Diploma Course Research Articles

Management Roles in Promoting Safety Awareness Among Teaching Staff in TVET Institutions

The recent government focus on Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) underscores its pivotal role in developing a highly skilled workforce. TVET institutions primarily offer diploma and certificate courses in technical and vocational fields, which involve teaching and learning activities in workshops and laboratories. These settings pose inherent hazards which present risks to both students and staff. Therefore, ensuring safety awareness is essential to prevent industrial accidents. This quantitative cross-sectional study examines the impact of the management's roles in promoting safety awareness among teaching staff in selected Government TVET Institutions. The study focuses on three critical independent variables representing the management's duties: safety policy, safety and health committee functions, and safety training. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires distributed to 119 teaching staff across four institutions in the central, northern, and east-coast regions of Peninsular Malaysia. The findings highlight the significant role of management in shaping safety awareness among teaching staff within Government TVET Institutions. Based on these results, it is recommended that institutions prioritize implementing robust safety policies, enhancing the effectiveness of safety and health committees, and investing in comprehensive safety training programs to further increase safety awareness levels among staff members.

Challenges faced by students in conducting research project at Kenya Medical Training College

Background: Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) is a public middle-level college that trains and develops multidisciplinary health professionals mainly at the diploma level. To ensure graduates provide evidence-based services, diploma students conduct research projects during their training. The researchers aimed to determine the main challenges students face while conducting research projects. The specific objectives were to explore student and lecturer behaviour towards research projects, find out student perceptions, establish institutional infrastructure supporting research work, and assess the quality of students’ research projects. Methods: The study population included KMTC students enrolled in basic diploma courses, targeting third-year students conducting research projects and their supervisors. A cross-sectional research design was used, with structured and semi-structured questionnaires administered to students and lecturers. Seven campuses were sampled randomly, with a sample size of 384 respondents used. Data was analyzed using SPSS and presented in graphs, figures, tables, and percentages. Results: The main challenges identified were difficulties in holding timely meetings with supervisors (42.6% strongly agreeing, 29.9% agreeing). There was a shortage of supervisors, delaying the marking of research work (41.3% strongly agreed, 30.2% agreed). Availability of laptops, accessibility to journals, and internet connectivity were major challenges. Over 50% of respondents had difficulties in the research process. Conclusions: The most agreed problem by most KMTC students was lack of time to conduct research, financial constraints and lack of enabling environment.

Teachers’ Variables as Predictors of Junior Secondary School Students’ Academic Performance in Osun West, Nigeria

This study examined the teachers’ variables as predictors of junior secondary school students’ academic performance in Osun West Senatorial District, Nigeria. The target population comprised Islamic Studies teachers and students in junior secondary schools across the ten (10) local government areas in Osun West Senatorial District. Purposive sampling was adopted in selecting 125 Islamic Studies teachers in all the 132 public junior schools in the district and a simple random sampling technique was adopted in selecting 20 Islamic Studies students from each of the 10 Local Government Areas, therefore, 325 respondents were engaged in the study. The questionnaire was employed to collect relevant information from the respondents. Data were analyzed using Percentage, Mean Range, Standard Deviation, and Regression analysis. The study found that factors like teacher confidence, interest in the subject, qualifications, and experience all significantly predicted student performance. It was concluded from the findings of the study that teachers’ variables positively improved students’ understanding of Islamic Studies and predicted their performance. In line with the findings of the study, it was recommended that teachers should be supported through incentives and professional development. The teachers should have a change of attitude towards the teaching of Islamic Studies so that the achievement of universal basic education will not be hindered, those without required teaching qualifications or non-professionals among the Islamic Studies teachers should strive to pursue professional qualifications. Teachers of the subject should improve their pedagogical skills through seminars, Post Graduate Diploma Courses in Education, and workshops.

