International Journal of Social Science and Management Studies

Influence of Teachers’ Ethical Conduct on Academic Performance of Students in Public Senior Secondary Schools in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State

Simeon Weli — 2024-08-22

This study examined influence of teachers’ ethical conduct on academic performance of students in public senior secondary schools in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State. Three objectives, three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The population of the study was 108 principals (including vice principal administration and vice principal academics) consisting of 44 males and 64 females from 36 public senior secondary schools in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State. The entirety of the population was used as sample which infers census. The instrument used was a fifteen (15) items self-structured questionnaire titled “Influence of Teachers’ Ethical Conduct on Academic Performance of Students Questionnaire” which was face and content validated by two experts in Measurement and Evaluation and Department of Educational Management. Cronbach Alpha statistics was used to establish the reliability of the instrument which yielded reliability indexes of 0.84, 0.86 and 0.82. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while z-test was used in testing the formulated null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings of the study revealed that to a high extent teachers’ show of empathy, descent dressing and punctuality to class influence academic performance of students in public senior secondary schools in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that teachers should be trained on how to show empathy to students as it was found to influence their academic performance.

Community Education Programmes for the Reduction of Maternal and Child Mortality in Emohua and Ikwerre local Government Areas of Rivers State

Anwuri W. Chinna — 2024-08-30

The study examined community education programme for the reduction of maternal and child mortality among women in Emohua and Ikwerre Local Government Areas of Rivers State. The study adopted three research questions and three hypotheses to guide the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population of the study consisted of pregnant women and health care providers in Emohua and Ikwerre local Government Areas of Rivers State with a population size of 1000. Simple random sampling technique with a sample size of 365 and purposive sampling was used to select requested pregnant women and health care providers. The face and content validation of the instrument was determined by the two experts in Adult education and measurement and evaluation. Cronbach Alpha method was used for the reliability coefficient of 0.81, 0.82, and 0.83 obtained for various clusters of the instrument was reliable. The instrument for data collection was structured questionnaire. The mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research question while the null hypothesis was tested using Z-test statistics at 0.05 of significance. The findings of the study revealed that family planning, antenatal education, safe motherhood education, primary health care education and basic literacy education programme can reduce maternal and child mortality in Emohua and Ikwerre Local Government Areas of Rivers State. The study recommended among others that Government should deploy competent and experienced doctors to the rural areas to enable them carry out antenatal education programme to educate women which will help to reduce maternal and child mortality.

Effect of Malaria Education Intervention on Knowledge and Practice of Malaria Prevention among Undergraduates of Niger Delta University

Ojojo W. Ebikesiye — 2024-08-22

The study investigated the Effect of Malaria Education Intervention on Knowledge and Practice of Malaria Prevention among Undergraduates of Niger Delta University. The study adopted quasi-experimental design. A sample size of 80 Health Education students in the Department of Science Education was used for the study. Five research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. Research questions were analysed using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested using t-test in the SPSS version 26. Two instruments (Knowledge Test Question on Malaria -KTQM and Questionnaire on the Practice of Malaria Prevention and Control-QPMPC) were used for data collection. A reliability index of 0.86 was realized for KTQM and a reliability index of 0.82 was realised for QPMPC using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. Findings revealed that students taught the science of malaria (exposed to the teaching intervention) demonstrated a better understanding of the knowledge of malaria as well as its prevention and control as compared to students not taught the science of malaria. The results revealed that students do not sleep under mosquito nets neither do they regularly use insecticides and repellants. There was no significant difference between male and female students’ achievement in the experimental group. There was no significant difference between the male and female students’ achievement on the science of malaria. From the findings it is recommended among others that students should clean up their environment regularly to avoid mosquito breeding in their environments

Promoting Urban Agriculture for Sustainable Food Security in Rivers State

N.S. Amadi — 2024-08-22

Food security has become an issue of global concern in the recent time including Nigeria. Arising from this, various government over the years had introduced one policy or the other to curb the problem of food insecurity but to no avail due to various challenges including weak policy framework and environmental degradation. Rivers State being one of the country's most populous states with a high rate of urbanization and rising food insecurity must explore sustainable solutions for meeting its future food needs through urban Agricultural practices. Urban agriculture involves the cultivation of crops and animal husbandry within cities and densely populated areas. Benefits include enhanced local food availability and access, new sources of employment and income, and more efficient resource use. Strategies for promoting urban farming encompass identifying available public lands viable for agriculture, integrating urban farming into city plans/zoning policies, providing technical training and access to inputs for new urban farmers, and educational programs highlighting healthy, locally grown food. Both the public and private sectors have roles in incentivizing urban farming by facilitating land leases, access to irrigation and organic waste streams, affordable loans, and preferential market linkages to schools, hospitals, retailers, etc. If enacted properly, pro-urban agriculture policies and partnerships in Rivers State can strengthen regional food systems, enable import substitution over time for some crops, create climate resilience amidst expanding cities, generate new economic opportunities, and enhance environmental sustainability - thereby bolstering food and nutrition security. This paper takes a look at promoting urban agriculture for sustainable food security in Rivers State. It examined the concepts of urban agriculture and food security and explore the strategies to improve urban Agriculture in Rivers State