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Item INVARIANCE OF ITEM PARAMETERS OF POLYTOMOUS GEOGRAPHY ITEMS IN Senior SCHOOL Certificate Examination IN NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2018) ABDULSALAM-NUHU, RashidatOmotayoThe hallmark of a test instrument is its quality. Test validity is key in ascertaining the quality of tests in all school subjects and it is critical at the School Certificate Level. Geography is examined at this level and a lot of studies have been conducted to determine the item parameters of objective tests using traditional Classical Test Theory. Therefore, it has become necessary to utilize the Item Response Theory procedure for analyzing the invariance of Item Parameters of Polytomous Items in Geography at the Senior School Certificate Examination Level in Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to examine: (i) examinees’ ability estimates; (ii) item difficulty and discrimination estimates; (iii) the extent of invariance of item difficulty estimates across male and female students; and (iv) the extent of invariance of item difficulty estimates across Geography students in rural and urban areas. This study employed the descriptive survey design. The population comprised all senior secondary school students in Nigeria. The target population was all senior secondary school three (SSS3) students that offered Geography in their final examinations in 2016/2017 academic session. A sample of 1,546 drawn out of 32,499 students from 876 senior secondary schools in Nigeria was selected. A multi-stage sampling procedure involving stratified random sampling, simple random sampling and proportionate sampling technique were used to select the respondents. The research instruments were questions on Element of Practical and Physical Geography (WASSCE 2016 Geography Paper 3). The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Robust Maximum Likelihood Estimation and Bayesian Ability Estimation methods and to answer the research questions, while t-test statistics was employed for hypotheses testing. The findings of the study were that: 1. the examinees’ ability estimates in Physical Geography showed that 49.35% of the examinees had performance below average, while 50.65% of the examinees had performance above average; 2. item 2B was the most difficult with difficulty index of 62.366 (mean = 3.719) ; 3. item 1B discriminated most with discrimination index of 4.364 (mean = 0.5076); 4. five out of 23 items representing 22% of the test items showed obvious variation in the difficulty estimates of the test items across gender; 5. 14 out of 23 items were more difficult for students of urban schools (Mean = -0.11, SD = 3.754) than the students of rural schools (Mean = -1.98, SD = 4.420); 6. there was a significant invariance of item parameter estimates across male and female geography students; and 7. there was a significant invariance of item parameter estimates across rural and urban geography students. The study concluded that the items in the 2016 WASSCE Paper 3 had a large variation of item parameters based on school location (rural and urban) which implies that the test was not good for group comparison. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others that examination bodies should adopt Item Response Theory to reduce measurement problems encountered in score comparison and test equating.Item EFFECTS OF COGNITIVE MODELLING ON PROBLEM SOLVING AND SELF EFFICACY OF PUPILS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT IN IBADAN, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2018-05) ABUBAKAR, Muhammed SanniResearch has revealed that impaired hearing organ is capable of affecting the cognitive development of pupils and thus inhibiting reflective thinking that is required for an effective problem-solving and enhanced self-efficacy of pupils.It is against these backdrops that the researcher investigated effects of cognitive modelling on problem solving and self-efficacy of pupils with hearing impairment in Ibadan. Specifically, this study examined thedifference in the: (i) problem-solving and self-efficacy of pupils with hearing impairment exposed to Cognitive Modelling (CM) training and those in the control group; (ii) problem-solving of pupils with hearing impairment exposed to CM training and those in the control group; (iii) self-efficacy of pupils with hearing impairment exposed to CM training and those in the control group; (iv) sustainability effect of CM training on problem-solving of pupils with hearing impairment exposed to CM training and those in the control group; and (v) sustainability effect of CM training on self-efficacy of pupils with hearing impairment exposed to CM training and those in the control group. The study adopted a quasi experimental design. A two-stage sampling procedure, which included convenient and purposive sampling techniques were employed to select two primary schools for pupils with hearing impairment. A total of 113 hearing impaired pupils made up of 65 in the experimental and 48 in the control groups participated in the study. Two instruments were adapted for data collection with the reliability of 0.74 and 0.76, respectively. Mean, Standard Deviation, t-test and Analysis of Covariance at 0.05 level of significance were employed for data analysis. The findings were that a significant difference existed in the: i. problem solving and self-efficacy of pupils with hearing impairment exposed to CM training and those in control group t(112) =9.71> 0.05; ii. problem solving of pupils with hearing impairment exposed to CM training and those in control group F (1, 112) = 0.000 ρ<0.05; iii. self-efficacy of pupils with hearing impairment exposed to CM training and those in control group F (1,112)= 0.000ρ< 0.05; iv. sustainability effect of CM training on problem-solving of pupils with hearing impairment exposed to CM training and those in control group t(23.80)= 0.000 P < 0.05; and v. sustainability effect of CM training on self-efficacy of pupils with hearing impairment exposed to CM training and those in control groupt(10.56) )= 0.000 P < 0.05. The study concluded that CM training was effective in improving the problem-solving and self-efficacy of the pupils.By implication, improved problem solving and self efficacy will enhance the learning activities of the pupils with hearing impairment. It recommended that teachers should incorporate CM training in their classroom teaching and educational psychologists and that school counsellors should implement CM training as a remedial measure to improve the problem solving and self-efficacy of pupils with hearing impairment.