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Item ACADEMIC STAFF RETENTION STRATEGIES, JOB SATISFACTION AND GOAL ACHIEVEMENT IN PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-WEST, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2021-02) MUSTAPHA, Adam IsholaAcademic staff retention and job satisfaction in private Universities in Nigeria have raised deep concern among educational stakeholders. Thus, effective retention strategies capable of engaging competent workforce must be put in place to achieve institutional goals. This study, therefore, examined academic staff retention strategies, job satisfaction and goal achievement in private Universities in South-west, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to (i) investigate the level of academic staff retention strategies; (ii) assess the level of academic staff job satisfaction; (iii) determine the level of goal achievement; (iv) examine the relationship between compensation package and goal achievement; and (v) determine the relationship between training opportunities and goal achievement in the institutions. The study adopted a descriptive research design of correlation type. The population of the study comprised 1,921 academic staff and 139 management staff in all the 23 private Universities from the six States that constitute the South-west, Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 10 out of the 23 institutions that were established before the year 2000 to provide information pertinent to the study. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select 60 Management staff, comprising the Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice- Chancellor, Registrar, Director of Academic Planning and Dean of Faculties of Humanities and Sciences (Natural and Applied) in each of the institutions. Proportional sampling technique was used to select 200 employers of labour in the sampled states. “Academic Staff Retention Strategies Questionnaire” (ASRSQ), “Job Satisfaction Questionnaire” (JSQ) and “Goal Achievement Questionnaire” (GAQ) were used to collect data for the study. The instruments were validated with reliability coefficients of 0.69, 0.85 and 0.83 for ASRSQ, JSQ and GAQ respectively. Mean, Standard Deviation and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Statistics were used to analyze the data at 0.05 level of significance. The bench mark (mean scores) for determining the level of academic staff retention strategies, job satisfaction and goal achievement was 1.00-2.44, low; 2.45-3.44, average; 3.45-4.44, high and 4.45-5.00, very high. The findings of the study revealed that: i the level of academic staff retention strategies was average with a mean score of 2.78; ii the level of academic staff job satisfaction was average with a mean score of 2.85; iii the level of goal achievement was average with a mean score of 3.04; iv there was a positive significant relationship between compensation package and goal achievement (r = .532, p<.05); and v there was a positive significant relationship between training opportunities and goal achievement (r = .49, p<.05). The study concluded that effective retention strategies enhanced job satisfaction of academic staff in private Universities in South-west, Nigeria. The implication is that, if effective staff retention strategies are put in place, it would enhance job satisfaction and consequently lead to goal achievement. The study recommended that compensation packages for academic staff in private Universities be enhanced and made relevant to prevailing economic circumstances through periodical review.Item ACHIEVEMENT-MOTIVATION, SELF-EFFICACY AND ATTITUDE OF SOCIAL STUDIES STUDENTS TO CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION COURSE IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION, SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2020-01) OLAYIWOLA, Olujide AdeyemiCitizenship education, which is the major focus of Social Studies, has been used extensively in re-shaping the orientations of Nigerians towards a virile, stable and an enduring democratic nation. However, Nigeria is yet to feel the impact of Citizenship Education that will promote unity among Nigerians. Hence, the need for students to have high achievement-motivation, high self-efficacy and positive attitude will help to comprehend and appreciate the main goals of Citizenship Education Course. Therefore, this study investigated Achievement-motivation, Self-efficacy and Attitude of Social Studies Students to Citizenship Education Course in Colleges of Education, South-west, Nigeria. The objectives of this study were to: (i) examine the levels of achievement-motivation; self-efficacy and attitude of Social Studies students to Citizenship Education Course; (ii) assess the relationship and contribution of achievement-motivation and self-efficacy to attitude of Social Studies students to Citizenship Education Course; and (iii) identify the relative contribution of each of achievement-motivation and self-efficacy to attitude of Social Studies students to Citizenship Education Course. Descriptive survey design of correlational type was adopted for the study. The population comprised 8,226 Social Studies Students from both public and private Colleges of Education in South-west, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure involving purposive, stratified and simple random sampling techniques was used to select 652 NCE III Social Studies students from 12 selected Colleges of Education in all the six States of South-west, Nigeria. Achievement-motivation Inventory by Mutee and Immanuel, (2009) and General Self-efficacy Scale by Schwarzer and Jerusalem, (1995) were adopted and adapted respectively while a researcher designed Questionnaire on Students’ Attitude to Citizenship Education Course was used in data collection for this study. The instruments were validated and tested for reliability using test re-test procedure which yielded reliability coefficients of 0.75, 0.87 and 0.79 respectively. Data collected were analysed using percentages and Multiple Regression at 0.05 alpha level. The findings of this study were that: i) 67% of the respondents had an average level of achievement-motivation and 54% had high level of self-efficacy; ii) 81% of the respondents had positive attitude to Citizenship Education Course; iii) achievement-motivation and self-efficacy were related to and contributed to students’ attitude to Citizenship Education Course at df = 2/649, F = 6.349 sig at 0.05; iv) independent variables (achievement-motivation and self-efficacy) contributed (R2=0.23) to dependent variable (attitude of students to Citizenship Education Course); and v) self-efficacy relatively contributed (β=0.122) to students’ attitude to Citizenship Education Course in Colleges of Education better than achievement-motivation (β=0.062). The study concluded that, achievement-motivation and self-efficacy are important factors of Social Studies students’ attitude to Citizenship Education Course in Colleges of Education. The implication is that, achievement-motivation and self-efficacy can facilitate the improvement of students’ attitude to good citizenship orientations and behaviours. The study recommended that, lecturers should endeavour to use learner-centred strategies to improve Social Studies students’ level of achievement-motivation and sustain their level of self-efficacy vis-à-vis their positive attitude in order to achieve the goals of Citizenship Education Course especially at the Colleges of Education level.Item ADMINISTRATIVE AND SOCIOLOGICAL VARIABLES AS CORRELATES OF ATHLETES’ PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA SCHOOL SPORTS FEDERATION IN NORTH-CENTRAL STATES, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2020-07) FALAYE, Elijah KayodeThe Administration of Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF) is one of the Sports Association created by the government to cater for grassroots sports development for better performance of young athletes at secondary school level. However, the decline in the performance of athletes is worrisome to the coaches and administrators. This study examined administrative and sociological variables as correlates of athletes performance in Nigeria School Sports Federation in North-Central States, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to: (i) determine the relationship between parental influence and athletes performance in NSSF competition; (ii) ascertain the relationship between cultural belief and athletes performance in NSSF competition; (iii) examine the relationship between weather condition and athletes performance in NSSF competition (iv) determine the relationship between leadership style and athletes performance in NSSF competition; (v) determine the relationship between funding and athletes performance in NSSF competition; and (vi) examine the relationship between coaching style and athletes performance in NSSF competition in the study area. Descriptive design of correlation type was adopted for the study. The population for the study comprised 756 which included sports officers, coaches and NSSF coordinators. The sample comprised 585 respondents which was selected thus, purposive sampling technique was used to select all the 37 NSSF states coordinators and 14 coaches while proportionate random sampling techniques was used to select 534 sports officers. Validated researcher designed structured questionnaire which was tested for reliability with a reliability coefficient of 0.80 was used for data collection. Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistical tool were used for data analysis at 0.05 alpha level. The findings of the study were that: (i) there was a significant relationship between parental influence and athletes performance in NSSF competition with (r-value = 0.263, p< 0.05); (ii) there was a significant relationship between cultural belief and athletes performance in NSSF competition with (r-value = 0.221, p< 0.05); (iii) there was a significant relationship between weather condition and athletes performance in NSSF competition with (r-value = 0.281, p< 0.05); (iv) there was a significant relationship between leadership style and athletes performance in NSSF competition with (r-value = 0.218, p< 0.05); (v) there was a significant relationship between funding and athletes performance in NSSF competition with (r-value = 0.245, p< 0.05); and (vi) there was a significant relationship between coaching style and athletes performance in NSSF competition with (r-value = 0.294, p< 0.05). The study concluded that sports officers, coaches and NSSF coordinators contributed to brilliant performance of athletes in Nigeria school sports federation in North-central states Nigeria. The implication is that sports officers, NSSF coordinators and coaches play critical roles in achieving excellent performance of athletes in school sports competition. The study recommended that NSSF coordinators and sports officers in North-Central States should provide facilities and increase funding of school sports competition to improve athletes’ performance.Item ADMINISTRATORS’ LEADERSHIP SKILLS, MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SERVICES AND UNIVERSITY PRODUCTIVITY IN NORTH-CENTRAL NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2018-04) SALLEE, Kikelomo WasilahManaging universities for improved productivity and overall growth and development of the nation requires administrators with appropriate leadership skills and adequate management support services. However, these requirements are perceived to be lacking, resulting in low educational output. Although previous studies have examined some factors that improve university productivity index, enough attention has not been paid to administrators’ leadership skills (ALS) and management support services (MSS). This study therefore investigated the relationship among administrators’ leadership skills, management support services and university productivity in North-central, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to: (i) examine the level of leadership skills of university administrators (human, technical and conceptual); (ii) examine the adequacy of management support services (staff development, research and welfare); and (iii) determine the relationship among administrators’ leadership skills, management support services and university productivity (teaching, research and community service). A causal-correlation survey research design was used for the study. Multistage sampling technique was used to select five out of seven federal universities, 380 out of 1058 university administrators, 382 out of 5053 non-teaching staff, 383 out of 4259 lecturers, 383 out of 101, 821 students and 251 out of 658 beneficiaries of university community service programmes. Five validated researcher-designed instruments entitled Staff Assessment of Administrators’ Leadership Skill Questionnaire (SAALSQ), Administrators’ Assessment of Adequacy of Management Support Services Questionnaire (AAAMAAQ), Lecturers’ Assessment of Research Productivity Questionnaire (LARPQ), Students’ Assessment of Teaching Productivity Questionnaire (SATPQ) and Beneficiaries’ Assessment of University Community Service Programmes Questionnaire (BAUCSPQ) were used for data collection. Reliability co-efficients of the instruments determined through test-retest method were 0.78, 0.76, 0.72, 0.64 and 0.68 respectively. Descriptive statistics were used to answer the research questions, while Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistics and Multiple Regression Analysis were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. The findings of the study were that: i. administrators’ human, technical and conceptual skills were fairly adequate with mean values of 1.55, 1.14 and 0.97 respectively; ii. research, staff development and welfare support services were adequate with mean values of 4.47, 4.40 and 3.71 respectively; iii. MSS and ALS combined are significantly related to university teaching productivity with (B=0.937, Se 0.017, tc=54.33>tt=1.69 and B=0.058, Se=0.0.017, tc=3.36>tt=1.69; Fc=76.55), iv. MSS and ALS combined are significantly related to university research productivity (B=0.47, Se= 0.05, tc=9.33>tt=1,69 and B=0.31, Se=0.36, tc=6.13>tt=1.69; Fc=751.97); and v. MSS and ALS did not have significant relationship with community service productivity (F=3.525, p>0.05). The study concluded that administrators’ leadership skills and management support services are predictors of university productivity in North-central, Nigeria. The implication is that if university administrators’ leadership skills and management support services are adequate, university productivity will improve. The study therefore recommended that universities should increase ALS and MSS to improve university productivity, especially community service productivity.Item ANALYSIS OF ITEM AND TEST INFORMATION FUNCTIONS OF SENIOR SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS IN ECONOMICS IN NORHT-CENTRAL, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2020) SULYMAN, Rasaqcareer prospects, investment decisions and retirement strategies. The 2013 and 2014 WASSCE Economics performance recorded a significant variance with the former performing better than the latter; and this is a source of worry to educationists. This variation may be as a result of quality of test items, composition of different items formats in the test and ability distribution of the examinees. Thus, this study aimed at analyzing the items and test information functions of Senior School Certificate Examination in Economics in North-central, Nigeria. The objectives of this study were to determine: (i) the dimensionality of 2013 WASSCE Economics objective test items; (ii) the dimensionality of 2014 WASSCE Economics objective test items; (iii) the item information function of 2013 WASSCE Economics objective items; (iv) the item information function of 2014 WASSCE Economics objective items; (v) the test information function of 2013 WASSCE Economics objective test items; (vi) the test information function of 2014 WASSCE Economics test items; and (vii) the relative efficiency of the 2013 and 2014 WASSCE Economics test items. The study employed the descriptive survey design. The population comprised all 133, 153 senior secondary school three (SS3) students in the North-central zone of Nigeria. The target population was all senior school three (SS3) students that offered Economics in their Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE). A sample of 1,120 students was drawn from 32 senior secondary schools in North-central, Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedures involving simple random, proportionate and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the sample. The research instruments were WASSCE 2013 and 2014 Economics paper 1, Percentage, Mean, Parallel analysis and Multidimensional Item Response Theory (MIRT) information indices were employed to analyse the data gathered for the study at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study were that the: 1. 