AN ACADEMIC JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY

STUDIES

Vol. 3 No.2, April, 2012

ISSN: 2141 - 3479

Printed byJOCHRISAM PUBLISHERS,

CALABAR, NIGERIA.

The Leajon, is an academic journal of interdisciplinary studies, aimed at promoting research or ideas in all academic disciplines to include Arts and Humanities, Social and Management Sciences, Natural and Environmental Sciences, Medicine, Education etc. It specially encourages and upholds scholarly articles and researches done with African mindset as the basis for intellectual crossbreeding, emancipation and development within the continent.

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All articles must be preceded by an abstract of not more than 350 words.The Leajon journal will adopt MLA / APA style of documentation

respectively, depending on the documentation style prevalent in ones discipline.

THE LEAJON:

THE LEAJON

THE LEAJON IS DOMICILE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY, FACULTY OF ARTS, UNIVERSITY OF CALABAR- CRS.

ii

CONTRIBUTOR

1. Job Nsor Napoleon Agbor Department of Accounting, University of Calabar, CalabarOkpachui Okang Jackson PhDSchool of Psychiatric Nursing Calabar, Calabar

2. Edim, M. E. Ph.D.Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, University of CalabarASHI, M.M. Ph.D.Department of Vocational and Special Education, University of Calabar

3. Okpachui Okang Jackson PhDSchool of Psychiatric Nursing Calabar

4. M. A. Udoh Ph.DWesley University of Science And Technology, Ondo

5. Dr. Tony E. GanaganaNiger Delta University Wilberforce Island Amassoma, Bayelsa StateMrs. Faith Chenemerem NdukwuUniversity of Calabar, Calabar.

6. Anthony, G. Bullem (Ph.D), Essien, C. Kori (Ph.D) & Osang, W. Otu Department of Adult and Continuing Education Faculty of EducationUniversity of Calabar, Calabar.

7. David Adie Alawa , Victor Atah AbanyamDepartment of Vocational and Special Education, University ofCalabar, Calabar

8. Fan Akpan Fan, Emilia A. Abang and Eno I. IbiangCross River University of Technology

9. Fan Akpan Fan, Theresa E. Ekpo, Hannah A. Aaron and Emilia A. AbangCross River University of Technology

10. Cyril Asuquo Etim , Ph.DDepartment of Philosophy University of Uyo.

11. Alberta David Nsemo, RN, Ph.D (FWACN) Department of Nursing, University Of Calabar, Calabar.Akaninyene B. Abam, BN.Sc., RN, RPON. General Hospital, Ikono, Akwa Ibom State.

12. Nsemo, Alberta David (Ph.D, FWACN) Department of Nursing Science University of Calabar, Calabar– Nigeria. Akpaninyang, Victoria Ime (RN, BNSc)University of Calabar Teaching Hospital Calabar – Nigeria.

13. Stella M. Usen, Dr. (Mrs.) Enoidem B. Usoro Department of Vocational Education , University of Uyo, Uyo, Aks

14. Ene, Ene I.Institute of Education , University of Calabar, CalabarEsuabanga, S. BFaculty of Education , University of Calabar, Calabar.

15. Michael E. Ukah (Ph.D)School of General Studies, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike Abia State.

16. Michael E. Ukah (Ph.D)School of General Studies, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike Abia State.

.17. Dr. Joseph B. Besong & Dr. (Mrs.) M. I. Edu Department of Educational Foundations, and Dr. Fan A. Fan Department of Curriculum & Teaching Cross River University of Technology

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CONTENTS

1. Activity Based Cost Management Practices in Selected Manufacturing Firms in Calabar Export Processing ZoneJob Nsor Napoleon Agbor, Okpachui Okang Jackson PhD - - - - -

2. Vocational Skills Mastery for Students with Disabilities: Pathway to their Roles in Society.Edim, M. E. Ph.D., ASHI, M.M. Ph.D. - - - -

3. Globalization on Human Resources Management: A Cross Cultural Perspectives of the Nigeria Public Sector.Okpachui Okang Jackson PhD - - - -

4. Challenges and Prospects for Developing Scientific and Technological Attitude in AfricaM. A. Udoh Ph.D - - - - - - -

5. Educational Research on the Teaching and Learning of Moral Behaviours in the Nigerian Basic SchoolsDr. Tony E. Ganagana, Mrs. Faith Chenemerem Ndukwu -

6. Literacy Education: An Important Tool in Promoting Gender Equality and Women EmpowermentAnthony, G. Bullem (Ph.D), Essien, C. Kori (Ph.D) & Osang, W. Otu - - - - -

7. Initiatives for Organizing Farmers for Participation in the Prevention and Control of Ecological Problems in Cross River State, NigeriaDavid Adie Alawa , Victor Atah Abanyam - - -

8. Towards Quality Assurance in Nigeria's Higher Educational SystemFan Akpan Fan, Emilia A. Abang and Eno I. Ibiang - -

9. The Benefits of New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) to Nigeria Fan Akpan Fan, Theresa E. Ekpo, Hannah A. Aaron and Emilia A. Abang - - - -

10. A Logical Inquiry Into Economic LawCyril Asuquo Etim , Ph.D - - - - -

11. Interpersonal Communication: Its Relevance to Nursing PracticeAlberta David Nsemo, RN, Ph.D (FWACN) Akaninyene B. Abam, BN.Sc., RN, RPON. General Hospital, Ikono, Akwa Ibom State. - - -

12. Social and Health Implications of Teenage Pregnancy in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria.Akpaninyang, Victoria Ime (RN, BNSc) - - - -

13. Administrative Constraints that Affect the Performance of Business Studies in Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination: A Case Study of Schools In Adak Urban, Akwa Ibom StateStella M. Usen, Dr. (Mrs.) Enoidem B. Usoro - - -

14. Home Climate: A Determinant of Occupational Preference of Youths in the Southern Senatorial District of Cross River StateEne, Ene I., Esuabanga, S. B - - - - -

15.Michael E. Ukah (Ph.D) - - - - - -

16. Negritude of Leopold SenghorMichael E. Ukah (Ph.D) - - - - - -

17. Perceived Problems Militating Against Effective Management of Entrepreneurship Education in Cross River State Secondary Schools.Dr. Joseph B. Besong & Dr. (Mrs.) M. I. Edu, Dr. Fan A. Fan -

Truth and Philosophy

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19

32

40

46

53

66

78

88

109

100

122

131

139

152

172

Dr. Asira E. Asira -

Dr. Joseph N. Ogar - Production Editor (University of Calabar)

Dr. Ephraim Ikuegbu - Associate Editor (University of Calabar)

Dr. Basil Akuegwu - Associate Editor (University of Calabar)

Dr. Tony lIozobhie - Associate Editor (University of Calabar)

Dr. Chris Akpan - Associate Editor (University of Calabar)

Mr. Victor Bassey - Associate Editor (University of Calabar)

Dr. Augustine Oshiomu - Associate Editor (University of Calabar)

Dr. Chika C. Uchendu - Associate Editor (University of Calabar)

Dr. Joseph Besong - Associate Editor ( CRUTECH)

SECRETARY

Dr. Dave Mbua

Dr. Gabriel Ncha

EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS

Professor F. M. Mbon - University of Calabar

Professor Innocent I. Asouzu - University of Calabar

Professor C. Ijiomah - University of Calabar

Professor D. I. Denga - University of Calabar

Professor A. F. Uduigwomen - University of Calabar

ProfessorG.O.Ozumba - University of Calabar

Professor S.O.Abang - University of Calabar

Professor Placid Njoku - UNN

Professor Agbakoba - ABSU

Professor Umozurike - University of Calabar

Professor M. Onu - University of Calabar

Professor G. Mbipom - University of Calabar

Dr. Amba J. T. Ayambem - USA

Professor S. Uche - University of Calabar

Professor U. Etuk - University of Uyo

Editor -in-Chief (University of Calabar)

Editorial Team

vii

Job Nsor Napoleon Agbor Department of Accounting

University of Calabar,Calabar

Okpachui Okang Jackson PhDSchool of Psychiatric Nursing Calabar

Abstract This paper is a case analysis to investigate whether activity based

costing system is being used by manufacturing firm in export processing zone (EPZ). It examines the limitation of traditional costing systems in overhead cost allocation in product diversity. In view of the global business changes, which has increased automation, total quality management, new management practices and creating learning-based competitive advantage through organizational performance. Data was collected and analyzed using Mann Whileny test analysis. Findings revealed that, there exist links between the performance of traditional method and ABC method. Recommendation based ion the above. The adoption of contemporary management tool of activity-based costing is required for budgeting, product pricing and profitability analysis.

Introduction The global business environment has changed rapidly in recent

decades. Some of these changes include increased automation, the introduction of new management practices like Just-In-Time (JIT), and Total Quality Management (TQM), and the outsourcing of non- core activities. Furthermore, increasing levels of competition have been complemented by shortened product life cycles and a new kind of consumer that is both quality-conscious and better informed than consumers were in the past. In this environment, product ranges have increased, direct labour costs have decreased and facilities costs have increased (Ashton, Hopper & Scapens 1995; Bjornenak & Olson 1999; Jacobs 2005;Jayazeri & Hopper 1999;Mia & Clarke 1999;Van der Walt 2005;Van Weele 2005;Wilsons 2005). These changes have increasingly influenced world class companies to adopt new strategies, innivations and more complex costing systems such as Activity Based Costing (ABC) in order to maintain a competitive advantage (Drury & Tayles 2005; Wilson 2005. Moreover, in this regard, Kaplan & Anderson (2004) suggest that firms in this environment that continue to use traditional overhead

absorption techniques are likely to make erroneous cost management decisions that are potentially disastrous. Conversely, the employment of ABC has been estimated to reduce costs by between 3% and 5% and to increase revenue growth by between 5% to 15%.

ABC has been a contentious issue in the management accounting literature ever since its promotion by Kaplan and Cooper in the 1980's. This has stimulated a debate as to whether the costing system provides advantages over traditional systems when applied in practice.

Despite the declared benefits of ABC, adoption rates have been low. This has prompted research to determine characteristics that promote adoption, the influence of disadvantages and why ABC appears to be incompatible with certain environments. While strategy, support, perceived advantages, satisfaction and complexity have been explored in various environments, confusion still exists around some of these relationships and the extent to which they actually influence no ABC adoption.

The present study therefore, plans to identify activity-based cost management practices in selected manufacturing firms; it investigates whether the manufacturing firms use contemporary cost management tools in the chain analytic framework.

Objectives of the Study The broad objective of this study is to investigate whether activity-based

costing system is actually being used by manufacturing firm in export processing zone (EPZ). The specific objectives are as follows: 1. To identify differences in organizational characteristics between a

group of firms using ABC and firms not using ABC.2. The differences in performance between ABC user and non-users.3. Development of ABC model and its implementation in the environment.

Operational Hypothesis Evidence has also suggested that companies who have not adopted

ABC do not perceive the advantages that can be realized from ABC adoption due to lack of understanding of the systems (Clark & Mullins, 2004) companies adopting ABC are more like to have explored the cost and benefits before the adoption decision, or may believe that these benefits have been experienced. Consequently, a difference is generally apparent between the perceived advantages of ABC by non users and of the systems. this lead to the following hypothesis. H : There is a significant relationship in performance of ABC user and non-o

users. H : There is a significant relationship in performance of ABC users and non 1

users.

ACTIVITY BASED COST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN SELECTED MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN CALABAR EXPORT PROCESSING ZONE

1 2

Literature Review and Theoretical Framework Highlighting the limitation of traditional costing systems in overhead

cost allocation in a situation of product diversity in terms of volume and complexity, Cooper (1988a) illustrated the need for activity-based costing system. Consistent with the research, cooper found that the reasoning why the firms is facing high level of competition and having diverse product mix are more likely to benefit from precise cost information and the information of activity-based cost systems with an added caution the activity-based costing system introduction initiative itself be cost effective.

Meanwhile Kaplan (1988) observed that many companies used single cost systems to meet their three diverse needs, namely inventory valuation and financial reporting, product/services/customer costing and providing operational feedbacks to frontline employees in the plant. However, he apprehended that, in a complex manufacturing environment with product and process diversities; and concern for excellence, single cost systems for all the three needs might not suffice.

Cooper & Kaplan (1997 & 1998) argued that operational control and activity-based cost systems are two separate systems as they have different purpose and different requirements for accuracy, timelessness and aggression.

Meaning of Activity Based Costing Activity based costing (ABC) is a costing approach that assign cost to

products or services based on their consumption of the resources caused by activities. The premise of this costing approach is that a firm's products or services are performed by activities and the required activities use resources incurring cost. Resources are assigned to activity, and then activities are assigned to cost drivers to activities.

Activities-based cost management is a process of using activity-based cot information to evaluate the cost and benefit of production and internal support activities and to identify and implement opportunities for improvement in profitability, efficiency and quality within an organization.

Purpose of Activity-based Costing Activity-based costing was promoted at this time of introduction as a

method for reducing the inaccuracies experiences with traditional costing systems that arise from prevalent technology and competition (Dodd and Larelle, 2002). The perceived downside to these traditional systems is the use of a single cost driver for assigning overhead cost to product and as a result this fail to account to the changes in cost structures of modern business, where direct labour is no longer accounting for the majority of a product. Khanna argues that the primary failing of traditional costing systems are the inability to provide useful feedback or understand and allocate overhead cost. The majority of literature has explored the application of ABC in thee environment and numerous studies have noted that the use of ABC in the manufacturing firm is still prominent.

Objective of Activity Based Costing The following are the broad objectives of activity based costing:

· To identify the most profitable customers, product and channel.· To identify the least profitable customers, products and channels.· To determine the true contributors to and detractors from financial

performance.· To accurately predict costs, profits and resources requirements

associated with changes in production volumes, organizational structure and costs of resources.

· To easily identify the root causes of poor financial performance.· To track costs activities and work processes. · To equip managers with cost intelligence to stimulate improvements· To facilitate a better marketing mix· To enhance the bargaining power with the customer· To achieve better positioning of product.

With costing now based on activities, the cost of serving a customer can be ascertained individually. Deducting the product cost and the cost to serve each customer, one can arrive at customer's profitability. This method of dealing separately with the customer costs and the product costs enables the identification of the profitability of each customer and positioning the product and services accordingly.

Characteristics of Activity-based Costing

The cost of adopting ABC and further maintenance cost after adoption have been viewed as ultimately outweighing the benefits of an ABC adoption and are portrayed by many to be a barrier to adoption (Dearman & Sheild, 2001).

However, one contradiction to the need for excessive resources in an ABC adoption is the evidence of adoption in smaller firm environment. Top management play an important role in relation to the availability of the resources. The commitment and support of top management has emerged in the literature as a key factor evident in an ABC adoption. This top management support is argued to be critical due to the ability of mangers to focus resources into the adoption process and to help motivate those who are resistant to the operation of the systems (Sheild, 1995). This position however, may be threatened by management incentives to maximize their own wealth. Recent suggests that if managers perceive the ABC will impair bonus or compensation achievement, the support for the system is not likely to be strong.

Activity-based Costing-issues In Implementation The activity-based costing systems are superior to traditional costing

systems and they could fail due to poor implementation process (Ness and Cucuzza: 1995).

3 4

Jayson (1994) found in response to management accounting first fax survey that implementing activity-based costing is worth the investment. The most common problem reported was the difficulty in identifying the cost drivers.

The firm's top level managers champions the ABC project; cost functional teams, process orientation and adequate training to the employee on the ABC linkages between activity based team oriented performance metrics to the compensation plan; decision making at stop floor level who have process knowledge's; and review ABC implementation initiative in long-term perceptive were the key success factors for ABC implementation found.

The top management support, ABCM – linked performance evaluation and compensation plans, numbers of applications of activity-based cost management in the organization and time in-use of application have been found to be activity-based cost management success determinants by Foster and Swanson Brown et al (2004) found the association between organizational size and initial interest in activity-based costing significant.

Application of Activity-based Costing Innes and Mitchell (1995) survey of activity based costing practices in

the 251 UK companies listed in the times 1000 (1994) found that 19.5% of the respondents had adopted ABC and 27.1% were considering its adoption. The extent of its adoption in the non-manufacturing sector had not been found significantly different from that found in manufacturing concerns. The ABC users had considered its application in the areas of cost reduction, product/services pricing, performance measurement and improvement and cost modeling. The inventory valuation use had the lowest adoption rate amongst ABC users.

Innes et al (2000) survey of activity based cost management practices of 177 UK's largest companies had assessed the changes that had occurred in the ABC adoption status over a five year period. The ABC adoption under consideration rate has fallen to 17.5 percent and 20 percent. From 21 percent and 29.5 percent respectively (the highest adoption rate in the financial sector). In terms of scale, the median activity-based cost accounting systems design included 440 (1994:14) cost objects, 52 (1994:25) activities, 22 (1999:10) cost pools and 14 (1994:10) cost drivers. The ABC rejection rate has increased from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent during the period. Cost reduction, pricing, performance measurement/improvement and cost modeling continued to the most commonly used areas for activity-based costing.

Activity-based Costing and Firm Value Bromwish and Bhimani (1989) observed that through activity-based

costing corrects the product cost distortions but no such study has been done to demonstrate that it increased the profitability of the firm (Shin and Staglian: 1997). Groth and Kinney (1994) observed that success at cost management

could have substantial impact on the firm value. Hubbel (1996) argued in favour of integrating activity based cost management system with the measure of shareholders value such as economic value added. The resulted integrated cost management system could provide better governance mechanism for improving processes optimizing the use of capital and thus create shareholder value.

Perceived Advantages The literature has identified various advantages that are suggested as

being realized subsequent to the adoption of activity-based costing. Despite the arguments against the existence of these benefits, many of the papers that suggest contrary outcomes of activity-based costing adoption do not specifically examine those companies who have experienced an adoption for examples Datar and Gipta (1994) found no increased in accuracy from ABC adoption using a model for determining measurement errors. In comparison survey based studies have specifically explored whether ABC improves accuracy have found different conclusion to this model approach.

Activity-based Costing and Firm Performance The introduction of activity-based costing system amongst respondent

firms has brought change and associated incremental cash benefits in different areas such a focus on profitable customers, change in product pricing strategy, elimination of redundant activities through the entire value chain, product mix and outsourcing decisions. It led to change in the strategic focus. In manufacturing firm, the management of the respondent firms has observed substantial change in their focus on profitable customers and business process outsourcing and reconfiguring the value chain subsequent to implementation of activity-based costing. There is no difference between the performance of users and non users of ABC technique.

MethodologyResearch methodology/Sample

In this study, survey and expository research designs were adopted. The population consists of the twenty five manufacturing firms with more than 500 employees in Calabar Export Processing Zone (CEPZ).

Stratified random sampling technique was employed, as the population was stratified into 4 strata based on whether they are food processing, servicing, wood processing and manufacturing firms. Random sampling technique was further utilized to arrive at a sample size of 8 firms and 40 respondents. A questionnaire was formulated and distributed to users and non- users of ABC.

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Sales volume Market share

Return in investment

Customer satisfaction

Cost reduction

35 21 26 31 26

43 26 28 26 22

39 28 26 38 29 36 23 33 36 33 32 36 22 33 25 31 21 35 36 22 21

32

30

32

29

34

25

29

35

32

25

30

26

30

21 22

29

22

29

28

m

TABLE 1:

TABULAR PRESENTATION OF RESPONDENT COMPANIES

No. of companies

Percentage (%)Users of ABC

Non-users

Total

25

15

62.5

37.5

40

100

Source: Field work Jan. 2010.

Test of Hypothesis The null hypothesis stated in this study; there is no significant

relationship in performance between ABC users and non-users. The hypothesis was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test, the result is represented in table 3 and 4 below.

Question 1

N

Mean Rank

Sum of rank

sales volume

No ABC

ABC

Total

15

25

40

25

27.08

375

677

Market share

No ABC

ABC

Total

15

25

40

23.7

26.8

356

670

Returned in investment

No ABC

ABC

Total

15

25

40

24.0

27.48

360

687

Customer satisfaction

No ABC

ABC

Total

15

25

40

21.69

26.2

325

655

Cost reduction

No ABC

ABCTotal

15

2540

23.7

26.56356

664

Model specificationMann-Whitney Wilcoxon test was used in analyzing the hypothesis.

The sampling distribution U was approximately normal with large samples. This was computed using a summation of the ranks of the data set, using the formula;

U = N2 + N1 + N2 (N2+1) - R2 2

Where U = Mann Whitney test N1, N2 = sample sizes of the two sample

R2 = sum of the ranks for the second sample

Empirical result and discussionDescriptive statisticsThe table below shows the descriptive statistics of all the variables used in the study.Ranking of performance measure of the users of ABC (Wilcoxon w)- user.

Table 3: Performance Difference Between ABC User and Non Users

Sales volume

Market share

Return in investment

Customer satisfaction

Cost reduction

Mann Whitney U

Wilcoxon W

Z

Critical value of U, using a 5% level of significant

23

375

-4.59

117

30

356

-1.6066

117

13

360

-2.0816

117

95

325

2.0956

117

36

356

-1.4389

117

The result above revealed with a small and high sample size t 5%

significant level, the tabulated Mann-Whitney is 117, which is greater than the calculated Mann-Whitney U value of 23, 30, 13, 45 and 36 respectively. Hence, the null hypothesis is rejected and alternative hypothesis is accepted. That means there is a significant relationship between the performance measure of ABC users and non-users, refer to Appendix C and D.Discussion of Findings

Based on the findings of the tested hypothesis, it was revealed that there is a significant relationship in performance of ABC users and non-users in the company under consideration. That is, there exist a link between the performance of the staff who were using traditional method of cost allocation and those who were using ABC as a method of cost allocation. This finding is in collaboration with the Moll (2005) result that there is no difference between the performance of users and non users of ABC technique.

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Recommendation Based on the findings of this paper, the problem of real profitability and

traditional cost calculation methods that often provide false information. However, these problems and others that includes costing can be solved by adopting the contemporary management tool of activity-based costing which provides accurate cost and profit information that are used in budgeting, product pricing decision and customer profitability analysis.

Conclusion Based on the analysis of data and statistical interference of the paper,

we can now see in clear fact that Activity-based costing adopting in manufacturing firms affects the performance of ABC users and non-users based on the conclusion.

Activity-based costing in a manufacturing firm provides accurate cost and profit information from their ABC cost systems for their value chain and supply chain analysis. The need for activity-wise cost information in budgeting, product pricing decision and customer profitability analysis has urged the management of manufacturing firms to adopt activity-based costing systems.

References

Cagwin, Douglass and Marinus J. Bouwam (2002), “The association between activity-based costing and improvement in financial performance”. Management and Accounting Research, Vol. 13, pp. 1 – 39.

Cooper, R. (1988a), “The rise of activity-based costing-part one: what is an activity-based cost system?” Journal of Cost management, Vol. 2, Summer, pp 45 – 54.

Cooper, R. & R. S. Kaplan (1991b), Profit priorities from activity-based costing. Harvard Business Review, May-June, 3: 130 – 135.

Cooper, R. & Kaplan, R. S. (1992). Activity-based systems: measuring the costs of resource usage. Accounting Horizons, 6(3), 1 – 12.

Cotton, B., Jackman, S. (2002). Activity based costing: Not as ”easy as ABC”. Chartered Accountants Journal of New Zealand Vol. 81 (4), 35.

Datar, S. & Gupta, M. (1994). Aggregation, Specification and measurement errors in product costing. The accounting review, 69 (4), 567 – 592.

Davies, R. & Sweeting, B. (1993), Accounting and business performance. Accounting, 112, 89 – 95.

Dearman, D. & Sheilds, M. (2001). Cost knowledge and cost-based judgement performance. Journal of Management accounting research (13), pp 1 – 18.

Diekmann, D., & Kocakulah, M. (2001). Implementing activity-based costing (ABC) to measure commercial loan profitability. The Journal of Bank Cost & Management Accounting, 14(2), 3 – 15.

Dodd, D. & Lavelle, W. (2002). ABC Spells improved performance. High Volume Printing, 20 (6), 20 – 29.

Doyle, S. (2002). Software review: is there a role for activity-based costing (ABC) in database marketing. Journal of Database Marketing, 10, 175-180.

Fennema, M., Rich, J. & Krumwiede, K. (2005). Asymmetric effects of activity-based costing system reallocation. Advances in accounting behavioural research, 8, 167 – 187.

Ittner, C. D. F. Larcker & T. Randall (1997). The activity-based cost hierarchy, production policies and firm profitability. Journal of Management Accounting research, (9): 143 – 162.

Kennedy, T. & Affleck-Graves, J. (2001). The impact of activity-based costing techniques on firm performance. Journal of management accounting research, 13, 19 – 46.

Lamond, T. (1987). Activity-based costing systems in manufacturing firm, accountancy, (12), 122 – 130.

Swenson, D. (1995). The benefits of activity-based cost management to the manufacturing industry. Journal of management accounting research, 7, 167.

Shields, M. D. and M. A. McEwen (1996). “Implementing activity-based costing systems successfully”, Journal of cost management, Vol. 17, pp. 15 – 22.

Sarah Moll, BCom (Hons) “Activity-based cost management practice” at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

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EDIM, M. E. Ph.D.Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education

University of Calabar&

ASHI, M.M. Ph.D.Department of Vocational and Special Education

University of Calabar

AbstractThis paper reviewed the importance of vocational skills mastery for

students with special needs. In view of this, categories of individuals with special needs were identified. Life skills that can assist individuals with special needs were examined. These include: daily life skills, personal/social skills, and occupational skills that prepare special students from school to workplace environment. It was observed that special educators, physical and health educators and vocational education professionals have much to do in order to achieve this. The following recommendations were proffered: With government substantial funding, special educators and other service providers should be responsible in drawing up life skills curriculum for all levels of education and the need to make life skills instructions inclusive in the education system.

Introduction The education and rehabilitation of people with disabilities has passed through progressive transformation from the era of extermination to the era of ridicule, the era of reformation to the era of education globally (Ashi, 2008). The goal of education and rehabilitation is to prepare the individuals with disabilities to function as competent members of society who could contribute to nation building. To achieve its national objective the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN, 2004) focused on education as a tool for achieving national development. In view of this, Section 8 of the National Policy on Education emphasize teaching of elements of special education in Colleges of Education and Faculties of Education in Universities with a view to equip teachers with the pedagogy of teaching and training people with special needs. Studies related to life skills preparation for people with special needs (e.g. mental retardation, physical impairments, hearing impairments, low vision and blindness, etc.), reveal that individuals with disabilities, if given supportive training could function as competent members of community

(Brolin,1989). With regard to employability, Edgar (1988) study of job placements among the disabled show that 85% of mildly retarded adults were employed. The blind were 25% below the level of those with mild mental retardation and the physically disabled were 4% below the level of those with mild retardation. Edgar further stated that the mildly retarded could expect lifetime earnings. A disabled worker could earn five times what it cost to train him/her for employment and community living. In addition, by working in community, the rate of institutionalization is reduced. The literature on variables associated with self-efficacy and learning considered vocational education outside the school setting to include vicarious learning and verbal persuasion. Vicarious learning is achieved through observation and cognitive interpretations. A learner observes the modeled behaviors of others and reflects on the past experiences of such behaviors in other to make meaning. Verbal persuasion is concerned with belief about self in relation to messages conveyed about others. Researches show that encouragement supports career related to self-efficacy while criticism could frustrate an individual's efforts. For students with disabilities vocational skill mastery is preceded by daily life skills preparations to train them for employment and community living. Various life activities expose both disabled and non-disabled persons to accidents and various life threatening risks. For non-disabled individuals, daily life skills are required for safe living. Most of these skills are acquired through learning. When such safety skills are lacking, the individual is exposed to various forms of accidents which can occur during work, play or recreational activities. According to Schaller (1981), accidents rank as the most frequent cause of death from age 1 until the early 40s. Almost 50% of fatalities for people aged 15 to 25 years are due to accidents. Gary (1999) observed that individuals with disabilities whether physical, sensory or mental disabilities face many challenges related to daily activities without assistance. Such disabilities can be corrected through intervention in physical activities while those that non-remediable are corrected through development of skills using adaptive physical activities for healthy living (Barbara, 1998).

Adaptive Life Safety Skills Curriculum At present, many students with disabilities particularly the blind have special needs that are not met. These students require training and support to acquire the necessary skills to fit into the mainstream of society. Brolin (1989) and Schaller (1981) noted that students with special needs must be able to dress and groom properly, use appropriate table manners, acquire skills for safe use of knives in kitchen or garden, make decisions about money, use transportation to school or workplace, keep the home clean and maintain personal hygiene. With adequate support and vocational training they can

VOCATIONAL SKILLS MASTERY FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

PATHWAY TO THEIR ROLES IN SOCIETY.

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acquire other skills. It should be noted that without such needed instructions, they may fail to hold their jobs for a long time. Safety skills curriculum require the inclusion of preventive safety programme that is wide and broad (Schaller, 1981). Such safety skills curriculum should be adapted to include physical facilities such as buildings, design, construction and maintenance including safety of grounds which involves keeping the ground/floors free from all potential hazards. Fire safety should cover fire drills on the use of operation of simple fire equipments, how to contact fire service men and what to do during fire outbreaks. The need for daily check of physical environment, food safety and handling to avoid food poisoning and maintenance to adequate hygiene and safety in the operation of simple household equipments and machines. A life skills curriculum approach according to Rusch and Phelps (1987) blends academic, daily living skills, personal/social and occupational skills into integrated lessons. Lessons on daily safety skills are designed to help students with special needs function independently as they take up their roles in managing their homes, family, and finances as effectively as possible in an inclusive society (Ashi, 2008). The teaching of life safety skills is an instructional responsibility of special educators, physical and health educators especially those who specialize in adaptive physical education and vocational educators in agriculture, home economics and business education. Some skills have been identified as essential for independent adult living. Brolin (1989) categorized them into three:· Daily Living skills· Personal/social skills· Occupational skills Daily living skills for special needs students required to be taught in this category include:Caring for personal needs. This entails exhibiting proper grooming and hygiene, making choice of appropriate dressing, obtain healthcare from the right source and avoidance of substance abuse with the knowledge of inherent dangers, demonstration of knowledge of illnesses, prevention and treatment of communicable diseases, maintaining physical health, nutrition and weight facts.

Buying and caring for clothing. This aspect is concerned with ability of students to purchase clothing with good knowledge of prices and sales; wash clothing and demonstrate the use of dry cleaners, iron, use and store clothing and be able to identify clothing by texture/color.

Preparing and consuming food. This include ability to purchase food and plan meals, prepare food, store food properly, read labels, follow recipes and demonstrate appropriate eating habits, plan and eat balance diet.Selecting and managing household. This include ability to arrange and maintain a home, performing house keeping task, plan and prepare meals with the knowledge of daily nutritional requirements.

Safety Awareness. This involves skills identifying unfamiliar odors, identifying unfamiliar sounds, demonstrating knowledge and ability to evacuate a building in an emergency, obey safety rules when walking during the day or night.

Personal/Social Skills. Personal/social skills are critical in keeping a job and maintaining friendships. Learning to get along with others is a challenge for everyone. Lack of appropriate personal and social skills is one of the most frequent causes of termination of appointment. Students with learning disabilities often do not learn by observation. Instruction in skill acquisition to the learning disabled should include: achieving self awareness through identifying physical and psychological needs, identifying interest, abilities and emotions, demonstrate proper care, use and maintenance of prosthetic devices or sensory aids required and appropriate methods to cope with stress.

Acquiring self-confidence. This include ability to express feelings of self-worth, describe others perception of self, accept and give praise, accept and give critism, develop confidence in self, identify and distinguish the proper way to answer and use telephone, wear appropriate apparel, using clothes or uniform to fit social and work situations.

Achieving socially responsible behavior. This involves ability to develop respect for the rights and properties of others, recognize authority and follow instructions, demonstrate appropriate behavior and social etiquette in public places for example eating in gatherings, demonstrate knowledge of importance traits and recognize personal roles.

Achieving Independence. Requires ability to accept help, accept responsibility for actions, get around the community and be able to travel, cope with changes in travel schedule, job, schedule and cope with being lost in travel procedure.

Achieving problem solving skills. This involves ability to seek assistance when needed, recognize problems, anticipate consequences, develop and evaluate alternatives, develop goals, solutions and plans.Occupational skills for persons with special needs. According to Ashi (2008), about 70% to 80% of students with disabilities who complete their studies in vocational education are unemployed and underemployed following their graduations. Educators and parents still have much to do in this area. Early educational efforts should be directed towards the following skill areas:

Knowing and exploring occupational options. This includes ability to explore occupational and institutional, identify personal values met through work, identify societal values met through work, classify jobs categories, investigate local occupational and instructional opportunities in the community and make site visitations essential part of training.

Selecting and planning occupational choices. This includes ability to make occupational choices, identify requirements of appropriate and available jobs, identify occupational aptitudes, identity occupational interest

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and identify major occupational needs.Exhibiting appropriate work habits and behavior. This involves

ability to follow directions and observe regulations, recognize the importance of supervision, demonstrate knowledge safety, work with others, meet the demands of high quality work and work at a satisfactory rate among others.Obtaining specific occupational skills. Required here is the ability to attend prevocational learning stations or centres, take advantage of in-school work experience, take advantage of volunteer experiences, serve in community rotations, take advantage of work/study services, attend vocational classrooms, obtain special vocational education and obtain on-the-job training. According Ashi (2005) the career development of persons with disabilities particularly the visually impaired requires the acquisition pf certain complex skills. These skills involve use of cognitive, social and cultural constructivist model in their learning activities from school to workplace. The goal of cognitive development requires certain higher psychological or cognitive functions (Vygotsky, 1966/1997).These include perceptual thinking, logical memory, and voluntary (self-regulatory) attention. However, these are advance cognitive capabilities that develop at a much slower pace in people with blindness or partial vision. It should be noted that with appropriate support system, people with visual impairments could follow a developmental process of adjustment and adaptation.

Seeking and maintaining employment. The essential skills required here include: ability to apply for a job, interview for a job, maintain post school occupational adjustment, demonstrate knowledge of competitive standards and know how to adjust to changes in employment.Exhibiting sufficient physical and manual skills. This is the ability to demonstrate stamina and endurance, demonstrate satisfactory balance and coordination, demonstrate manual dexterity and demonstrate sensory discrimination. With adaptive curriculum special educators/service providers for persons with disabilities provide adequate support in all sectors of training required for obtaining jobs in the competitive labor market.

Knowledge Construction and Disabilities Self-Efficacy and Social Learning. Theories on variables associated with self-efficacy and social learning considered vocational education outside the school setting to include vicarious learning and verbal persuasion (Bandura, 1997). Vicarious learning is achieved through observation and cognitive interpretations. A learner observes the modeled behavior of others and reflects on the past experiences of such behaviors in order to make meaning. Verbal persuasion is concerned with belief about self in relation to messages conveyed about others. Researches (Brown & Bittina,1996) on verbal persuasion show that encouragement supports career related self-efficacy while criticism could frustrate an individual's efforts.

These views provide support for the notion that the provision of a supportive environment is a critical variable. In situations in which there are low levels of self-efficacy, the resultant effect on the individual is a low level of participation in social learning activities (Brown, Bettina and Lankard, 1999). Attitudes that support self–directed efforts and participation in social learning activities empower persons with disabilities to have self-worth and high levels of self-efficacy as they interact with others. The cognitive, social and cultural constructivist theoretical framework is a developmental model that could be used to help the blind or even the hearing impaired students achieve their career goals. The essential elements of cognitive, social and cultural constructivist model are presented in Figure 1. The adopted design model for use with the students who have disabilities is presented in Figure 2.

Figure 1

Theory of Cognitive, Social and Cultural

(CSC)Constructivism

Basic Elements

Cognition

? ? ? ? ?

Self-awareness Self-efficacy Self-direction Personal- initiativePerceived option

Social Context

? Decision-making ? Vicarious- learning ? Engagement ? Involvement ? Learning outcome

Figure 2. CSC Theory of Career Development

adopted for students with special needs.

Cultural ContextCurriculum DesignKnowledge ConstructionVicarious learning (modeling)Learning from colleaguesBecome a community of learners

Conclusion Vocational skills mastery has been found to enormously empower persons with special needs. Through vocational skills and knowledge acquired, the relationships established among the teachers and special needs persons are motivated to create their career paths. The challenges however are enormous in areas of sponsorship, provision of instructional facilities and infrastructures. The Christian missionaries took the lead in the provision of vocational skills training over the years through institutional vocational education or community-based rehabilitation at the primary secondary and

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rehabilitation levels.However, sponsorship has come mainly from the missions, non-

governmental organizations and special interventions with support from families. Due to the cost-intensive nature of special\vocational education, sponsorship of persons with special needs is a critical factor in creating pathway to their roles in society. In terms of advocacy special educators, physical and health educators and vocational educators should take the lead in advocacy programmes for learners with special needs. This approach will provide effective change in the present status quo where many educators continue to use the same old approaches with non-functional curriculum.

