An Investigation into the Challenges Facing the Implementation of Technical College Curriculum in South West, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the challenges facing the implementation of Technical College Curriculum in South West, Nigeria. The purpose was to determine whether the Teachers and Instructors that implement the curriculum are professionally qualified or not and to investigate other challenges facing the teaching and learning of Technical and Vocational Education in Technical Colleges. The study employed survey research design; the sample consisted of 120 Basic Science Teachers and Technical Instructors selected from Technical Colleges in two States (Ondo & Ekiti) using multistage sampling technique. Questionnaire on Challenges Facing Curriculum Implementation (QCFCI) with reliability coefficient of 0.72 was used to collect necessary data. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that 65.83 percent of the Teachers and Instructors are professionally qualified to teach in Technical Colleges. The study highlights the following as the major challenges facing the implementation of the modular Curriculum in South West, Nigeria: lack of in-service training and poor condition of service of Teachers and Instructors, outdated equipment, unstable government policy; lack of standard workshop for practical work and lack of related modern instructional materials. The study also revealed that there was no significant difference between the view of the Instructors and Teachers on the challenges facing the implementation of the curriculum. In conclusion many factors are responsible for poor implementation of Technical College Curriculum as identified in the study. It was recommended among others that the government should provide the necessary and required human and non-human resources needed in Technical Colleges.

Key Words: Implementation, Curriculum, Challenges, Technical Instructors, Basic Science Teachers and Qualification.