ICSTE2012

International Conference on
Science and Technology Education
October 22-26, 2012
Owerri, Nigeria

PROCEEDINGS BOOK
Volume 1
Edited by
Jacinta A. Opara,PhD
Milan Kubiatko,PhD
M.O.N. Obagah,PhD
Uri Zoller,PhD
Austin N. Nosike,PhD
Shobana Nelasco,PhD
Anthonia U. Ejifugha,PhD
Nkasiobi S. Oguzor,PhD
Blessing C.Ijioma,PhD
Gerhard Berchtold,PhD
 ©2012 International Association for Teaching and Learning

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Technology, Education and Environment Conference and the publication herein is provided in
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 Forward
On behalf of the Board of Trustees and International Scientific Commission of International
Association for Teaching and Learning and International Society for the Scientific Research,
I have the pleasure to furnish you herewith the Proceedings which herein contains a
collection of the papers presented at International Conference on Science and Technology
Education (ICSTE2012) organized by African Society for Scientific Research and African
Association for Teaching and Learning in cooperation with Alvan Ikoku Federal College of
Education, Owerri-Nigeria and other partners and collaborating journals. The conference
was held October 22-26, 2012 at Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, Nigeria.

The ICSTE series is an academic activity for interested scholars, educators, scientists,
technologists, environmentalists, policy makers, corporate bodies and graduate students.
The aim of the conference is to diffuse research findings and create a conductive
environment for scholars to debate and exchange ideas that lead to development in science,
technological and economic spheres of the global community.

Following the call for papers by the International Scientific Commission, papers we
received more than 300 proposals from 27 different countries from all continents. As a
commitment to the vision and mission of academic excellence and integrity, each paper
was anonymously reviewed by two members of the editorial sub-committee of the
Commission. This book of proceedings contains a selection of the papers presented at the
conference.

We wish to express our sincere thanks to the Provost, Management, Staff and students of
Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri for providing the venue and facilities for
the conference and for being committed to towards ensuring the success of the conference.
The Local Organising Committee led by Associate Professor Dr Anthonia U. Ejifugha played
enormous role that ensure the realization of the project.

We thank all our institutional partners especially the European Scientific Institute and the
Mediterranean Center for Social and Educational Research for their cooperation and
support for the project. We express our profound gratitude to all and sundry especially our
Special Guests, delegates, reviewers, the media, the Nigerian foreign missions and all the
cooperating partners for their contributions in promoting this noble academic event.

Please read on!!!

Jacinta A. Opara,PhD
Convenor, International Conference on Science and Technology Education
Visiting Associate Professor, Universidad Azteca,Chalco-Mexico
 Co-sponsoring Partners
International Conference on Science and Technology Education(ICSTE2012) is organized
by International Society for Scientific Research (ISSR) and International Association for
Teaching and Learning(IATEL) with the Support and Cooperation of: Alvan Ikoku Federal
College of Education, Owerri-Nigeria;Human Resource Management Research Society,
United Kingdom; International Association for the Scientific Knowledge,
Portugal;Mediterranean Center for Social and Educational Research, Italy; Federal College
of Education(Technical),Omoku-Nigeria;European Scientific Institute, Macedonia;
Universidad Azteca, Mexico;Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt-
Nigeria;Universidad Central de Nicaragua, Nicaragua; Raphael Nosike Foundation and
Beverly Resources.
 ICSTE2012
International Scientific Commission
Chief Host
Dr(Mrs)Blessing C. Ijioma
Provost, Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri-Nigeria
Conference Chair
Professor Oby C. N. Okonkwor
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka-Nigeria
Conference Chairs
Dr Jacinta A. Opara
President,African Association for Teaching and Learning
Professor Richardo R. Saavedra Hidalgo
Vice-Rector,Universidad Azteca,Chalco-Mexico
Sir(Dr)Nkasiobi S. Oguzor,JP,CT,KSC,PHF
Provost,Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku, Nigeria
Dr Jovan Shopovski
President, European Scientific Institute, Macedonia
General Coordinator
Dr Austin N. Nosike
The Granada Management Institute, Spain
Scientific Director
Professor M.O.N. Obagah
Ignatius Ajuru University of Education,Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Coordinators
Associate Professor Anthonia U. Ejifugha
Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education,Owerri-Nigeria
Professor Peter U. Akanwa
Imo State University, Nigeria
Professor Kinikanwo A. Anele
University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Editor in Chief
Professor Gerhard Berchtold
International Association for Teaching and Learning
Editor
Professor Addison M. Wokocha
Registrar/Chief Executive, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria
Associate Editor
Dr Peter Ojimba Daso
Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
 Scientific Committee Members
Hector F. Rucinque
University of Cordoba, Columbia
Toader Nicoara
Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Radoslav Raspopovic,
University of Monte Negro, Monte Negro
Ugochukwu P.N. Amadi
Federal College of Education(Technical),Umunze-Nigeria
Ljubomir D. Frckoski
Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia
Sibylle Heilbrunn
Ruppin Academic Center, Emek-Efer, Israel
Sule Kut
Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey
Justina Adalikwu-Obisike
Canadian University College,Alberta-Canada
Arda Arikan
Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
Andrea Carteny
Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Maryam Chkhartishvili
Tbilisi State University, Georgia
Jozsef Pal
University of Szeged, Hungary
Godfrey Baldacchino
University of Malta, Malta
Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos
University of Athens, Greece
Werner J. Patzelt,
Univerisity of Dresden, Germany
Vincent Hoffmann-Martinot
University of Bordeaux, France
Mohamed Ben Aissa
University of Tunis, Tunisia
Marco Cilento
Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Werner J. Patzelt
University of Dresden, Germany
Emanuele Santi
African Development Bank, Tunis, Tunisia
Kamaruzaman Jusoff
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Nkasiobi S. Oguzor
Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku, Nigeria
Jacinta A. Opara,
African Association for Teaching and Learning
Sokol Pacukaj
Aleksander Moisiu University, Albania
Liverpool Onyije Federal College of
Education(Technical),Omoku-Nigeria Natarajan Gajendran
Indian Society for Education and Environment Prof Yau
Yuen Yeung Hong Kong Institute of
Education, Hong Kong A. R. Sayfoo
Vocational Training Institute, Mauritius Mohammad
Nisar University of Malakand,Pakistan
A.C. Nwokocha Michael Okpara
University of Agriculture, Umudike-Nigeria Mahwish Washeed
International Islamic University, Pakistan Raphael C.
Njoku University of Louisville, USA
Sodienye Austin Abere Rivers State
University of Science and Technology, Nigeria Timothy A. Falade
New York Institute of Technology, Jordan Pedro Cravo
International Association for the Scientific Knowledge, Portugal Fernando
Alberto Ferreira Polytechnic Institute of
Santarem, Portugal John A. Idumange
Niger Delta University, Nigeria Orifjan Namozov
Prague Development Centre(PRADEC), Czech Republic Ivan Genov
Science and Education Foundation, Bulgaria Bassey Ubong
Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku-Nigeria Hassan
Danial Aslam Human Resource
Management Research Society(HRMARS), Pakistan Abraham I. Oba
Niger Delta Development Commission, Nigeria Lisa Licata
Sapienza University of Rome-Italy Alberto
Becherelli Sapienza University of
Rome-Italy Giuseppe Motta
Sapienza University of Rome-Italy
Alessandro Pistecchia Sapienza University
of Rome-Italy
Jovan Shopovski Ss. Cyril and
Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia Antonello Battaglia
Sapienza University of Rome-Italy
 CONTENTS
ACTIVE LEARNING: CREATING EXCITEMENT AND ENHANCING
LEARNING IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT OF THE 21STCENTURY
Grace A. Fayombo
EVALUATION OF EDUCATIONAL REFORMS AND HUMAN
CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT IN A GLOBAL AGE
M.O.N Obagah
MATHEMATICAL GIFTEDNESS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
Hanna David
SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN KARACHI METROPOLIS, PAKISTAN
Anisa Yousuf and Sadia Bhutta
THE INVESTIGATION OF CZECH LOWER SECONDARY
SCHOOL PUPILS TOWARD SCIENCE SUBJECTS
Milan Kubiatko
CONSTRUCTION OF A PRIMARY DRY CELL BATTERY FROM
CASSAVA JUICE EXTRACTS (THE CASSAVA BATTERY CELL)
Kenneth O. Igharo
FACTORS AFFECTING THE EFFECTIVE USE OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHER TRAINING
Muhammad Safdar,Irshad Hussain, Nazar Abbas Nazar, Muhammad Yaqoob, Shakeel Ahmad Ghazi and
Muhammad Abdul Malik
PSYCOLOGICAL BEHAVIOUR AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT:
PERSPECTIVES ON DEGRADING RURAL LIVELIHOOD
Prakash Naraian Kalla
FROM ALGORITHMIC TEACHING TO-"KNOW" TO HOCS (HIGHER-ORDER-
COGNITIVE-SKILLS) LEARNING TO-"THINK" ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY; WHAT SHOULD IT TAKE? … AND…HOW TO DO
IT?
Uri Zoller
TECHNOPHOBIA AND GENDER DISPARITY: ISSUES OF
CONCERN IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD
Jagpreet Kaur
MARKETING OF REFRACTORY PRODUCTS:A STUDY
IN THE REFRACTORY INDUSTRIES IN ORISSA(INDIA)
Saikat Gochhait. and P.C Tripathy
ON SOME REMARKABLE PRODUCT OF THETA-FUNCTION
M. S. Mahadeva Naika, M. C. Maheshkumar and K. Sushan Bairy
ACHIEVEMENT VARIATIONS OF BASIC SCIENCE STUDENTS TAUGHT WITH
TEACHER-CENTRED, TEACHER/STUDENT-CENTERED AND STUDENT-
CENTERED INSTRUCTIONS IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA.
M.C. Ndirika
DEVELOPING AND ASSESSING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PROCESS SKILLS
(STPSs) IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT
Johnson Ayodele Opateye
ON SOME NEW MODULAR RELATIONS FOR RAMANUJAN'S  (q)  FUNCTION and
 (q)  FUNCTION
M. S. Mahadeva Naika, B. N. Dharmendra and S. Chandankumar
ON TEENAGE DEPRESSION AND GENDER DISPARITY OF
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN RURAL INDIA
Shakuntala Punia and Santosh Sangwan
AN ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEM FOR INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTROAL
COMMISSION (INEC) IN ZARIA KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA.
F.B Abdullahi
THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF VOCATION TRAINING IN
TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA
Otuaga, O. Uviomo-Mayes
A WEB-BASED APPLICATION FOR BULK SMS SOLUTION
F.B Abdullahi and S. Suleiman
HUMAN RELATIONS CONCEPT: A DYNAMIC APPROACH TO ACHIEVING
EFFECTIVE GOALS IN SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
Ugwulashi, Chima Sebastine and Archibong, Florence Imaobong
THE STATE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
INFRASTRUCTURE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA
Salawu Abideen Alamu
TEACHING THE VIRTUAL COURSE DEVELOPMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS
Hanna David
IMPROVISING TEACHING /LEARNING AIDS IN CLASSES OF GEOGRAPHY IN
OGUN STATE (NIGERIA) SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL (SSS)
Kofo A. Aderogba
WATER EDUCATION: AN ANTIDOTE TO WATER BORNE DISEASES
Ifesinachi B. Onyekaozuru
INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN SCHOOL EDUCATION
AND MARGINALISED: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS
Jyoti Ranjan Sahoo and Mamita Panda
REVIVING THE AFRICAN ART AND CULTURE THROUGH
EXPLORATION OF INDIGENOUS CONCEPTS IN PAINTING
Thomas, Uzhiyekachi Godstime
STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING LEARNING SKILLS IN
PRIMARY SCIENCE IN NIGERIA SCHOOLS
P.C. Ifegbo
DYNAMIC SELF PROGRAMMING ARCHITECTURE FOR
CONCURRENT FAULT DETECTION
Philemon Daniel and Rajeevan Chandel
VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN NIGERIA:
ISSUES, PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS’ DIMENSIONS (IPP)
Daso Peter Ojimba
DROUGHT STRESS EFFECTS ON SOME
BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES OF WHEAT
Keyvan Shamsi
PLANT LIFE CLASSIFICATION IN WINTER OF TEHSIL TAKHT-E-NASRATI,
DISTRICT KARAK, KHYBER PAKHTUN KHAWA, PAKISTAN
Musharaf Khan and Farrukh Hussain
EFFECT OF CONSUMER HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAMME ON THE ATTITUDE
OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SOUTHERN IJAW LOCAL GOVERNMENT
AREA OF BAYELSA STATE
Ezebuiro, Veronica O.;Timighe, Gift. C. and Samuel, E. S
QUALITY INSTRUCTION: A SIN QUO-NON TO EFFECTIVE
TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION IN SOUTH EASTERN STATES
C.A Ekemezie
STUDENT VARIABLES AND SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS’
ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA
Daso Peter Ojimba
GENDER/ WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN BAYELSA STATE, ITS
GOALS AND CHALLENGES FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT
Oluwayemisi Agnes Olorode
 ACTIVE LEARNING: CREATING EXCITEMENT AND ENHANCING
LEARNING IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT OF THE 21STCENTURY

By

Grace A. Fayombo (PhD)

School of Education,
Faculty of Humanities and Education
University of the West Indies,
Cave Hill Campus,
Barbados

BEING A KEYNOTE LECTURE DELIVERED AT THE INTERNATIONAL

CONFERENCE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION(ICSTE2012),
ORGAINISED BY AFRICAN ASSOCIATION FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING
(AATL) AND AFRICAN SOCIETY FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH HELD AT ALVAN
IKOKU FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, OWERRI-NIGERIA. OCTOBER 22-
26, 2012.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen!

The environment is changing very fast, it is reshaping at a rapid pace specifically because the
emergence of new technologies is changing the society, changing the way we live, the way we
communicate and do business and also the way we learn. Consequently, our educational systems are
facing significant pressure to change the way we educate our children too in order to adequately
prepare them to live, learn, and work in a global, digital age. Education is all about change and
creativity, therefore there should be creative models for engagement in learning in a shifting
educational landscape. Education in the 21st century is different from what it used to be in the 17th
or 18th century because of the changes overtime and subsequently the variations in the learners’
needs particularly in this world of technological advancement. In this setting, new information is
worth more than old information and learning never stops. For Nigeria to be economically buoyant,
technologically advanced, intellectually skilled, politically stable and morally upright and move up the
ladder from developing to developed cadre there is need to make a change in the educational system.
Teaching and learning process should be more effective by constant renewal in the knowledge
impacted and shared with the students all the time. The mode of instruction delivery needs to
change from traditional teacher-centred to new learning that is learner-centred and globally
acceptable as is the case with the USA and other countries where education is undergoing a major
paradigm shift (change) from traditional learning environments focused on the teacher as the
“deliverer” of knowledge to new open learning environments focused on the learner as information
seeker. Although the movement in the USA and other developed countries took root first at the
primary and secondary levels of education, it has had an impact on tertiary education as well.
Likewise, there should be turn of the tide in the Nigerian Educational System.
In this paper therefore, the following will be addressed:
 The Concept of Education;
 The Nigerian System of Education and the Challenges;
 Active Learning and its Constituents.
 Importance of Active Learning.
 Examples of Active Learning Strategies Incorporated into the classroom to create
Excitement and Promote Learning;
 Some of my Research findings on Active Learning Strategies;
 Barriers to Active Learning and Overcoming them;
 Recommendations and conclusions.
INTRODUCTION
Education controls the development of any nation because no nation can rise above the products of
its educational system (Ikoro 2005). The essence of education at any level is to produce
knowledgeable, skilled and productive individual with a sound mind. The knowledge gained through
education should be lasting, it should be utilised by the students throughout the lifetime. Orr (1991)
asserts that:
“The goal of education is not mastery of subject matter, but of one's
person. Subject matter is simply the tool. Much as one would use a
hammer and chisel to carve a block of marble, one uses ideas and
knowledge to forge one's own personhood. For the most part we
labour under a confusion of ends and means, thinking that the goal
of education is to stuff all kinds of arts, techniques, methods, and
information into the student's mind, regardless of how and with what
effect it will be used”.
Likewise, Newman (2008) affirms that “any kind of knowledge, if it be really such, is its own reward.
So, the pursuit of knowledge should not be looked at in terms of what it is going to do for you in
the future. It should be looked at as beneficial in itself. Knowledge is something that you gain that
cannot be taken away from you”.
This is clearly indicated in the Nigeria Philosophy of Education (2004) which is based on the
integration of the individual into a sound and effective citizenry and equal educational opportunities
for all citizens of the nation at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels – a meaningful and
achievable philosophy of education which is geared toward learning in a changing environment and
suitable for the progress of the country. A pertinent question here is “How far has the Nigerian
educational system implemented this omnibus philosophy of education to ensure that students are
learning in a changing environment?

NIGERIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND CHALLENGES

Nigeria, a developing country for the past 52 years after her inderpendence has been facing
economic, social, political and educational challenges (Adegoke, 1998; Adomi 2005a; Buaari 2002;
Okwudishu 2005; Plante and Beattie 2004). The educational challenges led to the introduction of
different reforms in the educational system and switching from the 6-5-2 3 to 6-3-3-4 to 9-3-4. The
reforms were designed to bring about developments in areas of needs through infusion of modern
methods of teaching and curriculum implementation as indicated by the Federal Government of
Nigeria, in the National Policy on Education (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004). Infact, the
Nigerian government recognizes the prominent role of ICTs (Information and Communication
Technologies) in the modern world and tries to integrate it into educational system. To actualize this
goal, the document states that government will provide basic infrastructure and training at the
primary school. The Federal Ministry of Education launched an ICT-driven project known as
School Net ( www.snng.org ) (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2006; Adomi 2005; Okebukola, 2004),
which was intended to equip all schools in Nigeria with computers and communication
technologies.
However, this seems to be an illusion as indicated in the reports by many investigators that this was
never implemented. For intance Adomi and Kpangban (2010) in their investigation of the causes of
low level of ICT application in Nigerian high schools found that “Limited/poor information
infrastructure” ranks first; “Lack of/inadequate ICT facilities in schools” ranks second as earlier
found by Okwudishu (2005); Plante and Beattie (2004) “Frequent electricity interruption” ranks
third as reported earlier by Adomi, (2005a); Adomi, Omodeko, and Otole, (2004); Adomi, Okiy, and
Ruteyan, (2003). This makes the few schools with ICT facilities unable to use them regularly. “Poor
ICT policy/project implementation strategy” was also indicated as a factor. Additionally, a growing
body of ERNWACA (Educational Research For West and Central Africa) researchers also reported
that the quality of basic education in Nigeria is still threatened because of failure to plan, under
funding or mismanagement of funds, poor maintenance culture and politicisation of educational
policies and programmes (Adegoke 1998). Similarly, Busari (2002) observed that the present
situation in the classrooms is not tailored to laying a sound basis for scientific and reflective thinking
which is one of the aims of primary education. It was suggested that science teacher education
programme should be restructured to accommodate integrative learning strategies. Specifically,
education constitutes of a major focus because it is believed that education is an instrument of
national development and thus, it could be employed to achieve political, economic and social
developments. The development of any nation requires the collective efforts of its citizens and all
residents.
The formal education system in Nigeria includes:
 6 years of primary schooling
 3 years of junior secondary schooling
 3 years of senior secondary schooling, and
 4 years of university education, finally directing toward a bachelor's level degree in the
majority of the courses.
The primary, secondary and post secondary levels had witnessed dramatic growth and tremendous
changes. Today, at the university level, what used to be five universities between 1948 and 1965 had
increased rapidly to 107 universities in 2012 (2012 University Web Ranking) catering for millons of
students. Such growth was impossible without incurring a host of problems, several of which were
so severe as to endanger the entire system of education as outlined in the Section 1 sub-section 4 of
the Nigeria’s Philosophy of Education (2004) that:
a) Education is an instrument for national development; in this end, the formulation of ideas, their
integration for national development and the interaction of persons and ideas are all aspects of
education;
b) Education fosters the worth and development of the individual, for each individual’s sake,
and for the general development of the society;
c) Every Nigerian child shall have the right to equal educational opportunities irrespective of any real
or imagined disabilities, each according to his or her ability;
d) There is need for functional education for the promotion of a progressive, united Nigeria; to this
end, school programmes need to be relevant, practical, and comprehensive, while interest and ability
should determine the individual’s direction in education.(FRN, 2004).
Ubong (2011) analysed these omnibus provisions of what should be the country’s philosophy of
education stated above and their corresponding philosophical concepts thus:
 Dewey’s multiple approaches to education delivery in a);
 Humanism in b);
 Egalitarianism in c);
 Progressivism, pragmatism, and individualism cum humanism in d).
Similarly, the Section 1 sub-section 5 of the Nigeria’s National Philosophy of Education, is based on:
a) the development of the individual into a sound and effective citizen;
b) the full integration of the individual into the community, and
c) the provision of equal access to educational opportunities for all citizens of the country at the
primary, secondary, and tertiary levels both inside and outside the formal school system.
Similar to Ubong’s (2011) observation, these philosophical statements also have theoretical links to
the different learning/developmental theories by Skinner, Thorndike, Piaget, Vygotsky, Pavlov,
Watson and Information Processing Model which addressed the various strategies of actively
engaging and conditioning learners to learn and develop in a changing environment.
Unfortunately, Nigeria is still faced with economic hardship which increased the engagement in
nonacademic moonlighting activities among the teaching staff. Added to these difficulties were such
factors as the lack of books and materials, no incentive for research and writing, the use of outdated
notes and materials, and the deficiency of replacement of laboratory equipment especially with the
remarkable growth from the five universities in 1965 to over 1000 universities in 2012 . The
graduates produced and the quality of the certificate cannot withstand the changing environment. It
is no wonder that the number one university in Nigeria is ranked as the 1639th university among the
universities in the world (Ranking Web of World Universities, 2012). The few good students
produced continued to search for greener pastures and by 1990 the crisis in Nigerian education was
such that it was predicted that by the end of the decade, there would be insufficient personnel to run
essential services of the country!
Thus, the theme of this conference is timely; it is time to change from traditional method of
lecturing in our tertiary institutions and other levels of education to active learning in order to
improve the quality of learning that theis exposed to the learner. It is time to invest in children’s
education because “Today Youths; Tomorrow’s Leaders”- Kennedy (2012).

ACTIVE LEARNING AND ITS COMPONENTS

Investigators refer to active learning as anything that students do in a classroom other than merely
passively listening to an instructor’s lecture. This includes everything apart from listening practices
which help the students to absorb what they hear, to short writing exercises in which students react
to lecture material, to complex group exercises in which students apply course material to "real life"
situations and/or to new problems (Paulson and Faust 2010). Additionally, Chickering and Gamson
(1987) further suggested that for students to be actively engaged, they must do more than just listen:
they must read, write, discuss, or be engaged in problem solving. Most importantly, to be actively
involved, students must engage in such higher-order thinking tasks as analysis, synthesis, and
evaluation.. Paulson and Faust (2010) further distinguished cooperative learning from active learning
as covering the subset of active learning activities which students do as groups of three or more,
rather than alone or in pairs; generally, cooperative learning techniques employ more formally
structured groups of students assigned complex tasks, such as multiple-step exercises, research
projects or presentations. They also distinguished cooperative learning from collaborative learning
which refers to those classroom strategies when the instructor and the students work together in
designing assignments, choosing texts, and presenting material to the class. Clearly, collaborative
learning is a more radical departure from tradition of merely utilizing techniques aimed at enhancing
student’s retention of material presented by the instructor.
A close examination of the description of active learning shows the theoretical links to some
learning and developmental theories: Skinner’s Operant Conditioning Theory where the learner is
active, functional and operates on the environment before being rewarded; Pavlov’s Classical
conditioning where the learner is conditioned to learn and rewarded, Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal
Development and Social Cultural Perspective where the learner learns through the interaction with
the social environment and so many others.
Considering the components of active learning strategies, (Mantyla, 1999) posits that good active
learning activities are the same, whether presented in traditional or in online environments and
activities should:
1) have a definite beginning and ending;
2) have a clear purpose or objective;
3) contain complete and understandable directions;
4) have a feedback mechanism; and
5)include a description of the technology or tool being used in the exercise
He further suggests that when using active learning strategies, instructors/designers will want to
consider the following:
1) Can learners complete the activity independently?
2) Will they need specific guidance before or during the activity?
3) Will visuals or other materials be needed?
4) Will they need to collaborate with other learners?
5) How do the learners ask questions?
6) Will there be formative or summative evaluation?
7) What tools will be available to support the activity, including technology, resources, and
examples?
 8) Should different strategies and tools provide multiple ways of experiencing learning?
(Mantyla, 1999.)

THE NEED FOR ACTIVE LEARNING

For the past decades, the majority of college faculties still teach their classes in the traditional lecture
mode in which professors talk and students listen, dominate college and university classrooms.Some
scholars have criticized traditional method of teaching and argued that it is boring and found that it
is one of the factors responsible for absenteeism among the tertiary education students around the
globe. For instance, in their cross institutional study of the factors responsible for absenteeism from
lectures among the 500 Nigerian and 500 Caribbean tertiary education students, Fayombo, Babalola
and Olaleye (2012) found that academic or school-related reasons such as “The poor teaching skills
of lecturers leading to boring lectures” top the list while personal, home and society related reasons
were also identified. Similarly, in an earlier study at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand,
Hunter and Tetley (1999) interviewed 168 full-time students about not only their reasons for not
attending lectures but also their reasons for attending and found that tertiary education students will
not miss lectures that were interesting and those considered important to their degree, those in
which there was a lot of material given out, those where they liked the subject content or in which
the lecturer was good, while those that they will not attend according to Gump, (2006) and Nicholl
& Timmins,( 2005) also, were perceived as academy-centred such as: failure to connect the content
of the lecture to assessment or the ‘real world’, unexciting and unchallenging lecturers. Thus, the
students are likely to miss lectures because they are not actively involved in the classroom activities
and the content of the lecture did not match the changing environment which are characteristics of
traditional lecture method.
Some investigators also reported that active learning is important because: the amount of
information retained by students declines substantially after ten minutes (Thomas, 1972); in those
experiments involving measures of retention of information after the end of a course, measures of
problem solving, thinking, attitude change, or motivation for further learning, the results tend to
show differences favouring discussion methods over lecture method ( McKeachie, Pintrich, Lin, &
Smith, 1987). Numerous researchers and national reports also discussed the use of active learning
strategies in the classroom as indicated in the following statements:
 all genuine learning is active, not passive; it is a process of discovery in which the student is

 students learn what they care about and remember what they understand (Ericksen, 1984);
the main agent, not the teacher (Adler, 1982);

 learning is not a spectator sport, students do not learn much just by sitting in class listening
to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out answers, they must talk
about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, apply it to their
daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves. (Chickering and Gamson,
1987);
 The sort of teaching we propose requires that we encourage active learning and that we
become knowledgeable about the ways in which our students hear, understand, interpret,
and integrate ideas. (AAC Task Group on General Education, 1988, p. 25).
 “One must learn by doing the thing, for though you think you know it you have not
certainty until you try”.(Sophocles, 5th c. B.C.)
Regarding the need for active learning, some investigators also pointed out the limitations of
traditional method of teacing. Turner (nd) in her presentation on “Learning in a Digital World: The
Role of Technology as a Catalyst for Change in the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana”,
claims that traditional method has some characteristics/limitations because:
1) it does not meet the diverse needs of many learners with different learning styles and
capabilities as we have in schools today;
2) it does not cater for problem solving skills needed by students in the real world which
requires the ability to see a problem from multiple points of view by the students;
3) there is no flexibility in traditional method, therefore learnres are not encouraged to reach
their full potentials;
4) of rigid assessment, relying on written tests that cannot assess the full range of one’s
achievements and potentials.
Contrarily, Bonwell (1996) summarised the major characteristics/advantages associated with active
learning strategies thus:
1) Students are involved in more than passive listening;
2) Students are engaged in activities (e.g., reading, discussing, writing)
3) There is less emphasis placed on information transmission and greater emphasis placed on
developing student skills;
4)There is greater emphasis placed on the exploration of attitudes and values
5) Students’ motivation is increased (especially for adult learners)
6) Students can receive immediate feedback from their instructor
7) Students are involved in higher order thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation)
Hence the need for active learning, a learner centred method in the changing environment.

ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES

The techniques of active learning are those activities which an instructor incorporates into the
classroom to foster active learning (Paulson & Faust 2010). It is proposed that strategies promoting
active learning be defined as instructional activities involving students in doing things and thinking
about what they are doing (Chickering & Gamson 1987).
In The University of the West Indies, CaveHill Campus, the University authority recognised the
need for learners to be active in the classroom and be actively engaged therefore, lecturers have been
encouraged to undergo the Certificate in University Teaching and Learning (CUTL) Training to
improve their teaching skills so that they can use the active learning techniques and consequently be
more effective in classroom teaching. I incorporated some of these techniques into the classroom
activities during the Developmental Psychology II (97 students) and Learning Theory and Practice
lecture (178 students) lectures to make my psychology students active in the class, to create
excitement and also promote learning. These various techniques of active learning have been
described and categoriosed in different ways by the researchers. Below are some examples of active
learning strategies that I incorporated into my lectures to make learning fun and at the same time
promote it.The examples of active learning strategies that can be adapted in the classroom included
those categorised by Paulson and Faust (2010) but not limited to:

1) Cooperative Learning Exercises: For more complex projects, where many heads are better
than one or two, students may work in groups of three or more. As the term "cooperative learning"
suggests, students working in groups will help each other to learn. Generally, it is better to form
heterogeneous groups (with regard to gender, ethnicity, and academic performance), particularly
when the groups will be working together over time or on complex projects; however, some of these
techniques work well with spontaneously formed groups. Cooperative groups encourage discussion
of problem solving techniques ("Should we try this?” etc.), and avoid the embarrassment of students
who have not yet mastered all of the skills required.

 Role Playing - Here students are asked to "act out" a part. In doing so, they get a better
idea of the concepts and theories being discussed. Role-playing exercises can range from
simple distinguishing concepts such as “positive reinforcement”, “negative reinforcement”,
“punishment” etc as done in my Learning Theory and Practice class to the complex role
plays of different parental styles of childrearing and their contributions to the social
development during the childhood stage as role-played in my Developmental Psychology
class.
 Game Show - Many will discard the idea that one would literally play games in a university
setting, but occasionally there is no better instructional tool. This strategy is good for late
lectures, for young and old students in full time or part time programmes. My courses were
usually between 7pm and 9pm when many students will be very tired and even hungry, but
when it’s game time they wake up and participate in the lecture. The game show helps to
stimulate their sensory abilities, make them to be actively engaged and at the same time learn.
In particular, there are some concepts or theories which are more easily illustrated than
discussed and in these cases, a well-conceived game may convey the idea more readily. For
example, students may be introduced to new concepts or facts that are hard to convey
through lectures.
 Cooperative Groups in Class/ Group Discussions – The instructor may pose a question
to be worked on in each cooperative group and then circulate around the room answering
questions, asking further questions, keeping the groups on task, and so forth. After an
appropriate time for group discussion, students are asked to share their discussion points
with the rest of the class. The ensuing discussion can be guided according to the "Questions
and answers" techniques. This strategy was used effectively especially during the tutorial
classes.
 Panel Discussions - Panel discussions are especially useful when students are asked to give
class presentations or reports as a way of including the entire class in the presentation.
Student groups are assigned a topic to research and asked to prepare presentations. Each
panelist is then expected to make a very short presentation, before the floor is opened to
questions from the audience. The key to success is to choose topics carefully and to give
students sufficient direction to ensure that they are well-prepared for their presentations.
 Debates - provide an efficient structure for class presentations when the subject matter
easily divides into opposing views or ‘Pro’/‘Con’ considerations. Students are assigned to
debate teams, given a position to defend, and then asked to present arguments in support of
their position on the presentation day on topic like “Is learning incremental or insightful?”
The opposing team should be given an opportunity to rebut the argument(s) and, time
permitting, the original presenters asked to respond to the rebuttal. This format is
particularly useful in developing argumentation skills (in addition to teaching content).

2)Exercises for Individual Students: These techniques according to Paulson and Faust (2010) are
aimed at individual students and therefore can very easily be used without interrupting the flow of
the class. These exercises are particularly useful in providing the instructor with feedback concerning
student’s understanding and retention of the material. They are especially designed to encourage
students' exploration of their own attitudes and values and to increase retention of material
presented in lectures and texts. Here are some examples:
 The "One Minute Paper" – This is a highly effective technique utilised frequently when
teaching to check students’ progress, both in understanding the material and in reacting to
course material. I asked students to take a blank sheet of paper, then posed a question either
specific or open-ended, and gave them one or perhaps two or 5 minute(s) to respond by
writing it down. Some sample questions for Developmental Psychology course include:
"What are Chromosomal abnormalities?" and for Learning Theory and Practice course;
"What is the difference between positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement?” and so
on. Another good use of the minute paper is to ask questions like "What was the main point
of today’s class material?" This tells you whether or not the students are viewing the material
in the way you envisioned. Additionally, the one or five minute paper helps to find out
whether the active learning techniques used during the lecture were effective or not.
 Muddiest (or Clearest) Point - This is a variation on the one-minute paper, when the
instructor wishes to give students a slightly longer time period to answer the questions at the
end of a class period or at a natural break in the presentation; e.g "What was the "muddiest
point" in today's lecture?" or, perhaps, you might be more specific, asking, for example in
Developmental Psychology Lecture on “Biological beginnings”: "What (if anything) do you
find unclear about the concept of 'Chromosomal Abnormalities/Genetic Influences' ('Traits'
'Genes', 'Alleles', 'Chromosomes' 'Deoxyribonucleic Acid' 'Sex Determination' ‘etc.)?", or in
Learning Theory and Practice class, “What (if anything) do you find unclear about
“Information Processing Model Theory?”
 Affective Response - Again, this is similar to the above exercises when students are asked to
report their reactions to some facet of the course material - i.e., to provide an emotional or
evaluative response to the material. Obviously, this approach is limited to those subject areas
in which such questions are appropriate. However, it can be quite a useful starting point for
courses in social sciences and education, particularly as a precursor to theoretical analysis.
This is very useful because many students don’t like theories. For example, students in
Learning Theory class were asked of their feelings about Thorndike’s Theory or Gestalt
Psychology, before presenting what other theorists think of the concepts of the theory or its
applicability to learning situations. By having several views "on the table" before the theories
were presented, students can be helped to see the material in context and to explore their
own beliefs.
 Reading Quiz - Clearly, this is one way to coerce students to read assigned material! Active
learning depends upon students coming to class prepared. The reading quiz can also be used
as an effective measure of students’ comprehension of the readings to gauge their level of
sophistication as readers. Further, by asking the same sorts of questions on several reading
quizzes, students will be guided as to what to look for when reading assigned text. If you ask
questions like "What are the basic concepts in Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory?" (As
I asked my Psychology students in Learning Theory and Practice Class), you are telling the
students that it is the details that count, whereas questions like "What reason did Piaget give
for a child’s inability to conserve at the preoperational stage?” highlights issues of
justification.
 Clarification Pauses - This is a simple technique aimed at fostering "active listening".
Throughout a lecture, particularly after stating an important point or defining a key concept,
stop, let it sink in, and then (after waiting a bit!) ask if anyone needs to have it clarified. You
can also circulate around the room during these pauses to look at student notes, answer
questions, etc. Students who would never ask a question in front of the whole class will ask
questions during a clarification pause as you move about the room.
3) Share/Pair: Grouping students in pairs allows many of the advantages of group work students
have the opportunity to state their own views, to hear from others, to hone their argumentative
skills, and so forth without the administrative "costs" of group work (time spent assigning people to
groups, class time used just for "getting in groups", and so on). Further, pairs make it virtually
impossible for students to avoid participating thus making each person accountable.

 Discussion - Students are asked to pair up and to respond to a question either in turn or as
a pair. This can easily be combined with other techniques such as those under "Questions
and Answers" or "Critical Thinking Motivators". For example, after students have
responded to statements, such as " Learning is not mediated by ideas” with 'true' or 'false',
they can be asked to compare answers to a limited number of questions and to discuss the
statements on which they differed. In science classes, students can be asked to explain some
experimental data that supports a theory just discussed by the lecturer. Generally, this works
best when students are given explicit directions, such as "Tell each other why you chose the
answer you did".

4) Questions and Answers: While most of us use questions as a way of prodding students and
instantly testing comprehension, there are simple ways of tweaking our questioning techniques
which increase student involvement and comprehension. Though some of the techniques listed here
are "obvious", we will proceed on the principle that sometimes bears repeating (a useful pedagogical
principle, to be sure!).
 The Socratic Method: The instructor tests student’s knowledge (of reading assignments,
videos, lectures, or perhaps applications of course material to a wider context) by asking
questions during the course of a lecture. Typically, the instructor chooses a particular
student, presents her with a question, and expects an answer forthwith; if the "chosen"
student cannot answer the question presented, the instructor chooses another (and another)
until the desired answer is received. This method has come under criticism, based on claims
that it singles out students (potentially embarrassing them), and/or that it favours only a
small segment of the class (i.e., that small percentage of the class who can answer any
question thrown at them). In addition, once a student has answered a question they may not
pay much attention as it will be a long time before the teacher returns to them for a second
question. In spite of these criticisms, we feel that the Socratic method is an important and
useful one; the following techniques suggest variations which enhance this method, avoiding
some of these pitfalls.
 Wait Time - Rather than choosing the student who will answer the question presented, this
variation has the instructor waiting before calling on someone to answer it. The wait time
will generally be short (15 seconds or so) - but it may seem interminable in the classroom. It
is important to insist that no one raise his hand (or shout out the answer) before you give the
OK, in order to discourage the typical scenario in which the five students in the front row all
immediately volunteer to answer the question, and everyone else sighs in relief. Waiting
forces every student to think about the question, rather than passively relying on those
students who are fastest out of the gate to answer every question. When the wait time is up,
the instructor asks for volunteers or randomly picks a student to answer the question. Once
students are in the habit of waiting after questions are asked, more will get involved in the
process.
 Demonstrations with questioning (video clips). A video could be shown to the class to
illustrate some theories (Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive development) or abstract concepts
(hereditary transmission). This will concretize the theories or the concepts or the topic being
 discussed and make it clearer. For instance, I showed videos during the Learning Theory and
Practice lectures to demonstrate in concrete terms the concepts of the different learning
theories and also the different stages of human development from conception to
adolescence during the Developmental Psychology lectures. In the absence of a psychology
laboratory, showing videos can help the students to have a practical experience that will aid
their understanding of the topics discussed.
 Student Summary of another Student's Answer - In order to promote active listening, after
one student has volunteered an answer to your question, ask another student to summarize
the first student's response. Many students hear little of what their classmates have to say,
waiting instead for the instructor to either correct or repeat the answer. Having students
summarize or repeat each others' contributions to the course both fosters active
participation by all students and promotes the idea that learning is a shared enterprise. Given
the possibility of being asked to repeat classmates' comments, most students will listen more
attentively to each other.
 Quiz/Test Questions - Here students are asked to become actively involved in creating
quizzes and tests by constructing some (or all) of the questions for the exams. This exercise
may be assigned for homework and then evaluated (perhaps for extra credit points). In
asking students to think up exam questions, we encourage them to think more deeply about
the course material and to explore major themes, comparison of views presented,
applications, and other higher-order thinking skills. Once suggested questions are collected,
the instructor may use them as the basis of review sessions, and/or to model the most
effective questions. Further, you may ask students to discuss the merits of a sample of
questions submitted; in discussing questions, they will significantly increase their engagement
of the material to supply answers. Students might be asked to discuss several aspects of two
different questions on the same material including degree of difficulty, effectiveness in
assessing their learning, proper scope of questions, and so forth as done for Gestalt
Psychology and they came up with these two different questions on the same topic; “With
reference to Gestalt theory of learning, justify the view that ‘the whole is more than the sum
of its part” or “With reference to Gestalt theory of learning, justify the view that ‘learning is
insightful”

5) Immediate Feedback: These techniques are also designed to give the instructor some indication of
students’ understanding of the material presented during the lecture. These activities provide
formative assessment rather than summative assessment of student understanding, Formative
assessment is evaluation of the class as a whole in order to provide information for the benefit of
the students and the instructor, but the information is not used as part of the course grade;
summative assessment is any evaluation of student performance which becomes part of the course
grade. For each feedback method, the instructor stops at appropriate points to give quick tests of the
material; in this way, she can adjust the lecture mid-course, slowing down to spend more time on the
concepts students are having difficulty with or moving more quickly to applications of concepts of
which students have a good understanding.
 Finger Signals - This method provides instructors with a means of testing student
comprehension without the waiting period or the grading time required for written quizzes.
Students are asked questions and instructed to signal their answers by holding up the
appropriate number of fingers immediately in front of their torsos (this makes it impossible
for students to "copy", thus committing them to answer each question on their own). For
example, the instructor might say "one finger for 'yes', two for 'no'", and then ask questions
such as "Is learning easily observable?". Or, the instructor might have multiple choice
 questions prepared for the overhead projector and have the answers numbered (1) through
(5), asking students to answer with finger signals. In very large classes like mine, the students
can use a set of large cardboard signs with numbers written on them. This method allows
instructors to assess student knowledge literally at a glance.
 Quotations - This is a particularly useful method of testing student understanding when they
are learning to read texts and identify an author's viewpoint and arguments. After students
have read a representative advocate of each of several opposing theories or schools of
thought, and the relevant concepts have been defined and discussed in class, put on the
overhead projector a quotation by an author or a theorist whom they have not read in the
assigned materials, and ask them to figure out what position that person advocates. In
addition to testing comprehension of the material presented in lecture, this exercise develops
critical thinking and analysis skills. This would be very useful, for example, in discussing the
various types of learning theories.

RESEARCH FINDINGS ON ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES AS TOOLS FOR

PROMOTING LEARNING.
Many proponents of active learning suggest that the effectiveness of the strategies has to do with
students’ attention span during lecture. Wankat (2002) suggested that student attention span during
lecture is roughly fifteen minutes while Hartley and Davies (1978) in their earlier investigation
reported that the number of students paying attention begins to drop dramatically with a resulting
loss in retention of lecture material. The same authors found that immediately after the lecture,
students remembered 70% of information presented in first ten minutes of the lecture and 20
percent of information presented in last ten minutes. It was suggested that breaking up the lecture
might work because students’ minds start to wander and activities provide the opportunity to start
fresh again, keeping students engaged.
Thus, after incorporating the active learning strategies into my classroom activities for about eight
weeks, I gave my students the Active Learning Strategies Questionnaire to fill to find out whether
the strategies are actually enhancing their learning with PowerPoint being the tool/technology used
for some of them. Below are the students’ ratings on each of the active learning strategies and
PowerPoint presentation.

Results
Research Question 1: What is the profile of students’ ratings on PowerPoint Presentation?

Table 1: Profile of students’ ratings on PowerPoint presentation (n=158).

S/N Items SD D A SA
F % F % F % F %

1 Power point Presentation 0 0 5 3.2 65 41.1 88 55.7

facilitates active learning
2 I love the images and pictures on
the slides, they help my 1 0.6 1 0.6 72 45.6 84 53.2
understanding in this course
3 The slides stimulate my sensory
0 0 2 1.3 85 53.8 71 44.9
abilities during lecture
4 The slides are usually too busy,
94 59.5 47 29.7 1 0.6 16 10.1
too many images
5 The slides are usually too long
88 55.7 53 9.5 2 1.3 15 9.5
and boring
The result on table 1 revealed that PowerPoint is an effective tool or technology for active learning
strategy with 97% agreeing that it facilitates active learning; while 99% also agreed that it helped
their understanding during the lectures, while 99% also reported that it stimulated their sensory
abilities during lectures etc.
Research Question 2: What is the profile of students’ ratings on Discussion?

Table 2: Profile of students’ ratings on Discussion (n=158)

S/N Items SD D A SA
F % F % F % F %
1 Discussion helps me to clarify 1 0.6
points discussed during lecture
4 2.5 94 59.5 59 37.3

2 Discussion promotes active

0 0 4 2.5 80 50.6 74 46.8
learning
3 Discussion makes me to be lively
0 0 14 8.9 86 54.4 58 36.7
during lectures
4 Answering questions in the class
1 0.6 8 5.1 92 58.1 57 36.1
helps in self assessment
5 Discussion disrupts the flow of
87 55.1 66 41.8 1 0.6 4 2.5
the lecture
6 Discussion during the lecture is a
62 39.2 88 55.7 2 1.3 6 3.8
waste of time

The result shown on table 2 revealed that 97% agreed that discussion helps in clarification of points
discussed during lecture, majority (97%) also opined that it promotes active learning while 91%
stated that it makes them lively during lectures, 94% agreed that it helps in self assessment.
Research Question 3: What is the profile of students’ ratings on Group work?
Table 3: Profile of students’ ratings on Group Work (n=158)
S/N Items SD D A SA
F % F % F % F %
1 Group activities facilitate 2 1.3
active/cooperative learning 24 15.2 82 51.9 50 31.6
2 Group activities aid my
5 3.2 18 11.4 92 58.2 43 27.2
understanding in this course
3 Group work enhances my
19 12 20 12.7 84 53.2 35 22.2
academic achievement
4 Group work limits my intellectual
17 10.8 23 14.6 76 48.1 42 26.6
capability
5 Group work is too stressful
because of the uncooperative 63 39.9 32 20.3 36 22.8 27 17.1
attitudes of some group members

Table 3 showcases students’ ratings indicating that majority of them (84%) agreed that group
activities facilitate active/cooperative learning; 86% indicated that group activities aid their
understanding in this course and 75% were of the opinion that it enhances their academic
achievement. Interestingly, 75% still reported that it is detrimental to their intellectual capability
while 40% indicated that it is too stressful. This is one of the risks of active learning when students
may not want to participate in active learning activities.This is in consonance with the assertion that
students too seemed to prefer traditional method of lecturing, resist non-lecturing approaches
because active learning alternatives provide a sharp contrast to the very familiar passive listening role
(Bonwell 1996)
Research Question 4: What is the profile of students’ ratings on Role play?
Table 4: Profile of students’ ratings on Role Play (n=158)
S/N Items SD D A SA
F % F % F % F %
1 Role play or promotes student
engagement in lecture 0 0 8 5.1 93 58.9 57 36.1

2 Role plays create excitement

5 3.2 12 7.6 72 45.6 69 43.7
during lectures
3 Role play helps me to reflect on
1 0.6 11 7.0 91 57.6 55 34.8
the topics taught in this course
4 Role play facilitates students’
1 0.6 13 8.2 98 62.0 46 29.1
creativity
5 Role play makes the lecture to be
91 57.6 52 32.9 2 1.3 13 8.2
rowdy and noisy
6 Role play is just a form of
76 48.1 44 27.8 18 11.4 20 12.7
entertainment

In table 4, 95% agreed that roleplay promotes student engagement in lecture, 89% reported that it
creates excitement during lectures, while 92% agreed that it helps them to reflect on the topics
taught in this course while 91% stated that it enables them to be creative. etc
Research Question 5: What is the profile of students’ ratings on videos?
Table 5: Profile of students’ ratings on videos (n=158)
S/N Items SD D A SA
F % F % F % F %
1 Videos promote active learning 0 0
during lectures 2 1.3 90 57.0 66 41.8
2 Videos create mental images of
1 0.6 0 0 82 51.9 75 47.5
the topics taught
3 Videos facilitate retrieval of
learning materials
1 0.6 1 0.6 79 50.0 77 48.7

4 Watching videos during lectures is

1 0.6 7 4.4 87 55.1 63 39.9
exciting
5 Watching videos is just a form of
83 52.5 51 32.3 2 1.3 22 13.9
entertainment
6 Watching videos during lectures is
70 44.3 84 53.2 0 0 4 2.5
a waste of time

Table 5 revealed that 99% of the participants agreed that video show promotes active learning
during lectures, 99% again reported that it creates mental images of the topics taught, 99% also
indicated that video shows facilitated the retrieval of learning materials while 85% agreed that
watching videos during lectures is exciting.
Research Question 6: What is the profile of students’ ratings on Game Show?
Table 6: Profile of students’ ratings on Game Show (n=158).
S/N Items SD D A SA
F % F % F % F %
1 Game activities enhance active 1 0.6
learning in this course 3 1.9 81 51.3 73 46.2
 2 Game activity is good for self
4 2.5 10 6.3 85 53.8 59 37.3
assessment
3 Game activities make the lecture
0 0 11 7.0 80 50.6 67 42.4
lively and interesting.
4 No need for the game, too
63 39.9 86 54.4 3 1.9 6 3.8
childish
5 Game activities waste time during
78 49.4 78 49.4 1 0.6 1 0.6
lectures

Table 6 revealed that game show enhances learning in this course as indicated by 98% of the
respondents, 91% also agreed that game activity is good for self assessment while 93% agreed that
game show makes the lecture to be lively and interesting, 94% also disagreed that it was too childish
while 6% agreed.
Research Question 7: What is the profile of students’ ratings on Five minute paper?
Table 7: Profile of students’ ratings on Five Minute Paper (n=158).
S/N Items SD D A SA
F % F % F % F %
1 Five minute paper ensures 3 1.9
students’ participation in the 26 16.5 96 60.8 33 20.9
lecture
2 Five minute paper keeps me on
1 0.6 31 19.6 94 59.5 32 20.3
my toes.
3 Five minute paper helps to
1 0.6 19 12.0 100 63.3 38 24.1
monitor students’ progress
4 Five minute paper is a waste of
10 6.3 23 14.6 68 43.0 57 36.1
time
5 Five minute paper is like a test 17 10.8 91 57.6 36 22.8 14 18.9

The results on table 7 revealed that 82% agreed that Five minute paper ensures their participation in
the lecture, 80% agreed that it kept them on their toes, while 87% agreed that it enhances their
academic progress. It may not be surprising to see that, 79% agreed that it‘s a waste of time while
42% reported that it is like a test., of course students don’t like test so they may not welcome
anything that is similar to test even when you tell them that it is not a test.

Research Question 8: What is the profile of students’ ratings on clarification pauses?

Table 8: Profile of students’ ratings on clarification pauses (n=158)
S/N Items SD D A SA
F % F % F % F %
1 Clarification pauses foster active 3 1.9
listening during lectures 8 5.1 103 65.2 44 27.8
2 Clarification pauses help in
2 1.3 6 3.8 100 63.3 50 31.6
clarifying points that are not clear
3 Clarification pauses encourage
3 1.9 4 2.5 101 63.9 50 31.6
students to ask questions
4 Clarification pauses waste time
1 0.6 6 3.8 76 48.1 75 47.5
during lectures
5 Clarification pauses distort free
1 0.6 16 10.1 78 49.4 63 39.9
flow of lectures

Finally, the result on table 8 showed that 93% of the participants concurred that clarification pauses
foster active listening during lectures, 95% stated that it helps in clarifying points that are not clear,
94% said that it encourages the students to ask questions. Amazingly, majority still reported that
clarification pauses waste time during lectures and that it distorts free flow of lectures. Some
students are always in a hurry to leave the class, so anything done in the class apart from lecturing is
time wasting.
In order to have a quick glance at the varying degrees of the students’ agreement that active learning
strategies promotes learning , the data was plotted on two charts. Figure 1 revealed the various
degrees of the students’ agreement regarding active learning strategies promoting learning while
figure 2 revealed that video is the best active learning strategy among this sample.
Figure 1: Chart showing students’ responses on active learning strategies promoting
learning.

100%
80%
60%
Prom L 1
40% Prom L 2
20% Prom L 3
0%
Discu. Rol. Pl Game Clar.
Pauses

Key: The three bars indicated the students’ responses on active learning strategies promote learning.
1) Discussion; 2) Group Work; 3) Role Play; 4) Videos; 5) Game Show; 6) 5 Minute Paper; 7)
Clarification Pauses; with the percentages.
Discu . Gr.Wk Rol. Pl Video Game 5min paper Clar. Pauses
Prom L 1 97% 84% 95% 99% 98% 82% 93%
Prom L 2 97% 85% 89% 99% 91% 80% 95%
Prom L 3 91% 75% 92% 99% 93% 87% 94%
Average 95% 81% 92% 99% 94% 83% 94%

Figure 2: Chart showing the best active learning strategy that promotes learning.

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40% Prom L 1
30%
20%
10%
0%
Discu. Gr.Wk Rol. Pl Videos Game 5min Clar.
paper Pauses
These findings lend credence to the earlier reports that active learning strategies are important
(Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Ericksen, 1984; McKeachie, et. al., 1987) and can be incorporated in
the classroom activities (Bonwell & Eison, 1991; Mantyla, 1999; McKeachie & Svinicki 2006; Paulson &
Faust, 2010 and Prince, 2004). As good as the active learning strategies are however, there are many
obstacles or barriers preventing faculty from using them as evident in the findings of this study on
some of the strategies. Bonwell (1993) outlined some barriers to active learning:
A. You cannot cover as much course content in the time available;
B. Devising active learning strategies takes too much pre-class preparation;
C. Large class sizes prevent implementation of active learning strategies;
D. Most instructors think of themselves as being good lecturers;
E. There is a lack of materials or equipment needed to support active learning approaches;
F. Students resist non-lecture approaches, as observed by The National Association of Teachers
(1907) many years ago that “Students today depend too much upon ink. They don’t know how to
use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil”
Overcoming the Barriers
Bonwell (1996) asserts that there are two primary sets of obstacles that prevent faculty from using
active learning strategies in the classroom: (1) the six potential obstacles noted above, and (2) the
fact that using active learning strategies involves risk. With respect to the six commonly reported
obstacles, the following should be noted:
1. Admittedly, the use of active learning strategies reduces the amount of available lecture time
that can be devoted to content coverage. Faculty who regularly use active learning strategies
typically find other ways to ensure that students learn assigned course content (e.g., using
reading and writing assignments, through their classroom examinations, etc.)

2. The amount of pre-class preparation time needed to implement active learning strategies will
be greater than that needed to "recycle old lectures;" it will not necessarily take any more
time than that needed to create thorough and thoughtful new lectures.

3. Large class size may restrict the use of certain active learning strategies (e.g., it is difficult to
involve all students in discussion in groups larger than 40) but certainly not all. For example,
large classes can be divided into small groups for discussion activities, writing assignments
can be read and critiqued by students instead of the instructor.

4. Most instructors see themselves as good lecturers and therefore see no reason to change.
Though lecturing is potentially a useful means of transmitting information, teaching does not
equal learning; this can be seen clearly in the painful disparity between what we think we
have effectively taught, and what students indicate they have learned on the examination
papers that we grade.

5. The lack of materials or equipment needed to support active learning can be a barrier to the
use of some active learning strategies but certainly not all. For example, asking students to
summarize in writing the material they have read or to form pairs to evaluate statements or
assertions does not require any equipment.

6. Students resist non-lecturing approaches because active learning alternatives provide a sharp
contrast to the very familiar passive listening role to which they have become accustomed.
With explicit instruction in how to actively participate and learn in less-traditional modes,
students soon come to favour the new approaches.
A second set of potentially more difficult obstacles to overcome involves increasing one's
willingness to face two types of risks.
1. There are risks that students will not: participate actively; learn sufficient course content; use
higher order thinking skills; enjoy the experience
2. There are risks that you as a faculty member will not: feel in control of the class; feel self-
confident; possess the needed skills; be viewed by others as teaching in an established fashion.
However, faculty should continue to remember the philosophical statement by Habbert Otto that
"Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with
experimenting with his own life."
Though the classroom use of active learning strategies will always involve some level of risk, by
carefully selecting only those active learning strategies that are at a personally comfortable risk level,
you can maximize your likelihood of success.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
No doubt, for learning to reflect the changing environment, among the Nigerian students, all the
stakeholders (the faculty members, the students, the parents, the government) in Education must be
prepared to change what they do in order to change how they are doing it. All the stakeholders
should realise that “nothing is permanent except change” as stated by Napoleon Hill, the great
philosopher and that "The more things change, the more they remain the same - Alphonse Karr.
These philosophies should be embraced to change their outlook to life; that changes are inevitable
for success and progress in life. The following recommendations are therefore addressed to the
stakeholders thus:
1 The Faculty Members:
a. The Faculty Members who are directly in contact with the students in the class
should be the first change agent to implement active learning strategies in their
teaching. Thus, the reformation of instructional practice in higher education in
Nigeria must begin with the effort of the faculty members who must also be willing
to change from their traditional, more convenient and less mentally tasking approach
to the learner-centred method of teaching which although is highly complex and
hectic to practice but is more exciting and more rewarding in terms of knowledge
impartation.
b. Learning should be fun through lecturer’s efforts by adopting a teaching approach
that is centred on 3 basic building blocks: Effective, Engaging, and Enjoyable. This
involves spending quality time in planning and structuring the lectures thus making
each one effective in the impartation of knowledge by engaging the students and
making it enjoyable for them. It should be realised that in this changing environment,
new information is worth more than old information and learning never stops.
c. It has also been suggested that an excellent first step is to select strategies promoting
active learning that one can feel comfortable with. Such low-risk strategies are
typically of short duration, structured and planned focused on subject matter that is
neither too abstract nor too controversial, and familiar to both the faculty member
and the students. This was earlier suggested by Seth Godin, an American
entrepreneur, author and public speaker that “Tools matter, because tools impact the
way you interact. You don’t need to use every tool, but every tool you use, you must
use well”
 d. Lecturers’ needs should be identified and their skills be enhanced through various
training programmes and seminars so as to change their orientation from the
traditional lecture method to interactive and innovative lecture method. A step
towards this has been taken by The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill
Campus, Barbados by encouraging all faculty to undergo the Certificate in University
Teaching and Learning (CUTL) training to enhance lecturer’s teaching skills.
2) The Students:
a. Many investigators asserted that there are risks that students will not participate
actively; learn sufficient course content; use higher order thinking skills; enjoy the
experience being shared in the class. It is imperative that the the students develop
interests in their academic work; be present at lectures and be actively involved.
Bulunuz and Jarret (2009) assert that there is a connection between interest and
effort. The more a person is interested in a subject, the more effort he will put into
it. He further described an interested person as being engaged, engrossed or entirely
taken up by an activity because of its recognized worth. Suffice to say therefore that
students’ interests will also sustain their lecture attendance and participation, they
must be self driven as this intrinsic motivation is stronger than the extrinsic
motivation from lecturers, parents and the society and therefore yields better result
in learning.
b. There is a popular adage that “you can drag a horse to water but you cannot force
it to drink unless it is thirsty”. It is when the students are thirsty for knowledge that
that they go for lectures and participate. They should not frustrate the lecturer’s
efforts as quality time would have been spent in preparing and incorporating the
active learning strategies into the lectures. “Lecturers open the door, but the students
must enter by themselves and be actively involved in the lecture”.
3) The Government:
a) Pertaining to Nigeria, the government should make efforts to implement the national
philosophy of education and addresses the causes of low level of ICT application in
Nigerian high schools like: limited/poor information infrastructure; lack of/inadequate
ICT facilities in schools; frequent electricity interruption which makes the few schools
with ICT facilities unable to use them regularly; poor ICT policy/project implementation
strategy” was also indicated as a factor.
b) Attention should be paid to the funding of Education at all levels which is still
threatening the quality of Nigerian Education. Efforts should be made to maintain the
existing facilities such as the replacement of laboratory equipment especially with the
remarkable growth from the five universities in 1965 to over 1000 universities in 2012 to
ensure their continuous use.
c) Politicisation of educational policies and programmes should be eradicated so that all
learners will have equal opportunities; books and materials should be funded, there
should be incentives for research and writing, to eradicate the use of outdated notes and
materials by lecturers.
d) Lecturers’ and teachers’ salaries should be paid on time, to avoid strikes. The practices of
active learning strategies need a lot of motivation an investment. Computers must be
supplied to schools and there should be internet connections. Electricity must be regular
because of the use of technology.
 5) Parents
a) Parents’ efforts are also vital to students’ attendance and participation at lectures.
They should provide the financial, moral, social and emotional support essential for
their wards’ regular attendance at school and participation in class activities. They
should not shift the financial responsibilities to the students and should avoid
unnecessary demands from them and at the same time, the parents should guide
against over pampering the students so that they will have self discipline, respect
their lecturers and find it valuable to attend lectures and participate in class activities.
In conclusion, active learning strategies are effective in engaging learners and assisting them in
creating their own learning experiences in the changing environment. Active learning strategies make
learning to be fun and they motivate students’ attendance at lectures and to also participate. To
enhance the competence and intellectual capability of the Nigerian learner therefore, the models for
active learning should be embraced. It is time to change from the traditional and rigid method to the
globally accepted learner – centred method; it is time to invest in the lives of “Today's Youth,
Tomorrow's Leaders” through sound education which is the key to bright future. It is time to
redeem the image of the country in the international world by curbing the menace of the corruption
that constitutes the cog in the wheels of Nigeria’s progress. "Nothing endures but change. There is
nothing permanent except change. All is flux, nothing stays still."- Heraclitus

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 EVALUATION OF EDUCATIONAL REFORMS AND HUMAN
CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT IN A GLOBAL AGE

By

PROFESSOR M.O.N OBAGAH

Department of Psychology, Guidance and Counselling
Ignatius Ajuru University of Education
P.M.B 5047,
Port Harcourt,Nigeria

BEING FUL TEXT OF A GUEST LECTURE DELIVERED AT THE

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION, ORGAINISED BY AFRICAN ASSOCIATION FOR TEACHING AND
LEARNING (AATL) AND AFRICAN SOCIETY FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH HELD
AT ALVAN IKOKU FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, OWERRI-NIGERIA.
OCTOBER 22-26, 2012
Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

First of all, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to tthe African Association for Teaching
and Learning (AATL), the African Society for the Scientific Research and Alvan Ikoku Federal
College of Education for hosting the International Conference on Science and Technology
Education in this beautiful Eastern Heartland city of Owerri. I have enjoyed your warm welcome
and hospitality.

I am honored to have the possibility to speak with you at this important international conference on
education. I must also congratulate the organizers for having chosen such a relevant topical theme.

Ladies and Gentlemen

This is a very outstanding moment for me to be with so many great people in such a remarkable
meeting. I feel overwhelmed with the opportunity to share some of ideas about education and
technology and their relationships with sustainable development.

Preamble
Our concern is lecture is basically an evaluation of the National 10 – year Development Plan on
Educational Reforms and The part of NEEDS policy on the making of Millennium Development
Goals. MDGs in 2005. The Policy provisions were critically evaluated as to what extent they have
gone midway into the Targeted year 2015. It was found that by year 2010, the implementers of these
10 – years –Development plan have not gone near 45% of what should be 100% by 2015. The UBE
and MDGs goals may end up as mere pipe dreams and a drain on the national resources if double
Efforts are not made now to strengthen the resolve to achieve these set goals. It was recommended
that all the policy options in all the section of our educational system must be vigorously pursued in
order to attain these goals we have set for our nation Nigeria
INTRODUCTION
The evaluation of Educational Reforms and Human Capital Development in Nigeria of our
Vision in 2010 is to be based on the recent development plans which are linked to the 1999
Constitution. The current reform policy of the government revolves around the 10 – year
Strategic plan by the Federal Ministry of Education as well as the NEEDS document (2004). The
Reform is intended to overhaul the entire education sector and to promote quality education
For life - skills acquisition, Job creation and poverty eradication. It will put in place a sound
Frame work that will enable implementing to widen access, increase equity and enhance the
quality of educational provision.
The National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (2004) is not just a plan, it
Defines a process of development anchored on a clear vision, sound values and enduring
Principles. The most recent articulation of the vision of NEEDS is embodied in the 2001 Kuru
Declaration as follows:
To build a truly great African Democratic country, politically united, integrated and stable,
Economically prosperous, socially organized, with equal opportunity for all and responsibility
From all, to become the catalyst of (African) Renaissance and making adequate all-embracing
Contributions, sub-regionally and globally (p.27).
 THE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR POLICY GUIDELINES AND
REFORMATION:
POVERTY
REDUCTION

Wealth Employment
Creation

Sustainable Real Sector Growth

Regional Peace and Human Physical Macro-

Developmen Security. Developmen Infrastructure Economic
t Niger t and Health. s Stability
Delta Service
CROSS-Cutting Issues: - National Orientation, Gender programs,Delivery
HIV/AIDS prevention, Environment, Natural Emergency.

Figure1: The strategic framework for policy Guideline for Reforms and Human Capital Development.
Source: Seven Point Agenda: The Nigerian Project on Human capital Development.
Siteresources. World Bank.org.pointpolicy Nigeria.pdf.

Figure1: is highly instrumental to the guidelines the Nigeria Authorities are expected to
Follow in reaching some decisive goals on human capital development in our
Educational system. As much as the government is fully abreast of the need to create
Wealth and provide full employment in order to reduce poverty; the real sector growth
Is underpinned by an array of other problems as shown in the schema. The Human
Capital development and Health is seen central in the entire reformation process.
The underground problems and issues are not to be neglected for they are equally very
Important in the entire scheme. This strategic framework therefore gives the foundation
On which the reformation in education and the human capital development was based.
Therefore the final outcome of this evaluation process will take a full account of how
The originating policy statements by the governments where achieved partly or wholly.
The cross-cutting issues as shown in this schema are equally very important to the total
Outcome of this exercise.

THE PROJECTED GOVERNMENT POLICIES FOR REFORMATION &

HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELPOMENT:
The main policy that guided the Nigerian government at the Federal, State and Local
Levels given other challengers are as follows: It was envisaged by these tiers of
Governments that when these policies were successfully implemented that sustainable and
desirable changes were very feasible. These include:
  Provision of adequate resources for the entire education sector and improving the
 efficiency and effectiveness of the use of available funds for the implementation of
 The MDGs and UBE program, especially at the state level. The current levels of public
 Spending is insufficient to fill the financing gap to achieve UBE and improve the quality
and relevance of post-basic education in Nigeria. Further increase in support to the
educational sector through additional resources mobilization from domestic (including
the private sector), development partners and other interventional agencies is required.
 Physical Rehabilitation of all secondary and primary schools in the country using
additional 0.1% besides the 2% contribution to the Educational Tax Fund (ETF) and
partnering with private sector.
 Develop at least 10% computer and internal access in all primary schools, at least 30% in
all secondary schools and at least 70% in all tertiary institutions.
 Encourage local internet companies to sponsor connectivity to schools.
 Provision of free textbooks in primary and secondary schools.
 Strengthening the capacity of the ministry of education and its relevant institutions at all
levels of government for planning and management and the operationalizing of the
federal government 10-year Education Sector Plan.
 Design and implementation of the state education reforms based on the ongoing Federal
Education reforms.
 Removing barriers to girl’s basic education especial; in the Northern regions and boys
schools drop-out in the Southern region including community mobilization and
advocacy, recruitment and development of woman teachers and improvement of
physical facilities.
 Design and implement strategies to increase school enrolment, train, increase and retain
the number of teacher at all levels of education. The currents efforts by the Federal
Government to provide one meal per day for every pupil at the primary school level
should be sustained.
 Preparation of a National Post Basic Education Strategy, focused on Science and
Technology, quality innovation in line with the objective of NEEDS that will re-align
education with needs of labour market.

These were the basic policy thrust to guide the implementation of the modern reforms in
Education and ensure that there is complete improvements in the development of human
Capital in Nigeria at all fronts. In addition to the educational sector reforms’, there is other
Initiatives that have been introduced by the current government for the implementation of
Government’s 10-year Strategic Plan (2006 – 2015). These are what we shall term as structural
And institutional reforms. (The Seven Point Agenda: - The Nigeria project (2006). These new
Areas focused on the following:-
STRUCTURAL AND INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS:
It is instructive to remark that in July 2006, the Federal Government lunched a major

Restructuring of the Federal Ministry of Education and a reform packaged for the entire
 Education sector. One of the outcomes of the restructuring exercise is the drafting of a

Federal 10 - year Sector Plan with a re-classification of Education system as follows:

A. BASIC EDUCATION:
This incorporates early childhood care and development and primary and junior

Secondary Education anchored on the UBE program. The Federal Government through

The UBE program aims to tackle gender disparities in enrolment, attendance and low

Completion rates. The current primary net enrolment is about 61% and 7.8 million

Children are currently still out of school. An estimated 35% of the relevant age group

Attends junior secondary schools.

B. SENIOR SECDONARY EDUCATION:

The objective is to develop a framework for implementing the public/private

Partnership model for management of unity schools. Other goals include reforming Sciences,
technology, technical and vocational education to increase its relevance to the economy and
labour market. It also aims to attract and retain teachers, encourage Private Sector
Participation and encourage student enrolment at senior secondary school levels.
C. SPECIAL EDUCATION:
The aim of the Federal Government is to develop a formula for funding adult and non-

Formal special needs and nomadic education.

D. TERTIARY EDUCATION:
The vision is to advance Nigeria’s economic growth and global competiveness through

The provision of accessible, affordable, relevant and high quality education in tertiary

Institutions.

E. UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAMME:

The current government introduced the UBE program in 1999, making it compulsory for

Every child to receive nine years of “free” education. The Child Right of 2003 also provides a

Legislature framework to protect children and secure their basic rights, including the right to

Education. The introduction of the UBE program is in line with the Federal Governments

Effort to achieve education –related. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs.) Concerned

 With the achievement of education related MDGs, the Federal Government established the

Assessment and monitoring committee on the MDGs Chaired by the President to fast-track

Decision making and guide and monitor the implementation of MDGs related Policies and

Programs in all sectors of the economy.

F. POST--BASIC EDUCATION INITIATIVES:

At the post basic education level, Nigeria has adopted a strategic vision for tertiary

Education with emphasis on science and technology. Current Education policies call for

Increased enrolment in Science and Technology program. Improved research and

Technology infrastructure and strong quality assurance mechanism.

G. PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF PAST EDUCATIONAL OPERATION.

(2001-2005).
There have been remarkable improvements in education sector with adult literacy rate

Rising from 57% in 2001 to 62% in 2005 primary school enrolment rose from nineteen

Million in 2001 to over 26 million in 2005 as shown in figure 1.

Source: The Nigeria Project Agenda (pg. 63)

In the primary school category, the percentage of females in educational institution rose

To 53% in 2005 from 51% in 2001. However there was a decline in the percentage of female
 In both the secondary and tertiary institution from 44% in 2005. The tertiary institution also

Witnessed a decline in the number of females from 45% in 2001 to 43% in 2005 with the

Implementation of the UBE program, the number of primary school rose from slightly over

Forty-nine thousand in 2001 to over fifty-nine thousand schools in 2005. (See figure 2:

Fig.2 Number of Primary Educational Institution:

The Federal Government total Expenditure on education from 2001 to 2005 averaged 6%
Of the overall budget with the exception of 2002 which had a percent of almost 11% see figure
3 this is well below the UNESCO bench mark that recommends budgetary expenditure on
Education of at least 20% of the overall total budget.

OTHER MAJOR CHALLENGES FACING HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT:

a. The Equity and Access to education:
 Despite significant efforts since the lunch of the UBE program, Nigeria is falling behind

In its progress towards achieving the education related MDGs and Education for all (EFA)

Goals. Nation – wide, 64% of school – age boys and 53% of school – age girls attend

Primary school. There are large gender income and regional disparities in enrolment

Rates. Enrolment rate of girls in some Northern States are only around 20%. The cost of

Schooling both direct and indirect opportunity costs remains the key reason for low

enrolment and for dropping out of school.

b. Quality and Relevance of Education:

The quality of education in Nigeria is very weak for obvious reasons. These

Weaknesses also vary from one state to another and within the states. There is

Inadequate systematic and reliable information on students learning outcomes the

(World Bank Policy –DFID-USAID on Nigeria Education policy notes) remarks that the

Learning outcomes in primary schools are weak. And vary considerably across the

Different states.
It remarked that the main contributory factors to low learning outcomes are:

i. The poor condition of learning environment to support effective teaching and

ii. learning e.g. poor condition of physical facilities, shortage of textbooks and essential

iii. Instructional materials.

iv. Ineffective pre and in-service teachers training.

v. Outdated curricula

c. Inadequate funding:
Inadequate funding is the bane of Nigerian Educational system. Whereas, the

UNESCO prescription for countries to spend between 20 – 26% of their annual budget

on Education. Nigeria can hardly go beyond 3 – 6%. The 2010 Budget also reflects this

dismally low level of funding education in Nigeria. The figures shown earlier on the
 three tables reflects that the funding of education in Nigeria is grossly inadequate to

meet the MDGs requirement on Education. Not to tack of Human capital development

needs at whatever level in Nigeria.

d. Monitoring and Evaluation:

It is evidently clear and glaring that the work of monitoring and evaluation of the

educational administration is further hampered due to shortage of needed quality data

for information dissemination and make appropriate decisions in government cycles.

CONCLUSON
It is here concluded that the much talked about reformation in education in other to

achieve the desired human capital development is yet to be fully pursued with vigor.

The school enrolment of students and pupils at the secondary and pre – basic

educational offering are yet to go near the MDGs targets. The claim that meeting MDGs

goals are attainable in 2015 is a mere pipe dream. Too many challenges are now acting

as barriers to make the achievement of the MDGs goals a reality. We can simply

highlight problems of poor funding, shortage of educational facilities, government

indebtedness to foreign lenders and internal debt over – hang which they service even

now in 2010.

We would like to conclude that due to constant reports of corruption and capital

flight to other developed countries from Nigeria, achieving Human Capital Development

within the remaining period before 2015 is a mere wishful thinking.

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. The existing policy on the provision of adequate resources for the entire education
Section as well as the utilization of the available funds for true implementation of the MDGs
and UBE program should now be done with more vigor than before.
2. The physical rehabilitation of all primary and secondary school facilities should be Stepped up
more than before.
3. The (ETF) Educational Tax Fund should learn to give more funds that their use is
institutionally supervised, so that the money is not unduly diverted to other uses by
individuals.
4. The ICT education at all levels must now be pursued with more vigor. The use of
Computers should be made compulsory at all levels of our school system.

5. The provision of the appropriate textbooks in all schools must be made mandatory.

6. The condition of the school library must seriously be tackled now more than ever
before.

7. The general management of Education must be left in the hands of the professional
educators not the ordinary civil servants who know little to nothing about what to
do with our educational system.
8. The girl – child education in the entire school system must be seriously handled.

9. The Drop – out syndrome must be made a thing of the past.

10. The provision of qualified and efficient teachers is a sine-qua-non if our educational
system is to grow above what it is now.

11. The development of post – basic education that emphasizes science and technology
must be vigorously pursued now more than the mere lip service educational offering we
have had in the past.

REFERENCES
1. Central Bank Nigeria (2004): NEEDS; introduction and macroeconomic framework in
Nigeria. www.cenbank.org/out/publication/guidelines/rd/chap.2.

2. The Seven point Agenda: The Nigeria project Agenda... focus on physical infrastructure
and human capital development.
Site resources.worldbank.org… point policy Nigeria pdf.

1. World Bank(1995): review of public expenditure 001.london

 MATHEMATICAL GIFTEDNESS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Hanna David
Tel Aviv University
Jerusalem, Israel

Abstract
Mathematical giftedness is noticeable, many a times, at a very young age. There are children who can do the 4
elementary operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division while still in kindergarten; others
understand the meaning of "functions" at age 6-7; some children who ask "deep" mathematical questions, such as: "is
zero the average between plus infinity and minus infinity?" when in elementary school. Unlike in many other areas,
these children cannot be satisfied with enrichment in mathematics; they need the combination of both enrichment and
substantial acceleration in order to get an answer to their needs, which are far above these of their peers.In this
presentation suggested ways for nurturing the young mathematical children are to be offered, such as the use of art. The
gaps between the mathematically gifted and his peers will be demonstrated, and thus the conclusion, that unless extra-
curricular math is supplied – the young mathematically gifted might be highly frustrated. In addition, a few cases of
mathematically gifted children are to be presented, from my experience as a private tutor when I was still in high school,
as math teacher in high school, as a mother and as an educational psychologist.

Introduction
There are two main attitudes towards nurturing mathematically young gifted children.
1. Nurturing the child in a variety of subjects, including mathematics. This attitude is based on the
belief that all children must be exposed to a similar extra-curriculum experience, and any child, no
matter how gifted, should have a life similar as much as possible to that of her or his peers.
2. Nurturing the child mathematically, usually through private (1985 BBC News; Grant, 1998) or
group (e.g. David, 2008) acceleration. Families who espouse this belief will sometimes invest
substantial efforts in order to finance extra math lessons, certainly will not move in order to get a
better math education for their child, and most certainly will not split so that one of them serves as
private mentor to the mathematically gifted child (see, for example, Grant, 1998; Nicol & Wright,
2000).
Since nowadays the practice of exposing math prodigies to the public, as is the case in music
prodigies, no longer exists, mathematically gifted children do not usually have to move around the
globe from giving "performances", and the age they must lee home for better math education is
relatively higher in comparison to that of the musical prodigy. The life story of Prof. Ruth Lawrence,
who started studying in at age 11, is thus an exception (Grant, 1998).
Both attitudes are based on the belief of parents that their choice is "the best one for the child".
The parents from the first group "know" that "it is better for a child" not to move but live in the
same house for as long as possible; to have as many friends as possible; to be active in as many areas
as possible – in short – to be as "normal" as possible. Parents from the other group claim that all
great mathematicians were far beyond their peak at age 30, if not earlier, and thus if the child
"wastes" time he is not to be a mathematician, and that "is not good". It is both a pity for him, being
so talented and loving math so much, and a waste for humanity, as he will not have the time to make
the contributions he is capable of.
Parents from both groups ignore three main issues making their argument irrelevant:
I. There is no way to conclude from the past anything about the age at which a certain person will –
or will not – utilize his talents to the fullest. Life expectancy, as well as life quality, rises every decade,
and the way mathematicians work has changed tremendously: while in the past a mathematician used
to work on his own, now many mathematicians have maintained steady working group for years, etc.
II. Even if the statistics about the age of active mathematicians are valid, namely, they include a large
enough group, we must not forget that each mathematician was a person of his – or her own, so
there is no "group of mathematicians" in the statistical sense, but rather a large group of people,
living in different places, in different times, under different conditions, who were also
mathematicians;
III. The issue of "opinions" has no importance when an individual wishes to fulfill her or his
abilities. Thus, we can see that when we interview people who had become role models in different
areas, many of them tell about a childhood deprived of many joys – comfort, free play, close
friendships with peers, sometimes even good family relationships. However, many of them say: "but
I would have never chosen to live differently had I been a child again". Of course, this is not the
case among girl prodigies who were exploited as singers or actresses and later developed an eating
disorder, drug or alcohol addiction or any kind of psychological disorder, blaming their parents for
"pushing too hard". But when parents want their child to be a "math genius" there is a limit to what
they can do: even a bulldozer cannot push hard enough to make a child who does not have both the
urge and the talent become a mathematician.
The role of art in nurturing mathematical giftedness
There are many mathematically gifted children participating in the activities of The Young Persons'
Institute (2012) located on the Tel Aviv University premises. However, as the founder and the head
of the Institute, Dr. Erika Landau, deeply believes in the importance of emotional maturity (Landau,
1999), the institute, which is one of the largest in the world, does not concentrate on the
development of mathematical giftedness. The course "mathematical thinking" is offered to young
children, but these children are not necessarily mathematically gifted but rather children who have
scored in the 3 upper percentiles in one of the cognitive ability examinations. Thus, the
"mathematical thinking" course is intended to develop their abstract and logical thinking along with
their social and emotional abilities.
Along the years I have performed many interviews with some of the leaders of nurturing
mathematical giftedness in Israel. I interviewed Prof. Beno Arbel (David, 1996), who headed the
acceleration program in mathematics at the Tel Aviv University (David, 2001a, 2008) for three
decades, and Yoav Breuer, a mathematics teacher in several enrichment programs for the gifted at
the central part of Israel (David, 1999). They had both presented a similar rationale regarding the
working definition of mathematical giftedness, as well as the mathematical content to which, in their
opinion, young mathematically gifted children should be exposed. Along the years they had been
nurturing hundreds of mathematicians to be, and they both agreed that the common means used in
order to identify giftedness in general, such as the Szold Institute examinations identifying percentile
97+ or even 99+, or teachers' evaluations that might be, in some cases, more accurate,1 have a too
low ceiling, and thus cannot screen the mathematically gifted children suitable for the Tel Aviv
University acceleration program and in many cases not even the enrichment math classes.

On defining "mathematical giftedness"

There are many definitions of "mathematical giftedness" (e.g. Bicknell, 2009; Bicknell, & Coenders,
2010; Kontoyianni et al., 2012; Krutetski, 1976; Lubinski et al., 2001). When referring to early
childhood, when children are still in pre-school, most mathematically gifted children have not been

1
Teachers know the children and are expected to be aware if they have any special gifts even in cases when they had not been
identified in the routine process of identification for giftedness that includes, in Israel, the whole population (Freeman, 2010).
officially diagnosed yet and thus have no "mathematically gifted" label. However, consider an 18-
months old who declares aloud the floor each time the elevator stops; a 2-year old counting perfectly
up to 50; a 3-year old who understands the meaning of subtraction; a 4-year old understanding what
is a negative number or a 5-year old asking: "is zero the average between plus infinity and minus
infinity?" These are not imaginary children, nor children quoted in academic writings. I have met
ALL these children in my long, varied life as a mother, a counselor to gifted children and their
families, as educational intern in 19 kindergartens, and lecturer in three teachers colleges and
universities, where I had hundreds of pre- and in-service kindergarten and school teachers as BA
and MA students.
It can be concluded that the importance of an "imperative definition" to mathematical giftedness in
the early year is negligible. However, it is of crucial importance for teachers and mental health
professionals to identify this phenomenon and understand it in order to be able to support the child
and the family when the natural environment does not supply a suitable answer to the child's unique
needs.
Here comes the political correctness issue: why are the references in this article in the masculine?
The answer has to do with statistics: the large majority of mathematically gifted children at the level
described in this article are male. This has been the situation in ALL programs described in the
literature. SMMPY, the acceleration program in math for children scoring 700+ in the quantitative
part of the SAT before age 13 had, from its beginning in the early 70is, 16 times as many boys as
girls (Benbow, Lubinski, & Hyde, 1997; Benbow, Lubinski, Shea, & Eftekhari-Sanjani, 2000). The
Israeli situation regarding the most prestigious program for the mathematically gifted in Israel, that
of the Tel Aviv university, is about the same (David, 2001b, 2005a, 2005b 2008a, 2008b; Zorman &
David, 2000).

My affair with mathematical giftedness: In a nutshell

I have spent most of my life with mathematically gifted people – sometimes they were shorter than
one meter. But just as Molière's MONSIEUR JOURDAIN had been speaking in prose without
knowing it all his life, I had not known, until age 30, that most males in my life had been
mathematically gifted. For example; my young brother, born when I was already 11, started reading
at age 3 and when entering school, a month before his 6th birthday, the headmistress refused to have
him in grade 1 and thus he started directly in grade 2 in spite of my parents' objection. The source of
this objection was the "déjà vu" they had experienced: my older brother, 13 months my senior,
started school when barely 5, with huge gaps between his cognitive development and his fine motor
skills, as well as emotional ones. The explanation given to the unavoidable class skipping by the
school staff of my younger brother was: "A child with such a high level of verbal development
cannot be in class with 39 children who can hardly express themselves verbally, let alone read
fluently". Not even one person mentioned the fact that he excelled in math: obviously, this ability
did not 'disturb' the teachers… At age 13.5 he was accepted to grade 10 in a Yeshiva high school far
from home, and needed to learn grade 9 math because in his former school mathematics was not
taught during that year. Only when I found out that in the 4 weeks I taught him math he completed
both grade 9 and grade 10 math, and he did not have to learn this subject for the next year, I realized
that maybe this phenomenon, of being able to learn 10 or 20 times quicker than what is consider
"normal", might be something worth noting.
As it happened, my brother was not my first mathematically gifted student. Generations of Ultra-
Orthodox children living in my neighborhood preceded him. Every summer some of these children,
learning mainly the Holy Scriptures until age 13-14, were sent to me in order to help them fill the
gaps in mathematics and English in order to be able to continue their studies in Yeshiva high
schools. Then they would be able to take the matriculation examinations, acquire good quality higher
education and be able to provide for their families when married. These children used to study with
me after school (not sure if that's what you mean) [at age 12-13], but as their summer vacation was
shorter than in the state schools, their first weeks of learning sessions were in July, late in the
afternoon – when they were back from school, in the hottest weeks of the year in Israel. Usually I
tried to organize "learning groups" of 3-4 children, but in many cases the variety in the group
regarding the pace of learning was so large that I had to teach each child individually. Every year
there was at least one boy who would always ask for more homework or more difficult tasks; in
many cases these gifted children would find harder problems by themselves. I was considered a
good teacher, as my students passed the entrance examinations given to all students who wanted to
learn in a good Yeshiva high school, but looking back I can conclude that most of the work was
done by my students. They came to me, in the few weeks they did not have school, every day for
tutoring, and then were doing their daily homework. I had the privilege of teaching children with
high abilities and a very high motivation level, so it is understood why they did very well not only in
the entrance examinations, but during their studies in the next 4 years.
However, my most vivid memory is not of one of these students who put a lot of effort in order to
be accepted to a new school, but rather two brothers who learnt mathematics with me for the sake
of learning: "Lishma".2 They were the 13 and 14-year old sons of my former neighbor, who has
been serving as the chief rabbi of a large Israeli town for the last three decades. They boys, usually
coming from the Yeshiva in the evening, could study with me only on Fridays, when they had a
short school day, but I could not start teaching them before 2 o'clock in the afternoon as I had to
take the bus back home from Ramat Gan, where my school was located. During the year they had a
2-hour class every Friday, I cannot recall having to cancel the class even once – except for the two
weeks I suffered from a bad flu. Their father explained to me that in their school they learnt math
only until grade 4, while he wanted them to know some algebra, geometry, trigonometry is possible
– and anything else I chose. As I did not have to prepare the boys for external examinations, and did
not have to follow any given curriculum, I started with rehearsing simple fractions, decimal fractions
and percentages, moved to basic geometry and very quickly found myself suggesting interesting
problems in number theory, combinatorics, and at the end of the year – analytic geometry. The
younger boy was quicker than the elder, but this did not get in my way of advancing swiftly, when
both boys were active and enthusiastic participants. These two boys were not my only Friday
afternoon students during that year. In the first meeting, and then – in the second, when I realized
that their father was standing at the door during the whole class, I thought he wanted to be sure I
was good enough a teacher for his sons. But when he made no remarks and kept standing at the
door I became puzzled. Only after a few more weeks he explained, that when he had been a child he
had been fascinated by mathematics, but had no opportunity to study beyond elementary arithmetic.
He also asked if I did not mind if he kept on standing at the door during all my learning sessions
with his sons so he could learn too "without being in the way". Naturally I agreed. I have no idea if
the rabbi could understand everything without active participation or doing homework ; maybe he
did do the homework given to his sons secretly… In any case – this experience with the rabbi and
his two sons gave me a clue, while still at age 17, to the phenomenon fascinating generations of
math educators and psychologists: mathematical giftedness among children.
Can mathematical giftedness be always identified before starting school?

