Abstract
The main purpose of the study was to determine the workshop management competencies improvement needs of Automechanics teachers in the South East States of Nigeria. The study was made of three specific purposes, research questions and hypotheses respectively. The study was carried out in five states using a survey research design with a population of 51 respondents. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. This instrument was validated by three experts from the Department of Vocational Teacher Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The reliability co- efficient of the entire instrument was 0.72.
Three research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation. Three null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance using the t-test statistic. The findings of the study revealed that there were
16 workshop management competency improvement needs possessed by automechanics teachers, 38 competency improvement needs needed by automechanics teachers and four strategies to be employed to improve workshop management competency Needs of automechanics teachers. Based on the findings the following recommendation, was made among others; all the thirty eight workshop management competency improvement needs and four strategies should be included in the pre and in-service curriculum of trainee automechanic teachers.
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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Automechanics is a technical subject taught as part of introductory technology in junior secondary schools and as a vocational subject in senior secondary schools and technical colleges. Automechanics curriculum in technical colleges was designed to train and produce craftsmen who are proficiently skillful in the maintenance of all types of motor vehicles (NBTE,
1985). The students after graduation are expected to be self employed and to employ others, or secure employment as automotive industrial workers, or pursue further education in advance craft/technical programmes (FRN, 2004). The introduction of Automechanics into the curriculum of technical colleges brought along with it, the building of school occupational laboratory called workshop, where a learner may experiment, test, construct, disassemble, repair, design, create, imagine, and study (Ezeji,
2004).
Workshops are designed to provide meaningful in-school practical experience to students. It is a room or building in which things are made or repaired using tools or machinery. Workshop is
defined as a building where machines, materials and tools are installed mainly for practical purpose (Anaemena, 2001).
Automechanics is skill oriented and requires the use of the workshop for the provision of a learning situation in which the learner could experiment, study, imagine, create, test, construct, design, dismantle, repair and build equipment (Ezeji,2004). Consequently, Automechanics is heavily dependent on workshop activities. The workshops contain expensive facilities and equipment which should not be handed over to people who lack the capabilities for the management of the workshops.
Managing Automechanics workshops means administering money and equipment in order to accomplish the desired goals. According to Nwachukwu (1988), management is defined as getting things done through others, co-ordination of all the resources of an organization through the process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling in order to attain organization’s objectives. Management is essential in all organized co-operation, as well as at all levels of organization in an enterprise. The aim of a vocational education programme is to prepare students adequately for successful entrance into and advancement within industry. The prime requisite for a successful programme is a qualified teacher
who is occupationally competent and also competent in teaching methods and supporting skills which are integral to the success of the institutional process. To become occupationally qualified, the teacher must, in addition to specialized training, spend some years in industry, business, government or must have completed adequate work experience scheme. Therefore, a carefully planned programme of pre-service and in-service education will enable the teachers to acquire necessary competencies in teaching.
Competency is the ability to do what is needed. In this case, it is the ability needed to administer Automechanic workshop. According to Ukoha (1996), accountability and mastery learning are the basic principles of competency based education both in teaching and learning. The innovation is characterized by clearly stated, attainable and measurable objectives followed by identified specific knowledge and skills that learners have to master within a given time frame. Learners progress is systematic and performance level is criterion referenced, that is, competencies are measured against a previously set standards. In other to be effective automechanics teacher, it is necessary that the teacher is specifically and adequately prepared in the act of school shop management. With each new scientific and engineering
breakthrough, people must learn new skills and adjust to new situations. This means that, the training of Automechanics teachers must be based on current reported needs. According to Toby (1995), identification of significant tasks for developing needed curriculum to train professional in their various occupation is one of the best ways of meeting the labour markets current requirements and ensuring the effectiveness of teaching and learning processes. It is therefore necessary to identify the workshop management competency needs needed to manage Automechanic workshops.
