COMPARATIVE EFFECT OF GUIDED AND STRUCTURED INQUIRY TECHNIQUES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF TECHNICAL COLLEGE STUDENTS IN MOTOR VEHICLE MECHANIC WORK IN EKITI STATE

Abstract

This study was designed to determine the comparative effect of guided and structured inquiry techniques on the performance of motor vehicle mechanic work students in technical colleges. The study adopted the quasi-experimental  research design, precisely,  pre-test, post-test non equivalent control group design which involved groups of students in their intact classes. The population  for  the  study  was  195  year  II  students  of  Motor  Vehicle  Mechanic  Work (MVMW) in the technical college in Ekiti State.  Eight research questions and twelve null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The instruments used for data collection were the Motor Mechanic Cognitive Achievement and Retention Test (MMCART), Motor Mechanic  Psychomotor  Achievement  Test (MMPAT) and Motor Mechanic Interest Inventory (MMII). The MMCART and MMPAT instruments were adopted from the National Business  and   Technical  examination  Board  (NABTEB)  past  examination  papers.  The MMCART,  MMPAT, MMII, training manual, Guided and Structured  inquiry lesson plans were  all  subjected  to  face  and  content  validation  by  three  experts.  The  trial  test  for determining the coefficient of internal consistency and stability of the MMCART was carried out using pearson product moment correlation technique,  Kudder –Richardson-20. (K-R.20). The values were found to be 0.95 and 0.75 respectively. The inter-rater reliability coefficient computed  for the MMPAT was 0.76. Cronbach Alpha  was used to determine the internal consistency of the MMII items. The reliability coefficient computed for the MMII was 0.85. Mean was used to answer the research questions, while ANCOVA was employed to test the hypotheses.  The study revealed  that  the guided  inquiry  instructional  technique  was more effective in improving students’ cognitive and psychomotor achievement than the structured inquiry technique. It was also discovered that guided inquiry instructional technique was more effective in stimulating students’ interest and improving retention of learnt knowledge than the structured inquiry technique in motor vehicle mechanic work. The study also revealed that there  were  effects  of  gender  on  students’  interest,  retention,  cognitive  and  psychomotor achievements in motor vehicle mechanic works favouring boys.   There  were no interaction effects of treatments and gender on achievement  (cognitive  and  psychomotor) interest and retention of technical college students in motor vehicle mechanic work. Thus the effectiveness of guided inquiry instructional technique on students’ performance in motor vehicle mechanic work does not depend on gender. It was thereafter recommended that the National Board for Technical  Education  (NBTE)  should  consider  review  of  curriculum  for  motor  vehicle mechanic work with a view  to incorporating guided inquiry technique into the teaching of MVMW.  It was  also  recommended  that  Ministries  of  Education,  National  Business  and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB) and NBTE should organize workshops, seminars and  conferences  for  technical  teachers  on  regular  basis  to  enlighten  and  improve  their knowledge and skills on the use of the guided inquiry instructional techniques among other recommendations.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Motor  Vehicle  Mechanic  work  which  is  also  referred  to  as  Auto  mechanic  is  one of  the courses offered in technical colleges in Nigeria.  According to Schallar (2000), Motor vehicle mechanic work  is  the  training  in  basic  knowledge  and  skills  necessary  to  diagnose,  repair  and  maintain mechanical defects in light and heavy automobiles. The skill in automobiles involves the application of scientific knowledge and practical skill. The goal of motor vehicle mechanic work according to the National  Board  for  Technical  Education  NBTE  (2000)  is  to  produce  skilled  craftsmen  with  good knowledge of the working principles of motor vehicles, the techniques and safety practices involved in its maintenance.   This goal can however be achieved only when motor vehicle mechanic work is appropriately  and effectively taught to learners.    This can be possible by making teaching/learning process  to be student-centred  as  against  being  teacher-centred  and by also  viewing  students  as problem solvers rather than direction followers. Salami (2004) observed that many teaching methods do not use students to their full capacity, and for this reason Salami suggested the use of appropriate teaching methods that is student centred as against teacher centred.