Nurse Educators, Clinical Nurses and Students’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards Nursing Education in Bhutan

Abstract Background: In Bhutan, the Health School started in 1972 providing a 2-year certificate course for community health workers, assistant nurses and assistant technicians. In 1982, the Diploma course for nurses commenced and was assisted by the RAK College of Nursing Faculty, New Delhi, India, in formalising the curriculum and also carried out the evaluation of the first batch of nursing students. Objective: The study assesses the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of nurse educators (NEs), clinical nurses and students undergoing the Diploma in Nursing and Midwifery training towards nursing education in Bhutan. Methods: The methodology was a quantitative study using a self-administered questionnaire. The first section had demographic data, and the second had questions on KAP. The participants were NEs, students and clinical nurses. The study was done in the nursing institute, the national hospital and the district hospitals. The instrument, i.e. questionnaire, had a five-point Likert scale from ‘excellent, good, fair, poor, to very poor’ Results: In the results, students rated the KAP of NEs and clinical nurses as ‘good’. On the contrary, the attitude of students towards ‘gaining knowledge from the clinical area’ and their ‘eagerness to learn nursing’ are rated ‘fair’ Conclusion: The KAP provides a detailed view of the status of nursing education, and the data obtained from the study provide strong baseline information for nursing education in the future.

Teaching Modalities and Their Effect on Nursing Students Knowledge and Satisfactions

Nursing education plays a crucial role in preparing healthcare professionals to provide high-quality care in different healthcare settings. The acquisition of knowledge and the development of nursing education, be it online or face-toface, is crucial to ensure that students are competent enough to address the complex challenges of the healthcare work environment. Aim: The primary aim of the study is to compare the knowledge and satisfaction of students pursuing online and lecture-based diploma courses on adult health nursing studies in South Jordan. Methods: Quantitative research was employed, involving a sample from 200 diploma nursing students enrolled across 3 nursing institutions across South Jordan. Two questionnaires were conducted to compare knowledge derived from the syllabus and the content of the courses, and comparison of satisfaction of the course by different teaching styles. A set of multiple-choice questions were asked to students to examine their knowledge about courses and make subsequent comparisons between lecture-based and online courses. Data was collected through surveys to gauge their knowledge along with their satisfaction levels, to evaluate their perceptions about learning experiences. Results: The findings indicated that 79% of students rated face-to-face learning above average, whereas the online learning group showed lower scores amongst the two with 22% reported good results. Also, satisfaction surveys revealed that 69% of students in the face-to-face learning group reported higher levels of satisfaction, primarily because of the feasibility of direct interaction with instructors and peers in the learning environment. Conclusion: The demand for nursing professionals in Jordan continues to grow, entailing the need to explore innovative approaches to education that effectively facilitate knowledge acquisition. Even though online lectures are important for students, the ones attending face-to-face lectures provided more competency and depth in their knowledge when contested for.

Students’ Sustained Interest to Pursue Further Education in the Same Discipline: A Case of Students of Diploma in Library and Information Studies at Rongo University, Kenya

The study focused on students’ sustained interest, which is the interest they initially had when they enrolled for Diploma in Library and Information Studies at Rongo University. The interest was sustained throughout the diploma course. The guiding question: Is interest to pursue studies in Library and Information Studies sustained beyond one’s graduation with Diploma in Library and Information Studies at Rongo University? The target population comprised 51 graduates of Diploma in Library and Information Studies for a period of three years (2021, 2022 and 2023). The 15 graduates of 2023 were sampled for the study. The study design was quantitative survey. The data was analysed by using simple percentages. The findings showed that 100% of graduates who responded are interested in degree studies in library and information science and 85.7% wished to study the same at Rongo University. Love for Rongo University and sustained interest to continue with the same course at degree level were authenticated. The findings have implications for the University which might be advantaged when it mounts courses in library science. More research can be undertaken for other courses in the University or elsewhere to ascertain their feasibilities and if there is sustained interest.

Becoming a Graduate in a Refugee Camp: Exploring Identity Positioning Through Higher Education

This article discusses the use of multiple identities in narratives by refugees engaged in higher education paths at Kakuma camp (Kenya). Following the Positioning theory, we explored identity displays in narratives collected through semi-structured interviews. The analysis deepens 5 narratives which had been considered exemplary to showcase the transformative valence of higher education. Different identity positioning was analyzed looking at before and after graduation as a crucial episode. Results showed three different narratives, and a range of diverse identity positions: the first narrative is about becoming a community leader, which responds to the very aim of the diploma course; the second narrative is about becoming successful, prevalently as professionals and as community members; and the third one concerns women perspective about an emancipatory and empowering educational path that challenges the status quo. This study contributes to the analysis of refugees’ identities from a critical perspective that challenges stereotyped notions by showing the use of narratives to mobilize and display multi-faceted selves.

