TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE i
APPROVAL PAGE ii
CERTIFICATION iii
DEDICATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
LIST OF TABLES ix
LIST OF FIGURES xi
ABSTRACT xii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1
           Background of the Study                                                                          1
Statement of the Problem 8
          Purpose of the Study                                                     9                     Significance of the Study                                                                             10
  Research Questions                                                                                  11
Hypotheses 12
  Delimitation of the Study                                                                          13
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 14
Conceptual Framework 14
Concept of Vocational and Technical Education 14
Electrical/Electronic Technology in Colleges of Education     17      Â
Teaching strategies for enhancing the Competence of Pre service
Teachers in Electrical/Electronic Technology 19
Training Activities for enhancing the Competence of Pre service
Teachers in Electrical/Electronic Technology 23
Training Facilities for enhancing the Competence of Pre service
Teachers in Electrical/Electronic Technology 30
Organization of Training and Working Environment to enhancing
the Competence of Pre service Teachers in Electrical/Electronic
Technology 31
Theoretical Framework                                                                        41
Review of Related Empirical Studies                                       47
Summary of Review of Related Literatures                            53
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 57 Design of the Study 57
Area of the Study 57
Population for the Study 58
Instrument for Data collection 58
Validation of the Instrument 59
Reliability of the Instrument 59
Method of Data Collection 59
Method of Data Analysis 60
CHAPTER IV: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA 61
           Research Question 1                                                                               61
           Research Question 2                                                                        63
           Research Question 3                                                                  65
           Research Question 4                                                                             67
Hypothesis 1 68
Hypothesis 2 70
Hypothesis 3 72
Hypothesis 4 74
Findings 76
Discussion of Findings 82
CHAPTER V:Â Â Â SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â 87
Restatement of the Problem 87
Summary of Procedures Used 88
Major Findings 89
Implication of the Study 90
Conclusions 91
Recommendations 91
Suggestion for further Study 92
REFERENCES 93
APPENDICES 99
Appendix I: Ackerman’s (1988) Modified Radex model of abilities and skill 99
II: Ackerman’s proposed ability-performance correlations underlying
skill acquisition 100
III: Questionnaire for Respondents                                                101
IV: Letter for Validation of the Questionnaire 105
V: Request for Completion of Research Questionnaire 106
VI: Result of the Analysis using SPSS 107
LIST OF TABLES
                                                                                                                                 Page
Table
- Â Mean Responses of the Respondents on the Computers Aided
Teaching Strategies that will enhance the Competence Of
Pre-service Teachers in Electrical/Electronic Technology 62
- Mean Responses of the Respondents on the Techniques that will
be adopted to effectively Utilize Training Activities for
Enhancing the Competence of Pre-service
Teachers in Electrical/Electronic Technology 64
- Mean Responses of the Respondents on the Appropriate Training
Facilities that will enhance the Competence of Pre-service
Teachers in Electrical/Electronic Technology 66
- Mean Responses of the Respondents on the How can Training and
Working Environment be Organized to enhance the Competence
of Pre-service Teachers in Electrical/Electronic Technology 67
- The t-test Analysis of the Mean Responses of Electrical/
      Electronic with  Teaching Experience of below 1-10yrs
and those Lecturers with Teaching Experience of above 10yrs
on the Computers Aided Teaching Strategies that will
      enhance the Competence of Pre-service  Teachers in Electrical/
      Electronic Technology in Colleges of    Education                                    69
- The t-test Analysis of the Mean Responses of Electrical/Electronic
Lecturers with Teaching Experience of below 1-10yrs and those
Lecturers with Teaching Experience of above 10yrs on the
Training Activities that will enhance the Competence of
           Pre-service Teachers in Electrical/Electronic Technology     71
- The t-test Analysis of the Mean Responses of Electrical/Electronic
Lecturers with Teaching Experience of below 1-10yrs and those
Lecturers with Teaching Experience of above 10yrs on the
appropriate training facilities that will enhance the competence
of pre-service teachers in electrical/electronic technology in
colleges of education 73
- The t-test Analysis of the Mean Responses of Electrical/Electronic
Lecturers with Teaching Experience of below 1-10yrs and those
Lecturers with Teaching Experience of above 10yrs on how
Training and Work Environment should be Organized to
Enhance the Competence of Pre-service Teachers in Electrical/
Electronic Technology in Colleges of Education 75
Abstract
The study was carried out to determine strategies for enhancing the competence of pre-service teachers in electrical/electronic technology in Colleges of Education in North Central Nigeria. A survey research design was used. The population for the study was 101 electrical/electronic technology lecturers from eleven colleges of education. The instruments used for data collection was structured questionnaire. Four research questions and four hypotheses were formulated. Mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the data for answering research questions while t-test analysis was used to test the hypotheses of no significant difference at 0.05 level of significance. It was found out that twenty one computers aided teaching strategies, nineteen training activities; twelve training facilities were required for enhancing the pre-service teacher’s competence in electrical/electronic technology. It was also found that training and work environment can be organized in ten ways to enhance the pre-service teachers’ competence in electrical/electronic technology. There was no significant difference between the mean responses of electrical/electronic lecturers with teaching experience of below 1-10yrs and those lecturers with teaching experience of above 10yrs on the computers aided teaching strategies, training activities, training facilities and how training and work environment should be organized to enhance the competence of pre-service teachers in electrical/electronic technology in colleges of education. Based on these findings, it was recommended that teachers of electrical/electronic technology in colleges of education should adopt strategies determined in the study for enhancing the competences of the pre-service teachers. Government should organize workshops and seminars for the electrical/electronic technology teachers on how to enhance competence of students in electrical /electronic technology. Pre service teachers of electrical/electronic technology should be retrained for effective teaching in schools and colleges.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
College of Education (COE) is principally a teacher training institution in the country, established to produce teachers for secondary schools. College of Education (COE) is established to train individuals to become competent in teaching science, agriculture, woodwork, home economics, metalwork, auto mechanics and electrical/electronic technology.