According  to Okoli and Toby (1991) the teacher  centred teaching  methods  are  capable of achieving only minimum students’ performance,  with the result that teachers contribute more and more  to  accomplish  less  and  less  in  terms  of  both  learning,  productivity  and  the quality  of  the learning experience.   To this therefore,  recent discovery  in psychology  and brain neurophysiology have led to other theories of learning.  One of such theories according to EduTech Wiki (2008) is the theory of constructivism  which has resulted into the emergence of a more productive and student- centred  inquiry-based  teaching  method. This  method  focuses  on student  constructed  learning  as opposed  to teacher  transmitted  information.  In learning  through inquiry,  learners  are placed in a problem situation and are surrounded  by lots of appropriate and suitable materials  with which to explore the environment and solve problems.

Inquiry-based teaching is one of the most effective methods of active learner participation in learning process.   According to Agboola and Oloyede (2007), it creates situations in which students

take the role  of scientists.    This  is because  students  take  the  initiative  to observe  and  question phenomena,  pose explanations  of what they see, devise and conduct tests to support or contradict their theories, analyse data, draw conclusion from experimental data, design and build models or any combination  of  these.      The  America  National  Science  Foundation  (2000)  defined  inquiry  as  an approach  to learning  that involves a process  of exploring  the natural  or  material  world, and that leads to asking questions, making discoveries, and rigorously testing those discoveries in the search for new understanding.   Eick and Reed (2002) asserted that the inquiry teaching method is a project- oriented pedagogic strategy based on constructivist and social-constructivist  theories of learning.   It is a  method  that  elicits  critical  thinking  skills.  That  is,  mentally  engaging  in cognitive  process  to understand conflicting factors in a situation (Moon, 1999; Davis 1996).

This  mental  engagement  results  in  a  person’s  actively  constructing  knowledge  about  a situation in order to develop a strategy to proceed within that situation. Inquiry teaching method can therefore  be  regarded  as  teacher  designed  situations  where  by  pupils  are  caused  to  employ procedures   used   by   research   scientists   to   recognise   problems,   ask   questions,   and   apply investigational procedures, which might be in form of laboratory or practical activities.  This is with a view to providing consistent descriptions,  predictions,  and explanations  which are compatible with shared  experience  of the physical  world and which  are capable of eliciting critical thinking  in the students.   According  to Moore (1998)  critical  thinking  requires  a level of thinking  that is more of evaluation and synthesis than analysis or application.  Thus, inquiry helps students to develop higher order thinking skills by prompting students to relate new knowledge to their previous knowledge; to think in both abstract and  concrete terms, apply specific strategies  to novel tasks and understand their own thinking strategies (Hmelo and Ferrari, 1997).  In inquiry situation, students learn not only concepts and principles but self-direction, responsibility and social communication.

For maximum utilization of inquiry-based teaching to be achieved, important key elements or tools  of  the  inquiry  teaching  method  that  enhance  effective  teaching/learning  process  need  be adapted  in an inquiry  class.  One of such  elements  is concept  presentation.  The explanation  of a concept  or  principle  underlying  a  given  problem  to  be  solved  by  teachers  is  to  enable  prompt student`s  reflecting  based on newly  presented  information  (Moon  1999;  Ashton;  1988).   Another inquiry tool is wait time usage.    This is waiting a few seconds after putting a question to students,

thereby giving them time to think before answering such question.  The effective usage of wait time by teachers promotes critical thinking in students.  The bringing of authentic and real life experience by  teachers   to  classroom   learning   activities   also   provides   real   situation   and   contextualized knowledge  about new information  the students  are learning.   The use of scaffolding  tools such as interactive  journals  and question  prompts  are elements  that  promote inquiry teaching  (Griffith  & Frieden, 2000; Kinchin & Hay, 2000).  Furthermore, collaborative learning in which students explore their understanding  and misunderstanding  together  helps them to think about what they already know, what they need to know and how they would present and defend their own ideas in reaction to an instructional situation (William, 2004). All these elements are necessary tools that will assist the teacher in the teaching of the skill requirements of modern motor vehicle mechanic work.

