ATTITUDE OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS TOWARDS VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OTA,OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Vocational education is a vital tool for economic development. The Federal Government, in 2011, launched the Senior Secondary Education Curriculum (SSEC) which requires that all senior secondary school students be trained in one vocational subject. This study examines the attitudes of students and teachers towards vocational education in secondary schools in Ado-Odo Local Government, Ogun State, Nigeria. It aims to highlight the factors that affect and influence the attitudes of students and teachers towards vocational training as well as identify ways through which these attitudes can be improved. The study employs the use of questionnaires distributed to 200 students and 60 teachers in four secondary schools in Adodo-Ota LGA. The results show that students and teachers recognize the importance of vocational education. The study recommends that students be provided with modern day equipment to encourage students’ engagement in vocational subjects. The curriculum for the teaching of vocational subjects should be comprehensive, standardized and enforced in all secondary schools to ensure that students acquire all the skills they need to practice the vocation(s). These will improve vocational education and the attainment of its goals in secondary schools

PARENTAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN ADO-ODO OGUN STATE NIGERIA

The economy of Nigeria is experiencing a downturn in recent times and as a result, the rate of unemployment and poverty has increased rapidly. A good foundation to employment generation and job security is vocational education. Evidently, the growth of any nation depends on its technological components. Despite the fact that vocational education is important for economy development, its effective implementation has been and it is still being faced with many challenges. This paper looks at the roles of parents in vocational educational and its viability in a dwindling economy like Nigeria. Using quantitative data from 100 parents, it could be deduced that parents preferred courses with better recognition and acceptance. It is recommended that parents of secondary schools graduate be educated on the prospects of vocational education, especially its ability to generate employment. Furthermore, vocational education should be better incorporated into tertiary curriculum and certificates should be awarded

ENHANCING LEARNING AND THE UNDERGRADUATE EXPERIENCE: A CASE IN ARCHITECTURE DEPARTMENT, COVENANT UNIVERSITY

Every year, students get admitted into institutions of higher learning to acquire skills in various disciplines. As they start their career paths being part of a class of study, it has been discovered that each individual student has a level of learning threshold quite different from his colleagues. Enhanced learning can be defined as skills derived or developed to improve or augment, especially in effectiveness, value, or attractiveness knowledge gained and administered by faculty towards making the undergraduate experience more rewarding and accomplishing for the students of Architecture. Currently as part of the skills development in the department, the student is expected to have reasoning skills, critique skills, computer software, skills, analytical skills, construction skills, visual skills and the list goes on. This paper tries to identify the current learning techniques used in disseminating knowledge to the undergraduate classes of Architecture at Covenant University. A quantitative method of research will be adopted where questionnaires will be administered to the undergraduate classes of the Bachelor of Science in Architecture of the department. The data collected was statistically analysed with SPSS software and it showed that student undergraduate learning experience is multifaceted and effective solutions required for competent learning experience need to be developed. It is expected that from the study, new methods of knowledge transfer will be proffered due to the interaction with the students. More innovative and effective skills of knowledge transfer it is expected will come out of this research. It is expected that at the end of the research, enhanced learning skills will start being applied to teaching by faculty towards effectively making the department a world class department

SKILLS SET DETERMINANTS OF IND-CADETS WORKFORCE IN HIGHTECH CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES IN LAGOS NIGERIA

It is common practice in High Technology Construction Companies in Nigeria to seek out the best practice procedures for their organizational abilities and competencies. As a result, they hire fresh graduates on a yearly basis in order to fill the dynamic vacuum that technology opens from time to time. The Universities are the training fields for these young minds and on a regular basis update their curriculum towards competing in the ever changing global market of opportunities and competition. Work and employability are often mixed use concepts because training is different from being employable. This paper investigated the characteristics of the Ind-CADETS (Industry Cadets) workforce of students of construction related disciplines of Covenant University and some selected high technology construction companies in Lagos Nigeria. This was done to get feedback from these construction companies on the types of skill set they require from fresh graduates from the universities towards making the graduates better suited for their work experiences after graduation. This was done by administering a well-structured questionnaire and interviews for proper conclusion on the subject matter from a cross section of students from final year in Architecture, Building, and Estate Management of the 2016-2017 academic year and also from some selected high technology construction companies in Lagos. The data collected was statistically analysed with SPSS software and it showed that there was a gap in communication between the construction companies and the Universities on the types of skills set required for making the graduates fit effectively into the working environment. Software incompatibility and personality traits were seen as hindrances towards achieving this synergy. It was further discovered that University curriculum were missing the goal of achieving basic educational foundations for industry compatibility and employability