2013 WASSCE Economics objective test measured multidimensional traits reflecting 4 dimensions; 2. 2014 WASSCE Economics objective test measured multidimensional traits reflecting 2 dimensions; 3. 2013 WASSCE Economics objective items provide less information with mean of 0.73; 4. 2014 WASSCE Economics objective items provide least information with mean of 0.56; 5. 2013 WASSCE Economics test measured the precision of 17.5% of the examinees that took the test; 6. 2014 WASSCE Economics test measured the precision of 5.4% of the examinees that took the test; and 7. 2013 and 2014 WASSCE Economics test items were less informative, but the 2013 WASSCE Economics test items was relatively more informative than that of 2014 items. The study concluded that items and tests of 2013 and 2014 WASSCE Economics were good and of the same standard. The implied that Economics items used for the assessment possessed the same multidimensional traits. The study recommended that Examination bodies can re-use the 2013 and 2014 WASSCE Economics items for future examinations.Item ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL AND NON-SCHOOL FACTORS AFFECTING CHILDREN’S ACCESS TO BASIC EDUCATION IN RURAL AREAS OF SOUTH-WESTERN NIGERIA(University of Ilorin, 2018) IGUDIA, Itohan HelenIn recognition of the importance of Education, countries have made commitments for her citizens to access basic education regardless of locality, by providing it free, universal and compulsory for all children of school age. Statistics have shown low access of children to basic education especially in the rural areas of Nigeria. In this study, rural areas are places with a population of at most 20,000 people; without tertiary hospital or banks, with at most one secondary school and is at least five kilometers away from urban. This study analyzed school and non-school factors affecting children’s access to basic education in rural areas of South-west, Nigeria. The purpose of the study were to determine: (i) availability, adequacy and conditions of educational resources to cater for the educational needs of pupils in rural areas; (ii) enrolment, retention and completion trends of children in Basic schools in rural areas (2011-2016); and (iii) school and non-school factors influencing enrolment, retention and completion of children in Basic schools in rural areas of South-west, Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. A multi-stage sampling procedure (involving simple random, proportional and purposive sampling techniques) was employed to select 1,688 respondents (545 Middle-basic school Head-teachers from 1,032 and 1,143 Basic-six pupils from 145,066) in rural areas of Ekiti, Osun and Oyo States. Data were collected through the administration of content-validated, researcher-designed questionnaire and facilities’ inventory with reliability indices of 0.66 and 0.68 respectively. Data collected were analysed using percentages, means and rank orders. The findings of the study were that: i. Educational resources for basic schools in rural areas were available in 300 (55%) of the sampled schools but inadequate (x̅ = 1.42) and in deplorable conditions (x̅ = 1.69); ii. There were fluctuating trends in children’s access to basic education in rural areas from 2011-2016; with enrolment trends of 62.0%, 82.0%, 71.4%, 72.2%, 72.2% and 74.1%; 11 iii. Non-school factors affecting enrolment, retention, and completion were children’s illhealth (56%), parental poor financial status (52%), engagement in farm works (58%) and hawking (67%). Fosterage (17%) did not affect enrolment, domestic chores (17%) did not affect retention and child’s age (17%) did not affect completion; and iv. School factors affecting children’s enrolment, retention and completion included distance of school to home (66%), overcrowded classrooms (57%), low quantity of teachers (75%), shortage of instructional facilities (75%) and dilapidated school buildings (63%). The study concluded that most Basic Schools in the rural areas of South-west, Nigeria were faced with non-availability and inadequacy of necessary educational resources with attendant fluctuating trends of access. These findings imply that children’s enrolment in Basic schools is inadequate and government intervention is necessary for addressing deficiencies in educational resources in rural areas. It was recommended that government and other stakeholders should adequately provide needed financial, human and material resources and show more commitment in the monitoring and supervision of rural schools to address the challenges impeding children’s access to basic education in the rural areas of South-west, Nigeria.Item ANALYSIS OF TEACHERS’ PERCEIVED PROBLEMS AND SUGGESTED INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR CIVIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION IN NORTH-CENTRAL, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2020-03) OMOLEKAN, Johnson AdewaleOne of the intended objectives of any newly introduced curriculum may be hindered when teachers and students have misconceptions and disconnected implementation strategies about the curriculum. Studies have shown that there were problems of specialist teachers, non-preparedness of teachers, instructional resources and other materials for curriculum implementation. Therefore, this study analysed the perceived problems and suggested intervention strategies by Civic Education Curriculum implementers in North-central, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to: (i) analyse teachers-perceived problems of Civic Education curriculum implementation (CECI); (ii) examine the teacher-suggested remediation strategies of CECI; (iii) examine the adequacy of lesson implementation materials of Civic Education teachers; (iv) determine whether the teacher-perceived problems of CECI differ on the basis of gender; qualification; experience, and exposure to seminar; (v) determine the difference in teachers and students perception of problems of CECI (vi) ascertain whether the teacher-suggested remediation strategies for CECI differ on the basis of gender; qualification; experience, and exposure to seminar. The study adopted a descriptive research design of survey type. The specific population consisted of 1,727 teachers and 595,876 students. The sample of 264 teachers and 1,584 students were selected using a multistage sampling procedure. The instruments for data collection were two research questionnaires; one for teachers and the other for students. The instruments were subjected to reliability test using split-half and Cronbach Alpha that yielded coefficients of 0.86 and 0.62 for teachers and students respectively. The data collected were analysed using the percentage, mean, t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study were that: i. instructional resources ( 27.5), school administrator( 8.0) and classroom furniture ( = 7.9) were the core problems confronting CECI in North-central, Nigeria; ii. provision of relevant instructional resources ( = 4.08) and furniture arrangement ( = 4.19) in the classroom were the teacher-suggested remediation strategies; iii. the use of other instructional materials as well as measurement of the three domains in assessment were found inadequate ( =1.6 - 2.3), while classroom lesson implementation materials of Civic Education curriculum implementers were found adequate ( =2.5 - 3.0); iv. there was significant difference in the teacher-perceived problems of CECI in North-central, Nigeria on the basis of qualification (F= 3.95, p < 0.05), while there was no significant difference on the basis of gender, experience and exposure to seminar; v. there was significant difference in teachers and students perception of problems of CECI (t = 13.108; p<0.05); and vi. there was significant difference in the teacher-suggested remediation strategies for CECI on the basis of qualification (F= 2.712, p < 0.05), while there was no significant difference on the basis of experience, gender and exposure to seminar. The Study concluded that the problems of CECI in North-central, Nigeria were predominantly instructional resources