1.1 Introduction
Home Economics is one of the compulsory prevocational subjects taught at the Junior Secondary Education level in Nigeria educational system. According to Anyakoha (2007), Home Economics is a skill oriented field of study that is expected to equip learners with survival skills that make for self-reliance, employment and paid employment. Occupational skills are best understood as competency on resourceful skills capable of steering an individual to be self-reliant, independent and productive in meeting lives challenges. Creese, A. (1976) said occupational skills are life survival skills which an individual needs to function effectively and face the challenges of life.
Occupational skills in Home Economics include food and nutrition skills, home management skills and clothing and textile skills. By teaching occupational skills Home Economics Education Program enables an individual to learn, explore and prepare for a job or trade. Thus Home Economics could play a significant role in achieving the goals of the National Economic and Development strategy (NEEDS). These goals include wealth creation, employment generation, reduction of poverty, elimination of corruption and the general reorientation of values.
1.2 Background of Study
Tertiary institutions offering Home Economics face enormous challenges. Teachers get frustrated because there are a few or unavailable facilities to teach and carry out practical’s. When this happens the products are found wanting when sent to the job market because they have not fully and confidently grasped the course content and course work effectively. Lack of facilities has really been a major problem and students have to buy most of these items by themselves.
These problems have made Home Economics in the tertiary institutions very expensive, (Flock 1974). Confirming the neglect of vocational and Technical Education by the government, Anyakoha (2005) said, lack of modern equipment has also been a major problem as students read more about sophiscated equipment and have no opportunity of exploring such equipment for a first-hand information but resort to pictures in books. Anyakoha, (2007), again complained that due to the combination of other courses, work in the Home Economics Department has become tedious, such that it is difficult to plan field trips, visits to industries, institutions and organizations where these equipment can be found to aid learning and facilitate class room work.
Due to lack of funds and aid from government and donor agencies to help build more practice houses, modern equipped food laboratories, textiles and sewing rooms, spacious demonstration centres and lecture halls, students and lecturers are clung to the old laboratories and the out dated facilities. Library facilities are poor, books are lacking and the few books found are too old, and this makes research and learning very different on the part of the student. From the ongoing it will be seen that Home Economics Education has not been given its pride of place as other professions in the march toward our national transformation.
We are living in a world where science and technology have become an integral part of the world’s culture. With the increasing rate of unemployment in Nigeria, an effective training in the major areas of Home Economics will ensure functional and productive life for individuals towards national development. The research seek to investigate the challenges of Availability of teachers and laboratory facilities for effective teaching and learning of home economics in junior secondary school in Enugu North (a case study of Enugu north L.G.A)
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Availability of Teachers and Laboratory Facilities for Effective Teaching and Learning of Home Economics in Junior Secondary School.
1.3 Statement of the Problem
Home Economics is a skill oriented field of study that is expected to equip learners with survival skills that make for self-reliance, employment and paid employment. Occupational skills are best understood as competency on resourceful skills capable of steering an individual to be self-reliant, independent and productive in meeting lives challenges. Creese, A. (1976) said occupational skills are life survival skills which an individual needs to function effectively and face the challenges of life.
Occupational skills in Home Economics include food and nutrition skills, home management skills and clothing and textile skills. By teaching occupational skills Home Economics Education Program enables an individual to learn, explore and prepare for a job or trade. Thus Home Economics could play a significant role in achieving the goals of the National Economic and Development strategy (NEEDS). These goals include wealth creation, employment generation, and reduction of poverty, elimination of corruption and the general reorientation of values. In spite of these laudable qualities of Home Economics as a skill, there are series of challenges which impede its growth to be one of the pathways to national transformation.
Some of these challenges include, Federal Government’s lukewarm attitude towards vocational and technical education programmes generally in Nigerian Universities, the perception of the society towards graduates of Home Economics as those who could not fit into any other challenging course, lack of candidates interest as they see the programme as expensive, inadequate manpower to teach Home Economics at the Junior and senior secondary school levels; as well as frustration on the part of teachers because of lack of modern equipment for proper practical’s to mention but a few.
The problem confronting this research therefore is to investigate Availability of teachers and laboratory facilities for effective teaching and learning of home economics in junior secondary school in Enugu North (a case study of Enugu north L.G.A).
1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study is to examine the Availability of Teachers and Laboratory Facilities for Effective Teaching and Learning of Home Economics in Junior Secondary School. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To determine the nature of Home Economics
- To determine the nature of the effective teaching of Home Economics
- To determine the Availability of teachers and laboratory facilities for the effective teaching of Home Economics in Junior secondary school in Enugu North LGA
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- What is the nature of Home Economics?
- What is the nature of the effective teaching of Home Economics?
- What is the Availability of teachers and laboratory facilities for the effective teaching of Home Economics in junior secondary school in Enugu North LGA?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: The level of understanding of Home Economics in junior secondary school in Enugu North is Low
- H1: The level of understanding of Home Economics in junior secondary school in Enugu North is high
Hypothesis Two
- H0: The availability of Teachers and Laboratory facilities for effective teaching of Home Economics is low
- H1: The availability of Teachers and Laboratory facilities for effective teaching of Home Economics is high
Hypothesis Three
- H0: The impact of teachers and laboratory facilities on the effective teaching of Home Economics is low
- H1: The impact of teachers and laboratory facilities on the effective teachings of Home Economics is high
1.7 Significance of Study
The research proffers a study framework for the formulation and implementation of policy for addressing challenges of the availability of teachers and laboratory facilities for the effective Teaching of Home Economics in junior secondary schools.
It also serves as a source of information for students, Teachers and Home Economic Experts.
1.8 Scope of the Study
The scope of the study covers Availability of Teachers and Laboratory Facilities for Effective Teaching and Learning of Home Economics in Junior Secondary School. The researcher encounters some constrain which limited the scope of the study;
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Definition of Terms
- Home Economics Defined: Nigerian Education Research and Development Council (NERDC) (2007) recognized Home Economics as one of the vocational subjects in the junior secondary school curriculum. This is aimed at providing students with basic knowledge, skills and attitudes in the various aspects of family life. It is designed to enable students integrate basic knowledge learnt with skills and expose them to the numerous opportunities for successful home making.
- Retention Defined: Retention is the ability to possess, use, keep information and ability to reproduce past experiences or previously familiar materials, much of the experiences one thinks are not retained were never stored in the long term memory system.
- Lecture Method Defined: According to Blair,(2007) lecture method is the commonest method in use by teachers, it does not foster critical thinking, creative thinking and problem solving. It allows a great deal of information to be passed to the learner. Lecture method does not stimulate students’ innovative, inquiry and scientific attitudes. It encourages students to cram facts which are easily forgotten.
- Teaching Defined: Teaching is an art of creation and the product of this creation is the human personality. Teaching is defined as a systematic activity deliberately engaged in by the teacher to facilitate the learning of the intended knowledge, skills and values by the student and getting the necessary feedback (Offorma, 2006).
- Development Defined: Hornby (2000) defines development as the gradual growth of something so that it becomes more advanced and stronger. This implies that development implies a gradual or advancement through progressive change or changes which according to some scholars is seen as multidimensional involving changes in structures, attitudes and institutions as well as the acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of inequality and education of absolute poverty.
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