2The Ramban (Maimonides, 1138-1204) cites the Sifri [the Midrash book on Devarim, The Book of Deuteronomy] that one should
not learn Torah in order to be called wise, in order to sit in yeshiva, or for some other reward, but rather one should learn for its own
sake. It seems according to Ramban that the concept of "lishma" is not an order or a specific commandment, but rather is part of the
general obligation.
In spite of the fact that mathematical giftedness in early childhood is a most fascinating
phenomenon, when a young child demonstrates mathematical abilities that many adults do not, it
should not be ignored that many mathematically gifted children show their special abilities only
when already in school. There are many reasons that explain this: in some cases the child is not
verbally gifted, so he cannot speak about his math abilities, so quite often they "do not count". In
other cases the child's parents do not encourage such exceptional math abilities, and his peers might
even call him nasty names when he expresses his interest in math, so only when in school his talent
is "discovered". It also happens that the subject the child is interested in is not necessarily arithmetic,
where math giftedness is obvious at a very young age, but those based on a wide knowledge base
and thus needing some years in order to flourish.
Although the child who "speaks mathematics" is fascinating (not sure this is what you meant), this
ability does not have to be problematic before school age. Until age 6, when the child is still in
kindergarten, his teachers, in spite of their narrow math education (David, 2002), do no force him,
in most cases, to "learn" what he had already known at age 2. In spite of the common belief, neither
do the child peers' interfere with the work the mathematically gifted child prefers to do. In some
cases some more capable children even ask him to teach them, and if the kindergarten teacher does
not object, the teaching and learning of mathematics becomes a collaborative activity open to
anybody interested.
What happens to the mathematically gifted child in school?
At the beginning of grade 1 the situation regarding math learning is changed. The mathematically
gifted child is supposed to "study arithmetic" 5 hours a week along with the other children. There is
no "way out" for him: to read a book, to play with dolls or blocks, to do the puzzle kept especially
for him, as was the case in kindergarten. From age 6 to 12, when, as known from many written
biographies and personal testimonies, most mathematicians had shaped their professional identity,
the mathematically gifted child has to overcome a main problem. On the one side, he wants to
advance in math learning. On the other – he has to build his psychological, social, and emotional
identity, as "one of the group". This is very difficult without nurturing of his math abilities, most
important to him as a person.
Many studies have shown that in order to be at the top in any area, thousands, or even tens of
thousands hours are needed to be invested in practicing, learning and rehearsing. This is also the
case in mathematics. Thus, the argument heard frequently both by educators and parents: "the child
needs to have a balanced life", used as an excuse to drive the child away from math, is a little
unclear. Indeed, all children need to have friends, a variety of activities, and family connections. But
the exact amount of time a mathematically gifted child "should' dedicate to math is flexible. Who
knows when exactly the child is "in equilibrium"? When is it "ok" to do math 5 hours a day and
when is it not? There are no rules; the only rule that must guide parents and teachers is the answer to
the question: "is my child happy doing math?"
Case studies: two vignettes
1. Guy
A few years ago a worried mother told me about her 8-year old son who used to fall asleep while
doing math: his exercise book would fall down, the pencil drop each evening to (not sure what you
mean) the floor. I first tried to find out why the child was so tired. The mother explained that the
child was a gifted basketball player, practicing on a regular basis in a well known sport union, as well
as an outstanding judoka. "It seems quite clear to me why the child is so tired", I said, but then the
mother said: "I asked him time and again to restrain his math learning pace, but he would not
listen". "What do you mean"? I asked. "Maybe you can explain to him that he is already doing grade-
5 mathematics, and being ahead of his class by two years must be enough". It was very difficult to
explain her that actually Guy far behind his true abilities in math, as he had to do all the exercises in
the learning materials before getting access to a new math subject, and as he was bored with every
subject after he understood it, a process that took him about 10% of the expected time, he was
actually exercising too much in order to get the award – exercises related to the next subject.
2. Adam and Allen

Adam and Allen are 6-year old children living in a village in the northern part of Israel. As the
village is quite small and the parents insist that the children do not leave it before school, the
kindergarten they visit consists of 3, 4, 5, and even some 6-year olds. When the children have to start
school they can choose one of the three in their municipality; they usually prefer the closest one,
which is located about 20 km from their village.
The twins' mother is 30-year old woman; their father is 15 years her senior: this is his second
marriage. He has a 15-year old daughter by his first wife, who also lives in the same village.
Allen is well developed, mature and physically strong girl. Adam is much shorter, suffers from
allergies and a constantly runny nose, as well as poor appetite. However, at age 3 he already mastered
addition and subtraction up to 10, and at 5 he not only knew how to multiply and divide, but
understood the meaning of these operations. When I met him he mastered complicated excises with
fractions, and was fascinated by the power concept. In spite of that, the mother decided both twins
had to delay entering grade 1 by a full year. As Adam was given the title: having "a low maturity
level", the only solution offered for him was to leave him in kindergarten for an extra year, with
some children who were hardly out of nappies. The decision to leave Allen there as well seems
inevitable: "twins cannot be separated…"
We can conclude that the life track of a child with extreme math abilities is determined, with high
certainty, by the home. The talent is a necessary condition, but if the parents do not have enough
knowledge, or they themselves lack the support needed in order to be able to support the bringing
up of a mathematically gifted child they would prefer, in many cases, actions to the disadvantage of
their (I know what you've been saying here, but I insist on "child") and leave no space for his extra-
ordinary abilities.

Examples of math problems

Here are some examples to problems that, when given to young children can help us identify
mathematical giftedness. A mathematically gifted child, especially when very young, does not
necessarily solve all, or even one of them. The interest he shows, and his trying to get the right
answer, are of more importance.
 Sheikh Abdallah had 17 camels. He gave half to his first born son, a third – to the second
and one ninth, namely 2 – to the third. How is it possible?
 How many times in 24 hours the minutes clock hand will cover that of the the hours
(though rare, non-digital clocks still exist…)?

Summary and Conclusion

Many studies written about "mathematical giftedness" actually mean: "high math ability". The
exceptions are those of Feldman & Goldsmith, (1986) or Gross (1999), along with all the studies
from The Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) project (see, for example, the
publication list of SMPY's two main investigators: Benbow, 2012, and Lubinski, 2012). Many of
these studies, including some of the SMPY ones, are case studies, including the only Israeli
published study (David, 2005b). As the reference is to a group whose frequency is about 1 to 50,000,
it is hard to have a large enough group in order to conclude definite statistical findings about them.
However, it must be clear that the old argument whether "gifted children should get enrichment or
accelerated education" has no meaning when we refer to this special group. They need massive
acceleration along with deep math learning, creative teaching and hand-tailored programming. A
detailed case study describing such a child and the way he had been tutored in order to develop not
only his math ability, but his personality as a whole is to be published elsewhere (David, in press).

References
(4/7/1985). 1985: Teenage genius gets a first. Retrieved on 12 June 2012 from the BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/4/newsid_2492000/2492853.stm
Benbow, C. (2012). List of publications. Retrieved on 18 June 2012 from
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Peabody/SMPY/camilla_benbow.htm
Bicknell, B. (2009). Who are the mathematically gifted? Students, parent and teacher perspectives.
Journal of the Korea Society of Mathematical Education, 13(1), 63-73.
Bicknell, B. & Coenders, L. (2010). Gifted and talented in mathematics. In R. Averill & R. Harvey
(Eds.), Teaching primary school mathematics and statistics: Evidence-based practice (pp. 237-247).
Wellington: NZCER Press.
Benbow, C.P., Lubinski, D., & Hyde, J. (1997). Mathematics: Is biology the cause of gender
differences in performance? In M.R. Walsh (Ed.), Women, men, and gender: Ongoing debates (pp.
271-287). New Haven: Yale UP.
Benbow, C.P., Lubinski, D., Shea, D.L & Eftekhari-Sanjani, H. (2000). Sex differences in
mathematical reasoning ability at age 13: Their status 20 years later. Psychological Science, 11(6),
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 SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN KARACHI METROPOLIS, PAKISTAN

*Anisa Yousuf and **Sadia Bhutta

*Federal Government Girls High School, Gilgit,Pakistan
**Aga Khan University Institute forEducational Development, Karachi,Pakistan

This paper examined high school students’ attitudes toward the environmental issues (pollution of air and water,
overuse of resources, global changes of the climate etc.) with respect to school system. The questionnaire-based Relevance
of Science Education (ROSE) Project was used to collect data from 10th grade 312 students. Data was analyzed
using (SPSS) the non- parametric equivalent of the independent t-test. The results of the study indicate that there were
significant difference between government and private schooling systems students’ attitudes. Private schools students
reported to have a significantly high degree of positive attitude towards environmental issues as compared to their
government counterparts. The results of the study provide significant insights into students’ attitude towards
environmental issues towards discipline in both government and private secondary schools. Based on the results of the
study, some recommendations have been put forward for policy and practice. Furthermore, the results of the study can
be used as a base line for further studies. The authors offer suggestions, based on the results, for further research to
identify reasons for differences between government and private school, so as to improve environmental education in
Pakistani schools.

Keywords: Environmental attitude, Environmental education, Secondary school, gender, school

systems
INTRODUCTION
Environmental degradation has emerged as a serious issue in the world today. Human factor
is the largest contributor to the environmental degradation (Makki, Abd-El-Khalick, & Boujaoude,
2003) which might pose serious threats to sustain life on earth (Gore, 1993). Therefore, there is a
dire need to pay serious attention towards protecting life on earth. As teacher and teacher educator,
it is our prime responsibility to take measures to overcome this problem. UNESCO3 (2005)
emphasizes the role of education in shaping attitudes, values, and behavior, while developing the
capacities, skills, and commitments needed for building a sustainable future.
Dunlap, Gallup, & Gallup (1993) conducted an international survey on environmental
values. In this survey, twenty four countries all over the world including developed and developing
nations had participated. From each country, around one thousands sample selected. The survey's
results showed that citizens of many developing nations were highly concerned about the state of
the environment.
Studies generally tend to examine students’ environment attitudes in relation to
environmental knowledge, interest, behavior as well as socio-economic variables (e.g., Huang &
Yore, 2003; Makki, Abd-El-Khalick, & Boujaoude, 2003; Negev, Sagy, Garb, Salzeberg & Tal, 2008)
have been carried out all around the world in developed as well as developing countries. Lavonen
and Meisalo (2004) examined the Finnish students’ environmental attitudes across gender. They
found overall positive attitude towards environment across gender. In a comparative study by
Huang and Yore (2004), they reported that both Canadian and Taiwanese 5th grade students held
positive behaviour and attitudes towards the environment. Moreover, they expressed a high
emotional disposition toward the environment and high concern about environmental problems and
issues as well as a moderate level of environmental knowledge.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

3
 Makki, Abd-El-Khalick, and Boujaoude’s (2003) study showed that Lebanese high school
students held positive environmental attitudes but had inadequate environment knowledge. Young
students’ environmental attitudes were also investigated by many Turkish researchers (e.g., Alp,
Ertepinar, Tekkaya, & Yilmaz, 2007; Taskin, 2009; Tuncer, Ertepinar, Tekkaya & Sungur, 2005). In
one of these studies, Cavas, Cavas, Tekkaya, Cakiroglu, Kesercioglu, (2009) found that Turkish
students generally have favorable attitudes and interest toward environmental issues. They seemed to
be eager to find solutions to environmental problems and show optimistic trends about the future.
In ROSE (Relevance of Science Education) study Sjoberg & Camilla (2004) conducted
survey in forty countries of the world. As part of ROSE study, the researcher examined how
students relate environmental challenges. They found that students did not seem to be pessimistic
about the global future. They put trust in themselves that they personally could influence what
happens with the environment. However, the study showed no significant gender differences
regarding environmental issues. Results of the study revealed that in general students have positive
attitude towards environmental protection.
In summary, research studies which are carried out all over the world showed that students
have positive attitude towards protection of environment. They are eager to find solutions of
environmental issues.
Furthermore, school may play some role in the formation of students’ views on the
environment (Tuncer, Ertepinar, Tekkaya and Sungur, 2009). Kuhlemeier, Bergh, and
Lagerweij(1999) also seems to agree by saying that , the student population (family background or
prior achievement); the enthusiasm, experience and competence of the team of teachers; the
curricular offering; the quality of instruction; and the social climate (Gamoran and Nystrand, 1994)
may all play a part to develop attitude of students.
In Pakistan, government and private schooling systems are following the same curriculum
(National curriculum, 2009). However, there is difference in teaching methodologies and resources
in both the systems.. This study aims to explore students’ attitude with respect to school system to
know the environmental attitude of students. However, there is dearth of research studies which
have been carried out to explore differences in students’/teachers’ attitude towards environment
across school systems. However, only a couple of studies have been carried out to address this issue
all-around the world. A study was carried out by Tuncer, et al (2009) in Turkey to explore
environmental attitudes of young people across school system. Results showed that students from
the private school scored higher than their government counterparts. Another study was carried out
by Shobeiri, Omidvar & Prahallada (2006) to know the environmental attitude of teachers of Iran
and India across school system. Result showed that overall there is no significant difference in public
and private school teacher environmental attitude.
In Pakistan, few studies have been carried out to explore students’ learning out comes in
various subject including science (Mirza, Munawer and Hameed, 1994, Das, Pandey, and Zajonc,
2006, LEAPS 2007, p.31). These studies have found that private children at private school have
performed better as compare to their government counter parts in science and other subjects. As
science is closely related to environmental education, it was important to find out whether this
difference in achievement translates in children attitude as well. These were the main reasons to
select the variable (i.e. school system) to explore further through the study. Having said that, I am
cognizant of the fact that there are number of other factors (Scio economic status, class room
practice, Media) which contribute to environmental attitude. However, keeping in mind the scope of
this study, one variable was selected.
STATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Some researchers argue that formal environmental education helps students to develop more
favorable attitudes towards environment (e. g Lee, 2008). Therefore, it is reasonable to look at the
environmental education context in Pakistan within this study. The Environmental Education (EE)
in Pakistan is in its very beginning stages. There is not a well-established environmental education
policy for Pakistan. It is important to note that in Pakistan, EE is not taught as a separate subject.
However, EE concepts like energy, greenhouse effect, pollution; microorganism, recycling, and
ecosystem have been incorporated in the science curriculum of the primary and secondary classes.
Moreover, textbooks of Urdu, English, Social Studies and Islamic Studies at primary and secondary
levels also carry some environmental education concepts, which are presented as part of content in
various chapters. There is very little attempt to make connections between concepts, especially
between science and environment and vice versa. Furthermore, the textbooks lack guidelines for
teachers to teach these concepts not only to create awareness and develop attitudes, interests and
skills among students but also to equip students with strategies to take action in order to preserve
the earth’s natural resources and to deal with environmental issues.
An overview of the discussion presented above appear to indicate that although there is no
separate environmental education course in the secondary education in Pakistan, environment
related ideas are intended to provide to all students from both the science and non-science groups
through different subject areas. However, curriculum review revealed that most of the topics related
to environment failed to portray adequately the relationship between human activity and the quality
of environment in the presentation of content. Furthermore, National Education Policy (2009) has
not given attention to the area of environmental education. Rabia (2010) argues that by keeping in
view the importance of EE, environmental education should be given proper attention. For
example, it is important to relate EE with daily life as this strategy would help to develop positive
attitude towards environmental issues.
PURPOSE
The study aimed to investigate secondary school students’ attitude towards environmental
issues across school system.

RESEARCH QUESTION
What is the difference in environmental attitude of secondary school students of government and
private system in Karachi, Pakistan?
METHODOLOGY
Cross-Sectional Survey
The purpose of my study was to investigate the attitude of Grade Ten students towards
environment. Accordingly, I opted for quantitative approach ,which seemed to be most appropriate
as it aims to identify what a situation is like and the direction in which it is going (Punch,2005).
There was no manipulation of variables required in the study and it only aims in describing the
current attitude and differences across existing variables (i.e. school system and gender. An
additional advantage of this design, according to Fraenkel & Wallen (2006) is that “it is quicker to
conduct and cheaper to administer” (p.397). It produces a “snapshot” of a population at a particular
point in time. (Cohen, Manion& Morrison, 2000)
This cross-sectional survey, involving the questionnaire proved to be an effective way of
assessing environmental knowledge and attitude from large group as surveys can directly collect
information from people about their ideas, feelings, and social and educational background (Fink &
Kosecoff, 1998, p.1)
Furthermore, attitude is a positive or negative thinking about a person, object or issue (Abell
and Lederman, 2007). Therefore, asking directly from individuals through an attitudinal survey
research method was the most logical method for gathering information on attitude. (May, 2003).
Description of the Questionnaire
The questionnaire consists of 23 items divided into two parts. Part A, in which participants
were asked to provide information about name, gender, age, and class and school system. In Part B,
relevant section of ROSE4 questionnaire was used. It is a Likert-type scale which includes ten
sections (A to I). I chose section D which contains 18 items that focuses on students’ attitude
towards environmental issues column ranging from disagree to agree.
Sample
The ROSE questionnaire was translated from English to Urdu by five researchers working in the
fields of Science Education, Urdu language and English language. Pilot study carried out for
reliability. For drawing a representative, Multi stage cluster sampling sample of grade ten students
from private and government schools of Karachi, I encountered two major constrains:
 Geographical spread of the target population

 Partially or complete unavailability of listing of schools

Keeping in mind the above constrains, from the eighteen towns, those towns were selected,
which are half an hour’s traveling distance from AKU-IED5. Of the eighteen towns, seven towns
fulfilled this criterion. Of the seven selected towns, two towns were randomly selected in the first
stage of sampling. In the second stage, 10 schools were selected from two towns through random
sampling using SPSS. In the third stage, grade ten students were selected from each school by setting
the criteria that the whole class will be included if the class size is thirty or more than thirty.
Application of the questionnaires in the classroom took forty minutes. The sample of the study
consist 312 students (154 girls and 158boys) who were enrolled in the 10th grade. A direct
administration procedure was used for the survey.
Data Analysis
Data was analyzed by using SPSS. Inferential analysis was used for comparing the mean
scores of students’ environmental attitude across systems. Group comparison (Mann-Whitney) was
used to find out differences across school systems. This analysis was carried out in two steps: (i)
overall comparison; (ii) item-wise comparison. Before, comparing group analysis was carried out on
overall score to explore general trends across all items.
Results
This section begins with a subsection of overall attitude of students followed by presentation
of results at two levels to answer the two main research questions.
OVER ALL ATTITUDE OF STUDENTS TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Table 3 shows the overall attitude of students at secondary level in Karachi, Pakistan. An
examination of table shows that students hold moderately positive attitude in most of the items of
ROSE questionnaire (section D “Me and environmental challenges”). The participants responses
were distributed among the five options (i.e. strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly
agree).The findings revealed that Pakistani students generally have moderately favourable attitudes
towards environmental issues. They seemed to be eager to find solutions to environmental problems
and showed optimistic trends about the future.

TABLE 1: Overall Attitudes of Students

Items Mean Standard Deviation
1. Threats to the environment are not my business (-) 2.50 1.44
2. Environmental problems make the future of the world 3.74 1.29
4
http://www.ils.uio.no/forskning/rose/
5
Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development
 look bleak
3. Environmental problems are exaggerated (-) 3.17 1.26
4. Science and technology can solve all environmental 3.29 1.20
problems
5. I am willing to have environmental problems solve even if 3.79 1.00
this means sacrificing many goods
6. I can personally influence what happened with the 3.59 0.95
environment
7. We can still find solutions to our environmental problems 4.26 0.92
8. People worry too much about environmental problems (-) 3.14 1.32
9. Environmental problems can be solved without big 2.56 1.29
changes in our way of living (-)
10. People should care more about protection of the 4.24 1.04
environment
11. It is the responsibility of the rich countries to solve the 2.67 1.34
environmental problems of the world
12. I think each of us can make a significant contribution to 4.13 1.05
environmental protection
13. Environmental problems should be left to the expert (-) 2.30 1.17
14. I am optimistic about the future 3.70 1.12
15. Animals should have the same right to life as people 3.91 1.14
16. It is right to use animals in medical experiments if this can 3.46 1.21
save human lives
17. Almost all human activity is damaging for environment 3.27 1.29
18. The natural world is sacred and should be left in peace 3.69 1.30

What follows is detailed analysis at item level.

The students scored highest in item 7 which is about the vision for future. It is worth
mentioning that the students scored (M = 4.26). Students’ images of the future affect actions in the
present, they try to adapt what they imagine and acts that they wish for future. Future images are
influenced by the background, experiences, knowledge. By knowing the youth's images of the future;
we can better understand their present motivation, choices and actions. The images students’ hold of
the future will make the future of country. Showing positive attitude regarding finding solutions to
environmental problems suggest that students seem more concerned about the environmental
problems. They own the problems and are enthusiastic to solve them. It is interesting to note that
the youth of Pakistan is ready to take action for their better future.
It is quite surprising to note that students scored relatively higher (M =4.24) in item 10,
which is about protection of environment. They think that it is important for the society that
environmental problems should be solved. Students showed their concern for environmental issues
and they want to protect the environment by their personal contribution. This attitude shows their
determination towards protection of environment.
For item 12, which deals with the feeling of influence environmental problem, students have
demonstrated an overall positive attitude (M= 4.13). Interestingly, students seem to be more
motivated towards taking action instead of depending on other sources to solve environmental
issues. They think that each of them can make significant contribution to environmental protection.
They have demonstrated more positive attitude in terms of understanding their own responsibility to
solve environmental problems. The average low score on the negatively worded item (environmental
problems should be left to expert) indicates that in general students have shown their sense of
responsibility to participate in solving environmental problems. It is heartening to observe that in
general students have demonstrated more positive outlook for influencing the development.
Responding to the item 15, which is about whether animals should have the same rights to
live as people, students showed positive attitude (M =3.91). This item is related to the bio centric
value. The positive attitude of student shows that they recognize the pleasures and pains of non-
human subjects to be considered. They might be of the view that at least some of what counts in
ethics is common to our kinship with animals, not just specific to our species. Common sense first
and science later teaches that we humans have many similarities with animals. For survival on planet
earth, all members of ecosystem are equally important. Positive attitude towards same right of life of
animals is encouraging in the sense that students love and care for animals.
On the other hand, in three items (4, 11, 17) students showed their less positive attitude. It is
interesting to see that both items 4 and 11, which focus on external sources (i.e. technology and rich
countries) to solve problems, have scored relatively lower. It is encouraging to observe that in
general participant students have demonstrated their sense of responsibility and relatively less
reliance on external sources. Item 17 (almost all-human activity is damaging for environment) is
regarding the protection of nature. Relatively low scores show that the students believe that not all-
human activity is damaging for environment. By doing environmental friendly activities, they can
protect their environment.
Overall results reveal that in general students have moderately favourable attitude towards
environmental issues. They seem to be eager to find the solutions to environmental problems and
show optimistic trends about the future.
COMPARISON BETWEEN TYPES OF SCHOOLS
This section presents the results of a comparative analysis between government and private school
students’ attitude towards environmental issues at the secondary level.
FIGURE 1: Comparative Overview of Students’ Attitude across School

Figure 2 presents a comparative overview of overall attitude of students across school system.
The results shows that on average, students from private schools have demonstrated more
positive attitude (M= 3.71; SD= 0.28) as compared to government school students (M=3.40;
SD=0.43). The difference was found to be significant [U= 7024.000; p<0.01]. Interestingly, the
three outliers at the lower end shown in the visual graphics were all boys. Further analysis was
carried out to explore detailed patterns at item level.
Item-wise analysis
The table 4 presents a detailed analysis at item level by comparing the mean scores and the
standard deviation of government and private schools students’ attitude towards environment.

TABLE 2: Comparison across System of Schools – Item-Wise Analysis

Items Government Private Difference
M(SD) M(SD)

1. Threats to the environment are 3.1(1.5) 1.9(1.1) U= 6.712; p<0.001

not my business (-)
2. Environmental problems make 3.4(1.4) 4(1.0) U=9.544; p <0.001
the future of the world look
bleak
3. Environmental problems are 2.9(1.1) 3.5(1.3) U=8.500; p<0.01
exaggerated (-)
4. Science and technology can 3.0(1.3) 3.5(1.0) U=9.514; p<0.001
solve all environmental
problems
5. I am willing to have 3.9(1.1) 3.6(0.8) U=8.634; p<0.001
environmental problems solve
even if this means sacrificing
many goods
6. I can personally influence what 3.6(1.1) 3.6(0.8) U=1.120; p>0.05
happened with the environment (ns6)
7. We can still find solutions to 4.2(1.1) 4.3(0.6) U=1.155; p>0.05
our environmental problems (ns)
8. People worry too much about 3.3(1.3) 2.9(1.2) U=9.800; p<0.01
environmental problems (-)
9. Environmental problems can be 2.6(1.3) 2.6(1.2) U=1.187; p>0.05
solved without big changes in (ns)
our way of living (-)
10. People should care more about 4.0(1.2) 4.4(0.8) U=9.819; p<0.01
protection of the environment
11. It is the responsibility of the rich 2.4(1.2) 2.9(1.3) U=8.980; p<0.001
countries to solve the
environmental problems of the
world
12. I think each of us can make a 3.9(1.3) 4.3(0.8) U=1.088; p>0.05
significant contribution to (ns)
environmental protection
13. Environmental problems 2.5(1.2) 2.2(1.1) U= 1.044; p<0.05
should be left to the expert (-)
14. I am optimistic about the future 3.6(1.3) 3.7(0.9) U=1.134; p>0.05
(ns)
15. Animals should have the same 4.0(1.3) 3.8(1.0) U= 1.027; p<0.05
right to life as people
16. It is right to use animals in 3.4(1.4) 3.5(1.0) U=1.191; p>0.05
medical experiments if this can (ns)
save human lives
17. Almost all human activity is 2.8(1.4) 3.8(1.0) U=6.923; p<0.001

6
ns: not significant
 damaging for environment
18. The natural world is sacred and 3.3(1.5) 4.0(1.0) U=9.113; p<0.001
should be left in peace
The results depict that there are significant difference among government and private school
students’ attitudes regarding environment. Private school students scored higher than their
government counterparts on most of the items. However, it was surprising to observe that
government schools’ students had an edge over their private counterparts on two positively stated
items (i.e. 5 and 15). It is argued that private school students seem more willing to solve
environmental problem; however, when it comes to sacrificing goods to solve these issues
government schools have clearly exhibited more positive attitude. Similarly, government school
students have shown more concern about animals’ right to life.
It is important to note that the difference between the two school systems was not
significant on six items including statement number 6, 7, 9, 12, 14 and 16. Interestingly, both the
groups have exhibited an optimistic outlook for finding solutions of environmental problems (“we
can still find solutions to our environmental problems” and “I am optimistic about the future”).
Similarly, both groups are confident that environmental problems can be solved through “personal
influence” and “significant contribution to environmental protection”. As far as the “level of
changes required to solve environmental problems” is concerned both groups have equally shown a
positive attitude towards this. In other words, sample students in both groups seem to have realised
that they have to make drastic changes in their life style to ‘fix’ environmental problem – the first
step is realizing and taking steps towards solving environmental problems. Students’ from both
systems are inclined towards ‘saving human life’ even if that means ‘sacrificing animal life’. However,
it would be unfair discussing results on item 16 without referring to students’ views on item 15.
Comparing an overall score on the two items indicates that on average students from both groups
have shown relatively more positive attitude towards (government M = 4.0; private M= 3.8) equality
of human and animal right to life (item, 15). However, when it comes to sacrificing animal life for
saving human life, the score of both groups (item 16) have gone down (government M= 3.4; Private
M= 3.5).
Based on results of overall comparisons, it was expected that private school would show
positive attitude on majority of the items. As expected, private school students have shown more
positive attitude on item 1[-], 2, 4, 8[-], 10, 11, 13[-], 17 and 18. Of these nine items, the first five
focuses more on students’ attitude towards environment in terms of their sense of responsibility
(e.g. people should care more about protection of the environment) and possible strategies to solve
environmental issues (e.g. science and technology can solve all environmental problems). On the
other hand, the last two emphasizes more on students’ environmental attitude through their bio-
centric values (e.g. the natural world is sacred and should be left in peace). It is also interesting to
note, that the students seemed to value their own contribution in solving environmental issues
instead of putting this important responsibility on others. Relatively lowest score (from both groups)
on item 11 (it is the responsibility of rich countries to solve the environmental problem of the
world) is a manifestation of their sense of responsibility.
DISCUSSION
This section discusses the results in light of literature. Discussion is organised in two sections
according to the research questions: (i) Comparison across school system; (ii) comparison across
gender.
Comparison across School System
Comparison across school systems revealed that private school students claimed a more positive
attitude towards environment than students from government schools.
This result is in contrast to the study of average environmental attitudes in government and
private, state-dependent schools in 12 European countries (Avram and Dronkers, 2011).A majority
of those studies found that there is no difference in environmental attitude of private and
government schools system. There are only two exceptions to this general pattern. In particular,
students in private government-dependent schools in Portugal have, on average, higher scores on
the environment attitudes scale compared to their peers in public schools. Whereas the results are in
align with the results of the study of Tuncer et al (2005), in which they found that in Turkey
students’ attending private schools were more aware of environmental problems, individual
responsibility and national environmental problems, and had more positive attitudes toward solving
the problems.
Item wise detailed analysis showed that private school students have shown a more positive
behaviour about their personal contribution in environment protection (item 12). However, they
seemed reluctant in sacrificing many goods (item 5) to solve environmental problems. This pattern
indicates a lack of concern towards environmental problem on part of private school students. How
to interpret these findings? Blake’s (1999) model may help to see barriers between environmental
concerns and actions. He identifies three barriers to action: individuality, responsibility, and
practicality. According to him, individual barriers are the ones that reside within the person, having
to do with attitude and temperament. He claims that barriers are especially influential in people who
do not have a strong environmental concern. Environmental concern is therefore outweighing by
other conflicting attitudes. This seems to be the case with private education system students as well.
They showed positive attitude for contributing to the protection of environment, however when the
time comes for sacrificing goods, they seem reluctant to do so.
Although the evidence from the data reported that young people are not overwhelmingly
optimistic about the future, environmental issues are clearly a matter of concern for them. Such
issues deserve explicit curriculum attention. However, there are significantly different views of
private and government education systems students’ about a range of environment-related matters,
including how to respond to the challenges related to the environment. It is thus important in any
programme of environmental education to address directly some of the issues that divide students in
their responses to the 18 statements (e.g., the extent to which individual action and/or sacrifice can
bring environmental benefits) so that they can appreciate that, there are different ways of thinking
about environmental challenges and responding to them. Underlying such thinking will be an
understanding of different ways of explaining the origins of the present difficulties faced by the
environment, whether in terms of risk society theory or not (Beck, 1992). The need is for diversity,
sensitivity, and experimentation in planning and teaching programs of environmental education and
encouraging students to ask appropriate questions and search for answers rather than simply
acquiring a body of environmental knowledge. The goal should be to enable students to engage in
an informed conversation with expertise about the environment and help them develop the
confidence and skill to add to it and, when appropriate, to challenge it.
It would be important to dig these differences across system further. In Pakistan,
government and private schools are following the same curriculum that is the National Curriculum
of Pakistan. One possible explanation of this difference could be that, in most of the statements,
private students positive attitude shows that they may have more exposure to environmental issues
as compared to government schools through environmental project works and different teaching
strategies. Teachers, working in private schools may have better awareness as compared to
government schoolteachers (Larijani, 2010). Another reason could be that in private schools, the
recent developments might be emphasized more, encouraged to participate in various programs on
environment related issues, which is not so prominent in government schools. Even, Dinakara
(2000) reported significant difference in environmental awareness between government and private
school teachers. However, Sabhlok (1995) reported that government teachers were found to be well
aware as compared to the private school teachers.
Given that many environmental problems and their solutions are science related, there is
clearly a role for school science education in such an engagement. However, environmental
education is not simply a matter for science educators. To the extent that such education requires
the accommodation of the personal, social, and economic with the science as an integral whole, it
constitutes a challenge to a conventional subject-based curriculum and pedagogy.
To protect and conserve the Environment, emphasis should be given to EE in both
government and private system of education. In any of these education systems, teachers play a very
significant role in developing a greater awareness about environment among students. This calls for
a radical change in the way we think, live and work. Hence, it is clear that sustainable development
calls for a paradigm shift in our educational systems right from the school level up to the university
level. In fact, a sustainable way of life cannot be achieved without an appropriate education system
designed to internalize the principles of sustainability in the life and work of our youth.
Since, it is a government initiative to make EE an integral part of formal education through
its national curriculum framework, considerable work is being done in the direction of integrating
environmental concepts into the existing curriculum, developing new strategies, preparing
instructional material for effective implementation of EE in the both systems. However, there is a
dire need of training teachers in both the education systems of Pakistan, so that students of both the
systems can develop their critical thinking skills to act positively towards environment in future as
citizen of Pakistan.
RECOMMENDATIONS
For policy, it is recommended that teacher-training institutes should include environmental
issues in their curriculum. Mere inclusion of topic would not work therefore, it is important to train
teachers in pedagogical strategies to orient them as how to teach environmental education to
students for critical thinking, problem solving, and action. For practice it is suggested that
teachers both in government and private schools must re-examine traditional teaching strategies
such as chalk-and – talk method that mostly do not match the learning styles of students. Teachers
need to use variety of innovative teaching strategies such as cooperative learning strategies, while
delivering their lessons. Besides that teacher should use problem solving teaching methods, so that
critical thinking in students could be developed. Student should be encouraged to take positive
actions in daily life so that they could be able to act positively in their practical life in future. In other
words, action oriented pedagogy could be considered a first necessary step towards realizing and
solving environmental problem. The heart of teaching lies in interaction and discussion with
students. In the light of the results of the study, it is suggested that teachers must appreciate and
encourage interactions and discussions in the classroom so that students can express and justify
themselves.
CONCLUSION
The results of the study give us the overall impression of moderate attitude of students
towards environmental issues. However, for positive changing of the prevailing level of attitude and
hope among youth, there is a need of bringing change in different levels. For example, some
rethinking need to be done regarding curriculum content and structure, teaching methods, teacher
education and in-service training, and development of suitable resources. It is my hope that these
efforts will make youth of Pakistan environmentally informed and friendly citizen.
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 THE INVESTIGATION OF CZECH LOWER SECONDARY
SCHOOL PUPILS TOWARD SCIENCE SUBJECTS

Milan Kubiatko
Institute for Research in School Education, Masaryk University, 603 00 Brno, Czech Republic

Abstract
The contribution is focused on the investigation of the Czech lower secondary school pupils toward science subjects
(biology, chemistry, physics and geography). The curriculum of the Czech Republic included these subjects in the group
call “Man and Nature”. The published studies showed, the pupils’ attitudes toward science subjects are relatively
negative. This kind of subjects belongs among the least favorite. The physics and chemistry ranked very often at as the
least favorite. In or study was the questionnaire with 25 Likert type items used. Only for the subject geography was
used 27 items. It is due to the position of geography, this subject is standing between science and social subjects, so the
character of several items was different from the items for other science subjects. The construct validity was established
by factor analysis, which divided items into 4 (geography, chemistry and physics) or 3 (biology) dimensions. The
dimension are not homogenous, some items are in other dimension in one subject and in other dimension in second
subject. The pupils perceived the biology as the most positive and chemistry and physics are perceived as the least
favorite subjects. The conclusion contains implications for further research.

Keywords: attitudes, lower secondary school pupils, questionnaire, science subjects

Introduction
The Czech educational system in the last twenty years passed through some changes. The last one
included the science subjects in the group called “Man and Nature”. The science subjects
incorporated in this group are biology, chemistry, geography and physics. The biology, geography
and physics are taught all 4 years of lower secondary education (level ISCED II) in the Czech
Republic. The chemistry is taught only two years. In the Czech Republic (also in other countries) is
the decreasing interest about science subjects. The government knows about this situation, but its
answer is only increasing of subsidy for the teaching of foreign languages and decreasing of teaching
hours for science subjects. So it can cause big damages, because science is an important component
of the cultural heritage of every country. It provides the most important explanations we have of the
material world. In addition, some understanding of the practices and processes of science is essential
to engage with many of the issues confronting contemporary society.
There are many investigations, which are focusing on the problematic of the perceptions of the
science subjects. Some researchers are evaluating science subject in general view, and some are
evaluating separately biology, chemistry, physics and geography. It is nonsense to write about every
of study and their results, so below are presented only the results of the most important
investigations. The problematic of attitudes of learners toward science is important for investigators
for a relatively long time. As Osborne et al (2003) stated the attitudes toward science subjects are
decreasing. These authors used data from the other investigators. The original results say about the
same problem – attitudes toward science are decreasing. For instance, Hendley, Parkinson, Stables,
and Tanner’s (1995) study of 4023 Key Stage 3 pupils in Welsh schools uses overall means obtained
from a Likert questionnaire. Their findings show that, out of the four core subjects – science,
English, mathematics and technology – science is the least popular. This view of science is
confirmed by a smaller scale qualitative study based on interviews with 190 pupils (Hendley, Stables,
and Stables 1996). When asked which three subjects they liked best, science was ranked fifth out of
12 subjects. However, this contrasts strongly with the response to the question ‘Which three
subjects do you like least?’, where science emerged as the most disliked subject and, interestingly,
least preferred by boys. Hendley, et al. concludes that science is a ‘love–hate’ subject that elicits
strong feelings in pupils. Other recent research into subject preference has been conducted by
Colley, Comber, and Hargreaves (1994), who found that there were significant gender differences
among 11-year-old to 13-year-old pupils with girls favoring English and humanities, and boys
favoring science. It was brief view on the science subjects overall. But there is amount of studies
focusing on the individual science subjects. For instance Trumper (2006) investigated attitudes of
Israeli students toward biology and he found out relatively positive attitudes toward this subject. The
next analysis was focused on the comparison of boys and girls, girls achieved higher score in
comparison with boys. Prokop, Tuncer and Kvasnicak (2007) investigated the effect of field
program on students’ attitudes toward biology. Authors found out positive increase of attitudes
toward biology after the field program. Moreover, students displayed better understanding concepts
like ecosystems and food webs. In the next study Zeidan (2010) investigated the attitudes toward
biology and perceptions of the biology learning environment among grade 11 students in the cities
and villages in the Palestine. These data were used to determine whether there were significant
differences in and interactions between the attitudes toward biology and perceptions of the
classroom learning environment for students of different genders and residency. Furthermore, it
analyzed the relationship between the attitudes toward biology and perceptions of the biology
learning environment. The students expressed positive attitudes toward biology. There were no
significant difference between residence and females had got positive attitudes toward biology in
comparison with boys. The attitudes toward chemistry was investigated for instance by Cheung
(2009). The purpose of his quantitative study was to examine the interaction effect between grade
level and gender with respect to students' attitudes toward chemistry lessons taught in secondary
schools. Salta and Tzougraki (2004) investigated 11th grade Greek students’ attitudes regarding the
difficulty, the interest, the usefulness of chemistry course, and the importance of chemistry. Gender
and study specialization differences in students’ attitudes toward chemistry were examined for this
population. Report card grades for the chemistry course were used to measure students’
achievement in chemistry and its correlation with students’ attitudes toward chemistry was explored.
Students at 11th grade in Greek high schools consider the chemistry course neither difficult nor
easy. The students’ attitudes regarding the interest of chemistry course are also neutral. Although
there are no differences between boys’ and girls’ attitudes regarding the interest, usefulness, and
importance of chemistry, girls, more than boys, tend to express negative attitudes regarding the
difficulty of chemistry courses. Our study suggests that the correlation between attitudes toward
chemistry and achievement in chemistry is low up to moderate. The correlation was stronger
between difficulty and achievement, indicating that a positive attitude regarding difficulty of
chemistry course is more necessary for students in achieving high scores.
The investigation of pupils’ attitudes toward physics was realized by Stefan and Ciomos (2010). The
sample size was created by Italian pupils, who considered physics for demanding, but on the other
the physics is perceived as interesting subject. Authors found out, that the most important factor,
which is influencing the attitudes toward physics, is a teacher. The similar result was presented in the
study of Angell et al. (2004).
The attitudes toward geography are investigated at least with comparison of other science subjects.
Brook (1977) examined the general attitudes towards geography held by ninth and tenth grade
students and college students. Education level, gender, and students’ individual conceptualizations of
geography were examined as possible influences on their attitudes towards geography. The results
were not significant among independent variables. Detailed results showed that the youngest
students in this case ninth grade) had better attitudes towards geography in comparison with the
older ones (tenth grade and college students). The influence of grade level was also investigated
from fourth grade to sixth grade in the study of Sack and Petersen (1998) who found a decreasing
interest in geography the higher the grade level of respondents. The same authors examined gender
differences in attitudes towards geography and found that boys had more positive attitudes towards
geography in comparison with girls.
On the previous lines was provided the brief possibilities of the investigation of attitudes toward
science subject. Some of the subjects (biology, chemistry, physics) are investigated in higher level in
comparison with geography. On the majority of cases is used quantitative approach with the Likert
type questionnaires as the main research tool. In the some cases is used interview.

Methodology
Participants
The number of respondents participated on the investigation of attitudes toward physics was 390,
toward biology it was 496, toward geography it was 540 and toward chemistry it was 379. The
selection of respondents was random. All of participants attended lower secondary schools, where
the style of teaching was conventional without any alternative methods incorporated into teaching
process.

The instrument
The research tool was the questionnaire contained 25 Likert type items with five possibilities
(strongly disagree – slightly disagree – not disagree/ not agree – slightly agree – strongly agree).
There was the effort to use similar questionnaire for all science subject. The specific position of the
geography (somewhere between social and science subjects) compelled authors to use different
items in the questionnaire.
The questionnaire for geography was dividing into four parts (1. Geography as a school subject; 2.
Geography and the environment; 3. Importance of geography; 4. Relevance of geography for pupils
life). The chemistry and physics questionnaire was also divided into four parts (1. Interest about
chemitry/physics; 2. Relevance of chemistry/physics; 3. Future life and chemistry/physics; 4.
Chemical/Physically experiments). The biology items was distributed into 3 dimensions (1. Interest
about biology; 2. Relevance of biology; 3. Biological experiments). The items from category “Future
life and <subject>” were in this case incorporated into category “Relevance of biology”.
Copies of the questionnaire were administered Czech lower secondary schools. Students were
informed that the questionnaire was anonymous and that it was not a test but rather a research
attempt to explore attitudes towards geography. Administering of the questionnaires was random.
No time limit was given for the finalization of the questionnaire, but the longest time taken to
complete it was approximately twenty minutes. The distribution of the questionnaires was done by
researchers themselves or by teachers who were instructed about its distribution.

Analysis of data
The obtained data were coded into numbers following: strongly disagree – 1; slightly disagree – 2;
not disagree/not agree – 3; slightly agree – 4; strongly agree – 5. It was valid for positive items, the
negative items were coded reversely. The total score of individual participants provides a composite
index of attitudes towards geography. A low score reflects a relatively negative attitude and a high
score reflects a relatively positive attitude toward individual science subjects. The score between
<2.75, 3.25> indicated neutral attitude toward subjects.
The acquired data was subsequently processed with factor analysis with Varimax rotation and
factors/areas/dimensions with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 were derived.
The reliability of the questionnaire was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The values of
reliability were high for every questionnaire (α = 0.86 – 0.89). These values indicated acceptable
reliability of the questionnaire (Nunnaly 1978). The high value of reliability coefficient in our study
implies that the instruments used for investigation of students’ attitudes towards science subjects are
reliable and its usage for further analysis is appropriate.
The analysis of obtained data was following. There was used percentage evaluation in the analysis of
items. The descriptive statistical methods (mean score, standard deviation) was used due the
determination of perception of the science subjects, if the attitudes toward them are positive,
negative or neutral. The inductive statistic (ANOVA, t-test, Pearson product moment) was used for
the determination of significant differences (between boys and girls, ...) and to determine the
strength of the relationship. The multidimensional statistics (factor analysis, Cronbachs alpha) are
presented above, their main using was into the determination of validity and reliability.

Findings
In this chapter we introduce some basic results of the analysis of attitudes toward science subjects.
On the figure 1 are shown the values of score for the individual subjects. The highest score achieved
biology (x = 3.45) and the lowest one chemistry (x = 3.27). There is possible to observe two
interesting aspects. First of them is, the all subjects are perceived positively, although the chemistry
and physics achieved boundary values, but the value are still positive. Second thing, the biology is
perceived by lower secondary school pupils the most positive from all subjects. The chemistry is the
worst evaluated subject in the tight sequence with physics.

Figure 1 The mean score for the individual subjects.

The next analyses are focused on the evaluation of the dimension, which was created by factor
analysis. There are necessary three different approaches. The first approach is to evaluate only
geography, because this subject is placed little bit different in comparison with other science
subjects. As it is possible to observe on the figure 2 the dimension “The Relevance of geography for
pupils life” was evaluated the most positive. Also the category “Geography and the environment”
was evaluated positive. Other two categories was evaluated as negative.

Figure 2 The mean score of the dimensions regarding to geography

The next approach is to evaluate physics and chemistry dimension together, because the factor
analysis divided items into these dimensions. However further analysis is little bit problematic,
because the items in the dimensions are not similar. For example in the first dimension “Interest
about <subject>” 8 chemical items, but 10 physical items. We can see, that as in “geography” the
dimension “Relevance of <subject>” was evaluated the most positive. The lowest score was found
out in the dimension “Future life and <subject>”.

Figure 3 The mean score of the dimensions regarding to chemistry and physics

The last approach is to evaluated dimension regarding to biology. This subject is evaluated separately
due the fact, the items regarding to biology was divided into three dimensions. As we can see on the
figure 4 all dimension regarding to biology was evaluated positive. The most positive was evaluated
the category “Experiments” and as in the previous subjects the lowest score pupils achieved in the
category “Interest”.
Figure 4 The mean score of the dimensions regarding to biology

Conclusion
In this contribution were delineated the basic results of the Czech lower secondary school pupils
toward science subjects. In the conditions of the Czech Republic are biology, chemistry, physics and
geography included among science subject in the group called “Man and Nature”. In the
contribution we provided the basic literature review. In this part of the text are described basic
studies, which are focused on the problematic of science subjects’ attitudes. Our contribution is, that
in the region of Czech Republic was not realized study of this character. The methodology and
results part is focused on the description of the sample size, the description of the instrument tool,
which was used for the finding of attitudes toward science subjects. The attention is devoted to
description of the data analysis, mainly the using of factor analysis, which divided items into
dimension. The results described the basic findings, the overall attitudes toward science subjects and
the distribution of score among dimension.
There are many possibilities how to evaluate data, one of this is find out the influence of
demographic variables like gender or year of study on pupils attitudes toward science, next to find
out relationship among dimensions.
This contribution presented only basic results, the more detailed information about this kind of
research could be consulted on the conference,

References
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and teachers’ views of physics and physics teaching. Science Education, 88(5), 683-706.
Brook, D. L. (1977). Students’ attitudes towards geography. Journal of Social Studies Research 1(2), 60-
69.
Cheung, D. (2009). Students' attitudes toward chemistry lessons: the interaction effect between
grade level and gender. Research in Science Education, 39(1), 75-91.
Colley, A., Comber, C., & Hargreaves, D. J. (1994). School subject preferences of pupils in single-sex
and coeducational secondary schools. Educational Studies, 20(3), 379-385.
Hendley, D., Parkinson, J., Stables, A., & Tanner,H. (1995),Gender Differences in Pupil. Educational
Studies,Vol 21(1), 85-97.
Hendley, D., Stables, S., & Stables, A. (1996). Pupils’ subject preferences at Key Stage 3 in South
Wales. Educational Studies, 22(2), 177-187.
Nunally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Osborne, J. F., Simon, S., & Collins, S. (2003). Attitudes towards Science: A Review of the
Literature and its Implications. International Journal of Science Education, 25(9), 1049-1079.
Prokop, P., Tuncer, G., & Kvasničák, R. (2007). Short-term effects of field programme on students’
knowledge and attitude toward biology: a Slovak experience. Journal of Science Education &
Technology, 16(3), 247-255.
Sack, D., & J. F. Petersen. (1998). Children’s attitudes toward geography: A Texas case study. Journal
of Geography, 97(3), 123-131.
Salta, K., & Tzougraki, C. (2004). Attitudes toward Chemistry among 11th grade Students in high
schools in Greece. Science Education, 88(4), 535-547.
Stefan, M., & Ciomos, F. (2010). The 8th and 9th gradegrades students atttitude towards teaching
and learning physics. Acta Didactica Napocensia, 3(3), 7-14.
Trumper, R. (2006). Factors affecting, junior high school students’ interest in biology. Science
Education International, 17(1), 31-48.
Zeidan A (2010). The Relationship between grade 11 Palestinian attitudes toward biology and their
perceptions of the biology learning environment. International Journal of Science and Mathematics
Education, 8(5), 783-800.
 CONSTRUCTION OF A PRIMARY DRY CELL BATTERY FROM
CASSAVA JUICE EXTRACTS (THE CASSAVA BATTERY CELL)

Kenneth O. Igharo
University of The Gambia,
School of Education, Brikama Campus,
Brikama, The Gambia.

ABSTRACT
The liquid extract from cassava, a tropical root tuber widely consumed in Nigeria, The Gambia and in some other
West African countries, is a big environmental hazard and constitute great nuisance as it pollutes the soil and air to a
high degree, particularly the soil. Due to its very acidic nature, it becomes toxic to the soil and destroys the plants and
nutrients in the soil. If extracts flow or is passed into the soil surroundings, it releases a very unpleasant odour into the
air.As a result of this observable pollution hazard caused by this substance, I deemed it appropriate to research into
how, this pollutant to soil and air can be controlled and also in the process the liquid extract from cassava, which is
wasted and causes environmental damage, can be positively utilized to serve the society and mankind.Since it contains
significant amount of acid, the following research hypothesis is drawn:The chemical nature of the liquid extract from
cassava containing a mineral acid HCN, can be harnessed and used as an electrolyte for; a Dry cell battery; and The
liquid extract from cassava, which is wasted and causes environmental damage, can be positively utilized to serve the
society and mankind and thus constitute a means of pollution control.The cassava tubers contain a significant amount
of cyanogenic glycosides, which hydrolyses to form hydrocyanic acid (HCN).

INTRODUCTION
The concentration of hydrocyanic acid (HCN) in cassava tuber varies in different species of cassava.
There are two major species of cassava viz: sweet cassava and bitter cassava. The sweet cassava has
lower level of hydrocyanic acid, while the bitter cassava has a high level of the acid, about 490mgkg-
1. The tuber stores a lot of water, but this could be eliminated by dehydrating the liquid juice which
is the store of the acid.
Hydrocyanic acid is poisonous; hence cassava tubers are carefully and elaborately detoxified before
being consumed. By its chemical nature, hydrocyanic acid has both cation (H⁺) and anion (CN¯).
When it undergoes dissociation the products are: HCN →← H⁺ + CN¯
With these dipolar characteristics, it could undergo electrolytic process involving the exchange of
ions and flow of electrons; this can constitute an electric current.
The materials utilised include crushed cassava paste/juice (electrolyte), carbon black, manganese (IV)
oxide powder, zinc can, carbon rod, cassava grater, absorbent material. The apparatus needed are
voltmeter, ammeter and milliammeter, circuit wires, crocodile clips, electric bulbs.

The following tests were carried out:

i) Test for electromotive force, (e.g.) of the battery cell
ii) Test for current output of the battery cell
iii) Test with a load of 2.5volts electric bulbs.
The battery (cassava battery cell) generated of electromotive force (E.M.F) of 2.0volt and a current
(1) of 60MA = 0.06A. And three of this was able to brightly light up a 2.5volts electric bulb; and
produced a total electromotive force (E.M.F) OF 3.05volts and total current of 202MA =0.22A.
These results led me to the conclusion that the cassava battery cell functioned well like other
batteries, which can be improved on.
And that cassava juice (liquid) which is considered and drained away as waste material is a good
electrolyte which could serve as a local cheap and economical source of electric power generation.

CHEMICAL COMPONENTS OF CASSAVA EXTRACT

The cassava tuber contains the following chemical compounds viz; water, carbohydrate, protein,
traces of fat, fibre, mineral matter and glycosides, which undergo hydrolysis to form hydrocyanic
acid (HCN), the rate of hydrolysis could be accelerated by soaking the cut-tubers in water or by
raising the temperature of the soaked tuber to about 75˚C.
Hydrocyanic acid (HCN) has a concentration of about 490mgkg¯' tuber (Onwueme I.C, 1978), in
bitter cassava specifically, the store of the acid. The concentration of hydrocyanic acid (HCN) in
cassava tuber varies in the different species of cassava. There are two major species of cassava viz:
sweet cassava and bitter cassava. The sweet cassava has lower level of hydrocyanic acid, while the
bitter cassava has a high level of the acid evenly distributed through the tuber. Other factors like low
potassium content; high Nitrogen contents in soils, wet soil region, also contribute to high level of
hydrocyanic acid in cassava. NOTE: HYDROCYANIC ACID IS POISONOUS; hence cassava
tubers are carefully and elaborately detoxified before being consumed.
Hydrocyanic acid (HCN) by its chemical nature has both Cation (H⁺) and anion (CN¯) (i.e. +ve and
–ve ions) when it undergoes ionic decomposition the products are;
HCN H+ + CN-
With this dipolar characteristic, it could undergo electrolytic processes involving the exchange of
ions and flow of electrons. This can constitute an electric current.

PRIMARY DRY CELL BATTERY (E.G .THE Leclanché cells).

Primary cell with a nominal open circuit voltage of 1.5 Volts produced in very high volumes.
Chemistry based on a zinc anode and a cathode/depolariser of manganese dioxide which absorbs
the liberated hydrogen bubbles which would otherwise insulate the electrode from the electrolyte. It
uses a carbon rod as the cathode current collector with an electrolyte of ammonium chloride. Its
variants have been in use for over a century. The performance of Leclanché cells improved by 700%
between 1920 and 1990.

Also referred to as Zinc- Carbon Cells or Dry Cells (not to be confused with Solid State Cells)
despite having an aqueous electrolyte since in modern cells the electrolyte of ammonium chloride
and zinc chloride is produced in gel form or held in porous separators to reduce potential leakage if
the cell becomes punctured.

Variants include

 Zinc carbon (Carbon cathode)

 Zinc chloride (Ammonium chloride electrolyte replaced by zinc chloride)
 Alkaline manganese ( Ammonium chloride electrode replaced by potassium hydroxide)

Advantages are as follows:

Inexpensive materials, Low cost, Available in a wide range of sizes including AAA, AA, C, D and
9Volt sizes.
Suitable for a wide range of consumer applications, Interchangeable with alkaline batteries

Applications

General purpose, low cost applications such as: Toys, Remote controls, Flashlights, Clocks,

Consumer applications etc.

HYPOTHESES:
Since it contains significant amount of acid, the following research hypothesis is drawn:
The chemical nature of the liquid extract from cassava containing a mineral acid HCN, can be
harnessed and used as an electrolyte for; a primary Dry cell battery; and
The liquid extract from cassava, which is wasted and causes environmental damage, can be positively
utilized as a control of soil and air pollutions.

THE CONSTRUCTION
MATERIALS/APPARATUS USED
The first step I took in the construction of the cassava battery cell was to gather all the relevant
materials needed for the project.
MATERIALS: - Crushed cassava paste/juice (Electrolyte) Carbon black and Manganese (IV) oxide
powder (Depolarizer); Zinc Can (Cathode); Carbon rods (Anode); Cassava grater, Absorbent
material (Tissue paper).
APPARATUS: - Voltmeter, Ammeter and Milliammeter, Circuit wires, Crocodile clip, Electric bulbs
(2.5v).
PROCEDURES
STEP 1: The first step followed was to make a grater, which I used to grate the freshly peeled
cassava tuber.
This was made by perforating some holes on a rectangular zinc slate of about 9cm2 in area, with a
5cm – sized nail from one side of the slate so that sharp openings are produced at the opposite side.
The rectangular zinc slate was then nailed to a stick of 4cm × 2cm× 1cm in dimension to serve as
the comfortable handle.
The peeled cassava tuber was soaked in water for about two days before it was grated; (this is to
increase the rate of hydrolysis of the cynogenic glycosides to Hydrocyanic acid within the tuber).
After soaking the fresh, peeled cassava tuber for two days, it was grated, after which transferred into
a scarf where it was pressed and squeezed to extract the juice from the paste. The extracted juice was
bottled and kept for one day to give way for further hydrolysis reaction.
STEP II
The formation of the Cathode mix called Bobbin. This was made in two different ways. The first
Cathode mix is a moderately thick paste and the second was a very thick paste. The Cathode mix is a
composition of mixture of the extracted cassava juice (acidic); Manganese (IV) oxide powder and
Carbon black obtained from Generator plant Exhaust pipe.
The positive electrode (Anode) is the carbon rod, taken from an old U2-Sized dry cell battery.
The negative electrode (Cathode) is a zinc can (milk can and the zinc container of a U2-Sized
battery).
STEP III: MAKING THE CASSAVA BATTERY CELL
The Cathode mix was put into the zinc can, which inside base was placed a sizeable round
cardboard paper, and the inside was walled with an absorbent material (tissue paper) to act as a
separator.
The Cathode mix filled (¾) three –quarter part of the zinc can. This was done with the two different
Cathode mix respectively.
The carbon rod (Anode) was impregnated into the middle part of the cathode mix. So the battery
cell was now made and ready for testing. Below is the diagram of the cassava primary battery cell.

Metal top cap

Plastic closure
Seal (thick cardboard sheets)
Carbon rod (anode)
Cathode mix (MnO2, carbon black & the cassava juice extract)
Zinc can (cathode) lined inside with a separator.

The following tests were carried out:

i. Test for the electromotive force (E.M.F)
ii. Current output
iii. Test with a 2.5 volts electric bulb.
STEP IV: TESTS
i. Test for electromotive force (E.M.F) of my battery cell: A
voltmeter was connected across the terminals of the
battery cell(s).
ii. TEST FOR CURRENT OUTPUT FROM MY BATTERY CELL: This was carried out
with a milliameter and an Ammeter. The battery was connected to a milliameter and
ammeter respectively in series.
iii. TEST WITH A 2.5 VOLTS ELECTRIC BULB: The bulb was connected to the battery cells
in this manner; first to one cell; then to two cells together and lastly to three cells
connected together.

RESULTS
ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE (E.M.F) READINGS FROM VOLTMETER. (Error in voltmeter
= ± 0.1volt)
NO OF CELLS E.M.F IN VOLTS (V) ± 0.1
1 1.0 volts
2 2.0 0 volts
3 3.0 5 volts

FLASH CURRENT READINGS FROM AMMETER.

NO OF CELLS CURRENT (I) IN MA & A
1 60 MA = 0.06A
2 130 MA = 0.13A
3 202 MA = 0.22A
Error in Ammeter (I) = ± O.5MA AND ± 0.005A

TEST WITH 2.5 VOLTS ELECTRIC BULB.

NO OF CELLS observations
 CONNECTED
1 NOT LIT
2 FAINTLY LIT(bulb light but
glows dimly)
3 BRIGHTLY LIT(bulb lights
up brightly)

CONCLUSION
The battery (cassava battery cell) generated of electromotive force (E.M.F) of 2.0volt and a current
(1) of 60MA = 0.06A. And three of this was able to brightly light up a 2.5volts electric bulb; and
produced a total electromotive force (E.M.F) OF 3.05volts and total current of 202MA =0.22A.
These results led me to the conclusion that the cassava battery cell functioned well like other
batteries, which can be improved on.
And that cassava juice (liquid) which is considered and drained away as waste material is a good
electrolyte which could serve as a local cheap and economical source of electric power generation.

RECOMMENDATIONS
I. Manganese (IV) oxide (MnO₂). The possible local source within our environment from
which Manganese (IV) oxide could be obtained or extracted should be research on so
that every material used in the construction of the battery would be those that can be
obtained cheaply and locally from our environment without the foreign dependence.
II. If possible, the actual and accurate, life span of the battery should be carefully measured on
continuation with this project.

References

Onwueme I.C. (1978), The tropical tuber crops (yams, cassava, sweet potato, cocoyam) John Wiley
& Sons New York.
Hill J.W, Baum S.J, Feigl D.M, (1997): Chemistry and life: an introduction to general,organic,and
biological chemistry – 5th ed.,Prentice Hall,Inc.New Jersey,USA.
Muzanila, Y.C; Brennan, J.G & King, R.D.: Residual cyanogens, chemical composition and
aflatoxins in cassava flour from Tanzanian villages, Food Chemistry (July 2000), 70 (1), pg. 45-49.
 FACTORS AFFECTING THE EFFECTIVE USE OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHER TRAINING

Muhammad Safdar*, Dr. Irshad Hussain**, Nazar Abbas Nazar***, Muhammad

Yaqoob***, Shakeel Ahmad Ghazi**** and Muhammad Abdul Malik****
* Department of Education, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan
**Faculty of Education, Islamia University Bahawalpur, Pakistan
***Faculty of Education, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan
****Faculty of Education, Preston University, Islamabad, Pakistan

ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to assess the factors effecting teachers’ use of information and communication technologies
(ICTs) in teacher training institutions. Use of E-mail, MS Word, MS Excel, MS Power Point and Internet
browsing was also determined in the study. Factors like lack of training, lack of technical support, Lack of peer
support, slow connectivity, power failure, lack of quality software, lack of quality hardware, lack of software, lack of
knowledge, lack of confidence, lack of peer support, lack of realization of advantages, lack of time, not enough
Internet connections, lack of hardware, limited lab hours, lack of software, these technologies are expensive, and these
technologies have has no relevancy with B.Ed/M.Ed and MA Education course were used in the study.

Keywords: ICTs, Teacher Training, Barriers

INTRODUCTION

Education has got paramount importance in the 21st century due to emergence of globalization and
increasing global competition. Doubtless to say that in this fast changing and competitive world,
education and technology are the master keys for respectable survival, growth and development.
ICTs have played vital role in the advancement of teachers’ professional development throughout
the world and these are helpful for continuing professional development of teachers. The current
and emerging communication and information technologies provide unique opportunities to
continue the professional development of teachers and other educators. (UNESCO, 2005)
National Education Policy 1998-2010 (1998, p.88) has given special emphasis for the integration of
ICTs in education in these words, “The investment in information technology infrastructure and its
network will bring our institutions of higher education on the world map”.
ICTs can play a vital role in the professional development of teachers and administrators,
consequently in enhancing quality of education. To improve education in Pakistan, the needs of our
teachers, head teachers, and administrators must be addressed holistically. ICT can enhance teaching
quality by supporting and reinforcing the use of innovative teaching practices. It can allow educators
to access a wide array of materials, reducing isolation and permitting peer-exchanges (GOP, 2003).

TEACHERS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ICTs

In this information era technological skills are essential for teachers’ professional development.
These skills are essential for every teacher training programme because other skills can be enhanced
through the usage of information and communication technologies. Following skills are necessary
for teachers in this era:
 To use ICT for their own purposes and to help students to use these technologies.
 Use of Word processing (MS Word).
 Use of Spreadsheets (MS Excel).
  Using emails
 Searching for information on the Internet. (UNESCO 2005)
ICTs based programmes are very interesting and motivating for the learners as they are engaged in
these programmes keenly. These programmes facilitate them in the acquisition of basic skills which
ultimately increase the quality of teacher training programmes. ICTs can enhance the quality of
education in several ways: by increasing learner motivation and engagement, by facilitating the
acquisition of basic skills, and by enhancing teacher training (UNDP-APDIP, 2002).

BARRIERS TO THE UPTAKE OF ICTs BY TEACHERS

There are several barriers in the proper use of ICTs and their nature varies from area to area for
example lack of availability of paraphernalia is the major problem in developing countries while level
of their use is the key concern for developed countries. Nevertheless key problems are lack of
hardware, lack of quality of hardware, lack of training, lack of software, lack of quality of software,
lack of technical support, lack of peer support, lack of time, lack of organization, lack of confidence
lack of funding, connectivity problem and power failure etc. (BECTA, 2004)
Regarding personal computers (PCs) there are many people especially the students who cannot easily
purchase the computer and its related accessories. No doubt designing and implementing successful
teacher professional development programmes which employ ICT is neither easy nor inexpensive.
(Carlson and Gadio (2002)
In some researches it is found that in pre-service phase some teachers feel frustrated during the use
of these ICTs. Beggs (2000) pointed out that new technologies, when first encountered, bring mixed
feelings of anxiety, fear, as well as frustration, which sometimes lead to not using the new
technologies. I have observed similar reactions among tutors in the teacher training colleges, where
the training of tutors did not fully materialize because the trained tutors who were expected to train
others were not knowledgeable enough to competently train others. Studies in the UK identified
three main obstacles that limited ICT uptake by student teachers: student access to computers,
the ICT policy adopted by initial teacher training providers as well as lack of encouragement
for students to use ICT in teaching practices (Murphy 2000).

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Population and Sampling

The population of the study consisted of Departments of Education in public sector universities of
Pakistan. A sample of 50 academicians and 300 students of B.Ed, M.Ed, MA Education, and MS
leading to PhD Education was drawn conveniently.

Administration of Research Tool and Data Analysis

It was a survey study and to elicit the opinion of the respective respondents, two questionnaires one
for teachers and the other for students were constructed, validated and administered for data
collection.

Table 1: Reliability coefficient of the questionnaire

Sr.No. Focused Area No. of Items Mean Standard alpha
Deviation
1 Utilization of ICTs 5 3.46 .75 .90
2 Skills to Use ICTs 18 3.25 .81 .96
5 Overall 23 3.36 .78 .93
Data Collection and Analysis
37out of 50 from academicians and 191 out of 300 from students were returned back. Collected
data was analyzed by using mean and percentage formulas.

Table 2: Utilization of ICTs

S.No Item Respondents Always Often Seldom Never

N % N % N % N %
E-mailing Teachers 21 38 28 50 07 12 --- ---
1 Students 67 22 106 35 84 27 39 13
Word processing Teachers 19 34 33 59 04 07 --- ---
2 Students 49 16 151 49 65 21 26 08
Spreadsheets Teachers --- --- 10 18 32 57 14 25
3 Students --- --- --- --- 98 32 153 50
PowerPoint Teachers 07 12 28 56 16 29 05 09
4 Students --- --- 23 08 119 39 158 52
Online /digital library Teachers 24 43 27 48 05 09 --- ---
5 Students 65 21 106 35 77 25 52 17

It is evident from table: 1 that teachers are most fluent in the use e-mails as more than 80% teachers
are creating, reading or sending e-mails often and always. While more than 57% students are also
using their e-mails frequently. Anyhow 27% students are rare user of e-mails and it is a matter of
concern that about 13% students have never used e-mails. Similarly more than 90% teachers are
using word processing frequently. Students are slightly less inclined (65%) towards the use of
Microsoft Word. Exercise of spreadsheets (MS Excel) is not up to satisfactory level among teachers
as 18% teachers are frequently using this technology and 57% are using this technology rarely.
Perhaps teachers use MS Excel only during the preparation of result. This practice is very poor
among students as none of the students use this technology frequently and only 32% students use
this technology rarely. Teachers are fluent in creating and presenting their lectures through power
Point while as more than 68% teachers are frequently using MS Power Point. Students are less
inclined towards the use of MS Power Point as only 8% are frequent user and more than 50% have
never used this technology. Both teachers (more than 90%) and students (56%) are fluent user of
online/digital library.

Table 3: Barriers in the utilization of ICTs

SA A U DA SD
S. Item Respondents N A
No C
6 Lack of hardware Academicians 11 23 2 -- --
Students 95 91 2 -- --
7 Lack of Quality hardware Academician 11 21 3 -- --
76 10 5 6 --
Students 3
8 Lack of training Academicians 21 16 -- -- --
Students 128 57 3 -- --
9 Lack of software Academicians 16 17 4 -- --
Students 91 87 6 2 --
 10 Lack of quality software Academicians 17 18 2 -- --
Students 67 51 46 28 --
11 Lack of technical support Academicians 12 23 -- -- --
Students 114 61 14 -- --
12 Lack of peer support Academicians 6 21 7 2 --
36 12 18 1 --
Students 6
13 Lack of time Academicians 7 6 9 8 7
Students 35 32 68 27 25
14 Limited lab hours Academicians 13 17 5 1 1
Students 49 83 17 31 4
15 Lack of organization/ Academicians 2 7 10 12 6
administration Students 51 65 34 37 3
16 Lack of realization of Academicians 2 6 11 13 5
advantages 43 52 47 38 --
Students
17 Lack of confidence Academicians 3 7 11 13 2
Students 102 47 25 13 1
18 Power failure Academicians 23 7 5 2 --
Students 111 37 31 4 --
It is evident from table: 5 that dominant majority of both academicians and students (more than
95%) are of the view that lack of hardware and quality hardware is the major problem in the use of
these ICTs. Likewise dominant majority of both academicians and students (more than 80%) are
agreed that lack of software, quality software, technical support, peer support, limited time of
computer labs and power failure are the barriers to uptake these ICTs. Students are of the view that
lack of organization is also a problem (61%) while academicians are of the view that this is not an
important problem (49%). While 100% academicians and 97% students agreed with the statement
that lack of training is the key problem for them.
CONCLUSION
The most common uses of ICTs among teachers and students in teacher training institutions are; e-
mailing word processing, online library, academic studies and getting latest news while use of
spreadsheets (excel) is unsatisfactory among both teachers and students. lack of training, lack of
technical support, Lack of peer support, slow connectivity, power failure, lack of quality software,
lack of quality hardware, lack of software, lack of knowledge and lack of confidence as top 10
barriers among teachers. Sequence was changed among students as lack of hardware, lack of quality
hardware, lack of software, lack of quality software, lack of training, lack of technical support, lack
of peer support, slow connectivity, power failure and lack of confidence were arrayed as top 10
barriers/problems.
Therefore, a more holistic approach may be used for the training of both groups and emphasis may
also be given on the maximum deployment of computers and internet connectivity.

REFERENCES

Becta (2004) A Review of the Reserch Literature on Barriers to thje uptake of ICTby Teachers, UK:
Retrieved December 25, 2007, from www.ecde.edu.au..

Government of Pakistan (2003) National Information and Communication

 Technology Strategy for Education in Pakistan, Islamabad.

Government of Pakistan (2004) The Development of Education, National Report of Pakistan.

Islamabad: Ministry of Education.

Government of Pakistan (2006) Situation Analysis of Teacher Education in Pakistan; Towards a

Strategic Framework for Teacher Educaiton and Professional Development.

HEC (2005) Medium Term Development Framework 2005-10, Islamabad.

UNDP-APDIP (2002) ICT in Education, New York.

UNESCO (2000) Information and Communication Technologies in Teacher Education: A Planning Guide
Retrieved December 5, 2007, from www.unesco.org.

UNESCO (2003) Meta-Survey on the use of Technologies in Education in Asia and Pacific Bangkok. Farrell,
G. and Wachholz, C.

UNESCO (2005) A Study on the Best Practices in ICT Based Education in Pakistan. Islamabad . Zafar,
I.M.

UNESCO (2005) Information and Communication Technologies in Schools: A Handbook for Teachers.
Retrieved December 15, 2007, from www.unesco.org

UNESCO (2005) Innovative and Good Practices of Open and Distance Learning in Asia and Pacific. Bangkok.
Insungjung.
 PSYCOLOGICAL BEHAVIOUR AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT:
PERSPECTIVES ON DEGRADING RURAL LIVELIHOOD

Prakash Naraian Kalla

Rajasthan Agricultural University
Bikaner Rajasthan
India
ABSTRACT
Agricultural extension with its basic philosophies, scope, principles and applications strive to support the existing rural
environment encompassing livelihoods: social, physical, financial, human and natural (natural resources) capitals to a
great extent. Farming systems vary with agro-ecological conditions and no single intervention will work as a magical
cure for improving farm productivity. Revival of agricultural dynamism calls for corrective steps to deal with the near
collapse of the extension systems in most states and the decline in agricultural research universities. The technologies
and approaches with ‘top-down’, technology-driven projects: local, decentralized, community-based, people-centered
alternatives are available. Problems of scarcity of water, depleted aquifers, declining groundwater tables, and drought
proneness have been successfully tackled by water harvesting endeavors in Ralegan Siddhi village in Maharashtra,
Sukhomajri in Haryana, and Alwar in Rajasthan only the need of the hour is to properly revive our old conventional
systems for sustainable future and livelihood.

Keywords: Water resources, Environment, Rural, People centered

INTRODUCTION
Rural environment represents the framework of regulations, institutions, and practices in
villages defining parameters for the sustainable use of environmental resources while ensuring
security of livelihood and a reasonable quality of life. While the scope of environmental
infrastructure is often narrowed down to the provision of suitable water supply, sewerage, and
sanitation it has within its purview (a) acquisition, protection, and maintenance of open spaces, (b)
clean up and restoration of degraded lands, (c) integration of existing wildlife or habitat resources,
(d) sustainable approaches to controlling flooding and drainage, (e) developing river corridors and
coastal areas, and (f) forest management. Rejuvenation of natural resources through activation of
watersheds, renewal of wastelands along with enhancement of farm productivity, is a component of
environmental infrastructure that is attaining increasing importance as expanding anthropogenic
activity stresses natural resources beyond their natural regeneration capability. The focus here is on
natural resources, common properties, and rejuvenation of rural environment, especially the water
resource.

METHODOLOGY
The study was undertaken in the year 2008-09 in the nearby villages of Banasthali Vidyapith
in the Tonk district of Rajasthan State. The researcher utilized the qualitative data interpretation
methodologies for deriving analytical conclusions from 120 respondents. The data gathered for this
analysis came from the written applications where candidates were asked to state their perspective of
the most important issues concerning the rural environment with focus on water resources in 200
words or less. Responses were taken using the written/essay method or oral interviews. The
grounded theory approach was used for analysis and interpretation of the data. Grounded theory is
an inductive approach to data analysis that results in conclusions that are deeply rooted in the data
(Strauss & Corbin,1998). When using grounded theory methods for analysis, theory genus is taken
from the data collected for a specific study; hence no literature review was reported in this study as
to not establish a prior cause and effect relationships among the variables. The researchers began
this analysis with the intent of better understanding participants’ awareness and exposure to issues
that influenced their lifestyle, agriculture, information sources, awareness, community and water
resources. When constructing grounded theory, the emphasis was placed on building rather than
testing theory through deductive hypothesis testing. The researchers considered alternative meanings
of phenomena in a systematic and creative process. No attempts were made to generalize the
findings of this analysis to other populations. Findings were negotiated among the research team to
increase creditability.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Personal and Socio Economic characteristics of the respondents
The result presented in table 1 indicated that majority of the respondents (54.17%) were
middle aged.With regards to level of education, it could observed that 41.67 percent of the
respondents studied upto primary level, followed by 32.50 percent of them had middle school
education.It was also observed that 46.67 percent of respondents belonged to small farmers category
followed by 42.50 percent under semi medium farmers category.Farmers possess land holding from
their ancestors and carry further the farming occupation with the major dependency on agriculture
and water resources for their livelihood and income generation.As a result, it is quite possible that
farmers with their land holding evince keen interest to know about the new ideas and technologies
and try to coordinate their resources to get the maximum results out of their holdings and
continuously depleting water resources.It was also found that 45 percent of the respondents
belonged to medium income category followed by 33.83 and 24.16 percent of the respondents who
belonged to low and high income category respectively. Most of the farmers were having 2.51 to
5.00 acres of land and agriculture was the major source of income. They lacked the subsidiary
occupations also.
TABLE 1: PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS
n=120

Sl.
Characteristic Frequency Percentage
No.

1. Age
Young (upto 35 years) 42 35.00
Middle (36 to 50 years) 65 54.17
Old (51 and above) 13 10.83
2. Education
Illiterate (can’t read and write) 20 16.67
Primary (1-4) 50 41.67
Middle (5-7) 39 32.50
High (8-10) 9 7.50
PUC 2 1.67
Graduate 0 0.00
3. Family size
 Small (<4) 35 29.17
Medium (5-7) 59 49.17
Large (> 8) 26 21.67
Family type
Joint 39 32.50
Nuclear 81 67.50
4. Land holding
Marginal farmers (<2.5 acre) 7 5.83
Small farmers (2.5 to 5 acre) 56 46.67
Semi Medium farmers (5.01 to 10 acre) 51 42.50
Medium (10.01 to 25 acre) 4 3.33
Big (> 25) 2 1.67
5. Annual income
Low (Mean –0.425SD) 37 30.83
Medium (Mean  0.425SD) 54 45.00
High (Mean + 0.425SD) 29 24.17
Mean : 49.83 SD : 22.77

Scenario of the Rural Environment

The ecosystem within which all rural activities are conducted encompasses the air, the water
bodies, and the land. India supports approximately 16 per cent of the world population and 20 per
cent of its livestock on 2.5 per cent of its geographical area, making its environment a highly stressed
and vulnerable system. The pressure on land has led to soil erosion, water logging, salinity, nutrient
depletion, lowering of the groundwater table, and soil pollution—largely a consequence of
thoughtless human intervention. The extent of land degradation, the loss in capacity of our major
water reservoirs and the decline in water level in wells in the past few years is alarming. Soil erosion
from overgrazing, and intensive cultivation and soil degradation from excessive use of agricultural
chemicals, have wide-ranging implications.
Agricultural activities that cause land degradation include shifting cultivation without
adequate fallow periods, absence of soil conservation measures and cultivation of fragile lands,
unbalanced fertilizer use, faulty planning or management of irrigation. Improper agricultural
practices are usually observed under constraints of saturation of good lands and population pressure
leading to cultivation of ‘too shallow’ or ‘too deep’ soils and ploughing of fallow land before it has
recovered its fertility. Overgrazing and over-extraction of green fodder lead to forest degradation
through decreased vegetative regeneration, compaction of soil, and reduced infiltration and
vulnerability to erosion.
Impact on Human Health
Globally, among the biggest dangers from farming is the continuous exposure to and the
unsafe use of chemicals necessary for agriculture. In India, however, the danger to human health
from such environment and pollution related causes are not given their due importance as accidents
from farm machinery, with a fatality rate of 22 per 1,00,000 farmers. Fatality apart, chronic exposure
to air and waterborne chemicals can have adverse health effects, which sometimes, can be difficult
to measure because of problems in isolating individual chemical effects. (Table 2)

TABLE 2: TOXIC HEAVY METALS WITH ESTABLISHED HEALTH EFFECTS n=120

Heavy Metal Sources of Environ Minimum Risk level Chronic exposure
mental exposure toxicity effects

Lead Industrial, vehicular Blood lead levels Impairment of neurological

emissions, paints and below 10 μg/dl of development,
burning of plastics, blood* suppression of
papers, etc. the haematological
system and kidney
failure
Mercury Electronics, plastic Oral exposure of Gastro-intestinal
waste, pesticides, 4mg/kg/day** disorders, respiratory
pharmaceutical and tract irritation, renal
dental waste failure and neurotoxicity
Below 10 μg/dl of
blood*

Cadmium Electronics, plastics, Below 1 μg/dl of Irritation of the lungs

batteries and blood* and gastrointestinal
contaminated tract, kidney damage,
water abnormalities of the
skeletal system and
cancer of the lungs
and prostate

μg/dl*: micrograms per decilitre of blood

mg/kg**: milligrams per kilogram

While certain cause and effect relationships are not easy to identify, cumulative effects are
likely to be most critical. Cancer risk could be high from nitrate, metals, as well as pesticides; other
problems like adverse hormonal functions, liver damage could also take place, as summarized
(Figure 1). Moreover, toxic chemicals and pesticides in air, water, and earth enter body tissues and
breast milk, through which they are passed on to infants.
 Figure1 : Cancers linked to excessive pesticide and chemicals use in agriculture.

On one hand, as human productive capacity has gone up, whether due to the green
revolution or rapid industrialization, so has its ability to generate waste. On the other, there is a
growing demand on nature’s ability to provide life support as the population keeps growing and
livelihood opportunities decline. We could look at this double squeeze on nature in the context of
water resources. Water applied to the field in irrigation either seeps through to underground
aquifers, or reappears as ‘return flow’ and finds its way back to the surface (regeneration); seepages
from canals recharge groundwater aquifers; industrial use of water results in effluents; domestic and
municipal uses become sewage; and whatever water evaporates comes back to earth as rain or snow.
As seepages include pesticides, effluents include pollutants and untreated sewage; they find way into
water bodies, which in turn leads to declining biodiversity. Excessive pressure on the environment
leads to drought-proneness in certain areas owing to declining water table levels and flood-
proneness in others owing to silting of reservoirs and loss of forest cover.

Policy thrust and Government interventions

A much-generalized cause of environmental degradation is the failure of the governments to
formulate appropriate policies to ensure sustainable land and water use. Such policy failures include
price distortions through government- controlled prices, subsidies or taxes which give incorrect
price signals, faulty delineation of property rights regimes and other legal structures, government
projects which directly cause environmental damage, and weak public institutions. Furthermore,
state appropriation of property rights has undermined traditional (often communal) property
regimes, as in the case of our forest policy, and has in several cases led to de facto open access and
resource degradation.