related. This implies that the objectives of Civic Education may not be adequately achieved in the school system if not effectively remediated. The study recommended that pedagogical and content knowledge specialist be engaged in CECI in North-central, Nigeria.Item ASSESSMENT OF CONTENT ADEQUACY AND READABILITY LEVELS OF RECOMMENDED SOCIAL STUDIES TEXTBOOKS IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2018-07) OLANIYAN, Joseph OlatunjiIn the teaching and learning of any subject, both teachers and students usually rely on text materials and, as such, it is not doubtful then that the quality of textbooks in use will determine, to a large extent, the quality of learning and transfer of such learning. Owing to scarcity of studies on assessment of Social Studies textbooks in Oyo State, this study, therefore, investigated content adequacy and readability of two Social Studies textbooks used in secondary schools in Oyo State, Nigeria, namely: Macmillan and Basic Social Studies textbooks. Specifically, the study determined the: (i) adequacy of the content and learning activities of the textbooks; (ii) adequacy of the content and learning activities, on each level of each of the textbooks; (iii) readability of the two textbooks; and (iv) difference in the teachers’ perception of the content adequacy of the textbooks. The descriptive survey design was adopted for this study. Out of 635 public secondary schools in the six education zones in Oyo State 65 were sampled. Out of a total of 112,500 junior secondary school III Social Studies students, 778 were selected and all the 405 Social Studies teachers were involved in the study. The instruments for data collection were Emerola’s 8-points model of Quantitative Approach to the Content Evaluation, Cloze Procedure and Social Studies Readability Test (SSRT). Emerola’s 8-points model was used to answer the research questions, while the independent t-test was used to test the formulated hypotheses. The findings of the study were that: i. Macmillan Social Studies textbook had overall higher content adequacy rating score of 4.02 on the six indices of Topical Coverage Index (TCI), Learning Activity Index (LAI), Chapter Summary Index (CSI), Study Question Index (SQI), Illustration Index (ILI) and Under Represented Population Index (UPPI), while Basic Social Studies textbooks had a lesser rating score of 2.85 on the same six indices; ii. Mean content adequacy score of JSS I, II and III in Macmillan Social Studies textbooks on the six indices were 1.44, 1.74 and 0.84, respectively, while the mean score on content adequacy of JSS I, II and III Basic Social Studies textbooks were 1.94, 0.35 and 0.56, respectively. iii. Macmillan Social Studies textbook had a low readability score of 43.7%, while Basic Social Studies textbook had a very high readability score of 80.1% ; and iv. There was a significant difference in the teachers’ perception of content adequacy of the two Social Studies textbooks in favour of Macmillan (t=2.28; ρ=0.02 <0.05). The study concluded that the two recommended textbooks were adequate in content, implying that the two recommended textbooks were appropriate for Social Studies teaching and learning. However, the Basic Social Studies textbook was better in readability than the Macmillan Social Studies textbook. It was, therefore, recommended that the two textbooks should continue to be used but Macmillan Social Studies textbooks needed improvement in readability while the content of Basic Social Studies should be reviewed periodically.Item ASSESSMENT OF FUNCTIONAL LITERACY NEEDS AND ENRICHMENT INTERESTS OF COMMERCIAL DRIVERS IN NORTH-CENTRAL NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2018) YUSUF, MurainaThe general aim of literacy is to equip individuals with knowledge, attitudes, skills and values for personal, interpersonal and community development. Individuals are expected to use these attributes to acquire information, values and other skills that can enable them function more effectively and efficiently. Based on this key role of literacy, this study assessed functional literacy needs and enrichment interests of commercial drivers in North-central Nigeria. The objectives were to investigate: (i) their functional literacy needs; (ii) their enrichment literacy interests; and (iii) the influence of social demographic characteristics of ethnic background, age, religion, formal education and driving experience on their functional literacy needs and enrichment interests. A descriptive research survey of the cross-sectional type was employed in this study. The population for this study was all the literate commercial drivers in Kogi, Kwara and Niger states. The target population was all inter-state literate commercial drivers in Kogi, Kwara and Niger states. Six hundred and sixty respondents were selected using incidental sampling technique. A researcher-designed questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. The test-retest method of three-week interval was employed to determine its reliability and a value of 0.67 was obtained. Thirteen research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while ten hypotheses were tested with One-Way Analysis of Variance. The findings of the study were that: the commercial drivers in the North-central Nigeria needed functional literacy much for cultural (x ̅=3.30), civic (x ̅=3.25), economic (x ̅=3.38) and social (x ̅=3.31) development in all settings, with economic development (x ̅=3.38) more needed than the others; the commercial drivers had moderate interest in enriching their prose (x ̅=3.12), document(x ̅=3.18) and quantitative (x ̅=3.28) literacy domains, with more interest in enriching their quantitative (x ̅=3.28) than document (x ̅=3.18) and prose (x ̅=3.12) literacy skills; and ethnicity and driving experience did not influence their functional literacy needs, but age (F=4.68, p˂0.05), religion (F=13.27, p˂0.05) and formal education (F=5.03, p˂0.05) significantly influenced their functional literacy needs, while ethnicity (F=8.05, p˂0.05), age (F=8.46, p˂0.05), religion (F=14.01, p˂0.05), formal education (F=7.63, p˂0.05) and driving experience (F=5.76, p˂0.05)significantly influenced their enrichment literacy interests. The study concluded that commercial drivers needed functional literacy more for their economic development than social, cultural and civic development; they also had moderate interest in enriching their quantitative literacy domain more than document and prose. The implication of these findings was that there was need to plan and organise functional literacy programmes for the drivers, especially for economic development and with regard to quantitative domain. The study recommended that a functional literacy programme be organised by adult literacy professionals for the commercial drivers, taking cognisance of their economic development and quantitative literacy domain. Also, other stakeholders such as the Federal Road Safety Commission should endeavour to discharge voluntary community service by organising a functional literacy programme for commercial drivers, taking into consideration their demographic characteristics of ethnic background, age, religion, formal education and driving experience.Item ASSESSMENT OF TECHNIQUES AND RESOURCES USED IN TEACHING ISLAMIC STUDIES IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2021) LAARO-MUSA, AbdurRahmanIslamic studies education is the development of behaviours, attitudes, beliefs and practices of Islamic religion in the individual. It is to acquaint the students with the broad doctrines of Islam. It is observed that explanation technique was frequently used in the Colleges of Education to prepare the trainee teachers. This cannot help them to teach effectively and efficiently when they eventually get to the field. The fact is that the aim of NCE is to prepare the student teachers to teach in primary and junior secondary schools. This study assessed techniques and resources used in teaching Islamic studies in Colleges of Education in Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to: (i) assess the various techniques used in teaching Islamic studies in Colleges of Education in Nigeria; (ii) assess the various resources used; (iii) establish the difference of gender, college type, qualification and teaching experience of lecturers in the use of techniques and resources; and (iv) determine the difference of