

212 90.6 22 9.4

7. Involvement in School management Decisions-making

218 93.2 16 6.8

8. Professionalism in teaching

229 97.9 5 2.1

9. Self-motivation and personal value

230 98.3 4 1.7

10. Recognition in the service

211 90.2 23 9.8

11. Remuneration Package Increase

223 95.3 11 4.7

12. No other Job Option 133 56.8 101 43.2

Results in Table 2 reveal that all the respondents (100%) perceived promotion, pension fund, gratuity and good reputation of a teacher to be very important. Again, 99.1% of the respondents perceived salaries to be very important whereas 97.8% of the respondents perceived job security to be very important. In another case, 97.5% of the respondents perceived societal respect to be very important whereas 97% of the respondents perceived in-service training opportunities and achieved status as a professional to be very important. Also 96.2% of the respondents perceived authority as a professional to be very important. Furthermore, 95.7% of the respondents perceived academic freedom/functional autonomy to be very important. In another development, 93.2% of the respondents perceived involvement in school management decision making to be very important. Research Question 3: What factors contribute to teachers’ willingness to remain retained on the job as a professional career till retirement age? Fig.1 shows the remuneration factors that contribute to teacher job inclination in order of importance by gender.

128



Fig.1: Ranking of teachers’ remuneration elements that contribute to teachers’ willingness to remain on the job till retirement by male and female teachers In Fig. 1, indications are that the male respondents ranked promotion first with a mean score of 7.2 whereas the female respondents’ ranked leave/ holiday allowance first with a mean score of 7.4. The male respondents’ ranked pension third with a mean score of 6.1 whereas the female respondents ranked in-service training third with a mean score of 5.9. With a mean score of 5.8 the male respondents ranked study leave fourth while the female respondents ranked pension fourth with a mean score of 5.7. The male respondents ranked gratitude fifth with a mean score of 5.5 whereas the female respondents ranked study leave fifth with a mean score of 5.6. However, both the male and female respondents’ ranked salaries last with a mean score of 1.1 and 1.5 respectively.

129



Fig. 2 shows the social prestige factors that contribute to teachers’ job retention inclinations in order of importance.

Fig 2: Ranking of social prestige factors that contribute to teachers’ willingness to remain on the job till retirement by male and female teachers Fig. 2 reveals that respect from the society was ranked first by the male respondents with a mean score of 7.9 whereas the female respondents ranked access to power (control) first with a mean score of 7.3. The male respondents ranked authority second with a mean score of 7.5, whereas the female respondents ranked mobility second with a mean score of 6.8. Both the male and female respondents ranked influence in the society third with a mean score of 7.1 and 6 respectively. With a mean score of 7 the male respondents ranked power (control) fourth while the female respondents’ ranked authority fourth with a mean score of 5.8. Both the male and female respondents ranked good reputation as a teacher last with a mean score of 4 and 2.1 respectively. The findings concerning the job retention factors that contribute to teachers’ job inclination in order of importance by gender have been presented in Fig. 3.

130



Fig 3: Ranking of job retention factors that contribute to teachers’ willingness to remain on the job till retirement by male and female teachers The results in Fig.3 reveal that both the male and female respondents ranked staff union effects first with a mean score of 7.6 and 6.6 respectively. Both the male and female respondents’ ranked terminal benefits and recognition second and third with the mean scores of 6.5, 6.4 and 6.1 and 6 respectively. Ho1: There is no relationship between service compensation, social prestige and Nigerian teachers’ inclination to job retention.

131



Table 3: Correlation among service compensation, social prestige and job retention factors Renumeration

Factors social_

prestige_ factors

Job_Retention Factors

Renumeration factors

Pearson Correlation

1 .464 .505

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 N 234 234 234

Social prestige factors

Pearson Correlation

.464 1 .491

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 N 234 234 234

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) Table 3 reveals that there is a significant correlation among service compensation, social prestige and job retention factors. Therefore the null hypothesis was rejected. Table 4: Summary of Multiple Regression Models of service compensation and social prestige factors with teachers’ inclination to job retention. Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the

Estimate

.582a .339 .333 4.18076

ANOVAa

Model Sum of Squares

df Mean Square

F Sig.

