EFFECT OF GENDER ON SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN GEOGRAPHY IN GANYE EDUCATIONAL ZONE, NIGERIA

The low enrolment and poor academic achievement of female students in Geography compared to their male counterparts in secondary schools of Ganye Educational Zone necessitated this study. Studies have it that the instructional strategies adopted by Geography teachers in teaching could interact with gender to influence students’ academic achievement. To this end, the study investigated the Effect of Gender on Senior Secondary School Students’ Academic Achievement in Geography when Mastery Learning Strategy and Conventional Method are used for instruction. The quasi-experimental non-randomized pre-test, post-test control group design was used. The study also employed the multi-stage random sampling technique at four levels to select 207 (120 Male and 87 Female) senior secondary school two (SS II) students offering Geography from six intact classes in six co-educational secondary schools in Ganye Educational Zone in Nigeria. A 40-item Geography Achievement Test (GAT) constructed by the researcher and validated by experts in Geography education was used to obtain data. After pilot testing the instrument using 89 students from two intact classes, the data obtained was analyzed using Pearson product moment correlation coefficient statistic. A reliability index of 0.78 was obtained. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics of Mean, independent t-Test and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The study revealed that Female students exposed to learning Geography through Mastery Learning Strategy performed better than their Male counterparts. A significant interaction effect of treatment and gender on students’ achievement in Geography was also observed. It was recommended that Geography teachers should re-assess their classroom instructional strategies used in teaching and adopt that which will give the students equal opportunities to excel in Geography.  Article visualizations

EFFECT OF HANDS-ON TEACHING STRATEGY ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN KEYBOARDING SKILLS ACQUISITION IN FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC, MUBI, NIGERIA

Keyboarding is a popular business course for many students whose major objectives are to develop touch control of the keyboard and proper typing techniques. It also involves building basic speed and accuracy, and provides practice in applying those skills to the formatting of letters, reports, tables, memos, and other kinds of personal and business communication. The performance of National Diploma (ND) I students in this course seems to be on the decline. The reason for this failure may be tied to the theoretical nature in which this course is being taught. To this end, this study investigated the Effect of Hands-On Teaching Strategy on Students’ Academic Achievement in Keyboarding Skills Acquisition in Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, Nigeria. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested in the study. The research design adopted was the quasi-experimental non-equivalent pre-test, post-test, control group design. The sample comprised of 120 ND I students purposively selected from the department of Office Technology and Management, Federal Polytechnic, Mubi. A research instrument titled ‘’Keyboarding Achievement Test (KAT)’’ was constructed by the researcher and used to obtain data. The instrument was validated and pilot tested. The Guttmann statistic was used in calculating the reliability coefficient. This gave a reliability index of 0.72. The independent samples t-test statistic and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used in analyzing data obtained from the study. The Scheffes post hoc test was used to establish the magnitude of significance between the experimental and control groups’ mean scores. The study revealed that students exposed to keyboarding skills acquisition through hands-on teaching strategy achieved remarkable results than their counterparts taught using the conventional method. There was no significant effect of gender on academic achievement of students exposed to keyboarding skills acquisition using hands-on teaching strategy with conventional method. It was concluded that hands-on teaching strategy was effective in teaching keyboarding skills; hence teachers should be encouraged to use the strategy in teaching keyboarding from the onset of the ND programme.    Article visualizations

EFFECT OF FIELDTRIP STRATEGY ON SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN GEOGRAPHY IN NUMAN EDUCATIONAL ZONE, ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the Effect of Fieldtrip Strategy on Senior Secondary School Students’ Academic Achievement in Geography in Numan Educational Zone, Adamawa State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two hypotheses were formulated and tested in the study. The study adopted the quasi-experimental research design. A sample size of 138 Senior Secondary (SS II) students offering geography from two public senior secondary schools in Numan Educational Zone was used for the study. The groups consisted of an experimental and control groups which were taught for six weeks. The research instruments used to obtain data was the Teachers’ Qualification Assessment Checklist (TQAC), Fieldtrip Facilities Inventory (FFI) and the Geography Achievement Test (GAT). The reliability index of the instrument (GAT) was determined using Guttmann Split-half Statistic. This yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.70. The research questions were answered using frequency counts and percentages and the hypotheses was tested using Kolmogorov Smirnov two-sample test. The result showed that most geography teachers in Numan educational zone are B.Sc. holders, who do not possess the basic qualification of teaching. The study also revealed inadequate facilities for conducting fieldtrips in Numan educational zone. There was a statistically significant difference in the academic achievement of students taught geography using fieldtrip strategy and conventional method. Male students in the experimental group performed better in geography than their female counterparts. Since fieldtrip strategy improved students’ achievement in Geography, it was recommended that Government should employ qualified graduate teachers in geography education to teach the subject. Government should also provide secondary schools with adequate facilities for conducting fieldtrips. Geography teachers teaching in secondary schools should endeavor to adopt or incorporate this instruction technique while teaching for a better achievement of students in geography.  Article visualizations

