Environmental factors as determinants of postgraduate studies completion time in vocational and technical education programmes in south-south Nigerian universities

Author(s)

Sunny Nwakanma^1*, Stanley Ikemefula Mbato²; ¹Department of Technical Education, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rivers State; ²Department of Educational Foundations, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State

Abstract

This study on environmental factors as determinants of post-graduate studies completion time in vocational and technical education programmes in South-South Nigerian Universities was carried out because of the elongated completion time experienced by many students. One research question guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested. Descriptive survey research design was employed for the study.  The population for this study consisted of 204 graduates of this programmes in public universities in South-South Nigeria who completed their studies in the 2017/2018 academic session. The entire population was studied without sampling since the size was not too large and was manageable. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled ‘Environmental Determinants of Post-Graduate Studies Completion Time Questionnaire’. The instrument was validated by three experts from the Departments of Technology and Vocational Education and Educational Foundations of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Using the Cronbach alpha method to determine the reliability of the instrument, the reliability co-efficient of 0.83 was obtained. The data collected for the study were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research question and to determine the closeness of the respondents’ mean ratings. The t-test and ANOVA were used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results of the study also revealed that environmental factors to a small extent determined post-graduate studies completion time. The findings also showed that mode of study had no significant influence on how environmental factors determine post-graduate studies completion time in vocational and technical education programmes in the area. Based on the findings, it was recommended that heads of school of postgraduate programmes should ensure that adequate and conducive classrooms, well-equipped workshops, laboratories and libraries are adequately provided and maintained to enhance effective teaching, learning and research.

Keywords

environmental factors; determinants; post-graduate studies; completion time; vocational; technical education programmes

Cite this paper

Nwakanma, S., Mbato, S. I.(2022), Environmental factors as determinants of postgraduate studies completion time in vocational and technical education programmes in south-south Nigerian universities, IRESPUB Journal of Education & Literature. Volume 2, Issue 1, Jan-Feb 2022, Page 21-31

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