1 Regression 2069.669 2 1034.834 59.205 .000b

Residual 4037.596 231 17.479 Total 6107.265 233

Table 4 indicated that the coefficient of determination (Adjusted𝑅2) = 0.333. This implied the joint effect of the independent variables is significant on the dependent variable ((teachers’ inclination to job retention) (F=59.205, df = (2, 233), significant value p = 0.00< 0.05).

132



Table 5: Relative contributions of the independent variables of the study to the dependent variable teachers’ inclination to job retention- Coefficientsa

Model Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 5.380 3.359 1.602 .111

renumeration_factor .455 .078 .354 5.857 .000 social_prestige_factors .336 .062 .327 5.410 .000

Table 5 showed that relative contributions of the independent variables (remuneration factors and social prestige factors) to dependent variables (teachers inclination to job retention): Remuneration factors: β = 0.455, t = 5.857. p = 0.000, Social prestige β = 0.336, t = 5.414, p = 0.000 contributed significantly to the teachers’ inclination to job retention. This implies that there is a significant relationship between service compensation, social prestige and teachers’ inclination to job retention factors. Discussion of findings

The results of the study relating to research question one, further analyzed by the hypothesis showed that there is a significant relationship between service compensation, social prestige and job retention factors. The results showed that 100% of the respondents rated promotions based on merit and increment in bonuses and other financial incentives as an important factor in job retention inclinations. The table revealed that 98.3% of the respondents rated high esteem for the profession as important. Also receiving formal recognition from the society was rated important by 95.7% of the respondents. To achieve the objective of teacher job retention inclination in the organisation, management needs to adopt and implement suitable for employee retention strategies. This involves the motivational, interaction, visionary processes and decision-making behaviour of the organisation. This corroborates the findings of Osibanjo, Adeniji, Falola and Heirsmac (2014), who reported that there are positive significant relationships among salary, bonus, incentives, allowances and fringe benefits. This implies that the human resources management has a dynamic role to play in retention of employees in work places. Further, the findings of the study revealed that only financial compensation is not sufficient to motivate and retain teachers in Lagos State Ministry of Education. The study found the following motivational variables: service compensation and social prestige to have significant influence on teachers’ job retention inclinations. The compensation and social prestige factors include;

133



promotion, pension, gratuity, salaries, housing and medical allowances, good reputation as a teacher, respect from the society, high esteem for the profession, high social ranking, academic freedom, in-service training, job security, professionalism in teaching as the most significant factors perceived by teachers that influence job retention inclinations. Other retention factors include: involvement in school management decisions, self-motivation and personal values, recognition and authority as a profession. It has been shown that teachers’ job retention inclination is derived from their perception of the organisational commitment to support them through the provision of motivational factors. The results are consistent with previous research findings by Walker (2001), who identified compensation, appreciation; working relationship and good communication among major critical success factors to retain the talented employees. In an experimental study on Motivation and Achievement by Iriobe (2010) it was discovered that extrinsic motivations through promised rewards create the desire to excel in teaching of arts based subjects. Despite the vital roles teachers play, the public perceptions of teaching are eroding even in countries like Nigeria where the teaching profession was once respected. Teachers are examples of a subdued social enthusiast, longing to belong but experiencing an elusive dream. This corroborates the findings of Hall and Langton (2006), who reported that teaching is not a high status profession or occupation as the primary drivers of status include power, money and fame. Others include the amount of training, skills and expertise required to be on the job. Although the study recognised teachers as having to be well trained and highly skilled and seen as being influential on the society in the future, neither of these factors result in teachers being powerful, famous or rich. The education planners do not see any reason to earmark budgetary allocations for hazard allowances and other incentives to motivate them for commitment to job description and job retention inclinations. The study analysed retention factors by gender as each group valued different factors in order of importance. In relation to service compensation the male respondents ranked promotion as the first in order of importance whereas the female respondents ranked leave/holiday allowances as their first choice. On social prestige factors the male ranked respect from the society first whereas the female respondents ranked power in the organisation first. Given that there was a difference in male and female respondents, it becomes imperative on the management to seek out areas for gender improvement to achieve a level of satisfaction the will ensure job retention inclination. Both the male and female respondents ranked staff union effects first in job retention factors. The findings