If students with disabilities today are to live fairly independent lives in adulthood both government, families and the general public should be supportive in their effort to make meaningful contributions in society. As the disabled members of society gain skill mastery they soon evade living lives of self-pity and contribute their quota in the development of the nation.Recommendations. Based on the relevance of life-skill mastery x-rayed in this review, the

following recommendations are preferred: * The government should provide substantial financial resources for special

educators and vocational instructors to create public awareness on the need to teach life-skills to students with special needs in the state.

* Curriculum planners and the ministry of education should work in collaborative effort to make life-skills instruction inclusive in the school curriculum

* Collaboration among special educators, physical and health educators, vocational education teachers in agriculture, business home economics, craft and weaving are encouraged to make the programme more effective through adaptive curriculum.

References

Ashi M.M. (2002) Empowering Women with Special Needs: (Pathways to their Roles in Society). Archival Research Article, Gannon Center Women Education Loyola University Chicago. Linkage, Loyola University Publication, 6268 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago IL.

Ashi, M.M. (2008) Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities through Community-Based Rehabilitation in Nigeria. Journal of Advocacy and Rehabilitation in Special Education (JARSE). Vol.6 No. 1 pp 36-44.

Bandura, A., (1977) Social Learning Theory. Eglewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Printers Hall.

Bandura, A., (1977,1997). A Self-efficacy Towards a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change. Psychological Review (1977) 84: 191- 216.

Barbara C.U.(1998. Physical Education for teaching handicapped Children London: George Allen Unwin limited.

Brolin,D.E.(1989). Life Centeredd Career Education:A Competency-Based rdApproach(3 ed.). Reston, VA: The Council for Exceptional Chrildren.

Brown, Bettina and Lankard: Self-efficacy Beliefs and Career Development (Eric Digest, 1991).

Edgar G. (1988). Employment as an outcome for mildly handicapped students: Current status and future direction. Focus on Exceptional Children, 21(1), 1-8 (EJ 380199).

Gary, A.B. (1999) Individuals with physical disabilities. St.Louis:C. V. Mosby Company.

Goodship, J.M.(1990). Skills for students with Special Needs. Reston V.A.: ERIC cleaning House on handicapped and gifted children.

Okorie, J.U. (2001). Vocational Industral Education. Bauchi League Researchers Nig. Ltd.

Rusch, F., & Phelps, L.A. (1984). Secondary special education and transition from school to workplace: A national priority, Exceptional Children, 53, 487-92.

Schaller, W. E.(1981). The School Health Programme. Philadelphia: CBS College Publishing.

Vygotsky, C. A.,(1966/1977). Psychology of Disability. New York Springer.

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Okpachui Okang Jackson PhDSchool of Psychiatric Nursing Calabar

AbstractThe study examined Globalization on Human Resources Management:

A cross cultural perspectives of the Nigeria Public Sector. Specifically, it was aimed at determining the extent globalization has influenced the human resources policy of the public sector application of adequacy of infrastructure for human resources to embrace technological challenges, quality of service delivery in the wake of globalization and pro-activeness of human resources to cultural challenges posed by globalization. The findings of the study revealed on a general note that: Non availability of adequate infrastructure has not aided technological embrace, that Quality of service delivery improved drastically in the wake of globalization, and that cultural challenges are not the only environmental factor that promotes the pro-activeness of human resources in any operating environment. Consequent upon these findings, these recommendations was made among others: the findings revealed that inadequacy of infrastructure on the part of government, such as efficient power- supply that these companies require. However, the companies have muscled up the challenge to meet the growing needs of the market. In turn, service delivery has been affected comparatively against the background of cultural challenges posed.

IntroductionGlobalization is the new phenomenon that has come of age to dominate

the world since the nineties of the last century. It has acquired considerable emotive force. Some view it as a process that is beneficial – a key to future world economic development and also inevitable and irreversible in states with increased reliance on the market economy. Some see it as a process of structural adjustment spurred by the studies and influences of the World Bank and other International Organization Ofikli, (2004).

The emergence of globalization has brought in new opportunities to developing countries, greater access to developed countries markets and technology transfer hold out promise for improved productivity and higher living standard. But, negatively, globalization has also thrown up some challengers like grooming inequality, volatility in finance and environmental deteriorations, the introduction, has opened up economies, creating opportunities and better private partnership involvement within notions (Murat, 200).

GLOBALIZATION ON HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT: A CROSS CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES OF

THE NIGERIA PUBLIC SECTOR.

Globalization has brought a change that is currently affecting the physiology of human society today through its imposition of constraints of policy – making autonomy or independence of states vis-à-vis their capacities for the authoritative allocation of scarce and critical societal values of resources along other functions (Aimiuwu, 2004).

A global change in the business world today in the areas of technological transfer; human capital development and improved well been of human kind has made globalization an evolutionary trend and the epic-centre of most development and intellectual discourses (Ohiorhenwan, 1998).

The impact of globalization on human resources has increased transfer of technology and changed the attitude of human capital. For instance, services without having to make long movements and manual applications drastically reduced in the Business World. Nevertheless, the challenges brought about by these sheer socio-economic interconnectivity is what compels the attention of this research which will be carried out to discern and obtain as far as possible the extent to which results of this study will accord with these deduced generalizations and suggestions. Essentially, the study therefore, will focus on globalization of human resource with particular reference to thee public sector in Nigerian a cross-cultural prospective.

The term 'globalization' has been in use since at least the early 1990's to characterize the present period in which we live. Yet the concepts of full ambiguities and has generated a great deal of debate and controversy. There are divergent points of views as to whether the phenomena are new or exactly what features it refers to.

In its contemporary form, globalization is driven by a variety of forces. These are financial or the flow of financial or the flow of financial resources, economic with particular reference to the flow of goods and services and to a very limited extent, labour, technology especially transport, and communications and information technology, the spread of culture from one corner of the world to other, and the global diffusion of religious ideas as well as ideologies. (Mendehall and Gregersan 2005).

The general aim of the research is to analyze the problem of balancing seemingly opposing forces on globalization and the influence management across national boundaries.

The purpose of study is consequences of globalization for managing human resources management across selected cultures of the public sector. In today's global economy, the extent to which human resource management activities are successful across cultures will largely depend on the manager's abilities to understand and balance other cultural values and practices as regards such things as the important work, how powers and status are conferred, the perceived values and other fundamental differences in how people fro different cultures view of the world.

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Objective of the Study The general aim of the paper is to analyze the problem of balancing

seemingly opposing forces on globalization and the influence of national culture and to identify trends in human resource management across national boundaries.

Given a statement of the problem, the specific objectives of the study are:i. To determine the impact of globalization on human resource considering

the cultural diversity of Nigerian public sector.ii. To determine if human resources are pro-active to cultural challenges

posed by globalization in Nigeria public sector. iii. To find out if the quality of service delivery has changed in the wake of

globalization in the Nigeria public sector. iv. To investigate if there are adequate infrastructure for human resources

management practices to embrace global changes in Nigerian public sector.

Theoretical FrameworkFollowing Wright & Mamahom's (1992) comprehensive theoretical

framework for strategic human resources management, this research develops competency- based research framework and draws implications for the strategic management of human resources to prepare the public sector for the challenges of globalization. Although issues of globalization can apply to both private and public sectors of our economy, most of them apply more noticeable in the private sectors.

The concept of performance management in the public service is theoretically under-pinned on the motivation. There are several motivational theories in the literature: Maslow's needs hierarchy theory, Herzberg's two- factors theory, expectance theory, goals setting theory, McClelland's needs achievement theory, etc. Of all these theories the goal setting theory model fits the performance management concept best. This is because performance standards are antecedent situations in the employee's work environment. Goals are performance levels which individuals and organizations have agreed upon as performance standards.

Philosophically, the goal setting theory model is based on the assumption that people have conscious goals that energizes them and directs their thoughts and behaviours toward one end (Wright & McMahons, 1992). People obtained the position they are today (whether in profession, politics, athletics or community service) because they were goal-oriented. Many organizations have been turned into empires and conglomerates because they are/or were goal-oriented. Lessons from researchers in goal setting theory show that properly conceived goals trigger a motivational process that improves performance and feedback on performance.

Goals motivate by directing employee's attention, encouraging effort, encouraging persistence and fostering goal attainment strategies and action plan. For there to be a performance measurement, there must first be a goal setting.

(Sonja and Phillips, 2004) assume that managers in today's multicultural global business community frequently encounter cultural difference, which can interfere with management practices in organizations. In comparing cultures of different countries, cross-cultural researchers have concentrated effort on an examination of a set of cultural value dimensions developed by Hofstede. Dominant value systems of different countries can be ordered along Hofstede's set of cultural value dimensions (Hofstede, 1980; Hofstede and Bond, 1988). People's Dominant value system have been crystallized in the institutions these people have built together: their family structures, educational structures, religious organizations, associations, forms of government, work organizations, law, literature, settlements patterns, and buildings. All of these reflect common beliefs that derive from the behaviour of organizations and institutions in predictable ways, the value dimensions reflect basic problems that any society has to cope with but for which solutions differ from country to country.

Strategic Management is Imperative: The management and administration of the Nigeria economy requires

strategic management. There lies a distinction between management and strategic management. The former can be carried out in “Isolation” without taking into account the decisions that other might make. The latter involves an effective combination of the well known managerial functions: planning, organizing, leading and controlling of the overall organization's resources to achieve the long term desired result by taking into account the decisions that others might make. Thus political office holders and other managers of the economy must see themselves as problem solvers, prepared to fulfil two objectives at the same time the overall objectives of the country and the citizenry. In doing this, the managers must recognize the economy as an open system influenced by intermediate and wider environment, which creates challenges. However, they need diagnostic techniques, which could enhance their roles in predicting the coping with challenges of globalization rather than the current subjective and impulse approaches. Some of the diagnostic techniques are identified in the table below:

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TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE

Linear programme A technique that determine best way to allocate limited resources to reach an optimum

Determining the rout e that will minimize cost and maximize

Queuing theory

Network model (programme) evaluation review /cost ERT/COST)

Investigating the relative waiting time (of people, materials or equipment) and the cost additional facilities a planning system fo r determining the activities of a project so that it can be completed on schedule and with allocated resources

Deciding whether to produce more goods given the number of customers waiting construction a new plant

Regression analysis

Attempting to pred ict the effect on the variable with changes in other variable

Predicting the effects of manufacturing with changes in factors of production.

Discussion of Findings

Are There Adequate Infrastructure for the Human Resource to Embrace Technological Changes of Globalization

The data analysis in table revealed that there is a significant relationship between adequate infrastructure and human resource to embrace technological changes of globalization as these companies provide suitable facilities for the use of human resources in becoming more global. As study, it was conveyed that there are no adequacy of suitable infrastructural facilities for the application of global practices in the public. Also, the finding was supported by Ajayi (2003) that Nigeria's is a fast growing economy that business sustenance in any sector like public sector require radicality in the environmental challenges which electricity supply, business environment requires for growth and success.

The public services are poised to tap from the huge potentials the market provides, as such, the physical environment was provided with encouraging and conducive environment for effective use of IT facilities spread across the country. In line with Ndukwe (2004), telecommunications revolution though the NCC reforms has made companies operating under her environmental conscious, thus awakening the high competitive challenge to sustain operation through provision of basic infrastructure suitable for their operations.

Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) according to Mohammed (1991) has become the minimum requirement for any public / private company, hence the availability and proper utilization is inevitable. This is moreso, when it powers virtually all ICT facilities such as computers, TV sets, Satellites, e-mails, internet and likes which have seemingly brought more realistic ways and means of coping with the challenges of the present day information revolution as a by-product of “Information Explosion” Anyakoha (1991) captured the same view that VSAT and computers are vehicles for the automatic processing of data which can be distributed with remote users who can simultaneously access the same information over long distance.

Privatization has brought about international dispersion of ownership, invigoration of ideas, opportunities and new models of machines and technological operations, IMF (2007). This supports the view that the order of the day is being abreast with trends of time as been applied in the public service.

Has the Quality of Service Delivery Changed in the Wake of GlobalizationThe data analysis in table view that quality of service delivery has not

changed significantly in the wake of globalization. Service delivery according to Ndukwe (2004), has been dependable and regular owing to the discoveries of the contributory impact of globalization on public sector on manufacturing, e-commerce, travel and tourism, basic communication, health care, education, environment, rural development, transport etc, no doubt a vital enablement for our national development. Hence, the competitive scramble for regular service delivery, Bankole (2007) supported the view that the competition in public / private sector.

Globalization having seen by Nigeria government in the public sector has acquired a “right” status because of her importance as Abimade (1999) notes that the end of the last century witnessed the beginning of new economic policy in Nigeria.

Furthermore, public / private companies, have evolved good strategies for good consumer forum in developing countries.

Are Human Resources Pro-active to Cultural Challenges Posed by Globalization

The data analyses in table showed that respondents were not of he opinion that there is a significant relationship between pro-activeness of cultural challenges in the wake of globalization. According to Kim (1999), the age of a firm/company based hunters, encouraging creativity and indigenous abilities as companies want employees and managers who are skilled in projects and leading changes.

Globalised companies in the public and private sectors have brought relief to commercial consumers and improved lifestyles of Nigerians through

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the introduction of Fedthe volatile and unstable government policies have not enhanced effective service delivery. This privilege according to Ndukwe, (2004) would have provided Nigerian with better communication, transact business easily and stimulate the economy. But how well is the Government providing the necessary logistics in the throat-necked corruption ravaged country. Similarly, Omolade (2004) observed that the quality of service that would have been enjoyed has been mired by conflicting instructive corporate social responsibility services (SRS). Some view globalization or the postmodern framework as negative and destructive; and some see it as the latest fad; but now, many are coming to recognize it as a broad and pervasive mind shift that will bring with it challenges to find new ways of thinking and doing in various fields of human endeavour. Thus, a new teaching method and a new version of curriculum should be developed in the era of globalization. Class materials behaviour text by Kolb, which is more oriented to business than to the public sector.

If the human resource is presumed to be so important, what then is its true nature, and in what ways can we support its development and growth? As argued in this work, human resource is more than the complements of staff required to implement a specific policy or programme. It is even more than the “training” human resource when, in addition to the preceding components, we look at the morale and motivation of the work force, the tactics and strategies adopted in deploying the workforce on agreed assignments, as well as the internal (management) and the external (socio-cultural) influences operating on the behaviour of employees.

Summary of Major Findings The findings of the study are presented as follows:

1. With respect to research question one, it was found that globalization has impact on organization's human resource policy. All the items identified in that research was upheld by both respondents from that global changes took the human resources policy to a higher level.

2. Secondly, research question two, suggested at variance that the pro-activeness of human resource to cultural challenges is not dependent on globalization. Suggesting the fact that other environmental challenges apart from cultural are necessary factors. The evidence was as manifested with the calculated Z-value of 0.546 which was greater than the critical value of 5% (0.05) the critical value, the null hypothesis (Ho) is up held and alternative hypothesis rejected.

3. The findings research question three, suggest that there is a relationship between the quality of service delivery in he public sector and globalization. This is a pointer to the fact that the mean scores of respondents in that direction revealed that at 2 and 2847 respectively with a calculated Z-value of 2 and critical Z-value of 0.984 suggesting

the fact that the significance value of 0.984 was found to be greater than the probability value of 5%. These shows that there is inequality in quality service delivery in globalization of Nigeria public sector.

4. Finally, as regards, the embrace of technological changes, been dependent on adequate infrastructure. The obvious was the case in the finding. Establishing convincingly the fact that adequate infrastructure has a factor. Again the mean scores of 2 and 2847 recorded by respondents with 958 calculated and 0.638 critical z-values significance that there exist significance.

ConclusionThe empirical study suggests that globalization has crated new

approaches reforms in the Public Sector and this study is a typical case assessment of globalization on human resource management, a cross cultural perspectives a the Nigeria Sector.

Firstly, human resource managers required globalization, to enable them share and receive knowledge, expand their views and vision, allow for free flow of goods and services, technological transfer in the globalised public service. This cross fertilization of positive factors had enhanced managerial competences, improved administrative applications and re-positioned pubic service managers in recent times. Managers with this global dynamics and thinks globally while acting locally, Anon (2003).

Revolutionised management theories and practices to new work position have been highly encouraged by globalization. This was made possible with the improved IT facilities, globally re-positioned workforce, and shift from comparative to competitive advantage, high global interplay of market forces, high economies of scale, Open Market Operation (OMO) among others. This revolution, has also diversified the practices of human resources managers to other areas such as sports, health care, policy thrust of Government etc and all coming under the corporate Social Responsibility Service (SRS), Ndukwe, (2007).

Secondly, Infrastructural facilities have been identified as necessary conditions for any business concern to thrive. Globalization has continued to re-awaken the competitive consciousness of the public service operations in repository for the challenges ahead, steady power supply, accommodation, telecommunications equipment among other modern telecommunications materials, will not be lacking. As the insurgence of globalization, does not give room for complexities but efficiency and effectiveness, Ajayi (2003).

Thirdly, the quality of service delivery has been very high, because of the competition amongst competitors on queue towards satisfying the gullibility and needs of consumers. Thus in that bid, operators have increased and sustained the quality of service delivery in order to keep market position and expand in the industry.

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Finally, the area of human resources pro-activeness to cultural challenges, globalization has not been a factor. This is due to the fact that other environmental factors like socio-economic and political interest are necessary issues before cultural indisposition. Hence, public service though have attempted to reduce to the barest minimum this trend, globalization, has opened up the ignorance level of consumers to their socio-economic and political needs making cultural challenges only a factor but not a complete one. Because, Oketunyi (2000) pointed out that Nigeria and her public service policy must automatically be alive to their responsibility, operating environment and business world at large.

Globalization is associated with the destruction of cultural identities. The local culture is constantly infiltrated with Western Culture, in what is termed cultural imperialism (Shepard and Hayduk 2002).The culturally sustainable ties among the ethnic groups is destroyed, displacing people and putting in place western culture copied from the internet, website, television, video, MPS (Lull 200, Thomson, 1995) There is the ostrich on of social and cultural practices from the contexts of local or traditional particularity for the scale of modernity. The cultural practices are proliferated by life in the movies, crime, robbery, polarization, materialism, imperialism, bodily passion, falsehood, deceits, double standard, so-call smartness, hastiness etc. Globalization on distributes these features across all ethnic groups around the world, as rural problems, poverty, water crisis, diseases, illiteracy, infrastructural decay, social and environmental injustices increase for the minority ethnic groups.

Globalization in general, is yet to be fairly distributed between the ethnic groups. The gains of globalization have failed to reach the Nigeria poor. There are excluded and further impoverished by the forces of globalization. Globalization has further entrenched natural resources, employment opportunities, mineral and agricultural colonization in Nigeria. They have been deprived of their land, rivers, and forests.

Recommendations The researcher wishes to advance the following recommendations on

the globalization on human resources management , a cross cultural. Perspectives of the Nigeria public sector as follows:1. Full deregulation policy of the public service for the whole country, the

stole civil services in all states of federation and massive deployment of the public service. This will throw up more challenges for the human resource mix, equip them to better embrace the challenges of globalization.

2. More training and re-training should be provided for all levels especially

with the nature of our system in the wake of globalization. This will broaden the practices of human resources management and obsolete management practices will be completely disregarded to embrace convention breaking programmes.

3. Government through the National Assembly as it is practiced in developed democracies should declare government assets as essential infrastructural that must be protected for the good of the society. Here the issue of quality will be put to rest because, quality being a key service delivery will be maintained, sustained and empowered.

4. Public Service providers should explore other environments, areas, and factors outside cultural challenges which alone is not the factor behind pro-activeness under the subject content of investigation. More of social corporate responsibilities should be explored to give civil servant the concern and reduce the aggressive agitation that is prevalent in the public service of the country.

5. All countries big or small, rich or poor, strong or weak should have a right to protect their ethnic groups and the right to equal participation in global economic decisions, especially on issues pertaining to their own development. Nigeria in particular should be allowed to choose the path or development that suits their national situation. Nigeria has great potential and broad prospects for cultural, political, economic, agricultural, diplomatic, educational and technological cooperation.

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AbstractThe development of science and technological enterprises do not depend

entirely on the Technical Know-how of the people. On the contrary, it can also be shown to depend on other factors ranging from the economic, political, financial and the cultural or attitudinal factors. The manifestation of the material aspects of a people's culture have been incontrovertibly linked to the vibrancy of the immaterial aspects of their culture. And until these attitudes are right, no nation can hope to experience a reasonable ascension on the echelons of scientific progressive communities. This work attempts to show that with right attitude, a combination of indigenous authentic ideas with modern scientific and technological findings, a brighter future is in sight.

IntroductionIt is not enough to depend on defensive projection of conjectured

importance without sustainable standards to show for the claims. This calls for concerted efforts towards the achievement of the goals in science and technological development. Science must have started in places other than in the West, without efforts to sustain it and make it relevant to the changing world, it became relegated. This second part of the work shall expose certain attitudinal constraints and challenges against progressive development of science and technological growth.

Very often the West has been accused of ethnocentric and ideological bias towards Africa, but “… it is fair to say that science first flourished only with

ththe rise of the new physics in Western Europe in the 17 Century. Capitalism, encouraged attempts to understand and control the natural environment” (Leslie and Henry, 1995:6-7). In addition to such factors, are factors like consumer culture, Wastage, Knowledge conversion and Technology transfer need to be checked as we consider them in this paper.

Concept ClarificationDeveloping: From the noun development occurring or used before a noun, developing is a gradual progression towards a more advanced and stronger stage of growth.Succinctly put, a gradual growth of (Finance, Ideas, Trades, Agriculture, Education, Technological Enterprises, Democracy etc.), so that these becomes more advanced, stronger, vibrant, sustainable, powerful to the

CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS FOR DEVELOPING SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL ATTITUDE

IN AFRICA PART II

M.A. Udoh Ph.DWesley University of Science And Technology, Ondo

31 32

benefit of a people or nation. It is from this angel that I do agree with the fact that no nation can be said to be “developed” in the real sense. Logically, and since every nation still strives to attain perfection in some areas, they are said to be “developing” except they have reached the terminus ad quo.

Science: from the Latin “scientia” (Nachi 2005:5) refers to knowledge arranged in an orderly manner, especially knowledge obtained by observation and testing of facts (Lacey A.R1979). Commenting further according to Frolov, it is a field of research directed towards obtaining further knowledge of nature, society, and thought. It comprises all the element and conditions of research (Frolov: 19847)

Technology: Etymological is derived from the Greek “Techne” Meaning “Craft” or an art, and logia, a branch of study, literally, a branch of study of craft (Nnachi 2000,206) Technology can be seen as an independent discipline as well as an application of scientific knowledge to practical task in production of goods and services. (Udoh M.A. 2010.)

Attitude:Is defined as the way that one thinks or feels about somebody or something. It is also the way one expresses himself (behavior) towards something or somebody.The nature and quality of our development in science and technology invariably will depend on or will be facilitated by the extent of relevant transformation in veritable indicators to a more advanced state leading to a positive growth. Such is supported by the right behavioral attitude prior and after the attainment of the scientific and technological goals.

In the first part of the work, effort was made to identify the role of philosophy in this attainment of scientific and technological goals, first as evident in the history of the development of ideas of other nations. Effort was also made to locate such intentions within the African set up, if the philosophical attitudes are followed vigorously.

This part will be concerned with the “attitude” hitherto that had truncated the scientific drive and the need for a change. Attitude has two major focuses from our operational definition; how one thinks or feels and how one expresses himself towards something. In cultural studies, it is incontrovertible that the non-material culture plays a significant role in the determination of the creation of the material culture which includes science and technology (Emeka and Okarfor, 1988).

Expression of right attitudes can be seen also from history as evidence from the inception of the throes of industrial Revolution. Evidence indicated that the new structures induced in the citizenry attitudinal changes. Those who were given to small scale production of the cottage industries had to abandon it and head for industrial production at a large scale (Appadorai, A 1983: 231

2).There was an increased specialization enhanced by the theory of division of labor, such that a simple officepin can pass through up to eighteen (18) different production processes. The living conditions changed, and the changes defined in place a class structure. Work ethics moved from informal to a formalized bureaucratic structure (Weber: 1964) As a result other sacrifices were occasioned; large areas had to be earmarked as industrial areas, with attendant environmental effects.

To cope with ever reoccurring indices of capital crunch for the financing of industrial and technological ventures, a saving attitude was developed as recounted by Weber in his Protestant Ethic and The spirit of capitalism (1952). The savings attitude for Weber was also induced by adherence to the doctrinal teachings of Puritan Ethics which abhors gluttonous living so; they could save the excesses instead of extravagance, as we can already see with us in Africa, in the guise of the status symbol. Though responding to Weber, Marx would want to account for capital from dubious Traditional exploitation and accumulation through slavery and oppressive annexation of communal wealth (Capital: 1942).That not withstanding, achievement of a strong capital base for any venture be it personal or national is still possible through the habit or attitude of savings. A tip on the ice berg is the amount that is spent daily on communication; I mean unnecessary and sometimes emotional communication ever since the inception of the General system of mobile communication. Our saving attitude has also been affected by the quick cash syndrome of the ATM at Banks. These innovations have made life very easy, too easy to a fault. The list may go on endlessly in so far as positive attitudes are concerned some other factors on this subjects we shall now turn.

(a) The Consumer Culture No nation and indeed an individual can hold his head high in

contemporary times who is an unrepentant dependant on others. Subservient nations whose consumption habits are well known by other powerful nations have fallen into a vicious circle of dependency. A nation that have developed the habit of exporting raw materials, (instead of finished products), such as timber, groundnut, Palm fruits, Crude oil, etc, will only pay more price for importing same goods in its finished form. It is in this form that the import restriction policies may not urge well, how can you restrict what you do not produce? The dilemmas of most African countries have been an open door to all manner of products especially inferior electronics from most Asian countries that are visibly inferior. Much has to be done to check what I call the colonial hang over attitude towards this. According to Zulu,

…Historically, during the colonialera indigenous technology declined and in some places it was banned to entertain the importation of European Manufactured products. Thus, the myth indigenous scientific Or

33 34

Technological community backwardness was structurally perpetuated through mis-education,And social-political constrain(Zulu 41).

Once such attitude is imbibed by subsequent generations, it becomes difficult to overcome. Such that at present science education is struggling with dominating Western influence and almost killing some of the prospects (Zulu: 41). As I have stated elsewhere, though it is easier for the myth about scientific theories to change than those regarding social, and moral-cultural, we require a radical approach to this. (Udoh, M.A 2010). Can the Africa nations learn from Korea and indeed the Asian Tigers? Through the influence of Traditional Philosophies known as “Asian Values” in Confucianism amongst other cultural values did abandon the “Import substitution industrialization” policy. A trade and economic policy based on the premise that a country should attempt to reduce her foreign dependency through local production of industrialized products. Accordingly; The four Asian Tigers Instead… pursued an export-

drivenModel of economic development with the exportation of goodsto highly- industrialized nations Domestic consumption was discouraged through government policies such as high tariffs (Kinzley, W.D 1991)

To attain a change in culture of consumer nations, the basic structures that has supported such attitudes should be “altered” [Otite: 383], these include economic, Cultural and the regulative structures.

(b) Wastage Attitude: Have manifested in almost all vital areas that could have been of significant assistant to development. An instance is the very unfortunate concept of "African time" such concept does not derive its being from African cosmology. It is a latter exhibition of the social malaise and corruption of traditional values by certain inglorious persons. They would want to create a scene by expecting everyone to be seated before they arrive at a function, including less important figures in the gathering. In a reflection by Prof. TolaBadejoin a charge to staff of the University of science and technology,Ondo, he said, The concept of African Timeis to elaborately get lateto an event without a genuinereason. Worse still, it is not to be readyto start an event at the stipulated time by the organizers.

He latter referred to the popular NTA (Nigerian Television Authorities) jingle to support his observation “We cannot expect to be global citizens and operate on African time ". Philosophically, the issue of time and wastage, is not just about arriving late at occasion, we can still be found napping when we are late in educational attainment, democracy, science and technological advancements. Culture of waste has reflected even in our choice of dress. Its

quality and even seize. Most cultural settings in African are a place where almost everything is celebrated, usually not according to means because there is nothing wrong with thanks giving. Many newly wedded couples have been thrown into huge debts that haveaffected the union economically and consequently the joy of the new home. A story is told of a very prominent man who was honored for his contributions to public service and his friends and guest trooped to his house waiting to be received in the usual cultural way in tune with his status. He quietly took his gun and went into the forest to hunt for games, unfortunately, he return the next day.There was another case of a minister who did not want the timing of his thanks giving to elapse, so without any such preparation, he fixed the service and left for church. Having known who he was, others quickly went home to organize consumables for a befitting reception. In these two instances, the lesson has been communicated by these two personalities.

Is not possible that one can invite his friends for a celebration that cost him just the invitation. He is at the door receiving different items, that will eventually be used during the celebration?

Oladipo, Olusegun identifying attitudinal aspects of challenges towards development in Africa referred to Hountondji's “Daily life in Black Africa...”,identified another form of the encumbrance as; inertial of administrative system; constituting wastage in time, energy and resources, in such minor matters as obtaining vehicle licensees, repairing faulty telephone lines; trading of favors in order to ensure the delivery of public goods; the crippling fatalism to take things as they are and not to change them and a lack of regard by those wielding power for the people on whose behalf power should be exercised (137) As a way forward first, is the awareness of understanding why Africa is not what it should be and this will lead us to steps to reconstruct our society through radical criticism of values and institutions (137-138 ).

(C) Knowledge Conversion And Technology Transfare:Knowledge production in areas considered authentic in contribution to science and Technology tends to be personalized, customized and parochial. We do agree that even the western science, has gone through this stage and even in contemporary times exhibits such features as to make it ideological(Kanu: 2009), restricted and advanced within the confines of what Thomas khun (1970) calls the scientific community. Buta “scientific” endeavour at the state it is within our realms of discourse suffers stagnation should it relapse to such a level. One of the defects is that advancement and possibility of diversification of usage of such knowledge will be denied. The practice of Divination as a veritable source of Africa epistemology is such an instance. The level of Knowledge displayed by practitioners is very impressive to say the least, (short comings not withstanding). It is awesome to see a diviner display event of the past, say an incident of a missing items and the culprit is identified, not by

35 36

guess work, but as it happened! The technical feat of displaying or replaying these incidents of the past is not far from the calling and pedigree of cybernetic engineering used in various ICT environments but science has found suitable terminologies to explain away how images are transmitted in pixels to appear in other media in 3D (Three dimensions) where as those of the diviners still remain a mystery and at a “primitive” level and almost acquiring a public odium and condemnation as an occult endeavors. Whereas, if there is an attempt to expose such know-how,modern scientists could have been able to find out from the diviners, what is it that has taken the place of the magnetic field and waves, the transmitters etc. as it is, the traditionalists are totally in the void as to how such knowledge could be converted into either soft or hard wares for preservation, development and communication for public participation.

One could only imagine the state of influence and affluence these ones could be to individuals and the general public. Closely related to this issue is that of "appropriate Technology"; Knowledge at the level it is can reach such heights when converted and improved upon to attain appropriate Technology or continue to be dependent. Uduigwomen quoting Efemini opines that it involves Technology and Industry...designed for the benefit of both the community at large and the local community (337). It was his opinion as an alternative to the much orchestrated debate on technology transfer; the buying or importation of Technology by a particular country or state... (337). But as far for him, there is really nothing like transfer of Technology, all there is; "Is transfer of equipment or machinery" (334). Thus, he is of the opinion that to assist in the development of the appropriate Technology, it is better acquired than bought... or by copying or stealing from industrialized countries (334). These options have far reaching implications, which is not really the focus of this paper. Acquisition of Technology is dependent upon many variables such as a radical review of curriculum of science education, the willingness of indigenous scientists trained abroad to return home and the stemming the ugly phenomenon of human capital flight called " Brain drain" Commenting on this, Dilip Kumar Deask are these people not patriotic? No they are, but these are talented professionals, researchers, and creative persons who seek proper environmental, psycho-social and economic support to work and show excellence, so they leave their country (for absence of enabling environment) though they love their country.

Conclusion:There is no doubt that there are potential factors towards the

development of authentic scientific and technological enterprises in Nigeria cum African continent. But much of the identified hindrances against the progress are“attitudinal".Science is culture dependent and also a creator of culture; that is, it needs an appropriate cognate attitudes towards its; sustenance.Science is also ideological; there must be a concerted effort to

develop it,especially to meet social challenges. Helen Laurer comments showing Eurocentric bias leading to the Unnecessarycategorization of ideas, and Technologies as "Traditional and modern", though not founded either historically or conceptually, has detrimental effect on professionalresearch and Science education in Africa ( Laurer, H:2007: 127) In this paper and in the first part, the call has been to find a middle way between our authentic knowledge with a blend in modern scientific practice for a better Knowledge creation. Through this we can escape from the ideological effects of categorizing us as “traditional ", Advantages are abounding in the African approach to certain scientific and Technological drives. As pointed out, in cybernetic engineering, diagnostic processescombination of moral elements and medicaments for treatment and healing. In traditional medicine and practice of divination, these are very familiar terrains. Thus I will agree with Kanu( 2009: 369-381 ) who opines that; There are certain things in nature which given the limits of the

scientific analysis and experimentation will always remain inexplicable in scientific terms. This calls for complimentarily of other fields...The sooner scientists and their apologists' makes room for the development of other fields... the more the growth and development of science will be better appreciated (380)

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Frolou, I (ed) Dictionary of PhilosophyMoscow: Progress Publishers, 1984

Kanu, M.A “Science as an ideology” in Alozie, P (ed) History and Philosophy of Science Lagos Tavich oil Ltd, 2009

Kinzhey, W. Dean.Industrial Harmony in Modern Japan: The invention of a Tradition

Lacey, A.R. A Dictionary of Philosophy; Routledge, 1979

Lauer, Helen “The Modern Scientific Tradition and its Contribution to Economic Regression in Africa “In TemisanEbijuwa, Philosophy and social change, Ibadan: Hope, 2007 London: Routledge, 1991

Marx, Karl Capital: A critique of political Economy, Penguin, 1976

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Nnachi, Onwukwe, Concise History, Principles and Philosophy of Science Enugu: John Jacob's classic Publishers LTD, 2000.

Okafor, and Emeka “The concept of Culture” In Okarfor and Emaka (eds) Nigerian Peoples and Cultures, Enugu New Generation Books, 1998

Oladopo, Oluseun, “Challenges of African Philosophy in the Twenty first century” in Oladipo, Olusegun, and Core issues in African Philosophy Ibadan: Hope, 2006

Otite, Ongu and Ogionwu, W. An introduction to sociological studies, Ibadan: Heinemann Education Books, 1981

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Calabar: Vitalis Books, 2007

Udoh, M.A “Philosophy in Africa; its Role and Prospects in developing Scientific and Technological enterprises” Being Seminar presented or

rdWesley University of Science and Technology, Ondo, 23 June, 2010 Already in the press.

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Zulu, I.M. “Critical indigenous African education and Knowledge” The Journal of Pan-African Studies Vol. 1 No 3 March, 2006

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University press; 1970

Leslic Stevenson and Henry Byerly, The Many Faces of Science, Oxford: West View Press, 1995

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AbstractThe teaching-learning and development of morals among children in

Nigerian basic schools have been a Herculean task in modern times. This is because the Nigerian society has largely been infested with moral decadence especially among the youths in recent years. An aspect of the problem is that our classroom teachers are bereft of effective teaching methods and skills that could transform our youths into the desired educated moral personality in the society. Extensive research on moral education and appropriate application by teachers of research findings with teachers' exemplary behaviours has been found in this paper to be workable solutions.

IntroductionMoral behaviour is to be viewed as an essential ingredient of the

success of the Basic Education System in Nigeria. It is essential to the effectiveness of any social system in a country. Moral behaviours among our youths have also been identified to be central to the success of Nigeria's young democracy (Dike, 2003). Since morality is an indispensable condition in any successful educational system (Ilogu, 1986; Onyeocha, 2009) as well as to the educational process (Asim, 2007), its teaching and learning in the newly introduced basic education system in Nigeria is therefore given a priority in the scheme.

