Abstract:
This study was carried out on practical skills improvement needs of teachers of motor vehicle mechanic work in technical colleges in Kwara and Kogi states, Nigeria. Five research questions and five null hypotheses were developed to guide the study. Descriptive survey research design was employed in selecting the respondents for the study. The study was carried out in Kwara and Kogi states covering the 13 technical colleges. The population for the study was 97 made up of 73 teachers and 24 instructors in all the technical colleges in Kwara, and Kogi states, Nigeria. No sample was drawn from the population because of its manageable size. The entire population was therefore used. The instrument for the study was a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher based on the review of related literature on motor vehicle maintenance work. The instrument was divided into two sections and five parts. The instrument was subjected to face-validation by three experts from Department of Industrial Technical Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The experts were requested to assess the items of the instruments in terms of clarity, relevance and appropriateness in addressing the problem of the study and research questions under investigation. Their comments and corrections were incorporated in the final draft of the instrument. The pilot test for reliability was carried out in Niger state because of its proximity to Kwara and Kogi states. Cronbach Alpha was used to determine the internal consistency of the instrument. Ninety seven copies of the question was administered to respondents with the help of three research assistants. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions while t-test statistics was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The standard deviation was used to determine the closeness or otherwise of the opinions of the respondents from group mean. It was found out that motor vehicle mechanic teachers need practical skills improvement in all the service station skills, petrol engine maintenance skills, diesel engine maintenance skills, transmission system skills, and auto electricity repair skills. There was no significant difference in the mean ratings of motor vehicle mechanics teachers and instructors in all the improvement needs of motor vehicle maintenance work for teachers in technical colleges. Based on the findings, the study among others recommended that motor vehicle mechanic work teachers should be sponsored by college to industry for further training in modern motor vehicle mechanic work in order to acquire more knowledge. It was also recommended that workshop and seminars should be organized for motor vehicle mechanic work teachers in order to update their knowledge on new motor vehicle mechanic work such as service station, petrol engine maintenance, diesel engine maintenance, transmission system, and auto electricity repair skills.