Teachers play vital roles in adapting the inquiry process to the knowledge and ability level of their  students.  Warner  and  Myers  (2006),  pointed  out  that,  when  using  inquiry  based  learning, teachers are responsible for starting the  inquiry process, promoting students dialogue, transitioning between  small  groups  and classroom  discussions,  intervening  to clear  misconceptions  or develop students  understanding   of  content  materials,  modelling  scientific  procedures  and  attitude  and utilizing students experiences to create new contents.  Based on the objectives of the lesson and the abilities of the students, teachers must decide how much guidance they will provide.   Regardless of the  amount  of  assistance   that  teachers   provide,   the  fundamental   goal  of  inquiry  is  student engagement  during the learning process.   The degree of the students’ engagement  or involvement during  classes  also depends  on the  inquiry  teaching  technique  adopted.  Various  scholars,  among whom  are  Colburn  (2000),  Martin-Hansen   (2002),  Irit  and  Michal  (2009)  have  attested  to  the existence  of different  techniques  of  the inquiry  teaching  method.    These techniques  include  the structured, guided and open inquiry teaching techniques. According to Hartman (2002), differences between these techniques rest upon the mode of administration  of the teaching method.   Colburn (2000)  submitted  that the differences  among the techniques  lie in the level of involvement  of the teachers.

In a structured inquiry technique, students are expected to follow precise teacher instruction to complete a hands-on-activity.   Teachers using this method are expected to lead students step by step through the process but avoiding the temptation of revealing answers to problem under study

(Prince & Felder, 2007).   On the other hand, the guided inquiry technique does not make provision for teachers  providing  procedural  steps  for solving  problems  after  presentation  of  concepts,  but teachers  define a clear understanding  of the problem  at hand  in addition  to  the provision  of the practical  materials  needed  to arrive at a solution (Denise,  1999). The  open inquiry also known as true,  free  or extreme  inquiry  according  to Adeyemi  (2000),  involves  the  posing  of  questions  by students  themselves  and  also  finding  answers  to  such  questions  or  solution  to  such  problems. McGraw  Hill  (2007)  explained  that  the  role  of  the  teacher  is  to  furnish  the  materials  to  be investigated to students. Majority of authors are united as to the complex nature of the open inquiry technique thereby making it unsuitable for use at the secondary school level (Denise, 1999; Adeyemi,

2000).  The inquiry teaching method has been found to be most suitable for the teaching of science oriented courses by different scholars than the traditional teaching method (Nwagbo, 2001; Eick and Reed, 2002; Ibe and Nwosu, 2003; Alvarado and Herr, 2003; Glenda, Hebrank, Ybara and Kenk, 2005; Schwarz  and  Gwekwerere,  2006;  Adeoye  and  Raimi,  2006;  Prince  and  Felder,  2007).The  inquiry teaching method may be suitable  to teach fault diagnosis  and  repairs  in vehicle maintenance  at a period when motor vehicles are experiencing design revolution.

The motor vehicle or automobile has remained the most popular means of human and Cargo transportation all over the world since its invention in 1860 (Hillier, 2001).  It is one industry that has continued to experience constant changes and improvement, most especially, at the onset of the 21st century.   Most of what used to be manually or mechanically operated now operates on mechanical and electronic principles known as mechatronics.  Computerization continues  to be a major part of auto design which has led to the production of advanced and complicated central module system in vehicles  called  the Electronic  Control  system Unit (ECU).  The 21st  century  has also witnessed  the production   of  non-fuel   electric   cars.  Dynamism   in   automobile   technology,   evidenced   in  the production   of  these  hybrid  vehicles  has  necessitated   the  effective  training  and  re-training  of craftsmen who will handle their maintenance.  This is very necessary to keep trend with maintenance requirement of today’s automobiles.   An ill-maintained  automobile can lead to wastage of both life and valuable  properties.  Effective  training of competent  motor vehicle  mechanics  by the relevant institutions especially Technical Colleges is very important.

