Assessment Workshop Facilities for Students’ Skills Acquisition in Electrical Installation and Maintenance Works in Government Technical Colleges in Rivers

Abstract

This study assesses the workshop facilities for students’ skill acquisition in electrical installation and maintenance workshop in technical colleges with interest in availability and adequacy of workshop facilities, challenges students face in using the workshop facilities, and the condition and maintenance status of the available workshop facilities. The study was carried out in Rivers State. The population for the study was 48 respondents, comprising 40 electrical installation and maintenance work students and 8 attendants from the four technical colleges in Rivers State. There was no sampling since the entire population was of manageable size. A structured questionnaire instrument was used to collect data for this study, titled “Assessment of Workshop Facilities for Students' Skill Acquisition in Electrical Installation and Maintenance Works” (AWFSSAELMW). The instrument was structured on a four-point rating scale response options of Very High Extent (VHE), High Extent (HE), Low Extent (LE), and Very Low Extent (VLE) with values of 4, 3, 2, and 1 respectively. The instrument was face-validated by four experts. The instrument had a reliability coefficient of .89. Data collected from the respondents were analyzed on a four-point rating scale using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. T-test was used to test the null hypotheses at a .05 level of significance. Findings will be interpreted based on the research questions, drawing comparisons with existing literature. Initial analysis may indicate that most of the facilities are outdated and insufficient for skill acquisition. The study reveals that workshop facilities in technical colleges in Rivers State are generally inadequate and poorly maintained, posing a challenge to effective skill acquisition in electrical installation and maintenance. The lack of adequate workshop facilities significantly hampers students' skill development.