DISTANCE LEARNING AND TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS : THE IMPACT OF THE DISTANCE LEARNING SCHEME OF THE NATIONAL TEACHERS INSTITUTE (NTI) IN NIGERIA

DISTANCE LEARNING AND TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS : THE IMPACT OF THE DISTANCE LEARNING SCHEME OF THE NATIONAL TEACHERS’ INSTITUTE (NTI) IN NIGERIA Projec...
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DISTANCE LEARNING AND TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS : THE IMPACT OF THE DISTANCE LEARNING SCHEME OF THE NATIONAL TEACHERS’ INSTITUTE (NTI) IN NIGERIA

Project Mentor:

Professor K. A. Adegoke, Distance Learning Institute, University of Lagos, Nigeria

Family Name Researchers and First Institution Name

1 2 3 4

Etuk, Grace Koko Akpanumoh, Uduak Dan Etudor, Eno E. Ngerebara, Ataisi

Country:

University of Uyo University of Uyo University of Uyo University of Uyo

Status

E-mail

Associate amyketuk@y Professor ahoo.com Ph. D. audaco@yah Applicant oo.com Lecturer presdor@yah oo.com Ph. D. ataisimkpas Student @yahoo.com

Annual CV ERNWACA Sex Age Country Submitted Fees paid Yes No Yes No

F

60

Nigeria

Yes

Yes

M

47

Nigeria

Yes

Yes

F

35

Nigeria

Yes

Yes

F

44

Nigeria

Yes

Yes

Nigeria

Research financed by Education Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWACA) With project support from UEMOA regional Centre of Excellence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands ROCARE / ERNWACA • Tel: (223) 221 16 12, Fax: (223) 221 21 15 • BP E 1854, Bamako, MALI Bénin • Burkina Faso • Cameroun • Côte d’Ivoire • Gambia • Ghana • Guinée • Mali • Mauritanie • Nigeria • Niger • Sénégal • Sierra Leone • Togo www.rocare.org

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We wish to acknowledge the Regional Management of the Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWACA), the UEMOA Regional Centre of Excellence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands for their financial and other supports, for beneficiaries of their small grant for research, which we are one. Our special thanks also go to the national co-ordination officials of ERNWACA, Nigeria, Prof. K. A. Adegoke (chairman) and Dr. D. Olukoya (secretary), who have relentlessly sensitized and mentored this research work. We wish also to say thank you to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Uyo, Prof. Akaneren Essien, the Registrar, Mr. J. E. Udo, the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Prof. E. Udo, the Head of Department of Curriculum Studies and Educational Management, Dr. B. E. Udoukpong, for their support of our research efforts.

We cannot fail to bring to record the unalloyed

support of the Proprietor of Ritman College, Senator and Mrs. E. Ibokessien, who right from the inception of this work enlisted their interest and accepted to utilize the result of our research work. Worthy of mention are the officials of the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, the Akwa Ibom State Coordinator of the NTIDLS, the education officer, the course tutors and the NTIDL-students in Akwa Ibom State, who cooperated with us in a wonderful way to bring this research work to completion. It would be grossly lopsided if we failed to appreciate the outstanding cooperation of Heads of Schools, the parents and teachers of the primary schools in Akwa Ibom State, who responded to our clarion call for

iii help.

Permit us to give our kudos to post-graduate and undergraduate

students in the Department of Curriculum Studies and Educational Management, University of Uyo, who helped us collect and collate data for the work, particularly Mrs. Eno E. Akpan and Lucy Ituen. We appreciate our children, nephews and nieces for their ICT-skills, which were utilized to our advantage and for standing behind us to see that we succeed, in particular Mr. E. J. Akpan, Miss Glory J. Akpan, Miss and Miss G. J. Akpan.

Others are Mr. Idongesit Kendy, Ekomobong Effiong, Mrs.

Immaculata E. Akpan, Miss Glory U. Akpanumoh Miss Idongesit Etuk and Honesty, Otobong and Ubong Ituen, her precious friends. We must not forget the services rendered by the Corporate Business Services and the Divine Links Computers who helped in data analysis and computation respectively.

We do not forget to mention members of our

immediate families who bore with us within the choking period of this study. Above all, to God be the Glory for health wisdom, strength and protection that He endowed on us to carry this work to a successful end.

Grace K. Etuk Uduak D. Akpanumoh Eno E. Etudor Ataisi Ngerebara

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS Cover Page .. .. Acknowledgements List of Tables .. List of Figures .. List of Plates .. Executive Summary

.. .. .. .. .. ..

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE • Background of the Study .. .. .. • Statement of the Problem .. .. .. • Purpose of the Study .. .. .. • Research Questions .. .. .. • Research Hypotheses .. .. .. • Scope of the Study .. .. .. .. • Significance of the Study .. .. .. • Study Assumptions .. .. .. .. • Explanation of Terms and Abbreviations ..

.. .. .. .. .. ..

.. .. .. .. .. ..

i ii vi viii ix x

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1 11 13 14 15 15 16 17 18

TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE • The Theoretical Bases of Distance Learning .. .. • The Theoretical Framework for the Study .. .. • Conceptualization of Distance Learning .. .. .. • Distance Learning Development Trends .. .. .. • Characteristics and Study Strategies of Distance Learners • Instructional Concerns and Roles of Distance Learning Teachers and Supervisors .. .. .. .. .. • Comparisons of Distance and Traditional Education: Empirical and Non-Empirical Findings .. .. .. • Educational Contents and Learning Activities of a Curriculum .. .. .. .. .. .. .. • Curriculum Evaluation .. .. .. .. .. • Criteria for Teacher effectiveness .. .. .. .. • Quality Assurance Emphasis and Teacher Education by the NTI .. .. .. .. .. .. .. • Quality Assurance in Education through Examinations ..

97 105

THREE: • • • • •

114 115 117 120 123

THE STUDY SITE State Boundaries and Political Divisions .. .. Educational Institutions .. .. .. .. Physical Features and Occupations .. .. People, Language, Culture and Social Conditions Map of Nigeria Showing States and State Capitals

.. .. .. .. ..

22 26 36 38 41 44 46 55 68 84

v •

FOUR: • • • • • • •

Map of Akwa Ibom State Showing the 31 Local Government Areas .. .. .. .. ..

..

124

RESEARCH METHOD Design of the Study .. .. .. Research Population .. .. Sampling Technique and Sample .. Instrumentation .. .. .. Validation of the Instruments .. Administration of the Instruments .. Method of Data Analysis .. ..

.. .. .. .. .. .. ..

125 125 126 129 132 132 134

.. .. .. .. .. .. ..

.. .. .. .. .. .. ..

FIVE: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF RESULTS • Analysis of Research Questions .. .. .. .. 5.1: Average (mean) Scores of Selected NTI Course Texts (Curriculum) on Known Criteria for a Good Curriculum .. .. .. .. .. .. 5.2A: % Analysis of NTIDL Students’ Perception of Their Learning Contexts and Study Strategies .. 5.2B: Analysis and Interpretation of Table 5.2A .. 5.3: Performance of NTIDL students in Four Core Subjects - English Language, Mathematics, Primary Science and Social Studies .. .. 5.4: Analysis of Course Tutors’ Opinions of the NTIDLS 5.5: Analysis of Classroom Behaviour of NTI-produced Teachers .. .. .. .. .. .. 5.6A: Analysis and Rank Order of Means of NTIDLSproduced and Non-NTIDLS-Produced Teachers 5.7A: Rank Order of Means (0) of Parents’ and Administrators’ Rating of Teaching .. .. 5.8: Percentage Analysis of the Frequency of Occurrence of Test Items in the 6-Cognitive Categories .. .. .. .. .. .. • Analysis of Hypotheses .. .. .. .. .. 5.6B: An independent t-test Analysis of the difference between Effective Classroom Behaviours of NTIDLS-produced and Non-NTIDLS Produced Teachers .. .. .. .. .. .. 5.7B: Independent t-test Analysis of the Difference Between the Opinions of Parents and Administrators on Teaching Effectiveness of NTI-produced Teachers .. .. .. .. .. .. • Summary of Findings .. .. .. .. ..

136

136 138 140

142 147 148 149 151

153 155

155

157 158

vi •

SIX:

A Conceptual Model showing the Connections between the Independent Variables and the Dependent Variable

SUMMARY, DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION • Discussion of Findings .. .. .. .. .. * Ratings of NTI Course Texts .. .. .. * The Learning Contexts and Study Strategies of NTIDL-Students .. .. .. .. .. * Students’ Performances in Four Core Subjects .. * Course Tutors’ Rating of NTIDLS .. .. .. * Classroom Behaviours of NTIDLS-produced Teachers .. .. .. .. .. .. * Differences Between Teaching Behaviours of NTIDL-produced and Non-NTIDL-produced Teachers .. .. .. .. .. .. * Differences in School Head-teachers’ and Parents’ Ratings of Teaching Behaviours of NTIDL-produced Teachers .. .. .. .. * Quality Assurance through Examinations .. • Conclusion .. .. .. .. .. .. .. • Recommendations .. .. .. .. .. .. • Suggestion for Further research .. .. .. .. • Limitations of the Study .. .. .. .. .. • Problems Encountered in the Study .. .. ..

REFERENCES

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..

..

..

..

..

..

APPENDIX 1. Evaluation Scale for Curriculum Content Instrument (ESCC) .. .. .. .. .. .. 2. Learning Contexts, Study Strategies and Performance Questionnaire (LCSSAPQ) .. .. 3. Course Tutors’ Assessment of Distance Learning Questionnaire (COTADLQ) .. .. .. 4. Evaluation Scale for Teachers’ Effective Classroom Behaviour (ESTECB) Questionnaire .. .. 5. Administrators’ and Parents’ Evaluation of Teachers’ Effectiveness Questionnaire (APETEQ) 6. Names of Data Collectors/Collators .. ..

162

163 163 166 172 177 178

181

185 188 189 191 192 193 195

..

198

..

206

..

207

..

212

..

215

.. ..

219 221

vii LIST OF TABLES Table: 4.1: Sampling distribution of Primary School Teachers, Administrators, Parents in the Study .. .. 5.1: Average (mean) Scores of Selected NTI Course Texts (Curriculum) on Known Criteria for a Good Curriculum .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 5.2A: % Analysis of NTIDL Students’ Perception of Their Learning Contexts and Study Strategies .. .. .. 5.2B: Analysis and Interpretation of Table 5.2A .. .. 5.3: Performance of NTIDL students in Four Core Subjects – English Language, Mathematics, Primary Science and Social Studies .. .. .. .. .. .. 5.4: Analysis of Course Tutors’ Opinions of the NTIDLS .. 5.5: Analysis of Classroom Behaviours of NTIDL-produced Teachers .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 5.6A: Analysis and Rank Order of Means of NTIDLS-produced and Non-NTIDLS-Produced Teachers .. .. .. 5.7A: Rank Order of Means (0) of Parents’ and Administrators’ Rating of NTIDL –Produced Teacher .. .. .. 5.8: Percentage Analysis of the Frequency of Occurrence of Test Items in the 6-Cognitive Categories .. .. .. 5.6B: An Independent t-test Analysis of the difference between Effective Classroom Behaviours of NTIDLSproduced and Non-NTIDLS Produced Teachers .. 5.7B: An Independent t-test Analysis of the Difference Between the Opinions of Parents and Administrators on Teaching Effectiveness of NTI-produced Teachers ..

127

136 138 140

142 147 148 149 151 153

155

157

viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure: 2.1: Determinants of Individual Behaviour, Performance in Organizations .. .. .. .. .. .. 5.1: Conceptual Model of the Relationship between the Independent and the Dependent Variables of the Study

33 162

ix LIST OF PLATES Plate: 3.1: Map of Nigeria showing the 36 States and the federal Capital Territory of Abuja .. .. .. .. .. 3.2: Map of Akwa Ibom State showing the 31 Local Government Areas .. .. .. .. .. ..

123 124

x

Executive Summary The study was titled “Distance Learning and Teaching Effectiveness”.

It

assessed the educational inputs of the NTIDLS in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. It assessed the course texts which are used by the NTIDL-students and course tutors in the four core subject areas of interest.

It sampled the

opinions of current NTIDL-students on their learning contexts, study strategies and other particulars, and the opinions of current NTIDLS course tutors (site facilitators) about the quality of inputs into the programme. It also assessed the behaviours of primary school teachers and drew inferences on the differences between effective classroom behaviours of teachers who were products of the NTIDLS and those who were not. It sampled the opinions of head-teachers and parents on the effectiveness of products of the NTIDLS, and assessed the quality control measures of the NTIDLS with particular reference to the quality of examinations set in four core subject areas of interest. The study design was a combination of the causal comparative (ex-postfacto), the descriptive survey and the analysis of documents. The study was based in Akwa Ibom State, in the extreme Southern corner of Nigeria located between latitude 40o 32” and 5o 33” North and longitude 70o 20” and 8o 25” East. The research population comprised all the primary school teachers in Akwa Ibom State.

The population size was 16,100, the stratified sampling

technique was used to select 1,000 teachers (650 NTIDLS-products and 350 others) by the researchers, 800 teachers by 120 head-teachers and 500 teachers by 360 parents. Five instruments were used for data collection. These included the ESTECB, a 128-items instrument used by the researchers; the APETEQ, a 37-items instrument used by the head-teachers and parents; the COTALDQ, a 54items instrument used by the course tutors; the LCSSAPQ, a 47-item instrument used by the students currently studying in NTIDL centres; and the ESCC, a 15-items instrument used in evaluating the NTIDL course texts. In addition to all these, a 5-point evaluation scale made from the six categories of the cognitive domain of objectives – knowledge, comprehension,

xi application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation was used in assessing the examination qualities of the four core subjects of interest. All the research questions were analysed using the mean scores weighted to a 5-point scale. The cut-off point for judging the significance/non significance of scores was set at 3.50. Two hypotheses formulated to guide the study were analysed at 0.05 level of significance and 998, 1298 degrees of freedom for hypothesis one and two respectively. The findings were as follows: 1.

The NTIDL course texts rated high in appropriate ness but low in readability.

2.

The NTIDL-students had a lot of face-to-face contacts both with the course tutors and with fellow students.

3.

The NTIDL-students in Akwa Ibom State performed best in English language and worst in Mathematics.

4.

Generally, the performances of the students in centres located in rural communities were better than those of students in centres located in the urban areas.

5.

The NTIDL course tutors rated the NTIDL programme high not low on the availability of teaching/learning materials.

6.

The NTIDL-produced teachers rated high on instructional planning and classroom management but low on the knowledge of the subjectmatter.

7.

NTIDL-products were rated to be less effective in teaching and in the knowledge of the subject-matter than teachers produced through other educational agencies.

8.

Parents rated most teaching behaviours of NTIDL-products more negatively than primary school-heads did when specific rating items were used. However, when a global item was used, both parents and school-heads rated the teaching behaviours of NTIDL-products negatively.

9.

A large proportion of examination questions set in the NTDLS were limited to the lowest level of the cognitive domain – knowledge. Applicational item were fewest in number among the test items examined.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Background of the Study Recent changes information and communications technology have occasioned non-conventional education delivery modes, which assumes different names in different parts of the world.

Terms such as

correspondence education, home study, independent study, continuing education,

part-time

studentship,

sandwich

programmes,

outreach

programmes, open learning systems and distance learning systems are often in common use. Although these different educational delivery systems have their peculiarities depending on the needs, aims and objectives of the designers and consumers of these programmes, the common thread which runs through them all, is to widen access to education and to develop human resources for economic and social development. Nigeria, being one of the nine countries in the world with the fastest growing population rates (UNESCO, 2000) equally has fast-growing educational systems but huge short-falls in the supply of qualified teachers, especially at the primary school level (Essien, 2000; Etuk, 2005, 2006; Salau, 2005; Mohammed, 2006a.). In the attempt to solve the problem of teachershortage, primary and secondary school teachers are urged to avail themselves of educational opportunities offered by higher institutions of learning, which provide ample opportunities for educational and professional development.

2 While their counterparts overseas nowadays enjoy on-line distance learning but loose out on face-to-face contact, the Nigerian primary school teachers now have the opportunity to work and study by benefiting from distance learning of different models. These opportunities are available in the Faculties of Education in all the conventional universities in Nigeria, which mount vocational teacher-education programmes variously called the sandwich programme (mounted during vacations), continuing education (mounted after working hours), which afford teachers the opportunity to work and study for higher qualifications. Greater opportunities are made available through the Distance Learning Scheme of the National Teachers’ Institute (NTIDLS) The NTI was instituted in 1976 and established in 1978 through decree number 7 of 1978 (NTI, 2005). It was originally set up to manage Teacher Grade II (TCII) examinations in English Langue, Mathematics and the General Paper. Those were the three core subjects which were federally-examined for the award of the TCII, which was then the highest qualification needed for careers in primary-school teaching. In due course, the National Policy on Education promulgated in 1977, pronounced the Nigeria Certificate in Education (N.C.E.), the minimum qualification for teaching in primary schools. The N.C.E. was then awarded only in Advanced Teachers’ Colleges / Colleges of Education. When in the course of time, all the teacher-training colleges were eventually scraped, the responsibilities of the NTI was widened to include testing and awarding TCII certificate to teachers who failed in their earlier attempts. To help boost the supply of N.C.E.-holder teachers needed to teach

3 in primary schools, in response to the new National policy, the role of the N.T.I. was further widened to include mounting courses leading to the award of the N.C.E. (primary) certificate in certain subject disciplines to qualify graduands to teach in primary schools. Thus, a question might be asked, does the NTI operate in fulfillment of the charge of “providing courses of instruction leading to the development, upgrading and certification of teachers”, as specified in Act no. 7 of 1978, which empowered its operation (NTI, 2005)? The objectives of the NCE-DLS programme are: i)

to train and upgrade all qualified grade II teachers to NCE level;

ii)

to provide the basic background for those teachers who may later wish to pursue their studies at higher levels; and

iii)

to help produce the number of teachers required for the successful implementation of the National Policy on Education.

The NCE programme of the NTI prepares students to pursue courses leading to obtaining an intermediate teaching diploma, which qualifies the holders to pursue careers in primary school teaching and teaching at the lower levels of the secondary school system. Courses Offered and Academic Structure Courses offered at the N.C.E. level are in the humanities – English language, Christian Religious Studies, Islamic Religious Studies, Cultural and Creative Arts; in the sciences – Integrated Science, Mathematics, Physical and Health Education; in the social sciences, Social Studies. The general courses are offered by every student and they include Primary Education Studies, Education Studies, Education Foundations, and supervised teaching

4 practice.

The last one is offered in the second and fourth cycles of the

programme.

There are various combinations of these courses.

Those

offering Primary Education Studies, as majors must in addition, study one single subject. Each course of study is organized in four cycles corresponding to four Calendar years. A cycle corresponds to a year’s work lasting 52 weeks. A cycle has two semesters and each semester is organized into: •

13 weeks of face-to-face contact hours;



three weeks of Christmas holidays;



three weeks of Easter holidays; and



seven weeks of long vacation contact hours (NTI, 2005, p.3).

The 13 weeks of face-to-face contact hours per cycle is shared out as follows: •

four weeks of practical/field trips;



two weeks of tests/examinations; and



three weeks allowance for eventualities like religious festivals and so on (NTI, 2005, p.3).

In addition, each subject also has 80 contact hours specifically designated for tutorials, split into the first and second semesters, with an average of 2 hours of tutorials per month, within the non-holiday months and two hours per day in the holiday months. There is also continuous assessment scheduled into two assignments and two tests in each of the two semesters of work.

First semester

examinations are held in July/August while second semester examinations are held in December (NTI, 2005). Besides, each student is expected to put in a minimum of two-hours of private studies per day to be able to meet up. In

5 effect, an individual student is expected to cover a minimum of 130 modules of course materials, through private and non-private studies, using 1,950 hours, out of a total of 2,184 hours available in the four-year period. Thus, allowance is made for slow learners and for completion of assignments built into the programmes. Entry Requirements The N.C.E. programme of the NTI offers admissions both to teachers in service who go in as in-service trainees and to the non-teaching members of the population, who are interested in finding careers in teaching. As specified in the students’ handbook (NTI, 2005, pp.6-7), the NTI offers admissions to various categories of people wishing to obtain the N.C.E. certificate. These include: (i)

holders of Teachers’ Grade II (TCII) certificate with or without merits in three subjects. Those without merit should have at least, 5 years of post-qualification teaching experience;

(ii)

holders of Associate Certificate in Education or its equivalent;

(iii)

holders of Pivotal Teachers’ Certificate (PTC) with credits in three subjects (including the subject the candidate intends to study); or PTC with 5 passes and at least two years of postqualification teaching experience;

(iv)

successful completers of pre-NCE programme of the NTI.

(v)

holders of the Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSCE), G.C.E. ‘O’ level or their equivalents with three credits and five passes with English language included.

6 Additional entry requirements include a credit in English language and at least a pass in Mathematics for all admission-seekers. There are additional entry requirements based on the subject of specialization.

For instance,

candidates applying to study English language must have credit passes either in ‘O’ level English language or literature and those wishing to study Mathematics must have credit in ‘O’ level Mathematics. Study Texts Course materials are produced by teams of subject specialists. Each curriculum team plans the subject content, its sequential organization, its pedagogy and writes the course materials for that particular subject. Subjectteams are drawn from Colleges of Education, from Polytechnics, from Universities and from other educational establishments working in conjunction with the NTI staff in each subject area (NTI, 2005). NTI textbooks have the same pattern. Each subject is broken into ten units and 10 units constitute a module. At the end of each unit there are 10 review questions and at the end of module, there are answers to the questions. Study Centres: The NTI has 253 study centres distributed into the 36 states in Nigeria and in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The administration of the studycentres are hierarchically structured with the course tutors in direct contact with students, one centre co-ordinator each, the state co-ordinators and the Director of the NTI at the peak, located at Kaduna, North-central Nigeria. Since Nigeria has 774 Local Government Areas, it then means that the study centres do not go round every local government area. Each study centre

7 services two-three local government areas. Some of the students may cover long distances to benefit from the NTIDL scheme. Course tutors are drawn from the corpse of secondary school teachers, college tutors and even university teachers. School Fees The NTI is fee-paying. Fees are paid in bank drafts and bank transfers into NTI accounts in individual states of operation. Fees charged are in two categories: •

fees paid for subjects that do not require practicals/laboratory sessions; and



fees paid for subjects that have practical sessions, in which token fees are charged for reagents and work materials. These include integrated science, health and physical education, cultural and creative arts. Fees paid in each semester fit into 6 major heads for practical-inclined courses. These are: (i)

for practicals;

(ii)

registration;

(iii)

tuition;

(iv)

examinations;

(v)

course books; and

(vi)

cassette fees.

In addition to these, new students pay acceptance and deposit fees and students whose courses are not practical-inclined do not pay practical charges.

8 Programmes As indicated by Yaya (2005), the Distance Learning Scheme of the N.T.I. uses user-friendly self-study materials; makes face-to-face contact at study centres compulsory and there are instructors who are in continuous tutorial relationship with the correspondence students. The instructor is the daily monitor and motivator of the distant student. The distance learning scheme of the N.T.I. offers the following educational programmes: *

Grade two teachers certificate (TCII), which is almost moribund.

*

Nigeria Certificate in Education (N. C. E.);

*

Pivotal Teachers Training Programme (PTTP);

*

Advanced Diploma; and

*

Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (Yaya, 2006, p. 3)

These various programmes were instituted to ensure that enough quality and quantity of teachers are produced to meet up with the continuous teaming population of the Nigerian school children: The under-qualified and untrained teachers are upgraded; young people who prematurely dropped out of school and later rediscover themselves are given the opportunity to improve themselves and government/private employees who wish to improve themselves academically, socially and otherwise, enroll in the Distance-Learning Scheme (Yaya, 2006, p. 3).

9 Problems Of recent, the public seemed to cast aspersions on the effectiveness of the NTIDLS-produced teachers to the extent that the Universal Basic Education Board in Akwa Ibom State even refused to recruit holders of TCII produced through the NTIDLS. Holders of the N.C.E.(primary) who were products of the N.T.I. specifically trained to teach in primary schools were not easily employed either. Rather, holders of the N.C.E. from the State College of Education, which offers full-time study educational programmes, were given preferential treatment in recruitment and selection even though the N.C.E. programmes in the State College of Education were designed for teachers pursuing careers in lower secondary schools. In the opinion of NTI-insiders, the NTI has stepped into play a vital role of producing quality and appreciable numbers of teachers within a very short time. (Salau, 2005). People outside the NTI-establishment, however, seem to have a different view. They blame it on teachers, the general tendency noticed among primary school-leavers, who don’t seem to have sufficientlyacquired literacy and numeracy skills (Okedara, 1989, in Etuk, 2005).

In

effect, primary school teachers are said to be major contributors to low academic achievement of primary school pupils. Teachers are often accused of having a divided attentions between studying to get higher diplomas (Adeboyeje, 1992) and engaging in out-of school businesses while placing teaching last in their daily plans (Okeowo, 2006) in NTI (2006). There seems to be a public outcry in the national dailies of low quality of teaching in public primary schools, resulting in high levels of failures in public examinations, high drop out rates among pupils and a transfer of poor performance to the

10 secondary and tertiary levels of education (Etuk, 2001). This is said to defeat the aim of establishing the NTI, which was meant to be the panacea for solving the problems of indigent and working students (Okeowo, 2006) in NTI (2006). The levels of literacy of some NTI-produced teachers are also in doubt. They are said to be barely more literate than some of the pupils they teach (Musa, 2006). This may explain why the Universal Basic Education Board in Akwa Ibom State was reluctant to recruit N.C.E.-holders who are NTI products and bluntly refused to recruit their TCII counterparts in the 2006, recruitment exercise. Some researches have however, established that distance learning is as effective as traditional instruction when appropriate methods and technologies are used; when there is sufficient student-student interaction; and there is timely teacher-to student feedback (Verdium & Clark, 1991; Schutte, 1996; Tucker, 2001; Jegede, 2005; Hanser, 2006). Subject-monitoring findings on the NTIDLS by Mbaya (2005), indicated that the NTIDLS is weak in the area of programme delivery, which border on late and inadequate supply of instructional materials to study centres; inadequate and unqualified personnel in the course-tutor and supervisory ranks and unqualified students being admitted into the scheme.

Some

student-teachers were said to be lazy in studying to develop themselves and in associating for experience (Mbaya, 2005). In a recent interview, the chief executive of the NTI (Mohammed, 2006) admitted the weaknesses inherent in the scheme and announced to the world, the ‘strategic plan’ of the NTI in the attempt to ‘reposition the NTI for the

11 challenges ahead’.

(Mohammed, 2006, p.11).

The Director and Chief

Executive of the NTI (Mohammed, 2005) had earlier admitted that effectiveness of teachers depends largely on the extent to which their knowledge and skills are regularly upgraded.

This may explain why the

Federal Government of Nigeria retained 145,000 primary school teachers in the long vacation of 2006, through a work-shop organised by the NTI for teachers in the four core subject areas:

English Language, Mathematics,

Social Studies and Integrated Science (NTI, 2006). On the whole, primary school teachers seem to be ill-equipped and not sufficiently motivated to face the challenges posed by the dynamic nature of knowledge and skills and the existential realities of the nation’s primary schools (Mohammed, 2005). In a study conducted by Undie, Udida & Ugal, (2005), primary schools pupils were found to show evidence of low achievement. An earlier study by Okebukola (2002) established that primary school pupils in Nigeria were deficient in the life-coping skills. Ironically, a pilot study of primary school teachers in Akwa Ibom State by Etuk & Etudor (2006) reported that a significant number of NTI-produced teachers rated themselves to be very effective (f = 96; 48%) while administrators perceived that none of them was very effective. In the same study, 48 per cent of school administrators rated the NTI-produced teachers to be ineffective. Hence, this study was designed to thoroughly investigate into the Distance Learning Scheme of the NTI and teaching effectiveness.

Statement of the problem The problem for investigation in this study is that the National Teachers’ Institute, which was set up to produce qualitative and quantitative

12 numbers of teachers to solve the problem of teacher shortage in the primary and lower secondary schools seems to live not up to expectation. It seems to be churning out teachers of low quality who do not meet academic needs of their pupils. This outcome seems to negate not just the aim for setting up the NTI, but the general literacy rate in Nigeria and consequently, the development status of Nigeria, which is listed among the educationally backward (E-9) nations of the world (Obanya, 2002, 2003; Jegede, 2005). Many primary school-leavers from public primary schools are reportedly not literate. They do not attain the literacy level expected of them. There are strong insinuations that teachers contribute greatly to the illiteracy of primary school-leavers, because some teachers are not sufficiently literate to be entrusted with the responsibility of effectively teaching primary school children to read and write. The fundamental problem for the study center around the curriculum content

of

NTIDLS;

the

teaching/learning

materials,

particularly

appropriateness of the course texts; the learning context and study strategies of the NTIDL students, their performances in the core subjects; the opinions of students and course tutors, on the effectiveness of the education delivery strategies of the NTIDLS; effectiveness of the products of the NTIDLS as rated by the head-teachers, parents and researchers and comparison of those ratings; comparison of effectiveness of NTI-products with those of teachers produced in other systems; and the quality control measures of the NTIDLS as seen in the examination questions.

13 Purpose of the study The purpose of the study was to evaluate teaching effectiveness of teachers produced through the Distance Learning Scheme of the National Teachers Institute. The specific objectives were: 1.

To appraise the curriculum of the NTIDLS in the core subject areas using known criteria for curriculum content formulation.

2.

To examine the opinions of NTI students about their learning contexts and study strategies.

3.

To evaluate the NTIDL students on common knowledge in the four core subject areas of English Language, Mathematics, Social Studies and Integrated Science.

4.

To assess the opinions of course tutors on the effectiveness of the NTI delivery mode.

5.

To assess classroom behaviors of teachers produced through the NTIDL scheme.

6.

To compare teaching effectiveness of teachers produced through the NTIDL scheme with those of teachers produced through other agencies.

7.

To compare the opinions of parents and administrators on teaching effectiveness of NTIDLS produced teachers.

8.

To assess the quality control measure of the NTDL scheme

9.

To offer recommendations towards improvement of the NTIDL scheme using examination.

14

Research Questions (1)

What aspects of the curriculum content of the NTIDLS meet known criteria for a good curriculum?

(2)

What are the opinions of NTIDL students about their learning contexts and study strategies?

(3)

How do the NTIDL students perform on common knowledge in the four core-subject areas?

(4)

What is the opinion of course tutors on the effectiveness of NTIDLS delivery mode?

(5)

What are the effective classroom behaviours of NTIDLS produced teachers?

(6)

How do teachers produced through the NTIDL scheme compare in effectiveness with teachers produced through other educational agencies?

(7)

What difference is there in the opinion of parents and school administrators on the effectiveness of NTIDLS-produced teachers?

(8)

How do the quality control measures of the NTIDLS through examinations compare with known criteria?

(9)

What recommendations can the researchers make towards improving the NTIDL scheme, for improved school effectiveness?

15 Research Hypotheses The hypotheses which guided this study, stated in the null are: Ho1:

There is no significant different between teaching effectiveness of teachers produced through the NTIDLS and those produced through other educational agencies.

Ho2:

There is no significant differences between the opinions of parents and administrators on teaching effectiveness of NTI-produced teachers.

Scope of the Study The study was conducted in Akwa Ibom State, one of the 36 states in Nigeria, located in the extreme southern end of Nigeria, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. Details of Akwa Ibom State is contained in the unit on studysite.

The study was delimited to measure teaching effectiveness of the

primary school teachers in the State with particular reference to teachers’ educated through the Distance Learning Scheme of the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI). The study was delimited to assessment of the NTIDL course texts, measuring the perceptions of the current students and course tutors of the NTIDLS.

The study involved rating of teaching behaviours of NTI-

products by the researchers, by parents (through Parents-Teachers’ Association members), and by the primary school head-teachers comparing the ratings by these different groups; and comparing the ratings of NTIDLproducts with those of other teachers. It also involved rating the examination quality of the NTIDLS. The study was conducted only in public primary schools.

Teachers in private schools were not assessed.

Although the

researchers were aware of the current emphasis on gender issues, and data had been collected to reflect gender differences, time did not permit data

16 analysis on the basis of gender, age and other demographic variables of possible interest. The study was conducted between November 2006, and March 2007. All the data collected especially from the internet are delimited to that period.

Significance of the study This study is significant in the sense that since 1976, the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) was set up to help primary school teachers. In 1990 it was commissioned to float a Distance Learning Scheme for the award of the Nigerian Certificate in Education (N.C.E.), which was stipulated as the minimum qualification for teaching in primary schools. Since then, the NTI has been extensively-involved in educating teachers for the primary school system in Nigeria. At the time the NTI was set up, all the regular teachercolleges which, awarded Teacher Grade II (TCII) diploma to primary school teachers were scrapped in all of Nigeria, in preference for the NTI, that was said to be a panacea teachers who found difficult to leave the jobs to develop themselves. The NTI was made to take up all the functions performed by all scrapped teacher-colleges in Nigeria. The NTI is currently, the mega-teacher distant college that produces most of the primary school teachers through its distance learning, scheme, to teach in the Nigerian primary and lower secondary school systems. Reports indicate that the NTI is currently foraging into producing teachers with higher diplomas and even hoping to mount university degree programmes through its Distance Learning Scheme (Yaya, 2006).

The importance of the primary system of education need not be

emphasized here. It is very significant in the sense that it is the educational

17 level at which societal members acquire their basic reading, writing and numeracy skills, which are some of the indices used internationally, to rate the development levels of nation states. Presently, the literacy rate in Nigeria is fixed at 40 percent (Jegede, 2005) and Nigeria is categorised among the nine educationally backward (E-9) countries of the world (Unesco, 2000; Obanya, 2002, 2003; Jegede, 2005). That being the case, efforts should be made by all and sundry toward clearing such a stigma from Nigeria, one of the oil-rich nations of the world. The NTI therefore has a high stake in generating quality teachers into the Nigerian school systems. The NTI organization should be genuinely informed through a privately and an independently-collected data, such as it is in this report, those areas that it needs to take a second look at its Distance Learning scheme.

Stakeholders need to be duly informed too.

These include the

government that funds both the NTI and the primary school system, the parents, the school administrators and the whole society. The NTI must be sensitized to act so as to close its loose ends. This research is the modest contribution by ERNWACA researchers based at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, towards improving the NTI organization in the said State.

Study Assumptions The study was conducted under the assumptions that: (1)

The primary schools earmarked for data collection would be accessible enough to allow the researchers to reach the respondents by car or motorcycle.

(2)

Both the State Universal Basis Education Board and the State Coordinator of the National Teachers’ Institute Distance Learning

18 Scheme, would co-operate with the researchers and give them the authority to collect responses from their subjects. (3)

The head-teachers would be paid their salaries and allowances so that they would be happy and willing to supply the needed information.

(4)

Members of the Parents-Teachers Association who would be contacted would be literate individuals, people who take interest in what is happening in their community primary schools and people who are willing to share their experiences with researchers.

(5)

Members of the research team would show utmost individual involvement in every stage of the work.

(6)

There would be adequate supply of electricity so that data collation could go on day and night.

(7)

The fuel situation in Nigeria would not create transportation difficulty through increased prices.

(8)

The NTI Distance Learning centres in Akwa Ibom State would reopen early enough (in January) after the Christmas break to permit timely data collection.

Explanation of Terms and Abbreviations NTI: National Teachers’ Institute. The body responsible for organizing distance learning for primary and secondary school teachers in Nigeria. NTIDLS: National Teachers’ Institute Distance Learning Scheme. Course Tutors: Distance learning facilitators who are employed to have faceto-face contact with students.