134



imply that management need to improve on the policy programmes for staff unionism to ensure job retention inclination. One of the most impactful influences on job retention inclination is promotion across all gender groups. This implies an appropriate compensation packages will design the desired employer behaviour and attitude by providing the linkage between organisations and employee goals and improve job retention inclinations. Corroborating this findings Neog and Barua, (2015), in their study revealed sixteen factors that influence the retention of employees in an organisation that include job security and promotion. Conclusion

There is the need to enlighten the policy makers and management on the importance of adequate salaries, regular promotions, professional developments and social status of teachers and the impact of these factors on job retention inclination. The findings of the study call for appropriate retention strategies that will derive internal and external desire to job retention inclination. On the basis of the findings the study may conclude that these factors have substantial roles in determining teachers’ job retention inclinations in the organisation. Recommendations:

Based on the study, the following recommendations were made: 1. Adequate attention should be given to factors other than economic returns

such as training and development opportunities, promotions, statues in the society aimed to improve job retention inclinations.

2. Government must design and develop an effective means of motivating teachers for job retention. This could be achieved by creating and maintaining an effective policy framework aimed at teacher job retention inclination.

3. Adequate attention should be given to good working conditions of teachers to improve job retention inclinations.

Implications for Teacher Education:

Given the importance of teachers to national development, the results of the study will be beneficial to state ministry of education and local government education authorities in determining the needs of teachers so as to improve factors that influence job retention inclination. Therefore it is important for management to develop an appropriate retention strategy that addresses employee compensation and social prestige of Nigerian teachers.

135



References

Adeoye, A. O. & Fields, Z. (2014). Compensation management and employee job satisfaction. A case of Nigeria. Journal of Social Sciences 41(3) pp 345-352.

Bussi, M. (2002). Retention strategies: Remuneration answers Johannesburg. Knowledge Resources.

DeCenzo, D. A & Robbins, S. P. (2006). Fundamentals of human resources management. USA: Nice Printing Press Daily

Ejiogu, A. (2001). Human resources management: Towards greater productivity, Lagos: Generation Press Limited.

Hall, D. & Langton, B. (2006). Perception of the status of teachers, Retrieved from http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/ECE/ 2535/5971.

Hausknecht, J. P., Rodda, J., & Howard, M. J. (2009). Targeted employee retention:Performance-based and job-related differences in reported reasons

for staying. Human Resource Management. 48(2), 269-288. Huang, I., Lin, H. & Chuang, C. (2006). Constructing factors related to worker

retention. International Journal of Manpower. 27(5), 491-508. Iriobe, C. (2010). Impact of motivational climate on attitude to and

achievement in visual arts among junior secondary school students in Lagos State. A Ph.d thesis, University of Lagos, Nigeria.

Neog, B. B. & Barua, M. (2015). Factors affecting employee’s retention in automobile service workshop of Assam: An empirical study. The SIJ Transactions on Industrial Financial and Business management. 3(1), 9-18.

Osibanjo, O. A., Adeniji, A. A., Falola, H. O. & Heirsmac, P. T. (2014). Compensation Packages: a strategic tool for employees’ performance and retention. Leonardo Journal of Sciences. 25, 65-84.

Ritzer, G, (2009). Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Sociology. Retrieved from www.sociologyenclyclopedia.com 2015-10/20.

Samuel, M. O. & Chipunza, C. (2009). Employee retention and turnover: Using motivational variables as a panacea. African Journal of Business Management. 3(8), 410-415.