An innovative and meaningful scaffolded curriculum approach to Environmental Health education in Western Australia

There has been a critical shortage of qualified Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) both globally and in Australia that has plagued the profession for decades. At Edith Cowan University (ECU), Perth, Western Australia, an undergraduate degree in Environmental Health (EH) was developed in 2006, however, viability was problematic, and the course was under threat of closure. In 2016 both the EH and occupational safety and health (OSH) majors were due for re-accreditation and since there was significant overlap between the two courses both majors were revised and combined into one (Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety). This new qualification has subsequently been accredited by Environmental Health Australia (EHA), as well as the Australian OHS Education Accreditation Board (AOHSEAB) and the British Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). The new dual accredited course has had excellent graduate outcomes and provides graduates with the flexibility to move between traditional OHS and EH roles. In some smaller local governments, and in industry, ECU graduates have been employed to work in both roles. The curriculum was developed in consultation with industry and has an embedded year-long diploma course that consists of eight units (subjects/courses) that prepare graduates to work in a support role to EHOs. The Diploma of Environmental Health course is a scaffolded course that is embedded in the degree, and it has been recognized by the State Government as a qualification leading to appointment as authorized officers under the Public Health Act 2016 (WA). The diploma is more than a pathway course as it is a stand-alone qualification that leads to gainful employment. Most students now enroll in the diploma, initially and gain employment as a Technical Officer, and then progress on to complete the EH degree on a part-time basis while employed in the profession. The diploma is also an exit option for students who struggle with the academic requirements of some of the more traditionally difficult units such as physics, chemistry, and statistics and the EH degree is now a viable university course with excellent graduate employment outcomes.

Enhancing Diploma-Level Education: Assessing the Impact of BrainBazaar on Student Learning

BrainBazaar, a website that provides students with study materials like notes, model answers and question papers as well as projects for diploma courses, has an impact on students' learning, according to this research paper. Whether BrainBazaar helps students to succeed in their classes, keeps them motivated and leaves them with more energy to study. " Our approach involves using BrainBazaar to ask students and adults about their experiences, as well as completing surveys. According to our research, BrainBazaar facilitates independent learning, encourages critical thinking, and helps students retain their knowledge. ' It appears that BrainBazaar is a valuable addition to standard classroom instruction by offering well-designed and accessible study resources. Additionally, we discuss the potential benefits of online platforms like BrainBazaar for teachers and policymakers. This investigation contributes to the understanding of how digital study resources can enhance education for diploma students

Knowledge and handling of pesticide by the retailers in the north-eastern part of Bangladesh

Application of pesticides is an accessible practice against different insects and pest of a wide ranges of crops in Bangladesh Pesticide retailers are involved to recommend and sale of pesticide to the farmers in Bangladesh. A comprehensive survey was conducted to retailers and farmers in six Upazilas of two districts of north-eastern part of Bangladesh using structured questionnaire. To collect data, 54 retailers and 150 farmers were interviewed using simple random sampling method focusing on the information related to the knowledge and experience on pesticide and pest management with farmer’s attitudes towards pesticide retailers. Retailing business is being conducted by only male (100%) and 85.2% of retailers was involved in personal business. Regardless of their educational status, the retailers engage in agrochemical industries where 94.5% retailers got the registration from UAO. It was observed that 31.5% of retailers have higher secondary education followed by secondary (25.9%) and primary (18.5%). Surprisingly, only 1.9% of retailers completed a diploma course on pesticide where maximum (68.5%) received a short training that organized by Agriculture Office and different pesticide companies. Moreover, 20.4% of retailers did not participate in any kind of training while 42.6% attended short training. The facilities like standard safety measures, first aid kit, and firefighting equipment are not available in most of the retail shops, although 22.2% of shops have poor storage facilities. According to 81.5% retailers, pesticide applications have been increasing over the last 5 years. The overall scenario demonstrates the devastating and inappropriate use of chemical pesticides without proper knowledge and guidelines. It also represents the dominancy of pesticides applications over IPM. Long-term training of the retailers and strong monitoring of their practices is essential.