19 Contact Hours: Periods within which course tutors meet to have face-to-face interaction with students and students interact with one another. For the NTI, the contact hours within semesters are on Saturdays and Monday through Thursday in the vacation period. Centre Co-ordinator: The supervisor of distance learning at individual learning centres. State Co-ordinator: The co-ordinator of distance learning activities in a given State in Nigeria. Director of the NTI: The national co-ordinator of distance learning activities in the aegis of the NTI in Nigeria. Teaching Effectiveness: Teachers’ classroom behaviours which signify hard work and evidence through the performances of students taught by the teachers. Synchrous Delivery Modes: Distance learning strategies where teachers interact with students immediately. Assynchrous Delivery Modes: Distance learning strategies where teachers’ interaction with students is not immediate. Reproductive Conception of Learning: Having a deep understanding of learning as a permanent change in behaviour. Primary Cognitive Study Strategies: Listening actively to utilize information. Secondary Cognitive Strategies: Ability to work independently of the teacher. EFL: English as a foreign language ESL: English as a second language MLA: Modern Languages Association

20 WAEC: West African Examinations Council.

Until recently, was the only

examination body that conducts external examinations for the final year secondary school students in Nigeria. NECO: National Examinations Council. This is a national examination body that was recently established to compete with the WAEC. SSCE: Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations. This is the final examination taken by secondary school students in Nigeria, under WAEC.

21

CHAPTER TWO

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter is devoted to the theoretical framework and literature review in the areas of distance learning, curriculum evaluation, teacher appraisal and teaching effectiveness. Literature includes pertinent opinions and empirical data and will be reviewed under the following headings: •



The Theoretical Bases of Distance Education 

Information Processing Theory



The Theory of Cognitive Learning



Keegan’s Theory of Distance Learning

The Theoretical Framework for this Study 

The Skinnerian Behaviour Modification Theory



Teaching Effectiveness Theory



Conceptualisation of Distance Learning



Distance Learning Developmental Trends



Characteristics and Study Strategies of Distance Learners



Instructional Concerns and Roles of Distance Learning Teachers and Supervisors



Comparison of Distance And Traditional Education 

Summary of Merits of Distance Learning

22 •

Educational

Content

And

Learning

Activities

of

A

Curriculum  •

Textbook Evaluation

Curriculum Evaluation 

Programme Evaluation



Students Evaluation and Performance in Schools



Teachers

Evaluation

and

Ratings

of

Teaching

Effectiveness *

Peer Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness

*

Employer and Administrator’s Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness

*

Ratings

of

Teaching

Effectiveness

Through

Learning Outcomes *

Self-assessment of Teaching Effectiveness

*

Students’ Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness



Criteria for Teaching Effectiveness



Quality Assurance and Teacher Education by the NTI



Quality Assurance in Education Through Examinations

The Theoretical Bases of Distance Learning The theoretical basis on which instructional models are based affects not only the way in which information is communicated to the student but also the way in which the student makes sense and constructs new knowledge from the information which is presented. According to Sherry (1996), the two

23 opposing views which impact on distance learning instructional designs are symbols processing and situated cognition. Information Processing Theory Information processing approach is based on the computer performing formal operations on symbols (Seamans, 1990, in Sherry, 1996). The key concept is that the teacher can transmit a fixed body of information to the students through an external representation.

The teacher does this by

representing an abstract idea as a concrete image and then presenting the image to the learner via a medium. The learner in turn perceives, decodes and stores the information. A modified version of this approach adds two additional factors, namely the students’ context and the students’ mind. The student’s context includes the student’s environment, current situation, and other sensory inputs, while the students’ mind includes memories, associations, emotions, inferences and reasoning, curiosity and interest. In the final analysis, the learner develops his own image and uses it to construct new knowledge, in context, based on his own prior knowledge and abilities (Horton, 1994, in Sherry, 1996).

Until recently, information processing

approach had been the dominant traditional view affecting instructional designs in distance learning. However, new approaches have emerged in recent times (Sherry, 1996). The Theory of Cognitive Learning In the opinion of the cognitive psychologists, something important misses from the operant-conditioning conception of learning and of all behavioral approaches (respondent, contiguity or observational). All these behavioral approaches seem to ignore the student’s perception or insight into

24 and cognition of the essential relationships between the elements of the situation. The use of mental processes ignored by the behaviourists are important in the learning theory of cognitive psychologists (Gage & Berliner, 1977). In the view of cognitive psychologists, the things teachers do to foster students’ perceptions and cognition are important in teaching. Teachers can tell students about such relationships or they may arrange for students to discover them. Whichever means is used is not important. The important thing is that students restructure or acquire desirable perceptions and cognitions (Carroll, 1968, in Gage & Berliner, 1977). Such processes are especially important and useful when the relationships to be perceived are non-arbitrary. The relationships hang together in a way that is determined by the structure of ideas in individual disciplines studied. How the students acquire insight and understanding is the special concern of cognitive theorists. The different teaching methods deal with different ways that teachers can foster those perceptions and cognitions. Cognitive theorists do not emphasize reinforcement aspect of the learning process as an operant conditioning theorist. Rather, they emphasize the relationship between important variables contained in the piece of information. Whatever channel a student uses; whether the student merely listened to the teacher’s explanation, whether he/she read it in a textbook, whether he saw it in a diagram or he derived it inductively by trial and error is not important. The important thing is that the student should acquire the correct perception. The students’ perception should change. It is the perception, cognition or understanding of a set of relationships between concepts that is essential and important.

25 The cognitive theory is built on the assumption that people possess very active minds; people work over the information they receive, rather than storing information without making any transformation. Cognitive theorists have preference for letting students arrive at their own perception on their own – the discovery method of learning. Discovery method however arose accidentally from the history of the development of cognitive psychology (Gage & Berliner, 1977). This approach is based on constructivist principles, in which a learner actively constructs an internal representation of knowledge by interacting with the material to be learned. According to this view point, both physical and social interaction enter into both the definition of a problem and the construction of its solution. Neither the information to be learned nor its symbolic description is specified outside the process of inquiry and the conclusion that emerge from the process. The focus is shifted from the traditional transmission model to a more complex, interactive and evolving model.

Situated cognition and

problem-based learning have the same basis (Sherry, 1996). The essential point about cognitive conception of learning is that perception and cognitions result from, ‘internal mental processes of a person in interaction with ideas and phenomena presented by the environment’ (Gage & Berliner, 1977, p. 274). Keegan’s Theory of Distance Learning The tenet of Keegan’s (1986) theory is that distance learning systems artificially decrease the teaching-learning interaction and re-integrate it back into the instructional process. The aim is to offer to the distance learners the experience much like traditional face-to-face instruction, via intact classrooms

26 and live two-way interaction. Keegan’s theory combines mediated distance learning with face-to-face interaction.

This model is practiced in Norway

(Sherry, 1996). The role of the course tutors is to meet the distance students face to face, thus becoming a facilitator of learning rather than a communicator of a fixed body of information. This model allows students to hear and see teachers as well as allow teachers to react to the students’ comments and questions.

Thus, this

distance learning model meets the requirement for interactivity stressed by the office of Technology Assessment of the US Congress, (1988, Sherry, 1996 p. 3). What is lacking is the formation of virtual learning communities, in which students, who are part of a class or study group can contact one another at any time of the day or night to share observations, information and expertise with one another (Sherry, 1996).

The Theoretical Frameworks for this Study The theoretical bases of this study include: •

Skinnerian behaviour modification theory, and



teaching effectiveness theory.

Skinnerian Behaviour Modification Theory The behaviour modification theory of interest is the Skinnerian operant conditioning model.

The Skinnerian model of behaviour modification

maintains that organisms can emit responses, which implies that organisms can think. Thus, the Skinnerian behaviour modification theory is tilted towards the theory of cognitive learning.

This is different from earlier forms of

27 behaviour modification theories by experts like Thorndike and Hull who maintained that organisms only elicit responses due to external stimuli (TIP, 2006). The Skinnerian theory is rooted in operant conditioning, which sees the organism in the process of operating on its environment. This, according to Boeree (2006, pp. 1-2) means that the organism is, “bouncing around its world, doing what it does”. In the course of operating, the organism develops a tendency to repeat or not to repeat the behaviour in the future (extinction). As indicated by Wertheim (2006) the Skinnerian operant conditioning works under certain assumptions. These include the assumptions that: •

behaviour produces consequences;



behaviour is a function of its consequences;



behaviour followed by positive consequences tends to be repeated and behaviour followed by negative consequences tends to stop and how we behave in the future depends upon what those consequences are;



all complex behaviours are learned, shaped and subject to observable laws;



one can change behaviour through rewards and punishments;



behaviour is determined by the environment/the consequences or anticipated consequences of that behaviour;



some of what we learn is not the direct result of reinforcers but rather the result of observing others and the consequences of their actions and by modelling our behaviours after them;

28 •

virtually all work behaviours are operant in the sense that they generate consequences in their environment and these consequences in part shape and control behaviour (pp. 1 – 2).



Operant conditioning assumptions are derived from the Law of Cause and Effect, which states that:

“if our actions have pleasant effects, then we will be more likely to repeat them in the future. If however, our actions have unpleasant effects, we will less likely to repeat them in the future” (Wertheim, 2006, p. 1). The operant conditioning approach to understanding human behaviour focuses on observable outcomes. It does not make attempt at understanding the internal state of the individual.

It recognizes four different kinds of

reinforcements: •

positive reinforcement, where a pleasant reward follows a right act;



negative reinforcement, where a right act is brought about by discouraging a wrong act;



extinction, where a wrong act not reinforced discontinues; and



punishment, where a wrong act is blamed.

Behaviour modification programmes are rooted in the operant conditioning principles utilized to shape behaviours of both animals and humans. The issues involved in behaviour modification, according to Wertheim (2006) are: •

seeking out the desired behaviours;



nothing whether these behaviours are observable/ measurable;



seeking out what reinforces these behaviours;

29 •

noting when to apply the reinforcers;



noting the consequences of the reinforcements, and



looking for ways to improve the reinforcement pattern (p. 2)

Based on the same source, the steps involved in behaviour modification include: •

targeting specific behaviours;



analyzing the causes and antecedents of existing behaviours or barriers to new behaivours;



explicitly settling concrete measurable goals;



training the individual to adopt the behaviours;



clearly reinforcing the behaviours through reinforcers like praising, recognizing, giving good grades, promotion and giving incentives like money, books and other physical gifts, and



giving concrete continuous feedback to the individual to strengthen positive performances and weaken unapproved and poor performances.

Behaviour modification is in effect, the act of shaping more complex behaviours through the method of ‘successive approximations’ (Boeree, 2006, p.3). It involves reinforcing a behaviour which is similar to the one desired until the animal or human being performs a behaviour that would never show up in ordinary life. Behaviour modification principles have had much usage in clinical psychology where behaviours of people who have certain behavioural problems have been changed to normal behaviours. These include phobias, addictions, neurosis, shyness and Schizophrenia (Boeree, 2006; Wertheim, 2006).

Beyond its usage in clinical psychology laboratories, behaviour

30 modification principles account for the shaping of most complex behaviours in humans (Boeree, 2006). We are gently shaped by our environment to do certain things, like to: -

go to school

-

study hard in school;

-

like certain subjects in school;

-

enter into chosen professions; and

-

become specialists in the chosen fields (Boeree, 2006).

Relevance of Skinnerian Behaviour Modification Theory to this Study Behaviour modification theory is often criticized as being applicable to animals, mental patients, autistic children and people who are limited in intelligence. It is often more criticized on the basis of its side effects like its tendency to make elicitation of appropriate behaviours to be over-dependent on reinforcing stimuli. Yet, schools have been constantly involved in shaping human behaviours just like parents, bosses, governmental agencies and some voluntary organisations do, using assumptions on how people learn. Behaviour modification theory has been highly-utilized in educational organizations including the National Teachers Institute (NTI) to shape the behaviours of learners. Even the Nigerian government that conceived the NTI between 1976 – 78 (NTI, 2005) did it out of concern to modify behaviours of teachers who could not benefit much from the regular teachers’ college system. With time, the services offered by the NTI extended to recruiting and shaping the behaviour of new intakes into the teaching profession. This study on distance

31 learning and teaching effectiveness was designed to measure the degree of success of the NTI Distance Learning Scheme (NTIDLS) in modifying the teaching behaviours of its products. This appraisal is designed to involve important stakeholders in education, including the students themselves, the course tutors, school administrators who directly deal with NTIDL products released into public schools, parents of children taught by NTIDL – produced teachers and the researchers themselves.

Teaching Effectiveness Theory The gist of teaching effectiveness theory is that the real source of organizational effectiveness is people, because the organizational structure is formed by people (Ukeje, Okorie & Nwagbara, 1992). Thus, in order to understand what determines effective organizations, it is necessary to unravel what determines individual behaviour, performance and effectiveness within the organization. An individual’s behaviour refers to the concrete actions he engages in, whereas an individual’s performance refers to those sets of behaviours expected of the individual by the organization (Ukeje et al, 1992) In other words, performance refers to those behaviours that are congruent with the demands of the organization. If for instance two individuals apply the same kinds of behaviours on different tasks, the individual whose behaviour agrees with the demands of the tasks could be said to be performing effectively. In the corollary, if two individuals apply different kinds of behaviours on the same task, the one whose behaviour meets the demands of the task is said to performing effectively. This boils down to saying that there is a clear distinction between behaviour, performance and effective performance. An individual’s performance can be assessed only when

32 standards are well-defined and there is a clear knowledge of the organization’s expectations and demands. Since

organizations

and

management

generally

encourage

organization members to engage in behaviours which result in effective performance for the organization, the factors that influence the behaviours of organization members must be understood and those factors as contained in Ukeje et al (1992, p. 259) comprise: •

the individual’s level of motivation for the task;



the internal state of the individual that causes him to engage in effective performance;



the individual’s ability, which includes possession of the skills and capacities for effective performance on that job;



the individual’s perception – the way the individual interprets sensory experiences;



the individual’s personality – personal traits of character of the individual; and



a wide variety of organizational systems and resources.

Each of these five effectiveness attributes have sub-categories and both behaviour and effective performance are influenced by factors in the external environment. The relationship between individuals’ attributes and effective performance of individuals in the system is shown in figure 2.1.

33

MOTIVATION

Beliefs, Attitudes, Values, Needs, Goals.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

ABILITY

STANDARD OF PERFORMA NCE

Aptitude & Skills.

PERCEPTION INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR

Objects, People, Situation.

INDIVI-

INDIVI-

DUAL PERFORMANCE

DUAL EFFECTIVENESS

PERSONALITY Objects, People, Situation. ORGANISATIONAL SYSTEM AND RESOURCES Leadership, Rewards, Facilities, Structure.

Fig. 2.1:

Determinants of Individual Behaviour, Performance and

Effectiveness in

Source:

Organisations.

Adapted from Ukeje, Okorie & Nwagbara (1992, p. 260).

Educational Administration: – Theory and practice. Totan.

Owerri:

34 Among the five factors that are said to contribute to individual effectiveness, the last one organizational systems and resources is worth elaborating upon here since it is the factor which is external to the individual and is under the control of the organization, for better or for worse. Organizational systems/Resources and Individual Effectiveness. The organizational systems and resources such as the physical facilities, the reward structure, the organizational structure, leadership, communication patterns, the system of interrelationships and the levels of interactions are very influential in determining behaviour and effective performance of individual members (Ukeje et al, 1992). In respect to facilities, it is essential to provide organizational members with things like space, working tools and equipment in order for them to perform well in the organization. In reference to an educational organization, both the teachers and the learners must be provided with the necessary resources for effective work. The general observation is that teachers teach the way they were taught in schools (Charles, 1975). If when in schools, teachers were well taught, they would teach well. If they were poorly taught, they would teach poorly when they get to teach others. If teachers were taught orally they would teach orally. If materials were used in teaching when they were in schools, they would use materials to teach their students. Needless to elaborate on the other organizational variables like structure, leadership, communication and interrelationships, which when well-managed are conducive to effective performance of organizational members.

35 Relevance of Individual Effectiveness Theory to This Study. Individual effectiveness theory is relevant to this study in the sense that the study is designed to measure teaching effectiveness of individuals produced through the Distance Learning Scheme of the National Teachers’ Institute, Kaduna. The organizational systems and resources factor is most relevant because it is the attribute that links individuals’ effectiveness to the NTI organization in terms of the latter’s mode of organization, its structural patterns,

facilities,

educational

leadership,

communication

and

interrelationships within the organization. Organizational systems and structure commands much importance in this study because, since the Distance Learning Scheme does not conform with the regular educational system, much attention should be given to the organizational strategies and the structuring of the scheme for effective education delivery. In a state like Akwa Ibom State with 31 Local Government Areas, but with only eleven study centres, will physical distance permit many to benefit from the scheme? Even those who can brace up and overcome the barriers imposed by physical distance, will modalities of organisation of the NTI permit them to learn effectively and will they correspondingly effectively demonstrate their skills when they are called upon to do so in due course? In terms of facilities, the distance Learning Scheme of the National Teachers’ Institute is semi-Distance. Course tutors are employed to have face-to-face interaction with the Distance Learning students. The interest in this study is the quality of interaction between the learners and the tutors. Do they explain orally or do they sometimes use teaching/learning materials to demonstrate some points?

36 In terms of leadership, what is the quality of leadership at the study centres? In respect to communication, what media and channels of communication are used in the Distance Learning Scheme? Is multi-media utilized in the scheme? Is there a free flow of communication in every direction? What is the interrelationship between the course tutors and the students’ like? All these are of interest in this study. Hence, the theory of individual effectiveness, in particular, the organizational systems and resources aspect, is most relevant to this study.

Conceptualization of Distance Learning According to Sherry (1996), the terms, distance education or distance learning have been applied interchangeably by many different researchers to a great variety of programmes, providers, audiences and media. Keegan (1986) perceived distance learning as non-contiguous communication between student and teacher, mediated by print or some form of technology. Perraton (1988), however, perceived distance learning simply as the separation of teachers and learners in space and time while Jonassen (1992) perceived distance learning as the volitional control of learning by the student rather than by the distant instructor. The office of Technology Assessment of the US Congress (1992) in Boettcher (1996,p3) defined distance education as “the transmission of education or instructional programming to geographicallydispersed individuals or groups”. Other synonyms of distance learning include: independent study, home study, correspondence education, distributive learning and remote education (Mbaya, 2005a).

37 i.

Seven elements of distance education collected from Maduka (1982) and Keegan (1990), all in Mbaya (2005a) are:

ii.

the quasi permanent separation of teacher and learner throughout the length of the learning process as against face-toface interaction in regular classes;

iii.

the influence of an educational organization both in the planning and preparation of learning materials and in the provision of independent study programmes;

iv.

the use of technical media; print, audio, video or computer to unite teachers and learners and to carry the content of the course;

v.

the provision of two-way communication so that the student may benefit from or even initiate dialogue;

vi.

the quasi-permanent absence of learning groups throughout the length of the learning process, so that people are usually taught as individuals, with the possibility of occasional meeting for both didactic and socialization process;

vii.

the presence of more technologies than conventional oral education; and

viii.

the privatization of instructional learning (p.21).

The major characteristics of distance education, according to definitions (n.d.) are three factors, which are: •

the teacher and the students are separated by a distance, which could mean different classrooms in the same school or different locations thousands of miles apart,

38 •

the instruction are delivered via print, voice, video or computer technologies; and



the communication are interactive in the sense that the teacher receives some feedback from the student (the feedback may be immediate or delayed).

Based on these different authorities, distance learning as used in this work, is an educational programme where the instructor and the student may be separated in space, but they maintain communication, through some instructional media which the student’s learning opportunities are facilitated to enable the student acquire a permanent change in behaviour.

Distance Learning Developmental Trends Based on Sherry (1996), each form of instructional media evolved from prints. They then evolved to instructional television to the current interactive technologies. The earliest form of distance learning took place through correspondence courses in Europe. That was the accepted norm until the 1950s when instructional radio and television were in vogue. Early television production technology was largely confined to studios and to live broadcasts in which widely-broadcast classes were conducted by a master-teacher (Sherry 1996). In the 1970s, emphasis changed from bringing master teachers to the classrooms to taking children from the classrooms into the outside world. Instructional television programmes then became mere enrichment programmes, which were perceived to be not very related to the school work.

39 According to Sherry (1996), the major drawback in the radio and television instructional programming was lack of two-way communications channel between the teacher and the student. As increasingly sophisticated interactive communication technologies became available, they were adopted by distance educators. Currently, the most popular media are computer-based communication, including electronic mail (e-mail), bulletin board systems, the internet, telephone-based audioconferencing, videoconferencing with one or two-way video and 2-way audio through broadcast, cable, telephone, fiber optics, satellite hook-up, microwave closed-circuit or low-power television, audio graphic teleconferencing, slow scan or compressed video and fax. These are low-cost solutions for transmitting visuals as well as audios. There is also the mosaic, a graphical interface to the world wide web which has become popular in some parts of Canada, Europe and Australia (Sherry, 1996). Based on information from the definitions (n.d.), distance learning can be divided into two types – the synchronous and the asynchronous delivery types. The synchronous type means that the teacher interacts with students in real time e.g. in 2-way video-conferencing, students interact with ‘live’ video of an instructor. Synchronous distance education also includes less complex technologies as the telephone conversation.

In asynchronous delivery,

communication does not take place simultaneously.

Rather the teacher

delivers the instruction via video, computer or other means and the students respond at a later time. For example, instruction may be delivered via web or videotape and feedback could be sent through e-mail messages.

40 There is still another variety of synchronous distance education, not mentioned by these writers, but which is practiced where telecommunication facilities are limited in the developing countries of the world. In this model students rely heavily on stand-alone texts, which constitute the curriculum of the distance educational programme. In such models the students do not need additional reading materials (Lankbeck & Mugler, 2005).

Learning

facilitators (tutors) are employed to have occasional face-to-face contacts with the distance students, and to give and mark assignments, tests and examinations. This is the type of distance learning in the Southern Pacific (Lankbeck & Mugher, 2005), and it is this model that NTI adopts in Nigeria. Such impoverished models of distance learning programmes are used in the developing countries, which have neither constant supply of electricity nor the technology or even the financial capability to support modern distance learning programmes, which are on-line for the most part. Distance students in the developing countries study under hard conditions, oftentimes with kerosene lamps and without a library and other educational supports. They depend mostly on the course texts and on interaction with course tutors for most of what they acquire from distance education.

However, this model

provides them with the two-way face-to-face interaction necessary for distance learning, without which distance, learning degenerates into the correspondence courses or independent study (Garrison, 1990, in Sherry, 1998). Sherry (1996) advised on a number of issues for successful distance learning schemes including adopting designs which:

41 *

encourage interactivity, not only between students and teachers but between students and students;

*

makes students active participants of learning;

*

uses visual imagery;

*

makes for effective communication;

*

encourages inquiry learning; and

*

encourages team work.

Characteristics and Study Strategies of Distance Learners Boettcher (1996) identified two types of distance students as being: *

those who dropped out of school and decide to come back later in life; and

*

those who combine work and study.

These two groups of students are usually adults who have families so that their family responsibilities compete for time with their studies. Nevertheless, distance education provides a way for these groups to reach their personal goals despite constraining personal circumstances. Students in the NTDLS belong in the second group. Sherry (1996) mentioned still another group of distance education beneficiaries as being the secondary school students, who use distance education mainly as enrichment programmes. Despite the different backgrounds of distance learners, factors which influence success are the same, and these are: active listening and the ability to work independently in the absence of a live instructor (Sharp, 1994, in Sherry, 1996). Sherry (1996) in effect reported of research which identified two study strategies used by distance students. These are what he called:

42 *

primary, cognitive strategies such as the ability to work independently of the instructor; and

*

secondary affective strategies such as active listening (p.7).

Students who passed their courses differed significantly in primary strategies from those who failed, in terms of test-wise-ness, concentration and time management skills.

In contrast the research found little difference

among them in the use of secondary strategies, such as diligence and positive attitudes (Sherry, 1996). Enquiries from instructors indicated that those who dropped out of the distance learning scheme were fond of poor time management and procrastination.

Moreover, learning conditions (context) such as climate,

geography, efficiency of the postal system telecommunication facilities, hearing problems and the institutions support system influenced success in Alaska (Spunder, in Sherry, 1996). One other factor which was established to influence success of distance students was teacher mediation. Sherry (1996) advised that organizers of distance learning should not assume that all students have sharpened their primary study skills to the same extent, nor that a positive attitude will make the difference between success and failure. Students need support and direction to help them make the transition from the traditional classroom environment to self-directed learning. In particular, there should be tools to help them monitor their progress and obtain timely feedback on their activities (Sherry, 1996). The NTDLS in Nigeria may be better-off in these. Lankbeck & Mugler (2005) reported of two study strategies used by distance students in the Pacific.

These were what they called:

programmatic strategies and sequential strategies (pp. 7-9).

43 Users of programmatic strategies focus their attentions on materials relevant to the assignment and limit themselves to what needs to be done to pass the course, by ignoring all other materials. The pragmatic approach is not a consequence of a low conception of learning as merely absorbing, storing and reproducing information, but out of the constrains faced by most distance students and their observation that this strategy often results in passing courses (Lankbeck & Mugler, 2005). The sequential strategy consists in proceeding step by step through the study guide and following the instructions closely.

Those who use the

sequential strategy read the course book several times, look up words in the dictionary, thus taking a long process to understand and grasp. Other skim through the course texts, write summary notes on the main points in their own words, which they use for revision during examinations.

The sequential

students however resort to the programmatic strategies when deadlines for assignments and examinations are impending. (Lankbeck & Mugler, 2005). Four out of six conceptions of learning (Marton, 1993, in Lankbeck & Mugler, 2005, p. 10) were identified among distance learners in the Southern Pacific, which were: (a)

learning as an increase in knowledge – learning new things, gaining more knowledge;

(b)

learning as applying – putting into practice the new knowledge gained;

(c)

learning as memorizing and reproducing;

(d)

learning as understanding;

(e)

learning as seeing something in a different way; and

(f)

learning as helping persons to change.

44 Conception (a) – (c) are usually regarded as characteristic of reproductive learning whereas (d) to (f) demonstrates transformative learning, where the learner works with knowledge to derive meaning and comes to see the word in a new way (Lenkbeck & Mugler, 2005). The importance of students’ conceptions of learning is that it is closely related to how students approach learning tasks. Reproductive conceptions is usually associated with surface approach to learning whereas, transformative conception of learning helps students to gain a deep understanding of a subject rather than mechanical reproduction of knowledge.

This later

conception should be a must for every student who is desirous of contributing usefully and creatively to their countries and themselves (Lankbeck & Mugler, 2005).

Instructional Concerns and Roles of Distance Learning Teachers and Supervisors Instructional designs and classroom management concerns, which are often voiced by site facilitators, according to Talab & Newhouse (1993) in Sherry (1996) and by Apple (1994) all in (Sherry, 1996, pp. 9-10) are the need for preparation, facilitating rather than traditional teaching, timing and scheduling, classroom logistics and their responsibilities. Others include, how to handle students’ misbehaviour and attitudes, physical environment, technical problems and classroom dynamics.

The conclusion reached by

Apple in Sherry (1996) was that classroom management, like technology expertise, is not a skill that is mastered once and for all by instructors in hightech classrooms.

They progress through a three-stage model of survival,

mastery and impact. It may take them at least two years for their focus to

45 change

from

being

anxious

about

themselves,

their

new

physical

environment, equipment malfunctioning and student misbehaviour, to anticipating problems and developing alternative strategies, exploring software more aggressively, sharing ideas more freely, increasing student motivation and interest, and using technology to their advantage.

“As

classroom context change, so do classroom management issues” (Sherry, 1996, p. 10).

In general, distance learning teachers tend to focus on

increased work load and draw back associated with an innovation before the benefits of change emerge and the innovation takes hold (Sherry, 1996). According to Sherry (1996) distance learning teachers must have sufficient training and field experience to enable them be effective distance teachers and to use technology successfully in their classrooms. Some of the classroom behaviours which make for success in distance teaching, are: advanced preparation, student interaction, use of visual materials, planned activities for independent study and follow-up activities (US Congress, 1989, in Sherry 1996, p. 9). Proper training helps distance learning teachers to change from regular teacher behaviours to developing new teaching skills. The new skills which distance learning teachers should acquire include: *

understanding the nature and philosophy of distance education;

*

identifying learner characteristics at distant sites;

*

adapting teaching technologies to deliver instruction at a distance;

*

organizing instructional resources in a format suitable for independent study;

*

training and practice in the use of telecommunication systems;

46 *

becoming involved in organization, collaborative planning and decision-making;

*

evaluating student achievement, attitudes, and perceptions at distant sites; and

*

dealing with copyright issues (Schlosser & Anderson, (1992) in Sherry (1996, p. 9).

Roles of site facilitators include motivating and encouraging the students, keeping their enthusiasm and maintaining disciple in the classroom. They are also responsible for the smooth-running of equipment, helping students with interaction, handing out, collecting and grading papers, guiding collaborative groups who are working with manipulatives, answering questions when necessary and assisting the teacher when asked. The site facilitator also carries out assessment procedures defined by the teacher via print, portfolio, on-line communications or FAX (Sherry, 1996). Site facilitators should not be beginning teachers, who are anxious to use new technology, but should be mid-career staff who are selected because of their subject backgrounds, availability and general teaching ability rather than mere volunteers. These roles are performed by course-tutors serving the NTIDLS and they differ in Nigeria, because the teachers are in direct contact with students.

A study is needed to find out the roles played by centre-

coordinators in NTIDLS in Nigeria.

Comparisons of Distance and Traditional Education: Empirical and NonEmpirical Findings Some researchers claim that that education offered by distance learning is better because it is more cost-effective; the lower the unit costs,

47 the larger the number of students compared to the traditional system of education (Rumble, 1982). In a similar vein, Ayeni (1983) maintained that primary school teachers choose the correspondence system to continue their education primarily because the programme is offered on an in-service basis. The teachers are able to work and earn income during the correspondence period in order to pay the fees charged and at the same time put something away to maintain their families. This flexible arrangement enables the teacher to maintain his family and at the same time improve educationally, while in the ultimate, the employer benefits from the teacher’s improved level of professional competence. Other researchers perceive effectiveness of distance learning in relation to its interactivity. According to Sherry (1996), the interaction is not limited to audio and video, nor solely to teacher-student interactions but represents the connectivity the students feel with the distance teacher, the local teacher, aids, facilitators, and their peers. The two-way communication between the students and others makes distance education not an independent and isolated form of learning. Students learn not only from their instructors, who provide content expertise and feedback to each individual, but also from other adult learners in the classroom setting (Hanser, 2006). After ten years of involvement in teaching (1976 – 1985) at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, an NCE programme which combined two educational models (face-to-face contact sessions and correspondence sessions) Agboola (2000) made an evaluative study of the two educational models.

48 The research designs used were descriptive survey and analysis of students’ records for scores. The study population was the 1984 final year NCE students in face-to-face cum correspondence educational programme at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The stratified random sampling method was used to select 120 students from the population of 370 students. The selected sampled cut across all teaching subject areas. The survey instrument was researcher-constructed. The number of items was not indicated as well as the measurement scale. But, it was meant for students to assess the correspondence materials in terms of: (i)

the language used;

(ii)

the illustrations and sketches used;

(iii)

the contents of the lectures;

(iv)

the activities and the tutor-marked assignments; and

(v)

the textbook references (Agboola, 2000, p. 12).

Records were also checked to obtain students scores in both sections of the programme. Methods of data analysis included frequency counts, percentages, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the coefficient of consensus. Data analysis involved weighting the students’ scores, converting them to percentages, establishing a statistical difference between the two sets of scores and then the coefficient of consensus between the two sets of scores. Findings about the correspondence section were as follows: •

the language used scored 42.1 percent;



the illustrations used scored 60.7 percent;



adequacy of the content of the lectures scored 53.6 percent;



adequacy and suitability of the activities scored 32.4 percent;

49 •

textbook references were indicated to be not readily available; and



the marking of tutor assignment was scored 51.9 percent by the correspondent students. (Agboola, 2000, pp. 72 – 73).

On the whole, 92 percent of the student felt satisfied with the contact sessions. The final results of the correspondence section were very encouraging with a pass range of 88 – 100 percent.

The respondents

preferred the merging of face-to-face contact sessions and correspondence sessions rather than have face-to-face contact all through (Agboola, 2000). With regard to the relationship between the correspondence and contact sections the following results were obtained: (1)

a high positive correlation (0.8) between the quality of scores in the correspondent section and the face-to-face section of the course.

(2)

there was a low positive correlation (0.048) between the quality of semester scores of the correspondence students and their final results but a negative correlation (-0.048) between the quality of semester scores in the face-to-face sessions and their final results.

(3)

there was a very low correspondence (concordance) between the quality of semester scores and final NCE examination scores for both the correspondence sessions and the face-toface contact sessions.

The author identified certain problems that faced that particular correspondence method of teaching.

These were lack of sufficient

50 duplicating/printing materials, poor co-operation of the few commercial printers employed, and slow rate at which correspondence course-writers complete their assignments which often caused problems. The poor supply of the correspondence study materials affected the rate and mode of submission of the tutor-marked assignments (Agboola, 2000).

Most of the contact

session teachers were hard working and dedicated to the course of the students they taught while others were not. The contact sessions’ timetables were often overloaded beyond the official courses supplied by some subject departments. This robbed the students of their free time and the time to do extra reading and writing of assignments given. Agboola (2000) maintained that the effectiveness of distance teaching skills is in no doubt identical with that of the non-distance teaching methods. For instance, the quality rating of the content of lectures in the NCE guides showed that they were of high quality and adequate for the NCE level in all subjects except in mathematics, where there was a split decision, which might have arisen due to the textbooks which were to supplement the study guide lectures, but which were not readily available.

Agboola (2004) further

intimated that textbook references were not up to-date, while the journal articles were not accessible to the students; much work was done during contact session; the contact sessions contributed more in quality than the correspondence sessions shown in the high ratings for most of the subjects; poor teachers’ attitude; long duration of the course; high fees for tuition and feeding and good academic performance of students in their NCE final results. The author declined to draw a conclusion on the excuse that the

51 study was a general survey. He however recommended further investigation into the effectiveness of distance and face-to-face methods of teaching. Having taught on-line, many courses on criminal justice systems of many nations around the world, Hanser (2006) made quantitative and qualitative analysis of on-line education as compared to in-class education. The quantitative analysis was made while teaching a course titled, “CJUS 250: Courts and Criminal Justice”, at the University of Louisiana, Monroe, in the year, 2004. One section of the class with a population of 44 students was taught in the traditional classroom while the other with a population of 22 students was taught online. The research design was classical experimental, having both the experimental and control groups. Both groups were enrolled in the identical course and took identical examinations. Both sections of the course ran simultaneously. Three separate examinations given during the course provided data for the study as well as students’ ratings of the instructor’s teaching effectiveness. Each test was a 50-items multiple choice, which students took using the open-book format. Data which resulted from the test scores were computer-analyzed. Two research questions which guided the study were: •

will on-line formats of instruction produce significantly different learning?



will students express more or less satisfaction with on-line forms of educational delivery? (Hanser 2006, p.84).

Results indicated that whichever version of the course was taken by students, the average grades received was 71 or letter grade C at the end of

52 the semester. The minute differences between test scores in the in-class and on-line sections of the course was not statistically significant when subjected to t-test for significance. From students’ survey, it was discovered that students in the on-line class felt that the class was more challenging. The instructor received an overall rating of 4.9 out of 5 in the on-line course as compared to 4.8 out of 5 in the in-class section of the course. Generally, the instructor was given very high ratings in both sections of the course and the students in the on-line class seemed to like their learning experiences better than students in the traditional classroom. Hanser (2006) concluded that on-line education and traditional forms of education produce similar, if not identical outcomes in learning. He recommended that rather than students from developing countries move to a foreign country for education, the on-line fora could be a more viable option, thus making savings for both the students and their home countries.