Moral education in the basic schools is also necessary due to the fact that our society has been robbed of sound moral values and meaningful living etiquette in the name of civilization and constant change as normal in the society. Our female children are now walking naked in the streets while the males preferring to look like females by adorning themselves effeminately with earrings, deeply-painted eyelids and artificially curled hairs in our major cities. This is a sign of moral breakdown among the youths in the society. According to Adesina (2004), our society has in recent times, witnessed a collapse in our moral values. Dike 2003) also observed that the problem with our Nigerian society emanates from lack of moral education. If this is so, then the task

Dr. Tony E. GanaganaNiger Delta Universitywilberforce Island

Amassoma, Bayelsa State&

Mrs. Faith Chenemerem NdukwuUniversity of Calabar, Calabar.

EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH ON THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF MORAL BEHAVIOURS

IN THE NIGERIAN BASIC SCHOOLS

39 40

before us is to trace, historically, Nigeria's moral age where the society was in splendor, being aglowed with successes and greatness through the presence and observance of moral principles; and must be incorporate these into the school system for development and nurturance.

The Basic Schools and Moral DevelopmentThe school is one of the social agencies of a healthy personality

development including the moral development of the child. The school therefore, has to teach the Knowledge and skills necessary for the child to acquire the moral personality that can enhance societal development through creativity, patriotism, hard work and candour. The period where the child starts basic education is when the child's moral development potentials and processes are in active and most receptive stage. The Universal Basic Education Scheme with the instrumentality of the classroom teacher will therefore immensely contribute to the moral development of the Nigerian child; and to reverse the ugly moral situation observed above. It is also through this that the basic education products will be veritable societal assets for Nigeria's advancement.

Moral Development and the Education PolicyIt is a truism to state that what is not found in a nation's education policy

cannot find itself into the school system of that nation, or else it becomes educational malpractice. The Nigeria's policy of education has always provided for the moral development of the Nigerian child. But Babalola (2008) observed on the contrary. He stated that the prevalence of cultism, examination malpractices, riots, hooliganism, drug abuse, prostitution, etc. witnessed in the present school system is an indication of moral decadence among the youths.

The Nigeria's National Policy on Education (2004) stated in section 8 (c) as follows:

In consequence, the quality of instruction at all levels has to be oriented towards inculcating the following values… moral and spiritual principle in interpersonal and human relations.

That being the case, why has this aspect of the goals of the policy not been achieved? This is where the issue of research has come in. The authors believe that through constant research on moral behaviours of people in the society, the awareness will be created about our levels of moral development, and the effect of it to general development of the society. Once the awareness is created, efforts will immediately follow with regards to the trend and which will also affect the way we handle moral issues in our secondary schools.

Educational Research and the Learning of Moral Behaviours in Schools

Research is the fulcrum of any learning process. Although, research is necessary in any other aspect of knowledge in which case, it is purely an investigation, observation and verification of truth concerning an aspect of knowledge; yet, it is also concerned with scientific development. Where such investigation is basically aimed at solving problems of teaching-learning in the school, then it is referred to as educational research. According to Nwoka and Thom-Otuya (2008), educational research is aimed at “helping to improve school practices, such that classroom teachers improve on their effectiveness in teaching and promoting learning”.

In the learning of morality in the Nigerian schools much depends on research. According to Onyeocha (2009), there have not been any systematized, formalized, school-typed methods of moral education in the Nigeria school system. This can therefore be achieved through increased research on moral education for the Nigerian school child. In their studies, Stafford (2006); and Buck and Horton (2009) maintained that educational research improves teachers' instructional techniques and students' learning.

We have failed in developing moral behaviours in our school-age youths because of lack of research in this direction. And in turn, our moral goals as prescribed in the national policy will be easily achieved if there is both government and private support on increased research in moral education. The research findings should be made available to the government, the school administrator and the classroom teacher.

Tools for Measuring Moral BehavioursEmbarking on research in moral behavior is quite herculean and

challenging. Tools and techniques employed in moral research are essentially peculiar and practical (Kohlberg, 1989). However, the following methods can be used in carrying out research on moral behavior.I. Interviewsii. Participant and non-participant observationsiii. Self-rating scalesiv. Case histories and moral dilemmas

To be able to assess or identify any moral traits in the child, the investigator should be able to formulate intelligent questions, which would form part of the interview he would want to conduct for the study of moral behaviours. Such interviews must be carefully and systematically conducted to illicit essential moral characteristics in the child. In the same vein, participant and non-participant observation methods can prove very effective in collecting objective data for moral behavior. Observation would give the investigator opportunity to decipher between what seems to be the regular moral behavior of the child and what is the moral component of the child.

Self-rating scales which will not bear 'Yes' or 'No' options could also prove useful. But care should be taken not to include items that would boost or

41 42

relegate the ego of the respondent. For instance, items such as “God will punish me, if I do lie! Rather, it should be stated as “I do not think that every lying should be viewed as evil”.

Case histories and dilemmas are also effective tools for measuring moral behaviours in the child. Case histories reveal to us of what events had taken place in the child's moral field in the past, and the child's peculiar response to the situations or events. The investigator looks at the uniqueness of the child's responses and their implications for moral behavior. Similarly, moral dilemmas are good instruments to measure moral behaviors. Kohlberg used it so often in his moral studies. Dilemmas offer supposedly occurred events to the respondents, which would require him to offer a judgmental response or a supposedly objective evaluation of the situations. Dilemmas are to be carefully constructed and responses to them must be assessed based on an established standard or culture of the people.

Research Findings and the Teaching of Moral Behaviours in SchoolsIn order to achieve an effective moral education and development in the

school-age children, the basic school teacher should be skillful in the application of these research findings. According to Woruka (1996), research findings should not be applied to the classroom straight-jacketed. They must be adapted to the specific situation that is observed. This can only be done by a well trained teacher.

Moreso, these moral principles and values cannot be developed in the child merely by teaching such in the classroom. They have to be strengthened by exemplary conducts. This means that the teacher must be an exemplar of moral behaviours. And thus will enable the students to imitate and inculcate them into their lifestyles. Sprinthall, Sprinthall and Oja (1996) opined that in classroom interaction, the non-verbal clues speak as much as and sometimes even louder than the verbal messages. This is more so in moral value acquisition. In teaching moral values, the school child is more attracted to the non-verbal clues than the verbal. More research is needed in this aspect of moral development.

ConclusionMoral development is an essential aspect of the educational

development of the Nigerian child. The child in the early basic education is more receptive to moral lessons than later. This places the task of moral development of the child of this age apparently on the teacher that interacts with him from time to time in school. But for the teacher to be successful in his responsibility, he has to efficiently apply recent research findings and exemplary behaviour.

In the mean, there is a clarion call for increased research on moral education and moral development in the society, particularly as it is concerned with the dawn of moral decadence among the youths.

RecommendationThe following recommendations are therefore made to bridge the gap

between research, education and moral development.(1) Moral education must be emphasized in both the basic and secondary

schools now in Nigeria.(2) For this to be effectively carried out more focus should be placed on

research in moral development and ways of inculcating sound moral values among youths through teaching and learning in schools.

(3) Teachers should be specifically trained on how to match theory with practice in inculcating moral behaviours in school children. Moral lessons should be practical. The school teacher should be made knowledgeable in applying research findings to solve specific moral problems of the school child.

(4) Teachers should ensure that they are moral beings at all times, and should know that they are a veritable model to the child they teach in terms of morality.

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Nation. Retrieved on 15 July, 2009. http://www.nigerdeltacongress.com/earticles/education_for_good_character_and.htm.

Federal Repulic of Nigeria (2004). National Policy on Education. Logos: NERDC.

43 44

Ilogu, E. (1986). Christianity in Ibo Culture. Leiden: E.J. Bill.Kohlberg, L. (1989). Moral dilemmas and moral behaviours. New York: John

Wiley.

Nwoka, J. & thom-Otuya, V. (2008). Contemporary Challenges of Educational Research and Evaluation in Nigeria. The Way Forward. Journal of Creativity and Scientific Studies, 3, 1, 2. 103-107.

Onyeocha, I.M. (2009). Formation of Character in Traditional Nigerian Moral th

Education. Retrieve on the 15 June, 2009. /scries 02/11-3/chapter VI.htm.

Stafford, J.T. (2006). The Importance of Educational Research in the Teaching th

of History. Retrieved on 15 June, 2006. www.quasar.ualberta.ca/css.

Sprinthall, N.A, Sprinthall, R.C. & S.O. Oja (1996). Educational Psychology. Developmental Approach. New York: MCGraw Hill.

Woruka, D.N. (1996). Theories of Personality and Teaching. Port Harcourt. Rodi.

http://www.crvp.org/book

Abstract Women the world over have been discriminated upon, subordinated,

made powerless/less powerful members of the society and gain little access and control over material and knowledge resources. These could be attributed to the low level of educational attainment by women especially in developing nations. This ugly trend created serious pandemonium amongst the world leaders as a result, an international conference to address the problem was held in Beijing in 1995. The goals of women empowerment are to challenge and transform the ideology and practice of women subordination and to transform the structures and institutions which have upheld and reinforced this discrimination. These goals cannot be attained without literacy education. Literacy education thus provides a platform through which gender inequality could be bridged, and women are made powerful members of the society. This paper therefore is aimed at highlighting the role played by literacy education in promoting gender equality and empowering the women.

IntroductionThe issue of gender equality and women empowerment has become

topical in the gender of international politics. Since the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women, women education has been seen as a critical development concept.

In every part of the world, women are educated to accept a subordinate status in the society. The male position as head of the house hold is reflected in the political scene with man being the dominant actor. Women do most of the work while men receive the glory, this gender division is unfair. Women are discriminated subordinated, made powerless members of the society and gain little access and control over material and knowledge resources (Model Anonuevo, 1997). This discrimination and subordination is attributed to the kind of education acquired by women in the society.

Longwe (2008) differentiates conservative education from radical education. She likened conservative education to schooling or formal school system. According to her schooling create opportunity for subordination of

LITERACY EDUCATION: AN IMPORTANT TOOL IN PROMOTING GENDER

EQUALITY AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Anthony, G. Bullem (Ph.D), Essien, C. Kori (Ph.D) & Osang, W. Otu Department of Adult and Continuing Education

Faculty of EducationUniversity of Calabar, Calabar.

45 46

women. She is of the opinion that the school does not provide education for gender equality or an environment of equal rights for women. She further stress that gender relations of the school reflect gender relation of the village, with boys being given preference in science and Mathematics while the female teacher is being subordinated to the male teacher.

Longwe (2008) is in support of radical education which according to her is designed for the changing society. The purpose of radical education is to produce a new generation that is different from, and better than, the previous generation. Literacy education is an aspect of adult education which represents radical education. Thus with literacy education women will be conscientize and made functional members of the society. This will help them to challenge and transform the ideology and practice of women's subordination and transform the structures and institutions which have upheld and reinforced this discrimination.

The concept of Literacy EducationLiteracy education according to UNESCO (1978) is that aspect

education which helps “a person to acquire the knowledge and skills indispensable to the performance of all activities for which literacy is necessary in order to play an effective part in his group and his community and to participate actively in the life of his community”. “A person is said to be functionally literate when he can engage in all those activities in which literacy is require for effective functioning of his group and community and also for enabling him to continue to use reading, writing and calculation for functionally literates “who cannot engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning of his group and community and also enabling him to continue to use reading writing and calculation for his own and the community's development (UNESCO, 1997).

Literacy education could also be seen as the aspect of Adult education which helps an individual possess the ability to read, write and speak in English and to compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in the society to achieve one's goals and develop one's knowledge and potentials (Aderinoye, 1997).

According to Nzeneri (2007), literacy is not acquired by chance or magic but through learning. It is a deliberate effort that is sustained either by individual or group of individuals to attain desirable knowledge, habit, skills, attitudes or behavior for life improvement.

The Concept Empowerment Battiwala (1997) defines the concept empowerment as “a process and

the result of the process whereby the powerless or less powerful members of the society, gain greater access and control over material and knowledge resources, challenge the ideologies of discrimination and subordination and transform the institutions and structures through which unequal access and control over resources is sustained and perpetuated.

The Goals of Education for Empowerment All empowering education should be able to:

i) Inculcate knowledge and skills and change attitude in women to help them to challenge and transform the ideology and practice of women's subordination.

ii) The knowledge and skills inculcated should be able to transform the structures and institutions which have upheld and reinforced this discrimination and to gain access and control over material and knowledge resources.

Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women through Education

According to Longwe (2008) one way of promoting gender equality and empowering women through education is to introduce radical education. She further stressed that it is when there is some great social disruption that the tradition of conservative education are upset. Radical education unlike conservative and growing society is designed for a changing and growing society. Literacy education for promoting gender equality and empowerment of women must be radical and a collective form of self-education. It is the opposite of conventional and conservative education. It must be a rebellion against the previous education which educated women have to accept their place in the world instead of changing their place in the world. Literacy education should be able to assist women to fight for their rightful place in the society.

Aruma (2006) is of the opinion that literacy education for empowerment must be guided by principles if it has to be successful. These principles are as follow:i) Literacy education for the promotion of gender equality and women

empowerment must be participatory in nature – we know that adult learns better through active participation in teaching – learning process. Thus literacy education should help and encourage people to actively participate in non-formal educational programmes that will enhance their productivity in the society. Literacy education for promoting gender justice and women empowerment must be life focused. This means that this type of literacy education must however be appreciable to real life situation in the society. This type of education will afford the recipient an opportunity to apply what he has learnt to real life situation and job requirements.

ii) Literacy education for promoting gender equality and women empowerment must be based on the principle of testing' and not 'banking' of knowledge. In this case new knowledge, ideas and skills

47 48

should be explored to a certain extent so as to improve the proficiency and productivity of occupational participants in the society.

iii) Literacy education for promoting gender equality and women empowerment must be learner centred. The essence of this is to promote service delivery. What is learnt must focus on the needs of the participants. The knowledge and skills acquired should be able to help participants to fully realize and actualize themselves and become functional members of the society.

iv) Literacy education for promoting gender justice and women empowerment should be voluntary and not compulsory.

The Role of Literacy Education in Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women

It is pertinent to note that illiteracy and ignorance work hand in hand and the society with increase number of illiterate's person will be static and its development will be stunted. Literacy education is power and very crucial in addressing wider issues of gender inequality, literacy is the basic human right that is still denied to many women (Yousef, 2003).

According to Sarumi (2005) literacy education helps and impacts on the lives of the people through preservation of knowledge, through written records, acquisition of basic skills, promotion and advancement of education and training, community and health education empowerment, resistant to dominance of the weak by the oppressors, acceptance of the place of research in development, income generation ventures and civilization. Providing literacy education for women especially at the grassroots would make women to appreciate the relevance of the immense potentials of the written word and the alternative means of communication it provided.

Bataille (1976) is of the opinion that literacy education creates the conditions for the acquisition of critical consciousness. It also stimulates initiatives for participation in the creation of projects capable of acting upon the world, or transforming it and opens the way for mastery of techniques and human relations.

According to UNESCO (2004B) literacy is the basic acquisition of learning needs on a continuum including formal and non-formal education extended to people of all ages. Literacy education is essential for life-long learning and a catalyst for active community engagement.

Literacy education will certainly provide opportunities for the participants of the programme to develop their potential more fully. It is pertinent to note that any education established to empower people has great potential for social and economic reforms.

Through literacy education women especially at the rural areas could be assisted to acquire knowledge and skill that will help them to be self-actualized and develop professionally in various human endeavours in the

society. It is therefore clear that literacy education enhances the productive capacity of the nation.

Literacy education according to Evans (1981) is a new strategy developed to help people to solve numerous socio-economic problems relating to individual and societal needs, community as well as national development. Literacy education thus is a solution to the problem confronting mankind.

Literacy education helps women to compete favourably in promoting community development as well as improving their living condition. Through literacy education women are assisted to respond to a number of challenging opportunities available to them in order to enhance active participation in politics, community development and the socio-economic development of their communities (Temitope, 2003).

Through literacy education women could be assisted to become functional members of the society since it focused greatly on capacity building. To empower women therefore, they need to be conscientized on how to face the various challenging opportunities in their life to enable them understand the realities of life.

Through literacy education, the constraints that prevent women's access to intellectual resources and empower them to be fully active as partners in social transformation will be addressed. Literacy education will thus change the situation around women and build their capacities to enable them gain access to formal structures of power and decision making in both private and public sectors.

Akinpelu (2002) added that literacy education increases adult men and women ability, potentiality and predisposition to participate in the social, economic and political events of their society. It also facilitates acquisition and understanding of scientific and technological knowledge and skills which are now a necessity for living.

Through literacy education women are exposed to new information world whose significance and role in development is becoming more and more obvious. It is an indispensable foundation that enables women to engage in learning opportunities of all stages of the learning continuum. It is a prerequisite for the development of personal, social, economic and political empowerment. Literacy is an essential means of building women capabilities to cope with the evolving challenges and complexities of life, culture, economy and society (Belem, 2010).

Conclusion Literacy education no doubt is a potent tool for the promotion of gender

equality and women empowerment. Literacy education for gender equality and women empowerment should adopt a radical approach to upset the tradition of conservative education that reproduces a static society. Literacy education should be able to educate women to change their place in the world.

49 50

It should be able to raise the consciousness of women and move them from the old order which debases peoples to a new order that will liberate them. The old order which was characterized by social injustices, marginalization and alienation of women, oppression and subordination of women, economically, socially culturally and politically, should be checked by conscious raising literacy education for gender equality and women empowerment (Mokonzi, 2008).

The government, non-governmental agencies and the private sector should encourage and promote literacy education that will enable women of all ages to make their full contributions to the society and enable them resolve the multiple problems confronting humanity. The educational process should therefore address the constraints that prevent women access to intellectual resources and empower them to become fully active as partners in social transformation.

References

Aderinoye, R. (2002). Philosophy of Adult Education. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press.

Akinpelu, J. A. (2002). Philosophy of Adult Education. Ibadan: Sterling-Horton Publishers (Nig) Ltd.

Aruma, E. O. (2006) “Literacy for Empowerment” in Okediran, A. & Haladu, A. Adult Education in Nigeria. NNCAE, Vol. pg 145-157.

Bataille, L. (ed) (1976). A Turning Point for literacy: Adult Education Development. The spirit and declaration of perspectives. Oxford, U.K., Pergamum.

Batliwala, S. (1995). Education for women empowerment – A perspective paper presented during the orientation seminar on Women's Education Admist Economic, Social and Political Change, Hamburg, Germany. Nov. 13-17.

Belem, B. (2010). Harvesting the power and potential of Adult learning and education for a viable future. In Adult Education and Development. Germany: DVV International.

Evans, D. R. (1981). The Planning of Non-formal Education. Paris: UNESCO Press.

Logwe, S. H. (1997). “Education for women empowerment or schooling for women subordination”. A paper presented at the international seminar

workshop on promoting the empowerment of women through Adult Learning. Chiangomai Thailand February 24-28.

Longwe, S. H. (2008). “Education for women Empowerment: The example of a refugee camp in Zambia: In Adult Education and Development. Germany: DVV International.

Model-Anonuevo, C. (1997). “Learning Gender Justice: The challenge for stAdult Education in the 21 century”. In Adult Education and

Development. Germany: DVV International.

Mokonzi, G. B. (2008). The Need for Consciousness – Raising Literacy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Adult Education and Development. Germany: DVV International.

stNzeneri, I. S. (2010). Adult Education in Battle: Any Hope or Victory. 71

thInaugural Lecture of the University of Port Harcourt. October 28 2010.

Sarumi, A. (2005). Historical Antecedents of Adult Literacy Education in Nigeria: Key issues and challenges in African Journal of Historical sciences in Education. (2) 7-18.

Temitope, A. R. (2003). Theoretical issues and new Definition of Development. In Iyoha, F. E., Agbayere, V. O. and Oviasuyi, P. O. (eds) Rethinking

stGovernance and Development in the 21 century. Ekpoma: Institute for Government and Development.

UNESCO (1977). Literacy for Tomorrow, CONFINTEA Hamburg, UNESCO.

UNESCO (2004b). The plurality of literacy and its implication of policies and programmes. Unesco Education Sector position paper. Pains Unesco.

Yousif, A. A. (2003). Literacy: An overview of Definitions and Assessment. A paper presented to the expert meeting on literacy assessment Unesco 10-12, June, Pains, Unesco.

51 52

AbstractThe focus of this study was on initiatives that could be used to organize

farmers for participation in the prevention and control of ecological problems in Cross River State. The study adopted the survey research design. Three research questions guided the study and three hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The population for the study was 1070 respondents made up of 1010 teachers of Agriculture and 60 Extension Agents. A simple random sampling technique was used to obtain a sample of 565 respondents used for the study. A 27 item questionnaire was developed and used for data collection. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test statistic was utilized to test the null hypotheses at probability of .05 level of significance. It was found out that farmers in cross River State could be organized through twenty seven initiatives in the creation of awareness and interest, decision making and clarification, adoption and satisfaction to enhance their participation in the prevention and control of ecological problems. It was recommended that the findings of this study be utilized to organize farmers through workshops and seminar for participation in the prevention and management of ecological problems in the state.

IntroductionPopulation explosion and intensification of agricultural activities on the

soil by farmers have exposed it to ecological problems such as soil erosion, loss of nutrients, acidification, pollution, biodiversity loss, climatic change among others and have resulted to low farm output with attendant increase in the poverty level of these farmers. Of all these problems soil erosion is most predominant in Cross River State.

Soil erosion according to Olaitan and Lombin (1985) is the detachment and removal of soil particles by wind and water. The authors explained that erosion process involves loss of water, loss of nutrients and physical transportation of soil particles. The authors further revealed that the topmost

David Adie Alawa&

Victor Atah AbanyamDepartment of Vocational and Special Education,

University of Calabar, Calabar

INITIATIVES FOR ORGANIZING FARMERS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

fragile organic rich component of the soil is so vulnerable thereby leaving the soil low in fertility. Soil erosion in the context of this study is an ecological problem that involves the gradual disintegration and removal of the top fertile layers of the soil by wind and water caused by activities of man and other natural processes which affects the fertility of the soil. Osinem (2005) grouped soil erosion into three categories namely: mining, wind and water erosion and identified associated negative effects as leaching, loss of topsoil, reduction in yields, increased cost of production and pollution of water sources. These negative effects call for urgent prevention and control measures to reduce the menace of soil erosion and other ecological problems in Cross River State.

Prevention and control of soil erosion and ecological problems involves the adoption of soil management practices that are capable of reducing associated menaces. These practices according to Olaitan, Alawa and Uzuegbunam (2009) include bunding, construction of channels, terracing, building of tunnels, concreting among others. Prevention and control of ecological problems could be achieved through the active involvement of farmers who depend on soil to ensure a steady supply of food from their agricultural activities.

A farmer in the view of Olaitan (2005) is a person who grows crops and rears animals for the benefit of mankind. A farmer in this study is a member of a community in Cross River State who should be involved in the prevention and control of soil erosion and other ecological problems to reduce associated negative effects.

In Cross River State, the researchers have observed the prevalence of soil erosion in many communities which has claimed many farmlands with attendant reduction in crop yields. Equally, cases of landslides are being experienced in the northern and central senatorial districts of the state. These ecological problems are further aggravated by activities of farmers such as bush burning, deforestation, clean clearing among others but they are not fully aware of the impacts of their activities on the soil. Interaction with some farmers revealed serious complains of poor yields and bad road networks linking their communities and farmlands due to the action of soil erosion. They blame it on lack of maintenance of roads as well as good drainages put in place by government to be responsible for soil erosion and other ecological problems in their communities and farmlands. Farmers fail to understand that their farming activities contribute to ecological setbacks experienced in the state and do not participate in the prevention and control of these problems. Olaitan (2005) and Okonkwo (2007) decried the lack of awareness and interest exhibited by farmers and other community members in the prevention and control soil erosion and other ecological problems and stressed the need for prevention and control of these problems to reduce the menace. There is general lack of awareness and interest on the part of farmers to get involved in the prevention and control of erosion and other ecological problems.

53 54

To address this problem, there is need to consciously evolve organize these farmers to become aware of the negative effects of ecological problems in order to stimulate their interest for participation and subsequent adoption of the preventive and control measures.

Organization of farmers for participation in the prevention and control of ecological problems involves creating awareness in them about the negative effects, prevention and control measures which will help to build interest and enhance their timely decisions in the adoption of ecological management measures. In order to achieve this important goal, efforts should be geared towards the involvement of extension agents and teachers of agriculture who are major stakeholders in the training and development of farmers through workshops, seminars, field trips, demonstration and visitation to these farmers in their community. This could be done through the evolution of initiatives that assist in attitudinal change in these farmers.

Rundell (2003) defined initiative as an important new plan or process that has been started in order to achieve a particular motive or solve a particular problem. In the context of this study, initiative would be used to connote plans or processes geared towards proffering solutions to soil erosion and other ecological problems in Cross River State. Olaitan (2005) said that individuals could be mobilized for participation in the management of soil erosion and other ecological issues through the process of creation Awareness, Interest, Decision Making, Clarification, Adoption and Satisfaction for their involvement in the management of ecological problems. It is believed that after exposing any category of individuals such as students, farmers, community members and so on through these processes, a change in attitude would be notice hence, the adoption of the change process.

The purpose of the study is to identify initiatives that could be used to organize farmers to enhance their participation in the prevention and control of soil erosion and other ecological problems in Cross River State, Nigeria.

Specifically, the study sought to identify those initiatives that could be used to organize farmers through creation of awareness and interest; decision making and clarification; adoption and satisfaction for farmers' participation in prevention and control of soil erosion and other ecological problems.

MethodologyThree research questions were developed to guide the study while

three hypotheses were formulated to give direction to the study. The hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance and 563 degrees of freedom. Survey research design was adopted for the study. Survey research design according to Olaitan, Ali, Eyo and Sowande (2000) is a design which employs the study of large and small population to discover the relative incidence, distribution and interrelations of sociological and psychological variables through the use interview or questionnaire.

The study was carried out in Cross River State. The population for the study was 1070 respondents made up of 1010 Agricultural Science teachers from the public and private secondary schools and 60 extension agents in the State. The sample for the study was 565 made up of 505 teachers of agriculture and 60 extension agents. A simple random sampling technique (balloting) was used to select 50 percent of the teachers for the study. This choice of 50% agrees with the submission of Uzoagulu (1998) that when a defined population is in a few thousands 20% or more could be used to reduce sampling error. The entire sub-population of extension agents was involved in the study because it is small and of manageable size.

A twenty five item questionnaire on initiatives that could be used to organize farmers through creation of awareness and interest; decision making and clarification; adoption and satisfaction for farmers' participation in the prevention and control of soil erosion and other ecological problems was used to collect data for the study. The questionnaire had a four point response scale of Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree with corresponding values of 4, 3, 2, and 1 respectively.

The instrument was face validated by three experts; one from the Department of Adult and Continuing Education and two from the Department of Vocational Education (Agricultural Education Unit), University of Calabar. Test re-test technique and Pearson Product Moment Correlation were used to determine the stability of the instrument and a reliability coefficient of 0.84 was obtained. Five hundred and sixty five copies of the questionnaire were administered on the respondents through the help of three hired and trained research assistants. The 565 copies were retrieved and analysed.

The mean and standard deviation were used to analyse the data for answering the research questions while t-test statistic was used to test the hypotheses. The following decisions guided the interpretation of the results of analysis made:a) Any item with a mean value of 2.50 and above indicated that the respondents agreed that the item was an initiative while any item with a mean below 2.50 indicated that the respondents did not agree that it is an initiative.b) The hypothesis of no significant difference (H ) was upheld for any item o

whose t-calculated value is less than the t-table value of 1.96 at probability of 0.05 level of significance and 563 degrees of freedom. In the alternative, the hypothesis of no significant difference was rejected for any item whose t-calculated was higher than the t-table value of 1.96 at probability of 0.05 level of significance.

ResultsThe results of the study were obtained from the research questions

answered and the hypotheses tested.

55 56

Research Question 1What Awareness and Interest initiatives could be used to organize

farmers to participate in the prevention and control of soil erosion and other ecological problems in Cross River State?Hypothesis 1

There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of teachers of Agriculture and extension agents on Awareness and Interest initiatives that could be used to organize farmers to participate in the prevention and control of soil erosion and other ecological problems.

The data for answering research question 1 and testing hypothesis 1 were presented in table one.

Table 1

Mean ratings and t-test Analysis of the Responses of Teachers of Agriculture and Extension Agents on Awareness and Interest Initiatives that could be used to make Farmers Participate in the prevention of Soil Erosion and other ecological problems. N=565

S/NO Item Statement

X SD t-Cal

t-tab

Remarks

RQ HO

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Visitation to farmer s

during regular and co -operative meetings to discuss the effects

of soil erosion

and other ecological problems.

Use of film shows to explain the effects of soil erosion

and other ecological problems

on their farms and the entire community.

Use of media houses such as radio to communicate

the menace of ecological problems to farmers.

Conducting home and farm visit to their farms to discuss with

them about the negative effects of soil erosion

and other ecological problems.

Organizations of

agricultural workshops and seminars to enlighten

farmers on the

effects of ecological problems

and the need for

prevention and control.

Organization of excursionfor farmers to observe different ecological problem sites within and outside the community.

Demonstrate to farmers on how to con struct channels/gutter, cross bars, grassing among others

2.98

3.26

3.21

2.80

3.00

3.51

3.31

3.05

2.75

0.70

0.68

0.50

0.61

0.58

0.75

0.67

0.73

0.64

1.68

1.00

0.91

1.43

1.33

1.22

1.70

1.07

1.37

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

Agreed (A)

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

Not Significant (NS)

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

57 58

Note: = Mean; SD= Standard Deviation; RQ= Research Question; H = o

Null Hypothesis.

Data in table 1 showed that the 9 initiatives items had their mean ranged from 2.75 to 3.51.This indicated that their mean were above the cut off point of 2.50. The observation implies that all items were awareness and interest initiatives that could be used to make farmers participate in the prevention and control of soil erosion and other ecological problems. The standard deviation ranged from 0.50 to 0.75 indicating that respondents were not too far from the mean and close to one another in their responses.

Data presented in table 1 also revealed that 9 items have their calculated t-values ranged from 0.91 to 1.70 which were less than t-table value of 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance and 563 degrees of freedom. This indicated that there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of the groups of respondents on the nine awareness and interest initiatives that could be make farmers participate in the prevention and control of soil erosion and other ecological problems in the study area. With this result, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was upheld for the 9 items.

Research Question 2What initiatives could be used to organize farmers and help them make

decisions and clarify issues about soil erosion and other ecological menaces and enhance their participation in the control of these problems in Cross River State?

Hypothesis 2There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of

teachers of Agriculture and extension agents on initiatives could be used to organize farmers and help them make decisions and clarify issues about soil erosion and other ecological menaces and enhance their participation in the control of these problems.

The data for answering research question 2 and testing hypothesis 2 were presented in table two.

Table 2Mean ratings and t-test Analysis of the Responses of Teachers of Agriculture and Extension Agents on initiatives that could be used to organize Farmers and help them make Decisions and Clarify Issues about Soil Erosion and other Ecological Menaces and Enhance their Participation in the Control. N=565

X

S/NO

Item Statement

X

SD

t-Cal

t-tab

Remarks

RQ HO

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

List and analyze the benefits to be derived from participation the

prevention and control

of

ecological problems.

Formation of committees

to review

the requirements for ecological

management

measures.

Assign responsibilities to farmers based on their capabilities in the

prevention and control

of soil erosion and other ecological problems.

Identification of

soil erosion , deforested

and landslides

sites within their farms and the entire community.

Make a budget

on the type of soil erosion

and landslide or any other ecological problem

identified and the costs

involved.

Identify sources of finance if the cost is above an individual.

Assemble mat erials required for the

prevention and control

of soil erosion and other ecological

problems.

Prioritize the

prevention and control

of ecological problems

according to magnitude of damage, cost and benefits thereof.

Organize farmers into groups with leaders to ensure that ecological management jobs are effectively completed.

2.66

3.30

2.99

3.21

3.52

3.47

3.76

3.00

2.82

3.60

0.65

0.72

0.70

0.68

0.61

0.66

0.74

0.65

0.77

0.58

0.98

1.33

1.28

1.11

1.42

1.82

1.72

1.20

1.44

0.86

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

59 60

Data in table 2 showed that the 10 initiatives items had their mean ranged from 2.66 to 3.60.This indicated that their mean were above the cut off point of 2.50. The data implies that all the ten items were initiatives that could be used to organize farmers and help them make decisions and clarify issues about soil erosion and other ecological menaces and enhance their participation in the prevention and control these problems. The standard deviation ranged from 0.58 to 0.77 indicating that respondents were not too far from the mean and did not vary much from one another in their responses.

Data presented in table 2 also showed that the 10 items have their calculated t-values ranged from 0.86 to 1.82 which were less than t-table value of 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance and 563 degrees of freedom. This indicated that there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of the groups of respondents on 10 initiatives that could be used to organize farmers and help them make decisions and clarify issues about soil erosion and other ecological menaces and enhance their participation in the prevention and control of these problems in the study area. With this result, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was upheld for the 10 items.

Research Question 3What initiatives could be used to organize farmers and promote their

adoption and satisfaction for participation in the prevention and control of soil erosion and other ecological problems in Cross River State?

Hypothesis 3There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses

of teachers of Agriculture and extension agents on initiatives that could be used to organize farmers and promote their adoption and satisfaction for participation in the prevention and control of soil erosion and other ecological problems

The data for answering research question 3 and testing hypothesis 3 were presented in table three.

Table 3

Mean ratings and t-test Analysis of the Responses of Teachers of Agriculture and Extension Agents on initiatives that could be used to promote farmers' adoption and satisfaction for their participation in the prevention and control of soil erosion and other ecological problems. N=565

S/NOItem Statement

X

SD

t-Cal

t-tab

Remarks

RQ HO

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Plan and budget for ecological management based on available resources.

Identify resources for ecological management on individual farms and the entire community

Embark on ecological management

measures in farms and the entire community.

Disseminate information about the success of individual ecological management projects.

Act as resource persons to communities with soil erosion and other ecological problems.

Appointment of competent leaders as ecological management

coordinators.

Determine the preventive measures to guide against future occurrence of ecological problems.

Visit ero sion, landslides and deforested sites to observe changes after applying preventive and control measures

2.51

2.80

2.81

3.51

3.73

3.11

3.34

2.70

0.77

0.61

0.52

0.68

0.72

0.66

0.73

0.54

1.22

1.05

1.45

0.87

0.91

1.67

1.31

1.82

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

1.96

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

NS

61 62

Data in table 3 showed that the 8 initiatives items had their mean ranged from 2.51 to 3.73.This indicated that their mean were above the cut off point of 2.50. This implies that all the eight items were initiatives that could be used to organize farmers and promote adoption and satisfaction for their participation in the prevention and control of soil erosion and other ecological problems. The standard deviation ranged from 0.52 to 0.77 indicating that respondents were homogeneous and not too far from the mean in their responses.

Data presented in table 3 also revealed that the 8 items have their calculated t-values ranged from 0.87 to 1.82 which were less than t-table value of 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance and 563 degrees of freedom. This indicated that there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of the groups of respondents on the eight initiatives that could be used to organize farmers and promote their adoption and satisfaction for their participation in the prevention and control of soil erosion prevention and other ecological problems in the study area. With this result, the null hypothesis of no significant difference was upheld for the 8 items.

Discussion of ResultThe result of the study revealed that teachers of agriculture and

extension agents agreed that twenty seven (27) initiatives could be used to organize farmers and enhance their participation in the prevention and control soil erosion and of ecological problems in the study area through creation of awareness and interest; decision making and clarification; adoption and satisfaction.