Shakeel, N. & But, S. (2015). Factors influencing employee retention: An integrated perspective. Journal of Resources Development and Management. 6, 32- 49.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979), Retrieved from http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Great+Soviet+Encyclopedia 2015-10/13

Walker, J. W. (2001), Perspectives. Human Resource Planning, 24(1), 6 -10

136 ©ERNWACA GHANA


FATIMA MOHAMMED JODA1 & OLOWOSELU ABDULRASHEED2

Department of Science Education Modibbo Adama University of Technology P.M.B 2076 Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria

Corresponding email –[email protected] Introduction

Teaching practice is a practical oriented teaching programme which is tailored towards the production of highly motivated, conscientious and effective classroom teachers. Teaching practice is an integral part of the teacher education programme in Nigeria. It is geared towards the preparation of new entrants into the teaching profession. The teaching practice exercise is to acquaint student-teachers with the requisite practical knowledge of teaching methods and learning processes including lesson plan preparation, presentation, classroom management, communication skills, evaluation and the development of appropriate personality of professional teachers.

Assessment of the Quality of Teaching Practice Programme of Teacher Education Colleges in North

Eastern Nigeria

Teaching practice is practical oriented exercise tailored towards the production of highly motivated, conscientious and effective classroom teacher.This paper investigated the quality of teaching practice supervision in teacher education programme in North Eastern Nigeria. The population of the study comprised lecturers in the School of Education, from Federal Colleges of Education in North Eastern Nigeria. The researchers used simple random sampling technique to select 250 respondents for the study. The instrument for data collection was 20 items questionnaire. The test-retest method was used to determine the reliability of the instrument. A correlation coefficient of 0.79 was obtained. Two research questions were answered using descriptive statistic of mean. The findings revealed that lack of good welfare packages for supervisors and standardized general teaching practice assessment instrument for all the Colleges of Education were the major challenges of teaching practice supervision in teacher education. It was therefore recommended among other things that, adequate welfare packages should be provided for supervisors on teaching practice supervision. There should be general instrument for teaching practice assessment for all the Colleges of Education in North Eastern Nigeria. Key Words: Assessment, quality, teacher education, teaching practice, programme.

137

Fatima Mohammed Joda1 & Olowoselu Abdulrasheed2 Assessment of the Quality of Teaching Practice Programme of Teacher Education Colleges in North Eastern Nigeria


The teaching practice exercise is accorded a high premium in the teacher education institutions. Thus, it is allotted the highest status of six credit units. Qualified lecturers and external assessors usually carry out supervision exercise. Balogun (2010) noted that education, as a course of study is not complete without teaching practice exercise. He asserted that constant supervision of students reduce absenteeism from places of assignment. He therefore suggested that the score obtained by each student should be added to the score awarded on education theory to determine the final grade of a student. This implies that no one should be a qualified teacher without having passed teaching practice. The goals of teacher education in Nigeria includes, “the encouragement of knowledge enquiry, creativity in teachers, and provision of intellectual professional background that will adequately cater for their teaching job and also make them adaptable to changing environment” (FGN, 2004). Section 8B (item74) of the National Policy on Education (FGN, 2004) noted that teacher education shall continue to take cognizance of changes in terms of innovation in teaching methods, curriculum development and regular exposure in the profession. Institutions are charged with the responsibility to provide professional training for teachers. These include: Faculties/Institutes/Schools of Education of Universities; they train teachers for secondary schools by offering Bachelor of Education Degree Programme. Also, Colleges of Education in Nigeria are responsible for training teachers for primary and junior secondary schools (basic education). The NCE has become the minimum teaching qualification for primary school teachers in Nigeria (FGN, 2004). Some of these Colleges of Education also offer NCE pre-primary courses in order to produce teachers for the pre-primary level of Education. The NCE is perceived as the foundation of teacher education in Nigeria (Federal Government of Nigeria, National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), 2014). The duration of the teaching practice is usually twelve weeks where the trainees are posted to schools for some practical orientations in teaching. During the teaching practice exercise, students are expected to imbibe the culture of the schools where they are posted. They are therefore, required to be in attendance at every school day in their assigned schools during the term. Student teachers are expected to acquire and exhibit skills such as punctuality to classroom, good relationship with staff of the school and students, good mode of dressing and appearance, acceptance of other responsibilities such as conducting extra-curricular activities like games, clubs and society, being part of the school excursion team and also in the general discipline of students. Ogunsaju (2006) asserted that some student-teachers do not exhibit all the teaching practice skills

