CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background Of The Study

In the twentieth century Nigeria with her abundant human and Natural resources has not been able to achieve much technologically. Aina (2004) opined that the inability to achieve much at this period is not unconnected with history since we attained independence; policies and strategies of the various levels of government have not been far reaching enough to involve a sound technological foundation for the country.

Previous education policies have de-emphasized technical education in favour of the grammar school type of educational system.  Until recently, the courses and curriculum of the technical college in Basic Electronics departments across the country are stereotyped and not comprehensive enough to meet the technological needs of the economy for rapid and meaningful development as witnessed in advanced countries of the world (Olukosi, 2007).  Since the advent of poor economy in Nigeria, funding of education by the three tiers of government (Federal, state and local government) has never been what it used to be in the 70s, particularly Basic Electronics in technical colleges which is capital intensive. Consequently, the materials, tools, equipment and facilities required for training are sparingly provided.  In these circumstances, it will be very difficult for Basic Electronics students to meet the maximum standard required for a meaningful Basic Electronics development.

Technical colleges in Nigeria have been training people to become craftsmen and technicians. Training qualifies them for jobs in both public and private sectors of the economy. Both sectors, according to Nwosu (2005), requires well-trained and competent technicians who can operate and maintain the available technical equipment. Therefore, there is a need for qualitative technical colleges for education and training to produce graduates that can perform competently in their chosen vocation without a need for pre-employment training.

Basic Electronics is one of the vocational subjects offered in technical colleges in Nigeria. According to Adesina (2002), electronics is a field of study that is both science and technology related. It is concerned with the ways in which the movement of electrons through space is controlled and manipulated. Its applications feature in radios, televisions, computers, transmitters, receivers, aeronautics and other related equipment. The objectives of studying basic electronics in technical schools in Nigeria according to Federal Ministry of Education (FME, 1985) are to: develop a further understanding of the basic concepts and principles of electronics; build and test simple electronic devices; develop skills in circuit fault tracing and repairs; apply simple electronic devices in the construction of electronic system and; prepare students adequately for further work in electronics. The National Policy on Education (2004) stipulated that Electronics should be one of the Vocational courses to be taught in Technical Schools to provide trained manpower and give training necessary for an acquisition of skills to individual who shall be self-reliance economically. But the way topics in Basic Electronics are taught appears to lack instructional procedure that creates interactive style. Berryman (2000) noted that the implication is that the instructions are not logically sequenced to fit the ability of the learners as teachers could not provide teacher-led practice to engage in reciprocal teaching. According to Boyle, Duffy and Donleavy (2003) the methods are based on behavioural learning theory, emphasize knowledge transmission from teachers to passive students and encourage rote memorization of facts. Campbell and Campbell (1999) noted that when students are passive in the classroom, they become apathetic and repulsive to learning. The consequence is that students are unable to retain their learning and apply it to new situation (Roegge, Wentling and Bragg, 1996). The shortcomings of the present teaching methods partly accounted for the poor performance of students in the Senior School Certificate Examination and National Examination Council (NECO) Examinations. In West Africa Examination Council Chief Examiners’ reports (1989 and 1990) showed that the performance of senior secondary school students in basic electronics was very poor. The council advised among others, that vocational subjects of which Basic Electronics is one of them should be taught with appropriate teaching methods to achieve better results. WAEC results showed that average failure rate in basic electronics in the years 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 2005 and 2006 were 86%, 94.29%, 68.85%, 72%, 30.76%, 24%, 28.82%, 40.14%, 56.84%, 59.57% and 42.49% respectively (WAEC National Office, Lagos Public Affairs Unit Vol.05/L/PR/92). In the same vein, statistics of NECO examination results showed that average failure rate in basic electronics in the years 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 were 79.90%, 58.65%, 75.34%, 94.63% and 68.27% respectively. The increasing effects of globalization and the rapid rate of technological changes on work places have informed the recommendation by United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) (2002) that all technical and vocational education system in the 21st century should be geared towards lifelong learning. This requires that schools should in addition to academic skills; inculcate workplace basic skills such as learning to learn, creativity, problem solving skills, collaborative skills and higher order thinking skills in order to increase the students’ flexibility and job mobility which will make them adaptable to the present and envisaged changes (Hallak and Poisson, 2000 and Paris, 1998). In this context, Rojewskin (2002) noted that a shift from teacher-centred instruction to learner-centred instruction is needed to enable students acquire the new 21st century knowledge and skills. In order to attain to students centered method of teaching Basic Electronics, projector mediated and demonstration methods was to be used.

One of the ways of producing competent manpower in electricity/electronics is through effective teaching. Okoro (2009), observed that teaching of basic electronics is expensive in nature in terms of equipment and tools etc. The impact of Electrical/Electronics technology on the life of individuals is significant because most homes and offices employ the services of electrical appliances (e.g. fans, air-conditioners, refrigerators) and electronic gadget (e.g. computer, telephone/fax machines, television sets, satellite dish decoders and radio sets etc.) for maximum comfort and satisfaction. The need to train highly skilled manpower in the area of Electrical/Electronics technology becomes imperative. Basic Electronics is one of the technical education subjects taught in year I, II, and III as stipulated by the National Policy on Education (FGN, 2004). Then technical education aims at giving training and imparts the necessary skills leading to the production of craftsmen, technicians and other skilled personnel who will be enterprising and self-reliant.