Micro planning approach and decentralisation

The answer to all the miseries does not lie in large, centralized, ‘top-down’, technology-
driven projects but on the local, decentralized, community-based, people-centered alternatives
availability and interactions. Problems of scarcity of water, depleted aquifers, declining groundwater
tables, and drought proneness have been successfully tackled by water harvesting endeavors in
Ralegan Siddhi village in Maharashtra, Sukhomajri in Haryana, and Alwar in Rajasthan. These are
not ‘small’ instances to be dismissed as one-off phenomenon but examples of significant and
sustained success achieved in terms of increased water availability and rise in groundwater table.
Livelihoods encompassing capitals
 Livelihood encompasses physical, natural, social, financial and human capitals.Natural
resources play a dominant role in local livelihoods, it is true that people need to have an effective
voice in decisions over the natural resources they depend on. The proponents of decentralization
argue that the establishment of local (formal) institutions has the capability to improve people’s
management and use of common property resources, thereby improving the resource base on which
poor people are often disproportionately dependent. It is hoped that through these institutions,
participation can better target benefits to the poor through the identification of key stakeholders
who are most affected, and can imply an on-going information exchange and discussion through
consciousness-raising by shared understanding of problems and a vision for the future that leads to
commitment and ownership by the community.
Traditional water harvesting models
The governance structure is likely to change as a result of decentralization from centralized
to localize, with the ‘people’ at the centre. Ideally, the higher authorities will not manage natural
resources, but through a participatory process, the local people will manage them, thus resulting in a
change in the pattern from a ‘command and control’, to a ‘responsive and accountable’ operative
system. The new people-centered bottom-up paradigm in development thinking has created the
overly optimistic view that decentralization will produce just and equitable outcomes for all, and that
engaging the people will also act as a check on state power, thus helping to democratize local
governance.
The new paradigm stresses the involvement of local people in contrast to the top-down
paradigm, and tends to dominate management of natural resources at the local level. It has been
argued that the emergent paradigm for humans living on and with the earth brings together
decentralization, democracy, and diversity. The importance of traditional ways of combating with
problems could be important too: here, informal institutions could be involved. For instance,
whenever villagers in Karnataka’s Bijapur district sense a drought is imminent, they prepare for war
with nature. Harbingers travel from place to place and try to bring rain through magic. Rainmaking
may not work but the participants at least endeavour to do something in a situation.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Strategic Review of Agricultural Extension
Farming systems vary with agro-ecological conditions and no single intervention will work as
a magical cure for improving farm productivity. Agricultural extension has the potentiality and is
equipped to develop and support the livelihood based on natural resources, especially water
resources.
Properly planned and technically sound agriculture management :In some regions,
solutions for increasing yields may involve a shortening of fallow periods and extension of cropping
periods while in others where soil fertility and/ or access to purchased inputs is good, solutions such
as annual cropping or multi-cropping without fallow would work. Again, farming systems based on
tree crops, are suitable for some regions only and should be encouraged accordingly. Further, the
degree of market integration, choice of crops and cropping systems, use of conservation
technologies and use of purchased inputs and their effects on the farming system, are all important
in determining the sustainability of particular farming systems.
Strengthening extension systems:Revival of agricultural dynamism calls for corrective
steps to deal with the near collapse of the extension systems in most states and the decline in
agricultural research universities.
Proper linkage between researcher to farmer field: Lab-to-land concept should be
encouraged and put to practice by providing land-users multidisciplinary technical information and
viable land-use options and alternatives identified for various agro-ecological and socio-economic
units. Crop combinations and rotations suitable for different agro-ecological regions (as suggested
by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research) need to be advocated for better land management.
RCTs and recommendations of premier research institutions:There is a need to stay
abreast with evolving resource conservation technologies and practices and on analyzing the
conditions and principles of sustainable land use. Efficient use of marginal lands needs to be
encouraged and areas of untapped potential developed to ensure optimal utilization. For agricultural
diversification to be a major element in the agricultural growth strategy, action on several fronts is
necessary.
Ideally, there should be a shift of land from cereals to non-cereals (increasing both farm
incomes and employment) combined with an increase in productivity in cereals to ensure that per
capita availability of cereals does not decline. Improvement in fertilizer application efficiency,
integrated with the use of bio fertilizers, to check the degradation of existing resources due to
contamination with nitrates could be brought about through on-site farmer training programmes.
Success in providing extension services so that the farmers can implement breakthroughs in research
necessitates focus on water resource management.

REFERENCES
1. Chambers, Robert (1992). Rural appraisal: rapid, relaxed, and participatory, Discussion paper 311.
Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Susex.
2. Chand, R (1999). ‘Emerging crisis in Punjab agriculture severity and options for future’,
Economic and Political Weekly. 2 April.
3. CSE (2006). Rural water harvesting case studies, http:// www.rainwaterharve sting.org/Rural
/Community_based_initiative.htm, last accessed July, 2006.
4. Economic Times (2006). ‘Off-farm jobs growing faster than work force’, Tuesday 13 June,
New Delhi.
5. FSI. (1998). ‘The state of forests report 1997’, Forest Survey of India. Dehradun.
6. Gadgil M. (1993). ‘Biodiversity and India’s Degraded Lands’, Ambio. 22 : 167–72.
7. MOA (2006). Agricultural statistics at a glance 2006, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of
India, New Delhi.
8. MoWR (1999). National Commission for Integrated Water Resources Development Plan, Ministry of
Water Resources, New Delhi.
9. Radhakrishna, R. (2002). ‘Agricultural growth, employment and poverty a policy
perspective’, Economic and Political Weekly, 19 January.
10. Schreier, Han and Las M. Larkulich (2002). Agricultural watershed management. Training
material on CD published by the Institute of Resources, Environment and Sustainability,
University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
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decentralization. World Bank Working Paper, The World Bank, Washington D.C.
12. Srinivas, N.N. (2006). The Economic Times, Wednesday 7 June, pp. 20, New Delhi.
13. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures
for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
14. Vaidyanathan, A. (1999). Water resource management: institutions and irrigation development in India,
Oxford University Press, Delhi.
15. Vasavi, A. R. (1999), ‘Harbingers of rain: land and life in South India’, Oxford University Press,
Delhi.
16. WWF (2004). ‘Living planet report 2004’, UNEP, Redefining progress, Centre for
Sustainability Studies, WWF, Switzerland
 FROM ALGORITHMIC TEACHING TO-"KNOW" TO HOCS (HIGHER-ORDER-
COGNITIVE-SKILLS) LEARNING TO-"THINK" ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY; WHAT SHOULD IT TAKE? … AND…HOW TO
DO IT?

Uri Zoller
University of Haifa - Oranim, Kiryat Tivon 36006, Israel

Subject/Problem; Rationale, Conceptualization, Purpose and Objectives

There is an ever-increasing gap between the reality of the 21ST society, which is based on science,
technology, economy, and advanced, sophisticated networked systems and capabilities and the response
of the diverse, multi-sectorial educational systems, worldwide, to this reality. The later are perceived by
students, teachers, parents, society, economical, political and … educational systems, as an instructional
framework the objective of which is to advance pupils/students up the classes' ladder, based on their
high scored passing of disciplinary, mainly algorithmic knowledge-centered exams and/or "standardized" tests.
Pupils/students' learning are assessed and perceived, according to their “grade achievement” and/or
scores on related standardized test/ examinations as the exclusive criteria.

Given the current striving for sustainability and the corresponding paradigms shift in science, technology,
R&D, environment perception, economy and politics; e.g., from unlimited growth-to-sustainable
development, correction-to-prevention and passive consumption of “goods”, culture and education-to-
active participation, primarily in the science-technology-environment-society-economy-policy (S-T-E-S-
E-P) context, the corresponding paradigms shift, at all levels of education is unavoidable. This requires
a paradigm shift in conceptual-ization, thinking, and research in science education, particularly
concerning the science-technology-environment-society (STES) interfaces.

Consequently, ‘STES literacy’ requires the development of students’ evaluative system thinking, decision
making and transfer capabilities in this context, via the corresponding higher-order cognitive skills
(HOCS)-promoting teaching, assessment and learning strategies (Zoller, 1993, 2000; Zoller & Levi
Nahum, 2011; Zoller & Scholz, 2004). This means a shift, within different multicultural contexts and
multi-sectorial educational sestems from the currently dominating lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS)
algorithmic teaching-to-know, to HOCS-promoting learning-to-think, typified by students’ capabilities of
critical, evaluative, system, creative thinking and decision-making for problem solving and transfer. The HOCS
approach to teaching and learning constitutes a comprehensive educational “world outlook” which has
been and still continues to be research-based implemented in different settings and modifications, at all
levels of education, world-wide. The HOCS conceptual model is presented in Figure 1. Clearly, moral
and creative thinking are to be added [and, therefore, our research group is, currently working on it].
 Evaluative Thinking

Critical Thinking Question-Asking

Transfer

System Thinking Decision-Making

Problem Solving

Figure 1: The guiding conceptual model of HOCS in the context of science education

Such a "LOCS-to-HOCS" paradigm shift in conceptualization, thinking, research and education,

needs to be consonant with and enhanced by innovative, interdisciplinary generic, contextually bound,
research-based teaching strategies assessment methodologies and, in accord, sustainable action – leading
to ‘HOCS learning’.
There is an ever-increasing gap between the reality of modern society which is based on science,
technology, economy, and advanced, sophisticated networked systems and capabilities and the response
of the educational systems, worldwide, to this reality.
The current striving for sustainability and the corresponding paradigms shift in almost every aspect
within the STESEP context, results in paradigms shifts, at all levels of education, as focused in Table 1
(Zoller, 2009; Zoller & Scholz, 2004).
In the contemporary educational contexts, it implies a paradigms shift in conceptualization,
thinking, and research in the context of science education which includes, among others, novel teaching
strategies, assessment methodologies and learning strategies, purposed at the development of students’ HOCS;
among them the capabilities of Evaluative Thinking, system thinking, creative thinking and Decision Making
(Zoller, 1993; Tsaparlis & Zoller, 2003; Zoller & Pushin, 2007; Zoller et al., 2010).
Table 1. Selected paradigms shifts in contemporary research and STESEP-oriented
science education

 Technological, economical, and social growthSustainable development

From: To:

at all cost…
 Reductionism; i.e., dealing with in-vitro Uncontrolled, in-vivo complex systems
isolated, highly controlled, components
 Disciplinarity Problem-solving oriented, systemic inter-
/cross-/transdisciplinarity
 Technological feasibility Economical-societal feasibility
  Scientific inquiry (per se) Socially accountable, responsible and

 Algorithmic lower-order cognitive skills

environmentally sound R & D
“HOCS Learning”

 “Reductionist” thinking
(LOCS) teaching
System/lateral thinking

 Disciplinary teaching (physics, chemistry, Interdisciplinary teaching

biology, etc.)

 Teacher-centered, authoritative, frontal Student-centered, real world,

instruction project/research-oriented team learning

Such a state of affairs mandates an alternative educational practice, in order to prepare students for a
high level of personal and societal performance as motivated citizens inclined to learn and inquire; being
active and involved, having the previously mentioned HOCS capabilities and, most important, taking
responsibility for the consequent action and behavior (Zoller, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000).
In parallel, the overwhelming agreement, worldwide, on the need for a fast transformation in all
our life domains, from unlimited development and growth to sustainable development with all the
implications involved requires, in accord, paradigms shifts (Table 1), not only in research and scientific,
technological-engineering, economical, social, cultural and political practice, but even more so, in
purposed education for sustainability and its attainment in all domains of life and human activity within
a global web of complex systems, interrelationships and implications in the STES context (Zoller &
Scholz, 2004; Zoller, 2011).
Such a shift from the traditional LOCS science teaching to 'HOCS learning', is to be encouraged by
educators, national education policy makers, curriculum developers, teachers, Science, Technology,
Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) educators and the public -at- large, it reflects the worldwide ever-
increasing social pressure towards more accountable socially, environmentally, economically and
politically responsible sustainable development (Zoller, 1993, 2009; Zoller & Levi Nahum, 2011).
Science/STEM/STES educators, researchers, economists, cognitive psychologists and sociologists
consider HOCS capabilities for decision-making as the important domains for the assessment of
students' learning for ensuring our future citizens' capability to exercise a responsible citizenry.
Science and technology are useful in establishing what we can do, and in providing us with the ability to
generate new options. However, neither of them can tell us what we should do. Therefore, the
development, promotion and nurturing of students' HOCS, is one of the tasks ahead for sound science
education. This is of particular importance in the context of the contemporary "battle cry" for
sustainability and, in accord, responsibility of the 21ST science education in our diverse global
community.
The essence of this research- and multi-dimensional educational experience-based paper
constitutes an alternative to the existing “traditional” science education practice, aiming at sustainability
and excellence for all; namely, no more “preparing” students for effective performance, as citizens, in
modern societies by imparting disciplinary knowledge via ‘test wiseness’-oriented LOCS level
algorithmic instruction, as the dominant component in the educational system. Rather, the fostering of
transfer-oriented HOCS learning’ as the “king’s road” for empowering students toward rational,
effective, excellence and responsible active participation in whatever role they might play in society. In
short: the development of the students’ capability of purposed rational-reflective thinking, pre-decision
making on what to accept or reject, do or not to do and in what way, and taking a responsible action
accordingly; a socially creative and scientifically literate person, having the appetite, readiness and
motivation to think, learn, inquire and grow – to compete with him/herself and having the capacity to
collaborate with her/his peers (Zoller, 1990, 1993, 2000). Therefore, the nurturing of excellence for all in a
broad spectrum of fields and contexts is envisioned as a vital overriding goal in the educational system.
Objectives, Goal and Related Research Questions
Guided by our ‘first approximation’ conceptual model (Figure 1) our educational objectives in
science education are as follows:
1. To promote, in science education, the development of science/STEM students' evaluative critical system
thinking, decision making (Levi Nahum et al., 2010; Zoller et al., 2010), problem solving (Ben-chaim
et al., submitted) and transfer.
2. To teach science for acquiring new type of flexible contextually relevant, adaptive knowledge that
facilitates one to cope with the complexity and fragility of multidimensional global socio-economic-
technological-environmental-political systems via inter- and trans-disciplinarity in research and
science education and in accord assessment methodologies for sustainable action. The Goal: The
“STES Problem Solving – Decision Making Act” (Zoller, 1990; Zoller & Levy Nahum, 2011); namely,
1. Ability to look at the problem and its implications, and recognize it as a problem.
2. Understand the factual core of knowledge and concepts involved.
3. Appreciate the significance and meaning of various alternative possible solutions (resolutions)
4. Exercise the problem-solving act:
Recognize/select the relevant data information;
Analyze it for its reasonableness, reliability and validity;
Devise/plan appropriate procedures/strategies for future dealing with the problem(s).
5. Apply value judgments (and be prepared to defend!)
6. Entertain the DM act:
Make a rational choice between available alternatives, or generate new options;
Make a decision (or take a position).
7. Act according to the decision made.
8. Take responsibility.
Our aims in our related longitudinal active research were: (a) contributing to the body of
knowledge on these HOCS; and (b) fostering the shift from algorithmic teaching and assessment to a
higher level of cognitive, deep learning. Accordingly, our research aimed at obtaining research-based
answers to the following questions:
1. Does traditional science instruction lead to gains in students’ HOCS capabilities? (e.g., Evaluative
thinking (ET), system thinking (ST), and decision making (DM).
2. What are the science students’ views concerning their capability of resolving HOCS-requiring
problems?
3. What can be learned from students’ responses to HOCS-requiring problems, to be used for
promoting their generic or disciplinary HOCS capabilities?
Selected Relevant Research Findings
Our longitudinal pre/post-based designed research program, within which specially designed
questionnaires, relevant to the students’ HOCS capabilities studied – were developed, validated and
applied. Students’ responses were, qualitatively ordinally categorized using a 3-level scale of 0, LOCS-1
and HOCS-2, followed by the relevant statistics. The essence of the results/findings of four such
studies are given in tables 1-4 below.
 1. Evaluative Thinking

Table 1: Overall frequencies (%) by LOCS/HOCS levels of secondary school

science students' responses (total of 5910) by the two sectors
(Levy Nahum et al. [submitted])
Cognitive Level Scoring Jewish sector Arab sector 2
(n=2625) (n=3285)

No response or
irrelevant response 0 18.6% 12.36 % 44.6*

LOCS-level 1 point 30.1% 73.58% 1111.5*

response
HOCS-level 2 points 51.3% 14.06% 951.5*
response
* p< 0.0001

2. System Thinking

Table 2: Means and standard deviation in pre and post ST questionnaire of

environment and science classes in both schools (Kurtam, 2009).
Questionnaire Trend N Mean SD T value P
ST(pre) Environmental 43 12.35 2.77 -3.82 0.001
Study
Science 50 14.86 3.57
ST(post) Environmental 46 16.74 3.12 -0.94 NS
Study
Science 49 17.75 3.19

3. Problem Solving 4. Decision Making

Table 3. Students’ (N=47) views of Table 4. Participants' distribution (%) by

HOCS-type problems LOCS/HOCS level of questions
(Ben Chaim, et al., 2007) asked and the related scoring points
Statements Mean SD (Item-1) (Zoller et al., 2010)
(on a 1-to-4) Questions Group-T Group-4 Chi-2
Likert-type scale level (NT=105) (N4=26) test
In my opinion, 2.94 0.71 LOCS 51.38 27.14 DF = 1
solving this problem HOCS 48.62 72.86 Chi-square
is within the capa- value = 12.96
bility of a beginning P < 0.0003
science major Scoring
freshmen. Points
1 or 2 points 15 8 DF = 2
I have full 2.38 0.67 3 or 4 points 56 20 Chi-square
confidence in my 5 or 6 points 29 72 value = 15.87
response. P < 0.0004
 HOCS capabilities are enhanced via (a) Tandem implementation of ‘HOCS promoting’ teaching
strategies and assessment methodologies; (b) Such an enhancement requires time; it is not achievable via a
single-shot short exercise; (c) The assessment needs not only to be consistent with the science teaching
objectives, but also capable of their promotion. HOCS-promoting instruction and implementation of
the corresponding HOCS-level assessment is attainable, and suggests that HOCS development is
contextually- but not disciplinary content-bound. Thus, HOCS enhancement not only can be done; it
should be done! The issue is –
How to Do It?
There exist quite many research and practice-evident ways to go ‘in line’ with the ‘teaching-to-know –
to learning-to-think’ for SUSTAINABILITY. Most of them are HOCS-promoting teaching strategies and, in
accord, examinations types and assessment methodologies (Zoller, 1994).
Selected HOCS-promoting teaching strategies follow:
(1) Self-study of pre-class lecture material. Students have the course outline, scheduling, objectives,
requirements and assignments in their hands, and they study the relevant material before it is
‘covered’ in the class, to which they bring their questions to be discussed.
(2) No specific assigned course textbook(s). Students are provided, at the beginning of the course, with
a list from which they can choose text- and reference books, to use for the study of any relevant
topic as they find appropriate for their needs during the course.
(3) Homework assignments—mainly problems (not exercises)—that require HOCS for their solution.
These problems are to be worked out by the students (preferably in groups) and submitted,
individually, for feedback and grading by teaching assistants, former “graduates” of these courses.
(4) Students’ self-assessment. Students self-assess their home assignments, pre-guided by the course
professor (Zoller et al., 1997).
Selected examples (many of them have already been published) of these strategies and methodologies,
in the contexts of secondary and (undergraduate) tertiary levels, will be presented, critically discussed
and a variety of options and variations of their application(s) in science teaching and assessment, in
different multicultural multisectorial educational contexts and societies, will be proposed. Thus, the
‘translation’ of research results and successful science teaching and assessment for sustainability into
action, in science education and education at large is not only doable, but it should be done purposely
and persistently.
References
Ben-Chaim, D., Barak, M., Lubezky, A. and Zoller, U. 2007. College Science Students’ Ability to
Resolve Chemistry Problems Requiring Higher-Order Cognitive Skills. Journal of Research in Science
Teaching [submitted].
Levy Nahum, T., Azaiza, I., Ben-Chaim, D., Herscovitz, O., Zoller, U. 2010. “Does STES-Oriented
Science Education Promote 10th-Grade Students’ Decision Capability?” International Journal of Science
Education, 32(10), 1315-1336.
Tsaparlis, G. and Zoller, U. 2003. Evaluation of Higher vs. Lower-Order Cognitive Skills-Type
Examinations in Chemistry: Implications for University in Class Assessment and
Examinations. University Chemical Education, 7 (2), 50-57 [http://www.rsc.org.uchemed/].
Zoller, U., 1990. Environmental Education and the University: The “Problem Solving-Decision Making
Act” within a Critical System Thinking Framework. Higher Education in Europe, 15(4), 5-14.
Zoller, U. 1993. Lecture and Learning: Are They Compatible? Maybe for LOCS; Unlikely for HOCS.
Journal of Chemical Education, 70(3) 195-197.
Zoller, U. 1994. The Examination Where the Student Asks the Questions, School Science and Mathematics,
94 (7), 347-349.
Zoller, U., Tsaparlis, G., Fastow, M., & Lubezky, A. (1997). Student self-assessment of Higher-Order
Cognitive Skills HOCS in college science teaching. Journal of College Science Teaching, 27(2), 99-101.
Zoller, U. 2000. Teaching Tomorrow’s College Science Courses – Are We Getting it Right? Journal of
College Science Teaching, 29 (6). 409-414.
Zoller, U., and Pushkin, D., 2007. Matching Higher-Order Cognitive Skills (HOCS)-Promoting Goal
with Problem-Based Laboratory Practice in a Freshman Organic Chemistry Course. Chemical
Education Research and Practice, 8(2), 153-171.
Zoller, U. and Scholz, R.W. 2004. The HOCS Paradigm Shift from Disciplinary Knowledge (LOCS) to
Interdisciplinary Evaluative System Thinking (HOCS): What Should it Take in Science-Technology-
Environment-Society-Oriented Courses, Curricula and Assessment? Water Science & Technology, 49
(8), 27-36.
Zoller, U. 2009. “Enhancing Deep Learning via Higher-Order Cognitive Skills (HOCS): Promoting
Teaching Strategies and Assessment.” Trends in Science and and Mathematics Education, 1, 21-29.
Zoller, U., and Levy Nahum, Tami. 2011. “From Teaching to ‘Know’-to Learning to ‘Think’ in Science
Education.” In Fraser, B., Tobin, K., Mcrobbie, C. (Eds.). International Handbook of Science Education,
2nd Ed., Springer (accepted).
Zoller, U., Segal, L. Ben-Chaim, D., Azaiza, I., and Herskovitz, O., 2010. “Decision Making Capability
of Science Students in Israel’s Higher Education.” Journal of Research in Science Education [submitted].
 TECHNOPHOBIA AND GENDER DISPARITY: ISSUES OF
CONCERN IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD

Jagpreet Kaur
Department of Education, Punjabi University,Patiala (PB.)-147002, India

Abstract
Technology is taking over all aspects of life. Education, work and leisure are all becoming increasingly dependent on
being able to interact with technology. But what of the academic and career prospects of those who do not want to
interact with this technology. Technophobia is the fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices,
especially computers. The present study examined the technophobia and gender disparity in attitude towards use of
computers in a representative sample of 198 rural and urban school-going adolescents of Patiala district of Punjab.
Technophobia in the present investigation was considered in terms of computer anxiety, computer self-efficacy and
students’ attitude towards the use of computers. Three instruments namely computer anxiety scale, computer self-efficacy
scale and Computer attitude scale were used to collect the data from school-going adolescents. Descriptive statistics, t-
test, and ANOVA were used to analyse the data. The results of the study revealed significant gender differences in
technophobia among adolescents. Further, the prevalence of technophobia was more in rural school students than their
urban counterparts. Implications of the results are discussed.
Keywords: Technophobia, computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety, attitude towards computers,
students

INTRODUCTION
Technophobia is described as the ‘abnormal fear or anxiety about the effects of advanced
technology’, affecting one third of the population, causing health problems and the inability to work
efficiently. People who dislike interacting with technology are often referred to as "technophobic".
Technophobic people have negative thoughts and feelings about technology and they often have a
desire to avoid interaction with technology. Technophobic students' negative feelings about
technology have the potential to interfere with their learning when technology is utilized as a tool for
instruction of school subjects. As computer use becomes prevalent and in many instances
mandatory in education, the issue of technophobia increasingly needs to be understood and
addressed.
Sam et al. (2005) observed that undergraduates had moderate computer anxiousness,
medium attitudes toward the Internet, and high computer self-efficacy and used the Internet
extensively for educational purposes such as doing research, downloading electronic resources and
e-mail communications. This study challenges the long perceived male bias in the computer
environment and supports recent studies that have identified greater gender equivalence in interest,
use, and skills levels
Miura (1987) suggested that self-efficacy may be an important factor related to the
acquisition of computing skills. Computer self-efficacy is a specific type of self-efficacy. Specific self-
efficacy is defined as belief in one’s ability to “mobilize the motivation, cognitive resources, and
courses of action needed to meet given situational demands” (Wood and Bandura, 1989, p. 408).
Thus, computer self-efficacy is a belief of one’s capability to use the computer (Compeau and
Higgins, 1995). Brosnan (1998) argued that better computer self-efficacy could increase persistence
in studying computing. Computer self-efficacy was also found to be associated with attitudes toward
computer technologies (Zhang and Espinoza, 1998).
Computer anxiety has been defined as a fear of computers when using one, or fearing the
possibility of using a computer (Chua et al., 1999). It is different from negative attitudes toward
computers that entail beliefs and feelings about computers rather than one’s emotional reaction
towards using computers (Heinssen et al., 1987). Computer anxiety is characterized as an affective
response, an emotional fear of potential negative outcomes such as damaging the equipment. A high
level of computer anxiety, on the other hand, has been negatively related to learning computer skills
(Harrington et al., 1990), resistance to the use of computers (Torkzadeh and Angula, 1992; Weil and
Rosen, 1995), and poorer task performance (Heinssen et al., 1987).
METHOD
The present study was conducted through survey research design to investigate school
students’ computer anxiety, computer self-efficacy, and attitudes toward computers. The study also
examined differences in computer anxiety, computer self-efficacy, attitudes toward computers with
different demographic variables of school students.The subjects for this study were 198 school
students studying in eleventh grade in different government and private schools of Patiala district of
Punjab. The mean age of the subjects was 18.6 years old with standard deviation of 5.04. The
sample was of students was selected following stratified random sampling technique giving due
representation to gender, location and stream of study.

Research Tools

1. Background Information Sheet: This sheet was used to collect information about school
students’ demographic characteristics such as age, gender, stream of study and residential
background.
1. Computer Anxiety Rating Scale: Computer Anxiety Rating Scales (CARS) by Heinssen et
al. (1987) was used to assess the subjects’ level of computer anxiety. This scale is a 19 items
self-report inventory. The subjects responded on a five-point Likert type scale (1=strongly
disagree, 2=disagree, 3=undecided, 4=agree, and 5=strongly agree). The total scores ranged
from 19, indicating a low level of computer anxiety, to 95 indicating a high degree of
computer anxiety.
2. Computer Attitude Scale (CAS): Computer Attitude Scale developed and validated by
Nickell and Pinto (1986) was used to measure the attitude of students towards use of
computers. This scale is a 20-item self-report inventory, rated on a five point Likert type
scale (1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=undecided, 4=agree, and 5=strongly agree). The
total scores on CAS ranged from 20, indicating an extremely negative attitude toward the
computer to a score of 100, which would imply an extremely positive attitude toward the
computer.
3. Computer Self-efficacy Scale (CSE): Computer self-efficacy Scale by Torkzadeh and
Koufteros (1994) was used to assess the computer self-efficacy of school students. This scale
has 29 items, each item preceded by the phrase “I feel confident”. The subjects responded
to a five-point Likert type scale (1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=undecided, 4=agree, and
5=strongly agree). The total scores for CSE ranged from 29 to 145, with high scores
indicating a high degree of confidence in a subject’s ability to use computer.

RESULTS
DISCUSSION
Raubs (1981) early study reported that older people were more anxious than younger people.
Other research indicates that the over fifties are less anxious than the under thirties, suggesting that
far from reducing anxiety, computer experience can increase anxiety levels (Brosnan pg. 11).
However, Anderson (1981), Elder et al. (1987) and Igbaria and Parasuraman (1989) have all found
that age has a positive effect upon computer anxiety. As the diffusion of technology throughout
many aspects of life has exposed virtually everyone to computerization, the relationship between
anxiety, age and experience has become less clear. The only clear relationship between age and
computer anxiety would therefore appear to be with respect to ones age when first interacting with a
computer.

I found a very interesting study, which shows the difference of psychological impact between male
and female. Just as technophobia has been reported as affecting more females than males, computer
addiction has been found to be almost exclusively a male phenomenon (Shotton, 1989). Brosnan
(1995) identified that in a student population, male students first interaction with computers
occurred significantly earlier than female students first interaction with computers. This is significant
as Todman and Monaghan (1994) report that early use of computers is associated with more
favourable quality of initial experience, which leads to lower anxiety and greater readiness to use
computers.

A large number of studies found that females report higher levels of computer anxiety than males (it
is maybe not true because of my English teacher!). A smaller number of studies report no sex
differences in computer anxiety. For example, Anderson (1981) found that males and females did
not differ in their levels of anxiety, either before or after a computer literacy course. Temple and
Lips (1989) found male students to have taken more computer science course and to be more likely
to want to choose it as their major than female students. In conclusion, the findings regarding
gender differences in technophobia have not been consistent.

REFERENCES
Brosnan, M. (1998). Technophobia, London: Routledge.
Chua, S. L., Chen, D., & Wong, A. F. L. (1999). Computer anxiety and its correlates: A meta-
analysis.Computers in Human Behavior, 15, 609-623.
Compeau, D. R., & Higgins, C. A. (1995). Computer self-efficacy: Development of a measure and
initial test. MIS Quarterly, 19, 189-211.
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 MARKETING OF REFRACTORY PRODUCTS:A STUDY
IN THE REFRACTORY INDUSTRIES IN ORISSA(INDIA)

Saikat Gochhait.1, and P.C Tripathy

2
1
Research Scholar-Sambalpur University
Orissa-768217 (India)
2
Reader-Sambalpur University

Introduction
India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a
wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services1, Table 1 illustrates India’s GDP
growth rate from 2006-2008.
GDP Growth (%)
Year
2006 8.5
2007 9.0
2008 7.3

Sources: 2009 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

Three main sectors which contributed to the Indian economy in 2008 are agriculture, industrial and
service account 18%, 29% and 54% of the GDP . Industrial sector has lot more contribution to the
India’s Economic. Industrial goods are defined as companies which buy products and services to
help them produce other goods and services . Industrial goods deal with3: accessory equipments
(eg. hand tools, lift trucks), business service(eg. banking and maintenance), installations (eg. furnaces,
refractory) ,parts ,raw materials, semi manufactured goods and supplies(maintenance, repair and
operating supplies). As such steel plants, cement rotary kilns or a glass melting furnaces used in
producing finished goods cannot be produced without the application of Refractory products. So
installations takes place with furnaces which are built with metallic and non metallic parts with the
application of heat resisting non metallic materials which are called "Refractories”.
Even though, the contribution of Refractory industry in India is 4% of the Global Market, the
Refractory industries have been in good progress for exporting its products eg. export has increased
from Rs. 314 Crores in 2006-2007 to about Rs. 452 Crores in 2007-20088. Table 2 illustrates the
share of Refractory Industries of different regions in the world market9.
Region Market Share(%)
Asia/Pacific 40
Eastern Europe 23
Latin America 4
NAFTA(USA, Canada and Mexico) 14
Western Europe 15
Others (Africa and middle east) 4

Sources: Iron & steel review ,2009, Published by ISR Infomedia,monthly,pp-8-9.

Research Gap and Research Problem:

The study of the research work will be limited to the refractory industries located in Orissa
only.
 1. The scope of the research work will mainly be limited to the Marketing aspects of
refractory industries in Orissa.
2. Because of the cost constraint the size of the sample has been limited to 64 nos from
personnel category , 32 nos from customers category and 32 nos from agents through
non-probability sampling method.
Objectives of the study:
I. What will be conceptual study of refractory market in the world, India as well as Orissa?
II. What are the picture of the Indian Refractory producers with respect to share of export and
revenue earned?
III. What will be the problems faced by the Small Scale refractory producers in catering to the
domestic as well as export demand?
IV. Comparison the position of refractory market in Orissa with that of India?
V. What type of customers, domestic as well as international purchasing the finished goods from the
refractory Industries located in Orissa?
VI. What are the different products and marketing strategies adopted by the refractory industries of
Orissa?
VII.What are the majors for the growth and development of refractory industries in India in general
and Refractory Industries situated in Orissa in particular ?
Research methodology:
The design of the present research work entitled “Marketing of Refractory in Orissa- A Study ” has
been a descriptive one. Data has been collected from both primary and secondary sources. Books,
Journals, Magazines, Newspapers, Booklets and Websites etc have been referred for collecting data
from secondary sources. Primary data will be collected through the help of structured questionnaires
and personal interview. Through non random sampling method, primary data used to collected from
the personnel working in different refractories in Orissa (India). Care has also be taken to take the
feedback from the customers (domestic and export) and agents of the different refractory industries
in Orissa (India).
Data analysis and results:

This section provides a discussion of the findings of the study. At first, the characteristics of the
sample are described. It is followed by a reliability test. Then the underlying dimensions of
standardization and its prevalence is discussed. The relationship between standardization and firm
performance is elaborated at the end.
Sample Characteristics: A total of 64 respondents constituted the sample of the study. The
respondents were mostly top executives of the Refractory Companies. About two-fifths of the
sample held a vice president or above rank in the organization and one-third held a Director or
similar position in the organization. A majority of the companies (53%) were marketing industrial
products. Companies selling raw materials and services were 25% and 22% of the sample
respectively. Only 28% of the companies had international sales accounting for 50% or above of the
total sales. About 72% of the companies marketed in the developed region (mostly Europe). About
80% of the products/services were at the introduction-growth stage and nearly 77% of them were
either market leaders or held above average market share.
Reliability:

In order to determine the reliability of the responses, the sample was divided into two equal groups
of 32. A split half t-test was conducted on eleven standardization variables and two performance
 variables. None of the 13 variables were significant indicating that there is no bias in item
responses.(see Table 2.)
Description t-score Probability of t
Elements of standardization
Brand name -0.66 .51
Product Characteristics -0.01 .99
Packaging and design .24 .81
Product positioning -0.29 .85
pricing -0.29 .77
Advertising theme .73 .47
Advertising copy and layout 0.76 .45
Media allocation .80 .43
Sales promotion -0.17 .87
Distribution -0.11 .91
Public relations .06 .95
Performance Criteria
Return on sales .07 .95
Sales growth -0.83 .41

Underlying Dimensions:
As mentioned, there were eleven elements of standardization that were used by respondents as part
of their marketing strategy. A factor analysis was conducted with the help of SAS to determine if
there were any underlying factors or dimensions of standardization. The factors so obtained would
be useful in understanding the relationship between marketing and performance variables. Using
eigenvalue greater than one criterion, three factors were retained. The graphical screeplot also
supported the retention of the three factors. These three factors accounted for 70% of the
variability.
The factor pattern and loadings(see table 3) show that the promotion related variables mostly loaded
heavily on Factor 1. The variables that loaded heavily on Factor 1 were advertising theme,
advertising theme and layout, media allocation, sales promotion and public relations. Product
packaging and design also had a heavier weight on this factor, reflecting the influence of packaging
in promotion. This factor accounted for 37% of the variance. In Factor 2, the variables/element that
had heavier loadings were brand name, product characteristics and product positioning. Since all
these are product related variables this factor can be named 19% of the variance. In Factor 3 ,
distribution was the lone variable that had heavy loading and its was named Distribution Dimension
of standardization. Distribution dimension explained 12% of the variance. Interestingly, factor
analysis pointed out the conceptual elaboration (almost paradigmatic) of the 4P’s in marketing.
Pricing , through another “P” of marketing, did not show any significant correlation with the
factors. Through difficult to generalize, a similar finding with factors analysis was observed in a
study conducted by Akaah(1989)
Elements of Factor 1-Promotion Factor 2- Product Factor 3 –Distribution
standardization
Brand name .25904 .66012 -0.17037
Product Characteristics .46196 .67314 .21259
Packaging and Design .86014 .13818 .07160
Product positioning .25945 .72456 .15697
Pricing .58121 .27140 -0.21607
Advertising theme .83288 .07713 -0.30196
Advertising copy and .86570 -0.27038 .01186
layout
Media allocation .77457 -0.53412 .16609
Sales promotion .66342 -0.01653 .33595
Distribution -0.12808 .00564 .89806
Public relations .67555 -0.52002 -0.03859
Eigen value .3814 .1417 .1905
Variance explained(%) .83 .47 .82

Prevalence and Relationship

The degree and prevalence of standardization varied across different elements. The means and
standard deviations show that (see table 4) companies tended to opt more for product
standardization. Brand name, product characteristics and product positioning rated very high on
prevalence (see the means). The results are in line with the findings of previous studies in the area
(e.g., Keegan 1969;Boddewyn et al. 1986 ; Delene et al. 1997; Hill and Still 1984; Sorenson and
Wiech
mann 1975; Quelch and Hoff 1986; and Quelch 1999). The next high ratings were received by the
elements that represented distribution and pricing. Relatively speaking, promotion related elements
received low mean scores in terms of standardization. The next high ratings were received by the
elements that represented distribution and pricing. Relatively speaking, promotion related elements
received low mean scores in terms of standardization. The high mean scores of product
standardization and moderate mean score of distribution (as revealed later) had a bearing on the
factor loadings and the relationship of the factors with marketing and performance variables.
Perhaps the Refractory Companies rely more on product standardization than promotion in
international marketing.
The relationship between the elements of standardization and the marketing variables revealed an
interesting pattern. General linear models were used in SAS with both the factors and the elements
of standardization. At the dimension /factor level, of the three models, the product and distribution
models were valid at the global level (i.e., their F-Factors were significant). The R-squares show that
the predictor variables explained 32% of variance in product model and 40% of variance in
distribution model. Significant relationship between promotion and other marketing variables could
not be observed. Among the predictor variables, regions, market share and type of product were
significant in both product and distribution (two valid ones) models. Regional variation was
discussed in Cavusgil et al.(1993), Jain(1989), Rau and Preble(1987), Onkvisit and Shaw (1987). The
influence of the type of product was established in earlier studies (e.g., Boddewyn et al. 1986 and
1995; Douglas and Urban 1977; Hovell and Walters 1972; Jain 1989; Levitt 1988; Sandler and Shani
1992).
The model between each element of standardization and the marketing variables as given in Table 4,
basically confirm the findings of the dimension/factor models of standardization. The regression
models with the product related elements of standardization(i.e., brand name, product
characteristics, product positioning) offered valid relationship (see the F-ratios). Among the
elements of promotion, advertising theme and sales promotion model were significant. The model
relationship between distribution and elements of marketing variables was also significant. Relatively
speaking, the R-squares of all the models were quite low, indicating that marketing variables explain
only a small portion of the variance in standardization. Although difficult to compare and generalize
(because of the nature of studies and the characteristics of the samples), the findings of this study
 were broadly in line with previous empirical efforts in the area(e.g., Akaah 1991;Boddewyn et al.
1986 and 1995;Grosse and Zinn 1991; Samiee and Roth 1992; Sandler and Shani 1992; Sorenson
and Wiechmann 1975).
Relationship with Performance:
In order to determine the effort of standardization on performance, the dimensions or factors
derived previously were regressed with two measures of performance – after tax return on sales and
sales growth. The five marketing variables were also used as predictors along with the factors (or
dimensions) of standardization. The results of the GLM regression are given in Table 5. Both
performance models were found to be valid (see the F-ratios). In the return on sales model, the
predictors explained 53% of the variance. Standardization of product and distribution and region
were found to be significant in explaining the sales growth of the companies. Evidently, both GLM
regressions lead us to believe that , by and large , standardization positively contribute to firm
performance. Firms thus can take advantage of standardization for competitive gains in
International markets. Szymanski et al.(1993) made similar observations in their research.
F-ratio of Predictors variables
Criterion Mean Std. Model R- Region PLC MKTSHA INTSAL Product
Variable Dev F-ratio square RE ES Type
Factors - - .31 .12 .50 .27 ** .02 .97 .70
Factor - - .50** .32 .56** .18 .01 .93** .31**
1(promotio
n)
Factor - - .35** .40 .58** .87** .71** .76** .85**
2(Product)
Factor - - .35** .40 .58** .87** .71** .76** .85**
3(Distributi
on)
Element of
standardiza
tion
Brand 4.36 .03 .24** .36 .05** .60** .02 .03 .33
name
Product 4.30 .86 .29** .31 .43 .33** .84 .28** .00**
characterist
ics
Packaging 3.92 .15 .59** .21 .72 .72** .75 .47** .41
and design
Product 4.13 .85 .33** .31 .99 .07 .72 .67* .42**
positioning
Pricing 3.34 .10 .93 .09 .30* .01 .29 .00 .02
Advertising 3.22 .08 .19* .19 .08 .96 .61** .08 .07
theme
Advertising 3.16 .25 .48 .14 .07 .13** .91 .98 .28
copy and
layout
Media 2.69 .08 .63 .15 .01 .51** .83 .52 .38
allocation
Sales 3.06 .02 .24** .25 .03 .19 .94 .69* .94**
promotion
Distribution 3.39 .22 .26** .31 .41** .15* .25 .88** .95**
Public 2.66 .24 .27 .12 .62 .82 .51 .01 .38*
relations

Note:**=significant at p=0.05 level, *=significant at p=0.10 level

Return on sales Sales growth

Model F-ratio 6.72** .29**
R-square 0.53 .55
Predictor Variables
Factor 1(Promotion) 1.81 .36**
Factor 2(Product) 7.07** .32**
Factor 3(Distribution) 8.35** .16
Regional Difference(Region) 10.18** .47**
Product life cycle(PLC) 0.37 .42
Market 0.09 .16**
share/leadership(MKTSHR)
Internationalization(INTSAL 0.37 .07
ES)
Product Category 1.79 .59*

Note:** Significant at p=0.05 level . *=significant at p=0.10 level

Implications of the Study:

The recent changing scenario has given a new Globally Competitive looked for the Refractory
industries in India. The changes have affected the market by influencing all the industries.(Steel ,
Ceramic, Copper, Zinc, Aluminum, Cement) which use refractories to move from traditional
methods to modified materials and practices. In past 5 years we have number of India's Refractory
makers in the global market. So to have a comprehensive view of the India's Refractory industries, it
is imperative to know the present status against the Global trends. This study would be directed at
decision-makers in the Refractory Industries, as well as all other associated industries, which
includes: Raw material suppliers, Refractory manufacturers, Refractory sales and marketing
personnel, Refractory users, Furnace and heat containment designs, Equipment manufacturers for
refractory making application and Merger, acquisition and investment executives.

References:

 Global marketing strategies by Jean-pierre jeannet and H.david Hennessey PP: 583
Books:

 International marketing and purchasing of industrial goods(1982 edition)

Internet:
  Business standard,2009, http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/refractory-exports-


to-come-down-by-25/352818/
www.angeltrade.com : accessed 2009
 www.manishri.com: accessed 2009
 http://www.sarvesh.com/product_directory.html: accessed 2009
 http://www.ocl.in/refractory_global_presence.html: accessed 2009
 http://www.tenonline.org/art/mm1/9301.html:accessed 2008
 http://www.designandpromote.com/the-many-types-of-marketing/: accessed 2009
 http://www.tata.com/company/Articles/inside.aspx?artid=ejlgELNuj2c=.

Journals:

 Steelworld,2009: pp-17-21
 Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec, 1996
 ON SOME REMARKABLE PRODUCT OF THETA-FUNCTION

M. S. Mahadeva Naika, M. C. Maheshkumar and K. Sushan Bairy

Department of Mathematics,Bangalore University,Bangalore-560 001, INDIA

Abstract
On pages 338 and 339 in his first notebook, Ramanujan records eighteen values for a certain product of theta-
function. All these have been proved by B. C. Berndt, H. H. Chan and L-C. Zhang [4]. Recently M. S. Mahadeva
Naika and B. N. Dharmendra [7], [8] and Mahadeva Naika and M. C. Maheshkumar [9] have obtained general
theorems to establish explicit evaluations of Ramanujan's remarkable product of theta-function. Following Ramanujan
we define a new function bM , N as defined in (6). The main purpose of this paper is to establish some new general
theorems for explicit evaluations of product of theta-function.

2 Introduction
In Chapter 16 of his second notebooks [1], [2], [10], Ramanujan develops the theory of

q
theta-function and his theta-function is defined by

 (q) := f (q, q) = n2
= ( q; q 2 ) 2 (q 2 ; q 2 )  , (2)
n = 

 (q) := f (q, q ) = q
 n ( n 1)
3 (q 2 ; q 2 )
2
= , (3)
n =0 (q; q 2 )

 (1) n q
and
 n (3 n 1)
f ( q ) := f (  q,  q 2 ) = 2
= ( q; q)  , (4)
n = 

(a; q )  = (1  aq n ).
where


n =0

    e .
On page 338 in his first notebook [10, p.338], Ramanujan defines
 ( N 1)

 2 e  2 MN
M
4 N MN 2
Ne
  M  2  2 M 
aM , N = (5)
  e N    e 
   
2

   
N

He then, on pages 338 and 339, offers a list of eighteen particular values. All these eighteen values
have been established by Berndt, Chan and Zhang [4]. Following Ramanujan we define a new

    e .
function by
 ( N 1)

 2 e  2 MN
M
4 N MN 2
Ne
   2  2 
bM , N = (6)
 2  e    e 
M M

   
   
N N
 0.5cm Let K , K  , L and L denote the complete elliptic integrals of the first kind associated with
the moduli k , k  := 1  k 2 , l and l := 1  l 2 respectively, where 0 < k , l < 1. For a fixed positive
integer N , suppose that
K  L
N = . (7)
K L

Ramanujan, set  = k 2 and  = l 2 . Then we say  is of degree N over  .

Then a modular equation of degree N is a relation between k and l induced by (7). Following

Define
 (q),
 
1 1
4 24
gn = 2 q
where
 (q) := (q; q 2 )  .

and  has degree N over  , then


M

g M =  4 (1   )  and g MN =  4 (1   ) 
Moreover, if q = e N

2  24 2  24
1 1
. (8)
N

The main purpose of this paper is to obtain some new general theorems for the explicit
evaluations of remarkable product of theta-function (6) and also several new explicit evaluations
there from.

3 Main Theorems
In this section, we establish several new general formulas for explicit evaluations of bM , N .
In the following Theorem (3.1), the equivalent form of (6) is obtained.

    e ,
Theorem 3.1 We have
 ( N 1)

 2 e   MN
M
4 N MN 2
Ne
  2 
bM , N = (9)
 e    e
 

M M

   
2

   
N N

where M is any positive rational and N is a positive integer.

 2  q N   2  q 2 N 
Proof. The identity (6) can be rewritten as
N 1

 2  q   2  q 2 

4 M
Nq
bM , N = , q=e N
. (10)

If  is of degree N over  , then using Entry 10 (iii) and Entry 11 (ii) of Chapter 17 of
Ramanujan's notebooks [2, pp.122--123] in (10), we find that

N 
 1   
1

 = 2
  .
2 4

m  
 1    
bM , N (11)

Using Entry 10 (ii) of Chapter 17 of Ramanujan's notebooks [2, p.122], we have

  2 (q N ) 1  1    2
1

 2 (q) m  1   
= . (12)

Using Entry 11 (i) of Chapter 17 of Ramanujan's notebooks [2, p.123], we have

N 1
 2 (q N ) 1    4
1

=   .
 2 (q) m 
4
q
(13)


M
Using (12) and (13) in (11) with q = e N
, we obtain (9).
Theorem 3.2 We have
b2 M , N b 2 = 1. (14)
,N
M

b 1 b2 M , N = 1. (15)
2M ,
N

bM , 2 N b 1 M = 1. (16)
,
N 2

Proof of (14). Using equation (9), we find that

 ( N 1)  2 M 2 
 N  MN 
2 4  
b2 M , N b 2 =N e (17)
,N
M

   
  2 N  2   2 N 
 e  e
 2 MN
  e M    e M 
 2 MN
   
2 2 2

    .
           
 2  e MN  2  e MN   2  e N  2  e N 
2 2 2 M 2 M

       
       

  e  = 1  ,  =  2 .
From Entry 27 (ii) of Chapter 16 of Ramanujan's notebooks [2, p.43], we have
 2 

  e   4 
2

e 2 2 (18)

Putting  =  and  = 
M 2N
in (18), we find that
2N M
  2 M 
 e N 
  1 2N
2

  =
 M


 
e 2 2N . (19)
 2  e M 
 4 M
2 N

 
 

Putting  =  and  = 
N 2M
in (18), we deduce that
2M N
   
 e 
2N

  1 2M
2

  =
M


N

  2M 
e 2 2M
. (20)
 2  e 
4 N
 
 
N

Putting  =  and  = 
MN 2

  =1
in (18), we find that
2 MN

 MN  2 e  2 MN
2
 
e 2 2
. (21)
  e


2 4 MN
 
2

 
MN

Putting  =  and  =  2MN in (18), we deduce that

1
2MN
  2 
  e MN 
  1

 
2

  =


1

 e
e 2 2 MN
 2 MN
2 MN . (22)
2 4
Using (19), (20), (21) and (22) in (17), we obtain the required result (14).
Proofs of (15) and (16) are similar to the proof of (14). So we omit the proof.
Corollary 3.1 We have
b2, N = 1. (23)

Proof. Putting M =1 in (14), we obtain the result (23).

Theorem 3.3 We have
b2 M , N = b2 N , M = b 2 1 = b 2 1 . (24)
, ,
M N N M

    e .
Proof. Replacing M by 2M in (9), we deduce that
 ( N 1) 2M  2 e  2 MN 2  2 MN

   2   
b2 M , N = Ne 4 N
(25)
 2 e    e 
2M 2M

   
   
N N

Putting  =  and  = 
M 2N
in (18), we find that
2N M
  2 M  1 2 N  M 2   
 e N  = e 2 2 N   e .
2N

  4 M  
2

   
M
(26)

Putting  =  and  = 
N 2M
in (18), we deduce that
2M N
  2 M  N  2 2 M 2  
 N 
  e =4  e .
2N

   
2

   
N
e M
(27)
2 M
 Using (26) and (27) in (25), we obtain the first equality of (24). The proofs of the other equalities are
similar to the first equality. So we omit the details.
Theorem 3.4 We have
bM , 2 N = b2 N , M b 2 N . (28)
1,
M

    e .
Proof. Replacing N by 2N in (9), we obtain
 (2 N 1) M  2 e  2 MN 2  2 MN

  2 
bM , 2 N = 2 Ne 4 2N
(29)
 2 e    e
 

M M

   
   
2N 2N

    e .
Replacing M by 2N and N by M in (9), we deduce that
 ( M 1) 2N  2 e  2 MN 2  2 MN

  2 N  2   
b2 N , M = Me 4 M
(30)
 2 e M    e 
2N

   
   
M

Using (29), (30) and (9), we obtain the required result.

Theorem 3.5 We have
 g 6M 
1  g 36M 3 
 bM , 3 =  6  6 
1
3  gM g3M 
. (31)
 3 
bM , 3

Proof. If  is of degree 3 over  , then using Entry 5 (vii) of Chapter 19 of Ramanujan's

notebooks [2, p.230], we find that
  (1   )2  4 9   (1   )2  4   (1   )2  4   (1   )2  4
 
1 1 1 1

m2  2 
 2 2 
= 2 
 2 
  (1   )  m   (1   )    (1   )    (1   ) 
. (32)

Using (8) and (11) with N = 3 in the above identity (32), we obtain (31).
Corollary 3.2 We have
1
b6, 3 = . (33)
3

 
Proof. From the table in Chapter 34 of Ramanujan's notebooks [3, p.200], we have

3 2
1

g18 = 3
(34)
and
g 6 = g 2 = 1. (35)
3

Using (34) and (35) in (31) with M = 6 , we obtain (33).

Theorem 3.6 We have
 
1  g53M 
g 3M
 bM , 5 =   35 .
1
5  M g5 M 
(36)
 5 
3
bM , 5 g
 Proof. If  is of degree 5 over  , then using Entry 13 (xii) of Chapter 19 of Ramanujan's
notebooks [2, p.281], we find that
  (1   )2  8 5   (1   )2  8   (1   )2  8   (1   )2  8
 
1 1 1 1

m 2 
  2 
= 2 
 2 
  (1   )  m   (1   )    (1   )    (1   ) 
. (37)

Using (8) and (11) with N = 5 in the above identity (37), we obtain (36).
Theorem 3.7 We have
  2 g M2  
 g 
g 6M
 bM , 7 =  76M  67  8  72M  27   .
6
1 1 g
7  g M g7 M  g M g7 M  
(38)
 7  7 
bM , 7

Proof. If  is of degree 7 over  , then using Entry 19 (v) of Chapter 19 of Ramanujan's

notebooks [2, p.314], we find that
  (1   )2  4 49   (1   )2    (1   )2  4

1 1 1

m2  2 
 2 2 
= 2 
  (1   )  m   (1   )    (1   ) 
4
(39)

 2 12 
  (1   )    (1   )    (1   )  


 8 
1 1 1

 2  2 
 
2 2 12

  (1   )    (1   )   (1   )2  
4

 
.
 
Using (8) and (11) with N = 7 in the above identity (39), we obtain (38).
Theorem 3.8 We have
 
1  g93M 
g 3M
 bM , 9 =  3  3  4  .
1
3  g M g9 M 
9
(40)
 9 
bM , 9

Proof. If  is of degree 9 over  , then using Entries 3 (x), (xi) of Chapter 20 of

Ramanujan's notebooks [2, p.352], we find that
  (1   )2 16 3   (1   ) 2 


mm 
1 1

2 
  2 
  (1   )  mm   (1   ) 
16
(41)

  (1   )2 16   (1   )2  16

1 1

= 2 
 2 
  (1   )    (1   ) 
.

Using (8) and (11) with N = 9 in the above identity (41), we obtain (40).
Theorem 3.9 We have
  
1  g13M  g13M 
g 3M gM
 bM , 13 =  3  g 3  14  g  g  .
3
1
13  g M  M 
13 13
(42)
 13  13 
bM , 13 13 M 13 M
 Proof. If  is of degree 13 over  , then using Entries 8 (iii), (iv) of Chapter 20 of
Ramanujan's Notebooks [2, p.376], we find that
  (1   )2  8 13   (1   )2    (1   ) 2  8   (1   ) 2 
 
1 1 1 1

m 2 
  2 
= 2 
 2 
  (1   )  m   (1   )    (1   )    (1   ) 
8 8
(43)

 2  24 
         
4  .
1 1


  (1   )2  2 
2 24

   
(1 ) (1 )
 
 
(1 )

Using (8) and (11) with N = 13 in the above identity (43), we obtain (42).
Theorem 3.10 We have
 bM , 25
1
(44)
bM , 25

      
1  g 25 M   g 25 M   g 25 M  
3 2
gM gM gM
=   25   4 g  g   3 g  g   8 .
5  g M   M   M  
25 25

    25   25  
g 25 M 25 M 25 M
25

Proof. If  is of degree 25 over  , then using Entries 15 (i), (ii) of Chapter 19 of

Ramanujan's notebooks [2, p.291], we find that
  (1   )2 16 5   (1   )2    (1   )2 16


mm 
1 1 1

2 
  2 
= 2 
  (1   )  mm   (1   )    (1   ) 
16
(45)

 2  48 
  (1   )2    (1   )    (1   ) 


 2  .
1 1 1

 2 

  (1   ) 2  2 
2 48

  (1   )    (1   )  
16

 
Using (8) and (11) with N = 25 in the above identity (45), we obtain (44).

4 bM , N And Mixed Modular Equations

We shall employ certain type of mixed modular equations to establish several values of
bM , N .

 AM = VM  VM1   7(VM  VM1 )  ,

Theorem 4.1 We have

3 
1 1 3
(46)
AM
where
g M g 25 M
3 3
AM = bM , 3b25 M , 3 and VM = .
g3M g75 M
 Proof. If  ,  and  are third, fifth and fifteenths degree over  respectively, then
using Entries 11 (x) and (xi) of Chapter 20 of Ramanujan's notebooks [2, p.384], we find that
  (1   )2 (1   )2  8 9   (1   )2 (1   )2 


mm 
1 1

2 
  2 
  (1   ) (1   )  mm   (1   ) (1   ) 
8

2 2
(47)

  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 

1 1

= 2 
 2 
2 2 2 2

  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 
8 8

2 2

  (1   )2 (1   )2  24   (1   )2 (1   )2 

1 1

4  2 
  2 
  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 
24

2
4 2
.

Using (8) and (11) with N = 3 in the above identity (47), we obtain (46).
Theorem 4.2 We have
 AM = VM3  VM3  4,
1
(48)
AM
where
g M g75 M
b25 M , 3
AM = and VM = 3 .
bM , 3 g3M g 25 M
3

Proof. If  ,  and  are of third, fifth and fifteenths degree over  respectively, then
by using Entries 11 (viii) and (ix) of Chapter 20 of Ramanujan's notebooks [2, p.384], we find that
m   (1   ) (1   )  m   (1   ) (1   ) 

1 1

 2 
  
2 2 2 2

m   (1   ) (1   )  m   (1   ) 2 (1   ) 2 
16 16

2
(49)

  (1   )2 (1   )2 16   (1   ) 2 (1   ) 2 

1 1

= 2 
 2 
  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 
16

2 2
.

Using (8) and (11) with N = 3 in the above identity (49), we obtain (48).
Theorem 4.3 We have
 AM = VM3  VM3  4,
1
(50)
AM
where
g M g 45 M
b9 M , 5
AM = and VM = 5 .
bM , 5 g5 M g 9 M
5

Proof. Using (8) and (11) with N = 5 in the above identity (49), we obtain (50).
Theorem 4.4 We have
  AM = VM  VM1   VM  VM1  ,
1 3
(51)
AM
where
g M g147 M
b49 M , 3 3
AM = and VM = .
bM , 3 g3M g 49 M
3

Proof. If  ,  and  are of third, seventh and twenty-first degree over  respectively,
then by using Entries 13 (i) and (ii) of Chapter 20 of Ramanujan's notebooks [2, p.401], we find that
m   (1   )2 (1   ) 2  8 m   (1   ) 2 (1   ) 2 

1 1

    
m   (1   )2 (1   )2  m   (1   )2 (1   ) 2 
8
(52)

  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 

1 1

= 2 
 2 
2 2 2 2

  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 
8 8

2 2

  (1   )2 (1   )2  24   (1   )2 (1   )2 

1 1

4  2 
  2 
  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 
24

2
4 2
.

Using (8) and (11) with N = 3 in the above identity (52), we obtain (51).

 AM = VM  VM1   VM  VM1  ,

Theorem 4.5 We have
1 3
(53)
AM
where
g M g 63 M
b9 M , 7
AM = and VM = 7 .
bM , 7 g7 M g 9 M
7

Proof. Using (8) and (11) with N = 7 in the above identity (52), we obtain (53).

 AM = VM  VM1   4 VM  VM1   5 VM  VM1  ,

Theorem 4.6 We have
1 3 2
(54)
AM
where
g M g507 M
b169 M , 3 3
AM = and VM = .
bM , 3 g3M g169 M
3

Proof. If  ,  and  are of third, thirteenth and thirty-ninth degree over  respectively,
then by using Entry 19 (iv) of Chapter 20 of Ramanujan's notebooks [2, p.426], we find that
 m   (1   )2 (1   ) 2 16 m   (1   ) 2 (1   ) 2 

1 1

    
m   (1   )2 (1   )2  m   (1   )2 (1   ) 2 
16
(55)

  (1   )2 (1   )2 16   (1   ) 2 (1   ) 2 

1 1

= 2 
 2 
  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 
16

2 2

  (1   )2 (1   )2  48   (1   )2 (1   )2  48

1 1

2  2 
  2 
  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 
2
2 2
.

Using (8) and (11) with N = 3 in the above identity (55), we obtain (54).

 AM = VM  VM1   4 VM  VM1   5 VM  VM1  ,

Theorem 4.7 We have
1 3 2
(56)
AM
where
g M g117 M
b9 M , 13
AM = and VM = 13 .
bM , 13 g13M g 9 M
13

Proof. Using (8) and (11) with N = 13 in the above identity (55), we obtain (56).

 AM = VM  VM1   4 VM  VM1   5 VM  VM1   4,

Theorem 4.8 We have
1 3 2
(57)
AM
where
g M g 245 M
b49 M , 5 5
AM = and VM = .
bM , 5 g5 M g 49 M
5

Proof. If  ,  and  are of fifth, seventh and thirty-fifth degree over  respectively,
then by using Entries 18 (vi), (vii) of Chapter 20 of Ramanujan's notebooks [2, p.426], we find that
m   (1   )2 (1   ) 2 16 m   (1   ) 2 (1   ) 2 

1 1

    
m   (1   )2 (1   )2  m   (1   ) 2 (1   ) 2 
16
(58)

  (1   )2 (1   )2 16   (1   )2 (1   ) 2 

1 1

= 2 
 2 
  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 
16

2 2

  (1   )2 (1   )2  48   (1   )2 (1   )2 

1 1

2  2 
  2 
  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 
48

2
2 2
.

Using (8) and (11) with N = 5 in the above identity (58), we obtain (57).
  AM = VM  VM1   4 VM  VM1   5 VM  VM1   4,
Theorem 4.9 We have
1 3 2
(59)
AM
where
g M g175 M
b25 M , 7 7
AM = and VM = .
bM , 7 g 7 M g 25 M
7

Proof. Using (8) and (11) with N = 7 in the above identity (58), we obtain (59).

 AM = VM  VM1   4 VM  VM1   3 VM  VM1   12 ,

Theorem 4.10 We have

3 
1 1 3 2
(60)
AM
where
g M g121M
3 3
AM = bM , 3 b121M , 3 and VM = .
g3M g363M

Proof. If  ,  and  are third, eleventh and thirty-third degree over  respectively,
then using Entries 14 (i) and (ii) of Chapter 20 of Ramanujan's notebooks [2, p.408], we find that
  (1   )2 (1   )2 16 3   (1   )2 (1   ) 2 


mm 
1 1

2 
  2 
  (1   ) (1   )  mm   (1   ) (1   ) 
16

2 2
(61)

  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 

1 1

= 2 
 2 
2 2 2 2

  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 
16 16

2 2

  (1   )2 (1   )2  48   (1   )2 (1   )2 

1 1

2  2 
  2 
  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 
48

2
2 2
.

Using (8) and (11) with N = 3 in the above identity (61), we obtain (60).
Theorem 4.11 We have
 AM = VM3  VM3 ,
1
(62)
AM
where
g M g 243M
b81M , 3
AM = and VM = 3 .
bM , 3 g3M g 27 M

Proof. If  ,  and  are of third, ninth and twenty-seventh degree over  respectively,
then by using Entry 5 (i) of Chapter 20 of Ramanujan's notebooks [2, p.360] and its reciprocal
equation, we find that
 m   (1   )2 (1   )2 16 m   (1   )2 (1   )2 

1 1

    
m   (1   )2 (1   )2  m   (1   )2 (1   ) 2 
16
(63)

  (1   )2 (1   )2 16   (1   )2 (1   )2 

1 1

= 2 
 2 
  (1   ) (1   )    (1   ) (1   ) 
16

2 2
.

Using (8) and (11) with N = 3 in the above identity (63), we obtain (62).
Theorem 4.12 We have
 AM = VM3  VM3 ,
1
(64)
AM
where
g M gM
b9 M , 3
AM = and VM = 9 .
bM , 9 g9 M g81M

Proof. Using (8) and (11) with N = 9 in the above identity (63), we obtain (64).

5 Explicit Evaluations of bM , N

In this section, we establish several explicit evaluations of bM , N .

Theorem 5.1 We have
190  105 3  186  105 3
b5, 3 = , (65)

 ,
2

43  24 3  42  24 3
1
2
b8, 3 = (66)

 
 15  2
1

=  2   47  21 5
1

 
b20, 3 2
, (67)
2

b22, 3 = 6  33  2 17  3 33, (68)

b34, 3 = 33  8 17, (69)

b38, 3 = 22  3 57  2 249  33 57 , (70)

2 2 1 2 2
b42, 3 =  , (71)
3 3
 b46, 3 = 3057  1248 6  3056  1248 6 , (72)

 1 3 
 42  10 33  66  2 ,
33
 24 
b66, 3 = (73)
3 8

b70, 3 = 54105  5280 105  54104  5280 105 , (74)

b110, 3 = 2537329  540960 22  2537328  540960 22 (75)

 
and
99  42 6
 8 6  23
11 6
b174, 3 = . (76)
3 29

Proof of (65). From the table in Chapter 34 of Ramanujan's notebooks [3, pp.190, 341], we
find that
G15G5 = 2. (77)
3
Using Entries 12 (vi) and (vii) of Chapter 17 of Ramanujan's notebooks [2, p.124] in Entry 5(ii) of
Chapter 19 of Ramanujan's notebooks [2, p.230], we find that
1  3 3
Gn G9 n  Gn6G96n  2  .
2GnG9 n  
g n2 g92n = (78)

5
Using (77) in (78) with n = , we find that
3
3 1
g 5 g15 = . (79)
3 2
From Theorem 4.1(i) in [6], we have
 
2 2  g n g9 n  g n g9 n  = 6  6 .
3 3
3 3 g96n gn6
(80)
g n g9 n
5
Using (79) in (80) with n = , we deduce that
3
1710  945 3 1706  945 3

g156
6
= . (81)
g5 4 4
3

Using (81) in (31) with M = 5 , we obtain the required result (65).

Proof of (66). From Theorem 4.5(i) in [6], we have
g 8 g 24 = 3  1. (82)
3
8
Using (82) in (80) with n = , we find that
3
 g12
24

g 12
8

= 44  27 3  33  18 3    2. (83)
3
Using (83) in (31) with M = 8 , we obtain the required result (66).
Proof of (68). From the table in Chapter 34 of Ramanujan's notebooks [3, p.201], we have

  7 
 7  33 33  1 
1

3 2 2  3 11    .
1 1 2

 8 
4 12
(84)
 
g66 =
8
22
Using (84) in (80) with n = , we find that
3

  
 7  33 33  1 
1

g 22 = 3  2 7 2  3 11    .
1 1 2

 
4 12
(85)
 
3 8 8
Using (84) and (85) in (31) with M = 22 , we obtain the required result (68).
Proof of the identity (67) is similar to the proof of the identity (65) and proofs of the
identities (69)-(76) being similar to the proof of the identity (68). So we omit the details.

 
Theorem 5.2 We have
2 1 ,
2
b6, 5 = (86)


b38, 5 = 17  12 2 
2

 .
(87)
and
b62, 5 = 28  9 10  3 177  56 10
2
(88)

  3  
Proof of (86). From the table in Chapter 34 of Ramanujan's notebooks [3, p.200], we have

g30 = 2  5
1 1
6
10 6
. (89)
From Theorem 4.1(ii) in [6], we have

2  g g g g2 2
 = 3  3 .
3
2 2 g25 gn3
n 25 n n 25 n
n
(90)
gn g25n
6

  
Using (89) in (90) with n = , we find that
5
g 66 = 2  5 3  10 . (91)
5
Using (89) and (91) in (36) with M = 6 , we obtain the required result (86).
As the proofs of the identities (87)-(88) being similar to the proof of the identity (86). So we
omit the details.
Theorem 5.3 We have
b6, 7 = 5  2 6, (92)
  10  3 , 
2
b10, 7 = (93)

7  2 14
b14, 7 =  
2
(94)

 .
9 49
and
34  24 2  33  24 2
2
b18, 7 = (95)

 
Proof of (92). From the table in Chapter 34 of Ramanujan's notebooks [3, p.201], we have
 3  7 2
1

g 42 = 2 2  7   .
1

 
6
(96)
2
From Theorem 4.1(iii) in [6], we have
16 2  gn9 g49
9
  6 6 
n  g n g 49 n   168  g n g 49 n  g n g 49 n 
9 9 6 6
(97)

336 2  gn3 g49  

49 n 
3 3
 
3 g12
49 n g12n
n g n g 658 = .
g12
n g 12
49 n
6
Using (96) in (97) with n = , we find that

 
7
  3  7 2
1

g 6 = 2 2  7   .
1

 
6
(98)
7 2
Using (96) and (98) in (38) with M = 6 , we obtain the required result (92).
As the proofs of the identities (93)-(95) being similar to the proof of the identity (92). So we

 ,
omit the details.
Theorem 5.4 We have
10  4 6  9  4 6
2
b10, 9 = (99)

 253  44 33  252  44 33 
2
b22, 9 = (100)

 .
and
117370  47916 6  117369  47916 6
2
b58, 9 = (101)

Proof of (99). From the table in Chapter 34 of Ramanujan's notebooks [3, p.202], we have
1 
3 6 6 1 
g90 = (2  5)( 5  6)  6   .
 4 
(102)
 
4

q , we obtain
Using (102) in an identity from a page 145 of Chapter 4 in [5, eq(4.7.12),p.145] with changing q to
 1 
  3 6 6 1 
g10 = (2  5)( 5  6)  6   .
 4 
(103)
 
9 4
Using (102) and (103) in (40) with M =10 , we obtain the required result (99).
As the proofs of the identities (100)-(101) being similar to the proof of the identity (99). So
we omit the details.

 
Theorem 5.5 We have
b6, 13 = 3  2 2
2
(104)

 
and
65  8 .
2
b10, 13 = (105)

 
Proof of (104). From the table in Chapter 34 of Ramanujan's notebooks [3, p.202], we have
 3  13  2
1

g78 =   5  26 .
1

 
6
(106)
2

 
Using (106) in Entry 41 of Chapter 38 of Ramanujan's notebooks [3, p.378], we find that
 13  3  2
1

g 6 =   5  26 .
1

 
6
(107)
13 2
Using (106) and (107) in (42) with M = 6 , we obtain the required result (104).
As the proof of the identity (105) being similar to the proof of the identity (104). So we
omit the details.
Remark: bM , N are units in some quadratic field. We retain the details for our future paper.

Acknowledgement
Authors wish to thank the referee for their valuable suggestions.

References

[1] C. Adiga, B. C. Berndt, S. Bhargava and G. N. Watson, Chapter 16 of Ramanujan's second

notebook: Theta-function and q-series, Memoir No. 315, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, 1985.

[2] B. C. Berndt, Ramanujan's Notebooks, Part III, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1991.

[3] B. C. Berndt, Ramanujan's Notebooks, Part V, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1998.

[4] B. C. Berndt, H. H. Chan and L.-C. Zhang, Ramanujan's remarkable product of the
theta-function, Proc. Edinburgh Math. Soc., 40(1997), 583--612.

[5] J. M. Borwein and P. B. Borwein, Pi and AGM, Wiley, New York, 1987.

[6] M. S. Mahadeva Naika, P-Q eta-function identities and computations of Ramanujan-

Weber class invariants, Journal of the Indian Math. Soc., 70(2003), No.1--4, 121--134.
[7] M. S. Mahadeva Naika and B. N. Dharmendra, On some new general theorems for the
explicit evaluations of Ramanujan's remarkable product of the theta-function, The Ramanujan
J. (to appear).

[8] M. S. Mahadeva Naika, B. N. Dharmendra and K. Shivashankara, On some new explicit

evaluations of Ramanujan's remarkable product of theta-function, South East Asian J. Math.
and Math. Sci., 5(2006), No.1, 107--119.

[9] M. S. Mahadeva Naika and M. C. Maheshkumar, Explicit evaluations of Ramanujan's

remarkable product of theta-function, Adv. Stud. Contemp. Math., 13(2006), No.2, 235--254.

[10] S. Ramanujan, Notebooks (2 volumes), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay,

1957.
 ACHIEVEMENT VARIATIONS OF BASIC SCIENCE STUDENTS TAUGHT WITH
TEACHER-CENTRED, TEACHER/STUDENT-CENTERED AND STUDENT-
CENTERED INSTRUCTIONS IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA.

M.C. Ndirika
Department of Science Education
Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike,Nigeria

Abstract
This study investigated the effects of teacher-centered, teacher/student-centered and student-centered instruction on the
academic achievement of basic science students at the Junior secondary school level, in relation to class-size and gender.
A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest research design was used for the study which featured nine comparable groups of
basic science students. Four hundred and eighty JSS II students randomly selected from nine schools in Giwa Zone, of
Kaduna state formed the study sample. They were taught basic science concepts using the tree types of instruction.
Performances of the nine groups were compared using their posttest mean scores. Four null hypotheses were tested using
one way Analysis of Variance and t-test at a significance level of P<0.05. Integrated Science Achievement Test
(ISAT) with reliability coefficients of and 0.85 was used to collect data for the study. The following findings were
established from the study: (i) Students in three different class-sizes taught with student-centered instruction achieved
significantly higher than those taught with teacher/student-centered and teacher-centered. (ii) There was no significant
difference in performance of male and female students when taught with teacher-centered and teacher/student-centered
instruction. (iii) A significant difference was found in the performance of male and female students taught with student-
centered instruction with the males performing better than the females. Based on the above findings, recommendations
were made among which are the need to train teachers on the use of student- centered instruction in science classrooms.

Keywords: teacher, student, instruction, achievement

Introduction

Science and technology interplay with the society to bring about sustainable development.
Nations all over the world, strive to have its citizens educated in Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Nigeria, as a developing nation has made quite commendable
efforts to enhance scientific literacy of its citizens.
Despite the relative importance of science and technology to the country’s quest for
technological advancement, there is a continuous trend of poor performance in the science subjects
and there is also a decline in students’ achievement in Integrated Science (13). Many studies such as
Agbi (1) have advanced numerous reasons for the decline in students’ achievement in Basic science
in Nigerian schools. Some of these reasons include poor professional training, poor academic
background of the teachers, lack of practical work, lack of students’ involvement and inappropriate
pedagogies.
Interactions between students and teachers are fundamental to the learning process and the
effectiveness of teaching could be influenced by the intellectual quality of classroom interactions,
that is, on the cognitive demands placed on the pupils in the classroom. For students to achieve high
in science, the teacher has to use a strategy which will enable the students to understand science
concepts and create conducive environment that enhance effective teacher-student interaction.
Students do not learn much just by sitting in class and listening to teachers. Lessons
especially Science lessons need to be student centered since science is best learned by inquiry.
According to Lara (12), Instructor-centered teaching focuses on the teacher as both authority and
model. The instructor determines the content and organization of the course to a great extent. The
students are recipients of the instructor’s knowledge. Student-centered teaching focuses on the
student. Decision-making, organization, and content are largely determined by the student’s needs
and perceptions. The instructor acts as coach and facilitator. In many respects, the goal of this type
of teaching is the development of the student’s cognitive abilities.
Interaction whether verbal or non-verbal could be between male and female teachers and
students. Patterns of interaction of male and female students have also been reported which reveal
significant differences in interaction between boys and girls. Some other research findings exist that
suggest that boys are more likely to be provided public response opportunities than are girls (5).
They suggested that boys being active, salient and perceived by teachers as potentially disruptive are
provided response opportunities as a method of maintaining appropriate classroom discipline.
Brophy and Good reviewed many studies and concluded that boys tend to have more interactions of
all kinds with their teachers than girls do and initiated more contact with the teacher and were more
forceful and assertive at gaining teachers’ attention. This they considered as a major factor that
contributes to high achievement in boys.
A number of researchers, for example Bassey (3); Iroegbu (11) and Shaibu (17), have
attributed students’ poor academic achievement in science in the secondary schools to large class-
size. The National Policy on Education (7) defines class- size as the population of a given class in
terms of number of students and recommends an average class-size of 40 learners to a teacher. In
the present study, a large class is defined as one having a student population ratio of 75 – 90
students to one teacher, medium class-size is considered to be one with student population of 50 –
65 students while a small class-size is considered to be one with 25 – 35 students.
The National Policy of Education (7) recommendation of an average class-size of 40
learners to a teacher is hardly tenable in Nigerian Schools. Duyilemi (6) for example observed that
class-size ranging from fifty (50) to an unbelievable figure of one hundred and twenty (120) students
are found in some secondary schools. He further explained that in some cases one or two students
within a group may tend to dominate whereas the others may exhibit passive behaviours, such as
observing or copying, even though the general goal is to involve all the students equally in class
activities.
With the introduction of Universal Basic Education in 1999, there has been a great influx of
children into schools in Nigeria. There has not been commensurate expansion of facilities including
human resources. The Nigerian science teacher is thus faced with a herculean task of handling large
classes and yet keeps students focused and interested. This study therefore set out to investigate the
effect of teacher-centered instruction (i.e. a situation where student listen while the teacher talks),
teacher/student-centered instruction ( a situation where teacher dominates the lesson half way
and the remaining part of the lesson allows student to dominate class discussions), student –
centered instruction (where students are allowed to dominate class discussions with teacher
serving only as a guide) on the academic achievement of male and female basic science students in
different class-sizes and in different ability groups.
Specifically, the study sought answers to the following Research Questions:
1. What is the effect of teacher-centered instruction, teacher/student-centered and
student-centered instruction on the academic achievement of male and female basic
science students?
2. What is the effect of teacher-centered, teacher/student-centered and student –
centered instruction on the academic achievement of basic science students in large,
medium and small class-sizes?
Hypotheses
 Based on the research questions, the following null hypotheses were formulated for
testing:
HO1a: There is no significant difference in the academic achievement of male and female
Basic science students exposed to teacher-centered instruction.
HO1b: There is no significant difference in the academic achievement of male and
female Basic science students exposed to teacher/student- centered instruction.
HO1c: There is no significant difference in the academic achievement of male and female
Basic science students exposed to student- centered instruction.
HO2: There is no significant difference in the academic achievement of Basic science
students in large class-size, exposed to teacher-centered instruction, teacher/student-
centered instruction and student-centered instruction.
HO3: There is no significant difference in the academic achievement of Basic science
students in medium class-size, exposed to teacher-centered instruction, teacher/student-
centered instruction and student-centered instruction.
HO4: There is no significant difference in the academic achievement of Basic science
students in small class-size, exposed to teacher-centered instruction, teacher/student-
centered instruction and student-centered instruction.
Method of Data Collection
A quasi-experimental design involving pretest and posttest (16) was adopted for this study. In
the study, 480 students divided into nine comparable groups of students, selected by random
sampling from 20 schools in Kaduna state, were used for the study. Three groups of 35 students
(20 males and 15 females) each (representing small class-size), three groups of 50 students (25
males and 25 females) and three groups of 75 students (40 males and 35 females) each
(representing large class-size).
The instruments used for this study were Integrated Science Achievement Test (ISAT) with
a reliability coefficient of 0.85, adopted from Inyang (10) (and used by Usman, (19). The Integrated
Science Achievement Test consists of a set of forty multiple choice test items designed to reveal the
extent to which students have understood the topics selected in Integrated Science (Basic science).
A pretest was conducted on the sample subjects in the nine schools using the Integrated
Science Achievement Test (ISAT). This is to ensure comparability in ability level of the subjects for
the study. The pretest scores were subjected to a one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and
tested at P<0.05 level of significance. No significant difference was obtained in the pretest scores of
all subjects indicating comparability and equivalence of all the nine groups at the start of the study.
The nine groups (Ltc, Ltsc, Lsc, Mtc, Mtsc, Msc, Stc, Stsc, Ssc) were then taught for six weeks on Basic
Science concepts (Ecology, Energy and Method of Separating Mixtures) utilizing teacher-centered
instruction, teacher/student-centered instruction and student-centered instruction for each of the
three class-sizes respectively (for instance Group Ltc was a group of students in large class-size
taught, using Teacher-centered instruction). A posttest was administered after teaching the groups,
marked and data collated for analysis.
Results
Data were subjected to statistical analysis based on formulated hypotheses.
HO1a: There is no significant difference in the academic achievement of male and female
students exposed to teacher-centered instruction.
This hypothesis was analysed using t-test statistic. The result is shown on Table 1a.
Table 1a: t-test Analysis of Posttest Mean Scores of Male and Female Subjects
Exposed to Teacher-centered Instruction.
Groups N Mean df SD t P-value
NS
Male 88 12.500 147 3.74 1.848 0.067
Female 61 11.328 3.89
Total 149
NS Not significant at P< 0.05
From Table 1a, the calculated t-value is 1.848, and p-value is 0.067 obtained at α = 0.05, df
147. Since the p-value 0.067 is greater than 0.05, it means that there is no significant difference
between the posttest mean scores of the male and female subjects exposed to teacher-centered
instruction.
The null hypothesis HO1a was therefore retained and this implies that Teacher-centered
instruction is gender friendly since male and female subjects achieved equally.
HO1b: There is no significant difference in the academic achievement of male and female
students exposed to teacher/student-centered instruction.
This hypothesis was analysed using t-test statistic. The result is shown on Table 1b.
Table 1b: t-test Analysis of Posttest Mean Scores of Male and Female Subjects
Exposed to Teacher/Student-Centered Instruction.
Groups N Mean df SD t P-value
Male 89 18.348 147 4.46 -0.333NS 0.740

Female 60 18.600 4.63

Total 149
NS Not significant at P< 0.05
Result of the analysis in Table 1b shows t-calculated as -.333 and p-value is 0.740 obtained at
α = 0.05, df 147. Since the p-value 0.740 is greater than 0.05 it means there is no significant
difference between the posttest means of the male and female subjects exposed to Teacher/Student-
centered instruction.
The null hypothesis HO1b was therefore retained and in this respect Teacher/Student-
centered instruction is gender friendly.
HO1c: There is no significant difference in the academic achievement of male and female students
exposed to student-centered instruction.
This hypothesis was analysed using t-test statistic. The result is shown on Table 1c.
Table 1c: t-test Analysis of Posttest Mean Scores of Male and Female Subjects
Exposed to Student-Centered Instruction.
Groups N Mean df SD t P-value
Male 89 22.169 148 6.9122 3.082S .002
Female 61 18.803 6.0327
Total 150
S Significant at P < 0.05
The results of analysis presented in table 1c shows the calculated t-value to be 3.082 at α =
0.05 df 148. The p-value 0.002 being less than 0.05 shows that there is a significant difference
between the posttest mean scores of the male and female subjects exposed to student-centered
instruction. From the means of the two groups indicated in Table 1c, the males performed better
than the females.
 The null hypothesis HO1c was thus rejected showing that there is a significant difference in
the scores of male and female students taught with teacher-centered instruction, teacher/student-
centered instruction and student-centered instruction. .
HO2: There is no significant difference in the academic achievement of Basic science students in
large class-size, exposed to teacher-centered instruction, teacher/student-centered and student-
centered instruction.
To test this hypothesis, the posttest achievement scores were subjected to one way Analysis
of Variance to show which group achieved highest among the three large class sizes. The results are
presented in Tables 2a and 2b.
Table 2a: Summary of Students Posttest Scores among the Three Groups
(Ltc,Ltsc,Lsc).
Groups Count Sum Mean
Ltc 75 885.0 11.800
Ltsc 75 1349.0 17.987
Lsc 75 1381.0 18.413
Key Ltc = Large class-size exposed to teacher-centered instruction
Ltsc = Large class-size exposed to teacher/student-centered instruction
Lsc= Large class-size exposed to student-centered instruction
Table 2a shows that subjects in group Lsc achieved highest with mean score of 18.413,
followed by Ltsc (17.987) and Ltc (11.800) achieved the least. This therefore implies that student-
centered instruction is the best to apply in a large class-size.

Table 2b: One Way Analysis of Variance of Students Posttest Scores among the
Three Groups.
Source of variance Sum of squares df Mean F-ratio P-value
squares
Between groups 2054.827 2 1027.413 39.631* 0.001
Within groups 5755.173 222 25.924
Total 7810.000 224
*Significant at P<0.05
Table 2b reveals the calculated F-value to be 39.631 with degree of freedom = 224 at α =
0.05 level of significance. The p-value (0.001) obtained being less than 0.05 shows that there is
significant difference in the performance of subjects in their posttest scores at P<0.05 level of
significance. Table 2a shows the direction of the difference.
The null hypothesis HO2 was thus rejected showing that there is a significant difference in the scores
of students in large class-size, taught with teacher-centered instruction, teacher/student-centered
instruction and student-centered instruction.
HO3: There is no significant difference in the academic achievement of Basic science students in
medium class-size, exposed to teacher-centered instruction, teacher/student-centered instruction
and student-centered instruction.
To test this hypothesis, the posttest achievement scores were subjected to one way Analysis
of Variance to show which group achieved highest among the three medium class sizes. The results
are presented in Tables 3a and 3b.
 Table 3a: Summary of Students Posttest Scores among Groups in Medium
Class-Sizes
Group Count Sum Mean
Mts 50 522 10.440
Mtsc 50 911 18.220
Msc 50 1051 21.020

key Mts = Medium class-size exposed to teacher-centered instruction.

Mtsc = Medium class-size exposed to teacher/student-centered instruction
Msc = Medium class-size exposed to student-centered instruction
Table 3a shows that subjects in group Msc achieved highest with mean score of 21.020,
followed by Mtsc (18.220) and the least Mtc (10.440).