Summary of Merits of Distance Education Mohammed (2005) pointed out five cardinal merits of distance education, which included accessibility, affordability, qualitativeness, being strike-free and being universally-recognised. More merits of distance education include: •

helping learners overcome barriers of location, time and learning pace;



accommodation of different learning styles;



useful

for

all

kinds

of

studies



part-time/full

postgraduate/undergraduate, credit/non-credit learning;

time,

53 •

being cost-effective especially where there are large numbers of students taking a course;



allowing professionals to acquire additional qualifications and to update their knowledge and skills. (Mohammed, 2006, p. 28).



a desirable supplement to the traditional classroom model of education (Henser, 2006).



providing educational access to a diverse body of consumers;



easing the problem of resource unavailability in higher education; and



meeting increased demand for education with less funding (Hanser, 2006)



students do not have to disrupt their lives to attend (Hanser, 2006)



encouraging active learning rather than passive learning which is the characteristic of the traditional classroom.

Despite all the benefits which distance education is reputed to have, an inconclusive finding was made in rating the effectiveness of NTI-produced teachers in Nigeria. The study was a pilot study by Etuk & Etudor (2006). The ex-post-facto survey design was used. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 200 students-teachers who were attending a sandwich (long vacation) programme of the University of Uyo, in the 2005/2006 long vacation. The student-teachers already had their NCE diplomas through the NTIDLS and were then working towards obtaining higher teaching qualifications – the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) in their various teaching subjects. The student teachers were members of a class in a

54 general course in education titled, “EDU 411: Curriculum and Instruction II”. Twenty one (21) head-teachers in primary schools where those teachers served during the semester were also contacted in their different schools to be co-participants in the study. The research instrument was a global instrument on teaching effectiveness, which required respondents to rate the degree of teaching effectiveness of NTI-produced teachers using a 3-point scale of very effective (3-points) somewhat effective (2-points) and ineffective (1-point). This was to help the researchers test the hypothesis that there was no significant difference between the ratings of head-teachers and their teaching staff on the teaching effectiveness of NTI-produced teachers. The responses obtained were analysed using percentages and the ttest statistical techniques at 0.05 level of significance. Results indicated that no school administrator (zero percent) rated the NTI-produced teachers as very effective; 52 percent administrators rated NTI produced teachers somewhat effective, while 48 percent administrators rated NTI-produced teachers ineffective. On the other hand, 48 percent student-teachers rated NTI-produced teachers very effective; 78 percent rated NTI-produced teachers somewhat effective, and 13 percent rated NTI produced teachers not effective. Some of the teachers were themselves NTI-products and that might have coloured what was meant to be peer-rating to be self-rating teacher effectiveness. However, an independent t-test analysis at 0.05 level of significance gave a statistically significant result (t-cal = 13.50; t-crit = 1.97) with the teachers’ ratings being more in favour of NTI-produced teachers than the

55 administrators. It was concluded that the combined self-rating and peer ratings were more in favour of NTI-products than those of head-teachers. The study recommended a further investigation into ratings of effectiveness of NTI-produced teachers. With particular reference to the NTI, Mbaya (2005) found that the subject monitoring findings usually reflect weaknesses in the area of programme delivery, which sometimes may border on late and inadequate supply of instructional/support materials to study centres, inadequate and unqualified personnel e.g. course tutors, supervisors, etc; unqualified students that are admitted into the programme. Others reported weaknesses include poor remuneration paid to supervisors and course tutors, poor attendance at tutorials by course tutors and students, unsatisfactory handling of vital operations of the programme such as continuous assessment, conduct of practicals, project writing and submission.

Inadequate facilities at study

centres for course tutors and students, existence of unviable and inaccessible study centres; disparity in the number of units of the expected tutorial hours for a semester and allocation of marks to continuous assessment, maintenance of computer training centres, from centre to centre, were also found as weakness of the programme.

Educational Content and Learning Activities of a Curriculum The criteria for selecting content and learning activities for a curriculum as contained in Etuk, Udosen & Edem (2004) are offered below: (1)

the ability of the content to meet the needs and interests of learners,

its

transferability

significance,

its

validity,

learnability

and

56 (2)

the ability of the content to foster the development of peerrelationships and group interactions among learners and

(3)

the gradient of difficulty which should be within the learners’ intellectual levels.

More criteria include feedback, satisfaction to student, practicability, comprehensiveness, variety, suitability, relevance, stability, efficiency and balance, pp. 81–84. Some of those criteria are explained here. Meeting Learners’ Needs and Interests The curriculum content should be constructed with different kinds of students in mind: the slow learners and fast learners; the high academic achievers and the low academic achievers; those who like school and those who do not. The initial activities, in particular, should attract the attention of each student and seem worth doing. Students should like to participate either because they achieve something, learn something they had wanted to learn, enjoy the activities they are interested in or emulate persons they respect who are doing them. The activities should be well within the capabilities of the students to carry them on successfully. When this happens, they gain confidence in going on with further activities. Tyler (1975) warns against the use of repetitive drills, because they soon become boring. He admonished that human beings rarely want to be shaped by others. Each person has purposes and interests of his own and utilizes his energy to further his purposes and satisfy his interests. If a school activity is perceived by the learner as being interesting and useful for the individual purpose (congruent with his needs) the learner enters into it energetically. If the school activity seems uninteresting, boring, irrelevant and

57 painful, the learner avoids it completely, or limits his involvement as much as possible. Significance: Basic ideas, concepts and principles should form the bases for the subject-matter. For instance, a mathematics programme must have elements of addition and subtraction. Validity: The content should be true and authentic. If the content does not appear to be valid in a particular environment, the teacher has the right to change it. For instance, if the prescribed organism or substance for learning a particular unit is not available within the neighbourhood of the school, a substitute should be found for studies. Validity also implies that the learning experiences which students acquire must help the students achieve the objectives set for that particular lesson. For instance, if the objectives for a lesson in integrated science is for students to master the external features of a fish, they should experience the fish both alive in water and as a preserved specimen which they can closely observe. They should draw the fish and label the different parts. Such experiences help to bring about the required learning outcomes as specified in the objectives. Learnability: It should be possible for students to perform the activities or carry out the behaviours that are intended by the objectives formulated for the content. Transferability: The learning experience embodied in the content must be transferable from the school to life outside the school and from one learning situation to another. Education is not successful if students do not transfer what they learn in school to life outside the school or from one situation within the school to another. In the opinion of Tyler (1975), every educational

58 programme should be designed to develop new ways of doing things – new ways of thinking, feeling and acting in different situations in life, new ways of viewing

situations,

solving

problems,

understanding

and

explaining

phenomena, responding emotionally to aesthetic experiences, new kinds of interests and new social, intellectual and communication skills. These are often in sharp contrast to the habits, ideas and practices of many students. The content and learning opportunities designed for students should be such that will help them apply these new ways of behaviour to life situations

outside

the

school

environment.

Otherwise,

the

learning

experiences are lost within the boundaries of the school without being transferred to life outside the classroom. Therefore, for every stated objective, the curriculum developer should endeavour to consider the ways in which the conditions under which the behaviour being learnt, can be appropriately transferred to life outside the classroom. This implies that a set of learning experiences embodied in a particular content in the curriculum should be such that stimulates the students to apply the knowledge, skill and attitude acquired when out of school. Fostering Peer-Group Interactions: Peer-group influences should be used as much as possible to attain the desired objectives. Group projects, games, discussions and group problem-solving should be born in mind in selecting content for learning. Such activities provide powerful learning experiences for learners. Solitary activities are hard for children to carry on for along time. Two students of different ages can relate in a tutoring relationship and children of the same age, in co-operative relationship or competitive contests (Tyler, 1975).

59 Gradient of Difficulty of the Content: Activities embodied in the content should be suited to the students’ ages and levels of knowledge. The activities should suit the students’ intellectual levels (Piaget, 1963 in Etuk, Udosen & Edem, 2004) and their physical development levels. This is very important especially in assigning projects to students. Feedback: Feedback mechanism must be embedded in the learning experiences so that students can judge for themselves whether or not they have mastered the objectives. Workbooks, review questions and answers could serve this purpose. Reinforcement/Satisfaction: The students must obtain satisfaction from the learning experiences in order for it to become part of the repertoire of his/her experiences. Satisfaction is obtained when students’ contributions are reinforced either positively or negatively. Practicability: The experiences must be practicable. Comprehensiveness: The scope of experiences must be wide enough to embrace all the domains of the objectives. Variety:

This means that the learning experiences that learners acquire

should vary. This implies that learners should not engage in the same kind of activities in the course of each lesson. Varieties should be introduced like, working in groups, doing projects and some practical work. Activities should complement every class work. Suitability:

The learning acquired should be suitable for that level of

learners. Relevance:

The learning acquired should be relevant to the overall

educational goals/aims/objectives of a people.

60 Stability: The subject content transmitted to students should not be subject to frequent changes and innovations in the knowledge culture.

Before a

subject-matter content is incorporated into the school curriculum, it must have been ascertained through research that it is an enduring principle. Balance: A balance should be maintained among the subject disciplines so that one subject-matter area does not overshadow the others. Textbook Evaluation Having made a study of ten textbooks evaluation schemes and ten textbook reviews, Ansary & Babaii (n.d) came up with universal criteria that English language textbook assessors and reviewers usually use.

These

consist of the: •

Approach, which involves dissemination of a vision, theory or approach about nature of language, nature of learning and how the theory can be put into use.



Context Presentation, which involves stating purposes and objectives for the total course and for individual units.



Selection and its Rationale, which include coverage, grading, organisation and sequencing.



Satisfaction of the Syllabus to both the student and the teacher. To the teacher: providing a guide, giving advice on methods, the exercises and giving supplementary materials. To the student: availability of unit by unit instruction, supplying graphics, periodic revisions, workbooks, exercises and activities in the classroom, homework, sample exercises with clear instructions, being varied and copious having periodic test sections and accompanying audio-visual aids.

61 •

Physical Make-up, which include appropriate size and weight, attractive layout, durability, high quality of editing and publishing, and appropriate title.



Administration

Concerns,

including

macro-state

policies,

appropriateness for local situations, - for different cultures, religions, gender, and appropriate prices. The authors maintained that, “perhaps no neat formula or system may ever provide a definite way to judge a textbook” (Ansary & Babaii, n.d., p.3). They went ahead and reviewed the criteria for textbook evaluation put forward by two authors at different points in time (Tucker, 1975 & Tomlinson, 1996, all in Ansary & Babaii, n.d.). The authors maintained that the criteria for textbook evaluation recommended by the former (Tucker, 1975), involves a fourcolumn design.

Column one contains the universal theory – neutral

characteristics of EFL/ESL textbooks; in the second column, the evaluator may decide to insert his/her situation-friendly criteria, based probably on the results of students’ needs analysis. The third column should contain a perfect value score (PVS) of 2, which should indicate an ideal weight assigned to each defined criterion, while the fourth column should contain a merit score (MS) of which value should range from 0 – 2. The basis for rating a textbook should be derived from the third and fourth columns by assigning a comparative weight to the actual scrutinized criterion of the textbook by comparing it with the ideal defined criterion (PVS in column 3) and the actual reality in a particular textbook. For a perfect match with the ideal, the assessed textbook is assigned a score of 2, a total lack of match, a score of zero (0) and any inadequate match a score of one (1).

62 This should be followed by a graphical representation of the MS and PVS for the textbook.

This model is said to have certain advantages,

including comparing and contrasting the ratings by several textbook raters in order to reach the correlated consensus of several opinions on a single textbook, which can be easily displayed in the same graph. Secondly, an evaluator can display his judgments about several textbooks on a single graph using a separate line for each textbook. That way, profiles of various textbooks could be seen in contrast to the ideal, which should be drawn with a solid line.

Such a method will affirm how a particular textbook satisfies

requirements (Asary & Babaii, n.d.). If that is done, not only will differences between textbooks be portrayed but also any instances of marked variations can be noted and revised. This model should be approached in either of two ways: by an evaluator examining a particular textbook to identify its characteristics and the judging against a preferred criterion or by an evaluator first defining the preferred options and then investigating how far a particular textbook matches the chosen criteria. The authors concluded that however perfect a textbook is, it is just a simple tool in the hands of teachers. Teachers should not be expected to work miracles with textbooks. ‘What is more important about a textbook is what teachers can do with it (Ansary & Babaii, n.d.). Meachean (1982) simply put the criteria for choosing a textbook for distance learning into three categories of appropriateness, readability and availability:

63 Appropriateness An appropriate text should, in the first instance relate to the described content and objectives of the subject it is recommended for. Unfortunately, many recommended texts do not have this close relationship (Meachean, 1982). Consequently, either the subject gravitates away from its official description, or the text is only used peripherally despite its often considerable expense. If the match between subject and text is assumed, then all things being equal, a chosen text should: •

have a logical scope and sequence;



reflect recent developments in scholarly research;



attempt to interpret the methods and results of research as they apply to theories and statements of facts;



have a conceptual framework that gives it direction and purpose while achieving a consistent theoretical perspective;



have a content based on identifiable and acceptable assumptions and factual information relevant to any concepts examined;



be consistent in the use of terminology and concepts without ambiguities, vague terms and unclear meanings;



have a defensible scheme for the selection of materials;



attempt to focus on or identify problems and hypotheses that can serve to stimulate students’ thoughts and enquiry;



encourage students to question various observations and related interpretations of reported phenomena;

64 •

promote the creative discovery of relationships by students and provide creative encounters in the form of cases, experiments, episodes, dilemmas;



deal freely with controversial issues and where feasible, should identify all points of view, and if one point of view is preferred, should make clear on what ground the conclusion was reached; and



have definitive, detailed and annotated bibliographies with fully identified statistical data sources. Some of these criteria are more applicable to particular subjects than to

others, and there are no doubt, additional factors to be considered in some cases. However, the importance of choosing a text after some informed and rational examination of alternatives cannot be denied. Readability Based on Meachean (1982), when choosing a text particular consideration should be paid to its readability, notwithstanding all arguments about the need to use the language of the discipline being taught and not some imitation which uses inferior than original version. If students fail because they cannot read a set text, the book is useful for the purpose of selection rather than instruction. Unreadable texts increase uncertainly in the minds of students. Tolerance of uncertainty varies from student to student, but eventually all will give up reading if a text is too difficult. It follows that to choose a suitable text it is desirable to attempt to predict its readability and consider just what makes a text difficult. Unfortunately, individual judgments have proved to be unreliable, probably because of instructors’ differing

65 academic experiences. Meachean (1982) strongly advised that judgments about the readability of text be made in consideration with the reader’s factors in order to extend and make more reliable professional judgement. Based on Meachean (1982, pp. 1 – 2) some points to note when considering readability are: •

taking care of a combination of reader factors and textual factors by keeping the potential reader in mind;



knowing that college students are, generally less able readers than lecturers expect them to be, so don’t just choose texts for students;



knowing that reading ability varies according to task, so advantage of situations should be taken where the students are already familiar with the content of a text;



knowing that motivational factors tend to be overestimated, so even if the content is inspirational, it can still cause reading difficulties;



readability checklist is in part a consequence of textual factors such as: (i)

legibility of print – Is the print legible?

(ii)

illustrations – Do the illustrations assist or distract from comprehension?

(iii)

vocabulary – Is the vocabulary as simple as is permissible?

(iv)

conceptual difficulty – Is the level of conceptual difficulty and density appropriate?

(v)

syntax – Is the syntax familiar enough to facilitate reading?

66 (vi)

organisation – Is the material organised and indexed in a logical manner?

Generally, do the students have experiences, competences and motivations which suggest they can and will read the chosen texts? Availability At the risk of stating the obvious, if students cannot obtain texts they cannot read them. The non-availability of texts is a recurring problem which according to Meachean (1982) results from: •

the small size of the market in the specialist text;



unreliability of steady production;



lack of communication between suppliers;



failure to place orders with suppliers; and



remoteness of students. In view of these problems, the utmost care must be taken to ensure

that students are provided with as few difficulties as possible. Meachean (1982) advised that the following action should be taken to counter unavailability: •

checking the availability of books with the bookshop before making a final choice;



checking with publishers/suppliers if the chosen book is both new and highly specialised; and



being aware of the availability claims of publishers’ representatives. Finally, having made an appropriate choice of texts, some thoughts

should be given to its use. Books clearly serve a variety of purposes. An edited series of readings will have a different function to a catalogue of factual

67 information. However, it is important that whatever the style of the chosen text, it should be integrated with the accompanying notes. A booklist and series of examination questions is inadequate for the majority of students (Meachean, 1982). If the aim is to attempt to replicate for the external student all the learning experiences of the on-campus student, then the text will usually only be a substitute for the formal lecture. Seminars, informal discussions and other aspects of active student learning need to be substituted for with an appropriate set of notes (Meachean, 1982, pp. 1 – 2, 5 – 9). The criteria of appropriateness and readability are very important in assessing NTIDL textbooks because since they are “stand-alone texts” (Lankbeck & Mugler, 2005, p. 2), (written specifically for use by the NTI students) they are not in circulation for purchase by other students. Besides, those books might not have gone through an external assessment and there is the possibility of the content of the books being pitched higher than the NCE level, since the books are written by university dons. This suspicion was confirmed by course tutors interviewed during data collection, who maintained that some units in the course materials are at the level of year four university degree work. Availability of NTIDL texts may be a problem to students too. Even though the cost of textbooks and materials are built into the tuition fees, reports from students indicate that the texts do not go round every hand. We do not know where the problem arises; whether the NTI does not publish enough texts to go round every student and tutor or some students collect more than one copy. Mbaya (2005), a personnel in the NTI, even affirmed late

68 arrival and lack of reading texts as some of the factors that cause poor performance by NTI students.

Curriculum Evaluation Three variables, which are of major concern in curriculum evaluation, are the educational programme, the students and the teachers (Etuk, Udosen & Edem, 2004). Programme Evaluation The educational programme must be evaluated within the period of its development and throughout the period of implementation. The purpose of programme evaluation is to see how the programme is doing, whether the purpose in setting up the educational programme is accomplished, whether the recommended texts and teaching/learning materials are easily obtainable and whether the teachers can use the equipment made available for the implementation of the programme Programme evaluation is usually done in the course of its development and throughout the implementation stage. It is done to see: •

how useful the programme is to the learners;



whether the objectives set for the programme are attainable and the materials required for teaching are available;



how well students do in examinations after undergoing the programme;



whether the curriculum content and the textbooks that accompany the programme are arranged in logical sequence. (Etuk, Udosen & Edem, 2004, p.95).

69 These information are essential so that the educational programme could be relevant to the needs of students and the society.

Curriculum

modification or revision may be instituted whenever the learning programme is found to be failing in any of these areas. Programme evaluation is an ongoing process. Evaluation of the educational programme takes place in three stages. These consist of the: •

diagnostic evaluation;



formative evaluation; and



summative evaluation (Etuk, Udosen & Edem, 2004, p.96)

Formative Evaluation Formative is derived from the world ‘form’.

Formative evaluation

therefore implies that the evaluation conducted at this stage is meant to give form or shape to the educational programme. Formative evaluation of the educational programme is conducted at the trial-testing stages through the operation or implementation stage. The variables of concern at the formative evaluation stage include:

adequacy of the objectives, adequacy and

relevance of the learning content, the adequacy of implementation strategies, problems encountered by the instructors and students performances in the programme. Strategies for formative evaluation as recommended by Salia-Bao (1989), in Etuk, Udosen & Edem (2004, p.96) include: •

observation of students in class;



discussion with teachers, students, parents and with school administrators;



testing students’ knowledge of the curriculum content;

70 •

formal and information interviews with or without a questionnaire with stakeholders of the educational establishment.

Students Evaluation and Performance in Schools After going through an educational programme, students are usually assessed and judgments made on their performances. Generally speaking, students should be evaluated on the knowledge acquired from an educational programme (otherwise known as the cognitive or intellectual skills); on what they can make with their hands, legs and other body parts: on their attitudes to work and on their spiritual and human relationships. All these fit into the three domains of objectives – the cognitive, affective and the psychomotor domains. Among these three, the cognitive abilities of students are most often evaluated in every instructional situation. (The categories under the cognitive domain are reviewed under quality assurance). Students’ are usually evaluated on mastery of the subject-matter. This is known through students’ scores in tests and examinations and what they can make with their hands, in general. The score obtained by an individual student is used to rate that student’s intellectual stand, either by comparing the score to those of other students (norm-referenced) or by the degree of the student’s mastery of the subject matter of the instruction (criterion referenced). Students’ scores are also used for making decisions about the students. These include decisions about promotion to another class, decision to admit for higher education, decision to give the student educational assistance like scholarship and in the larger society, students’ grades in evaluations in school can be used to grant the student employment (Etuk, Udosen & Edem, 2004).

71 Students’ performances in schools are often attributed to several factors, which may include the background of the student, the school in which the student is educated, the teacher who teaches the student, availability of facilities for teaching and learning, the peers and company kept by the student, and to the natural attributes of the student. The natural attributes include the students’ natural givens like, intellectual level, self-discipline capabilities, and the level of concentration which individual students can possibly attain. Carroll

(1963)

in

Etuk

(2002a)

attributed

students’

learning

achievements to four factors, which involved the learning context, the degree of interaction with the learner, the quality of instruction by the teacher, and the learner’s natural abilities. In terms of the learning context, time allowed for learning was uppermost in the list. In terms of the degree of interactions with the learner, the quality of instruction by the teacher, and the level of motivation of the student. The fourth factor was the student’s natural ability. Similarly, Omojuwa (2005) attributed poor performances of Nigerian learners to four factors, comprising the educational policy, methods of teaching, teacher preparation and competence and unavailability of teaching/learning facilities in schools. One Important attribute of the student worthy of mention in this study is students’ attitude to school work. Attitude is a mental position with regards to feelings or emotions towards a fact or state; or an organismic state of readiness to respond in a characteristic way to a stimulus. It is a way of thinking and feeling, which affects human behaviour and performance of tasks (Ani, 1997, in Akpan, 2006). The attitudes that students show toward school

72 subjects have been directly linked to their ability to succeed academically in certain subjects.

In an exploratory analysis of students’ attitudes and

academic achievement, Akey (2006) found that positive feelings about one’s ability to be successful academically strongly predicted improved reading and mathematics achievement. Researchers who share in this view include Ani (1997) in Akpan (2006) and Ubom (2003). One frequently negative attitude shown by students which affect their academic achievement is absenteeism A lot of factors including shame of backwardness or failure in class work and assignment; parents’ unduly high expectation for academic achievement; and lack of learning materials have been given for students’ tendency to be absent from classes. Wojciechowski and Palmer (2005), in a research report indicated that the grade or score that students receive in a course depends on their attendance in class sessions. Similarly, Enyinnaya (1999), earlier reported that irregularity of students in attendance to lessons retarded their academic achievements. He however added that the students’ individual differences also influenced their achievements. Students’ Performance in Mathematics Mathematics is one of the subjects which most people, including the students of Mathematics generally view as difficult. A mere mention of the word “Mathematics” sends anxiety across the minds of most of the students of Mathematics and those of the general public. But interestingly, in everyday life, people regardless of their age, gender, religion, literacy level or ethnic group, carry out certain activities, which involve this most dreaded subject, “Mathematics”. For instance, a mother in the kitchen preparing meal for the

73 members of her family has to carry out some form of measurements, numeration and arithmetic in order to prepare the right quantity and quality of food for the family; the farmer in order to obtain a good yield measures distances apart suitable for each of the different crops he cultivates. In the market, the buyer as well as the seller get involved with simple arithmetic; and in the government, budgets that are prepared involve mathematical activities. In the educational system, mathematics is accorded a premier position; it is one of the core and compulsory subjects in the school curriculum which all the secondary school students must register for in the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) and in the National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations.

In this era of rapid technological

advancement, so much attention has been given to science and technology education, especially in a developing country like Nigeria. The knowledge of science and technology could be applied in solving a variety of human problems such as the provision of better health services through the invention of new drugs and advanced medical equipments.

However, the study of

science and technology will not be very possible without the basic knowledge of mathematics. This is because, according to Etuk (2003), activities such as measurements, numeracy, calculations and evaluations carried out in science and technology are all aspects of mathematics.

The above fact places

mathematics at the foundation of any scientific or technological endeavour and justifies why mathematics has been made a pre-requisite for studying any of the science and technology oriented courses in the universities and other institutions of higher learning.

74 Despite the wide-ranging utility of mathematics and its vital role in national development, students still perform poorly in the subject. Various media organs carry reports of learners’ inability to perform well at the various examinations as indicated by (Agwanyang, 2004). The West African Senior School Certificate Examinations’ Chief Examiner’s report for the years 1999; 2000; 2002; in Agwanyang (2004) showed unabated declining performance especially in the areas of science, technology and mathematics (STM). The problem of poor performance by students has caused the educators, parents, educational psychologists, the government and even the students, serious concerns over the years.

In emphasizing the need for

students to develop more interest in mathematics, Etuk (2003) maintained that mathematics is an embodiment of science, because measurement and evaluation are two mathematical activities, which are highly utilized in the field of science and technology. She added that “numeracy is a regular companion of literacy” (p.140) and it is also a companion of science and technology. By this she was emphasizing the need for students to develop more interest in the study of mathematics because, knowledge of mathematics is an element of literacy which is a purveyor of science and technology. Etuk (2003) copiously made suggestions towards removing barriers imposed by such factors as: cultural variables like beliefs, and language; poor educational environment in both the family and the school, which are devoid of facilities to stimulate children’s curiosity and learning; and poor teaching methods used by teachers.

75 Teachers Evaluation and Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness Evaluation of teachers is usually done by the teacher-employer or by the head of the educational institution, who by virtue of his/her role is authorized to represent the employer.

Teachers’ appraisals include their

abilities to implement the curriculum. Taking decisions on teachers is beyond the responsibility of the curriculum developer. Weaknesses noticed among teachers who implement a particular curriculum are reported to the employer who may mount educational programmes or workshops designed to reduce the deficiencies (Etuk, Udosen & Edem, 2004). Teacher evaluation is necessary because employers expect effective classroom behaviours from teachers. Stakeholders expect teachers to be models for the children they teach because they spend most of their school time with them. They expect teachers to affect children’s behaviours in a positive way. Peer Rating of Teaching Effectiveness According to Berk (2005) peer rating of teaching consists of two activities – peer observations of in-class teaching performance and peer rating of written documents used in a course. Peer observation of teaching performance requires a rating scale that covers those aspects of teaching that peers are better qualified to evaluate than students.

The

questionnaire

items usually address the instructor’s content knowledge, delivery, teaching methods, learning activities and the like. The ratings may be recorded live, with one or more peers in one or multiple occasions or from videotaped classes.

76 Peer rating of teaching materials requires a different type of scale to rate the quality of the course, syllabus, instructional plans, texts, reading assignments, handouts, home work, tests/projects, sometimes teaching behaviours such as fairness, grading practices, ethics and professionalism. Berk (2005) mentioned the advantages of the review of teaching materials to include being less subjective, more cost-effective and being more efficient than peer observations. Peer observation was upheld because it was said to “provide direct evaluations of the act of teaching” (Berk, 2005, p. 51). He recommended the use of both types of peer ratings, where possible in a comprehensive system of evaluation. Peer rating however, is not without problems, some of the criticism leveled against peer rating include: having subjective and personalized ratings, low inter-reviewer reliability, being a oneshut exercise, failure to measure important characteristics of teaching effectiveness and on account of it having less likelihood of being used by administrators for summative evaluation. Employer (PTA) and Administrator’s Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness According to Berk (2005), employers’ (parents’) ratings provide an indirect source of evidence for programme evaluation decisions about teaching effectiveness and attainment of programme outcomes. Based on Unruh and Willier (1974) in Etuk (2007), educated members of the community are usually the ones who show interest in what the school in their community is doing. But, their expectations from the school are usually very high. In terms of administrations, they are qualified to rate teaching effectiveness because they have expertise in teaching methods, classroom

77 evaluation techniques and content in the discipline (Diamond, 2004). Diamond (2004) advised that the evaluation categories should however be very explicit and should be given to those who are going to be evaluated to complete about their past achievements. The administrator should finally rate the overall quality of performance of an individual in each category. Berk (2005) observed that administrators’ ratings are typically based on secondary sources, not on direct observation of teaching. Rating of Teaching Effectiveness Through Learning Outcomes Rating of teaching effectiveness through learning outcomes is an indirect way of rating teaching effectiveness. In this approach, teaching effectiveness is inferred from students’ performances i.e. what students learnt in a given course (Berk, 2005). This source has been proved to be a very dependable source of measuring teaching effectiveness. For instance, Cohen (1981), in Berk (2005) reported that there were significant correlations between students’ ratings of teaching effectiveness and performance on final examinations. Theall and Franklin (2001) in Berk (2005) noted consistently high correlations between students’ ratings of the amount learned in a course and overall ratings of teaching effectiveness of the teacher. Despite all these evidences, this source is said to be fraught with problems because teaching is not the only source of students’ learning. Students learn through tests, projects, writing reports and students’ performances may be influenced by students’ characteristics, the educational institution and even the home from where the student comes. Teachers have no control over all these other educational variables. Therefore, learning outcome measures should be employed with extreme caution. It is safer to

78 use students’ outcome measures in conjunction with direct data sources (Berk, 2005). The use of changes in pupil’s achievement rests on the assumption that effective teaching can be measured from growth in students’ achievement while under the direction of the teacher (Campbell et al, 1977), in Etuk, (2000). The reasoning is that examination scores constitute a direct important measure of one of the products of effective instruction – what students have learned of the course material as well as means of assigning grades. This approach to measuring teaching effectiveness has been historically emphasized by teachers because “the whole aim, after all, is to help pupils learn” (Byrne, 1987, p. 21). Byrne (1987) listed activities involved in the use of changes in student’s achievement as a measure of teaching effectiveness to include interpretation of all forms of class marks, standardized tests, the input measures, examination results, gender and ethnicity differences and absence patterns. The researcher is advised to always look at individual teacher’s group and see if it varies from the norm of the year and if so, what questions this raises (Byrne, 1987). Some researchers, however, highlighted the shortcomings in using changes in pupils’ achievement in the appraisal of teaching effectiveness. Among such researchers was Marsh (1994, p. 631) who saw it as “a narrow criterion-related approach to validity” which researchers have historically emphasized as only criterion of effective teaching. Kleinfield (1975) notified researchers of the difficulty of using it at the secondary school level where different teachers teach different subjects. Schultz (1978) objected to its use too, for the reason that influences on pupils’ learning other than the

79 teacher’s do not seem to be adequately recognised. Schultz (1978) other reasons for objecting to the use of pupils’ outcomes was that educational institutions are unable to establish priorities among teacher variables since some teacher-variables which further the accomplishment of some goals may be unrelated, or are interfered with by other goals. The criterion is subject to methodological problems which render it all but inoperative (Schult, 1978). Different instructors cannot be compared against the same measure of students for obvious reasons, “some of these tests will be easy, others will be difficult; some will be English, some in Spanish, others in biology…“ (Schultz, 1978, p.5). Kyriacou & Newson (1982) highlighted still another dimension of the problem in using learners’ outcomes in measuring teaching effectiveness, as being lack of uniformity of these tests or lack of consensus of criteria defining the successful outcomes of teaching effectiveness. Some tests tend to focus on short-term cognitive outcomes, such as performance in national examinations, or short-term affective outcomes, such as gain in levels of selfconcept. Pupils’ outcomes, to a large extent, are attributable to context variables, e.g. pupils’ ability and social class. When these are not controlled for, the contributions that differences in effectiveness between teachers make to the proportion of variance on tests is extremely limited (Kyriacou & Newson, 1982). It is inadequate or unable to account for instructional variables which the teacher does not control. The variables which exert some influences on students’ learning other than teachers include the students’ family background, his abilities or intelligence level and previous learning experiences. Perhaps, the use of learners’ outcomes to measure teaching effectiveness is still considered necessary because “it tends to reinforce the

80 idea that the goal of teaching is primarily examination success” (Kyriacou & Newson, 1982, p.7). Suggestions for overcoming the problems envisaged in the use of learners’ outcomes as a source for measuring teaching effectiveness include the use of an externally-administered examination and the use of context variables as moderators of process-product relationships to explore possible interactions (Schultz, 1978). Since there is a limit to the number of context variables that can be controlled for, any effect obtained may be confounded with variations in those context variables not controlled. According to Schultz (1978), the subject matter too must be taken into consideration. This means that comparison of different sets of schools must be done subject by subject. To control for context variables, the researcher should focus on contentspecific context variables with more homogenous samples of students” e.g, mathematics to fourth year ‘O’ level sets or Shakespeare to a mixed group of second year pupils in comprehensive secondary schools (Kyriacou & Newson, 1982, p.7). This implies that in Nigeria for instance, a sample could be selected from senior secondary one (SS1) in mathematics classes or from junior secondary two (JS2) in literature classes from comprehensive or grammar schools to control for context variables, which are peculiar to certain subject disciplines. The control for content-specific context variables recognizes the uniqueness of the teaching situation within the framework of different context variables and may thus highlight the difference between teachers teaching in similar contexts. Schultz (1978) also suggested the use of an achievement test, which is given to different sections of the same course as a control for context variables. Different sections of the same course is

81 equivalent to saying different streams of the same class studying the same subject in the same school and taught by the same teacher. Self-Assessment of Teaching Effectiveness Researches on self-assessment are skimpy and inconclusive (Berk, 2005). Evidence indicate that superior teachers provide more accurate selfratings than mediocre or putrid teachers Centra, (1973), in (Berk, 2005) Despite any possible biases, staff self-assessment serves a double function; it gives all staff an opportunity to consciously and formally evaluate their own work. This evidence can provide support for what teachers do in the classroom and can present a picture of teaching unobtainable from any other source (Berk, 2005). Moreover, self-assessment provides valuable records of the continuing contributions made to the school by each member of staff. (Marland, 1987). Self-evaluation is always included for summative decisions on staff in colleges and universities (Berk, 2005). The form that self-assessment usually takes for university academics is using a sheet of paper which describes teaching, scholarship, service and practice in the previous year. In the opinion of Berk, (2005) completing such a form is not a true evaluation of teaching effectiveness. For self-evaluation to be valuable in personnel decisions, a structured form of questionnaire with instructors’ teaching objectives, activities and accomplishments and failures should be used. Other variables which should be included in self-evaluation forms are classroom approaches, teacher-student rapport, knowledge of the discipline, course organization and planning and questions about teaching, (Seldin, 1999, in Berk, 2005)

82 Additional insights into how instructors’ self-ratings should be utilized was provided by Wergin (1992) in Berk (2005), who advised for the use of a triad: students ratings, instructor’s self ratings and instructor’s perception of students’ ratings as valuable insights on teaching effectiveness. Students’ and self-ratings are reported to yield low positive correlations. A video of one’s own teaching performance can be even more informative as a source of selfevaluation evidence. Staff input into their own teaching completes the triangulation of the three direct observation sources of teaching: students, peers and self (Berk, 2005). Students’ Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness Students rating of teaching effectiveness has been the primary source of measuring teaching effectiveness in the United States of America and in Canada. It has become synonymous with staff evaluation in those countries (Seldin, 1999, in Berk, 2005). It is the most influential measure of performance used in promotion and tenure decisions at institutions that emphasize teaching effectiveness. Recent estimates indicate that 88 percent of all liberal arts colleges use students’ ratings in summative decisions and an investigation by the US Department of Education in 1991 indicated that 97 percent of Educational Departments in the USA used students’ evaluation to assess teaching performance. (Berk, 2005), The wide-scale use of students to rate their teachers depends on its advantage, including that learners are direct consumers of teaching and they know when they are being well-taught (Abrami & d’Appolonia, 1990). Since students are direct observers of teaching, they are in a position to make better and objective judgments without being influenced by characteristics external to instruction (Byrme,

83 1987; Abrami et al, 1990). As direct consumers, students have a unique perspective from which to view teaching effectiveness (Byrne, 1987). Despite the seemingly popularity of students’ ratings, there have been signs of staff hostility and cynicism toward student ratings (Nasser & Fresko, 2002). Students ratings of teaching effectiveness is said to be biased by variables unrelated to teaching effectiveness and criticized for students’ lack of knowledge of what constitute effective teaching (Adejumo, 1985/86). There is also the fear of the possibility of grading biases due to the grades obtained by students in a course taught by the teacher appraised (Chacko, 1983); and biases due to the purpose for the evaluation, as it was established that students gave more favourable ratings to teachers when the ratings were meant for teachers’ promotion or advancement than for research or instructional improvement (Gmelch & Glasman, 1979). There were also some doubts as to whether students’ evaluations accurately measure teaching quality such as teachers’ impact on student’s learning and whether students are really acquainted with all the expectations which most school systems have for teachers (Abrami et al 1990). Students had been described as “incompetent, immature and biased judges of teachers’ professional competence” (Obanya & Onocha, 1984, p. 99). Reports by students who had earlier taken the course were also suspected to influence students’ ratings (Adejumo, 1985/86). So far, no research evidence has been found to substantiate common allegations by staff (Berk, 2005). At percent, a large percent of staff in all disciplines in USA and Canada, have moderately positive attitudes toward the

84 validity of students ratings and their usefulness for improving instruction even though there is no consensus (Nasser & Fresko, 2002). Although there is still a wide range of opinions on their value, students ratings are the most single valid source of data on teaching effectiveness unequalled with any other source (McKeachie, 1997) students’ ratings provides an excellent source of evidence for both formative and summative decisions; though not a sufficient source for the latter, but an essential component of any staff evaluation system (Berk, 2005). Empirical evidence indicates that there is an agreement in rating between different groups – parents, administrators, self, peers and students; but students’ judgment of the most effective teachers was considered the best (Toylor, 1973).