Distance Education as a Catalyst for Women's Empowerment in India

The concept of distance education has been developed in various developed countries of the world. Distance education also serves dropouts, older students, and disadvantaged groups. In India, distance learning is a useful tool in closing the gender gap and empowering women. It plays a significant part in providing women with access to higher education. This paper attempts to study the enrolment of female students at higher education levels in distance education for upgrading the status of women in India. his study was qualitative and documentary in nature. Results showed that the enrolment of female students in undergraduate and postgraduate is higher than in PG diploma and certificate courses. The study concluded that distance education played a significant role in women's empowerment through female students' participation in higher education. The study suggests remedial measures to overcome constraints faced by female students in pursuing higher education.

Relationships of Abstraction and Application Complexity in the Attainment between Mathematics and Electrical Engineering Modules in Diploma Courses of South Africa

In South Africa, universities are under pressure to meet increasing targets for student enrolment in engineering disciplines and fields. This has resulted in many students being enrolled in engineering programs without possessing the minimum required mathematical skills and understanding to tackle the challenging engineering disciplines. Hence, the engineering disciplines have a high student attrition and failure rate. This study aimed to evaluate the complex relationship of abstraction and application between mathematics attainment and principles of electrical engineering attainment by the students enrolled in diploma courses in technical universities of South Africa. A blend of quantitative and qualitative data was used. Legitimation code theory (LCT) was used to determine the complexity of higher learning levels. The relationships between six core courses in the Electrical Engineering curriculum were investigated to analyze the knowledge building from mathematics modules to principles of electrical engineering modules. The problem-solving, analytics, and abstract mathematical skills developed in these modules impact the overall progression into principles of electrical engineering courses at different levels for diverse students. The research examines the theoretical foundation, student performance, and practical application of mathematical ideas in electrical engineering using curriculum documents, student academic records, and interviews with electrical engineering lecturers. The study found a weak correlation between the two modules and examined how resources, cultural attitudes, and pedagogy affect student achievement. The results indicate an unexpected negative and fragile correlation between the lower mathematics and engineering modules at high levels. The LCT analysis showed the disconnect between the mathematics courses and the principles of electrical engineering in both the level of abstraction used in the studies and the extent of application principles taught.

PROBLEMS FACED BY INPUT DEALERS DURING DAESI PROGRAMME

In India, most of the extension work is carried out by the Public sector i.e. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Govt. of India, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and some other agencies. At the national level, the ratio of extension workers to farmers is very low as against the recommended ratio. It is necessary that both the private and public extension system should work together as one unit. Agri-input dealers in the country are the prime source of farm information to the farming community, besides the supply of inputs. National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, (MANAGE) Hyderabad, designed a one-year diploma course entitled ‘Diploma in Agricultural Extension Services for Input Dealers’ (DAESI) which imparts relevant and location-specific agricultural education to equip these input dealers with sufficient knowledge to transform the minto para-extension professionals so as to enable them to address the day-to-day problems being faced by the farmers at field level. The objective of the study was to find out the problems faced by the input dealers in DAESI. The study was conducted on 120 input dealers from 3 different types of National training Institutes (NTIs), organizing DAESI training programme including KVK, Tabiji, Ajmer, ARS, Navgoan, Alwar and SIAM, Jaipur. The major problems faced by the input dealers were that the courses were too lengthy, less number of field visits to different institutions and Agro- industries, resource persons invited for lectures were not competent, classroom sessions were too long to concentrate, no proper arrangement for drinking water, classroom performance and attendance marks were not counted and difficulty in paying course fees.

Perception of endoscopic endonasal surgery training by French otolaryngology residents: A STROBE analysis of expectations

ObjectivesTo analyze the perception of endoscopic endonasal surgery training by French otolaryngology residents. Material and methodsA multicenter retrospective observational study was conducted from March to April 2023. Otolaryngology residents from 7 French regions filled out a 27-item questionnaire on their training in endoscopic endonasal surgery. ResultsOut of 283 residents contacted, 126 (45%) filled out the questionnaire. Seventy-four (59%) had already partially or completely performed the surgeries specified in their diploma course. The level of mastery of the main steps of endonasal surgery and the level of autonomy were higher in the consolidation stage group than in the basic and advanced stages. Seventy residents (56%) felt they had gaps in their level of training. To improve training, 94 (75%) wished for more dissection sessions, surgical skills assessments each semester and simulation sessions. Eighty-nine (71%) felt they needed to find their own teaching aids and other methods to complete their training. One hundred and thirteen (90%) felt that the lack of funding available for congresses and training courses was detrimental. ConclusionThis study highlighted the overall satisfaction of residents with their training in endoscopic endonasal surgery. They expressed a desire for more dissection, simulation and evaluation.