Table 3b: One Way Analysis of Variance of Students Posttest Scores among the Three
Group, in Medium Class-Sizes
Source of variance Sum of df Mean F -ratio P-value
squares squares
Between groups 3005.080 2 1502.540 83.039* 0.001
Within groups 2659.880 147 18.094
Total 5664.960 149
*Significant at P < 0.05
The result in Table 3b shows that the calculated F value is 83.039 at α = 0.05, df 149. The p-
value 0.001 being less than 0.05 implies a significant difference in the posttest scores of students.
The null hypothesis HO3 was therefore rejected showing that there is a significant difference
in the scores of students in medium class-size, taught with teacher-centered instruction,
teacher/student-centered instruction and student-centered instruction.
HO4: There is no significant difference in the academic achievement of Basic science students in
small class-size, exposed to teacher-centered instruction, teacher/student-centered instruction and
student-centered instruction.
One-way ANOVA was used to test this hypothesis. The results are shown in Tables 4a and
4b.
Table 4a: Summary of Students Posttest Scores among Groups in Small Class- Sizes
Groups Count Sum Mean
Stc 25 391 15.640
Stsc 25 508 20.320
Ssc 25 686 27.440
Key: Stc = Small class-size exposed to teacher-centered instruction
Stsc= Small class-size exposed to teacher/student-centered instruction
Ssc= Small class-size exposed to student-centered instruction
Table 4a shows that subjects in group Ssc achieved highest with a mean score of 27.440,
followed by Stsc (20.320) and Stc (15.640) which achieved the
Table 4b: One Way Analysis of Variance of Students Posttest Scores among
the Three Groups in Small class-Sizes
Source of variance Sum of squares df Mean F-ratio P-value
squares
Between groups 1765.307 2 882.653 40.755* 0.001
Within groups 1559.360 72 21.658
 Total 3324.667 74
*Significant at < 0.05 level
The result from table 4b indicate the F-calculated as 40.755 at α = 0.05, df 74. The p-value
0.001, being less than 0.05, shows that there is a significant difference in the posttest scores among
the groups.
The null hypothesis HO4 was thus rejected showing that there is a significant difference in
the scores of students in small class-size, taught with teacher-centered instruction, teacher/student-
centered instruction and student-

Discussion
Null hypotheses 1a and 1b focused on effect of teacher-centered instruction on achievement
of male and female basic science students. Result of the analysis testing these hypotheses show no
significant differences in the mean scores of male and female students exposed to teacher-centered
and teacher/student-centered instruction. [Tables 1a and 1b]. This implies that boys and girls
exposed to these types of instructions not differ significantly in their academic achievement. This
could be explained by the fact that since the teacher dominated the classroom talk in the first
instance and students were given opportunity to initiate and dominate classroom discussions (in the
case of teacher/student-centered instruction), each gender had equal opportunities available to them.
No gender group had opportunity to be interactive at the detriment of the other group which could
have resulted to a higher performance on their part.
The equivalent performance of both boys and girls reported in this study in line with the
studies of Ogunboyede (14). This report however is in disagreement with Harding and Whiteleg (8),
Usman (19), Aigboman (2), who reported in their various studies that boys performed significantly
better than girls in science. The result of this study implies that teacher-centered and teacher/student
–centered instruction are gender friendly and should be encouraged in science classrooms that
mixed-gender.
Hypothesis 1c focused on effect of student-centered instruction on academic performance
of male and female students. Analysis of results testing this l Hypothesis indicate a significant
difference in the posttest mean scores of male and female students exposed to student-centered
instruction [Table 1c]. From the analysis, males performed significantly better than the females.
This result agrees with the findings of Tambaya (18) who reported a significant difference in
the achievement of boys and girls exposed to high level teacher-student verbal interaction. However
results of this study disagree with that of Bichi (4), Ogunboyede (14) who independently reported
that boys are not better than girls in their academic achievement.
The findings of this study reveal that gender differences in science achievement levels could
be influenced by the type of instruction adopted by the science teacher especially in whether it is
teacher-centered, student-centered or both. The higher performance by boys taught with student-
centered instruction could be as a result of the fact that most girls in the Northern part of the
country naturally shy away from class verbal interaction in mixed classrooms and did not get enough
opportunity to participate in class discussions and demonstrations like the boys.
However this study has clearly revealed the efficacy of student-centered instruction in both
male and female students. Looking at the means of the male and students exposed to the three
different types of instruction namely; male (teacher-centered), mean = 12.5000, male
(teacher/student- centered), mean = 18.348, male (student centered), mean = 22.169. For the fact
that males taught with student-centered instruction had the highest means shows a positive effect of
this type of instruction even within the same gender. This is further asserted by the results reported
by this study on females viz; female (teacher-centered) 11.328, female (teacher/student- centered)
mean = 18.600 and female (student centered) mean = 18.803. Student-centered instruction should
thus be encouraged for science classes especially in single sex classrooms.
Hypotheses 2, 3 and 4 focused on effects of type of instruction in relation to class-size.
Results of the analyses in Tables 2, 3 and 4 indicate significant differences in the posttest scores of
subjects in large, medium and small class-sizes, exposed to the three types of instruction under
discussion. The results reveal that subjects exposed to student-centered instruction in large, medium
and small class-sizes performed significantly better than the other groups. This could be as a result
of increase in interest and enthusiasm of students in classrooms where student-centered instruction
is utilised thus leading to higher performance among this group. This indicates that student-
centered instruction is important for effective learning of basic science concepts.
This report is in agreement with earlier findings by Olajide (15), Tambaya (18) who reported
positive educational outcomes through allowing students to actually participate in verbal
communication in classrooms. The report also agrees with Inamullah, Hussain and Din (9) who
reported that teacher verbal domination of the classroom conditions students to become passive and
dependent on the teacher. Their findings further suggest that this dependency has adverse effects
on students’ attitudes towards learning and consequently students’ performance in school.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The nature of science demands active participation by learners during lessons. This study has
confirmed this fact with students taught with student-centered instruction performing better than
others. However the study has also revealed an important issue to consider. Student –centered
instruction does not favour females in mixed gender science classrooms and should not be used in
such classes. However if the science teacher has a way of controlling students’ participation to
ensure that girls are given equal opportunities with boys, then student –centered instruction can be
used in all science classrooms, otherwise science classes should be single sex. Science teachers need
to be trained on te art of using this type of instruction in teaching science.
This study concludes with these questions; will student-centered instruction always enhance
academic performance in other scientific concepts apart from the ones used in this study? Will it
always enhance academic achievement in science irrespective of tribe, race or culture of students?
This calls for further research.
References
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school integrated science. Journal of Innovative Approaches to Education and Human Development, 4,
97-104.
2 Aigboman, D.O. (2002). Science for all: Implication for the Teacher and National Development.
Benin City. Anibik Press,
3 Bassey, M.P. (2002). Availability of resources for the teaching of science subjects in public
secondary schools. A case study of some selected secondary schools in Alimosho Local
Government Area of Lagos State. Unpublished BSc project, University of Lagos.

4 Bichi, S.S. (2002). Effects of problem solving strategy and enriched curriculum on secondary
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8 Harding, J. and White Leg, E. (1997). Encore Gender, Science and Technology – where are they
now? Science Education Newsleter, 135, 9.
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of flenders interaction analysis. PhD Thesis, University of Arid Agriculture, Rawal Opindi.
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Bello University, Zaria.
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http://www.texascollaborative.org/stdtcenteredteach.htm Retrieved March 5, 2012
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achievement in mathematics and science subjects. UNESCO Africa, 10, 55-61.
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academic achievement and altitude to biology in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Unpublished PhD
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Nigeria, Lagos.

17 Shaibu, A.A. (2003). Effect of class-size on students’ academic achievement in science.

Unpublished seminar presentation, Department of Education , A.B.U., Zaria.

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on Academic achievement among senior secondary school Biology students. Unpublished
M.Ed Thesis. ABU, Zaria.

19 Usman, I.A. (2000). The rlationship between student performance in practical activities and
academic achievement in integrated science using NISTEP mode of teaching. Unpublished
PhD Thesis, Faculty of Education, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
DEVELOPING AND ASSESSING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PROCESS SKILLS
(STPSs) IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT

Johnson Ayodele Opateye

School of Education
National Open University of Nigeria
14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way
Victoria Island, Lagos-Nigeria

Abstract
The paper examines the centrality of Science and Technology Process Skills (STPSs) in Universal Basic Education
(UBE) learning environment in Nigeria. UBE programme was implemented in Nigeria to ascertain the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) in order to make education free and compulsory to all school age children up to junior
secondary school level. It also looked at the position of the STPS, structure for measuring STPS at the UBE school
levels. Since Science and Technology (ST) teachers could only transfer the skills in them to students, basic STPS that
are necessary for complete teacher education were also outlined. Therefore, the teaching and learning of science,
technology and mathematics at both the primary and junior secondary schools should not end at seeing the cognitive
final outcome but also developing and assessing the process skills that have been acquired by the students. Science and
technology curricula need to be modified to engender opportunities for students to demonstrate their science and
technology process skills during teaching, learning and assessment processes.

Introduction
Education is the wheel on which all nations developmental programme ride. Educational
dynamism causes changes and brings daily rethinking of how to make it more relevant in positively
building a self reliance nation. If education is given the right focus, it will not only be a source of
growth for all sectors of economy but also would foster current waves of global technological
development to be achieved in a country. All nations of the world realise this fact by coming
together to fashion out means and how education would be at reach of every child by organising
conferences and submits that would usher in positive changes in governance, economy and
technology. Examples of such conferences were World Conference on Education for All (Jomitien,
1990), The E-9 Submit (New Dehli, 1993), Second World Congress on Education and Information
(Moscow, 1996), Second International Congress on Technical and Vocational Education (Seoul,
1999), World Science Conference (Budapes, 1999), Education for All (EFA) Forum (Dakar, 2000)
among others.
African countries including Nigeria actively participated in these conferences. Obanya (2000)
summarised the lessons most African countries learnt from these conferences as awareness raising,
capacity building, enlarged partnership and inter-learning. This development therefore, brought a lot
of challenges in form of how to integrate education into the overall national development; develop
holistic education, prioritize, carry everyone along, sustain capacities, manage resources and develop
innovations to proffer solutions to educational problems.
In taking drastic step to implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Nigerian
government launched the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme in 1999. Its
implementation took off in 2005 when government disbursed UBE funds to Universal Basic
Education Commission (UBEC) and to each state. The concept of Basic education is not a new
move to the Nigerian society for the vision is meant to universalise access to education, enhance
equity while focusing on teaching and learning environment (Yoloye, 2004). The goals of UBE
include
o Developing in the entire citizenry a strong consciousness for education and strong
commitment to its vigorous promotion;
o Provision of free UBE for every Nigerian child of school age;
o Reducing drastically the occurrence of drop-out from formal school system;
o Catering for young persons, their schools as well as other out of school children through
appropriate form of complementary approaches to the provision of UBE;
o Ensuring the acquisition of appropriate levels of literacy, manipulative communicative and
life skills as well as the ethical, moral and civic values needed for laying a solid foundation
for life long living (Federal Government of Nigeria, 2000).
In order attain life skills as stated in UBE goals, the learning of science and technology play
important roles especially when appropriate science skills are developed in the learners.
Implementation Guidelines and Challenges of UBE
Based on the white paper on UBE implementation, the following guidelines were giving for its
effective take off:
o Pubic enlightenment and social mobilization for community development
o Data collection and analysis
o Planning, monitoring and evaluation
o Teachers’ recruitment, education, retraining , and motivation
o Infrastructural facilities
o Enriched curricula
o Textbooks and instructional materials
o Improved funding
o Management of the entire process (FGN, 2000).
Eight key areas could be identified from these guidelines as shown in figure 1 below:

Social
Mobilisation
Library Infrastructu
res

Curriculu UBE Teacher

m

Out-of-
Special School
Needs Youth
Instruction
al

Figure 1: Key areas of focus of Nigerian Universal Basic Education

 In spite of these guidelines, UBE was faced with a lot challenges in form of funding misuse,
inadequate provision and maintenance of infrastructural materials, supervision and monitoring at the
UBE centres, daily home-school distance covered by children, inadequate planning, unhealthy rivalry
between private and public schools and ineffective science, technology and mathematics
teaching/learning in schools. Dike (2000) observed that since UBE is intended to provide free and
compulsory education to every Nigerian child of school age, its implementation should not be left in
the hands of greedy and corrupt politicians but educators should be allowed to organise, manage,
and supervise the programme. UBE also upholds the ideals of National Policy on Education which
emphasised that universal basic education, in a variety of forms, depending on needs and
possibilities, shall be provided for all citizens; lifelong education shall be the nation’s educational
policy, educational activities shall be centred on the learner for maximum self-development and self-
fulfilment; and efforts should be made to relate education to overall community needs.
STPS Position in UBE Programme
In implementing UBE, education is made free and compulsory from primary to junior
secondary school levels in Nigeria. Therefore, the introduction of basic education which spans
through nine (9) years of lower basic (Primaries 1 to 3), middle basic (Primaries 4 to 6) and upper
basic (JSS1 – 3). Nigerian science and technology curriculum at junior secondary were reformed to
reflect the UBE ideas. For instance the previous integrated science becomes Basic science,
Introductory Technology is now Basic Technology and Mathematics also. Basic sic science has four
themes: You and your Environment, Living and Non-living things, Science and Development and
You and Energy. All the STM themes were geared towards skills acquisition in Nigerian learners.
UBE Curriculum contains Arts and Languages, Social Studies and Civic Education, Vocational
subjects, Mathematics, Science and Technology. Figure 2 shows that ST and mathematics directly
linked to technological development through skill acquisitions when process skills are emphasised in
learning and teaching.
Social Studies
& Civic

Basic
Arts & UBE Process
Science &
Language Curriculum
Technology Skills
s

Vocational
Mathematics Skills
Subjects
Acquisition
n

Technological
Development

Figure 2: Relationship of UBE Curriculum, STPS and Technological Development

STM Process Skills at Basic Education Levels

There are questions science asks in terms of what, which, why, how... When teaching science
and technology and mathematics in order to achieve UBE goals, teachers laying more emphasis on
questions of “what” and “which” should be minimised because they encourage rote learning in
learners and do not measure high level attainment. Process skills involve answering “how”
questions which enable learners to explain deeper understanding of scientific processes. ST teaching
involves integrating process skills acquisition and not just knowledge attainment. ST and teaching
about STM are more than just acquiring scientific and technological knowledge but also ability to do
science ( Ivowi, 2006). There are three dimensions of science that are important viz (i)
content of science, the basic concepts and scientific knowledge (ii) process of doing and (iii)
scientific attitudes. The processes of doing science are the science process skills that scientists use in
the process of doing science. When we teach science students to use these skills in science, we are
also teaching them skills that they would use in the nearest future. Process skills develop favourable
scientific attitudes and disposition in learners. These include being curious and imaginative
including enthusiasm about asking questions. Therefore, these skills affect the personal, social, and
global lives of individuals. The STMPS are fundamental tools to produce and use scientific
information, to perform scientific research, and to solve problems. These skills can be attained
through certain science education (Harlen, 1999; Hupert, Lomask & Lazarorcitz, 2002). STPS
summarily is how a scientist works, thinks and solve problems and proffer solutions.
At basic education level, the ST process skills include
(i) Defining problem (ii) Estimating (iii) Collecting data (iv) Observing (v) Classifying
(vi) Measuring (vii) Presenting data (viii) Table drawing (ix) Graph drawing (x) Predicting
(xi) Communicating (explaining results)
At the primary school (lower and middle basic) levels, the STMPS are organizational in nature.
These involves
Observing: By using five senses to identify the characteristics of objects and their interactions
Communicating: Object are identified and events are described so that information can be processed
Comparing: Objects and events are viewed in relations to similarities and differences. When
comparing known to unknown learners can gain knowledge about the unknown.
Organizing: By systematically compiling, classifying and ordering data learners gain knowledge of
principles and laws.
At Junior secondary (upper basic) level, the STMSP are relational in nature and such include
experimenting the process by which concrete and abstract ideas are brought together to test or
explain a phenomenon. Relational skills are inductive, deductive and hypothetical reasoning.
Relational scientific methods consist of five steps:
Identifying the problem: Stating what the investigator wants to find out.
Hypothesis: Proposing a solution
Experiment: Testing one variable at a time to determine its relative effect on another in order to
solve a problem or answer the question.
Results: When data are appropriately presented one can easily see the relative effects on one or
more variables.
Conclusion: Finding out if there is sufficient evidence from the results to answer the original
question. What was discovered by doing the experiment.
These active learning processes are achieved in doing, experimentation, use of hands, thinking,
response to enquiry, creative challenges, enquiring, analysing, design exercises initiating innovations
and all then are turned to acquisition of skills. The usefulness of these skills would result in ability of
learners to assess performance, obtain and interpret results, re-design alternatives and motivation for
continued learning.
Tasks for Assessing STPS
ST teachers need to draw questions or tasks which might be used to assess science process
skills in students base on scientific skills enumerated above.
Observation: Assessment questions could find out how students are able to
 o Use senses to notice specific features
o Identify qualitative and quantitative changes in conditions
o Identify similarities and difference in features
o Classify objects, specimens, organisms using observable properties
Predictions
 Predicting the results for a proposed laboratory test or set up
 Selecting predictions based on previously observed patterns
 Providing rationale for the predictions

 Using measurement to determine area, volumes, percentages, ratios etc.

Calculations

 Determining volume of acids that would neutralise a particular quantity of base.

 Performing statistical analysis of raw data as mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation
Data Presentation
 Preparing an appropriate tables, charts, diagrams, illustrations etc.
 Assessing the presentation of data

 Selecting appropriate graph for set of data as line, bar, and pie chart etc
Graphing

 Identifying the title source dependent and independent variables

 Labelling of axes
 Scaling each axis for a graph
 Preparing a line, bar or pie chart to represent a set of a data
 Spotting the coordinate points and marking them
 Making a best line fit
 Interpreting a graph and making predictions or inferences based on the data on a graph.
Inferences
 Formulating assumptions based on observations
 Differentiate between observations and inferences
 Using observations and inferences to identify testable questions and problems
Involving Process Skills in ST Teacher Education Development
In order to ensure that ST is well structured in the UBE, the issues of ST teacher development
in various institutions need to be looked into by inculcating relevant process skills in them. Such
skills could include
 Construction of a unit plan utilising the discovery method of instruction for a set of
content, skills and / or attitudes for a selected elementary, primary and junior secondary
schools
 Environmental maintenance to be conducive to the teaching and learning of ST through
appropriate classroom and laboratory management techniques. This would be evaluated

 Demonstration of increased competency in applying and skills in defined strategies and

during micro-teaching using appropriate use of an evaluation form.

techniques of classroom methodology as revealed through a series of micro-teaching

experiences.
  Demonstration of increased STPS in planning, organising and teaching individual of


students through participation in a series of planned in-school experiences
Presentation of a lesson on an assigned topic using a student prepared lesson plan and unit
plan.
 Construction of ST instructional modules by utilising the discovery methods of instruction


for a given set of content skills or attitudes for appropriate UBE educational levels.
Planning and using lessons involving technological approaches to meet the diverse needs of
the learners in a variety of educational settings after having made a series of observation in
ST classrooms
 Listing the careers relating to STPS to be acquired.
 Preparation of a variety of assessment modes consistent with the goals of ST courses to
assess students’ outcomes, i.e. quizzes, tests, examination.
 The would-be ST teachers should be trained on how to make valid observation, classify
objects, measure, make inferences, form prediction, recognise space-time relation and
recognise number relations.
 Matching primary process skills with an appropriate description or activity.
 Preparation of a list of safety precautions for primary and junior secondary schools.
 Identification and analysis of specified science, technology and mathematics curriculum
improvement projects.
The ST teachers need to undergo a training that will inculcate these skills in them. When they
possess them, they would pass on to the ST students who would apply them in the nearest future to
proffer solution to life problems.
Instruments for Measuring STPS in Students
When assessing students’ overall performance on ST-based subjects, teachers should not
based such assessment on the product alone by emphasising the cognitive attainment. The end
results might not justify the means, process skills of arriving at the product as shown by each student
could be ascertained using appropriate rating system. Teachers could evaluate students’ abilities to
make and communicate observation, determine whether they demonstrate these skills. Examples of
such process skills’ ratings tools are
Process Skills in Evaporation: Changing from Liquid to Gas
S/N DESIRED SKILLS 5 4 3 2 1
1. Identification and using relevant instruments e.g.
measuring cylinder
2. Measuring appropriate volume of water
3. Transferring water to container
4. Drawing the container being used to hold water
5. Recording how much water evaporate
6. Recognising that water escapes
7. Predicting the conditions for evaporation to take place
8. Making relevant inference

Process skills in graphing operations

S/N DESIRED SKILLS 5 4 3 2 1
1. Identification of graph sheet.
2. Compilation of table
3. Choosing appropriate scale
 4. Drawing of the axes
5. Calibration of graph axes based on choice of scales
6. Fixing of points
7. Joining of points to draw appropriate graph shapes
8. Putting title of the graph
9. Using graph to answer questions

Process skills in drawing of isometric cube block

S/N DESIRED SKILLS 5 4 3 2 1
1. Familiarity with isometric drawing tools e.g. drawing
paper, Tee-square, set square etc.
2. Drawing a horizontal line
3. Drawing a vertical line at a particular point on the
horizontal line
4. Measuring required angle using relevant tool
5. Marking out required points based on specified
measurement
6. Completing the block by joining the marked points

The aforementioned skills were just samples of areas of focus in basic science, basic
technology and mathematics. Teachers set students on process skills activities, observe students
carrying them out and rate each of them on level of attainment of those skills from a minimum of 1
and maximum of 5. Other science-based teachers could develop skill rating tools relevant to their
subject areas.
Conclusion and recommendations
Achievement of Universal Basic Education goals is hinged on the abilities of STM teachers
to develop and assess basic process skills acquired by their students. Therefore, teachers need to re-
orientate themselves to lay more emphasis on skills acquisition among students instead of much
emphasis on knowledge attainment during classroom and laboratory lessons. Teachers are supposed
to facilitate the development and acquisition of appropriate manipulative skills, laboratory
management techniques and workshop practices where applicable in students. Since doing science
leads to skills acquisition, teachers evaluation of students performance should not be limited to the
cognitive domain alone but involve psychomotor where a lot could be achieved through observation
and completion of appropriate checklists and rating scales.
The following recommendations are necessary to enhance the level of science and technology
process skills in schools’ science learning and teaching especially the UBE enabling environment:
1. Learners should be initiated to inculcate the sense of skill acquisition in learning science and
technology.
2. Students should be guided to make research activities intended to enhance the level of their
STPSs.
3. Science and technology based subjects’ curricula should be developed with the mind of
improving STPSs of the students.
4. Teachers should derive teaching methods that would assist in developing STPSs in students.
5. Assessment of students in ST subjects should not be based on the knowledge alone but also
skills acquire by the students during teaching and learning.
6. Each ST teacher should develop relevant assessment tools (instruments) for assessing skills
developed in the students.
References
Aluede, R.O.A. (2006). Universal Basic Education in Nigeria: Matters Arising. Journal of Human
Ecology. 20(2), 97-101.

Dike, V. (2000). The Universal Basic Education Programme: Educating the Education in Nigeria.
Retrieved on 29th March, 2012 from edcenter.egusd.k12.ca.us.

Federal Government of Nigeria (2000). Guidelines on Implementation of Universal Basic Education in

Nigeria. Lagos. Federal Government Press.

Fraser, B.J. & Butts, W.L. (1982). Relationship between Levels of Perceived Classroom
Individualization and Science-related attitudes. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 19(2),
143-154.

Harlen, W.(1999). Purposes and Procedures for Assessing Science Process Skills. Assessment in
Education, 6(1). 129-140.

Hackling, M.W. & Garnett, P.J. (1997). Primary and Secondary School Students Attainment of
Science Investigation Skills. Research in Science Education, 21, 161-170.

Hupper, J., Lomask, S.M. & Lazarorcitz, R. (2002). Computer Simulations in the High School:
Students’ Cognitive Stages, Science Process Skills and Academic Achievement in
Microbiology. International Journal of Science Education, 24(3), 803-821.

Ivowi, U.MO. (2006). Instructing Towards Learning by Doing. A Keynote presented at the 9th
Annual Conference of STAN (Lagos State Chapter) theme Effective Teaching of Science:
Learning by Doing, Lagos.

Lee, S.J. & Lee, Y.B. (2002). On Scientific Process Skill Training to Primary School Students’
Scientific Creativity. Chinese Journal of Science Education, 10(4), 341-372.

Obanya, Pai (2000). Revitalizing Education in Africa. Ibadan. Stirling-Holden Publishers Nig. Ltd.

Yoloye, T.W. (2004). Restoring Confidence in the Nigerian Education through Standard
Evaluation Strategies. West African Journal of Education, 24(1), 30-42.
  (q)  FUNCTION and  (q)  FUNCTION
ON SOME NEW MODULAR RELATIONS FOR RAMANUJAN'S

M. S. Mahadeva Naika, B. N. Dharmendra and S. Chandankumar

Department of Mathematics, Bangalore University, BANGALORE - 560001,INDIA.

ABSTRACT

In his second and `lost' notebooks, S. Ramanujan introduced parameters  (q) and  (q) related to the Rogers-
Ramanujan continued fraction. In this paper, we establish several new P  Q modular equations for the ratios of

Ramanujan's theta function  (q) . We establish several new modular relations connecting  (q) with  (q n ) and
Ramanujan's theta function. We establish several general formulas for explicit evaluations of the ratios of

 (q) with  ( q n ) for different positive integer n >1 . We also establish relations between  (q) ,  (q) and
 (q) .

Key words and Phrases: Continued fraction, Modular equation

2 Introduction

The Rogers-Ramanujan continued fraction is defined by

q1/5 q q 2 q 3
1 1 1  1 
R (q ) := , | q |< 1, (2)

was first studied by L. J Rogers [14]. Later, this continued fraction was rediscovered by S.
Ramanujan and recorded may interesting results involving R(q) . For more details on R(q) one can

In his `lost' notebook Ramanujan [13], introduced the parameters  (q) := R(q) R(q 4 ) and
see [2], [3], [6], [15], [16] and [17].

 (q) := R(q) R 2 (q 2 ) which are related to Rogers-Ramanujan continued fraction. Ramanujan stated
several interesting identities involving the parameters  (q) and  (q) . These results were studied in

detail by S. -Y. Kang [9]. S. -Y. Kang also introduced a new parameter  (q) := R 2 (q 2 ) R(q) / R(q 2 )
1

which is analogous to  (q) and  (q) and established some identities. Recently, C. Gugg [8]
established certain identities of Ramanujan using the parameter  (q) . S. Cooper [7], also
systematically studied several results involving the parameter  (q) .

a
The Ramanujan's theta function is defined by

n ( n 1)/2 n ( n 1)/2
f ( a, b) : = b , | ab |< 1,
n =  (3)
= (a; ab) (b; ab) (ab; ab)  .
Three special cases of f (a, b) are as follows:
 q

(  q;  q ) 
 (q ) := f (q, q ) =
( q;  q ) 
n2
= , (4)
n = 

 (q) := f (q, q3 ) = q n ( n1)/2 =


(q 2 ; q 2 )
, (5)
n =0 (q; q 2 )

q

f (q) := n (3 n 1)/2
= (q; q) , (6)
n = 

(a; q) := (1  aq n ),

where

| q |< 1.
n =0
Now we define a modular equation in brief. The ordinary hypergeometric series
2 F1 ( a, b; c; x ) is defined by

2 F1 ( a, b; c; x ) := 

(a ) n (b) n n
x ,
n =0 (c ) n n!

where (a)0 = 1, (a) n = a(a  1)(a  2) (a  n  1) for any positive integer n , and | x |< 1.
Let
1 1 
z := z ( x) := 2 F1  , ;1; x 
2 2 
(7)

and
 
 2 F1 ( , ;1;1  x) 
1 1
q := q( x) := exp   2 2
,
 
(8)
1 1
 
2 F1 ( , ;1; x)
2 2
where 0 < x <1.
Let r denote a fixed natural number and assume that the following relation holds:
1 1  1 1 
2 F1  , ;1;1    2 F1  , ;1;1   
 =  .
   
2 2 2 2
, ;1;   , ;1;  
r (9)
2 F1  2 F1 
1 1 1 1
2 2  2 2 
Then a modular equation of degree r in the classical theory is a relation between  and 
z ( )
induced by (9). We often say that  is of degree r over  and m :=
z( )
is called the multiplier.

We also use the notations z1 := z ( ) and zr := z (  ) to indicate that  has degree r over  .
In [4] and [18], the authors have defined two parameters lk , n and lk , n as follows:
 (e n/ k
)
( k 1)
(10)
 (e
lk ,n := ,

 nk
n/ k
1/4 8
k e )
and
  (e  
lk,n :=
n/ k
)
( k 1)
(11)
 (e
.

 nk
n/ k
1/4

They have established several properties and some explicit evaluations of lk , n and lk , n for different
8
k e )

positive rational values of n and k . Recently, M. S. Mahadeva Naika, S. Chandankumar, K. Sushan

for explicit evaluations of the ratios of Ramanujan's theta function  .

Bairy [10, 11] have established several new modular equations and also established general formulas

Section 4, we prove several new P  Q modular equations for the ratios of Ramanujan's theta
In Section 3, we collect several results which are useful to prove our main Theorems. In

function. In Section 5, we establish some general formulas for explicit evaluations l5,n and l5,n  . In
Section 6, we establish several new modular relations connecting  (q) with  (q n ) . In Section 7, we
establish several new modular relations connecting  (q) with  ( q n ) . In Section 8, we establish
some new modular relations connecting  (q) ,  (q) and  (q ).

3 Preliminary results

In this section, we collect several identities which are useful in proving our main results.

f 3 (q)  (q)   2 (q)  5q 2 (q 5 ) 

Lemma 3.1 [13, p. 56] [9] We have

 ,
f 3 (q5 )  (q5 )   2 (q)  q 2 (q 5 ) 
= (12)

f 6 (q 2 )  4 (q)   2 (q)  5q 2 (q5 ) 

 ,
f 6 (q10 )  4 (q5 )   2 (q)  q 2 (q5 ) 
= (13)

f 3 (q 2 )  (q)  5 2 (q5 )   2 (q) 

 ,
qf 3 (q10 )  (q5 )   2 (q)   2 (q5 ) 
= (14)

f 6 ( q )  4 (q)  5 2 (q5 )   2 (q) 

 .
qf 6 (q5 )  4 (q5 )   2 (q)   2 (q5 ) 
= (15)

 2 (q) 1   (q)   2 (q)

Lemma 3.2 [13, p. 56] [9] We have

q 2 (q 5 )  (q)
= . (16)

 (q) 1  (q)
Lemma 3.3 [3, Entry 1.8.1, p. 33] [9] We have

1  ( q )
(17)
q  (q )
1
= .
2 5

 (q) 1   (q)
Lemma 3.4 [13, p.26] [9] We have

 (q 5 ) 1   ( q)
= . (18)
 16qf 2 (q 2 ) f 2 (q10 ) = ( 2 ( q)   2 ( q5 ))(5 2 ( q 5 )   2 ( q)).
Lemma 3.5 [13, Entry 1.6.2(i), p.50] We have
(19)

 2 (q)  (q)
Lemma 3.6 [5, Ch. 16, Entry 24 (i), p.39] We have

 (q)  (q)
2
= . (20)

 (q5 ) (q11 )  q5 (q) (q 55 ) =  ( q5 ) ( q11 )  q5 (q) ( q55 ).

Lemma 3.7 [5, Ch. 16, Corollary (ii), p.74] We have
(21)

Lemma 3.8 [13, p. 55]

f (q ) f (q 2 )
If x = 1 and y= , then
q f (q ) q f ( q )
1
6 5 3 10

5  x  y
xy  =     .
3 3

xy  y   x 
(22)

Lemma 3.9 [13, p. 55]

f (q ) f ( q 4 )
If x = 1 and y= , then
q 6 f (q ) q f ( q )
2
5 3 20

 5   x  y  x 3  y 3 
( xy )    =       8      
3 5 5

 xy   y   x   y   x  
3

 x y
4    
(23)
4
 y x  x  y
.
 y x
 

Lemma 3.10 [13, p. 55]

f (q ) f ( q 5 )
If x = 1 and y= , then
q f (q ) q f ( q )
5
6 5 6 25

 5   5   y
( xy)     5  xy    15 =   .
2 3

 xy   xy  x
2
(24)

Lemma 3.11 [5, Ch 20, Entry 18 (vi) and (vii), p.423]

If  ,  and  are of degrees 5, 7 and 35 respectively over  , then
    (1   )(1   )    (1   )(1   ) 
     
1/8 1/8 1/8

    (1   )(1   )    (1   )(1   ) 
  (1   )(1   )  m
(25)
2  
1/12

  (1   )(1   ) 
= ,
m

    (1   )(1   )    (1   )(1   ) 
     
1/8 1/8 1/8

    (1   )(1   )    (1   )(1   ) 
  (1   )(1   ) 
(26)
2   =
1/12

  (1   )(1   )  m
m
.

 (q) = z ,
Lemma 3.12 [5, Ch. 17, Entry 10(i) and Entry 11(ii), pp. 122--123] We have
(27)
2q  (  q ) =
1/8
z { (1   )} .
1/8
(28)

 (q)  (q)
Lemma 3.13 [1, Theorem 5.1]

q  (q )  (q 5 )
If P = 1/2 5
and Q = , then

Q 2  P 2Q 2 = 5  P 2 . (29)

 (q)  (q 3 )
Lemma 3.14 [3, Ch. 25, Entry 66, p. 233]

q  (q 5 ) q  ( q15 )
If P = 1/2 and Q = 3/2 , then

 P Q  P Q
PQ  =        3  .
2 2
5
Q  P Q P
(30)
PQ

 (q)  (q 2 )
Lemma 3.15 [4]

q (q10 )
If P := 1 and , then
q 2 ( q 5 )
Q :=

 P Q
    4 = P  2 .
2 2
5
Q  P
2
(31)
P

Lemma 3.16 [4]

  (q)  (q)
q  (q 5 ) q  (q 5 )
If P := 1/2
and Q := 1/2
, then

P2 Q2  2 5   2 5 
   P  2  =  Q  2   6.
Q2 P 2  P   Q 
(32)

4 Modular equations for ratios of Ramanujan's theta function

In this section, we establish some new modular equations for ratios of Ramanujan's theta

 (q)  (q)
function.

 (q 5 )
q  (q )
Theorem 4.1 If P := 1 and Q := , then
2 5

 P Q
    4 = P  2 .
2 2
5
Q  P
2
(33)
P

Proof. Cubing the equation (22) and using the equations (12) and (14), we find that
( P 4  5P 2  4 P 2Q 2  P 2Q 4  Q 4 )( P 4Q 2  P 4  4 P 2Q 2  5Q 2  Q 4 )
( P 2Q 2  P 2  5  Q 2 )(25  10 P 2  10Q 2  P 4  2 P 4Q 2  P 4Q 4  4 P 2Q 2
16 P 3Q  16Q 3 P  2 P 2Q 4  Q 4 )(25  10 P 2  10Q 2  P 4  2 P 4Q 2
(34)

 P 4Q 4  4 P 2Q 2  16 P 3Q  16Q 3 P  2 P 2Q 4  Q 4 ) = 0.
By examining the behavior of the above factors near q = 0 , we can find a neighborhood about the
origin, where the second factor is zero; whereas other factors are not zero in this neighborhood. By
the Identity Theorem second factor vanishes identically. This completes the proof.

 (q) (q 2 )  (q) (q10 )

q  (q ) (q ) q  (q ) (q )
Theorem 4.2 If P := and Q := , then

3 1
2 5 10 2 5 2

1  1 
Q4  4   Q2  2  = P2  2
25
Q  Q  P
 5   1  1 
(35)
  P   5  Q     Q3  3    30.
 P   Q  Q 

Proof. Cubing the equation (23), we deduce that

a36  22500a 6b 24  1020a 24b18  7420b 24 a12  22500a 24b6  a 30b 24

7420a 24b12  1953125a12b6  127500a12b18  1953125b12 a 6
391b6 a 30  391a 6b30  a 24b30  937500a12b12  375000a 6b18
(36)

16380a18b18  60a 24b 24  24a18b30  24a 30b18  180a 30b12

180a12b30  127500b12 a18  375000b6 a18  1020a18b 24  b36 = 0.
where
f ( q ) f ( q 4 )
a= and b = .
q f ( q ) q f ( q )
1 2
6 5 3 20

Using the equations (12) and (13) in the above equation (36), we find that

( N 2 M 4  M 4  4 N 2 M 2  5 N 2  N 4 )( M 2 N 8  5 N 6  5M 6  M 8  N 8  4 N 6 M 8
25 N 2 M 2  25 N 2 M 4  25 N 4 M 2  30 N 4 M 4  M 2 N 6  5M 4 N 6  N 2 M 6  N 8
 N 2 M 8  5 N 4 M 6  N 6 M 6 )(625  500 N 2  150 N 4  150M 4  20 N 6  4 N 8 M 6
20 M 6  M 8  4 M 2 N 8  40 N 2 M 4  40 N 4 M 2  660 N 4 M 4  6M 4 N 8  N 8 M 8
224M 2 N 6  8M 4 N 6  224 N 2 M 6  4 N 2 M 8  500M 2  8 N 4 M 6  6 N 4 M 8 )
( N 16  109375M 4  65625M 6  21875M 8  4375M 10  525M 12  7 M 12 N 16
804 N 8 M 14  304M 2 N 14  7 M 2 N 16  21M 4 N 16  1024M 4 N 14  35M 6 N 16
896 M 8 N 14  400 M 10 N 14  128M 12 N 14  16M 14 N 14  35M 8 N 16  21M 10 N 16
27600 N 10 M 2  100500 M 2 N 8  250000 N 2 M 2  78125M 2  400000 N 2 M 4
87680 N 10 M 4  4280 N 12 M 2  14336 N 12 M 4  250000 N 2 M 6  112000 N 2 M 8
110672 N 6 M 10  17536 N 6 M 12  1104 N 6 M 14  110672 N 10 M 6  67968 N 10 M 8
21104 N 10 M 10  4096 N 10 M 12  368 N 10 M 14  17976 N 12 M 6  10816 N 12 M 8
33200 N 2 M 10  5120 N 2 M 12  304 N 2 M 14  469000 N 4 M 6  270400 N 4 M 8
600000 N 4 M 4  230000M 2 N 6  277000M 4 N 8  512000M 4 N 6  M 14 N 16 (37)
3752 N M  960 N M  104 N M  337020 N M  217648 N M
12 10 12 12 12 14 8 6 8 8

89880 N 4 M 10  14336 N 4 M 12  856 N 4 M 14  527600 N 6 M 6  339840 N 6 M 8

67404 N 8 M 10  11080 N 8 M 12  325000 N 4 M 2  M 16  1328M 6 N 14 ) = 0.

 (q)  ( q 2 )
where

q (q10 )
q  (q 5 )
M := 1
and N := .
2

By examining the behavior of the above factors near q = 0 , we can find a neighborhood about the

the Identity Theorem second factor vanishes identically. Changing q to q in the second factor, we
origin, where the second factor is zero; whereas other factors are not zero in this neighborhood. By

arrive at the equation (35).

 (q)  (q 4 )
q 2 (q 20 )
q 2 ( q 5 )
Theorem 4.3 If P := 1
and Q := , then

 P2 Q2   2 2 25   2 5 
   2  2   8  P Q  2 2   20  Q  2   120
P4 Q4
Q P   PQ   Q 
4 4
24
Q P
 25   5   3  5  25 
(38)
3  P 4  4   32  P 2  2  = P 4  Q 2  2   4  3Q 2  2  .
 P   P   Q  P  Q 
 Proof. Using the equations (12) and (23), we arrive at (38).

 (q)  (q 4 )
q 2 ( q 20 )
q  (q )
Theorem 4.4 If P := 1
and Q := , then
2 5

 1   1   1 
Q8   19  Q 6  6   419  Q 4  4   1327  Q 2  2   2332
1
 Q   Q   Q 
8
Q
 5   1   1   1   1 
  P    Q 7  7   44  Q 5  5   295  Q 3  3   672  Q   
 P   Q   Q   Q   Q 
 52    1   1    53 
(39)
  P 2  2   28  Q 4  4   109  Q 2  2   132    P 3  3 
 P   Q   Q    P 
  1  1   54   1 
 13  Q    9  Q 3  3     P 4  4   Q 2  2   = 0.
  Q  Q   P   Q 

Proof. Using the equations (32) and (38), we arrive at the equation (39).

 (q)  (q 5 )
q  (q 5 ) q 5/ 2 ( q 25 )
Theorem 4.5 If P := 1/2
and Q := then

 5   2 5 
 2   5  PQ    5 Q  2 
Q3 5Q 2 15Q
P 3
P P  PQ   P 
(40)
 P Q  2 2  15 = 0.
2 52
2

PQ

Proof. Using the equation (12) in the equation (24), we deduce that
(90 P3Q 2  75PQ 2  2Q3 P 2  10QP 2  75P  15P 5Q 2  90 P 3  5Q
Q3  15P5  P 4Q3  5P 4Q) x 2 y 2  (25Q3 P 2  125QP 2  50P 4Q
25P5Q 2  P 6Q3  125PQ 2  150 P3  125P  150 P3Q 2  25P5  5P 6Q (41)
10 P Q ) xy  150 P Q  250 P Q  25P Q  5P Q  125P  25P
4 3 3 2 4 5 2 6 3 5

625QP 2  125Q3 P 2  150 P3  50 P 4Q3  125PQ 2  25P 6Q = 0,

where
f (q) f (q 5 )
q f (q 5 ) q f ( q 25 )
x = 1/6 and y = 5/6 .

Solving the above quadratic equation for xy and then cubing both sides, we find that
 (Q 5  5 PQ 4  25 PQ 2  25 P  15Q 3 P 2  25QP 2  5Q 4 P 3  15Q 2 P 3
5 P 4Q 3  Q 4 P 5 )(3125(1  Q 2 )  105600Q 5 P 3  94800Q 5 P 5  Q10 P10
13125 P 2  45625Q 2 P 2  16250 P 6  21250 P 4  1250Q 4  625 P10
40000( P 3Q  Q 3 P 7 )  4000Q 3 P 9  12500QP  250Q 6  28900 P 6Q 6
45000 P 5Q  95250Q 2 P 4  144500 P 4Q 4  37650 P 2Q 6  55250 P 2Q 4
67250 P 6Q 2  77700 P 6Q 4  20000(Q 3 P  QP 7 )  15625Q 2 P8  Q10
13450Q 4 P8  3810Q 6 P8  24000Q 5 P 7  5625 P8  120000 P 5Q 3 (42)
650Q 4 P10  170 P10Q 6  21120Q 7 P 5  4160Q 7 P 7  32320Q 7 P 3
2210Q8 P 6  365Q8 P8  21Q8 P10  320Q 7 P 9  4800Q 7 P  25Q8
5Q10 P8  10Q10 P 4  160Q 9 P 7  296Q 9 P 5  20Q 9 P 9  7400 PQ 5
960 P 3Q 9  220 PQ9  104000 P 3Q 3  72900 P 4Q 6  1125Q 2 P10
2500 P 9Q  4665Q8 P 2  5 P 2Q10  1800Q 5 P 9  10Q10 P 6  7530Q8 P 4 )
(Q 3 P 2  75PQ 2  15P 3  15Q 2 P 3  Q 3  5QP 2  75P  5Q)3 = 0
By examining the behavior of the above factors near q = 0 , we can find a neighborhood about the

Identity Theorem first factor vanishes identically. Replacing q to q in the first factor, we arrive at
origin, where the first factor is zero; whereas other factors are not zero in this neighborhood. By the

the equation (40).

 (  q ) ( q 7 )  ( q ) ( q 35 )
q 4 (  q 5 ) (  q 35 ) q 3 ( q 5 ) (  q 7 )
Theorem 4.6 If P := and Q := , then

 1   1   1 
Q 4  4  14  Q 3  3    Q 2  2   10  Q     P 3  3
1 53
Q  Q   Q   Q  P
 52   1  5   1   
(43)
7  P 2  2   Q     P    2  Q 2  2   9   = 0.
 P  Q  P   Q   

Proof. Using the equations (25), (26), (27) and (28), we deduce that
1  r  2 Ar  sr  s  2 A2 r = 0, (44)
where
q 3 (q ) (q 35 )  (q) ( q 35 )
 (q ) (q )  (q ) (q )
r := 5 7
, s := 5 7
and A := ( s / r )1/3 .

2A = 1 M ,
On simplification of the equation (44), we find that
(45)
where
2 s  r  2 sr  2
M = .
r
Cubing both sides of the equation (45) and eliminating M , we deduce that
 14d 3c 2  d 5c 2  2d 5 s  8cd 4  6c3d 2  c3d 4  6c 4 d  3c 4 d 3  4sc 5  5c 2 ds
c5 d 2  2c5  5sd 3  5cd 2  15c 2 d  4d 5  5c3  5c3 s  5d 3  6d 3c 2 s (46)
d c s  6cd s  14c d s  3c d s  8c ds  c d s  c d s  15cd s = 0,
5 2 4 3 2 3 4 4 4 3 5 2 2

where
 (q)  (q 7 )
q  (q 5 ) q  ( q 35 )
c := 1/2 and d := 7/2 .

Collecting the terms containing s on one side of the above equation (46) and squaring both sides
and then using the equation (29), we arrive at the equation (43).

 (  q ) ( q11 )  ( q ) ( q 55 )
q 6 (  q 5 ) (  q 55 ) q 5 ( q 5 ) (  q11 )
Theorem 4.7 If P := and Q := , then

 1   1   1 
Q6   33  Q 5  5   99  Q 4  4   1529  Q 3  3 
1
 Q   Q   Q 
6
Q
 1   1  55 
1683  Q 2  2   8800  Q    6534   P 5  5 
 Q   Q  P 
 54   1  53    1 
11  P 4  4   Q     P 3  3  11  4  Q 2  2  

 P  Q  P   Q 

 52    1  1   1 
  P 2  2  18  56  Q    3  Q 2  2   8  Q 3  3  
 P   Q  Q   Q 
 5   1  1   1 
  P   324  126  Q    160  Q 2  2   18  Q 3  3 
 P   Q  Q   Q 
(47)

 1   53    1   
9  Q 4  4     P 3  3  11  4  Q 2  2    = 0.
 Q   P   Q   

Proof. Replacing q by q in the equation (19), we deduce that

  2 (q)    2 ( q) 
 16qf 2 (q 2 ) f 2 (q10 ) =  4 (q5 )  2    5 
  ( q )    ( q ) 
5
1 5 2
. (48)

Using the equations (48) and (19), we find that

  2 (q)    2 (q) 
  2 (  q 5 )    2 (  q 5 )  5

 (q )   .
4 5
1

 (q )   (q)   (q) 

= (49)
  2 (q 5 )  1 5   2 ( q 5 ) 
4 5 2 2

  
Replacing q by q11 in the above equation (49), we deduce that
   2 ( q11 )    2 ( q11 ) 
  2 ( q 55 )  1   2 ( q 55 )  5
 (q ) 
4 55
 .
 (q )   (q )    (q ) 
= (50)
  2 (q 55 )  1 5   2 (q 55 ) 
4 55 2 11 2 11

  
Employing the equation (20) along with the equations (49) and (50), we deduce that
  (q 5 ) (q 55 ) 
 55 
8

  ( q ) ( q ) 
5

  2 (q)    2 (q)    2 ( q11 )    2 ( q11 ) 

 2   2   2  1  2  5
 ( q )    ( q )    ( q )    ( q ) 
=
1 5 (51)
5 5 55 55

  2 (q)   2 (q)    2 (q11 )    2 ( q11 ) 

.
 2 5  1  5  2 5   2 55  1  5  2 55 
  (q )    (q )    (q )    (q ) 

The equation (21) can be re arranged as,

 
  (q )   (q) 
8
11

 112 
  (q5 ) (q55 )   q  (q ) q  (q ) 
1

 (q5 ) (q55 )  =
8 55 5
2

   
. (52)
  (q )   (q) 
8
11

 112 
 q  (q ) q  (q ) 
1
55 2 5

Using the equations (51) and (52), we deduce that

  2 (q)    2 (q)    2 ( q11 )    2 ( q11 ) 
  2 (  q 5 )    2 (  q 5 )  5
   2 (q 55 )  1   2 (q 55 )  5
     
1

  (q)   (q)    (q )    (q ) 
  2 (q 5 )  1 5   2 (q 5 )    2 (q 55 )  1 5   2 (q 55 ) 
2 2 2 11 2 11

     
 
  (q )   (q) 
8
11 (53)
 112 
 q  (q 55 ) q 2 (q 5 ) 
1

 
= .
  (q )   (q) 
8
11

 112 
 q  (q 55 ) q 2 (q 5 ) 
1

Using the equations (29), (32) and (33) in the above equation (53), we arrive at the equation (47).
This completes the proof.

5 General formulas for explicit evaluations for ratios of

Ramanujan's theta-functions

of Ramanujan's theta function  (q) .

In this section, we establish some general formulas for the explicit evaluations of the ratios
 l5,n
Theorem 5.1 If X := l5,nl5,4 n and Y := , then
l5,4 n
1  2 1   1 
Y4   Y  2  = 5 X 2  2 
 Y   X 
4
Y
 1   1  1 
(54)
 5  X   5  Y     Y 3  3    30.
 X   Y  Y 

Proof. Using the equation (35) along with the equation (10), we arrive at the equation (54).

Corollary 5.1 We have

l5,2 = 2  1, (55)
l5,1/2 = 2  1, (56)

 
11  5 5 4 11  5 5  11  5 5 
= 1 
1/2


 
l5,4 , (57)
 
2 2

 
 11  5 5 4 11  5 5  11  5 5 
1/2

= 1 
 
l5,1/4 , (58)
 
2 2

 32  14 5  10 10  22 2  34  15 5  11 10  24 2 
1/2
l5,8 = , (59)

 34  15 5  11 10  24 2  32  14 5  10 10  22 2 
=  ,
1/2

   
(60)
 
l5,1/8
( 5 2)(1 2)

Proofs of (55) and (56) . Putting n =1/ 2 in the equation (54) and using the fact that
l5,2l5,1/2 = 1 , we deduce that
4
(l5,2  2l5,2
2
1)(l5,2
4
 2l5,2
2
1)(2l5,2
2
1  5)2 (2l5,2
2
 1  5)2 = 0. (61)
We observe that the first factor of the equation (61) vanishes for the specific value of q = e 2/5 ,
but the other two factors does not vanish. Hence , we deduce that
4
l5,2  2l5,2
2
1= 0. (62)
Solving the above equation (62), we arrive at the equations (55) and (56).

Proofs of (57) and (58). Putting n =1 in the equation (54) and by using the fact that l5,1 = 1 , we
deduce that
 8
l5,4  4l5,4
6
 l5,4
4
(5 5  5)  4l5,4
2
 1 = 0. (63)
The above equation (63) can be rewritten as
x 2  4 x  5 5  7 = 0, where x := l5,4  2 .
2 1
(64)
l5,4
Solving the above equation for x and x >1 , we deduce that
 2 = 2  (11  5 5)1/2 .
2 1
l5,4 (65)
l5,4
On solving the above equation (65), we arrive at the equations (57) and (58).

Proofs of (59) and (60). Using the equation (55) in the equation (54), we obtain the equations
(59) and (60).

Theorem 5.2 If X := l5,n and Y := l5,25 n , then

 1   2 5 
 2   5 5  XY    5 5 Y  2 
Y 3 5Y 2 15Y
 XY   X 
3
X X X
 1 
(66)
5  X 2Y 2  2 2   15 = 0.
 X Y 

Proof. Using the equation (40) along with the equation (10), we arrive at the equation (66).

Corollary 5.2 We have

l5,5 = 5  2 5 , (67)
52 5
l5,1/5 = . (68)
5

Proofs of (67) and (68). Putting n =1/ 5 in the equation (66) and using the fact that l5,5l5,1/5 = 1 ,
we deduce that
2
(l5,5  5  2 5)(l5,5
2
 5)2 = 0. (69)
2
Since l5,5 > 0 , hence by solving the equation l5,5  5  2 5 = 0 , we arrive at the equations (67) and
(68).

l5,n
Theorem 5.3 If X := l5,nl5,121n and Y := , then
l5,121n
  1   1   1 
Y6   33  Y 5  5   99  Y 4  4   1529  Y 3  3 
1
 Y   Y   Y 
6
Y
 1   1  1 
1683  Y 2  2   8800  Y    6534  25 5  X 5  5 
 Y   Y  X 
  1  1  1   1 
11 5 5 5  X 4  4  Y    5  X 3  3  11  4  Y 2  2  
  X  Y  X   Y 
 1   1  1   1 
(70)
 5  X 2  2  18  56  Y    3  Y 2  2   8  Y 3  3  
 X   Y  Y   Y 
 1   1  1   1 
  X   324  126  Y    160  Y 2  2   18  Y 3  3 
 X   Y  Y   Y 
 1  
9  Y 4  4    = 0.
 Y  

Proof. Using the equation (47) along with the equation (10), we arrive at the equation (70).

Corollary 5.3 We have

l5,11 = 12  5 5  2 67  30 5 , (71)

l5,1/11 = 12  5 5  2 67  30 5 . (72)

Proofs of (71) and (72). Putting n = 1/11 in the equation (70) and using the fact that
l5,11l5,1/11 = 1 , we deduce that
4
(2l5,11  (3  5)l5,11
2
 2)(l5,11
4
 (24  10 5)l5,11
2
 1)
8
(2l5,11  (3  3 5)l5,11
6
 (30  6 5)l5,11
4
 (3  3 5)l5,11
2
 2) (73)
4
(l5,11  (6  4 5)l5,11
2
 1) 2 = 0.
We observe that the second factor of the equation (73) vanishes for the specific value of
q = e 11/5
, but the other factors does not vanish. Hence , we deduce that
4
l5,11  24l5,11
2
10l5,11
2
5  1 = 0. (74)
Solving the above equation (74), we arrive at the equations (71) and (72).

6 Modular Relations Between  (q) and  (q n )

In this section, we establish several new modular relations connecting  (q) with  (q n )
using the P  Q modular equations obtained in the Section 4.
Theorem 6.1 If u :=  (q) and v :=  (q 3 ), then
v4u  (u 4  3u  3u 2  3u 3 )v3  (3u  3u 3 )v 2
(3u  3u 2  3u 3  1)v  u 3 = 0.
(75)
Proof. Using the equation (16) and (30), we arrive at the equation (75).

Theorem 6.2 If u :=  (q) and v :=  (q 4 ), then

(v  v  v  1)u  (4v  4v  8v)u 3  (2v  2v3  8v 2 )u 2
3 2 4 3 2

(8v3  4v 2  4v)u  v3  v 4  v 2  v = 0.
(76)

Proof. Using the equation (16) and (38), we arrive at the equation (76).

Theorem 6.3 If u :=  (q) and v :=  (q 5 ), then

(2v  v 2  1  v 4  2v3 )u 5  (v 4  v 2  v3 )5u 4  (3v3  2v 2  3v)5u 3
(3v 4  3v 2  2v3 )5u 2  (v3  v 2  v)5u  2v 2  v  2v 4  v5  v3 = 0.
(77)

Proof. Using the equation (16) and (40), we arrive at the equation (77).

u :=  (q) v :=  (q 7 ),
7 (v  2v  4v  4v  4v  v  v)u  (v 7  6v 6  11v5  12v 4
Theorem 6.4 If and then
7 6 5 4 3 2 7

14v3  6v 2  2v)u 6  (4v 7  14v 6  31v5  23v 4  31v3  11v 2  4v)u 5

(4v  12v 6  23v3  12v 2  4v 7  23v5  24v 4 )u 4  (14v 2  31v3  4v 7 (78)
23v  31v  4v  11v )u  (2v  6v  14v  11v  12v  6v  v)u
(4v3  4v5  2v 2  v  v 6  4v 4  v 7 )u  v 7u 8  u 7  v8u  v = 0.
4 5 6 3 7 6 5 3 4 2 2

Proof. Using the equation (16) and (43), we arrive at the equation (78).

u :=  (q) v :=  (q11 ),
u12  uv  11(8v 2  2v8  v10  3v9  16v 4  7v 6  24v3  37v5  4v  19v 7 )u11
Theorem 6.5 If and then

(v11  7v10  5v9  26v8  v 7  49v 6  19v5  100v 4  38v 2  32v3  8v)u10
(88v8  2v 4  5v10  511v 7  79v9  354v3  745v5  49v 6  24v  3v11
32v 2 )u 9  (152v5  26v8  611v 4  2v3  16v  260v 7  88v9  26v10  100v 2
518v 6  2v11 )u 8  (260v8  2252v 7  511v9  2540v5  152v 4  745v3  v10
19v 2  37v  392v 6  19v11 )u 7  (49v3  49v 2  1022v 6  518v 4  7v  392v 5
392v 7  49v9  518v8  7v11  49v10 )u 6  (260v 4  v 2  37v11  19v  2252v 5
392v 6  2540v 7  511v3  745v9  152v8  19v10 )u 5  (26v 4  260v 5  88v 3
518v 6  26v 2  611v8  2v  16v11  2v9  100v10  152v 7 )u 4  (32v10  354v9 (79)
5v 2  79v3  511v5  2v8  49v 6  745v 7  24v11  88v 4  3v)u 3  (38v10
49v 6  8v11  32v9  5v3  100v8  v  v 5  7v 2  26v 4  19v 7 )u 2  (19v 5
37v 7  4v11  16v8  8v10  2v 4  24v9  v 2  7v 6  3v 3 )u  v12  uv11 = 0.
 Proof. Using the equation (16) and (47), we arrive at the equation (79).

7 Modular Relations Between  (q) and  ( q n )

In this section, we establish modular relations for  (q) using the P  Q modular equations

Theorem 7.1 If u :=  (q) and v :=  (q), then

obtained in the Section 4.

(1  4u 3  4u  u 4  18u 2 )(1  v 4 )  (6u 4  8u  12u 2  8u 3  6)v 2

(8u  4  8u 3  8u 2  4u 4 )(v  v3 ) = 0.
(80)

Proof. Using the equation (17) and (32), we arrive at the equation (80).

Theorem 7.2 If u :=  (q) and v :=  (q 2 ), then

v 2 (u 4  1)  (1  2v  2v 2  2v3  v 4 )(u 3  u )  (2v 4  10v 2  2)u 2 = 0. (81)

Proof. Using the equations (17) and (31), we arrive at the equation (81).

Theorem 7.3 If u :=  (q) and v :=  ( q 3 ), then

(3u  3u 2  3u 3  u 4 )v3  3v 2 (u  u 3 )  (3u 3  3u  3u 2  1)v = u 3  v 4u. (82)

Proof. Using the equation (17) and (30), we arrive at the equation (82).

Theorem 7.4 If u :=  (q) and v :=  (q 4 ), then

(v8  6v 2  6v 6  4v 7  4v  14v 4 )(u 7  u )  (32[v 7  v 5  v  v 3 ]  6v8
6  48v 6  48v 2  136v 4 )(u 6  u 2 )  (15v8  108v 7  108v  202v 6  15
80v5  434v 4  202v 2  80v 3 )(u 3  u 5 )  (160v 7  20  160v  20v8
(83)

160v3  160v5  320v 6  320v 2  750v 4 )u 4  v 4  u 8v 4  u 7  u = 0.

Proof. Using the equation (17) and (38), we arrive at the equation (83).

Theorem 7.5 If u :=  (q) and v :=  (q 5 ), then

(u  10u  6  5u  5u  10u )v  (6u  35u  25u 3  25u 4  20u 2 )v 3
5 3 2 4 4 5

(11u 5  25u 2  35u 4  25u  20u 3 )v 2  (6u 5  5u  10u 4  5u 3  10u 2 )v (84)

v  u  v  11v  6v = 0.
5 5 3 2

Proof. Using the equation (17) and (40), we arrive at the equation (84).

Theorem 7.6 If u :=  (q) and v :=  (q 7 ), then

 v  u 8v 7  v8u  u 7  7{(u  2u 2  u 7  4u 3  3u 6  4u 5 )v 7  (2u 7  3u  26u 5
29u 3  14u 6  14u 2 )v 6  (29u 6  26u 2  5u 4  55u 3  55u 5  4u  4u 7 )v 5
5(u 3  u 5 )v 4  (4u 7  55u 3  29u 2  55u 5  4u  26u 6  5u 4 )v 3  ( 29u 5
(85)

14u 2  26u 3  14u 6  3u 7  2u )v 2  (3u 2  u 7  4u 5  2u 6  u  4u 3 )v} = 0.

Proof. Using the equation (17) and (43), we arrive at the equation (85).

Theorem 7.7 If u :=  (q) and v :=  (q11 ), then

v12  uv  u11v11  11{(14u 8  4u  8u 2  u10  21u 7  32u 4  21u 5  8u 3
9u 6  5u 9 )v11  (8u  214u 8  83u 9  15u10  247u 7  6u 2  211u 5  39u 6
u11  128u 3  268u 4 )v10  (8u  538u 3  489u 9  83u10  81u 6  1292u 8
1393u 7  1321u 5  1166u 4  5u11  128u 2 )v 9  (214u10  4284u 5  268u 2
3638u 8  1292u 9  1166u 3  4176u 7  3251u 4  14u11  32u  378u 6 )v8
(211u 2  5452u 7  4176u 8  5452u 5  1393u 9  21u11  4284u 4  247u10
21u  1321u 3  72u 6 )v 7  (81u 9  81u 3  9u  39u 2  378u 8  378u 4
72u 7  72u 5  39u10  9u11  594u 6 )v 6  (21u11  247u 2  5452u 5  5452u 7
(86)

21u  4176u 4  1321u 9  72u 6  1393u 3  211u10  4284u 8 )v 5  (3638u 4

14u  3251u 8  378u 6  214u 2  32u11  268u10  1292u 3  4176u 5  4284u 7
1166u 9 )v 4  (128u10  5u  1292u 4  489u 3  1393u 5  1321u 7  1166u 8
8u11  83u 2  81u 6  538u 9 )v 3  (8u11  15u 2  211u 7  6u10  83u 3  214u 4
268u 8  u  247u 5  39u 6  128u 9 )v 2  (8u10  21u 7  32u 8  5u 3  21u 5
9u 6  u 2  4u11  8u 9  14u 4 )v}  u12 = 0.

Proof. Using the equation (17) and (47), we arrive at the equation (86).

8 Modular Relations Between  (q ),  (q) and  (q)

Theorem 8.1 If k :=  (q) and u :=  (q), then

(k 2  1)u 2  2(1  2k  k 2 )u  k 2 = 1. (87)

Proof. Using the equations (16) and (17), we arrive at the equation (87).

Theorem 8.2 If u :=  (q) and v :=  (q) , then

u 4 v 2  v 2  (1  2v  v 4  2v 2  2v3 )(u 3  u ) = 2(1  5v 2  v 4 )u 2 . (88)

Proof. Using the equations (17), (18) and (33), we arrive at the equation (88).

Theorem 8.3 If k :=  (q) and v :=  (q), then

(1  v)k 2  (v 2  1)k  v 2 = v. (89)
 Proof. Using the equations (16), (18) and (33), we find that
(k 2v 2  kv 2  v  1  k  k 2v)(kv 2  v 2  v  k  k 2  k 2v) = 0. (90)
By examining the behaviour of the factors of the equation (90) near q = 0 , it can be seen that there
is a neighbourhood about the origin, where the second factor is zero, whereas the other factors are
not zero in this neighbourhood. By the Identity Theorem second factor vanishes identically. This
completes the proof.

Theorem 8.4 If k :=  (q) and u :=  (q 2 ), then

(u  1)k 2  (u 2  1)k  u 2 = u. (91)

Proof. Using the equations (12), (13), (16) and (17), we find that
(u 2 k  u  2ku  k  k 2u )(u 2 k 2  u 2k  u  1  k  k 2u )
(u 2 k  u 2  u  k  k 2  k 2u ) = 0.
(92)

By examining the behaviour of the factors of the equation (92) near q = 0 , it can be seen that there
is a neighbourhood about the origin, where the third factor is zero, whereas the other factors are not
zero in this neighbourhood. By the Identity Theorem third factor vanishes identically. This
completes the proof.

Theorem 8.5 If u :=  (q) and k :=  (q 2 ), then

(k 2  1)2 (1  u 4 )  2(3  16k 3  22k 2  16k  3k 4 )u 2
= 4(k 4  2k  2k 3  1  6k 2 )(u  u 3 ).
(93)

Proof. Using the equations (12), (13), (16) and (17), we find that
(ku 2  u  2ku  k  k 2u )(k 4  4k 4u  6k 4u 2  4k 4u 3  k 4u 4  8k 3u 3
32k 3u 2  8k 3u  2k 2u 4  24k 2u 3  44k 2u 2  24k 2u  2k 2  8ku 3  1 (94)
32ku  8ku  4u  6u  4u  u ) = 0.
2 2 3 4

By examining the behaviour of the factors of the equation (94) near q = 0 , it can be seen that there
is a neighbourhood about the origin, where the second factor is zero, whereas the first factor is not
zero in this neighbourhood. By the Identity Theorem second factor vanishes identically. This
completes the proof.

Theorem 8.6 If k :=  (q) and u :=  (q3 ) , then

8(8k 5  8k 3  1  2k 6  6k 4  2k 2  k 8 )(u  u 7 )  4(12(k  k 3  k 7  k 5 )
78k 4  7  32k 6  32k 2  7 k 8 )(u 2  u 6 )  8(42k 4  14k 2  32k 7  14k 6
7  7 k 8  72k 3  32k  72k 5 )(u 3  u 5 )  2(35k 8  4k 2  560( k 5  k 3 )
(95)

50k 4  35  208(k  k 7 )  4k 6 )u 4 = (4k 6  1  6k 4  4k 2  k 8 )(u 8  1).

Proof. Using the equations (16) , (17) and (30), we arrive at the equation (95).

Theorem 8.7 If k :=  (q) and u :=  ( q 4 ) , then

(k  1)u 4  (k 3  k 2  k  1)u 3  3(1  k 2 )ku 2  (k 3  k 2  k  1)ku = k 3  k 4 . (96)
 Proof. Using the equations (16) , (17) and (38), we arrive at the equation (96).

Theorem 8.8 If u :=  (q) and k :=  ( q 4 ) , then

8(8k 6  2k 7  1  k 8  2k  26k 5  8k 2  26k 3  18k 4 )(u  u 7 )  4(68k 6  7
32k 7  160k 5  160k 3  7k 8  32k  534k 4  68k 2 )(u 2  u 6 )  8(264k 6
7  264k 2  1022k 4  78k  138k 5  138k 3  7k 8  78k 7 )(u 3  u 5 ) (97)
2(1780(k  k )  6190k  1920(k  k )  640(k  k )  35(k  1))u
2 6 4 3 5 7 8 4

(1  4k 6  k 8  4k 2  6k 4 )(1  u 8 ) = 0.

Proof. Using the equations (16) , (17) and (38), we arrive at the equation (97).

Acknowledgement
This Research work is supported by the UGC, Govt. of India under major research project
No.F.No.34--140 \ 2008 (SR).

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 ON TEENAGE DEPRESSION AND GENDER DISPARITY OF
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN RURAL INDIA

Shakuntala Punia* and Santosh Sangwan**

Department of Human Development and family studies
College of Home Science,
Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, 125004, Haryana India
ABSTRACT

Depression is a serious mental health concern that will touch most people's lives at some point in their life time either
directly or through someone close they know. Improved recognition, treatment, and prevention of depression are critical
public health priorities. The present study was undertaken on 80 ie.40 males and 40 females of 7th grade students,
randomly selected from schools of two villages of Hisar District, Haryana, India. The age range was 12 to 15 years.
Children Depression Inventory (Kovac2003) was used to assess the depression level of children. Personal and socio-
economic profile was collected using pretested self structured interview schedule. Results of the study highlighted that
depression symptoms were prevalent among one fourth of the total sample. The results evidenced statistically that girls
were more depressed than the boys. More number of children was depressed in nuclear and high income group family.

Keywords: Negative Mood, Inter Personal Problem, Ineffectiveness, Anhedonia, Negative

Self Esteem

INTRODUCTION
Depression is one of the most common psychological problems, affecting nearly everyone through
either personal experience or through depression in a family member. Depression can interfere with
normal functioning, and frequently causes problems with work, social and family adjustment. It
causes pain and suffering not only to those who have a disorder, but also to those who care about
them. Serious depression can destroy family life as well as the life of the depressed person.
Depression is a psychological condition that changes how you think and feel, and also affects your
social behavior and sense of physical well-being. We have all felt sad at one time or other, but that is
not depression. Sometimes we feel tired from working hard, or discouraged when faced with serious
problems. The present scenario of adolescents clearly shows that the condition of our youth has
significantly deteriorated. Recent studies show that there is significant rise in the problems faced by
the adolescents for example, serious emotional disturbances has increased (WHO, 2001). Increased
sexual activity in schools, rise in AIDS cases in India and greater use of alcohol consumption has
been found. Apart from the above, use of heavy drugs and youth school drop outs has also
increased in the recent years (UNICEF, 2001). Depression is a common mental disorder that
presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth,
disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration. These problems can become
chronic or recurrent and lead to substantial impairments in an individual's ability to take care of his
or her everyday responsibilities. At its worst, depression can leads to suicide, a tragic fatality
associated with the loss of about 850 000 lives every year. This gives us the clear image of the
struggles that adolescents go through, the problems they face. So providing an experience that
would strengthen adolescent’s coping abilities to counter environmental stress and disadvantages
with which they sometimes have to cope with while experiencing is an essential need.
According to Soresi Nota and Ferrari (2005), childhood and adolescent depression must not be
underestimated, as it is associated with dysthymic and anxiety disorders, severe behavioral disorders,
and substance abuse. Research has also shown that teenage depression often persists into adulthood,
especially if it goes untreated (Kovac 1996). Depression can affect anyone. Unfortunately,
depression is not always diagnosed, because many of the symptoms mimic physical illness, such as
sleep and appetite disturbances. Recognizing depression is the first step in treating it. Once
identified, most people diagnosed with depression are successfully treated. Looking at the severity of
the problem the study was carried out with objective-- To find out the prevalence of depression
among boys and girls of rural Haryana.
METHODOLOGY
Sample:
The sample of the study comprised of 80, 7th grade randomly selected students (40 males and
40 females). The age range was 12 to 15 years. The sample was drawn from Govt. and Private
schools of village Rawalwas, Khurd and Kalan, randomly selected from Hisar District of Haryana,
India. The total number of schools sampled for the current study amounted to four schools (Two
Government and two private). Data for the study was collected using the individual approach.
Instrument
Respondents were interviewed by the researcher to get information of their age, gender,
household income, family size, type and ordinal position. Academic achievement in terms of
percentage of marks secured in last exam was collected from the school records.
Depression was measured with the help of Children Depression Inventory (Kovac, 2003).
The scale consists of 27 items, scored on a 3 point scale ranging from 0 = once in a while, 1 = many
times and 2 = all the times. Items were summed and ‘T’ score given in test against raw score for
different age group and sex were calculated. Categories were formed using ‘T’ score as given in the
inventory.
Data Analyses:
SPSS programme was run to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the
background information and main variables to the study. Pearson correlation was computerized to
examine the relationship between depression and selected variables. Independent sample t-test was
used to examine gender differences in depression.
RESULTS:
Profile of respondents
The respondents of the study ranged from11-15 years equally representing both males and females.
The maximum percentage (95%) of respondents were, ≤13 years of age. Majority of them having 1 st
or 2nd ordinal position in family. Sixty five per cent respondents had moderate performance in the
academics. A large percentage of respondents were from middle and high cast and nuclear family
system (56.2%). A large percentage of fathers had formal education from middle to senior
secondary (76.2%), while about 48.8 percent mothers compared to fathers had education up to
senior secondary. Comparatively higher percentage of mothers was illiterate against fathers. About
75 percent mothers were housewife against almost 50 per cent fathers who were involved in
farming, business or service. Nearing fifty percent children were from moderate income family
earning up to 10,000 per month. One forth of total families had monthly income above Rs. 10,000.
Level of depression
Table 1 indicated that 76.3 per cent children were average in depression which means not depressed
followed by 21.2 percent having above average depression, whereas, about 2.5 percent respondents
had severe depression. On different aspects of depression i.e. negative mood, interpersonal
problems, ineffectiveness, anhedonia and negative self esteem, 65.0, 63.8, 78.8, 67.5, 83.8 per cent
were in normal level and 30.0, 26.2, 21.2, 31.3. 16.2 percent had above average depression
respectively. Only 5.0 percent had severed negative mood, 10.0 percent faced sever interpersonal
problems and one child had sever anhedonia problem. Gender comparison highlighted that
comparatively more females had above average (27.5%) and severe depression (5%) against male
respondents (15.0 & 0.00 respectively). The results are consistent with the study conducted by Uba
et al (2010) which reported that 12.8 per cent respondents were depressed against 87.2 per cent non
depressed respondents. Saluja etal. (2004) also found that eighteen percent of youths reported
symptoms of depression. A higher proportion of females (25%) reported depressive symptoms than
males (10%). Prevalence of depressive symptoms increased by age for both males and females.
Results also got support from another study reported by Saima and Sharma (2011) who reported
that 8.33 and 10 per cent respondents had poor and very poor mental health conditions.
Gender wise mean differences
The study further discovered significant differences (t=2.246 P<.05) in depression scores of males
and females respondents. Significant gender differences were also seen on depression sub aspects
i.e. ineffectiveness (t=2.432) anhedonia (t=3.867) at 5 percent level of significance. (Table2)
The findings of the study illustrated that female were more depressed than male counterparts. The
present findings were consistent with the study conducted by Uba et al (2010) in Malaysia and with
other studies by Nolen – Hoeksema (1994) and William et al (2003).
In addition table 3 indicated that about 52.63 percent depressed children were from nuclear
family, coming from high caste. Further 42.10 per cent depressed respondents were from low
income group families. Findings of present study are in line with the result reported by Uba etal
(2010), Saime and Sharma (2011), and Srividhya (2007).

Conclusion:
Conclusion reveals that majority of the respondents were non-depressed and a small
percentage was depressed. Girls were found to be more depressed than boys and the differences
were statistically significant. The respondents from nuclear family with poor income were
comparatively more depressed. The results mark the need for diagnosis and psychological treatment
of children at early age when the symptoms of depression are still emerging, so that the situation
does not get worse by the time they reach high level and face the pressure of academic achievement,
which further leads to danger of suicide, drug addiction etc. and other psychological problem. There
is also a need for educating and training the teachers in preliminary diagnosis of depression
symptoms and providing referral services.

References
Kovacs M, “The course of childhood-onset depressive disorders”, Psychiatric Annuals, vol. 26, pp.326-330,
1996.

Kovacs M, “Children’s Depression Inventory” published by MHS in North Tonawanda NY. 2003

Nolen-Hoeksema S, “An interactive model for the emergence of gender differences in depression in
adolescence”. Journal of Research on Adolescence, vol.4,no.4, pp.519- 534, 1994.

Saime and Sharma Neeru, “Mental health status of children of Kashmir: A study from Anantnag District”, J
Psychology,vol. 2,no.2,pp.109-113,2011.

Saluja.G, Iachan.R, Peter C, Mary D, Wenyu Sun and Giedd, Jay N, “Prevalence of risk factors for depressive
symptoms among young adolescents”, Journal of Pediatrics and adolescent Medicines, vol.158,no.8,pp.760-
765,2004.

Soresi S, Nota L and Ferrari L, “Counselling for adolescents and children at-risk in Italy.” Journal of Mental
Health Counseling, vol. 27, no.3, pp. 249-265, 2005.
 Srividhya V. Mental health and adjustment problems of students of Navodaya, Central and State schools.
M.S.Thesis, Department of Human Development, College of Rural Home Science, University Of Agricultural
Sciences, Dharwad, India, 2007.

Uba Ikechukwu, Yaacob Siti Nor and Juhari Rumaya, “Bullying and its’ relationship with depression among
teenagers”. J Psychology, vol.1, no.1, pp. 15-22, 2010.

UNICEF, “The Participation rights of adolescents: A strategic approach”, prepared by R. Rajani.

Commissionedpaper for UNICEF. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/ programme/youth
day/assets/participation.pdf, 2001.

Willkins,Shurmer A, O’Callaghan M, Najman J, Bor W,Williams G and Anderson M. “Association of bullying

with adolescent health-related quality of life”. Journal of Paediatrics Child Health, vol.39, pp.436–441, 2003.

WHO, “Partners in life skills education”. Conclusions from a United Nations Interagency Meeting. Geneva:
World Health Organization, 2001.
Table1: Distribution of respondents for depression by gender

CDI Male(40) Female(40) Total(80)

categories Average Above Sever Average Above Severe Average Above Severe
average e Average Averag
e

Negative 27 11 02 25 13 02 52 24 04
Mood (67.5) (27.5) (5.0) (62.5) (32.5) (5.0) (65.0) (30.0) (5.0)
Inter 24 15 01 27 06 07 51 21 08
Personal (60.0) (37.5) (2.5) (67.5) (15.0) (17.5) (63.8) (26.2) (10.0)
Problem
Ineffectivene 33 07 00 30 10 00 63 17 00
ss (82.5) (17.5) _ (75.0) (25.0) _ (78.8) (21.2) _
Anhedonia 32 08 00 22 17 01 54 25 01
(80.0) (20.0) _ (55.0) (42.5) (2.5) (67.5) (31.3) (1.2)
Negative 33 07 00 34 06 00 67 13 00
Self esteem (82.5) (17.5) _ (86.0) (15.0) _ (83.8) (16.2) _
Total child 34 06 00 27 11 02 61 17 02
depression (85.0) (15.0) _ (67.5) (27.5) (5.0) (76.3) (21.2) (2.5)
Figures in parentheses indicate percentages
Table 2: Gender wise mean differences in depression N=80

Sex Mean SD SE DF MD ‘t’ P

 40(Male) & values
40(Female)

Negative Male 52.375 10.769 1.702 78 1.950 .792 .005

Mood Female 54.825 11.235 1.776 77.86

Interperson Male 51.650 7.757 1.226 78 4.275 1.587

al Female 55.925 15.168 2.398 58.09
Problem

Ineffectivene Male 50.325 6.442 1.018 78 3.275 2.432*

ss
Female 53.600 5.569 .880 76.401

Anhedonia Male 49.725 5.242 .829 78 5.200 3.867*

Female 54.925 6.696 1.058 73.754

Negative Male 47.050 6.872 1.086 78 .325 .187

Self esteem Female 47.375 8.598 1.359 74.386

Total child Male 50.325 5.264 .832 78 3.600 2.246*

depression
Female 53.925 8.662 1.369 64.347

Table3: Child Depression by family profile N=80

CDI Family Type Caste Family Income

categories Nuclear Joint Extende Low Middle High Low Middle High
d

Non 35 16 10 21 15 25 15 32 14
Depressed (57.37) (26.23) (16.40) (34.42) (24.60) (40.98) (24.60) (52.45) (22.95)
n=61

Depressed 10 07 02 07 02 10 08 06 05
N=19 (52.63) (36.84) (10.53) (36.84) (10.53) (52.63) (42.10) (31.58) (26.32)

Figures in parentheses indicate percentage

 AN ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEM FOR INDEPENDENT NATIONAL
ELECTROAL COMMISSION (INEC) IN ZARIA KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA.

F.B Abdullahi
Department of Mathematics
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna-Nigeria

ABSTRACT
The aim of this Research is to design a web based system application for INEC for the conduct of chairmanship and councillorship elections in
Zaria local government Kaduna state Nigeria in order to reduce problems been faced by INEC with manual methods. The Research
examines the manual method of conducting election exercises and compares with the automated one and pointed out some advantages of
automated over manual method. One of the advantages of the designed automated (electronic voting system) is its ability to be run on a web
browser. Therefore, many voters who have access to internet through their personal computers can cast their vote within a very short period of
time. The research is implemented for INEC Nigeria, for the conduct of chairmanship and councillorship elections in Zaria Local
Government, Kaduna State. The study explores the use of open source software, web server is Apache extended with support for PHP and
MySQL.

Keywords: Electronic Voting System, INEC and Zaria.

1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was set up by Decree 17 of 1998 (now an ACT). It is made up of a
chairman and twelve National Electoral Commissioners, two from each of the six geopolitical zones. There is also a
secretary to the commission. Section 154 (3) of the 1999 constitution spells out the process which must be followed in
appointing members of the commission. The chairman and members of the commission are nominated by the president
in consultation with the council of state. The council of state is a body made up of past and present presidents, chief
justice and the state Governors [1]. The president then sends the names of successful nominees to the senate of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria for further screening and confirmation. The successful nominees are than sworn in by the
president [3].

STRUCTURE
In addition to the National Headquarters, there are a number of Departments and Directorates as well as the Electoral
Institute. INEC has offices in all the thirty six states, the FCT and 774 LGAs of the Federation. At the state level, the
offices are headed by president Electoral Commissioners (PECs) assisted by Administrative secretaries and other staff of
the commission. The Electoral Officers (E.Os) and Assistant Electoral Officers (A.E.O.s) are responsible for day to day
functioning of the offices at the LGA level but are subject to the directives of the RECS [2].

2. PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH MANUAL METHOD

There are a lot of problems faced by INEC while using the manual method. Some of these problems are as follows.
* Cost of the exercise: whenever an election is to be conducted manually, much money will be spent. This as a result of
the commission providing polling materials such as ballot papers, ballot boxes, ink and all necessary material for the
election exercise.
* Lack of security: There is lack of security in the manual method because sometimes militant attack the ballot boxes and
even the INEC officers who conducts the election thereby destructing the election exercise and causing inaccuracy in the
election result.
* Time consuming: The manual method is time consuming in the sense that the voters must be confirmed manually if
they are eligible for voting and filling the ballot paper for the election.
* Late arrival of polling materials: Incase of remote areas, election exercise may not start on time due to late arrival of
polling material.
* Delay in announcing the election result. Before the result of any election is announced, all the result will be counted
one after the other and accumulated. This take some days in case of presidential election.

2.1 OVERVIEW OF AUTOMATED VOTING SYSTEM

The world today has been taken over by computers. With the advent of computer, automation has become the order of
the day, replacing the manual method of doing things which include polling exercise (election exercise) .Though it has
been in used for some years, in most developed countries, this method is an approach to conduct election exercise
electronically.

Here also, the information needed by the manual method for conducting election is required too; but stored in an
electronic database with any other additional information that may be inputted by the software user.

3. MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Electronic voting system will be designed and implemented using MySQL as the database; Apache will be web
server to provide basic functionality of the web services.PHP will be used as scripting language to program the server
side that manipulates the knowledge in the database [4].

4. ARCHTECTURAL DESIGN
The factors considered in designing the Electronic voting system are accessibility with minimum requirements on the
user’s side. Due to large flow of information delivery over the Internet, the system is implemented as a standard Internet
application. The client side requires no more than standard Internet browser installed on the local computer, while the
main application functionality is assured by the server side. Figure1 illustrate Electronic voting System Architecture [4].
This includes, user interface made up of access services points (shown as client system below) at the remote site, a high
speed, highly reliable and scalable regional network and content management gateway with database server. This
architecture allow users to access the system via the Internet using hypertext transfer protocol and the user request is
transformed into a structured query language using a PHP common content management gateway, which in turn passes
it to the appropriate backend system. The common content management gateway provides a single point entry to the
system.

Client System Presentation

User B

Client System Client System

Content
Management
User A System
Apache User C

PHP

Relational
Database

DBMS Data Server

MySQL

Figure 1. Online system architecture

5. IMPLEMENTATION AND RESULT

Implementation involves method and process used in the system design and the delivery of the new system into
production. It simply means the conversion of a new system design into operation with entails creating compatible files,
installation of software and hardware, running program and training the user/state holders on how to use the system
designed
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
The system is developed on web server and HTML, with the aid of some browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Internet
explorers.
Stages of system development
 The various stages of system development are:
 Identification of data elements
 Table creation
 Creation of html and php pages for data entry and data extraction

Table 1 Voter Record

FIELD NAME DATATYPE DATA DECRIPTION
Citizen_id Number Citizen Number
User_id Number User Number
Password Varchar Password
first_name varchar First Name
middle_name varchar Middle Name
last_name Varchar Last Name
p_address Varchar Permanent address
State varchar State
Sex varchar Sex
6. AUTHENTICATION AND AUTHORIZATION

Authentication in Web services has to do with ensuring that the identity of a user cannot be forged

or altered. Hence, authentication focuses on the verification of the identity of voters. Put simply, the identities of voters
must be true and verifiable, where as authorization in the Web service context means ensuring that votes can be cast
only by authorized voter.

Figure 6 login page

This is the interface that enables user to login. In this interface, a link named signup is provided which, a user will click
on in order to sign up or register as a new user. The interface will take you to next page.

Figure 7 Registration form

This is the interface where a user can fill in the signup form .A user must fill in all the entries before the signing up will
be accepted. A user is advised to write down his/her citizen ID, user Registration ID and password.
Figure 8 Voter Form
Here the user will select the party he/she wants to vote for at the polling unit. Then a user will type in his/her citizen ID
cast the vote

Figure 5.ER model

The above ER- Model describes the entity types used and their various attributes and constraints.

7. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

As technology advances, particularly in the area of information and communication keep growing on daily basis, taking
advantage and keeping abreast of these technologies is a paramount concern to users for casting their vote. The research
work describes the Design and Implementation of an electronic voting system that can be used by voters to cast their
vote through computer. This will help to reduce many problems been faced when using manual method of election
exercises.

