Strategies for Improving Students’ Skills in Building Electronics Systems in Universities in Rivers State

Abstract

The study was necessitated by the need to improve students' skills in building electronic systems in universities in Rivers State. Two research questions guided the study, while two hypotheses were tested at a .05 significance level. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The entire population of 32 electronics engineering and technology lecturers from three universities in Rivers State was studied without sampling. A structured questionnaire validated by experts was used for data collection. The Cronbach Alpha reliability method was used to establish the internal consistency of the items, which yielded an overall coefficient of 0.89. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions, while a t-test was used to test the hypotheses at a .05 significance level. Findings revealed that the lecturers rated audiovisual materials and scaffolding teaching technique strategies as highly effective in improving students' skills in building electronics systems, and their opinions were not significantly influenced by years of experience and ownership of the institution. It concluded that the adoption of these strategies will improve students' skills in building electronic systems. The study recommended among others that, the Ministry of Education in partnership with the National Universities Commission and Tertiary Education Trust Fund should provide updated audiovisual materials to lectures teaching electronics subjects; scaffolding teaching techniques should be advocated and practiced among electronics engineering and technology lecturers especially when students embark on projects that involve the building of electronics systems.