The Influence of Architects’ Sensing-Intuitive Personality Characteristics on Design Morphology in Selected Nigerian Universities

Little or no record of the personality characteristics of the architectural design studio teachers and students has been made in schools, in the world over. This study employed a survey research designs in the architectural design studios of four (4) selected universities in South-West Nigeria. Five hundred (500) architectural students population study, out of which a sample of 498 was drawn while seventy five (75) represent teachers population study, out of which a sample of 49 was drawn, (N=49). Structured questionnaire patterned after Myers-Briggs (MBTI Indicator, 1997-2009) was used. This paper examined the influence of intuitive-sensing personality characteristics of design studio teachers‟ and students in the determination of architectural forms and structures. The key findings yielded seven (7) dimensions pedagogic perceptive indices to Life in Architectural Design Studio (iNintuitive, S-sensing); iN-S1, iN-S2, iN-S3, iN-S4, iN-S5, iN-S6, and iNS7 across the spectrum. The most significant index in the pedagogic spectrum was iN-S5 across the selected schools (iN= 15.8s, 4.0t; S= 63.4s, 85.7t) with higher sensing but skewed intuition indices for students and teachers respectively. It recommended a controlled engagement of intuition and sensing personality characteristics in fostering design products. This was to enable proficiency and competency rating of teachers, students and professionals in practice

INVESTIGATING THE EXTENT OF USE OF BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING (BIM) IN DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, COVENANT UNIVERSITY OTA, NIGERIA

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is gradually gaining wider acceptance in the Nigerian Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry and the education industry should match that level of acceptance by training future professionals in the Nigerian AEC industry on the concept and its practice. BIM describes the process of designing a building collaboratively using one coherent system of computer models, rather than as separate sets of drawings. This allows for proper and effective management of information which in turn creates smarter and more informed professionals in a construction industry that loses billions per year, due to ineffective communication. This research aimed at examining the extent of use of BIM in Covenant University‘s department of architecture focused on three major variables; awareness, effective use and application of the subject matter outside the classroom. The result of this research however suggests that the more advanced facets of BIM are used at marginally low levels, compared to the rather basic facets such as 2D and 3D BIM. Nonetheless, this research did not give room for fallacy of generalization as extensive means of cross analysis were used to properly examine awareness, use and application of BIM outside the classroom‘ (amongst other variables) across the several levels of study. Hence, allowing for more detailed and precise finding

ENHANCED STUDENTS LEARNING AND THE NEW GRADUATES EXPERIENCE: A CASE IN ARCHITECTURE DEPARTMENT, COVENANT UNIVERSITY

All year round in the world, admissions into higher institutions of learning are carried out with most students finding themselves in various disciplines including Architecture. Once on these career paths, students have different learning abilities one differing from the other. Learning enhancement refers to skills acquisition to improving understanding especially in the value and effective use of knowledge acquired. This is normally done through taught courses from departmental faculty members with the aim of enriching the undergraduate for maximum knowledge enhancement. As a result, this research will try and identify the modern and dynamic learning techniques available for knowledge dissemination to undergraduate classes of Architecture at Covenant University. Quantitative research methods was adopted where questionnaires were administered to the fresh classes of the Department of Architecture. This paper aims to enhance learning skills at the undergraduate level and the application towards effective teaching delivery by faculty in Architecture schools. The following questions are to be answered: What are the relevant skills required of undergraduate students in the department of architecture?, What current enhanced learning techniques are used in teaching the students in the fresh classes of Architecture at Covenant University? and In what ways can innovative teaching methods and skills of knowledge transfer be used to enhance effective learning at the undergraduate level? Contributions to knowledge are that new methods of enhanced learning techniques are to be recommended from the study, and also new methods of knowledge transfer will be proffered. Secondly, enhanced learning methods and skills need to be introduced into the curriculum towards effectively equipping the new intake better prepared for the course of study