REFRENCES
[1]. Guidelines for Election Observation 2007 by INEC
[2]. INEC Directorates of political parties monitoring and liaison
[3]. Voter Education Handbook by INEC
[4]. Beginning php6, Apache, MySQL Web development
 THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF VOCATION TRAINING IN
TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA

Otuaga, O. Uviomo-Mayes
Department of Fine and Applied Arts,Federal College of Education (Technical)
Omoku,Rivers State,Nigeria

ABSTRACT
Vocational training can be defined as an instructions intended to equip person’s for industrial or commercial
occupations. It maybe obtained formally in trade schools, technical colleges and technical secondary schools or in
on-the job training programmes or more formally by picking up the necessary skills on the job. This will be an
approach to economic planning that attempt to foster economic growth in Nigeria. The focus of this paper is the
economic impacts of vocational training in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The paper gives a brief detail of
economic impacts of vocational training nationally and internationally. It also discusses the importance of
vocational training in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. It also gives the concept of vocational technical education for
sustainable development. The paper proffers invaluable suggestions on how the federal government should ensure
that the vocational technical education and training for self reliance, as a tool for national development.

INTRODUCTION
Advancement and sustainable development is a very vital issue in a global world.
Vocational training or education is focused on acquisition of individual skills and capability for
occupation; therefore all the vocational courses involved such as fine and applied arts,
agricultural science, Home economics, Automobile engineering and computer science. Just to
mention but a few, are packaged to provide knowledge and develop the skills of the future
youths for sustainable development. Technological development and advancement revolve
around a sound vocational/technical education programme (Bulus 1999:22). Contemporary
education globally, whether general or vocational, is very expensive therefore any rightful mind
will not envisage of wastage in education. The measure guarantee of eliminating wastage in
education and also eliminating the unemployment syndrome, is to provide adequate and
functional education especially when such education is vocational (preparation for helpful skill
occupation).it is mandatory for the government to preserve and propagate pure and undiluted
vocation course/skills whether her nation economy is so depressed or not, Sufficient attention
has not been given to educational sector especially vocational skills ,due to poor policy
implementation, certificated but poorly skill teaching force and In this regard the noticeable
lapses in policy implementation of vocational education/skills for sustainable development for
our future youths can be re-visited by gearing them into vocational skills, apprenticeship, and a
mandatory industrial attachment.
WHAT IS VOCATIONAL TRAINING?
Vocational training are instructions intended to equip person’s for industrial or
commercial occupations. It maybe obtained formally either in trade schools, technical Secondary
schools or in on –the Job training programmes or more informally by picking up the necessary
skills on the job.
Technological development and advancement revolved around a sound
vocational/technical education programme as cited by Otuaga, Mayes (2010) in (Bulus 1991:41)
vocational skills in schools is a relative modern development. Akaniwor (1988:41) observes that”
the bed rock of any technical break through is the existence of appropriate skill, abilities and
competence both mental and physical as equipment for the individual to live in the society is a
dynamic instrument of change” According to Bulus (1991:30).vocational technical education
involves the acquisition of skills and competences that can help individuals to function
productively in industries and commercial occupation. Until the 19th century such education,
except for the professions, was provided only by apprenticeship. This situation was partly due to
the low social status associated with such instructions as opposed to a classical curriculum which
was considered “necessary for a youth” with growth of individualization during the 19th century,
however, several European countries ,notably Germany, began introducing vocational education
in elementary and secondary schools. In Great Britain, however, opposition to vocational
education persisted into the 20th century. Although a few trade and junior technical schools were
established by local authorities before the world war ll. By the 19th century, public (common)
schools vocational education in he United states consisted of manual training and practical arts.
These programmes were generally expanded until 1917 when Federal aid was provided to public
schools for trade and industry.
THE IMPORTANCE OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN TARTIARY
INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA
Vocational technical education has played a vital role in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
Vocational technical education is about work and training for work.. Raymond (2007). One of
the goals of the technical and vocational education as documented in the National Policy on
Education (2004) is to give training and impart the necessary skills to individuals who shall be
self reliant. When this goal is adequately achieved, it would lead to a sustainable technological
development. Raymond, (2007). In this regards it will make vocational technical education and
training an interesting one by gearing the students towards self reliant to discourage
unemployment syndrome.
Self-reliant is one’s own efforts and abilities (Merrian, 2006). When somebody aquires skills in
any occupation, such person can establish his or her own business and even employ others.
Igweh (2008). such person is self reliant. Bassey (2009) declared self-reliance as that which pre-
supposes the attainment and autonomy without unnecessary resorting to begging or browning.
He opined that, “a self-reliant individual is one that achieves steady supply of his needs, one that
diversifies his resources to reduce dependency on other assistance “Thus, self-reliance
emphasizes growth and development and development in the life of a citizen, politically, socially
and economically.
Therefore, a man who is potently self-reliant will ensure an effective control of his resources
over national life for proper national development.eg Adenuga of GLO network. A country’s
well-being depends on its economic development Nwogu, (2009).Walter Rodwey an economist
in Igweh (2004), asserted that development in human society is many sided phenomenon which
is complex and means different thinkers. Musa (1985). In his view sees the concept of
development as an Euro-American term through culturally based, used to characterize the
relative standard of living of the people between the highly industrialized nations of the north
and the consumer impart dependent nations of the south.
Igweh (2008), stressed that the most suitable definition of development may be that which is
based on the experiences of he developing countries which is cited by seers in Igweh (2001). He
defined development in terms of reduction in the levels of poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment
and income inequality. However, Faladum, Omogiafor and Ezeaku (1999) in Nwogu (2009)
remark that “National development encompasses social and political development as well as
economic development which is defined as the attainment of a number of ideas of
modernization such as a rise in productivity social and economic equity improved institutions
and values”. Economic development is thus an important part of general development in any
society.
The main objective of economic development is to raise the standard of living and the
general well-being of the people in an economy where almost everybody can be self-reliant. It
involves changes in the structures of an economy that includes the following:
 Emphasis on developing manufacturing industries as opposed to agriculture;
 Movement of labour from rural to urban industrial areas and;
  Less reliance on imported goods in preference to home produced goods (eg made in
Federal republic of Nigeria products).

There are few types of technical and vocational training institutions; National policy on
Education recognized outside the university system. Yabam in Igweh(1997) stated that three
abroad classifications are recognized by the National Board for technical Education (NABTE)
They are vocational schools, technical colleges, colleges of education (technical) or polytechnics,
all the above listed are training institutions meant for the productions of graduates who shall be
self-reliant and contribute their quota for national development through instrument of vocational
technical education and training.
Indeed, vocational technical education and training in Nigeria according to Nwogu (2009)
“should emphasize entrepreneurship awareness for it to be relevant in achieving the national
educational aim of inculcating the right type of values and attitudes for survival of an individual
and Nigeria society” Enahoro (2008) in his concept said vocation training is utilitarianism and it
is a concept recoganizing the importance of labour. Therefore to train someone in his
appropriate field and for him to substantially contribute his quota to the overall good of the
nation, he or she has to pass through vocational technical education and training. It is an issue
that needs no further investigation to say that when and if it is good with a nation, it is also good
with its inhabitants and vice versa. In this regard, any nation or country that gives proper training
in one sided area of importance to her citizenry or gives improper training to people in all areas
of importance has nothing to gain. People are differently gifted and therefore, should be given
equal vocational technical education and training for self-reliance in the different occupational
areas. Nigeria should be such that people are trained for the different opportunities or openings
that abounds in the country, in compliance with the tedious task of giving suitable and proper
training to individuals for optimum productivity amongst others.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

These are instructions intended to equip person’s for industrial or commercial occupations.
It may be obtained formally in trade schools, technical secondary schools or in on-the job
training programmes or more informally by picking up the necessary skills on the job. Vocational
skills in schools are a relatively modern development.
THE PROSPECTS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN NIGERIA
Vocational technical education and job training has been an integral part of national
development strategies in many societies because of the impact on human resources
development, productivity and economic growth Dike (2007). Nigerians do not seem to accord
vocational technical education the attention it deserves despite its proven contributions in other
nations. Ibenneme (2007). It is important to observe that UNESCO & ILO (2002) comprehend
technical and vocational education to be in the following ways: -
- An instrument for promoting a perfect sustainable development amongst others. Indeed
every nation, especially developing countries are making efforts to develop industrially,
economically and technically. It is of vital importance to note that any kind of
developmental effort or initiatives requires human capital amongst others. The
development of human capital requires necessarily skilled human capital and appropriate
skills, right attitude and good knowledge of retrieving and processing by utilizing national
resources. The artisans, craftmen, technicians and technologies are adequately trained;
they will fit well in small scale enterprises, industries, colleges and universities Igweh
(2008). There will be less dependence of foreign technical personnel in our cottage and
main industries. Indigenous technology will be encouraged. There will be adequate
manpower to handle road maintenance, buildings, electrification, mechanical work, and
agriculture and computer services. In this regard, production capacity will be increased
while the import duties will be decreased.
 - It is a means of preparing the youths for occupational skills and for effective
participation nation wide.

- It is an aspect of long term learning and preparation for responsible citizenship.

CHALLENGES FACING VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN NIGERIA.

Some of the challenges facing vocational technical education are numerous, they are as follow:
- Poor elaboration of the practical aspects of vocational technical education as most
tertiary institutions in Nigeria charged with the responsibility to teach vocational
technical education courses today are poorly equipped with machines and relevant tools.

- Lack of skilled manpower

- Poor remuneration of vocational technical education.

- Lack of follow-up and continuity in government policies.

- Scarcity of vocational technical teachers

- Lack of adequate technical training facilities and modern equipment.

- Lack of entrepreneurship education in vocational technical education and training.

RECOMMENDATION / SUGGESTIONS
The clamour for technology for self-reliance and vision 20:2020 in Nigeria cannot be
realistic without the positive participation of the public and private sector for sustainable
development. There is need for government to build cottage industries where various vocational
skills could be learnt with minimal cost Otuaga Mayes. (2010:16). Thereafter in conjuction with
various financial institutions in the country, soft loans should be granted to the graduands for the
establishment of small scale industries.
Moreover, the youths should have intrinsic motivation, There is dignity in labour.
Awareness programmes should be organized for the youths at regular intervals on the need to
acquire vocational skills for sustainable development.
There should be a consistent policy framework, backed by legislation that makes it
mandatory for some percentage of the annual budget for the various levels of vocational
technical education training institutions.
The federal government should ensure that the vocational technical education and
training for self reliance is a tool for national development, and teachers preparatory
programmes should be supported and serving teachers adequately remunerated. No nation can
develop more than the standard of her teachers. Training and re-training of teachers in
vocational education is paramount, for pragmatic development to take place in Nigeria. Teachers
of vocational courses should be sponsored to attend both nationally and internationally
workshops and conferences to enable them be abreast of the modern technological world.

CONCLUSION
The 21st century weather is bright for Nigerian Youths who are equipped with vocational
skills. Sufficient attention should be given to educational sector especially vocational skills. In
this regards the noticeable lapses in policy implementation of vocational education / skills for
sustainable development for our future generations can be revisited by gearing them into
vocational skills and a compulsory industrial attachment.

REFERENCES

Akaniwor, K.I. (1988) “Instructional Materials in Vocational Education”. A paper presented at the 6th
Annual Conference of the Vocational Association, University of Uyo.
Bassey, I.E. (2009) Recreating Primary Education for Patriotism and Self-Reliant: “Implication for teacher
education”. Journal of qualitative education 5 (1) 7-11).
Bulus, F. (1991) Guidance practice in Schools. Jos: Ehindero (Nigeria) Ltd.
Dike, V.E. (2007) “Vocational Education missing link in Nigeria’s Development Policy” Retrieved on
June 12th 2012 from: http://www.countrysides.us/Nigeria/56.htm.
Enahoro, N.I. (2008) “Technical and Vocational Education for Productivity and Sustainable development in
Nigeria”. International Journal of research 1 (1 & 2) 102-107
Efajemue, O.O. and Otuaga, O.U, (2010) “The need to equip youths with vocational skills For
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 A WEB-BASED APPLICATION FOR BULK SMS SOLUTION

F.B Abdullahi and S. Suleiman

Department of Mathematics,
Áhmadu Bello University,
Zaria Nigeria.

ABSTRACT
Sharing of information is critical for communicating with individuals, corporate bodies and organizations. As
technology advances, particularly in the area of information and communication keep growing on daily basis,
taking advantage and keeping abreast of these technologies is a paramount concern to users. The proposed
application will provides bulk SMS solution as a communication medium for clients in fulfilment of their specific
needs. It will enable clients to send text message to pre-define individuals, groups or corporate bodies via the
internet at a reduced cost. The application web page was developed using HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
and deployed on Apache Friends Edition XAMPP Basis Package version 1.7.3 (a server) the application can be
access using a local host URL. The SMS solutions work live on online mode via internet connection.

Keywords: web-based application and Bulk SMS solution.

1 Introduction

Short Message Service (SMS) is the text communication service component of phone, web, or
mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the
exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices. SMS text
messaging is the most widely used data application in the world, with 2.4 billion active users, or
74% of all mobile phone subscribers. The term SMS is used as a synonym for all types of short
text messaging as well as the user activity itself in many parts of the world.

SMS as used on modern handsets was originated from radio telegraphy in radio memo pagers
using standardized phone protocols and later defined as part of the Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM) series of standards in 1985 as a means of sending messages of up to
160 characters, to and from GSM mobile handsets. Since then, support for the service has
expanded to include other mobile technologies such as ANSI CDMA networks and Digital
AMPS, as well as satellite and landline networks. Most SMS messages are mobile-to-mobile text
messages though the standard supports other types of broadcast messaging as well. (Source: From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia: http://www.sms.com )
2.1. History

Fig 1.SMS messages sent monthly in USA (billion)

Historical Background
The technical development of SMS was a multinational collaboration supporting the framework
of standards bodies, and through these organizations the technology was made freely available to
the whole world. This is described and supported by evidence in the following sections.

The first proposal which initiated the development of SMS was made by a contribution of
Germany and France into the GSM group meeting in February 1985 in Oslo. This proposal was
further elaborated in GSM subgroup WP1 Services (Chairman Martine Alvernhe, France
Telecom) based on a contribution from Germany. There were also initial discussions in the
subgroup WP3 network aspects chaired by Jan Audestad (Telenor). The result was approved by
the main GSM group in a June '85 document which was distributed to industry. The input
documents on SMS had been prepared by Friedhelm Hillebrand (Deutsche Telekom) with
contributions from Bernard Ghillebaert (France Télécom).

SMS was considered in the main GSM group as a possible service for the new digital cellular
system. In GSM document "Services and Facilities to be provided in the GSM System", both mobile-
originated and mobile-terminated short messages appear on the table of GSM teleservices.

The discussions on the GSM services were concluded in the recommendation GSM 02.03
"TeleServices supported by a GSM PLMN". Here a rudimentary description of the three services was
given:

1. Short message Mobile Terminated (SMS-MT)/ Point-to-Point: the ability of a network to

transmit a Short Message to a mobile phone. The message can be sent by phone or by a
software application.
2. Short message Mobile Originated (SMS-MO)/ Point-to-Point: the ability of a network to
transmit a Short Message sent by a mobile phone. The message can be sent to a phone or
to a software application.
3. Short message Cell Broadcast.

The material elaborated in GSM and its WP1 subgroup was handed over in Spring 1987 to a new
GSM body called IDEG (the Implementation of Data and Telematic Services Experts Group),
which had its kickoff in May 1987 under the chairmanship of Friedhelm Hillebrand (German
Telecom). The technical standard known today was largely created by IDEG (later WP4) as the
two recommendations GSM 03.40 (the two point-to-point services merged together) and GSM
03.41 (cell broadcast).

WP4 created a Drafting Group Message Handling (DGMH), which was responsible for the
specification of SMS. Finn Trosby of Telenor chaired the draft group through its first 3 years, in
which the design of SMS was established. DGMH had about five to eight participants, and Finn
Trosby mentions as major contributors Kevin Holley, Eija Altonen, Didier Luizard and Alan
Cox. The first action plan mentions for the first time the Technical Specification 03.40
“Technical Realisation of the Short Message Service”. Responsible editor was Finn Trosby. The
first and very rudimentary draft of the technical specification was completed in November 1987.
However, drafts useful for the manufacturers followed at a later stage in the period. A
comprehensive description of the work in this period is given in.

The work on the draft specification continued in the following few years, where Kevin Holley of
Cellnet (now Telefonica O2 UK) played a leading role. Besides the completion of the main
specification GSM 03.40, the detailed protocol specifications on the system interfaces also
needed to be completed.
3. Materials and Methods
A Web-based application of Bulk SMS solution will be designed and implemented using using an
open source solution such as Apache friends’ edition XAMPP Basic Package version 1.7.3 as
web server with extended support for MySQL and HTML.

4. Bulk SMS

Large amount of SMS messages sent at the same time is referred to as bulk SMS. Using web-
interface or desktop application, one can reach large audiences, groups or individuals almost
instantly via internet connected to computer. SMS is the only medium that enables almost
instantaneous notification of a targeted group of people, regardless of their location! Bulk SMS
application could be deployed for:

 Wedding Invitation
 Birthday Invitation
 Meeting Notification


Political Awareness/ Campaign
Special Seasons Greetings

 Student groups communicate important information or reminders quickly.

 Religious bodies can communicate more personally with its members and share spiritual
thoughts daily.

5. Architecture of Web Application

Relational Database
(MySQL)
Database Tier

Web Middle ware

server(Apache, PHP, ASP
Middle Tier IIS)

Web browser (Internet

Explorer Firefox)

Client Tier

Fig. 2 Architecture of Web Application

Applications are usually broken into logical chunks called "tiers", where every tier is assigned a
role. Traditional applications consist only of 1 tier, which resides on the client machine, but web
applications lend themselves to an n-tiered approach by nature. Though many variations are
possible, the most common structure is the three-tiered application. In its common form, the
three tiers are called presentation, application and storage.
Client: A web browser is the first tier (presentation), an applications developed with MySQL
and PHP that make use of a single client. This is not the only possibility for internet based
applications, so the only client one should be concerned with is the web browser.

Middleware: An engine using some dynamic Web content technology (such as ASP-Active
Server Pages, ASP.NET, CGI-Common Gateway Interface, ColdFusion, JSP/Java, PHP, Perl,Python,
Ruby on Rails or Struts2) is the middle tier (application logic). PHP is used since it belongs to a
class of language known as middleware. It works closely with the web server to interpret the
request from the web.

Database: A database is the third tier (storage). This is provided by MySQL. The web browser
sends requests to the middle tier, which services them by making queries and updates against the
database and generates a user interface.

6. Result and Discussion

Database and File Specifications

The database was designed using PHP and MySQL. In MySQL, records are stored in the table
created that are representation of files. The specification of the table is as follows:

Table1 SMS Record

Field Name Data Type/Value Description

ID INTEGER(10) Auto Increment of number sms sent
PHONE NUMBERS VARCHAR(1000) Phone number(s) of sms recipient(s)
MESSAGE VARCHAR(1000) Content of sms sent
REMARKS VARCHAR(1000) Delivery message

7. System Implementation

The implementation involves the integration of different technologies to actualize the desired
system. The main goal being put forward while designing the system is its simple accessibility
with minimum requirements on the user’s side. Due to large flexibility of information delivery
over the internet, the system is implemented as a standard internet application. The client side
requires no more than the standard internet browser installed on the local computer while the
main application functionality is assured by the server side.

The main objective of the system is to develop and implement a Web- based Bulk SMS Solution
for user. Web applications are by nature distributed applications, that is, one part of the
application is executed on the web server while another runs on the client computer within a
web browser window.

The implementation begins by writing the code for the project, then program the code. The
program and the web contents are stored in a folder. The folder is hosted on XAMPP in a hard
drive. Application starts when launch a web browser (IE or Firefox) and types in web address
(URL) e.g. 127.0.0.1/sms or local host/sms and press enter button, the web browser sends this
in a so called http request to the web server. If the web server receives a request for a static
HTML file (i.e. .html or .htm file extension), it merely locates the corresponding file and sends it
back to the computer that had requested it. But, if the web server receives a request for dynamic
files (such as .php, .asp, .jsp etc) it locates the Php file, parses and executes its contents and
displays them on the web page.

Since the application is meant for sending SMS message one need to subscribe for Bulk SMS
from vendor (e.g. Kullsms, SMS Solution, SMSLive247.com etc). This can be done by registering
with any Bulk SMS vendor as agent/reseller or user.

After registration, an account is created for the member who can access the Bulk SMS by making
payment at their designated banks account through any payment mode (ATM, cash, check etc).
The value of the Bulk SMS purchased is credited to the subscriber’s account for use. The bulk
SMS used for this research work was subscribed from SMSLive247.com powered by iDevWorks
Technologies Services.

Fig 4.1 Home Page

This display the full page of the Bulk SMS Solution

Fig. 4.2: Menu Link

When clicked takes one to the figure display below

Fig. 4.3 Send SMS Block

Display where to enter the phone number (s) of intended SMS recipient (s) with a message in
message text area has shown in the fig below then click send message.
Fig 4.4 sent message display
After clicking send message and the message is sent, the delivery message confirming that the
message has been sent successfully is displayed.
8. Summary and Conclusion
This work focuses on increasing the importance of integrating SMS platform into organisation
that has web site. Bulk SMS solution provides a variety of SMS message catering for all business
needs in order to enable easy two-way communication with clients on an individual or bulk basis.
The platform makes use of direct links into local as well as international networks and gateways.
We have several SMPP links with all the local GSM Networks (MTN, Airtel, Glo and etisalat),
which enables large volumes of SMS, EMS and MMS messages to be sent immediately on
request. Bulk SMS is a web based application that combines the proven technologies of desktop
computers and the internet platforms, allowing one to maintain and send sms messages at the
click of a button.SMS Gateway allows for easy integration of various API's to connect the client
computer applications with the GSM networks over the internet.
5.2 Conclusion
Bulk SMS is an application designed to provide SMS communications system for clients in the
fulfilments of their specific needs. SMS solution can be fully integrated with existing systems and
databases. It can provide an audit trail of network delivery reports and traffic volume and can
design analysis tables that best fit their exact requirements. Bulk messaging is a cost effective
marketing and communication tool for both large and small businesses. Users are reporting an
excellent response to messages sent.

References

[1] Benslimane, Djamal; Schahram Dustdar, and Amit Sheth (2008). "Services Mashups: The
New Generation of Web Applications". IEEE Internet Computing, vol. 12, no. 5. Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers. pp. 13–15.

[2] Beynon-Davies P. (2009). Business Information Systems. Palgrave, Basingstoke. ISBN 978-0-230-
20368-6

[3] Blanchard, B. S., & Fabrycky, W. J.(2006) Systems engineering and analysis (4th ed.) New Jersey:
Prentice Hall. p.31

[4] Cummings, Haag (2006). Management Information Systems for the Information Age. Toronto,
McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

[5] Finn Trosby, "the strange duckling of GSM SMS", Telektronikk Vol.3 2004.

[6] Friedhelm Hillebrand "GSM and UMTS, the creation of Global Mobile Communication",
Wiley 2002, chapters 10 and 16, ISBN 0470 84322 5.

[7] Geoffrey Elliott & Josh Strachan (2004) Global Business Information Technology. p.87.
[8] Gil Held: "Data over Wireless Networks". page 105-111, 137–138. Wiley, 2001.

[9] Hillebrand, Trosby, Holley, Harris: SMS the creation of Personal Global Text Messaging,
Wiley 2010.

[10] Ian Groves: "Mobile Systems", page 70, 79, 163–166. Chapman & Hall, 1998.

[11] Post, G., & Anderson, D., (2006). Management information systems: Solving business problems with
information technology. (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
 HUMAN RELATIONS CONCEPT: A DYNAMIC APPROACH TO ACHIEVING
EFFECTIVE GOALS IN SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION.

Ugwulashi, Chima Sebastine and Archibong, Florence Imaobong

Department of Educational Management
University of Port Harcourt
Nigeria

Abstract
The emergence of human relations concept in practical administration generally brought about changes in
organizational management structure. Eventually, this realization has led to creative thinking and bridging
various lacunas copiously seen in many organizational lives. The application of human relations approach has
helped many organizations to survive in face of tiny resources today .Most organizational success can amply be
linked to the degree of human relations approach adopted in the management of organization human resources.
This paper therefore, viewed the human relations conceptualization as good breath in resource development and
effective management process in all organizations including school organization by taking an overview appraisal of
the concept, its importance, discussion, summary, recommendations and references.

Keywords: Human relations, Concept, Achieving, Effective goals, School Administration.

Introduction
The conceptualization of human relations idea in management studies is often seen as
embedded into the organization theoretical model which guides and helps to explain patterns of
regularities in total organization life. Human relations approach is viewed clearly as an
organization theoretical model in its own perspective that enhanced the human feelings while in
organization. Nevertheless, theory generally tries to bring out the intrigue guide to the study of
phenomena and therefore, serves three functions in administration: - it enables general model for
analytical reasoning, point of reference and decision making (Hoy & Miskel, 2008). The reference
of administrative theory as effectively describing phenomena has led to an increased
understanding of many concepts, generalizations and agreements and establishing administrative
frameworks in human relations model as practiced by administrators today.
The development of organization perception on human management has changed
because formal and informal aspect of organizational thinking according to human relations
school must be merged together in pursuit of the set out goals through adequate decision
making. Herbert Simon proposition on proper decision making is absolutely important in
organizational development process. With this departure from the scientific management
thought, the cooperative efforts of individual member are fully harnessed for effective group
goal achievement through integration of formal, informal and decision making method in the
organization. This concept provides effective tool to motivate performance in organization
based on Mary Parker Follett’s value and premise which beliefs that democratic procedures
are the best means to achieve individual fulfilment within groups, because only through them
would all participants feel both involved and responsible (Babcock,1998).
The classical and neoclassical organizational model tends to occasion doubt on human
substance in organizational life. Their consideration as it were, lent itself to appreciating human
efforts like machines. They rely mostly on formalization aspects of organization alienating the
human angle or informal grouping as facilitating factor in accomplishing organization goal. The
height of this period became the dehumanization era when viewed from the processes involved
in this type of organizational model from management perception of the workers.
 The industrial revolution in place aided in relative terms to contribute, but no
organization can be effective without the human elements, even, the classical thinkers themselves
formed part of the human elements but alienate the workers because of maximization of profit.
All these are based on the essence of over utilization and marginalization of work force to
enhance more production of goods and services by obviously equating man to machines.
The consideration of human importance in the system was not much paramount in the
classic assumptions of Taylor (1856-1915) father of scientific management as later viewed by the
behaviourial science school. The mechanistic man was de-emphasized by the introduction of
industrial psychology into organization management by the behaviourists. They see human needs
as crucial in stimulating better work environment and relationship in achieving increased
productivity which hitherto, was constrained by deteriorated work conditions that kills morale
and efficiency.
The human relations idea widen the views of many that people need to work with
freedom as to meet their needs as well as organization needs leading to increased productivity.
This effort was supported further by the works of Maslow (Need hierarchy), Herzberg (Two
factor theory), Mac Gregory (theory X and Y), Simon (decision making process), Vroom
(valance – expectancy- instrumentality) and many others have eroded the machine man idea ,
giving way to the human that has needs to be met by the organization in course of pursuing
organizational goal.
The emergence of human relations concept in administrative literature has energized and
legitimatized the feelings that really human beings constitute the life of every organization. The
Hawthorne studies pioneered by Elton Mayo (1880 -1949) and impeccable ideas by Mary Parker
Follett (1868–1933) laid a strong emphasis on the influence of human relations within the group
(Babcock, 1998). Babcock further upheld that her analyses did not yield a step-by-step method of
management; rather they were her reflections on how best to organize group efforts by
recognizing the abiding truths of how human beings interact with each other. This process leads
to results accomplishment in organization as such relationships create opportunity for
knowledge sharing in solving organization problems.
Eventually, this concept has gained ground virtually in all management or administrative
studies (Hoy & Miskel, 2008, Armstrong, 2003; Luthans, 2005). Also important is Follett (1868 –
1933) noble emphasis that the universal goal of every organization involves an articulated,
integrated and mutualized member’s effort in collective performance to achieving responsible
goal. At this point, leadership seeks to know why employee act differently and what motivates
their action at work. Infact, this turn around facilitates hegemonic relationships that propelled
efficient individual role performance and effective group goal achievement and maintenance.
Reference to Follett’s three notable conceptualizations, the workers is allowed to take
appropriate decisions concerning them; workplace to be very dynamic and supervisory tasks to
emphasize socio psychological relationship in the organization. These Follett’s basic propositions
brought about the need for good interpersonal relations often emphasized as propelling force in
organization group goal achievement (Ukeje & Okorie, 1999; Mullins, 2005; Obasi & Oluowo,
2008). The Hawthorne studies provided new conceptual views on workers as an integral part of
organizational success. This congenial state enhanced productivity amongst work group; making
it necessary that organization cannot perform without good human relations especially the
school system which is not an absolute profit making organization.
The school is conceptually an open social system with five important sub systems; the
structural, the individual, the cultural, the political and the pedagogical (Hoy & Miskel, 2008), is
primarily involved in teaching and learning. Based on achieving this statutory task of teaching
and learning in a diverse situation, there must be good synergy of school members’ efforts in
performing specified activities towards accomplishment of set out goals of education. To this
end, the good part of people is often required for effective administrative performance. Deming
(1993) cited in Mullins (2005) sees organization as a system with aim or purpose which precedes
the organizational system and the people working in it. This supposed to be the stand for every
social organization because the people are the organization. The organizational leaders cannot
perform without soliciting the cooperation of the people.
The administrator harmonizes appropriately both task and human relationship in order
to gain the confidence of the members (Obasi & Oluwuo, 2005; Mullins, 2005) because the
system must be defined in terms of the aim, not in terms of methods. When the whole system is
optimized, everybody wins. Any less than optimization of the whole system means eventual loss
to everyone (Deming, 1993). Based on this, the leader must assess the organization political
background and building significant relationship channeled towards meeting simultaneously the
set out goals and individual needs.
In achieving this aim, the administrator needs to foster this relationship to encourage
intellectual stimulations among staff in effectively discharging right academic contents to the
pupils. In schools as a social system, human relations have an important role in facilitating
results. The view and expectations about people determines the good and real understanding in a
rationalized manner, because relationship in schools must not be based on morality alone, if the
quality of education is to be maintained as other cultural and sociological factors contribute to
effective promotion of school climate. .
The type of school leaders in place determines the quality of interpersonal relationships
existing in the system. This follows that the “do it now or never” leaders are not good
administrators and “never real achievers” (Okorie, 1999). The strategic importance of the school
in achieving quality teaching and learning propels the emphasis clinical approach in supervisory
and inspectoral practices as it brings out the real people to achieve the expected specific and
measurable goals. School designated goals, are realized through collegiate relationship between
the head, staff, students and community.
To facilitate and get good result, good leaders do not achieve in isolation. It involves
total inclusion of tact and approaches that pulls conceited and collective efforts of all members
towards system management. Team spirit helps to foster development and growth through
proper capacity building leading to increased morales, identification and belongingness in
organization (Okorie, 1999, Mullins, 1999, Armstrong, 2003).
Many scholars and practionners condemned the dictatorial system of administration
where managers or administrators create empires around them and deploy coercive approach of
leadership in soliciting for the efforts of organization members. The reward and punishment tool
used by many administrators in trying to effect compliance in their organization is absolutely
unproductive if applied in school system cannot survive, since the much needed efforts cannot
be harnessed through coercion, but supportive appeal to staff members so that they can
cooperatively pass the real academic substances to the students.
All these follow the contemporary idea of no one best way to facilitating support. The
education laws (edicts) in various places do not so much provide the school administrators much
power. The administrators are only empowered by law to make recommendations to the schools
board that takes decisive measures. The spirit of the law also prohibits actions that are
dehumanizing in all circumstances as well as misconceptions of the interest of the school, hence,
the need for effective human relations in school organization.
Educational leadership is not simple task. The school leaders must understand the
administrative principles as it affects the day to day running of the school. In as much as it
stands, staff integration in the internal school administration is an appropriate tool to achieve
qualitative educational goal. It obviously improves curriculum and instructional development as
good supervisory and inspectoral practices leads to qualitative teaching and learning. The
cooperation of subordinates is not achieved coercively, they pledge their loyalty only to those
leaders who understand the importance of their effort in propelling the administrative
mechanism of the organization. This supports the assertion that loyalty is only given by
subordinates as they think leader is worthy of it (Newman, 1997:p.135).
 Leadership takes care of effective recognition of organizational members feelings and
interest and that good leader requires to act within the limits of human relations rules guiding
the corporate existence of the system, because poor management of staff often result to
resistance to rules, policies and procedures, thus sterility of organization purpose and goals. The
need for good policies is imperative and evidently noted as good human relations. Poor
relationship has led to many strike actions in Nigerian schools due to poor management by the
local, state and federal government paralyzing academic activities; all these epitomize poor
relations by both military and political leaders managing the educational sector.
The school administrators need to maintain a good working climate for their staff,
student and community as to promote school growth and maintenance. The learners see the
uncooperative attitude of the administrator as an impediment in school success. Therefore as
Newman (1997:p.115) points out “success in life depends upon the support and help of other
people. No one makes it alone”. This is obvious as the school primarily exist for formal teaching
and learning to bring about behaviourial change of learners for individual and societal benefits. It
requires a good atmosphere to flourish even as Hoy and Miskel (2008) noted power and politics
play a lot in the school system but it must not be such that will damage the academic life of the
learners. Both are required to facilitate results in many perspectives when appropriately applied
in managing a social system. The school leader is for the interest of all and cannot work
effectively by allowing the elements of power and politics to affect their decisions unlike other
organizations because the school is delicate system that can make or destroy a nation.
Organization Concept of Human Relations
The dream of any organization is an effective leadership process to accomplish their
needs and goals. Though, it is difficult to have uniform organizational leadership pattern.
Charisma, modesty, humane approach, fairness, equity, qualification, age, education and
professional development and quality style applications among several traits that differentiate
one organizational leadership from another.
Successful organization must require good leadership and the leader shows willing to pull
the resources together. Akomolafe (2008) maintains that "an organization needs leaders with
both strong and good characteristics, people who will guide them to the future and show that
they can be trusted″. Following this idea, an organization success depends on trustful leadership
approach towards cooperatively embracing all the members into organizational goal achieving
process.
Trust builds confidence on people and leaders accomplish tasks easily when
subordinates have trust on them because of their actions. Akomolafe (2008) similarly suggested
that ″one way of the ways to build trust is to display a good sense of character composed of
beliefs, values, skills and traits. Organizational success is a measure of human relations practice in
place that enables the subordinates to buy the vision of the organization leaders.
Human Relations Concept in School Administration.
It is quite obvious that the leader is exerciser of tact and diplomacy (Newman, 1997),
based on this he stressed that you “don’t lead your team with a whip, give them a dream and
help them reach it”. The implication is that good leader must be visionary and capable of
integrating the organization as a whole by recognizing the importance of the people in the
system. .Human relations applications is necessary in school administration because it implicitly
or explicitly express the kind of commitment envisaged that determines the compatibility of
members and the head of the school on one hand and the school and education board on the
other hand in favourably achieving the expected educational result. It nurses the school
commitment in creating conditions favourable to exploit the potentialities of school community
members which includes staff, students and the larger community in pursuance of the need to
achieve school goals.
Human relations proponents see the school organizations as people orient as such
people constitute the network which demands cooperative efforts to meeting the set out goals.
In other hand, the exposition academically and otherwise of the school administrator may often
than not contribute to the quality of interpersonal relationship existing in the school. In holding
this resolve, administrative styles adopted by administrators greatly determine the degree of
cordial relationship that may exist between leaders and subordinates. Subordinates are interested
on leaders with visionary ideas, concepts and relative capacity to carry them along the
organization mission and vision and not that of the leader alone.
However, administrators can create conflict through misapplication of style in running of
activities. Conflict arises when the role exhibited is incompatible with the subsisting established
procedures, roles, rules or regulations. Resistance is the resultant effect when this situation arises.
The system suffers when leaders and subordinates are in running battles owing to poor
relationship. Even though, the administrator has all the skills, knowledge, experience and tact in
leadership, he must have a complete built team to pilot the school activities to fruition.
Conflicts arising from poor human relationship abate time management creating poor
school climate for accomplishment of tasks and goals. To secure students, staff and community
cooperative efforts for proper teaching and learning to take place, administrators must
understand the implications of good human relations in the entire school administration. The
end result of education is meeting societal expectations through provision of qualitative skills on
the students that make them worthy citizens. In essence, human relations involve the skills or
capabilities to effectively work with and through other people in the group or organization.
Management is about human being that is people constitute the central part of every social
system. It requires conceited efforts to exclusively generate awareness of human rights, feelings
and teamwork, in ameliorating increased diversity evident in the workplace.
Good human relations in the school facilitate good teaching and learning as staff and
students are equally integrated into the system. An administrator adopting human relations skill
appropriately leads the school to academic height. Conflicts are prevented to large extent by
deploying discretion in managing subordinates. This very aspect of human relations essentially
pilots easy accomplishment of tasks, whereas poor relations disintegrate school management; the
very essence of organizational politics and power (Hoy & Miskel, 2008:p.247).
Good human relations helps to decrease personal stress and complication involved in
decision making since subordinates are involved in the identification and solving of the school
problem, thus group dynamics. Kossen (1994) emphasis on group dynamics portends the ways
in which groups must operate—is a cornerstone in the study of human relations. Sagepub (2011)
pointed out ‘its task is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their strengths
effective and their weaknesses irrelevant’’ and further upheld that human relations theory is
about “humanization as technique rather than mechanical contraptions." In light of this,
administrators to harness the benefit of this concept, organization members should not be
considered as isolates in whatever circumstance rather seek their cooperative effort for efficient
and effective participation in enhancing good performance level. As Okeke (1982) noted that
A climate of impersonality between the principals and their subordinates at the
secondary school level is an unwholesome situation and does not augur well for effective
administration. Where there is much pressure on the teachers to perform their duties
without corresponding regard for their individuality, concern and growth, the human
element in such an organization stands neglected. Where this one happens the
subordinates are unlikely to give their best. For effective leadership cum
administration, therefore, a high combination of consideration and initiating structure
characteristics should be exhibited by the principals. p63.

The above expression further seeks to suggest the need for human relations practice in
school internal administration. This postulation enables good administrators to get the support
and commitment of staff for efficient and effective delivery of planned curriculum contents.
Analogically, the school if regarded as a human factory; its products be adequately prepared for
 quality in meeting the common needs of the society through a just in time approach.
Administrators, staff and students must accept the fact that knowledge acquired is for societal
good, and it’s not a personal benefit.
Summary: Even though, we sought for good human relations practice in the school,
administrators must be cautioned of the fact that the school is not a personal or family business.
It is a formal social system. The school head is appointed to control administrative and
curriculum implementation through proper teaching and learning so that the goal of education is
realized. It must not be embedded by elements of favouritism, nepotism or other unwholesome
practices in pretext of putting human relations in practice rather than theorizing. As Max Weber
noted that for organization to be effective it must be rendered completely impersonal and
rational.
Based on these, school administrators to function efficiently and the school to effectively
pursue its academic excellence, there must be in place concept of bureaucracy, as this in a way
helps to control favouristic and nepotic acts as practiced by some administrators. In view of this,
human relations practice should not turn the administrator as "Father Christmas″ or becoming
indecisive not to hurt anybody. Everybody must work appropriately to carry out the proper
academic contents to the students as to build confidence on the system.
Recommendations: The followings are recommended for efficient and effective human
relations practice and performance by school administrators:
i) Principalship position should not be left in the hands of quack that do not have the
requisite idea of the teaching profession and educational administrative and managerial
skills. A good school administrator must be conversant with pedagogical methodology
and in constant research in administrative studies.
ii) Principals should be trained on leadership or administrative skills through well thought
out courses on educational management from recognized university.
iii) Principals should be professional developed through in- service, workshops, and
seminars and other pedagogical processes with their teachers to acquire new ideas,
approaches and humanistic skills of managing people.
iv) Principals should always offer helping hands to their staff, and show equal concern for
the task and relationship in the internal school management.
v) There should be consideration of human factor by principals while carrying out their
daily duties as human facilitates system goals realization.
References.
Akomolafe, C. O. (2008).Human Behaviour in Organization: Lagos: Premier Publishers
Armstrong, M. (2003). A handbook on Human resource management practice 9th edition. London: Kogan
Page.
Babcock, M. (1998). Book Review Mary Parker Follett—Prophet of management: A Celebration of
Writings from the 1920. Evanston: Symphony Orchestra Institute. Retrieved from www.soi.org
Hoy, W.K. and Miskel, C.G. (2008). Educational Administration: Theory, Research, and Practice 8th
edition.New York: McGraw Hill Companies.
Human Relations. Retrieved from www. Mcgraw-hill.com
Igwe, L.E.B. (1999). Fundamentals of School Community Relations Management: Political and Legal
Dimensions. Choba, Port Harcourt, Pam Unique Pub.
Luthans, F. (2005).Organizational Behaviour, 10th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Mullins, L.J. (1999). Management and Organizational behaviour 5th edition. United Kingdom: Pearson
Education
Mullins, L.J. (2005). Management and Organizational behaviour 7th edition. United Kingdom: Pearson
Education
Newman, B. (1997). 10 Laws of Leadership. Benin City: Marvellous Christian Publications.
Obasi, F.N. & Oluwuo, S.O. (2008).Effective School Administration.Owerri: Alphabet Nigeria
Publishers.
Okeke, C.C. (1982). The Relationship Between Some Principal Leadership Styles And Staff Task Performance
In Secondary Schools in Anambra State.Universtiy of Nigeria, Research Publications.
Okorie, N.C. (1999). Organizational Setting of Leadership.Bori: Fredsbary Printers and Publishers.
Kossen, S. (1994).The Human Side of Organizations .New York: Harper Collins
Sage pub (2011). Human relations Theory and People Management. Retrieved from Sagepub.com
Sagnak, Mesut (2010). The Relationship between Transformational School Leadership and Ethical Climate.
Retrieved from http://readperiodicals 20100/2040416891
Ukeje, B.O. & Okorie, N.C. (1990). Leadership in Educational Organization.Ozuoba: Pam Unique
Publishing Company.
 THE STATE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
INFRASTRUCTURE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA

Salawu Abideen Alamu

Economic Policy Research Department (EPRD), Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic
Research (NISER), PMB 5, UI Post Office, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Abstract
Science and technology (S&T) education is crucial to the achievement of socio-economic development of any society
and also a critical element in the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Standard
laboratories and equipments as well as reagents are S&T infrastructures essential for providing qualitative
education for producing national technological manpower. This study evaluates the condition of S&T
infrastructures in the Nigerian secondary schools. The study utilises primary data collected from public and private
secondary schools across the six geo-political zones in the country. Findings show that there are inadequate
teachers, laboratories and necessary equipment for teaching S&T related subjects in most of the secondary schools
in Nigeria. Also, electricity supply from the national grid to secondary schools is poor because only 30% of them
have light at most 4hours a day. The study therefore recommends the provision of adequate funds and electricity
generators for these institutions to enhance the teaching and overall development of S&T education in Nigeria. In
addition, adequate and qualified personnel (teachers and laboratory technicians) should be provided while good
maintenance culture and improved security of laboratories and equipment in secondary schools should be imbibed
by all secondary schools in the country.

Keywords: Science and technology, infrastructure, Nigeria

INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background to the Study
Science and Technology (S&T) has been globally recognised as major instrument of economic
development and social transformation. As a result, every nation has continued to pursue S&T
knowledge in order to remain relevant in a globalised world economy. A major source of S&T
knowledge and skills are educational institutions at all levels. The purpose of education is to
generate and apply knowledge resulting in improvements in science and technology, while the
S&T infrastructures required for knowledge generation and the attendant learning processes are
the lifeline of the educational system. The state of available S&T infrastructures in educational
institutions is a determinant factor of the capacity of the educational system to produce the
requisite human capital necessary for achieving competitive economy and social transformation.

The production of adequate and competent technological manpower is a major challenge in

Nigerian education industry. The education industry in the country has been battling with
various aspects of infrastructure development challenges for improving the quality of education
and expanding access. The various government efforts to improve infrastructure in educational
institutions include construction of classrooms, lecture halls, laboratories and staff quarters as
well as supply of water and electricity to improve quality of education and manpower
production.
This study examines the condition of S&T infrastructure in secondary schools in Nigeria. The
study aims to contribute to the attainment of Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020 and socio-economic
transformation agenda currently pursue by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN).

1.2. Problem Statement

It is generally acknowledged that the delivery of education in Nigeria has suffered from many
years of neglect. This led to frequent industrial actions by trade unions in educational institutions
and students unrests caused by discontent arising from poor state of educational infrastructure.
Again, the various efforts to address the challenges of educational infrastructure include
establishment of model schools, creation of specialised colleges, establishment of new public and
private secondary schools. Other efforts included the establishment of specialised funding
support for infrastructure from donor agencies and local institutions such as the Education Trust
Fund (ETF) and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) among others. The extent
to which these mechanisms support or contribute to the development of S&T infrastructure in
the educational system has been unclear.

In addition, investment in S&T infrastructure still remain a factor not raised to the forefront
when considering issues of educational development in Nigeria, and where it does, such
investment is often subsumed under general infrastructure items. Currently, the quality of
education provided remains grossly deficient and unable to build the human capital required for
a competitive economy.

1.3 Research Questions

The research questions addressed by this study are:
a) What is the current state of S&T infrastructure in secondary schools in Nigeria?
b) What are the constraints and opportunities for the development of S&T infrastructure in
secondary schools in the country?
c) What are the necessary policies that will enhance the development of S&T infrastructure
in secondary schools in Nigerian?

1.4 Research Objectives

The broad objective of this study is to examine the state of S&T infrastructure in secondary
schools in Nigeria. The specific objectives are to:
a) examine the current state of S&T infrastructure in secondary schools in Nigerian;
b) identify the constraints and opportunities for the development of S&T infrastructure in
secondary schools in Nigerian; and
c) make policy recommendations on how the develop S&T infrastructure in Nigerian
secondary schools.

1.5 Justification for the Study

Nigeria is technologically poor due to poor investment in human capacity development and
necessary infrastructure. Presently, the 60:40 ratio of students’ admission into science and art
disciplines in tertiary institutions is yet to be achieved in the country. This study becomes
necessary in order to foster national technology capability building. Besides, it is unknown
whether any study has examined the state of S&T infrastructure in secondary schools in Nigeria.
This study aimed at bridging this knowledge gap and also proffers policies and actions that will
enhance availability of S&T infrastructure in Nigerian secondary schools.

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 The Meaning and Role of Science and Technology Infrastructure
Science and Technological Infrastructure can generally be defined as intermediate inputs that
provide the basis for the functioning of other technologies or provide essential services to other
sectors of the economy. Technology infrastructure thus consists of science, engineering and
technical knowledge available to industry. Such knowledge can be embodied in human,
institutional, or facility forms. More specifically, technology infrastructure includes generic
technologies, technical information, and research and test facilities, as well as less technically
explicit areas including information relevant for strategic planning and market development.
Science and Technology infrastructures amongst others are some of the minimum requirements
that feed into technological and industrial development of any economy. Tassey (1992) describes
Science and Technological Infrastructures in much wider terms, as 'science, engineering and
technological knowledge available to private industry … embodied in human, institutional or
facility forms'. He concludes that at national and firm levels respectively, there is an increasingly
dependence on service delivery of Science and Technology Infrastructure.

The role of Science and Technology Infrastructure as an engine of development is an emerging

issue that is beginning to feature prominently on the Nigerian scene. This is being demonstrated
aptly in the National Education and also National S & T policies and in subsequent economic
developments and reform framework of the country. The current economic reform framework is
the Vision 20:2020 (NV20:2020), and it features S & T infrastructure as a cross-cutting issue that
has to be promoted in order to achieve economic development objectives (NPC, 2007). The
state of poverty in the country and the challenge of meeting the Millennium Development Goals,
in this respect, in particular have drawn attention to the role of S & T infrastructure for solutions
of technological adaptation and diffusion based on local conditions and knowledge. For example
those that can boost agricultural productivity and food storage capacity, reduce post-harvest
losses, promote renewable energy (including bio-fuels and solar), develop rain water harvesting
systems, deliver potable water to rural villages, and improve basic health care.
2.2 The Role and Importance of Science Laboratories
At every level of science education, laboratories are perceived as a vehicle for curriculum
enhancement. Studies including Hadley & Sheingold, 1992; McDaniel, Melnerney & Armstrong,
1993; Hannafin & Saverye, 1993) have indicated that a properly equipped and functional science
laboratory has the potential for enhancing science learning. Science laboratories have a central
and distinctive role in S&T education, and science educators suggest that there are rich benefits
in learning from using laboratory activities.
In many African countries, research has revealed shortages in the number of laboratories in
schools. A study by Jones (1990) found that 45% of the schools surveyed in selected African
countries indicated insufficient laboratories. Alebiosu, 2000 and Onipede, 2003 reported that
many schools in Nigeria do not have laboratory with minimum standard facilities. This finding
agreed with Barrow`s (1991) findings in Saudi Arabia which also indicated inadequacy in the
provision of laboratory facilities in schools. The findings were also consistent with those of Black
et al. (1998) who found in Uganda that science education is faced with the problem of lack of
resources with half the schools having no real laboratory. Keister, (1992) observed that shortages
of laboratory facilities could have serious implications on the quality of schools` output.

3.0 METHODOLOGY
3.1. Primary Data Collection and Scope of Study
This study covered both the private and public secondary schools in selected states in the six
geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The choice of the secondary schools is anchored on the fact that it
is at these levels that education become profound and learning is tailored to breeding future
physicians, scientists, engineers, technicians and other professionals. The choice of states for the
study is based on investment in S & T infrastructure in the educational sector, and availability of
the frame/list of public and private tertiary institutions in 2010.

3.2 Sample Selection

One state was selected in each of the six geo-political zones for the study. Based on perceived
performance on investment in education with focus on S & T infrastructure in 2010, one state
was selected from each of the geo-political zones as follows:
(i) Edo State - South-South
(ii) Enugu State - South-East
 (iii) Katsina State - North-West
(iv) Kwara State - North-Central
(v) Lagos State - South-West
(vi) Bauchi State - North-East
The Ministries of Education in the selected states were contacted for the list and location of
secondary schools in their respective states. The lists provides sample frame from which twenty
secondary schools that participated in the survey were chosen in each of the states selected. The
secondary schools were stratified into public and private secondary schools, and urban and rural
secondary schools. Secondary schools located in the state capital and local government
headquarters were generally regarded as urban schools while those elsewhere were regarded as
rural schools.
There are two types of semi-structured questionnaires employed as instruments for eliciting the
primary data/information from respondents. One questionnaire was designed for secondary
school principals and one for teachers of S&T related subjects. In each secondary school, five
questionnaires were administered. Altogether, 600 questionnaires were administered in secondary
schools while 438 questionnaires were retrieved representing 73% retrieval rates.

For the primary data collection, field research assistants were recruited and trained in each state
served as enumerators. The questionnaire aimed at collecting data on S&T related issues such as
nature of S&T related investments in the educational sector, availability of teachers in S&T
related subjects, number and quality of S&T laboratories available in the institutions, capability to
use laboratory equipment, availability and adequacy of chemical reagents in the institutions, the
availability and adequacy of S&T equipment in the schools, the age and functionality of the
available S&T equipment and materials, the adequacy or otherwise of S&T teaching materials
and personnel and level of availability of water and electricity. To gain deeper insights into the
constraints on S&T infrastructure development and how to overcome them, interviews of
directors of research, planning and statistics in each of the selected state’s ministry of education
were carried out.
3.3 Data Analysis
The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyze the questionnaires,
following which descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, charts and tables were used as
appropriate to explain the features of science and technology infrastructure in the sampled
secondary schools. Chi-square was calculated to measure the difference in significance between
private and public educational institutions.

4.0 FINDINGS
4.1 State of Science and Technology Infrastructure in Nigerian Educational Institutions
4.1.1 Human Capital Outlay
An important determinant of economic growth and development is human capital outlay. The
quality and nature of education determine the knowledge and skills available for human capital
upgrading. From the findings of the study, three elements of the results provide some insights to
the human capital outlay in the Nigeria educational sector. These are qualification of teachers of
secondary schools; quantity and level of experience of teachers; and ratio of teachers to students.

4.1.2 Qualification of Teachers

Table 4.1 shows the distribution of the highest qualifications of teachers in the sampled
secondary schools. 82% of the teachers have at least a bachelor degree in their subject areas,
while the rest have HND or NCE in S&T related subjects. In fact, about 91% of the teachers
have at least HND or B.Sc. It thus appears that very high proportion of teachers in S&T related
subjects have appreciable requisite qualifications in S&T subjects. It is often advocated that
teachers in S&T subjects should also possess training in education. From the results in Table 4.1,
only 8.4% of the teachers have a postgraduate diploma in education and only 8.7% have national
certificate in education.
Table 4.1: Highest qualification of teachers in Nigerian secondary schools
Highest Qualification Frequency Percent
NCE 38 8.7
HND 41 9.4
B.Sc. 272 62.1
M.Sc. 50 11.4
PGD 37 8.4
Total 438 100.0
Source: Field Survey, 2011

4.1.3 Quantity and Experience of Teachers

Table 4.4 shows the teacher to students’ ratio. The Table shows that, there are 4,793 teachers in
S&T related subjects and 90,672 students. This implies a teacher to students’ ratio of 1:19.
Except for wood work and metal work, the teacher to students ratios are very poor in all the
S&T related subjects the most affected subjects being computer science and introductory
technology with teacher to students ratios of 1:251 and 1:201 respectively. This shows that the
quantity of teachers for S&T related subjects in the sampled secondary schools is inadequate.
Table 4.4: Teacher to students’ ratio for s&t related subjects in the research sample
Subject No. of No. of Teacher to
teachers students students ratio
Chemistry 292 31124 1:107
Physics 269 32897 1:122
Biology 364 60636 1:167
Introductory Technology 124 24881 1:201
Integrated Science 217 26938 1:124
Computer Science 164 41125 1:251
Agricultural Science 337 53725 1:159
Basic Electronics 19 2241 1:118
Metal Work 28 594 1:21
Wood Work 93 588 1:6
Source: Field Survey, 2011
From Table 4.5 showing the distribution of the subject areas of teachers’ qualification, the vast
majority (71%) of the teachers are in the traditional science subject areas of chemistry, physics
and biology. The remaining 31% of the teachers are distributed over other S&T related subjects
as shown in Table 4.5. These results indicate that secondary school teachers’ experiences are still
mainly in basic science subjects comprising of chemistry, physics and biology.

Table 4.5: Subject area of teachers’ qualification

Subject Frequency Per cent
Chemistry 104 24.4
Physics 91 21.2
Biology 110 25.6
Introductory Technology 18 4.2
Integrated Science 12 2.8
Computer science/mathematics 22 5.1
Agriculture/ Animal 59 13.8
Science/Home Mgt/Food &
Nutrition
Basic Electronics 4 .9
Metal Work 2 .5
Wood work/carpentry 3 .7
Education/ Guidance& 2 .5
counselling
Environment/Geography 2 .5
Total 438 100.0
Source: Field Survey, 2011

4.2 Science and Technology Hardware

Science and technology hardware in educational institutions is very crucial to the advancement of
practical teaching and learning. It includes the science laboratories, equipments, and teaching aids
such as ICT facilities (computers, the Internet) as well as the support infrastructure (electricity
and water supply) which are expected to aid the best functioning of the science and technology
hardware. Science laboratories, in particular have been found to be central to the teaching of
science. These laboratories are the workshops where practical activities are conducted to enhance
a meaningful learning of science concepts and theories (Seweje, 2000; Olubor and Unyimadu,
2001).

4.2.1 Science Laboratories

The results of our survey showed that 82.5% of schools in our study have between one and five
science laboratories, while the remaining 17.5% have over five science laboratories. The
minimum age of these laboratories is one year; while the maximum age is 30years. About 55% of
schools have laboratories within the age range 1 and 10years old, while the remaining 45% are
above 10years old.

For each of the three core science subjects, which are Chemistry, Physics and Biology, over 90%
of schools, claim to have separate laboratories. Furthermore, while 68.4%, and 50% have
laboratories for agricultural science and introductory technology respectively. It was observed
that integrated science and introductory science are often taken as the same subjects in many
schools, and this may explain why only 39% claim to have a separate laboratory for integrated
science. Figure 4.1 shows the responses received on the specific types of laboratories that exist in
the schools in our sample. In addition to having specific laboratories, almost 60.0% of the
schools attested to the fact that their schools have at least one science laboratory, which may be
classified as multipurpose laboratory used for practical sessions for a combination of subjects.
The four most common combinations of subjects for which these multipurpose laboratories
were used for, are as follows:
a. Chemistry, Physics, Biology Agriculture, Animal Science, Home Management,
Food and Nutrition
b. Chemistry , Physics, Biology, Agriculture, Animal Science, Home Management,
Food and Nutrition and Basic Electronics
c. Chemistry, Physics, Biology , and Introductory Technology/Integrated Science
d. Chemistry, Physics, Agriculture , Animal Science, Home Management, Food and
Nutrition

Figure 4.1: Types of laboratories in Nigerian secondary schools

 Source : Field survey, 2011

4.2.3 Quality of Science Equipment

Respondents were asked to rated how they perceived the quality of science equipments in the
laboratories on a likert scale reported as poor=1, fair=2, good=3, very good= 4 and excellent=5.
The perception of respondents (see Table 4.7) show that about 35% perceive the equipment as
good, while 12% perceive the equipments to be excellent, and 17.10% perceive them as poor.

Table 4.7: Perception on quality of science equipments

Quality of science Secondary Schools Average
equipment %

Poor 13.10 17.10

Fair 25.60 18.05
Good 34.80 35.80
Very Good 18.40 17.10
Excellent 8.10 11.95
Source: Field survey 2011

Further analysis was done based on the computation of the level of significance of the
perception levels on quality of equipments by teachers in the public and private secondary
schools. The results show that there is a significant difference in the perception on quality of
equipment at secondary school level (p= 0.0000).

4.2.3 Sources of Laboratory Reagents/Consumables in Secondary Schools

The main sources of laboratory reagents and consumables in the secondary school surveyed are
the school (68.5%) and the State Government (70. 9%). The PTA has not been active in this line
of activity with only 7.5% of schools reporting this trend.

4.3 Electricity Supply

Electricity supply is one of the factors that are likely to influence the functionality of science
laboratories, as it an essential input to many scientific processes. The regularity of electricity
supply from PHCN (national grid) to educational institutions is generally very poor. As shown in
table 4.11, about 30% of schools have light for not more than 4hours, and only 21.0 5% of
respondents at secondary education claim to have electricity from PHCN for more than 6 but
not more than 8 hours per day.

Table 4.11: Regularity of electricity supply from PHCN

Regularity Secondary schools
Not more than 2 hrs 29.9
More than 2 but not more 29.9
than 4hrs per day
More than 4 but not more 21.0
than 6hrs per day
More than 6 but not more 7.6
than 8hrs per day
More than 8 but not more 8.9
than 10hrs per day
More than 10hrs per day 2.7
100%
Source: Field Survey, 2011

With the results obtained on the regularity of electricity, it is therefore also not surprising to
report that 74.1% of schools and 85.7% of faculties surveyed attest to the fact that they have
alternative sources of electricity power supply to their laboratories. The alternative sources
include electric generators, solar panels and inverters, as shown on table 4.1.

Table 4 .12 : alternative sources of energy supply in Nigerian institutions

Sources Secondary Schools
Electric Generator 83.7
Solar Panel 4.8
Inverter 4.0
Source: Field Survey, 2011 (Multiple responses and therefore add more than 100%)

4.4 Constraints To The Development Of S&T Infrastructure In Nigerian Educational

Institutions
All impediments to the availability of viable and adequate S&T infrastructure in the educational
institutions are referred to as constraints in this study. The general constraints identified to the
development of S&T infrastructure in secondary schools include lack of qualified laboratory
technicians, inadequate laboratory equipment, poor to high quality reagents, poor electricity
supply and poor funding among others.
Analysis of the interviews conducted on selected key officials in the respective State Ministries
visited, also highlighted some concerns on the constraints and suggestions for improvement of
Science and Technology Infrastructures. These responses are presented in Table 4. 14, and it
shows that inadequate fund (100%) was considered as the major constraint to the development
of S&T infrastructure in the education sector. The inadequate number of qualified teachers
(80%) and poor electricity supply (60%) were reported by these officials as second and third
constraints respectively. Other constraints were poor maintenance culture, poor management of
funds and vandalisation of equipment (16.8% respectively).
Table 4.4 : Constraints to s&t infrastructure development identified by government
officials

Source: Field Survey, 2011.

Results of the analysis carried out on the suggestions made by government officials to remove
the constraints show that all respondents (100%) suggested improvement in the level of funding
of education as a strategic way for improving S&T infrastructure development. This was
followed by the suggestion on training and re-training of teachers (80%), procurement of
electricity generating sets (60%) improved security, proper management of funds and good
maintenance culture (about 20% respectively).


RECOMMENDATIONS
Improved Funding: To move Nigeria forward technologically, there is need to provide
adequate funds to provide all the necessary S&T infrastructures like laboratories, reagents


and equipment for secondary schools.
Provision of Necessary Amenities: There is a need for adequate and regular electricity supply
and water supply to run the S&T infrastructure in Nigerian Educational institutions.
Electricity generators should be provided for the schools to complement power supply
by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). All educational institutions should
be provided with regular water supply from a well or borehole.
 Production of Qualified Personnel: Adequate and qualified personnel (teachers, laboratory
technicians) should be provided in the Educational institutions. In addition, there is need
to train and retrain these personnel to perform effectively.
 Good Maintenance Culture and Proper Management of Funds: Good maintenance culture and
improved security of school properties should be imbibed by all educational institutions.
In addition, the provision and proper management of funds to source Science and
Technology Infrastructure should be taken as a collective responsibility of the
educational institutions, the state government, parents, and private
individuals/organisations.

5.0 REFERENCES

Alebiosu, K.A. (2000). Effects of two Instructional Methods on Senior Secondary School
Student's Perceptions of the Difficulty in Learning some Chemical Concepts and their
Achievement gains. Journal of Education Foundations Management, 1: 55-64.
Barrow, L.H. (1991). Evaluation of Science Laboratories in the Middle Schools of four
Educational Districts in Saudi Arabia. Ph.D Thesis, University of Missouri, Columbia.
Black, T.R.; Atwaru-Okello, D. ; Kiwanuka, J. ; Serwadda, D; Birabi, O; Malinga, F; Biumigishu,
A and Rodd, A. (1998). Science Education in Uganda: Progress and Possibilities.
International Journal of Science Education, 20: 249-249.
Hannafin, R. & Savenye, W. (1993). Technology in the Classroom: The Teachers’ New Role and
Resistance to it. Educational Technology, 26-31.
Hadley, M. & Sheingold, K. (1992). Commonalities and Distinctive Patterns in Teachers’
Integration of Computers. American Journal of Education, 101,261-315
Jones, E. (1990). Teacher Provision in the Sciences. Journal of Science Education, 140: 27-27
Keister, J.N., (1992). The Complexities of Practical Work in Physics Teaching: A Case Study of
three Secondary Schools in Sierra Leone. M.Ed. Thesis, Queen's University at Kingston,
Canada.
McDaniel, E.; Melnerney, W.; & Armstrong, P. (1993). Computers and School Reform.
Educational Technology Research and Development, 4191). 73-78.
NPC (2007). Nigeria: Draft National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy-
NEEDS2, National Planning Commission, Abuja.
Olubor, R.O. and Unyimadu, S. (2001). Management Demand for the Universal Basic Education
Programme in Current Issues in Educational Management in Nigerian Association for
educational Administration and Planning (NAEAP). pp: 48-59.
Onipede, H.,( 2003). National Development Hinges on Quality Education. The Comet, January
2, pp: 21.
Seweje, R.O., (2000). The Challenges of Science Teaching in Nigeria today. Journal of Education
Foundations Management, 1: 216-217.
Tassey G. (1992), Technology Infrastructure and Competitive Position, Kluwer Academic
Publishers, Norwell 1992.
 TEACHING THE VIRTUAL COURSE DEVELOPMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS

Hanna David
Tel Aviv University
Jerusalem, Israel

Abstract
The course: "Developmental Psychology" is not only a must for any teacher-to-be because of curriculum demands,
but also because it is impossible to be a good teacher without both knowing and understanding the various stages
children go through from birth to adulthood. These stages include two main domains: the "psychological" one,
namely, all emotional, social, and familial aspects, and the cognitive area, consisting the verbally- and the
mathematically-based areas, including perception, memory, analysis and synthesis, etc. In this presentation I will
give an example of a virtual 2-, 4-, or 6-hour a year undergraduate or graduate developmental psychology course
that will cover all main subjects essential for a teacher or a teacher to be. All subjects are to be presented in length,
along with all relevant learning materials, timetable, certain aspects of policy, and many advices that had been
applied previously.In addition, some examples of "face to face" activity are to be presented for the use of the lecturer
who wishes to meet her or his "virtual" students a few times a year and have them practice "real classroom
situations" under her or his guidance.

Introduction
The course: Developmental Psychology" is not only a must for any teacher-to- be because of
curriculum demands, but also because it is simply impossible to be a good teacher without both
knowing and understanding the various stages children go through from birth to adulthood.
These stages, discussed widely by various scholars, include two main domains: the
"psychological" one, namely, all emotional, social, and familial aspects on one side, and the
cognitive area, consisting not only verbally- as well as mathematically-based areas, but also all
those that have to do with perception, memory, analysis and synthesis, etc.
In-between these two main areas there are dozens of sub-areas to be studies and discussed: gaps
between the two main cognitive areas, gaps between any two of the following: cognitive-, fine-
motor-, gross-motor, emotional-, physical-, sexual-, or social-domains. Such gaps, which are the
main cause of uneven development, need to be studies, so that the teacher will be able to notice
their existence as soon as possible and to her best to help the child overcome them.
There are two main schools regarding the question: "what is to be done in case of gaps between
two or more areas in the child's development". The practice used most frequently is that of
"fixing the child". This means, that is a child is slow in developing her or his fine-motor skills, he
or she is to be sent to an occupational therapist. If the child has any kind of language difficulties,
the communication clinician will "fix" her or him. In the role-playing section of this lecture I will
introduce three examples of real-life situations all belong to a second category: advancing "with
the child", relying on her or his strength, rather than "fixing" her or him.
Who needs virtual classes?
Offering a virtual class to "regular" university students intrigues asking the question: why to
bother if a similar class is available in the regular, old-fashioned frame? I will hereby give a few
answers all rely on my own experience of working in "traditional" higher education institution.
The common factor among all "virtual" students can be summarized as: "they have had
difficulties attending regular classes because of various reasons".
Some of my students had difficulties participating in classes mainly because they were females in
a traditional society. For example: many Arab students had to be back at home, sometimes 40
km away from college, before sunset. If the developmental psychology "regular" 90-minute class
started later than 2 o'clock in the afternoon, they could not take it because in Israel it gets dark in
the winter quite early. Other students, mainly religious Jewish young women, had children and
they could not take any afternoon classes at all, because they had to be at home between 1-2 pm,
when the children were back from school. Though quite few, I also had some male Jewish
students; all of them worked full-time so they were glad to take any virtual course in order to
complete their degree

The main subjects in the "developmental psychology" class:

1. Introduction to developmental psychology (Levine, & Munsch, 2011; Bronfenbrenner, &
Evans, 2000);
2. Theories in developmental psychology (Hoover, 2004 [on Bowlby]; Bawlby, 1999; Mahler,
1969; Sagi-Schwartz, 2004).
3. The development of intellectual abilities (Anna Freud, Piaget)
4. Social development (Kohlberg, Erikson, Van der Veer, & Valsiner, 1994);
5. I. fine- and gross motor skills; II. Introduction to child psycho-pathology; III. Introduction
learning disabilities (Dysfunctional families and problem kids: Rich Harris, 2009; Noterdaeme &
Hutzelmeyer-Nickels; thought suppression and anxiety in children: Gaskell et al., 2001; ADHD:
David, 2011; Wells, & Fisher, 2011; Ddevelopmental coordination disorder, Cairney et al, 2008).
6. Moral development (Kohlberg; Piaget)
7. Introduction to gender development (Rich Harris, Gender rules, pp. 204-224);
8. Emotional intelligence (Matthews et al., 2004).

Each of these subjects can be studied in 3 levels: the equivalent to 2-, to 4- and to 6-hour weekly
course.

The 6-hour a week, 2-semester course

Aim of the course:

1. To deepen the knowledge about the various stages of children's development, in regular and
special education classes;
2. To refresh the practical knowledge already acquired by educational professionals in all relevant
subjects regarding children from birth to adolescence;
3. To be able to apply the acquired knowledge in real life situations in kindergartens and schools;
4. To practice the reading of professional, scientific materials relevant to the educator's work;
5. To be exposed to a variety of opinions, attitudes and approaches in order to be able to choose
the most relevant ones for each student in need.

Content of the course: List of subjects

Introduction to developmental psychology (DeHart et al., 2003);

Theories in developmental psychology;

Social development (Erikson)

Cognitive development (Piaget) [e.g. Numerical estimation (Booth, & Siegler, 2006).

Moral development;

Nurture versus nature in child development;

The role of games in the physiological, physical, social, psychological and cognitive
development of children (Davidson, 2010; Smith, 2009);

Socialization processes of the child and h adolescent

Individual differences in Temperament among children

Sensual sensitivity;

Asperger's syndrome among children

Down Syndrome (Gaad, 2006).

Attachment in early age: selection of attitudes

Attachment patterns and their cultural context

Gender differences in kindergarten and in school

Child in society
From childhood to adolescence (Steinberg, 2005)

Learning ways and the students' tasks

1. All learning materials are to be easily accessed through the college web. Most of these
materials are to be either articles or book-chapters screened-by-the-teacher or freely accessed. In
case the teacher chooses to use a textbook he or she must purchase the books for the students.
One such example if the book: Developmental Psychology: Childhood and Adolescence, by Shaffer and
Kipp (2009). A new book costs 201.06$. The 1996 edition costs less than 1$!
2. It is highly recommended that the order of the reading is done by the students according to
the order of the tasks to be submitted.
3. All assignments must be sent on time, according t the course schedule [see an example for a
suggested timetable for the 2012/13 school year].
4. All interactions with the teacher should be either though the college web or t the teacher's
private email.
5. Each student must complete all 8 assignments during the school year.
6. As the course is modular, it should be emphasized that each of the 8 handed assignments must
be about 500 worlds long for the minimal – 2 weekly hour course; 100 words, for the 4 weekly
hour course, and 1500 words for the maximal, expended 6 weekly hour course.

Calculation of the final grade:

10% for each task; total: 80% of the grade;
10% for connection with the teacher in each semester; total: 20%.

THE FRAME OF THE COURSE

The list of students and dates of handing the assignments and grades must be updated;
The teacher will save all emails from students – in case of differences between the date you
have received the assignment and the one claimed b the student;
Grades policy must be clear. In case of any misunderstanding a clarification mail will be sent
to all students.
 THE SETTING

Timetable for handing the tasks [example for the 2012/13 school-year]:
Task No. 1: October 1, 2012;
Task No. 2: October 29, 2012;
Task No. 3: November 26, 2012
Task No. 4: December 23, 2012
8-week break
Task No. 5: February 18, 2013
Task No. 6: March 18, 2013
Task No. 7: April 15, 2013
Task no. 8: May 13, 2013

Rules regarding late handing of tasks:

1. In case of 1-7 days delay – up to the teacher's consideration;
2. in case of 7+ days: minus 10% of the mark for each week or part of it;
3. In case of family emergency, serious illness of the student or a close relative - up to the
teacher's consideration;

Gender-related exceptions: Pregnant students or new mothers:

1. Flexibility regarding handing the assignments;
2. Insisting of an equality policy, namely, the student must hand all assignments. Flexibility
means sometimes a longer interval between two deadlines, and/or handing the last assignment/s
after all students had already done that.

Policy against copying:

No tolerance policy.

Late registration
a. Late registration is to be allowed only after getting permission by the university authorities [e.g.
head of department; secretary for students' affairs].
b. No late registration is to be allowed after the students had submitted their first assignment,
namely, more than 4 weeks from the beginning of the year.

Communication with the students:

1. Keeping in touch
a. Offering face-to-face optional meetings at each beginning and end of semester [see
examples in the last part of this article];
b. All students must have access to the internet.
2. Possibility for private communication
The instructor's email will be available for any student from the decision stage": when the
student has to decide if she or he wants to take the course, until its end. The instructor must
answer of the students' emails within a week of receiving them.

The course WEB

All course materials [e.g. the curriculum, learning materials, list of assignments, time-table for
sending the assignments] must be available and easy to access on the web.
The web must start operating, with all materials included, during registration time.

EXPECTED PROBLEMS
Dropout
Students whose literacy abilities are limited, due to a weak educational background, bilingual
students who are not fluent in English, or students with too many other responsibilities, such as
parenthood or working full-time job, might find it very hard to complete all assignments on time
and eventually they drop out of the course. Though dropout cannot be avoided, some means can
reduce it to minimum. For example:
1. Welcome the newly registered students in your first mail and assure them that each student
who is persistent, hard working and not ashamed to ask for help will get at least a "passing"
grade;
2. Send an encouraging mail to your students after each deadline for mailing each assignment and
another one after you have graded the students' work. Focus on the students' successes, strong
points, and achievements;
3. Send personal mails to students who are late in handing their assignments, reminding them
that you are still waiting for their work;
4. Always believe the student: when a student asks for an extended deadline, do not check up on
her or him, but rather agree to accept the work. Remember: dates are only a necessary frame; the
important thing is that the work is done!
Copying
No tolerance can be accepted towards copying.
The two main means that will show our students that you are serious are:
1. Check the first assignment of all your carefully. If you see even one copied paragraph, namely,
one identical paragraph in two assignments, write to both students that you cannot accept their
work. Believe me; when you do it just once, you guarantee that nobody will copy any more
paragraphs in your course!
2. A part of each assignment will be giving examples from the classroom, family or everyday life
to the phenomena discussed. When two students will give the same examples, using the same
words, you can be sure only one of them thought about it. Do not tolerate it!
Once your students know that you do not preach about copied work but rather disqualify it, this
phenomenon will stop quickly [if started at all].

Along with the home-learning the students will be offered 4 90-minute meetings, each dedicated
to a concrete example taken from the course materials. Here is the detailed descriptions f thee
activities
Example No. I: Fine- and gross motor skills:
Graphomotor difficulties (Thorne, 2012):
Characteristics:
"Laziness"; "not paying attention"; intentionally slow"; "lack of motivation"; "negativistic"; "If
you want – you are able to", etc.
Techniques used:
Abstention; doing something else [e.g. going to the toilet, not finding a pencil and thus having to
sharpen a new one, being extremely thirsty or hungry when having to write]
Accompanied typical problems:
Fine motor skills problems;
Gross motor skills problems;
Organizational problems; emotional problems;
Attention deficit, with or without hyperactivity disorder.
In addition to the learning about all these disorders, problems, and emotional states, we shall
learn a variety of help techniques;
 Self-regulation as an educational-therapeutic tool;

 Time management;
  Cognitive behavioral therapy

 Problem-solving discussion;
The 4-stage of the interview-conversation for solving problems:
stage Typical questions Relevant to: Main skills of the
interviewer
1. Deep understanding * What happened? * presentation of * Attention
of the child's problem * How do you the event * encouraging questions
understand it? * Beliefs * rephrasing the
* What did you say * Emotional and questions/problems
to yourself about it? behavioral * Reflection
* What did you fell outcomes * Summary
and what did you
do?
2. Investing the * Wow do you * Argument *Confrontation
reevaluation of the perceive now what *re-phrasing
event happened? *interpretation
* Are you satisfied
of the results?
3. Discovery of * What do you think * Argument * Logical results
alternatives and re- you should do? * Feedback
planning How you will do * Instructions
that? What is our * Counseling
plan?
4. Affixing the * How can I help? * Feeling Each of the above-
connection and * Result mentioned
supervision of it

Example No. II: Confrontation

The students that wish to participate in this second "face to face meeting" will be invited to take
part in role-playing (Harrigan et al, 2010), where the main characters are two siblings quarrelling
with each other, and a parent. In case the students have a difficulty finding a "reason" to quarrel
about (e.g. because of being too shy), the teacher might can suggest a subject such as: "how
come you two cannot decide how to divide the time so each of you can have fair access to the
computer?" Once there is a "title" to the confrontation, the teacher's involvement is reduced to a
minimum.
During the confrontation the audience, namely, the students that do not participate in the role-
playing, might interfere. It is the role-players' task to react to their remarks or answer their
questions, and the teacher is required to sit still as long as the conversation going on can be
defined as "civilized", even if noisy. This confrontation helps teachers, and techers-to-be, not
only to connect to the "child within them", but to notice many similarities between family- and
school interactions. For example: when one of the children finds it hard to sympathize with her
or his sibling, the teacher understands that it might be more difficult for a certain child than to
his sister or brother to fully develop her or his capacity for empathy. Understanding that parents,
in many cases, like one child more than her or his sibling might help teachers accept that they,
too, usually feel much more comfortable with some students than with others. Deep
understanding of this "hard to control fact" helps dealing with it.
Example No. III:
Re-designing of behaviors through empowering behaviors
This issue will be introduced during either one "face-to face" meeting or divided into two – the
third and the fourth, last meeting. It is to include the following:
1. De-sensitization practicing;
2. How to live with anxieties – practical examples;
3. Maximal use of compensation techniques;
4. Practical counseling in developing fine-motor skills.

All these issues are to be demonstrated thought role-playing.

Biological and environmental factors in child's development:
Heredity: the gene each individual receives from her or his parents;
Environment: all life-events and experiences
Maturation: the various stages enabling the child to auire new abilities, and perform new
actions.
Growth: the increase in the number of cells or in their mass, in one organ or many;
Learning: a continuing behavioral change influenced by age and experience.
Developmental coordination disorder: the scientific study of systematic psychological,
emotional, and perceptional changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life
span.
SUMMARY AND REFLECTIONS
I taught the course "developmental psychology" several times, both at the university and in two
teachers' colleges, to Arab and Jewish students, to under-graduates and graduates. I taught the
course as a regular, frontal curse, and as a virtual one.
Let me share with you some of the most interesting cases, where the virtual course was the only
possible available for the student to master this important subject. Some of the examples have
been taken from my experience in the Jerusalem "Efrata Teachers' College" for Jewish religious
students, and some – from the course I had taught at the Galilee "Sakhnin Teachers' College" for
Arab students, mostly Muslim, but some Christian and dome Druze as well. Both colleges were

 4 students who completed their first degree from the University of Amman in Teaching
co-ed, but men were but a small minority of the students.

English, and thus their Hebrew was not good enough for regular Hebrew classes
While the official language in Israel is Hebrew, the Arab education system has traditionally been
separated from the Jewish from kindergarten to higher education. Many Arab students invest a
lot of effort in order to be more advanced in Hebrew, and by the time they graduate from high
school their Hebrew, though a second language, is good enough for reading, conversing, and
participating in higher education classes where must be fluent in Hebrew and have a good
reading in English as well. However, every year a substantial number of Arabs chose to study in
an Arab university. Most young people belonging to this group are Druze from the Golan
Height who leave Israel at the beginning of the academic year for Damascus, and are allowed to
return to visit their families only once a year, on a certain date in June, after the academic year is
over. A smaller group is Muslim Arabs, mainly females, prefers to study in Jordan, at the well-
known university of Amman. These students have no motivation to learn Hebrew when in
school, and thus, if they choose to continue their studies upon returning to their homes in Israel,
they face a serious lingual problem.
My 4 female students, who registered to studies for a diploma in special education at the Sakhnin
College, asked me if they could participate in my developmental psychology class, even though
they could not read Hebrew. Not only did I give them a positive answer; I also asked them to
contact me through my private mail. These students completed my course successfully; they also
inspired me to learn a lot about the lives and experiences of girls growing up in a traditional,
rural society and then, at age 18, leave to another country, which had been considered an enemy-
country of their own for many decades. These girls showed me that desire for good education
had enormous power; it could have helped overcoming almost all obstacles. They also set an
example for many other young Muslim women from their own and neighboring villages.

 A high-risk pregnant woman, from the first semester of her pregnancy until giving birth
to two healthy boys
This Jewish religious student, from the "Efrata teachers' College", wrote to me about her special
condition before registration to my course. She wanted to get all assignment ahead of time, and
hand them to me before the end of the first college semester, in case she should have to go
through a Caesarean section before the expected end of her pregnancy which was due to April. I
agreed to have her in my course, and promised to send her the new assignment as soon as she
mailed me the previous. However, I asked her not to share her work with any of the other
students in the course. As the list of the students and their emails was available to all of them, I
had no control of connections, relationships, or sharing works among the other students, but in
her case, as she had intended to have the work done in half of the expected time, I decided to
rely upon her word. She promised me to do that, and she kept her words as far as I know: I had
not found any traces of other students copying from her…
At the beginning of April, about two months before the end of the ear, I received a "thank you"
mail from these students, as well as three pictures of her and her twin boys. She was smiling in all
of them…

However, there were other cases as well. For example: a 19-year old student whose pregnancy
was noticeable at the beginning of the school-year7. I offered her to join the virtual
"Developmental psychology" course, but she said she preferred learning in the classroom; "like it
was in high-school". When asking: "and what are you to do after you have a baby?" She said: "we
live in the house of my in-laws; my husband is the first-born son and my child is going to be the
first grandson, so my mother-in-law cannot wait until she can take care of him". "Do you already
know it is going to be a boy?" I asked. "Of course, this was the only reason I agreed to take an
ultrasound; I personally do not care at all whether I have a boy or a girl, but my husband and his
parents do. Now that I know my baby is of 'right' sex for the first grandson, I am not allowed to
do anything at home; they want me to be strong and healthy so I can concentrate in my studies.
When the child is born, I'll stay at home for 3-4 weeks, but not longer".
And indeed, this student missed but 3 weekly classes after her baby was born, and she re-joined
us in the classroom, happy, healthy, with high motivation to catch up with what she had missed.

REFERENCES
Bronfenbrenner, U. & Evans, G.W. (2000). Developmental Science in the 21st Century:
Emerging Questions, Theoretical Models, Research Designs and Empirical Findings.
Social Development 9(1), 115-125.
Booth, J. & Siegler, R. (2006). Developmental and Individual Differences in Pure Numerical
Estimation. Developmental Psychology 42(1), 189-201.
Bowlby, J. (1953). Child Care and the Growth of Love. London: Penguin Books.
Bowlby, J. (1999) [1982]. Attachment. Attachment and Loss Vol. I (2nd ed.). New York: Basic
Books.
Bornstein, M.H. & Lamb, M.E. (eds.). (2010). Developmental Science: An Advanced Textbook (6th ed.).
New York: Psychology Press.
Cairney, J., Missiuna, C., Veldhuizen, S., & Wilson, B. (2008). Evaluation of the psychometric
properties of the developmental coordination disorder questionnaire for parents (DCD-

7
In Israel the academic year starts usually in October and rarely at the beginning of November, after the Jewish high holidays,
celebrated according the moon-year, are over.
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Science, 27(6), 932-940.
David, H. (2011). Learning disabilities, Attention deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder, and giftedness:
Two case-studies. Gifted Education Press, 25(3), 2-9. Retrieved on July 18, 2012 from the
Davidson Institute database: http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10713.aspx
Davidson, C. (2010). 'Click on the Big Red Car': The Social Accomplishment of Playing a
Wiggles Computer Game. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media
Technologies, 16(4), 375-394.
DeHart, G., Sroufe, L.A. & Cooper, R. (2003). Child Development: Its Nature and Course with
Multimedia Courseware CD and PowerWeb (5th ed.). Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill.
Gaad, E. (2006). The social and educational impacts of the first national Down Syndrome
support group in the UAE. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 6(3), 134-142.
Gaskell, S., Wells, A., & Calam R. (2001). An experimental investigation of thought suppression
and anxiety in children. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 40, 45-56.
Harrigan, P., Wardrip-Fruin, N., & Crumpton, M. (2010). Second person: Role-playing and story
in games and playable media (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Howard, G. (1998, Nov. 5). Do parents count? [Review of The Nurture Assumption: Why
Children Turn Out the Way They Do by Judith Rich Harris with a foreword by Steven
Pinker. Simon and Schuster, 462 pages]. The New York Review of Books, 45(17), 19-22.
Retrieved on 18 July 2012 from
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1998/nov/05/do-parents-count/
Hoover, J.H. (2004). John Bowlby: On Human Attachment. CYC-Online, 62. Retrieved on July
17, 2012 from http://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0304-bowlby.html
Kohlberg, L. (1969). Stage and sequence: The cognitive developmental approach to socialization.
In: David A. Goslin (Ed.), Handbook of socialization theory and research (pp. 347-480).
Chicago, Il: Rand McNally.
Levine, L.E. & Munsch, J. (2011). Child Development: An Active Learning Approach. London: Sage
Publications, Inc.
Matthews, G., Zeidner, M., & Roberts, R.D. (2004). Emotional Intelligence, Science and Myth.
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Mahler, M. (1969). On human symbiosis and the vicissitudes of individuation.