The result of this study is in conformity with the findings of Okonkwo (2007) in a study on mobilization initiatives for enhancing farmers' participation in soil erosion management in agriculture in Anambra State, Nigeria. The author found out that farmers could be mobilized for participation in soil erosion management through initiatives on creation of awareness, interest, decision making, clarification, adoption and satisfaction. The result of the study also reinforced the findings of Olaitan, Alawa and Uzuegbunam (2009) on mobilization initiatives for enhancing secondary school students' participation in soil erosion management in schools in Cross River State. The authors found out that students could be mobilized for participation in soil erosion management through thirty six (36) initiatives in the creation of awareness and interest, decision making and clarification and adoption and satisfaction and recommended that the findings be used to mobilize students for soil erosion prevention and control in the state. The result of this study further agreed with the submission of Olaitan (2005) that students and stakeholders could be mobilized for participation in the prevention and control of soil erosion and other ecological problems through creation of awareness, interest, decision making, clarification, adoption and satisfaction for their involvement in the practice. The findings of this study further strengthen the view of Plaster (1992)

that farmer require a good knowledge on soil and other natural resources use in other to reduce the negative effects on their agricultural production.,

The findings of the study from the test of hypotheses further indicated that there was no significant difference in the mean responses of teachers of agriculture and extension agents in the twenty seven initiatives that could enhance the participation of farmers in the prevention and control of ecological problems. The implication of these findings is that it helped to validate the question raised and answered by this study. It also revealed that the work environment and experiences of the two groups of respondents did not significantly influence their perceptions on the initiatives that could be used to organized farmers and enhance their participation in the prevention and control of soil erosion and ecological problems in the state and beyond.Conclusion

Farmers in Cross River State presently do no participate in the prevention and control of erosion and other ecological problems because they believe it is government role to construct ditches, channels, contours, terraces among others to regulate runoff and other factors that predispose these problems. Farmers' negative attitudes towards the effects of their activities on land; menace and control of ecological problems necessitated this study.

The study to found out twenty seven (27) initiatives that could be used to organize farmers through the creation of awareness and interest; decision making and clarification and adoption and satisfaction for their participation in the control of soil erosion and other ecological problems.

The researchers recommended that the twenty seven initiatives be used to organize farmers through workshops and seminars in order to expose them to the menace associated with ecological problems and develop their interest for participation in the prevention and control of these problems in Cross River State.

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References

Okonkwo, U.V. (2007). Mobilization Initiatives for Enhancing Farmers Participation in Soil Erosion Management in Agriculture in Anambra State. Unpublished Masters Thesis; Department of Vocational Teacher Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Olaitan, S. O. (2005). (Ed) Soil Erosion Management Education: Unpublished; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Enugu State, Nigeria.

Olaitan, S.O, Alawa, D.A, and Uzuegbunam, C.O (2009). Mobilization Initiatives for Enhancing Students' Participation in Soil Erosion Management in Schools in Cross River State, Nigeria. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Nigerian Vocational Association;

thUniversity of Nigeria, Nsukka. 22-25 November.

Olaitan, S.O; Ali, A; Eyo, E. O; and Sowande, K.G (2000), Research Skills in Education and Social Sciences. Onitsha: Cape Publishers

Olaitan, S.O. and Lombin, G (1985). Introduction to Tropical Soil Science. Hong Kong: Macmillan Publishers.

Osinem, E.C. (2005). Environmental Education in Agriculture. Enugu: Cheston Agency Ltd.

Plaster, E. J (1992) Soil Science and Management. New York: Delmar Publishers.

Rundell, M (2003). Macmillan School Dictionary. Malaysia: Bloomsbury Publishing Company.

Uzoagulu, A. E. (1998). Practical Guide to Writing Research Project Report in Tertiary Institution. Enugu: John Jacobs Classic Publishers Ltd.

Fan Akpan Fan, Emilia A. Abang and Eno I. IbiangCross River University of Technology

Abstract

The thrust of the paper is to examine the concept of quality assurance in Nigeria's tertiary institutions with the view to proffering ways of improving the presently defective standard. The need for the quality management of higher education is premised on the consideration that education as a social service is perceived as a huge investment that could be run as a business enterprise. Quality assurance is therefore seen as a proactive approach to production processes in the manufacturing sector. In addition to developing quality culture in order to reduce wastage, there is an obvious need for improvement, for modernization to bring about desirable transformation in higher education so as to cope with globalization and its attendant challenges. The paper observes that factors like poor funding, inadequate infrastructure and poor attitude of staff and students towards teaching and studies respectively inhibit proper quality control and proffer that higher institutions in Nigeria should draw up the Code of Ethics for their academic staff and make their students evaluate their teachers for purposes of promotion, determination of tenure, dismissal or other forms of award.

Introduction Tertiary education is central to the creation of intellectual capacity on

which knowledge production and utilization depend and the promotion of lifelong learning, practices necessary for updating people's knowledge and skills (World Bank, 2002). Tertiary education, according to the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) in National Policy on Education, is the education given after secondary education in universities, colleges of education, polytechnics, monotechnics including institutions offering correspondence courses. The goals of tertiary education shall be to: i) contribute to national development through high level relevant

manpower training; ii) develop and inculcate proper values for the survival of the individual and

society;iii) develop the intellectual capability of individuals to understand and

TOWARDS QUALITY ASSURANCE IN NIGERIA'S HIGHER EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

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appreciate their local and external environments;iv) acquire both physical and intellectual skills which will enable individuals

to be self-reliant and useful members of the society.v) promote and encourage scholarship and community service;vi) forge and cement national unity; andvii) promote national and international understanding and interaction.

Tertiary institutions shall pursue these goals through teaching, research development, virile staff development; generation and dissemination of knowledge, a variety of modes of programmes including full-time, part-time, block-release, day-release, sandwich, etc; access to training funds such as those provided by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF); Students' Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES); maintenance of minimum educational standards through appropriate agencies; inter-institutional cooperation and dedicated services to the community through extra-mural and extension services. These processes must ensure that what is passed on in education must be considered to be valuable or worthwhile and will not be narrowly conceived in terms of skills or aptitudes but will have “cognitive perspective”, that is, knowledge which illuminates and connects with many areas of life and experience. Also, what is passed on will not be inert (passive) in pupils but will, ideally, come to inform their lives in a way which makes knowledge and understanding continually important for daily living.

The concept of quality educationEducation is a social service provided through the educational

institutions. The quality of this service could be determined from economic, philosophical and social perspectives. From the philosophical dimension, quality education will be viewed in terms of production of the ideal man that is a man of honour and good character. From the economic angle, quality education will be viewed from the return on investment. This involves efficient use of resources and production of high skilled manpower that will constitute a nations labour force. From a sociological point of view, educational quality will be assessed based on the extent education transmits the right social values.The quality of an educational system takes into consideration the following factors: the quality of teachers, the quality of facilities, the quality of instruction, the quality of morals and the quality of administration and management. That is, the quality of an educational system is a function of the quality and quantity of inputs, significant among which are space, books, materials, teachers and administrative personnel. Fadipe (2000) mentioned six efficiency indicators for quality control in Nigerian school system. These are the teachers, student, textbooks, infrastructural facilities, teaching and financial resources. It must be emphasized that degree of the quality of the identified indicators will determine the degree of the quality of the output of the educational system. The higher the quantity of the output of the educational system, the more

efficient the educational system, and the lower the quality of the output, the less efficient the educational system (Ajayi, 2009). Quality assurance therefore relates, to institutions and programmes. Different monitoring or regulatory bodies have been instituted with legal backing for the various levels of higher education in Nigeria. For example, the universities are monitored by the National Universities Commission (NUC); Colleges of Education by National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and Polytechnics by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).

Quality assurance is seen here as a proactive approach to production processes in the manufacturing sector. The origin of quality assurance can be traced to two Americans (W. Edwards Denning; Joseph Juran) and a Japanese, Ishikawa, who were identified as exercising the greatest influences on the total quality approach to management (Cole, 1996). They showed that by paying attention to the continuous improvement of the production processes and gaining employees' commitment to the idea of quality at every stage of production, it was possible to achieve consistently high standards of finished goods at a price the customer was more willing to pay in order to secure reliability and acceptable performance. ESIB (2005) observed that some of the lessons Higher Education Institutions (HEI) need to learn from the industry include making the desire for quality an overarching principle in every operation (creating a quality culture); being knowledgeable about the needs of students and academics (the actors involved in the service), creating desirability for the HEI through meeting social and economical trends while maintaining a high level of academic integration and superior quality. The implication of this is that the application of quality assurance facilitates a systematic method for evaluation of the performance of the Higher Education Institution; that is, it facilitates objectivity.

It is indeed fashionable in Nigeria today to talk of “qualitative education”, and in fact, some political parties have made it a slogan in their manifestos in recent electioneering campaigns. This is because to employers of labour, Oduwole (2010) laments, the poor quality of graduates of Nigerian tertiary institutions has been a source of great concern. Commenting on the recent creation of nine universities in Nigeria, Nsirim-Worlu (2011) posits that what we have come to stay with are glorified uneducated minds that cannot make simple correct sentences in either English or their native languages; who are destructive rather than creative. Factors that inhibit quality education in Nigeria's tertiary Institutions

Promoting quality education in Nigeria must take to its stride the following issues: poor funding, poor reading habits on the part of the students, examination malpractices, cultism, paucity of facilities the principle of equity of educational opportunities and the teacher factor. Between 1990 and 2006, the average budgetary allocation to education by the Federal Government of Nigeria was 9.68% as shown in Table 1 below.

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Federal Government Allocation to Education in Nigeria (1990 to 2006)Year % of Annual Felder Budget1990 5.31991 4.11992 6.31993 7.31994 14.91995 13.01996 10.81997 11.51998 9.61999 11.12000 10.12001 12.22002 7.52004 10.52006 11.0

Source: Ayeni, A. O. and Babalola J. B. (2009) p 224.This is far below the UNESCO recommendation that not less than 26%

of the annual budget by devoted to education. While Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been agitating for budgetary allocation of not less than 26% to education, the Federal Government appears not to be favourably disposed to the agitation. Ezekwesili (2006) adds that underfunding of education especially at the tertiary level has become a recurring phenomenon in the polity because almost everyone seems to agree that funds allocation to education sector cannot meet the sectoral and sub-sectoral needs taking into consideration the monumental decadence in the education sector. Educational funding has experienced problems over the years because of Nigeria's unstable economy arising from a rapidly expanding population with a dwindling income profile: a function of several macroeconomic variables demanding for resources allocation (Babalola, 2000). Education is affected hence the allocation of resources to education is unstable, insufficient and unsustainable. It does not conform to the international standards of national education funding which affects quality and quantity of products. In fact, it is the inadequate monetary resources to Nigerian universities that culminated in different strike actions by the Academic Staff Union of Nigeria Universities (ASUU) and the most recent was that of June 22, 2009 that lasted for about four months. Ezeoke (2009) laments that it has become more like a part of Nigeria's academic calendar, and from all indications, nationwide strikes by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to say the least, jeopardize the nation's education system as the country's rating on the ladder of countries with quality university education maintains a downward

movement, an indication of perpetual fall in standards. The impact may take some time to determine.

The majority of youth in Nigerian tertiary institutions have no commitment to a serious academic agenda that is in full alignment with the goals of the institutions or with the aspirations of the nation in establishing them. They tend to devote a disproportionate amount of their time on campus to pleasure-seeking, self indulgence and other less worthy causes. These students want degrees, diplomas and other academic “badges” for their social prestige values, but have no interest in acquiring the practical competences those diplomas signify. Their attitude to learning, according to Essen (1998), is a big factor in the on going process of destruction that the system is now undergoing. The youth are helping to destroy the higher educational system through cheapening it, corrupting it, and through the introduction of crime, violence and terror into what used to be a dignified academic environment. There is no way that much of the type of learning that a large percentage of such youths are currently obtaining from Nigeria's tertiary institutions could ever be functional. Side by side with these crowds of locus-eaters on every campus are a relatively small percentage of real students-inconspicuous, self-effacing, intellectually-bright and self-disciplined-whose values are built around the belief in hard work and self-denial today as the key to achievement and success tomorrow. Keeping severely clear of drugs, self-dissipation and the doubtful glamour of subversive student union politics, and the filth of secret cults, these are the ones who judiciously allocate their time among the competing claims of the three “Ls”, namely, the Lecture Hall, the Library and the Laboratory. In the end, these are the ones who win the laurels not by extortion, or blackmail or Naira power, but by sheer dint of hard work, total self-application and healthy attitudes. Such students are few, a mere handful among thousands, but their positive attitudes are a guarantee that, at least for them, their type, and this nation, the tertiary education they receive can be functional.

In recent times the activities of secret societies or cult groups have been pronounced in Nigerian higher institutions of learning. A secret society can be described as a group whose membership or very existence is unknown to non-members or that keep certain of their practices or conceptions hidden from non-members. Cult groups in higher institutions have become daring and violent. Lives have been lost, school calendars disrupted and members of the academic communities live in fear of the unknown. The root cause of increased cultism in the institution borders on the ills among the present generation of Nigerians. Closely related to the cause of cultism is the argument that poor learning environment in the institutions encourage cult activities. The challenges of expansion and over enrolment in Nigeria tertiary institutions are making learning un conducive for students in recent times. Also, the presence of slums in hostels, poor toilet facilities, incessant power

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outages, irregular potable water supply and inadequate health facilities contribute to incessant mass student demonstrations and protest.Examination malpractices have become a nauseating phenomenon in Nigeria's educational system. An examination malpractice is seen as a misconduct or any other acts not in consonance with the rules and regulations guiding examinations with a view to obtaining good results by fraudulent means. It can take various forms such as examination leakages, impersonation, copying from colleagues and the invigilators aiding and abetting cheating through the use of minicomputer and GSM sets.

The teaching-learning process at the tertiary level is too weak and our classroom environment is totally based on rote memorization. There is hardly any provision for the development of intellectual and thinking skills among students who are given very little time for active participation and interaction. The teacher seems to be in a very dominant role in the class. Unfortunately, the poorly structured classrooms quickly deteriorate into a vacuous waste of time.

Professional skills cannot be developed without the adequate facilities that are appropriately designed to equip the learner. The facilities should be adequate in size and be suitable for the programme. The laboratories, workshops and natures corners must be of adequate size and well equipped. Classroom or lecture rooms must be adequate in number and size. Enough sitting chairs and writing desks should be made available to ensure no student suffers any handicap. Some courses and departments can share classrooms, others cannot. Care must be taken to give each programme all it requires for effective teaching and learning. Many institutions care little about staff offices. Sufficient office accommodation is necessary for counselling, preparation of lectures, teaching materials as well as for marking of student work. Well ventilated office with basic items of furniture and storage ensures effectiveness. It must be emphasized that it is necessary to make the best use of the huge resources (human and material) devoted to education in order to achieve the pre-determined objectives of education. Inefficient use of resources in education will usually result in wastage, low productivity and low quality outputs.

Equity of educational opportunity in higher education in Nigeria is the childbirth of the federal character policy. The policy enjoins public authorities, semi-government agencies/institutions of learning, and even private schools to ensure and be seen to ensure, fair and effective representation of stakes or local government areas. The admission policy put in place to ensure equality of educational opportunities is through quota system. Quota system is defined to mean a number of people that should come from each state whether or not such candidates qualify for such admission, posts or honours. Other forms of quota systems which have emerged are “academic merit, educationally disadvantaged state and catchment areas and desertion”. With these

developments, conventional area for screening candidates for admission in our tertiary institutions have been modified, and this has certainly lowered the standard of qualification of students' entries into the tertiary institutions. This condition undermines merit and quality in university admission and lowers standards in our university education which goes to affect professionalism and productivity.

The method the teacher adopts dictates students' level of participation in class. It determines their interest, boredom, or curiosity. The teacher's skill and proficiency in presenting materials and content to the class are very important teacher characteristics. Teachers with thee characteristics know how to present both content and materials with clarity and meaning fullness. For example, if a teacher says, “This is important”, it is practically a foregone conclusion that students will somehow emphasize the content referred to by the teacher's statement.

The teacher is seen as constantly assessing the situation, processing information about the situation, making decisions about what to do next, guiding action on the basis of these decisions, and observing the effects of the action on students. Students therefore develop high motivation to achieve in class where the teacher is competent. Indeed, confident teachers have been generally more effective than teachers with low self-concept. The teacher creates the social climate of the class. The social climate in the class determines to a large extent classroom efficiency and effectiveness. The teacher's personality, attitudes, roles, interaction with students determine the social climate in the classroom. It is important to note that students who engage actively in group discussion whether in a group which has the teacher as a leader or pupil as a leader perform better than pupils who do not have interaction in their groups.

Learning should be useful, interesting and, as far as possible, take into consideration the needs of individuals within the group. It is not uncommon in Nigerian classrooms setting to find an economist being called upon to teach mathematics or a physics master to teach chemistry or a graduate in agriculture to teach social studies. All these amount to inadequate availability of learning materials. Where such a teacher is found he/she would lose sight of the fact that questions posed to students as part of the teaching-learning process should anchor mainly on the convergent and divergent types (not the now preponderant cognitive memory questions that are information regurgitation-oriented) which imbue the learners with the inquiry spirit, thought-provoking, contemplative and reflective thinking. Such evaluation questions begin mainly with “Why”, “How” and “Show that”. Contrary to Section 8, sub-section 61 of the National Policy on Education which states that “all teachers in tertiary institutions shall be required to undergo training in the methods and techniques of teaching”, a good % of teachers in Nigeria's tertiary institutions lack professional training in education. Such teachers lack

71 72

training in the following professional area: child development, learning and evaluation theories. The understanding and knowledge of these theories form the basic rudiments required in the classroom. If we consider the skills to teach, to read with understanding, to use language with care, listen very well and write precisely, then the untrained teachers need teacher skill and understanding of the theory behind the teaching profession. Additionally, a teacher as an agent of social control, teaches sound values and morals to students. He lies at the heart of the intellectual and social life of the society and it is through him that each generation comes to terms with its heritage, produces new knowledge and learns to deal with change. He therefore needs adequate pre-service and in-service training to meet these challenges.

We cannot have always the high caliber of staff if there is no staff development programme. Quality teaching is obtained when staff themselves are improved and updated in their competencies. In some institutions staff development programme is in name only. In others, only the privileged ones are favoured.

ConclusionAn attempt has been made to explain the concepts of quality and quality assurance in Nigeria's tertiary institutions. The paper also identified the existence of quality management in these institutions. The tertiary institutions derive their powers for quality management through their statutes. However, there appear constraints that apparently inhibit the tertiary institutions effort to adequately.

RecommendationsThe paper makes the following recommendations:* Tertiary institutions and their supervising agencies should ensure that

the curricula are reviewed from time to time and that effective labour market mechanism such as tracer surveys and regular consultations with employers and alumni be carried out towards adjusting the curricula to meet the changing needs of industries.

* University executives determine the direction of the tertiary institution through their vision (a desired future outcome) that answers the question “what do we want to become?”. Therefore, the orientation, preferences and values of the top officials of tertiary institution should be carefully examined. The educational values of the top officials must be consistent with the societal values on education as stated in the constitution, the national policy on education, and the international goals on education. Adesina and Awosusi (2004) describe what is left of the Nigeria's universities as the laughing-stock of the world universities today. Weaknesses include among others, the romance of professor with the political ruling elites; internal seize laid on the system by staff

unions, the role of the vocal minority in university governance and loss of grip over students. There is need for total quality management in schools. The concept of Total Quality Management according to Marmar (2005) implies that everything and everybody in the organization get involved in the exercise of the continuous quality improvement. The “management” in Total Quality Management means that everyone in the institution, regardless of his position or role, is the manager of his own responsibilities. It creates an environment where educators, parents, government officials, community representatives, business leaders work together to provide students with the resources they need to meet current and future academic, business and societal needs. The accreditation of degrees and academic programmes should be left to professional bodies empowered to regulate professional education and training or chartered learned societies and associations or to a University's Accreditation Committee specifically constituted by the Universities themselves for the purpose of accreditation. Any university that is incapable of designing its own curricula and syllabuses and being constantly innovative about them does not deserve the title of a university.

* The Federal Government should establish a Visitation Panel for National Universities Commission (NUC), The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), The National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) to examine their present role in the context of the laws establishing them, to assess their finances, accountability, administration and so on in the institutions.

* Internal examinations in the higher institutions need to be properly conducted and concerted efforts made to eradicate examination malpractice so that the international community will continue to value certificates awarded in Nigeria.

* Quality teachers are required for quality education. Therefore, for Nigeria to achieve her expected educational objectives, teacher-training institutions have to be strengthened. In addition, the institutions have to be conversant with the quality of teachers required to realize educational policy objectives.

* Students' ratings of the teacher instruction should be used as a measure of the performance of the teacher from the students' point of view. Fan and Ekanem (2009) studied. “The qualities of a good lecturer: Students' viewpoint”. The authors used all he 120 final year students in the Cross River State College of Education in the 2005/2006 academic year. Data analysis showed that students favoured most the lecturer who covered the syllabus before examinations at the end of a semester. The use of students' ratings in

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teacher evaluation is predicated on the assumption that (a) the student knows when he/she has been motivated to learn (b) it is the student whose behaviour is to be changed (c) student ratings constitute feedback to the teacher and (d) student recognition may promote or motivate good teaching. Most of thee assumptions are undeniably true.

However, there are really many questions about validity, reliability, generalizability, utility, interpretability and acceptability of students' raging as means of measures of evaluating teachers on the job, especially when the results of such evaluation exercises are to serve purposes such as promotion, determination of tenure, dismissal or other forms of award/reprimand, salary increase, appointment, termination of contract.

Students may be asked to evaluate certain aspects of teaching such as regularity of teachers, attention to students' problems, issues of dual-role relationship (to avoid conflict of interest, a teacher does not enter into dual-role relationships with students that are likely to detract from student development or lead to actual or perceived favouritism on the part of the teacher) and assessment of students. Such evaluations should be done cautiously and honestly. The details could be worked out by evaluation teams set up for that purpose.

* It is high time teachers in tertiary institutions had a code of ethical conduct. The code could cover the following key areas:i) Obligation to the teaching profession e.g. assignment of tasks,

relationship with colleagues.ii) Obligation to the public such as distinguishing between personal

and institutional goals, cooperation, accepting favours or bribes.iii) Obligation to students such as issues of favours, extortion,

denial of rights, harassment (sexual or otherwise) discrimination, confidentiality an duel-role relationships.

* At the tertiary level, the need for guidance and counselling is very strong. Most of the students at this stage might have come from Senior Secondary School (SSS) without guidance. In the tertiary institution they become “stranded” and find themselves offering courses that are not in conformity with their interests, abilities and personality dispositions. The Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education etc, are theatres where students have serious adjustment problems. Educational counselling becomes a necessary agency for addressing the myriads of students' emotional, academic, social, religious and psychological problems. After all, quality education can be assessed through a measure of the performances of its students. Quality education helps an individual to have self-fulfillment.

References

Adesina, A. L. and Awosusi, O. (2004). Reflections on Nigerian universities in the past decades. The Nigerian Social Scientist, March, 4(2): 2-11.

Ajayi, I. A. (2009). Efficiency in education. In J. B. Babalola & A. O. Ayeni (Eds). Educational Management: Theories and Tasks, 50 – 63. Lagos: Macmillan Nigeria Publishers.

Ayeni, A. O. & Babalola, J. B. (2009). Funding options for educational inventions. In J. B.

Babalola; G. O. Akpa, N, Ikediugwu; A. O. Ayeni & A. I. Atanda (Eds); Managing Inventions in the Nigerian Educational System, 223-228. Ibadan: HIS Lineage Publishing House.

Babalola, I. B. (2000). University funding response and performances under a declining economy in Nigeria. Ibadan: University of Ibadan, Department of Educational Management.

Cole, G. A. (1996). Management theory and practice. London: DP Publications.

ESIB (2005). European student handbook on quality assurance in higher education, hllp:/www.esib.org/protect/gap/QA.

Essen, A. J. A. (1998). Attitudes of youths and educators to teaching and

learning in Nigerian tertiary educational institutions. Implications and consequences. A Lead Paper Presented at the Opening ceremony of National Conference Organized by National Association of Professionals in education (NAPE) in collaboration with School of

thEducation, the Polytechnic, Calabar on 11 September.

Ezekwesili, O. (2006). Lack of funds is the bane of the Nigerian education system. Nigeria Television Authority at 9.00 pm, 27 October.

Ezeoke, J. (2009). Life for ransom. TELL, No, 29, July, 20, p. 48.

Fadipe, J. O. (2000). Efficiency indicators for quality control in Nigerian School System. In J. O. Fadipe & P. K. Ojedele (Eds.). Management of Nigerian Education: Personnel Management and Quality in Education. Ibadan: NIEPA Publication.

Fan, F. A. and Ekanem, J. O. (2009). Qualities of a good lecturer: Students'

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viewpoint. Ghana Journal of Education and Teaching, 1(7): 8-16.

thFederal Republic of Nigeria (2004) (4 edn). National policy on education. Yaba: NERDC Press.

Federal Ministry of Education (2005). Education sector analysis report. Abuja: Federal Ministry of Education, University TELL, No. 1, January, 10, p. 61.

ndMarmar, M. (2005). Total quality management in education (2 edn.) New Delhi: Sage Publications.

Nsirim-Worlu, H. (2011). Why create more universities. TELL, No. 1 January 10, p. 61.

Oduwole, F. (2010). The ticking time bomb. TELL, No. 49, December, 13, p. 50.

World Bank (2002). Constructing knowledge strategies for tertiary education: New Challenges. Washington: World Bank.

Fan Akpan Fan, Theresa E. Ekpo, Hannah A. Aaron andEmilia A. Abang

Cross River University of Technology

AbstractNigeria is a country largely blessed with natural resources, yet, does not

look strong on many of the popular attributes of attractiveness to global investors. The level of poverty is high, corruption prevalent, life insecure and politics has become a goldmine to be exploited for all its worth. This paper establishes the role of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) in putting things right in Nigeria. Nigeria, the paper shows, has become successfully integrated into NEPAD with programmes geared towards increased resource flow, improved trade access, debt relief, support for infrastructure, agricultural diversification and human development. On this basis, NEPAD has established The African Peer Review Mechanism, an organ for ensuring good governance in member nations. The Paris Club of Creditors has written off Nigeria's external debts. These actions, among other things, will increase the confidence index of Nigeria as an investment destination to foreign investors. The paper then recommends that there should be a fundamental change in the way society regards corrupt practices in Nigeria and that wealthy nations must not only increase aid but also open their markets to African goods if they are to make good on their rhetoric of commitment to the continent's development.

IntroductionNigeria is today is democratically governed. The country is endowed

with enormous natural resources – oil, gas, bitumen, solid minerals. With a population of over 140 million people, Nigeria still has a low per capita income. Some economists have said that with her huge natural and human resources, Nigeria has no business being in the group of low-income countries. The fact of the matter, however, is that Nigeria remains underdeveloped and has yet to make itself attractive to global investors. This is due primarily to the fact that the country continues to perform quite poorly with respect to those attributes that attract investors, whether domestic or foreign: labour productivity, quality education, health of work force, market size and market growth potential, infrastructure, tax regime and stability, regulatory environment, government incentives, rule of law/transparency, financial/economic stability and political/social stability.

There is mass poverty in the land and Nigerians are not happy about it. Poverty is seen as a multifaceted concept, which manifests itself in different forms depending on the nature and extent of human deprivation. In absolute

THE BENEFITS OF NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT (NEPAD) TO NIGERIA

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terms, it refers to insufficient or total lack of necessities like food, housing and medical care. Peter (2004) asserts aptly that poverty also includes the inadequacy of education and environmental services, consumable goods, recreational opportunities, social amenities and transport facilities.

Commenting on the 1999 poverty profile of Nigeria, Meze (2006) indicates that the incidence of poverty increased from 28.1 percent in 1980 to 43.6 percent in 1985 and thereafter declined to 42.7 percent in 1992 but rose again to 65.6 percent in 1996. In terms of human development, Nigeria was ranked number 142 by the United Nations Development Program's human development index (HDI) in 2000, putting the country among those placed in the “low human development” category by the UNDP. This author further states that Nigeria's performance in human development had not improved. In fact, the country had regressed significantly and was now ranked at number 150 and remained among the “low human development countries” UNDP data also show that the percentage of Nigerians living below the poverty line based on 1985 survey results, was 43.0 (national), 49.5 percent (rural), and 31.7 percent (urban). Another survey nearly ten years later showed nominal improvements, but more than a third of the citizens still live under the poverty line. Poverty in Nigeria is influenced by effective access to (1) education especially at the primary level (2) basic health care (3) proper and balanced nutrition, especially for infants and children, and (4) opportunities for self-actualization.

Corruption especially in public services, remains one of Nigeria's most important development obstacles. It pervades virtually all aspects of social, political, and economic life in the country. Arnold (1977) has studied the phenomenon and concluded that it has a destructive effect on honesty and integrity at the individual level. Nas (2003) believes that corruption and Nigeria go together. Speaking in a similar vein, Finlayson (2005) laments that the level of corruption is still a set back for Nigeria in spite of government's attempts to stamp it out or reduce it. This is unfortunate because this is a total misunderstanding of the determinants of corruption in the country. This approach makes it difficult for scholars to recognize that Nigerian corruption is a consequence of its poor and weak institutions and has little or nothing to do with the character of the people.

According to the Commission for Africa Report, the continent has suffered from governments that have looted the resources of the state; that could not or would not deliver services to their people; that maintained control through violence and bribery; and that squandered and stole development aid. By the African Union's own estimate, Africa loses as much as US $ 148 billion a year to corruption, increasing the costs of goods by as much as 20 percent, deterring investment and holding back development. Most of the cost is borne by the poor, who in some cases, are denied access to basic services (e.g. health care, police protection, and justice) if they refuse to make illegal

payments (Umunna, 2005). According to Eme (2002) in announcing a coup d'etat that brought him to power in Nigeria, Brigadier Sanni Abacha declared as follows: “our economy has been hopelessly mismanaged. We have become a debtor and beggar nation. There is inadequacy of food at reasonable prices for our people who are now fed up with endless announcements of importation of foodstuffs”. This declaration, like those of earlier military interventionists, was used to justify the decision by the military to overthrow the government. Unfortunately, as has been the case with other military interlopers before him, Abacha never succeeded in dealing with the problem of corruption in Nigeria.

As argued by the African Union in putting forth the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), African countries must deal effectively with corruption and embrace the policy of good governance in order to pave the way for genuine economic growth and development. Few Nigerians would disagree with this assessment as pervasive corruption, especially in the public services, continues to burden their lives and make engagement in productive activities – that is, those activities that produce the wealth that they need to meet their daily obligations – virtually impossible. Corruption makes life very insecure for virtually all Nigerians. Travelling within the country has become a nightmare. The police have so-called “road checkpoints” on virtually all access roads throughout the country. These checkpoints have, during the last few years, become what citizens have nicknamed “killing centers.” Commercial vehicle drivers who refuse to pay the bribes requested by the police maintaining these checkpoints are routinely shot and more often than not, killed. When killed, their passengers are relieved of their valuables, and the bodies of the dead drivers are then paraded before the press and the deceased falsely accused of being armed robbers and brigands. The claim, then, is that the deceased were brigands who had attacked the police and the latter responded in self-defense. Between 2000 and 2002, at least six innocent drivers were murdered by Nigerian police (TELL Magazine, October 23, 2006, p. 29). Within a modern nation, the police are granted the power to monopolize the employment of legitimate force so that they can protect the person and property of the citizen. Unfortunately, in Nigeria, the police force is pervaded by corruption, and police officers have privatized their public positions and are now using them as instruments for their self-enrichment. Thus, it is not unusual for police officers to become the source of the violence directed at citizens. Today, most Nigerians no longer consider the police a servant of the people. Instead of being a public agency whose sole purpose is to “serve and protect,” the police is now viewed as an organization whose main interest and raison d'etre is to “seek and plunder.”

The impetus to the struggle for independence in Nigeria was the desire, by Nigerian nationalists, to rid the country of colonialism and establish a government that would enhance the ability of citizens to maximize their values.

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Hence, the post-independence government was supposed to be made up of public servants whose sole purpose was to serve the people. The colonial government had had as its only objective, the exploitation of Nigeria and its people for the benefit of the United Kingdom. It was generally believed by the Nigerian masses that independence would change the relationship between government and the governed. The former would work for the latter and maximize the interests of the latter. Unfortunately, while the new Nigeria, which came into being on October 1, 1960, had a new government made up of indigenes, the latter retained the mentality of the colonialists, as well as the colonialists' institutions. Thus, today, government remains, as it was during the colonial period, as exploiter of the Nigerian peoples. Post-independence political life, which was supposed to be based on integrity, transparency and accountability in public office; respect for family life; leadership designed to serve the people; concern for the territorial integrity of the country; interest in Nigeria's children; and respect for the country's customs and traditions; is pervaded with corruption and senseless and bloody struggles for power. Instead of being nurtured and given the opportunity to contribute positively to national development, today's Nigerian citizens are subjected to abuse, irresponsible vilification, persecution, disrespect and violence. According to Udo (2002).

All that matters to the average politician is how to grap power, consolidate his grip on it and hang on it till death. Those outside the corridors of power are impatient to get in, and those inside are not in any hurry to get out. It is a character conceived in greed, nurtured by greed and sustained by more greed. Politics has become a goldmine to be exploited for all its worth. Those who are yet to take their turn believe that every minute spent by those inside is eating into their time, hence the fierce competition, (p. 22).

Hence, public service is no longer considered an opportunity to really “serve the public,” but a chance to plunder national resources for one's benefit. Since the civil war, which ended in 1970, successive military rulers have amassed enormous fortunes for themselves through “service” in government. Even after Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999, the view of government as a warehouse from which one could potentially extract a huge personal fortune remains as strong as ever. It is no wonder that elections to public office have become life-and-death struggles. The winner goes on to virtually limitless wealth and the loser (if not assassinated) must retreat to his or her village to live in extreme poverty and deprivation, hoping for another opportunity to enter the ring and fight his way to Abuja or some state office. The assassination of

political opponents has evolved during the last decade as the most effective way to secure public office in Nigeria. Most of these political murders are rarely ever solved. Since those responsible for the killings end up in important political positions, there is no incentive for them to support investigations into the crimes. Hence, most of them remain unresolved. These competitions have led to assassination of political opponents across the nation. According to the authoritative Nigerian TELL Magazine (October, 2006, p. 29) the following political murders remain unresolved:

· Alfred Rewane, elder statesman and patron of pro-democracy struggles, who was brutally murdered in his house, 1995.

· Bola Ige, former Attorney General of Nigeria and minister of justice, who was assassinated in his Ibadan residence, 2001.

· Obi Wali, a former senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1995.· Marshall Harry, former national vice chairman of the ruling Peoples

Democratic Party, (PDP), South-South, who later dumped the PDP for the All Nigeria Peoples Party, (ANPP). He was killed shortly after he joined the ANPP, March 5, 2003.

· Aminasaori Dikibo, a prominent Niger Delta politician, was murdered on February 6, 2004.

· Odunayo Olagbaju, member, Osun State House of Assembly, 2001.· Barnabas Igwe, NBA chairman, Onitsha branch, with his wife, 2001.· Ogbonnaye Uche, ANPP chieftain, Imo State, 2003.· Rasak Ibrahim, frontline supporter of Mohammed Lawal, former

Kwara State Governor, 2003.· Anthony Nwudo, ANPP member and Ebonyi State House of

Assembly aspirant, 2003.· Onyewuchi Emmanuel, ANPP chieftain, Imo State, 2003.· Toni Dimegwu, ANPP member in Imo State House of Assembly,

2003.· Usman Pategi, former PDP chairman, Kwara State, 2003.· Michael Agboola, State Primary Education Board accountant,

Kwara State, 2004.· Andrew Agon, member PDP Board of Trustees, 2004.· Luke Shingaba, chairmanship candidate, Kogi State, 2004.· Philip Olorunnipa, electoral officer, Kogi State, 2004.· Sunny Atte, Kogi State, 2005.· Hassan Olajoku, Osun State, 2005.· Jesse Arukwu, Advanced Congress of Democrats gubernatorial

aspirant, Plateau State, 2006.· Funsho Williams, Lagos State PDP gubernatorial aspirant, 2006.· Ayodele Daramola, PDP gubernatorial aspirant, Ekiti State, 2006

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Basically, the Nigerian ruling elites have failed the masses. They have not been willing or able to utilize the country's enormous endowments of natural resources to fulfill the ideals that informed the struggle for independence from Britain. Among the most important of them, is the failure to guarantee peaceful coexistence of groups and provide the institutional environment within which Nigerians, regardless of their ethnic or religious background, could compete fairly and equitably for the benefits of post-independence economic growth. NEPAD, it is hoped, is expected to re-orient governance in Nigeria and literally force national elites to return to the basic ruling model, which says that the civil servant and the politician are servants of the people and must carry out all their activities with that single belief in mind. Hence, transparency and accountability are considered, in the NEPAD document, very important qualities of the government.

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was created in 2001 through initiatives put forth by Heads of State of South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, Egypt and Algeria. These counties constitute NEPAD's Steering Committee. Other members are Mozambique, Botswana, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Rwanda, Gabon, Sâo Tomé and Principe, Cameroon, Mali and Tunisia. Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania have publicly associated themselves with the goals of NEPAD.