Pedagogic Tenets of Specification Writing in Architectural Education, Construction and Practice

Specification writing is an important aspect of architectural curriculum; as failure of the architect to write an effective specification in educational training and construction-practice may lead to unpalatable factors. This study explored couple of methods employed in the teaching, learning and assessment of specification writing students in architecture department, Covenant University, South-West Nigeria, with a view to identifying the most effective method within the group dynamics. The methodology adopted for this study involved the interview of M.Sc. II architecture students and adoption of two (2) basic pedagogic methods namely Traditional and Revolutionary during class sessions. The qualities were evaluated and assessed through the outcome of students' assignments, standard performance tests and examinations results, and documentations in brainstorming-interactive class sessions. It was found that there were significant differences between the performance scores of students using diverse pedagogic methods. It recommended that further research capable of bridging education and construction- practice in synergy

Appraisal of Awareness and Implementation Levels of Energy Efficiency Design Strategies for Office Buildings in Abuja, Nigeria

Energy efficient buildings are buildings that consume less energy while also maintaining or improving the comfort conditions for their occupants, compared to the normal building type. Such buildings result not only in less negative impact on the environment, but are economically sustainable and resilient. This study investigated the extent to which building professional firms in Abuja, Nigeria are aware and implement the different energy efficiency design strategies available for deployment in office buildings, in order to ascertain the current level of knowledge and implementation of the strategies within the building industry in the study area. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from 80 professionals drawn from architectural and engineering firms involved in the design of office buildings in the study area. The data were analysed by descriptive statistics and the results indicate that both the awareness and implementation levels of energy efficiency design strategies by the firms are high. Whereas most (78%) of the respondents are aware of the various energy efficiency design strategies employed in office building designs, few (22%) of them have little or no knowledge of the strategies investigated. On the implementation level, majority (69%) of the participants recorded a high rate, while few (31%) recorded a low rate. The study also found that the strategies the firms are mostly aware of are site planning, natural ventilation and building orientation. Whereas, the three most adopted strategies among the strategies investigated are: building plan and space organisation; site planning and building orientation. Among the recommendations of the study is that relevant stakeholders of the building industry in the country, should provide platforms from time to time for promoting the benefits of energy efficiency design strategies in the country, in order to maintain the high level of understanding and deployment of the strategies by the building professionals that currently exist in the study area. This is envisaged to ultimately lead to curtailing the adverse effects of global warming on the environment in the long run

The Influence of Architects’ Sensing-Intuitive Personality Characteristics on Design Morphology in Selected Nigerian Universities

 Little or no record of the personality characteristics of the architectural design studio teachers and students has been made in schools, in the world over. This study employed a survey research designs in the architectural design studios of four (4) selected universities in South-West Nigeria. Five hundred (500) architectural students population study, out of which a sample of 498 was drawn while seventy five (75) represent teachers population study, out of which a sample of 49 was drawn, (N=49). Structured questionnaire patterned after Myers-Briggs (MBTI Indicator, 1997-2009) was used. This paper examined the influence of intuitive-sensing personality characteristics of design studio teachers’ and students in the determination of architectural forms and structures. The key findings yielded seven (7) dimensions pedagogic perceptive indices to Life in Architectural Design Studio (iN-intuitive, S-sensing); iN-S1, iN-S2, iN-S3, iN-S4, iN-S5, iN-S6, and iN-S7 across the spectrum. The most significant index in the pedagogic spectrum was iN-S5 across the selected schools (iN= 15.8s, 4.0t; S= 63.4s, 85.7t) with higher sensing but skewed intuition indices for students and teachers respectively. It recommended a controlled engagement of intuition and sensing personality characteristics in fostering design products. This was to enable proficiency and competency rating of teachers, students and professionals in practice