Miller, P.H. (2009) Theories of Developmental Psychology (5th ed.). New York, NY: W.H. Freeman
& Company.
Noterdaeme, M. & Hutzelmeyer-Nickels, A. (2012). Early symptoms and recognition of
pervasive developmental disorders in Germany. Autism, 14(6), 575-588.
Rich Harris, J. (2009). The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do (2nd ed.).
New York: The free Press. Chapter 1: "Nurture" is not the same as "Environment" (pp.
1-11); Chapter 10: Gender rules (pp. 202-224); Chapter 13: Dysfunctional families and
problem kids (pp. 272-313);
Sagi-Schwartz, A. (2004). When quality of child care is poor children suffer: Some insights from
Israel. Invited lecture at the symposium on International Strategies for Improving
Relationship-based Group Care for Young Children, National Training Institute - Zero
to Three, Sacramento, California, December, 2004.
Shaffer, D.R. & Kipp, K. (2009). Developmental Psychology: Childhood and Adolescence (8th ed.).
Beverly, MA: Wadsworth Publishing.
Slater, A. & Bremner, G. (2011). An Introduction to Developmental Psychology (BPS Textbooks in
Psychology). Oxford: Blackwell.
Smith, P.K. (2009). Chapter 1: An introduction to play. In: Children and Play: Understanding
Children's Worlds (pp. 1-20). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
Steinberg, L. (2005). Social transitions. In Adolescence (7th ed., pp. 97-128). Boston, MA: McGraw
Hill.
Thorne, G. (2012). Graphomotor skills: Why some kids hate to write. Retrieved on 18 July 2012
from the center for development and Learning web: http://www.cdl.org/resource-
library/articles/graphomotor.php
Van der Veer, R., & Valsiner, J. (Eds.) (1994). The Vygotsky Reader. Oxford: Blackwell.
Wells, A. & Fisher, P. (2011). Meta-cognitive therapy without metacognition: A case of
ADHD. American Journal of Psychiatry, 168(3), 327-327.
IMPROVISING TEACHING /LEARNING AIDS IN CLASSES OF GEOGRAPHY IN
OGUN STATE (NIGERIA) SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL (SSS)
Kofo A. Aderogba
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies
Tai Solarin University of Education
Ijebu-ode, Nigeria

Abstract
Geography is a significant school subject but there are pull and push factors militating against effective teaching and learning about it at
the Senior Secondary School (SSS) level of education in Ogun State (Nigeria). One of these is the dearth of resources. The objective of
this piece is to look at the SSS Geography syllabus and suggest materials for improvisation of teaching aids. Geography of Ogun state
was reviewed. WAEC, NECO and UTME syllabi were perused and specific topics of teaching and learning identified. The WAEC
syllabus was tabulated into six parts and notes produced on each. Using the notes, materials from the local environment were suggested
and procedures for their uses described. There is no aspect that absolutely lack materials for effective teaching and learning. Extensive use
of chalk boards, chalk of various colours, pencils, Atlas maps and sketches of maps were suggested. Field works, Field Visits,
Excursions and others were suggested as complementary to studying and fiddling with materials. The work also suggests use of School
Van, Home Works, Projects, Assignments, Geography Laboratory and Meteorological Garden as imperative. The first two years may
be traumatic and cumbersome but subsequent years will be building on the previous experiences and materials.

Keywords: Geography, teaching/learning aids, improvisation, Ogun State.

Introduction
The significance of Geography as a school subject cannot be over emphasized (Woodridge and
East 1951, Aderogba, 1990, 2009 and 2011; and Boehim, 1996). It combines with many school
subjects - Arts, Social Sciences, Pure Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Languages and Technical
Education to make a child qualify for tertiary education in Nigeria, and outside the country too.
Similarly, it has led to making of professionals in various fields of human endeavour – Planning,
Administration, Academics, Catographic, hydrologic, climate, environmental and others - just to
mention but a few. Boehim (1996) produced in tabular forms, major areas of study in Geography
and the associated professions. Abegunle, (1988) wrote on “The Promotion of career
opportunities through the Senior Secondary School Geography”. Similarly, Sada (1976) and
Areola (1978) wrote on the roles of Geography and geographers in nation building. But there are
complaints about the large scope and abstract nature of the subject. The complaints are
widespread among students; and teachers alike. That the subject is abstract is accentuated by the
assumption that it is difficult to teach and learn about, and more importantly there are no readily
available teaching aids for effective teaching and learning about the subject, (Eya 1983 and
Aderogba, 2009), These probably explain the push and pull factors (Akande 1982, Adetuberu
1983 and Ajaegbu 1983); and skepticisms of Senior Secondary School (SSS) students to register
for the subject in their West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Examination
Council (NECO) and University Matriculation Examination (UME) for admission into tertiary
institutions, (Aderogba 2011). That is, talk less of reading Geography as a major course of study
at the tertiary level of education, (Aderogba 2005, 2012 and Aderogba and Ogunowo 2010).

However, the objective of the study is to examine each aspect of the syllabuses of WAEC,
NECO and UTME and identify materials for improvisation of aides (resource) for teaching and
learning about the subject in Ogun State, Nigeria. That is, towards reducing the abstract
assumptions in the subject and for ease of teaching and learning about it at the SSS level of
education, and to accomplish the objective of teaching and learning about the content of the
syllabus of study.
Study Area
Ogun State is one of the thirty-six states of the Federation, (Nigeria). In February 1976, the
territory was carved out of the old Western State by the military administration of General
Murtala Muhammed and General Olusegun Obasanjo. The new state was made up of the former
Abeokuta and Ijebu provinces of the former Western State, which itself came into being when it
was carved out of former Western Region in 1967. She is administratively divided into twenty
(20) Local Government Areas. The state administrative affairs are presided over by the
Executive Governor who is being assisted by the Deputy Governor. There is a legislative arm
that is presided over by the speaker of the State House of Representative. On the other hand, the
Local Government administrative affairs are presided over by the Executive Chairmen of the
Local Government Councils.
She is fondly referred to as the Gateway State in recognition of its strategic position as the link
by road, rail, air and sea to the rest of the country. Apart from Abeokuta, the capital, which is an
important market centre and a terminus of the roads and railways coming from Lagos and other
parts of the country, there are also other major towns like Sagamu, Sango, Ota, Ijebu-Ode and
Ilaro.
The state is located in the Southwest Zone of Nigeria with a total land area of 16, 409, 26 square
kilometers. It is bounded on the west by the Benin Republic, on the south by Lagos State and
the Atlantic Ocean on the East by Ondo state, and in the North by Oyo and Osun states. It is
situated between Latitude 6.2○N and 7.8○N and Longitude 3.0○E and 5.0○E.
The climate follows a tropical pattern with the raining season starting about March and ending in
November, followed by dry season. The mean annual rainfall varies from 128cm in the southern
parts of the state to 105cm in the northern areas. The average monthly temperature ranges from
23○C in July to 32○C in February. The Northern part of the state is mainly of derived savannah
vegetation. While the central part falls in the rain forest belt. The extreme southern part has
mangrove swamp.
The geographical landscape comprises of extensive fertile soil suitable for agriculture, and
savannah land in the north western part of the state, suitable for cattle rearing. There are also
vast forest reserves, rivers, lagoons, rocks, mineral deposits and oceanfront. South-west of the
state is covered by mangrove swamp forest. Leaves, timber, firewood, yam stakes, sponge, fruits,
seeds, herbs and others are a few of the resources from the forests.
Substantial proportions of the forest have been replaced by human activities, roads, residential
buildings, offices and manufacturing industry buildings; and cultigens. The state is drained by
Ogun, Oyan, Makun and Osun rivers and their tributaries. They all drain their waters into the
Atlantic Ocean in the south. They are significantly known as sources of sharp sand used for
building and constructions in the cities and towns of the state and in Lagos Metropolis.
The population of the state that is made up of Muslims, Christians, African traditional religion
and atheists is 3,728,098. The population is dominated by Yoruba speaking people (Egbas,
Ijebus, and Aworis). There is no other tribe of Nigeria that is not represented in the state
particularly in her urban centres of Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode, Shagamu, Ijebu-Igbo, Sango, Ilaro,
Agbara, Ota and Ayetoro. There are a few of other nationals too - black and white. Over 45 %
of the population is under 40 years old. Less than 10.50% is 70 years and above. Again, over
60% of the population is engage in agricultural practices. About 25% of the remaining
population is engaged in white collar jobs working in government secretariats, in the
manufacturing industries; as teachers, and lecturers; and hospital workers. More than 10% of this
proportion commutes to work from Sango, Ota, Shagamu and Ijebu-Ode, in particular, in Lagos
Metropolis in the south (that is, outside the state).
The over 60% of the populace that engage in agriculture plant cash crops (cocoa, rubber, oil
palm tree and others) and some food crops (yam, maize, cassava, pepper, vegetables, coco-yam
and others). There are pawpaw, plantain, banana and few economic trees growing wild. The
guinea savannah to the north and west supports grazing of animals. Mechanized agriculture is
not common yet.
Apart from the two state own Universities, there is a Federal University, and eight privately own
universities. Other tertiary institutions include the Colleges of Education and Medicine; Schools
of Nursing and Health; and the polytechnics – privately and publicly owned. There are over one
thousand secondary schools and two and a half times that number of nursery and primary
schools. Over 85% of them are privately owned. More than 45% of these are located within Ifo-
Ota-Agba axis of the state. There are a number of manufacturing, food processing, brewery and
other industries too. Notably among these are Ewekoro Cement Works, Shagamu Cement
Works, 33 Sona Brewery at Imagbon (Ijebu-Ode), Bisrod Furniture, Ijebu-Ode, Ceramic
Manufacturing Industry at Abeokuta, and Sona Brewery at Ota. A number of manufacturing and
assembly plants are just springing up with the largest proportion still in Abeokuta - Ijebu-Ode –
Shagamu – Ifo – ota - Agbara Complex. Garri, kolanut and oil palm, timber, Saw-milling and
plank processing are among the light and local industries. Quarrying of granite, gravels and
laterite is common in the state. The relatively good roads encourage haulaging to the
Metropolitan Lagos, being the major market.
Though could be better, the state has good network of roads that link her with Lagos, Ekiti and
Oyo states, and the Republic of Benin. Over 45% of these roads are dual-carriage ways. But,
neither is there any sea nor air port. There have been proposals for a cargo airport. Railway
traverse the state but train only convey passages to and from its extreme southern end to Lagos
Metropolis.
A few engage in international trades, but the Egbas and the Ijebus are noted for trade and
commerce within and outside the state. They trade in agricultural produce and retailing of
imported manufactured goods and services. Again, apart from Government lock-up shops and
stores, all major streets of the cities and towns have shops retailing goods and services or as bars
and restaurants. Apart from the state owned hotel, Gateway Hotel, there are a number of other
hotels, brothels, motels, restaurants and bars. There are few miniature shopping Malls at
Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode, Shagamu, Sango and Ota only.
Undoubtedly, it is a region of contrast. But, water, electricity, feeder roads, security, health care
delivery system, unstable government policies and programmes and qualitative education are
serious threat to development. It is regrettable to note that crime rate is high. The state is really a
wholesome laboratory for particularly teaching and learning about SSS Geography as Aderogba,
(1990) explain in her paper “Towards a maximum use of Local Environment, (Resources) for Effective
Teaching and Learning about Geography in Nigeria Senior Secondary Schools”; and as Eya (1988) earlier
presented.

Methodology
The entire WAEC, NECO and UME syllabuses of Geography were perused and salient aspects/
topics on (1) Elements of Practical and Physical Geography, (2) Human Geography, (3) Regional
Geography of Nigeria, (4) Field Work, (5) Geography of Africa, and (6) Selected Topics were
identified. WAEC note on all of these assisted to define the topics (content) of each part
(WAEC, 2012). See the Appendix. Teachers of Geography (of not less than ten years of teaching
experience; and holders of B.Sc., B.A. or B. Ed in Geography), in twenty five schools were
interviewed on the materials and improvisation of materials for teaching and learning about
various aspects of the subject. They also provided some solutions to the dearth of materials for
teaching and learning. Above all, they were enthused and suggested what could be obtained
where to improvise for teaching and learning, using the resources in the local environment. Two
Hundred and fifty (250) students from twenty five (25) schools of the state were similarly asked
questions about those aspects of the subject that were found difficult to learn about. They all
succinctly outlined what may encourage effective teaching and learning about various aspects of
the subject. Fifty (50) old students of Geography (thirty in tertiary institutions and twenty out of
school) were similarly interviewed. Their opinions and suggestions do not differ significantly
from those that were still in schools and colleges. The over thirty years of experience of the
author in the teaching of Geography was brought to bear.
The words schools and colleges were used interchangeably in this work to mean formal places of
study where Geography is taught and examined along with other school subjects at the SSS level
of education.
Findings
The entire syllabus is divided into six (WAEC 2012, NECO 2012 and JAMB 2012), See the

 Elements of Practical and Physical Geography;

Appendix:

 Human Geography;
 Regional Geography of Nigeria;
 Field Work;
 Geography of Africa; and
 Selected Topics.
The WAEC notes are replicas of NECO and UME syllabuses. The materials and the procedure
for teaching and learning about Geography for the three Examinations are the same; the
schemes of works are also the same. See the Appendix. All aspects have material resources,
animate and inanimate, tangible and intangible, that can be drawn from the environment of the
state for teaching and learning. See the Appendix.
Discussion
The foregoing shows there is virtually no aspect of the subject that materials cannot be
improvised for teaching and learning about. But, notwithstanding the suggested improvisations,
the following are essential and imperative for effective teaching and learning about Geography at

 Extensive use of chalk and chalk board for sketching, drawing, demonstration and all
the Senior Secondary School (SSS) level of education:

others;
 Drawing and painting with different colours of chalk, chalk boards; and colour pencils

 Adequately equipped Geography Laboratory, one per school;

on papers and card boards;

 Adequately equipped Geography Garden, one per school;

 Adequately equipped Meteorological Gardens, one per school;
 Home work and group assignments, simple projects and others;
 Visits to agricultural fields, agricultural practices around and within school;
 Visits to mining of gravels, stone and other land/soil minerals;
 Extensive use of Atlas maps, Charts, Tables, Models and others where available;
 Field Work, Field Study, Field Trips, Excursions, and others should be undertaken and
the learners made to study, observe, count, measure, sketch, play/fiddle, with examples,

 Reports should be written by students and moderated by the instructors /teachers;

objects, materials, articles and others in the field;

 Everywhere, at all times, should be considered as laboratory and or an aspect of it for

specific aspects of the subject: Forests and woods, grasses and swamps, springs, rivers
and lakes, sunny and raining days, mountains and hills, residential areas, roads, paths,
railways, flying aircrafts, ship, animals, birds, insects, human beings, workshops, schools
and colleges, mosques, churches and other religious places of worship, industrial areas;
(heavy and local), assembly plants, production centers, petrol filling stations, hospitals
and maternity homes, sky and clouds in the sky; different vegetation covers and bare
grounds; wind, households, family groups, compounds, communities and others; waste
dumps, pipe borne water, schools and colleges, palaces of kings, king and the subjects,
 train stations, moving train and vehicles, markets, stores, articles of trade, manufactured
goods, agricultural produce, erosion and erosion passages, soil and soil types, rocks and
rock types, flowing rivers and their courses, features and land forms along river valleys;
electricity poles, national grids, police posts/stations, post offices, rail lines, hotels,
motels, brothels, restaurants and bars - just to mention a few around and in the

 Drawing and sketching of maps, filling and locating places and features on sketch maps;
immediate surroundings of schools;

 Active participation in debates, quiz and essay competitions and others within and

 References to past questions of WAEC, NECO and UTME examinations;

between schools and colleges, on geography topics;

 Teachers/instructors regularly attending training and retraining programs, workshops,

seminars, conferences, debates, up-grading and up-dating programs and others on
Geography and Geography topics;
 Reference to examination marking guides by students and teachers of Geography; and
 Self/group examinations/revisions should be encouraged and supported by schools and
parents.
At least, it was once written by a geography scholar that “peeping through the window of a
classroom, you can easily improvise materials for teaching and learning about 88% of the topics
in School Geography”, (Aderogba 1990). It is only a try that can convince one. Though not
within the scope of this work, Teachers and Laboratory Instructors may have to elaborately
disabuse the mind of students and learners that Geography is neither a wide, abstract nor
difficult subject. It is not; and every aspect is interesting to teach and learn about.

It should be of importance to note that an active, proactive and participative teacher would easily
find, at least, a simple item for improvising for effective teaching of any specific topic/aspect in
Geography anywhere, any time in Ogun state, (Nigeria).

Conclusion
Geography is a subject that teaches the interaction of man with his physical environment. It is
useful as a school subject that a potential student of tertiary institution can combine with other
school subjects to pursue professional and academic disciplines. A number of professional fields
and professionals emerge from the discipline of Geography. There is no aspect of the subject, at
the SSS level of education in Ogun state (Nigeria) that materials (animate and inanimate, tangible
and intangible) for effective teaching and learning cannot be improvised. It requires active
participation and pro-activeness of the teachers and learners. A school van/bus is imperative for
movement of students and teachers for Field Work/ Field Study/ Field Visits and others.
Otherwise, school can hire bus for that purpose. Again, as many as ten objectives can be targeted
to be met within an outing. The first two years may be traumatic and cumbersome but
subsequent years will be building on the existing materials and experiences.

References and Further Readings

Abegunde, M. A. A. (1988) ''The Promotion of Career Opportunities through the Senior
Secondary School Geography.'' Paper presented at the NGTA Workshop. Bendel State
University, Abraka Campus (February); PP. 5-14.

Aderogba, K. A. 2005. “Dearth of maps for effective teaching and learning about geography in
Nigerian schools and colleges: A case study of Ogun State”. International Journal of
Research in Education Vol. 3 No 2 pp 217 – 224
Aderogba, K. 2010. “Towards Improving, Registration, Participation and Performance of
Female Students in Geography in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria”.
Paper presented at the 51st Annual Conference of Association of Nigerian
Geographers, Department of Geography and Urban Planning Kogi State University,
Ayingba, Kogi State, Nigeria (11th – 15th October).
Aderogba, K. A. 2011. “Climate Change and Implications for Sustainable Senior Secondary
School (SSS) Geography in Nigeria.” in Journal of Geography and Regional Planning.
Vol. 4 (16), pp. 776 – 784.
Aderogba, K. A. 2012. “Laboratories and Sustainable Teaching and Learning Abour Senior
Secondary Schools (SSS) Geography in Nigeria”. Journal of Education and Social
Research (Special Issue) Vol. 2. No. 4 (January) pp. 55 – 64.
Aderogba, K. A. 2012. “Quality and Quantity of Geography Teachers in Ifo Local Government
Area of Ogun State, Nigeria” in Academic Research International Vol. 2. No. 1,
(January) pp. 251 – 261.
Aderogba, K., Ogunnowo, C., 2010. Quality and quantity of geography teachers in Ifo
Educational Zone of Ogun State, Nigeria. Paper presented at the 2009 Annual
Conference of Association of Nigerian Geographers, Department of Geography and
Urban Planning Kogi State University, Ayingba, Kogi State, Nigeria (11th – 15th
October).
Adetuberu, J. O. (1983) ''The Odds Against the Teaching of Map Work: A Critical Analysis of
Geography in Ondo State Secondary Schools.'' Paper Presented at the 26th Annual
Conference of NGA at the University of Ilorin (February 16th – 20th).
Adetuberu, J. O. (1984) ''Geography Students: Problems and Prospects.'' Paper delivered at the
Workshop on the Teaching of Geography. Oyo State College of Education, Ilesha.
(March).
Afolabi, O. 1973: Study Notebook: West Africa. London: Collins pp 25-27.
Ajaegbu, H. I. (1971) ''The Challenges to Geographers and Geography Teachers in Nigeria
Today.'' Majasan, J. A. (Eds.) New Dimension in Nigeria High School Geography. Ibadan:
University Press, pp. 12-26.
Alao, N.O. (1978) ''Spatial Dynamics and the Dynamics of Geography'' in Abegunde, M. A.
(Ed.). Perspectives on Senior Secondary School Geography. Lagos: The High School Geography
Committee. Nigerian Geographical Association. Pp. 1-20.
Areola, O. O. 1978. “The Roles of geography in nation building.” Paper delivered to Geography
Students Association to mark Geography Week. Department of Geography, University
of Ibadan, Ibadan.
Blaire R. P 1991. A Survey of the States of Geography and Social Studies in Canadian
Elementary and Secondary Schools. The Operational Geography. Vol. 9 No 3 pp 6-
11.
Boehim, R. G. 1996. Careers in Geography. Washington DC: National Geography Society.
Curineione, J. M. and Farrell, R. T 1988. “The State of Geography Teacher in Middle/Junior and
Secondary High Schools” in Strengthen Geography in the Social Studies Curriculum Bulletin
No. 81 Ed. S. T. Natoll. Washington, D. C: National Council for Social Studies.
Datol, I. G. and Padung, L. L. (1996) ''Principles and Methods of Teaching Technical Subjects'' in
Oyetunde, T. (Ed.) Education Innovation Approaches and Human Development. Vol. 1 Jos
LECAPS Publishers.
Dow, K. and Downing, T. E. 2007. The Atlas of climate change: Mapping the world’s greatest challenge.
Brighton: Earthscan, pp. 19-26.
Duze, M. and Afolabi Ojo 2000. Senior School Atlas. Lagos: Macmillan; pp 13 - 16
Eya, P. E. (1983) ''Resources for Learning Geography and their Effects on Students' (WASC)
Performance: A Case Study of Nsukka Educational Zone of Anambra Conference of
NGA, University of Ilorin, (February 16th – 20th).
Federal Republic of Nigeria. 1989. National Policy on Education. Lagos. NERC Press.
Fellman, J. D., Getis, A., Getis, J. and Malinowski, J. E. (2005) Human Geography: Landscape of
Human Activities. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Pp. 4-9.
Ivowi, U. (2001) ''Role of Teachers in Motivating Students' Interest in Science and Mathematics.''
International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa. Vol. 3 Pp. 13-18.
Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, 2012
Longman 2005. Senior Secondary Atlas (Second Edition) Lagos: Longman Nigeria PLC
Morounfolu, O. A., Adegbite, J. A. and Adio, R. O. 2004. Repositioning teaching and teacher
education in Nigeria. in D. F. Elaturoti, and Kola Babarinde (Eds.) Teachers’ mandate on
education and social development in Nigeria. Ibadan: Starling Hoder publishers (Nigeria) Ltd.;
pp 209-219.
National Examination Council (2012) Regulations and Syllabuses for Senior Secondary Certificate
Examination (SSCE) for Candidates in Nigeria. Minna: NECO pp. 142-146.
National Population Commission (2004) National Policy on Population for Sustainable
Development. Abuja: National Population Commission.
Nigerian Educational Research Council (1992) A Philosophy for Nigerian Education. Ibadan:
Heineman Educational Books (Nigeria) Ltd.
Okunola, P. O. (1990) ''Strategies for Making Geography more Functional in the New
Educational Policy'' in Teaching Geography for Optimal Learning Outcome in the Senior Secondary
Schools. Ijebu-Ode: Department of Geography, Ogun State College of Education and
Nigerian Geography Teachers Association (SW Zone). Pp. 106-114.
Ologe, K. O. 1978. Career outlets for geography graduates from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
Proceedings of the 21st Annual Conference of the NGA, University of Jos (April).
Sada, P. O. (1976) Reviewing the Geography Curriculum in Nigerian High Schools. Ibadan:
Department of Geography, University of Ibadan.
Stone, E. 1994. Quality teaching: A sample of case. New York: Dominion University
The West African Examination Council (2012) Regulations and syllabuses for West African
Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) Lagos: WAEC. Pp. 248-255.
Thomas, P. F. 1990. On the demise of School Geography: A Post-mortem Report.” The
Operational Geography (September) Vol. 8 No 3 pp 18 – 21.
Woodridge, S. W. and East, W. G. 1951. The Spirit and Purpose of Geography. London:
Hutchinson & Co. Pub. Ltd.
 APPENDIX

The West African Examination Council (2004) Regulations, Syllabuses and

Improvisation of Teaching Aid

S/N CONTENTS WAEC NOTES Teaching Aid

Improvisation
1 ELEMENTS OF
PRACTICAL AND
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Map Work Map reading and interpretation Materials: Prototype
based on a survey map of part of topographical maps,
West Africa: scale, measurement, Drawing as many as possible of
distances, direction and bearing, topographical maps and
map reduction and enlargement, photocopying same for each
identification of physical features student to practice. Such topo
such as spurs, valleys etc and maps can easily show contour
cultural features such as city, walls, lines, drainage patterns, contour
settlements, communication routes lines, spur, cliff, knoll, hills,
etc, measurement of gradients, plateaux, escarpments, falls,
drawing of cross profiles, inter- promontory, coastal features,
visibility, description and valleys, lakes, settlements and
explanation of drainage patterns of their patterns communication
communication settlement and land lines and others. Functions of the
use. settlements and human activities
in the settlements could be
derived; and vegetation type
could be read.

Distances could be measured,

and gradients, intervisibility of
points and others could be
determined.

Elementary Survey Materials: Common table

Chain and Prismatic compass, open (square) tape rule, ruler, twine,
and closed traverse avoiding note book, set square, angle,
obstacles in the field. common straight pegs (short and
tall), a group of five students.
A common ruler can be used to
replace alidade. (It is a modified
ruler). Common tape rule can be
used in place of chain after a
graphical example of chain
might have been shown on the
chalk board. Using either tape
rule or common twine, with the
supervision of the teacher,
students can traverse avoiding
obstacles in a school compound
using a classroom as obstacle.
Traverse legs and offsets are
measured using tape rule.
Individual students can form a
straight line, or with the use of
long pegs. One alines with the
other at the next end and one in
 between. One measuring the
angles and the other takes the
reading and do the pegging.
Angles of set square could be
used to measure angle. Roles can
be interchanged. A school Foot
Ball Field is an example of a
close traverse and a path in the
school compound is an open
traverse. When a school foot ball
field is used, some desks could
be placed along the route as
obstacle.

Materials: A group of raw data

Statistical Maps and Diagrams on rainfall, temperature, trade
Graphical representation of volume, volume of traffic and
statistical data: Bar graphs, Line others, sketch map. The data can
graphs, flow charts, pie charts, dot be processed and put into a
maps, proportional circles, density graph, chart, map and others.
maps, isopleths maps. Such data can be obtained from
any text and or generated. To
draw a map of a set of data for a
particular place, there will be a
sketch map of such place too.
Other information about density,
for example, will determine how
the data will be scattered on the
map. Where data are omitted or
none existing, common
interpolation is done.

Materials: Water, clay, mortal

and water colour/paint. Clay is
Elements of Physical well mashed and then moulded
Geography The earth as a planet in relation to to spherical shapes of various
the sun. Latitude, longitude and sizes (of the sun and the planets).
time. Structure of the earth (internal This is painted with various
and external). colors of water bodies, low
lands, higher land etc. Political
and vegetational boundaries
could be shown. On another
spherical mould there can be
lines of longitude and latitude.
Equitoria line, artic and antartic
lines shown. Still another one
can be cut into two equal halves
and differently coloured to show
internal structure. Paper cuttings
could equally show all these with
little explanation.
Various sizes of moulded clay
can be made to represent
different planet. The sizes will
represent relative sizes of each
planet to the other including the
sun. All can be arranged in space
with the aid of string and the sun
to form the planetary system – in
a Geography Laboratory.
 Materials: Cement mixtures,
clay, samples of different rocks
types, geographical garden.
Efforts of the teacher to arrange
various types of rock samples,
(i) Rocks Types, characteristics, formation sedimentary, igneous,
and uses. metamorphic etc. at the
Mountains, plateaux, plains, karst Geography Laboratory and or
and coastal landforms. geographical garden or
geography corner in Geography
class will do the magic.
Examples of resources derivable
from each can be similarly
arranged. Dormant and active
volcanic erupted mountain,
mountain, plateaux, plains, karst
and coastal landforms are best
improvised with casts in
geographical garden. Use of
cement cast with little artistic
work each will be distinct and
excellent. Clay mould can be
used to depict these in
Geography Laboratory and or
class room. Pictures and
drawings from internet could be
used.

Materials: Cement mixture, clay,

geographical garden, strings and
others. Again various land forms
are best presented in geography
garden with casts. Valleys,
(ii) Major Landforms Agencies modify landforms such braided river, tributaries,
as weathering, running water, distributaries (delta) and others.
underground water, wind and How each came about could also
waves. be demonstrated with some
Fieldwork covering local water made to run from various
landforms such as coastal features, slopes through pre-modified
drainage features, gullies, etc. loose soil or mere mould of sand
with obstacles along the slope.
Erosion, along erosion passage,
casting different
structures/landforms on the way,
can be good example of running
water and its work. Again, as
suggested by WAEC, NECO and
UTME, Fieldwork covering local
landforms such as coastal
features, drainage features etc.
should suffice. Within and at the
immediate surroundings of the
student, if not anything
biological weathering could be
seen and explained.

Materials: Salt, water, drinking

glass, transparent bowl, hand fan
or standing fan or ceiling fan. A
 sketch of ocean floor on chalk
board and water in transparent
bowl of water can show ocean
basin. Some moulds of clay and
(iii) Oceans sand may be made to settle at the
Ocean basins, salinity, ocean bottom of the basin to show
currents (causes, types and effects certain terrain/configuration
on the climates of coastlands), below the water ocean floor. A
water as an environmental little salt in a cup of water will
resource. turn saline. Dirts in ocean water

 In a large bowl of water, blow

make it become cloudy.

winds with the aid of a hand

fan or standing/ceiling fan,
waves (currents) are created.
Relate this to large body of
water and circulating wind on
water; circulating wind
through the hot and cold

 Ocean Resource - sea foods,

regions.

water, sand, salt,

transportation routes – A chart
showing canoe being paddled
or a ship sailing on sea.
Students can be made to
enumerate what are obtained
from sea and ocean waters
(that are known to them).

Materials: Matches and some

pieces of paper, dusty ground,
sticks and flowing gown; plastic
funnel of 6-8cm diameter,
calibrated bottle, a concrete cast
of about 0.5m high, teak
wood/stem of 3.4m long/high, 2
pieces of sticks of 1.2m long
(iv) Weather and climate each, plates made into letters N,
E, S and W, an arrow head with
Simple weather study based on tail, a five inches nail, 4 two-
local observation description of the inches nails, and a thick plastic
Stevenson’s screen and uses of ball. Outside the classroom,
basic weather instruments e.g. rain make a small fire with the
gauge, thermometer, barometer and matches The flame and the
wind vane etc. smoke will follow direction of
wind. Also use sticks to hit the
dusty ground, you will see the
direction of wind – where it is
coming from and where it is
going. Using cement concrete, a
rain gauge stand can be
constructed. The graduated
bottle is placed inside the
already prepared space for it and
the funnel put in place – all at a
height of under 1 meter from the
surface of the ground. Rain
water could be collected in
graduated bottle in this way and
 measured. Using the 2 pieces of
wood of 1.2m length stick, and
the letters N, E, S and W,
attached to each end of the stick,
one on each end; arrow head
with tail, all made of metal
plates a four cardinal point is
constructed. This is mounted on
the 3.4m length teak wood with
the aid of hard/tough plastic ball
to allow it rotate. It is erected
perfectly perpendicular to the
ground. It is without interference
from any building or trees that
will disturb wind flowing freely
to it. Prevailing weather may be
described. Photographs and
diagrams could be used.

Materials: Sunny, hot days;

rainy, cold days, hamattan
period/day, hamattan haze, large
bowl of water, standing fan; a
swimming pool around the
school or better still, a large pool
of water.
A sunny day is bright and
beautiful and it is hot. Heat is
felt when it is hot. The shower
(v) Elements of climate of rain is visible. A rainy day is
when the rain spans through
Temperature, pressure, wind and considerable period of time of
precipitation and the factors the day. It will be cold. Students
affecting them e.g. altitude, use cardigans. During hamattan,
latitude, ocean currents, land-and- it is dry, hazy and dusty.
sea breezes, continentality, aspect. Visibility is greatly reduced too.
Interpretation of climatic charts Students should be reminded
and data. Classification of climate and or made to have a feel of it
(Greek and Koppen’s). Major types in its season. With a pool of
of climate (Hot climate – water or in a large bowl of
equatorial, tropical and desert, water, as the wind blows over it,
temperate climate – warm and a ripple of water is noticed. This
cool). The atmosphere as an is breeze. The breeze on water is
environmental resource. a miniature form of ocean
breeze/current. Compare this
with large body of water. The
ocean body and great winds over
it. Go further to explain/relate it
to ocean bodies, great winds
blowing across the world cold to
hot region, and vis-va-sar
(continent).

Material Resources: Different

soil samples from around the
school compound e.g sand, clay,
humus etc. Cutlass and hoes,
rock samples etc. Mixture of
weathering of rocks and
degradable organic materials
 turn to humus soil, sand and
sandy soil. Cutlass, shovel and
hoes can be used to cut out a soil
perfectly to some depth to show
(vi) Soil soil profile. The hoe and the
shovel are used to cut the soil
and the cutlass is used to dress
Definition, local types and the cut surface. This can be
characteristics. Factors and observed at fresh road cuttings -
processes of soil formation and soil from particles, through humus
profile. Tropical soil types. soil to basement rock. Drawings
Importance to man and the effects could be used too.
of human activities on soil.
Material Resources: Timber at
saw mills, fire wood, chewing
sticks, leaves for bean cake, local
sponge, planks with which
school furniture are made,
grasses around the school, trees
around and within school
compound. The type of trees and
flowers (shrubs) show the type of
plants (vegetation) that thrives in
the environment. They are also
selected resources from the
(vii) Vegetation forest. Where
trees/forests/grasses have been
cleared for roads; agricultural
Major types (tropical rainforest, purposes, urban land use etc. are
cool temperate, woodland, tropical deforested areas. The school
grassland and temperate grassland); compound is another one. Use of
characteristics, distribution, factors photographs and diagrams is
affecting their distribution, plant imperative. Relate climate and
communities. Vegetation as an vegetation.
environmental resource.
Material Resources: The school
compound, the rats in the bush
around, plants and other animals
in the bush, water, trees and
other landforms around it, bear
grounds, school field, school
farm etc. These could be used to
explain the concept of niche,
habitat and ecosystem. Simple
food chain could be explained
with
sun grass cow man; or
(viii) Aspects of yam rabbit man. The
Environmental difference between cultivated
Interaction and uncultivated plants. The
Land ecosystem, environmental school premises and the
balance and intervention within the undisturbed ecosystem can be
natural environment. compared. Students can have
projects on this: let students
write out the different items in
both and compare.

Materials: Erosion passages,

running water during or after
rains, cultivation against slope on
 school farms and on the farms
around, gutter and erosion
passages. Imagination of
extremities of dry and wet
seasons with many attributes of
dryness and wetness; and the
hamattan haze. A look at gutter
during and after rain will show
corrosive work of running water.
(ix) Environmental Dry season is next to drought
Hazards and desert conditions. Any waste
dump is polluted land; unclean
Soil erosion, drought, desert gutter are polluted; stagnant
encroachment, deforestation and water with refuse is polluted; air
pollution, causes, effects and smelling and dusty is polluted
prevention of each. and so forth.

Materials: Two large settlements

like Abeokuta and Ijebu-ode; and
two small towns like Imaweje
and Iju Okoto; government
establishments, industries, water
works known, hospitals, schools
and colleges, transportation and
commercial activities, stories of
selected towns and villages
known to the students. History
helped or determined the growth
2 and development of cities and
HUMAN GEOGRAPHY towns. Employment
(i) World population opportunities, Government
facilities and amenities etc. help
settlement to grow and develop.
Factors and patterns of growth, Other things being equal, the
distribution and movement; growth more the number of amenities
rate problems (e.g. Amazon as in, and facilities, the more the
N.E. of USA, India, Japan, West opportunities for employment.
coast of South Africa) Bigger settlements have more
amenities/facilities.

Materials: Drawing/ sketches of

rural and urbanized settlements
showing features of built-up
areas –mosques, churches,
schools, hospitals, roads, rails,
post office and the sizes to scale
relatively. Given known
examples, what is rural may lack
all or most of the above and vice-
va-sa. Lack or scarcity of these
and small size of the settlement
tent to rurality. Visit to rural and
urban communities and studying
the attributes of both will suffice.
(ii) Settlement Photographs and diagrams
should be applied.

Types (rural and urban); patterns Materials: Roads/paths that lead

and factors affecting location; to school, railway around the
growth and size; functions of rural school and or that might have
 and urban settlements (e.g. been seen, Water in large rivers
Western Europe, the Middle East and sea (and ocean); the air
and West Africa). above the school – up to 25,000
feet above sea level. People,
animals, articles of trade, goods
and others in vehicles on roads
that lead to schools and colleges
are similarly those carried by
rail, water and air transport
except relative cost and
bulkiness – between cities,
(iii) Transport towns, regions and nations. How
waters dry up in most rivers is a
challenge to water transportation;
hamattan is a challenge to air
Types (roads, railways, water, and travels since visibility is always
air). Transportation and economic reduced; and poor roads (some
development (movement of people wash away) are predicaments to
and commodities, national and road transportation. What is
international trade, diffusion of lacking in one region (town or
ideas and technology, national nation) is transported to another -
integration); problems of basis of trade. There is no
transportation. Kolanut growing in northern
Nigeria. Thus, it has to be
transported there the market is
there and vice-va-sa with
tomatoes, tatase and pepper.
There is little or no fish inland of
the state thus it is taken inland
from the south. Photographs and
diagrams should be applied.

Materials: For small/light

industries: amala restaurant,
carpentry workshop, blacksmith
shop, motorcycle repairer’s shop,
mechanic village, bean cake
kiosk, plantain and corn roaster
kiosk and other.
Heavy industry – cement factory
at Ewekoro, cement factory at
shagamu, 33 Brewery at Ijebu –
Ode, Ceramic Industry at
Abeokuta and others.
Field visits to the locations of all
(both categories) will explain
some factors of location –
(iv) Manufacturing accessibility, raw materials,
Industry labour, market etc. Photographs
and diagrams should be applied.

Types (heavy and light industry); Materials: Two known location

Factors of industrial location; in the world. United Kingdom
contributions to Gross National and Nigeria. Goods produced in
Product (GNP) and problems. United Kingdom (electronics, tin
foods, automobiles and others)
and those in Nigeria (cashew nut,
crude oil, cocoa, hides and skin).
 The goods of the two nations are
required in exchange. Sketch
maps can depict the trade routes
by air and by water.

Materials: Atlas maps, sketch

maps of Nigeria and others.
Students should be made to
study, trace/ draw map of
Nigeria and locate political
(v) World Trades boundaries, physical settings,
population distribution, major
transport network, airports, sea
ports and others; location of
Factors, major commodities mineral resources, agricultural
(agricultural, manufactured goods produce and others.
and mineral products, trade routes,
with special emphasis on trade Materials: Atlas maps, sketch
between candidate’s home country maps, physical settings, Hausa/
and the outside world. Fulani man/woman, Yoruba
man/ woman, Tiv/Benue
3 man/woman, Igbo man/woman,
Ijaw man/woman, Ibibio
REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY man/woman, Edo man/woman;
OF NIGERIA common crops and others in the
region. Trace/colour on sketch
map where they could be found.
Nigeria on broad outlines (location, Those found around the school
position, political divisions, and known somewhere else may
physical setting, population be described. Student should be
distribution of mineral and power made to know where they came
resources, industry and commerce, from, their food, mode of
transportation). dressing, main religion etc. as
distinct from others.
Photographs and diagrams
should be applied.

Materials: Sketch maps, school

vans and others. With the
Geographic Regions of Nigeria guidance of the teacher, the
(Eastern Highlands, Eastern Scarp student are made to
lands, North-central Highlands, study/observe, jot, sketch and
Sokoto Plains, Chad Basin, Niger draw specifics, e.g Rural land
Trough, Cross River Basin and use such as agricultural land use
Southern Coast. (and what are planted), mining
Each of these geographical regions (and minerals mined) fishing;
should be under the following sub- Urban land use such as market
headings:- survey, traffic flow, pattern of
(i) Physical settings; journeys etc. Articles of trade,
(ii) Peoples and population; volume of sales, modes and
(iii) Resources and economic forms of traffic, patterns of
activities; journey and others could be
(iv) Transportation; observed\recorded and described.
4 (v) Problems of development. From immediately around school
compound or short distance
FIELDWORK away. Erosion – watching
moving water in erosion
passages, abrasive, transportation
and deposition works observed,
 Field work on any one of the and recorded. Visit to any local
following should be based on local market will show predominant
geography of candidate’s home articles of trade, how the stalls
country. (This aspect of the are arranged, times and intervals
syllabus should be examined in of marketing, major marketers,
schools as part of the continuous challenges and otherwise of the
assessment and should account for market.
25% of the total mark of
continuous assessment): Materials: Atlas maps of Africa,
sketch map of Africa showing
(i) Land use (rural or urban): outline, location and position,
Rural – crop farming (e.g. rice, times of longitude and latitudes,
cocoa etc), mining (e.g. coal, the great circles - equator and
tin, petroleum etc), fishing. others, political division,
Urban – commercial activities, associated hills and mountains,
ports, factories, recreational etc. climate, vegetation and
(ii) Market survey – rural or distribution of major mineral
urban resources. Students should
(iii) Traffic flow – rural or endeavor to sketch and locate
urban places and features on sketch
(iv) Patterns of journey to maps as Home Works and during
work – rural or urban class lessons.
(v) Rate of erosion in the Materials: Atlas maps, sketch
locality etc maps,. Students will be made to
study, sketch map of Africa and
5 locate position of features and
places and regions for example,
GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA lumbering, irrigation agriculture,
mineral mining, population
distribution; regions of Africa –
North, West Central, East and
Africa on broad outlines – location, South Africa; and geography of
size, position, political divisions each region.
and associated islands, physical
setting (relief, drainage, climate Materials: Any local mining or
and vegetation); distribution of agricultural plantation; known
major minerals. economic activities, known
location for lumbering and saw-
milling activities and others. Let
the students know favourable
conditions for the existence of
the practice where it exists; the
significance of each to where it
exists. Example oil production in
Nigeria, Algeria and Libya; gold
mining in South Africa and
others.
Visit to any local example will
give the students an imagination
of whatever is in other parts. The
teacher should relate and give the
6 conditions that favour it in such
locations. Photographs and
SELECTED TOPICS diagrams should be applied.
Let the students know why we
must/can refer to Nigeria, West
Africa or Africa as a whole, a
(a) Lumbering in equatorial “region of contrast”. Variability
Africa (with particular and contrasting physical
reference to Cote d’Ivoire and environment, economic, social,
Zaire).
 (b) Irrigation agriculture in the political, people, culture and
Nile Basin and the Niger others.
Basin.
(c) Plantation agriculture in West
and East Africa.
(d) Fruit farming in the
Mediterranean Regions of
Africa.
(e) Gold mining in South Africa.
(f) Copper mining in Zaire and
Zambia.
(g) Oil production in Nigeria,
Algeria and Libya.
(h) Population distribution in
West Africa.
(i) International Economic Co-
operation in West Africa (e.g.
ECOWAS).

Source: WAEC 2012 and Field Work, 2012.

 WATER EDUCATION: AN ANTIDOTE TO WATER BORNE DISEASES

Ifesinachi B. Onyekaozuru

Department of Physical and Health Education

Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri
Imo State, Nigeria.

ABSTRACT
This paper was designed to address the significance of water education. This is aimed at increasing public
awareness on the importance of taking clean and safe water and keeping our bodies clean in order not to be
contaminated with water borne-diseases. This paper therefore focuses on concept of water, water education, reasons
for water education, water-borne diseases, transmission of water borne diseases, effects of water borne-diseases and
the prevention of water borne diseases. When people’s behaviour is changed towards water issues as a result of
proper information on water, it will go a long way to reduce the wide spread of water-borne diseases which kill over
two billions of people annually. It was therefore recommended that comprehensive legislative programs should be
enacted to protect and improve water quality and protect communities from water pollution thereby preventing
water-borne diseases.

INTRODUCTION
The essentiality of water cannot be over emphasized. It is required in every sphere of
human, plant and animal life. It is one of the most abundant liquid in the body and forms over
60% of our body fluids. It aids in metabolic activities which helps in sustaining our body system,
an individual can survive without food for some weeks but cannot survive without water for one
week. Water is of paramount importance as we use it in our home for drinking, washing, bathing,
cooking, extinguishing fire and so on. It is also used for recreational activities, transportation and
also acts as a solvent which helps in dissolving some polar molecules
Water benefits are enormous that we need to acquire so that we can value taking safe and
clean water and keep our water-bodies clean thereby preventing water-borne diseases which can
be contacted by drinking water contaminated by human or animal faeces which contain
pathogenic micro-organisms such as protozoa, bacteria, virus and so on, and it can be
transmitted due to flood water, water runoffs from landfills, septic fields and sewer pipes
through the faecal-oral routes of disease transmission. These diseases have tremendous effects
on our health as well as the economy, locally and internationally people infected with water-
borne diseases and faced with a huge financial burden in order to receive proper treatment. This
can be prevented if we acquire a positive attitude towards water as a result of water education
which will help us drink clean water devoid of pathogenic micro-organisms and keep our water
bodies clean.

CONCEPT OF WATER
Deltawerken (2004) states that water is a colourless, tasteless and odourless substance that is
essential to all forms of life that we know of.
Also the Merrian-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2011) says that, water is the liquid that
descends from the clouds as rain, forms streams, lakes and seas, and it is a major constituent of
all living matter and that when pure is an odourless, tasteless, very slightly compressible liquid
oxide of hydrogen H2O which appears bluish in thick layers, freezes at 00C and boils at 1000C
has a maximum density of 40C a high specific heat, is freely ionized to hydrogen and hydroxyl
ions and is a poor conductor of electricity and a good solvent.
Water is also a chemical substance that has the chemical formula H2O, a water molecule
contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds, Dihydrogen
monoxide is the scientific name of water. Though it is almost never used (Wikipedia free
encyclopedia 2012).
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WATER AND EDUCATION
The World Water Council (2010) says that, the intimate relationship between water and
education is based on the need for information. We need to be educated about water in order to
know how to deal with all kinds of water-related problems or diseases. In developing countries,
communities also need to know how best to manage their water sources and eradicate all
pathogenic organisms that are likely to contaminate our water.
Therefore, water education is the process of acquiring adequate knowledge of where
water comes from, it’s uses and the proper way of managing water so that it will be safe for
human consumption. It is aimed at helping people to understand that water is essential to life, in
food, energy, transportation, nature, leisure, culture, social norms and virtually all products used
on daily basis.

REASONS FOR WATER EDUCATION

The Alliance for Water Education (2012) stipulated the following reasons for water
education:
 Billions of people live without clean water and their children are dying.
 We buy food grown in different places, wear cloths grown in different countries and use
computers and cell phones made in China, foods and products flown around the world
like never before and with them goes the water that went into making them.
 To have energy systems, you must have water system; water and energy are thee basic
building blocks of modern civilization and both are challenged in the 21st century. Energy
supplies depend on abundant fresh water and electricity from dams.
 To teach our children water literacy so as to be able to control the emerging water crisis.
 Also to create water awareness among individuals.
 To encourage improvement in water purification.
 To encourage citizens to be better informed about their drinking water supplies in order
to prevent water-borne diseases.
 To educate people on the effect of polluted water.

WATER-BORNE DISEASES
According to Lenntech (2011), water-borne diseases are any illness caused by drinking
water contaminated by human or animal faeces which contain pathogenic micro-organisms.
Also, Webmaster (2009) states that water-borne diseases are caused by pathogenic micro-
organisms that are most commonly transmitted in contaminated fresh water. Infections
commonly result during bathing, washing, drinking, preparation of food or the consumption of
food thus infected. Various forms of water-borne diseases affect mainly children in developing
countries according to World Health Organization (W.H.O) such diseases accounts for an
estimated 4.1% of the total daly global burden diseases and cause about 1.8 million human
deaths annually. The World Health estimated that 88% of the burden is attributed to unsafe
water supply, sanitation and hygiene.
Lenntech (2011) opines that the full picture of water-associated diseases is complex for a
number of reasons. Over the past decades, the picture of water-related human health issues have
become increasingly comprehensive with the emergence of new water-related infectious diseases
and the re-emergence of ones already known, such as salmonellosis, cholera, shigellosis,
schistosomiasis or the most modern infections such as leglonellosis or SARS, the analysis remain
to be done. The water related diseases according to the Lenntech (2011) includes; Anaemia,
Arsenicosis, Ascariasis, Bolulism, Campylobacteriosis, Cholera, Crptosporiodiosis, Cynabacterial
toxins, Dengue, Diarrhoea, Hookworm infection, Japanese encephalitis,lead poisoning,
Legionellosis, Laptospirosis, Lymphatic filariasis, methaemoglobinemia, Onchocerciasis,
Ringworm or Tinea, Scabies, Schistosomiasis, Trachoma, Trichuriasis, Typhoid and so on.

TRANSMISSION OF WATER-BORNE DISEASES

Lenntech (2011), says that, water-borne diseases spread by contamination of drinking
water system with the urine and faeces of infected animal or people. This is likely to occur where
public and private drinking water systems get their water from surface water (rain, creeks, rivers,
lakes, and so on) which can be contaminated by infected animal or people. Runoffs from
landfills, septic fields, and sewer pipes, residential or industrial development can also sometimes
contaminate surface water. This has been the cause of many dramatic outbreaks of faecial-oral
diseases such as typhoid and cholera. However, there are many other ways in which faecal
materials can reach the mouth; for instance, on the hands or on contaminated food. In general,
contaminated food and water are the single most common way in which people become
infected. These germs in the faeces can cause the diseases by even slight contact and transfer.
This contamination may occur due to flood waters, water runoffs from landfills, septic fields and
sewer pipes.
The United Nations World Water Development Report (2012) shows the following
diagram as the faecal-oral routes of disease transmission

Faeces

Water Hands
Flies

Foods

Mouth
EFFECTS OF WATER-BORNE DISEASES
The IWA water wiki (2012) states that, in developing countries, four fifth of all the
illnesses are caused by water borne diseases with diarrhea being the leading cause of childhood
death.
The global picture of water and health has a strong local dimension with some 1.1 billion
people still lacking access to improved drinking water sources and some 2.4 billion to adequate
sanitation and education on water issues. Today, we have strong evidence that water sanitation
and hygiene related diseases account for some 2,213,000 death annually and an annual loss of
82,196,000 disability adjusted life years (Dalys, BOS, Dec. 2004).
The World Health Organization (2000) stipulated that water borne diseases can have a
significant impact on the economy, locally as well as internationally. People who are infected by
water-borne diseases are usually confronted with related costs and not with a huge financial
burden.
This is especially the case in less developed countries. The financial losses are mostly
caused by example, costs for medical treatment and medication, costs for transport, special food
and by the lost of manpower. On average, a family spends about 10% of the monthly
household’s income per person infected.
The World Health Organization (W.H.O) (2012) estimates indicates that the world wide
over 2 billion people are infected with schistosomes and soil transmitted helminthes and 300
million of these suffer serious illness as a result. Also an estimated 246.7 million people
worldwide are infected by schistosomiasis and these 20 million suffer severe consequences of the
infection, while 120 million suffer milder symptoms. Also, estimated 80% of transmission takes
place in Africa South of the Sahara (World Health Organization, 2012)
Diarrhea occurs worldwide and causes 4% of all deaths and 5% of the health loss to
disability. Also after the Tsunami attack in Asia on Sunday 26th of December 2004, people faced
the threat of water-borne diseases link to flooding like shigellosis, cholera, hepatitis A,
leptospirosis, typhoid fever and dengue fever (W.H.O. 2012).

PREVENTION OF WATER-BORNE DISEASES

The United Nations World Water Development Report (2012) states that, the only way
to break the continued transmission of water-borne diseases is to improve the people’s hygiene
behaviour through education. And to provide them with certain basic needs such as drinking
water, washing and bathing facilities and sanitation.
However, Lenntech (2011) opines that blackflies, bilharzian snails and other vectors that
can cause water-borne diseases can be controlled with efficient drainage because they all depend
on water to complete their life cycle.
More so, clean water is a pre-requisite for reducing the spread of water-borne diseases. It
is well recognized that the prevalence of water-borne diseases can be greatly reduced by
providing clean drinking water and safe disposal of faeces, (World Health Organization, 2012).
Water is disinfected to kill any pathogens that may be present in the water supply and to
prevent them from growing again in the distribution system. Disinfectants are then used to
prevent the growth of pathogenic organisms and to protect public health. The choice of
disinfectant depends on the individual water quality and water supply system which can be
improved by having adequate knowledge of water.
We should use water purifiers like kent for making the water clean so that we can keep
the water-borne diseases away. It is also our responsibility to keep the water sources clean
(Medindia 2012).
More so, drugs for water borne diseases include Albendazole, Ampicilin,
Chloramphenicol, Ciproflaxacin, Doxycycline, Erythromycin, Furazolidone, Metronidazole,
Nitazoxanide, Ornidazole, Tetracycline, Tinidazole and so on but all these drugs should be taken
only according to Doctors’ prescription (Medindia 2012).
Also, the two common methods to kill micro-organisms in the water supply are
oxidation with chemicals such as chlorine dioxide or Ozone and irradiation with Ultra-violet
(UV) radiation (Lenntech 2011).

RECOMMENDATION
More water supplies, water quality, environmental restoration, climate change, flood
management and a long list of other water-related issues should be explored.
Water education should be inculcated in the curriculum of different schools so that
students at different levels should learn it from tender stage.
Water education should be encouraged so that people will learn how to keep their water
safe for drinking.
Policies that prevent people from throwing dirt’s and waste products in our streams and
rivers should be implemented.
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other
Organization that ensures that quality water are consumed and sold should be encouraged. Also
there is need to invest in the water plan’s strategies and actions according to Guivetch.
Comprehensive Legislative Programs should be enacted to protect and improve water
quality, protect fish and wild life and protect communities from water pollution.
 There should be creation of water finance plan for integrated water management on a
state wide and regional basis.

CONCLUSION
Water is one of the basic necessities of life that enhances metabolic activities of the body.
It is vital in every sphere of human life and for the sustenance; it gives to our environment the
economic health, social, cultural and recreational benefits we get from it.
The acquisition of knowledge that will enable people to have positive attitude towards
water is necessary so as to enable people value keeping their water bodies clean and drink clean
and safe water devoid of pathogenic organisms such as bacteria, protozoa, virus and parasitic
infections thereby reducing and preventing the wide spread of water-borne diseases.

REFERENCES
Deltawerken (2004) Water Education. www.deltawerken.com/34,html
http:/www.watereducation.org/userfile/2009. Annual Report. pdf
lenntech B.V (1998-2011) www.Lenntech.com>home>library.
Merriam- Webster Unabridged Dictionary, version 1.2.1 Retrieved 13-06-2012
The United Nations World Water Development Report “Water for People Water for Life”
(2012)
Water-Borne Diseases (Medindia 2012)
www.medindia.net>medindia>consumerhealth>healthinformation
Water Borne Disease- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/waterbornediseases
World Water Council (2012) Relationship between Education and Water
World Health Organization (W.H.O) (2012) Burden of Diseases and Cost Effectiveness
Estimates
 8
INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN SCHOOL
EDUCATION AND MARGINALISED: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS
*Jyoti Ranjan Sahoo and **Mamita Panda
*Centre for Culture, Media and Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia Central University, New Delhi-25.
**Researcher at Department of Sociology, Pondichhery Central University, Puducherry-605014,India

Abstract
Since independence, the Government of India has been taking initiatives new innovative programs to improve the
basic education facility in the country. Many efforts have been made to universalize education at the elementary
level. In this regard, programs like DPEP and SSA have made landmark achievements to have slight increase
the enrolment and retention rate of children and bring back out-of school children to school again. Despite the
ongoing program, there is a newness and innovativeness in these programs to attract children to get quality
education and for joyful leaning in class room settings through the use of technology i.e. ICT. In this regard, it
becomes utmost inevitable to study how far these agencies have integrated themselves into the present structure of
schooling system to help both marginalised children and teachers to facilitate collaborative teaching leaning process.
And, it helped to create interest level of the students and teachers belongs to tribal region in the country. Finally,
paper aims to glimpse the effect on overall increase of students’ enrolment, retention and achievement level in school
education. Experimental research through questionnaire and observation reveals that the student’s performance has
increased among the general students rather than marginalised students due to adoption of ICT. It has well
integrated and makes the classroom interesting for teachers and students since it has been helpful and captured the
classroom more interesting. The study is accorded high priority in terms of effectiveness of ICT for educational
development of marginalised.
Keywords: ICT, School Education, Marginalised and Student’s Performance
.
INTRODUCTION
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) plays a major role in all aspects of national
life: in politics, in economic life, as well as in social, educational and cultural development. It is
rapidly transforming our lives, vis-à-vis the way children do learn at school, access information,
communicate with each other, and entertain ourselves. Since the Indian Constitution and the
Directive Principles of the State Policy is committed to the equality of citizens and promote the
educational and economic interests with special care of the weaker sections of the people, and, in
particular, of the SC/STs and Minorities. Thus, Quality and equitable learning through
application of technology are required to be ensured for the children in general, marginalised in
particular. State hold responsible and require to provides quality and ensure equity in the
teaching leaning process in school education.
Application of technology not only helps a lot in bridging the rural urban divide in the
education sector but also improving the quality of life as a whole (Mohanty & Vohra 2006) and it
transforms the mode of imparting education which it leads to capacity development of both
teachers and students. After independence, the Government of India has been taking initiatives
to improve the basic education facility in the country. Many efforts have been made to
universalize education at the elementary level. In this regard, there is lots of newness and
innovativeness to attract children in ensuring the participation in school education. The
Computer Aided Education (CAE) in the form of ICT is one among them which have been
implemented in selected districts and schools across the country under SSA.

8
This paper is the part of empirical work during the M.Phil in Education in 2010 and it was presented and
submitted to National University of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi-110016.
 The present study carries tremendous importance and it becomes utmost inevitable to
study how far these agencies (ICT) have integrated themselves into the present structure, systems
and arrangements of the government mechanisms for school education and become successful
in running the program. Besides, to understand their coordination with the government
structures and systems with regard to implementation of the CAE program becomes highly
essential. More so, the CAE is meant to increase the interest level of the students and teachers
and overall to increase students’ enrolment, retention and achievement level and thus the study is
accorded high priority in terms of their effectiveness.
Keeping on the above view, the national mandate for the use of ICT in education in
India has been anchored in various policy documents and programmes and it’s with proper
implementation. Keeping in view of equality and ensuring equitable learning, the educational
policy documents like NPE-1986 & POA, 1992, NCF-2005 and MDG-2 have given importance
to use the ICT in the form of computer aided learning to achieve UEE in India. It was found
that computers are useful tools in assisting the process of learning and acquisition of the
academic competencies. This not only makes learning interesting and joyful but also provides
scope for creativity and innovativeness in thinking and approach of the children along with the
teachers to enhance their potential to learn.
Under this backdrop, this paper explores whether there is any strong relation between
adoption of technology in school education with the enrolment, attendance and teacher
performance, if so, then in what way ICT program helped in improving the student performance
in terms of enrolment, attendance and achievement?

METHODOLOGY
The empirical investigation through experimental study and observation was conducted in
Bhadrak (Non-Tribal) and “Mayurbhanj (Tribal & Marginalised) in two districts of Odisha State.
The researcher selected 10 schools each from two districts because 50% of schools are
considered as Low literacy in Odisha (Census, 2001) mostly geographically disrupted, hilly and
tribal belt. Other 50% of schools fall in the coastal area which is coming under high literacy and
non-tribal category. For a scientific and logical representation of the samples for experimental
and control group, it was planned to cover 50% of the schools having ICT and another 50% of
the schools having no use of ICT in both marginalised and non marginalised district. It was
ensured that proper representation of sample size i.e 10 students and 3 teachers each from 10
CAL & 10 Non-CAL schools.
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Status of ICT in School Education
 Like other programme, computer aided
learning programme (CAL) in the form of ICT
have been a key innovative programme under
SSA in school education to provide quality
education and to facilitate better teaching
learning process. To ensure this, the availability
of infrastructure i.e. availability of
computer/Laptop, regular electricity,
connection of internet along with regular check
up is very much essential. It was observed in all
sample schools possessing the required
infrastructures to facilitate the class on
technology based. But few schools in
marginalised area did not occupy all the instruments, but no hamper/obstacles are observed in
teaching learning process. Even after, the policy document emphasized the regular check up,
repairing of computer parts and appointment of special teachers, no monitoring work has been
done regularly. Teacher who are trained to teach are involved in using the computers on the class
room. No single computers have been appointed under the CAL programme rather than trained
teacher which has hampered to facilitate the teaching learning process through computer.
Capacity building of teacher is the most important area of ICT under SSA which
enhances the teacher performances in teaching through computers. Henceforth, training is very
much essential to update the knowledge of teachers and which encourages the teachers to teach
in innovative way. Status of ICT in terms of availability of computers, chairs, electricity, trained
teacher, computer teacher, availability of content CD, regular visit for proper by staffs
monitoring and provision of training programme for teachers are considered due importance.
Utilization of ICT in Education
Technology in classroom setting have been used by school teachers to facilitate their
teaching learning process whose primary aim is to make the teaching learning process easy,
interesting, understand, joyful and learning oriented.
Since ICT is primarily introduced for class V to VII students, the utilisation part was
observed in primary and upper primary schools only. Few content designed in the form of CDs
are developed for class IV students only. It was found more interesting for learning purposes.
Teachers are also taking extra initiatives to give at least exposure to these students on computer
education. In those schools one or more of the following measures have been taken i.e extra
classes, multi-class coaching through computers, innovation teaching through extra effort etc.
Most probably, computers are properly used in class room settings both in Bhadrak (non-tribal)
and Mayurbhanj (tribal) district in state of Odisha.
Effect of Students Accessibility and Teacher performance
After studying the overall program execution in different schools, it becomes equally
important to find out the kind and degree of impact that the ICT has on different components
of students’ performance in education since there is strong relation between technology and
technology based learning. Information was elicited to measure and know the effect of ICT over
a period of time i.e 2003-04 to 2008-09. Objective was to compare the rate of attendance and
achievement of children two years prior to the program execution and two years after the
program implementation so that it was much easier to assess whether there had been an increase
or decrease or no change. Attempt was made to collect required data from the school registers to
justify the effect.
Student’s Enrolment
 Annual growth rate of enrolment has shown that there is an increase in both tribal and
non tribal district after technology is introduced in the year 2005-06. But there was a marginal
difference observed in terms of enhancement of enrolment rate which is found in Bhadrak
district (non-tribal). Apart from that after intersection between experimental (ICT schools) and
Control (Non-ICT) schools in non tribal district in terms of enrolment rate, it was seen that
there is overall increment in enrolment rate of experimental schools than control schools. The
same was also observed in non tribal district. It is evident that there is an effect of ICT on
student’s enrolment. There are other reasons for this effect which have been cited by different
author’s i.e. competent and skilful teachers, better infrastructure rather than introduction of ICT,
free incentives and scholarship etc, was calculated over a period of time to understand the effect
of technology based learning.

Basic reason of course of influence for the enrolment, if a child, in a particular school,
has access to the nearest availability of that school from their house. But the most important
factor which has captured student’s attention towards computer education. As evident from the
interview, 44% students opined that due to computer education, they got interested to come
regularly to school since it is interesting to learn through various games and practical examples.
Even tribal students have also expressed their views is that computer education has been more
attractive them which makes easier to learn in mathematics and science. But they find it difficult
to understand the language of English and critical examples. Henceforth, ICT programme have
been the motivational factor for the increase of enrolments at elementary level in Odisha.
4.4.2.0 Student’s Attendance
Regular attendance gives better performance (Sinha, 2005) among the students.
Attendance also makes student more thoughtful and provoked. Many studies found that
regularity of students ensures better result that is due to effective teaching learning process. To
keep a major objective in the mind, ICT was implemented to ensure the 100% attendance in the
classroom both in tribal and non-tribal areas. It has been found that during interaction,
majorities of teachers realized that there has been an increase in attendance rate of children in
their schools after the implementation of computer aided education program. But very few
teachers agree that tribal student have not shown interest much on computers. Mainstream
language has become an issue for them.

It is still clearly shown (Fig.3) that the rate of attendance of Mayurbhanj district has been low
than Bhadrak district in both ICT and non-ICT schools in subsequent years. But in non ICT
schools of both districts, the attendance is not consistently increasing over a period of time. At
last, if we compare to the both district in terms of the attendance rate of students in different
class, then, it is found that the rate of attendance of Bhadrak district is significantly high than the
both ICT and Non-ICT schools of Mayurbhanj district.
 From the above table, it clearly shows that there is a positive impact on ICT programme
on student’s enrolment at elementary stage. Students has expressed that they have found interest
in managing computers and learn through computers. They are interested to come to school
regularly due to computer education and learning through computers. There are other factors
which influenced them, but most of respondents agreed that they are finding easy to understand
through computers even without interference of teachers. Tribal students have got less interest
than non-tribal students. Though teachers have not created interest so much amongst them, they
found to be less attracted towards computers. Really, in-depth reasons to be really sort out for
the better understanding among teacher in the tribal district.
Few of them agreed that most of the time, they don’t take interest to come to schools.
Student, particularly in Bhadrak district responded that due to absence of teachers in the school,
they took less interest to come regularly. In tribal (Mayurbhanj) district, students are looking
after their siblings, help their parents in family occupation and work outside to earn for an
income which hampered to attend class regularly.
Similarly, evidence reveals that students take more interest to learn new things and loves
to learn through computer. It can be said that only for this reason; student’s attendance rate is
consistently increased. But relatively, there is no increase, in case of students in Mayurbhanj
district as compare to Bhadrak district. Home pressure, taking care siblings has been the cause
for non-regularity. Rather than this, neither local/tribal language is used in the teaching learning
process, nor the most of the teacher know the tribal language. Transfer of teacher from non-
tribal areas has remained as an issue of concern.
Impact on Students Achievement
It has not only provided them opportunites to widen their outlook and scope of learning.
Use of this new tool has also given rise to enthusiasm and cretivity among children. It was
vouched by many teachers during interaction that many students who were poor performer
ealier are doing far better in computer operation and this also brought improvment in their
performance in the subject matter.
Achievement in the Subject Matter: To know the impact of ICT on achievement scores of
students, average % marks secured by the sample students in the subject like English,
Mathmatics and Science from the school register was collected from both experimental schools
(ICT) and control Schools (Non-ICT). Data was collected from the both tribal and non-tribal
district to know whether is there any difference between the tribal students and non-tribal
students, which was followed by both ICT and non-ICT schools in the year 2006-07, 2007-08
after the implementation of ICT programme in the year 2005.
Figure 4. Average Result of sample students in Science, Mathematics and English in
both ICT & Non-ICT School for the year 2006 &2007

As it revealed from the above table no. 4, it is clearly visible that the difference between
of ICT and non-ICT school result in terms of the student’s achievement score. Average score of
the Bhadrak district in the subject of Science, English and Math is better than Mayurbhanj
district. Similarly average score of all three subjects of ICT students are also performed better
than the non-ICT students only in Bhadrak district. But, that does not took place in Mayurbhanj
district. If we look at the above figure for the ICT and Non-ICT result of Mayurbhanj district,
then it is found that there was similar achievement score of Math (55,55) and English(40,40)
only. Still there is a difference between both ICT and Non-ICT in terms Science (58, 48) of
Mayurbhanj district. In overall, it may be concluded that there is a significant difference in terms
of achievement score of both ICT and non-ICT schools in the non-tribal (Bhadrak) district only.
Independent sample T-test result signifies that there was a significant difference between
the achievement score of both experimental schools and control schools in the both tribal and
non-tribal district. Separate average result of 50 students from each district for the subject of
Science, Mathematics, and English for the classes-V, VI, VII in the year 2006-07, 2007-08 was
taken for the consideration. Systematic random sampling was adopted while individual score
were collected from the register itself. Like one student from each 10 student was selected from
both districts so that there was made sure that students from all category like good, average and
bad were taken for the study.

Table No. 1 Independent Sample t-Test of for the year 2006

Bhadrak Mayurbhanj
 calculated Table
Table T-Value Value of
calcula Value of DF-48 at
ted T- DF-48 at 5%
Value 5%
Science Result of Science Result of
4.99* 3.50*
Class-V 2.01 Class-V 2.01
Science Result of Science Result of
5.20* 3.06*
Class-VI 2.01 Class-VI 2.01
Science Result of Science Result of
7.91* 3.25*
Class-VII 2.01 Class-VII 2.01
English Result of English Result of
6.06* 1.06
Class-V 2.01 Class-V 2.01
English Result of English Result of
4.83* 1.83
Class-VI 2.01 Class-VI 2.01
English Result of English Result of
6.43* 1.52
Class-VII 2.01 Class-VII 2.01
Mathematics Mathematics
4.22* 1.32
Result of Class-V 2.01 Result of Class-V 2.01
Mathematics Mathematics
Result of Class- 5.44* Result of Class- 1.05
VI 2.01 VI 2.01
Mathematics Mathematics
Result of Class- 4.66* Result of Class- 1.95
VII 2.01 VII 2.01
*Significance at 5% level (calculated Value > T-Value)

Table No. 2 Independent Sample t-Test of for the year 2007

Bhadrak Mayurbhanj
calcula Table Value
ted T- of DF-48 at
calculat Table Value Value 5%
ed T- of DF-48 at
Value 5%
Science Result of Science Result of
4.95* 2.36*
Class-V 2.01 Class-V 2.01
Science Result of Science Result of
7.22* 4.50*
Class-VI 2.01 Class-VI 2.01
Science Result of Science Result of
9.97* 5.06*
Class-VII 2.01 Class-VII 2.01
English Result of English Result of
9.06* 1.06
Class-V 2.01 Class-V 2.01
English Result of English Result of
7.83* 1.83
Class-VI 2.01 Class-VI 2.01
English Result of English Result of
9.20* 1.52
Class-VII 2.01 Class-VII 2.01
Mathematics 6.52* 2.01 Mathematics 1.52 2.01
 Result of Class-V Result of Class-V
Mathematics Mathematics
Result of Class- 7.49* Result of Class- 1.56
VI 2.01 VI 2.01
Mathematics Mathematics
Result of Class- 6.51* Result of Class- 1.05
VII 2.01 VII 2.01
*Significance at 5% level (calculated Value > T-Value)
This independent sample t-test (above both table no.1 and table no.2) analysis indicates
that there has been a significant difference in the average achievement scores of students in the
Class-V, VI, VII between ICT and Non-ICT schools in the Bhadrak district only. It is found that
the calculated value of t-test is greater than t-value (2.01) which indicates there is significant
different difference between ICT and non-ICT. Calculated value of Science, English and Math
for the both year of Bhadrak district is greater than t-value. Similarly, calculated value of only
Science (2.36*, 4.50*, 5.06*), which is indicated above, for the both year in Mayurbhanj district
is greater than t-value (2.01). But in case of result of English and Mathematics for the both year,
the calculated value is less than the t-value so that there has not been any significant difference in
the Mayurbhanj (Tribal) district. Only Science result has made a difference between ICT and
non-ICT in the Mayurbhanj district.
Evidence reveal that Computer Aided learning has a positive impact on student’s
achievement in the areas of costal belt (Non-tribal district), where as ICT has been completely
failure in the marginalized tribal district. However, there may be the other factors like provision
and facilities available both at school and home, better education facility, parent’s education &
occupation, local environment, quality of teacher, extra coaching also have a direct impact on
student’s education. But it is proved that keeping all other factors remaining constant, ICT
program has a positive impact in Bhadrak district only. As it was observed that shared with
teachers, students and academic administrator, it was found that the given CD under ICT
programme has not been designed to take care the socio-cultural context of tribal student.
Games, examples and languages used are too difficult to understand to the tribal students which
resulted that under achievement. In both district, it seems that under achiever started securing
good marks only because of ICT program due to interesting examples and game etc. designed in
the CD.
Impact on Teacher Performance
The computer aided learning is not only new to the students but is also a recent
development for the teachers in the state of Odisha. So, it becomes equally important to know
the teaching performance of teachers at elementary level. Capacity development of teachers was
focused under ICT programme. It was felt that teacher training will enhance the student’s
performances. Keeping in view of this, there was a need to be felt that development of teachers
in terms of method of teaching. Teachers were interviewed about the interest, perception and
utilisation of computer in the classroom to know how far they are aware and really performing
well in the class room situation. It was also observed in the classroom before the computer
whether they know how to run the computers and teach through computers.
It is evident that, ICT has made the task of the teachers easier while taught through
computers. It was taking time to explain a subject through elaboration¸ which visualisation has
made easier to understand for the children and also to explain for the teachers. Thus it has been
able to minimize the task out 60% teachers. In case of 45% teachers from Bhadrak district has
felt that their task is minimised, only 15% teachers from Mayurbhanj district has felt the same.
Though tribal teacher in Mayurbhanj has not got long 1-12 days training about the computer
program, they are having less interest, less knowledge about the computers how to function it.
So that their interest for utilisation of computer is minimised which leads to maximise their task
as it was explained earlier. Their absence and lack of desirable may be one the reason for less-
utilisation the computer properly.
Teacher’s performance depends upon their perception and attitude about the using of
computers. There is a positive relation between the teacher’s perception and performance of
teacher’s. Unless the teacher perceives the positive attitude about the computer, they won’t
initiate and think about the proper use of computers in the teaching learning process. Hence
forth, it has to be understood that how the teachers have perceived about the ICT program and
use of computer in the classroom.
Table-3 Teachers’ Perception on CAE
Sl. Perception of teacher’s Bhadrak Mayurbhanj Total
N Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD
o
ICT is one important 2.82 0.48 2.96 0.23 2.90 0.38
1. program to increase
the enrolment/retention of
children in
school
2. Computers is good only for 2.73 0.51 2.83 0.45 2.78 0.48
playing and
not for study
3. ICT program of Govt. Of 2.87 0.44 2.88 0.45 2.88 0.44
Odisha is
nothing but a wastage of time
and money
4. My students are doing better 2.69 0.54 2.85 0.40 2.78 0.48
in subjects
like Math, Science and
English after
introduction of ICT
5. Teaching through computer 2.82 0.50 2.92 0.30 2.87 0.41
is a matter of
pride for me
6. Children are more interested 1.51 0.72 1.77 0.84 1.64 0.79
towards the
story, game etc. rather than
the subjects
matter
7. ICT has only increased the 1.80 0.90 2.38 0.85 2.10 0.92
workload of
teacher
8. Oriya medium schools, 2.20 0.84 2.40 0.79 2.30 0.82
which fail to
provide basic minimum
facilities to
students/teachers, must not
introduction
ICT
9. I am not comfortable to 2.51 0.78 2.75 0.61 2.63 0.71
 teach through
computers
10. CAE takes more time to 2.34 0.83 2.35 0.83 2.34 0.83
teach a topic in
comparison to the traditional
method
11. ICT has increased my 2.82 0.44 2.88 0.34 2.85 0.39
curiosity and i feel
like creating something new
through
computers to teach my
students
12. Use of computers has 2.87 0.38 2.93 0.29 2.90 0.34
increased my confidence
level

In order to study the attitude and perception of the teachers towards ICT, they were
asked to respond to a set of 12 statements. The responses were measured using Likert Scale.
Some of the statements (Statement no. 1, 4, 5, 11 and 12) having mean value of more than 1.5
shows a favourableness of the respondents towards that statement. Similarly statement having
less than 1.5 value indicates unfavourableness. For the other set of statements (statement no. 2,
3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10) it is interpreted in the opposite way, i.e. such statements having a mean value
of more than 1.5 indicates unfavourableness and statements having mean value of less than 1.5
shows favourableness towards that statement.
It is evident that positive attitude of the teachers towards the CAE program. However,
responses to statements like children are more interested for game; story etc. gives mostly a
neutral response. The CAE has not only been able to create interest among children, but has also
brought enthusiasm and creativity among the teachers. As from the interaction with teachers,
they have bought computers for use at home. According to some of them it will also help their
own children to learn computer in the way it will help them to upgrade their own skill and create
newness in teaching. Some of them learned it earlier, but majorities of them learned it out of
their own interest after introduction of CAE in their school, as one/two training provided to
them under this program are not sufficient to increase their proficiency in computer.

CONCLUSION
Enrolment trends, attendance rate and students’ achievement have significantly been
progressed due to ICT program. Teacher performance indirectly shows that there is greatly
improvement in the teaching learning process. Rather than this, favourable perception has made
teachers to have positive attitude and thinking towards use of computer. As evidenced from
above table and discussion, it is clear that teachers have not considerably performed well
basically in the tribal district. Their low qualification has not motivated to make them learn. Their
socio-cultural habits have restricted them to accept new modern technology and forced them to
keep in their traditional settings. Regular local alcoholic drinking made them out of interest in
using the computers in the class room situation. In this way, socio-cultural milieu has affected to
accept that new learning environment.
To realize and fill the gap of teaching learning process in tribal areas for marginalised
students, use of technology properly in teaching learning process can be felt to be a major
decision both by the state. Tribal/marginalised students would be able to understand the teachings
very easy through technology. If there would have been a felt need of frequent using computers in
the teaching learning process and use of local language in the content itself, so that both teachers
and student in tribal areas will be benefited. Role of technology could be felt a widely necessary
element in education industry.

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 REVIVING THE AFRICAN ART AND CULTURE THROUGH
EXPLORATION OF INDIGENOUS CONCEPTS IN PAINTING
Thomas, Uzhiyekachi Godstime
Department of Fine and Applied Arts
Federal College of Education (Technical)
Omoku, Rivers State, Nigeria
ABSTRACT
There is this impression made by the white (colonial masters) that the art and culture of the African man is fetish and
primitive. This has culminated into driving the focus of the African artist towards the white man’s art, idea, concept,
theme and vision in a bid not to earn primitivity and be accepted allover the world thereby throwing the artist into
colonial expressionistic bondage and as well relegating the African art and culture; making it unexhibitable and
unacceptable outside our domain. This paper therefore, is focusing on adopting indigenous themes, ideas, vision,
structure and mission in paintings to revive and promote the rich African art and culture particularly Nigeria that has
sometime been relegated and lost in our pockets due to crave for colonial acceptance.

INTRODUCTION
African art has gone a long way in terms of style, theme, aesthetic and structure like the art
of other continent. Creative analysis in art is an everyday event as new styles, forms; media,
procedure and idea are emerging alongside contemporary artists. African art is known beyond Africa
due to its dynamism and uniqueness. Art is life, and the way of life of a people is embedded in the
culture. The African art and culture must be reawakened, promoted, exhibited and revived through
the exploration and rendition of indigenous forms, themes, styles, ideas and aesthetic on the
painters’ canvas or support.
The exploration of indigenous concepts in painting has since been an engaging issue in the
mind of many contemporary artist. Although available art works (paintings) made by contemporary
artists in Nigeria reveal such experimental trend for the sustenance of the rich artistic and cultural
heritage of African especially Nigeria. Art is a living tradition in Africa. Contemporary African art
derives its inspiration from traditional models but employs new techniques and materials (Shorter
1998).

ART AND CULTURE DEFINED

Art and culture are crucial and inevitable terms. Although they have their different meaning
but closely related and accompany each other.Art as a term is an activity of diverse definitions.
Simply defined, art is an expression of the adversities and feelings of the people in relation to their
environment. According to Banjoko (2000), art is the visual and non-visual arts representation of
human though. The visual arts are the symbols of expressed language, the tools with which culture is
analyzed.
Thus, it is the expressed non-verbal symbols of the cultural environment. The meaning of
art is applicable to African art. That is, African art refers to art works produced by Africans
reflecting African(indigenous) life, theme, style, form and ideas.
Culture, like art, it also wide in scope and content, culture is more elastic because it embraces
every aspect of human life. Generally, culture is seen as a sum total of people’s way of life, socially,
religiously, politically, economically and morally.
Nkom (1992) posits, the identity of people, it provides the group that particular stamp that
distinguishes them from other people, it expresses their uniqueness and existence. Taking a look at
our society leads us realize that culture, for the African, is an indispensable tool. Cultural exposition
and identification is manifested in the daily life of the people in the society. This is evident through
the numerous art activities available in every Africa society. A society devoid of indigenous art
practices cannot maintain its culture due to the presence of modernity where some things are
disregarded and tagged “old fashion” or “primitive”.

PAINTING AND EXPLORATION DEFINED

Painting as a two dimensional art form is highly expressive. It consists of the organization of
ideas in terms of lines and colour upon any surface (Ngumah 2006). He further defines painting as
the application or spreading of colours on any given surface to create an effect with the aid of
brushes and painting or palette knife. The art of painting developed from the primitive cave
decorations of prehistoric times to the highly sophisticated and varied processes used today.
Exploration on the other hand simply means experimentation. Experimentation of
something or ideas, styles, themes and so on. Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary defines
exploration as an examination of something in order to find out about it. It also means analyses-to
analyze something.

WHY REVIVING THE AFRICAN ART AND CULTURE

Currently, lack of complete documented rich and cherished art and cultural heritage – values,
norms, attitude, aesthetics and tradition handed to us from our fore-fathers is what our society is
faced with. We all know that cultural properties are good elements that nourish the growth of the
society especially the Nigerian society. But it is unfortunate to know that the so called colonialism is
Africa had adversely infected our people socially, economically, politically, religious, and culturally.
No doubt, this same colonial infection was extended to the art of Africa - the concepts, ideas, styles
forms of African art.
However, the white man’s culture has interwoven and interrupted and relegated our art and
culture. Prior to this time, the Africans had and were satisfied with their creative urges and abilities
in terms of theme, idea, style, form and concepts. Therefore, the revival of the African art and
culture can be possible and achievable through constant and further exploration of indigenous
concepts, idea, style, form, theme and so on in paintings.

EXPLORATION OF INDIGENOUS CONCEPTS IN ART STARTED IN NIGERIA.

What exploration of indigenous concepts calls to mind is the experimentation on African
(indigenous) ideas, styles, theme, life (culture), structure in painting to portray certain messages from
within based on African background generally and Nigeria in particular. Before the advent of
colonialism with its related tools, the Africans generally and Nigerians in particular had her novel
way of executing paintings. This form of painting were done on the walls – murals, posts and on the
body “Uri”. Such paintings are characterized by African themes and styles.(Ngumah 2006).
During the colonial era, a new form of painting emerged in terms of styles, support and
media. This new way of painting expression formalized in Nigeria in the early 1920s with the effort
of Aina Onabolu who made art form an important aspect of the school curriculum. This new art
experience was mainly focused on landscape and portraiture. This is why most of the foremost
Nigerian artists – Aina Onabolu (pioneer)Akinola Lasekan, Ben Enwonwu, Ugorji among others
were realistic or representational painters (Ngumah 2004).
The post-colonial era witnessed and produced notable painters with radicalization of African
concepts, full of experimental zeal. Painti9ng reflect the socio-cultural matrix of the people rather
than singing in praise the canon of the white man. This explosive urge gave rise for the “Nsukka
school” whose focus is on “Uri” with Uche Okeke as the exponent. Bruce Onobrakpeya, Yusuf
Grillo and a host of others were not out of the race for cultural experimentation and radicalization
in painting (Ngumah 2004). The Awakening (Anyanwu) although sculpture by Ben Enwonwu has an
indigenous background, the market scene by Akinola Lasekan, Agemo festival by Kolade Oshinowo
and Ahwaire and Enemu by Bruce Onobrakpeya among others typified exploration and
radicalization on African indigenous themes, ideas, styles and life.

BENEFITS IN EXPLORING INDIGENOUS CONCEPTS IN PAINTING

Exploring indigenous concepts in painting has no limitation on the artist horizon and vision,
rather in opens the painters’ insight on the cultural practices of his people or the environment he
finds himself in. exploring on indigenous concepts like – Ezeship (Coronation), Aladima, Ikenga,
marriage ceremony, fishing ponds, cultural dances, wrestling festivals, farming season, politics,
religion, burnt shrine and others, definitely push us very close to our way of life and happening
around our society. It will interest us (the artist) to know that paintings with indigenous concepts are
prone to patronage, more especially – if idea is clear and unique.
In like manner, Ochigbo (2011) posits that the creation of cultural artistic designs and works
in staggering proportion by our creative genii, both in the academia and cultural institutions have
been able to open vistas to Nigeria’s culture and traditional indigenous values. There is no doubt
saying that African art had been in global market, museums, galleries and other art and cultural
institutions – clothed with indigenous style, form, beauty, idea and life thereby raising interest,
awareness, attention and hope for the African art and culture. Ayaka (2004) posits that cultural
survival can only be possible if sufficient interest is shown in the study of sources of our cultural
heritage, which is implanted in arts and culture.