NEPAD is a strategy drawn up by Africans aimed at sustainable development, poverty alleviation, conflict resolution among nations and regional integration. It is, therefore, a framework for negotiation and partnership. It is essentially a forum for “African solutions to African problems”. Mekay (2002) opines that NEPAD advocates attracting Western investment and encouraging experts, partly by moderating the doubts of foreign investors, wealthy Africans and donors about the continent's strength and stability. Five task teams were created in 2001 to develop specific programs in the areas of capacity-building on peace and security with African Union; economic and cooperate governance with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; infrastructure with African Development Bank, Central Bank and financial standards with African Development Bank; and agriculture and market access with African Union. Ogola (2002) submits that NEPAD has been hailed in some quarters as a springboard for Africa's renaissance and condemned in others as another Western-inspired financial strait jacket based on a globalized system that plunged Africa into a whirlwind of poverty in the first place. NEPAD programs are geared towards:

* Increased resource flow.* Improved trade access. They advocate fair trade practices, maintaining

that it is within the capacities of the international community to create fair and just conditions in which Africa can participate effectively in the global economy and the body politic.

* Support for infrastructure.* Agricultural diversification; and * Human development (health and education)

The plan calls for an average economic growth of more than seven percent a year for the next fifteen years and conformity with Western targets on poverty reduction, education, health and sustainable development. NEPAD advocates attracting Western investment and encouraging exports, partly by moderating the doubts of foreign investors, wealthy Africans and donors abut the continent's strength and stability. The Nobel-Prize winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, feels that NEPAD also represents a golden opportunity for the G8 countries (Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and United States) to take responsibility for an international system (globalization) that plunged the continent into a whirlpool of poverty in the first place. At their June 26 – 27, 2002 gathering, the G8 placed their seal of approval on NEPAD, a programmes drawn up by African leaders.

NEPAD and Nigeria's DevelopmentNigeria has become successfully integrated into the international

community. She provides effective leadership, under NEPAD, Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS) and the Commonwealth of Nations. On the basis of NEPAD, Africa has established the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) based on international norms and practices. APRM is a mechanism that ensures progress on democracy, human rights, good governance and sound development. It expresses Africa's seriousness towards change. In the words of former Nigerian head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo, the African Peer Review Mechanism “is living proof of our determination and commitment to change for the better” (African Today, Voice of the Continent, Vol. 11, No. 8, August, 2005, p. 21). Amaefule, Akintude and Godwin (2005) report that:

The Pairs Club of creditors on Wednesday (June 29, 2005) Amaefule, Akintude and Godwin (2005) agreed to write off $18 billion of Nigeria's external debt in the biggest diplomatic and economic victory for President Obasanyo… Paris Club members who had the bulk - $30 billion of Nigeria's $35.5 billion debts are Austria, United States, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Italy, The Netherlands, Japan, The United Kingdom, Spain, Israel, France, Belgium, Russia and Finland. Nigeria's remaining debts are owned to the London Club and others. (p.2).

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According Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) (2000). Nigeria has since 2004 been paying over $1 b per annum to service her debt to Paris Club. The $ 1 billion, according to Nigeria's former Minister for Finance, (Dr.) Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo – Iweala, that money would be saved and spent on critical areas such as education, health and agriculture. The goals for the investing these public savings would be poverty reduction, wealth creation, and jobs, especially for the urban and rural poor. Nigeria's external debt outstanding which stood at a mere N175. million in 1970 skyrocketed to N3,121,725.8 million in 2000. The export figures between 1990 and 1998 were characterized by fluctuation and by the end of 2000, the export value stood at N2,287,400.3 million. President Obasanjo, while in office, argued that the debt debacle was caused by political rascality, bad governance, abuse of office and power, corruption, mismanagement and waste, misplaced priorities, fiscal indiscipline, weak control, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and a community that was openly tolerant of corruption and other underhand and extra legal methods of primitive accumulation (Africa Today, Voice of the Continent, Vol. 11, No. 8, August 2005, p. 21).

According to Umunna (2005) the combination of debt relief, and support for continental organs such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), with complementary governance monitoring by multilateral institutions like the African Development Bank and the World Bank, will hopefully, get Africa out of the debt trap and on the road to sustainable growth and development. Indeed, NEPAD is a blessing to Nigeria in spite of what may be said to the contrary. Indeed, the debt relief had added a major economic- cum political fillip to Nigeria's development.

This paper, therefore, makes the following policy recommendations:* Corruption is pernicious. It cannot be eradicated using a top – bottom

process. Efforts need to be complimented at all levels and there is need to achieve a fundamental change in the way society regards corrupt practices in Nigeria.

* The effective maintenance of law and order is a critical factor in the realization of national development. For the oil industry to thrive, and for it to get foreign direct investment, it is important that government ensures that both the oil-producing communities and the public, at large, respect the rule of law and follow proper processes for resolution of disputes and disagreements.

* The Federal Government of Nigeria should increase her annual budgetary allocation to education, which is the key to national development. A major challenge to the industry in Nigeria is the low level of adult literacy.

* Other sectors of Nigerian economy should be developed. One of such sectors is agriculture which has multiple advantages of ensuring food

security and raw materials for industry, providing employment and, therefore, steady incomes.

* The major hindrance to industrial revolution in Nigeria is the lack of focus and direction on agriculture for provision of raw materials for technological development. Nature has designed each vegetation – belt suitable for a particular form of agriculture. If the soil data for each region is obtained, a crop belt can be formed for ensuring that cultivation is based on comparative advantage.

* Reliable infrastructure should be developed. In spite of efforts to move it forward, the Nigerian economy is still characterized by inefficiency of some key infrastructure. Over the years, national infrastructure and services were neglected and investors overburdened with an additional cost of providing their own infrastructure.

* wealthy nations must not only increase aid but also open their markets to African goods if they are to make good on their rhetoric of commitment to the continent's development.

ConclusionNigeria is living today in an era of globalization: an umbrella term for a

complex series of economic, social, technological, cultural and political changes seen as increasing interdependence, integration and interaction between people and companies in disparate locations. It is an engine of commerce: one which brings an increased standard of living: to developing countries. Within the new globalized society, due recognition must be given to partnership. Rapid economic growth and poverty reduction in many emerging economies have been attributed to partnerships and integration into international economies, and generally through export-oriented manufacturing. The debt relief given Nigeria should help the country deal with poverty as well as improve the domestic economy and make it attractive for the inflow of investment. Dealing, specifically with corruption, should strengthen the confidence index among foreign investors. With savings from debt relief, Nigeria should be able to improve the quality of existing infrastructure and undertake the provision of additional structures, especially in communication.

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References

Africa Today, Voice of the Continent, (2005) Vol. 11, No. 8, August, p. 2.

African Union, (2006) No. 6 January – March p. 34.

Africa Today, Voice of the Continent, (2005) Vol. 11, No. 8, August, p. 25.

Amaefule, E; Akintunde, O. and Godwin, A. (2005). At last, Nigeria gets US $ 18 on debt relief. The Punch 17 (19) 1-2.

Arnold, G. (1977). Modern Nigeria. London: Longman Group.

Central Bank of Nigeria (2000). Statistical bulletin. Vol. 2, No. 2, December.

Eme, I. E. (2002). Politics for non-politicians: A contemporary Nigerian government and politics. Calabar: Emiro and Sons.

Finlayson, C. (2005). Investment growth through global partnerships. Africa Today 2(7): 39-41.

Mekay, E. (2002). Support without substance. New Africa, 16 July, p. 13.

Meze, M. E. (2006). An evaluation of the influence of poverty eradication programme on Anocha Local Government Area. The Enterprise: International Research Journal for Development 8(1): 79-82.

Nas, W. (2003). A well deserved medal. TELL, Nigeria's Independent Weekly, No. 46, November, 15, p.55.

Ogola, G. (2002). Hope for a new Africa. News Africa, 5 July, p. 10.

Peter, E. T. (2004). Poverty alleviation and national development in Nigeria. Nigeria Journal of Research and Production 5(1): 150 – 157.

TELL: Nigeria's Independent Weekly (2006) October 23, p. 29.

Udo, B. (2002). The shape of tomorrow. News Africa, July, 5. p. 22.

Umunna, I. (2005). Africa plays “Oliver Twist”. Africa Today 2(8): 17 – 21.

United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report (2006). New York: Oxford University Press.

AbstractEconomic law is another name for Marxism. It emphasizes the role of

law as instrument of exploitation in society. Its logic derives from its being a system of sociology, a philosophy of man and society, and a political doctrine and for this reason its justification lies in its being scientific, humanistic, social and econoclastic. Essential to this theory is the belief that man's salvation can only be achieved in a classless society when government, law, courts, private property and other institutions of exploitation will wither away. But the worries of several thinkers about this position is whether such an egalitarian society as envisioned by Marxism is not merely a utopia. Otherwise, critics are skeptical about the logic for realizing and of sustaining it.

IntroductionThe study is an attempt to examine the logic of law according to

economism as a philosophical theory. Economism is another name for Maxism. It is a reflection of an adherence to the belief that the relation between the base and superstructure is governed by the “law of motion and development” (Blackburn 232). As Marx and Engels see it, the relation is between the economic organization of society (base) and the political, legal, and cultural organisation and social consciousness of a society (superstructure). The conception shares the view that the sum total of the relations of production of material life conditions the social, political, and intellectual life process of society in general. But the way in which the base determines the superstructure has been the object of much debate, with thinkers from Engels onwards concerned to distance themselves from the supposedly reductionist and mechanistic implications underlying this view. And some thinkers have pointed out that relationships involved in production are not merely economic, but involve political and ideological relations. It is the belief in the concentration of all causal power in the base with everything in the superstructure being merely epiphenomenal that is referred to as “economism” (Blackburn 36). The problems associated with this relationship are similar to those with supervenience of the mental upon the physical, which is then disputed whether this takes all causal power away from mental properties. The logic of economic law is based on the position that 'law is a tool of exploitation of the masses of the people by the ruling class'. Its plausibility lies in the extent to which economism as a theory and commitment can be adapted for ensuring development and improvement in human society in

Cyril Asuquo Etim ,Ph.DDepartment of Philosophy

University of Uyo.

A LOGICAL INQUIRY INTO ECONOMIC LAW

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terms of bettering the living conditions of the generality of people in it. Now, the question we may ask is: what is the logical structure of economic law and its implications for social knowledge? The purpose of this study is therefore to show the logical construction of economic law and its adaptability to society. Its main objective is to determine the causal connection between class instrumentalism and the emergence of a perfect society in Marxism. Its justification lies in the possibility of finding the kind of knowledge that can be used to effect development and improvement in our legal system. Our approach is contextual, it draws materials from some aspects of philosophy, law, sociology, history, economics and politics; and is arranged as follows: introduction; logic of economic law; Analysis of Marx's theory of law and state; Marx's critique of Hegl's philosophy of right; implications for legal theory and social knowledge; and conclusion. . Logic of Economic Law:

Central to the philosophy that generates the logic of economism is the thesis that law is an instrument of exploitation. In his Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Simon Blackburn summarizes the philosophy of economism as resting on:

…Marx's concern with the different forms of human society, and their evolutionary succession in response to contradictions or irresoluble tensions between the different classes, or productive forces, in society (232).

We can then show the elements of thought in Marxian law, which thus suggest its logic. These elements are that:(i) Human societies are divisible into systems; (ii) Societies are inherently unstable systems; (iii) Social change is caused by internal contradictions in the social system. (iv) Legal reality is materially constructed.(v) A rational legal order is a product of capitalist attitude.(vi) Capitalism is the reason for class struggles in any society.(vii) Man's salvation is only possible in a communist (classless) society with

the withering away of government, law, courts, private property and other institutions of exploitation.

(viii) Only revolution will bring about the envisioned egalitarian society.(ix) The only method of inquiry for understanding the process of progress

and development is the dialectic, in which thesis and antithesis produce synthesis.

(x) Economism is not concerned with morality, but itself appears to be morality.

(xi) Justice corresponds to the mode of production in any given society.We can relate this approximation of Marxism to two logical approaches, one theoretical and the other practical.

(i) The first aspect of this logic is concerned with Marx's central ideas about the evolution and development of society that culminates finally into a classless (communist) society.

(ii) The second aspect of this logic is concerned with his commitment to the freedom of the exploited and oppressed people in a non-legal society after the revolution.Marxism may be seen as a system of sociology, a philosophy of man

and society, as well as a political doctrine. It is but a variant of the historic approach to legal knowledge. Like sociological and historical approaches to legal theory, Marxism concerns the content and application of law, the nature of which is regarded as one reflex of an economic substrate. It is unique in being the only body of social thought that has become the doctrine of “an important political movement and ultimately the orthodoxy of ruling parties in much of the world” (Freeman 953). Its foremost proponent is Karl Marx (1818-1883), a reputable thinker who has made a lasting contribution to social thought in seeing human societies as systems. But his view as to the inter-relationship of the parts of those systems, remains a controversial issue. He attaches primacy to the economic system as the base or infrastructure, and regards everything else as the superstructure: including political institutions, laws, religion and ethics. Marxism is a materialist theory of history and its world and man are not mechanical. Marx fashions his principle of development on the basis of Hegelian logic of dialectics which he considers to be very suitable. But Hegel substitutes for the familiar idealist notion of a higher reality beyond the actual world, which Freeman (1954) sees as the doctrine of a higher reality in the shape of what a thing is capable of becoming when it has realized its potentialities. He sees history as a process of the progressive revelation of the Absolute in its true nature in later time than earlier. For him, then, the dialectic is the clue to this development.

For Marxist thinkers, the attraction of the dialectic lies in its showing that phenomena do not exist in isolation and must be studied in their movement and development. It also depicts society as being full of contradictions. Hegel sees the law of contradiction as producing solution on a higher level, thesis and antithesis produce synthesis. He applies this to opposing forces in nature or society. Marx seizes on this approach towards history and society, referring especially to the issue of class-conflict. It explains the movement from capitalism to socialism. Drawing inspiration from the reality of mutuality and contradiction, Marxist thinkers have made two conclusions. As Avineri (141-150) points out: First, capitalism is a transient phase of human development. Second, it alienates the people. The next section is therefore an attempt to examine how the dialetics of matter and spirit affect socialist legal development.

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Analysis of Marx's Theory of Law and StateTheoretical Perspective:Marx's philosophy of the state and law is more or less a critique of

capitalist society. Marx sees the state as the most characteristic institution of man's alienated condition. It stands merely as a political abstraction of the social and historical forces that create and condition it. Thus, the state is both a part of society and functions as an instrument of class oppression. He traces the origin of a state to the concept of division of labour and maintains that the state is in contradiction to the real interests of all members of society. The state acts as an intermediary in the formation of all communal institutions and gives them a political form. It is this that creates the illusion that law is based on will rather than free will. The state may represent part of a class rather than a whole of it. One class may also control the state for the benefit of another class. Whatever autonomy the state might have, it remains for all practical purposes the state of the ruling class. The state is the source of power and status. But here it is necessary to avoid reductionism. Thus it is conceded that the relationship between state power and class interests represents a partnership, rather than one for the other.

His views on law are not set out separately in any particular treatise and so must be pieced together from several of his writings. Freeman (972) attests to this observation. He also maintains that Marx has no definition of law but concentrates his attention on how law is created; and more so that his interest is in ideology and law as a manifestation of this creation. It should be noted here that capitalist society is characterized by private property and this presupposes legal rights relating to the use and disposition of things. To Marx, capital is private property in society. He tells us that this enables its owner to buy the labour of another and use it to create surplus value. The worker is thus exploited because he does not receive his full value of the labour power. Marx believes that one of the main functions of law is to obscure power relationships. For though the legal form may refer to the right to enter freely into contracts, in the absence of equality of bargaining power such freedom is illusory. The legal form is therefore an ideological cloak, while the law itself may pretend to neutrality.

An essential paradox may be found in the writings of Marx and Engels on the question of justice and morality. First, they claim that morality is a form of ideology which always arises out of a particular stage of the development of productive forces and relations, in which case it is relative to a particular mode of production and particular class interests. This belief forces Marx to concede that capitalist exploitation is not unjust and so does not violate the rights of workers. It follows then that the Marxian critique of capitalism is not moral but scientific.

Second, their writings are full of moral judgements. There is no doubt as to their hatred of capitalist system and the effects that this has on workers.

They explain this attitude in terms of the conditions of the working class in England. Marx (376-416) endorses this view and emphasizes it in his Capital. Incidentally, his view of justice emerges most clearly in this work when he says that the content of justice corresponds to the mode of production. It follows that slavery on the basis of capitalist production is unjust, in much the same way as fraud in the quality of commodities.

In the German Ideology, Marx and Engels (172) maintain that communists do not preach morality at all. So they scorn every attempt to appeal to an ideal of justice. It can then be said that in Marxism or economic law there is no grain of ethics, since theoretically it subordinates the ethical standpoint to the principle of causality. But this assertion cannot go without qualification, for the rejection of morality by Marx appears to be only partial. Marxism may also be seen as a doctrine about fundamental goods and how they come to be realized, thus itself is morality. The good consists of eliminating the conditions of morality and the circumstances of justice. Marx's view of morality therefore appears to be internally consistent, which is to say that it can resolve the paradox.

Some contemporary Marxists use the language of human rights. As Cohen (12) notes, it is difficult to know whether they can say this and still remain faithful to Marxism. In his On the Jewish Question, Marx (24) refers to the rights of man simply as the rights of a member of civil society. And here, he is talking about the egoistic man and of man separated from other men or from the community. Thus liberty is not founded upon the relations between man and man but upon the separation of man from man. The proper application of the right of such separation is the right of private property. Marx believes that the state and law are temporary phenomena. Therefore revolution is inevitable and this is bound to break the power of the state. With this the state will either be abolished or will wither away, in consequence of which the judiciary will disappear. It follows dialectically that the state that will carry out its universal potential must end with communism. Thus proletarian rule is linked to the attainment of universal suffrage.

Practical Perspective:The description of law as part of economic interpretation of social

evolution is a by-product of the social and political ideas of Marx and Engels, which have been put to practice in Soviet Russia. We can assess the practical dimension of economic law by referring to Soviet socialist legal practice. The existence of this legal culture may be traced to the period of the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, which was expected to crystallize in the victory of communism over the bourgeois state. In this state, law was to wither away at the time of the revolution. Prior to the revolution the Russian legal system was not strong. But after the revolution, it returned to something like the civilian system. The three key ideas in Soviet law are socialist legality, parental law,

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and centralized economic planning. Socialist legality is concerned with rigorous adherence to Soviet laws; parental law is concerned with the educational function of law; while centralized economic planning emphasizes state control in the sphere of economic production and planning. Socialist legality connotes negative reliance upon both legal and fundamental rights. There is a constitution as a source of law that gives the legislature its powers. Though this constitution does not provide for separation of powers, it can yield to expedience of several kinds.

Soviet laws and courts are secondary organs of society, while education or legal socialization is considered primary. The socialist theory and practice of precedent seems to be closer to the civilian tradition than the common law approach. The lower courts tend to follow the liberal interpretation of laws, though the ultimate legal purpose is to be found in the party expectations of the Marxist-Lenist content. We can discern three types of interpretation, namely authentic, judicial and doctrinal. Authentic interpretation is done by the legislature. Judicial interpretation serves particular cases but it is not a binding precedent. But the Supreme Court of Russia can issue binding directives. Soviet legal reasoning embodies the concept of analogy of the statute in civil matters, which of course is not too extensive. Finally, there is the use of both the accusatorial and inquisitorial methods in adjudicating cases, but greater weight is given to the latter. Farrar and Dugdale (371) endorse this perspective of the analysis of Soviet law and practice.

Marx's Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right:G. W. F. Hegal (1770-1831) sets out to show the true authority of the

states. So in his Philosophy of Right, he writes:…The state in and by itself is the ethical whole, the actualization of freedom; and it is an absolute end of reason that freedom should be actual. The state is mind on earth and consciously realizing itself there… In considering freedom, the starting-point must be not individuality, the single self-consciousness, but only the essence of self-consciousness, for whether man knows it or not, this essence is externally realized as a self-subsistent power in which single individuals are only moments… The basis of the state is power of reason actualizing itself as will (279).

For Hegel, the state transcends individualistic interest. Conflict between these two can only be overcome by the conscious direction of the state. Hegel regards the state as the means of securing national freedom, which is why he attacks the Prussian state of his day for leaving no free play to individuals or to groups. He is far from advocating and authoritarian regime. To him, every developed state is an absolute end-in-itself, enjoying total

sovereignty and autonomy as regards its neighbours. He therefore does not seem to have foreseen the militant force of nationalism, which has developed in the present century, that ignores all his stress on freedom as the very essence of the state. He seems then, as Freeman (904) sees it, to exploit his fame while distorting his philosophy, for glorifying an authoritarian state viewed as an organic entity superior to the individuals comprising it and dedicated to national policy with war as its tool of national achievement.

He views the state both as individual and as particular, and this leads him to make a distinction between the momentary and historical dimensions of the state. He therefore stresses the independence of states, for which reason he regards international relations as external and international law as relative and restricted. To him, then, the one and only absolute judge is the absolute mind which manifests itself in the history of the world as the universal and as the germs operating there. Finally, he says that a state can be good of bad.

Hegel's philosophy of right has been criticized by Marx on the basis of the state and its bureaucracy. Consider what Marx says in his Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right. A careful look at the workings of our institutions shows that it is in the nature of a bureaucracy to be the state as formalism. This means that its aim is not different. But quite unfortunately, we discover that the real aim of a state appears to bureaucracy as an aim against the state. This then makes the formal spirit of the state or the real lack of spirit by the state into a categorical imperative. Yet in spite of counting itself as the final aim of the state, bureaucracy enters into conflict everywhere with real ends. Therefore its formal aspect and its content become interchangeable, thus turning itself into a circle. The aims of the state are transformed into the aims of the bureaux and vice versa. Bureaucracy appears to us an imaginary state beside the real state and yet it is the spiritual doctrine of the state.

For Marx, it is clear that Hegel's theory gives every object a dual meaning – the real and the bureaucratic. Yet the real thing is treated according to its bureaucratic essence, which therefore represents its other worldly spiritual essence of society. This is its private property, showing that the general spirit of bureaucracy is secret. The principle of its knowledge is therefore authority while its mentality is the idolatry of authority. It follows, as some thinkers would say, that its spiritual doctrine turns into what may be called “crass materialism”, which is clarified by Marx as “the materialism of passive obedience, faith in authority, the mechanism of fixed and formal behaviour, fixed principles, attitude, traditions” (69).

Now, a brief comparison of Hegel and Marx is inevitable. It seems that Hegel's political philosophy approves of a reality basically defective and distorted. One basic question is to ask: Can Hegel's interpretation of the world help us in changing it? His separation of civil society and the state appears to us merely a historical phenomenon. He ignores the social context of human relationship at the same time as he rationalizes existing social organization.

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We discover that while Marx believes that a person's political status is determined by his property relations and class differences of civil society become political differences, Hegel maintains that a person's private position determines his political status. This is why Freeman (956) maintains that it is perhaps the riddle of Hegel's philosophy of law to treat man not as a subject but to identify him with his predicate class. However, Hegel's conception of the state as good or bad implies that there can be good laws and bad laws. Unfortunately, he has not told us what should be done to such bad laws. And whereas Marx turns the triangle of legal reality on its toes, Hegel turns it on its head. Yet it would seem from their analysis of society that a more rational position should be based on the principle of complimentarity.

Implications for Legal Theory and Social Knowledge:We may evaluate Marx's theories of the state and law from two distinct

lines. First, how do we see his analysis of society and his prediction of what revolution will achieve? Second, is his theory applicable to contemporary society? These two questions are crucial to understanding the contribution of Marx's economic thought to both legal theory and reasoning.

Marx appears to have overemphasized the significance of the economic class and the fact that there are other dimensions of stratification that cannot be grasped through class theory. For instance, race and sex, or other struggles cannot be grasped by ecology and disarmament. He may view such inequality and oppression as wholly or partially in the interest of capitalism. But the dialectical interpretation of capitalism is also suspect. Why should it end with socialism? We find in Marx's view a contrast with Hobbes' Leviathan. It seems that it is Marx's picture of the primitive society that is here being idealized; whereas in comparison with Hobbes's description of life in the 'state of nature' the latter appears to be more accurate. For Hobbes (186) describes the state of nature as one of war of one man against another, a condition of internecine strife in which the life of man is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. It can be demonstrated with anthropological evidence that private property and contract institution can be found in a Marxian primitive society. More so, historians have shown capitalistic attitudes and practices in pre-industrial society as early as the ninth century A.D., with the account that the ideology of capitalism has rural origins.

But are there no laws which are against the interests of the ruling class? Surely, as Freeman (987) says, there are laws which reflect the interest of the general population and which are antithetical to the interests of those in power. But to say so leads ultimately to another problem: what does Marx mean by his concept of “the ruling class”? We can see that the power structure in contemporary society is a complex of power centre, which makes shifting compromises and accommodations but which does not coalesce into a single all-powerful ruling elite. It is therefore arguable whether any one interest can

regulate the power regularly to impose its will upon the larger society. It may be possible to establish the existence of a ruling class elite in a particular society at a particular time. At the moment, a little more than anthropomorphic conspiracy theory is to be found, which perspective offers no understanding of law as a complex and diversified rule-system whose origins are frequently as mysterious to elites as to the governed. It offers no vision of a legal system as a series of constraints upon law-giver and ruled alike. It refers to legitimacy and authority only in the context of being manipulated and mystified. There is no provision for the elaborate models of adjustments that characterize many situations of social control.

Finally, a very disturbing point of view about Marx's position is his failure to predict our twenty-first century developments. This remark is clearly legitimate, since he is seen as a kind of prophet. In many countries of the world today, it is possible to analyze capital: in terms of managerial revolution, which has thus split off ownership of the means of production from their control. It now means that only a tiny proportion of the population holds shares in private corporate enterprises, and there is no evidence to show that business policy has changed as a result of the change in personnel. It is also possible to analyze labour: between skilled and unskilled workers, between indigenous workers and immigrants, the plural groups and skilled groups, as well as the new middle class.

Marx may not have been unaware of these situations. There is no need to exaggerate the importance of the ownership cum control debate. The real question is not one of form but rather that of function. Its importance rests on the consequences attached to having control within an organization. However, Marx's conception of law as an instrument of exploitation and oppression by the ruling class cannot totally be discarded, for it offers very useful suggestions about the aesthetic and moral aspirations of our laws as they affect legal theory and reasoning.

The motive force of Marxism is three-fold: the encouragement given to people by the critical spirit of positivism to challenge existing standards; advances in contemporary science; and the failure of religions (spiritual) ideals to stand up to critical inquiry. Formal positivism shows indifference to the existing conditions of life in society. Its concern with reforms in Bentham and Austin emphasizes law as it is laid down, not with efforts to improve it. So it has been regarded as casting a cloak of legality around injustice. On the contrary, Marxism is iconoclastic and able to expose some of the injustices concealed behind traditional facades. It appeals to enlightened and emancipated minds. Unfortunately, as Dias (544) says, the enthusiasm which it arouses prevents its own assumptions from being subjected to similar iconoclastic scrutiny.

The characteristic feature of law in the economic perspective is its being an instrument of domination and exploitation of labourers by bourgeois capitalists. This is the issue of class instrumentalism in Marxism, in the contest

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of law. It appears that Marx's view of law is over-simplified. Even if some law does exist to exploit the workers and promote the interest of the ruling class, it is arguable that such law can have other functions as well. Marxists accept this, in terms of ideological and repressive functions of law. But they argue that where law exhibits oppression it does so to further the interests of the ruling class as opposed to altruistic reasons. It must therefore be said that whatever truth there is as regards the repressive use of law in society by those who wield power, it does not follow that such is its sole function. For it can be shown that regulation (and even coercion) is inevitable for proper functioning of the human society; law serves to preserve security and moral standards; law serves to restrain oppression by classes or individuals; law gives practical expression to the balance that has to be struck between competing interests; law serves to enhance the family; law satisfies the ineradicable human craving for justice; Given these other legitimate purposes of law, it seems that Marxism has failed to distinguish sufficiently between the various uses to which law can be or has been put. Otherwise, it limits itself to the repressive purpose available to Marx's society of his time: in terms of the need to provide economic organization for the new society and to discipline the social consciousness of the people, which together make legal enforcement ruthless.

Now, what is the extent of economic influence on law? What kind of a concept of law is appropriate for Marxism as practiced in the contemporary world? The first question can be accommodated within traditional concepts of law, whereas the second question requires a functional concept, in terms of what will usher in a better society. This means that law is to be an instrument of executive policy, rather than that of class. It follows that law should centre on the executive rather than the courts. A concept of law focused on the courts will be unsatisfactory against the backdrop of its operation in Russia. The decisions of Soviet Courts are dictated by policy, thus they cannot be understood except in the light of the theoretical and ideological background of the principles that are being applied. But at bottom, the idea of law remains very much the expression of an “ought”.

The contribution of the economic approach to law is varied. The most significant point that has emerged is the indispensability of law. This factor has survived the Marxist attempt to do away with it, because of its importance due to the practical experience of the Russian people. It may then be the case that the final stage of its development is not yet reached and it would seem, as Dias (576) observes, that even if it is reached, the ideas of prescription of behaviour and some measure of coercion will continue to exist. Even at this, there is no reason to suppose that all this cannot be called “law”. One difference this would make with the west is that law does not serve as a watch-dog on government. This distinguishes between a rule by law and a rule of law.

The picture of a revolution that will result in communism is believed to

have given impetus to Marxists both in and out of Soviet Russia to try to force the pace. Although such tactics appear to have been exaggerated by opponents of Marxism, they are unfavourable to the doctrine. Some thinkers are very skeptical about the plausibility of an argument based on such a possibility. For instance, Njoku (28) describes the movement of western societies from ancient Greco-Roman economic and social structure through the middle ages to modern capitalism as gradual and non-revolutionary. But it is arguable that to have to force the occurrence of such events, which are supposed to follow an evolutionary plan, can only raise doubts as to its correctness; this is not supposed to mean that it will never come. There is a policy in Soviet pronouncements about peaceful co-existence, which some thinkers believe to have been inspired by the expectation that the events will take place. This aside, it is arguable that for good or bad reasons the existing structure in capitalist countries need to be changed. Of course, this is not the same as saying that communism is a universal panacea, which is doubtful.

The attack on religion and its ideals is not justifiable. It would seem that Marxism has only succeeded in substituting one kind of religion for another. Otherwise, it is difficult to see how socialist jurists would maintain the economic doctrines of Maxism as the official creed and at the same time take account of developments that are inconsistent with it. It would involve the jurists in severe mental feats. More so, some sociological studies carried out in recent times have demonstrated that intellectual and religious forces have influenced the order and legal development in the society than those of the forms of production. Thus, except as a partial expression of reality, we cannot accept that law 'supervenes' upon economic system.

. Conclusion:Marxism may also be called economism. It is a theory which sees law

as a superstructure of an economic system. Law is a state tool which property owners use to dominate and exploit non-property owners. It follows that law is formal and such is the case with legal reasoning. Law is evil. It is the synthesis that emerges from the thesis cum antithesis which represents the conflict between capital and labour. The logical outcome of this conflict is the emergence of a classless society, in which inequalities and domination will cease and consequently the state and law will wither away. What is central to economic conception of law is the notion of class struggle. With the withering away of the state and law it is difficult to expect a new set of rules other than those implicit in Soviet socialist consciousness. There is no legislature to make laws; no courts to adjudicate on cases; and no executive to carry out a law, which is to say that there are no convictions for the executive to punish. Like historical and sociological approaches, Marxist law concerns the content and application of law, the nature of which is regarded as one reflex of an

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economic substrate. The real question therefore is not a matter of form, but that of function. For economic law, legal discourse and legal reasoning turn into questions of politics and class struggle. An ultimate connection exists between the social ideology and the shared social understanding of the Marxist-Lenist context, in terms of what is appropriate for law. Thus there is a connection between the logic, rhetoric and legal discourse of society and the dominant belief system of that society. Like legal dimensions of history and sociology, economic law reasoning adopts the logical principle of analogy and symmetry for expanding rules to cover similar cases. Since proletarian rule means executive rule, it follows that law should be an instrument of executive policy. The implication of this view is that courts are to decide cases to reflect the theoretical and ideological background of the principles of their formulation as expressing an “ought”. This is the justification for economic law.

References

Avineri, S. Hegel's Theory of the Modern State. London: Harper: 1972.Blackburn, S. Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. London: Oxford University

Press; 1996.Dias, R. W. M. Jurisprudence. 4ed. London: Butterworths; 1976.Farrar, J. H. and Dugdale, A. M. Introduction to Legal Method. London:

Sweet & Maxwell; 1990.Freeman, M.D. A. Lloyd's Introduction to Jurisprudence. 7ed. London:

Sweet & Maxwell; 2001.Hegel, G. W. F. Philosophy of Right. Trans. By T. M. Knox. London: Oxford

University Press; 1969.Hobbes, T. Leviathan. Edited by C. B. McPherson. London: Penguin Books; 1981.Marx, K. Capital. I. Trans. By B. Fowkes and D. Fernbach. London: Penguin

Books; 1976.Marx, K. “Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right”. In D. McClellan (Ed.). Early

Texts. London: Basil Blackwell; 1973.Marx, K. “On the Jewish Question”. In T. B. Bottomote (Ed.). Early Writings.

London: Pitman; 1963.Marx, K. “The German Ideology”. In K. Marx & F. Engels (Eds.) Selected

Works. London: Lawrence & Wishan; 1973.Njoku, F. O. C. Studies in Jurisprudence. Maryland: Claretian Institute of

Philosophy; 2001.

Alberta David Nsemo, RN, Ph.D (FWACN) Department of Nursing, University Of Calabar, Calabar.

&Akaninyene B. Abam, BN.Sc.,RN, RPON. General Hospital, Ikono, Akwa Ibom State.

AbstractAn interaction by which a nurse becomes increasingly sensitive to and

aware of the clients' state of being, of the dynamic relationship between clients' potentiality to perceive and be understood by the nurse is very fundamental to health care. Evidence abound in health care practices that poor interpersonal communication creates a negative gap between the Nurse and her clients / patients, bringing about misunderstanding, loss of self identity and confidence. These often result in dissatisfaction on the part of the clients / patients resulting in ineffective health care. Therefore, the need to assess the relevance of interpersonal communication between a Nurse and his/her clients / patients becomes necessary.

This paper is able to highlight the importance of interpersonal communication in establishing rapport, understanding the needs of the patients and planning effective intervention in meeting holistic health care. To be continually relevant, Nurses have to improve on their communication skills to meet the challenges of a constantly changing client's base.

Keywords: Interpersonal communication, nursing practice.

Introduction and Background of PaperInterpersonal communication is defined by communication scholars

and psychologists in numerous ways, usually describing participants who are dependent upon one another and have a shared history. It involves channels, the conceptualization of medium that carry messages from sender to receiver.

According to Berlo (1999) interpersonal communication is a process of passing information and understanding the information from one person to another. He further asserts that it is a means of transmitting and sharing of idea, opinion, facts, feelings, attitude in a manner that is perceived and understood both by the sender and the receiver of the information.

Interpersonal communication is a meaningful exchange and understanding of ideas, opinion, emotions from a source to a receiver to produce intelligent desirable actions, that will accomplish organisational objective (Alexander, 1998).

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Furthermore, Balton, Bobby and Kin (1997) opined that interpersonal communication occurs between people who have willingly agreed to interact and more importantly, these people view each other as unique individuals not as people who are simply acting out social situation, this is from a development point of view.

From the above definitions, therefore, it is affirm that interpersonal communication is a part of our moral relationship or interaction with other people. Our ability to influence others depends on our interpersonal communication skills.

Nursing is an art and science, a profession of caring for the sick. Its primary functions aim at promoting health, alleviating suffering, preventing ailments, restoring health and rehabilitating diseased organ back to health.

Interpersonal communication in nursing perspective connotes an interaction by which a nurse becomes increasingly sensitive to and aware of the client's state of being, of the dynamic relationship between the client and his or her environment and of the client's potentiality to perceive and be understood. Interpersonal communication is viewed by a nursing theorist Duldt, (1976) as a dynamic interpersonal process involving continual adaptation and adjustments between nurse and his/her clients engaged in face to face interactions during which each person is continually aware of the other(s). A process characterized by being existential in nature, involving an exchange of meaning, concerning fact and feelings, involving dialogical communing.