138



during the exercise. However, teachers in training tend to experience challenges especially with students behaviour in their schools (Aina, 2011). According to Akinwumi (2006) the teaching practice activities improve the pedagogical skills of teachers in training. The principals, vice principals and regular teachers play significant roles in support of teaching practice, while faculty members both male and female undertake the supervision and assessment of trainees (student-teachers). However, lack of good welfare package for the supervisors is the major challenge of teaching practice supervision in Nigeria. Fabunmi (2014) asserted that there should be regular seminars on new innovations for these supervisors for capacity building. Apparently, the level of involvement of primary and junior secondary schools where the exercise is carried out is limited because they do not grade but only ensure conformity with the schools’ scheme of work. Student teachers are also expected to prepare lesson plans for every lesson for which they are responsible, based on the format given to them during an orientation. The lesson plan is made available to the supervisor during supervision. For effective supervision, a faculty supervisor serves as an advisor to the student, providing support for teaching practice. The supervisors assess supervisees’ teaching efforts, make verbal and written comments, and also provide scores for grading. Ogunsaju (2006) posited that, there should be time limit within which the supervisors will conduct the supervision exercise, and with timely submission of teaching practice results. The relationship between the supervisors and supervisee, the host school and the school principals should be cordial. The welfare of the supervisors in terms of night allowances, transport and allowances for local running should be paid. However, there is no common standard or uniform instrument used by supervisors in all the colleges of education in Nigeria to assess supervisees during the teaching practice exercise. Durosaro (2006) posited that a standardized instrument should be used to measure teaching practice skills by supervisors during the teaching practice exercise. Teaching practice is an essential aspect of teacher education which forms the core of teacher training programme. Therefore, it is essential that the assessment of students on teaching practice be efficiently conducted and assessed through proper validated instrument. In order to ensure this, supervisors (male and female lecturers of Colleges of Education) are involved in the assessment of students on teaching practice. Aina (2011) asserted that there is no significant difference in male and female ratings of teaching practice skills exhibited by student teachers. The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of teaching skills exhibited by teaching practice students and the quality of teaching practice

139



supervision in teacher education in Colleges of Education in North Eastern Nigeria which provides teachers for primary and junior secondary schools. Significantly, the study would be of considerable value to the supervisors and Supervisees in providing credible information about teaching practice. It would also put the college authorities in a position to explore ways of improving the supervisory skills of supervisors for effective and efficient teaching practice programmes for the future. The study is poised to providing answers to the following research questions: 1. What are the qualities of teaching skills exhibited by teaching practice

students assessed by supervisors in Colleges of Education in North Eastern Nigeria?

2. What is the quality of teaching practice supervision programme assessed by supervisors in Colleges of Education in North Eastern Nigeria?

Methodology

The study employed the descriptive research survey design. The researchers adopted this design which permits the use of questionnaire to collect data from the sample group and to measure opinions toward some issues. The design is also the most appropriate method of obtaining factual and behavioural information from selected samples (David & Sutton, 2004). The population of the study comprised all the lecturers in the two (2) Federal Colleges of Education in North Eastern Nigeria. The sample was drawn from the two Federal Colleges of Education using simple random sampling technique. The colleges were FCE Yola with 125 respondents and FCE Gombe with 125 respondents, whose ages ranged from 30 to 60 years. An instrument titled: Assessment of Teaching Practice Programme Questionnaire (ATPPQ) was adopted for the study. It had two parts, Part A contained items on demographic data of the respondents, while Part B contained 20 items on the quality of teaching practice supervision in teacher education and qualities of teaching skills of teaching practice students in Colleges of Education in North Eastern Nigeria. The instrument was validated by three lecturers in the Department of Science Education, Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola. The reliability of the instrument was established through a test-retest procedure and correlated using Pearson moment correlation coefficient and the reliability of 0.79 was obtained. This was considered adequate for the study. The instrument was administered by the researchers and all copies were returned. A Likert rating scale of Strongly Agree (5), Slightly Agree (4), Agree (3), Disagree (2) and

