Unemployability of the Nigerian Graduate: The Effect of Tertiary Institutions-Industry Disconnect (Published)
The main objective of the study was to examine the effect of tertiary institutions-industry disconnect in Nigeria. To achieve this, primary data was collated using a questionnaire from an online survey from 550 participants. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were employed to estimate the data. The estimates indicates that practical skills was positive but insignificant, while industrial training and workshop were both positive and significant in aligning the curriculum content with the workplace needs of employers. The logit estimates indicate that grade point average and type of qualification were negative and bear insignificant effect on educational content and workplace readiness. The estimates further showed that ICT skills and additional certification have a positive and significant effect on educational content and workplace readiness. The estimates suggest that there is a 54% chance that employment matches the degree acquired. The estimates also indicate that the coefficient of practical skills is negative and insignificant, while industrial work experience is an eligible link between tertiary institutions and industry. The results suggest that ICT and additional certificates increase employability by 32%-40% and 15.5%-27.9% respectively. Work experience drivers employability by 6.4%. The study concludes that practical skills, industrial training/workshop, and additional certificates as significant factors that can enhance the link between institutions of learning, the demands of the labour market, and graduate employability in Nigeria. Among others, the study recommends the need to integrate industry needs into the educational curricula. The study also recommends the need to ensure collaboration between industry and tertiary institutions. Again, it suggests the need for graduates to acquire professional certificates to enhance their chances of employment.
Keywords: Curriculum, Employability, practical skills, unemployability, workplace readiness
Application of Cognitive Diagnostic Model in Assessment of Basic Electricity Practical Skills Proficiency among Physics Education Undergraduates in Enugu State University of Science and Technology (Published)
Generalized deterministic input noisy and gate (GDINA) model is a sub-set of cognitive diagnostic model which is used for item calibration and diagnosis. The use of GDINA for measurement of skills or concepts mastery has been synonymous with multiple-choice items. This study applied the GDINA model for mastery measurement of basic hierarchical Physics practical skills. The data collected and the final skills’ matrix were analyzed using GDINA package version 1.4.2 in open source R software version 3.4.3 via R-Studio version 1.0.153. The results showed that: (i) the undergraduates exhibited a fairly good mastery of the items in the test. (ii) the skill of manipulating the voltage source needed improvement.(iii) the items in the test fit the GDINA model. It was recommended that Physics Education lecturers should spend more of their instructional time to practical in lieu of theory to further boost the undergraduates’ skill/item mastery level in Physics.
Keywords: GDINA model, calibration and diagnosis, hierarchy, physics, practical skills
Effectiveness of Using Blackboard Collaborate Tools in Promoting Practical Skills among Students of the Foundation Year in E-Learning Course (Published)
The current study is an attempt to identify the effectiveness of using Blackboard Collaborate Tools, such as wiki, panel discussions and virtual classrooms, in promoting the practical skills among the female students of the Foundation Year in the E-Learning Course. The study sample consisted of (50) female students enrolled in the Foundation Year of College of Education at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Saudi Arabia, for the academic year (2016/2017). The results showed that there were statistically significant differences at the level of (0.01) between the mean scores of the participants in the pre-and-post measurement for the practical skills within the Blackboard of E-Collaborative Learning in favor of the post measurement; according to Black equation, the effectiveness rate achieved by more than (1.2).
Keywords: E-learning, Effectiveness, blackboard, practical skills