ACOMPARATIVE EXPLORATION OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PART-TIME AND REGULAR LEARNERS OF BUSINESS EDUCATION IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION IN NORTH-WEST NIGERIA

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ACOMPARATIVE EXPLORATION OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PART-TIME AND REGULAR LEARNERS OF BUSINESS EDUCATION IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION IN NORTH-WEST NIGERIA  

ABSTRACT

This study is a comparative analysis of academic performance of part-time and regular students of business education in federal colleges of education in North-west Nigeria. Five research questions were answered and five null hypotheses were tested.

The study used ex-post facto research design and the total population used was 886 NCE III regular and NCE IV part-time business education students in Five Federal Colleges of Education in the North-west Zone, Nigeria from 2015 to 2016 academic sessions. The instrument used for data collection was record of students‟ Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) and their files to get records of students‟ age and gender and class list from office of the Head of Department to get class size for the 2015/2016 academic sessions. The research questions were answered using mean difference and standard deviation while t-test was used to test all the stated null hypotheses. The analysis revealed that the regular students perform better than the part-time students with a merit for the regular and a pass for the part-time students. Findings also revealed that individual differences in terms of age, gender and the class size of the part-time and regular students are linked to differences in the academic achievements of students. The study concluded that the younger and the older age students in the regular program perform better than the younger and older students in the part-time business education program in the federal colleges of education in North-west Nigeria. It further concluded that the fewer the class-size the better the performance.The researcher made some recommendations among which include that lecturers in the colleges of education especially those teaching the parttime students to use appropriate teaching methods that will favour the old-age students in part-time program to help them cope with learning situations. The study further recommended that the class size of part-time programme should be decongested to the recommended student-teacher ratio of atleast 1 – 50 for effective teaching and learning.

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1        Background to the Study

Education is the root of development of any nation in the world. It is a critical element of human development and an essential ingredient for fulfilling other aspects of human rights such as effective economic, political participation and quality health care delivery. Education is seen as the process of socialization and means by which one acquires knowledge, information and skills in order to live a useful life and contribute meaningfully to the development on one‟s society. Education is also a veritable instrument for influencing positive change behaviour of citizens educating for national sustainable development. FRN (2004) emphasized the goals of education in Nigeria to include inculcation of the right type of values, attitudes, communication skills as well as life-long skills.

In this era of globalization and technological revolution, education is considered as a first step for every human activity. It plays a vital role in the development of human capital and is linked with an individual‟s well-being and opportunities for better living (Battle & Michael 2002). Education ensures the acquisition of knowledge and skills that enable individuals to increase their productivity and improve their quality of life. This increase in productivity also leads towards new sources of earning which enhances the economic growth of a country (Saxton, 2000). The quality of students‟ performance remains at top priority for educators. It is meant for making a difference locally, regionally, nationally and globally. Educators, trainers, and researchers have long been interested in exploring factors contributing to quality of performance of learners. Factors, which are inside and outside the school; these factors may be termed as student factors, family factors, school factors, gender and peer group factors(Crosnoe, Johnson & Elder, 2004).

The demand for a functional type of education in Nigeria today is becoming increasingly necessary for a successful and stable future in the midst of increasing global rise of unemployment and other associated problems. This has also necessitated the need for a complete overhauling of the nation‟s educational system in order to meet up with the challenges of modern society. The recent FRN (2006) has emphasized this by introducing vocational studies at the primary school level of education. The rationale for this approach is that the complexity of modern society demands for a more functional type of education / knowledge that can equip the individual with skills in order to be highly relevant and self-reliant in the context of modern society.

In a similar view, the FRN (2006) has also re-emphasized this on its admission policy into institutions of higher learning that, functional type of education like science and technology as well as vocational education should be given priority in admission quota into institutions of higher learning nationwide. A bold step towards this direction will go a long way in producing self-reliant graduates to reduce the high burden of unemployment problems presently being experienced in the country. According to the FRN (2006), tertiary education serve as the pinnacle of intellectual activities that guarantees the worth, development and continuous existence of individuals and societies. This implies that the future of any society will be shaped by the young and talented minds going through tertiary education today and studying courses like science and technology and vocational and technical education to graduate as self-reliant, self-employed and as providers of job. Business Education is one of such programmes of study designed to equip the learner with all the necessary skills, knowledge, attitude and habit that will enable the individual to perform effectively and competently in any area of his career choice

At the college of education level, which constitutes the primary focus of this study, Business Education is a three year full time and four years part-time. Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) programme offered to senior school certificate holders with five “O” Level credit passes. These are reflected in subjects like English Language, Mathematics and any other three business related subjects for both full time and part-time students. The full-time programme has six (6) semesters in all for the three academic sessions and eight semesters for the part-time programme for four academic sessions. Both programmes have  nine (9) months of practical training / orientation i.e. (3 months of Supervised Industrial Work Experienced Scheme and 6 months of Teaching Practice).