140



Strongly Disagree (1) was used for the items. The two research questions were answered using the mean. Here, an item with a mean score of 3.0 and above was accepted, while item with a mean score of less than 2.99 was not accepted. Results

Research Question 1: What are the qualities of teaching skills exhibited by teaching practice students assessed by supervisors in Colleges of Education in North Eastern Nigeria? Table 1: Mean rating of supervisors on qualities of teaching skills exhibited by teaching practice students in Colleges of Education in North Eastern Nigeria.

S/n

Items Mean response of supervisors

Decision

1 Punctuality to classroom 3.45 Accepted 2 Pedagogical skills 3.84 Accepted 3 Acceptance of responsibility 4.24 Accepted 4 Mode of dressing and appearance 3.07 Accepted 5 Relationship with school staff 2.89 Not accepted 6 Relationship with students 3.20 Accepted 7 Preparation of daily lesson plan 3.60 Accepted 8 Ability to work under pressure 2.80 Not accepted 9 General discipline of student

teacher 3.42 Accepted

10 Social and emotional intelligence 3.19 Accepted

Research Question 2: What is the status of teaching practice supervision programme assessed by supervisors’ of Colleges of Education in North Eastern Nigeria?

141



Table 2: Mean rating of supervisors’ on the quality of teaching practice supervision programme in Colleges of Education in the North Eastern Nigeria.

S/n Items Mean response of supervisors

Decision

1 Coordinators’ planning skills 4.04 Accepted 2 Supervisors’ supervision skills. 3.86 Accepted 3 Supervisors’ and host school

relationship 3.09 Accepted

4 Supervisors’ time-management skills.

3.23 Accepted

5 Administrative response to teaching Practice challenges

3.92 Accepted

6 Supervisors and student teacher relationship

3.21 Accepted

7 Timely submission of result to coordinator

3.09 Accepted

8 Supervisors and principals relationship

4.09 Not accepted

9 Uniform calendar for teaching practice supervision

2.19 Not accepted

10 Supervisors’ welfare on teaching practice

2.19 Not accepted

Table 2 revealed that, apart from items 9 and 10 which are below 2.99 mean score, all other items rated above the acceptable mean of 3.00. The conclusion therefore is that, items 9 and 10 which were about having uniform calendar for teaching practice supervision and supervisors’ welfare on teaching practice in all the colleges of Education are the impeding challenges facing teaching practice supervision in Colleges of Education in North Eastern Nigeria. Discussion of findings

On the qualities of teaching skills exhibited by teaching practice students; all items except item 5 and 8, have high mean scores for supervisors. This indicates that, student teachers were prompt in their classes and exhibited good qualities of teaching skills during the teaching practice supervision. Certainly this finding lends credence to the findings of Balogun (2010) who opined that constant supervision of students on teaching practice reduced students’ absenteeism in their places of assignment. Focusing on the qualities of teaching skills exhibited by teaching practice students, supervisors’ agreed that the student teachers were impressive during teaching and learning process,