The programmes  in technical colleges are offered at levels leading to the award of National Technical  Certificate  (NTC)  and Advanced  National  Technical  Certificate  (ANTC)  for  craftsmen  and master craftsmen respectively  (Federal Government  of Nigeria, 2001).   In order  to achieve uniform and  effective  manpower  training,  a  national  curriculum  is  adopted  in  all  the  Technical  College programmes  accredited  by the NBTE. The main feature of the curricular activities for the Technical Colleges (Motor  vehicle mechanic  work inclusive)   are structured  in  foundation  subjects and trade modules, the curriculum  for each trade consists of general education,  small business management and entrepreneurial  training, theory and related courses, workshop practice and industrial  training components (Federal Government of Nigeria (FRN), 2004).

Furthermore,  in order  to achieve  the objective  of  effective  training  of competent  motor vehicle  mechanics,  government  at  both  the  federal  and  state  levels  expended  huge  amount  of money on the procurement  of equipment for use in the technical  colleges. In the same vein, such effort like curriculum review, policy shift, re-training, and production of technical college teachers by the government to ensure qualitative education at the technical colleges and bring about high quality products both in academics and for employment have not yielded much dividend.   There have been persistent reports of high rate of failure among graduates of the Technical Colleges (FGN, 2001).  The National   Business   and  Technical   Examination   Board  (NABTEB)   (2006)  chief  examiner`s   report revealed   that  out  of  12,000   candidates   that  sat  for  the  NTC  examination   in  petrol   engine maintenance,  only 5250  (43.75%)  scored between  A1  and C6  . This leaves over 56 percent scoring below average grades. One probable cause of high failure or poor performances of the motor vehicle mechanic work students in recent years according to NABTEB (2002) chief examiners’ report is partly due to teaching methods employed by technical teachers in teaching the students.  Also FGN (2006) in her reports on technical colleges revealed that students in technical colleges are always put-off or not  been  interested  in  vocational  education  because  of  the  un-motivating  and  un-challenging methods and approach used by their teachers.   Motor vehicle mechanic work is an integral part of vocational  and  technical  education,  in  order  to  facilitate  teaching  and  learning,  interest  of  the students is a relevant factor.

An inquiry teaching strategy may arouse the interest of students.  One important role of the teacher  is to order and structure the learning environment  and use of motivational  techniques  to

secure and sustain the attention and interest of the learners (Moore, 1998).  Interest is a persisting tendency  to  pay  attention  and  enjoy  some  activities.    Interest  has  been  viewed  as emotionally oriented  behavioural  trait  which  determines  trade  students’  enthusiasm  in  tackling  educational programmes or other activities (Chukwu, 2002).   Osuafor (2001) described interest as that attraction which forces or compels a student to respond to a particular stimulus. Interest does not come as a result of force, it is as a result of an individual`s eagerness to learn. Therefore, interest is an affective behaviour that can be aroused and sustained in teaching and learning through appropriate teaching strategy.  Students’  interest  and  achievement  in  any  learning  activity  is  sustained  by  the  active involvement  of  the  learner  in  all  aspects  of  the  learning  process.  Ogwo  and  Oranu  (2006)  and Ngwoke  (2004)   emphasized   that  unless  the  teacher  stimulates   students’   interest  in  learning, students’  achievement  will be minimal.   Hence,  it is essential  that technical  teachers use teaching methods which ensures students’ active involvement  in learning to stimulate interest and improve performance.