CONCLUSION
In concluding this paper, we should have observed from the beginning of this paper that
African art and culture are widely known but was relegated and discarded during colonial
embracement. The vision, quest and cultural urge of our founding fathers, there came a rebellious
mission which led to the systematic liberation from the so called colonial expressionistic bondage.

REFERENCES
Ayaka, S.N. (2004) “Continuity in African Art and Culture”. Voices and
Visions from Nigeria, Journal of Arts and Culture. PACA Press, Enugu. Vol. 1, Pp. 77-85.
Banjoko .A. (2002) Visual Arts Made Easy for Schools and Colleges Movic Publishing, Lagos.
Ngumah, H.C. (2004) “Transition and Continuity in African Art and Culture:
The Nigerian Perspective”. Voices and Visions from Nigeria; Journal of Arts and Culture.
PACA Press, Enugu, Vol. 1, pp9-15.
Ngumah, H.C. (2006) Simple Approach to Painting Theory and Practice.
Unpublished Lecture Monogram, AICE, Owerri.
Nkom, S.A. (1992) The Significance of Culture in the Development of our
Local Communities. Zaria: Ahmadu Bello University.
Ochigbo, S.B. (2011) “Issues on Artistic Creations and Intellectual Property
Rights”. Journal of Arts and Artists, Yaba: Lagos. Vol. 2, pp. 38-41.
Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary of Current English (7th Edition) Oxford University Press.
Shorter, A. (1998) African Culture: An Overview. Kenya: Paulines Publications.
 STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING LEARNING SKILLS IN
PRIMARY SCIENCE IN NIGERIA SCHOOLS

P.C. Ifegbo
School of Education
Center for Educational Technology
Alvan Ikoku Federal Collage of Education
Owerri-Nigeria

Abstract
This paper examined the 21st century learners characteristic, the learning skills and the importance of developing
learning skills in Primary Science teaching. The use of conventional methods of teaching was discouraged as it merely
reproduced learners without thought processes who focus on mere regurgitation of facts without necessarily utilizing the
left brain and the right brain activities in learning science. The paper also identified some of the strategies for developing
learning skills among learners of primary science and the educational implications involved, were discussion.

Keywords: 21st Century Learners Characteristics, Learning skills, Teaching skills, Learning Styles,
Constructivism.

Introduction
The reformation in science curricular led to innovations in the teaching and learning of
Primary Science and also in of professional development teacher, where teachers are re-trained for
effective challenges of the 21st century Primary Science education. In Nigeria, the Millennium
Development Goals Project (MDG) in collaboration with National Teachers’ Institute (NTI),
organized a workshop in 2006 for retaining of Primary School teachers and among the subject
teachers involved were primary science teachers. According to the NTI manual (2006), the general
objectives of primary science education is to enable children observe and explore the environment
using their senses. In pursuance of these objectives, the primary science curriculum content were
centered on Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Health, Agricultural science and presented in an integrated
manner.
These themes would expose the learners to acquire knowledge that would help to lay strong
and sound foundation needed for further studies in science and also for scientific and technological
advancement in future. Unfortunately, the teaching methods in the primary schools have been
proved to be naïve, unproductive and passive thereby leaving the primary science learners to be ill-
equipped for further pursuance of science and science related studies at higher level. Ogunleye in
Uzoechi (2006), identified among others, lack of qualified science teachers, poor teaching methods,
lack of adequate instructional materials, gender problems, poor learning environment as the
problems of the rudiments of nature study into the curriculum that was introduced ever before
independence.
Studies even after independence and even recently, identified the same problems. Ifegbo
(2005) found out that both human and material resources in the teaching of science were neither
available nor adequate in primary school in Imo state. Leghara and Okafor (2006) observed that
many of our primary school lacked adequate number of science teachers and even where they were
present, materials were lacking.
To Uzoechi (2004,2006), Teaching and learning of science were predominantly by
memorization and regurgitation of facts with inappropriate teacher/ pupils ratio. These were in line
with former findings by Okpalla (1981) and Okebukola (1996) cited by Ezeliora (2005), Okalla
posited that teacher clung to verbal symbolism while Okebukola indicated that teachers read from
the science textbook, interspersed with a few explanation. While pupils copy as the teacher dubs
textbook or an old note. Maduabum in Ifegbo (2009) maintained that due to poor teaching methods
exhibited by teachers, pupils failed to have interest in learning and doing science instead, most of
them left the primary schools into the secondary with misconceived ideas about concepts and
process skills of science. In affirmative, Ezeliora pointed out that in secondary schools, science
teachers faced challenging tasks in an attempt to bring these pupils to the expected standard for
onward move towards achieving functional science education of the required scientific skills and
attitudes due to lack of pupil-pupil interaction, pupil-teacher interaction and pupil-learning material
interaction during the teaching and learning process in their primary schools.
Obiefuna (2000) postulated that primary science teachers shied among from activity oriented
teaching methods which are effective and relied on teaching methods which are easy but most times
inadequate and inappropriate.
Obioha (1987) Njoku (1993) cited in Ifegbo (2009) opined that such inappropriate and
ineffective methods of teaching primary science have affected performance of pupils in primary
science. Virtually, Ifegbo argues that teaching was the focus before the 21st century and agitates for
‘learning’ as the focus and the need for a paradigm shift in the teaching learning methods employ by
teachers of primary science for purposeful and meaningful learning to take place in the 21st century.

The 21ST Century Learner and the Nigerian Classroom: Virtually the discourse from the
introduction depicted a ‘gap’ between ‘what is’ and ‘what is expected’ in the teaching learning
process in the Nigerian primary school classrooms. Learner –centeredness approaches to teaching
and learning have been introduced into the system though, yet to be fully implemented. Lecturing /
talk- chalk teacher dominated discussion methods, verbalism and whole class teaching are yet in
practice.
The 21st century requires competency from both the teacher and the learner and this could
be achieved through pedagogic and andragogic effectiveness where the teacher and the learners are
actively involved in all that concerns human learning. “What is” in the school system includes the
following: Teacher dominated learning environment, the teacher reads and dictates notes to the
learner, the teacher reads the textbooks to the learners, the teacher writes voluminous notes on the
chalkboard for the learners to copy. Use of teaching aids rather than instructional materials. Teacher
is still regarded as the custodian of knowledge and information flows from the teacher. Frontal
teaching that exposes the learner to rote learning, memorization and regurgitation of facts are
practiced.
Further more the learning environment is not stimulating enough to develop learning skills.
Whole classroom teaching is practiced to the fullest in the Nigerian primary schools and teaching is
the focus other than learning. Teachers due to proactive inhibition and technophobia still embark on
the conventional teaching methods and the environment is devoid of technology – driven.
Assessment is one way and the learner most times, hardly realizes why he/she failed in a particular
subject Emphasis is placed on objectivist theory of learning where the learner is forced to learn from
what the teacher’s interests are.
Admittedly, scientific and technological development has influenced the instructional system
components of the 21st century and the learning theory has shifted from objectivism into another
branch of cognitive learning theory – constructivism. Obanya (2002) supports that something
drastic has to be done urgently to remedy the situation the Nigerian educational system found itself
at the beginning of the 21st century. The constructivist according to Senapathy (2009) functions
under four major assumptions.
  Knowledge depends on past construction and the world is made known to learners through
mental frame work and new information is transformed or interpreted through this mental
frame work.
 Assimilation and accommodation aid constructions in the existing mental framework.
 Learning is not mechanical rather, it is an organic process of invention where learning

 Meaningful learning occurs through reflection and scaffolding of new knowledge.

happens in a natural way without anyone forcing such an occurrence to take place.

In a nutshell, the constructrists believe that learning is an individual event where the learner
constructs knowledge through the organic process of invention utilizing the mental framework,
information is accepted and processed to fit the personal framework and based on the prior
knowledge, new knowledge is formed and understood. The 21st century learner requires to be
equipped fully and involved actively for the information processing to be positively
influenced. This takes place through effective interaction with the environment that is enriching
and stimulating. The 21st century teaching learning process requires a paradigm shift from ‘what
is’ to ‘what is expected”. ‘What is expected’ includes.
 Learner –centered /dominated approaches.
 Facilitative teaching /learner.
 Knowledge construction by the learner, as the teacher coaches, guides and
facilitates.
 Active learner and use of activity oriented instructions.
 Learner exposures to critical and analytic thinking through the use of real-life
experiences / environment and Hands –on /minds – on experiences.
 Learner controlled instructional system.
 Collaborative learning.
 Technology –driven learning environment.
 Use of learner – friendly instructional strategies.
 Learning environment full of instructional materials and learners effective interaction
with materials, fellow learners and teachers.
 Flexible sitting arrangement.
 Two way assessment technique.
 Assessment dominated learning process; at the beginning of instruction, during

 Instructional system with practical oriented instruction and examination.

lesson delivery.

 Linking and matching theory with practice during teaching / learning.

 Use of ICT technologies and ICT complaint teachers.
 Learning with, about and especially from technologies.
 Above all emphasizing on process of learning rather than product of learning
through effective implementation of constructivists learning theory and principles.
It is a truism that there are gaps and the gaps affect learning especially, in science and technology
subjects. There is need therefore to expose both the teachers and the learners especially in primary
science to acquire appropriate teaching and learning skills for the learners of the 21 st century to face
the challenges of the 21st century science and technology and for sustainable development

Concept of Learning Skills and the 21st Century Learning Skills

 Ifegbo, (2012) defines teaching skills as those teacher behavours the teacher employs during
teaching and learning process for the teaching and learning to be active, effective, purposeful and
meaningful. Ifegbo further explains that teaching skill are different from teaching methods, the
teacher exhibit teaching skill for the effective use of the teaching method and for a worth while
learning overcome to be achieved. Learning styles and learning skills in the same vein differ.
Learning styles according to Keefe in Ezekoka (2005) are characteristic cognitive, affective and
physiological behaviours that serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact
with and respond to the learning environment. Ezekoka posits that understanding brain functioning
is an important factor in understanding the concept, learning style. The left-brain users learn in a
step-by-step approach while the right-brain users learn holistically, generalizing concepts before
going into specifics. Left brain is specifically for critical thinking while left brain for creative
thinking. In learning styles, learning skills are exhibited. Learning skills are knowledge, abilities and
experiences a learner exhibits in utilizing a particular learning style.
Learners are categorized differently by different researchers. Ezekoka identifies these
categories from different researchers. Thus: conservative focusers and gambling focusers, sharpeners
and levelers, divergent and convergent producers, freedom oriented learners and control oriented
learners, impulsive and reflective learners, field dependent and field independent, holists and
serialists sensory or intuitive learners and visual or verbal learners, inductive or deductive learners
,activists, reflectors, theorist and pragmatists.
Admittedly, these categories emerged from learners behaviour during learning which
according to Kolb (1999) is determined from the way a particular learner perceive information and
how the information perceived is processed. An individual learner may either perceive information
by concrete experience or through abstract conceptualization. In processing information also , a
learner either does that by reflective observation or active experimentation (Ezekoka 2005:39).
Boyatzis and Kolb (1995) identified four phases from the experiential learning theory thus: concrete
experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation. Kolb
(1999) from the above assumption identified four different learning styles of accommodator,
diverger, assimilator and converger.
Ezekoka describes accommodator as a person who favours concrete experiencing and active
experimentation learning dimensions. Information is perceived by feeling and the processing is by
doing. Diverger favours concrete experiencing and reflective observation learning dimensions.
Information from diverger are got through listening and watching. They engage more on paring and
sharing where ideas are discussed in groups. Convergers learn through conceptualization and active
experimentation dimensions. Information is perceived by critical thinking and learning by doing they
process information by involving objects or materials rather than people. Assimilators are abstract
conceptualizers and reflective observers learners. They perceive information through thinking,
watching and listening and process information preferably, alone though very cautious and always
exhibit thoroughness in understanding concepts before they can act.
Virtually as the learners employ the learning styles discussed above, learning skills are
exhibited. Partnership for the 21st century skills observed that a profound gap exist between the
knowledge and skills students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21 st
century communities and workplaces. This emerged what is referred to as the 21 st century learning
skills (4c’s) Thus: critical thinking and problem solving, creative thinking and innovations,
communication and collaborating. Learning skills according Bayatzis and Kolb is defined as a
generic heuristic that enables mastery of a specific domain. They further identify the two
components of a skills to be a domain –specific and knowledge rich ; A skill describes an integrated
transaction between the person and environment and finally, skills are developed by practice.
Tracing, back to the ‘what is’ in the Nigerian school system especially in the primary school,
 learning skills are absolutely missing and the need of the hour is to close the gap so as to help
learners meet up with the challenges in the community and work place in this 21st century.

The 21st Century Learning Skills and the Strategies for Developing the Skills in the Primary
Science Classroom.
Ani (2004) posits that ‘Reasoning’ is the missing ’ R’ in the 3R’s of reading, writing and
arithmetic that formed the basics for teaching and learning process. Ani opines that pedagogical
method of teaching and andragogical method of faciliting learning are two dominant methods of
leading learners through the winding road of learning. Andragogy according to Ani, is the learning
approach that uses systematic and synergic thinking approaches to learning and in this systems
thinking, the facilitator leads the learner to be critical and creative in thought. This approach
probably exposes the learners to the 21st century learning skills of critical thinking, creative thinking,
communication and collaboration. The Nigerian classroom especially, the primary science classroom
requires this type of learning environment to enable the learners meet up with the challenges in the
scientific word because modern science according to Okeke (2005) depends on relative paradigms
for its growth.

Below Are The 21st Century Learning Skills And The Type Of Activities That Will Help Foster Such
Skill In The Primary Science

Learning skills Abilities Strategies techniques

Critical thinking Analyzing, arguing, classifying, Brainstorming, graphics
comparing and contrasting, defining, organizers, prediction,
describing, evaluating, explaining, scaffolding concept-mapping,
problem solving, tracking causes and process-based learning,
effects. documented problem solving,
coached problem solving.
Creative thinking Brainstorming ideas, creating Experience based learning, case
something, designing, entertaining, teaching method, simulations,
imaging improvising a solution, The imagine elaborate predict
innovating, overturning, problem and confirm strategy (IEPC).
solving, active questioning
Communicating Analyzing, choosing a medium, Gallery walk activities, game-
evaluating messages, following based learning interactive-
conventions, listening actively, learning, know-want-to-learn-
reading/decoding speaking, turn taking, learn (KWL)
using/ understanding technologies in
communication, writing/encoding
Collaborating Allocating resources and Jigsaw, guided discovery, peer
responsibilities, brainstorming ideas in learning, reciprocal learning,
group, decision making, delegating, goal cooperative learning just-in-time
setting, leading managing time, teaching, role-playing think pair-
resolving conflicts, evaluating products share. ETC.
processes of learning and teambuilding
Adapted from:

Admittedly, a paradigm shift is required for the primary science learners to be equipped and
empowered effectively and efficiently to face the scientific literacy and technological development of
the 21st century. It is agreed that with the use of those activities/techniques, the “need” that is the
gaps between the expected and the observed will be attended to, for science and technology related
courses to be appreciated and learnt with interest and understanding at other levels out side the
primary school and at the same time, develop lifelong learning and enable primary school learners to
acquire learning skills and even integrate the skills into learning other subjects.

Educational Implications of Developing Learning Skills in Primary Science Teaching and

Learning.
Contemporary view of Nature of Science (NOS) accepts that science is conducted in a
social context providing opportunities for personal bias and public adoption or rejection of ideas,
unlike the traditional view that is so naïve about NOS, seeing science an objective enterprise.
Teachers of science education in the 21st century should accept the contemporary view of NOS to
ensure successful inculcation of the 21st century learning skills to the primary science learner and to
enable them face the scientific and technological challenges for sustainable development.
Omifo (2006) carried out a study on the assessment of teachers views of the nature of
science. It was found out that in general, teachers have mixed views of the NOS and less than 50%
of the teachers studied have contemporary view. The implication of the findings showed that
teachers communicate science in schools as a body of knowledge that is value-free and teachers are
likely to teach science without reference to the ways in which science ideas were developed; they are
not likely to teach an authentic view of science. Onu (2004) opines that teachers need to challenge
children to think creatively, analyze, apply and evaluate information and not to end at developing the
knowledge level of the cognitive domain only, as these skills are needed to achieve real success in life
situation and in the world of work –(learning skills). The educational implications therefore are:
- That professional primary science teachers should be given appropriate training so as to
exhibit the responsibility of the primary science teacher in teaching and developing the
appropriate and meaningful learning skills among primary science learners which
involves; critical and creative thinking, collaborative learning and effective
communication.
- Teaching methods and the theory of learning should shift purely from teacher –
centeredness to learner – centered and from objective theory to cognitive/
constructivism theory where learning should be seen as a process that is not mechanical
in nature but rather as an organic process of invention where primary science teaching
and learning happens in a natural way and science becomes a way of life and not just a
body of knowledge that is emphasized upon accumulation of data, its classification and
description and by an emphasis upon mechanistic mode of interpretation (Okeke 2005).
- Curriculum developers should go back to the drawing board and ensure effective
curriculum planning, development, implementation and evaluation in primary science
because primary science education is regarded as a foundation of science education at
the post primary and tertiary institutions. Where the learning skills are developed based
on the implemented curriculum, the primary science learners can withstand with ease
science and other science related subjects in secondary and tertiary institutions. This will
go a longer way to improve on the number of students that enter for science and science
related courses and will in turn, lead to modernization and improvement of living
standards of individuals and the society at large.
Conclusion
The 21st century teaching and learning process has been revolutionalized, learning is being
emphasized rather than teaching and the 21st learning skills focus wholly on the constructivists
learning theory whereby learning is seen as an organic process of invention and knowledge is
constructed through the system of assimilation and accommodation into the existing mental frame
work. The already existing framework of knowledge promotes transformation and interpretation of
new information. The primary science learner should be trained and taught utilizing
strategies/techniques that will equip and empower them to think critically and creatively work
collaboratively and to communicate effectively for sustainable science and technology development
in this country, Nigeria if this country is ready to realize scientific and technological breakthrough in
future.

References

Ani, S. (2004) Modern approaches to classroom learning. A paper presented at the Education-Tax Fund
(ETF) workshop on training the trainee teachers. Owerri: Alvan Ikoku College of Education.
August 23rd – 27th.

Boyatzis, R.E and Kolb, D.A. (1995). From learning styles to learning skills the executive skills
profile. Journal of Managerial Psychology MCB University press 0(5) 3-17.

Ezekoka, G.K. (2005). The effect of learning style on the academic performance of SSII Biology
students. Unpublished Ph.D Dissertation, Department of curriculum studies and educational technology,
University of Port Harcourt,Nigeria

Ezelora, B. (2006). Motivating secondary school science teachers to face the challenges of the third
millennium. Journal of the science teachers association of Nigeria 39 (1 & 2) 82 – 87

Ifegbo, P.C. (2005). Evaluating the human and materials resources for the teaching of science at the
primary level for sustainable development. Journal of Curriculum Organization of Nigeria 12 (2).
110 – 115

Ifegbo, P.C. (2009). Use of videotaped lessons a supplement to the face-to-face approach in the
teaching and learning of science at the primary school level. PhD Thesis, Department of
Curriculum Studies and Educational Technology, Imo State University Owerri.

Ifegbo, P.C. (2012). Microteaching; Purpose, process and content. Owerri: Cel-Bez publishers.

Leghara, B.N. and Okafor, C.U. (2006). Status of resources for teaching and learning of primary
science in Anambra State. 47th Annual Conference proceeding of Science Teachers Association of Nigeria
STAN 319 – 326.

National Teacher’s Institute (2006). Manual for re-training of primary school teachers: primary
science teachers. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) project.

Obanya, P. (2002). Revitalizing education in Africa. Nigeria: Stirling – Horden Publishers (Nig) Ltd.

Obiefuna, C.A. (2000). Effect of peer motivational stimuli and mixed ability grouping on pupils
achievement in primary science. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Nigeria Nsukka.
Okeke, F. (2005). Curricular provisions and the teaching of science at the primary school. In
Okonkwo C, Achimine R.N. and John Nwosu A.D (Eds.) Pre-primary and primary Education in
Nigeria: Focus on Curriculum and Administration Nigeria: Longman Plc. 261-283.

Omifo, C.N. (2006). Nature of science: What view do teachers as human resource for effective
science teaching and communicating possess? 47th Annual Conference Proceedings of STAN 363 –
371.

Onu, V.C. (2004). Strategies for teaching thinking skills in Nigeria schools. Journal of the Nigerian
Academy of education. 1(2) 64 – 75.

Partnership for the 21st century learning skills: Retrieved 18th August 2012 from http://www.p21.org

Senapathy, H.K. (2009). Integrating information and communication technology with constructivist
pedagogy for professional development of teachers in Saxena M.K & Gihar S. (Eds) ICT
Professional education New Delhi: APH publishing company.

Uzoechi, B.C. (2004). Determinant of students question attitudes in science lessons. Unpublished
Ph.D Thesis. University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Uzoechi, B.C. (2006). Teachers perception of the availability and usage of resources for primary
science teaching in the Federal Capital territory (FCT) Abuja. 47th Annual Conference proceedings
of STAN 310 – 314.
 DYNAMIC SELF PROGRAMMING ARCHITECTURE FOR
CONCURRENT FAULT DETECTION

Philemon Daniel1, Rajeevan Chandel2

ECE Department, NIT Hamirpur, India

Abstract
Online concurrent testing of VLSI circuits continues to be a challenge because of the need to test
circuits during their normal operation. As offline test schemes and online non-concurrent Built-
in-Self-Tests (BIST) do not suffice, new techniques like input vector monitoring concurrent BIST
schemes were introduced. But the best of the techniques suffer from major limitations like
extremely high concurrent test latency, exponential area overhead, limited fault models and
therefore are not a viable solution, especially for pipelined circuits. In this paper a dynamic self
programming architecture is presented. The proposed scheme includes a self programming ability
of a concurrent online test architecture based on the type of instruction being executed. And this
programming happens dynamically, that is during the normal working of the design under test
(DUT). The concurrent test latency is reduced significantly and all at-speed fault models are
included naturally. The fault coverage increases because of dynamic rule sets. It uses a scalable
BIST architecture without a noticeable increase in area overhead. The applicability is being
validated by implementing the scheme for Cortex M0 ARM core.

Key words: Online testing, concurrent test, offline testing, built-in-self-test, dynamic programming

1. Introduction
There is an increasing necessity to work on reliable methodologies to test integrated circuits (IC)
especially System on Chips (SoC) both offline and online because of the increasing unreliability in
the nature of defects. Some faults that arise later in the lifetime because of electro-migration, stress
migration, time-dependant dielectric breakdown, and thermal cycling (Srinivasan et al, 2005) make
estimation of mean-time-to-failure (MTTF) very difficult at design time and consequently failure
detection at runtime. The faults that occur during the lifetime of the IC can be classified as follows
(Al-Asaad and Shringi, 2000):
Permanent faults are those which remain indefinitely in the system. Most of these are
manufacturing faults or design errors. Few of these are caused by major environmental changes or
physical damage of the chip whose effect might remain for the rest of their lifetime.
Intermittent faults may appear for a brief period of time and then disappear and reappear after a
relatively longer period. Since there are no fixed parameters that cause the fault, predicting them
seems to be an impossible task. Two major reasons they might occur are because of marginal
dimensions in manufacturing and tight constraints during design. Since the system works well for
most of the time and for most of the conditions, testing and diagnosing them is a major concern.
Transient faults mostly appear for a much shorter period and disappear quickly. Their appearances
are rare and are mainly caused due to environmental variations.
One common method of testing circuits after they are placed in the field is using Built-in-Self-Tests
(BIST). They are both effective and practical for most offline tests. The advantages of BIST include
the capability of performing at-speed testing, high fault coverage, elimination of test generation
effort, and less reliance on expensive external testing equipment for applying and monitoring test
patterns as in Abramovici et al (1990). Because of these advantages, BIST offers a very cost effective
test package. These BIST methods are further divided into offline and online BISTs. The one where
the system is shutdown completely or the circuit is detached from the field and the I/Os are
captured by the BIST circuitry are called offline BIST. Online BIST is where the operation of the
circuit might be temporarily suspended to change the mode into test mode and run a BIST. Here a
test generator (TG) applies the test vectors either in a random or in a deterministic way to the circuit
and a response verifier (RV) verifies the captured output. The compiled response is finally analysed
to determine if a fault is present. There were several proposals to tackle both online and offline
BIST.

2. Challenges for concurrent online test

Online testing addresses the detection of faults that emerge during the operation of the system,
mainly the intermittent and transient faults. Online testing is especially important for critical
applications. These systems are not expected to fail without warning. Online testing gives us the
option to avoid catastrophe if a system fails. Once the test detects an error, the system does one or
few of the following to adjust to the error: It either saves critical data or issues a warning or switches
to a different module or steps down the performance of the system or starts a repair sequence or
starts a reconfiguration mechanism or shuts down the system.
Online test can be done either with a setup outside the system either with the help of software or
with hardware alone. But external setup doesn’t have sufficient external pins to monitor the entire
complex hardware within, also that all the internal faults do not show up on the pins and external
monitoring is expensive. Internal online testing is the alternative method to test ICs on the system.
Testing is internal if it takes place on the same substrate as the design under test, in most case within
the SoC.
Online testing can be further divided into concurrent and non-concurrent testing. Non-concurrent
testing is testing the DUT while the normal operation of the circuit is temporarily suspended or
during the shutdown/boot sequence. For critical applications where the operation of the circuit
cannot be suspended, testing has to be carried out during the normal functioning of the circuit. This
kind of testing is called concurrent testing. Normal online testing methods do not work for
concurrent testing; neither does the external online testing schemes. The major parameters to be
considered while designing an online test scheme are:
Concurrent test latency (CTL): It is defined as the number of normal functional inputs that must
be applied to the CUT inputs while the CUT operates normally in order to complete the concurrent
test process (Voyiatzis et al, 2008).
Fault Latency (FL): It is defined as the time taken for the concurrent test to detect the fault from
the time it actually appeared.
Fault Coverage (FC): It is defined as the fraction of the targeted faults for a particular CUT that
are detected by a specific test or a test set. Circuits that are critical require very high fault coverage in
each of the fault categories.
Area Overhead (AO): It is defined as the number of gates that are needed to complete online
testing over and above the gate count of the original design. Even though area overhead is not a
major factor, it affects scalability.
Concurrent testing was initially carried out by using watchdog timers Mahmood and McCluskey
(1998). Watchdog timers alone proved to be inefficient, because they only confirm if control flow is
traversing properly. Later redundancy was introduced. In one case, duplication with comparison
(DWC), Johnson (1989), where the outputs of the two copies of the same circuit which operate in
tandem is compared.
The initial work on vector monitoring concurrent BIST was done out by Saluja (1988) (C-BIST,).
The test generator of C-BIST is a Linear Feedback Shift Register (LFSR) and the active test set
consists of exactly one active test vector (the current value of the LFSR). To drive down the CTL,
four techniques have been proposed so far, namely, the Multiple Hardware Signature Analysis
Technique (MHSAT, Saluja (1987)), the Order Independent Signature Analysis Technique (OISAT,
Saluja (1986)), windowed-Comparative Concurrent BIST (w- CBIST, Voyiatzis and Halatsis (2005)),
and RAM-based Concurrent BIST (R-CBIST Voyiatzis et al (2005)), which decrease the CTL by
increasing the number of active test vectors.
The above mentioned techniques target either exhaustive or pseudorandom testing, so the size of
the active test set is large, imposing high CTL. In order to resolve this problem, Built-In Concurrent
Self-Test (BICST, Sharma and Saluja (1993)) was proposed by Sharma and Saluja; when BICST is
applied to an n-input m-output combinational CUT that can be tested with T vectors, it utilizes a T-
line X (n+m)-column PLA; when a vector that belongs to the T-vector test set reaches the CUT
inputs, the AND plane of the PLA is activated and the response of the CUT is compared to the
output of the m response columns of the PLA. BICST cannot be utilized in offline mode in order to
impose the test vectors required to test the CUT during manufacturing testing or periodic offline
testing. In Voyiatzis et al (2008), an input vector monitoring concurrent BIST technique for
Monitoring Input vectors for concurrent testing based on a preComputed test SET (MICSET) is
given; the presented scheme is based on a test set stored in a mapping logic module which can be
implemented with either random logic or a ROM whose address inputs are driven by a subset of the
input bits of the CUT. This scheme again suffers from a very high CTL. And since the hardware
overhead scales along with the size of the CUT, this scheme is not scalable.
For systems where its continuous functioning is of utmost importance, online concurrent testing is
the only solution.

3. Dynamic Self Programming Concurrent Online Scheme

The architecture of Dynamic Self Programming Concurrent Online Scheme (DSPCOS) is presented
in Figure 1. The idea is to start the embedded system cycle from a known starting point; monitor the
outputs continuously after passing them through multiple pseudo random scramblers; the
monitoring is done by a collection of rule sets. The rule sets are set dynamically according to the
current instruction that is being executed. The architecture can be used for both online and offline
testing and is fully programmable and customizable according to the CUT’s test requirements.
Online testing will be completed fully while the CUT is performing its normal operation. In many of
the embedded systems and systems with critical applications there are two facts, which are exploited
in this architecture. One is that there is a specific program cycle that gets executed repeatedly. The
other is that the program is loaded once in the system and is not changed unless the normal
operation of the system is suspended. All the faults in the false paths, i.e. the non-functional paths
need not be tested. So it is a safe assumption that during the normal operation of a circuit, it is
sufficient if the system works fine for the current program that is loaded in the system. When the
program is reloaded, the test can be performed again for that particular program. So this architecture
exploits both the program cycle concept and the limited fault coverage necessary for the program to
work without issues. The DSPCOS architecture was built and is being tested on the ARM CortexM0
core.
 Figure 1. Dynamic Self Programming Concurrent Online Scheme (DSPCOS)

To start or restart concurrent testing, a reset signal (R) is provided. The reset signal can be
multiplexed with any other input. The DSPCOS can be programmed either to start whenever the
reset R is given or when the program counter (PC) reads the start of any of the intended program
loops. The outputs go through a set of scramblers and an Accumulator Based Compactor (ABC) &
Multiple Input Signature Register (MISR). For example, two stage scramblers are chosen. The
function of a scrambler is to shuffle the outputs in a predetermined manner. There are several ways
to do it. One of the easiest and effective methods is to tap the opcode bits which change almost
every cycle. The selected opcode bits are XOR-ed and its output is fed as the select line to stacks of
multiplexers. A simple scrambler is shown in Figure 2. The 4-bit input named as A, B, C & D are
shuffled based on the parity generated (Y) by the two opcode bits OPCODE(0) and OPCODE(2).
If Y=0, the outputs of this scrambler A’, B’, C’ & D’ will be A, C, B & D and if Y=1, the outputs
will be B, D, C & A. The scrambler was expanded to shuffle 8-bit word. In order to shuffle the bits
well, multi stage scramblers are used. We have

Figure 2. Scrambler
 Figure 3. Accumulator Based Compactor (ABC)

chosen to use two stages of 8-bit scramblers which would be sufficient to randomize the bits to a
maximum extent. This randomization is required to maximize the probability to capture the fault
effect and almost eliminate error leakage.
After the two stages of the scramblers, the output word is given to both the ABC and the MISR.
ABC is proven to have negligible aliasing, provides extremely high fault coverage, has very little
hardware overhead and can work effectively for a very large number of cycles with little or no error
cancellation. The ABC used is shown in Figure 3. Each output word of the scrambler (n-bits) is
added to the contents of the accumulator’s register (m-bits; m>n) and the result is in turn added to
the next word of the output and so on. The final content of the ABC is the signature which can be
shifted out for comparison. But since the objective here is for concurrent test, the signatures are
monitored by a dynamic rule set.
Simple examples of functional rule sets for the instruction decoder in ARM CortexM0 are:
 o_multiply_function && o_interrupt_vector_sel = 0
o If next funct. is multiply, it cannot be interrupt
 o_user_mode_regs_load && o_user_mode_regs_store_nxt = 0
o If next funct. is load, it cannot be store
 o_pc_wen && o_reg_bank_wen = 0
o If next funct. is pc_write, it cannot be register bank write

These conditions cannot occur. A long list of such assertions can be listed by the designer during
verification. These rule sets change for each instruction. Generic rule sets yield less coverage. So a
dynamic self programmable rule set architecture is used which is based on the current instruction
being executed.
At the end of the test, if there is no error from both the rule sets, then pass signal will be asserted. If
there is a rule set violation at any point of time during the execution cycle, then the fail signal would
be asserted indicating an error immediately within a few cycles after the fault first occurred in the

Figure 4. Combination of multiple rule sets for concurrent test

hardware. Figure 4 shows that multiple rule set outputs can be combined together to detect a fault.
The dynamic programmability comes from the instructions in the instruction decoder.

4. Design Validation
Block Hardware overhead Gates
Scramblers 2 x {(n x Mux) + 1 XORgate} 2 x (3n+1)
ABC < (5 x m) gates + m x DFF m x 13
MISR < n-XOR gates + n x DFF nx9
Rule-set c x gates C
Total (6n+2) + mx13 + nx9 + c
Table 1. Area overhead calculation

The hardware overhead calculation for the scheme is shown in Table 1. As is shown in the table the
hardware is generic in monitoring any block outputs. The hardware overhead does not scale
proportional to the block under test rather DSPCOS is proportional to the number of outputs
available for monitoring.

5. Conclusions
In this paper, a dynamic output vector monitoring concurrent BIST scheme was presented. The
practical effectiveness of the method is being implemented for the control blocks of Cortex M0 of
ARM. DSPCOS is better in many aspects. Its scalability and low CTL, especially for pipelined
controllers are notable advantages.

Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge with gratitude the technical and financial support from DIT, Ministry of
Communications & Information Technology, Govt. of India, New Delhi, through SMDP-II project
at NIT Hamirpur HP, India.

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Al-Asaad, H., & Shringi, M. (2000). On-Line Built-In Self-Test for Operational Faults. Proc. Systems
Readiness Technology Conf, pp. 168-174.
Johnson, B. W. (1989). Design and Analysis of Fault Tolerant Digital Systems, Addison-Wesley, Reading,
Massachusetts.
Mahmood, A., & McCluskey, E. (1998). Concurrent error detection using watchdog processors-A
survey. IEEE Transactions on Computers,Vol.C-37, pp. 160-174.
Saluja, K.K., Sharma, R., & Kime, C.R. (1986). Concurrent Comparative Built-In Testing of Digital
Circuits. Technical Report ECE-8711, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Eng., Univ. of Wisconsin.
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Resources. Proc. Int’l Conf. Computer Aided Design, pp. 336-339.
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Technique. VLSI Design, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 9-22.
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Input Vector Monitoring Concurrent BIST Architecture Based on a Precomputed Test Set.
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69-78.
 VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN NIGERIA:
ISSUES, PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS’ DIMENSIONS (IPP)

Daso Peter Ojimba

Department of Technical Education,
Ignatius Ajuru University of Education,
Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract:
Vocational education deals with the training or retraining designed to prepare individuals to enter into a paid
employment in any recognized occupation. On the other hand technical education deals with the training of technical
personnel for the purposes of initiating, facilitating and implementing the technological development of a nation and
create the basic awareness of technological literacy to our youths. In Nigeria, the training of technical personnel has
witnessed formidable challenges ranging from poor funding to inadequate facilities, brain drain, poor staff training and
defective curricular. This paper intends to critically examine the issues, problems and prospects of vocational and
technical education in Nigeria and suggest ways to improve the teaching and learning of vocational/technical education
with enhanced enthusiasm and vibrancy.

Key words:Vocational, Technical, Education, Issues, Problems and Prospects.

INTRODUCTION
Vocational education is defined as any form of education whose primary purpose is to prepare
persons for employment in recognized occupations (Okoro, 1993). It is obvious therefore that
vocational education is a term that is more all-embracing than technical education which O. M.
Okoro defines as post-secondary vocational training programme whose major purpose is the
production of technicians. The Nigerian National Policy on Education defines technical and
vocational education as a comprehensive term referring to those aspects of the educational process
involving, in addition to general education, the study of technologies and related sciences and the
acquisition of practical skills, attitudes, understanding and knowledge relating to occupations in
various sectors of economic and social life. Technical education can therefore be seen as the formal
training of persons to become technicians in different occupations. Thus any education that is
geared towards teaching technical skills and attitudes suitable to such skills can be regarded as
technical education.
In his own views, Uwaifo (2009) posited that technical education is the training of
technically oriented personnel who are to be the initiators, facilitators and implementers of
technological development of a nation. He opined that this training of its citizenry on the need to be
technologically literate, would lead to self-reliance and sustainability. He stressed that technical
education more than any other profession has direct impact on national welfare.
Furthermore, technical education contributions are widespread and visible ranging from
metal work technology, mechanical/automobile technology, electrical and electronic technology,
building and woodwork technology etc. Consequently, technical education can serve as change
agents not only for technical systems but also for many other societal changes. The practical nature
of technical education makes it unique in content and approach thereby requiring special care and
attention. The inputs of technical education are, so visible to the extent that even an illiterate could
see when failures occur.
 Under critical examination, vocational and technical education have been an integral part of
national development strategies in many societies because of the impact on human resource
development, productivity and economic growth. Despite their proven contributions does Nigeria
seem to give vocational and technical education the attention they deserve? Does that appear to be
one of the reasons for the rising unemployment and poverty in the society?
This paper therefore seeks to explore the issues, problems and prospects of
vocational/technical education in Nigeria.

Issues: It has been noted that vocational education is designed to offer training to improve
individual’s general proficiency, especially in relation to their present or future occupation. The
provision of vocational and technical schools has a long history. Before the industrial revolution
(between 1750 & 1830) the home and the “apprenticeship system were the principal sources of
vocational education. Societies were however forced by the decline of handwork and specialization
of occupational functions to develop institutions of vocational education. As the Columbia
Encyclopedia of 2001 noted manual training, involving general instruction in the use of hand tools
was said to have developed initially in Scandinavia (C. 1866).
However, vocational education became popular in the elementary schools in the United
States after 1880 and developed into courses in industrial training, book keeping, stenography and
allied commercial work in both public and private institutions. Some of the early private trade
schools in the US include Cooper Union (1859) and Pratt Institute (1887). The number of public
and private vocational schools has greatly increased since 1900.
However, vocational and technical education have continued to thrive in many societies.
Unfortunately, Nigeria is not taking the issues of vocational and technical education seriously.
Although vocational and technical education seem deficient in citizenship or leadership training
(Friedman, 1982), they could provide student the skills to become productive entrepreneurs and
engender creative and innovative ideas that would enlarge the nation’s economic pie, and increase
personal freedom.
Thus the neglect of vocational and technical education is socially injurious as it rubs the
nation of contribution the graduates would make on national development. More importantly, the
Nigerian society needs competent auto mechanics and truck drivers, carpenters, plumbers,
electricians (to maintain the NEPA plants), computer database technicians and web/network
technicians, medical technicians and vocational nurses to function well. The half-baked road-side
mechanics in the society often cause more damages to vehicles when they are contracted to service
them, and because of poor training some of the commercial drivers on the road and nurses
assistants in the hospitals have sent many people to their early death.
Without gainsaying, the current preoccupation with university education in Nigeria reduces
economic opportunities of those who are more oriented toward work than academics. Not every
one needs a university education. But who would employ them if everyone became a university
graduate? As mentioned earlier, graduates of vocational and technical institutions are highly skilled
entrepreneurs. Many of the so-called “expatriate engineers: who are being paid huge sum of money
in dollars to build the roads and bridges in Nigeria are graduates of vocational colleges, yet, Nigeria
is not taking the sector seriously.
The issue of youth unemployment appears to be shooting up the sky because many of them
lack “employability” skills that are often acquired from vocational schools. The nation’s poverty
level was put at 70% and more than 91 million Nigerians are said to live on less than one dollar per
day. Also it has been well documented that Nigeria’s higher institutions lack the tools to give
students the skill employers need. It is evident that Nigeria has teething problems in vocational and
technical education. Let us examine some of these major problems.
Problems:
The challenges or problems mitigating the training of technical education or vocational education
are:
1) Funding: Universities in Nigeria are owned and funded by the Federal Government, state
government and private individuals. Over the years, government subventions to universities
have never been adequate but at the same time governments maintain the policy that
universities should not charge fees it deemed adequate to complement the financial effort of
the government. In Nigeria, the allocation to education as a share of the GDP is quite
minimal. Till date, government funding of vocational and technical education programmes
have not been impressive.
2) Facilities: Most technical education departments in Nigerian universities do not have
laboratories or workshops space let alone usable equipment and facilities and where they exist,
they are grossly inadequate, as the laboratories only have the items or equipment that were
provided when the departments were established. It is however most surprising to know that
most technical education departments still depends on engineering workshop and lecturers to
teach technical education concepts in this 21st century.
The available facilities, programme as at today are inadequate quantitatively and qualitatively
and besides they are obsolete. Oryem Oriya (2005) indicated that only 40% of institutions of
Higher Education in Nigeria have laboratory or workshop space for technical education
programmes. The others, 60% do not have laboratory or workshop space and that this reflects
the low quality of technology programmes in higher institutions. He further noted that these
few universities that have laboratories, experience acute shortage of laboratory equipment and
supplies. He concluded that this situation is partly responsible for the reason why it has been
increasingly difficult to run experiments effectively for students and made the teaching and
research in science and technology difficult and therefore the country was producing
insufficient and ill-prepared technical education graduates necessary for driving the
technological and socio-economic development of Nigeria as a nation.
The inadequacy in teaching, laboratory and workshop facilities has contributed to the
diminution of the quality of technical education graduates in Nigeria. Reyes – Guerra (1989)
categorized students into three, namely: verbalizers, visualizers and doers. The verbalizers are
those who learn easily if information is in written or spoken form. They benefit from
lectures, tutorials and hand-outs. Visualizers learn easily when information is presented in
pictorial or diagrammatic form while the Doers learn more easily when information is
presented by practical demonstration by the lecturers.
The inadequacy of facilities both qualitatively and quantitatively has put the visualizers and
the Doers at a disadvantage. The verbalizers may also have problem in a class with large
students population. The implication of this scenario is that only a small proportion of the
students benefit from the current pedagogical system.
3. Brain Drain: In the context of this paper, brain drain refers to the movement of lecturers of
technical education which are needed for the socio-economic and technological advancement of
Nigeria from one university to other universities or to other professionals (including politics) calling
for better conditions of service. Akintunde (1989) identified five different components of brain
drain:
a) Experts in academics who moved to the industry where they get better pay for their services.
b) Lecturers and students who leave the country to acquire more knowledge and skill but later
refused to return.
c) Lecturers who move from one country for other conditions of service.
d) Skill professionals who abandon the practice of technical education in favour of other more
lucrative economic activities and political appointments which are not related to their
training.
e) Skilled professionals, although in their field of training who do not devote their full attention
to their job because of their effort to supplement their earnings through other unrelated
economic activities.

Bassi (2004) reported that:

(i) About 45% of all Nigerian professionals including technical educators have left the Nigerian
shores over the decades since colonization.
(ii) Between 1997 and 2007 alone, Nigeria lost over 10,000 middle level and high-level managers
to the western economies.
(iii) About 500 lecturers from Nigerian universities continue to emigrate each year, particularly to
Europe, America and other African countries where the condition of service is relatively
better. These Nigerians in Diaspora contribute 35 times more wealth to Europe, America
and other African economy.
4. Staff training and retention: The training of academic staff is ordinarily a continuous
exercise to ensure consistent improvement in the quality of their outputs. The training is
two-fold: training to acquire minimum qualification (Ph.D) to teach and continued
professional training. Both types of training can be acquired either locally or overseas.
Usually, local training within the nation is cheaper than overseas training but more strenuous
because of inadequate facilities, literature and distractions arising from the need to meet the
necessary demands. Overseas training requires a lot of foreign exchange but the enabling
environment exists to achieve success in a record time. However, over time it has always
been difficult to get the trainees back to their respective countries after the completion of
their study.
Invariably, the salary and service benefits paid to technical education teachers in Nigeria is
about the lowest in the world. This leads them to migrate to other countries especially the
United States of America or local industry for better pay. Academics from within and
outside Nigeria also migrate to Botswana and South Africa because of high wages that they
pay to the academics and the relatively better equipped laboratories.
5. Staff situation: Many universities across the country are inadequately staffed both
qualitatively and quantitatively. In most departments especially in technical education
programme, the proportion of staff without Ph.D out numbers those with Ph.D. Uwaifo
(2005) asserted that it is difficult to get people trained to the level of Ph.D because academic
is not as attractive and commensurate to the effort, commitment and finances put in to
acquire it; whereas a first degree graduate can function well in the industry and politics etc
and earn good money.
Table 2: Shows the relative percentage of academic staff with Ph.D in technical education
across the southern universities in Nigeria as at 2010.
S/ Names of university Course areas No. of Percentage
N Building/ Electrical/ Metal/ Total Ph.D %
wood work electronics auto holders
mechanic
1. Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka 5 4 4 13 2 8
2. University of Benin, Benin City 5 4 6 15 2 8
3. University of Nigeria, Nsukka 6 4 5 15 5 21
4. University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State 3 5 5 13 3 13
5. Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma 6 4 3 13 1 5
6. Delta State University, Abraka 5 4 4 13 2 8
7. Enugu State Uni. of Sc. & Tech, 5 4 3 12 2 8
Enugu
8. Rivers State Uni. of Sci & Tech, P.H 5 3 5 13 2 8
9. Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki 4 5 4 13 2 8
10. Rivers State University of Education, 8 6 14 28 3 13
PH
Total 52 43 53 148 24 100

Author’s input:
It could be seen from table 1 that no department offering technical education in Nigerian
universities have adequate Ph.D lecturers, as the university with the highest Ph.D lecturers is
the university of Nigeria, Nsukka; established in 1960. Of the 15 lecturers in the department,
only 5 of them have their Ph.D, while others are yet to acquire it. Most lecturers in technical
education department in these schools who have obtained their Ph.D, have been drained
away from these schools because of the unattractive nature of the lecturing profession in
Nigeria.
In order to spur locally needed science and technology activities, it is imperative that Nigeria
governments should seriously consider proper retention schemes for their best talents by
providing special working conditions including income supplements and adequate research
supports to stem this problem of brain drain.
6. The curriculum of technical education: The curriculum of a subject with practical
content is generally organized into an average of 67% for the theoretical classes and 33% for
laboratory. Students also use the laboratory to develop case examples on their own time. Olunloyo
(2002) noted that one of the issues confronting the design of appropriate curriculum for technical
education is preparing students for the shift from the fordist to ICT paradigm in technology
practice.
The low pace of industrialization and technological growth in Nigeria can be attributed to
the widening gap between science and technology as a result of the inability of technical education to
adequately utilize the scientific ideas to promote technology. This suggests the need to overhaul
technical education curricula in Nigeria.
However, the overhauling of the curricula may not necessarily translate to the production of
highly literate technical education experts of ready-made graduates for the industry which may result
in rapid industrialization or growth in the economy of a nation unless solutions are proffered to
some constraints that may militate against positive outcomes, but will adequately equip our youths
with the relevant skills needed for their day to day living. The problems associated with the current
curricula are:
(i) They are based on a foreign model which has evolved under ideal conditions (staff, equipment,
infrastructure, training opportunities etc) that are not easily duplicated in developing countries.
(ii) There is a basic lack of textbooks in this area and most of the available textbooks are often
illustrated with examples from outside the local environment and which are irrelevant to the
particular country.
(iii) There is usually a shortage of highly competent indigenous teaching and support staff with
sufficiently wide practical experience of technology.
(iv) The curricular are adjudged to be too academic and overloaded with intellectual content in
pure science and mathematics at the expense of basic engineering and technology.
(v) Inadequate provision for humanities, social sciences, business management concepts and
entrepreneurial skills development. Because of the inadequate preparation of the students for
the industry some employers retrain the graduate to make them productive in their
organizations.
(vi) The teaching approach follows the conventional method of transfering knowledge across
through the lecturer reading out to students, who would then take down notes. The
educational system continues to place considerable value on this method of teaching.
7. The apathy of political office holders/law makers: Education generally, including technical
education programmes has been grossly neglected in Nigeria. Technical educators have the
greatest challenge of convincing the law makers on why they should give priority to the
programme in allocating resources. Many options of getting positive results have been
advocated at different fora, namely, lobbying, participation of technical educators in
governance, wooing etc. Yet the government is playing a lopsided attitude to the proper
development of the programme in Nigeria. Thus, Nigeria will ever remain a technologically
backward and dependent nation if this attitude and trend is not reversed.

Prospects:
It is evident that Nigeria lags behind in preparing her workforce for the challenges of the rapidly
changing global economy. For that, the nation must invest copiously in education with particular
attention given to vocational and technical education. No nation would make any meaningful socio-
economic stride without viable educational institutions. The National Board for Technical
Education (NBTE) and teachers in this area should take up the campaign for more funds for
vocational education and to launder its image in the society, it has been this way in many societies.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has noted
that revitalizing this sector is among the ways to improve economic opportunities for the youths.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the affiliated unions could also help in this regard by
setting up vocational training centres in local government areas from where the people could acquire
some job skills. Upgrading the workers’ skills would improve their productivity and advance their
values (wages/salaries and benefits) and voices on the job; calling out the workers for strike actions
is not the only way to fight for their welfare.
The NEEDS and SEEDS programmes should include vocational education and job
training program in their economic growth and development strategies as part of poverty alleviation
and assist the unemployed for job search. This is the way things are set up in many societies, and
Nigeria should adopt and adapt the system if she wants to move forward. Furthermore, political
rhetoric without action will not solve Nigeria’s problems. The progress of Nigeria lies in the
productivity of its citizens and quality education and genuine vocational programs hold the key.
Furthermore, the 1991 policy of the World Bank harped on the development of a skilled
labour force which makes an important contribution to development. The challenges are to use
employer, private and public training capacities effectively to train workers for jobs that use their
skills and to do so efficiently in developing economies increasingly influenced by technological
change and open to international competition. Training in the private sector by private employers
and in private training institutions can be the most effective and efficient way to develop the skills of
the work force.
Harping on the above prospects, it is pertinent to note that government at all levels must be
pressured to devote the recommended 26% of their budgets to education. Out of this we should
demand that at least about 50% should be allocated to technical vocational education representing
roughly 10% of the total budgets. Rather than spend tax payers’ money establishing General studies
universities in all the local government areas, and claiming that as an achievement the existing ones
should be well funded so that both staff and students will be motivated to make their contributions
to the development of the country.
Furthermore, one of the greatest problems of our education is that every government wants
to give an impression that it is doing something. Thus policies that are not well thought out are
introduced and changed arbitrarily and whimsically. There should be an end to policy somersaults.
We should build an architecture of technical schools with the universities of technology at the apex.
Those who choose the technical career path should be able to proceed from the senior secondary
schools to doctorate degrees without feeling inferior in the least to graduates of the general studies
institutions.
Technicians and all who pass through our technical-oriented schools ought to be adequately
and equitably remunerated. The dichotomy in the civil service between holders of ‘General Studies’
certificates and technical certificates must not only be abolished as a matter of policy but in the
thinking and attitude of government officials. The truth of the matter is that technicians or
technologists are not inferior to their counterparts. It is a matter of career choice and we should
make this very clear to our children right from the primary schools.

Conclusion:
Jimn gang (2004) posited that there is need for a total overhauling of the educational system and that
in many fields, course work available only lead to rising unemployment, poverty and misery. He
concluded that the situation could only be curbed if syllabuses were innovated, re-engineered or re-
designed to include disciplines that build up the fighter – spirit needed for today’s intellectual battles
of life. For progress to be made in Nigeria the challenges confronting technical education must be
recognized and fought vigorously. Adequate resources should be allocated to the programmes in
order to achieve positive outcomes. A comprehensive reform towards technical and vocational
education and a deliberate attempt to uplift the programme is the only panacea to a technological
enderado in this country.
REFERENCES

Akintude, M. I. (1989): History of Development in Vocational and Technical Education, London:

George Allen and Unwin Ltd.

Bassi, S. Y. (2004): The Role of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DCTA) in
Technology Transfer and Acquisition in African Countries’ Proceeding, 2nd African Regional
Conference on Engineering Education, University of Lagos, Nigeria 20th – 22nd September, pp
35 – 42.

Friedman, M (1982). Capitalism and Freedom: University of Chicago Press, 2nd Edition.

Jimngang, K. I. (2004): African Human Development Department. Nigeria Science and Technology
Education at Post-Basic Level (Step B) – Review of Science and Technology Education in
Federally – Funded Institutions, Nigeria Country Office, Nigeria.

Okoro O. M. (1993). Principles and Methods of Vocational and Technical Education, Nsukka:
University Trust Publisher.

Olunloyo, V. O. S. (2002): The Challenges of Globalization for the Design of Technical Curriculum
in Developing Countries’ First Edition, University of Lagos Press pp 217 – 237.
Oryem – Origa, S. O. (2005). Vocational Education and manpower Development, Lagos: Nigerian
Vocational association monograph series.

Reyes – Guerra (1989). Concepts and issues of Globalization in Nigeria Education: Implications for
teaching and learning. Paper presented at the 50th ICET World Assembly, University of
Pretoria, South Africa.

Uwaifo, V. O (2005). Vocational Education and General Education: Conflict or Convergence:

Nigerian Journal of Educational Research 4 (1): Institute of Education, Ambrose Ali
University, Ekpoma.

Uwaifo, V. O. (2009). Technical Education and its Challenges in Nigeria in the 21 st Century.
International NGO Journal vol. 5 (2) pp 40 – 44.
 DROUGHT STRESS EFFECTS ON SOME
BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES OF WHEAT

Keyvan Shamsi

Department of crop production and Plant Breeding,

Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran.

Abstract
The experiment carried out in,2007-2008 on the Dryland Agriculture Research sub – Institute
Sararood, Kermanshah, Iran in order to study the effects of drought stress on yield, proline content
and chlorophyll content of wheat cultivars under field conditions. The experiments were base on
split plot in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The main plots included
drought stress treatments at 4 levels: I1- drought stress at the start of stem elongation stage; I2 -
drought stress at the start of boot stage; I3- drought stress at the start of grain filling stage and I4-
full irrigation.The Subplots included cultivars treatments at 3 levels: Chamran (C1), Marvdasht(C2),
and Shahriar (C3). A significant difference (p<0.01) was observed between the drought stress
treatments. The results showed that with an increase in the Intensity of drought stress on wheat
cultivars, there was a decrease in total chlorophyll content and increased proline content. The
Chamran cultivar (C1) on drought stress treatment (I1) had the lowest decrease in total chlorophyll
content than with control treatment (I4). Also this cultivar had the highest drought tolerance.

Introduction
Almost 32 percent of wheat culture face up to various types of drought stress during growth season
in development Countries [5]. Droght stress is the most important limited factor of filed crops in
Iran. The most part of Iran,s subcultivation land have placed in arid and semiarid regions, that
because of water resource deficit and plant stress appearing, wheat performance reduce in these
regions severly. Ashraf et al,[1] also reported that drought stress will reduce concentration of
chlorophyll b more than chlorophyll a , that increase the chlorophyll a/b ratio. However they
reported that this ratio was more in sensitive cultivars under the drought stress. The results of
experiment have showed that accumulation of proline and soluble carbohydrates will happen for
osmotic regulation while water potential reduce more than one mg pa.[6]. However it is reported
that proline content in resistant wheat cultivar was more than sensitive cultivar under the drought
and salinity stress [4]. In general, the purpose of this research was the study of drought stress effect
on some biochemical processes of bread wheat cultivars, so that responses of these cultivars
evaluate in resistance to drought stress.

Material and methods:

This research was done, in 2007-2008 on the Dryland Agriculture Research sub- Institute Sararood.
Main plots consisted of four drought stress treatments, i.e.: impose drought stress at initiation of
stem elongation stage (I1), at booting stage (I2), at initiation of grain filling stage (I3), and full
irrigation (I4). Subplots included three cultivars, i.e.: Chamran(C1), Marvdasht(C2), and Shahriar
(C3). Seeding operations were carried out on November 2007. Based on soil analysis, required
fertilizers were used as follows: 100 kg P2O5/ha-1 and 60 kg N/ ha-1 prior to planting and 60kg N/
ha-1 were used as topdressing in tillering stage. Each plot included 8 rows 20 cm apart, 4 meter long,
1 and 2 meter distances were taken between test plots and replicates, respectively. Density was taken
at 400 seeds per square meter.
Chlorophyll determinations
Chlorophyll content was determined by froze and Archioze method [2].
Proline determination
Proline was determined in flag leaves according to Pesci and Beffagna [7].
Grain gield
At the end of growth period , plants from rows 4 and 5 of each plot , 3 meter long, were harvested
from each plot center , and grain yield were determined.
Statistical Analysis
MSTATC and SPSS software were used to anlyze obtained data .
Result and disscusion :
In this research increasing of drought stress represent significant upward process in proline amount,
so that the gained results of data analysing represented that changes of flagleaf proline amount were
under the effect of cultivar, drought stress and their interaction and from a statistical point of view
was so significant (p<0.01) . The mean comparison of flag leaf proline amount in different wheat
cultivars represented that Chamran cultivar (C1) had the most amount of proline in flagleaf and
Shahryar cultivar (C3) had the lowest amount. Also , the mean comparison of flagleaf proline
amount in various treatments of drought stress represented that the treatment of drought stress (I1)
had the most amount that from a statistical point of view had a significant difference with another
levels . It should be mentioned that the reports have suggested about relation between proline and
carbohydrates [8]. Drought stress had a significant effect on the content of chlorophyll a and b, and
total of chlorophyll (p<0.01) and had a significant effect on the rate chlorophyll a to b (p<0.05).
Content of chlorophyll a decreased because of drought stress and decrease of chlorophyll a, was
lowest in Chamran caltivar (C1) and highest in Shahryar caltivar (C3). Various caltivars were different
significantly in different levels of drought stress so that the lowest decrease of chlorophyll a
concerne to Chanran caltivar (C1) and control treatment (I4) and the highest decrease related to
Shahryar caltivar (C3) and treatment (I1) . As the same of chlorophyll a, content of chlorophyll b
decreased under effect of drought stress. In the light of chlorophyll b rate, various cultivars had a
different reaction to drought stress, so that, the highest decrease of chlorophyll b was in Shahryar
caltivar (C3) and the lowest decrease of chlorophyll b was in chamran caltivar (C1). Drought stress
decreased the total rate of chlorophyll (the sum of chlorophyll a and b), too. The highest decrease of
the total of chlorophyll, ratio to control treatment (I4), belonged to treatment (I1). In this case,
various caltivars had different reactions, so that the higest rate of decrease of the total of chlorophyll
(the sum of chlorophyll a and b ) was in shahryar caltivar (C3) and the lowest rate of decrease
belonged to chamran Caltivar (C1).
In various cultivars the mean comparison of grain yield showed Chomran cultivar (C1) had
higheset grain yield (5118 kg.h-1)and Shahryar cultivar had lowest (4536 kg.h-1). Also, mean
comparison of grain yield in different treatment of drought stress showed drought stress treatment
(I1) with 3663 kg.h-1 had highest decrease of grain yield than control treatment (I4) with 6793 kg.h-1.
The results of this research specified those cultivars are under effect of drought stress and reduction
of their chlorophyll content and proline are less, their yield is more to stability.
Also, rate of chlorophyll a to b placed under effect of drought stress, so drought stress caused to
increase rate of chlorophyll a to b.
Conclusion
According to results, generally, can be concluded that plants in drought stress time, make changes in
some of their biochemical features that respond to different stresses. the results of this investigation
represented, in drought stress conditions the cultivars that have more proline and chlorophyll
content, are more resistant to drought stress and their yield is filmer.
Acknowlegments:
Special thanks to the Islamic Azad university kermanshah Branch, Iran
References:
[1]-Ashraf, M.Y.,A.R. Azmi, A.H.Khan. and S.A.Ala. 1994.Effect of water stress on total phenols,
Peroxidase activity and chlorophyll content in wheat. Acta physiologiae plantarum . 16(3):185-191.
[2]-Feruse, P. and M. Arkosiova 2001. Variability of chlorophyll content under fluctuating
environment. Acta fytotechnica et zootechnica, Vol 4,2001, special Number proceedings of the
international scientific conference occasion of the 55th Anniversary of the Slovak Agricultural
university in Nitra.
[3]- Kameli.A., and D.M.Losel. 1993. Carbohydrates and water status in wheat plants under water
stress. New phytol. 125:609-614.
[4]-Kao ,C.H.1981. Senescense of rice leaves.VI. comparative study of the metabolic changes of
senescing turgid and water stressed excised leaves . Plant and Cell Physiology. 22:683-685.
[5]- Morris , M.L.,A.Blaid and Byerlee. 1991. Wheat and barley production in ranifed marginal
environments of the developing world.part I OF 1990-91 CIMMYT world wheat facts and trends:
wheat and barley production in rainfed marginal in environment of the developingworld. CIMMYT,
Mexico, D.F.51PP.
[6]-pessarkli , M.1999.Hand book of plant and crop stress. Marcel Dekker Inc. 697 pages.
[7]-Pesci P, Beffagna N. 1984 Inhibiting effect of fusicocc in on abscisic acid induced proline
accumulation in barley leaf segments. Plant Sci lett: 36: 7-12.
[8]- Rensburg. L.V. and G.H.J. Kruger. 1993. Proline accumulation as drought tolerance selection
criterion: its relationship to membrane integrity and choloroplast ulta stracture in Nicotiana tabacum
L.J Plant Physiol .Vol. 141:188-194.
 PLANT LIFE CLASSIFICATION IN WINTER OF TEHSIL TAKHT-E-NASRATI,

DISTRICT KARAK, KHYBER PAKHTUN KHAWA, PAKISTAN

Musharaf Khan and Farrukh Hussain

Department of Botany, University of Peshawar, Pakistan.

Abstract

A survey of natural vegetation of Tehsil Takht-e-Nasrati, District Karak was undertaken in winter
2010-2011. The study was conducted with in four distinct stands further divided into 22 sites for
clear communities’ segregation. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA), and Detrended
Correspondence Analysis (DCA) were used for the plant community analysis. Four plant association
i.e. Cenchrus-Saccharum-Prosopis association, Cenchrus-Zizyphus-Saccharum association, Cenchrus-Zizyphus-
Cymbopogon association and Aerua-Zizyphus-Acacia association were recognized. Classification and
ordination techniques provided very similar results based on the floristic composition and
communities similarity. The results produced the source for the mapping partition of vegetation
communities.
Key words: DCA, HCA, plant community association, winter season, Tehsil Takht-e-Nasrati

Introduction
Ordination techniques are commonly used in phytosociology. This may be done either by
arranging the points along the axis or by forming the scatter diagram with two or more axis.
Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA), an indirect gradient analysis technique in which the
distribution of species is not controlled by environmental variables rather, it focuses to analyze the
pattern of species distribution. Environmental data for DCA is not required and species data is used
to assume the gradients (Sagers & Lyon, 1997). Ordination techniques are widely used by the
ecologists to study the relationship between vegetation and environment. Khaznadar et al., (2009)
conducted a study in Chott El Beida wetland, a RAMSAR site in Setif, Algeria to study distribution
of plants community and environmental factors. The collection was done from sixty vegetation
plots. TWINSPAN and Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) were used as the analysis
techniques. A similar study was conducted by Ahmad et al., (2010) along motorway (M-2), Pakistan
using multivariate techniques i.e., DECORANA. Results showed two major and sixteen sub-
communities from 397 quadrats. The study was helpful for implementation and conservation
planning and for the improvement of road sides. To study the relationship between vegetation and
environment, a study was conducted by He et al., (2007) in the Alxa Plateau of Inner Mongolia,
China which resulted in the detection of six characteristics vegetation groups by using the
Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). Ahmad (2009) studied the herbaceous vegetation in
Margalla Hills National Park, Islamabad, Pakistan. Four vegetation groups were recognized by
TWINSPAN. El-Bana et al., (2009) studied Juniperus phoenicea L. and associated vegetation at three
mountains in Egypt, resulted in the recognition of four vegetation types along with juniper by
TWINSPAN and DCA analysis techniques. Jabeen and Ahmad (2009) conducted a study to analyze
the vegetation and environment data of Ayub National Park, Rawalpindi. PCOrd 5 and CANOCO
4.5 were used and data was recorded by quadrat method. 44 plants species from 30 quadrats were
recorded. Many researchers (Dasti & Malik, 1998; Malik & Hussain, 2008; Saima et al., 2009; Ahmad,
2009; Ali & Malik, 2010; Ahmad et al., 2010) have studied different aspects of vegetation structure
and classification and ordination distribution patterns in different parts of Pakistan. Classification
and ordination is an invaluable method for vegetation survey and assessment involving investigation
of characteristics of plant communities using simple and rapidly employing field techniques (El-
Ghanim et al., 2010). In the present study, an effort has been made to investigate and analyse
correlation of communities with key environmental factors. The Tehsil Takht-e-Nasrati comprises
one of the richest and most interested ecosystems on earth. The community structure and
distribution patterns of research area have not been given due attention till the date by the plant
ecologists, and hence poorly understood (Khan, 2012). The particular objectives of present study
include quantifying the vegetation in spring season of Tehsil Takht-e-Nasrati, District Karak using
ordination techniques for upcoming conservation and providing base line data of ecological
important area.

Research area
The Tehsil Takhti Nasratti is situated at 32.47o to 33.28o North and 70.30 o to 71.30o East.
The Tehsil is bounded by Tehsil Banda Dawood Shah on the North West, Tehsil Karak on the
North East, District Mianwali and District Lakki Marwat on the South East, and Tribal area
Adjoining District Bannu on the South West (Fig. 1). The total area of Tehsil is about 613.66 Sq.
kilometer. Majority of the area consists of rigged dry hills and rough fields areas i.e. 323.97 Sq.
kilometers and agriculture land is about 289.7 Sq. kilometer. The major income source of the people
is Agriculture, which is rain depended. The area is situated at 340 m above the sea level. In the year
2001 - 2010, 121.6 mm of average rainfall per 10 year was recorded on district level. The mean
maximum temperature was 39.5 Co in the month of the June and the mean minimum temperature
was as low as 4.26 Co during January. The wind velocity is slightly above 5 km/h in summer and in
winter it lies below 2.9 to 3.5 Km/h. Most of the winter season is calm, when February approaches,
high velocity winds blow in the area. In winter season breeze blows from Banda Daud Shah’s side
for weeks making the winter colder. The average humidity and average soil temperature is low in
winter (Table 1).

Fig 1. Map of Tehsil Takht-e- Nasrati, District Karak showing research spots.
 Table 1. Meteorological data of Tehsil Takht -e –Nasrati, District Karak for the year 2001-2010

Temperature (Co) Humidity (%) Wind speed

Soil temperature
Months Rainfall (Km Per
Max Min Max Min (Co) Average
(mm) Hour)
January 19.18 4.26 75.80 35.24 27.43 7.03 2.9
February 21.69 7.29 77.39 42.23 37.72 9.14 3.2
March 28.20 12.06 75.38 35.23 37.17 13.89 3.5
April 34.74 17.94 66.12 29.42 36.54 19.02 5.2
May 38.32 22.33 59.66 30.73 31.6 21.87 5.4
June 39.50 25.9 59.96 32.89 74.24 25.78 5.5
July 38.44 25.76 73.33 38.76 121.6 26.77 5.2
August 36.66 25.29 75.68 42.61 108.3 26.37 4.1
September 35.47 21.95 77.21 39.29 61.58 23.49 3.7
October 32.33 16.79 71.55 35.51 15.13 20.09 3.5
November 26.71 10.01 71.56 36.66 5.80 14.10 3.2
December 21.93 5.67 75.20 35.90 15.38 8.96 3.1
Mean 31.1 16.27 71.57 36.21 47.71 18.04 4.04
Source: Agricultural Research Farm Ahmad Wala Karak.

Materials and Methods

Field data collection:
Floristic data were collected from 22 randomly selected sites from 4 stand selected on the
basis of altitude. Quadrat method was used for the collection of vegetation data. Each field site
comprised of 10 Quadrats for each plant layer i.e. tree (10X10m), shrubs (5X5m) and herbs (1X1m).
Sampling was completed in winter season. Collected samples were pressed, dried and transported to
herbarium, Department of Botany, University of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Pakistan, where
they were identified and classified following Stewart (1972) and Nasir and Ali (1972) and a fraction
of angiosperms of Tehsil Banda Daud Shah by Khan, (2004).
Data analysis:
Vegetation attributes including frequency, density and cover were recorded along with
environmental coordinates like latitude, longitude, altitude and slope using GPS. The importance
value of each species was compiled adding RD, RF and RC following Hussain (1989). On the basis
of the highest importance values of the first three dominant species from each layer, the
communities were established and named. All the species data, as well as the field sites communities,
were used for the analysis. The data was classified using standard methods Hierarchical Cluster
Analysis (HCA) and Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) (Hill, 1979) to summarize
biological records and position of communities in groups during winter. The plant life communities
associations were named after the highest value of three dominant species. DCA ordination offered
two significant ordination axes on the basis of weight for communities. Detrended Correspondence
Analysis (DCA) were performed to describe compositional gradients in the vegetation. All analysis
was performed using the software PCORD ver. 4.16 (McCune & Mefford, 1999).
Results
The arrangement of plant life record is commonly vegetation orientation and main query
disquiets the classification and explanation of the vegetation in addition to inconsistency of
ecological arrangement. Distinctive multivariate techniques are generally fruitful and commonly used
for plant life arrangement position. Though, distinctive multivariate analyses do not directly take into
explanation relations in their computation and are not particularly designed to vegetation structures
rationalization. The ordination may be defined as the position of communities designed to set apart
group types, location, relative position, standing of communities in a season of particular area. In
other words, the ordination is the sound or clear arrangement of split communities or species in a
season of a particular area. In present work the ordination of communities in winter is given as
follows:
1. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis
The Hierarchical Cluster Analysis shows that the relationship among 22 communities during
winter were completed into 21 cluster’s cycling wherever in 1st cycle, it pointed up the relationship of
2 communities at 1.0792E-01 and in end cycle, 22 communities were related with one another at
6.5113E+00 by way of 2.63 % chaining. In addition on the basis of relationship, it distinct out 4
diverse groups comprising at various level, cycling and similarity of communities. The description of
each one group is as under:
1.1. Cenchrus-Saccharum-Prosopis association
Group 1 comprises Cenchrus-Calotropis-Prosopis community (CCP), Cenchrus-Periploca-Prosopis
community (CPP), Cenchrus-Saccharum-Phoenix community (CSP) and Zizyphus-Peganum-Saccharum
community (ZPS) and was arranged in cycle 10 at 1.7502E+00. It composed of 41 species with 7
tree, 6 shrubs and 28 herbs. The dominant plant species on the basis of important value were
Cenchrus biflorus (IV = 88.3), Saccharum bengalense (IV = 30.4) and Prosopis farcta (IV = 13.9) (Table 2;
Fig. 2).
1.2. Cenchrus-Zizyphus-Saccharum association
Cenchrus-Calligonum-Acacia community (CCA), Cenchrus-Zizyphus-Saccharum community (CZS),
Cenchrus-Saccharum-Acacia community (CSA), Cenchrus-Saccharum-Zizyphus community (CSZ), Zizyphus-
Cenchrus-Calligonum community (ZCC) and Zizyphus-Cenchrus-Saccharum community (ZCS) formed the
association in the form of group 2 in cycle 14 at 2.7128E+00. It arranged 43 species having 4 trees, 5
shrubs and 34 herbs. Furthermore, the mean highest important value was presented by Cenchrus
biflorus (IV = 73.4), Zizyphus maurtiana (IV = 41.8) and Saccharum bengalense (IV = 32.5) (Table 2; Fig.
2).
1.3. Cenchrus-Zizyphus-Cymbopogon association
The group 3 was originated in cycle 19 at 4.4519E+00 that linked the Saccharum-Cenchrus-
Zizyphus community (SCZ), Cymbopogon-Rhazya-Zizyphus community (CRZ), Cassia-Zizyphus-Fagonia
community (CZF), Phoenix-Fagonia-Capparis community (PFC), Fagonia-Zizyphus-Saccharum
community (FZS), Zizyphus-Capparis-Phragmites community (ZCP), Astragalus-Aerua-Zizyphus
community (AAZ) and Cenchrus-Rhazya-Zizyphus community (CRZ) together. This association
composed of 48 species included 7 tree, 12 shrub and 29 herb species in which the mean highest
important value was offered by Cenchrus biflorus (IV = 24.2), Zizyphus maurtiana (IV = 22.40) and
Cymbopogon jwarancusa (IV = 20.72) (Table 2; Fig. 2).
1.4. Aerua-Zizyphus-Acacia association
 Aerua-Acacia-Capparis community (AAC), Zizyphus-Aerua-Capparis community (ZAC),
Capparis-Aerua-Acacia community (CAA) and Aerua-Capparis-Zizyphus community (ACZ) were
arranged in cycle 12 at 2.2257E+00 and shaped group 4. It composed of 34 plant species covered 5
trees, 9 shrubs and 20 herbs in which the highest mean important value 46.3, 28.7 and 27.5 were
represented by Aerua persica, Zizyphus maurtiana and Acacia modesta respectively (Table 2; Fig. 2).
2. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA)
Ordination of the communities by DCA highlight 4 groups i.e. 1, 2, 3 and 4 which
composed of 8, 3, 3 and 2 communities respectively. The community AAC with high weight (259) as
low weight (0) of CCA was present on DCA Axis 1 and summarizes the group 1, 2, 3 and 4 with
mean weight 27.75, 75, 161 and 229 at EIG (0.495) respectively. On DCA Axis 2, the high weight
(235) was found in CRZ and low (0) in AAC and give shape to groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 with the mean
weight as 120.62, 103.33, 107.67 and 56.5 at EIG (0.206) respectively. Other communities that did
not appear in groups were CRZ, AAZ, CRZ, CZF, ZAC and AAC with DCA weight 247, 232, 143,
187, 215 and 259 on DCA Axis 1 respectively. These Groups show different vegetation types
during winter seasons (Fig. 3).
Discussions
Cluster analysis isolates the communities of similar character into major groups of plant life.
In winter, 4 groups were structured. Most factors that occur during winter in under investigated area
were high grazing, cutting, non availability of water, soil erosion and uprooting of plant species.
Ahmed & Yasmin (2011) analyzed natural vegetation of two zones along Hanna Lake, Baluchistan
using DECORANA and classify the vegetation into plant communities. Major group is the objective
to give structure to plant life. However, cluster analysis is a helpful preliminary position for
competent judgment and adjoining neighbors of vegetation. Greater the homogeneity within
communities and greater will be the similarity in the clustering. The cluster analysis was used to give
clear picture of the plant life in an area in the form of tree - shape. In hierarchical clustering the
principle is to structure a hierarchical chain of communities’ groups sorting from groups of
community position at the bottom to a comprehensive group at the top. The graphically diagram
which represents the hierarchy in the structure of upturned tree expresses a dendogram that clarifies
the arrangement in which position were united (bottom-up outlook) or group were divide (top-
down outlook).
Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) was used to give the shape to the communities
on the basis of weight. This method is also used to give cleared picture of plant life in specific area
in different seasons. The present results conclude that the plant species composition was different in
different seasons in the same area. However, DCA has limitations, making it best to remove extreme
outliers and discontinuities prior to analysis. DCA consistently gives the most interpretable
ordination results, but as always the interpretation of results remains a matter of ecological insight
and is improved by field experience and by integration of supplementary environmental data for the
plant life sample sites. Ali & Malik (2010) applied the Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) to
identify environmental gradients to define vegetation distribution in green belts, gardens and parks
of Islamabad city and classified the flora into 4 major association groups.
Four association from winter were focused by the present study. El-Ghanim et al. (2010)
studied the vegetation at Hail region north of central Saudi Arabia where multivariate techniques
results showed 7 vegetation groups. Ahmad et al. (2010b) analyzed the vegetation along motorway
(M-2), Pakistan by using multivariate techniques. In the investigated area, the fore mentioned facts
noticeably indicate that slope, edaphic factor, harsh erosion, crushing of herbs and supply of rain
water were the key source of plant life discrepancy. These geomorphologic aspects restrict the
limitations and composition of plant communities. Distant from the reality that the site changeable
are definitely significant for explaining the major plant life nature the association between the results
of cluster analysis and DCA planes allow a direct analysis of scores of position data in DCA plane in
relation to area up-and-down. The DCA technique provided interpretable and dynamic results than
other ordination techniques and the length of first axis was greater than 3.0 and in terms of
communities or species turnover. Jongman et al. (1995) recommended that if plants species or
communities turnover is larger than 1.9 standard deviation then DCA technique is advanced option
of ordination. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) was carried out to express compositional
ascents in the plant life. DCA was presented using a default value for rescaling and detrending. Rare
species and divergent communities were down weighted in DCA ordination.
The different association produced by cluster analyses in different seasons are designed a
first two axes as a sprinkled diagram. The DCA ordination axes may signify in same way the main
substrate weight that affect the community in these records and have been used by the community
and area characteristic of the relationship to argue the dominant characteristics of the location and
plant life association. Cluster and DCA analysis are very helpful in communities’ and species
classification in addition to give structure to plant life. Such type of study was also carried out by
Saima et al. (2009) who stated that tree density, pH and soil texture were the major determinant of
vegetation pattern. There was thin vegetation in the invistigated area and species was present in
patches. The ecologists have tried to quantify the division of species beside the ecological gradients.
There is an association between plant life sample and resources available (Ahmad et al., 2009b and
Jabeen & Ahmad, 2009).

The ordination by means of cluster analysis and DCA help us skillfully in evaluating the
classification of plants and structure of entire habitat of plant life. Malik & Hussain (2008)
conducted a study to work out the relationship between remote sensing data and vegetation
communities of ecological importance using multivariate techniques and stated that the ordination
methods proved effective in summarizing basic, general structure of the plant community types and
to some extent indicated correspondence with their spectral signatures. This study pointed out that
the climatic environment of region has restricted enlistment of area and the plant life was changed
with the change of seasons and altitude. Our result agrees with Dasti & Malik (1998) who stated that
altitude is an environmental factor which affecting plants association. Plant ecologists have
commonly been aware that plant life shows an inconsistency over a wide range of particular scales
and area that have built up methods for studying the classification of vegetation. The value of
altitude as an ecological factor affecting plant species association is not considering, surprising its
close correlation with precipitation and interruption of rain (Danin et al., 1975; Evenari et
al.,1982).The area show less rainfall than 200 mm and consist of thorny trees like Zizyphus spp, A.
nilotica, A. modesta. Trees are sprinkled, roots longs, leaves thick and small in most plant species
therefore, the investigated area fall into tropical thorn forests.
Conclusion
A multivariate techniques method are used as a perfect way to study and helps skillfully in
evaluating the biodiversity and conservation of intact habitat and plant life in specific area. This
study pointed out that grouping of plant communities were taking place on the basis of similarities.
Plant ecologists have commonly been conscious that vegetation shows an inconsistency over a large
variety of particular scales and area. Therefore, it is needed that we apply the multivariate techniques
methods for studying the degree of plant life division.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thanks the ASSR/AATL 2012 International Conference organizing
committee for the invitation and permission to present the paper at the Conference.
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Table 2. Mean relative importance value of species in different associations during winter
distinguished through cluster analysis of Tehsil Takht-e-Nasrati, Karak.
Groups
Species Name
S. No 1 2 3 4
1 Acacia modesta Wall. 0.48 0 6.98 27.5
2 Acacia nilotica (L.) Delice. 3.61 13.7 5.41 3.45
3 Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. 11.3 7.67 2.04 1.31
4 Gymnosporia royleana Wall. ex M. A. Lawson. 0 0 0.90 0
5 Monotheca buxifolia (Falc.) A.D. 0 0 0.90 0
6 Phoenix dactylifera L. 11.5 2.53 5.01 0
7 Prosopis farcta (Banks & Soland.) J.F. Macbr. 13.9 0 0 0
8 Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC. 0 0 0 1.36
9 Tamarix aphylla (L.) Karst. 1.22 0 0 0
10 Zizyphus maurtiana Lam. 10.1 41.8 22.40 28.7
11 Astragalus psilocentros Fisch. 0 0 8.13 7.52
12 Calligonum polygonoides L. 0 17.6 5.40 0
13 Calotropis procera (Wild.) R.Br. 5.35 6.5 4.26 3.4
14 Capparis decidua (Forssk.). Edge worth. 0 0 9.62 26.4
15 Capparis spinosa L. 0 0 0 26
16 Cassia angustifolia Vahl. 0 0 5.10 0
17 Datura metel L. 2.13 1.81 1 0
18 Periploca aphylla Decne. 8.83 4.32 4.50 0
19 Punica granatum L. 0 0 0 12.1
20 Rhazya stricta Decne. 0 0 20.70 11.9
21 Saccharum bengalense Retz. 30.4 32.5 7.63 4.82
22 Saccharum spontaneum L. 3.89 0 3.21 0
23 Withania coagulans (Stocks) Dunal. 0 0 7.46 2.32
24 Zizyphus nummularia (Burm.f.) W & A. 0.91 0 4.41 1.6
25 Achyranthus aspera L. 6.08 3.66 3.32 1.33
26 Aerua persica (Burm.f.) Merrill. 10.6 3.78 10.9 46.3
27 Aristida caerulescens Desf. 0 0 0.9 0
28 Asphodelous tenuifolius Cavan. 0 1.71 0 3.03
29 Boerhavia diffusa L.. 2.98 4.94 12.1 15.5
30 Cenchrus biflorus Hook. f. 88.3 73.4 24.2 13.3
31 Cenchrus ciliaris L. 0 0 2.63 0
32 Centaurea iberica Trev.Ex. Spreng 0 0.87 0 1.1
33 Chenopodium album L. 0.49 2.5 0 0
34 Chenopodium mural L. 0 1.26 0 0
35 Citrullus colocynthis L. Schrad. 0 6.09 0 0
36 Cleome viscosa L. 0 0 1.62 0
37 Convolvulus arvensis L. 1.97 1.54 0.51 0
38 Corchorus trilocularis L. 1.55 0 1.74 0
39 Cymbopogon jwarancusa (Jones) Schult. 0 0 20.72 3.3
40 Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. 4.3 4.85 14.7 4.91
41 Cyperus rotundus L. 3.52 4.49 8.67 0
42 Cyperus scarlosus R.Br. 0 2.7 2.62 7.43
43 Desmostachya bipinnata (L.) Stapf. 0 0 0.51 0
44 Dichanthium annulatum (Forssk) Staph. 0 0 4.93 0
45 Digera muricata (L.). Mart. 3.94 0.7 1.63 0
46 Echinops echinatus D. C. 1 2.15 2.56 1.99
47 Eragrostis poaoides Beauv. 6.96 5.05 15.8 3.04
48 Erodium malacoides (L.) L Her. ex Ait. 0 0.72 0 0
49 Euphorbia helioscopia L. 8.17 3.55 0 0
50 Euphorbia prostrata Ait. 2.64 7.27 1.68 0
51 Fagonia cretica L. 7.14 7.37 18.2 3.58
52 Ifloga fontanesii Cass. 7.94 7.54 1.35 0
53 Ipomoea hederacea (L.)Jacq. 0 0.87 0 2.2
54 Kickxia ramosissima (Wall.) Janchen. 2.87 0 0 0
55 Launaea nudicaulis (L.) Hook. f. 0 0.97 0.3 0
56 Malva parviflora L. 0 0.53 1.34 0
57 Malva neglecta Wallr. 0.42 1.14 4.1 9.05
58 Malvastrum coromandelianum (L.) Gareke. 0 0 0 1.1
59 Medicago laciniata (L.) Mill. 3.2 4.3 5.54 1.75
60 Peganum hermala L. 7.06 0 0 0
61 Phragmites karka (Retz) Trin. ex. Steud. 0 0 4.47 0
62 Plantago ciliata Desf. 5.29 3.39 0 0
63 Plantago ovata Forssk. 5.18 3.77 0 0
64 Pupalia lappacea (L.) Juss. 0 0 0 5.6
65 Rumex dentatus L. 2.9 2.19 0 0
66 Salvia moorcroftiana Wallich ex Benth. 0 0 2.38 0
67 Saussurea heteromalla (D.Don.) Hand. 4.3 0 0 0
68 Solanum miniatum Beruh. ex Willd. 1.5 0 0 0
69 Solanum surattense Burm .f. 0 3.41 2.24 3.15
70 Tribulus terrestris L. 4.35 3.39 3.3 10.8
71 Vicia sativa L. 0 0.72 0 0
72 Xanthium strumarium L. 1.73 0.75 0 3.15
Fig. 2. Dendrogram showing grouping of different communities into association during
winter, Tehsil Takht-e-Nasrati, Karak.