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 EVALUATION OF QUALITY OF BACHELOR OF EDUCATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMME IN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA, GHANA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2018) EFFRIM, Paul KobinaEarly Childhood Education (ECE) is a major component that provides solid foundation for basic, secondary and higher education. Well trained and professionally competent teachers are needed to achieve quality in ECE. The extent to which degree programmes in ECE equip pre-service teachers with knowledge, pedagogy and related skills need to be regularly ascertained. Therefore, this study assessed the quality of Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood Programme (BEDECP) in the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. The study was designed to find out the: (i) extent of coverage of ECE objectives by BEDECP; (ii) adequacy of course contents; (iii) quality and adequacy of human resources; (iv) quality and adequacy of learning resources; (v) appropriateness of instructional methods; (vi) quality of assessment methods; and (vii) quality of graduates. The study employed convergent parallel design within the mixed methods research paradigm based on the Context, Input, Process and Product evaluation model developed by Stufflebeam. Purposive and stratified sampling techniques were used to select 1085 participants comprising 420 students, 461 graduates, 9 lecturers, 120 Primary School Head Teachers (PSHT) and 75 ECE Coordinators. Questionnaire on ECE Resources, Graduate Appraisal Scale, Lecturer Observational Scale and Focus Group Discussion Guide were used for data collection. The instruments were content-validated through expert judgement. Reliabilities of the first three instruments were respectively 0.89, 0.85 and 0.87 using test-retest method. Data collected were analysed using the mean, standard deviation and percentage statistics and narrative approach. The findings of the study were that BEDECP: adequately covered the objectives of ECE in Ghana (x ̅=16,SD=0.85); course contents were fairly adequate for achieving stated objectives by sampled stakeholders (x ̅=26.33,SD=2.25); has moderate quality human resources (x ̅=23.45,SD=5.12); human resources were not adequate for its implementation by sampled stakeholders (x ̅=15.83,SD=2.13); learning resources for attaining the intended objectives were seen as having moderate quality (x ̅=25.63,SD=7.75); learning resources were not adequate for instructional purposes (x ̅=17.68,SD=4.74); lecturers employed fairly appropriate instructional methods (x ̅=28.58,SD=6.64); assessment methods for evaluating students' learning were poor (x ̅=17.31,SD=4.41); and graduates were qualitatively moderate in terms of content knowledge, instructional delivery, communication skills and job performance but poor in assessment methods. The study concluded that the quality of BEDECP was generally moderate. However, human and learning resources were inadequate and assessment of BEDECP pre-service teachers was poorly executed. The observed inadequate input and process components of the BEDECP may lower the quality of graduates of the programme. Based on these findings, it was recommended among others that resources, instructional and assessment methods be adequately improved with a view of improving the quality of graduates to effectively and efficiently implement ECE in Ghana.Item AN EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN GHANA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2018) ESHUN, PeterItem MULTIVARIATE GENERALIZABILITY OF 2015 NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION OBJECTIVE TEST IN ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS AND MAINTENANCE WORKS(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2018) BAMIDELE, Samuel TundeIt is the goal of measurement to minimize errors in test scores. The extent to which errors from likely sources as examiners, items on a test, examiners and test administration occasions affect measures in the Senior School Certificate Examinations conducted by National Examinations Council (NECO) especially in technical subjects is not known. Generalizability coefficient obtained through analysis of variance components helps to address this problem with result of Dependability Index. This study therefore estimated the Generalizability and dependability coefficients of 2015 SSCE objective test in Electrical Installations and Maintenance Works (EI&MW). The objectives of the study were to: (i) estimate the variance in the 2015 SSCE objective test in EI&MW due to persons; (ii) estimate the variance in the 2015 SSCE objective test in EI&MW due to items used in the test; (iii) estimate the variance in 2015 SSCE objective test in EI&MW due to the interaction of persons by items; (iv) obtain the Generalizbility coefficient in the 2015 SSCE objective test in EI&MW; and (v) determine the Dependability coefficient in the 2015 SSCE objective test in EI&MW. One-Facet Fully Crossed Design was used to carry out the study. The population comprised all the Senior Secondary School Students in Nigeria. Senior Secondary School Three (SS3) students offering Electrical Installations and Maintenance Works participated in the study. Out of the 3,448 students offering Electrical Installations and Maintenance Works in Nigeria, samples of 1,198 were selected. Senior School Certificate Examinations 2015 objective test in EI&MW was adopted as the instrument. The data obtained were analysed using Variance Components (VARCOMP); relative error variance, absolute error variance, Generalizability and Dependabilty coefficients statistics. The findings of this study were: i. variance accounted for in 2015 SSCE Electrical Installations and Maintenance Works for persons (σ2p) = 0.02 equivalent to 8% of the total variance; ii. variance accounted for in 2015 SSCE Electrical Installations and Maintenance Works items (σ2i) = 