Performance  according  to  Lavin  (1985)  could  be  perceived  as  methods  of  expressing a student’s scholastic standing.   It could be grades for subjects, or trade courses as  symbolized  by a score or mark in an achievement test, expressed in 0 to 100 or other quantitative scale. According to Collins,  Kenway,  and  McLeod  (2000),  performance  is  quantified  by  a  measure  of  the  students’ academic  standing  in relation  to those  of  other  students  of their  age.   Atherson  (2003),  Poroye (1991),  and Uka (1981)  contended  that  students’  performance  is dependent  upon  several  factors among  which  are instructional  methods,  learning  environment  and  the learner.    Achievement  in academics can be in the cognitive and or psychomotor  domain. The cognitive domain, according to Okoro (2006) involves knowledge and the development of intellectual skills.  This includes the recall or recognition of specific facts, procedural patterns and concepts that serve in the development of intellectual  abilities  and skills.  Thus,  learning  in this domain  could be in form  of  identification  of motor  vehicle  parts  or  recall  of  safety  rules  to  be  observed  in  the  workshop  to  more  complex intellectual   skills  such  as  determining   and  selecting  the  best  or  combination   of  appropriate techniques  for the repair  of motor  vehicle  ECU.   Teachers  with good  teaching  method  challenge students to work at higher intellectual  level.  On the other hand psychomotor  domain is concerned with  development  of  muscular  skills  and  coordination.    Objectives  from  this  domain  emphasize

motor   skill,   manipulation   of   materials   or   objects   or   an   act   which   requires   neuromuscular coordination  (Knoll, 2004).   This could be a performance  task as simple as  using a screwdriver  to fasten a screw or as complex as using a series of tools and instruments in overhauling an engine. The objectives in this domain are suitable for an automobile class that emphasizes  the development  of motor skills.  In order to sustain gains in cognitive and psychomotor  achievement, teaching method must be capable of bridging the achievement gap between genders.

Gender refers to a psychological  term, which describes  behaviours  and attributes expected of individual on the basis of being a male or a female (Uwameiye and Osunde, 2005).  Several studies, Hunt  and  Kirk  (2000),    Hammerman  and  Goldberg  (2003),  Jimoh  (2010)  have  shown  differential performance  in activities  as  a result  of  gender,  while  studies  by  Nemeth  and  Hoffmann  (2006), Oyenuga (2010), Owosho (2010) all indicated no significant differences in gender effect on students’ achievement  in  technical  and  vocational   education.     Lona  (2002)  revealed  that  inquiry  based instructional  techniques  bridge  the gap between  boys and girls  in  physics.   Hence,  an attempt  is made to find out which of the inquiry technique, if any (structured or guided) will produce optimum performance  and bridge the gap between boys  and girls in motor vehicle mechanic work and also improve students’ retention of learnt skill beyond a short period.

Retention  has  to  do  with  ability  to  remember  and  apply  previously  learnt  behaviour. Accordingly, Graham (2000) maintained that retention is the learning that lasts beyond the initial unit or lesson and it is assessed with test administered  in two or more weeks after the information has been taught and tested.  This implies that a learner who repeats an acquired piece of knowledge with less error is said to have retained the material taught. Beers and Bourden (2005) discovered that for long time retention of knowledge  to be achieved,  motivation  and interest of the learners must be sustained  through  the usage of appropriate  teaching  method.   The study further  noted that such method should be capable of equipping the students  with the critical thinking skills. While vehicle models  and  designs  have  continuously  changed,  the  principles  of  operations  of  most  of  their component  parts  have  remained  the same.   Therefore,  the ability  to retain  learnt  skills  for long period of time will enable a properly trained motor vehicle mechanic to remain relevant in today’s world of work.

The need to inculcate in students’  the workplace  basic and thinking skills that will  enable them to fit properly in the world of work and improve their performance,  arouse students’ interest, encourage both male and female students’ participation and positively affect retention of knowledge called  for  effective  instructional  techniques  and  method  like  the  inquiry  method.  It is  also  very necessary to select the most effective inquiry technique in teaching/leaning of MVMW.

Statement of the Problem

There  is  a  general   concern   over  the  apparent  low  performance   of  technical   college graduates, most especially those of motor vehicle mechanic works who cannot cope with the world of work.  The goal of motor vehicle mechanic work in technical colleges in Nigeria according to NBTE (2009)  is  to produce  skilled  craftsmen  with  good  knowledge  of  the  working principles  of  motor vehicle  and  the  techniques  and  safety  practices  involved  in  its  maintenance.    Technical  college graduates have prospects of either being employed in the industries or set-up their own automobile workshop and become self-employed.   Better still,  technical college products on graduation should have  the  opportunity  of  furthering  their  education  in higher  institutions.    However,  contrary  to achieving the above goal, majority of students have been completing the programme with very poor academic performance and inadequate skills incapable of earning them a living (Okoro, 1999).