Fig. 3. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) of communities during winter,

Tehsil Takht-e-Nasrati, Karak.
 EFFECT OF CONSUMER HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAMME ON THE
ATTITUDE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SOUTHERN IJAW LOCAL
GOVERNMENT AREA OF BAYELSA STATE

Ezebuiro, Veronica O.;Timighe, Gift. C. and Samuel, E. S.

Department of Health and Physical Education

University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Abstract
The study determined the effect of consumer health education programme (CHEP) on the attitude
of secondary school students in Southern Ijaw local government area of Bayelsa State. Three specific
objectives with corresponding research questions and one null hypothesis was postulated. The study
utilized quasi-experimental research design. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire.
Data were collected from 408 students. Means were utilized to answer the research questions, while
t-test was utilized in testing the hypothesis at .05 level of significance. The findings revealed that the
students have positive attitude towards consumer health with the mean of 2.52; male students have a
positive attitude; there was a difference in the consumer health attitude between students in
experimental and control groups. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that
health science should be made compulsory in all secondary schools and for all the students.

Keywords: Health, Consumer health, Consumerism, Education, Programme.

INTRODUCTION
Everyday we make decisions involving health information, products and services that we buy
and use to protect, improve and maintain our health. When we do this we are involved in health
consumerism. Consumerism refers to the belief or idea that buying and selling of products or
services is the most important or useful activity for an individual or society (Hornby, 2006). He
further added that consumerism is an action taken to protect people from unfair prices and
advertising that are not true. Consumerism that is related to health is called health consumerism or
consumer health.
Health consumerism is that branch of study that deals with consumption of health
information, products and services. Buying and selling of health products and services and the use of
health information are all aspects of health consumerism (Jaycee, 2008).
Consumer health information is concerned with obtaining health information that is related
to our health. This involves learning about available products and services pertaining to health as
well as health facts, principles, ideas, and feelings an individual has and can use to enhance optimal
or sound health and practices for his or her well being. By so doing one becomes an informed
consumer. An informed consumer is one who has knowledge about information, services and
products that can influence health positively or negatively in order to be able to make wise choices
or decisions (Payne & Hahn, 1990). They maintained that an informed consumer is important since
practitioners, manufacturers, advertisers and sales personnel use a variety of approaches in an
attempt to get individuals to buy their products or use their services. They further added that health
is at stake when people buy products and services. Access or sources regarding a particular health
information is many. Some are more accurate and honest than others. These sources of health-
related information are family and friends, advertisements, labels and direction, folklore, testimonial,
mass media exposure, practitioners and medical reference books (Payne & Hahn, 1997).
Goods are products that are made and purchased to satisfy people’s wants (Bronson, 1990). When
these products or goods are related to health they are termed health products. Health product or
good is something that is made, purchased and used to protect, improve and maintain ones health.
To make health consumer decision, you need to know which of the choices are better for your
health. People need to have adequate consumer health knowledge, skills, positive attitudes and
sound consumer practices. This will help them live a healthy life. This can only be achieved
effectively by objective planning, implementation, and periodic evaluation through workshop and
seminars because consumer health education is based on preventive, promotive and curative
treatment.
Consumer health education is the process of exposing people to the knowledge, skills and
practices needed by individuals, families, and cooperate bodies to become competent in selecting
health care products and services (Ukpore, 1996). Gordian (1980) opined that consumer education is
the means of creating and achieving change in society so that instead of being misformed and
manipulated by our society, we can adapt to our needs. International Organization of Consumer
Union (2006) defined consumer education as critical awareness, social responsibilities and solidarity
among consumers. Consumer education involves asking questions and subsequently making
decisions, which are both political and personal, and it involves such specifics as defining their
problem, determining their effects of values and standards, seeking information about alternatives,
choosing, evaluating, reviewing and revising all major decisions. Consumer education as used in the
present study refers to the acquisition of facts, skills, attitudes and practices capable of enabling an
individual consumer to adapt to personal environmental and social changes with the aim of
promoting health and healthy living.
The ultimate objective of consumer education is to equip the individual with knowledge and
skills to become a competent or wise consumer (Ukpore, 1996). Ukpore (1996) defined competent
consumer as an individual who is aware of the values, goals, standards of goods and services and is
capable of establishing priorities by taking rational decisions and acting responsibly in the consumer
society. This simply implies that the consumer is able to attach values to health information,
products and services. Consumer education can be group into certain areas.
Ukpore (1996) identified three major areas of consumer education as knowledge
contributing to satisfaction; skills and techniques contributing to household management; and
developing capabilities on learning innovation and judgment. Regarding health consumerism, Payne
and Hahn (1980) specified four areas which include health–related information, health services,
health care products and health care quackery. Federal Ministry of Education (2006) categorized
consumer health into four areas namely: consumer health protection, factors influencing choice of
consumer products, evaluating consumer health services and quacks, quackery and nostrums.
Following from the above classification or categorization, consumer health covers four main areas,
which are consumer health – related information, consumer health products, consumer health
services and health care quackery, non-consumer health products (NCHP) and non-consumer health
services (NCHS). Individuals including secondary school student need correct knowledge desirable
attitude and practices in there areas. This can be achieved the implementation of a will designed
consumer health education programme
Consumer health education programme as described by Samuel (2003) as that which focused
on correct knowledge, acquisition of desirable attitude and practices for secondary students.
Comforth (2004) stated that, knowledge is the sum of our perceptions (awareness), views and
prepositions that have been established and tested as correct reflections as far as they are objective
realties. He stressed that, the beginning of all knowledge lies in sense perception, the reliability of
which is proved beyond mere acquisition of facts to establish testing and its consequent use in
human endeavours. This definition implies that knowledge can be acquired and used. Therefore
secondary schools students can acquire consumer health knowledge and can use it.
World Health Organization (1990) opined that knowledge is a prerequisite to any practice.
The WHO further maintained that, many of the aliments suffered by people are to a large extent
inflicted by anti-health practices because many people are not well-informed (knowledgeable).
Okafor (1997) stated that knowledge is a precursor for behaviour, though not all knowledge is
translated into behaviour.
Consumer health knowledge as used in the present study refers to the processes of acquiring
information about all types of consumer products and services including beneficial and harmful
ones. It involves being a wise or informed consumer, learning about services or products that
influence health, approaches that practitioners, manufactures, advertisers and sales personnel use in
an attempt to sway individuals to buy their products and use their services. It also involves knowing
about consumer rights and how to handle consumer problems. It also implies knowing authentic
sources of information regarding where to get the services and products, and learning about the
activities of quacks. Acquisition of consumer health knowledge can positively or negatively influence
a consumer’s attitude.
Attitude is a feeling tone directed towards a person, object or idea (Mudary, 1983).
Maghaddam (1998) defined attitude as evaluation of other people, events, issues and material things
with some degree of faviour or disfavour. Ajezen (1999) believes that attitude is relatively enduring
and consists of a series of beliefs organized in such a way that they predispose one to act or respond
to some situations in a predictable manner. Apart from knowledge and attitude, consumers usually
hold certain beliefs about the things they consume. Attitude that is related to the consumption of
health information, products and services is called consumer health attitude. Consumer health
attitude as used in the context of this study refers to the degree to which a consumer favours or
disfavours health information, personnel, product or service for solving his or her health problems.
Korzierlerb and Olivieri (1991) opined that belief is an opinion; it is something that is
accepted as being true by a judgement of probability rather than actuality. Godsby (2002) defined
belief as a feeling that something is definitely true or something exists even though it is difficult to
say where the belief is got. Beliefs that are associated with consumer health are termed consumer
health beliefs. Consumer health belief refers to consumer health knowledge, attitudes and beliefs are
important prerequisite to everybody including secondary school students
Secondary school students are young persons being in the early part of life, specifically
between childhood and adulthood (Robinson, 2005). Consumer education is important for these
students for some obvious reasons. There is universal agreement that consumer education should be
life-long experience that no one can ignore (Williams, 1982). This is perhaps why Ukpore (1996)
stated that consumer educators have the major role in imparting to parents and children sound
consumer practices, and in demonstrating the relationship between consumer behaviours practice
and management of resources such as money, time and energy. Consumer education will help
improve interpersonal relationship especially among family members. Consumer education will help
people use resources wisely especially in the midst of limited ones. Williams (2008) further stated
that a little knowledge is a sine qua non for every consumer including adolescents, as knowledge
goes a long way in rationalizing the consumer behaviour of such individuals. Bachman (1983) opined
that a rational consumer will carry out comparative shopping before purchasing goods and services.
Such a consumer, he further stressed is likely to seek information and advice about products with
high prices and or reduced health risks. A rational consumer, Ukpore (1996) further added, will
examine skeptically the selling claims made in advertisements, and budget expenses wisely and save
money for the future. Consumer health knowledge attitude, beliefs and practices can be influenced
by some factors.
 There are many demographic factors that influence consumption according to Eno-Obong
(2001). Gender is a strong factor that influences consumption of health information, products and
services. Studies have indicated that males and females have different ways of food consumption,
and women have been seen to be more concerned about eating habits than men O’Dea and Caputi
(2001) confirmed that females are more concerned about their diet especially those who are
overweight. Samuel (2003) observed sex did not make a significant difference in the effects of the
treatment given to the experimental group. Furthermore, the researcher observed that there is a
significant difference in the post-test mean achievement score of the experimental and control
groups; that the post-test of experimental group (  =44.5) was higher than that of the control group
(  =29.30).
Everyday people make decisions involving consumption of information, goods and services
for themselves and for other people especially children. Some of these decisions are based on what
they know about their daily wants or needs to maintain, protect and promote their health. Some of
these needs or wants may be health products (HPS), health services (HSS), non-health products
(NHP) or non-health services (NHS). The decisions or choice we make should be based on the
correct information or knowledge of the values, goals, standards and priorities regarding our needs,
including health knowledge of what we need or consume which can come from different source
including such ones as members of our families, teachers in schools as well as other sources as
books, friends, advertisements, commercials, labels, mass media to mention.
The study of Okafor (2006) shows that there is inadequate knowledge, attitude and beliefs of
secondary school students on consumer health education, secondary schools lack of Health teachers,
no qualified health personals to head the available ones in some schools. His study further showed
deficits knowledge on consumer human rights, there is so much belief on traditional herbs and
immediate gratification on services, wise consumerism is not practice. Thompson, Ribera
Wingenback and Vastal (2006), conducted a study to assess family and consumer sciences, teachers
changes in attitude and knowledge of high about food irradiation using a repeated measures
designed to assess the effects of a professional development workshop on food safety and food
irradiation. To determine changes in the food irradiation attitudes and knowledge of family and
consumer sciences of high school teachers, the authors administered a pre-test 2.5 months before
the professional workshop, a post-test immediately after, and a delayed post-test approximately 10
months after a workshop on food irradiation, using a previously validated instrument. Results
revealed significant positive.
Secondary school students represent a group that is gullible, facing a lot of health problems,
which need solutions. This situation can adequately be handled if they are armed with adequate
knowledge of consumer health and positive attitude towards consumer health matters. Presently,
knowledge of what constitutes consumerism attitudes of secondary school students in Bayelsa
appear not to be known or documented. Hence, to the best knowledge of the present researchers,
no study has been conducted to determine the effect of Consumer Health Education Programme on
consumer health attitude of the students in Southern Ijaw LGA of Bayelsa State.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of a consumer health education
programme (CHEP) on the knowledge, attitude and beliefs of secondary school students in
Sourthern Ijaw Local Government area of Bayelsa State. Specifically, the study seeks to.
1. determine the consumer health attitudes of students;
2. determine the effect of CHEP on the consumer health attitude of male and female students
of experimental and control schools.
 3. determine the effect of CHEP on the consumer health attitude of male and female students
of experimental and control schools.

Research Questions
1. What is the consumer health attitude of students?
2. What is the Consumer Health Attitude (CHA) of students in control and experimental
schools using CHEAQ?
3. What is the effect of CHEP on CHA of the male and female students in experimental
schools using CHEAQ?

Hypothesis
The null hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance.
1. There will be no significant difference between experimental and control group in their
attitude CHEP.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

Research Design
In order to achieve the purpose of the study, the quasi-experimental research design was
utilized for the study. Ali (1990) affirmed that one type of quasi-experimental design is the non-
randomized pre-test design or non-equivalent design.

Population for the Study

The population for the study comprised all the students in all the fifteen secondary schools
in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. According to Bayelsa State Education
Board (2009), there are 4,350 students (2,450) senior students. The boys are 1634 while girls are
816.
Sample and Sampling Technique
The sample for the study was 490 of senior secondary school students in Southern Ijaw
Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. It is 20/100 x 2450 = 490 subjects. This sample is 10 per
cent higher than Nwana (1982) rule of the thumb which states that “when a population runs into
few thousands, ten per cent or a fewer percentage of the population could be used.
Purposive sampling was used. Nworgu (2003) stated that, in purposive sampling, specific
elements which satisfy some predetermined criteria are selected. Thus the sample that was used
possessed homogeneous characteristics as the parent population. The sample selected was grouped
into two groups of 245 subjects per group comprising male and female students for both the
experimental and control groups. The study experienced experimental mortality of 82 students
reducing the sample size to 408 students.
Instrument for Data Collection
The Consumer Health Education Attitude Questionnaire (CHEAQ) was developed by the
investigators. This instrument was used to collect the data for the study.

Methods of Data Collection

The students were given a pretest using the CHEAQ in the respective schools after the
investigator had presented a letter of introduction to the principals to intimate them of the
objectives of the study. The instrument was administered with the assistance of some health
education teachers in the schools. The pretest scores formed the results of the both experimental
and control groups.
Students assigned to experimental schools were taught consumer health education using the
innovative Consumer Health Education Programme (CHEP) while those in the control schools
were taught without the CHEP. Trained regular Health Science teachers in the experimental school
did the teaching for about eight weeks. The CHEP which contained lesson plans was prepared by
the investigator and validated by lecturers in Health Education. After the treatment, the CHEAQ
was administered to the students in the control and experimental schools and their scores recoded.
Method of Data Analysis
The data generated for the study was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science
(SPSS) on the computer. The steps taken are as follows: Research question 1 and 2 was answered
using mean scores and standard deviations. The criterion mean chosen for the study was 2.50. The
hypothesis was tested using t-test. The hypothesis was tested at the p  .05 level of significance.

RESULTS
The results of this present study are organized and presented in two parts thus: Data
answering the research questions and data testing the null hypothesis.

Research question one

What is the attitude of students towards consumer health? Data answering students’ attitude
towards consumer health are presented in Table 1.

Table 1
Student’s Attitude on Consumer Health (n = 408)
S/N Question  SD Decision

1. I prefer patronizing qualified health providers. 3.84 .496 Positive

2. Some ailments are better handled by
traditional health care providers. 2.23 .918 Negative
3. I need to know how to get the best value for
my money 3.59 .729 Positive
4. I do not bother about choosing nutritious
foods 1.62 1.004 Negative
5. I like eating foods that are packaged in
industries because all of them are hygienically
prepared. 3.04 1.159 Positive
6. I like patronizing quacks because they can
cure certain diseases or ailments that qualified
medical practitioners cannot cure. 1.59 .979 Negative
7. All trained health providers are qualified to
give advice on all health matters. 2.57 .969 Positive
8. It is not only your doctor or nurse that can
give your advice on what health goods or
services you consume. 2.90 1.074 Positive
9. It is a waste of time consulting consumer advocacy
groups for solving my consumer health problems. 1.31 .819 Negative
 Overall  2.52 0.905

Table 1 shows an over all mean score of X = 2.52 in the attitude of students towards
consumer health education matters, which is greater than the criterion mean of 2.50. This implies
that the overall attitude of students was positive. The table further indicates accept the items on ”I

do not bother about choosing nutritious food ( X = 1.62) and “I like patronizing quacks because

they can cure certain diseases or ailments that qualify medical practitioners cannot cure ( X =
1.59),and it is waste of time consulting consumer advocacy groups for solving my problems

( X =1.31) all others had mean scores which were above the criterion mean of 2.50.

Research question two.

What is the difference in the consumer health attitude of students in the control and
experimental schools using CHEAQ? Data answering this research question are contained in Table
2.

Table 2
Attitude of Students in Experimental and Control Groups
Control Experimental
S/N Attitudinal Items (n1=202) (n2=206)
1 SD1 2 SD2

1. I prefer patronizing qualified health providers. 3.96 .207 3.73 .649

2. Some ailments are better handled by traditional
health care providers. 1.75 .811 2.69 .764
3. I need to know how to get the best value for my
money 3.96 .261 3.23 .852
4. I do not bother about choosing nutritious foods 1.24 .763 2.00 1.071
5. I like eating foods that are packaged in industries
because all of them are hygienically prepared. 2.99 1.186 3.09 1.131
6. I like patronizing quacks because they can cure
certain diseases or ailments that qualified medical
practitioners cannot cure. 1.12 .441 2.06 1.129
7. All trained health providers are qualified to give
advice on all health matters. 1.99 .338 3.15 1.037
8. It is not only your doctor or nurse that can give
your advice on what health goods or services
you consume. 3.60 .549 2.21 1.017
9. It is a waste of time consulting consumer
advocacy groups for solving my consumer health
problems. 1.04 .320 1.57 1.047

Overall  2.52 2.30 2.63

Table 2 shows the posttest mean attitudinal scores of students in experimental and control
schools. The table further shows that the overall posttest mean score of students in experimental
  
schools ( X = 2.63) was slightly higher than of the students in the control schools ( X =2.30). The
mean score of students in both is experimental schools was greater than the criterion mean of 2.50,
indicating that the attitude was positive for this group.

Research question three.

What is the effect of CHEP on CHA of male and female students? Data answering this
research question are contained in Table 3.

Table 3
Effect of CHEP on CHA of male and female students in experimental and control groups

Gender
Male (n1=202) Female (n2=206)

Pretest Posttest
S/N Attitudinal Items 1 SD1 2 SD2

1. I prefer patronizing qualified health providers. 3.93 0.30 3.69 0.680

2. Some ailments are better handled by traditional
health care providers. 2.26 0.851 2.16 1.019
3. I need to know how to get the best value for my
money 3.79 0.533 3.27 0.879
4. I do not bother about choosing nutritious foods 1.24 .763 2.00 1.071
5. I like eating foods that are packaged in industries
because all of them are hygienically prepared. 1.57 1.052 1.70 0.916
6. I like patronizing quacks because they can cure
certain diseases or ailments that qualified medical
practitioners cannot cure. 1.43 0.937 1.87 0.988
7. All trained health providers are qualified to give
advice on all health matters. 2.69 0,974 2.38 0.929
8. It is not only your doctor or nurse that can give
your advice on what health goods or services
you consume. 2.91 1.153 2.87 0.934
9. It is a waste of time consulting consumer
advocacy groups for solving my consumer health
problems. 1.27 0.816 1.37 0.824

Overall 2.85 0.82 2.42 0.92


Table 3 shows that the overall mean attitude score of male students ( X = 2.50) was slightly

higher than that of the female students ( X 2.42). Male attitude towards consumer health was positive
while that of female was negative

Hypothesis one.
There is no significant difference between control and experimental groups in their attitude.
Data verifying this hypothesis are contained in Table 4.
Table 4
Summary of t-Test analysis in the CHA of students in experimental and control groups.

Attitude Control (n = 172) Experimental (n = 236)

School n  SD t-cal df p-value Decision

X

Control 172 50.42

30.474 9.735 406 .042 Significant
Experimental 236 65.30
Table 4 shows a calculated grand t-calculated value of 9.735 with a p-value of .042 which is
less than .05 level of significance at 406 degree of freedom. Following from this, the null hypothesis
of no significance difference in the attitude of student in experimental and control groups is
therefore rejected. Now we accept the alternative hypothesis that there is a difference in the
consumer health attitude between students in experimental and control groups.

Summary of Major Findings

Based on the analysis of data, the major findings of the study are hereby summarized.

1. Student’s attitude regarding consumer health was positive ( X = 2.52%) positive. This
answers research question One (Table 1).
2. Student’s attitude in both experimental and control groups was positive, though that of
 
experimental group ( X = 2.63) was slightly higher than that of control group ( X =
2.50). This answers research question Two (Table 2).
 
3. Attitudinal attitude of male ( X = 2.50) was positive while that of female ( X = 2.42)
was negative. This answers research question Three (Table 3).
4. There was significant difference in the consumer health attitude of students in
experimental and control groups. This test. Hypothesis One (Table 4).

Discussion
The finding in Table 1 on attitude of the students revealed that the students have positive
attitude towards consumer health. This finding is expected because secondary school students are
adolescents who by their nature and characteristics are poised to knowledge and also are exploratory.
This finding is in line with the finding of Briggs (2007) who observed that one can have a positive
attitude towards consumer health if one should learn to be a wise consumer.
The finding in Table 2 showed that the students in the experimental group showed a slightly
higher positive attitude to consumer health education programme than the students in the control
group. This finding is expected and not surprising. This finding is similar to the finding of
Thompson, Ribera Wingen back and Vastal (2006) which revealed significant positive effect after a
post-test on professional workshop on food irradiation.
The finding in Table 3 revealed that the male students have positive attitude contrary to the
females’ negative attitude. This finding is surprising. This is because the females are supposed to
have higher attitude since they are the ones who are usually concerned with the purchase of
consumer health especially food products from the market. The males who do not go to markets
often to buy food products are less likely to be concerned with the purchase of consumer health
products and are likely to show positive attitude to the consumer health education programme. The
finding is contrary to the finding of Samuel (2003) who observed that sex did not make a significant
difference in the effect of the treatment given to the experimental group.
Furthermore, the finding in Table 4 revealed that there was significant difference in the
consumer health attitude of students in experimental and control groups. This finding is expected
and not surprising because the finding is similar to the finding of Thompson et al (2006) which
revealed a significant positive effect after exposing the subjects to professional workshop. The
finding is also similar to the finding of Samuel (2003) who observed that there is a significant
difference in the post-test mean achievement score of experimental and control groups; that the
post-test of experimental group was higher than that of the control group.

Conclusions
Based on the analysis of data, the major findings of the study are hereby summarized.
1. Student’s attitude regarding consumer health was positive.
2. Student’s attitude in both experimental and control groups was positive, though that of
experimental group was slightly higher than that of control group.
3. Consumer health attitude of male was positive while that of female was negative.
4. There was significant difference in the consumer health attitude of students in experimental
and control groups.

Recommendations
Based on the findings of the present student, discussion and conclusions, the following
recommendations were made:

1. Federal and state, non-governmental organizations and schools management board

should sponsor CHEP not only in schools but also in the community. Both students and
members of the community should be made to participate in the programme so may
negative attitude can be altered.
2. After CHEP had been successfully concluded and positive consumer health attitudes
acquired, there is need for health educators to always make follow-up to ascertain
whether these behavious are actually put into practice and sustained by the participants.
3. Above all, health science should be made compulsory in all secondary schools and for
the students.
4. Mass media should carry consumer health education programmes specifically for
secondary school students.

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 QUALITY INSTRUCTION: A SIN QUO-NON TO EFFECTIVE
TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION IN SOUTH EASTERN STATES

C.A Ekemezie
School of Education
Federal College of Education (Technical)
Umunze-Anambra State,
Nigeria

Abstract
This study sought to find out ways of promoting quality instruction in secondary schools in South Eastern States.
Quality instruction has no substitute to technological education and so it should be pursued with vigour. The study
made use of 5 research questions and 1 null hypothesis. It was a survey research design. The population of the study
comprised all the principals and teachers in all the Secondary Schools in South Eastern States numbering 1,337
principals and 21,605 teachers. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 500 principals and 5,000
teachers from three States of the five States in South Eastern States. Data was collected using 41 item questionnaires
named (Quality Instruction and Effective Technological Education Instrument (QIETEI) with a reliability co-
efficient of 0.87. Mean was used to answer the research questions while Z– test was used in testing the null hypothesis
at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study among others specified many roles of different stakeholders in
education like principals should reduce teachers work load, teachers should prepare very well for their lesson etc. Based
on the results, it was recommended among others that government should increase the funding of schools, parents should
live up to their responsibilities as regards to giving their children quality education.

INTRODUCTION

Quality in education is synonymous with efficiency and effectiveness. It is a deserved and desired
virtue. It is the attribute in our educational sector that can move our nation technological upwards.
When the quality of a nation’s education is poor, invariably that nation’s technological development
will not have any hope. The level of technological development of any nation depends on the quality
of education in that nation.

Quality in education according to (UNESCO 1998) is a multidimensional entity which embraces all
functions and activities, teaching and academics programmes, research and scholarship, staffing,
students, building, facilities, equipment services to a community and academic environment. It is the
extent of solid education programme introduced to learners under a conducive environment that
will produce school leavers with desired attributes that will meet the technological challenges of any
nation.

For Beeby (1966), quality instruction includes learners that are healthy, well nourished and ready to
participate and learn the content that is reflected in relevant curricula and materials for the
acquisition of basic skills needed for a changing society.

Technology according to Merian Webster dictionary is the making, modification, usage and
knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, methods of organization in order to solve a problem,
achieve a goal and perform a specific function. It is the practical application of knowledge especially
in a particular area. This practical application can not really take effect without somebody gaining
quality knowledge.
Quality instruction is a prerequisite to a quality knowledge that begets technological education. No
wonder, one of the aims of National Educational Agenda according to FRN (2004) is the
production of quality graduates. High quality in education is not just earning high grades in
examination but the acquisition of high grade that is attributed to the desired skilled relevant to the
societal technological development. Nwangwu (2000) also added that for education to be
technological relevant, it should not only be learners passing examination but must include the
acquisition of relevant cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills, full of positive values that will
match the changing environment. Willm (2000) concluded that learning environment is made up of
physical, psychological and service delivery elements. Learning can occur anywhere, but the positive
learning outcome generally sought by educational system happens in a quality learning environment.

Dashe and Patsohot (2011) also added that quality is the ability of a product, service or structure of a
phenomenon to conform to an agreed standard that is superior to others. It is not out of place to
say that our product and services cannot conform to the agreed standard of the changing
environment. Researches have shown that many graduates of all levels, despites the high grade
obtained from external examination could not fit in properly into the technological age of the
society. It is a worrisome situation to all the stakeholders in education because education is the
bedrock upon which all other societal development rest and considering the huge amount of fund
government invested in education sector yearly. The researcher wants to find out ways of improving
quality instruction by all the stakeholders in education so that technological development will be
ensured.

Problem of the study:

There is a general perception that the quality of instruction in our education system is seriously
dwindling due to laxity on most of the stakeholders in education. This has even made some
researchers like Akubuiro and Joshua (2004) to begin to complain about the fallen standard of
education; fallen standard in terms of both quality input and output. Researchers like Ogbuagu
(2004), and Ekemezie (2010) concluded that most Nigerian Secondary Schools are known by
inadequate and over crowded classrooms, lack of equipment, furniture, learning materials and poorly
motivated teachers etc. The researcher begins to wonder, despite the importance of quality
instruction in the development of technological education in our nation, how these kinds of
characterized school environment produce quality output. Education being the bedrock of any
national development can not produce the desired output without thoroughly looking at the quality
of input. It is based on this, that the researcher wants to find out ways of improving quality
instruction in schools to enable our nation gain effective technological education needed in this 21st
century.

Purpose of the study:

The main purpose of this study is to find out various ways in which quality instruction can be
promoted in secondary schools in South Eastern States by different stakeholders in education.
Scope of the study
The study covers all government owned secondary schools in South Eastern States. It also covers
the ways various stakeholders in education can promote quality instruction in schools.
Research questions:
The following research questions guided the study:
(1) What are the ways government can promote quality instruction in schools?
(2) What are the ways principals can promote quality instruction in schools?
(3) How can teachers promote quality instruction in schools?
(4) How can parents promote quality instruction in schools?
(5) What are the ways students can promote quality instruction in schools?
Hypothesis:
This null hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance.
Ho1. The mean rating of principals and teachers on how quality instruction can be promoted by
different stakeholders is not significantly different.

METHODOLOGY
Design:
The study adopted a descriptive survey design aimed at finding ways of promoting quality
instruction in secondary schools in South Eastern States.
Population:
The population consists of all principals and teachers in government owned secondary schools in
South Eastern States. It consists of Abia State 198 principals and 3,286 teachers, Imo State 320
principals and 1200 teachers, Anambra State 357 principals and 4,474 teachers, Enugu State 271
principals and 4000 teachers and Ebonyi State 191 principals and 2645 teachers totaling 1,337
principals and 21,605 teachers as the entire population.
Sample and sampling technique:
Simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 500 principals and 5,000
teachers from three States in South Eastern Nigeria. The States are Abia, Ebonyi and Imo States.

Instrumentation:
The instrument was Nwogbo (2007) “Quality Promotion Instrument”. The researcher adapted it,
reconstructed and added many things to suit her environment. It was re-named “Quality Instruction
and Effective Technological Education Instrument (QIETEI). It consist of 41 items that was based
on a 4 point likert type scale of Strongly Agree (SA) = 4, Agree (A) = 3, Disagree (D) = 2 and
Strongly Disagree (SD) = 1 point respectively for research questions 1-5. Any response from 2.50
and above is regarded accepted while any response below 2.50 is regarded as rejected.
Validation and reliability of the instrument:
The face and content validity of the instrument was established by the help of three experts from the
Department of Educational Administration and Measurement and Evaluation, of University of
Nigeria, Nsukka.
30 principals and 60 teachers from Akwa-Ibom State were used to test the reliability of the
instrument. It was re-tested after a period of two weeks and Pearson Product Moment Correlation
Coefficient that yielded a value of 0.87 attested the reliability of the instrument.

Method of data administration:

5,500 copies of questionnaire instrument were distributed with the help of six research assistants, 2
in each State and 5,180 were collected on the spot and used for the study.

RESULTS
Research question 1: What are the ways government can promote quality instruction in
schools?
Table 1: Mean rating of principals and teachers on ways government can promote quality
instruction in schools.

S/N Items Principals’ response Teachers’ response

X Dec X Dec
1. Recruitment of qualified personnel 3.70 Agreed 3.78 Agreed
2. Adequate provision of needed 3.51 Agreed 3.62 Agreed
infrastructural facilities
3. Regular supervision of instruction 2.68 Agreed 2.61 Agreed
4. Use of qualified personnel in supervision of 2.71 Agreed 2.65 Agreed
instruction
5. Adequate teachers’ development 3.71 Agreed 3.75 Agreed
programme
6. Maintenance of all kinds of school plants 2.76 Agreed 2.71 Agreed
7. Disbursing enough money for the 3.05 Agreed 3.07 Agreed
management of schools
8. Improved personnel welfare scheme 3.25 Agreed 3.30 Agreed
9. Prompt and regular payment of salaries and 3.92 Agreed 3.98 Agreed
other benefit of staff
10. Insist on normal class size 2.60 Agreed 2.68 Agreed
Pooled mean 3.19 3.22
Results in Table 1 shows that both principals and teachers agreed that the items are ways
government can promote quality instruction because their responses are above 2.50.
Research question II: What are ways principals can promote quality instruction in schools?

Table II: Mean rating of principals and teachers on ways principals can promote quality
instruction in schools.
S/N Items Principals’ response Teachers’ response
X Dec X Dec
11. Adequate supervision of instruction 3.25 Agreed 3.40 Agreed
12. Provision of needed instructional 2.72 Agreed 2.78 Agreed
resources/facilities
13. Delegate duties to teachers 2.50 Agreed 2.60 Agreed
14. Reduce teachers work load 3.50 Agreed 3.25 Agreed
15. Encourage personnel development 3.12 Agreed 3.30 Agreed
programme
16. Create good and enabling environment for 2.70 Agreed 3.20 Agreed
staff
17. Maintain school plant of all kinds 2.54 Agreed 2.65 Agreed
18. Involve staff in management of the school 2.51 Agreed 2.70 Agreed
19. Be democratic in dealing with staff and 2.60 Agreed 3.02 Agreed
students
Pooled mean 2.78 2.99
Results in Table II shows that both principals and teachers agreed that the items are ways principals
can promote quality instruction because their responses are above 2.50.

Research questions III: What are ways teachers can promote quality instruction in schools?

Table III: Mean rating of principals and teachers on how teachers can promote quality
instruction in schools.

S/N Items Principals’ response Teachers’ response

X Dec X Dec
20. Proper lesson planning 3.85 Agreed 3.21 Agreed
21. Use of well prepared lesson note 3.50 Agreed 3.60 Agreed
22. Varying methods of teaching 3.20 Agreed 3.51 Agreed
23. Active learners participation 3.90 Agreed 3.85 Agreed
24. Adequate use of relevant instructional 3.52 Agreed 3.60 Agreed
resources
25. Proper knowledge of subject matter 3.11 Agreed 3.01 Agreed
26. Proper knowledge of learners/individual 2.70 Agree 2.65 Agreed
differences
27. Good personality trait 2.61 Agreed 2.56 Agreed
Pooled mean 3.30 3.25

In table III, the responses of both principals and teachers scored above 2.50, which indicates that all
the items are ways teachers promote quality instruction.

Research question IV: What are ways parents can promote quality instruction in schools?

Table IV: Mean rating of principals and teachers on how parents can promote quality
instruction in schools.

S/N Items Principals’ response Teachers’ response

X Dec X Dec
28 Provision of educational materials and 3.01 Agreed 3.52 Agreed
facilities for children at home.
29. Regular attendance to PTA meetings. 2.60 Agreed 2.56 Agreed
30. Help children at home with their assignment 2.70 Agreed 2.62 Agreed
31. Provide proper nutrition to their 2.90 Agreed 2.81 Agreed
children/ward through good feeding.
32. Pay their children/wards schools fees 3.01 Agreed 2.98 Agreed
regularly
 33. Give their children time to study/play at 2.86 Agreed 2.72 Agreed
home.
34. Allow them to leave home for school on 2.91 Agreed 2.85 Agreed
time.
35. Give their children proper orientation about 2.60 Agreed 2.65 Agreed
school at home.
Pooled mean 2.82 2.84

In table IV, the responses of both principals and teachers scored above 2.50 which, indicates that all
the items are ways parents can promote quality instruction.

Research question V: What are ways students can promote quality instruction in schools?

Table V: Mean rating of principals and teachers on how students can promote quality
instruction in schools.

S/N Items Principals’ response Teachers’ response

X Dec X Dec
36 Attending school/classes regularly and on 3.01 Agreed 3.12 Agreed
time.
37 Being always attentive in the class. 2.91 Agreed 2.86 Agreed
38 Doing assignment/homework regularly. 2.65 Agreed 2.81 Agreed
39. Good studying habit both at home/school 2.78 Agreed 2.67 Agreed
40. Obedient to school authority. 2.61 Agreed 2.72 Agreed
41. Stopping loitering/bullying. 2.62 Agreed 2.68 Agreed
Pooled mean 2.76 2.81

In table V, principals and teachers agreed that all the items on ways students can promote quality
instruction are true. This was seen in all the mean scores that recorded above 2.50.

Hypothesis 1: The mean rating of principals and teachers on how quality instruction can be
promoted by different stakeholders is not significantly different.

Table VI: Z-Test analysis of the mean rating of principals and teachers on how quality instruction
can be promoted.

SD DF Z-cal Z-Cri Prob. Dec

Respondents N X
Principals 480 2.77 0.48 5,178 1.42 1.99 P>0.05 Accept

Teachers 4700 3.02 0.51

In table VI, the Z-calculated value of 1.42 at 0.05 level of significance is less than the Z-critical value
of 1.96 which indicates that the null hypothesis is uphold. It means that there is no significant
difference between the mean rating of principals and teachers on how quality instruction can be
promoted by different stakeholders.

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

Quality instruction is definitely a special virtue which all the stakeholders in education should
pursue. It is a stepping stone to effective technological development of any nation. In the findings
of this study in table 1 for example on the perception of principals and teachers on ways
government can promote quality instruction, all the items are what government should do to make
sure that quality instruction is provided in our schools. These findings are in agreement with Willms
(2000), Postle Waithe (1998) and Anukam (2001) who were of the opinion that teachers working
condition affects the ability to promote quality education. In the same development, they agreed
that class size has a lot of impact on the quality of instruction a child gets in the school. If the
normal class size is not maintained, definitely, teachers will be frustrated and learners will be uneasy
to get the best from the teachers. Many aspects of school life and educational policy go into
teachers perceptions of their employment. The condition of infrastructure and availability of
learning materials, all influence the teachers experience as an educator. Postle Waithe 91998) also
added that low and late remuneration may lead teachers to take on another job which hurts students
learning.

A study in 12 Latin American countries found that children in schools where many teachers work in
other jobs in addition to teaching are 1:2 times more likely to have lower test scores (Willms 2000)
concluded. The low test scores invariably attest to low quality instruction because of unsteadiness
and unseriousness.

For teachers to be productive and produce the best result, they need supportive working condition
to maintain these positive attitudes. The quality of administrative support and leadership is another
critical element in school processes both for students and teachers as observed in research question
I. This assertion was in line with Miske and Dowd (1998) who concluded that teachers need
governments who are supportive in education system. Organizational support for teaching and
learning that enhances quality takes many forms like measures as advocating for better conditions
and professional development, respecting teacher’s autonomy and professionalism, financial
support, maintenance of structures and development including decision making process. Such
support by government has been seen to have positive effect on quality of teaching and learning.

In research question II, it was found out that despite the effort of government to promote quality
instruction in schools, principals, parents, teachers and even students, have a more embracing role to
play. This group of people is directly affected. From the findings of this study in table II, all the
items were agreed by both principals and teachers as the roles parents should play in quality
instruction in schools. These findings corroborate the findings of researchers like Dolan, Drake,
Maier, Brooler and Jukes (2000). They concur that guidance and counseling services, the provision
of extra-curricular activities and provision of school snacks are other examples of service provision
that contribute to quality school environment. McCain and Mustard (1999) added that adequate
instruction is critical for normal brain development in the early years of a child. Physical and
psychological healthy children learn well. And also healthy development in early childhood plays an
important role in providing the basis for a healthy life and successful formal school experience.
They also agreed that parents should provide educational materials and pay their children’s school
fees regularly to avoid being sent home from school and try as much as possible to visit their school
to see what they are doing. Children should not be over labored at home to enable them rest and
carry out their home works which parents as a necessity should help them. Quality instruction is a
step by step stage that needs a gradual assistance to make it real.

In research question III, the findings of this study also revealed that all the items by both principals
and teachers on what principals should do to promote quality instruction are in agreement with what
researchers like Carron and Chau (1996), Miske and Dowd (1998). They were of the opinion that
quality supervision of instruction, development of authority, respecting teacher’s autonomy and
inclusive decision making process are all roles of school administrators to make sure that teachers
are relaxed in their work environment.

Principals that are autocratic and do not involve teachers in decision making process stand a chance
of loosing the unity of their workers in an organization and it has adverse effect on the quality of
instruction. Willms (2000) also added that a great relationship occur between teachers work load
and their sense of efficacy. This is to say that teachers work more efficiently and quality is assured
when work load is less as supported by both principals and teachers.

In research question IV, both principals and teachers accepted all the items as ways teachers can
promote quality instruction in schools. This is in support of what researchers like Darling-
Hammond (1997) said about professional learning for teachers. Darling-Hammond concluded that
the highest quality teachers are those most capable of helping their students learn, have deep mastery
of both their subject matter and pedagogy. This is also to corroborate Ekemezie (2010) who was of
the view that most of the professional qualities of a good teacher that can render quality instruction
are, good knowledge of learners, adequate mastery of the subject matter, sound knowledge of
teaching methods, good personality traits, adequate use of instructional resources etc. A teacher that
must provide quality instruction must be able to prepare his lesson in advance and be a teacher
indeed and not a cheater.

In research question V, both principals and teachers accepted all the items as ways students can
promote quality instruction in schools. This is to say that, though students as the recipients of the
instruction can contribute meaningfully to the provision of quality instruction in schools.
Researchers like Miske and Dowd (1998) and Ekemezie (2010) demonstrated that to achieve
academically, children must attend school/classes consistently and be attentive in the class. This is
also in agreement with a study of village-based school in Malawi, who found that students with
higher rates of attendance had greater learning gains and lower rates of repetition.

In table VI, the Z-test analysis of the rating of principals and teachers on how quality instruction can
be promoted by different stakeholders indicates that the null hypothesis was accepted which means
that the findings in all the research questions and the hypothesis were in agreement with what the
above researchers found out as the expected roles of different stakeholders in education. Quality
instruction is not made overnight, it demands dedication and commitment to duties and proper
implementation of educational policies instead of mere lip service and policy formulation.

CONCLUSION
Quality instruction as an attribute has no substitute to technological development. It is only when
the quality of input is ensured that the quality output can be dreamt of. So far, any nation to grow
technologically all the stakeholders in education should embrace the challenges of quality instruction
in order to reach the nation’s goal in this technological era.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made:
1. Government should increase the finding of schools in order to provide all needed
infrastructures.
2. Teachers’ salaries/allowances should be paid on times and conditions of service be
improved.
3. Principals should be democratic in dealing with both teachers and students.
4. Teachers should live by the ethics of the noble profession and avoid being cheaters.
5. Parents should live up to their responsibilities as regards to giving their children quality
education.
6. Government should employ qualified personnel to schools.
7. Students should always put their priority right in life; this will make them to be self
motivated.

REFERENCES

Akaburio, I and Joshua, A. (2004). Self Concept, attitude and achievement of secondary school
students in science subject in Southern Cross River State, Nigeria. The African Symposium, 1.(4).

Beeby, C. (1966). The quality of education in developing countries. Cambridge, Massa-Chusetts: Harvard
University Press.

Carron, G. and Chau, T. N. (1996). The quality of primary schools in different development contexts. Paris:
UNESCO.

Dashe, N. P. and Patsohot, D. C. (2011). Access to quality Teacher Education in Nigeria. Journal of
Teacher Education and teaching. V. 9, N. I. PATTEAN.

Dolan, C., Drake, I., Maier, C., Brooker, S., and Jukes, M. (2000). What’s new in the health and
nutrition of the school-age child… paper presented for the April 2000 United Nations
Administrative Coordinating Committee on Nutrition meeting.

Darling-Hammond, L. (1997). Doing what matters most: Investing in quality teaching. Kurtztown,
Pennsylvania: National Commission on teaching America’s future.

Ekemezie, C.A. (2010). Principals and methods of practical teaching at a glance: In V. N. Nzelum & C. A.
Ekemezie (eds). Owerri: Megasoft Publisher.

Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004). National Policy on Education, 4th edition. Lagos: NERDC Press.

Merrian, J. A. (2007). Definition of technology. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press

McCain, M., and Mustard, J. E. (1999). Reversing the real brain drain: early years study. Toronto,
Canada: Publications Ontario.
Miske, S., Dowd, A., et al. (1998). Teaching and learning in Mangochi classrooms. Washington D. C.
Associates International.

Nwangwu, C. (2000). Public School loss, private school’s gain. The Guardian Newspaper. May, 4.P.35.

Ogbuagu, V. E. (2004). A keynote address delivered at the national conference of the Nigeria
primary and Teacher Education Association held at FCE (T) Asaba. Delta State.

Postle Waithe, N (1998). The conditions of Primary Schools in least developed countries.
International Review of Education, 44(4): 289-317.

Willms, J.D. (2000). Standards of care: Investments to improve children’s educational outcomes in
Latin America. Paper presented at the year (2000) conference of early childhood
Development sponsored by the World Bank. Washington, D. C.
 STUDENT VARIABLES AND SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS’
ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Daso Peter Ojimba

Department of Technical Education
Ignatius Ajuru University of Education,
Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
Abstract
This research study focused on the relationship between the student variable and their achievement in mathematics at
the senior secondary school level in Rivers State, Nigeria. The ex-post facto research design was adopted for this study,
since already conducted mathematics test scores of the students were retrieved and used for the analysis. Furthermore,
data were elicited through the student variable and students’ achievement in mathematics questionnaire (SVAMQ).
This questionnaire consisted of five sections and was administered to the students. A population of 10,120 students
were involved in the study out of which 4510 were chosen for the sample using the Yarrow Yamen’s formula. The data
were analyzed using the Z-test statistic, means and simple percentage. The findings were that to a high extent students’
attitude towards mathematics, their perceptions of the importance of mathematics and their self-concept influenced their
achievement in mathematics. Based on these findings, recommendations were made.

Keywords:Student variables, mathematics achievement, attitude, self-concept, perceptions

Introduction
This research study focused on the student factor and students’ achievement in mathematics
at the senior secondary school level of Rivers State, Nigeria. There is a widespread interest in
improving the levels of mathematics achievement in schools. Apart from the economic benefits that
it is argued this would bring, by better preparing young people for the numeracy demands of
modern workplaces and raising the overall skill levels of the workplace, there are also social benefits
tied to improving access for larger numbers of young people to post-school education and training
opportunities and laying stronger foundations to skills for life-long learning.
This interest in raising levels of achievement has led to a focus on identifying the range of
factors that shape achievement as well as understanding how these factors operate to limit and
enhance the achievement of different groups of students. Such major factor to be considered in this
study is the student factor. In our research context, the student factor means the attitude,
perceptions and self-concept of the students towards mathematics as a subject in the senior
secondary school.
However, the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) represents the
most comprehensive international comparism of students’ achievement, yet recorded. The TIMSS
assessment was conducted to study the effects of different factors on students’ achievement,
including instructional activities, classroom environment, home background and possessions,
students confidence in mathematics and science ability, and students’ attitudes towards mathematics
and science. Kiamanesh (2005) observed that the preliminary investigations of the TIMSS data in
Iran indicated that there is a positive relationship between students’ achievement in mathematics and
science and home background variables such as parents level of education, number of books at
home and possession of dictionary and study desk. Furthermore, the study showed that the science
achievement score of Iranian students who benefited from high confidence in science ability was
much higher than that of those who had medium or low confidence in science ability (Kiamanesh
and Kherich, 2001).
 Arguing further, Papanastasiou (2002) asserted that students’ attitude towards an academic
subject is a crucial role not only in learning but in maintaining a continued interest in the subject.
Stodalsky, Sack and Glasner (1991) had earlier mentioned that students develop ideas, feelings and
attitudes about school subjects over time and from a variety of sources. They argued that positive
attitude to school and education is a necessary component for high educational aspirations. Research
evidence shows that if an important person encourages somebody to behave in a certain way, he or
she will accept it. The influence of an important person is so strong that even the individual may
change his or her attitude in agreement with that of the important person (Berkowitz, 1986). Does
an aggregate of these views connote the fact that the student factor plays a centre-stage role in the
achievement of students especially in mathematics? What is the problem of low achievement in
mathematics at the senior secondary school level?

The Problem
Odubina (2001) posited that mathematics is the pivot around which the whole essence of living
revolves and the basis for scientific and technological take-off. Yet, Ahiakwo (2006) found that the
performance of various levels of students has decelerated over the years with that of Nigerian
children quite remarkable. Furthermore, the chief Examiners Report of results of our public
examinations (WAEC, 2001-2009) had shown markedly a decline in the percentage of passes in
mathematics. There is a perceived risk that the percentage of failures in secondary schools and in
universities is greater in scientific matters than in others. Earlier, Ibebuike (1986) noted that many
students, even as far back as their primary school time, do not take interest in mathematics to a
meaningful degree and this has led to a continuous general poor performance in the subject. Does
that suggest a high or low likely relationship between the student factor and their achievement in
mathematics at the senior secondary school II level in Rivers State, Nigeria?
Theoretical Background
The term student variable, in relation to this study is a concept demanding utmost attention.
It includes students’ attitudes towards mathematics students’ perceptions of the importance of
mathematics and students’ self-concept and achievement in mathematics. Psychologists define
attitude as any strong belief or feeling or any approval or disapproval towards people and situations.
We have favourable or unfavourable attitudes towards people, politics and academic subjects etc.
We favour the things we think are good and helpful and oppose the things we think are bad and
harmful (Kagan, 1984). The students’ attitude towards an academic subject is a crucial factor in
learning and achievement in that subject. Whether a student views herself or himself as a strong or
weak person in a specific subject may be an important factor in her or his academic achievement.
Among the major findings of TIMSS 1999 was that students generally had positive attitudes towards
mathematics and science, although less so in countries where science is taught as separate subjects at
the eighth grade (Mullis et al, 2000).
Many studies have examined students’ thinking about school and their attitude towards
mathematics (Vanayan, White and Tepper, 1977 cited in Papanastatiou, 2002). Instruction in school
settings provides one important and regularly experienced context in which ideas and perceptions
about subject matters as well as other cognitive and affective outcomes can be shaped.
The next concept in this framework is students’ perceptions of the importance of
mathematics. By perceptions, we mean hard work, good luck and natural talent towards
mathematics. Researchers recommend that students’ perceptions of themselves play an important
role in their level of personal aspirations and in their self-expectations (Lynch, Campbell, 2001).
Researchers (Frize, Francis and Hanus, 1983; Weiner, 1985) have shown that attributions influence
students’ achievement and they often attribute their outcomes to variables like hard work, good luck
and natural talent. Although students may attribute their failure or success to the afore-mentioned
variables, the efforts that they make in order to learn science at school or do home work at home
probably have an effect on their achievement.
Another concept involved in the student factor is the self-concept of the student. By self-
concept, we mean what the student thinks mathematics is to him – whether mathematics is not one
of his strength or thinks he would like mathematics if it were not difficult and his belief that
mathematics is more difficult for him than for many of his classmates. Franken (1994) stated that
there is a great deal of research which shows that self concept is perhaps the basis for all motivated
behaviour. He argued that it is the self-concept that gives rise to possible selves, and it is possible
selves that create the motivation for behaviour. Hamachek (1995) asserted that self-concept and
school achievement are related. Research had shown a close relationship between academic self-
concept and academic achievement (Russel-Bowie, Yeung and Mcleney, 1999). House (1993) had
earlier observed that students; self-appraisals of their overall academic ability were significantly
related to grade performance in their science courses. The major issue here is the direction of
relationship i.e. does self-concept produce achievement or does achievement produce self-concept?
However, Marsh (1988) found support for both self-concept affecting achievement and achievement
affecting self-concept. Marsh (1990) further suggested that the effect of prior academic self-concept
on subsequent achievement is likely to be substantial and it is interesting that findings may vary
depending on how academic achievement is inferred. Many investigations recommend the
improvement of a students’ academic self-concept as a basic educational outcome (Koutsouls and
Campbell, 2001).
The next concept in this framework is students’ achievement in mathematics. The concept
of achievement in mathematics denotes the performance in tests and examinations conducted by the
mathematics teacher. However, the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS,
2002) measured the achievement of students at different grade levels in various countries around the
world. In conjunction with the achievement portion of the study, a video study of mathematics
teachers in Germany, Japan and the United States of America was also conducted. Peterson (2005)
found that by video taping many randomly selected eight grade teaching episodes in each of these
countries, the researchers were able to capture and describe the type of teaching that typically took
place in each of these countries.
Earlier empirical studies conducted included Fredman (1976) and Legette (1979). Fredman
(1976), in his study on the relationship between self-concept and academic achievement used 190
fifth and sixth grade males enrolled within a white middle to upper middle class school district in
Pennsylvania. Three research groups were formed consisting of 66 males classified as aggressive –
disruptive, 53 males classified as withdrawn – inactive, and 71 males classified as appropriate within
the classroom. The Piers-Harris self-concept scale and the Fredman-Willowdale school concept
scale were administered. He observed that there was a significant and positive relationship between
IQ and school self-concept (p.05), but the relationship between IQ and generalized self-concept was
not significant.
Similarly, Legette (1979) in an earlier study tried to find out if self-concept influences
achievement. She used 3734 students in the seventh, ninth and eleventh grades. She used the
Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient to compute the correlation between subjects’ self-
concept score and their achievement and came out with the result that there is a relationship
between self-concept and achievement.
In the same vein, studies like Tymns (2001) and Benlow (2002) have found that attitude of
students towards mathematics has impacted student achievement. Basic theories of learning
encapsulated in this study include David Ausubel and Robert Gagne. An examination of the above
literatures revealed that students’ attitude, perceptions and self-concept had relationships with
achievement in mathematics.
 However, these studies were conducted in foreign lands quite alienated from the Nigerian
environment. This study intends to find out to what extent student attitudes, perceptions and self-
concept influence their achievement in mathematics with a special focus in Nigeria and Rivers State
in particular. Hence, this study is poised to investigate empirically the student factor and
achievement in mathematics with a view to filling the gap in literature and contribute to requisite
knowledge.
The Method
The ex-post facto research design was adopted for this study because it seeks to investigate an
existing phenomenon regarding students’ achievement in mathematics. The population of the study
consisted of 10,120 senior secondary II students in Rivers State, Nigeria. However, the sample size
of 4510 for the study was selected by using the Yarrow Yamen’s formula. The research instrument is
the student factor and students’ achievement in mathematics questionnaire (STAMQ), divided into
five sections. To elicit data from the respondents, the instrument was constructed using the
following scale:
1. Very High Extent (VHE) = 4
2. High Extent (HE) = 3
3. Low Extent (LE) = 2
4. Very Low Extent (VLE) = 1

The respondents were free to indicate () in the column against each of the items as it applied to
them. A decision cut off point of 2.50 was adopted. Any item or component in which the
respondents have a mean score of 2.50 and above was regarded as “a high extent” while a mean
score below 2.50 was regarded as a low extent.
Descriptive and inferential statistics were adopted for this study. In the descriptive statistics, means
( X ) , variance ()2 and standard deviations () were computed and tables constructed. Deductions
made from results on these tables formed the answers to the research questions (1-3). To test the
hypothesis (1-3), the Z-test statistic was applied to compare the means of the various variables and
those of achievement in mathematics. The 0.05 level of significance was adopted with the degree of
freedom as df = N1 + N2 – 2.
Table 1: Distribution of Population of 10,120 senior secondary II students in Rivers
State, Nigeria
S/N Local Govt. Area No. of Population of students Sample of students
Schools (SS2) (SS2)
1 Abua/Odual 11 440 209
2 Ahoada-East 12 480 218
3 Ahoada-West 13 520 226
4 Akuku-Toru 8 320 177
5 Andoni 10 400 200
6 Asari-Toru 8 320 177
7 Bonny 13 520 226
8 Degema 12 480 218
9 Eleme 6 240 150
10 Emohua 19 760 262
11 Etche 19 760 262
12 Gokana 12 480 218
13 Ikwerre 13 520 226
14 Khana 22 880 275
 15 Obio/Akpor 16 640 246
16 Ogu/Bolo 3 120 92
17 Okrika 6 240 150
18 Omuma 3 120 92
19 Ogb/Egbema/Ndoni 15 600 240
20 Opobo/Nkoro 3 120 92
21 Oyibgo 4 160 114
22 Port Harcourt 15 600 240
23 Tai 10 400 200
Total 253 10,120 4,510

Results and Discussion

Research Question 1:
To what extent do students’ attitude towards mathematics relate to their achievement in
mathematics?
Table 2: Analysis of the opinions of students on their attitude towards mathematics
and achievement in mathematics
S/N Question VHE HE LE VLE Total Mean Percentage
Items (4) (3) (2) (1) (X ) rating (%)
1 To what extent 958 1184 1533 835 4510
do you like (3832) (3552) (3066) (835) (11,285) 2.50 62.56
studying
mathematics?
2 To what extent 992 755 1579 1184 4510
do you hate (3968) (2265) (3158) (1184) (10575) 2.35 58.75
mathematics?
3 To what extent 1049 970 1984 507 4510
do you think (4196) (2910) (3968) (507) (1581) 2.57 64.25
that
mathematics is
an easy subject?
4 To what extent 1094 1049 1961 406 4510
do you think (4376) (3147) (3922) (406) (11851) 2.63 65.75
that
mathematics is
a difficult
subject?
5 To what extent 970 1094 1872 574 4510
do you think (3880) (3282) (3744) (574) (11480) 2.55 63.75
mathematics is
important to
every one’s life?
6 To what extent 767 902 2368 473 4510
do you think (3068) (2706) (4736) (473) (10983) 2.44 61.00
mathematics is
boring?
7 To what extent 925 1071 1804 710 4510
 do you feel (3700) (3213) (3608 (710) (11231) 2.49 62.25
uncomfortable
during the
mathematics
class?
8 To what extent 1105 1409 1003 993 4510
do you dislike (4420) (4227) (2006) (993) (11646) 2.58 64.50
mathematics
because of the
teacher?
9 To what extent 846 902 1736 1026 4510\(10588)
do you think (3384) (2706) (3472) (1026) 2.35 58.75
mathematics is
not necessary
to life?
10 To what extent 1049 1364 1691 406 4510
do you dislike (4196) (4092) (3382) (406) (12,076) 2.68 67.00
any subject with
calculations and
numbers?
11 To what extent 1217 1026 1578 689 4510
do you fear (4868) (3078) (3156) (689) (11791) 2.61 65.20
mathematics?
12 To what extent 902 1015 1748 845 4510
do you (3608) (3045) (3496) (845) (10994) 2.44 61.00
appreciate
subjects with
calculations and
numbers?
Group Mean Rating ( X ) = 2.52 63.00

Table 2 above, revealed that the summary result of the total opinion of students on the relationship
between students’ attitude and their achievement in mathematics was 2.52 indicating a percentage of
63.0. However, the decision rule says that the mean of the scale used is 2.50, making any score above
2.50 to show “a high extent” students attitude towards mathematics is related to their achievement
in mathematics. It also indicates that any score below 2.50 means to “a low extent” student’s attitude
towards mathematics is related to their achievement in mathematics. Therefore the score 2.52 above
shows that to “a high extent” students’ attitude towards mathematics is related to their achievement
in mathematics.

Research Question 2
To what extent do students’ perceptions of the importance of mathematics relate to their
achievement in mathematics?
Table 3: Analysis of the opinions of students on the perceptions of the importance of
mathematics and achievement in mathematics.
S/N Question VHE HE LE VLE Total Mean Percentage
Items (4) (3) (2) (1) (X ) rating (%)
1 To what extent 973 1180 1540 813 4510
do you perceive (3892) (3540) (3080) (813) (11,325) 2.51 62.75
mathematics is
worth studying?
2 To what extent 850 680 1683 2297 4510
do you perceive (3400) (2040) (2366) (2297) (10103) 2.25 58.25
mathematics is
not worth
learning?
3 To what extent 830 660 1698 1322 4510
do you perceive (3320) (1980) (3396) (1322) (10,018) 2.22 55.50
mathematics is
an easy subject?
4 To what extent 1990 1053 1960 407 4510
do you perceive (4360) (3159) (3920) (407) (10840) 2.43 60.75
mathematics is
a difficult
subject?
5 To what extent 1098 1160 1420 432 4510
do you perceive (4392) (3480) (2840) (432) (11144) 2.47 61.75
mathematics is
important to
everyday life?
6 To what extent 820 968 2360 362 4510
do you perceive (3280) (2904) (4720) (362) (10266) 2.27 56.92
that
mathematics is
boring?
7 To what extent 826 934 1921 729 4510
do you perceive (3204) (2802) (3842) (729) (10577) 2.34 58.5
discomfort
during
mathematics
classes?
8 To what extent 1100 1400 1017 993 4510
do you perceive (4400) (4200) (2034) (993) (10634) 2.35 58.75
that
mathematics is
not to be liked
because of the
teacher?
9 To what extent 760 810 1260 1680 4510
do you perceive (3040) (2130) (2520) (1680) (9670) 2.14 53.50
that
mathematics is
not necessary
to life?
10 To what extent 1068 1343 1703 396 4510
 do you perceive (4272) (4029) (3406) (396) (12103) 2.68 67.00
that any subject
with
calculations and
numbers should
be disliked?
11 To what extent 1208 1120 1563 619 4510
do you perceive (4832) (3360) (3126) (619) (11937) 2.64 66.00
that
mathematics is
to be feared?
12 To what extent 960 1042 1801 707 4510
do you perceive (3840) (3126) (3602) (707) (11275) 2.50 62.50
that subjects
with
calculations and
numbers should
be appreciated?
Group Mean Rating (x ) = 2.40 60.00
Table 3 above, revealed that the summary result of the total opinion of students on the relationship
between students’ perceptions of the importance of mathematics and their achievement in
mathematics was 2.40 indicating a percentage of 60.00. However, the decision rule says that the
mean of the scale used is 2.50, making any score above 2.50 to show “a high extent” students’
perceptions of the importance of mathematics is related to their achievement in mathematics. It also
indicates that any score below 2.50 means to “a low extent” student’s perceptions of the importance
of mathematics is related to their achievement in mathematics. Therefore, the score 2.40 above
shows that to “a low extent” students’ perceptions of the importance of mathematics is related to
their achievement in mathematics.

Research Question 3
To what extent do students’ self-concept relate to their achievement in mathematics?
Table 4: Analysis of the opinion of students on their self-concept and achievement in
mathematics
S/N Question VHE HE LE VLE Total Mean Percentage
Items (4) (3) (2) (1) (X ) rating (%)
1 To what extent 395 620 2650 845 4510
do you think (1580) (1860) (5300) (845) (9585) 2.13 53.25
you are
talented in
mathematics?
2 To what extent 958 1409 1623 520 4510
do you think ((3832) (4227) (3246) (520) (11825) 2.62 65.50
mathematics is
more difficult
for you than
your
classmates?
3 To what extent 1039 958 1860 655 4510
do you think (4148) (2874) (3720) (655) (11397) 2.53 63.25
mathematics is
not one of your
strength?
4 To what extent 1184 1432 1669 225 4510
do you think (4736) (4296) 3338) (225) (12595) 2.79 69.75
you would love
mathematics if
it were not
difficult?
5 To what extent 1015 1071 1714 710 4510
do you think 4060) (3213) (3428) (710) (1141) 2.53 63.25
mathematics is
for science
students?
6 To what extent 823 868 1691 128 4510
do you think (3292) (2604) (3382) (1128) (10406) 2.31 57.75
no body likes
mathematics in
your family?
7 To what extent 980 936 1691 902 4510
do you think (3920) (2808) (3382) (902) (11012) 2.44 61.00
you have
passed
mathematics
examinations?
8 To what extent 958 1364 1691 497 4510
does your set (3832) (4092) (3382) (497) (11803) 2.62 65.50
of beliefs
encourage you
to study
mathematics?
9 To what extent 969 1049 1748 744 4510
do your (3876) (3147) (3496) (744) (11203) 2.50 62.50
feelings about
mathematics
encourage you
to study
mathematics?
10 to what extent 733 1409 (2932) 902 4510
do your ego (2932) (4227) (902) (12561) 2.79 69.75
and strength
encourage you
to study
mathematics?
11 To what extent 1128 1488 1691 203 4510
does your self (4512) (4464) (3382) (203) (12561) 2.79 69.75
 appraisal
overall
academic
ability influence
your
achievement in
mathematics?
12 To what extent 1015 1082 1635 778 4510
does your high (4060) (3246) (32270) (778) (11354) 2.52 63.00
confidence in
mathematics
influence your
achievement in
mathematics?
Group Mean Rating ( X ) = 2.52 63.00

Table 4 revealed that the summary result of the total opinion of students on the relationship
between self-concept and achievement in mathematics was 2.52 indicating a percentage of 63.00.
Furthermore, the decision rule says that the mean of the scale used is 2.50, making any score above
2.50 to show “a high extent” students’ self-concept is related to their achievement in mathematics. It
also indicates that any score below 2.50 means to “a low extent” students’ self-concept towards
mathematics is related to their achievement in mathematics. Therefore, the score above showed that
to “a high extent” students’ self-concept towards mathematics is related to their achievement in
mathematics.
Hypothesis Testing
Hypothesis 1
Ho1: There is no significant relationship between students’ attitude towards mathematics and their
achievement in mathematics.
Table 5: Z-ratio test of significant relationship between students’ attitude towards
mathematics and their achievement in mathematics.
Variable X sd N df P S. Z-cat Z-crit Decision
Error
Students’ attitude 62.83 3.43 4510 0.051 Z>1.96
Students’ or Reject
achievement in 54.09 14.79 4510 0.228 Z<-1.96 Ho1
mathematics 9,018 0.05 38.17

The result on table 5 showed that the calculated value of Z is 38.17, which is greater than the critical
value of 1.96 at the degree of freedom 9,018 at the 0.05 level of significance. Since the calculated Z-
value is greater than the critical value, the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship
between students’ attitude towards mathematics and their achievement in mathematics is rejected.
Hence, there is a significant relationship between students’ attitude towards mathematics and their
achievement in mathematics.
Hypothesis 2
Ho2: There is no significant relationship between students’ perceptions of the importance of
mathematics and their achievement in mathematics.
 Table 6: Z-ratio test of significant relationship between students’ perceptions of the
importance of mathematics and their achievement in mathematics.
Variable X sd N df P S. Z-cat Z-crit Decision
Error
Students’ 60.00 3.21 4510 0.048 Z>1.96
perceptions or Reject
Students’ Z<-1.96 Ho2
achievement in 54.09 14.79 4510 9,018 0.05 0.228 25.60
mathematics

The result on table 6 showed that the calculated value of Z is 25.60 which is greater than the critical
value of 1.96 at the degree of freedom 9,018 at the 0.05 level of significance. Since the calculated Z-
value is greater than the critical value, the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship
between students’ perceptions of the importance of mathematics and their achievement in
mathematics is rejected. Hence, there is a significant relationship between students’ perceptions of
the importance of mathematics and their achievement in mathematics.
Hypothesis 3
Ho3: There is no significant relationship between students’ self-concept and their achievement in
mathematics.

Table 7: Z-ratio test of significant relationship between students’ self-concept and

their achievement in mathematics.
Variable X sd N df P S. Z-cat Z-crit Decision
Error
Students’ self- 62.83 4.93 4510 0.073 Z>1.96
concept or Reject
Students’ Z<-1.96 Ho3
achievement in 54.09 14.79 4510 9,018 0.05 0.228 38.16
mathematics

The result on table 7 showed that the calculated value Z is 38.16 which is greater than the critical
value of 1.96 at the degree of freedom 9,018 at the 0.05 level of significance. Since the calculated Z-
value is greater than the critical value of 1.96, the null hypothesis that there is no significant
relationship between students’ self-concept and their achievement in mathematics is rejected. Hence,
there is a significant relationship between students’ self-concept and their achievement in
mathematics.

Conclusion
From the analyses of data and the discussion of findings, the following conclusions were made:
i) There is a significant relationship between students’ attitude towards mathematics and their
achievement in mathematics at the senior secondary II level in Rivers State, Nigeria
i) There is a significant relationship between student’ perceptions of the importance of
mathematics and their achievement in mathematics at the senior secondary II level in Rivers
State, Nigeria
ii) There is a significant relationship between students’ self-concept and their achievement in
mathematics at the senior secondary II level in Rivers State, Nigeria.

Recommendations
Considering the findings and discussions of this study, the following recommendations were made:
i) In order to eliminate or minimize poor performance in mathematics at public examinations,
the researcher recommended that students should be made to attend seminars and
workshops on attitudinal change towards mathematics.
ii) That the search light of blame on poor performance in mathematics should be re-focused on
areas such as students’ perceptions of the importance of mathematics, even at the primary
school level
iii) The prolonged students’ self-concept on mathematics which are negative could be
eliminated by guidance and counseling tutors at school
iv) That the pedagogical training given to teachers of mathematics at the secondary school level
should be re-emphasized before mathematics teachers are employed to teach.
v) Since, the problem of this study was the poor performance of students in mathematics at the
senior secondary school level in Rivers State, parents should not blame governments,
teachers of mathematics and WAEC alone, but look inside at home by helping students
adjust the negative concepts and perceptions towards mathematics as a subject.
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 GENDER/ WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN BAYELSA STATE, ITS
GOALS AND CHALLENGES FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT

Oluwayemisi Agnes Olorode

Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology,
Niger Delta University,
Wilberforce Island, Nigeria.

Abstract
The gender dimension of science and technology (S&T) has become an increasingly important and topical issue
worldwide. For over thirty years now, the United Nation General Assembly and the UN Economy and Social
Commission have emphasized the inequalities and disparities in the educational opportunities open to women and girls,
and in women access to training and the labour market (Ligia, 2007; Walter, 2007). In Bayelsa state many women
and girls are excluded from participation in science and technology (S&T) activities by poverty and lack of education
(at all levels), and by aspects of their legal, Institutional, political and Cultural environments. On primary education
the state achieves gender parity. However gender parity decreases in secondary education and the gap widens even more
in tertiary education. The situation of educational system in the past sixteen years whereby women and girls were
directed to the farm to do farm work while the men and boys were given the opportunity to go to school even though they
were not fully committed. Presently this state has achieved overall progress in gender equality and female empowerment
according to the latest 2007 data due to continuous establishment of schools from primary to tertiary levels of which
Niger Delta University is one. This institution offers many courses in science and technology and has produced a lot of
female graduates both in pure and applied sciences such as pharmacy, medicine, engineering etc. Women face a lot of
challenges in Science and Technology career for their work are underrated and are less considered for any grants in
Bayelsa state even in Nigeria at large. If this erroneous attitude is checked and our women are given equal
opportunities like their male counterparts, this will help increase the pool of women in this field.
Keywords: Gender parity, Science and Technology, Women, Education, Economy

Introduction
In the commonwealth of Independent states (CIS) women’s participation in research is significantly
higher (43 percent) than the world average (European Commission, 2004). In Africa, it is estimated
that about 31 percent of researchers are women. In almost one- half of countries with available data,
however, women represent less than 30 percent of researchers. As we enter the twenty- first century,
the pace of technological advances continues to accelerate, with great potential to improve the lives
and livelihoods in developing and developed countries, and with profound implications for the
global economy (L’oreal UNESCO Awards for Women in Science, 2007). Despite some global
trends, only part of the world’s population has benefited from Scientific and Technological advances
and the resulting improvements in quality of life and life expectancy. Over 1 billion people are living
in poverty, and most of them are women and children. Worldwide, 1 billion people have no access
to safe water; 2.7 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation and over 800 million remain
chronically undernourished (WWAP, 2006; UNDP, 2004). This paper is thus undertaken to evaluate
the role of women in science and technology, its challenges and the way of improving these to
actualize the ultimate goal of full participation of women in this field.

The Role of Science and Technology (S&T) in improving sustainable and equitable
development
The role of science and technology (S&T) in promoting sustainable and equitable development has
not yet been fully recognized, but already there is consensus that S&T is critical to any strategy to
improve quality of life and the socio-economy and environmental situation of any country. Poverty
and hunger can have political, social, cultural, environmental and economy roots. Science and
Technology (S&T) can help to meet some of these challenges and reduce poverty by promoting
economy development, creating job opportunities and increasing agricultural and industrial
productivity. S&T can provide clean and renewable energy sources, and can help to improve health
and education and predict and manage the effects of climate change and biodiversity. Science,
technology and innovation also have the potential to improve nutrition, increase crop yields, provide
clean water and improve soil management, and can lead to the development of vaccines and cures
for diseases (UNIFEM, 2000).
Role of Women in Science and Technology (S&T)
In many countries, women have unrecognized and invaluable traditional and local knowledge and
are major producers of commodities, merchandise, food, energy and water. Using scientific and
technological knowledge in a way that complements and refines such traditional and indigenous
knowledge can increase productivity levels and improve monitoring and managing of our
ecosystems. Yet imbalances in how science and technology is applied for social development often
disadvantage women in particular (UNIFEM, 2000; Blackden and Banu, 1999). In a great number of
communities around this study state, even around the world, women play a vital role in the
incubation transfer of critical local knowledge on which survival strategies are based (ITDG, 2000;
Appleton et al., 1995) Not only can modern science validate this local or traditional knowledge and
the skills arising from women’s role- food production, energy provision, traditional healing practices
and the management of natural resources- but technology has considerable potential to reduce the
labour of such work and increase the marketable skills and productivity of women working in these
areas; thereby adding value to their economic activities (Juma and Lee, 2005 ; Huyer, 2004). Science
and Technology can be important tools to empower women.
The complex interrelationships between women and technology may be illustrated by looking at
three vital areas; food security, water and sanitation, and energy.
Food security
In Bayelsa state women are responsible for up to 80 percent of food production- through
subsistence farming, food processing and marketing – yet they are too frequently overlooked when it
comes to providing technology and other resources to support agricultural development. As a result,
women’s food production activities have been marginalized (Muntemba and Chimedza, 1995;
Stamp, 1989). In some communities in this state virtually all unpaid work carried out by women is
agriculture- based. Other important and less- studied components of women’s agricultural activities
include livestock management and the preparation and sale of street foods (Lee- Smith, 2004;
Tinker, 1997; Maeda- Muchango, 2003). Economic development and the development of
sustainable livelihood are closely linked to food security (Muntemba and Chimedza, 1995). Food
supplies can be dramatically reduced by natural disaster such as droughts or flooding or human-
caused crises such as war. Severe ecological degradation can quickly diminish land productivity, and
policy choices concerning which crops are grown and where (and who profits from them) can have
an immediate impact on primary producers. With adequate economic resources, including increased
mobility and access to credit and markets, food crises can be ameliorated and families helped to raise
their income to a sufficient level for basic livelihood.
Water and Sanitation
In many countries women and men have different roles and responsibilities in the use and
management of water. Women and girls are frequently responsible for collecting water for cooking,
cleaning, health and hygiene and if they have access to land, food cultivation. Lack of convenient
access to clean water resources costs women countless hours in fetching water, and adds the burden
of caring for those ill from polluted supplies. In many rural areas of developing countries, women
and girls can spend four to five hours per day carrying heavy containers and waiting in lines, a
burden that inhibits their involvement in education (Khosla and Pearl, 2003). In many communities,
women have to work long distances to use toilet facilities, and about one in ten school age African
girls does not attend school during menstruation or drops out at puberty because she has no access
to clean, and private sanitation facilities at school (Khosla and Pearl, 2003). Other water issues
include pollution, environmental degradation, and the contamination of groundwater and aquifers.
Though women often determine water usage, they are rarely involved in making vital decisions
relating to sanitation and hygiene (such as decisions over the availability and placement of toilets).
Hence clean drinkable water is increasingly short supply. Eighty percent of all sickness in world is
attributable to unsafe water and sanitation. Water- borne diseases kill 3-4 million people, mostly
children, annually, and millions more are sickened with diarrhea, malaria, schistosomiasis, arsenic
poisoning, trachoma and hepatitis- diseases that are preventable by access to clean water and
healthcare information (UNWWAP, 2006; Khosla and Pearl, 2003; UN, 2002).
Energy
Biomass- plant matter grown for use a solid, liquid or gas fuel- is the main energy source of a great
number of the world’s rural households. Biomass is grown from several plants, including
switchgrass, hemp, corn, poplar, willow and sugarcane. In poorer countries like some communities
in Bayelsa state, however, it is often of low quality, producing smokes and particulates that are
damaging to human health. Through long hours of exposure to smoke and particulates in kitchens,
women in developing countries experience higher levels of lung and eyes diseases than men. As Joy
Clancy, Margaret Skutsch and Simon Batchelor point out in The Gender- Energy- Poverty Nexus
(2003) women and girls in rural areas also tend to be responsible for gathering biomass (commonly
for several hours each day), with further health repercussions, and girls are frequently kept away
from school for this task. There are a variety of aspects to gendered perspectives on energy use,
households in urban areas have to buy their cooking fuel, which can cost up to 20 percent of their
income. Although women are generally responsible for house- hold energy provision and use-
particularly through cooking, cleaning and fuel collection- when energy is purchased, men often
make the decision. Studies have found that men tend to see the benefits of electricity in terms of
leisure activities, improving quality of life and educating children, while women think in terms of
reducing their workload and expenditures, and improving health (Clancy et al., 2003).
By upgrading energy sources, agricultural and handicraft technologies, water and sanitation, many
technologies have the potential to improve lives, especially those of women. Recognizing gendered
patterns of behavior and improving opportunities to benefit from science and technology for social
development can have an impart not only on women, families and communities, but on a country’s
socioeconomic development as a whole (ECOSOC, 2004; UNCSTD, 1995). Women are very often
active agents of change in the use and application of energy, both in their roles as producers and
users of energy and in their economic activities and involvement in community organization.
Challenges faced by women to fully participate in Science and Technology (S&T) or Factors
that contribute to low number of women in S&T
Andresse St Rose, a research associate at the American Association of University Women has done
research on challenges that girls and women face in studying and working in Science, Technology,
engineering and math field (STEM). She says the gender gap begins at a very early age. Both boys
and girls have similar interest in Stem, but the advise the girls receive from the society affects their
interest negatively, even though girls score higher marks than their male counterparts in Stem in
secondary schools, as they head off to University, the number of women in Stem classes drops.
The environment in college Stem classrooms is often a deterrent to women. Stereotypes abound and
they don’t feel welcome. Women also feel isolated particularly in fields like engineering, where they
may be only one of two women in the room. A wide range of factors may explain the lower number
of women in senior Research and Development positions, including work- life balance, gendered
patterns and approaches to productivity, and performance measurement and promotion criteria. An
increasing body of research examining the nature of the sciencific endeavour from the perspective of
race, class and gender reveals the pitfalls of an academic career system that is based on a traditional
male model of labour market participation. This includes long working hours, limited allowance for
personal life and responsibilities, emphasis on early achievements and exclusive identification with
science and the workplace. Scholarly review processes rarely take into account gendered patterns of
productivity and careers, domestic and child- bearing responsibilities, or publication patterns. Many
countries including Nigeria are already working to substantially increase the participation of women
in research and development. But although sex discrimination does play a role in women’s lower
participation in science, in general the problem is larger, having to do with how the system is
constructed. It tends to be those who fit the traditional male model set by those already in powerful
positions who are assessed as better scientists (European Commission, 2004). For example, in the
United States, having children significantly reduces the chances of promotions for women, but not
for men (Olson, 1999).
One of the prime factors restricting women’s participation in the scientific endeavour is that existing
systems of defining and evaluating scientific excellence are not as gender neutral 6 as they are
claimed to be. Bias occurs in the definition of scientific excellence and assessment criteria, choice of
explicit and implicit indicators to measure excellence, differing application of measurement criteria
to men and women, and the failure to integrate women in scientific networks and assessment
frameworks. The key question posed here is the following: Are women’s and men’s achievements
assessed on the same basis and from the same level of opportunity and inclusion? (European
Commission, 2005). A number of researchers have emphasized the biased nature of science pointing
out that it is a human activity heavily influenced by prevailing social, political and economic factors
(Rosser, 1988). Related questions concern how other social and life situations- such as race,
geography, disability, socioeconomic status, age, marital status and sexual orientation- affect not only
the practice of science, but perceptions of scientific merit (Harding, 1993; Malcom, 2006). For
women, current measurements of performance and productivity work to their disadvantage. A
United State National Science Foundation (NSF) review of gendered career patterns found that
women faculty earn less than their male colleagues; they are promoted less frequently, and they
publish less frequently. These results emerged even when studies are controlled for factors such as
age,/ experience, academic rank and family characteristics. As a result, women participate less in
senior societies, committees and prestigious activities (NSF, 2003).
‘’Count- based’’ and publication- focused measurements of employment experience and publication
record also tend to penalize women by not properly reflecting the quality of their contributions.
Many studies show that women prefer to focus on teaching and interaction with students (NSF,
2003). Studies on citation rates and patterns have revealed interesting (and often gender- based)
trends. While straight index counts generally indicate lower production by women, use of a quality-
weighted index that takes into account the number of times an article is cited will demonstrate a
higher level of scholarly production by women. A study by Sonnert and Holton (1995) of 699
scientists in the United States found that women tended to produce work that was more
comprehensive and succinct, so that while they have fewer number of publications, these
publication tended to be more widely cited. In biochemistry, J. Scott Long (1992) found that the
average paper by a woman was cited 1.5 times more often than that of a man, because women tend
to be more cautious, thorough and attentive to detail in preparing work for publication. This is
partly due to a sense of example insecurity about the quality of their work, as well as a sense (often
based in reality) that their work is not rated as highly as that of their male colleagues. Women
achievement are frequently underrated example Rosalind Franklin and Jocelyn Bell who received no
formal credit for their part in Nobel Price- winning scientific work (Handelsman et al., 2004;
Symonds et al., 2006). The result is that women’s work often has to be sweamless to be valued as its
worth (Schiebinger, 1999; Rathgeber, 2002; Margolis and Fisher, 2002).
Although women are as likely as men to collaborate on research projects, and co-author less than
men, this is a disadvantage in ranking because single and co-author publications are weighted equally
(Sonnert and Holton, 1995). Since both women and men tend to collaborate with researchers of the
same sex, the lower number of women in S&T fields restricts women’s opportunities for
collaboration (NSF, 2003). Other indicators that give clues about the achievements of women in
scientific career could be funding success rates by gender or the proportion of women on scientific
boards. The European Commission’s WiS database shows that in most EU countries men have
higher success rates, even in Nigeria, in obtaining research funding than women, though not
statistically significant. Women are under- represented on scientific boards in most countries, due to
their low proportion on scientific boards which is a reflection of their participation in the process of
setting the scientific agenda.
Studies of grant awards indicate that structural and social inequalities exist in the award evaluation
and selection process. One study found that male applicants to Sweden’s Medical Research Council
(MRC) and researchers with an affiliation with one of the evaluators were more successful (Wennera
and Wold, 1997). Competence was one factor in the final decision, but women had to demonstrate
much higher credentials than men to obtain the same grants. Many science awards favour men over
women due to gender disparity (Carnes et al., 2005; Malcom, 2006). A recent experiment shows
prevalent double standards: curriculum vitae were ranked more highly by both male and female
assessors when assigned male names ( Steinpreis et al., 1999). In another study both men and
women were given a research article by an author identified variously as John T. Mckay, Joan T.
mckay, J.t. Mckay (sex- neutral), Chris T. Mckay (ambiquous with respect to sex) and Anonymous.
When identified as written by a male author- John- the article received the highest reviews; next in
ranking was the article identified as written by J. T, and third was Joan, When readers thought the
initials J. T. indicated a woman trying to hide her identity, the article was ranked lower (Paludi and
Bauer, 1983).
Factors that can improve Women’s participation in Science and Technology.
The government should Increase women and girls’ access to education and careers in S&T increases
the likelihood that women will join men as full participants in Research and Development activities.
Each department of Science and Technology in Nigerian Universities and other higher institutions
of technological learning should have the main objectives to assist the National Advisory Council on
Innovation (NACI) to promote a research agenda, including influencing funding that will improve
women’s quality of learning. The government should assist NACI to promote innovation that will
allow women to make a greater contribution to wealth generation in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Provide
advise on developing mechanisms that will increase the participation and contribution of women in
Science and Technology.
Highlight role models that promote women’s entry and advancement in S&T
Monitor the institutional impact of these actions
St Rose says active recruitment of women by college Science technology engineering and
mathematics (Stem) departments would help. Young women also need to be exposed to possible
Stem career paths to increase their interests. In many cases Stem departments don’t actively recruit
students, they want to see who shows up on their doorsteps. But we need to see more active
outreach for women. Also women chose the field that is personally fulfilling, and they are advised to
go into traditionally female occupations such as social work or teaching, but a lot of Stem fields-
such as engineering and biomedical research are also helpful to society hence they should be advised
to do them. Universities should also become more mindful about the life choices of juggling the
demands of work and family that all young people- women face, positive role model are crucial.
Women leadership roles in the Stem industry is important, because they will become role models
and mentors for the next generation. Hence, women after studying and get a Stem degree should
practice in S& T industries. This will help increase the pool of women overall.
The equality approach argues for gender parity on the basis that women should have equal
opportunity to contribute to and benefit from Science and Technology (an argument that can in
itself be considered a sufficient basis for reforming the science system) (Schiebinger, 1999). Women
scientists continue to be absent in top managerial positions from educational and research
institutions and also the ministerial level. Inevitably, this excludes female voices from being heard-
and in equal partnership- in decisive decisions on the current and future orientation of Science and
Technology (Rathgeber, 2002; Campion and Shrum, 2004). These vices should discouraged in the
professional forum. Undoubtedly, varied experience is important, and effort must be made to
develop women’s skill through opportunities that fit their circumstances, such as a programme of
short visits instead of a longer posting or assignment to international teams in their home country.
Equal pay for equal work is widely agreed to be a basic human right.

Conclusion
In view of aforementioned roles, challenges and improvements of women full participation in
Science and Technology, it can be stated that the potential of S&T to contribute to national
socioeconomic development cannot be realized without making the best use of all sectors of a
nation’s population. Knowledge is at the centre of a strong, dynamic and evolving innovation
system, which depends upon the input and contribution of all stakeholders, in all sectors of Science
and Technology. Although women and girls in many countries are enrolling in and succeeding at the
full range of Science courses at all educational levels (and in some countries the participation of
women in the life sciences is at least equal to that of men), a great number of the world’s women still
face socio-cultural economic and religious barriers to full participation in Science and Technology. If
all these biased attitudes against women in S&T are abrogated and the improving factors listed
above are put into consideration, adopted and applied, Bayelsa state would be a state to be proud of
in terms of advanced socioeconomic involvement in Nigeria through Science and Technology skills,
thereby boost the morale of this great nation Nigeria, not only in Africa but in the world at large.

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