these variables on the use of techniques and resources. This is a descriptive study of the cross sectional type. The target population study involved all Islamic studies lecturers in Colleges of Education in the four sampled geopolitical zones of Nigeria (i.e. North- central, North- east, North- west and South-west zones). The purposive sampling technique was used to select400 Islamic Studies lecturers in the Colleges of Education. Structured questionnaire was used to elicit responses from the respondents. Frequency counts and percentage were used to analyse the demographic data of the respondents, while hypotheses were tested with the use of t-test statistical analysis and one-way analysis of variance at 0.05 level of significance The findings of the study were that: i. the explanation technique was used in the teaching of Islamic Studies; ii. the Glorious book, Qur’an and Hadith as educational resources were very adequately used in teaching Islamic Studies; iii. there was a significant difference in techniques as well in resources used by male and female colleges of education Islamic Studies lecturers in teaching Islamic studies in favour of male lecturers; (t=24.30, p<0.05) and (t=12.53, p<0.05);and iv. there was a significant difference in techniques as well in resources used by less qualified, qualified and very qualified college of education Islamic studies lecturers in teaching Islamic studies in favour of very qualified lecturers (f=491.62, p<0.05) and (f=698.76, p<0.05). The study concluded that all the variables were significant in the use of techniques and resources. The implication is that the various techniques as well as resources should be explored in order to boost the performance of trainee teachers. The study recommended that Islamic Studies lecturers should employ various techniques such as explanation, description, demonstration, narration, illustration, role-play, fieldtrip/excursion, drilling, discussion and observation. Likewise resources, both human and non-human such as, audio, visual and audio-visual should be used to teach their students. School authority should provide different instructional resources to colleges of education for effective and efficient teaching and learning.Item ASSESSMENT OF TECHNOLOGICAL PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE OF BIOLOGY TEACHERS IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KWARA STATE, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2020) BELLO, Abdulrazak AgboolaThe integration of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) into classroom instruction has been a challenge for the educational systems that aim to cope with the needs and demands of the 21st century. TPACK framework represents the knowledge needed by teachers bringing together content knowledge, technological knowledge and pedagogical knowledge with the aim of integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into teaching-learning processes. There is growing concern on the method of teaching biology. Therefore, the study assessed the TPACK of biology teachers in senior schools. The objectives of the study were to: (i) examine biology teachers’ knowledge about teaching biology topics at the senior school level; (ii) determine the extent to which biology teachers were knowledgeable about modern digital technologies for teaching biology; (iii) ascertain the availability of modern digital technologies for teaching by biology teachers; (iv) determine the form of training possessed by biology teachers with modern digital technologies; and (v) investigate the biology teachers’ level of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge based on gender, teaching qualification and teaching experience. The cross-sectional survey type of descriptive research method was adopted in the study. The total population of biology teachers in Nigeria consisted of 22,675. The target population were 1,122 biology teachers from senior secondary schools in Kwara State. Purposive sampling technique was used based on the teachers that have ICT gadgets in their schools to select 680 sampled biology teachers from the target population. The research instrument that was used in this study was adapted from Archambault and Crippen (2009) and Sahin (2011). Data were tested using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and t-test statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study were that: i. 65.0% of the Senior School biology teachers possessed adequate knowledge about biology topics; ii. 74.9% of the biology teachers did not possess adequate knowledge about modern digital technologies in teaching of biology topics; iii. 57.9% of the sampled schools did not possess modern digital technologies in the teaching of biology topics; iv. 53.5% of the Senior School biology teachers acquired self-training of ICT use in teaching; v. 74.2% of the biology teachers possessed adequate knowledge of TPACK; vi. there was a significant difference in the level of TPACK between male and female biology teachers in favour of the female teachers (t=555)-3.467 p<0.05); vii. there was a significant difference in the level of TPACK between qualified and less qualified biology teachers in favour of less qualified teachers (t=555)-6.288, p<0.05); and viii. there was significant difference in the level of TPACK of biology teachers' based on teaching experience in favour of the experienced biology teachers (F=3,554) 66.587, p=.003) The study concluded that biology teachers possessed low level of TPACK. This implies that although biology teachers had good mastery of their subject matter, they do not have ICT-integration in their instructional approach due to lack of ICT knowledge. The study recommended that biology teachers should integrate TPACK in their lessons and its application in teaching so as to solve problem of poor performance in biology.Item AVAILABILITY AND USE OF ICT TOOLS FOR TEACHING ARABIC LANGUAGE IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION IN NORTH-CENTRAL NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2021) SANNI, Abdulhameed MuhammedArabic language is one of the tools used to access information on the World Wide Web like other major world languages such as Chinese, English, French, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba. Its teaching and learning could also be enhanced through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools. However, the inadequate availability and lackadaisical attitude of some teachers to the use of ICT tools in some educational institutions are factors responsible for the low enrolment and poor performance of students in Arabic at the higher institutions. This study aimed at investigating the level of availability and use of ICT tools for teaching Arabic Language in Colleges of Education in North-central, Nigeria. The objectives were to: (i) examine the level of affordability, adequacy, accessibility and functionality of ICT tools; and (ii) establish teachers’ attitude towards the use of ICT tools for teaching Arabic Language based on gender, qualification, experience and college ownership. This study was a descriptive survey research type. The target population and sample consisted of all the 75lecturers of Arabic language in the 15 Colleges of Education in the North-central, Nigeria which comprised Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau and the FCT-Abuja. The study sample was purposively drawn from the colleges where Arabic language was taught. A researcher-developed questionnaire with reliability index of 0.78 and an oral interview schedule were used for data collection. Percentage, One-way Analysis of Variance and the t-test were used for data analysis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study were that: i. out of 23 ICT tools assessed, 14(60.9%) were available while 9(39.1%) were not available; 12(52.2%) were usable while 11(47.8%) were not usable; ii. 21(91.3%) were affordable and 2(8.7%) were not affordable;11(47.8%) were adequate while 12(52.2%) were not adequate; 12(52.2%) were accessible and 11(47.8%) were not accessible;12(52.2%) were functional and 11(47.8%) were not functional; and iii. there was no significant difference in teachers’ attitude towards the use of ICT tools to teach Arabic language based on gender (t=0.384, p=0.702> 0.05); qualification (F=1.80, p=0.154> 0.05); experience (F=0.774, p=0.465> 0.05) and college ownership (F=2.661, p=0.077 > 0.05). The study concluded that teachers’ gender, qualification, experience and college ownership did not determine the availability and use of ICT tools for teaching Arabic language in colleges of education. The implication is that the availability and use of ICT tools for teaching Arabic language in colleges of education is not premised on the predictor variables examined in the study. The study recommended that the government private proprietors should intervene in the procurement of those unavailable ICT tools.Item AWARENESS, PERCEPTION AND ATTITUDE OF GRADUATING STUDENTS OF NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES TOWARD CHALLENGES OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT(2018) ALAFIN, Simon BamideleGraduate unemployment is a global challenge. It began to manifest in Nigeria in the late 70’s becoming seemingly uncontrollable and posing a serious concern to all stakeholders. Most students graduate with very high expectations for a comfortable life anchored on viable and well paying jobs. But these expectations soon give way to frustrations, confusion and hopelessness when later they encounter, face-to-face the realities of the challenges of securing gainful employment. Could this be an indication that most graduating students were not anticipating these challenges? This study therefore examined the awareness, perception and attitude of graduating students of Nigerian universities toward the challenges of youth unemployment. The objectives of this study were to find out: (i) the awareness level, (ii) perception (iii) attitude of graduating students of Nigerian universities toward the challenges of youth unemployment, and (iv) the influence of gender, age, and course of study on these variables. Descriptive survey design was adopted for this study. The population of the study comprised all graduating students of universities in Nigeria, estimated at about 1.8 million. The target population was drawn from public universities comprising 40 federal and 44 state universities spread across the six geo-political zones of the country. Multistage sampling procedure involving; simple random, purposive and stratified sampling techniques were used to select a total of 1,582 respondents made up of 853 males and 750 females for the study. A researcher - developed instrument was used for the study. The instrument was content validated by five experts. The instrument was subjected to a test re-test reliability technique using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation formula which yielded a coefficient of 0.78. Percentage, t-test and Analysis of Variance statistics were used for the data analysis. The findings of the study were that: i. the respondents had high awareness level of the challenges of youth unemployment with a value of 97.5 percent; ii. the respondents’ perception of the challenges of youth unemployment was negative with a value of 94.7. percent; iii. the respondents’ attitude toward the challenges of youth unemployment was negative with a value of 87.7 percent; and iv. there was no significant difference in the awareness level, perception and attitude of respondents toward the challenges of youth unemployment on the basis of gender, age, and course of study. The study concluded that the challenges of youth unemployment were obvious to the graduating students because their perception and attitude towards the challenges were negative. There is therefore need for improvement in their perception and attitude toward the challenges. The implication is that the graduating students need counselling to change their perception and attitude toward youth unemployment. It was recommended that counselling restructuring techniques should be used to sensitise students on these challenges.Item BIOLOGY TEACHERS’ AWARENESS AND UTILIZATION OF INNOVATIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SOUTH WEST, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2020) KAYODE, Olufunke OlayinkaSo many innovative teaching strategies have been experimented with by people in the educational field and discovered to positively influence students’ academic performance when appropriately utilised. Unfortunately, students still perform below expectation in Biology, hence, the notion that teachers are not using varied forms of teaching strategies to tackle the difficulties associated with teaching and learning. This study investigated biology teachers’ awareness and utilisation of selected innovative teaching strategies in senior schools in South-west, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to determine: (i) the level of Biology teachers’ awareness of innovative teaching strategies; (ii) level of utilisation of innovative teaching strategies in Biology classroom and, the influence of (iii) gender (iv) academic qualification (v) year of teaching experience on Biology teachers’ level of awareness and utilisation of the teaching strategies; and (vi) problems associated with the use of selected teaching strategies. A descriptive research of the survey type was adopted for the study. All science teachers in senior secondary school, South-west of Nigeria made up the population. The target population were all teachers taking biology in senior secondary school, South-west of Nigeria, while the sample comprised 622 biology teachers purposively selected from Ekiti, Osun, Oyo and Lagos States. A researcher designed questionnaire with reliability coefficient of 0.84 was used to collect data from the respondents. Frequency and percentage, t-test and Analysis of variance were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study were that: i. Biology teachers (98.0%) are highly aware of the selected innovative teaching strategies; ii. less than half (44.0%) of the teaching strategies were frequently utilized by Biology teachers; iii. the least utilised strategies were the Z-A approach (15%), Jigsaw (15.5%), Mnemonic-word-words approach (21.5%) and Mind map (25.3%); iv. gender had no significant influence on either the Biology teachers’ level of awareness or on their utilisation of teaching strategies; v. academic qualification had no significant influence on Biology teachers’ level of awareness but significantly influenced the level of their utilisation of teaching strategies (F(1,560)=2.142, p<0.05); vi. there was a significant difference among less experienced, experienced and highly experienced Biology teachers on their level of awareness of innovative teaching strategies, in favour of the highly experienced teachers F(2,549)=4.639,p<0.05; vii. years of teaching experience had no significant influence on Biology teachers’ level of utilisation of teaching strategies; and viii. problems associated with inadequate utilisation of the innovative teaching strategies include: non-availability of teaching resources, strategies being demanding and stressful, poor motivation for teachers, absence of in-service training for teachers, and students’ non-commitment to extra effort needed. The study concluded that the use of innovative teaching strategies by Biology teachers was low even though they were highly aware of such strategies. This implies that the Biology students will be denied the benefits attached to the use of innovative teaching strategies. The study recommended that utilisation of innovative teaching strategies should be encouraged.Item BIOLOGY TEACHERS’ AWARENESS AND UTILIZATION OF INNOVATIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SOUTH WEST, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2020) KAYODE, Olufunke OlayinkaVarious innovative teaching strategies have been developed by educators and found to positively influence students’ academic performance when utilised. Unfortunately, students continue to perform below expectation in Biology, hence, the assumption of teachers not using varied forms of teaching strategies to cope with difficulties associated with its teaching and learning. This study investigated biology teachers’ awareness and utilisation of selected innovative teaching strategies in senior schools in South-west, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to determine: (i) the level of Biology teachers’ awareness of innovative teaching strategies; (ii) level of utilisation of innovative teaching strategies in Biology classroom and, the influence of (iii) gender (iv) academic qualification (v) year of teaching experience on