Ogwo (2004) noted the pitiable situation where in the Technical  and Vocational  Education (TVE) technical college products are neither good in liberal education nor technically skillful (possess required  basic skill to enter the industry).   This has resulted in unemployment of technical  college graduates especially motor vehicle mechanic work graduates.  In this regard, the employers of labour responded by non-demand of the products of technical colleges.   Employers prefer to develop their own  in-house  craftsmen  instead  of  employing    the  half  baked  graduates  produced  in  technical colleges.   This decline in students performance has been associated to a number of factors, among which is the strategy employed in imparting knowledge to the learners (Igwe ,1992; Akinyele, 2000). The National  Technical  and  Business  Examination  Board (NABTEB)  (2002)  chief  examiner’s  report

observed   that  the  poor  performance   of  the  students   in  National  Technical   Certificate  (NTC)

examinations in recent years is partly due to the teaching methods employed by teachers.

Moreover,  it has been discovered  that the persistent  poor academic achievement  and  low interest of students in Motor Vehicle Mechanic Work and other technical subjects is as a result of the inappropriate  teaching methods  adopted by teachers (Aina, 2000).    Oranu (2003) commenting  on the issue of poor quality of teaching method observed that the lecture method and demonstration method which are teacher-centered  are the main teaching methods employed by technical teachers for implementing  the curriculum.    Obviously,  the adoption  of  only teacher-centered  methods  of teaching  by  the  teacher  results  into  ineffective  use  of   varieties  of  instructional   method  and instructional  facilities and inability of teachers to effectively implement  the curriculum to naturally increase students’ interest, involvement and commitment in learning.

Despite the clear evidence of difficulties  experienced  by these students,  technical  teachers and professionals  in technology  education  have not considered  it necessary that  skills for lifelong learning  in TVE need appropriate  instructional  strategies  (United  Nations  Education  Scientific  and Cultural Organisation UNESCO (2002).  This fact has necessitated the need to investigate the inquiry teaching technique that can enhance optimum learning.  The problem of this study therefore, is that technical college motor vehicle mechanic work students are not performing well in school and even after graduation at workplace.

Purpose of the Study

The main  purpose  of this study is to determine  the comparative  effect of structured  and guided  inquiry techniques  on Technical  College students’  performance  in motor  vehicle  mechanic work in Ekiti State.  Specifically, the study will compare the effect of:

1.       Inquiry techniques (structured and guided) on students’ cognitive achievement in motor vehicle mechanic work .

2.       Inquiry techniques  (structured  and guided)  on students’  psychomotor  achievement  in  motor vehicle mechanic work.

3.       Inquiry techniques (structured and guided) on students’ mean interest scores in motor vehicle mechanic work.

4.       Inquiry techniques  (structured  and guided) on students’  retention  in motor  vehicle  mechanic work.

5.       Gender  on  the  cognitive  achievement  of  students  (male  and  female)  taught  motor  vehicle mechanic work with inquiry techniques.

6        Gender on the psychomotor  achievement of students (male and female) taught motor vehicle mechanic work with inquiry techniques.

7.       Gender on the interest of students (male and female) taught motor vehicle mechanic work with inquiry techniques.

8.   Gender on retention of knowledge of students (male and female) taught motor vehicle mechanic work with Inquiry techniques.