Academic performance refers to what students achieve in their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different learning experiences given to them by their teachers. This can be affected sometimes by either age of the students, gender, learning environment or class size. Ibrahim (2011) reported that in education institutions, success is measured by academic achievement or how well a student meets the standard set out by the institutions which is measured through marks, scores or grades.

Age is a determinant factor on students academic achievement. La Paro and Pianta (2000) presented evidence that older children fare better academically than their younger age appropriate peers. In another study conducted by Uphoff and Gilmore (1985) about the relationship between age and achievement argue that the older and/or more mature student in a class fare better than younger classmate. There were many research works on influence of age maturity on students academic performance whose findings revealed that, young-age students are found to be more resistant to academic pressures and perform better than the old-age students. Being this research on regular and part-time students, the researcher observed that, age of the students may have significant impact on students‟ performance. Age of the individual, as it increases usually affects the various developmental changes and subsequently affects every area of human

performance. In addition, it is often said that, older students, being more highly motivated and more experienced in many realms of life should obtain higher grade point average (La Paro and Pianta, 2000). They further reported that, younger students obtain higher grades than older students because of their relative freedom from cares. He also observed that, age of the student while he/she attended colleges might be of some important about his/her academic success in college.

Gender is the range of physical, biological, mental and behavioural characteristic pertaining to and differentiating between the feminine and masculine (female and male) population. The importance of examining performance in relation to gender is based primarily on the socio-cultural differences between girls and boys. Some vocations and professions have been regarded as men‟s (Engineering, arts and craft, agriculture etc) while others as women‟s (catering, typing, nursing etc). Infact chores that are regarded as complex and difficult tasks are allocated to boys whereas girls are expected to handle the relatively easy and less demanding task. As a result of this way of thinking, the larger society has tended to see girls as a weaker sex. Consequently, average Nigerian girl goes to school with these fixed stereotypes. In view of the belief that student gender may have influence on the students academic performance this study will seek to find the relationship between them if any.

Class size is an important factor with respect to academic performance of students. Adeyemi (2008) defined class size as an educational tool that can be described as an average number of students per class in a school or as the number of students per teacher in a class. There is a consensus among researchers and educational scholars that, students achievement decreases as class size increases. It is observed that classrooms congestion and low utilization rate of classrooms are common features of schools in Nigeria. They have negative impact on teaching and learning and could influence the reputations of institutions of higher learning in the country. Class size which is normally determined by the higher or lower number of students per class can be an important variable to consider in determining the differences in the performance of regular and par-time students. In view of the above, all the described variables constitute the background in which this study was conducted on comparative academic achievement of part-time and regular students in the federal colleges of education in North-west zone of Nigeria.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

Business education is a course offered to interested learners in order to empower them to be enterprising and thus equipped to overcome life challenges that may occur in the future. It is an aspect of total educational program which provides the recipient with knowledge, skills, attitude communication skill and life long skill needed to perform well in the business world as a producer or user of goods and services. The high demand for these programmes has necessitated the need for colleges of education in Nigeria especially federal colleges in North-west zone Nigeria to offer a place into Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) fulltime and part-time three (3) years and four (4) years respectively. In spite of the over whelming importance and the high demand of these programmes,the performance of part-time business education students declined compared to regular business education students in federal college of education Zaria

Despite the increase in enrolment, the performance of the part-time students has not yet improved. The researcher observed that each time results are presented for school considerations and at the academic board for approval, performance of part-time students is usually very poor. Questions are raised and results are frowned at as to why part-time student‟s results are poor compared to the regular ones‟. It is on these bases that the researcher collected results ofFederal

College of Education Zaria for three years 2012/2014 and observed a decline in the performance comparing the results of the part-time and regular students as in Appendix II.

In Appendix IIit shows that performance of part-time students kept on dropping as more students failed from 50% in 2012, 51% in 2014 and 53% in

2014, while performance of regular students kept improving from 69% in 2012, 70% in 2013 and 72% in 2014.

Based on the researcher‟s interaction with staff and contacts made with examination officers of Business Education Departments of other federal colleges of education in the North-west Zone, their results were quite similar to those already collected and having the same problem of low performance in part-time results. The researcher assumed that the part-time student are performing poorly and there is the need to find reasons for this poor performance despite the fact that both programmes are making use of the same facilities; curriculum instruction, teaching and learning environment.

As a follow-up to this problem, Schul (2011) emphasized on the factors that may be affecting part-time students‟low performance. These include among othersentry qualifications, contact hours, class-size, age, inadequate teaching facilities, low staff remuneration, family problems, working hours, gender, income and teaching and learning environment among others. Based on these factors, this study concentrated on factors such as class size, gender and students age.