0.03 equivalent to 12% of the total variance; iii. variance accounted for in 2015 SSCE Electrical Installations and Maintenance Works persons by items (σ2pi,e) = 0.20 equivalent to 80% of the total variance; iv. Generalizability coefficient of 2015 SSCE Electrical Installations and Maintenance Works was 0.80 and v. dependability coefficient of 2015 SSCE Electrical Installations and Maintenance Works was 0.78 The study concluded that Generalizability and dependability coefficients of 2015 objective test in EI&MW were high or acceptable. This revealed that the quality and numbers of items used in EI&MW were of acceptable standard. The study therefore recommended that the quality of the items in Electrical Installations and Maintenance Works objective test should be maintained. Furthermore the Evaluators should endeavour to carry out similar studies in other areas of vocational tests so that inference can also be made.Item PEER PRESSURE, SELF-CONCEPT AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AS PREDICTORS OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NORTH- CENTRAL, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2018-06) GBADURA, Adeniyi OtuozeIn spite of the efforts of stakeholders in the education sector to improve educational achievement, students’ achievement in the English Language has been consistently poor over the years. This has made researchers to shift attention to identifying factors that may be responsible for secondary school students’ poor achievement in the English Language. It is against this background that the researcher investigated peer pressure, self-concept and emotional intelligence as predictors of English Language achievements of secondary school students in North-central, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to examine: (i) level of secondary school students’ peer pressure, self-concept, emotional intelligence and English Language achievement; (ii) the joint contribution of peer pressure, self-concept and emotional intelligence as predictors of English Language achievement; (iii) the contribution of each of peer pressure, self-concept and emotional intelligence as predictors of English Language achievement; and (iv) peer pressure, self-concept and emotional intelligence as predictors of English Language achievement based on gender and school type. The correlational research design was adopted for the study. A sample of 1,500 senior secondary school II students was drawn out of a population of 1,232,367 from both public and private schools in North-central, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure involving simple random, stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the three states, three senatorial areas, and 50 secondary schools in North-central, Nigeria. Three adopted questionnaire and one researcher-designed achievement test were used to collect data. The four instruments were validated using test-re-test reliability procedure, which yielded reliability coefficients of 0.77, 0.87, 0.69 and 0.84, respectively. The research questions were answered using mean, while the hypotheses were tested using Multiple Regression at alpha level of 0.05 significance. The findings of the study were that: (i) peer pressure, self-concept, emotional intelligence and English Language achievement had a mean scores of 88.32, 91.02, 201.38 and 63.65, respectively which were above average; (ii) peer pressure, self–concept and emotional intelligence significantly predicted secondary school students’ English Language achievement at df = 3/1,496; r =0.7; F =2.89 sig at 0.03; (iii) peer pressure and emotional intelligence did not significantly predict achievement of secondary school students in English Language whereas self–concept significantly predict achievement of secondary school students in English (Beta=0.06; t=2.46; sig=0.01); and (iv) peer pressure, self–concept and emotional intelligence did not significantly predict English Language achievement of secondary school students on the basis of gender and school type. The study therefore concluded that the joint influence of peer pressure, self-concept, and emotional intelligence, if adequately enhanced in the teaching and learning of English Language, as well as positive encouragement of self-concept, could be a good factor in improving students’ academic achievement. The implication is that independent variables had a low significant predictive power on secondary school students’ achievement in English Language. It was recommended that teachers and educational psychologists should make desirable effort to maintain and sustain the influence of peer pressure, self-concept and emotional intelligence in the teaching and learning of English Language at Secondary School level in North-central, Nigeria.Item EFFECTS OF TWO COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES ON SENIOR SCHOOL STUDENTS' PERFORMANCE IN CIVIC EDUCATION IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2018) BABATUNDE, Peter JimiCivic Education Curriculum for senior secondary schools as a new innovation for Citizenship Education in Nigeria emphasizes the need for the teachers to make use of strategies that would enable the students to be actively engaged in the learning situations in the classrooms. Existing literature indicated scanty empirical proof on the effectiveness of students-centered strategies on the students’ performance in Civic Education. Therefore, this study investigated the : (i) effects of Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD) and Group Investigation (GI) ) cooperative learning strategies on senior school students’ performance in Civic Education; (ii) effects of STAD and GI cooperative learning strategies on senior school students performance in Civic Education based on gender; and (iii) interaction effects of STAD and GI cooperative learning strategies and gender on senior school students’ performance in Civic Education in Osun State, Nigeria. The research was a pre-test, post-test, quasi-experimental type using 3×2 factorial design, two cooperative learning strategies (STAD and GI) and conventional method were crossed with gender (male and female). STAD and GI were the treatment groups while the conventional method served as the control group. The target population comprised of all the senior school II students in Osun State, Nigeria. One hundred and twenty one SSII Civic Education students from three intact classes constituted the sample for the study. 