Criteria for Teaching Effectiveness The “traditional approach” to judging teaching effectiveness was often times “casual, unsystematic and haphazard assessment” (Adesina, 1990, p. 106). Those early researches tended to focus on the relationship between presage variables and product variables of teaching as criteria for judging teaching effectiveness. The criteria were informed subjective opinions of teaching effectiveness based on such qualities as “patience, enthusiasm, flexibility, credibility and general with-it-ness which qualitative measures have difficulty in considering” (Kyriacou & Newson, 1982, p. 4). The reason for basing teaching effectiveness on the personality variables of the teacher was that, differences in teaching lay not in the mastery of methods and procedures, but in the teachers themselves. An instructor’s skill in organising and managing his course requirement is necessary but not sufficient for

85 achieving effectiveness. Although these criteria are important in teaching effectiveness, “they cannot and should not constitute the only grounds on which judgment about teaching effectiveness should be made” (Adesina, 1990, p. 106). The consideration of teacher personality implies that the key to teaching effectiveness lies in assessing and meeting teachers’ needs (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004). Indeed, failure of educational plans to consider teacher’s needs was advanced as one of the reasons for falling standards of education (Eferakeya, 1985/86). Teachers’ needs are both pedagogical and personal; while the personal needs are both physical and psychological (Maslow, 1954, in Etuk, 2002b). A modern practice in teaching effectiveness studies is to focus on the role perceptions (the pedagogical needs, rather than the psychological needs) of the teacher for clues to the variables which are important in teaching effectiveness considerations. In the opinion of Schultz (1978), it is hard to imagine how a teacher could be evaluated adequately without taking into account what the teacher was trying to accomplish in a given situation. Marland (1987, p. 15) held a similar opinion when he said “you cannot evaluate someone’s work when you do not know that he or she is meant to do”. These expectations are made even clearer by Ukeje et al (1992) who were of the opinion that the effectiveness of an individual’s performance can only be researched into when well-defined standards and knowledge of the organisation’s expectations and demands exist. Meaning that to be able to measure teaching effectiveness with any degree of accuracy, we need to know the role expectations from which to derive the criteria or standard.

86 Modern appraisal approaches are abandoning plans that involve evaluation of personal characteristics of teachers in favour of those characteristics that encourage setting forth organisational expectations. The focus of attention now is on exploring the relationship between process variables and product variables of teaching, and the criteria for judging success are based on them (Kyriacou & Newson, 1982). Some educators, however, still insist on the need to consider input or presage variables of teaching in judging teaching effectiveness Byrne (1987, p. 36) opinion, interest in teaching effectiveness appraisal must be focused on “a central core of activities which concerns the planning, interactive and review phases of teaching”. In general, school teaching always consists of, at least, these basic components and instances of these must form the main basis of most teaching effectiveness appraisals. A teacher’s knowledge and understanding in relation to what is taught, and the pedagogical skills relevant to teaching it are crucially important in teaching effectiveness (Byrne, 1987). There is therefore, lack of agreement especially in the use of presage variables of teaching. There is however, no disagreement in the use of process and product variables of teaching as criteria in the appraisal of teaching effectiveness. Ali (1992) nevertheless admonished that the criteria for measuring teaching effectiveness become more meaningful if the outcomes are not conceived in terms of instructional goals alone. The criteria should be described in terms of students’ outcomes, teacher effects on pupils’ growth and learning and in terms of effects of school on later life. The general opinion is that since the ultimate index of teaching effectiveness is the finished product, the after-school use of knowledge by students should be used as

87 criteria for measuring teaching effectiveness”. Apparently, if after-school use knowledge by students is made a criterion for teaching effectiveness, it will be difficult to separate the contribution made by individual teachers under whom a student passed in the secondary school. The after-school use of knowledge factor may be more appropriate for the appraisal of teaching effectiveness of primary school teachers, since it is possible in the primary school structure for a pupil to gain all his learning experiences through a single teacher. Kyriacou & Newson (1982) might have been aware of such a problem when they proffered that teaching effectiveness should be based solely on pupils’ performance in tests and examinations. The reason for this is that despite laudable virtues of education professed to be desirable social awareness, an enquiring mind, ability to apply knowledge in new situations, the standard measure of effectiveness employed by researchers is children’s performance in variants of attainment tests and examinations.

“The

researcher

should

accept

prevailing

ethos

and

concentrate on identifying test-attainment specific qualities in the teacher” (Kyriacou & Newson, 1982, p. 10). Adesina (1990, p. 190) expressed the same opinion when he said that “since the major purpose of hiring a teacher is instructional effectiveness, teacher evaluation should concern itself primarily with this goal fulfillment”. Those aspects of instruction which are of relevance to individual teachers should be combined with other evaluation criteria to complete the evaluation exercise. Kleinfield (1975, p. 318), earlier delineated “two central characteristics” which tend to distinguish effective from ineffective teachers. The first and most important characteristic is the effective teachers’ “ability to create a

88 climate of emotional warmth” that dissipates students’ fears in the classroom and fulfils their expectations of highly personalized relationships. Warmth in this context implies kindness, friendliness and nurturance. Warmth was established as a central dimension of teacher behaviour related to such outcomes as classroom attentiveness, productivity and achievement. The second of the two central characteristics was the teacher’s ability to resolve his own ambivalent feelings about the legitimacy of his educational goals and the expression of his concern for the students, not only by passive sympathy, but also by demanding a high quality of academic work. In this regard, effective teachers were those who did not assume the role of a specialized professional, but rather the role of a personal friend. Within the classroom, such teachers tended to prefer individualized instruction where close body contact was possible. When teaching a large class, effective teachers communicated warmth to students through non-verbal cues like smiling frequently. “Smiling appears to be a universal expression of friendliness” (Kleinfield, 1975, p. 321). Kleinfield, (1975) was interested in “test-attainment specific qualities in the teacher” (Kleinfield, 1975, p. 322). These include teaching methods and abilities and teachers’ relationship with students. Also in support of testattainment qualities in the teacher as major criteria for teaching effectiveness was Byrne (1987) who opined that a teacher’s knowledge and understanding in relation to what is taught and the pedagogical skills relevant to teaching it “are of utmost importance in teaching effectiveness” (Byrne, 1987, p. 38). Taylor, Christie and Platts (1970) set out to uncover the criteria for effective teaching by drawing on the collective insight of practicing teachers

89 on the suspicion that teacher’s perception of effective teaching was a factor that influenced teaching effectiveness. The population of research interest was all the science teachers in an unspecified locality, the sample size was not indicated either. The research instrument consisted of a questionnaire for rating effective science teaching. The questionnaire had 106 items selected from 300 statements on effective science teaching submitted by teachers from the study population. The science teachers who constituted sample for the study were asked to rate the 106 items on a 5-pont scale on the extent to which those statements described effective science teaching. The 106 statements were then subjected to factor analysis at the second order level. Second order factor analysis was preferred over first factor analysis because many first order factors were present and the second order was chosen to prevent halo or general agreement kind of situation. Nine factors were isolated. Means and standard deviation were calculated for the teachers’ responses. The variables of investigation were factors (descriptors) of effective teaching as perceived by the science teachers. The research was an explanatory description research. Judging from the magnitude of standard deviations, the results showed a substantial agreement among the teachers on their perceptions of effective teaching. Means scores indicated that the science teachers placed the greatest emphasis on dimensions of effective teaching concerned with teacher classroom behaviours and relationships, and less on dimensions concerned with standing requirements of teaching, viz: planning and classroom management. The ideal stereotype of an effective science teacher

90 was indicated to be one whose teaching was pupil-centred; goal directed; informed by an understanding and enthusiasm for science; characterised by good humoured discipline; concerned for the safety of the laboratory and upto-dateness in subject-matter and curriculum innovations. As if to conduct a validity study of Taylor et al (1970) research, Toylor (1973) was determined to identify the characteristics of effective teaching with a measure of control by contrasting effective with ineffective teachers. The research population consisted of all the teachers that all the raters might have, at one time or the other, come into contact with. Since there was a total of 822 raters each limited to listing four effective and four ineffective teachers they ever came into contact with, a total of 3.288 (4x822) effective teachers implicitly constituted sample for the study. The same number of supposedly ineffective teacher simplicitly constituted of rating forms. The raters consisted of 706 students, 90 parents, 21 faculty and 5 administrators. The raters were given parallel rating forms for each to name four teachers that he/she regarded as the most effective and four least effective teachers. The standard of effectiveness was not supplied; it was the rater’s own perception. For each rating group, the frequency with which various teachers were nominated as the most of least effective was determined and rank-ordered. Rank difference correlations were computed between mean rankings for the different sets of raters. This was done separately for the most effective and the least effective groups of teacher. The variable for investigation consisted of characteristics of effective teachers and characteristics of ineffective teachers. Since this was an exploratory descriptive research, the variables could not be classified as independent or dependent.

91 Results indicated much agreement in the selection of most effective teacher, but very little agreement between the students and all other rating groups in identifying the ineffective teacher. The criteria of effective teachers identified by the raters were collapsed into five major and generally applicable criteria of effective teaching. These consisted of teacher’s cognitive skills, teaching methods and abilities, teacher’s relationship with students, teacher’s personality and teacher’s effect on students’ personally. It was concluded that it was possible to have a moderate degree of agreement between different rating groups, in judging teaching effectiveness. Findings that students had no significant agreement with any other rating group in their perception of the least effective teacher were explained to imply that either the students were quite inaccurate in their perception of poor teachers, or they were more sensitive to more crucial aspects of teacher-students relationships than were those outside the classroom. The implication of these findings is that students are better preceptors of poor teaching than any other group of people. Sherman & Blackburn (1975) hypothesized that effective teaching depended less on the teacher’s behaviour directed towards functional management of the class, but more on the teachers’ personality factors which students perceived to be relevant to the teaching/learning environment. In other words, an instructor’s skill in organizing and managing his course requirements was necessary but not a sufficient condition for achieving effectiveness, at least, as far as students’ judgment was concerned. Students’ grades were frequently cited as a source of halo (general agreement) effect in producing biased judgment of teaching effectiveness. Sherman & Blackburn

92 (1975, p. 24) refuted the stereotype and hypothesized that “if students liked a teacher as a teacher, they also liked him as a person”. The study population consisted of all the teachers in a College. The population size was 125 teachers from which a sample of 108 male and female teachers was drawn using an unspecified sampling technique. Two instruments were used for the study, a semantic differential form which measured personal characteristics of the teacher and the other was a teaching evaluation instrument which measured the organizational ability and the degree to which legitimate functions of the classroom were carried out by each teacher. The instruments were rated by different groups of students in a co-educational liberal arts college. A total of 1,500 students rated each of the two instruments under different conditions and at different points in time. Four statistical techniques were employed in the analysis of the data thus collected. These included factor analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), multiple regression and correlation coefficient, all valid at 0.05 level of significance. Teacher personality constituted the independent variable for the investigation while teaching effectiveness criteria constituted the dependent variables. It was established that teacher personality and teaching effectiveness were highly correlated (r = 0.77). Factors derived from the semantic differential scale predicted multiple F = 0.83 for teaching effectiveness. Teachers who were pragmatic (dynamic), amicable and highly intellectually competent received statistically significant higher teaching competence ratings than those who tended towards the opposite traits. A Spearman rho of 0.13 indicated that students were not biased, but, they did reflect a strong

93 interrelationship among the three different dimensions of teachers’ behaviour. The hypothesis that if students liked a teacher as a teacher, they also liked him as person was rejected. The factor of amicability was found to be irrelevant in science faculties. Students distinguished between specific psychological and pedagogical attributes of teachers and the contextual settings did not matter. Low correlations were established between administrators, peers, self and students in their ratings of teaching effectiveness. This is in agreement with findings made by Taylor (1973) that there was a moderate degree of agreement between different rating groups in judging teaching effectiveness. It was concluded that improvements on teaching effectiveness may depend more on changes related to teacher personality factors than on those involving classroom procedures. More attention should be paid to extra professional characteristics during recruitment of teachers. Except for lack of information on the validity of the instrument, this was a well-designed study with a theoretical framework well-defined, study population defined, a statement on data analytical tools and controls taken to make for validity of the study supplied. Also concerned with associating teacher personality with teaching effectiveness, Patrick (1978) worked under the assumption that various inner personality needs will be exhibited in overt teacher behaviours. The study population was implicitly, all the teachers (primary and secondary) in Utah, United States of America (USA). The sample for the study consisted of 112 teachers who were nominated by students as being the most effective teachers they ever had. The research instrument was Edwards’ Personal

94 Preference Schedule (EPPS). The EPPS was broken into 15 scales which included achievement (being successful, doing one’s best and doing something of significance), deference (a tendency to seek help from others as well as praise others), order (the tendency to do things in a prescribed form), exhibition

(the

tendency

to

be

showy),

autonomy

(independence,

unconventionality), affiliation (relationships with friends), intraception (looking within, introverted), succurence (the need to have others act kindly and be understanding), dominance (leadership tendencies), abasement (feeling of guilt and the need for punishment), nurturance (a sense of caring about others), change (a desire for new and different things) endurance (ability to withstand stress, adversity or hardship), heterosexuality (sexual desire for one or more partners of opposite sex and aggression (a tendency to dominate or master). The EPPS utilised 225 paired variables and required the respondents to choose from each item pair, the one they believe to be more descriptive of themselves. With 225 pairs of statements, the maximum score for any one variable was 28. Each of the 112 members of a mixed group of American students was asked to write the name of a teacher who was most effective. The most effective teacher was defined as the teacher who had offered the best help to enable each of the students learn or the teacher that was easily the best each student had had at Utah. The nominated teachers were contacted in their own schools, given a brief description of the study and the extent of their involvement which consisted of taking the EPPS at times and dates agreeable to the researchers and the teachers.

95 Teaching effectiveness constituted the independent variable in this investigation while teacher personality constituted the dependent variable. Means and standard deviations were computed for each of the EPPS variables. Means tended to group effective teachers into four distinct clusters. The first cluster consisted of personality variables like change, dominance, nurturance and affiliation. The second cluster consisted of achievement and autonomy; the third cluster of deference and abasement; and the fourth cluster consisted of succurence. It was concluded that differences in teaching lay not in the mastery of methods and procedures but in the teachers themselves. Weakness in the research report include failure to clearly define the research population and lack of information on the sample selection technique. Moreover, it was not stated

how

the

clusters

of

personality

variables

affected

teaching

effectiveness. In general, the following have been indicated in the literature as important criteria for teaching effectiveness. Teacher cognitive skills was indicated by (Toylor, 1973); teaching methods and abilities were indicated by (Toylor, 1973; Kleinfield, 1975, teachers’ relationship with students was recommended by (Toylor, 1973; Kleinfield, 1975). In attempting to select bad teachers among the good, our attention might be directed at the quality of instruction and of management of learning being offered. An appraisal procedure depends on the extent to which “the procedure correctly picks out teachers who are successful or unsuccessful in achieving the prescribed outcomes” (Byrne, 1987, p. 86).

96 Levine & Wright (1987), however, indicated that factor analysis of the criteria of teaching effectiveness has typically yielded 1 – 7 factors. Labels for these factors included attributes like “organisational ability, communication facility, amount of work, acceptance of change, freedom and autonomy given the students, degree of feedback and personality” (Levine & Wright, 1987, p. 86). According to Marsh (1994), factor analysis of students’ evaluation of teaching effectiveness identified six hypothesised factors. Labels of these factors included “learning/value, enthusiasm, organisation, inter-action, examinations and workload” (Marsh, 1994, p. 631). When Levine & Wright (1987) seven factors are combined with Marsh (1994) six factors in an additive fashion, the following eight factors result as criteria for teaching effectiveness identified through factor analysis of many factors: learning/value of the teacher, teacher enthusiasm, teacher’s organisational ability, teacher’s workload, teacher’s interaction and communication with students, teacher personality, the way and manner that he sets and marks examinations, and the freedom and autonomy that he gives to the students, he teaches. These eight factors may not be exhaustive in describing teaching effectiveness. There is lack of consensus in literature on a universal set of criteria for measuring teaching effectiveness, and lack of agreement among educators as to whether essential teaching behaviours can be identified. What we build into a scheme for teacher appraisal depends upon the purpose of appraisal. “No teacher appraisal scheme is likely to be satisfactory for every purpose” (Byrne, 1987, p. 36). If we are concerned with dismissal, attention might be directed at absence without cause, bad time-keeping, and failure to mark pupils’ work; pedagogical concerns might not necessarily come in; if we are

97 concerned with selecting bad teachers among the good, attention might be directed at the quality of instructional management (Byrne, 1987).

Quality Assurance Emphasis and Teacher Education by The NTI Relevance of education to industry and to life outside the school setting has become a major concern of education in Nigeria. Educational programmes and their contents are now closely senitinized to eliminate the extraneous and very theoretical items from the curriculum of every level. The theoretical materials are gradually replaced by more practical knowledge and skills. Academic institutions are challenged to generate human products who can provide not mere labour, but those who are human capitals themselves, those who possess values, skills and education that have a direct bearing on the world of work; those who possess attributes which enhance their capabilities and their entrance into the present state of knowledge-based

economy.

The

need

for

educational

changes

is

necessitated by the current changes in the world. In particular, the explosion information and communications technology, which has in no means ways, helped to quicken processes, reduce perceptible distances and has virtually reduced the world to one global village (Etuk, 2006). Quality assurance activities in education centre around strategic planning, which according to U. Etuk (2005), requires heads of departments and Deans of Faculties to state the objectives of their academic programmes, show what graduates of those programmes will be capable of doing in concrete terms or show how their product can contribute to the economy when they go out into the world of work; spell out in great details what they see as their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (in what is

98 known as SWOT analysis); detail how much they think they require to achieve their missions and how much of their needs they could raise through their own internal resources. In effect, strategic planning requires educational institutions to justify government funding for their different programmes. The curriculum generally is expected to respond positively to modern trends of events through emphasis on innovative knowledge, skills, which are variously referred to as “daily-living skills, survival skills and life-coping skills” (Okebukola, 2002; Obanya, 2003, p.3) Life-coping or daily-living skills are given different interpretations by different authors. Okebukola (2002), for instance, viewed life-coping skills simply in terms of the acquisition by students of the science process skills, which include observation, experimentation, generalisation and prediction. Nwogbo (2003) viewed life-coping skills simply as vocational skills, while Njoku (2003) viewed them as the wholistic development of students through the acquisition of cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills. Udosen (2003) however presented a broader view of life-coping skills by envisaging them in terms of: human capabilities to identify and solve problems, establish good working relations, relate with others; organise and manage themselves responsibly, collect and evaluate information, communicate in different ways, use science and technology effectively and the capacity to develop a consistent world view (p. 75). Obanya (2002) expressed similar sentiments in his conceptualisation of lifecoping skills, which he described with eight indices, as comprising:

99 versatility in knowledge, the capacity to communicate and appreciate the views and feelings of others; adaptability to novel situations, creativity, team spirit, literacy in its comprehensive dimension, fluency in information and communications technology and the capacity to embrace learning as a way of life (p. 3). According to Obanya (2002, 2003), there is death of these skills among Nigerians and the school curriculum should be revitalised to include them. An industrialist, Ugwu (2003) even reported of lack of fit between the need of industries and products from universities. A study by Okebukola (2002) indicated a low national average in life skill scores (0 = 32.62) for primary school pupils in Nigeria. The National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) in its quest for access and equity for beneficiaries of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) in Nigeria also addressed both the quantitative aspect of short falls in teacher supply, and the qualitative dimensions as well. Teacher quality, however defined is an issue of great concern in Nigeria. Despite almost two decades of attempts to enforce the decision of the National Council on Education that NCE is the minimum teaching qualification, the majority of teachers in the public schools are unqualified or under qualified (Mohammed, 2006). For example, out of the 491,751 teachers in public primary school in Nigeria (Mohammed 2006, p.28) only 49 percent posses the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE), which was pronounced since 1977 as the minimum qualification for teaching in primary schools (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004).

100 Reports by Mohammed, (2006) are to the effect that the remaining 51 percent of primary school teacher in Nigeria are unqualified and they are distributed as follows: Grade I

=

14,680 teachers;

Grade II

=

136, 245 teachers;

G.C.E

=

7,740 teachers;

WASC/SSCE

=

43,775 teachers;

Others

=

46,950 teachers;

Not specified

=

456 teachers.

Total

=

249,672 teachers

The impact of the death of teachers of good quality can be seen in the generally poor levels of pupils’ achievement. An assessment of learning of primary four pupils, which focused on numeracy, literacy and life skills indicated that: •

the level of numeracy competence of the pupils was generally very low. The national mean score was 32.2 percent.



performance of pupils became poorer as one moves from items requiring

simple

recall

through

those

requiring

some

understanding to items dealing with problem solving. •

the effect of language on the performance of pupils was well demonstrated by the finding that the mean scores on items which were worded (0 = 30.5) was much lower than those from non-worded items (0 = 42.0).



performance in the literacy test was the worst of the three cognitive tests. The national mean score in literacy was 25.2

101 percent, which more or less represented performance at a purely chance level; •

the most astounding finding in the literacy test was obtained from one of the items which required pupils to copy exactly, a very short passage (about five lines) into a given space. Whereas only 8.1 percent gave a completely accurate copy of the passage; 39.6 percent scored zero, meaning that they did not demonstrate the basic skill of copying one word or punctuation

mark

correctly”.

(Falayejo

et

al,

1997),

in

Mohammed, 2006). The findings of a follow up study conducted in 2001, which focussed on primary 5 pupils, indicated that “only 20 percent of the pupils were able to answer correctly more than 30 percent of the test items; and less than one percent of pupils were able to answer correctly more than half the test items. The finding of a similar study conducted by Okebukola (2002) and by Aarons (2003), in Mohammed (2006) suggested that there had not been any significant improvement in pupils’ performance (Aarons, 2003, in Mohammed, 2006). Low educational achievement is most often blamed on poor quality teaching. These happen even though the minimum teaching qualification had been raised from the TCII to the NCE and there has been significant increases in the number of NCE graduates in the school system in recent times. Learning achievements of secondary school students is also found to be unsatisfactory too. The findings of a recent study of secondary education in different parts of the country as reported by Mohammed (2006) indicated that

102 the performance in the SSCE was poor in virtually every subject in the school curriculum and the SSCE was characterised by a heavy dose of frustration, as only about 10 percent of the candidates “meaningfully passed the examinations” (Obanya, 2004, in Mohammed, 2006, p. 28). Research evidences from pupils’ learning achievement in primary schools in Nigeria (Falayeje, 1997), in Mohammed (2006) raises important questions about the quality of primary school teachers in facilitating learning in the primary schools in Nigeria. Mohammed (2006) also reported of a study conducted by the Modern Languages Association (MLA), which identified the restructuring of the teacher education curriculum as one of the long-term strategies for improving the quality of students’ learning at the primary school level. The said researches further advised that the restructured teachers’ education programmes should reflect what the prospective teachers are going to do in schools and should have the competence to be developed in the learners as the central focus. The study added that even though factors like availability of relevant books and teaching -learning facilities and resources are important, the quality and competence of teachers should play an eminent role in determining learner’s achievement (Falayeje et al, 1997), in Mohammed (2006). To this end, the Nigerian government directed the NTI to give the nation’s primary schools “quality products” (Mohammed, 2006 p. 4). Quality assurance activities of the NTI include: •

strategic planning (Mohammed, 2005a, pp.27-28; 2006 p. 4). He further stated that the NTI had to a large extent, succeeded

103 in implementing its 2002 – 2006 strategic plan, especially in capacity building for full-time and part-time staff, service delivery, provision of support services and modern facilities at the Institute with the assistance of the Federal Government, and skills acquisition through support of the Commonwealth Of Learning (COL).

It is equally done to provide teachers with

opportunities to enhance their knowledge and skills in subject matter in the light of new developments, improve teaching skills by acquiring innovative techniques for teaching core-subjects and enhancing teachers’ understanding of the role of schoolbased assessment and how it can be used to improve learning Mohammed (2005). •

teachers’ training (NTI, 2005b, pp.1, 3; Mohammed, 2005, pp.27 – 28; NTI, 2006, pp.1 – 2; pp.4, 5, 15). Mohammed maintained that each teacher is supposed to undergo 100 hours of retraining every year.



affiliating with distance learning institutions overseas for programme moderation and staff training and for the introduction of new products (NTI, 2005, p.1, 3; Egunboh, 2005, p.4; Salau, 2005, p.5; NTI, 2006, pp.20 – 21). In the same vein, Egunboh (2005) observed that Radio projects has been sponsored by the British Council towards the development of teachers to help upgrade their skills by making them aware of good practices in Nigeria and around the World.

104 •

affiliating with Nigerian universities (Balogun, 2005, p.10; NTI, 2006, pp.1 – 2).



acquisition of technology facilities like the virtual library (Toyin 2005, p.10)



acquisition

of

information

and

communications

(ICT)

infrastructures (Ismaila, 2005, p.23). •

monitoring of the administration, subject-monitoring, books and tutorials monitoring (Mbaya, 2005a, p.11; 2005b, pp.21 - 22). Mbaya (2005) observed that subject monitoring in distance education had been set up as a veritable quality control strategy aimed at ensuring that every academic activity is effectively executed at the right time in other to achieve the institutional set gaols.

Furthermore, the support materials specified for each

subject are adequate and in use, the specified tutorial hours for the programme are adhered to, policy guidelines as issued by the Headquarters of the distance learning are kept. •

training of NTI staff (NTI, 2006, pp.8 – 9)



monitoring and advising students on good examination conducts (NTI, 2006 pp.8 - 9). To further attest to the effectiveness of distance learning programme, effort has been made to deal with all forms of examination malpractices, including falsification of credentials in its programmes, impersonation, inability to meet the prescribed minimum requirement and presentation of certificates from unrecognised institutions. This was shown in

105 the arrest of 19 people in Kaduna involved in the forgery and racketeering of the NTIDLS Grade two teachers’ certificate. •

qualification verifications and withdrawal of unqualified students from the programme (NTI, 2005, pp.1, 4)



authentication of primary school teachers’ certificate (Salau, 2006, pp.3, 34).



nabbing of forgers of NTI issued diplomas (NTI, 2005, pp.1,2).

All these attempts are directed at shaping up the NTI, its programmes and

personnel

working

in

it,

towards

meeting

higher-level

needs

characteristics of the modern world. Educational establishments are meant to meet the standards of the modern world and become enhanced centres of excellence (Chukwurah, 2005).

Quality Assurance in Education Through Examinations Functions of examinations as perceived by Vandu (2005) include: (i)

to assess whether what we learnt are properly understood;

(ii)

to act as a feedback to the students and the teacher;

(iii)

to show who is more qualified in terms of competition and certification, where the better student gets a better certification;

(iv)

to prepare students for future careers and vocations; and

(v)

to guide a student to work hard (p. 20).

Examination results are the bases for schools’ decisions on promotion from one class or level to another, for recognitions and merit awards and for recommendations for employment.

Since examinations more or less

determines the failure of students, teachers are always advised to take adequate steps to ensure the validity of the examinations.

106 Three steps which are essential in the construction of assessment instruments for examinations are: planning for the assessment, construction of the test items and evaluation of the test-items (Etuk, 1993, p.127). Planning What to plan for is jointly determined by the educational objectives and by the use into which the assessment will be put.

Good assessment

instruments are built from knowledge of the educational objectives and the content covered. Etuk (1993) advised on the use of test-specification table (a test blue-print), which covers every objective formulated for the course and the content areas covered in proportion to their importance and level of coverage. Construction of the Assessment Instruments Since the objectives to be covered in the curriculum are varied, Etuk (1993) recommended the use of many forms of test items including essay, varieties of objective tests (true-false, fill-in-the-blank, matching and multiple choice).

The author also recommended the use of practical and oral

examinations. Rules for the construction of each type of test were copiously offered by Etuk (1993, pp.178 -188). Assessment of the Test-Items When test items have been set, the table of specifications helps the examiner to assess and see the number of items that fit into different categories of the cognitive, affective and the psychomotor domains. Since most examinations measure cognitive objectives, the examiner is advised to check the level of cognitive objectives that each test-item fall into. The levels

107 of cognitive objectives as indicated by Etuk, Udosen & Edem (2004, pp.72-76) are hereby reviewed. The hierarchy of objectives in the cognitive domain has six subcategories comprising: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Knowledge is the ability to remember, recall or recognize ideas in a situation where cues or signals are given to bring out the knowledge stored. Questions which test knowledge, are those that ask students to list, label, name and state (Etuk et al, p.72). Comprehension is the ability to perceive communication and to make use of knowledge gained or see its implications.

Questions which are at the

comprehension level, are those that ask students to explain, give example, to re-write in own words and to summarize (Etuk et al, 2004, p.72). Application: This is the ability to use rules, ideas and methods in particular and concrete situations. Examination questions that test application are those that require students to compute, calculate, use, solve, produce and manipulate (Etuk et al, 2004, p.73). Analysis: The ability to break communication into its constituent elements or parts. Examinations which test analysis are those that require the examinees to differentiate, outline, separate, and sub-divide etc. (Etuk, et al, 2004, p.73) Synthesis: This is the ability to combine or put together parts, elements and pieces to form a whole. Examination questions that test analysis are those that require students to, combine to form a whole, compose, summarize and to design (Etuk, et al, 2004, p.73).

108 Evaluation: This is the highest level of the cognitive objectives. Test items in this category are those that measure the ability of the student to make quantitative and qualitative judgments about the extent to which materials and methods satisfy criteria. Test items that test students’ ability to evaluate are those that require students to compare, contrast and to justify (Etuk, Udosen & Edem, 2004, p.73). Advising students on the need to develop good examination habits, Vandu (2005) maintained that two things involved in examination are: “how much you know about a subject and what you can do with the subject” (p.20). Under how much one knows about a subject he intimated that NTI students are fond of examination abuse by going directly into their textbooks and lifting the portions from which the test items were set straight into their answer booklets.

He emphasized that NTI students should have a broader

conception of learning and should write what they understand about the topic tested rather than reproduce what is contained in study texts. Vandu (2005) advised NTI students to learn and carry certain formulae in their memories which they could recall in examination halls, review their course notes early enough to make it stick, to form discussion groups, and to be familiar with examination patterns of the NTI through reference to past questions. Being a high official in the NTI organization for the NCE – programme, Vandu (2005) made such useful contributions by advising the students on time management, on the need for them to expand their reading horizons outside their course books and to work hard for good results. He also advised the NTI on how to plan examinations to cover every objective and topic through the use of tables of specification (Vandu, 2005).

109

Summary of Literature Review The literature has been reviewed on pertinent opinion and empirical researches both on distance learning and on teaching effectiveness. The review started with three theoretical bases of distance learning, which included the information processing theory, the theory of cognitive learning and Keegan’s theory of distance learning, which upholds that distance learning systems artificially decrease the teaching-learning interaction and reintegrate it back into the instructional process. The aim in doing this is to offer to the distance learners’ the experience much like the traditional face-to-face instruction. Also reviewed as the theoretical bases for this study were the Skinnerian behaviour modification theory and the theory of teaching effectiveness. The Skinnerian concept of behaviour modification maintains that the organism can emit responses. This therefore places it in line with the theory of cognitive learning. The processes involved in bringing up a child both at home and in school are perceived as behaviour-modification activities. The aspect of teaching effectiveness theory of interest was the organizational systems/resources as they relate to the teaching effectiveness of individual teachers. The

next

section

in

the

literature

review

was

focused

on

conceptualization of distance learning in which distance learning was presented with such synonyms as independent study, home study, correspondence education, remote education and distributive learning. Seven elements of distance learning reviewed included the aspects of separation of

110 the teacher and the learner as against face-to-face interaction in regular classes. Distance learning was reviewed to have developed from the print media where the distance learner was reached by correspondence, through instructional television to the current on-line interactive technologies. Information from the literature indicates that distance learners are generally composed of two categories of people, namely: those who combine work with study and those who dropped out of school at some points in their lives, who are reawakened to improve upon their educational status. Two study strategies employed by distance learners are the primary cognitive strategies like the ability to work independently of the teacher, and secondary affective strategies, which involve active listening (Sherry, 1996). Lankberk & Mugler (2005) however identified the two strategies as being the pragmatic strategies and the sequential strategies; and the students’ conception of learning as being either the reproductive or the transformative conception, whereby the learner works with knowledge to derive new meanings of the world. The roles of distance learning teachers were identified to include advanced preparation, ability to interact with students while those of the centre supervisors include motivating students and maintaining discipline in the study centres. Empirical researchers and expressed pertinent opinions (Rumble, 1982; Sherry, 1996; Agboola, 2000; Hanser, 2006) all list the literary of advantages of distance education, which make it preferable over regular faceto-face contact form of education and seems to overdo the latter in certain areas, like having lower cost and breaking the general barriers which delimit education only to certain people. Comparative effectiveness of products of

111 distance learning and products of regular education is not however, completely resolved. Literature was reviewed on what should constitute the qualities of educational content and learning activities in a curriculum.

