Utilization of Available Learning Resources in Teaching and Learning of Mechanical Craft Practices in Government Technical Colleges in Rivers State

Abstract

The study investigated utilization of available learning resources in teaching and learning mechanical craft practices in government technical colleges in Rivers State. The study population comprised 32 mechanical craft practice teachers and 61 students in the five government technical colleges in Rivers State. The entire populations were used as it was manageable, as such there were no samples carried out. Three research questions were answered and three hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The instrument for the study was a survey questionnaire titled Utilization of Available Learning Resources in Teaching and Learning of Mechanical Craft Practices Questionnaire (UALRTLMCGTCQ) which was structured in a pattern of 4 point rating scale of Strongly Agree (SA-4), Agree (A-3), Disagree (D-2) and Strongly Disagree (SD-1). The instrument was faced and contents validated by two experts in the Department of Industrial Technical Education, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education Port Harcourt. Frequency, Mean and Standard Deviation were used to answer the research questions, and Z-test statistic was used to test the hypotheses. The study found among others that mechanical craft learning resources available among others include, machine tools, flip chat pictures etc, also it was deduce that some of the problems encountered by teachers in the effective utilization of the available learning resources include, overcrowded classrooms/workshops, limited time allocation, low teacher competence, lack of periodic update of knowledge and skills, etc finally, it was recommended that governments should provide adequate, funding, training facilities and qualified teachers for all mechanical craft programmes, make provision for periodic skill training for teachers to boost their effectiveness and efficiency towards the technological advancement of the State.