Introduction
1.1 Background to the Study
Skill acquisition has a paramount place in Nigeria’s educational system today. No other academic discipline incorporates in its curriculum as many pertinent life skills that will help students succeed independent of their chosen career paths. The important aspect of skill acquisition is that students will not only learn about subject matter that has relevance to their present lives, but will be useful to them in all their lives endeavours. A study conducted in Japan, revealed that students’ personal initiatives play an important role in determining how they will adjust to their changing work situations. The home economics curriculum opens the students’ eyes to varieties of potential career paths. Those that find themselves engrossed by the course material begin to consider an occupation in that area. The knowledge of home economics education has made it possible for individuals to choose career paths in nutrition, social service, and hospitality management and the likes.
The students are parts of environments like the family, school and the surroundingswhere he/she lives; these contribute to their learning, developing and living. Perception varies from person to person. Perception can be influenced by many factors like attitudes, motives, interests, experience, expectations, time, social setting and background. The perception of students on the relevance of home economics can be influenced by their parents, the sex of the student, the teacher, peer group, social image and parental socioeconomic status. The inability of the students to see their futures is also compounded by the poor decision of their parents in choosing their respective careers for them. Parents prefer their children study courses like Medicine, Engineering, Accounting, Law and Pharmacy and the likesto Home economics.
Consequently, most male students also do not like home economics because they think it is a course meant for only girls and that is it a course that has to do with only cooking and sewing. Most male students prefer technical subjects like mathematics, technical drawing, and introductory technology and have no interest in offering home economics subject. This makes it difficult for the teachers to teach the students effectively. Some teachers also do not hold the subject with a high esteem thereby lacking self-esteem and the zeal for self development which results in low teaching competence.
Peer group serves as a guideline the students in examining themselves and their. A lot of individuals misinterpret home economics to be a preparatory subject that helps in becoming good house wives, because it deals with different food preparation, decoration of home and its surroundings, textile design and the likes.However, I strongly believe that the home economics as a skill acquisition subject has an extremely important place in our educational system today. No other academic discipline incorporates in its curriculum as many as pertinent life skills that will help students succeed independent of their chosen career paths. Therefore, this study examines students’ perception on skill acquisition subject using four selected secondary schools in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria as case studies.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Presently, enrolment of students into skill acquisition related subjects like Home Economics, Food and Nutrition in the West Africa Examination Council (clothing and textiles, Home Management and Clothing and Textiles) has completely dropped to the minimal level. Uko-Aviomoh (2002) and Anene-Okeakwa (2005) noted that students have lost interest in home economics as a subject in secondary schools and are becoming fewer in the colleges of education, where teachers are trained as new teachers to train students in secondary schools in the area of Home Economics and as a result, hindering the future of the subject.
The problem statement stated in question form therefore, is “could the classroom learning environment in home economics be so discouraging to the extent that students are no longer encouraged to participate in the home economics lessons? However this study examines students’ perception on skill acquisition subject using four selected secondary schools in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria as case studies.
1.3 Research Questions
The following are some of the questions which this study intends to answer:
- What are the perceptions of students towards home economics as a skill acquisition subject?
- What are the reasons for teaching and learning of home economics as a skill acquisition subject in secondary schools in Kano State?
- What are the efforts of the state government in ensuring effective teaching and learning of home economics as a skill acquisition subject in all secondary schools in Kano State?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is to investigate students’ perception on skill acquisition subject using four selected secondary schools in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria as case studies. However, the specific objectives of the study are:
- To identify are the perception of students towards home economics as a skill acquisition subject.
- To determine the reasons for teaching and learning of home economics as a skill acquisition subject in secondary schools in Kano State.
- To establish the efforts of the state government in ensuring effective teaching and learning of home economics as a skill acquisition subject in all secondary schools in Kano State.
1.5 Significance of the Study
Findings from this study would be helpful to the students, teachers, school administrators and the State Government as it will expose them to various issues that are affecting our educational system and how they can go about to tackle them. This study will also contribute to academic knowledge and serve as a foundation upon which further research can be made.
1.6 Scope of the Study
This study investigated thestudents’ perception on skill acquisition subject using four selected secondary schools in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria as case studies. Therefore the respondents covered public secondary school students in four selected secondary schools in the city of Kano, Kano State, Nigeria.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
This study faced limitation that need to be taken into consideration. Apart from the obvious time limit and the delicate subject matter, there were issues that arose from the methodological choices applied to the study. Some respondents were not willing to disclose accurate information needed for the validity of the study.
1.8 Definitions of Terms
The following terms were used in the course of this study:
Home Economics:
field of study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community.It deals with the relationship between individuals, families, communities, and the environment in which they live.
Perception:
The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.
Secondary School:
Is the next step up from primary school. Secondary schools are often called high schools in the United States. In Britain, secondary schools may be public schools, grammar schools or comprehensive schools