41 students (17 males and 24 females) were in the experimental group I (STAD); 40 students (17 males and 23 females) were in the experimental group II (GI) and 40 students (27 males and 13 females) were in the control group. Civic Education Performance Test (CEPT) with the reliability coefficients of 0.87 was used to collect data. The treatments lasted for 8 weeks. Data were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) for the hypotheses and Scheffe Multiple Range Test to locate where there were differences. The findings of the study were that: i. there was significant effect of STAD and GI cooperative learning strategies on senior school students’ performance in Civic Education (F (3,117) = 30.545; ρ<.05, η2=.343); Scheffe Multiple Range Test showed that(STAD=27.33> GI=23.81>control=23.33); ii. there was no significant effect of STAD and GI cooperative learning strategies on senior school students performance in Civic Education based on gender; and iii. there was no significant interaction effect of STAD and GI cooperative learning strategies and gender on senior secondary school students’ performance in Civic Education. The study concluded that cooperative learning strategies (STAD and GI) are more effective in the teaching of Civic Education. It implies that there is need to employed learners-centered strategies to complement the existing teaching strategies in Civic Education and other Citizenship Education related subjects. Therefore, it was recommended that, teachers should be sensitized and encouraged to use learners-centered instructional strategies such as STAD and GI cooperative learning strategies, and that these should be emphasized in faculties of education and colleges of education in Nigeria.Item EFFECTS OF JIGSAW II AND STUDENTS’ TEAM-ACHIEVEMENT DIVISION ON PERFORMANCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS ECONOMICS IN OKENE(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2021-03) Victor-Akinyemi, Helen BidemiThe knowledge of Economics plays a vital role in fostering societal development. In spite of its importance, only few students who took Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations consistently have grade C and above each year. This performance has been traced majorly to the use of teacher centered strategies. This study aimed at determining the effects of Jigsaw II and Students’ Team-Achievement Division (STAD) on secondary schools students’ academic performance in Economics in Okene. The objectives were to: (i) investigate academic performance of students in Economics; (ii) examine the effect of Jigsaw II instructional strategy; (iii) examine the effect of STAD instructional strategy; (iv) determine the effects of Jigsaw II and STAD instructional strategies; and (v) determine the interactive effect of gender and instructional strategies on students’ academic performance in Economics in Okene, Nigeria. The design adopted for the study was a pre-test post-test, control group quasi-experimental design. The population of the study was all public senior secondary school in Okene while the target population was students offering Economics. Using the simple random technique, three schools in Okene were drawn after which SS II students were purposely sampled for the experiment. The instrument for the study was an Economics Performance Test which was face and content validated through expert judgment. Its reliability was determined using parallel forms reliability statistics with a reliability coefficient of 0.82. Research questions were analysed using descriptive statistics of mean (x̅) and skewness while the hypotheses were tested using ANCOVA at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study were that: (i) academic performance of students in Economics was above average with x̅ = 50.68 (Jigsaw II) and 77.14 (STAD) while skewness = -0.85 (Jigsaw II) and -0.03 (STAD); (ii) Jigsaw II had a significant effect on Secondary School students’ academic performance in Economics F (1, 77.75) = 0.00, p < .05. Students in Jigsaw II treatments performed better than their counterparts in the control group; (iii)STAD had a significant effect on Secondary School students’ academic performance in Economics F (1, 286.47) = 0.00, P<.05. Students in STAD treatments performed better than their counterparts in the control group; (iv) Jigsaw II and STAD had significant effect on Secondary School students’ academic performance in Economics F (2, 172.52) = 0.00, P<.05; favouring students in STAD group and as such, the most effective of the experimental treatments; and (v) there was no significant interaction effect of gender and treatments on Secondary School students’ academic performance in Economics. The study concluded that Jigsaw II and STAD is effective for improving students’ academic performance in Economics. This implies that learner-centered strategy can complement other strategies to enhance teaching-learning effectiveness in Economics. The study therefore recommended that teachers should use STAD and Jigsaw II in teaching Economics, authors should make for more learner centered activities in Economics textbooks while school administrators should map-out incentives as well as recognition for teachers who go beyond the traditional method of teaching in implementing the secondary school Economics curriculum among others.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 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.Item RELATIONSHIP AMONG CREATIVITY, COGNITIVE STYLES, ACADEMIC SELF-EFFICACY AND SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN MATHEMATICS IN SOUTH-WEST, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2020-01) SAADU, Kayode YunusaMathematics is key to science and the technological development of any nation. Research has revealed the downward trend in students’ performance in Mathematics and this has been partly traced to teacher and learner-related factors. As such, there is need to examine salient factors that can enhance students’ performance in the subject. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship among creativity, cognitive styles, academic self-efficacy and students’ academic performance in Mathematics in South-West Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to: (i) assess the profiles of students’ creativity, cognitive styles (field independence vs. field dependence), academic self-efficacy and performance in Mathematics; (ii) assess the relationship among creativity, cognitive styles, academic self-efficacy and students’ performance in Mathematics; (iii) determine the extent of the relationship among creativity, cognitive styles, academic self-efficacy and students’ performance; (iv) examine the relationship among field independent, field dependent and students’ performance in Mathematics; and (v) identify the extent of the relationship among field independent, field dependent cognitive styles and students’ performance. The study adopted a correlational research design. The sample comprised 1,620 senior secondary school students III out of a population of 1,961,505 in South-west Nigeria. Adapted instruments namely: Creativity Assessment Scale developed by Olatoye, Akintunde and Ogunsanya, (2010); Cognitive Styles of Field Dependence/ Field Independence Scale by Wyss (2002); Academic Self-efficacy Scale by Owen and Froman (1988); and an adopted West African Senior School Certificate Examination in Mathematics were used for data collection. The reliability coefficients of the instruments were determined using internal consistency based on Cronbach’s alpha which yielded 0.84, 0.71, 0.75 and 0.87 respectively. The data collected were analysed using percentage and Multiple regression at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study were that: i. 61.3% of the respondents had high creativity, 83.0% had high academic self-efficacy, 49.8% had field independent cognitive style and 50.2% had field dependent cognitive style; ii. there was a significant positive relationship among creativity, cognitive styles, academic self-efficacy and students’ performance in Mathematics in South-west, Nigeria (R2= .150; F=95.011, p≤ 0.05); iii. there was a significant relative contributions of creativity (β =0.055, p≤ 0.05), cognitive style (β =.161, p≤ 0.05), and academic self-efficacy (β=.219, p≤ 0.05) to the students’ performance in Mathematics; iv. there was a significant positive relationship among field independent and field dependent cognitive styles and students’ performance in Mathematics in South-west, Nigeria (R2= .060; F=51.357, p≤ 0.05); and v. there was a significant relative contribution of field independent cognitive style (β = 0.231, p≤ 0.05) to the students’ performance in Mathematics. The study concluded that students’ academic performance in Mathematics is positively related to creativity, cognitive styles and academic self-efficacy. The implication of this study is that students’ performance in Mathematics may be enhanced by sustaining creativity, academic self-efficacy and field independent cognitive style. The study recommended that stakeholders especially teachers should encourage students to sustain creativity, academiItem 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 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 PERCEIVED EFFECTIVENESS OF STUDENTS’ PROTEST CONTROL MEASURES BY STAKEHOLDERS IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-WEST, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2019-08) OJO, Raphael SundayStudent protest is a global phenomenon which has disrupted educational activities of some developed and developing countries. In Nigeria, students’ protest often leads to breakdown of law and order, closure of universities, expulsion of students from institutions, destruction of lives and properties among others. Several studies have focused on the causes, effects and management strategies of dealing with this menace, universities stakeholders’ perception on the effectiveness of the control measures need to be studied. The study investigated the perceived effectiveness of students’ protests control measures by stakeholders in public universities in South-west, Nigeria. The purpose of the study were to investigate: (i) control measures used against students’ protests by public universities; (ii) effectiveness of students’ protests control measures as perceived by students’ leaders; (iii) effectiveness of students’ protests control measures as perceived by academic staff; (iv) effectiveness of students’ protests control measures as perceived by administrative staff; (v) difference in the perceived effectiveness of students’ protests control measures among stakeholders; and (vi) difference in the stakeholders’ perceived effectiveness of students’ protests control measures by state and federal universities in South-west, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population of this study comprised 298,706 participants from 15 public universities in South-west Nigeria. The sample for this study was 1,227 participants selected using a multistage sampling procedure involving simple random, purposive, and proportionate stratified sampling techniques. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire which was validated and yielded reliability coefficients of 0.88, 0.78 and 0.88. Research questions were answered using percentages and all hypotheses were tested using Chi-Square Statistical Technique. The findings of the study were that: i. negotiation and bargaining, problem solving, communication network and violence and coercion with percentages of (100%), (99.2%), (94.7) and (83.5%) respectively were used as students’ protests control measures in the public universities in South west Nigeria; ii. student leaders perceived participatory decision making, problem solving, communication network and violence and coercion with percentages of (98.7%), (78.7%), (73.9%), (73.2%) and (64.8%) respectively were very effective students’ protests control measures; iii. university academic staff perceived participatory decision making (99.2%), problem solving (85.4%), negotiation and bargaining (77.3%), violence and coercion (76.5%), and communication network (70.0%) as very effective students’ protests control measures; iv. university administrative staff perceived participatory decision making (95.6%), problem solving (89.0%), violence and coercion (77.0%), communication network (74.1%), and negotiation and bargaining (68.3%) as