Suitability of Mechanical Engineering Craft Practice Skills for Self-Reliance among Students in Technical Colleges in Rivers State

Abstract

The study examines the suitability of mechanical engineering craft practice skills for selfreliance among students in technical colleges in Rivers State. Three research questions 
guided the study. The study adopted the descriptive research survey design. The population 
of this study was 149 respondents comprising of 13 teachers and 136 students of mechanical 
engineering craft practice in four technical colleges in Rivers State. The entire population 
was used as sample since the researchers considered the population to be of manageable 
size. The instrument for data collection was a self-structured questionnaire titled 
“Mechanical Engineering Craft Practice Skills Questionnaire (MECPSQ)” design after a 
modified four-point rating scale. The instrument was face and content validated by two 
experts and tested for reliability using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) which 
a reliability coefficient (r) of 0.80. Data collected were analysed with mean and standard 
deviation to answer the research questions. The result of the study shows that mechanical 
engineering craft practice skills suitable for students’ self-reliance in technical colleges 
include grinding operation skills, drilling operation skills and fitting operation skills. Based 
on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that adequate facilities and 
training equipment should be provided by government to enhance the practice of identified 
skills such as drilling operation skills, grinding operation skills, and fitting operation skills 
that are suitable for self-reliance in technical colleges in Rivers State.