Since the

curriculum of the NTI is mainly in the book-form the criteria of textbooks for distance learning was reviewed too. Based on Meachean (1982) the criteria for selecting textbooks for distance students comprised appropriateness of the text, its readability and availability. On evaluation of the curriculum, three areas which were identified to be evaluated were evaluation of the educational programme perse; evaluation of students and evaluation of teachers. Details of how to do these different aspects of curriculum evaluation were given. Under programme evaluation, formative evaluation of the curriculum which involves observation of what students do and interviews of the users of the curriculum was emphasized. Under students’ evaluation, it was indicated that examinations test only the cognitive aspects of the curriculum.

Factors which influence students’

performances in schools were indicated to be the teacher, the quality of instruction, time allowed for learning (Carroll in Etuk, 2002), students’ motivation and the students’ natural abilities. Particular reference was made to students’ attitude as an aspect of students’ motivation and to students’ poor performance in mathematics. The next attention was focused on teacher evaluation, ratings of teaching effectiveness and criteria for teaching effectiveness.

Ratings of

teaching effectiveness by different stakeholders in education were copiously discussed, including self-ratings, peer ratings, rating by administrators and

112 employers, ratings through measurement of learning outcomes and rating by students.

Among all the rating groups, students’ ratings of teaching

effectiveness seemed to be more widely used in American education, despite criticisms by teachers. On the criteria for measuring teaching effectiveness, the following were indicated as important criteria for measuring teaching effectiveness: learning and value of the teacher, teacher enthusiasm, teacher’s organizational ability, teacher’s workload, teacher’s interaction and communication with students, teacher personality, examination habits, and the freedom and autonomy given to the students. The last section in the literature review focused on the current emphasis on quality assurance in education in Nigeria in which educational systems are advised to do away with the very theoretical contents, to plan strategically, to do SWOT analysis of their programmes and to inculcate lifecoping skills in their products. Literature was reviewed on quality assurance practices in the NTI. With perspectives from the literature so presented, the research directly investigated the effectiveness of the distance learning scheme of the National Teachers’ Institute, Kaduna, Nigeria through ratings of the programme and its facilities by the current students and course tutors; and indirectly, through ratings of the perceived effectiveness of primary school teachers produced by the NTI by the researchers, by the primary school head-teachers, by key members of the Parents’ Teachers’ Association (representing the parents).

Opinions of the different rating groups were

compared, where necessary. The curriculum and the examination items of the NTI were studied to identify quality.

113 With this background in mind, the study was designed to assess the input s and quality control measures of the NTIDLS, to investigate the teaching behaviours of primary school teachers produced through the NTIDLS, to identify the effective teaching behaviours, compare their teaching behaviours with those of teachers produced through other educational agencies, to compare the opinions of primary school-heads and parents on the effectiveness of NTIDL-products as against other teachers.

114

CHAPTER THREE

THE STUDY SITE

The study was based in Akwa Ibom State, one of the 37 Nigerian administrative divisions, located in the extreme southern corner of Nigeria (see location in plate one). The state is located between latitude 40° 32’’ and 5° 33” north and longitude 70° 20” and 8° 25” East. Akwa Ibom State was created in 1987 from the former Cross River State, which was itself formed from the former South Eastern state created, in 1975. Its land area measures 8,412 square kilometers with a population density of 332 per square kilometer.

State Boundaries and Political Divisions Akwa Ibom State is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the South, Abia State to the North, Cross River State to the East and Rivers State to the West. Projections from the 1991 Nigerian Census by the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (2007) puts the state population at about 4 million, distributed into 1.9 million males and 2.1 million females. Politically, the Akwa Ibom State belongs in South-South geopolitical zone, one of the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. The other five geopolitical zones being the South-East, the South-West, the North, East, the North-West and the North-Central geo-political zones. Five other Nigerian states which belong in the South-South geopolitical zones are Cross River State, Rivers State, Bayelsa State, Edo State and Delta State. The states in the South-South

115 geopolitical area share common fortunes being copiously watered by the Atlantic Ocean and tributaries of River Niger and River Benue, which converged above them at Lokoja, North Eastern Nigeria. Akwa Ibom State itself is divided into three political zones called Senatorial Districts – Uyo, Eket and Ikot Ekpene Senatorial Districts. It is also divided into 31 administrative divisions called, `Local Governemnt Areas’. These include Abak, Eastern Obolo, Eket, Esit Eket, Essien Udim, Etim Ekpo, Etinan, Ibeno, Ibesipko Asutan, Ibiono Ibom, Ika, Ikot Abasi, Ikot Ekpene, Ini, Itu, Mbo, Mkpat Enin, Nsit Atai, Nsit Ibom, Nsit Ubium, Obot Akara, Okobo, Onna, Oron, Oruk Anam, Udung Uko, Ukanafun Uruan, Ureoffong Oruko and Uyo. Out of 774 such administrative divisions in Nigeria, 31 (4 percent) are found in Akwa Ibom State (see plate 2). Each of the 31 Local Government Areas has its capital city. The capital city of the State is Uyo, in Uyo Local Government Area. Thus, Uyo serves both as Akwa Ibom State capital city and the capital of Uyo Local Government Area.

Educational Institutions This team of researchers reside in the University of Uyo, established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1991. Apart from the university of Uyo, there are four other tertiary institutions of learning – the State College of Education at Afaha Nsit and the State Polytechnic at Ikot Osura at Nsit Ibom and at Ikot Ekpene Local Governemnt Areas respectively. The third tertiary institution is the State University of Science and Technology, which is still in the making. It has been established by a decree and staff have been recruited and sent on development programmes, but it is yet to take off. There is also

116 the Maritime Academy located at Oron Local Government Area, by the Atlantic Ocean, which develops seafarers. There is no private university in the State. Akwa Ibom State is generally regarded as an educationally-advantaged State (Ekpo & Uwatt, 2005). There are 250 public secondary/technical schools, 1110 public primary schools and no public pre-primary school. As at the time of data collection, the population of teachers of primary schools was 16,000. The teacher/student ratio was estimated at 1:44 (Akpakpan, 2001). The population of primary school children in Akwa Ibom State was estimated at 744,392 while that of secondary schools was estimated at 133,119 in 1998/1999 school year (Akpakpan, 2001). Going by the teacher/pupil ratio of 1:44, the population of primary school children in the State should be 704,000. The drop in numbers from 744,329 in the 1998/99 school year should not be surprising because nowadays, many parents, no matter their social statuses prefer to send their children to private nursery/primary schools, which are reputed to have more effective control of academic activities and their students make better academic progress than public primary school pupils. The quality of education provided in the State is generally poor in every level. This results in educational programmes and students from the state seemingly, not measuring up in national and international academic ratings. For instance, the University of Uyo, the author’s educational institution scored very low in the accreditation exercise conducted by the National Universities Commission (NUC), the body empowered to co-ordinate activities and programmes in Nigerian Universities. The poor performance of educational

117 establishments and students in the State is attributed to three major factors namely: •

inadequate funding, which results in poor facilities;



poor management of the available funds and facilities; and



poor quality of many teachers (Akpakpan, 2001; Ekpo & Uwatt, 2005, p.33).

Physical Features and Occupations As earlier stated, Akwa Ibom State opens into the Atlantic Ocean in the Southern border. It is located within the Delta region where the tributaries of River Niger and River Benue, having converged at Lokoja in North Eastern direction, empty into the Atlantic. One of such tributaries is called the Cross River, which runs along Akwa Ibom State and the neighbouring Cross River State, forming a natural boundary between the two states (see map, plate1). Akwa Ibom State is therefore, well watered by the Cross River and its tributaries. The State is found within the rain forest zone. The rainy months extend from mid-March through October, with peaks in the months of June – July and in September. The dry season extends from November through early March. The abundance of rivers and rain in the region presupposes wetness of the soil and high humidity of the atmosphere. These gives rise to quick growth of the vegetation, giving rise to tall trees, which make the area characteristically forestry. There are no rocks. The Southern region of the State is more or less plain land, while the Southern part, which is closer to the Atlantic Ocean, is typically undulating, with uninhabitable valleys, which make the Southern

118 region to be prone to erosion. Palms of all kinds abound and they grow to be very tall. These physical features have given rise to indigenous occupations of the people. The soil is generally fertile and every indigene of Akwa Ibom State is a potential farmer. Farming however is done not with modern tools. Hoes and machetes are used extensively to fell down the big deciduous trees. The farming season starts early February when bushes are cleared and burnt ready for planting in the months of March through April. Planting is done with the same crooked implements. Typically, the farm is not mowed with tractors or graders. That cannot be done for two reasons: the stems and roots of the big forest trees may not permit the use of such tools. Secondly, doing so will destroy family boundaries. Land had been shared out from time immemorial. Those who are newly born inherit their fore-fathers’ shares of land and that continues perpetually. Occupations vary by location and sex. Those who live in the riverine regions are mainly fishermen while those who live in the hinterland are mainly farmers. The fishermen do some farming too, just like the farmers may learn sea faring and fishing. So, there is no hard and fast rule as to who is a farmer and who is not. Farm crops include the oil palm by the people in the hinterland and the wine palm for people in the riverine regions. Indeed, the palm oil is the mainstay of the economy in the riverine regions. Other farm crops are produced at subsistence levels. These include yams, pumpkin, melons, water yam, cocoyam, sweet yam, and cassava. Both men and women farm just like both men and women in the riverine areas fish. However, the farm crops differ

119 for both sexes. In the past, men farmed mainly on yams while the women farmed on cassava, pumpkin, melons and vegetables. Due to over-cropping, the soil can no longer sustain good growth of yams. Therefore, an indigenous Akwa Ibom man no longer has any yam as farm crop. This situation seems to force some men in villages to be lazy, hanging around local bars and drinking huts! The enterprising ones take to retail trading to sustain their families. Those who acquire any level of education look up to government and the school system to offer them employment. Akwa Ibom State is derogatorily called, “the civil servant state”, because many are employed in the civil service. There are not many industries. In the 1980s, the State could boast of industries like the breweries, the paint industry, the paper (news print) industry, the ceramics industry and the biscuit industry. Most of these industries are histories now because they had folded up. It is only the breweries and the paint industries that are currently producing. Even those two are not to be depended upon. The breweries was resuscitated and bought over by an Indian firm. It has lost its former glory. The pain industry is not producing at full capacity either and is feared to be experiencing diminishing returns. A few men and women have ventured into poultry farming and such secondary industries. There is a high level of unemployment among the youths and high level of poverty (67 percent) among the people in the State (Ekpo & Uwatt, 2005). This occurs despite the fact that petroleum is found in the Southern region at Ibeno near the Atlantic, and the Mobil Oil firm is located at Eket. The Federal Government of Nigeria controls proceeds from the oil industry. Akwa Ibom State is given

120 13 percent of proceeds from the oil industry. Those in power feed fat on that. Some youths venture into tertiary occupations like hairdressing and sale of recharge cards.

People, Language, Culture and Social Conditions The major ethnic groups in Akwa Ibom State are the Ibibios, the Annangs, the Ekets, the Ibenos, and the Orons. These are all from the same racial stock having fairly dark skin colours and kinky hairs. The five divisions are based on variations in the language that these people speak. All understand and can speak Ibibio language. But, when they want to be different from the rest, those who are from Oron, Eket and Ibeno switch into deep dialects known only to their kinds. Incidentally, most of these language groups are found in the borders of the Atlantic. It is not known to us (the researchers), why there are so many Ibibio language variations in the riverine communities. Those languages might have been developed in the slave trade era to block communication between the riverine communities and the people in the hinterland. The latter were generally, victims of slave-hunt crusades organized around the 15th century by the Portuguese traders who invaded the Atlantic shores and made the people in these shores their agents/guides in penetrating into the hinterland to capture their helpless victims! The language spoken by the Annangs has only a slight variation in pronunciation with the main Ibibio language. Both groups perfectly understand each other when the other’s language is spoken. In actual fact, in the 1940’s, the people who now emphasize their identities as the Annangs, were all grouped under the Ibibios. The division into Annang and Ibibio is something very recent. It is political.

121 Although they are not very rich, people in Akwa Ibom State cook tasty foods. The staple food is foo-foo, which could be made from different kinds of carbohydrate bases. Foo-foo made from yam and those made from cassava are the most common. Foo-foo are taken with deliciously cooked soups and swallowed in balls. Edikan-ikong soup (thick soup made from vegetables), ukw]h] (made from a specially cultivated twiner called, Afang combined with water leaves), okro soup and melon soup provide all the delicacies. The basic ingredients in these soups are seafoods, like crayfish, fish, clams and periwinkles. The palm oil is added for colour and taste in most soups, except for the white soup, which is basically used for eating yam foo-foo. White soup is a delicacy of the people. It could be enriched with goat meat or chicken. Smoked fish is part of its ingredients. The next staple is called ekpang-nkukw], porridge prepared from a mixture of grated cocoyam and grated water yam. The paste resulting from the gratings is cut into small pieces with fingers and wrapped with tender vegetables. The ingredients of fish and crayfish are added to taste. Salt and pepper are added to taste in all soups and porridges. Modern families extend their appetites to exotic foods like bread and tea, macroni and indomie, rice and beans. Akwa Ibom State is somehow rural. Nightlife is not common and dances and entertainments are seasonal, reserved for Christmas seasons, marriage festivals and burial of an elder in the community. Due perhaps to the current economic realities or to education, the extended family system is in the decline. Large families and polygamy is also fading away. The average family is one whose husband is a university graduate and the wife may have

122 the same qualification or something lower and they have four to five children. Male children are highly valued but female children are not rejected either. Male and female children are given equal educational opportunities. Akwa Ibom State is blessed with many health facilities. There is a general hospital/teaching hospital at Uyo. There are other hospitals founded and managed by the State government. Recently in 2006, the State government handed over the hospitals founded by voluntary agencies to the churches associated with those hospitals. The same thing was done to secondary schools. This may be in the spirit of globalisation (Khor, 2003).

End Notes The above descriptions are not exhaustive of the characteristics of the study site. This much is what time permits for now. I hope these are enough to cause you to visit Akwa Ibom State sometime in the future. The Akwa Ibom Airport is in the making. It is one of the pet projects that Architect Obong Victor Attah, the governor of the State wants to bequeath for memory. The people of Akwa Ibom State are very hospitable. They will warmly welcome you to the State anytime, anyday. Please when you arrive, remember to buzz a member of the ERNWACA research team in Akwa Ibom State.

123

Plate 3.1: Map of Nigeria showing States and State Capitals

124

Plate 3.2: Map of Akwa Ibom State showing the 31 Local Government Areas

125

CHAPTER FOUR

RESEARCH METHOD

This chapter focuses on the method and procedures used in conducting this research. It is all about the research design, population, sample and sampling technique, instrumentation, validation of the research instruments, reliability of the instruments, administration of the instruments and finally, the method of data analysis. Design of the Study The causal comparative and the descriptive survey designs were used. These designs were chosen for the fact that the situation studied was already in existence at the time that the research was carried out and certain variables needed to be described using the opinions of a cross section of teachers, administrators, parents, those of NTI students, course tutors and that of the researchers. Document analysis method was used to find answers to research questions one and eight. Research Population The target population was all the primary school teachers who studied under the NTI. The population size of all the primary school teachers in Akwa Ibom State was 16,000. 6.2 percent of 16,000 (1,000) were estimated to have studied under the NTI. Students and tutors in NTI centres in Akwa Ibom State were also investigated. The population sizes for tutors and students were not

126 described because the officials of the NTI in Akwa Ibom State did not cooperate on that score alone. Sampling Technique and Sample The multi-stage stratified random sampling technique was used. The state was stratified into three Senatorial Districts. Each of the three Senatorial Districts was stratified into Local Government Areas. Teachers, administrators and parents from each Local Government Area were randomly selected. In all, 650 teachers, produced by the NTI and 350 non-NTI teachers (6.2%) were evaluated by the study team. One head-teacher was required to appraise 5 – 7 teachers working under him/her, and 134 head-teachers were to evaluate 670 – 938 teachers in all out of which 800 (85%) usable questionnaires were returned. Three PTA members in each of the 120 schools appraised three teachers each. The total number appraised by the PTA members came to (3 X 3 X 120) = 1,080 teachers, out of which 500 (46.3%) usable questionnaires were returned. The sampling distribution of primary school teachers in the State are shown on Table 4.1. The incidental sampling technique was used to select 492 - 500 NTIDL students at the rate of 30 – 65 students per centre. The incidental sampling technique was used to select 87 course tutors whose returned questionnaires were usable. To find answers to research questions one and six, 13 NTI-written textbooks were randomly sampled in the four core subject areas. The incidental sampling technique was used to select the 13 course texts written by the NTI. These included four English language texts, four Mathematics texts, three Social Studies texts and two Integrated Science texts. The same technique was used to select old question papers on the four core subjects from the NTI, Akwa Ibom State central office.

127

TABLE 4.1: Sampling distribution of Primary School Teachers, Administrators, Parents in the Study

S/N

1 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

LGA/LEA

Abak Eastern Obolo Eket Esit Eket Essien Udim Etim Ekpo Etinan Ibeno Ibesikpo Asutan Ibiono Ibom Ika Ikono Ikot Abasi Ikot Ekpene Ini Itu Mbo Mkpat Enin Nsit Atai Nsit Ibom Nsit Ubium

No. of No. of schools Schools visited

46 10 29 15 55 40 41 12 50 58 18 59 34 34 44 37 27 49 23 31 38

3 1 3 2 8 4 4 1 5 6 2 6 3 6 4 7 3 5 2 3 4

No of Teachers

Male Female 304 650 27 34 57 441 103 138 295 494 204 297 200 402 29 88 179 511 279 586 191 173 239 477 122 246 131 687 250 243 242 486 148 297 158 336 84 170 119 356 148 294

Total 954 61 498 241 789 501 602 117 690 865 364 716 368 818 493 728 445 494 254 475 442

No. of No. of Parents Adminisusable usable who 6.2% of Questiontrators who QuestionparticiTeachers participated naires naires pated returned returned 95 6 50 24 79 50 60 11 69 86 36 71 37 82 49 73 45 49 25 48 44

3 1 3 2 8 4 4 1 5 6 2 6 3 6 4 7 3 5 2 3 4

20 6 20 15 50 20 24 6 40 50 12 36 18 30 30 50 20 30 15 18 26

9 3 9 6 24 12 12 3 15 18 6 18 9 18 12 21 9 15 6 9 12

12 6 15 12 30 18 18 9 21 25 6 15 9 21 21 27 15 18 12 15 18

128

S/N

22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31

LGA/LEA

Obot Akara Okobo Onna Oron Oruk Anam Udung Uko Ukanafun Uruan Urue Offong Oruko Uyo Total

No. of No. of schools Schools visited

No of Teachers

No. of No. of Parents Adminisusable usable who 6.2% of trators who QuestionQuestionparticiTeachers participated naires naires pated returned returned 44 4 24 12 15 37 3 18 9 12 32 3 20 9 12 38 1 6 3 9 67 6 40 18 24 16 1 6 3 6 76 6 36 18 24 44 4 24 12 10

36 29 26 13 69 12 62 45

4 3 3 1 6 1 6 4

146 123 84 48 334 52 313 152

292 247 233 328 36 105 451 287

438 370 317 376 370 157 764 439

21

2

186

267

453

45

2

10

6

9

47 1110

8 120

1099 15698

110 1598

8 120

80 800

24 360

36 500

173 926 5120 10578

129 Instrumentation Five instruments were developed by the researchers plus analysis of records. These were: 1.)

A questionnaire called, “Evaluation Scale for Teachers’ Effective classroom Behaviours (ESTECB)” was used by the researchers themselves to

collect

information

and monitor the

classroom

behaviours of primary school teachers. The first instrument “ESTECB”, was put in sections A – M. section A sought general information on the teachers, section B-M contained 128 items with each set of items measuring something different including: readiness for instruction (7items), teacher personality (14 items), teachers’ knowledge of the subject-matter (5items), classroom management skills (10 items), questioning

skills

(8

items),

communication

skills

(17

items),

interpersonal skills (18 items), teacher enthusiasm (8 items), direct teaching technical skills (11 items), indirect teaching technical skills (11 items), tests/examination skills (19 items) and teachers’ aspiration for professional growth/development (7 items).

Twenty three of those

were negatively worded. 2.)

A second questionnaire called, “Administrators and Parents’ Evaluation of Teachers Effectiveness Questionnaire (APETEQ)” was used by the school administrators and, parents to evaluate the teachers. contained

37

effectiveness

items

measuring

including

teacher’s

different relation

aspects with

of

It

teacher

parents/students,

examination habits, social behaviour, teacher’s personality, teacher commitment, teacher’s aspirations for development and teacher’s

130 classroom behaviours. It was meant for administrators and parents to use in evaluating NTI produced teachers. Their responses were in a 5point Likert-type scale.

3.)

A third instrument (questionnaire) called, “Course Tutors’ assessment of Distance Learning Questionnaire (COTADLQ)”, was used by the course tutors. The third instrument “COTADLQ” which was meant for course tutors, contained 54 items in different sections measuring the following:

The

NTI

Distance

Learning

scheme,

what

the

teaching/learning materials consist of, the study centre activities, NTI tests/examinations, information on NTI course tutors, information on NTI students, information on NTI classroom survival strategies, NTI classroom mastery strategies and NTI classroom impacting strategies. The items were arranged for responses in a 5-point Likert-type-scale. 4.)

A fourth instrument called, “Learning Context, Study Strategies and Performance Questionnaire (LCSSAPQ)”, was used for the studentsteachers who were then studying in NTIDL centres. LCSSAPQ was arranged in two separate parts. The first part which contained 47 items, put in 10 different categories required responses from students in relation to their learning context and study strategies in 5-point Likerttype scale. The second part contained 10 questions, each built from the core subjects of English Language, Mathematics, Integrated Science and Social studies. These tests were conducted as an in-vivo examination of students’ cognitive levels in their programmes. This was done under two hours. The students’ scores in each of the four core

131 subjects:

English

language,

Mathematics,

Social

Studies

and

Integrated Science were weighted by reducing them into a 5-point scale. Thus, the score of 0 – 2 was awarded a weighted score of 1, a sore of 3 – 4 was converted to weighted score of 2, a score of 5 – 6 was weighted to 3, 7 – 8 was weighted to 4, and 9 – 10 weighted to 5. The cut-off point for a pass was fixed at 3.50. 5.)

A fifth instrument had 15 items and called Evaluation Scale for Curriculum Content” instrument (ESCC)”. This was used for assessing NTI texts developed for Distance Learning at the Nigerian certificate of Education (NCE) level. The ESCC was used by experts in assessing the curriculum contents in English language, Mathematics, Integrated Science and Social studies. The fifth instrument contained 15 items. The criteria for assessment of NTI curriculum textbooks based on contents were under the following subtitles:- Meeting learners’ needs and interests, significance, validity, making for practicability/learnability, transferability, having elements of suitability, relevance, balance, scope of coverage, continuity, sequence and integration. These terms are reviewed under textbook evaluation in chapter two. Responses were equally graded in a 5-point Likert-type scale of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. A score of 5 (five) indicated having very high impression of the content and a score of 1 (one) indicated a very low impression of the textbook content. A similar scheme was used in scoring the examination questions set by the NTIDLS.

6.)

There was also an analysis of records whereby the quality control measures (examinations) set by the NTI for its students in the four core

132 subjects of interest were assessed.

Six criteria used in rating the

examination items were drawn from the categories of the cognitive domain of objectives consisting of knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

Validation of the Instrument The face, content and construct validity of the instruments were ascertained by the five research associates and by their mentors. The construct validity of the instrument had the values of 3.7, 3.80, 4.00 and 4.60 for the students, tutors, administrators/parents and the researchers’ questionnaires respectively on a 5-point scale. The test-retest reliability coefficient were established for the instruments by using respondents who did not participate in the actual study. The result showed that the reliability coefficients were as follows: 0.94 reliability coefficient for the ESTECB, 0.71 for APETEQ for administrators and parents respectively and 0.75 for both parents and administrators. The students’ questionnaires (LCSSAPQ) had 0.76 reliability coefficient for test items and 0.92 for the questionnaire, while the tutors’ questionnaires had 0.68 reliability coefficient. The obtained reliability coefficients of the items show that the instruments were reliable and the obtained values were substantially high enough to justify the use of the research instruments. Administration of the Instruments The five sets of questionnaire were sent out into the field to the different categories of respondents.

133 Administration of ESTECB was effected by the researchers and their assistants who were post-graduate students in the Faculty of Education, University of Uyo with the help of the headmasters, headmistresses, and their deputies in the respective schools. Rating of teachers was done in the classrooms as the teachers were teaching. In the case of the school administrators’/parents’ questionnaire, respondents were given up to three days within which to fill the questionnaires. The completed questionnaires were later picked up by the researcher/assistant assigned to the school concerned.

The questionnaire for NTI students and their tutors were

administered to them in their respective study centres.

The questionnaires

were filled and collected on the spot. All the eleven centres in the State were visited within three week-ends. With evidence of authority from the State coordinator of the NTI, all activities were suspended while course tutors and students attended to the questionnaires. Analysis of NTI textbooks in comparison with the known curriculum criteria was handled by an expert in each of the four core-subject areas of English Language, Mathematics, social Studies and Integrated Science. Assessment of examination questions was done by experts in educational evaluation. The whole exercise took two months. On the whole, the researchers were able to evaluate teaching behaviours of 1000 teachers made up of 650 NTI-produced teachers and 350 non NTI-produced teachers; 500 usable copies of PTA questionnaires were retrieved; 800 usable copies of administrators’ questionnaires were retrieved, 80 copies of course tutor questionnaires were retrieved and 400 NTI students returned their questionnaires. Success rate therefore differed for individual segments of the research. For the researchers, the success rate was 63%,

134 for the administrators, 85% and for the PTA members, the success rate was 46.3%.

Method of Data Analysis The data were analysed using descriptive statistics like the mean scores, standard deviations and percentage counts where necessary to analyse the research questions. The independent t-test was however used in two instances – in comparing the researchers’ ratings of the NTI-produced and the non NTI-produced teachers and in comparing the school administrators’ and parents’ ratings of those same group of teachers; to see if there was any significance difference between their effectiveness ratings. The independent t-test was considered necessary when the research questions were commuted into the null hypothesis that there was no significance difference between the two groups in the variables of investigation.

135

CHAPTER FIVE

RESULTS

The results of investigation are laid out in tabular forms from Table 5.1 – table 5.8 Each table portrays the information collected in respect to each of eight research questions and on two Null hypotheses derived from two of the eight research questions.

136

Answer to Research Questions Research Question One: What aspects of the curriculum content of the NTIDLS meet known criteria for a good curriculum? Table 5.1: Average (mean) Scores of Selected NTI Course Texts (Curriculum) on Known Criteria for a Good Curriculum.

3

3

3

3

4

41 3.42 6.63

2

Significance

4

4

4

4

3

3

4

3

3

3

3

5

43 3.58* 6.96

3 4

Validity 3 Practicability / Learnability 3

3 3

3 3

3 3

4 3

4 2

3 3

3 3

2 2

3 2

3 3

39 3.25 6.31 35 2.92 5.66

5

Transferability

4

4

4

4

2

1

4

4

2

3

3

5 5 5

6

Content Difficulty

4

4

4

4

2

2

4

3

2

2

2

5

38 3.17 6.15 43 3.58* 6.96

% Scores

4

Means Score

2

Total

3

Cycle 2: Modules 1-4

4

Cycle 3: Modules 1-4 Cycle 4: Modules 1-4

4

Cycle 2: Modules 1-4

SOCIAL STUDIES

Cycle 2: Modules 1-4 Cycle 3: Modules 1-4 Cycle 4: Modules 1-4

4

Cycle 1: Modules 1-4

4

Cycle 4: Modules 1-4

Meeting Learner’s Needs

Cycle 3: Modules 1-4

1

Cycle 2: Modules 1-4

ENGLISH LANGUAGE Cycle 1: Modules 1-4

MATHEMATICS

INTEGRATED SCIENCE

S/N CRITERIA

40 3.33 6.47

7

Feedback

3

3

3

3

4

4

5

4

3

3

3

5

8

Variety

4

4

4

4

5

3

4

4

2

3

3

4

44 3.67* 7.12

9

Suitability

4

4

4

4

3

3

3

3

2

3

3

4

40 3.33 6.47

4

4

4

4

5

3

3

4

2

2

3

5

43 3.58* 6.96 41 3.42 6.63

10 Relevance 11 Balance

4

4

4

4

3

3

3

3

2

3

4

4

12 Scope of Coverage

3

3

2

3

5

4

4

4

2

3

4

4

41 3.42 6.63

13 Continuity

4

4

4

4

4

3

4

3

2

3

3

4

42 3.50* 6.80

14 Sequence

4

4

4

4

5

4

3

3

1

3

4

5

44 3.67* 7.12

4

5

44 3.67* 7.12

15 Integration Total Mean score

4

4

4

4

4

4

3

3

2

56 56 55 56 55 45 54 50 32 3.73* 3.73* 3.67* 3.73* 3.67* 3.00 3.60* 3.33 2.13 9.06 9.06 8.90 9.06 8.90 7.28 8.74 8.09 5.18 % Score KEY: Mean score above 3.50 along the rows is significant; * indicates significance

3

42 48 2.80 3.20 6.80 7.77

69 4.60* 11.17

618

137 On Table 5.1, are shown the ratings of NTI course texts for distance learning, by specialists in the respective subject areas. The totals and mean ratings along the rows show the joint scores of all the texts in the four subject areas (English language, Mathematics, Social studies and Integrated Science). Based on the values of the mean scores, the criteria of variety, sequence and integration had the highest ratings (0 = 3.67) each. They were seconded by the criteria of significance, feedback and relevance (0 = 3.58) each. The criterion of continuity had a borderline rating (0 = 3. 50). The values of these criteria were on/above the cut-off point of 3.50. Therefore, these criteria were met for a good curriculum. On

the

opposite

end

of

the

continuum,

the

criterion

of

practicability/learnability registered the lowest mean rating (0 = 3.25). That was followed by the criterion of content difficulty (0 = 3.17) and by validity (0 = 3.25). In between these two extremes were the criteria of transferability and suitability each of which had the mean rating of 3.33. Also in the middle range were the criteria of meeting learners’ needs/interests, balance and scope of coverage, each of which had a mean rating of 3.42. The ratings in the middle range are however, lower than the cut-off point of 3.50. Therefore, these textbook attributes that did not score up to 3.50 did not meet the criteria of a good curriculum. The NTIDL textbooks met the criteria for a good curriculum in terms of variety, sequence and integration. Additional attributes which met the criteria of a good curriculum were their significance, feedback and relevance.

138 Research Question Two: What are the opinions of the NTIDL students about their learning contexts and study strategies? Table 5.2A: % Analysis of NTIDL Students’ Perception of Their Learning Contexts and Study Strategies VARIABLE AGREE FREQ %

S/No

1

2

3

4

5

6

SOURCE OF HELP Course tutors 473 past-NTI students 385 present-NTI students 392 graduate in subject area 436 books not for NTI 244 Internet 208 REASONS FOR HELP For Better understanding 467 To Write term paper 365 To Study for Exams 413 To Pass Exams 335 TIME FOR PRIVATE STUDY Late at night 357 Early morning 361 On week-ends 278 Any time of the day 301 Afternoon 143 OCCUPATION Teaching(public school) 169 Teaching(private school) 234 civil servant 174 Farming 303 Family/home care 285 Nothing 75 USE OF COURSE TEXTS Reading course textbooks 200 only Reading course textbooks 418 several times only Reading once before exams 87 112 Reading through important section Course textbooks plus others 451 STUDY HABITS Make note after reading Read text several times Reduce text to small print Use dictionary while reading

464 397 201 439

RESPONSE CATEGORIES UNDECIDED DISAGREE FREQ % FREQ %

TOTAL

96% 78% 80% 88% 50% 42%

9 47 40 28 74 95

2% 10% 8% 6% 15% 20%

10 60 60 28 174 189

2% 12% 12% 6% 35% 38%

492 492 492 492 492 492

95% 74% 83% 68%

13 59 47 84

3% 12% 10% 17%

12 68 32 73

2% 14% 7% 15%

492 492 492 492

73% 73% 57% 61% 29%

32 54 77 69 118

7% 11% 16% 14% 24%

103 77 137 122 231

20% 16% 28% 25% 47%

492 492 492 492 492

34% 48% 35% 61% 58% 15%

88 75 86 87 85 132

18% 15% 18% 18% 17% 27%

235 183 232 102 122 285

48% 37% 47% 21% 25% 58%

492 492 492 492 492 492

41%

58

12%

234

47%

492

85%

44

9%

30

6%

492

18% 23%

49 64

10% 13%

356 316

72% 64%

492 492

92%

15

3%

26

5%

492

94% 81% 41% 89%

21 66 73 29

4% 13% 15% 6%

7 29 218 24

2% 5% 44% 5%

492 492 492 492

139 VARIABLE AGREE FREQ %

S/No

7

9

TOTAL

LIKES ABOUT THE NTI Instalmental payment of fees 431

88%

30

6%

31

6%

492

Painstaking tutors Supply of reading material More time for other things

344 455 405

70% 93% 82%

70 21 36

14% 4% 7%

78 16 51

16% 3% 11%

492 492 492

Exams conditions helps 235 student pass well Course contents are relevant 405 to my needs Exams/test are graded/publish 345 in good time

48%

73

15%

184

37%

492

82%

52

11%

35

7%

492

70%

86

17%

61

13%

492

16% 24% 27%

45 38 44

9% 8% 9%

371 336 314

75% 68% 64%

492 492 492

10%

65

13%

378

77%

492

19%

66

13%

334

68%

492

16% 13%

54 37

11% 8%

361 389

73% 79%

492 492

17%

32

7%

374

76%

492

38%

37

8%

265

54%

492

90% 27% 23% 17% 66% 45% 23%

18 75 116 101 50 65 95

4% 15% 24% 21% 10% 13% 19%

29 233 262 309 116 205 287

6% 48% 53% 62% 24% 42% 58%

492 492 492 492 492 492 492

96% 95%

14 21

3% 4%

4 6

1% 1%

492 492

95%

21

4%

4

1%

492

93%

23

5%

8

2%

492

DISLIKES ABOUT THE NTI Course tutors are not serious 76 Fees are too high 118 course books are not sufficient 134

8

RESPONSE CATEGORIES UNDECIDED DISAGREE FREQ % FREQ %

course contents are difficult to 49 understand Course books are too big to 92 cover No practical know ledge 77 Course content will not help 66 me No sufficient time for study 86 Exams/result not publish in 190 good time INTERACTION WITH COURSE TUTORS Direct contact in class 445 Phoning 184 Letter writing/Cards 114 E-mailing 82 Test/Exams 326 Visiting their office 222 Visiting their home 110

IMPACT OF NTIDLS It gives knowledge/skill 474 It has change my attitude to 465 life 10 It has prepared me for the 467 future It has reminded me of things I 461 had forgotten

140 On Table 5.2A is presented data on the NTIDL students’ perception of ten items of their learning contexts and study strategies. These range from, (1) where they seek help; (2) reasons for seeking help; (3) time for private studies; (4) their occupations; (5) use of course textbooks; (6) study habits; (7) their likes about the NTI; (8) their dislikes about the NTI; (9) mode of interaction with course tutors; (10) the impact of the NTIDLS on individual students.

The summary of analysis of Table 5.2A is shown on Table 5.2B Table 5.2B: Analysis and Interpretation of Table 5.2A S/No Variable 1. Source of Help

2. 3. 4.

5.

6.

7.

8. 9.

10.