EFFECT OF HANDS-ON TEACHING STRATEGY ON STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN KEYBOARDING SKILLS ACQUISITION IN FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC, MUBI, NIGERIA

Keyboarding is a popular business course for many students whose major objectives are to develop touch control of the keyboard and proper typing techniques. It also involves building basic speed and accuracy, and provides practice in applying those skills to the formatting of letters, reports, tables, memos, and other kinds of personal and business communication. The performance of National Diploma (ND) I students in this course seems to be on the decline. The reason for this failure may be tied to the theoretical nature in which this course is being taught. To this end, this study investigated the Effect of Hands-On Teaching Strategy on Students’ Academic Achievement in Keyboarding Skills Acquisition in Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, Nigeria. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested in the study. The research design adopted was the quasi-experimental non-equivalent pre-test, post-test, control group design. The sample comprised of 120 ND I students purposively selected from the department of Office Technology and Management, Federal Polytechnic, Mubi. A research instrument titled ‘’Keyboarding Achievement Test (KAT)’’ was constructed by the researcher and used to obtain data. The instrument was validated and pilot tested. The Guttmann statistic was used in calculating the reliability coefficient. This gave a reliability index of 0.72. The independent samples t-test statistic and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used in analyzing data obtained from the study. The Scheffes post hoc test was used to establish the magnitude of significance between the experimental and control groups’ mean scores. The study revealed that students exposed to keyboarding skills acquisition through hands-on teaching strategy achieved remarkable results than their counterparts taught using the conventional method. There was no significant effect of gender on academic achievement of students exposed to keyboarding skills acquisition using hands-on teaching strategy with conventional method. It was concluded that hands-on teaching strategy was effective in teaching keyboarding skills; hence teachers should be encouraged to use the strategy in teaching keyboarding from the onset of the ND programme

EFFECT OF GENDER ON SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN GEOGRAPHY IN GANYE EDUCATIONAL ZONE, NIGERIA

The low enrolment and poor academic achievement of female students in Geography compared to their male counterparts in secondary schools of Ganye Educational Zone necessitated this study. Studies have it that the instructional strategies adopted by Geography teachers in teaching could interact with gender to influence students’ academic achievement. To this end, the study investigated the Effect of Gender on Senior Secondary School Students’ Academic Achievement in Geography when Mastery Learning Strategy and Conventional Method are used for instruction. The quasi-experimental non-randomized pre-test, post-test control group design was used. The study also employed the multi-stage random sampling technique at four levels to select 207 (120 Male and 87 Female) senior secondary school two (SS II) students offering Geography from six intact classes in six co-educational secondary schools in Ganye Educational Zone in Nigeria. A 40-item Geography Achievement Test (GAT) constructed by the researcher and validated by experts in Geography education was used to obtain data. After pilot testing the instrument using 89 students from two intact classes, the data obtained was analyzed using Pearson product moment correlation coefficient statistic. A reliability index of 0.78 was obtained. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics of Mean, independent t-Test and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The study revealed that Female students exposed to learning Geography through Mastery Learning Strategy performed better than their Male counterparts. A significant interaction effect of treatment and gender on students’ achievement in Geography was also observed. It was recommended that Geography teachers should re-assess their classroom instructional strategies used in teaching and adopt that which will give the students equal opportunities to excel in Geography.  Article visualizations

Effect of Hands-On Learning Strategy on Senior Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Topographical Map Studies in Mayo Belwa Local Government Area, Nigeria

