EFFECT OF AVAILABILITY OF EQUIPMENT ON STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN FOODS AND NUTRITION
ABSTRACT
The main purpose of this study was to identify the effect of availability of equipment on students’ performance in Foods and Nutrition. The research is imperative in that the findings of the study will assist government and other key stakeholders in education to provide support towards the implementation of Foods and Nutrition curriculum focused on the identified critical challenges.
The study adopted the descriptive survey research design in which 8 schools selected through purposive sampling technique. The population for this study comprised of students in all the secondary schools in Lagos State that are offering Foods and Nutrition as a subject at ordinary level. Eight secondary schools in Surulere Local government comprising 120 students were selected by a simple random sampling and this also comprised of 8 Foods and Nutrition teachers. A structured questionnaire, interviews and observations were used as data collection instruments.
The findings reveal the following challenges as militating against the effective implementation of the Foods and Nutrition curriculum in Lagos State: negative attitude by parents and students towards the subject; inadequate professional and qualified teachers for the teaching of Foods and Nutrition; inadequate infrastructure and equipment in schools and where the equipment is available it being underutilized due to lack of expertise and inconsistent electrical power supply ; insufficient instructional materials and books in schools ; and that schools are generally poorly financed.
Four key recommendations arising from the study are that quarterly awareness campaigns should be carried out in society to educate the public about the importance of Foods and Nutrition as well as technical and vocational subjects in the curriculum; training programs in form of seminars, conferences, workshops and in servicing, should be organized at regular intervals to equip teachers with the requisite skills for the teaching of Foods and Nutrition; school should form partnerships with the industries and corporate bodies aimed at financing the implementation of Foods and Nutrition curriculum and vocational subjects in secondary schools and that adequate infrastructure, resource materials and facilities should be provided in schools for effective teaching and learning.
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
1.1Background to the Study
Nutrition is fundamental to developing a sense of well-being and to meeting the growth, development, and activity needs of healthy, confident children and young people. Readiness to learn is enhanced when the learners are well nourished. There is considerable evidence linking children’s nutrition to educational outcomes. If children are malnourished, have nutritional deficiencies or are obese, then their learning is likely to be affected.
Adesina (2009) comments that education at all level is a delicate issue, which serves as a way forward to every society – especially in a developing nation like Nigeria. Advanced countries have improved their standard of living by education, which is considered to stimulate economic and technological development; thus, education can be regarded as an investment that yields dividends in terms of overall development of a country (Adesina, 2009). Formal education started in Nigeria during the colonial period. It developed from the early forms of reading, writing and arithmetic (i.e. the three ‘r’s) to a stage where the London Genera Certificate of Education, Ordinary Level Syllabus (the so-called O-Level) was used to guide instruction in secondary schools (Fafunwa, 1974). These secondary ‘grammar schools’ were fashioned in such a way that did not accommodate the vocational technical subjects, and as a consequence trade centers and colleges were established. Here, the City and Guild (Intermediate) syllabus was used to guide instruction and upon completion, successful students were awarded the City and Guild (Intermediate) Certificate of London. The Federal Craft Certificate or the Ministry of Labour Trade Test Certificate also was awarded to successful candidates. The Federal Craft and Trade Test Programs were put in place by the Federal Government of Nigeria mainly to improve the understanding and competencies of artisans and technicians.