very effective students’ protests control measures; v. there was a significant difference in the stakeholders’ perceived effectiveness of students’ protests control measures in public universities in South west Nigeria, χ 2 =17.37, df=6, p= .008; and vi. there was a significant difference in the stakeholders’ perceived effectiveness of students’ protests control measures by State and Federal Universities, χ 2 =283.58, df=3, p= .000 The study concluded that stakeholders in public universities perceived protest control measures in their universities as effective. The implication is that stakeholders in university system could maintain effective use of the measures for orderliness. It was therefore recommended that university stakeholders should ensure effective use of protest control measures for maintenance of friendly learning environment devoid of rancour and friction.Item PERSONAL INTEGRITY AND PATRIOTIC ATTITUDE AS CORRELATES OF SOCIAL STUDIES STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN NORTH-CENTRAL, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2020) LAWAL, FatimaPersonal Integrity (PI) and Patriotic Attitude (PA) are core values of democratic citizenship and value education from the components of Civic Education curriculum. Citizenship Education (CE) as a core of Social Studies Education was introduced to address the inculcation and promotion of these attitudes and values. Despite the long introduction of Citizenship Education, research findings revealed that Social Studies students are high on cognitive domain (knowledge of the subject-matter) but very low and weak on the affective aspects of the subject which is premised on values and attitudes. This study therefore, examined PI and PA as correlates of Social Studies students’ performance in Citizenship Education in North-central, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to: (i) examine the PI profile of Social Studies Students’ in North-central, Nigeria; (ii) identify the PA profile of Social Studies Students’ in North-central, Nigeria; (iii) examine the performance of Social Studies Students’ Performance in Citizenship Education in North-central, Nigeria; and (iv) determine the correlation among PI, PA and Social Studies Students’ Performance in Citizenship Education in North-central, Nigeria Survey design of correlational type was adopted for this study. The population of the study was all NCE Social Studies students in North-central, Nigeria. The target population was 2331 NCE 3 Social Studies students where multi-stage sample procedure was used in the selection of sample. Simple random sampling technique was used to select three states and three Colleges of Education out of fourteen. A sample of 750 respondents was selected using simple random sampling technique. The research instruments were three: namely, two adapted questionnaires tagged “The Integrity Scale”-TIS [18-36(Low), 37-54(Moderate) and 55-72 (High)] and the “Patriotic Attitude Scale”-PAS [20-50(Negative Attitude) and 51-80(Positive Attitude)] and a researcher-designed “Citizenship Education Performance Test”-CEPT [0-44(Poor), 45-49(Fair), 50-59 (Good), 60-69(Very Good) and 70-100(Excellent)] benchmark range of scores. The Cronbach Alpha was used to determine the reliability of the instruments. The reliability coefficient obtained for the instruments were 0.67, 0.71 and 0.82 respectively. Data were analyzed using percentages and multiple regression statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study were that: i. average number of the Social Studies students have a moderate level of PI (50%); ii. Social Studies students have a pattern of positive PA (73.3%); iii. performance of Social Studies students in Citizenship Education was poor (Mean=36.2); and iv. there was a significant relationship among PI, PA and Social Studies students’ performance in Citizenship Education (R2 =10.7%); while PI made a significant individual contribution to Social Studies students’ performance in Citizenship Education (β =32.4% and t =92.73% respectively) but PA did not. The study concluded that PI and PA correlated significantly with Social Studies students’ performance in Citizenship Education in North-central, Nigeria. This implies that PI and PA are related to performance in Citizenship Education among Social Studies students especially at the NCE level. The study recommended that PI and PA be promoted through value education workshops and seminars among students.Item STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODEL OF SELECTED NON-COGNITIVE VARIABLES AND SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN ECONOMICS IN SOUTH-WEST, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2020-01) LAWAL, Banjo MoshoodEconomics occupies an integral part of secondary school curriculum in Nigeria. Of significant to note is that over the years, students’ performance in Economics had been very discouraging because 50% of the Economics students hardly pass Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) at credit level. This problem needs urgent attention because knowledge of Economics is needed in solving economic problems and making of rational decisions concerning the society. The study, therefore, examined Structural Equation Model of Selected Non-cognitive Variables and Secondary School Students’ Performance in Economics in South-west, Nigeria. The objectives of this study were to: (i) examine the extent to which data on academic mindset, academic motivation, academic perseverance, academic engagement and performance in Economics fit into the hypothesized structural equation model; (ii) examine the more parsimonious causal model for providing explanation of students’ performance in Economics; (iii) identify directions and the strengths of causation of performance in Economics; (iv) assess proportions of the total effects that are direct and indirect; (v) determine causal relationship of academic mindset, academic motivation, academic perseverance, academic engagement with students’ performance in Economics; and (vi) determine the relative contribution of the causal variables to performance in Economics. The study adopted ex-post facto research design. A sample of 1,125 senior secondary school II Economics students was drawn out of a population of 362,834 from public and private schools in South-west, Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used to select three states (Ogun, Oyo and Ekiti), and the respondents involved in the study. Standardized instruments were used for data collection with reliability indices of 0.78, 0.79, 0.76, 0.75, and 0.75 for academic mindset, academic motivation, academic perseverance, academic engagement, and performance in Economics respectively. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and path analysis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study were that: i. the data on academic mindset, academic motivation, academic perseverance, academic engagement and performance in Economics fitted the hypothesized model ( = 126.27; df = 43; = 2.94; p ≤ 0.05); ii. the parsimonious causal model confirmed three direct and four indirect paths whose path weights were meaningful and significant 127.73; 45; = 2.84; p ≤ 0.05); iii. the four directions of causation of performance in Economics were positive but three were not strong (0.06 to 0.46); iv. the percentage of the total effects that were direct was 85.5% and indirect was 14.5%; v. there was significant causal relationship among academic mindset, academic motivation, academic perseverance, academic engagement and students’ performance in Economics (R = 0.55; p ≤ 0.05); and vi. the relative contribution of academic mindset and academic perseverance were significant (R = 0.55; β = 0.41; 0.15; p ≤ 0.05). The study concluded that academic mindset and academic perseverance were strong predictors of secondary school students’ performance in Economics in South-west, Nigeria. The implication is that students who had positive academic mindset and could persevere might have high academic performance in Economics. The study recommended that education stakeholders should do their best to ensure that they cultivate positive academic mindset and academic perseverance in students of Economics.Item EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND CRITICAL THINKING AS CORRELATES OF RESTIVENESS TENDENCIES AMONG COLLEGES OF EDUCATION STUDENTS IN NIGER-DELTA, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2021-04) ILENAGBE, Ese OsazuwaThe rising wave of restiveness culminating in insecurity is quite alarming and has led to the closure of schools, number of lives lost and the disruption of productive activities. However, lack of development of emotional intelligence (EI) and critical thinking CT), could make youths to act impulsively and take wrong decisions. Similarly, the involvement of youths in violent behaviours due to youths’ restiveness in the Niger-Delta and its attendant consequences have been a source of concern to teachers, parents, the government and other stakeholders. The aim of this study was to examine EI and CT as correlates of restiveness tendencies among Colleges of Education students in the Niger-Delta, Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined: (i) the level of EI among the students; (ii) the common dimension of EI and CT skills among the students; (iii) level of CT among the students; (iv) level of restiveness tendencies among the students; and (v) EI and CT as correlates of restiveness tendencies among Colleges of Education students in the Niger-Delta. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design of correlational type. The population for this study was all the Colleges of Education students in the Niger-Delta. Purposive sampling technique was used to sample only the government owned, (Federal/State). Simple random sampling technique was used in selecting 3 Federal and 9 State Colleges of Education from each stratum. The target population was 11198 NCE II students, while 1119 students were sampled for this study. Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) and Youth Restiveness Tendencies Inventory (RATI) were adapted to measure EI and restiveness tendencies respectively. Similarly, Owolabi Critical Thinking Test (OCTT) was adopted to measure the CT skills. Percentage and mean rating were used to answer research questions, while Multiple Regression statistical technique was used to test the formulated hypothesis at 0.05, level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that: i. the level of EI among Colleges of Education students in Niger-Delta was average; (62%). ii. the common dimension of EI and CT skills among Colleges of Education students in Niger-Delta were self-awareness and test of inference respectively. iii. the level of CT among Colleges of Education students in Niger-Delta, Nigeria was average; (76.7%) iv. the level of restiveness tendenies among Colleges of Education students in Niger-Delta, Nigeria was average; (77.1%) and v. there was a significant relationship among EI, CT and restiveness tendencies of the Colleges of Education students in Niger-Delta. (df = 1116, F=184.85; ρ <.00). The study concluded that there was significant relationship among EI, CT and restiveness tendencies of the Colleges of Education students in Niger-Delta. The implication is that EI and CT could be used to reduce restiveness tendencies among colleges of education students, because their EI and CT levels were average. It was therefore recommended that educational psychologists and school authorities should find ways to increase the level of EI and CT thereby reducing restiveness tendencies to the barest minimum.Item EVALUATION OF EMPLOYABILITY INDICES AMONG UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATES IN NORTH-WEST NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2019) EZEAMAGU, Mary UgochukwuIt has been established that the end result of education is not knowledge but actions. The possession of a degree is necessary but not quite sufficient for graduate employability. Apart from the qualification that the graduates possess, there are other attributes which employers of labour emphasized. This emphasis have necessitated further studies as employers of labour are not only concerned about those having higher education but practical and generic skills appropriate for job fulfillment. Hence, this study proceed to evaluate employability indices among university undergraduates in North West Nigeria. This study employed the descriptive research design, specifically, the evaluation design. The population comprises all university