Highest Scorers (i) Course tutors (96%) (ii) University graduates in the same subject area (88%) (iii) Present NTI students (80%) Reason for Help (i) For better understanding (95%) (ii) In studying for exams (83%) Study Time (i) Late night/early morning (73%) Occupations (i) Farming (61%) (ii) Homecare (58%)

Lowest Scorers (i) The internet (42%) (ii) other textbooks (50%)

(i) To write term paper (74%) (i) Afternoons (29%) (i) Unemployed (15%) (ii) Teachers/civil servants (34%, 35%) (i) Reading once before Use of course (i) Course texts plus others (92%) (18%) texts (ii) Reading course texts several times exams (85%) (ii) Reading through important sections (23%) Study Habits (i) Making notes after reading (94%) (i) Reducing texts to small (ii) Use of dictionary while reading prints (41%) (89%) (iii) Reading several times (81%) Likes about the (i) Supply of course texts (96%) (i) Exams conditions help NTI (ii) Instalmental fee payment (88%) students to pass well (48%) (iii) Giving time for other things (82%) Dislikes about the NTI Mode of (i) Class contacts (90%) (i) Mailing (17%) interaction with (ii) Home visits/phoning course tutors (23%, 27%) respectively. The impacts of (i) Gives knowledge (96%) NTIDLS (ii) Prepares for the future (95%) and (iii) Changes my attitude to life (95%)

141 The highest scoring items were those that large numbers of students had positive perceptions, while the lowest scorers were those that they had very negative perceptions of. Table 5.2B throws more light on the students’ study habits and their perception of learning in general.

Cell number 1

(highest scorer) shows that there is much interaction (96%) between students and course tutors. Cell number 9 indicates that, much of their interactions take place in the formal classroom during face-to-face contact sessions. Cell number 1 also shows that there is much student/student interaction too (80%) and there is interaction between the NTIDL students and experts in their different fields (88%). The lowest scoring sources of help used by the students include the internet (42%). This is an indication that online education is still being less used in this part of Nigeria.

A substantive percentage of students (50%)

claimed to refer to other textbooks in their fields. In cell 2 and 10, quite a large number of students (95%) subscribed to the “transformative perception of learning” (Lankbeck & Mugler, 2005, p.3) by claiming that they study to have a better understanding and to prepare for the future. A good number too equally claimed that they study for knowledge (90%), to pass examinations (83%).

This group of students have a

reproductive conception of learning. In cell number 3, the students claimed to study mostly late nights and early mornings (73%) each. In cell number 4, 61% claimed to be farmers, 58% claimed home keeping occupations, while only 34% claimed to be teachers. In cell number 5 – 6, NTIDL students consult other texts in addition to their course texts (92%), and most (85%) claimed to read sequentially,

142 make notes during reading (94%) and use dictionaries to help know difficult words (89%) while a few (41%) indulge in reducing notes to small prints which predisposes them to examination malpractices. In cell number 7 – 8, NTIDL students like the NTIDLS for its supplying course texts (96%), instalmental fee-payment (88%) and allowing them time for other engagements (82%).

Research Question Three: How do NTIDL Students perform in the Four Core Subject Areas? Table 5.3: Performance of NTIDL students in Four Core Subjects English Language, Mathematics, Primary Science and Social Studies. S/N Centre 1

2

3

4

5

6

Score Category T Oron n = 47 0 SD % pass T Ikot Ekpene 0 n = 43 SD % pass Ikot Abasi T n = 40 0 SD % pass T Eket n = 58 0 SD % pass T Itu n = 65 0 SD % pass T Ikono n = 33 0 SD % pass

English Language 200 4.26 0.71 30 158 3.67 1.34 31 160 4.00 0.51 27 241 4.16 0.83 30 299 4.60 0.70 29 163 4.79 0.54 27

Primary Mathematics Science 110 180 2.34 3.83 1.03 0.96 16 27 83 151 1.93 3.51 1.08 0.88 16 29 88 161 2.20 4.03 0.82 0.80 15 27 174 222 3.00 3.83 1.21 0.94 21 27 236 280 3.63 4.31 0.80 0.64 23 27 150 144 4.41 4.24 0.61 0.61 25 24

Social Studies 183 3.89 0.96 28 121 2.81 1.12 24 177 4.43 0.59 30 197 3.40 1.15 24 221 3.40 0.86 21 142 4.18 0.87 24

Overall Score Rank 673 4.77 1st

513 2.98

11th

586 3.66

7th

834 3.58

9th

1036 3.98

3rd

599 4.54

2nd

143 S/N Centre

Score Category T 7 Uyo n = 63 0 SD % pass T 8 Abak n = 51 0 SD % pass 9 Etim Ekpo T n = 30 0 SD % pass 10 Ukanafun T n = 40 0 SD % pass T 11 Ika n = 30 0 SD % pass

English Language 262 4.16 0.75 30 214 4.28 0.83 29 127 4.23 0.86 30 167 4.18 0.87 28 128 4.27 0.87 28

12 Overall n = 500

2119 4.24 0.86 29 1st

T 0 SD % pass Rank

Mathematics 148 2.35 0.95 17 152 3.04 1.44 21 67 2.23 1.14 16 114 2.85 1.17 19 106 3.53 0.97 23 1428 2.86 1.24 19 4th

Primary Science 237 3.76 0.91 27 188 376.00 0.94 25 123 4.10 0.96 29 161 4.03 0.95 27 121 4.03 0.67 26

Social Studies 230 3.65 1.00 25 187 3.74 1.10 25 109 3.63 1.24 26 154 3.85 1.14 26 107 3.57 0.82 23

Overall Score Rank 877 3.48 10th

1968 3.94 0.88 27 2nd

1828 3.66 1.07 25 3rd

7343 3.67

741 3.63

8th

426 3.85

4th (tie)

596 3.73

6th

462 3.85

4th (tie)

Key: T = total score; 0 = mean score; SD = standard deviation; % = percentage passed. N/B: The cut off point was 50% and 0 = 3.50.

Performances were

generally compared with the overall percentage pass and mean score.

English Language The overall percentage pass was 29%, centres that recorded more percentage pass than the overall included Ikot Ekpene (31%), Oron, Eket, Uyo and Etim Ekpo each of which had 30% pass. Itu and Abak centres had

144 borderline passes (29%).

The centres that did not measure up to the

minimum include Ikot Abasi and Ikono (27%) pass each and Ukanafun and Ika centres each which recorded 28% pass. Judgment based on the mean scores however presented a different picture. The overall mean score which can be taken as the cut-off point was 4.24. Only two centres recorded higher mean scores. These were Ikono (0 = 4.79) and Itu (0 = 4.60). The rest of the centres recorded lower than the average mean passes with variations in standard deviations. Ikot Ekpene centre which recorded the highest percentage score however, recorded the lowest mean score (0 = 3.67) and the widest range of standard deviations (SD = 1.34) as against (SD = 0.86) in the overall score. On the whole, students’ performance in English language was the best among the four subjects (0 = 4.24) Mathematics The overall percentage pass in mathematics was 19 percent.

The

centres that recorded higher percentage scores included Ikono (25%), Itu and Ika (23%) each, Eket and Abak (21%) each.

Ukanafun had a borderline

percentage pass (19%). The rest of the five centres recorded lower than the minimum percentage pass in mathematics. These included Uyo (17%), Oron; Ikot Ekpene and Etim Ekpo (16%) each, and Ikot Abasi (15%) pass. Judging from their mean scores, the minimum was fixed at 2.86, which was the overall mean score.

Only five centres recorded means which

superceded the overall average. These were: Ikono (0 = 4.41), Itu (0 =3.63), Ika (0 =3.53), Abak (0 = 3.04) and Eket (0 = 3.00). The lowest mean score in mathematics was recorded in Ikot Ekpene (0 = 1.93) followed by Ikot Abasi (0

145 = 2.20) and by Etim Ekpo (0 = 2.23). The standard deviations were generally wider than one in some centres like Oron, Ikot Ekpene, Eket, Etim Ekpo, Ukanafun and even in the overall. Performance in mathematics turned out to be the worst of all four core subjects under consideration. Primary Science The overall percentage pass was 27 percent. Using this as the cut-ff point, only two centres recorded higher percentage passes. These were Ikot Ekpene and Etim Ekpo (29%) pass each. The centres that had lower than the cut-off point were Ikono (24%), Abak (25%) and Ika (26%). The rest of other six centres had borderline percentage passes (27%) each. In terms of mean scores, the standard was fixed in the overall mean score which was 3.94. The centres that scored above that standard were, Itu (0 = 4.31, Ikono (0 = 4.24) and Ikot Abasi, Ukanafun and Ika (0 = 4,03) each. The lowest mean score in this subject area was recorded in Ikot Ekpene (0 = 3.51), Uyo and Abak (0 = 3.76) each. The standard deviations in primary science was generally less than 1. In effect, performance in primary science concentrated around the mean and came second to performance in English language. Social Studies The overall score was 25 percent. That was used as the basis for judging performances in the different centres. Ikot Abasi scored much higher than the average (30%) pass. The second position was taken by Oron (28%), and the third by Etim Ekpo and Ukanafun (26%) each. Uyo and Abak centres had borderline passes (25%) each. The other five centres recorded lower than the cut-off. These were Ikot Ekpene, Eket and Ikono (24%) each, Ika

146 (23%) and Itu (21%) pass. Going by their mean scores, the overall mean score was 3.66 and a standard deviation of 1.07. Based on that standard, Ikot Abasi again recorded the highest mean score (0 =4.43).

That was

followed by Ikono (0 = 4.18) and by Oron (0 = 3.89). The standard deviation at Ikot Abasi was less than the overall (SD = 0.59). Really the standard deviations in all these high flier centres were not up to one in each case. On the lower end of the continuum were centres like Ikot Ekpene (0 = 2.81, SD = 1.12), Eket and Itu with (0 = 3.40) each and (SD = 1.15, 0.86) respectively. Social studies took a third position among the four core subjects in the overall. Moreover, the eleven centres of the NTI were ranked based on their overall performance in all the four core subjects, the standard mean score was 3.67. The first three centres in the rank were Oron (0 = 4.77), Ikono (0 = 4.54) and Itu (0 = 3.98), while the last three were Eket (0 = 3.58), Uyo (0 = 3.48), and Ikot Ekpene (0 = 2.98), in descending order of magnitude.

147 Research Question Four: What are the Opinions of Course Tutors on the Effectiveness of NTIDLS Delivery Mode? Table 5.4: Analysis of Course Tutors’ Opinions of the NTIDLS S/N

Variable

The NTI Learning Scheme Teaching/Learning The Learning Materials 1 Programme Study Centre Activities NTI Test/Examination NTI Course Tutors NTI Students Classroom Survival Strategies Classroom 2 Classroom Mastery Management Strategies Level Classroom Impacting Strategies

No. of Items TOTAL

0

0 of 0

10

3613 41.53

4.15

5 5 5 6 9

1598 1715 1734 2219 3037

18.37 19.17 19.93 25.51 34.91

3.67 3.94 3.99 4.25 3.88

5

1685 19.37

3.87

5

1852 21.29

4.26

4

1509 17.34

4.34

Key: 0 = Mean Score, and 0 of 0 = Mean of Means or weighted mean. n for course tutors was 87.

In Table 5.4 above are shown the mean ratings of the NTIDLS by course tutors. The tutors gave very high ratings to the quality of course tutors (4.25); that was followed by a high rating to the NTIDLS learning scheme (4.15), which was followed by the quality of tests and examinations (3.99). Although the mean ratings did not go beyond the cut-off point of 3.50, the areas that received less impressive ratings by the course tutors were the learning activities in the centres (3.94), the students (3.88) and the teaching/learning materials (3.67).

148 On their classroom management strategies, the course tutors gave the following ratings: classroom impacting strategies (0 = 4.34), classroom mastery strategies (0 = 4.26) and classroom survival strategies (0 = 3.87).

Research Question Five: What are the Effective Classroom Behaviours of NTIDLS-produced Teachers?

Table 5.5: S/N

Analysis of Classroom Behaviour of NTI-produced Teachers

Teaching Behaviour

0

Weighted No. of mean Items score

SD

Rank order

1

Readiness for Instruction

2704.71

7

4.16

0.54

1st

2 3

Teacher Personality

2602.29

14

4.00

0.65

3rd

Knowledge of Subject Matter

2175.80

5

3.35

1.00

10th

4

Classroom Management Skills 2632.50

10

4.05

0.58

2nd

5

Questioning Skills

2256.75

8

3.47

0.73

9th

6

Communication Skills

2469.76

17

3.80

0.54

7th

7

Interpersonal Skills

2505.39

18

3.85

0.51

6th

8

Enthusiasm

2595.38

8

3.99

0.73

4th

9

Direct Teaching Skills

2153.18

11

3.31

0.50

11th

10 Indirect Teaching Skills

2403.67

9

3.70

0.58

8th

11 Test/Examination Skills

2531.14

14

3.89

0.59

5th

In Table 5.5 above, out of eleven teaching behaviours, readiness for instruction had the highest mean score (0 = 4.16) followed by classroom management skill (0 = 4.05) and by teacher personality (0 = 4.00). On the other end of the continuum were the direct teaching skills (0 = 3.31), knowledge of the subject matter (0 = 3.35) and questioning skills (0 = 3.47). These did not reach the value of 3.50, which was the cut-off point. The mean scores of the other teaching behaviours in focus fell in-between these two extreme groups. In effect, the NTIDL-produced teachers were rated by the

149 team of researchers to be quite ready for instruction, they were rated to have managed their classroom well, and their personalities were positively rated. They received low ratings in having direct teaching skills, knowledge of the subject-matter and questioning skills.

Research Question Six:

How do Teachers produced Through the

NTIDLS Compare in Teaching Effectiveness with Teachers Produced Through Other Educational Agencies? Table 5.6A: Analysis and Rank Order of Means of NTIDLS-produced and Non-NTIDLS-Produced Teachers

S/N

Teaching Behaviour Variables

1

Readiness for Instruction

2

5

Teacher Personality Knowledge of Subject Matter Classroom Management Skills Questioning Skills

6

NTIDL-Produced Non-NTI-Teachers Teachers Rank Rank Mean Mean Order of Order of Score (0 0) Score (0 0) Means Means st 4.16 1 4.23 1st 4.00

3rd

4.14

2nd

3.35

11th

3.96

7th

4.05

2nd

4.13

3rd

3.47

10th

3.36

12th

Communication Skills

3.80

8th

4.03

5th

7

Interpersonal Skills

3.85

6th

3.96

7th

8

Enthusiasm

3.99

4th

3.98

6th

9

Direct Teaching Skills

3.31

12th

3.59

11th

10

Indirect Teaching Skills

3.70

9th

3.93

9th

11

Test/Examination Skills

3.89

5th

4.09

4th

12

Aspiration

3.82

7th

3.93

9th

3 4

Key: 0 = mean score, SD = standard deviation

150 In table 5.6A, the NTIDL-produced teachers ranked high in readiness for instruction (0 = 4.16), classroom management (0 = 4.05) and teacher personality (0 = 4.00) which took 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions in the rating by the researchers. The non-NTIDL teachers ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd in readiness for instruction (0 = 4.23), teacher personality (0 = 4.14) and in classroom management (0 = 4.13). For the NTIDL products, the items with less ratings included the direct teaching skills (0 = 3.31), knowledge of the subject-matter (0 = 3.35) and questioning skills (0 = 3.47). The non-NTI-produced teachers were less positively rated in only questioning skills (0 = 3.36). Therefore, it can be said that on the positive side, teachers produced through the NTIDLS are comparable in effectiveness with the non-NTI-products in the traditional classroom context variables. But on the negative side, the NTIDL products are comparatively poorer in effectiveness in direct teaching skills and in knowledge of the subject-matter.

151 Research Question Seven: What is the Difference in the Opinions of Parents and School Administrators on the Effectiveness of NTIDLproduced Teachers

Table 5.7A: Rank Order of Means (0 0) of Parents’ and Administrators’ Rating of Teaching. S/N

Variable

1.

Teacher Personality Examination habit Social behaviour

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Personal development Relationship with Parents Teaching behaviour Commitment Student/Teacher relationships

Global Item 10. Overall Teaching effectiveness Rating Key:

No. of Rank of Items Administrators’ Score and Mean (0 0) 1 1st (4.36)*

Rank of Parents’ Score Rank and Mean (0 0) 1st (4.16)*

1 3 2

2nd (4.30)* 3rd (4.20)* 4th (4.18)*

2nd (4.11)* 7th (3.74)* 3rd (4.04)*

5 13

5th (4.05)* 6th (3.99)*

4th (3.94)* 8th (2.99) ∆

6

7th (3.97)*

5th (3.87)*

5 1

8th (3. 87)* 9th (2.84) ∆

6th (3.79)* 9th (2.98) ∆

37

3.98

3.56

A minimum of 3.50 and above is significant

In Table 5.7A above, teacher personality attracted the highest ratings from both the school-heads and parents (0 = 4.36, 4.16) respectively. It took the highest position in the rating of both groups.

Examination habit took

second position in the consideration of both groups of raters (0 = 4.30, 4.11) for school-heads and parents respectively. Opinions of both groups of raters differed in their third considerations when social behaviour took the third position (0 = 4.20) in the rating by school-heads while personal development (0 = 4.04) took the third position in the consideration of parent.

152 On the negative side, both administrators and parents rated the NTIDLteachers least in considering their global rating of teaching effectiveness (0 = 2.84, 2.98). The global rating, nevertheless, differed from the sum of specific items in which the administrators, in the overall, rated teaching effectiveness of NTIDl-produced teachers more positively (0 = 3.98) than the parents (0 = 3.56).

However, while the administrators rated the NTIDL teachers 8th in

terms of student/teacher relationships (0 = 3.87), the parents rated them 8th in their teaching behaviour (0 = 2.99). Student – teacher relationship is a part of teaching behaviours though. While the administrators rated them 7th (0 = 3.97) in terms of commitment, the parents placed them 7th in terms of social behaviour (0 = 3.74). An Hypothesis (H02) was developed from this and the analysis is done under analysis of hypotheses.

153

Research Question Eight: Now do the Examination Quality of the NTIDLS compare with known Criteria? Table 5.8: Percentage Analysis of the Frequency of Occurrence of Test Items in the 6-Cognitive Categories. Particulars

Cycle Year Semester 3 3

3

4

4

2006 2006

2004

2004

2006

1 1

Cognitive Categories

Subject code PES Eng 331 PES Eng 322

1 3 4

1

1

(%) -

3

5

(%)

6

(%)

Total

11 (34.37)

2 (25) 4 (12.5)

10 (31.25)

8 32

6 (15) 3 (25)

11 (27.5) 4 (33.33)

6 (15) -

10 (25) -

40 12

2 (9.09) 5 (29.41)

(19.05) (14.29) (17.64)

1 1 1 1 1

12 21 22 14 17

Total

35 (40.7) 19 (22.09) 7 (8.14) 9 (10.47) 11 (12.79) 5 (5.81) 86 1 (5.56) 2 (15.38) 6 (31.57)

Total

9 (18)

SOS 441 SOS 444 SOS 445

3 5 4

(23.08) (50) (26.67)

(16.67) (14.29) (36.36) (28.57) (11.77)

(%)

9 11 9 4 2

ENG 401 ENG 451 ENG 411

2 3 8 4 2

4

3 (37.5 3 (9.38)

(17.5) (8.34) 4 (33.33) (75) (52.38) (40.91) (28.57) (11.77)

(%)

ITS 311 ITS 312 ITS 313 ITS 321 ITS 241

Total Grand Total

2

(37.5) (12.5)

Total 7 PES MATHS 341 1

1

(%)

9 4 7

(50) (30.77) (36.84)

20 (40) 2 2 5

6

(33.33) (10.53)

2

8 (16)

(15.38) (20) (33.33)

-

4 2 3 2 3 2

(11.11) (23.08) (10.53)

7 (14) 4 1

(30.77) (10) -

2 2 3 4

4 2

(9.52) (9.09) (21.43) (23.53) (30.77) (10.53)

6 (12) 1 (7.69) 1 (10) 6 (40)

3 1

(8.33) (4.76) (4.55) (7.14) (5.88) -

18 13 19

-

50

(23.08) (10) -

13 10 15

12 (31.58) 9 (23.68) 5 (13.16) 8 (21.05) 4 (10.53) 38 64 (28.32) 52 (23) 24 (10.62) 36 (15.93) 31 (13.72) 19 (8.41) 226

Key: Cognitive category 1 = Knowledge, 2 = Comprehension, 3 = Application, 4 = Analysis, 5 = Synthesis and 6 = Evaluation. PES 331(c) = Reading Skill II, PES 332(c) = Linguistic Study, ENG 401(c) = Pronunciation in English, ENG 411(c) = Topic in Syntax, ENG 451(c) = English Language Methodology. N/B: The Course Titles were not given in other courses.

154 The Data in Table 5.8 revealed the proportions of test items for Primary Education Studies (PES) English Language 331 and 322; PES Mathematics 341; Integrated science (ITS) 311, 312, 313, 321 and 341; English Language (ENG) 401, 451 and 411; Social Studies (SOS) 441, 444 and 445; in the six cognitive categories comprising knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. For PES, the total items were 7 (17.5%) for knowledge, none for comprehension, 6 (15%) for application, 11 (27.5%) for analysis, 6 (15%) for synthesis and 10 (25%) for evaluation. Mathematics 314 had 1 (8.345%) knowledge, 4 (33.33%) comprehension, 3 (25%) application and 4 (33.33%) analysis items respectively. While there was no item for synthesis and evaluation cognitive categories. The total items for Integrated Science for each cognitive category ranged from 35 (40.7%), 19 (22.09%), 7 (8.14%), 9 (10.47%), 11 (12.79%) and 5 (5.81%) respectively. Except for evaluation, which had no item, the total items for English Language ranged from 9(18%), 20 (40%), 8 (16%), 7 (14%) and 6 (12%) respectively. For SOS, the total items of 12 (31.58%) knowledge, 9 (23.68%) comprehension, 0 application, 5 (13.16%) analysis, 8 (21.05%) synthesis and 4 (10.53%) evaluation were found. When the analysis was conducted for the entire subjects under consideration, it showed the total of 64 (28.32%) knowledge, 52 (23%) comprehension, 24 (10.62%) application, 36 (15.93%) analysis, 31 (13.72%) synthesis and 19 (8.41%) evaluation.

155 Analysis of Hypotheses

H01:

There is no Significant Difference between the Effectiveness of NTIDL-Products

and

Teachers

produced

through

other

Educational Agencies. Table 5.6B: An independent t-test Analysis of the difference between Effective Classroom Behaviours of NTIDLS-produced and NonNTIDLS Produced Teachers. S/N Teacher Behaviour Variables Readiness for 1 Instruction

No. of Items

NTI-Teachers T

0

Non-NTI-Teachers t-cal t-crit Decision

SD

T

0

SD

7

2704.71 4.16 0.54 1480.29 4.23 0.50 1.94 1.96

Teacher Personality Knowledge of Subject Matter Classroom Management Skills

14

2602.29 4.00 0.65 1449.64 4.14 0.46 3.53 1.96

5

2175.80 3.35 1.00 1386.20 3.96 0.79 9.90 1.96

10

2632.50 4.05 0.58 1445.30 4.13 0.40 2.29 1.96

8

2256.75 3.47 0.73 1177.00 3.36 0.61 2.37 1.96

6

Questioning Skills Communication Skills

17

2469.76 3.80 0.54 1409.12 4.03 0.39 6.88 1.96

7

Interpersonal Skills

18

2505.39 3.85 0.51 1384.39 3.96 0.35 3.33 1.96

8

2595.38 3.99 0.73 1393.63 3.98 0.47 0.26 1.96

11

2153.18 3.31 0.50 1255.18 3.59 0.34 9.18 1.96

9

2403.67 3.70 0.58 1377.22 3.93 0.42 6.75 1.96

14

2531.14 3.89 0.59 1431.57 4.09 0.49 5.30 1.96

7

2485.86 3.82 0.87 1376.57 3.93 0.66 2.04 1.96

2 3

4 5

8

Enthusiasm Direct Teaching 9 Skills Indirect Teaching 10 Skills Test/Examination 11 Skills 12 Teacher Aspiration

Key: * = Statistically significant at p = .05. T = total, 0 = mean, SD = standard deviation, t-cal = calculated value of student t-test, t-crit = table value of t at p = .05, degree of freedom (df) = 998. N for NTI-produced Teachers = 650, N for non-NTI-produced Teachers = 350. N/B: The mean scores were weighted by the number of items contained in each section to reduce them to 5-point scale.

* * * * * *

* * * *

156 In Table 5.6B is shown pair-wise comparisons of the mean scores of two groups of teachers (the NTI-produced and the non-NTI-produced teachers), under eleven variables of classroom behaviours. Under variable number 1 (readiness for instruction), the mean score of the NTI-produced teachers is 4.16 while that of the non-NTI teachers is 4.23. The calculated tvalue is 1.94 while the critical t-value is 1.96. Therefore, the differences in mean scores between the two groups of teachers is not statistically significant.

This means that the perceived differences between the mean

scores of these two groups of teachers does not exist in the actual population. The difference is by chance.

The same decision is reached under item

number 8 (teacher enthusiasm) where the mean score of the NTI-produced teachers is 3.99 while that of the non-NTI teachers is 3.98. The differences between the mean scores of these two groups of teachers, is nevertheless statistically significant in the rest of the variables under consideration, which means the difference do exist in the population. In almost all the cases, the mean score of the teachers who were non-NTIproduced were higher than those of the NTI-produced teachers, except in case number 5 (questioning skills) where the NTI-produced teachers had a mean score of 3.47 as against the mean score of 3.36 by the non-NTIproduced teachers. All the critical t-values were obtained under 0.05 level of significance and 998 degrees of freedom The hypothesis that there was no significant difference between the teaching behaviours of NTI-produced teachers and the non-NTI-produced teachers was upheld in terms of readiness for instruction and teacher enthusiasm. It was nevertheless, rejected in term of the other nine variables of teaching behaviours.

157 H02:

There is no Significant Difference between the Opinions of Administrators and Parents on the Teaching Effectiveness of NTIproduced Teachers.

Table 5.7B: Independent t-test Analysis of the Difference Between the Opinions

of

Parents

and

Administrators

on

Teaching

Effectiveness of NTI-produced Teachers. S/N 1.

Variable

Group ART

0 23.83

SD 3.71

PRT ART

23.13 51.91

3.82 6.78

PRT ART

38.91 19.43

5.81 3.54

PRT ART

18.94 20.26

3.51 2.50

Commitment 2. Teaching behaviour 3.

Student/Teacher relationships

4.

Parents’ relationships Personal development

5. 6.

PRT ART

19.68 8.36

2.60 1.48

PRT ART

8.08 4.31

1.55 1.13

PRT ART

4.11 12.60

1.30 2.34

Examination habit

7.

Social behaviour PRT ART

8.

11.93 4.36

2.93 0.86

4.16 147.90

0.99 15.99

Personality PRT Overall Teaching ART effectiveness PRT Rating

9.

10.

Global Rating of NTI-Teachers

ART PRT

131.87

15.68

2.84

1.442

2.98

t-cal

t-crit

Decision

3.25

1.96

*

36.77

1.96

*

2.41

1.96

*

3.96

1.96

*

3.24

1.96

*

2.79

1.96

*

4.35

1.96

*

3.69

1.96

*

17.79

1.96

*

-1.64

1.96



1.55

* = Significant at 0.05 level; ∆ = Not significant at 0.05 level; df = 1298. ART = Administrators’ Rating of Teachers; n = 500 for Administrators PRT = Parents’ Rating of Teachers;

n = 800 for Parents

158 The above Table 5.7B presents the calculated t–values as 3.25, 36.77, 2.41, 3.96, 3.24, 2.79, 4.35, 3.69, 17.79 and -1.64 for commitment, teaching behaviour, student/teacher relationships, parents’ relationships, personal development, examination habit, social behaviour, personality, overall rating of teaching effectiveness and global-rating of teaching effectiveness respectively. These values were tested for significance by comparing them with the critical t- value (1.96) at 0.05 level and 1298 degrees of freedom. There was a significant difference between the ratings of the school administrators and parents in considering all the variables individually and collectively. However, there was no significant difference between the ratings of the school administrators and parents when global item was used. The hypothesis that there was no significant difference between the ratings of the school administrators and parents of the effectiveness of NTIDL-produced teachers was upheld when a global item was used. It was totally rejected when specific items were used in rating teacher effectiveness.

Summary of Findings 1.

The NTIDL textbooks were found to meet the criteria of a good curriculum in terms of variety, sequence and integration. More attributes which met the criteria of a good curriculum were in term of offering significant knowledge, in terms of giving feedback to students, in terms of offering relevant knowledge and in term of their continuity. Generally, the NTI course text is rated high in the criteria of appropriateness of a textbook but low in readability as evidenced in the

159 low ratings given to variables like learnability/practicability (0 = 2.92), content difficulty (0 = 3.17) and validity (0 = 3.25) 2(a)

(b)

There is much face-to-to contact in the NTIDLS: these include i.

course tutor/students contacts in class section sessions;

ii.

students/students contacts; and

iii.

students/expert contacts.

Some NTIDL students have transformative conception of learning while some have productive conception of learning.

(c)

The NTIDL students study late nights and early mornings.

(d)

The bulk of NTIDL students are not classroom teachers.

(e)

Most NTIDL students are sequential readers who use study aids like the dictionary.

(f)

The NTIDL students like their programme because it supplies them with course texts, it accepts instalmental payment of fees and it allows them time for other engagements.

3(a)

The performance of NTIDL students in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria were

best

in

English

Language

and

worst

in

Mathematics.

Performances in Social Studies and Primary Science compete for second position but Primary Science won the overall second position and Social Studies the forth position (b)

In terms of performance in simple tests in the four core subjects in their curriculum (English Language, Mathematics, Social Studies and Primary Science) the orders of performance at the centres was Oron, Ikono and Itu for the first, second and third position respectively while

160 the last position was taken by Ikot Ekpene, the second to the last by Uyo and the third to the last by the Eket centre of NTI. Students in centres located in rural communities seemed to excel those of students in the urban centres. 4.

The course tutors gave very high ratings to themselves, to the NTIDL learning programme and to the quality of tests and examinations, in that order.

They gave low ratings to the learning activities in the

centres, the students and to the teaching/learning materials. 5.

The NTI-produced teachers rated high in readiness for instruction, classroom management and teacher personality but low ratings on direct teaching skills, knowledge of the subject-matter and on questioning skills

6(a)

The NTI-products were rated lower than teachers from other agencies in possessing direct teaching skills and in knowledge of the subjectmatter.

(b)

There is no significant difference between the teaching behaviours of NTIDL-products and teachers produced through other educational agencies in terms of readiness for instruction and teacher enthusiasm but there are significant differences in terms of other variables. The NTIDL-products are disadvantaged in these other variables except in questioning skills where though the scores of both groups fell below the cut-off point of 3.50, the NTIDL-products had a higher mean score (3.47).

161 7(a)

On the whole, parents’ ratings of teaching effectiveness of NTIproduced teachers were less positive than those of the administrators except on grounds of teacher personality and examination habit when their ratings agreed positively and in the global item when both rated the teachers negatively.

(b)

A significant difference was established between the ratings of school administrators and parents when specific items were used in rating teaching effectiveness of NTIDL-produced teachers. No significant different between the ratings of the two groups of stakeholders was established when a global item was used as both rated teaching effectiveness of NTIDL-produced teachers negatively.

8

A large percentage of questions set by the NTIDLS fitted into the lowest level of the cognitive domain of objectives – the knowledge level.

That was followed by comprehension, analysis, synthesis,

application and evaluation in the descending order of magnitude. The largest number of high-level cognitive objective were set in Primary Education Studies (English).

162

Inputs (Independent variables)

The Present State

Process

Output (Dependent Variable)

Unattractive Course Texts with poor Readability Inadequate Teaching/Learning Materials

Interactions at NTIDLS

Poor Quality Products (Teachers)

Interactions at NTIDLS

Good Quality Products (Teachers)

Poor Quality Students Poor Quality Examinations

Attractive Course Texts with high Readability

Expected Future State

Sufficient Teaching/Learning Materials Carefully Selected high Quality Students High Quality Examinations

Figure 5.1: A Conceptual Model showing the Connections between the Independent Variables and the Dependent Variable

163

CHAPTER 6

SUMMARY, DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Discussion of Findings The findings are discussed heading by heading in correspondence with the research questions and hypotheses formulated for the study.

Rating of NTI Course Texts Based on Known Criteria To maintain construct validity, the totals along the rows were considered. Information from Table 5.1 indicate that NTI course texts were rated above average (3.50) in terms of variety of coverage, sequencing of the teaching/learning materials and in terms of integration of the subject-matter learnt (0 = 3.67). These were followed by the criteria of significance, feedback and relevance (0 = 3.58), which were followed by the criterion of continuity, which registered a borderline of 0 = 3.50. The NTI course texts were rated much below average in the criteria of practicability/learnability (0 = 2.92) and content difficulty (0 = 3.25). The criteria of transferability, suitability, (0 =3.33) meeting learners’ needs and interest, balance and scope of coverage (0 = 3.42) fell within the limits of uncertainty. That was probably because the ratings of the NTI course texts were done by subject specialists who did not experience those course texts as students do. Therefore, their ratings were less definite in those areas that required personal experiences to make definite decisions. It is interesting to note that some attributes of the NTI course texts agreed with some of the

164 criteria of a good curriculum specified by Etuk, Udosen & Edem (2004). These include having a variety of activities that the distance students are expected to do, having a logical sequencing of the learning materials, integrating what is learnt in one unit and another and in one cycle with another; in selecting significant contents as learning experiences for the distance learners; in terms of feedback, which is evidence in the activities and tests which are found at the end of each unit, with the answers to questions supplied at the end of ten (10) units which form a module. These enable the learners to check and see how he/she performs in any particular unit and to work to improve if the performance is poor. NTI course texts also meet the criterion of content presentation mentioned by Ansary & Bubaii (n.d.), one of which involves stating the objectives for each unit of the course and for the total programme.

The NTI course texts also met the criterion of

appropriateness (Meachean, 1982), which include good sequencing of the learning materials, clarification of meanings of vague terms and having a defensible scheme of work. The NTI course texts however, had low ratings in regard to the criterion of readability (Meachean, 1982), which can be rounded up by stating that the text fail to give learners experiences, competencies and the motivation, to want to read the text. This is evidenced in the low ratings given to such criteria as practicability/learnability, (0 = 2.92), content difficulty (0 = 3.17) and validity (0 = 3.25).

These low ratings seem to mean that the learning

opportunities implied in the NTI course texts do not give the distance students the learning experiences necessary for achieving the objectives set for individual units and for the total programme.

165 These textbooks’ ratings deserve the attention of organisers of the NTIDLS.

The NTIDLS is more or less a teach-yourself kind of distance

learning. Out of 2,184 hours available in the four-year period, only 1,950 hours is set for both private studies and face-to-face interaction with course tutors, (NTI, 2005). The rest of the study time is designed for independent study. Therefore, the course texts should be designed in the most readable fashion. Interaction with course tutors during data collection seem to confirm the ratings by experts. The course tutors reported that some of the units are pitched very high. Someone in English language mentioned that some of the contents in the English language module for cycles 3-4 are what universities teach degree students in the final years of those who major in English language.

The social studies modules are pitched equally high.