Colleges of education, according to Ellah (2007), are tertiary educational institutions that prepare intermediate level teachers for a minimum of three years to make them qualify to teach their respective subjects. Bakare, Zakka and Fittoka (2010) stated that these colleges run various technical education programmes such as automobile technology, technical drawing, woodwork technology, metal work technology, building technology and electrical/electronic technology.
Attama (2011) stated that colleges of education in Nigeria run the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) programmes in vocational and technical courses. They are under the control of the National Commissions for Colleges of Education (NCCE) which uses the minimum standard to monitor the implementation of programmes in the colleges. Bakare, et al (2010) also explained that colleges of education are established for producing graduates who can teach and practicalise what they have learnt. Colleges of Education as referred to in this study are specialized and conventional colleges that offer technical education programmes. That is colleges of education technical and states colleges of education that offer’s technical education departments which have been accredited by the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) to train pre-service teachers.
Pre-service teachers are the students undertaking a course of learning in the Colleges of Education, which shall lead to the award of Nigeria Certificate in Education. Pre-service teachers according to NCCE (2008), are candidates whom have gained admissions in the Colleges of Education to study a programme or course of his/her choice for a period of three (3) years; to enable them teach effectively at the basic education level. The pre-service teachers are candidate undergoing training in the colleges of education for the purpose of teaching and they possess the pedagogy as required in the area they are trained, that is the knowledge and skills that teachers need for effective teaching, (NCCE, 2008). Pre-service teachers as referred to in this study are the NCE III candidates that are measuring in electrical/electronic technology option. The NCE III are chosen because, it is at this level of study that the pre-service teachers chose their area of specialization, and the electrical/electronic technology is an area of specialization at the NCE III, (NCCE 2008).
Electrical/electronic technology is one of the technical education options offered at colleges of education that exposes students to practical knowledge and skills. It is concerned with the acquisition of practical knowledge and skills by pre-service teachers in areas such as; measuring electrical quantities, magnetism and electromagnetism, electrical circuits, electrical/electronic drawing, electrical machines and power, telecommunications, and maintenance and repair of electrical equipment, (NCCE, 2008). According to Onifade (2005), electrical/electronic technology option is designed to produce electrical/electronic personnel for manufacturing, assembling, servicing of power generator, transmission, distribution and utilization in industries. Electrical/electronic technology is a programme designed for inculcating or equipping students with knowledge, skills and attitude in electricity and electronics to enable them impart the same to students in Schools and Colleges.
Electrical/electronic technology as referred to in this study is an option in the technical education that equip pre-service teachers with pedagogical skills in power generation, transmission and distribution; installation and maintenance of electrical equipment, repairs of elect/elect appliance, domestic and industrial wiring systems, circuit wiring, protection system and testing. The objectives of the electrical/electronic technology option in colleges of education as stated by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) (2004) are: To produce qualified and competent electrical/electronic teachers who will be capable to teach electrical/electronic technology subjects in the secondary schools; To produce NCE electrical/electronic technology teachers who will be able to inculcate the scientific and technological attitudes and values into the society; To produce qualified NCE electrical/electronic graduates who will start the so much desired revolution of technological development right from the Nigerian schools; To provide students in electrical/electronic with necessary competencies so as to qualify them for a post NCE degree programme in electrical/electronic; To equip and produce qualify NCE electrical/electronic graduates with the right skills to engage in a life work in the industry as well as self employment.
These, laudable objectives can be said to have been achieved when the pre-service teachers are found to be competent to teach or practice after graduation. Competence according to Miller, Bakare and Ikatule (2010) involves acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Olaitan (2003) viewed competence as the knowledge, skills, attitude and judgment which one acquired in order to perform successfully at a specified proficiency in a given work. International Labor Organization (ILO) (2004) also described competence as the knowledge, capabilities, skills and behavior which someone exhibits in doing his job. Competence in this study therefore, is considered as both professional and technical competence. The professional competence is the total quality of the pre-service teachers to effectively employ necessary methods for imparting knowledge, which might include; lesson plan, delivery, instructional material utilization, classroom organization and evaluation technique. While the technical competence, refer to practical skills acquisition in areas such as power distribution, maintenance of electrical motors, repairs of elect/elect appliances industrial/domestic wiring systems, protection and testing systems which will lead to active participation in work places and self employment. However, for them to do this effectively, strategies are needed to enhance the competence of students in electrical/electronic technology, hence the present practices in the programme no longer accomplishes the objectives.