From contextual point of view, according to Park (2007) interpersonal communications differ from other forms of communication in that there are few participants involved. The interactants are in close physical proximity to each other, there are many sensory channel used and feedback is immediate. It is an important process to nursing profession because it can make or break a nurse-client relationship. The nurse should develop an humanistic pattern of communication towards the patient, this will enhance the nurse's awareness of a sensitivity to the client's state of being, dehumanizing attitudes, beliefs and interaction pattern replacing them with humanizing for trust, self-disclosure, feedback and competence.

Forms of Interpersonal Communication.Communication channels, the conceptualization of mediums that carry

messages from sender to receiver, take two district forms: direct and indirect (Giffin, Kim and Boddy, 1994).

- Direct Channels are obvious and easily recognized by the receiver. Both verbal and non-verbal information is completely controlled by the sender. Verbal channel rely on words as in written or spoken communication. Non-verbal channels encompass facial expressions, controlled body movement (Police present hand

gestures to control traffic) ,color (red signals, “stop”, green signals “Go')

- Indirect channel are usually recognized subconsciously by the receiver and are not always under direct control of the sender. Body language, comprising most of the indirect channel, may inadvertently reveal one's true emotions, and hereby either unintentionally taints or bolster the believability of any intended verbal message. Subconscious reception and interpretation of these signals is often described with arbitrary terms like gut-feeling, hunch or premonition.

Interpersonal Communication Model (Johari Window on Self Disclosure)

Self-disclosure is not simply providing information to another person. Instead, scholars define self-disclosure as sharing information with others that they would not normally know or discover, self-disclosure is seen as a useful strategy for sharing information with others. By sharing information we become more intimate with other people and our interpersonal relationship is strengthened. Johari Window is a useful way of viewing self-disclosure. It is a way of sharing how much information you have known about yourself and how much others know about you.

The window contains four pairs as shown below:

Know to self Unknown to self Known to others

Open Pane Known to self and others

Blind Pane Blind to self seen by others.

Unknown to others

Hidden Pane Open to self hidden from others

Unknown Pane Unknown to self and others.

Source: THE JOHARI WINDOW (FROM JOSEPH LUFT 1970)

- Pane or Area I (Open Pane)Is the behaviour and motivation known to self and known to others? It shows the extent to which two or more persons can give and take, work together and enjoy experiences together. The larger this area, the greater is the individual's contact with the real world and the more available are his/her abilities and needs to self and others.

- Pane or Area 2 (Blind Area)Represents behaviour and motivation not known to self but apparent to

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others. The simplest illustration is a mannerism in speech or gesture by which the person is unaware (such as a repeated reliance on a phrase such as “You know”?)

- Pane or Area 3 (Hidden Area)Represents behaviour and motivation open to self but kept away (hidden) from others. With a new acquaintance this is a large quadrant because we don't feel safe in revealing our true selves and feelings.

- Pane or Area 4 (Unknown Area)Represents the inner sphere of behaviour and motivation unknown either to self or to others. This area is assumed to exist because both the individual and the persons with whom he/she is associated discover from time to time new behaviour or motives or talents that were likely there all the time.

Principles of Interpersonal CommunicationThese principles according to Egan (1990) underlie the working in real

life of interpersonal communication. They are basic to communication. There are:

· Interpersonal communication is inescapable· Interpersonal communication is irreversible· Interpersonal communication is complicated· Interpersonal communication is contextual

- Interpersonal Communication is Inescapable: We can not communicate – the very attempt not to communicate communicates something. Though not only words but through tone of voice and through gesture, posture, facial expression. We constantly, communicate to those around us. Through these channels, we constantly receive communication from others.

- Interpersonal Communication is Irreversible: We can't really take back something once it has been said. The effect must inevitably remain. “Once a word goes out of ones mouth, we can never swallow it again” according to Russian Proverb.

- Interpersonal Communication is Complicated: No form of communication is simple, because of the number of variables involved. Even simple requests are extremely complex.

- Interpersonal Communication is Contextual: In other words, communication does not happen in isolation. There is psychological, relational, situational, environmental and cultural context.

Relevance of Interpersonal Communication in Nursing PracticeInterpersonal communication stems from Humanistic Nursing Communication

Theory (Luckman, 1999) and its relevance in Nursing profession/practice is of immense importance.

Interpersonal communication is vital because of the functions it achieves. Whenever we engage in communication with our clients we seek to gain information about them. We also give off information through a wide variety of verbal and non-verbal cues.

- Gaining Information: Interpersonal communication helps a nurse to gain information from his/her clients and vice versa. One reason we engage in interpersonal communication is so that we can gain knowledge about another individual “Social penetration theory says that we attempt to gain information about others so that we can interact with them more effectively” (Denga, 1988) we can better predict how our clients will think, feel and act if we know who they are. Through effective, interpersonal communication a nurse gains his/her information passively by observing the patients; actively by having others engage them or interactively by engaging them ourselves. Self-disclosure is often used to get information from another person when information feelings and facts are shared about self, environment and ways of coping, hence, information is gained, trust and confidence are built, further self disclosure from the patient can bring about effective care.

- Building a context of understanding: Nurses, patients and other therapeutic members engage in interpersonal communication to help in the understanding of what someone says in a given context. Therefore, interpersonal communication enhances understanding between nurses, nurses and patients and other paramedical members.

- Developing and Enhancing Nursing Process: Nursing process involves series of plans of nursing care for a specific client or group of clients. It involves assessing and diagnosing the client's condition, planning, implementing and evaluating. This developed body of knowledge and its holistic care is enhanced through effective interpersonal communication between nurses and patients, nurses and nurses, nurses and patient's relatives.

- Effective and Efficient Ward Report: Writing of ward report is a method of interpersonal communication whereby a nurse writes a comprehensive report of the patients at the end of his/her shift. The report covers numbers of admission, discharges, new prescribed drugs, those given and when next due, those scheduled for surgery, nursing care rendered to other patients. All these information is effectively and efficiently gotten through interpersonal communication and continuity of care is apparent.

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- Handing over of duty: Interpersonal communication between outgoing nurse and the incoming nurse is maintained through handing over of the shift between them. The outgoing nurse hands over the client one after the other by name verbally to their colleague who takes over informing her about his/her condition during the shift, the care rendered and the next line of actions/interactions. The incoming nurses now reads the report, follow the nursing process and continues effective nursing practice/care with good interpersonal communication.

- Establishing identity: Another relevance reason nurses or patients engage in interpersonal communication are to establish an identity. The roles the nurses or patients play in relationship help in the establishment of identity; the patient's name, religion, race and his title, hence, maintaining his integrity.

- Interpersonal needs: Nurses and clients/patients engage in interpersonal communication to express and receive interpersonal needs.

Williamschwtz (2000) identifies three of such needs to include inclusion, control and affection.* Inclusion: Is the need to establish identity with others.* Control: Is the need to exercise leadership and prove one's abilities,

good provider outlets for this need.* Affection: Is the need to develop a relationship with people.

- Interpersonal Communication Enhances Self-disclosure: It helps the nurse to gain information about the patient and other therapeutic members. It predicts the thought and actions of person we know, therefore, learning about how another person thinks and feels. Once one person engages in self-disclosure, it is implied that the other person will also disclose personal information. This is known as the NORM OF RECIPROCITY.

- Self Awareness: One major goal of or relevance of interpersonal communication is to become more aware of one's self and his/her potentials as: a nurse, advocate, counsellor, educator and motivator. The use of interpersonal communication as an avenue of awareness of self is graphically demonstrated in the model prepared by Joseph Luft called Johari Window as illustrated earlier. Therefore, a mutual awareness of the other person makes interpersonal communication inevitable. According to Burke (1990) the relevance of interpersonal communication should contribute to personal development in three significant areas:

(I) Functional Intelligence: The capability of conveying personal experience, knowledge and insight into social currency, learning to translate what the nurse knows into value and utility for others (the patients, his relatives and other health care providers) is enhanced through effective interpersonal communication. Personal growth and self actualization is achieved and generated within individual through interpersonal communication.

(ii) Social Decision making: The capability to participate effectively in the dynamic interchange of ideas with other; the capacity to both process data and work with people through decision and open exchange of idea encourages compliance to treatment regimens through interpersonal communication.

(iii) Self expression: According to Peterson (1997) development of a nurse and other health care providers a realistic and positive sense of self in human interaction, strengthening personal identity and social involvement through interpersonal communication. It helps the nursing profession to understand and become fluent with the basic social psychological terminology of the communication process thereby enhancing self-expression, knowledge and understanding and professionalism.

- Therefore, from the forthcoming, interpersonal communication increases awareness of communicative competence and encourages fluency and authenticity in relationship with clients, their families and other member of the multi-disciplinary team with which one works.

- It helps to explore the role of interpersonal communication and the role of authenticity in the nursing and social care context (Robinson, 1998).

- Through interpersonal communication between the nurse and his/her client assertiveness is apparent: expressing one's needs, thoughts, feelings or beliefs in a direct, honest confident manner while being respectful of other's thought, feeling and beliefs is assessed with authenticity, therefore, enhancing nursing practices.

Theories of Interpersonal Communication in Relation to Nursing PracticeDuldt, B. W. and Giffin, K. in its theoretical perspective for nursing posit

that to maintain dialogue, it is imperative, skills, and attitude in community. The theory provides a perspective of communication which can be useful in all situations in nursing practice. The theory aids the nurse in coping with the negativity experienced in the practice of nursing. This nursing theory can be utilized in conjunction with other nursing theories to provide a unique perspective of the communication dimension of interpersonal interaction. Duldt's interpersonal communication theory is realistic in that it recognizes the

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dehumanizing aspects of communication with nurses, clients and others. Her theory is an “is” rather than a “should be” theory.

It provides the nurse with an option for escape from negative pattern of communication and the potential to change relationship into humanizing interaction pattern and attitudes.

Interpersonal communication is a humanizing factor that is an innate element of the nursing process (assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation) and of the communication that occurs between the nurse and his/her clients.

Duldt, B. W. (1985) a nurse theorist in her model titled “Human Nursing interpersonal communication”, summarized the relevance of interpersonal communication in nursing practice as follows:

· It provides nurse efficiency and performance· It builds up patient-nurse morale and harmonious human

relationship· It establishes “mutual trust and confidence between the patient and

the health care giver.· It serves as a lubricant in fostering the smooth operation of

therapeutic media.· It enables the patient to have a sense of belonging and being

involved in his health decision making, feel not treated as an object but a involving subject.

· It encourages subordinates to supply idea, suggestions, input to improve work environment.

Summary/ConclusionIt is believed that the study of interpersonal communication is important

in promoting awareness of our capabilities as communicators and should contribute to personal development. Such development requires both theory and the opportunity for practice of behaviours with feedback as applicable in nursing practice. Interpersonal communication by implication is the means by which the nurse becomes increasingly sensitive to and aware of the clients state of being, of the dynamic relationship between the client and his or her environment and of the client's potentials. This paper therefore concludes that good interpersonal communication between the nurse and her client/ patient is an integral part of effective nursing care.

References

Alexander, R. (1998). Communication Tip, Department of Human Services thSydney. Viewed http:www.assessed 26 Feb. 2009.

Berlo, D. (1999). The Process of Communication. Rinehart: San Francis Company.

Burke, K. (1990). The Process of Communication, California: University Press.

Denga, K. (1988). Effective Communication in Nursing, Albany: Delner Publication.

Duldt, B. W. (1985). Theoretical Perspective for Nursing. Boston: Little Brown Company.

Luft, J. (1970. Human interaction. Palo Alto, Califonia: National Press

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Nsemo, Alberta David (Ph.D, FWACN) Department of Nursing Science University of Calabar,

Calabar – Nigeria. &

Akpaninyang, Victoria Ime (RN, BNSc) University of Calabar Teaching Hospital Calabar – Nigeria.

AbstractMany teens in today's world are suffering from tragedic consequences

resulting from early sexual adventures, one of which is unwanted pregnancy. This study aimed at determining the social and health implications of teenage pregnancy in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State. Thus specifically, the study sought to determine the influence of teenage pregnancy on the educational status of the pregnant teen, assess the association of teenage pregnancy with illegal abortion and Sexually Transmitted Disease. A null hypothesis which stated that there is no significant relationship between teenage pregnancy and school dropout for the pregnant teen was also tested in the study. Simple random, systematic and purposive sampling methods were used to select a sample of 120 teenage girls who had experienced teenage pregnancy in Calabar South Local Government Area. Data collected through questionnaire and analysed using simple percentages and Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis. Findings revealed a significant relationship between teenage pregnancy and illegal abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, as well as with school dropout. The study recommended moral and sex education to teenagers by parents and teachers, family planning and reproductive health information which should be made open to teenagers early enough in life as they approach puberty.

Keywords: teenage pregnancy, social and health implications.

SOCIAL AND HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN CALABAR SOUTH LOCAL

GOVERNMENT AREA OF CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA.

AGE (years) PERIOD STAGE

0 – 1 Infant Trust versus mistrust

2 – 3 Toddler Autonomy versus shame and doubt

4 – 6 Pre-school Initiative versus guilt

7 – 12 School age Industry versus inferiority

13 – 19 Adolescence Identity versus role confusion

20 – 34 Young adult Intimacy versus isolation

35 – 65 Middle adulthood Generativity versus stagnation

65 years onward Older Adult Integrity versus Despair

According to this theory, adolescents fall into the group of “Identity versus Role Confusion” (13-19 years). This stage is marked by physiological revolution due to rapid body changes. There is drive to freely experiment, explore and gain independence. During this period also, he/she tries to defend herself in terms of her peer group and the role the society expects of her which might bring confusion or negative identity (Denga, 2002).

Given that the next stage (Intimacy) is often characterized by marriage, many are tempted to cap off the fifth stage at 20 years of age. However, these age ranges are actually quite fluidly, especially for the achievement of identity, since it may take many years to become grounded, to identify the object of one's fidelity, to feel that one has “come of age”. Erickson also posits that in dealing with adolescents, one needs patience, acceptance, honesty, empathy and appreciation of his strength. Questions should be encouraged and answered clearly. If the adolescents is told ahead of time about any special problem connected with his/her changing body, he/she will be better prepared to cope with and accept them than when he/she is not informed and that, the adolescent will be more responsible when treated as an individual. In this study, the researcher used the same age range as Erickson.

109 110

Methodology

This study adopted a descriptive survey method of research design.

The target population used for the study comprised of all teenage girls in

Calabar south local government Area; while the accessible population

consisted of one hundred and twenty (120) teenage girls who admitted having

had teenage pregnancy selected from six (6) out of twelve wards in Calabar

south community using simple random sampling, systematic and purposive

sampling methods was used for the study. The twelve wards, each, were given

a chance of participating in the research by picking from a ballot, resulting in

the selection of the six wards. Systematic sampling method was used to select

households in each ward using household register and then, twenty teenage

girls under the age of twenty (20) who admitted having had teenage pregnancy

were purposively selected from each of the house holds for the study. A total of

one hundred and twenty respondents in the six wards were reached.

The instrument for data collection was a well validated structured

questionnaire, comprising of 24 items spread into five sections. Section A

consisted of four items on socio-demographic data, section B consisted of five

questions to determine the influence of teenage pregnancy on the educational

status of the pregnant teen, section C consisted of five questions to assess

how teenage pregnancy is associated with illegal abortion, Section D

consisted of six questions to assess the relationship between teenage

pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.. Information obtained was also

treated with strict confidentiality. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics

of frequency and simple percentages, while Karl Pearson's Product Moment

Correlation Coefficient was used specifically to test the hypotheses.

RESULTS TABLE 1: Socio-demographic Variables of Respondents N=120

Variable

Frequency

Percentage

(%)

Age in years 13-14 15-17 18-19

11 68 41

9.2 56.7 48.1

Total 120 100

Educational Qualification

Primary six

Post primary

Post secondary

No formal education

Vocational education

34

11

10

25

40

28.3

9.16

8.33

12.5

33.3

Total

120

100

Religion

Christianity

Islam

Pegan

Traditional

89

31

0

0

74.2

25.8

0

0

Total

120

100

Sponsor

Parents

Husband/boyfriend

Brother/Sister

Self

Relation

32

2

53

3

30

26.7

1.6

44.2

2.5

25

Total

120

100

111 112

Source: field survey, 2011.Table 1, shows the socio-demographic variables of the respondents. The age distribution shows that, eleven respondents / teenagers, representing 9.2% of the sampled population were between aged 13 and 14 years; sixty eight teens, representing 56.7% were between 15 and 17 years; while forty one teens, representing 48.1%, were between 18 and 19 years of age.

On the educational qualification of the teens, thirty four of them representing 28.3% of the sampled population had primary six; eleven teens, representing 9.16% had post primary qualification; ten teens, representing 8.33% had post secondary qualification, twenty five teens representing 12.5% had no formal education and forty teens representing 33.3% had vocational education.

Also, on the distribution according religion, the table shows that, eighty nine teens, representing74.2% were Christians; thirty one teens, representing 25.8% were Islams and none was neither pegan nor traditional.

The table also shows that, with regards to sponsorship, thirty two teens, representing 26.7% of the sampled population received sponsorship from parents; two, representing 1.6% received theirs from either husband or boyfriend; fifty three teens, representing 44.2% of the sampled population received sponsorship from either brother or sister; three teens, representing 2.5% have self sponsorship and thirty teens, representing 25%, received sponsorship from their relations.

ITEMS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE (%)

Continued schooling 41 34.2

Dropped out of school completely

79 65.8

TOTAL 120 100.0

Source: Field survey, 2011 Table 2, above shows that; 41 (34.2%) of the respondents continued

schooling despite pregnancy, while 79 (65.8%) dropped out of school completely.

ITEMS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE (%)

Rejection Lack of money

57 37

43.3 30.8

Lack of knowledge on how to care for the baby

83 69.2

* Not Mutually Exclusive *

Source: Field survey, 2011 From table 3 above, 52 (43.3%) faced rejection, 37 (30.8%) lacked

money, while 83 (69.2%) lacked knowledge on how to care for the baby.

TABLE 4: Form of Rejection Faced by Respondents

ITEMS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE (%)

Parents 44 36.7

Teachers 50 41.7

Peers 26 21.7

TOTAL 120 100.0

Source: Field survey Based on the data above, 44 (36.7%) of teenage girls said, they were

rejected by parents, 50 (41.7%) were rejected by their teachers, while 26 (21.7%) faced rejection from peers.

ITEM RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE (%)

Have you had abortion before?

Yes

No

TOTAL

63 52.5

57 47.5

120 100.0

Source: Field survey,2011

The table above indicates that, 63 (52.5%) agreed that, they have had abortion before, while 57 (47.5%) claimed, they have not done abortion.

TABLE 6: Reasons for Abortion

ITEMS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE (%)

Free from raising a child 67 55.8

To avoid rejection by parents

53

44.2

TOTAL 120 100.0

113 114

Source: Field survey, 2011 The above table indicates that; 67 (55.8%) wanted to be free from the burden of raising a child, while 53 (44.2%) of the respondents agreed that, they wanted to avoid rejection by parents.

ITEMS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE (%)

Continuous bleeding Offensive virginal discharge

TOTAL

79 65.8 41 34.2 120

100.0

TABLE 7: Health Problems Faced After Abortion

Source: Field survey,2011 The above table shows that; 79 (65.8%) respondents encountered problem of continuous bleeding, while 41 (34.2%) faced problem of offensive vaginal discharge.

TABLE 8: Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) amongst respondent

ITEM RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE (%)

Have you experienced symptoms of STIS?

Yes 74 61.7

No 46 38.3

TOTAL 120 100.0

Source: Field survey,2011 Table 8, above shows that, 74 (61.7%) agreed they have experienced symptoms of STIs, while 46 (38.3%) said, they have not experienced STI symptoms.

TABLE 9: Symptoms of STIs Experienced

ITEMS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE (%)

Itching of genital area 75 62.5

Lower abdominal pain 45 37.5

TOTAL 120 100.0

Source: Field survey,2011 From the table above, 75 (62.5%) of the respondents experienced itching of the genital area and discharge, while 45 (37.5%) respondents agreed that, they experienced lower abdominal pain.

TABLE 10: Showing Preventive Measures of Teenage Pregnancy

ITEMS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE (%)

Sex Education Use of Condom TOTAL

84 70.0 77 64.2

120 100.0 *Not Mutually Exclusive

Source: Field survey The above table indicates that; 84 (70.0%) of the sampled population

agreed that sex education can prevent teenage pregnancy, 77 (64.2%) agreed to the use of condom, while 67 (55.8%) said that abstinence is the best way to prevent teenage pregnancy.H : There is no significant relationship between teenage pregnancy and 0

school drop out for the pregnant teen.

TABLE 11: Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient analysis of the relationship between victims of teenage pregnancy and school dropout. N=120

Variable

SD

ÓY

ÓX

ÓX2

ÓY2

ÓXY

df

r-cal

Sign

Victim of Teen Preg.(x)

School Dropout (y)

40 40

56.57 30.43

-2760 -2760

9600

-2760

118

0.534*

.000

*Results not significant for groups at p<.05, df=118, crit-r = 0.196.

115 116

Source: Field Survey From the above table, the calculated r-value of 0.534 is found to be

greater than the critical r-value of 0.196, needed for significance at 0.05 alpha level with 118 degrees of freedom. With this result, the null hypothesis was rejected; this means that there is no significant relationship between teenage pregnancy and school dropout of its victims.

Discussion The analysis of research question one which sought to examine the

influence of teenage pregnancy on the educational status of the pregnant teen revealed that there is no significant influence of teenage pregnancy on the educational status of the pregnant teen. As shown in table 2, 79 (65.8%) of the respondents dropped out of school completely due to teenage pregnancy while 41 (34.2%) continued schooling. Other social factors as seen in table 3, can lead to teenagers dropping out of school. However, findings of Lana (2001) seem to agree with the finding of this study as they opined that teenage pregnancy places serious limitations on the educational pursuit of these teenagers. They added that due to cultural orientation of parents in the developing world, when a teenager becomes pregnant, there is a high tendency for the parents to show a lukewarm attitude towards her educational pursuit. The father is usually disappointed while the mother is disillusioned because of the proposed shame in which the teenage girl has brought to the family. Arising from this perception, is the abrupt termination of her education, hence her dropping out of school.

In the analysis of the association of teenage pregnancy with illegal abortion, result as indicated in table 5, 6 and 7 revealed a very high incidence of abortion among teens who are pregnant 63 (52.5%). Their resorting to abortion was to be free from raising a child, 67 (55.8%) and to avoid being rejected by parents 53 (44.2%). Health problems encountered by respondents after abortion included continuous bleeding 79 (65.8%) and offensive vaginal discharge 41 (34.2%).

This finding is in line with Makinson (2005) who opined that an unmarried pregnant teen may resort to induced abortion usually carried out by quacks and could end-up in serious health complications. A paper on Abortion and teen pregnancy (2009) also supports this finding that one of the reasons a teenager may opt for abortion is to be free from the burden of raising a child and that time, circumstances, finances and emotional health may leave them unprepared to consider pregnancy. Further assertions in this paper, still support the findings, that the idea of abortion is often pressured by their peers.Analysis of research question three which was to assess the relationship between teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections as indicated in table 8 as 61.7% of the respondents agreed to have experienced STI symptoms. 75 (62.5%) of the respondents experienced itching of the genital area and discharge while 45 (37.5%) experienced lower abdominal pain.

This result agrees with the findings made by the Public Policy Analysis and Education Center (2006), that the behaviour that put teenagers at risk for pregnancy, also put them at risk for sexually transmitted infections. Furthermore, that postpartum teen are at greater risk for STIs than the general population of teenagers because, they often initiate sexual activity at an early age, remain sexually active, have more partners over the long course of childbearing years, and have increased biological susceptibility.

The findings from the analysis of research question four shows that teenage pregnancy can be prevented. As indicated in table 10, respondents agreed to the following preventive measures; sex education 84 (70.0%), use of condom 77 (64.2%) and abstinence 67 (55.8%). This finding is supported by Armstrong (2001) who emphasized that sex education should not be a taboo, but it should be catered to youth at school as well. Furthermore, that family planning services offered at no cost, teen friendly environments, provision of adolescent clinics and the teen awareness programs by media on sexual abstinence and delaying of sexual activity can be important steps in prevention programs.

Analysis of hypothesis one which stated that there is no significant relationship between teenage pregnancy and school dropout for the pregnant teen revealed the calculated value of -0.534 being less than the critical r-value of 0.196, needed for significance at 0.05 alpha level with 118 degrees of freedom, hence the null hypothesis was rejected. This implies that there is a significant relationship existing between teenage pregnancy and school dropout. Faoye and Lana (2001) opined that teenage pregnancy places serious limitation on the educational pursuit of these teenagers. Due to cultural orientation of parents in the developing world, when a teenager becomes pregnant there is a high tendency for parents to show a lukewarm attitude towards her educational pursuit. The father is usually disappointed while the mother is disillusioned because of the proposed shame in which the teenage girl has brought to the family. Arising from this perception therefore is the abrupt termination of her education, hence, her dropping out of school. This study further confirms this fact in table 2, which shows 60.8% of school dropout from teenage pregnancy. Though the work of Jaskiewicz (1994) posit that there are several other predictors of sexual intercourse during the early teen years including early pubertal development, a history of sexual abuse, poverty, the lack of attentive and nurturing parents, cultural and family patterns of early sexual experience, a lack of school or career goals and poor school performance or dropping out of school. According to him educational failure, unemployment and low self-esteem are understood to be negative outcomes of early childbearing. These circumstances also contribute to the likelihood of teen pregnancy.

117 118

Conclusion and RecommendationThis study was conducted to determine the social and health implications

of teenage pregnancy. Based on the findings of this study, it was therefore concluded that, although teen mothers are more likely to drop out of school, other factors like finance, rejection / and or fear of being ridiculed can also lead to the teenage dropping out of school. The findings of this study will therefore be used in promoting adolescent reproductive health through health education programs.

In Calabar South Local Government, there is a high rate of teenage pregnancy with social implications such as high school dropout (65.8%), rejection (43.3%), poverty (30.3%) as well as medical complications such as STI (61.7%) and high rate of abortion (52.5%). These social consequences on the one hand were attributed to additional burden to the teen mother and family, inability to cope with studies, parents' lukewarm attitude towards the pregnant teen, cultural disapproval and general shame. The medical consequences on the other hand, were products of risky sexual behaviours, lack of care and malnutrition among others.

The following recommendations were therefore made;1) Parents should give a helping hand in the education of their children

with regards sexuality issues and even when pregnancy ensues, rejection of the teen should not be thought of.

2) There is need for the teenagers themselves to take the teaching of moral instruction seriously, to respect the sexual act and see it as something that should not casually indulge in. This is very important, havingexamined, the various social and health implications that connotes it.

3) Family planning clinics should be opened to teenagers and the providers should be willing to provide them with necessary information they need to know.

4) Those who plan the primary and secondary school curriculum should make sexuality education, a comprehensive approach.

5) Setting up reproductive health clubs in schools to afford teenagers a relaxed environment and an opportunity to discuss their sexuality concerns, will assist in building the capacity of the teenager.

6) Government, non-governmental organizations, philanthropist, churches should print and distribute more posters and handbills with abstinence messages and reproductive health information.

ReferencesAbortion and Teen Pregnancy (2009). Retrieved from

org/teen.

Archibong, K. (2008). Teenage Pregnancy Among Command Secondary School Students in Enugu. West African Journal of Nursing, 7(1), 50-

51.

Armstrong, B. (2001). Adolescent Pregnancy, In Alex Gitterman: Handbook of ndSocial Work Practice (2 ed). New York, England: Columbia University

Press.

Benerjee, B. (2009). Teenage Pregnancy: A socially Inflicted Health Hazard. Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 34(3), 227-231.

Cater, D. M., & Felice, M. E. (1994). When children have children: the teen Pregnancy Predicament. Am J Prev Med, 10 (5), 108-113.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1994). Pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and related risk behaviours among US adolescents. Atlanta, A. Centers For Disease control and Prevention.

ndDenga, D. I. (2002). Education and social psychology (2 ed). Calabar, Nigeria. Cats Publishers.

Dryburg, H. (2002). Teenage Pregnancy. Canadian Youth Health Reports, 12(1), 9-18.

stFajobi, A., & Ibekwe, J. (1992). Teenage Pregnancy. Daily Times. March 31 . P.9.

Foaye, G., & Lana, B. (2001). Facts of life for Adolescents. International Professional Nursing Journal, 7(2), 23-29.

Furstenberg, F. T. (2002). Burdens and Benefits: the impact of Early Childbearing on the Family. Journal of Social issues, 36(1), 64-87.

Galas, H. B. (2003). Baby mother. Journal of social issues, 36(1), 1-6.

Jaskiwicz, J. A. (1994). Pregnancy during Adolescence. Pediatr Rev, 15(3), 32-38.

Locoh, T. (2000, July 7). Early marriage and Motherhood in Sub-Saharan Africa. Win News. Retrieved from http://www.winnews.com.

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Makinson, C. (2005). The health consequences of teenage Fertility. Fam Plann Perpect, 17(3), 132-9

Macleod, C. (1999). The causes of teenage Pregnancy. South African Journal of Psychology, 29(1), 8.

Mayor, S. (2003). Pregnancy and Childbirth are leading causes of death in teenage girls in developing countries. British Medical Journal, 328 (7449), 1152 – 1153.

Presser, H. B. (2000). Sally's Corner: coping with Unmarried Motherhood. Journal of social issues, 36(2), 107 – 129.

Public Policy Analysis & Education Center (2006). Adolescent Health Information. Retrieved from http://policy.ucsf.edu/index.php/resources/

Quinlivan, J. (2006). Teenage Pregnancy. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 8. Retrieved from http://www.ranxeog.edu,au/publications/o-g.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (2002). Not just Another Single issue. Teen pregnancy link to other critical social issues. Retrieved from http://www.ped.state.nm.us/schoolfamilysupport/dl.pdf.

Treffers, P. E. (2003). Teenage pregnancy, a world-wide problem. Ned. Tijdschr Geneeskd, 147(47), 2320-2325.

World Health Organization (1996). A study on young people and health for all by the year 2000. Young people's health - a challenge for society. Retrieved from internet Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 22(7), 617-638.

AbstractThis study was designed to examine the administrative constraints that

affects the performance of Business Studies students in Senior Secondary Certificate Examination in Abak Urban. A structured questionnaire with 21 items was used to seek the opinions of 60 teachers from three Secondary Schools in Abak Urban. Four research questions and fours null hypotheses were used in the study. The data collected were analysed using mean and chi-square. The results showed that secondary schools in Abak Urban do not have enough modern instructional materials; that qualified teachers are employed, adequate instructional supervision is provided and that student's performance in senior school certificate examination has relationships with variations in administrative constraints. Some recommendations were made to reduce these administrative constraints.

IntroductionAdministration occurs in every organization including the school. In the

educational sphere or school system, the process referred to as educational administration or school administration. Edem (1990) sees educational administration as the total of all processes through which appropriate human and material resources are made available and made effective for accomplishing the process of implementation of educational policies, plans, co-ordinating, organizing, directing and modifying all school activities so as to achieve the educational objectives.

Denga (1986), pointed out that it covers all the activities of the school administration with regard to public, the school boards, students, teachers, Parents Teachers Association (PTA), the rules and regulations, non-teaching staff as well as school administrative team. It is a team effort geared towards the development of the child and the learning proves. Effective school administration helps to promote the quality of education through supervision ofteachers. Nwagbara (2003), encouraged the school Principals to see

Stella M. Usen And

Dr. (Mrs.) Enoidem B. Usoro Department of Vocational Education

University of Uyo, Uyo, Aks

ADMINISTRATIVE CONSTRAINTS THAT AFFECT THE PERFORMANCE OF BUSINESS STUDIES IN SENIOR SECONDARY

SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION: A CASE STUDY OF SCHOOLS IN ADAK URBAN, AKWA IBOM STATE

121 122

themselves as internal supervisors who should work hand in hand with the external supervisors of schools coming from the inspectorate. The external supervisors are not to be seen as fault findings rather they are facilitators in the management of human and materials in the schools.

Peretomede (1998), looked at educational facilities as those things of education which enable a skillful teacher to achieve a level of instructional effectiveness that far exceeds what is possible when they are not provided. They include classrooms, library, laboratories, workshops, teaching aids and devices such as modern educational hardware and their software in the form of magnetic tapes, firms and transparencies. It is therefore the material things that facilitate teaching and learning processes in the school. School administrators are to form maintenance culture, for proper management of school facilities. It concerned not only with the planning and construction of new building but also with the maintenance of existing facilities. Edem (1990) noted that maintenance of facilities should also include the regular repairs of school furniture, equipment, and fixtures and the interior and exterior painting of all buildings. The school compound should be made to look as attractive as possible. This should include those routine activities which ensure the daily smooth running of the school like cleaning the building and grounds, distributing, supplies, and locking and unlocking classrooms, offices and stores.

Concept of teachers and competenciesTeachers are important instrument in the educational system They

contribute immensely in the achievement of the learners through their method of teaching. As such, the school administrators are to make sure that they are competent to handle a particular class before such class is assigned to them There Wilson (2000) stated that teachers are to construe teaching and educating on the analogy of business; they are to make things work, show competence and be accountable for efficiency. It is equally important that for improvement of the quality in education that the principals make available the different and modern types of instructional materials which will facilitate teaching and learning.

Teachers should avail themselves of the opportunity for some level of professional training and be both certified and actually teaching in an institution. Teachers are very busy and industrious people. involved in a thousand ways in the thing that learners do in school. Akpan (I997) opined that a good business teacher has thorough competence in the overall functioning of business. Teachers need some level of competency in order to impact positive effect on the learners. In this case, Ogbodoand Umoren (2001) listed these competencies to include: professional preparation of the teachers. knowledge of the learners. leadership ability, health and physical fitness. good, fitness scholarship and emotional stability.

Edem (1998), adds that the purpose of both certification and registration of teachers is to identify qualified teachers and to protect the public from irresponsible quackery and incompetence. He said effective teaching qualities require well-trained and motivated teachers. This means that a teacher who lacks professional experiences or qualifications endangers the entire school system. His handling of the curriculum and teaching methods may largely depend on the methods his former teachers used in teaching him.

An incompetent teacher who lacks knowledge of the learner will definitely not be able to cater for either the age of the learner or his differing abilities. A teacher who lacks incentives and motivation is cut off from attending conferences, seminars or workshops and cannot better his professional knowledge so as to acquire needed competences.

A teacher with classes and excess workload finds it difficult to effectively assess the class academically and pay individual attention to the differing needs of his learners. Therefore, there is need for acquisition and availability of educational facilities. With new classrooms, students could be divided into manageable number in the new classrooms.

Statement of the ProblemKanfman (1912) said "the job of an educational administrator is to plan,

design and implement an efficient and effective learning system responsive to the needs of the learner and society: In addition, Peretomode (1998) stated that the duty of educational administrator is to oversee the proper running of the school in terms of staff and students welfare, development and implementation of educational programmes, provision of proper instructional materials, discipline and proper keeping atmosphere. But school administrators have not been able to perform their duties effectively and efficiently due to some administrative constraints. Some of the constraints include: financial constraint, improper planning, lack of modern instructional materials, principal hostility towards the teachers, frequent strikes by teachers and non teaching staff, indiscipline and examination malpractice by the students, unrealistic syllabus and frequent transfers of teachers.

It is on this note that the researchers deemed it necessary to examine how these administrative constraints impair the performance of Business Education students in Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in Abak Urban so as to find solution that will help to improve students performance.

Purpose of the StudyThe purpose of the study was: 1) To find out if qualified teachers are employed for the teaching of

business studies in secondary school in Abak Urban.(2) To find out if there are differences on the performance of students in

123 124

secondary school certificate examinations and variations in administrative constraints.

Research QuestionsTo make further investigations in the study, the following research questions were asked:1) Are there qualified teachers employed for the teaching of Business

studies in secondary schools in Abak Urban?2) Are there differences on the performance of students in SSC

Examinations and variations in administrative constraints?

Research Hypotheses1) There is no significant relationship between employment of qualified

teachers and the teaching of Business Studies in Secondary Schools in Abak Urban.

2) There is no significant relationship in the performance of students in senior school certificate examinations and Variations in administrative constraints.

Research MethodologyA survey research design was used for this study. Teachers in five Urban

Secondary Schools in Abak constituted the population for this study. Three secondary schools that offer Business Studies were selected for the study. This comprised the total number of 150 teachers. Out of this, 60 teachers were randomly selected as sample from the three schools. The instrument for data collection was a 2 I-item questionnaire. The questionnaire was personally administered to 60 teachers, 20 from each of the 3 schools. Information about students' performance was obtained from the SSCE results in the three schools. The chi -square and mean was used in the analysis. The cut off point of 2.5 was chosen for the interpretation of the mean values in the research questions. Any mean below 2.5 considered to be constraint on the issue considered. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.