1.3       Objectives of the Study 

The majorobjective of the study is to compare and analyze the performance and achievement of part-time and regular students male and female of Business Education in federal colleges of education in North-west zone Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study are to:

  1. examine the influence of class-size on the academic performance of regular and part-time business education students in the federal colleges of education in North-west Nigeria;
  2. investigate the academic performance of older-age regular business education students and that of older-age part-time business education students in federal colleges of education in North-west Nigeria;
  3. determine the difference in the academic performance of younger-age regular business education students and that of younger-age part-time business education students in federal colleges of education in North-west Nigeria;
  4. establish the academic performance of male regular business education students and that of the male part-time business education students in colleges of education in North-west Nigeria.
  5. determine the difference in the academic performance of female regular business education students and that of the female part-time business education students in colleges of education in North-west Nigeria.

1.4        Research Questions

In line with the specific objectives, the following research questions were answered:

  1. what is the difference between the influence of class-size on the academic performance of regular business education students and that of part-time business education students in federal colleges of education in North-west Nigeria?
  2. what is the difference between the academic performance of older-age regular business education students and that of older-age part-time business education students in federal colleges of education in North-west Nigeria?
  3. what is the difference between the academic performance of younger-age regular business education students that of younger-age part-time business education students in federal colleges of education in North-west Nigeria?
  4. what is the difference between the academic performance of male regular business education students and that of the male part-time business education students in colleges of education in North-west Nigeria?
  5. what is the difference between the academic performance of female regular business education students and that of the female part-time business education students in colleges of education in North-west, Nigeria?

1.5       Research Hypotheses 

In line with each of the research questions, the following null hypotheses were formulated.

  1. There is no significant difference in the influence of class-size on academic performance of regular business education students and that of part-time business education students in federal colleges of education in North-west Nigeria.
  2. There is no significant difference in the academic performance of older-age regular business education students and that of older-age part-time business education students in federal colleges of education in North-west Nigeria.
  3. There is no significant difference in the academic performance of younger-age regular business education students and that of younger-age part-time business education students in federal colleges of education in North-west Nigeria.
  4. There is no significant difference between the academic performance of male regular business education students and male part-time business education students in federal colleges of education in North-west Nigeria.
  5. There is no significant difference between the academic performance of female regular business education students and female part-time business education students in federal colleges of education in North-west Nigeria.

 

 

1.6       Significance of the Study

The result of the study afterjournal publications and presented at conferences and other media, will be useful to the federal ministry of education, college managements, society and students in the following ways:-

The result of the study will benefit the authority of the colleges of education by ensuring that admission is offered to fewer students based on the number of teachers available. This is to adhere to the teacher student-ratio which is likely to improve the performance of business education students at both the parttime and regular programmes.

The findings of the study will be of immense benefit to the federal ministry of education by making them aware of the need to employ more lecturers to meet the high admission demand of the program.  The result of the study will further make the government to provide more teaching and learning facilities especially the building of more classrooms that will give room for reducing the class size to meet the student teacher ratio of a teacher to 50 students.

The result of the study after being presented at conferences and published in journals will create awareness to the general public and to the society at large. It will make the society to understand that adequate facilities if provided for will improve teaching and learning of business education program and it will make both the part-time and regular students to enjoy equal opportunities in terms of learning experiences that will make them improve in their academic performance and to be more productive in their places of work.

The findings of the study would benefit the students by making them realize some of the factors that may be affecting their performance and ensuring that for them to improve on their academic performance, there is the need for regular attendance of lectures, improve on their study habit and regular payment of school fees at the beginning of each academic session. The findings of the study would stimulate further research and expand the frontier of knowledge.

1.7       Basic Assumptions of the Study

In the study the following assumptions were made:

  1. it is assumed that business education students‟ academic performance may

differ due to class-size variation between regular and part-time students.

  1. it is assumed that business education students‟ academic performance may

differ due to age variation between regular and part-time students

  1. It is assumed that business education students academic performance may differ due to gender variation between the regular students and the part-time students.

1.8       Delimitation of the Study

The study was delimited to comparative analysis of academic performance of part-time and regular Business Education students in the North-West Zone Nigeria. This is borne out of the need to find reasons why there is always low performance of part-time students compared to the regular student in the federal college of education.The research was further delimited to final year students‟ results of both NCE III regular and NCE IV part time 2015/2016 academic session

Business Education, which will enable the researcher to use their final Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), age and gender difference to analyze and compare the performance of the two (2) modes of studies. The research also concentrated on five (5) Federal Colleges of Education in the North-West Zone. This is because out of the seven (7) Federal Colleges of Education in the North-West Zone, only five (5) offer Business Education and all the five were studied because they are few in number and manageable.

ACOMPARATIVE EXPLORATION OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PART-TIME AND REGULAR LEARNERS OF BUSINESS EDUCATION IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITIES OF EDUCATION IN NORTH-WEST NIGERIA  

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