Significance of the Study

The findings of the study on comparative effect of guided and structured inquiry techniques on students’ performance in motor vehicle mechanic work if found positive and implemented is hoped to be of immense benefit to Motor Vehicle Mechanic Work teachers, Motor Vehicle Mechanic Work students,  School  Administrators,   Industries,  Curriculum  Planners,  Parents,  Ministries  (Education, Employment and Productivity), and the society at large. The study will enlighten the technical college teachers   to  improve  on  their  instructional  delivery.  The  adoption  of  the  appropriate   inquiry technique  for  teaching  Motor  Vehicle  Mechanic  Work  to  students  will  improve  the  students’ psychomotor  achievement  thereby  equiping  them  with  required  basic  work  place  skills.  This,  in effect, will result in the training of skilled Motor Vehicle Mechanic Work students who can meet the industrial  requirement  of  skilled  craftsmen    that  can  face  the  challenges  of  the  world  of  work occasioned by dynamic technological changes.

Moreover the involved elements such as collaborative work skills and reflective thinking are expected  to provide the teachers  with information  on how to use the underlying  inquiry  tools to improve students’ investigative  ability. The elements  are expected to further assist the teachers to put  students  in  control  through  self  inquiry,  and  as  well,  develop  constructive  discussion  with colleagues. The investigative nature of the inquiry teaching method will equip and allow students to actively learn the principles of investigation and create guidelines for learners to learn.

The findings  of this study are also expected  to unfold  the teaching  strategy that may  be employed not only to reduce the declining overall performance in Motor Vehicle Mechanic Work, but also to stimulate students’ interest and retention.  It is further anticipated that the findings will help to improve the teachers’ pedagogical skills on the use of instructional learning techniques.  Also it will help the teachers  to inject variety  into their teaching,  stimulate  and  maintain  the interest  of the learners.  In effect, it will assist in the training of competent craftsmen who can face the challenges of the  world  of  work  occasioned   by  technological   advancement.   Students`   success   in  acquired knowledge,  skills,  attitude  and  understanding  that  will  enhance  their  performance  in  external examination  and  world  of  work  is  expected  to encourage  the teachers  and  boost  the  teachers` morale.

Furthermore,  the  study  is anticipated  to sensitize  the teachers  to  explore  strategies  for creating   and   designing   alternative   techniques   more   appropriate   to   any   particular   learning environment   to  engender  greater  motivational   force  and  learning  encouragement  among  the students.  Invariably,  this  is  expected  to  assist  in developing  the  students’  intuitive  participatory interest  in  academic  activities  and  increase  their  learning  capabilities.  Furthermore,  the  inquiry strategies  such  as  critical  thinking  skills,  collaborative  work  skills,  reflective  thinking,  involved  in inquiry   technique   may   provide   the   students   with   basic   work   place   skills.      This   includes, interpersonal/communication skills, higher order thinking skills such as decision making and problem solving as well as flexibility, creative thinking and ability to work in team.  All these skills are expected to enable the students to be adaptable to the present and future technological  advancement  in the

automobile  industries.  Invariably,  this  may  improve  the  employability,  earning  capacity  and  job mobility of the students.

Parents  are also anticipated  to benefit  from the findings  of the study  in that the  better performance  of their ward and children will bring joy and satisfaction,  for students  education and good certification as an assurance of better future. The study may be highly beneficial to curriculum planners as the findings are anticipated to afford them the opportunity to know those pedagogical practices that are in tune with contemporary  technological  changes in teaching to acquire the basic work  place skill required  in the industries.  The ministries  at  both  the federal  and state level  are instrumental  to policy formulations,  the findings  from  this study might help  the policy makers  in making necessary review and  further contribution in the policy formulation process that may assist the teacher in successful adoption and implementation of the study if found worthwhile.

Finally,  the  findings  will  provide  empirical   evidence  which  could  serve  as  a  guide  to researchers,  professional  technical  teachers,  administrators,  curriculum  planners  in their  effort to help improve academic achievement of students. For administrators,  the result of the study will be useful for organizing conferences,  workshops  and seminars on teaching and assessing strategies  in MVMW to teachers  so as to expose them to contemporary  teaching  techniques  that will increase their pedagogical knowledge. The study may help curriculum planners to develop curriculum that will incorporate new teaching/learning innovations and assessment techniques that will facilitate training of motor vehicle mechanic work students to acquire the basic work place skills required for work in the industries.  The information  that will  be provided  is thus expected  to influence future trend in motor vehicle mechanic works curriculum development.