Research Question 1Are qualified teachers employed for the teaching of Business Studies in Secondary School in Abak Urban?

Table: Mean response on the employment of qualified teachers

I SIN Items SA A SD D 4 3 2 1 EF YFX X

There are qualified Business Studies L teachers in the school. 108 81 6 3 60 198 3.3

Your

school

is under staff with

qualified

2.

Business teachers

52

42

34

16

60

144

2.4

Poor result in Business subjects show that

3.

teachers cannot teach

12

15

56

24

60

107

1.8

Frequent transfer for teachers affects

4.

students academic performance

52

93

14

9

60

168

2.8

Strike

actions contribute to poor

5.

performance in sse Examination

52

60

30

30

60

153

2.6

125 126

In Table 1 it was discovered that items 1, 2 and 3 with means of 3.3, 2.8, 2.6 which are higher than the cut-off point of 2.5 agreed that qualified teachers are employed and that frequent transfer and strike actions affect students performance. Items 1 and 3 with means 2.4 and 1.8 which are below the cut-off point of 2.5 disagreed that schools are under staff with qualified teachers also that poor result was not cause by teachers incompetence.

Research Question 2Are there any differences on the performance of students in SSC Examination as a result of variation on administrative constraints?Mean response of student's performance and variation in administrative constraints

Data in Table 2 disclosed students' performance in SSC Examinations and calculated in two Business subjects. In Commerce, Holy Family College had mean of 2.8, Comprehensive Secondary School had the mean of 2.8 and 4 in Financial Account. These ranked higher than the cut-off point of 2.5, this reveled that Holy Family College and Comprehensive Secondary Schools have qualified Business teachers and textbooks as such students are well taught and they have enough facts to tackle problems in SSC Examination, with this, they are able to pass examination.

Mercantile Commercial School had mean of 1.7 in Commerce and 2.4 in Financial Account. These means are less than 2.5 cut-off point and it shows that students had no textbooks and instructional materials even though they have qualify Business teachers. The students cannot do practical after class lesson. They are not exposed; to difference problems which they can possibly meet in the examination.

Hypothesis 1: There is no significant relationship between employment of qualified. teachers and students performance in business studies in secondary schools.

Table 3:Computed Chi-square (X:l) for Hypothesisl Employment of Qualified Business Studies Teachers.

SIN ITEMS SA A SD D X X:l DECESION There are qualified Business Fo 27 27 3 2

11. Studies teachers. in the sclIDol.

Fe 15 15 15 15 4 38.4 Significant

Your school is under slaIT with Fo 13 14 17 16 2. Qualified Business teachers Fe 15 15 15 15 4 0.6 Significant

Poor result in Business subjects

Fo 3 5 28 24

3. show that teachers cannot teach

Fe 15 15 15 15 4 32.8 Significant

Frequent transfer for teachers

14. affects students academic Fo 13 31 7 9 performance Fe 15 15 15 15 4 23.8 Significant

Strike actions contribute to poor

Fo 13 20 14 13

5. performance in sse Examination

Fe 15 15 15 15 4 3.9 Significant

99.5

Table 3 includes items 1, 2, 3, 4 and5 the nun hypothesis!, here stated that there is no significant relationship between employment of qualified teachers and student's performance in business studies in Secondary Schools. The critical table value is 7.82 and the calculated value is 99.5 which is higher than the table value. This means that the null hypothesis is rejected while the alternative hypothesis that there is a relationship between employment of qualified business teachers and students performance in Business Studies in Secondary Schools in Abak urban is accepted. This reveals that for students to perform well in SSC Examination there is need to employ qualified Business Studies teachers.

Hypothesis 2There is no significant relationship in the performance of students in SSC Examination and variations in administrative constraints. The letters A - E used in Tables 4 represent students' grades in W AEC from the different Secondary Schools.

Table 4:Students Performance

Teacher A-C D E TotalQualified Fo 241 59 164

Fe (237.01) (73.84) (153.15) 464Unqualified Fo 19 22 4

Fe (22.99) (7.16) (0.08) 45 260 81 168 509

Fo =ObservedFe = Expected X2 = 43.2From Table 4 above, critical table value is 7.82, calculated value is 43.2, therefore, there is a relationship between the performance of students from schools with and without qualified teachers.

Summary of FindingsQualified Business teachers are employed for teaching of Business

Studies and, that the poor result of students, is not caused by lack of teachers competency. Workshops and Seminars are to be organized for business studies teachers for effective teaching. Students' performance in SSC Examination is affected by variations in administrative constraints.

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Discussion of Findings Result of data analyzed in table I under research items 1, 4 and 5 with

mean response of 3.3, 2.8 and 2.6 confirmed that there are qualified teachers employed for the teaching of business studies in secondary schools in Abak Urban. Research items 2 and 3 with mean response 2.4 and 1.8 disagreed that the schools are under staff with qualified business teachers, also that the poor result does not mean that teachers can not teach. Here, Akpan (1997) opined that a good business teacher as thorough competency in the overall functioning of business.

Hypothesis 1: States that there is a significance relationships between employment qualified business teachers and student performance in business studies in Secondary School in Abak Urban. Here the null hypothesis was rejected.

Conclusion Based on the data analyzed and the findings made, the following conclusions were reached: * That Secondary Schools in Abak Urban do not have enough modern

instructional materials for the teaching of business studies * That qualified business teacher have been employed for the teaching of

business studies and that if there is any poor result on the part of the students, it is not because the teachers are unqualified.

* That facilities, like computers, printers, photocopies and generators are not adequate in schools. Other facilities like Library and Laboratory are not well equipped and are poorly maintained.

* That adequate instructional supervision is provided for teachers of business studies in Secondary Schools in Abak Urban and, that apart from the principal, other teachers do help to provide supervision.

* That workshops and seminars are to be organized for teachers.

RecommendationsIn the identified problems and the desire to reduce the administrative

constraints that affect the performance of business studies students in Senior Secondary Certificate Examination in Abak Urban, the following recommendations were made:* Proprietors of schools to employ qualified business teachers.* Government to organize Seminars and Workshops on the use of modern

instructional materials for qualified business teachers.

. Government to provide facilities like computers, printers, photocopiers and generators to ease in administrative work.

. School library and Laboratory to be well equipped and properly maintain to facilitate teaching and learning.

. Government to appoint experienced teachers as supervisors with good

References

Akpan, V. C. J. (1997) Business Education: Contemporary Issues and Strategies. Uyo: Dorand Publishers.

Edem, D. A. (1990). Introduction to Educational Administration in Nigeria Ibadan: Spectrum Books.

Denga, D. I. (1986). An Introduction to Foundations of Education. Calabar: Rapid Educational Publishers.

Nwagbara, A. C. (2003) Education in Nigeria: early learning and related critical Issues, Owerri. Tait Publications.

Ogbodo, C. M. & Umoren, D. N. (2001). A Handbook on Teaching Profession in Nigeria. Uyo: PRADSES BOOKS & PRESS.

Osuala, E. C. (1998). Foundations of vocational education, Onitsha: Cape Publishers Peretomode, V. F. (1998). Introduction of Vocational Education. Onitsha: Cape Supervision Lagos: Joja Press.

Wilson, J. (2000) Key Issues in Education and Teaching. New York. British Library.

129 130

Ene, Ene I.Institute of Education

University of Calabar, Calabar

AndEsuabanga, S. B

Faculty of EducationUniversity of Calabar, Calabar

AbstractHome climate was investigated as a determinant of occupational

preference of youths in secondary schools in Calabar Metropolis. Five hundred (500) youths from ten (10) secondary schools constituted the sample of the study. This was subdivided into 250 males and 250 females. A twenty-five item questionnaire was used to obtain data from SS2 students from the 10 schools sampled for the study. Students responded to home climate sensitive items, the psychological state of their homes, style of parenting and their opinion on how encouraging or otherwise the attitude of their parents are. It was found that home climate significantly influences occupational preference and marital status of youths. The counseling implications were highlighted and recommendations also made for further study to include that; parents should be careful in their patterns of upbringing and relationship with their children.

IntroductionThe family provides the first socializing experiences of the child. These

experiences begin in infancy with the attempt to guide and direct the child. Some of these attempts take place at a conscious level, but most of the time parents are not aware that they are influencing behavior at all. Probably most of the interactions or trainings, which they undertake deliberately and consciously, are not as effective as those expressions made unconsciously. Thus the social configuration that usually exerts the most profound and enduring influence on every human being is his family.

The fundamental meaning of the family is cogently expressed by Biestadt (1977) where he expressed that, of all the groups that affect the lives of individuals in a society, none touches them so intimately, or continuously as the family. From the moment of birth when the young parents gaze with adoration upon their very own creation, to the moment of death when

HOME CLIMATE: A DETERMINANT OF OCCUPATIONAL PREFERENCE OF YOUTHS IN THE

SOUTHERN SENATORIAL DISTRICT OF CROSS RIVER STATE

daughters and sons are summoned to the bedside of a passing patriarch, the family exerts a constant influence. The family is therefore, the first social group we encounter in our inchoate experience. It is the place where in one way or another we have the most enduring relationship. The family almost without any question is the most important social group that human experience offers.

The family more precisely, is always with us or rather, we are always with it. It is the family that gives us our principal identity and even our very name, which is the label of this identity, in the larger society in which we are part. The family, as the basic agent of socialization determines the child's future, his disposition, occupation, socio-economic class and friends directly or indirectly depending on its child-rearing pattern, structure and process.

According to Fafunwa (1974), the home in a tradition African society in its own way, an education centre. The home, he said, is an important influence during the crucial period of a child's formative life. It is of course, the bed-rock from where the child's future educational attainment, social and moral stability spring up. The requirements from the home prior to the need for formal education and family life are adequately met by the cultural patterns of upbringing of each home. It could, therefore be deduced that the family can reinforce or orientate children positively or negatively towards occupational choice and emotional family stability through its pattern of socialization.

Still on the effect of the home on the child, Bolarin (1977) pointed out how the pattern of child behavior modification from the home, has a direct bearing on the behavior of the child, his emotional stability and inclination in later life. The personality make-up of every individual is, however, subject to the influence of the environment in which he takes birth, develops and functions. Moreover, the development patterns, adjustive modes and the behavioural configuration of an individual are to a great extent molded by the total environment in which his psycho-physical individuality is shaped. Simply put, the personality and the behavioural configuration of every individual is fixed in the home where he or she is first socialized.

Home climate also referred to as, the psychological state of the home or the emotional state of the home, has a significantly tremendous effect on the child's social and emotional adjustment. Whether the home is emotionally conducive or not, greatly depends on the parents who are the pillars of the home. Homes with frequent friction, discord, dissatisfaction and lack of parental interest in either the children or on the general well being of the family, as a characteristic feature, are usually homes with emotionally unconducive atmosphere with a corresponding negative social and occupational adjustment on the child.

Consequently, Ambrosino (1971) noted that most youths who find themselves in this type of homes abscond from home in order to avoid unbearable home situations, which in most cases, are portrayed and promoted differently by parents at different times. His observation is probably in

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compliance with the fact that running away is a consequence of a wide variety of unbearable home situations, however, family conflict significantly determines the degree and rate of elopement.

Hurlock (1972) maintained that the influence of the family's psychological state on the child's personality development is dependent on the child, to a certain extent. She further maintained that the child who is always tensed and nervous gets more upset even by his parents' attention on the other child or by quarreling between his parents. On the other hand, an emotionally stable child reacts in a more different way about these events. A home where members are compatible, co-operative, democratic and a home where the focal members strive for the satisfaction of the children's needs, is a home that permits or promotes emotional stability which consequently enhance the development of a socially well adjusted individual. To live in such a family with such affectionate parent-child relationship is, of course, the yearning of every child.

Cognizant of the immensity of types and the intensity of the nature of all the problems and the difficulties by the home in its quest for family stability instigates this research on; determinant of occupational preference and family stability.

Purpose of the StudyThis study sought to investigate the effect of home climate on

occupational preference of students in the Southern Senatorial District of Cross River State.

Statement of the ProblemOne of the concerns of most families is to bring up their children to be

able to engage in meaningful occupations in life in order to provide for themselves and their families. This is usually done through education to socialize and develop their innate potentialities so that they can be useful to themselves, contribute maximally to the economic, social and political growth of the society. More often than not, this laudable objective has eluded most youths as a result of wrong choice of career. This often gives rise to job dissatisfaction, low productivity, high rate of labour unrest, retrenchment, unemployment and un-employability. These vices often arise from poor parenting as a factor of home climate. Moreover, a child that is born into a particular family under a given circumstance which places him under a particular socio-economic tends to affect his choice of career or occupational choice. The problem therefore, is that apart from many other factors luring youths into wrong career, home climate probably exerts another intractable influence on the career choice and family life of youths.

Research DesignThe research design adopted for this study was the casual comparative

or survey design. According to Kerlinger (1983) casual comparative design is a systematic enquiry in which the researcher does not have direct control of independent variable because their manifestations have already occurred or because they are inherently not manipulable. Inferences about relations among variables are made without direct intervention from concomitant variables of independent and dependent variables. This design is further preferred since it will enable the researcher to obtain the opinions of a representative sample of a target population so as to infer the perception or view of the entire population. It also seeks to establish the occurrence, depth and distribution of psychological traits and characteristics peculiar to college youths.

Sample and sampling techniqueThe target population for this study was all the SS2 college youths in

Southern Senatorial District of Cross River State numbering 7517. The sample for the study consisted of five hundred (500) college youths drawn from ten (10) Senior Secondary schools in five local government areas. The simple random and the stratified random sampling techniques were involved in the selection of the sample from the population. Simple random sampling was used in selecting five local governments from seven in the area. A random sampling was used in the selection of ten schools from seventy qualified schools while the stratified random sampling was employed in the selection of 250 males and 250 females that made up the sample. The third stage involved the actual sampling of the consensus that adjudged the instrument to be appropriate for its intended data collection. This procedure became necessary because, according to Kerlinger (1983), content validity is the most important property of an instrument.

The reliability of an instrument is the degree to which the instrument consistently yields the same scores when administered a number of times under the same or slightly different conditions. (Robb & Williamson (1981) and Denga & Ali (1983). To ascertain the reliability of the instrument the test re-test estimate was used. The instrument was pilot tested using forty (40) subjects from two (2) schools who were not part of the sample for the main study. The test was administered again to the same set of students after two weeks interval. The two sets of scores were correlated using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The results of the test-retest reliability co-efficient for the various scales in the instrument were significant as follows:

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Table 1: Test - retest reliability co-efficient of the research variables Variables No of items No. of testing X SD rrt

Rejective

Acceptance

Over-protective

5

5

5

1st 2nd

1st 2nd

1st 2nd

11.28 11.30

17.81 18.58

14.11 16.20

2.45 1.76

2.76 2.46

3.2

2.09

.96

.94

.78

Data AnalysisHypothesis (Ho)Home climate has no significant relationship with occupational choice.Table II: Chi-square (x²) analysis of the relationship between home climate and occupational choice. Table 2

Home Climate Occupational preference of students Arts Med. Acct. Engr. Hum. Total Cal. X² Cri. X²

Rejective Acceptance Over protective Total

16 (25)

47

(40)

16 (14)

79

70 (69)

104

(106)

32 (38)

206

21 (30)

59

(46)

12 (16)

92

45 (31)

32

(48)

19 (17)

96

9 (6)

8

(10)

10 (4)

27

161

250

89

500

*

38.00 15.51

Significant at .05 level: df = 8Based on the statistical analysis in table 2 above, the calculated chi-square (x²) value of 38.00 is greater than the critical value of 15.51, at 0.05 alpha with the degree of freedom 8. This implies that the null hypothesis is rejected while the alternative hypothesis is upheld. There is therefore, a significant relationship between home climate and occupational preference of students.

Discussion Variations in exposure and rearing of children significantly influence life

achievements. Parents of conducive environment, set high achievement expectations for their children, encourage them to be independent, reward and reinforce their behavior in a warm and positive manner. On the other hand, a harsh and conflicting home produces traits in children, which are inimical to academic excellence required for gainful occupational choice in later life (Dave 1993).

The result obtained from this study reveals that there exists a significant relationship between home climate and occupational preference and choice of students. This result is at variance with the null hypothesis. Supportive of this study is the findings of Hummel and McDaniels (1979), that in evaluating the world of work, three models could be borne in mind namely; people, ideas and things.

These three models work with the three parenting styles namely; laissez-faire, democratic and authoritarian patterns. With these three models therefore, it could be argued that from every day experience, some people will succeed better with people, whereas others would register better success working with ideas, and others, still working with things, depending on the magnitude of influence brought to bear on the individuals by the parenting style and psychological state of the home from where an individual is brought up. Psychological state of the home and specialization pattern matches with these models and determine adolescents' occupational preference and eventual family life.

The strong correlation between the rejecting home, accepting and over-protective homes showed a disparity between them. Whereas over-protective individuals in most cases seem to be the never do wells in that they are over pampered that they cannot stand on their own. They are dependent on all that are being provided to them that they forget about struggling and do not think how to make ends meet on their own. This is indicated on their preference of occupation. Those who had a balanced, warm acceptance were equally balanced in their occupational choices. The thwarted students were found to be poor in their inter-personal relationships and so were mostly found going for science and social science oriented occupations where they can keep away from people they have found to be unfriendly.

The result is related to Onyejiaku's (1987) observation that all broken homes caused by divorce, separation or desertion are accompanied by complication of antagonism between the parents and shifting of the child from one parent to the other. Such a situation, he noted, is bound to affect the psychological state of the home. The finding is also in congruence with the findings of Kaplan and Pokomy (1971) that rejecting parental attitudes were associated with high self derogation among adolescents and adults. It was also noted by Raschke and Raschke (1979) that the quality of family life is

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crucial to the well being of the child psychologically. Both experience and empirical evidence have shown that there is a strong correlation between children's attitude and their perception of parental attitudes. For instance, extroversion personality reflects rejecting parental attitudes.

Furthermore, the result of this hypothesis testing could be linked to the concept of a student who is not being accepted by others, especially his parents, may have a beclouded feeling of self. He may be filled with a sense of worthlessness and, as such, may develop a negative interpersonal relationship; thereby making himself a social misfit in whichever occupation he may find himself. It is important to note that the emotionally unstable home creates a boundary between security and identity, which as a result, debase the child's self conception and his perception of occupational development.

Moreover, the strong positive relationship between home climate and occupational preference of students could also be explained that individuals who experience frequent criticism, punishment and expression of concern may have a feeling of inadequacy, inferiority and confusion about who they are and what life generally is about. Consequently, parents' attitudes towards their children are crucial as anything in understanding of the psychological state of the home, significantly affects individual occupational behavior or outcomes and interpersonal relationships. The higher, therefore, the level of individual needs satisfaction, the higher his ability to choose and cope with his decisions.Conclusion

Finally, the hypothetical findings of this study reveal that the psychological state of the family where the child is reared significantly influence adjustment in life generally. This study is therefore, consistent with the theory that human behavior is learnt, (not by birth) through the socialization patterns of the family. Hence, the quality of family life and relationships exerts a profound and enduring influence on individual's occupational choice. Every other factor influencing occupational decision, according to Nenty (1991) is considered a nuisance in this study.

Recommendations:From the findings of this study, and the conclusions drawn from it, it is

recommended that: 1. Parents should be careful in their patterns of upbringing and

relationship with their children.2. Guidance, counselors should be trained and retrained to cope with the

counselling needs of parents and children especially youths.3. Occupational choice and sex education should be made available to all

levels of students for proper orientation and guidance. Government should enact a law on this for instruction in primary and secondary levels of education.

4. Government should create centers in every council ward and encourage parents and church leaders to be trained on how to handle child and youth related issues in the home and society.

References

Ambrosino. L. (1971). Rainway. Boston; Beacon Press.

Bakare, C. G. M. (1977). Vocational Interest Inventory Ibadan: University of Ibadan Press.

Biestedt, C. (1977). Parental Expectations and job satisfaction. Journal of Marriage and Family. 38, 102 – 108

Bolarin, S. (1977). Vocational guidance and choice of homes. Ibadan: Signal Educational Services.

Dave, A. (1993). Social Class and colour difference in child rearing. American Sociological Review. 2 (4), 698 – 700.

Denga, Ali A. (1983). An introduction to research methods and statistics in education and social science. Jos: Savannah Publishers.

Fafunwa, A. B. (1976). History of education in Nigeria. London: George Allen and Unwin.

Hassan, T. (1995). Understanding research in education. Lagos: Merifield Publishing Company.

Hummel, D. & McDaniels, C. (1979). How to help your child plan a career. Washington: Acropolis Books.

Hurlock, E. B. (1972). Developmental psychology. Tata, New Delhi: McCraw-Hill.

Kaplan, H. B. & Pokomy, A. O. (1971). Self-derogation and childhood broken home. Journal of Marriage and family, 33, 328 – 330.

ndKerlinger, F. N. (1983). Foundations of behavioural research (2 ed.) New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Nenty, J. (1991). Educational test and measurement. Calabar: University of Calabar Press.

Onyejiaku, F. (1987). Career guidance and counseling services in schools. Calabar: Wusen Pres Ltd.

Raschke, H. & Raschke, V. (1979). Family conflict and children self-concept. Journal of Marriage and Family. 16, 367.

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Introduction:The question of truth has been central in all ages just like the problem of

man. This is undoubted since the whole problem of knowledge, in short, philosophy, is the search for certainty. People have been asking and inquiring about the problem of truth. In the history of ancient philosophy, the sophists brought to light this problem through the assertion that truth is relative. For instance, Protagoras held that man is the measure of all things, skeptical position ,as exemplified in Gorgias, said that "nothing exists and that if anything does exist, it is not known, if known, it cannot be communicated. But yet, we see that Pilate during the trial of Jesus was faced with this question of truth. Even before this time, Socrates, Plato and other early thinkers had thought about the question which man still seek the answer today. Today we use slangs, “speak the truth and shame the devil”.In courts, one swears and concludes "I speak the truth and nothing but the truth" .

Different Senses of TruthThe question that stares in the face is, what is truth? What do we mean

when we say 'it is true'. Are we attributing a property to the statement when we say so, if so, what property? Certainly, nothing is either true or false, except when certain attributes are assigned to it. In this case, to verify is no truth but way to the end-truth here still remains the question about the necessary and sufficient conditions of truth. With this problem in view, let us examine individual opinions on this matter. Truth as we can see is an enigmatic concept. To define, it is one of the most difficult things to do in philosophy. To analyze it seems more an uphill 'task. All the same it cannot be either avoided or abandoned. On the basis of this, we must make attempts to go in to the concept and appraise it.

Really, the word truth has been used in many senses; at times it is ontological, verbal, moral or logical. Many a time, what we consider to be truth turns later to be false. For instance, at one time the earth was taken to be the centre of the universe with the sun, moon, and stars revolving around it, but today, science has discarded it. Consequently, this led to different opinions about the issue. Some say it is an intensive word used to add emphasis to our assertion, for example, he is a true friend meaning that he is really a friend.

However, the most primordial conception of truth in systematic

Michael E. Ukah (Ph.D)

School of General Studies, Michael Okpara

University of Agriculture, Umudike Abia State.

TRUTH ANDPHILOSOPHYphilosophy is that of the Greeks as such, for them, truth is 'Alethia' meaning, unhiddenness, uncoveredness, not concealed. An original meaning of truth appears in the word 'Phenomenology' as a taking begins out of concealment; let them be seen in their unconcealment. For E. Husserl, truth signifies the "entity showing itself in its selfsomeness". Heidegger sees truth as 'letting-be'. For Kant, truth is coherent of thought with itself. Kierkegaard strongly sees truth as 'subjectivity while J. Dewey connects the notion of truth with 'warranted assertibility'. B. Russell, in turn advises that for any successful theory of truth, the opposite falsehood must be admitted. And no wonder Marcus says that most theories of truth have been one dimensional.

Theories of TruthWith the above points in mind, let us discuss the different theories of

truth. The first one is the correspondence theory: For this school of thought, truth is the agreement between statement of fact and actual fact on the situation the judgment claims to describe. To this effect, Hamlyn says "a statement is true if and only if it corresponds with fact". This theory is widely accepted by the realists. No wonder the scholastics speak of truth as 'adequatio intellectus ad rem"- the conformity of intellect to the thing or object. Here, the object is assigned an ontological existence. In other words, truth is viewed as fidelity to objective reality. Some contemporary logical positivists, who support this view, consider truth as 'empirical verifiability (conformity of assertion to matter of fact). They generally mean that true judgment is one that attributes to the object the character it possesses, if not the statement is false. According to them, truth has nothing to do with our belief or disbelief.

All the same, this theory has been criticized under certain grounds. First is that, the question of verification of truth is not clear. How can our ideas be compared and verified with reality. Again, this theory assumes that our sense data are clear and accumulate as to represent reality as it is. Of course, we know that under many circumstances, our senses have disappointed us. Therefore the critics concluded that it is foolish for us to talk about whether or not our judgment corresponds with things as they are in themselves. They point out that there are many things we cannot verify experientially, like our knowledge of meaning (definition) relations and values, logic and ethics and mathematics. Does it mean that they are false? In fact, these difficulties gave rise to another theory of truth as coherence.

The coherence theory of truth holds that since it is not possible that propositions correspond with reality, truth can therefore only exits in the coherence of the body of propositions with each other. In this light, a judgment is true if it is consistent or in harmony with other judgment that are already accepted as true. The true judgment has to be logically coherent with other relevant judgments. Coherence simply emphasis relation among propositions. However, it does not reject new ideas; rather it holds that

139 140

spontaneous convictions have to be subjected to careful examination in order to know whether or not they are in line with other accepted ideas.

However, we have simple form of coherence theory which is concerned with formal or inner consistency in the particular system under consideration and the enlarged form of coherent theory. The latter is represented by the idealists, Plato, Hegel, Bradley and Royce and it emphasizes on all-inclusive and self-consistent whole or reality. Hereby, if one man's belief does not cohere with every other belief in the universe, it is false. Bradley went further than this by saying that judgments must always falsify reality because a judgment implies partial and relative truth.

Although this theory has satisfied the end or purpose for which it was propounded at a specific time, it has its own weaknesses. This is seen in its failure to distinguish! between consistent truth error, because there are many false coherent systems. Following the premise of this theory, we conclude that such false systems are true since they are coherent. The critics of this theory still point out that the theory is too rationalistic and intellectualistic dealing only with logical relations among propositions; hence it fails to give or furnish an adequate test for judgments of every day experience. Some still point at the vagueness of the theory, especially, the enlarged form of coherent which reveals the impossibility of one belief cohering with every other belief in the universe. Bradley, by saying that judgment falsifies truth; it means that truth has to remain entirely intra-mental without any expression of foundation, in reality. This truth becomes rationally oriented as pointed out earlier. These conflicting issues mad way for another theory of truth.

The third theory of the test of truth is the pragmatic theory. According to this theory, the test for truth is on its utility and satisfactory consequences or results. It rejects substances, essences and ultimate realities. Truth is rather something that happens to a judgment or idea. According to William James, the father of pragmatism, "what makes a thing true is its cash value, or the benefits one can derive from it and true ideas are those we can validate, assimilate, corroborate and verify, false ideas are the reverse.

Recall this theory is very contemporary in approach and goal; it is a dangerous one because it seems to justify many satisfactory beliefs. Truth depends on what appeals to individuals, so long as each has reason for that. And because of this relativism, the critics calls this 'by happy illusion' in which as Descartes calls it, one feeds (himself) oneself on such vain fancies as to imagine that one is becoming rich seen because of an inspiring feeling or belief. Again, while it is true that untrue ideas could lead to a satisfactory result, there are many judgments that cannot be pragmatically verified.

Looking at all these theories of truth, we see that each one has something good to contribute. For all of them to arrive at the truth, they should try to supplement rather than directly contradict each other. They can be combined in the definition of truth. Therefore, in such combined efforts, we

define truth as the faithful adherence of our judgments and ideas to the fact of experience or to the world as it is. But since we cannot always compare our judgments with the, actual situations, we test them by consistency with other judgments that we believe are valid and true or test them by usefulness ad practical consequences.

Now, having seen truth in the epistemological sense, let us look at it from the existential point of view. In this contemporary time, truth is no more seen only on the ontological level, but also in practice on the existential plane, truth is seen as part of man. Certain questions confront us here. To what extent does man live his truth? If the whole progress in philosophy is a search for truth, how far has man sought it? Is man to be blamed at all if he tells lies? Is it in the nature of man to say the truth of tell lies?

Basically, man is said to be en existent that thinks. Has Descartes not said that man is a conscious being, a being that doubts, understands, asserts, wills, denies..." It is certain now that man's thoughts do not stand apart from him, but constitutes his being. Therefore, what we are as human beings is to some extent determined by how far we can without thought penetrate reality. Thus, when man is said to be in truth or that he possesses truth, it does not necessarily mean that he has the totality of truth. e.g. being in truth could be likened to an organism in the universe, just as it breaths a small portion of air, so it possesses a small portion of air the point is that human truth is just a portion of the whole truth. It could be said in another way that man's possession of truth is a point of light in a great darkness of night.

Undoubtfully, our interpretation of truth as a view point is an invitation to open mindedness, love and fidelity. With the one realizes that one does not possess the whole truth and therefore could be; liable to error. And as seen as man becomes aware of this limitation he considers the other as a necessary means to attaining certain truths.

All the same, upon all these efforts made by many philosophers to find out the best test for truth, some people have been pessimistic and held that truth can never be attained. Those are the skeptics. They maintain that the mind can never overcome doubts and arrive at any certainty. As Bittle puts it ".. . the human reason is not perverted and diseased but it is in itself fallacious, weak and unstable". Hence, the skeptics deny the capability of the mind and faculties to attain any truth.

Eventually, they go on to argue and demonstrate their position. They hold that there is always some complete lack of uniformity or conflicting and erroneous opinion in our view. For instance, divergence among philosophers concerning any issue, the mind is constitutionally incapable of knowing truth with certitude. For them, there is also the impossibility of criteria, for distinguishing certainty from error. They say, since there is no final proof to what we claim to know, we often involve in infinite regress. Or when faced with

141 142

this dilemma we simply assume the truth, or at times one proof stands for the proof of another, thereby landing into a vicious circle. With all these, they maintain that the human mind is incapable of attaining truth with certainty.

But do we allow ourselves be stripped of the essence of our existence? Really, the skeptics ascertain can naturally be disproved. That error exists is due mainly to careless thinking, hasty conclusion, faculty education and lack of observation. But the very fact that we recognize error as a sure indication that the human mind possesses a criterion or test to distinguish truth from error. That we cannot eliminate all error is simply due to the limitations of our intellectual powers, but not to the essential inability of our mind to discover or recognize truth.

Secondly, there are truths which are self-evident to the mind that their validity is perceived by an act of immediate intuition and demands no further demonstration. Thirdly, the skeptics fundamental tenet of universal doubt is involved in contradiction. Fourthly, the skeptics implicitly admit the certainty of the principle of contradiction. They know there is a difference between truth and error, certitude and doubt. Their insistence on one side shows that they know that a thing cannot be true and erroneous or certain and doubtful at the same time. Fifthly, either the skeptics-have valid reasons for their universal doubtful they have no valid reason. If they have reasons, they surely know something that is valid and they no longer are real skeptics. If they have no valid reasons to doubt, they have no reason to doubt. The first place, their position is inconsistent; in the second case their position is irrational.

Some Philosophers and Truth Aristotle

Aristotle treatment of truth is linked to his analysis of the concept of being( the Greek on pI. onta) He teaches that the term" on" has four different meanings: accidental( on kata symbebekos). Being in the sense of being True (on hos alethes). Being (01).) of the categories, and finally potential and actual being( on dynamei jai energei. It is the second of these Beings that interest us here.

In most of his (Aristotle's) works including De Anima, Nichomachean Ethics and Metaphysics, the meaning of truth differs according to their context. This tends to create some problems. For instance one fundamental problem connected to Aristotle treatment of truth is an agreement or correspondence between our statements or thought and reality .Based on this he would say that truth is locate d in the statement we make and not in things. In another place, he will turn round and said the opposite; that Truth is found in the statements and as well as in things. In book VI of his metaphysics we read: 'For the true judgment affirms where the subject and the predicates really are combined, and denies where they are separated, while the false judgment has the opposite of his allocation.. .For falsity and truth are not in things... but in thought

(met.v1.4 1027b 20) It is quite clear from the above that truth and falsehood are located from our thought and statements and not in objects, and that things are nether true nor false. They exist or they do not exist. For a statement to be true it has to correspond to things, the way it is. From this we can say, that for, Aristotle, the essence of truth consist in the correspondence between our statements and reality. In the same vein, falsehood involves a disagreement or lack of correspondence between our statement and reality. A true statement for Aristotle is equivalent to an affirmative statement. We know, in our logic, that an affirmative statement could De false while a negative one could be true. All that is required is for our statement to agree with th fact of the situation whether affirmative or negative. A proposition which declares a statement to be true is itself true, while a proposition which affirms that a false statement is false is itself true. Here, truth is a matter of objectivity, of intellectual honesty. Aristotle states, without equivocation: "he who claims what is opposite to reality is in error" (Met BK.IX.I 0).

Aristotle equally said that eternal or necessary truth differs from temporal or changing truth depending on the circumstances of the case in question. Let us take, for instance, the case of Copernicus, if he was right that the earth revolves round the sun, and then it would be eternally and necessarily be true. On the other hand, the weather may in the course of the day change, turning from cold to warm. In this case, it would be true to say that it is warm and it is not warm. But one cannot add in this case' at the same time'. A definition can be both true and false. If it applies to something to which it belongs is true, if to something alien to it , it is false.

Aristotle believes that truth belong primarily to statements since they affirm or denies a relationship of correspondence. However, truth can also be applied to our perception of reality even though there is no judgment involved in perception. If we perceive an object that is actually present to us, our perception is true. The object itself can be true or false if we make true or false assertion of their existence, or when it is a fake, a misrepresentation of something such as a counterfeit coin. He makes it clear that our correct perception of reality and our affirmation of that perception have no effect on the reality in question. In other words, a reality or state of affairs is not the case because we correctly perceive or affirms its existence. Rather our statement is true because it correctly represents reality. It is reality that determines the truth of our statement since our statement has to agree with it.

Aristotle treated truth under moral consideration. He criticizes Plato for arguing in lesser Hippias that the same person can be true or false, and for failing to distinguish between one who can lie and one who likes to deceive. This very criticism is very important for it points to the fundamental difference between two men Aristotle and Plato regarding truth as moral issue. Plato tried to argue that truth and falsehood could be found in the same person and at the same time. Although this was a show of sophistry, it was equally a scandal in

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moral philosophy( Lesser Hippias 367c/d).Aristotle calls Plato's attempt to prove this very fact misleading, for as he puts it , Plato's argument :assumes "that a person is false who can deceive ". Plato is wrong according to Aristotle. The capacity to deceive is different from the actual deceiver. furthermore Plato's argument gives the impression that one who is voluntarily bad is better of morally.(Met. V.29.1025). From our earlier reflection on the theories of truth, we now discover that Aristotle belongs to the camp of those who advance correspondence theory of truth.

Plato Plato recognizes the importance of truth in his political programme,

although his commitment to truth is a completely different argument. His class division is characterized by racism, a self conscious racial superiority on the part of the rulers and an internalized acceptance of their own natural and intellectual inferiority on the part of the lower classes. Plato argues that no reasonable person can "controvert" or "deny" the fact that the lovers of wisdom are lovers of reality and truth. Popper is of the opinion that Plato is insincere and untruthful when he makes these statements about the importance of truth and about the true philosophers being the lover of truth. "but he himself" is not truthful when he makes these statement. He does not really believe in it, for he bluntly declares in other places that it is one of the royal privileges of the sovereign to make full use of lies and deceit.

