Influences of Inadequate Instructional Materials and Facilities in Teaching and Learning of

Electrical/Electronics Technology Education

by: Dr. James E. Ogbu

This study investigated the influences of inadequate instructional materials and facilities in the teaching
and learning of electrical/electronics (E/E) technology education courses. The study was guided by two
research questions and two null hypotheses which were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The design
employed was descriptive survey with a population of 56 Electrical/Electronic teachers and students.
Due to this few population size no sampling was carried out. Validated questionnaire with 0.89 reliability
coefficient was used for data collection. The collected data were analyzed using mean and standard
deviation to answer the research questions while t-test statistic was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings made were that inadequate instructional materials and facilities often influence the teaching
and learning of Electrical/Electronic technology courses in 32 negative ways. Based on these finding, it
was recommended that all concerned should join hands to adequately provide effective and efficient
instructional materials and facilities in other to eradicate all the negative influences of inadequate
instructional materials and facilities. Introduction Federal Republic of Nigeria (2008) defined technology
education as tertiary education offered in the Universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of
education (Technical) for the production of high level skilled manpower who can apply scientific
knowledge to solve environmental problems, provide goods and services for the convenience of man. Its
cardinal goals are to: (1) provide the technical knowledge and skills necessary for agricultural industrial,
commercial and economic development of Nigeria (2) give training that impart the necessary skills for
the production of technicians, technologists and other skilled personnel who shall be enterprising and
self-reliant. To achieve these and other goals of technology education, adequate instructional materials
and facilities are highly needed. FRN (2004) stated that vocational education is that form of education
which leads to the acquisition of practical and applied skills as well as basic scientific knowledge. Hence,
it can be known that technology is a paramount aspect of human life. Technology refers to the use of
products of creativity, inventions and scientific research in the service of man. Electrical and electronics
technology education is one of the major options or special areas offered in Nigerian Universities under
the department of technology and vocational education. However, the teaching and learning of
electrical/electronic specialized area as a field of study in technology education is vital in the production
of workforce with potent understanding and diverse skills in the design, development, production,
management and utilization of current electrical and electronics devices and circuits. According to
Carribbean (2001), electrical and Electronics Technology is a field of study that provides both theoretical
and hands-on knowledge of current electrical and electronics devices and circuits. Hence, Electrical and
Electronics Technology (EET) education syllabus is designed to provide the essential fundamental
knowledge and the analytical, practical and experimental skills necessary for a lifelong career in the field
of electrical and electronics technology. It also provides students with fundamental knowledge and skills
for the workplace and professional pedagogy skills in electrical and electronics field. Meanwhile, for
effective teaching and learning of electrical and electronics technology education, instructional
materials and facilities are necessary. Instructional materials and facilities on their own help to facilitate
teaching and learning and are used to influence concrete and permanent change in technical behaviour..
According to Eya (2006) instructional materials are all forms of information carriers which can be used to
record, store, preserve, transmit, concretize or retrieve information for the purpose of teaching and
learning. Wale (2006), was of the opinion that the use of instructional materials would make discovered
facts glued firmly to the memory of students. According to Ogwa (2002), instructional materials include
audio visual aids, tools, equipment, machines, educational materials such as chats and ICT instructional
resources. He also said that, instructional aids mean all the materials or teaching aids or material
resources which the teacher utilizes for the purpose of making teaching and learning more effective and
meaningful to students. In the same sense, instructional facilities for vocational and technical education
encompasses all basic hand tools, equipment, classrooms, workshops, laboratories, electrical and
electronics instruments among others which help the learners to learn properly (Bulama, 2001). This
means that technology and vocational education Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN
2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.6, No.33, 2015 40 programmes required tools and
equipments that will help in the facilitation of the acquisition of occupational skills in the diverse areas
of electrical and electronics technology, Anyakoha (1994), observed that useful skills can be developed
and reinforced by the appropriate selection and use of instructional facilities, materials and tools.
However, upon the usefulness of instructional materials and facilities in the teaching and learning of
electrical and electronics technology education, the present situation unveils the scarcity and
inadequate instructional materials in technology and vocational education programmes in Ebonyi State
University. The problem of this study is that the researcher found out that hundred percent of classroom
teachers do not use films, slides, film strip, overhead projectors, tools, ICT resources, machines and
equipment while teaching. At times some of the instructional materials are not available in the right
amount and quality to ensure effective utilization. Most electrical/electronic teachers do not locally
improvise known foreign electricity teaching aids because of funds and experience. Olarewaju (1984) in
Owoh (2009 said that, the inadequacy of funding in science and technology teaching is acute, more so at
this time that the country is struggling to get out of the quagmire of economic recession. The effects of
all these inadequate instructional materials and facilities in the teaching and learning of electrical and
electronics courses have not been determined so that all concerned will provide adequate solution. The
general purpose of this study is to determine the influence of, inadequate instructional materials and
faculties on the effective teaching and learning of electrical and electronics technology education
courses in Ebonyi State University.