Strategies are carefully devised plan of action to achieve a goal. It can also be described as a well planned series of action for achieving an aim especially success. A strategy can be formulated only after the objectives to be accomplished have been determined, (Burke, 2009). However, for professional or technical competence to be acquired, certain strategies have to be employed. So strategies as referred to in this study are the techniques that will be adopted by lecturers in colleges of education for enhancing the pre-service teacher’s competence in electrical/electronic technology. These strategies will be directed specifically to teaching methods, training activities, training facilities and organization of training and work environment.
Teaching strategies employed in imparting knowledge to the pre-service teachers needed to be enhanced due to the fact that, the society keeps changing due to the globalization caused by Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Agbulu, Idoko and Adamu (2010) stated that, introducing technology into teaching and learning has proven to make learning more students centered, encourage cooperative learning and stimulate increased teacher/student interaction. Technology occurs over a period of years as teachers become more experienced with technology. The new Computer Aided Instruction (CAI) present vast opportunities for schools to achieve the excellence and productivity they have long sought. To take advantage of these opportunities, however, educators and educationists would need to overhaul the entire school curriculum to render it relevant for the demands of the time, (Long, 2005).
Therefore, the need to shift from the traditional methods of teaching such as the lecture, discussion, demonstration, project and field trips to Computer Aided Instruction (CAI), where power point presentation, slide show, computer simulation, digital electronics, circuit wiring diagrams and Computer Aided Design (CAD) will be adopted, for enhanced pre-service teachers competence. Also, certain strategies have to be enforced in training activities which shall enhance the competence of pre-service teachers. This is because the laboratory training activities have failed to equip the pre-service teachers with the required competences.
Training activities could be described as the duties performed by a teacher at the particular period in the school system in achieving organizational goals. Akinyemi, (1993) stated that training activities is the combination of relevant inputs for the enhancement of learning process. However, training activities as referred to in this study are the various tasks or duties to be performed, employing both human and material resources to achieve the objectives of training pre-service teachers to acquire practical skills. Specifically the activities include Student’s Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), field trips/excursions and teaching practice.
These are training activities performed outside the school settings, and are mostly been carried out with less attention by pre-service teachers. Therefore this study will determine how these activities will be utilized to enhanced pre-service teachers with the expected electrical/electronic competencies. In support of this, Atep, Obono, & Emem, (2011) stated that skill acquisition is needed much in every sector of occupation, for competencies and productivity of a nation. Nsa (2006) also submitted that, the urgent need of resources transformation for technological development has brought about the emphasis on practical skill acquisition which means “learning by doing”. Also, strategies have to be employed in the utilization of training facilities. This is because, if the most standard facilities are provided but are not utilized as supposed, the aim will be defeated. So for the purpose of effective utilization of training facilities this study will determine how appropriate training facilities will be utilized during teaching and learning of pre-service teachers. Problem normally arises when it comes to effective utilization of training facilities, these ranges from inappropriateness, inadequacies, and inefficiency and lecturers unawareness. This however, create concern and called for appropriate strategies that will be put in place for effective utilization of training facilities for enhanced pre-service competence.
Training facilities are the material things that lecturers use to facilitate teaching and learning in the school. Ezeji (2004) stated that, training facilities include tools and machines, which stimulate an industrial environment in an educational setting. The training facilities include consumables, equipment, machinery, tools, electrical fixture, apparatus, safety devices, standard laboratory or workshops, structures and well equipped laboratory with modern equipment. These facilities enable the skilled technology teacher to achieve a level of instructional effectiveness that far exceeds what is possible when they are not provided.
Also, it has been observed that training facilities require proper organization. This is because; organization of training and work environment will enhance success in any training institution. Situations where laboratory equipment are poorly arranged with little or no work space, materials are inaccessible, tools are in disorganized state as well as untidiness of the work environment, which have been observed to be common in technical laboratories is not in the interest of the course. With such arrangements, the aims and objectives of setting out such institutions will be defective. According to Eze (2010), organized training and work environment ensures effective teaching and learning. These training and working environment includes; standard laboratories or workshops, lecture halls, tools cabinets, storage areas and hostels. However, in most cases this training environment even when they are in deplorable situation such that effective teaching and learning cannot be achieved they are still left unattended to, this causes problem as lecturers continue to adopt improper teaching strategies, manage instructional materials, facilities and even training environments.
This however creates concern hence the current trends of globalization in the country has called for a shift from the traditional methods of instruction to the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), if effective teaching and learning is expected to be achieved. Also the training activities has to be improved upon, starting from the placement of students on SIWES training, as well as taking the students to relevant industries for field trips, and the poor arrangement of posting students to a school for teaching practice. Also, the inappropriateness or obsolete training facilities and poor training and work environment are possible set back’s for training pre-service teacher’s particularly electrical/electronic technologies who are always found roaming the streets when they are unemployed, the need to enhanced their competence becomes necessary.
Statement of the Problem