Biology teachers’ level of awareness and utilisation of the teaching strategies; and (vi) problems facing the utilisation of selected teaching strategies. A descriptive research of the survey type was adopted for the study. The population consisted of all science teachers in senior secondary school, South-west of Nigeria. The target population was all biology teachers in senior secondary school, South-west of Nigeria, while the sample comprised 622 biology teachers purposively selected from Ekiti, Osun, Oyo and Lagos States. A researcher designed questionnaire with reliability coefficient of 0.84 was used to collect data from the respondents. Frequency and percentage, t-test and Analysis of variance were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study were that: i. Biology teachers (98.0%) are highly aware of the selected innovative teaching strategies; ii. less than half (44.0%) of the teaching strategies were frequently utilized by Biology teachers; iii. the least utilised strategies were the Z-A approach (15%), Jigsaw (15.5%), Mnemonic-word-words approach (21.5%) and Mind map (25.3%); iv. gender had no significant influence on either the Biology teachers’ level of awareness or on their utilisation of teaching strategies; v. academic qualification had no significant influence on Biology teachers’ level of awareness but significantly influenced the level of their utilisation of teaching strategies (F(1,560)=2.142, p<0.05); vi. there was a significant difference among less experienced, experienced and highly experienced Biology teachers on their level of awareness of innovative teaching strategies, in favour of the highly experienced teachers F(2,549)=4.639,p<0.05; vii. years of teaching experience had no significant influence on Biology teachers’ level of utilisation of teaching strategies; and viii. problems associated with inadequate utilisation of the innovative teaching strategies include: non-availability of teaching resources, strategies being demanding and stressful, poor motivation for teachers, absence of in-service training for teachers, and students’ non-commitment to extra effort needed. The study concluded that Biology teachers’ level of awareness of innovative teaching strategies was high, however, utilisation was low. This implies that the Biology students will be denied the benefits attached to the use of innovative teaching strategies. The study recommended that utilisation of innovative teaching strategies should be encouraged.Item COMPENSATION, WORKPLACE BEHAVIOUR AND PERSONNEL JOB PERFORMANCE IN MINISTRIES OF EDUCATION IN NORTH- CENTRAL STATES, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2021-06) AYINDE, Yusuf AdisaCompensation of employees and workplace behavior are very important tools which determine the quality of the output or overall performance of the organisation. Hence, the study examined the relationship among compensation, workplace behaviour and personnel job performance in Ministries of Education in North Central States, Nigeria. Specifically, the study assessed:(i) the level of compensation provided to the staff; (ii) the level of workplace behaviour; (iii) the level of job personnel job performance; (iv) the relationship between salary and personnel job performance; (v) the relationship between promotion and personnel job performance; (vi) the relationship between heath service and personnel job performance; (vii) the relationship between punctuality and personnel job performance; and (viii) the relationship between teamwork and personnel job performance. The study was a descriptive research design of correlation type while multi-stage sampling technique was used for the study in the order of ministry of education and respondents. Random sampling technique was used to select three states (Kwara, Nasarawa and Niger) out of the six states in the Geo-political Zone while random sampling technique was used to select all the three state Ministries of Education in these states. Random sampling technique was used to select 503 staff out of the 878 in the selected states ministries of education, and 145 principal officials (Directors, Assistant and Deputy Directors) out of the 243 in the selected states which constitutes 60%. The choice of the sample population was based on the submission of Olaitan and Nwoke (2014) who stated that if the population is a few thousand, a 60% or more sample will do. “Compensation Questionnaire” (CQ), Workplace Behaviour Questionnaire” (WPQ) and “Personnel Job Performance Questionnaire” (PJPQ) were used to collect data for the study. The instruments were validated by the experts and also tested for reliability. The reliability coefficients realised for CQ, WPQ and PJPQ were .67, .75 and .86 respectively. Research questions were answered using Mean and Standard Deviation while main and operational hypotheses were tested using Multiple Regression and Pearson product-moment correlation statistics respectively at .05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that: i. compensation provided to the staff was low (X ̅ = 1.81); ii. level of workplace behaviour was low (X ̅ = 2.25); iii. level of personnel job performance was low (X ̅ = 1.92); iv. there was a significant relationship among compensation, workplace behaviour and personnel job performance (p<.05); The study concluded that effective compensation and workplace behavior play significant role in enhancing personnel job performance which would consequently facilitate realisation of institutional goals in Ministries of Education in North Central States, Nigeria. Based on the findings and conclusion, the study recommended that, state governments should intensify their efforts by paying more attention to staff compensation through the prompt and attractive payment of salary, timely promotion, provision of affordable health services and improved training opportunities and also ensure that staff maintain workplace behavior through strict implementation of staff code of conduct and ensure that appropriate sanctions are carried out on the defaulters.Item CONCEPTIONS OF ALGEBRA HELD BY SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN KWARA STATE, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2020) MUSA, Rafiat AdejumokeAlgebra in Mathematics deals with the use of letters and signs to represent numbers and values. It also involves equations, which can be solved using graphical method. Students do perform poorly in solving problems involving quadratic equations by graphical method as contained in the chief examiners report. This could be attributed to factors such as lack of understanding and inadequate interpretation as conceived. This study, therefore, investigated the conceptions of quadratic graph held by Senior Secondary School students in Kwara State, Nigeria. The objectives of this study were to: (i) find out the conceptions of quadratic graph held by Senior Secondary School students; (ii) determine the proportion of Senior Secondary School students with correct conceptions, alternative conceptions and misconceptions of quadratic graph; (iii) determine the influence of gender on students’ conceptions of quadratic graph in algebra; (iv) determine the influence of score level on students’ conceptions of quadratic graph in algebra; and, (v) examine the influence of subject combination on students’ conceptions of quadratic graph in algebra. The study adopted a descriptive research method of the survey type. The population was all Senior School students offering Mathematics in Kwara State, while the target population was all SS 2 students offering Mathematics in the State. The sample for the study was 1,200 SS II students. The Algebra Conceptions Test (ACT) was used as the instrument. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficient was used to determine the reliability of the instrument, giving a value of 0.76. The research questions were answered using the percentage, while the hypotheses were tested using Chi-square, at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study were that: (i) correct conceptions, alternative conceptions and misconceptions of quadratic graphs existed among Senior Secondary School students in Kwara State, Nigeria; (ii) the proportion of students with correct conceptions, alternative conceptions and misconceptions of quadratic graph in algebra were 25.7%, 30.3% and 44.0%, respectively; (iii) there was a significant difference in the conceptions of quadratic graph held by male and female Senior Secondary School students: ( (2) = 6.386; p<0.05), in favour of the male students; (iv) there was a significant difference in the conceptions of quadratic graph in algebra held by Senior Secondary School students based on score levels: ( (4) = l68.210; p<0.05), in favour of the high scoring students; and xiv (v) there was a significant difference in the Senior Secondary School students’ conceptions of quadratic graph in algebra based on subject combination ( (4) = 95.788; p<0.05), in favour of the science students. The study, therefore, concluded that a low percentage (25.7%) of the Senior Secondary School students held correct conceptions of quadratic graph; gender, score level of students and subject combination influenced students’ conceptions of quadratic graph in algebra. The implication of this result is that a high proportion of Senior Secondary School students (44.0%) held misconception of quadratic graph in algebra. It was, thus, recommended that teachers should employ innovative teaching strategies that facilitate students’ correct conceptions, and remediate their alternative conceptions and misconceptions.Item COOPERATIVE AND GENERATIVE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES AS DETERMINANTS OF NIGERIAN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN READING COMPREHENSION(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2018) ABDULSALAM, Nike AbiodunReading is a literacy skill that its comprehension enhances the understanding of other subjects. Despite various researches on reading instructions, the trend of low performance of students in national examinations in English Language still continues, this is a threatening inhibition to the attainment of the educational goals. This study is a remedy seeking measure bearing in mind the crucial role of reading in formal information retrieval.Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess Jigsaw IV Cooperative Instructional Strategy (J4CIS) and Question-Generation-and-Answering Strategy (QGAAS) as Determinants of Nigerian Colleges of Education Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension. The objectives were to: (i) examine the entry achievement level of students in reading comprehension; (ii) ascertain the effects of J4CIS, QGAAS and a combination of the two on students reading comprehension at the literal, inferential and evaluative levels; (iii) assess the influence of gender, course of study and passage content on students’ achievement in reading comprehension when exposed to J4CIS, QGAAS and a combination of the two. The study adopted the quasi-experimental researchdesign. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 300 participants from the threeKwara State Colleges of Education. Reading comprehension achievement tests were used for the data collection; items of the tests were adopted from recommended texts and were validated by language experts. Data collected were analysed using percentages and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study were that: i. before the treatments, most students can read but a few comprehend effectivelywith low and poor grades (control;53.30%, QGAASS;38.67%, J4CIS;37.33%, combination;34.67%, and Poor(control; 46.67%, QGAAS; 61.33%, J4CIS; 62.67%, combination; 63.35%) ii. a significant difference exists in the reading achievement of students taught with J4CIS, QGAAS and a combination of the two (F=90.15;P=0.00<0.05=H¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬01rejected) in favour of J4CIS+QGAAS; iii. a significantdifference exist in the reading achievement of students taught withJ4CIS,QGAAS and a combination of the two at the literal, inferential and evaluative levelsofcomprehension(Literal;F=393.798;P=0.000<0.05=H02rejected.Inferential;F=662.865;P=0.00<0.05=H02rejected. Evaluative;F=307.305;P=0.00<0.05=H02rejected) iv. gender does not have any significant influence on the reading achievement of students when exposed to J4CIS, QGAAS and a combination of the two (F=0.59;P=0.44>0.05)=H¬02retained; v. course of study does not have any significant influence on the reading achievement of students when exposed to J4CIS, QGAAS and J4CIS+QGAAS (F=0.10;P=0,91>0.05)=H03retained; and vi. passage content had a significant influence on the reading achievement of students when exposed to J4CIS, QGAAS and J4CIS+QGAAS,in favour of familiar content(F=11,09;P=0,00<0.05)=H04rejected The study concluded that literal, inferential and evaluative levels of comprehension can be better enhanced when learners are exposed to either J4CIS, QGAAS or both. This impliedthat these strategies embraced communicative teaching since the learners get meaningfully involved. The study recommended that teachers should employ the use of either J4CIS, QGAAS or both in reading instruction so as to integrate other language skills and improve students’ achievement level.Item A CROSS-ETHNIC STUDY OF STRESS LEVELS, SUPPORT SYSTEMS AND ADJUSTMENT STRATEGIES AMONG WIDOWS IN NIGERIA(DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING, FACULTY OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2000) ONIYE, OLAYINKA ABDULRASAQItem DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF ESSAY TEST ASSESSOR FOR SENIOR SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION IN NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2021-03) SOWUNMI, Emmanuel TolulopeObjective and essay tests are commonly used measurement instruments for assessment of learning outcomes. The advent of computers for scoring tests has improved the speed and accuracy of assessment even for large scale examinations. Scoring of objective tests using computer is accurate but the same is not true of essay tests. Moreover, research on assessment of essay tests using automated grading system is quite scarce in Nigeria. Studies have shown that that scoring of essay tests has depended on training of computers with as many model answers as 100 or more. There is the need to improve on this; therefore, this study has been designed to use one model answer for scoring essay tests. The objectives of the study were to: (a) develop the Essay Test Assessor (ETA); (b) examine the scores from ETA for grading Economics essay test items; (c) examine the scores from human raters; (d) determine the validity of students’ scores from ETA and human raters; and (e) determine the efficiency and speed with which the ETA operates in assessing essay test items. The study adopted the correlational research design of development and validation of Essay Test Assessor. A sample of 1,200 senior secondary II students was drawn from a population of 11,932 offering Economics in public schools in South-west, Nigeria. The multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select three out of six States and 55 public secondary schools out of 1,102 across South-west, Nigeria. All responses were scored by 32 human raters and ETA. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical. Respondents’ scores that fell between 1–6, 7–12 and 13–18 were categorised as low, average and high scores respectively base on their general performance. The findings of the study were that: i. the developed ETA was validated by human raters (experts) with a grand mean of 9.57; ii. analysis of scores resulting from ETA showed that 11.7%, 57.9% and 30.5% of the sampled students were in the low, average and high score categories respectively; iii. analysis of scores resulting from human raters showed that 40.97%, 46.8% and 12.23% of sampled students were in the low, average and high score categories respectively; iv. level of agreement obtained between ETA and human raters was 0.79 using Linear Kappa and 0.69 using Spearman’s rho; and v. mean time taken by ETA for scoring across all items and persons was 0.00002 seconds compared to that of human raters at 5.59 minutes. The study concluded that ETA yielded valid scores comparable to human raters for scoring short-response essay items. The ETA has confirmed the possibility of using one model answer for scoring short-response essay test items. It implies that training of grading systems to score using multiple model answer could be eliminated and one model answer is possible and effective. The study recommended that ETA should be trial-tested and ultimately adopted by senior school examination bodies for scoring short-response essay items in Economics.