The

specialists who rated the social studies course texts were more impressed with social studies contents in the Primary Education Studies than the content for those who major in social studies proper. It may be explained that the distance learners should acquire knowledge at a level higher than the pupils they are supposed to teach. But, when the gradient of difficulty is too high, when it does not meet the learners’ interest, the distance learners might not be motivated to study the course texts (Tyler, 1975). Those who are employed to package the NTI course texts should be reminded of the level of students they are writing for. Indeed, the course texts could be made attractive by deviating from black and white, which all NTI course texts currently are, by introducing coloured pictures both on the cover

166 pages and within the texts. Such innovations will certainly hike up the cost of production. The opinions of the NTI students should be sought as to what they would rather prefer – stale-looking course texts or colourful course texts which have some appeal and which cost a little higher. The way the materials are packaged appear too oppressive even in the eyes of seasoned educators. How much more in the eyes of people who should be encouraged to read? Something should be done to increase the appeal (readability) of NTI course texts. The paper quality matters too. The papers used for printing NTI course texts are usually too dull to attract the students and too flimsy to the touch. What is worth doing is worth doing well. Running the distance learning scheme for teachers should not be so business-driven that some things are made to lose their appeal. NTI course texts should be more aesthetically packaged to make it more readable to the distance students.

The Learning Contexts and Study Strategies of NTIDL Students Source of Help The NTIDL students indicated that their sources of help included the course tutors (96%), university graduates in the same subject area (88%) and present NTI students (80%).

These were indicated as the three greatest

sources of help for the NTIDL students in that order. On the contrary, the internet (42%) and other textbooks (50%) were indicated as least used sources of help.

The pattern of responses shows that there are a lot of

interactions both between the course tutors and the NTIDL students and between the students themselves. The students also approach others who are more knowledgeable in their subject fields for help.

167 Thus NTIDL combines mediated distance learning with face-to-face interaction. The NTIDL programme therefore, fits into Keegan’s (1986) model of distance learning and has its counterpart in Norway (Sherry, 1996) and in Southern Pacific (Lankbeck & Mugler, 2005).

The NTI distance learning

meets the requirement for interactivity stressed by the Office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress (1988) in Sherry (1996) and subscribes to that advice given by Sherry (1996) the for successful DL schemes, the designs which encourage interactivity should be adopted. Further probing of the mode of contact with the course tutors (item number nine) indicated that the students interact with the course tutors mainly in the formal class sessions (90%). The NTIDL therefore, subscribes to the synchronous distance education (definitions, n.d). Although the NTI model is ancient, the students benefit through real face-to-face interaction between students and students and between students and course tutors, like it is in the formal classroom. Reasons for help The foremost reason for seeking help was indicated as being for better understanding (95%). The others were to study for examinations (83%), to pass examination (68%) and to write term papers (74%). From this result it can be said that a good number of the NTIDL students had transformative perception of learning (Lankbeck & Mugler, 2005), eventhough some still clung to the reproductive perception of learning. The importance of students’ perception as indicated by Lankbeck & Mugler (2005), is that the students’ perception of learning is closely related to how they approach learning tasks.

Reproductive perception is usually

168 associated with surface approach to learning, whereas transformative perception of learning helps students to gain a deep understanding of the subject matter rather than mechanical reproduction of knowledge. The fact that a large proportion of the NTIDL students subscribed to the transformative perception means that they have a good understanding of learning as something which should help them change. It can rightly be assumed that exposure of this set of students to the NTIDLS has helped to change a good number of them for the better. Their DL experiences might help them to be more useful and creative members of their societies. Study Time, Use of Course Texts and Study habits A majority of the NTIDL students indicated that their favourite study times are late nights and early mornings (73%) each; they use the course texts plus other texts (92%); they read through course texts several times (85%); they make notes after reading (94%); and they use the dictionary while reading (89%). These data indicate that these set of students can manage their study time well. Since most of them are engaged in other occupations, they need to be good time managers to succeed. The late nights and early mornings are times when they are free from other engagements and so they use those times for studying.

This set of DL students utilize the primary cognitive

strategies, which involves the ability to work independently of the teacher. Sharp (1994) in Sherry (1996) discovered that students who passed their courses differed significantly in primary strategies from those who failed. The

169 fact that majority of the students utilized primary cognitive strategies implies that the majority might also pass their courses well. The NTI students indicated that they used course texts and other texts, read through the course texts several times, make notes after reading and used their dictionary to clear meanings of certain terms. These are good study habits which are often recommended even to regular students. Since they subscribed to these recommended study habits, the NTIDL students are different from some distance learning students in the Southern Pacific, who were found to use two different strategies, the pragmatic and the sequential study strategies (Lankbeck & Mugler, 2005).

Users of the pragmatic

strategies focus their attentions on materials relevant to assignment and limit themselves to what needs to be done to pass the course, by ignoring all other materials. Students in this group may have a transformative perception of learning alright, butt out of the constraints faced by most distance students, they may resort to the pragmatic strategies to enable them to pass their courses. The sequential strategies consist in proceeding step by step through the guide and following the instructions closely.

Those who use the

sequential strategies read the course book several times, look-up words in the dictionary, thus, taking a long process to understand and grasp. Others skim through the course texts, write summary notes on the main points in their own words (Lankbeck & Mugler, 2005). It is surprising that such a large proportion of the NTI students claimed to utilize sequential strategy. One would have thought that their engagement in other occupations would cause them to be always pressed for time. That

170 would have made some to resort to the pragmatic strategies. Could it be that the only pragmatic strategy they are familiar with is to reduce notes to small points, which 41 per cent of the respondents said they do. When 41 percent is added to 15 percent who were undecided on their study habits that would result in a whooping 51 percent of the NTIDL students sampled. This is quite a large proportion of the students! This suspicion agrees with Vandu’s (2005) allegation that some NTI students are fond of examination abuse by lifting portions from their course texts from which examination items were set straight into their answer booklets. The reason for reducing course texts into small prints is to enable the student carry the micro-scripted material into the examination hall and copy. This is a serious examination malpractice, which should be discouraged from any group of students, through inflicting severe penalties on those who are found to indulge in such bad habits. In the researchers’ university, the penalty for a student who is caught with micro-scripts of the course texts in the examination hall is expulsion. The penalty is however implemented after the student has been given fair hearing by appearing before a long-term panel set up for students’ discipline. The NTIDLS could emulate the University of Uyo in this regard. Occupations A large proportion of the NTIDL students (61%, 58%) claimed to be farmers and those who take care of their homes/families, respectively. On the contrary, teachers and civil servants had mere 34 percent and 35 percent of the respondents.

171 The composition of this set of distance learners agrees with Boettcher (1996) two classes of distance learners who were said to be those who combine work with study and those who dropped out of school and decide to come back in later Iife. The surprising thing about the composition of this set of distance learners is that the primary aim of the NTIDLS was to upgrade those who were already in teaching to the minimum qualification (N.C.E.) expected of primary school teachers in Nigeria (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004; NTI, 2005). It is like the NTIDL has more students from members of the population who have never taught. They might have studied to get the teacher grade two (TCII) diploma without formal employment as teachers.

They are now

studying to get the N.C.E. to qualify them to teach in the primary schools. Their numbers tell a lot of stories about the level of unemployment among people who are trained to be teachers, eventhough primary schools are deficient of such skills. The prevalence of a large number of students who claim to be farmer attest to allegations by Adeboyeje (1992) and Okeowo (2006) in NTI (2006) who attributed poor performances in schools to divided attention by teachers who straddle between teaching in school and engagements in other occupations. Likes, Dislikes and Impacts of the NTIDLS The students did not indicate any dislike of the NTIDLS. But they liked the NTIDL for: supplying course texts (96%), instalmental fee payment schedule (88%), and for allowing time for other things (82%). These agrees with assertions by the NTI (2005) that course materials are produced and

172 given to students, with their costs built into the students’ fees.

Indeed

payment for course books is one of the five-six items listed in the NTI students’ handbook (NTI, 2005). The NTIDL students are right in responding that the distance learning scheme gives knowledge (96%), prepares for the future and changes attitudes to life (95%), each. These go to confirm that this set of students have transformative perception of learning (Lankbeck & Mugler, 2005) rather than reproductive perceptions. These responses add further proof that NTIDL students are creative members of the society who will build and develop their society.

Students’ Performances in Four Core Subjects of English language, Mathematics, Primary Science and Social Studies The overall percentage passes in English Language, Mathematics, Primary Science and Social Studies were 29%, 19%, 27% and 25% respectively. None of these percentage passes measured up to 50%, which was set as the cut-off point. In respect to the mean scores, the cut-off point was set at 3.50 and the overall mean scores were 4.24, 2.86, 3.94 and 3.66 for English language, Mathematics, Primary Science and Social Studies, respectively. It is obvious from the above that every other subject met the required cut off point of 3.50, except mathematics which, recorded the overall mean score of 2.86. The picture presented by the overall performance in mathematics agrees with literature (e.g. Etuk, 2003; Awanyang, 2004) that students generally perform poorly in mathematics, despite the wide-ranging utility of mathematics in everyday life and its role in national development. The mere

173 mention of the word ‘mathematics’ sends shivers down the spine of many students despite the fact that irrespective of age, gender and occupation, mathematics is used in everyday life. Mathematics is useful in the kitchen because mothers measure the amount of ingredients they add to meals to make them taste good. It is used by farmers who count the number of stems of cassava to burry in each stand and the number of seeds of a particular kind that they must burry in each particular stand in order to have a good yield of the crops. The fear of mathematics is often attributed to the overall attitude of the student, who is ready to listen to stereotypical stories by those who in themselves did not settle down to discover the joy of learning mathematics. They develop poor attitude after their initial failures in the subject (Ubom, 2003), Ani (1997) in Akpan (2006), Akey (2006). Etuk (2003) presented another explanation for poor performances in mathematics by students in Nigeria by linking to the indigenous illiterate culture, which does not rely on accurate measurements. Most measurements are approximations of the accurate standard. This is evidenced in markets where rather than use the scales to weigh the market items that are priced by weight, (like chicken and yams) buyers and sellers gauge the weights by lifting them up in their hands. Item like crayfish are heaped. The seller and buyers gauge the price from the size of the heap. Block moulders in Nigeria are even doing away with the head-pan for measuring sand to suit a certain measure of the cement to give an ideal block quality. It is only a novice in the field who would fail in heaping the amount of sand for the required number of cement bags!

174 Obviously, this set of distance learners are not free from the general poor attitude of students to mathematics. Going by both the mean scores and percentage passes, the distance students performed their best in English Language, followed by Primary Science, Social Studies and least in Mathematics. Although they measured up to the cut-off point based on the mean scores, the percentage of people who passed did not measure up to the standard set (50%). This implies that there might have been few very good performers and many very poor performers in each subject. The students’ explemary performance in English language attests to the fact that English language is a core subject right from the primary school through the university system in Nigeria.

English language is the official

language of communication and learners in every level of education are expected to record a credit pass in English language before they are awarded their certificates and diplomas. A credit in English language is a requirement for admission into the NTIDLS and the students who participated in this research study would have had their credits in English language at the SSCE/WAEC/NECO/TCII examinations before they gained admission into the NTIDLS. Although performances in individual subjects varied from one centre to another, the rankings as shown in the last column on the right hand side indicated in the descending order Oron, Ikono and Itu in the first, second and third positions while Eket, Uyo and Ikot Ekpene took the 9th, 10th and 11th positions respectively. Although the researchers were not going to pass judgments, it is surprising that the performances of NTIDL students were generally better at in

175 centres located away from the cities of Akwa Ibom State. Oron, Itu and Ikono are rural communities while Eket, Uyo and Ikot Ekpene are urban centres in Akwa Ibom State.

The expection of the researchers was that the overall

results would favour the urban communities more. As it turned out, that was not to be. The Ikot Ekpene centre was really left behind in all the four core subjects. Could it be that these centres that students performed poorly did not give as much attention to the test as they would have done? Is it the quality of students in those centres or the quality of teaching or both? The NTI has been doing much to improve upon the quality of students admitted into its programme.

Recently, the minimum qualification admission into the TCII

programme was raised from the primary six certificate to the junior secondary certificate. After the TCII level, NTIDL students usually don’t go into teaching, they proceed to do the N.C.E. Are there some elements of NTIDLS-NCE who did not attempt secondary education? Are the quality of students in the urban centres worse than those in the rural areas? This is probably so because in the rural communities where people know who is who, it is difficult to enroll in the NTIDLS with fake credentials. The opposite is the case in urban centres where people mind their businesses, and where many evening schools are mounted not to teach their students to know, as to help them excel in examinations and acquire certificates, which qualify them for employment and for higher education. Measuring learners’ outcomes is an indirect way of rating teaching effectiveness of the course tutors. In this approach teaching effectiveness is inferred from students’ performance – what students learnt in a given course

176 (Berk, 2005). Rating of teaching effectiveness through learner outcomes has been proved to be a very dependable source of measuring teaching effectiveness. Very high correlations had been established between students’ ratings (which has been proved to be a very dependable source of measuring teaching effectiveness) and performance in final examinations. Despite all this assertions, measuring teaching effectiveness through learning outcomes is problematic because teaching is not the only source of students’ learning. Students learn through reports writing, tests, projects and students’ performances may be influenced by students’ characteristics, the educational institution and even the home background of the student (Etuk, 1993). Teachers have no control over these other variables. Therefore measuring teaching effectiveness through learning outcomes should be approached with extreme caution. Byrne (1987) however indicated that pupils outcomes could be used to compare the level of success of two or more different teachers. It could be used in the interpretation of class marks, standardize tests, the input measures, examination results, gender and ethnicity differences and absence patterns. The author advised that researchers should always look at individual teachers’ groups and see if results vary from the norm of the year and if so what questions that raises. Byrne (1987) supported the use of pupils’ outcomes as a source for measuring teaching effectiveness, “because the whole aim of teaching after all is to help pupils learn” (p.21). Klenfield(1975) however did not show much support in the use of pupils outcome as an index of teaching effectiveness at the secondary school level where different teachers teach different subjects. Schultz (1978) ground for objection was that

177 this source does not take into consideration other influences on pupils learning other than the teachers. Moreover since instructors teach different subject and use different examination patterns, the learning outcome from their classes should not be compared. Suggestions proffered for improving the use of learners’ outcomes as a source of teaching effectiveness offered by Schultz (1978) include the use of externally-administered examination and the use of context variables as moderators of process –product relationships. Berk(2005) however suggested that pupils outcomes should be used together with direct data sources in measuring teaching effectiveness.

Course Tutors’ Rating of the NTIDLS In reference to Table 5.4, the course tutors gave themselves very high ratings no matter how the question was twisted. When self-assessment came as part of programme evaluation, the quality of course tutors was given the highest rating (0 of 0 = 4.25). In terms of classroom management strategies, the course tutors rated themselves best at the impacting strategies (0 of 0 = 4.34). According to Apple (1994), in Sherry (1996), classroom management, like technological expertise, is not a skill that is mastered once and for all by instructors. They progress through a three-stage model of survival, mastery and impact. Therefore, the course tutors claimed that they operated at the impact stage of classroom management. The course tutors however gave lower ratings to items that measured availability of teaching/learning materials and students. This gives much room to ponder about. If the students and instructional materials were not up to

178 date, with what standard then did the course tutors measure their superior performances?

Regrettably, the triangulation of three direct observation

sources (students, peers and self) recommended by Berk (2005) was not completed. As a corollary, the NTIDL students however, indicated their course tutors as their major sources of help in their academic pursuits (Table 5.2). The course tutors might have acquired wealth of experiences as regular classroom teachers and as distance learning teachers. The data collected indicated that the lowest-serving course tutor served for five years, while some served up to 15 years. In effect, the course tutors might have been experienced teachers drawn into distance learning. In selecting their course tutors, the NTIDLS subscribed to the recommendation made by Sherry (1996) that site facilitators of distance learning should not be beginning teachers, but should be mid-career staff who are selected because of their subject backgrounds, availability and general teaching abilities. According to Centra (1973) in Berk (2005), superior teachers provide more accurate self ratings than mediocre or putrid teachers. It is hoped that this set of teachers were superior teachers not mediocres who told the researchers what they wanted to hear!

Classroom Behaviours of NTIDL-Produced Teachers In Table 5.5, all the eleven classroom behaviours were empirically identified criteria for teaching effectiveness (Levine & Wright, 1987; Marsh, 1994). The result from the study however indicated that the NTIDL-produced teachers had more than average rating in terms of readiness for instruction (0 = 4.16), classroom management (0 = 4.05), and teacher personality (0 =

179 4.00). These findings were in agreement to assertions by educationist like Byrne (1987) that a teacher’s knowledge and understanding in relation to what is taught and the pedagogical skills relevant to teaching it are crucially important in teaching effectiveness. The respondents’ high performance in classroom management is in contradiction with findings by Taylor, Christie & Platts (1970) where the science teachers studied placed high premiums on dimensions of effective teaching concerned with teacher classroom behaviours and relationships and less emphasis on dimensions concerned with standing requirements of teaching, which are lesson planning and classroom management. This science teachers reported by Taylor, Christie & Platts (1970) were found to place more emphasis on pupil-centered-ness, goal directed teaching informed by an understanding and enthusiasm for science, characterized by good-humoured discipline, concern for safety of the laboratory and up-to-date-ness in subject matter and curriculum innovations (p.21). Therefore, the respondents currently studied had a different emphasis and could be categorized among the ‘old school’ who place emphasis on the traditional requirements for teaching effectiveness which include lesson planning, classroom management and teacher personality. Whether or not to include teacher personality as a criterion for teaching effectiveness had been hotly debated upon.

Educators who approve that

teacher personality should be included among the teaching effectiveness variables include Toylor (1973), Kyriacou & Newson (1982), Patrick (1987) and Byrne (1987). Those who disapproved of including teacher personality among teaching effectiveness variables include Adesina (1990). However,

180 teacher personality was indicated as one of the seven teaching effectiveness factors, in factor analysis by Levine & Wright (1987). The NTI-produced teachers were rated below the mark under direct teaching skills (0 = 3.31), knowledge of the subject-matter (0 = 3.35) and in questioning skills (0 = 3.47). Poor performance in knowledge of the subjectmatter is particularly dangerous and could threaten the careers of those teachers. Knowledge of the subject-matter was identified among five others as important criteria of teaching effectiveness by Marsh (1994) in factor analysis of students’ evaluation of teaching effectiveness.

A lot of importance is

attached to students’ evaluation of teaching effectiveness and to the identified variables of good teaching. It is the most influential measure of performance used in promotion and tenure decisions in those colleges in the U.S.A. and Canada that emphasize effective teaching. A research conducted in 1991 by the US Department of Education indicated that 97 percent of Educational Departments in the U.S.A. used students’ evaluation to assess teaching performances (Berk, 2005).

Students’ rating of teaching effectiveness is

given so much importance for the reason that the learners are direct consumers of teaching and they know when they are well taught (Abrami & d’Appolonia, 1990).

Among all the stake-holders in education, parents,

administrators, peers, teachers and students, students’ judgment of the most effective teacher was considered the best (Toylor, 1973). Based on these arguments, knowledge of the subject-matter by teachers is of utmost importance. What can a teacher deliver if he/she does not know? Indications to the effect that NTI-produced teachers might be weak

181 in the subject-matter could be derived from comments by insiders like Vandu (2005) who in his advice to students on how to maintain good examination behaviour, alluded that some students copy answers to examinations by lifting verbatim from their textbooks. Mbaya (2005) seemed to have hit the nail on the head by mentioning unqualified students admitted into the programme as one of the weaknesses of the NTIDLS.

So many these days, enroll in

educational programmes not so much to study and know as to obtain the diploma for employment.

Such people are even in the habit of jumping

classes. It is not unlikely for someone to seek entrance and gain admission into the NTIDLS when he/she does not meet the entry requirement or have the necessary educational experiences. It was seen under students’ study contexts that a good number of the NTIDL students claimed to be farmers. One way of ensuring that most of the candidates admitted into the NTIDLS have the requisite educational qualifications is to double-check with the educational institutions that they claim to have attended and to reject those whose admission credentials bear the names of suspicious schools. In the long run, the NTIDLS may consider mounting secondary education programme and admit products from such secondary schools into the teacher programme. The TCII programme could be strengthened by adding one year of secondary school work.

Effective teacher behaviours of NTI-produced

teachers include readiness for instruction, classroom management and teacher personality.

182 Comparing Teaching Behaviours

of

NTI-Produced and Non-NTI-

Produced Teachers In Table 5.6, the calculated t-value was less than the critical t-value in respect to two classroom behaviours. These were in respect to readiness for instruction, where the calculated t-value was 1.94 and the critical t-value was 1.96; also in respect to teacher enthusiasm, where the calculated t-value was 0.26 and the critical t-value was 1.96. In both cases the data were obtained under 0.05 level of significance and 998 degrees of freedom. In respect to nine other classroom behaviours, the calculated t-values were higher than the critical t- values. This indicated that the results were statistically significant, which implied that the differences between the mean scores of teachers produced through the NTIDLS and those teachers who were not was not by chance.

The differences do exist in the actual

populations of those teachers. Hypothesis one, which stated that there was no significant difference between the teaching behaviours of NTI-produced and the non-NTI-produced teachers was therefore rejected in respect to teacher personality, knowledge of

subject-matter,

classroom

management

skills,

questioning

skill,

communication skills, interpersonal skills, direct teaching skills, indirect teaching skills and tests/examinations skills. The alternative hypothesis that there were significant differences between the teaching behaviours of these two sets of teachers was upheld in respect to those mentioned variables. The difference between the teaching behaviours of these two groups of teachers was however in favour of the NTI-produced teachers under questioning skills where the mean score of NTI-produced teachers was 3.47

183 as against the mean score of 3.36 by the non-NTI-produced teachers. Both mean scores were however, below the accepted 3.5. The assertion that education offered by distance learning is better than non-distance education (Rumble, 1982; Ayeni, 1983; Sherry, 1996; Hanser, 2006) might be true in terms of teachers’ mastery of questioning skills and not in other teaching beahaviours. Lack of any statistical difference between the non-NTI-produced and NTI-produced teachers however agrees with the findings and conclusions by Agboola (2000) that the effectiveness of distance teaching skills is identical with non-distance teaching methods. The statistically significant results in favour of the non-NTIDL-produced teachers agree with findings by Etuk & Etudor (2006), where some head-teachers rated NTI-produced teachers as being not very effective teachers. It might be reasoned that teachers who were products of NTIDLS mastered questioning skills better than non-NTIDLS teachers probably because having been more or less, independent learners they must have been more involved in managing their studies, which involves setting hypothetical test/examination questions for themselves. Moreover, some of the merits of distance education include accommodation of different learning styles, and the encouragement of active learning. This means that on the whole, distance learners are more participative learners than the non-distance learners. Having been more participative learners, the NTI-produced teachers were bound to be more at home with questioning skills, which is one of the strategies often used by all levels of teachers.

184 Lack of statistical differences between NTI-products and other teachers in certain aspects of classroom behaviours (readiness for instruction and teacher enthusiasm), agrees with the expectations of the researchers, based on the literature on distance education which claims that there is not much difference between distance and non-distance learning (Agboola, 2000). It would be disappointing if some difference were established as in the cases of teacher personality, knowledge of the subject-matter, classroom management skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills, and test/examination skills. These classroom attributes had been established as the criteria of teaching effectiveness (Toylor, 1973; Kleinfield, 1975; Schultz, 1978; Levine & Wright, 1987; Patrick, 1987; Marsh, 1994). Any teacher who is worth his/her salt should be equipped to excel in the classroom in demonstrating his/her capabilities in these skills, whether the teacher is alone with the students or in the presence of external assessors. The general opinion in the society is that the NTI-produced teachers are not as good as teachers from other agencies. These are said even to the hearing of these teachers. Such negative comments may add to reduce the self-concepts and performance of the NTI-produced teachers. In the course of data collection in the NTI study centres, the current NTIDL students were very jittery. They expressed the fear that they may not be employed after their educational programme since the State Universal Education Board was beginning to discriminate in employment against NTIDL graduates. The perceived poor performances of NTIDL graduates may be an outcome of many factors. Some of these were mentioned by Mbaya (2005) as including weaknesses in the area of programme delivery, which border on

185 late delivery of instructional/support materials, unqualified students admitted into the programmes, unqualified course tutors, poor attendance at tutorials by course tutors and students, unsatisfactory handling of vital operations of the programme, such as continuous assessment and inadequate facilities at the study centres for teaching and learning. The dearth of each of these mentioned educational necessities leave much vacuum in an educational programme with the consequence of poor quality products. The issue of unqualified students may still rear its ugly head despite the strengthening of admission policies to exclude people without basic secondary education. Even the current population of NTIDL students have a large number of people who may not have much interest and experience in teaching. The composition of the current student population as seen in Table 5.2A, had a large percentage of farmers and perhaps traders (61%). This type of teacher trainees are suspiciously people who want to enter into teaching not because they like the teaching job but because they find the teaching job very convenient for combining with their regular employments to increase their incomes. Such cannot become very committed teachers!

Parents’ and Administrators’ Rating of Teaching Effectiveness of NTIDL Products On Table 5.7A & 5.7B, the mean scores by the administrators were statistically significant in all but one item, the global item (0 = 2.84). The parents’ mean scores were statistically significant in all except on two items the global item (0 = 2.98) and on teaching behaviour (0 = 2.99). Based on the judgment of parents, N.T.I.-produced teachers were least effective when the

186 global item, which was a general item stating that the NTI-produced teachers were generally more effective was used. The item which carried the next low rating by parents was the item which measured direct teaching behaviour. This was followed by social behaviour, students’/teachers’ relationships, commitment, relationship with parents, personal development, examination habit and teacher personality respectively. From the result in the Table 5.7B, it can be seen that, the results of all attributes of teaching effectiveness ratings by school administrators were greater than ratings by parents. This means that the school administrators had significantly higher opinions of teaching effectiveness of the NTIproduced teachers than the parents with regards to commitment, teaching behaviour, students’/teachers’ relationships, parents’/teachers’ relationship, personal development, examination habits, social behaviour, personality and on the overall rating of teaching effectiveness. The results also show that although the parents had higher opinions (0 = 2.98) in the total specific rating of teaching effectiveness of NTI-produced teachers than the administrators (0 = 2.84), the mean scores of both groups of respondents were however, lower than the average (3.50). This indicated that both groups had less than average opinions of the overall teaching effectiveness of NTI-produced teachers. Although the mean scores of the administrators seemed lower than those of parents (0 = 2.84, 2.98) for administrators and parents respectively, the different in means was not significant. The administrators had significantly higher opinions of teaching effectiveness of NTI-produced teachers than the parents on individual items,

187 but both had low opinions of teaching effectiveness of NTI-produced teachers using a global item. According to Berk (2005) parents’ rating of teaching effectiveness provides an indirect source of evidence for programme evaluation decisions about teaching effectiveness and attainment of programme outcomes. Based on Unruh & Willier (1974), in Etuk (2007), educated members of the community are usually the ones who show more interest in what the school in their community is doing and they have very high expectations of the schools in their community. The school administrators are considered qualified to rate teaching effectiveness because they are considered to be experts in teaching methods, classroom evaluation techniques and content in their disciplines (Diamond, 2004). In effect, these two groups of stakeholders in education are considered qualified to rate teaching effectiveness. The pattern noticed was the tendency for the parents to be harder in judging the teachers than the school administrators did. Thus, the parents’ tendency agreed with the assertion by Unruh & Willier (1974), in Etuk (2007) that the enlightened community members who show interest in school affairs are usually very hard judges of what the school in the community is doing. The school-heads tended to give high ratings to the teachers because they were probably not convinced that the information needed was strictly for research purposes and not for promotion.

Although the administrators were not strictly peers of the

teachers, in view of the Nigerian society, the social distance between the head-teacher and the teachers working under them are rather thin. Therefore, the school administrators might have acted like peers in the

188 attempt to protect the interests of their teachers.

Some of the criticisms

against peer ratings include being subjective and personalized, having low reliability and failure to measure important characteristics of teaching effectiveness. This might have been the case with administrators’ ratings of teaching effectiveness in this study. Quality Assurance through Examinations As shown in Table 4.8, the concentration of the test items was more on the knowledge level of cognitive categories, seconded by comprehension and followed by analysis, synthesis, application and evaluation in that order. This trend of finding suggests that the items were, most times, set void of the table of specifications which according to Etuk, Udosen & Edem (2004), helps the examiner to assess the number of items that fit into different categories of the cognitive domain. For subjects like Mathematics and English to lack items on synthesis and evaluation levels of cognition implies that students were not challenged to combine the form a whole, composed, summarized and to design nor compare, contrast and justify (Etuk, Udosen & Edem, 2004). A subject like Social Studies which had no item for the application level of cognition signifies that students were not challenged to use the knowledge and skills lent in the course of studying social studies, to manipulate their environment to solve some personal and societal problems.

Besides, the

Primary Education Studies English lacked items in comprehension, meaning that, the ability of the students to explain, give example, rewrite in own words and to summarise (Etuk et al, 2004) was not tested. This explained in part, why some students oftentimes involve in examination malpractice by lifting portions of textbooks from which the test items were set into their booklets.

189 Some of them reproduce what is contained in the study texts instead of understanding the topic that is treated and tested (Vandu, 2005).

This

prompted the author to advice the NTI on how to plan the examination to cover every objective and topic through the use of tables of specifications. This will actually enhance the effectiveness of the NTI programme and ensure its quality delivery system. The fewness of examination questions under the category of application is of much concern. It through setting examinations which require students to apply the knowledge they acquired in the classroom that it can be established that the learners have actually acquired the requisite knowledge. Moreover, the number of examination questions in some courses were rather few. The number of items that students were required to attempt were equally few. In some cases, students were required to answer just one question at the end of a course. One question cannot cover all the objectives set for the course and all the content areas covered.

Besides, students should be

relatively stressed by examinations to give them the feeling that they have achieved something! A standard policy should be set on how many questions to set for courses based on their credit unit and how many items a student should attempt in each course bearing in mind the credit unit for the particular course.

Conclusion 1.

The NTIDL course texts rated high in appropriate ness but low in readability.

2.

The NTIDL-students had a lot of face-to-face contacts both with the course tutors and with fellow students.

190 3.

The NTIDL-students in Akwa Ibom State performed best in English language and worst in Mathematics.

4.

Generally, the performances of the students in centres located in rural communities were better than those of students in centres located in the urban areas.

5.

The NTIDL course tutors rated the NTIDL programme high not low on the availability of teaching/learning materials.

6.

The NTIDL-produced teachers rated high on instructional planning and classroom management but low on the knowledge of the subject-matter.

7.

NTIDL-products were rated to be less effective in teaching and in the knowledge of the subject-matter than teachers produced through other educational agencies.

8.

Parents rated most teaching behaviours of NTIDL-products more negatively than primary school-heads did when specific rating items were used. However, when a global item was used, both parents and school-heads rated the teaching behaviours of NTIDL-products negatively.

9.

A large proportion of examination questions set in the NTDLS were limited to the lowest level of the cognitive domain – knowledge. Applicational item were fewest in number among the test items examined.

On the whole, participation in a research of this magnitude has been very challenging for each of us. We have learnt from each other through interactions in this study. Some of us have learnt new ways of collating data.

191 We have experienced the difficulties involved in getting documents from a State agency.

Most importantly, we have discovered that the secret of

success of group is co-operation.

Recommendations Bearing in mind the findings of this research, the following recommendations are made towards improving the NTIDLS. 1.

The Course Texts The NTI should make the course texts to be more appealing to students by putting colours, pictures and by using higher quality papers fore their course texts. These modifications would increase the reading appeal of their textbooks.

2.

Early Delivery of Course Materials Every course material should be delivered in good time and modalities should be set in motion for organized distribution to students at the different centres.

3.

Secondary DL by the NTI It were high time the NTI mounted secondary education programme for teachers to make sure that those who present credentials actually went through the levels of education that they claimed to have passed. Graduates of such programmes would then proceed into teacher training. To attract entrants into it, graduates of such a programme should be employed in teaching immediately they finish.

4.

Students’ Discipline

192 The NTIDLS should be firmer in its quality control measures and expel hose who do not measure up academically. 5.

Supporting National Policies The NTIDLS should make a case for discrimination against its products to the legislature, that should then promulgate a policy against discrimination of NTIDL-products. Such an action would help protect the interest of the DLS and its products.

6.

Selection of Teachers for Employment Selection of teachers for employment in Primary Schools should be based on written examinations in the four core subjects of English Language, Mathematics, Social Studies and Integrated Science.

7.

Teacher Education The School boards who employ NTIDL-products should examine those who did not have the basic secondary experience and mount special English Language and Mathematics education for them.

8.

In the study of this nature, both the specific items and global items should be used in rating the respondents.

9.

A standard policy should be instituted by the NTI regarding the number of examination questions that course tutors should set. This should be based on the credit hours for that course. The number of examination items that an individual student should attempt in each course should be equally regulated.

Suggestion for Further Research Further studies should be conducted in the following areas:

193 1.

The educational backgrounds and performance of NTIDL students and products in the field.

2.

Interactive behaviours of course tutors and their effect on the academic performances of the distance education students .

3.

The roles of the centre co-ordinators in the NTIDLS.

4.

The use of specific and global items in rating behaviours.

Limitations of the Study This study has some limitations which may affect the credibility of the findings. These include weaknesses inherent in the use of the rating scale and weaknesses arising from the magnitude of the sample size used by the researchers. Limitations arising from using the rating scale is that the rating scale is weak for two reasons: •

it can only be used to collect data from literate populations; and



it is prone to response bias (Jenk,1987; Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWCA),2006).

The researchers chose to use the rating scale despite all its inherent weaknesses because in the first place, all the populations from which opinions were to be sampled were literate populations. These included the head teachers of primary schools, three key members of the Parents’- Teachers’ Association, NTI-Students and NTI-course tutors. The limitation imposed by the rating scale is by it being extremely sensitive to response bias (the tendency of individual respondents to limit their judgments to a narrow range along the scale by making all their scores to fall on either ends of the scale or in the middle (ERNWCA, 2006). This tendency

194 is what Jenk (1987, p.106) termed “scoring”. The scoring tendency noticed among rating scale users makes it difficult for researchers to have dependable information or have a good perception of the situation studied. The scoring tendency in using the rating scale could become more pronounced in an organic culture such as we have in Akwa Ibom State (Ekong, 2006). Work groups usually develop into a family group such that members try very much to cover up the weaknesses of fellow members. To overcome the problem of scoring inherent in the rating scale, the researchers took a special care by collecting information from many sources. These included information collected from head teachers, from PTA members, from NTIDL students, from NTIDL course tutors, from NTIDLS textbooks, and from NTIDLS examination questions. Besides all these, the researchers also observed the primary school teachers teaching in their different classes. To further avoid ‘scoring’ which tends to inflate scores, instructions were given to respondents that the exercise was not meant for promotion or dismissal, but for research. To further prove that point, neither the names of the evaluators nor names of those evaluated were asked for in the questionnaires. In addition to all the cares taken to offset the limitations, data collectors were asked to keep their ears wide open for comments made by members of the different populations sampled for the data. Collectors were told to even initiate discussions on the state of affairs in their different organizations. Thus, the grapevine and the unstructured interview approaches supplemented the use of the rating scale.

195 In respect to removing the limitations imposed by the small sample size in evaluating teachers in the classroom, it was discovered in the field that the proposed observation of ten percent (10%) teachers was over-ambitious, if researchers were going to sit-in through lessons. Therefore, the sample size was modified to 6.2 percent (6.2%) of the teachers’ population. Decision on using a smaller than earlier proposed sample size was based on the time at hand and the human resources at the disposal of the researchers. Such a decision was reinforced by advice from ERNWACA (2006) to the effect that, qualitative research need not have a large sample size, because it is an investigative research which may not necessarily be used for decision making by the organizations studied. To make up for the paucity of sample selected by the researchers, data from the head teachers and PTA members on rating of primary school teachers, were supplied in large numbers, to make up for the small researchers’ sample-size. In effect, the researchers recognized the limitations of this study, conscious steps were taken to counteract those limitations. Regrettably, the questionnaire should have provided options rather than the rating scale in measuring study contexts and study strategies of NTI students. Although they were collected from the field, data were not analysed based on demographic variables like age, education, gender and years of working experiences. The volume of data and the period of time available did not permit such analyses.