Practice on Biomedical Research and Barriers Experienced by The Post-Graduate Medical Students in Bangladesh

Background: Research experience in medical education is strongly related to post graduate course curriculum and is also highly associated with future career achievements but conducting research is a difficult task at student level. Many hurdles are faced by post-graduate medical students during conducting biomedical research in Bangladesh. Previously doctors were either clinicians or researchers but now it is realized that a good clinician is a good researcher and able to be a competent physician & scientist. This study was conducted to find out practice on biomedical research and barriers experienced by the post-graduate medical students during conducting it in Bangladesh. Methods: This cross-sectional type of descriptive study was carried out in the different medical colleges and Universities all over the Bangladesh over a period of 12 months from January to December 2020 among the postgraduate students of different medical colleges. Approval from the Ethical Review Committee (ERC) of Rajshahi Medical College was obtained prior to the commencement of the study and convenient sampling technique was used. Pre-designed, validated, structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 325 respondents on practice of biomedical research and 5-point Likert scale was used for assessment of barriers to its practice. Results: Regarding practice on research, 35.10% respondents had satisfactory practice on biomedical research and only 13.20% had published their research report in journals. Lack of research training & necessary skills (73.80%), lack of fund (68.80%), lack of interest & motivation (66.20%) and lack of appropriate knowledge (65.50%) were commonly faced barrier by the post-graduate medical students. Students who were in Ph. D (100%) and MPH course (68.20%) had more practice on biomedical research than those who were in MD/MS (35.80%), M. Phil (32.40%), FCPS (39.20%) and Diploma (4.90%) courses (p < 0.05). Thesis part (39.50%) and dissertation part (39.20%) post-graduate students had also more practice on biomedical research than those who were in Diploma (4.90%) courses (p < 0.05). But relationship of practice on biomedical research of the respondents was not statistically significant with age, gender, religion, type of medical college of MBBS passing, marital status, parental and spouse educational status (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The study revealed that the post-graduate medical students faced various types of difficulties during conducting research. So, respective higher authorities must be careful to solve their problems during conducting biomedical research. JOPSOM 2021; 41(1):25-34

Effect of Trainer Pedagogical Competences on Students’ Academic Performance in Diploma Set Courses: A Case of National Polytechnics in Western Kenya

Trainers are most important in National Polytechnics, in the technical vocational education and training (TVET) system as they are fulcrums upon which wheels of the education rotate in delivering competence needed to convert global labour-oriented economy to a knowledge and innovation-based economy. This paper was guided by four trainer pedagogical competence objectives, which included assessing training techniques, training tools, instructional media, and communication skills as they affected the diploma courses of the Science, engineering and technological (SET) courses of students’ academic performance in the National Polytechnics in western Kenya. A descriptive survey design was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from the three national polytechnics in western Kenya. A finite sample of 112 trainers' fraternity respondents were chosen using stratified selection and simple random sampling methods from a population of 650 trainers. Utilizing questionnaires and interview schedules, data was gathered. Data collecting tools were tested for reliability and were subjected to test-retest procedures, which gave 0.782, and was within the acceptable range as suggested by Mugenda & Mugenda. The primary questionnaire's items were arranged in accordance with the specific goals of the study. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations were used to analyse the data. The study found that the trainer's pedagogical competencies of instructional media had the strongest statistically significant relationship with students' academic performance in national Polytechnics (r=.780, p.05), followed by communication skills (r=.618, p.05), and training methods and use of training tools (r=.599, p.05) respectively.