This study was propelled by the poor performance of senior secondary school students’ recorded in practical Geography examinations. In line with this, the study investigated the Effect of Hands-On Learning Strategy on Senior Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Topographical Map Studies in Mayo Belwa Local Government Area, Nigeria. Four null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study adopted a quasi-experimental non-equivalent pre-test, post test control group design comprising two groups made up of one experimental group and a control group. Four schools and two hundred and five (205) SS III Geography students made up the sample size of the study. Four intact classes (two each) were randomly selected through balloting without replacement and assigned to experimental and control groups. The instrument used for data collection in this study was Topographical Map Achievement Test (TMAT), constructed by the researcher but structured in line with WAEC and NECO standardized test items in practical Geography. The validity of this instrument was established by two experts in Geography Education and Test and Measurement. The reliability of the instrument was established using Kendall tau ḇ statistic. A reliability index of 0.78 was obtained. Hypotheses one, two and three were tested using independent samples t-test statistic. While hypothesis four was tested using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The findings of the study revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in the mean scores of students taught topographical maps using hands-on learning strategy and lecture method. There was a statistically significant difference in the retention scores of students taught topographical maps using hands-on learning strategy and lecture method. There was no significant effect of gender on the achievement of students taught topographical maps using hands-on learning strategy. There was no significant interaction effect of treatment and gender on students’ achievement in topographical map studies Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that geography teachers should use hands-on learning strategy as an alternative strategy or incorporate this strategy with other instructional methods in order to promote effective teaching learning outcomes of students in topographical map studies

MANAGEMENT OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN

Psychologists, therapists and other professionals that are concerned in the wellbeing of all creation are in the business of promoting and maintaining good health. The paper titled “Management of Autistic Children’’ discussed how Autistic individuals and their parents can be helped with the emotional and psychological problems they are passing through. The paper highlighted the concept of Autism, its obvious characteristics in communication, social development and repetitive behaviour. Furthermore, it discussed how best to improve the management of Autistic individuals. The roles of parents and guidance Counsellors in the management of Autistic Children were highlighted. It was recommended that there should be testing of Autistic individuals to ascertain the particular learning style he/she is best suited for. Individual counseling of parents of the affected ones would also be of great help and encouragement to them

Vancomycin-resistance Enterococcal Colonization in Hospitalized Patients in Relation to Antibiotic Usage in a Tertiary Care Hospital of North India

Background: Alarming rise of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is a global cause of concern. Several factors have been held responsible for such rise, of which antibiotic usage is a prominent one. Objectives: This study was undertaken to determine the intestinal VRE colonization rate amongst hospitalized patients in relation to use of various antibiotics in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a tertiary care university hospital, India. Materials and Methods: Stool samples were collected weekly from all the patients in the adult ICU for a period of 6 months and processed for isolation and phenotypic and genotypic characterization of VRE isolates. Patient and treatment details were noted and cases (those with VRE in stool) and controls (those without VRE in stool) were compared statistically. Further, a multivariate analysis was done to identify those antibiotics as independent risk factors for VRE colonization. Results: VRE colonization was found in 34.56% (28/81) of the patients studied, with the majority 75% (21/28) carrying the vanA gene. The cases had significantly more (P < 0.05) duration of hospital stay and antibiotic exposure. Intake of metronidazole, vancomycin, and piperacillin-tazobactam were identified as significant risk factors both in univariate and multivariate analysis. Conclusion: A potential reservoir of VRE was thus revealed even in low VRE prevalence setting. Based on this high colonization status, restriction of empirical antibiotic use, reviewing of the ongoing antibiotic policy, and active VRE surveillance as an integral part of infection control strategy were suggested

Effect of Brainstorming Learning Strategy on Junior Secondary School Students’ Academic Achievement in Social Studies in Yola Educational Zone, Adamawa State, Nigeria

The study investigated the Effect of Brainstorming Learning Strategy on Junior Secondary School Students’ Academic Achievement in Social Studies in Yola Educational Zone, Adamawa State, Nigeria. Three null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design, non-randomized pre-test, post-test control group comprising two groups made up of one experimental group and a control group. Four schools and two hundred and three (203) JS II Social Studies Students made up the sample for the study. Four intact classes (two each) were randomly selected and assigned to experimental and control groups. The instrument used for data collection in this study was tagged “Social Studies Achievement Test” (SSAT), constructed by the researcher but patterned in line with BECE test items in Social Studies. The validity of this instrument was established by two experts in counseling psychology and test and measurement. The reliability of the instrument was established using Guttmann’s Split-Half statistic; which yielded a reliability index of 0.72. Independent samples t-Test and chi-square analysis of data revealed that there was a significant difference in the mean score of students taught social studies using brainstorming learning strategy and lecture method. There was a statistically significant difference in the retention rate of students taught social studies using brainstorming learning strategy and lecture method. There was no significant effect of gender on the academic achievement of students taught social studies using brainstorming learning strategy. Based on the findings, it was recommended that social studies teachers should incorporate brainstorming learning strategy with other instructional approaches in lesson delivery in order to improve students’ ability in learning and understanding social studies in junior secondary schools