196

Problems Encountered Some Problems were encountered in the course of conducting this research. Some of the problems were minor while some others were major problems. The major problems encountered in this study had to do with getting the approval of both the Akwa Ibom State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and getting the population size of NTIDL students in Akwa Ibom State. The SUBEB was contacted to allow primary school administrators participate in the research study, as well as allow the researchers visit some selected schools to observe teachers teach. The reply to that request never came. Our follow up on that letter did not get anyway. It was like the letter was thrown into a waste paper basket somewhere within the Board. We dared and visited the primary schools without permission from SUBEB. That decision cost us some fortunes, because the primary schoolheads complained of being owed three months salary. They perceived the researchers as people who were better off than they were and needed to be persuaded despite evidence provided by letters of introduction that the research team was from the nearby university of Uyo. When it seemed like we were not going to get any headway with primary school-heads, who were also going to be contact persons for members of the Parents’-Teachers’ Association, the team decided to offer tokens for kerosene to primary schoolheads. That token helped a great deal to mellow them down to co-operate in the study. Similarly, particulars of primary schools in Akwa Ibom State and the curricula of the four core subjects of interest – English Language, Mathematics, Social Studies and Primary Science were not officially obtained. The head of Curriculum Department of the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of

197 Education proved very hostile. He assumed that we were going to write textbooks using materials from those documents. We obtained the documents unofficially too! The barricade which the ERNWACA research team could not overcome was mounted by the Akwa Ibom State officials of the National Teachers’ Institute. They said they were interested in our study; they endorsed our going to their study centres to collect information on their programme; they gave us their publications and old examination papers. But, they would not give us the population of their students! An order was given to the centre co-ordinators not to give students’ populations at the different centres either. No amount of entreaties would make them yield to our request. Hence, the research is devoid of the population description of NTI-students in Akwa Ibom State. The students were quite many though. They counted up to 300 each, in three centres we visited. Other problems which were experienced in the course of the research were lack of commitment by some team members, lack of constant supply of electricity in Nigeria, which was worse within the study period, rise in the price of fuel in the period of data collection, which increased the cost of transport of members of the research team and their assistants. Delays in getting ERNWACA funds caused financial stress to the team-members too, especially when we had to settle data collectors on a daily basis and the purse was quite empty! On the whole, participation in a research of that magnitude was quite an interesting experience. It makes you feel stressed, but it was eutress not distress (Neimeth, 2004).

198

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199 Ansary, H. & Babaii, E. (n.d.). Universal characteristics of EFL/ESL textbooks: A step towards systematic textbook evaluation. The Internet TESL Journal, 1-4. Retrieved: 03/03/007 from: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Ansary-Textbooks. Ayeni, M. I. (1983). Learning orientations of participants in the Nigerian Certificate in Education Correspondence programme. Memo. ABU, Zaria: Institute of Education. Balogun, B. O. (2006). UDU Sokoto-NTI discuss affiliation of programmes. NTI Newsletter, 10 Berk, R. A. (2005). Survey of 12 strategies to measure teaching effectiveness. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 17(1), 48 – 62. Retrieved: 8/2/2007 from http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/ Boeree, C. G. (2006). B. F. Skinner. Retrieved: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/skinner.html

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200 Essien, M. I. E. (2000) Tertiary institutions’ administrators’ perception of students’ levels of attainment of self reliance through the implementation of 6-3-4 Educational System in Cross River State (Unpublished Ph.D Thesis) Faculty of Education, University of Calabar. Etuk, G. K. (1993). Development of assessment instruments in biology. In I. T. Eshiet (Ed). Methodology of science teaching, pp.177 – 192. Abak: Belpot.

(2001). Quality Universal basic education through improved school management and practice. International Journal of Educational Administration, Planning and Research, 1(1), 49-65. (2002a). Curriculum organisation and change. Uyo: Scholars. (2002b) Service conditions and teacher effectiveness. Journal of Education, 2 (1), 44-49. (2003). A collaborative approach towards removing some deficiencies in the teaching and learning of science, technology and mathematics in Nigeria. In C. M. Ekpo(Ed.). Strategies for effective teaching and learning of science, technology and mathematics (STM) education, pp. 133 – 137. Uyo: IVY Press. (2005). Rethinking primary school politics and practices for sustainable development of Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Curriculum Studies, (Calabar Chapter), 11 (1), 117-126. (2006). Towards Effective Management of the UBE-Primary: Lessons from Past U.P.E.S. Nigerian Journal of Curriculum Studies, 12(1), 100 – 108. (2007a). School-community relations (t.m). (2007b). Quality assurance in Nigerian universities: Implication for management of ICT education (t.m.). Etuk, G. K. & Etudor, E. E. (2006) Differences between administrators and self-rating of teaching effectiveness by distance-learning products (t.m). Etuk, G. K., Udosen, A. E. & Edem, E. (2004). Curriculum studies for colleges and universities. Uyo: Interconnect. Etuk, U. A. (2005). Restructuring the humanities curriculum to meet the needs of globalization. Nigerian Journal of Curriculum Studies, 12(2), 68-73. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004). National policy on education. Ikeja, Lagos: NERDC

201 Gmelch, W. H. & Glasman, N. S. (1979, summer). The effects of purposes on student evaluation of college instructors. Journal of Educational Psychology, 64(1), 105 – 108. Hanser, R. (2006) On-line education service delivery: Implications for sustainable on-line education programmes in developing Nations. In U. Etuk (Ed.) University education and sustainable development, pp. 80 – 96. Uyo: Minder. Ismaila, U. Y. (2005). NTI expands ICT infrastructure. NTI Newsletter, 23. Jegede, O. J. (2005). Challenges of education in the 21st Century Nigeria. A Keynote Address at the Conference on Education in Nigeria in the 21st Century. Organised in honour of Prof. M. A. Udofot, 17th-19th August. Jenk, O. (1987). Staff appraisal at Atwood School In S. Bunnel(Ed.). Teacher appraisal in practice, pp 101 – 126. London: Heinnman Keegan, D. (1986). The foundations of distance learning education. London: Croom Helm. Kleinfield, J. (1975, Feb.). Effective teachers of Eskimo and Indian students. School Review, 83 (2), 301 – 345. Khor, M. (2003). Globalization and the South: Some critical issues. Ibadan: Spectrum. Kyriacou, C. & Sutcliffe, J. (1979, Feb.). Teacher stress and satisfaction. Educational Research, 21 (2) 89 – 96. Lankbeck, R. & Mugler,, F. (2000). Distance learners of South Pacific: Studies strategies, learning Conditions and consequences for course design. Journal of Distance Education. Retrieved 5/1/007 from: http://cade.athabascau.ca/vol.15.1/landbeck.html. Levine, M. F. & Wright, P. L. (1987, Jan/Feb). Testing transferability of a selfdeveloped teaching effectiveness measure across colleges of business. Journal of Higher Education, 58(1), 85 – 100. Marland, M. (1987). Appraisal and evaluation, fantasy or practicability? In S. Bunnell (Ed.). Teacher appraisal in practice, pp. 3 – 27. London: Heinemann. Marsh, A. W. (1994). Weighting for the right criteria in the instructional development and effectiveness assessment (IDEA) system: Global and specific ratings of teaching effectiveness and their relation to course objectives. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86(4), 631 – 648. Mbaya, I. S. (2005a). The place of subject and administrative monitoring in NTI’s distance education. NTI Newsletter, 21-22.

202 __________ (2005b). Field operations and students’ services department (FOSS): Functions and achievements. NTI Newsletter, 11. Mckeachie, W. J. (1997). Student ratings: the validity of use. American Psychologist, 52, 1218 – 1225. Meachean, E. D. (1982). Distance education: Selecting textbooks and writing study guides, pp. 1-2, 5-9. Riviera: College of Advanced Education, Division of External Studies. Mohammed, A. M. (2005). NTI Committed to capacity building for teachers. NTI Newsletter, 27-28. _______________ (2006a). Institutionalisation of teacher development. NTI Newsletter, 27-31. (2006b). Newsletter, 11-14.

Education,

the

greatest

investment.

NTI

Musa, S. (2006). Education, the greatest investment: An interview. NTI Newsletter, 11 – 14. Nasser, F. & Fresko, B. (2002). Faculty view of student evaluation of college teaching. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 27(2), 187 – 198. National Teachers’ Institute (2005, Nov.-Dec.). Nigeria certificate in education by distance learning systems: Students handbook. Kaduna: The Author. ______________________ (2005a). NTI-Ebonyi mou 2774 teachers trained. NTI Newsletter, 1, 3. ______________________ (2005b). NTI-open University of UK discuss implementation. NTI Newsletter, 1, 3. ______________________ (2005c). NTI withdraws 1346 year 2/3 NCEDLS students. NTI Newsletter, 1, 4. ______________________ (2005d). TCII forgers nabbed. NTI Newsletter, 1, 2. ______________________ (2006a, Nov.). FG retains 14500 teachers. NTI Newsletter,1, 4. ______________________ (2006b, Nov.). NTI holds workshop on quality of teaching in Abeokuta. NTI Newsletter, 4. ______________________ (2006c). NTI holds workshop for teachers in Sokoto, Zamfara. NTI Newsletter, 5.

203 ______________________ (2006d). NTI-British Council launch course on professional development for trainers of English Language teachers. NTI Newsletter, 15. ______________________ (2006e). NTI-NCE, India environmental education. NTI Newsletter, 20-21.

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______________________ (2006f). Newsletter, 8.

Three NTI staff bag PhDs. NTI

______________________ (2006g). Newsletter, 9.

Four NTI staff complete PGDE. NTI

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204 Salau, O. S. (2005) NTI–COL hold international workshop on instructional design. NTI Newsletter, 5. ____________ (2006) NTI verifies credentials of Kaduna teachers. NTI Newsletter, 3, 34. Schlosser, C. A., & Anderson, M. I. (1994). Distance education: Review of the literature. Washington D. C.: Association for Educational Communications & Technology. Schultz, C. B. (1978, Summer). Some limits to validity and usefulness of students’ ratings of teachers: An argument for caution. Educational Research Quarterly, 3(2), 12 – 27. Schutte, J. G. (1996). Virtual teaching in higher education: The new intellectual superhighway or just another traffic jam? Retrieved from http://www.csunedu/sociology/vireux.htm. Seldin, P. (2004). The teaching portfolio (3rd ed.). Bolton, M. A.: Anker. Sherry, L. (1996). Issues in distance learning. International Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 1(4), 337 – 365. Taylor, P. H., Christie, T. & Platts, C. V. (1970, Nov.). An exploratory study of science Tip (2006). Operant conditioning (B.F. Skinner) Retrieved 19/2/007 from: http://tim.psychology.org/skinner.html. Toyin, M. (2005). Virtual Library services boosts NTIDLS programmes. NTI Newsletter, 10. Toylor, A. (1973). Evaluation of perceived teacher effectiveness. Journal of Educational Psychology, 64(1), 98 - 108. Tucker, S. (2001) Distance education: Better, worse or as good as traditional education? Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 4 (4), Retrieved 10/09/2006 from http://www.westga.edu/distance /ojdla/winter.44/tucker44.html. Tyler, R. W. (1975). Specific approaches to curriculum improvement. In J. Shaffarzick & D. H. Hampson (Eds.). Strategies for curriculum development, pp. 1-16. Berkeley, Cal.: McCutchan Ubom, (2003). Ubom, I. U. (2003). Attitudes of secondary school students in the learning of mathematics and sciences: Implications for counseling interventions. In C. M. Ekpo (Ed.). Strategies for effective teaching and learning of science, technology and mathematics (STM) education (pp. 138 – 149). Uyo: IVY Press.

205 Udosen, A. E. (2003). A strategy for laying a sound foundation for permanent literacy to enhance acquisition of life-coping skills. Nigerian Journal of Curriculum Studies, 10(1), 71-76. Ugwu, C. (2003). Strategies for relating the school curriculum to productive work. Nigerian Journal of Curriculum Studies, 10(1), 12-15. Ukeje, B. O., Okorie, N. C. & Nwagbara, U. A. (1992). Educational administration – Theory and practice. Owerri: Totan Undie, J. A., Udida, L. A. & Ugal, G. (2005, March). Teachers’ utilisation and students academic performance in Cross River State private/public secondary schools. Nigerian Journal of Educational Administration and Planning 5 (1), 154 – 160. United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization (2000). About education for sustainable development. Retrieved 2/6/2003 from: http://www.unesco.org/education/esd. Vandu, M. (2005). What is examination? NTI Newsletter, 20. Verduin, J. R. & Clark, T. A. (1991). Distance education: The foundations of effective practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey – Bass. Wertheim, E. (2006). Learning and behavioural modifications: A technical note. Retrieved 19/21/007 from: http://web.cbarneu.edu/ewertheim/indiv/learn.htm.

Wojciechowski, A. & Palmer, L. B. (2005, Summer). Individual student characteristics: Can any be predictors of success in online classes? Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, viii (ii), 1 – 6. Yaya, D. O. (2005). Assessment of tutorial support in the distance learning system of the NTI. NTI Newsletter, 15. Yaya, D. O. (2006). Assessment of course tutors’ instructional competence in distance learning; A Case of National Teachers’ Institute. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of World Council of Curriculum and Instruction. Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State. 25th – 27th October, 2006.

206

ASSESSMENT OF CURRICULUM TEXTBOOKS BASED ON CONTENT INSTRUCTION: Please score the curriculum text book of the National Teachers’ Institute based on the criteria given below and on a 5-point scale of 5-1. A score of 5 indicates you are highly impressed by the content and a score of 1 (one) means you are not at all impressed by the content. S/N

CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT 5

1

2 3 4 5

6

7

8 9 10 11

12 13

14 15

MEETING LEARNERS’ NEEDS AND INTERESTS: Are the beginning activities attractive enough to catch the attention of all categories of students: the slow/fast learners; the high/low achievers; those who like/those who don’t like school? SIGNIFICANCE: Is the subject-matter formed from basic ideas/concepts/principles? VALIDITY: Is the content true and authentic? PRACTICABILITY/LEARNABILITY: Are the content practicable enough for students to perform? TRANSFERABILITY: Are the learning experiences embodied in the content transferable from school to life outside the schoolyard from one learning situation to another? GRADIENT OF DIFFICULTY OF THE CONTENT: Are the activities embodied in the content suitable bearing in mind the age of the students and knowledge level? FEEDBACK: Are there workbooks, review questions and answers to help the students judge their performances as to whether or not they have achieved the objectives? VARIETY: Does it provide for various learning opportunities? SUITABILITY: Is the selected content suitable for that level of learners? RELEVANCE: Is the learning embodied relevant to the overall educational goals/aims/objectives of the people? BALANCE: Does the curriculum maintain a balance among the subject disciplines so that one subject area does not overshadow the others? SCOPE OF COVERAGE: Is sufficient subject-matter covered in each form/level? CONTINUITY: Are the content and learning opportunities continuous so as to ensure that learners smoothly move from one level of schooling to the next, without any difficulty in understanding what is taught at the higher level? SEQUENCE: Does the order of curriculum content allow the subsequent experiences to build on earlier ones? INTEGRATION: Are the learning opportunities organized in such a way that they enable the learners to relate one field of knowledge to another?

RESPONSE GRADE 4 3 2 1

207

NTI STUDENTS ASSESSMENT OF THEIR EDUCATION INSTRUCTION: Please answer each question based on its requirement by filling in or by ticking (π). SECTION A: PERSONAL INFORMATION (tick the right option) 1.

Sex (gender) MALE

2.

Age 12-21

22-30

3.

Year of Study

2

FEMALE 31-40 3

4

41-50

51 and above

5

SECTION B: STUDENT’S STUDY DATA 4. HAVE YOU EVER SOUGHT HELP FROM SOMEONE IN STUDYING YES 5.

NO

(tick one)

In studying at the NTI, indicate the degree to which you seek help from the following sources: I seek help from SA A UN D SD a) NTI Course Tutors b) Past NTI – Students c) Present – NTI students d) Graduate teachers in my subject area e) Books not written for NTI f) The Internet 6 WHAT DO YOU SEEK HELP FOR: To help you: a) Understand some points better b) Write term papers c) Study for examinations d) Pass examinations 7 WHEN DO YOU MOSTLY DO YOUR PRIVATE STUDIES? a) Late at night b) Early in the morning c) On week-ends d) Any time of the day e) In the afternoons 8 APART FROM STUDYING, WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING? a) Teaching in a public school b) Teaching in a private school c) Civil servant d) Farming e) Family / home care f) Nothing 9 INDICATE THE DEGREE TO WHICH YOU INDULGE IN THESE STUDYING TENDENCIES a) Reading course textbooks only b) You read through your course textbooks several times c) You read through your course textbooks once before exams d) You read only some sections that you consider important in examinations e) You read course textbooks plus other textbooks 10 INDICATE THE DEGREE TO WHICH YOU USE THESE STUDY HABITS

208 a) You make notes after reading the course text b) You read the text several times to make it stick c) You reduce the text to small prints to help you carry d) You use a dictionary to understand some words 11 COMPARED TO REGULAR COLLEGES, INDICATE THE DEGREE TO WHICH YOU LIKE THESE ABOUT THE NTI/DLS a) You can pay the fees installmentally b) The course tutors are more painstaking c) The NTI supplies course reading materials d) NTI/DLS gives someone more time to do other things e) NTI examination conditions help students to pass better f) The NTI/DLS course content are relevant to my needs g) Examinations / tests are graded and published each time it is taken 12 INDICATE THE DEGREE TO WHICH YOU DISLIKE THE NTI/DLS IN THE FOLLOWING: a) The course tutors are not serious b) The fees charged are too high c) The course books are not sufficient for all students d) The course contents are difficult to understand e) The course books are too big to cover f) The courses do not give practical knowledge g) The course contents will not help me teach in my level h) The programme does not allow sufficient time for studying i) It does not publish test/exam results in good time. 13 INDICATE THE DEGREE WHICH YOU USE THE FOLLOWING WAYS TO INTERACT WITH YOUR COURSE TUTORS a) Through direct contact in class b) Through phoning to get information c) Through letter writing and greeting cards d) Through e-mailing e) Through answering tests and examinations f) Through visiting their offices g) Through visiting their homes 14 INDICATE THE DEGREE TO WHICH WHAT YOU LEARN THROUGH THE NTI/DLS IS USEFUL TO YOU a) It is useful in giving new knowledge / skills b) It has helped to change my attitude to life c) It has prepared me for future employment d) It has reminded me of those things which I had long forgotten

209

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEST Section A: Comprehension Instruction: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: Birds are almost found everywhere, even in the heart of cities, and because they are active creatures they easily lend themselves to study. One of the first things that a child notices is how noisy many kinds of birds are…. Guinea-fowl are renowned for this. Even when they are feeding, many birds are make characteristics calls, and with practice you can tell which species are in a wood just from their calls without seeing the birds at all. 1. 2.

3.

One of the first thing that is noticeable about birds is their (a) feathers (b) feeding habits (c) noise According to the passage, for what are guinea fowls particularly noted? (a) they are extremely noisy (b) they are not active (c) they are difficult birds to study Based on the passage birds make characteristic calls (a) while they are jumping (b) while they are feeding (c) while people are studying them

SECTION B: WORD STUDY Instruction: Choose from the words or group of words below each sentence, the expression which best complete each of the following sentences. 4.

5.

He was filled with ……. when he discovered that the medical treatment was successful. (a) pleasure (b) dismay (c) affliction When a seed is sown, it is expected to (a) ripen (b) germinate (c) pollinate

SECTION C: WORDS SIMILAR IN MEANING Instruction: Choose one word which is nearest in meaning to the underlined word(s) in the sentences. 6(a) (b) 7.

This boy resembles his father (i) Takes to (ii) takes from The champion took up the challenge (i) accepted (ii) refused The man is equal to the task (i) is same as (ii) can do

(iii)

takes after

(iii)

wanted

(iii)

refuses

Instruction: Choose from the words or group of words in brackets, the expression which best completes each of the following sentences. 8.

9.

The teacher wouldn’t even look at my work; he says my writing is shocking to look… (i) upon (ii) at (iii) up He wants to stop me from going there, by playing … my fears. (i) for (ii) round (iii) upon

210 Instruction: Decide which of the following three options closely represents the statement below 10.

I have no idea why father objected to our plans. (i) Father never has good ideas about our plans (ii) I do not know what father didn’t like about our plans (iii) Father had no idea what our plans were

MATHEMATICS TEST 1. 2

List all prime numbers between 1 and 20 Find the L.C.M. of 8 and 12

Instruction: Write >, < or = 3 ½ of 20 ¼ of 100 4

1000m

5 6 7.

If 10 exercise books cost N500, what will be the cost of 50 exercise books? what percentage of 100 is 25? In a class of 50 pupils, 20 are girls while the rest are boys. What is the ratio of boys to girls in that class? Find the simple interest on N5000.00 for 2years at 5% per annum. What is the perimeter of a box having 50cm in length and 30cm in breadth? Find the area of this triangle with the following dimensions

8 9. 10

1Km

15cm

8cm

PRIMARY SCIENCE Instruction: Write short answers to the questions that follow 1.

Name at least two instruments each for measuring the following quantities Quantity Instrument Length Time

Instruction: Fill in the blank spaces 2.

Names the senses associated with the following sense organs (a) the nose is used for sense of …………………… (b) the ear is used for sense of …………………….. (c) the tongue is used for sense of ………………… (d) the eye is used for sense of ……………………. (e) the skin is used for sense of ……………………

211 Instruction: Fill in the blank with a word selected from the options below each sentence: 3. ----------- is the largest joint on the body. (a) kneel joint (b) phalanges (c) elbow joint 4. In science solvent + solute = (a) solution 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10a. b.

(b) salt

(c) mixture

The preparation of food in the leaves by plant in the presence of sunlight is know as (a) photosynthesis (b) chlorophyll (c) osmosis Animals with backbone are known as ……………. (a) invertebrates (b) vertebrates (c) herbivores Mention two (2) usefulness of electricity that you know. The age for sexual maturity for both boys and girls is referred to as ……….. (a) adolescence (b) adult (c) puberty Mention three conditions necessary for seeds to germinate. Name the three states of matters Name a mater that can exist comfortably in the three states.

SOCIAL STUDIES TESTS Instruction: Fill in the blank spaces with appropriate words. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

………………….. was the founder of Christianity. ………………….. is the holy city of Christians. the Holy Bible is to Christians as ………… is to Moslems. Mention the three levels (tiers) of government in Nigeria. State any three functions of government that you know. What do we mean by democracy? Name the various stages of formal education that a child passes before entering the University. Name three agencies responsible for socializing the child. How many states are there in Nigeria? The Head of States and President of Nigeria is called ………………..?

212

COURSE TUTOR’S ASSESSMENT OF DISTANCE LEARNING QUESTIONNAIRE (COTADLQ) Dear Respondent, We are undertaking a study of the NTI Distance Learning Scheme. We solicit your co-operation and honest opinions in answering the questionnaire that accompanies this memory. Your responses will be held strictly confidential and will be used exclusively for academic purposes. Thank you very much for paying attention to this memo. The Researchers. COURSE TUTOR’S ASSESSMENT OF DISTANCE LEARNING QUESTIONNAIRE (COTADLQ) INSTRUCTION: This questionnaire is in two sections. A and B fill in the required information in section A. SECTION A: PERSONAL INFORMATION OF RESPONDENTS 1. NAME OF STUDY CENTRE ___________________________________________________ 2.

COURSE TUTOR’S AREA OF SPECIALISATION __________________________________

3.

COURSE TUTOR’S EDUCATIONAL LEVEL _____________________________________

1ST Degree Holder

2nd Degree Holder

Doctoral Degree Holder

(Please tick as it applies to you in number 3) 4.

THE LEVEL OF DISTANCE LEARNING YOU ARE INVOLVED IN: TC II

PIVOTAL

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

NCE

DEGREE

(Tick as appropriate)

LIST THE COURSE(S) YOU TUTOR AT NTI ______________________________________ YOUR DESIGNATION (RANK AT THE CENTRE) ___________________________________ YOUR YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITH THE NTI ___________________________________ YOUR GENDER (SEX) ________________________________________________________ GENDER OF YOUR CENTRE SUPERVISOR. ______________________________________ HOW WERE YOU SELECTED TO SERVE IN THE NTI? ______________________________ (a) Through Formal Interview (b) Examination of Credentials (c) Both of the above

213 SECTION B: PROGRAMME ASSESSMENT Instruction: You are given five (5) options as follows: Strongly Agree (SA) Agree (A); Undecided (UN); Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD). Tick (π) one option against each statement based on your honest opinion of that statement. S/ Response Categories STATEMENT N SA A UN D SD The NTI Distance Learning Scheme 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Sets moderate objectives, for students Has a reasonable subject scope Selects contents, which reflect contemporal developments in knowledge Selects difficult subject-matter contents Gives students sufficient level of experiences Utilizes varieties of teaching methods Is relevant to Nigeria educational goals/objectives for teachers education at that level Maintains continuity from one cycle to another Has well-sequenced learning content Is very successfully implemented The Teaching/Learning Materials Consists of; Difficult textbooks written for students Inadequate textbooks for course tutors Insufficient textbooks for students Books supplied at unaffordable prices No well-circulated study guides

The Study Centre Activities 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Consist of well-organised weekly international activities for students Consists of well-organised vocational programme for students Utilizes good teaching methods Are sufficient for students Makes the study centers to be vibrant

NTI Tests/Examinations 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

Are usually well organized Are usually free from malpractices Are fair to every student Are usually valid Have reliable results

26 27. 28. 29. 30. 31.

Attend classes regularly Are punctual to classes Are enthusiastic for the work Carry moderate work loads Relate well with students Are effective teachers

32. 33. 34. 35.

Are punctual for classes Are regular for classes Show much interest in studying Have good understanding of textual materials

NTI Course Tutors

NTI Students

214 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.

41 42 43 44 45

46 47 48 49 50

Obey rules/regulations governing the center Have competence for higher education Make useful contribution in society Are useful in schools Are generally good SECTION C: CLASSROOM SURVIVAL STRATEGIES In serving at the NTI, I am always anxious about: my appearance in front of my class my presence in the NTIDLS environment student’s misbehaviour in class explaining things clearly to students using unfamiliar teaching equipment SECTION D: CLASSROOM MASTERY STRATEGIES – In serving at the NTI, I usually: anticipate some problems develop strategies for solving my problems search for information to enrich my lessons share information freely with my students encourage my students to develop more interests in their studies

SECTION E:

CLASSROOM IMPACTING

STRATEGIES 51 52 53 54

I can definitely say that in serving at the NTI, I: understand the philosophy of distance education can identify the characteristics of my students can change my teaching methods to suit my students and course requirements have introduced my students to modern information technology

215

EVALUATION SCALE FOR TEACHERS’ EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOURS (ESTECB) SECTION A: TEACHERS’ DEMOGRAPHIC DATA 1. Teacher’s gender: Male Female (tick one) ----------------------2. Teacher’s Age ------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Teacher’s Year of Teaching Experience -------------------------------------------4. Teacher’s Educational Qualification --------------------------------------------------5. Teacher’s NTI Experience: YES NONE (Tick one) 6. Certificate obtained from NTI INSTRUCTION: In section: B-F that follow, there are five (5) columns in which to record observed behaviours. The columns read as follows: AS = Strongly Agree; A = Agree; UN = Undecided; D = Disagree and SD = Strongly Disagree. STATEMENTS Section B: Readiness for Instruction

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

RESPONSE SD

A

The Teacher: Writes good lesson notes Formulates adequate instructional objectives Selects relevant instructional materials Provides for step-wise lesson preparation Prepares coherent lesson plans Explores the environment for useable instructional resources Sets appropriates expectations for pupils Section C: Teacher Personality Shows interests in individual pupils Has patience with pupils Smiles in class Is neat in appearance Is generally friendly Looks well-groomed Dresses shabbily Wears neat hair Works with self confidence Behaves shily Appears vibrant in class Over-dresses for class Handles lessons with confidence Is an excellent teacher Section D: Teachers’ Knowledge Of The Subject Matter Demonstrates mastery of the subject-matter Is generally literate Feels at home with numeracy skills Knows but cannot deliver Is generally deficient in the subject-matter area

UN

D

SD

216 Section E: Classroom Management Skills 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

Goes around helping pupils in class Has a nature’s corner in class Puts attractive pictures on the walls Formulates rules/regulations binding pupils Punishes offenders Keeps pupils’ attendance records Keeps records of pupils’ performances Orderly manages chalkboard space Maintains orderliness in class Uses class time effectively Section F: Questioning Skills

37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44

Interspaces Questions in the course of lesson delivery Fairly distributes questions to reach everybody Asks direct questions Asks questions that require high cognitive skills Repeats questions Answers own questions Repeats pupils’ answers Gives insights into questions Section G: Communication Skills

45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61

Makes orderly/logical communication of information Talks clearly Speaks fluently while teaching Amplifies pupils’ responses Gives pupils attention Uses vocabulary appropriate for the class Explains sometimes in vernacular Talks while writing on the board Establishes eye contact with pupils Varies pitch, stress and tone Makes facial expressions Writes legibly on the chalkboard Communicates effectively in English language Writes well in English language Lacks self-expression Makes spelling mistakes on the board Demonstrates the ability to read and understand professional material Section H: Interpersonal Skills

62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71

Is friendly with pupils Praises pupils when they do well Asks the class to clap for those who do well in class Smiles at the pupils Informs pupils of their progress Encourages pupils to participate in class Has a good rapport with people Calls pupils by name Jokes with pupils Accepts pupils’ ideas

217 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79

Criticizes pupils Is harsh to pupils Is warm to pupils Punishes pupils Makes pupils to answer questions Helps pupils to initiate questions Causes pupils to keep mute in class Shows interest in pupils’ progress Section I: Teacher Enthusiasm

80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87

Starts classes promptly Varies tone and pitch Makes frequent demonstrative movements Makes facial expressions to show joy, sadness, awe etc. Uses many adjectives and descriptive words Works with vigour Has a high degree of drive and vitality Is enthusiastic for his/her work Section J: Direct Teaching Technical Skills

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98

Asks pupils questions Gives notes of lessons to pupils Utilizes advance organizers in lesson presentation Uses teaching/study guide Appears resourceful in lesson delivery Uses varied teaching methods Guides pupils to select learning activities Talks most often in class Tells stories to pupils Reads for pupils to listen Makes pupils stay quietly Section K: Indirect Teaching Technical Skills

99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107

Encourages pupils to participate in class Accepts contributions from pupils Makes pupils work in groups Provides for individual differences Develops lesson notes as he/she teaches Takes pupils out on excursions Uses pupils’ ideas in teaching Praises pupils when they make contributions Gives attention to individual pupils Section L: Tests/Examination Skills

108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116

Gives homework/assignment Marks homework/assignment Sets fair examination questions Marks test/examinations Assigns difficult work to pupils Is fair in marking test/examinations Relates evaluation with instructional objectives Keeps records/charts of pupils’ progress Makes encouraging comments in pupils’ work-books

218 117 118 119 120 121

122 123 124 125 126 127 128

Gives continuous assessment to pupils Gives high scores to the same pupils Coaches pupils for success in final exams Coaches pupils for success in external exams Helps pupils to develop self confidence in taking examinations through nice comments Section M: Teachers’ Aspiration For Professional Growth/Development Has interest for further education Has enrolled for higher education Reads very widely Reads textbooks and teacher’s guides only Is a member of a professional body Attends professional conferences Longs for professional growth development

219

FACULTY OF EDUCATION – UNIUYO TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS QUESTIONNAIRE We are a team of researchers interested in evaluating the concept of teaching effectiveness from administrators and parents. We solicit your help in evaluating teachers who are working under you using the items in the questionnaire. We count on your cooperation.

SECTION A: GENERAL INFORMATION 1.

Teacher’s Number

2.

Teacher’s Gender: Male

3.

Teacher’s year of teaching experience: 1-20

4.

Teacher’s Educational Qualification

5.

Teacher’s NTI Experience: YES

6.

Name of certificate from NTI

Female 21-40

NONE

INSTRUCTION: Please tick appropriate response that best describes your opinion about the teacher in each of the sections follow. SA = Strongly Agree; A = Agree; UN = Undecided; D = Disagree and SD = Strongly Disagree. ADMINISTRATORS’

AND

PARENTS’

EVALUATION

OF

TEACHERS’

EFFECTIVENESS QUESTIONNAIRE STATEMENTS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The Teacher: Section B: Parents/Teacher Relationships Has a cordial relationship with parents Has a cordial relationship with the administration Advices parents to make wise decisions Is generally warm towards people Informs parents of children’s progress Section C: Teacher Personality Dresses neatly Section D: Commitment to Work Participates in P.T.A. meetings Readily accepts school assignments Always complains about school work Not enthusiastic about his/her job Is often absent from school Comes to school regularly

RESPONSE SD A UN D

SD

220 STATEMENTS

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

Section E: Teaching Behaviour Shies away from teaching Master his/her subject Does not mark students’ notes Corrects pupils’ error Gives homework to pupils Marks pupils’ homework Is a good teacher Is a disciplined teacher Is an excellent teacher Develops materials for pupils’ learning needs Understands his roles/responsibilities as a teacher Ensures continuity between classes Produces coherent lesson plans Section F: Examination Habit Encourages pupils to indulge in examination malpractice Section G: Student/Teacher Relationships Has patience for pupils Likes punishing the pupils Does not discipline the pupils Has interest in the students Gives good counsel to pupils Section H: Social Behavior Extorts money from parents Asks favours from parents Is see in bars and hotels Section I: Personal Development Is willing to read further Has potentials for further education Section J: Global Item The non-NTI teachers are generally better

RESPONSE SD A UN D

SD

221 Book Assessors Dr. D. E. Ukpong/ Miss Itoro Ekpenyong – Social Studies Dr. Eno E. Etudor/ Dr. (Mrs.) G. K. Etuk – Integrated Science Mrs. Lucy Akpan/ Dr. E Akpan – English Language Mr. Uduak Umoh/ Glory J. Akpan – Mathematics Dr. (Mrs.) G. Etuk/ Dr. E. Etudor – Evaluation of NTIDL examinations Collators Mr. E. J. Akpan Miss Glory J. Akpan Mr. Idongesit K. Etuk Mr. Ekomobong A. Effiong Miss Grace J. Akpan Miss Idongesit Etuk Miss Honesty Miss Otobong O. Udoh Miss Ubong Ituen Dr. Eno Etudor Mrs. Eno Gabriel Akpan Data Collectors from Primary Schools and NTI Centres Mr. Idanta Gomiluk Mrs. Ataisi Ngerebara Mrs. Uduakobong Okon Mr. Kenneth Assam Mrs. Edoho Ben Ekanem Mr. E. Akpan Mr. Uwem Akpan Uduak D. Akpan Mrs. Imaikop V. Ekpo Mrs. Ama J. Eduek Mrs. Lucia Ituen Mr. Essien Akpan Miss Glory Akpan Mr. Patrick Edem Mr. Bassey Bassey Umoh Mrs. Eno Gabriel Akpan Miss Glory E. Akpan Eno Antia Akaninyene Antia James Akpan Mr. Leo Ukeme Bassey Mr. David Jacob Okon Dianaobong Ukut Post-graduate Students in Vocational Education Data Analysis Mr. E. E. Akpan Corporate Business Services 140 Ikot Ekpene Road, Uyo.

222 Data Computation Miss Glory J. Akpan Miss Grace J. Akpan Mr. Essien J. Akpan Miss Kufre – Divine Links Computers Miss Idongesit Etuk