In a nutshell, the Automechanics teacher is the link between the learner and what is to be learned. In addition to knowledge of the subject matter, Automechanic teacher must possess desirable personality traits. He stands out as a model which the students have to copy. Thus, Automechanic teacher should be an embodiment of honesty, integrity and self-confidence. He should be able to inspire and motivate students toward learning and achievement. If the teacher represents a dull and shabby character, he might not only lose the confidence and respect of the students but he might also encounter some discipline problems in the workshop. The Automechanics teacher shall be the advisory
and executive officer in the workshop. In addition, the Automechanics teachers shall direct and supervise the students in conformity with the courses of study and daily workshop routines, he shall visit each sections as often as practicable, carefully examine the progress, condition and work hard for the improvement.
Statement of the Problem
Automechnics entails workshop activities. The workshops often contain expensive facilities which should not be handled by people who lack preparation in organizing and managing such facilities (Ulinfun, 1993). Nigeria has imported some sets of technical equipment from countries like Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria. In spite of these importations, most of the workshops in the southeast states are in bad conditions, while in some technical colleges, tools, equipment and machines have been vandalized and some parts stolen due to lack of experiences in workshop management. Also, there are breaches of safety precaution rules among students and staff in operation of dangerous machines in the workshops (Ibeneme, 1997). Hence, this study expose this category of Automechanics teachers to the relevant experiences on college workshop management.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to identify the workshop management competency improvement needs needed by Automechanics teachers in technical colleges in the south eastern states of Nigeria. Specifically, the study was designed to:
1. Find out the workshop management competency improvement needs possessed by Automechanic teachers.
2. Identify the workshop management competency improvement needs needed by Automechanic teachers.
3. Determine strategies to be employed to improve workshop management competency Needs of Automechanic teachers in technical colleges in the South east state of Nigeria.
Significance of the Study
This study is of benefit to the following groups of people: Automechanics teachers, students of Automechanics, workshop managers, parents as well as the general public. The findings of this study provides measures on how to make school workshop a safe place to work. The Automechanics students in particular could benefit since they will be having instructions through improved management competency needs.
The findings of the study will provide Automechanics teachers with more information on workshop management competency improvement needs that will enhance teaching process. The information provided by the study equips the present future workshop managers with modern information that will enable them ensure efficiency in their products.
The information provided by the study helps parents since improved learning resulting from good workshop management will turn out products who will be self-reliant or gainfully employed. The findings of the study are also of benefit to the general public as the self-employed Automechanics graduates will be producing articles and services for the general consumption of the citizens. Delimitations of the Study
This study was restricted to workshop management
competency improvement needs adopted by Automechanics teachers in technical colleges offering Automechnics in south east states of Nigeria. It did not cover polytechnics and universities in the states. The study specifically dwelt on workshop management competency improvement needs possessed by Automechnics teachers, needed by Automechanics teachers and also, it covered
strategies to improve upon the current workshop management competency Needs.
Research Questions
The following research questions formed the basis of this study:
1. What are the workshop management competency improvement needs possessed by Automechanics teachers?
2. What are the workshop management competency improvement needs needed by Automechanics teachers?
3. What are the strategies to be employed to improve workshop management competency needs of Automechanics teachers in technical colleges in south east states of Nigeria
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.
Ho1: There is no significant difference between the mean responses of university graduate and non university graduate Automechanic teachers on the workshop management competency improvement needs they possess
Ho2: There is no significant difference between the mean responses of university graduate and non university graduate Automechanics teachers on the workshop competency improvement needs they needed.
Ho3: There is no significant difference between the mean responses of university graduate and non university graduate Automechanics teachers on the strategies to be employed to improve their workshop management competency improvement needs in technical colleges in the south east Nigeria.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
WORKSHOP MANAGEMENT COMPETENCY IMPROVEMENT NEEDS OF AUTOMECHANICS TEACHERS IN THE SOUTH EAST STATES OF NIGERIA
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