142



exhibiting good pedagogical skills which gave them mean score of 3.84 respectively. This finding is in line with Akinwumi (2006) that teaching practice activities improve the pedagogical skills of teachers in training. The findings also revealed that, there was low mean score for items 5 and 8 which signified weak influence of relationship of student-teachers and school staff on ability to work under pressure in their schools. This finding agrees with the findings of Ogunsaju (2006) who asserted that some student-teachers do not exhibit all the teaching practice skills during the exercise. Table 2 revealed low mean score for items 9 and 10 which shows lack of good welfare package for supervisors which apparently hindered their abilities to supervise prudently. This signifies that majority of supervisors were less motivated, which weakens their supervision abilities in the teaching practice programme. This finding has justified the submission of Ogunsaju (2006) that lack of motivation weakens supervisors’ attitude to supervise student-teachers on teaching practice exercise effectively. Also there is no uniform or standardized teaching practice assessment instrument for all the colleges of Education. This is in line with the submission of Durosaru (2006) that standardized instrument should be used to measure teaching practice skills by supervisors. Conclusion

Strategic policy on teaching practice programme is a detailed road map which enables supervisors to effectively and efficiently manage supervision of students on teaching practice exercise. It is clear from the findings of this study that, the lecturers of Colleges of Education (supervisors) in North Eastern Nigeria have similarities in their assessment of the quality of the teaching practice programme in North Eastern Nigeria. Also, the supervisors appeared to be on the same line in their assessment of the quality of teaching skills exhibited by the student teachers. Certainly, the supervisors must have taught and assessed many student teachers at one time in their working life or the other. They have possessed higher levels of experience, exposure and career maturity over the years. They should be inspired, motivated, and involved in all stages of teaching practice planning and organization in their colleges. Recommendations

Education fundamentally improves human capital; notwithstanding that teachers are one of the most important human factors in the school system. The quality of teachers, to a great extent, determines the success of the school

143



system. Thus, the findings of this study show that the low welfare package has a number of implications for the supervisors of teaching practice programme. At this point, the following recommendations are made: 1. Authorities of Colleges of Education should allocate more funds to teaching

practice supervisors to enhance their effective and efficient supervision of student teachers.

2. The supervisors, school principals and host school teachers must provide huge support to the student teachers at the early stages so as to work with less pressure in the schools and to overcome class management challenges.

3. The duration of teaching practice should be extended to provide the student-teachers enough time to master the art of teaching in the practical setting of the school. This would enable the supervisors an ample time for practical assessment of the student-teachers and would facilitate high quality teaching practice experience.

4. Principals and teachers must build good relationship with the student teachers and also ensure that, the teaching subject assigned to each student-teacher must is within his field of study to ensure quality teaching practice experience.

5. There should be uniform and standardized instrument to be produce by the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) to be used by all the colleges of Education in Nigeria for Teaching practice assessment.

References

Aina, S. (2011). Rudiment of Educational Management. Lagos–Nigeria: Fountain training consult.

Akinwumi, F. S. (2002). Mode of Supervision and Teacher Productivity. International Journal of Clinical Psychology and Counseling. 7, 2-11.

Balogun, A. M. (2010). Challenges of Higher Education in Nigeria: A manager’s perspective.

Being a paper presented at the maiden edition of the Faculty of Education Annual Lecture Series, University of Ado-Ekiti, March 22.

David, M. & Sutton, C. D. (2004). Social research: The basics. London: Sage Publications

Durosaro, D. O (2006). Teacher Education in Nigeria: Past, Present and Future challenges.

The Pacesetter Journal. Oyo State College of Education. 13 (1), 44-54. Fabunmi, M. (2014). Perspectives in Education. Ibadan-Nigeria: HIS Lineage

Industrial Press. Federal Government of Nigeria (2004). Teacher’s Education in Nigeria. Kaduna:

National Teacher’s Institute.

144



Federal Government of Nigeria (2004) National Policy on Education. Abuja-Nigeria: Federal Ministry of Education.

Federal Government of Nigeria (2004). Teachers’ Registration Council. Abuja-Nigeria.

Federal Government of Nigeria (2004). .National Commission for Colleges of Education Annual Report. Abuja- Nigeria: NCCE Press.

Ogunsaju, S. (2006). Secondary School Management and Supervision. Ilorin: Crystal press.

Documents

Journal of Innovation In Education in - ROCARE - … Ghana Chapter Journal.pdfERNWACA decided to establish its own journal; Journal of Innovation in Education in Africa (JIEA). JIEA