Bibliography
Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.6,
No.33, 2015 39. Influences of Inadequate Instructional Materials and Facilities in Teaching and
Learning of Electrical/Electronics Technology Education. Dr. James E. Ogbu Department of Technology
and Vocational Education Ebonyi State University Abakaliki.
Rushed trainings, lack of materials mar implementation of K to 12

By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL and PARTICIA LOURDES VIRAY

MANILA – Part of the preparations of the Department of Education (DepEd) in the implementation of the
K to 12 program is to train public school teachers. However, teachers noted that trainings they have
undergone were rushed and not well thought of. France Castro, secretary general of the Alliance of
Concerned Teachers (ACT) said the time spent for teachers’ training is not enough. “There are lots of
new things for teachers to learn in order to implement the new curriculum. One to two months training is
not enough. Is this what the DepEd calls as in-depth training of teachers?”

The DepEd will implement the K to 12 program for the incoming grade one and grade seven or first year
high school students in all public schools nationwide. The mandatory kindergarten, which is part of the
said program, was already implemented by DepEd last school year.

Grades 11 and 12 or senior high school (SHS) will be implemented in school year 2016-2017.

Dante A. Verdera, 49, a technical and livelihood education (TLE) and Araling Panlipunan teacher in
Godofredo M. Tan Memorial School in Nueva Ecija said their training was in haste. “We underwent
training for only 10 days for a subject that we will teach for one year,” Verdera told Bulatlat.com. He is a
teacher for the incoming grade seven students.

He called the training half-baked. “We have a thick training module, about 300 pages, that we have to
study. During our training, we were up until midnight just to study the module. That is not good because
we were cramming. We were forcing ourselves to learn something that takes time to learn,” he said.

Not only that, Castro added, teaching guidelines and learning modules have not yet been distributed to
teachers. “Supposedly teaching guidelines and learning modules are given to teachers while they are on
training. But, according to the teachers who underwent the training, some of them have yet to receive the
said materials.”

Regina E. Ramos, 49, teacher of MAPEH (Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health) in Navotas
National High School said they received their module, but it is still incomplete, up to the second grading
period only. “Our training was rushed, and the materials they distributed are not even complete. What are
we going to use for the third and fourth grading periods? It’ll be difficult to teach without a reference
material,” Ramos said in an interview with Bulatlat.com.
Ramos said she asked their trainers about the modules for the third and fourth grading periods and they
told her that the department would just act on it when the time comes.

Lolita Rubante, grade one teacher at Western New Elementary School also lamented, “The program is
good, but it is much better if the materials are also complete. If they (government) really want a good
outcome and they want our education system to be like other countries, they should provide us with the
complete materials.”

She said they already foresaw the problems even before the trainings began. “We already predicted that
there would be a lack of materials, lack of preparation. They revised the curriculum but they did not
provide us with the materials,” Rubante told Bulatlat.com.

Flody Hernandez, Filipino teacher for grade seven at the Ramon Magsaysay High School –Cubao also
said, “Trainers from DepEd discussed the program and how we are going to implement it. However, the
problem lies in the lack of materials. The reference book on K 12 is really not enough,” Hernandez said.

Public school teachers believe in the objectives of the K to 12 program, as it will use the mother tongue
language as medium of instruction in grades one to three. However, the implementation of the said
program is not well-planned. Teachers were trained at a very short time and teaching guides are not
massively distributed. Ramos, together with other public school teachers, believe that to properly
implement the “flagship” program of President Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III, enough time for teachers’
training is essential.

‘Good teachers are essential’

Columnist and teacher Queena N. Lee-Chua said in her one column about the K to 12 program, “To
implement the K to 12 curriculum properly, good teachers are essential.”

In her column titled, “Preparing teachers for the big reform” Chua cited the June 2010 Ched (Commission
on Higher Education) Zonal Research Project where tests were given to students of Bachelor of Science
in Secondary Education majoring in math, biology and english to measure their knowledge and skills. The
study showed poor results.

According to Chua, “The researchers said, if 75 percent is the benchmark for the minimum amount of
actual learning, math majors achieved an average mean of 51.59 percent; English, 51.67 and biology,
37.86 percent.”

The 2006 survey by the National Teachers College covering students majoring in math also showed poor
results. “Scores of future elementary teachers ranged from 55 to 73 percent, while their secondary
counterparts scored even lower, 53 to 65 percent,” Chua said.

Chua’s column rooted the incompetency of teachers to the lack of academic conferences and seminar
workshops, lack of resources such as availability of instructional materials, most specially updated
references, among others. Same also goes to the trainings of teachers and the hasty implementation of
the new curriculum for school year 2012-2013.

Are teachers competent or even ready to implement the K to 12 curriculum for grades one and seven?
Verdera doubted . “With the short time given to us, I doubt if we really are ready for this reform in our
education sector.”

“We study for four years and even take another year to pass the Licensure Examination for Teachers
(LET) before we could become teachers. The DepEd must be dreaming when it expects that teachers
can properly implement the new curriculum with only days or weeks of training,” Castro said

Definition of Terms
Conceptual Framework and paradigm