Research Questions

The following research questions were possed to guide this study:

1.       What  is  the  effect  of  structured   and  guided   inquiry  techniques   on  students’   cognitive achievement in motor vehicle mechanic work?

2.       What  is  the  effect  of  structured  and  guided  inquiry  techniques  on  students’  psychomotor achievement in motor vehicle mechanic work?

3.    What is the effect of structured and guided inquiry techniques on students’ interest  in studying motor vehicle mechanic work?

4.    What is the effect of structured and guided inquiry techniques on students’ retention in motor vehicle mechanic work?

5.       What is the effect of Gender on the cognitive achievement of students (male and female) when taught motor vehicle mechanic work with the structured and guided inquiry techniques?

6.    What is the effect of Gender on psychomotor achievement of students (male and female) when  taught  motor  vehicle  mechanic  work  with  the  structured  and  guided  inquiry techniques?

7.    What is the effect of Gender on the interest of students (male and female) when taught motor vehicle mechanic work with the structured and guided inquiry techniques?

8.    What is the effect of Gender (male and female) on students’ retention scores when taught motor vehicle mechanic work with the structured and guided inquiry techniques?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses  were formulated  to guide the study and will be tested at .05 level of significance:

HO1:      There  will  be no  significant  difference  between  the  effect  of  treatments  (structured  and guided inquiry techniques) on students’ mean scores in MVMW cognitive achievement test.

HO2:      There will be no significant  difference  between  the effect of gender (male and female)  on students’ mean scores in MVMW cognitive achievement test.

HO3:          There will be no significant  interaction  effect of treatments  given to students  taught  with inquiry techniques and their gender with respect to their mean scores on MVMW cognitive achievement test.

HO4:          There  will  be no  significant  difference  between  the  effect  of  treatments  (structured  and guided inquiry techniques) on students mean interest scores in MVMW interest inventory.

HO5:      There will be no significant  difference  between  the effect of gender (male and female)  on students mean interest scores in MVMW interest inventory.

HO6:          There will be no significant  interaction  effect of treatments  given to students  taught  with inquiry  techniques  and  their  gender  with  respect  to  their  mean  scores  on  the  interest inventory.

HO7:      There  will  be no  significant  difference  between  the  effect  of  treatments  (structured  and guided inquiry techniques) on students’ mean scores in MVMW retention test.

HO8:      There will be no significant  difference  between  the effect of gender (male and female)  on students’ mean scores in MVMW retention test.

HO9:          There will be no significant  interaction  effect of treatments  given to students  taught  with inquiry  techniques  and  their  gender  with  respect  to  their  mean  scores  in  the  MVMW retention test.

HO10:    There  will  be no  significant  difference  between  the  effect  of  treatments  (structured  and guided inquiry techniques)  on students’ mean scores in MVMW psychomotor achievement test.

HO11:   There will be no significant  difference  between  the effect of gender (male and female)  on students’ mean scores in MVMW psychomotor achievement test.

HO12:        There will be no significant  interaction  effect of treatments  given to students  taught  with inquiry  techniques  and  their  gender  with  respect  to  their  mean  scores  in  the  MVMW psychomotor achievement test.

Delimitations of the Study

There  are three  principal  instructional  teaching  techniques  of the inquiry  teaching method namely; structured, guided and open inquiries. However, this study was delimited to two of these techniques, which are; the structured and guided techniques. The reason for the

use of the two techniques is because of the consensus among authors as to the suitability of the use of the two techniques for effective practical instruction at the secondary school level, while the open inquiry technique is above secondary school level. For the  purpose of this research work, transmission  system (CMV14) and brake systems  (CMV 15) were studied. This study was delimited to the use of Government owned Technical Colleges in Ekiti State. Privately owned Technical Colleges in the State were not used for the study so as to ensure that institutions  whose  programmes  were  accredited  by the National Board  for Technical Education (NBTE) only were used for the study.

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