Sri Lanka–Maldives Distance Education Program in Library and Information Science Conducted by the SLLA: A Historical Narration

This research paper presents a chronological account of the initiation, implementation, and conclusion of the joint Sri Lanka-Maldives distance education program in library and information science. The three-tier diploma course started in 1996 and was officially completed in 2003. Tier one was repeated in 2003 but was not continued to other levels. This study explores the program's origins, implementation, outcome, and challenges. The research method was to analyze the publicly accessible Annual Reports of the Sri Lanka Library Association (SLLA) from 1995 to 2005. The results of the content analysis were presented in a narrative style. This is the second stage of a multi-stage research which includes an in-depth literature review on published research, administrative documents of partner organizations, and interviews with selected participants.Although there was a significant enrollment of students initially in 1996, the pass rate was relatively low. The program took more time to complete due to financial challenges. As a result, it prolonged for a duration of 8-9 years for delivery instead of 3 years. The narration reveals the course organizers' and participants' tiring efforts throughout the project. It is a unique historical case for an international library and information science capacity-building initiative.

Semantic Similarity Analysis for Examination Questions Classification Using WordNet

Question classification based on Bloom’s Taxonomy (BT) has been widely accepted and used as a guideline in designing examination questions in many institutions of higher learning. The misclassification of questions may happen when the classification task is conducted manually due to a discrepancy in the understanding of BT by academics. Hence, several automated examination question classification systems have been proposed by researchers to perform question classification accurately. Most of this research has focused on specific subject areas only or single-sentence type questions. There has been a lack of research on question classification for multi-sentence type and multi-subject questions. This paper proposes a question classification system (QCS) to perform the examination of question classification using a semantic and synthetic approach. The questions were taken from various subjects of an engineering diploma course, and the questions were either single- or multiple-sentence types. The QCS was developed using a natural language toolkit (NLTK), Stanford POS tagger (SPOS), Stanford parser’s universal dependencies (UD), and WordNet similarity approaches. The QCS used the NLTK to process the questions into sentences and then word tokens, such as SPOS, to tag the word tokens and UD to identify the important word tokens, which were the verbs of the examination questions. The identified verbs were then compared with the BT’s verbs list in terms of word sense using the WordNet similarity approach before finally classifying the questions according to BT. The developed QCS achieved an overall 83% accuracy in the classification of a set of 200 examination questions, according to BT.

Evaluation of EXTVT PROST DKA Application for Civil Engineering Diploma Program, Sultan Azlan Shah Polytechnic

The Internet of Things (IOT) technology is a concept of communication networks through the internet and communication equipment such as mobile phones, computers, tablets and others that parallel the concept of Mobile Learning (M-Learning) which is increasingly being adapted in teaching and learning systems ( PdP). Various online applications that have been developed in line with Industrial Revolution 4.0 and to facilitate the PdP process especially in the Final Year Project (FYP) course. FYP courses require students to access project-related information quickly and easily anywhere. Therefore, the EXTVT PROST DKA application has been developed for the purpose of facilitating the distribution of information between students, supervisors, coordinators and panels in addition to providing a platform in the search for reference sources for student projects. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the EXTVT PROST DKA application developed for the DCC40181 – Final Year Project, Civil Engineering Diploma course. The study respondents are semester four (4) students who took the DCC40181 course in the December 2020 Session, Session 1 2021/2022 and Session 2 2021/2022. The study uses an online questionnaire instrument provided through google form. This research instrument is divided into 3 parts namely application design, application usability and user satisfaction. The reliability test (Reliability Test) on 20 questionnaire items obtained a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.964. Then the evaluation of the application continues by distributing the questionnaire link to the students. The results of mean score analysis from 97 respondents found that all items were within the estimated mean score of 4.29 to 4.45. Overall, the study found that the EXTVT PROST DKA application was very helpful in the implementation of the Final Year Project among Civil Engineering Diploma students.

ICT Skills of Postgraduate Student Teachers at Bishop Stuart University

This paper was based on a study carried out among 50 Post- Graduate student teachers pursuing a Masters or Post Graduate diploma course in Education. The findings showed that 76% of the participants rated their ICT skills as either low or moderate. While the majority rated themselves highly on word processing, the majority had little or no knowledge on the use of ICT to analyse research data. It is recommended that universities should include a compulsory course unit on research data analysis using ICT. It is further recommended that serving teachers should be given in-service training courses to enable them improve their ICT skills in order to meet the demands of the 21st century.