Suleiman (2005) noted that the teaching of Basic Electronics in Nigerian technical schools is not impressive; it is faced with a lot of problems which among others include lack of funding, equipment, tools, infrastructures, inadequate teaching materials and unqualified manpower. Apagu (2007) observed that the objectives of technical education can only be achieved if there are availability of teaching materials, equipment, tools, infrastructures, qualified manpower, funding, and adequate planning of technical education curriculum. In addition, Suleiman (2005) opined that Basic Electronics is the aspect of technical education which deals primarily with electricity and magnetism, forces of nature and material for the benefit of mankind. Moreover it encompasses the study and application of motion of carriers (electronics, holes and ions) under the influence of externally applied voltage or current or in relation to incidence or production of radiant energy.

The Electricity/Electronics curriculum for Nigerians Technical schools is made up to two broad areas. The first area is the Electrical installation and maintenance practice and its subject components include Basic electricity, Domestic and Industrial installation, cable joining and Battery charging and winding of Electrical machines (NBTE 2001 and NABTEB, 2004). The second area which is Electronics based is known as radio, television and electronics works and it comprise aspects such as Basic Electricity, Radio communication, television and electronics devices/currents (NBTE, 2001 and NABTEB, 2004).

Saba (2003) noted with concern that the above mentioned curriculum of Electricity/Electronics which teachers are expected to implement with proficiency and effectiveness is more practically detailed than the Electricity/Electronics teachers’ education curriculum. Consequently, this makes it very difficult for Electricity/Electronics teachers to implement the Nigerians technical schools curriculum effectively and that brings the performance of students very low in the subjects. Abbas (2004) who reported that most teachers teaching Basic electricity/electronics in Nigeria are either not professional or not qualified. However, these problems may lead to failure of many students in the final examinations. In view of the realization of constraints’ confronting the teaching of Basic Electronics, it is too difficult for the students to learn and understand. Therefore there is need to map out strategies for improving the teaching of Basic Electronics in technical colleges in Nigeria.

Statement Of The Problem

Job performance of electrical/electronics students in industries as claimed by industrial supervisors and personnel showed that there is no proper or adequate linkage between school work and industrial performance. Although, there are many inhibitors to this state of impediment of electrical/electronics students, but that should not be a reason for the dwindling academic or job performance. This aligns with the assertion of Nwosu (2005) who stated that job satisfaction among electrical/electronics students after graduation is very poor, although there is lack of tools and equipment to carry out practical work. This study is therefore aimed at finding out how projector mediated and demonstration methods would affect the academic achievement of students’ in Basic Electronics.

Purpose Of The Study

The main purpose of the study is to determine the effects of projector mediated and demonstration methods on the performance of basic electronics students’ in technical colleges in Lagos State.

Specifically, the study intends or is designed to;

1.   Determine ways of enhancing students’ performance in basic electronics using projector mediated method.

2.   Find out the impact of the use of demonstration method on students’ performance in basic electronics.

·         Determine how the performance of those taught with projector mediated method compares to those taught with demonstration method.

Significance Of The Study

The beneficiaries of the study include:

·         Students: The result of the study will keep the students abreast of the success recorded so far and to find ways of improving in their study. The findings of this study would also be of immense benefits to the students of technical colleges, as it would make them fully aware of the strategies for enhancing their performance in applied electricity.

·         Technical teachers/Instructors: The result of the study will help teachers and technical instructors to improve the practical work and learning of basic technology, specifically practical work which will be of immense benefit to the students.

·         Government: it will help the government at levels to become aware of certain strategies in the programme which can march the country towards technological advancement.

·         Society: the society benefits from this study because increased and improved productivity of the students, teachers and industries leads to the economic development of the nation.

·         Industries: It will reduce the cost of training and re-training of manpower by the industries by providing readily available manpower resources.

Research Questions

In order to achieve the purpose of this study, the following research questions are raised to guide the investigation.

1.   To what extent would projector mediated method enhance students’ performance in basic electronics?

2.   To what extent would demonstration method enhance students’ performance in basic electronics?

·         How does the performance of students’ taught with projector mediated method differ from those taught with demonstration method?

Research Hypothesis

The following hypotheses would be tested in the study

H01:     There will be no significant difference in the mean performance of those taught with projector mediated method and those taught with lecture method.

H02:     There will be no significant difference in the mean performance of those taught with demonstration method and those taught with lecture method.

H03:     There will be no significant difference in the mean performance of students’ taught with projector mediated method and those taught with demonstration method.

Scope Of The Study

This study focused on the challenges faced by technical students in the learning basic electronics. It focuses on the use of appropriate methods and strategies; the importance of using suitable methods for enhanced students’ performance.

Operational Definition Of Terms

Projector: also known as image projector is an optical device ha projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen.

Performance: the action or process of performing a task or function.

Basic Electronics: is the study of flow of electrons in various materials or space subjected o various conditions.

Technical Colleges: a college of further education providing courses in a range of practical subjects, such as information technology, applied sciences, engineering, agriculture and secretariat skills.