undergraduates Students in North West Nigeria. Multi-stage approach using Simple random and purposive sampling technique was used to select 1334 final year undergraduates from the selected Universities. The research instrument for this study was researcher developed instrument entitled “Employability Indices Questionnaire” (EIQ). It was validated by six experts in measurement and evaluation and social sciences education, with a reliability coefficient of 0.82 and 0.83 for employability perception scale and employability skills scale respectively. Nine research questions were generated to guide this study while two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significant. Data collected were analyzed using; summated scale, and t-test; while Factor analysis was also used to explore, validate and establish the factors. The findings of the study revealed that: i. Majority of university undergraduates in North West Nigeria perceived themselves to have high knowledge of employability. ii. Majority of university undergraduates in North West Nigeria perceived themselves to have High Need of employability skills (lifelong learning skill, problem solving, emotional intelligence, team work, commitment to self-development and communication skills) iii. There was no statistically significant difference in employability perception of male and that of female students in North West Nigeria. iv. The employability skill component (life-long learning skill, problem solving skill, emotional intelligent skill, team work skill, commitment to self-development skill and communication skill) are statistically independent. Based on the findings, it was concluded that university undergraduates in North West Nigeria have high perception of the knowledge of employability. However, the respondents have high need of life-long learning skills, problem solving, emotional intelligence, team-work, commitment to self-development and communication skills). This implies that university undergraduates in North West Nigeria have low level of all the employability skills investigated in this study. As such, it was recommended that work integrated learning (WIL) programmes like teaching practice, internship, and student industrial work experience scheme (SIWES) should be adequately supervised and funded with dip sense of commitment. Students should consider commitment to self-development by participating in extra curriculum activities, volunteer service during long vacation and extension of work-study to other vocational areas. Both instruction and assessment of university undergraduates should challenge and develop students’ life-long learning skills, critical thinking, communication, team-work, problem solving skills and other relevant skills before graduation. Universities and Governments should ensure that there is a clear connection and collaboration between schools and industries.Item LEVINE LINEAR AND CHAINED EQUIPERCENTILE EQUATING OF SENIOR SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION CHEMISTRY MULTIPLE-CHOICE PAPERS IN SOUTH-WEST, NIGERIA(UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2021-05) AROKOYO, Oluwatosin AdebowaleSenior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) is a standardised test conducted by three examination bodies in Nigeria: West African Examinations Council (WAEC), National Examinations Council (NECO) and National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB). Test experts are interested in the equivalence of grades obtained in subjects taken by candidates across the different subjects. There is however a dearth of literature comparing results of different equating methods for examination bodies in Nigeria especially in SSCE Chemistry. This study was designed to investigate Levine linear and Chained equipercentile equating of Senior School Certificate Chemistry multiple-choice papers in South-west Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to: (i) examine students’ performance on the common items of SSCE Chemistry Multiple-Choice papers; (ii) determine students’ performance in the unique items; (iii) determine the results of Levine linear method of equating tests with the use of standard score deviates; (iv) determine the results of chained equipercentile method of equating tests with the use of percentile rank; and (v) examine the invariance of SSCE equated scores obtained by Levine linear and Chained equipercentile equating methods. The research design adopted for the study was Non Equivalent Groups Anchor Test design. The study was carried out among 322,484 Senior Secondary III students in the South-west geopolitical zone of Nigeria. A sample of 1,461 students was selected using multi-stage sampling procedure. The 2017 WAEC, NECO and NABTEB SSCE multiple choice Chemistry papers were used as instruments for data collection. The WAEC, NECO and NABTEB papers yielded coefficients of content validity of 0.70, 0.67 and 0.69 and reliability of 0.81, 0.79 and 0.78 respectively. Data obtained were analysed using mean, standard deviation, standard score deviates of T-score, percentile rank and coefficient of variation. The findings of this study were that: i. mean performance of students on the common items of WAEC, NECO and NABTEB were 5.46, 6.04 and 7.36 respectively; ii. mean performance of students in unique items across the test forms (WAEC, NECO and NABTEB) were 17.32, 18.03 and 20.48 respectively; iii. the Levine linear method indicated that a score of 20 was found equivalent to scores of 20.17, 20.47 and 22.97 in WAEC, NECO and NABTEB respectively with a standard score deviate of 21; iv. chained equipercentile score of 20 in WAEC was equivalent to scores of 20 and 23 in NECO and NABTEB respectively which corresponded to the percentile rank of 75; and v. levine linear equating yielded a coefficient of variation of 35.1% while chained equipercentile equating yielded 45.5%. The study concluded that Levine linear equating was more efficient for equating of Chemistry SSCE scores. This implies that methods to be used for equating test scores should first be determined by test experts before equating. The study recommended that test developers should adopt the Levine linear equating method that yielded lower coefficient of variation in equating test scores in Chemistry multiple choice items.