Plato is not interested in truth as an intrinsic good. He is interested in making sure his lies are not found out, which is another name for deceit. He is constantly devising one form of deceit after another, all for the good of the state or the citizens, he claims" it seems likely that our rulers will have to make considerable use of falsehood and deception for the benefit of their subjects". In his Republic BK.VI, 484d, he tries to justify the training of philosopher king with traits of philosophical nature, with a natural disposition towards truthfulness and wisdom. What is required then is: The spirit of truthfulness, a reluctance to admit falsehood in any form, the hatred of it and the love for truth. (Republic BK. VI 485c)It must be pointed out that Plato recognizes the place of truth in his political philosophy, although his commitment to it is another thing. Plato maintained that the lovers of wisdom and truth are the real philosophers. He took truth as the highest good but at the same time, that very truth was a relative concept, according to him. This is because the philosopher king can employ lies when it pertains or concerns helping the state .In Plato's state while the philosopher king, who by definition is the lover of wisdom and truth are allowed to lie and deceive their people and their enemies. Here we remember popper who says that Plato, while writing, part of Republic, advises or advocates the use of lies by the philosopher king for the good of the state. Popper's translation of the passage reads thus: "It is the business of the ruler of the city, if it is anybody's, to tell lies, deceiving both its enemies and its citizens

for the benefit of the society; and no one else touch this privilege."(Republic 111.389 b/c). From the above, it is obvious, that even though, he ,Plato, says that truth is the highest good, he ,at the same time ,implied that it is not absolute, rather it is relative. And since it is relative it can be subjugated to something higher, that is, the good of the state here a lot of things are at stake, the moral issue or the double moral standard that is here advocated creates some moral problems with this kind of stand.

Our next major concern is the personal commitment Plato has for truth. We have earlier said that he had no personal commitment to truth. Commitment to truth means calling justice just and injustice unjust and standing by one's conviction. Socrates narrates how on two different occasions first on the Athenian democracy and under the oligarchy, he risked his life in defense of truth and justice. Socrates despite the imminent danger of death or at least imprisonment, he stood his ground. He did same under the oligarchy. He died in obedience to the law of the land, even though he was innocent. This is , for me real and total personal commitment to truth.

Aquinas Aristotle's treatment of truth that links it with being has its influence on

subsequent approaches to the notion of truth. St. Thomas Aquinas who represents the middle ages depends heavily on Aristotle. He links three concepts together -the truth, the knowable, and the good all of which he says are related to being. He explains that the truth is the proper object of the intellect just as the good is the proper object of the will or appetite. There is a difference between the intellect and the appetite regarding their separate objects. The intellect possesses what it knows; the will or the appetite reaches out towards what it desires. In other words the "good, is in the desirable things, and the term of the intellect, namely the true is in the intellect itself."(The Summa Theological Q.16.Art.1). We have another qualification regarding the relationship between the true and the intellect. This has to do with the manner in which the true is said to be in the intellect. For Aquinas, since the true is in the intellect in so far as the intellect is conformed to the thing understood, the aspect of the true must need pass from the intellect to the things understood" .(The summa Q.16 Art. 1) the relationship goes both ways because it is not alone, the intellect that is related to the object, the latter is equally related to the object, the latter is equally related to the intellect". So that also the thing understood is said to be true in so far as it has some relation to the intellect.(The Summa Ibid).

Aquinas relationship of this true is further explained by the concept of "essential and accidental"dependence.When a thing depend on the intellect for its existence, that relationship is essential, while it is accidental when it does not depend on it for its being. In Summa Q.6 Art .1, he says "natural things are said to be true in so far as they express the likeness of the species that are

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in the divine mind."Accidental relation then obtains in a situation where the things do not depend on the knowing intellect, where the intellect is not the source of its being. In summary, therefore, Aquinas sums up the concept of truth in the following way: "Thus, then, the truth resides primarily in the intellect, and secondarily in things according as they related to the intellect as their source"

The intellect performs two operations in relations to truth, That of knowing and that of affirming, it knows when it posses the form for the things it knows. But it must take a further step of affirming the conformity of the form it possesses with the things it apprehends. It is only then, 'it knows and expresses truth". Truth may be in the intellect in the sense that the intellect knows what the form of a thing is, but not necessarily" "as the thing known is in the knower". In summa Q.16 Art.3, Aquinas says that a thing is considered true to the extent that it "has the nature of the desirable". Also, the true has relationship to knowledge on account of its relationship to being. He equally highlighted that knowledge precedes desires or appetite the true must be prior in nature to the good.

Aquinas reached its climax of the treatment of the concept of truth when he says that God is truth. This he did without reference to either theology or even revelation. He simply arrived at that via his logic which centered on the fact that truth is primarily in the intellect if "it apprehends a thing as it is" and secondarily in things "according as they have their being conformable to an intellect. On both instances, truth is to the highest degree found in God... God's being does not merely conform to his intellect; His being 'is the very act of his intellect. So Aquinas following Aristotle says that truth is a relationship of conformity between the intellect and the object. We are now going to see the stand of the modem philosophers on the subject of truth.

Rene Descartes When, talk about Descartes, we remember immediately the 17th

century current of thought in philosophy. This period was a very serious era in the history of philosophy. It actually the period that saw the emergence of science in philosophy. It equally witnessed a break from the theocentricism of medieval period to the era of physical sciences. At this time Descartes arose with the doctrine of dualism between on the mind and body, which was bound to have a serious effect on the concept of truth. He reduces all reality to the two basic substance material and spiritual substance. He then defines matter as an extension without thought and mind as thought without extension. He goes on and identifies man with mind, a conscious thinking subject. From this a problem immediately arose, for Descartes elevated the conscious ego over everything else. The true become the rational, that which is clear and distinct to a knowing subject under the control of his reason informed by self evident principles. The intellect now turned into the conscious subject by Descartes,

become the pre-eminent place for truth. The intellect become the agent who knows who apprehends and affirms or denies the presence of the object or the absence thereof.

In his project, Mathesis universalis , he actually set out to come up the truth that will not be questioned. His journey of moving from denial to affirming his existence as undeniable truth, actually gave his stand a strong metaphysical- epistemological foundation. The emergence of Martin Heidegger in the European philosophic scene challenged and changed the whole situation again.

Heidegger Martin Heidegger stands out so clearly as one of those contemporary

thinkers who gave real treatment on the concept of truth. His essay "On the Essence of Truth" is one of the most outstanding analyses on truth. He reviews the opinion of his predecessors on truth and found them unsatisfactory. He said that the traditional understanding of truth was based on two things: Christian theology that makes God's mind the ultimate foundation of truth as correspondence; and modern rationalism that started with Descartes and continued with Kant. Our major interest now is on what Heidegger considers the real essence of truth.

For Heidegger the Greeks were the first the advance the course of this very noble task: search for truth. The Ionian Philosophers were actually puzzled by this very fact in getting at the basic stuff or truth upon which the universe was made. The Greeks, Heidegger explains, used the word Aletheia to express what we today call VERIT AS in Latin or truth in English. This would immediately mean un-concealment, un-veiling, dis-closure. Truth as un-concealment means general disclosure of being in totality, not any particular being but being in general. It refers to the essence of being. the implication is that truth is un -concealment presupposes a prior concealment of being in its totality, a prior darkness and obscurity and nothingness before the discovery, the unveiling of being. Also, truth, as un-concealment of the previously concealed requires efforts on the part of man, what Heidegger calls Dasein. The effort is very necessary for Dasein exist in both conceal and un-concealed manner. While the concealment is the mystery of being that had always been hidden from Dasein from all eternity until o recent there occur a monumental event, the discovery of being. He calls this mystery "the danger of un-truth which consists in the possibility that Dasein may forget the fact of un-truth as concealment of being. Another danger is what he calls erring. This consist in man's failure to grasp reality in its completeness and to appreciate it as it is and as it supposed to be. He equally analyses the event of truth as un-concealment and the condition of its possibility. Here, introduces two principal concepts; ex-science and Ex-position. Ex-sistence is an exposition of a thinker to the revelation of being, to the disclosure of reality in totality. IT is the

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transportation of a thinker, any original thinker not necessarily a philosopher, from the darkness of concealment to the overtness of unconcealment. The event of truth as un-concealment constituent the very possibility of human history and human civilization; for real and authentic civilization is possible when man is exposed to the un-concealment of being, learn to understand and appreciate being-human and non-human-allowing them to be as they are and as they are supposed to be. This is the most fundamental transformation in man and the beginning of culture, history and civilization.

Concluding RemarksWe have so far tried to appraise the concept of truth from purely

philosophical view and that made it very academic and intellectualistic. Truth generally is a moral issue and truthfulness is a moral virtue. It should not be discussed simply as a speculative or abstract concept. To tell the truth is to be a moral observing being. From our discussion so far, we observe that the various theories of truth have their pros and cons. For them all to arrive at authentic truth, they must be ready to complement themselves, for none of them is completely exhaustive. If that is done, we can then have the definition of truth as "the faithful adherence of our judgment and ideas to the fact of experience or to the world as it is. But since we cannot compare our judgment with the actual situations we test them by consistency with other judgments that we believe are valid and true or test them by usefulness and practical consequences.

From the point of view of epistemology, we have seem that skepticism is one of those philosophical theories that challenges us in our quest for truth. The argument of the skeptics in holding on to their stand is very self -refuting and as such it does not hold any grounds now. Even the polar concept argument renders skepticism untenable. For two concepts to be polar, they must come in pairs and in contrast with each other; and one is understood only if the other is understood also. Not only that they exclude each ,one is understood in relation to the other. Truth and error, certitude and doubt are all polar. If there are instances of error then there must be instances of truth.

Also paradigm case is against universal skepticism. The paradigm case is those cases by reference to which we explain the term in question. That is we learn the meaning of term by reference to their applications in instances. It is identification of meaning with use(application) so if the skeptic allows that the term truth had meaning he must also be prepared to say what he understand by the term, what would count as truth. it must be pointed out that skeptics demands have been traditionally interpreted as satisfiable only a result of a successful search for certainty. It has been thought necessary to discover truth that has beer..indubitable and to show that the rest of what we suppose to be knowledge is based on or derived from these necessary and indubitable truths. The rationalists, dogmatists and the empiricist, and even others are among those who set out the answer the question raised by the skeptics on the

impossibility of truth of human knowledge in general.In analyzing Plato stand on truth, we found out that he advocated for lack personal involvement in truth. This is evident from his treatment of falsehood. as an instrument useful to the state depending on demanding circumstances. This sounds so scandalous especially coming from such eminent philosopher from Europe. It points to a fact, and that is, truthfulness as a moral virtue is not an easy virtue to imbibe-but it is possible and at the same time very good.

Martin Heidegger's theory of un-truth as the concealment of being is grossly inadequate. Even the expression "un-truth" is too vague or even ambiguous. It may not be equated comfortably with lie, which is a deliberate falsehood or misinformation with the intension to deceive. It would actually be a grave moral irresponsibility to create the impression that falsehood does not constitute a serious moral problem. Falsehood simply ask us to lie in order to achieve the reward and benefit of truth. If you ask me to place "Truth "where it should belong rightfully. I would say in Ethics or Axiology. It then means that the quest for truth is nothing but quest for authentic way of life that satisfies our needs. The implication of the above stand therefore would be that, not every ways of life is good enough for human society. A life of truthfulness is a life that is required of any authentic human being here on earth. One of the major problems we have today in our society is that fact that we have enthroned Machiavellianism as a way of life as the expense of authentic human existence as suggested by this paper. Machiavellianism, as we know is a political theory that divorces politics from morality. Here lies and other forms of manipulations are welcomed and practiced. A society without respect for truth can never progress. Ninety, if not one hundred percent of the problem we have today in Nigeria is because of this very fact. The only choice we have is to make truthfulness our acceptable and cherished moral virtue that will help us chart a course that we lead us to where we want to go; to what we want to achievedevelopment and progress. We must all rise up and work on our individual consciences and also our collective psyche.

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Wok Cited

Adler, M .Six Great ideas. NY:Collier Macmillian Publishers,1981.

Aquinas, T. The Summa Theologica .Ed. with introduction by Anton C. Pegis. NY: The Modern Library. 1948.

Brentano, F. On the several Senses of Being in Aristotle. Ed. And trans. By Rolf George B. Uni. Of California Press. 1975.

Code,M." On Telling what" there is: Scientific Realism and Ontological Commitment" International Studies, 1986.

Davidson ,D. Inquires Into truth and Interpretations, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985.

Dilman, I. Matter and Mind: Two Essays In Epistemology, London; The Macmillian press, 1975.

Descartes, R. Meditations on first Philosophy. Trans. By Lawrence J, Lafleaur. Indianapolis: Bobbs meriril Educational publishing Co. 1960.

Hacking, I. " Is the end of sight for Epistemology" In the Journal of philosophy. V 01. LXXVII No. 10. 1990.

Hamlyn D.W. The theory of knowledge. London: Macmillian press. 1970.

Hosper,J. An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis. London: Routedge and Kegan Paul. 1976.

Hegel, G. W. Lectures on the philosophy of world History: Intro& trans. By H. B.Nisbet, Cambridge: Cambridge unipress, 1984.

Heidegger, M. "On the Essence of Truth" Trans. R.F.C. Hull and Alan crick in Existence and being. Introduction and Analysis by Werner Brook. Chicago: Gateway Edition, 1970.

Plato, The collected Dialogues, Ed by Edit Hamilton and Huntington Cairns. Princeton: Princeton Press. 1973.

Popper, K. The open society and Its Enemies. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. 1977. Vol.l&ll

The issue of African identity has for a long time been a frontline case both local and international fora

In Nigeria, the word Negritude has become a household concept and because of that many people have taken it for granted and therefore do not border about its real meaning. Many scholars within the context believe that they know all about it and, at times, draw conclusions which may be honest but far removed from the spirit of Negritude. To put Negritude in its proper place is to situate it within its relevance: literary-cum- cultural movement. This relevance would be Vindicated through the analysis of the issues of identity in Africa.

From the root meaning, The word Negritude comes from the Latin word "nigger" its root is niger-gra-um,and this means negress. It came to be used after the slave trade and its sequel of racism, oppression and domination of the black people by the white master. With further development it came to be used as "the essence of being black". It further means the quality of being black. It is a Franco-phenomenon which was brought into being in the early thirties by French -speaking black students in Paris. The three proponent exponents of this literary- cultural movement were Aime Cesaire of Martinique (1912) Leon Damas of French; Guyana origin and Leopold Senghor Senegal whom we shall dwell more on his thought in this work. The philosophy of negritude was the first systematic set of ideas whereby Senghor oriented himself to a foreign European dominated world.

Negritude is the whole complex of civilized values-cultural, economic, social and political which characterize the black people, or more precisely, the Negro African world. All these values are essentially informed by intuition reason. Because this sentient reason, the reason which comes to grips, expresses itself emotionally, though that self surrender, that coalescence of subject and object; through myths, by which I mean the archetypal images of collective soul; above all , through primordial rhythms, synchronized with those of the cosmos. In other words the sense of communion, the gift of

in

NEGRITUDE OF LEOPOLD SENGHOR

Michael E. Ukah, Ph.DMichael OkparaUniversity of Agriculture, Umudike

School of General Studies.

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myth-making, the gift of rhythm, such are the essential elements of Negiitude which you will find indelibly stamped on all the works and activities of the black man(10462).

As a young intellectual in pre war, for example senghor was sensitive to accusation of membership in a race without culture or pride. Now, not only to senghor, but to all other French speaking black students; the consciousness and quest for their identity and authenticity emerged. That quest for self knowledge and self realization delved into many realms of black identity namely physically appearance of the body blackness, the black soul or the intelligible components of black behavior and the black heritage of black socio-cultural attributes passed down through the ages..It sets the black man squarely on the road to discovery who he is against what the white race was consistently telling him that he was(148). So we can say that negritude was an aesthetic and literary movement inaugurated in the thirties. its main thrust being the creative black consciousness. It was also one of the premier cultural phenomena of the 20th century .

Senghor maintains that there was something special about "being black". He argues that the work of black has distinction not only in substance or subject matter but rather in a special approach, methods and style. According to him, one must look for Negroes uniqueness in Negroe himself. We can then say that negritude arose, first from senghor's racial Characteristic of the black. Negritude is the whole of civilization cultural, economic, social, political-which characterize the black people, more exactly the negro African world. It is essentially instinctive reason, which pervades all these values. It is the reasons of the impressions, reason that is "sized". It is expressed by the emotions through an embodiment of self and complete identification with the object; through the myth of arch type of the collective soul, and the myth primordial accorded to the cosmos. In order words, the sense of communion, the gift of imagination, the gift of rhythm-these are the traits of negritude that we find like an indelible seal on all the works and activities of the black man(14).

Negritude was an important movement before the period of nationalism. It continued to affect Senghor's philosophy but with a change in emphasis after independence. At first it was just a movement born out of psychic sufferings, but with time it attempts to stimulate programs and propaganda for social action .It must be borne in mind ,as we indicated at the beginning ,that negritude is ,nothing but the essence or quality of being a black person. For more detailed definition we shall turn our knob of reflection to senghor, cesaire and Dasmas, although our attention is to be placed on senghor. For senghor, negritude is a total cultural value of black Africa. He sees it in two dimensions namely "sources negritude" which the black man had before the advent of the Whiteman, and 'present negritude "which refers to

what still exists -in spite of the presence of the Whiteman. The latter possesses an aggrasivity provoked by long years of domination and is a powerful instrument of liberation from the yoke of the' colonist. The two historical extensions must be harnessed in order to rehabitate the black man and bring him back to his real root.

For Cesaire, negritude is first and foremost the acknowledgement of a fact-that is the situation of blacks in the world--,then, it is, a revolt against that situation; and finally the assumption of full responsibility for the destiny of the black race, for its history and for its culture. He expressed this so well in his famous work Cahier D'um retour au pays natal (Notebook on return To Nature Land) when he wrote and as quoted by Okeh:

Haiti ,where negritude stood up for the first time and she believed in her humanity. ( ... )My negritude is not a stone with its deafness hurled against the glamour of the day. My negritude is not a speck of dead water on the dead eyes of the earth; my negritude is neither a tower nor a cathedral. It plunges in to the red fresh of the ground. It plunges into the ardent flesh of the sky. It pierces through the opaque despondency by its straight patience(46).

From the quotation we find out that Cesaire refers to Haiti as the first Black Country that refused the white domination and won her independence by force of arms. He also expressed his deeper feelings about the quidity or essence of being black. He was quite equivocal; it was actually a richly and lively Endeavour ready to reach any height.

On his part Dasmas looks at negritude as a vehement rejection of a nigger from Guyana. A look at a few lines of his poetry reveals this:I have the impression of being ridiculous in their shoes, and their dinner -jackets, in their front shirts and in their delectable collar, in their monocle and in their browler-hat. I have the impression of being ridiculous in their their shoes, licking and in their dinner -jackets, in their front shirts and in their delectable collar, in theirmonocle and in their browler-hat. I have the impression of being ridiculous in their licking and in their formulas, and in their multiple needs for mockey imitation(45).

So Damas sees negritude as the rehabilitation of black man, the affirmation of his equality before white world, the affirmation of African personality. But within the omniscience of hindsight, he added that "There exist, not one, but many African civilizations; no one context the image of a multiple African mind on the concept of negritude:

Of the three exponents of negritude we have so far talked about ,Senghor deserves more attention for the simple reason that he was, not only,

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the only African who was very close to African realities and tradition; he was equally very outspoken. This he even affirms when he says: The truth is that I rather read, more exactly listened, transcribed and commented Negro African poetry. And the west Indians who do not know this poetry -Cesaire was not one of them met it naturally by going deep into themselves(5). He also affirms that if one want to go to or talk of our poetic masters, it would be wise to look on the side of Africa. It was his candid opinion that black arts ,especially black poetry, aims at expressing a moral "world" more real than the visible world, animated by invisible forces which controls the universe. It will be good for us to go into the temperament of the time when negritude was born.

The Temperament And Profit Ability Of NegritudeOne may wonder what exactly prompted the students or pushed them

to clamour for negritude in the early thirties. Ones identity is synonymous with ones worth and being. The implication, therefore is that when you identity or authenticity is queried, then you whole being is threatened. So coming back to the question why the students (black) of Paris reacted the way they did concerning negritude, the result will be simple,--they did it because of African identity which at the time was at the verge of extinction. The African students in Paris found themselves in abnormal environment, thus their cry was inevitable. For beings in their natural environment do not focus on their bodies and attributes. An African living an unadulterated village life does not worry about his being black or dark, brown or even yellow. He immediately realizes his facticity or his giveness. In this type of natural environment he chose his behavioral :pattern and adopt his way of life. He does not have any personality crisis. This was precisely the situation of black man in pre-colonial era in Africa. But as soon as the black man is exposed to a new world where the colour of his skin is not good enough, where his behavior is most quantified as primitive, where another race decides what he has to do, where another group takes herself as the paradigm of measurement and deciding what qualifies as good, where that race present herself as a universal model of imitation, he is bound to some acute problems needing solution in this abnormal environment. This was exactly the situation of all black men, who by education or travel, found themselves outside their environment, that is, an environment that has a Europeanoriented values.

This was also the situation of all the Francophone blacks in France in the early thirties. So the temperament of the period was a fertile ground from which negritude grew. Their discovery gave the sons and daughters of Africa a new dynamism of revolt and self assertion which propelled their production and still propels all black writings on the path of self authenticity. It will not be out of place to say literary efforts of all the blacks ,in the bid of this goal, is still geared towards negritude. The advent of the white man made a big difference between in the relationship between black man and his world. The white men

influenced that black man and his world through his education, trade and governance. He really affected the black man's culture ,psychology and religion. The white almost succeeded in turning it more or less a white man'sterritory by all standards.

It must be pointed out that the French tradition of intellectuality and culture provided a universe of discourse that invited invention of categories of civilization such as negritude and Africanize. According to Senghor ,the intellectual movements and conditions of that time were ripe for novelties. Even at this time ,colonial administrators tended to train or culture men who used Cartesian categories and a Rousean vocabulary. For example Charles Ane Julian analyzes the social and educational background of the high level colonial administrators and found them almost without exception to be from the families of high social status and men of intellectual learning who often occupy their leisure with studies of philosophy ,history, archeology etc. With this negritude really appeared as a weapon in French National Assembly against those who still thought that Africans were racially inferior. It also acted as a shield against the superiority of French culture-it attacks colonialists own ground. Through negritude the values of African culture is vindicated. It creates a conscious awareness to the degradation that was meted on Africans in colonial era This awareness evoked a practical response. through the doctrine and philosophy of negritude.

One of the profits of negritude is that it is concretely holistic in its approach to matters. According to Markovitz:“Negritude as defined by Senghor spoke of alienation and not to exploitation, to the individual and not to the mass, to the intellectual and not to the illiterates, to the modem and to the tradition(45)”.

From our analysis of negritude "The black" was both a symbol and a sign of modem man and also hope for rejuvenation. It was noted that over the years the western man had become rootless, isolated and fallen from community, overnight the black was uprooted by colonial command. His tradition crushed, his people decimated, the black was thrown into the world of machine and atoms. The black therefore become a more intense, immediate victim of the same situation. With negritude the black was able to fight and re-assert his authenticity .This is because negritude was not an exotic or theoretical doctrine entirely foreign to French thought .In fact such a thought fitted in well with the image of Africa held by the intellectuals of French establishments. In The Contribution of Africa to Human Thought, Guenier re-echoes the mind of the writer of negritude when he says: emotionality and rhythm dominate the interior and the exterior of life of African. He argued that the black manifest a sense of rhythm in all spheres, including rational knowledge. He concludes by saying that Africa will make a meaningful civilization to humankind in future.

It must be highlighted that, the evolution of negritude progresses

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through three historical moments. As we have pointed out, the first period begins with the gathering of intellectuals in Paris in the thirties continues until the Second World War. It must be ib called that during this period senghor belonged to a group of students, young intellectuals and politicians who were still seeking their personal identity. The second period was from the war until Senegal's interdependence in 1960. At third time senghor become a recognized African leader sitting as a representative from Senegal in the metropolitan institutions. At this the African leaders dealt with the central problem of establishing national identities and defining the relationship between them and the whites. The third prelates as independence. Negritude grew into an ideology for unity, economic development and cultural growth --- all these were""rejected in our literary act.

In his poetry senghor was boastful about the positive aspect of black beauty, physical self - defensiveness is virtually non- existent for him. Initially the whites' people made him to be ashamed of his colour but later he was liberated from such imprisonment. Senghor and his companion reacted vehemently against their situation of shame and their intended assimilation by French culture.

Paradoxically, it was the French who forced us first to seek and then to reveal ourselves to ourselves... very early we have attested in ourselves the failure of assimilation: we had been able to assimilate French language and Mathematics, but weren't able to slough off either our black skin or our black soul. Thus we were led in search of a passionate quest for a holy grail: our collective soul (62).

A search for collective soul makes a lot of sense when one remembers that Seneghor, Cesaire and Damas were of highly different backgrounds. From different parts of the world and being of different social conditions, they had in common except the colour, their despair and possibly historically,a common origin and culture. Since their "spirit ", the psychological condition bothered them, then the best thing to look for was their "collective spirit Senghor's primary themes are alienation and exile, along with recognition of the central role played by the culture and tradition of his African homeland. The importance of the cultural heritage that he was thus able to describe and define for his fellow blacks cannot be overemphasized. This valorization of a cultural patrimony became a catalyst for black self realization, demonstrating negritude's capacity to engender pride in authenticity and racial difference. Much more so than did Cesaire's, Senghor's writing stressed; claims for a particular black emotional and psychological experience, an affective rapport that draws on a specifically African relationship to the forces of the universe that are separate and apart from those of the West. Where the black African

perceives and internalizes in a subjective way (the argument goes), relating to external stimuli in primarily emotional terms, the Westener, in his turn, relates to the world through analysis and reason. This is not to claim a monopoly on either category for either group, in his view. While not denying the rational power of blacks or the emotive capacities of whites, Senghor does see very real differences in temperament and worldview that determine the ways in which certain cultures view and relate to the world. As limited and reductionist as this argument might seem today, it extended an elaborate and perhaps necessary ontology to the concept of negritude, providing an enabling framework for literally hundreds of African and Caribbean writers to express their vision of their own cultural and historical experience well into the 1960s.

Negritude, then, was in a certain sense a product of its time; despite its own claims to the contrary, its primary shortcoming was perhaps that it drew unconsciously on the binaries of the colonial era. It opened the way for a flood of creative black expression, but it would in time be superseded by alternative approaches to, and theories of, black identity. Critiques that would be leveled at negritude by Frantz Fanon, the Martinican intellectual, and Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian novelist and Nobel laureate, among others, would center on the concept's racial grounding and its implicit essentialisms, contradictions, and limitations. Given the widely varying social and historical situations involved in the development of black culture, any theory that sought to contextualize and mediate this development needed to be deracialized. By moving away from a race-based analysis of culture to one that reflects the range of influences inflecting black historical reality, the differing cultural expressions of black people could be taken into account, catalyzed, and valorized. The theories of Cesaire and Senghor would in time give way to those of Glissant and Bernabe, Chamoiseau, and Confiant, among others, acknowledging the opening up of the categories of race and culture whose binary, colonially driven structures established the boundaries of blackness even as they sought to endow them with value and meaning.

From our discussion so far we can say that negritude is a very developmental instrument of our economy: an ideology concerned with production, with motivating people to harder efforts. In a recent discussion of the necessity not planning , Senghor noted that planning depended on science and technology: "the most scientific and technological discoveries, In Sum On Rationality: "Rationality "today ,continued, is not truth, which is the domain of philos ,but efficiency which is essential for under developing countries. He said that it is a question of instrumental rationality and technology.

The exponent of negritude have developed a high interest for traditional literature which has a pride of place in our educational institution. Senghor himself translated in to French many poems from his mother/ native tongues, the siere. He also transposed them in his creative writing birago Diop, transcribe Les Contes d' Amandou Koumba(tales from Amadu Kumba) from

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his mother tongues, Wollof .He collected them from a local praise singer and Amadu Kumba Aime Cesaire and Leon Damas discovered the riches of a non European literature by their initiation into African sources and their recuperation of African heritage in the Americans. Cesaire has to his credit the famous Cashier d'un retour an pays natal(Notebook on the Return to the native land), The les armes miraculouses ( the miraculous arms) les Roi Christopher (king Christopher) etc. Leon Damas is known for his pigments veilless noves (black vigils) and poems and negres Sur des airs anciens (black poems on African tunes) a lot of works are credited to senghor;Chants d'ombre(songs under a shade),Hostias Noires(black hosts) Ethiopiques,negritude of human is me (negritude and humanism) and La voie africaine du socialisme(African road to socialism).

A closer look or examination on what African writers produced and are still producing will immediately expressed a fact: They have actually tried in fulfilling the ideals propounded by the exponents of negritude asserting African identity and authenticity. Negritude lives in most African writings both literary and non literary, even among those who have never had a formal knowledge of it. All the efforts of the exponents are complimentary: they all sough to bring back to life the damaged image of Africa, the personality and cultural values of the black race. In this sense negritude presents itself from the onset as a whole phenomenon whose aspects were supplied by various blacks according to their temperaments, their experiences, their fortunes and their localities. And, as theme in African literature, it has remained so, even today, for a stronger and lasting identity for the black man in a rapidly changing world.

The idea of negritude marked a turning point in the relationship between Africa and the Western world. Sons and daughters of Africa allover the world refused ,henceforth to, to see themselves and their peoples as primitive idolaters, man eaters and half monkey living mostly on trees; witches and wizards ,and people without history and without culture . From, works that have been written and pronouncements that have been made,. we now talk proudly of Negro-African civilization which has definite characteristic. We recognize an African style which is made manifest in our actions and in our gestures, in our religious observances and in our masquerade performances, in our creative arts and in our dances, in our folklore, myths and legends, in our native poetry, and in our native oratory, I our social gathering and in our mode of life. We summarized elsewhere in these words: this manifestation of African identity through black writing:

Briefly, what do authors do in their literary works? They develop in them aspect of black civilization Which they want to highlight. These, among others, Are the attractive natures of geography of the black world? The great warmth in human

relation there, the high values of negro-African religion, arts and music and that attachment of blacks to their area and to their civilization. Then they come against social problems attributable at one time to negative influence of the white man an d at another to disorders and deformations brought about by the transformation of old customs. Finally, they attacked the system which Oppressed and still oppress the black man together with White agents and black agents of this systems. In addition to these problems to be solved ,negro- African literature also echoes the progress achieved in all domains from the time of the installation of the colonial machinery up to modem and contemporary time(420).

Negritude has made it possible for the world to know that there is what is called "African way of expression" It is noticeable in speeches, storytelling, poetic songs and written literature. One may asked how negritude took root along with French policy of assimilation. It must be pointed that the British maintained a careful distance from the indigenes their colonies. They employed and used the indirect rule system of government. This they did through the appointment of the native chiefs within limited autonomy in their domains. There was no defined policy to transform blacks into black -English -beings -assimilation. But the French just did the opposite; thereby provoking a sharp negative reaction from their colonies . Okeh pointed this out when he writes: . . . . western colonialism tended to westernize the colonial people.

French colonization has something extra in its operations. African civilization was suffocating more in French colonies than in British colonies. The major voice of protest which Was negritude movements emanated from the former whose ralling spot was Paris(40).

The appeal to negritude succeeded because, from its origins, it was conceived within the scope of French colonial myth. French colonial policy had never maintained that the colonial people were racially inferior or inherently

11 different in any manner. Like the Greeks the French had always believed to be the people of the world; and that when colonial people achieved the level of French civilization, they would be equal. Negritude attempted to show that this level was attained. It was actually a demonstration in abstraction, erudition and sensitivity. We must point out straight away that negritude may have been rebellion, not revolution(189).

Jean Paul Sartre was not afraid of negritude as a movement for he looks at it as a weak stage of dialectical progression. He says that negritude of

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Senghor was acceptable to the French intelligentsia and assailable by good middle class intellectuals. Why? This is because Senghor rejected any racial supremacy and accommodated French people. Another thing that made senghor's negritude to thrive was that in instead of him advocating for the elimination of French or the substitution of the local language, he advocate a "bilingualism" which would be the integral expression of the new negro scientific works among others, would be written in French, while the indigenous language would be used for poetry, theatre, tales, The literary genre which expressed the genius of the race. We shall now see how this doctrine is either criticized or appraised.

The AppraisalFrom the three evolutionary movement of negritude we notice that in the middle period, there was a problem. The radical critics of negritude direct their attacks specifically at the negritude of middle period and its bridges with France. Thus, W. E. Abraham dismisses Senghor as a single apologist for France who has become so much a tool of the French that he doesn't even writes African poetry:

Senghor does not in any in my opinion write as an African Poet. What he does is to write French poetry which is interlaid with odd African allusions. Any Frenchman can do that. I think it is important that he always talks of "forgiveness" and" bridges "He sees himself not as an African writer writing in African and for Africans, motivated pushed ,inspired by complex present African situation.. .He writes, my opinion, as an apologists of France speaking to Africa, who understands an African language, idioms and can use African mannerism in is rhythms and work. This is what I think Senghor does. There is nothing particularly African about his poetry(624).

Abraham dealt a serious blow on senghor's compromise of his former stand on negritude. Frantz Fanon presents the most radical and far reaching critique of Senghor's negritude .viewing Culture in Marxists term as superstructure, he argues that there can never be any such thing as a single black culture until there is a single black state. Culture which is not rooted in social relations is "mystification"

14signifying nothing. Today's political reality is the nation state. Culture must therefore, he

argues, be above all national. There is not to say that African intellectuals and nations do not share certain problems and that consequently the culture will

not have certain common characteristics. But it is the political and existential which always has primacy. Thus, Fanon writes that while no common destiny can be shared between national cultures of Senegal and Guinea, for example, a common destiny exist between Senegal and Nations which are also dominated by the same French colonialism. It is, Fanon argues "around" the peoples' struggle that African Negroes culture takes on substance, and not around songs, poems or folklore.

Concerning African cultural unity ,there was a big contradiction on what senghor did. He was a member of society of African culture yet during the year for national independence he supported French policy against Algeria. He should have opted for liberation of the whole continent of Africa and not otherwise. Fanon criticized Senghor negritude not necessarily from being estranged from the people, but for not realizing the extend of estrangements. Without this type of self-consciousness, no type of development was possible.In the final analysis, fanon in his usual way, says that it is not literature that awakens the people or the masses but violence. Everything Senghor wanted to achieve ,through negritude, Fanon thought could be achieved through violence .Fanon must distinctive contribution to African thought is this analysis and justification of violence that promotes affirmation of self, negation of colonialism and colonialist values, the binding together of leaders and masses and the establishment of responsible institutions. It must be noted that fanon 's analysis has remained the most powerful political critique of negritude.

The major criticism of negritude of senghor by fanon was further articulated by Renate Zahar thus:

He criticized the philosophy of negritude for trying to unhistorical fabricate a black consciousness at a time when the colonial revolutions show that the "negro" is ceasing to exist. According to Fanon the writer's falling back on the past only has a meaning if it is linked in a concrete manner with present days realities, otherwise culture remains folklore. As long as a country is not yet independent, any cultural action must be of militant nature since it is first a matter of creating the very basis of a natural culture(24).

Fanon believes that the fighting for culture is synonymous with fighting for national liberation. If a nation is liberated it lays the foundation stone for the development .of her culture. So the fight for culture is to be joined with the popular struggle for national liberation. Chinweizu frowns at Senghor's negritude when he declared: one unpardonable fault of Senghorian negritude

is that though it is founded on sentiments of

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black solidarity, it has become assimilationist and pro- imperialist politics. A black solidarity for white purposes, a black solidarity that wants to gather all blacks in order to white -wash them to better prepare for them for a banquet of the universal where they are already being eaten, must be reckoned reprehensible.

In senghorian perspective, negritude remains, the intellectual pastime of the governing elite. In deed an auto-colonialisation of Africa" and this actually what the critics abhorred.

Another powerful critic of negritude of senghor is Ezekiel Mphalele. He objects to an over simplistic and romantizing of African life and history. Negritude, he argues, tells us only half, often only a falsified half, of the story of Africa. In a talk he gave on a conference in Darker on Africa n literature, in April 1963, he said:

“Who is so stupid as to deny the historical fact of negritude? as both protest and positive assertion of African cultural values? All this is valid, what I do not accept is the way in which too Much of the poetry inspired by it romanticizes Africa as a symbol of innocence, purity and artless, primitiveness. I feel insulted when some people imply that Africa is not a violent continent. I am a violent person, and proud of it, because is often a healthy human being state of mind; someday I am going to plunder, rape, set things on fire; I am going to cut someone's throat; I am going to subvert of government .I'm going to organize a coup d'etat; yes, I'm going to oppress my own people; I'm going to hurt down the rich fat black men and destroy them..(219).

These would hardly be an event calculated to appeal to a western audience. No! Mphalele's temperament depicts the image of a typical African of the black African elite in Paris which sought to establish itself as civilized. Mphaelele argue that only assimilated elite assert the importance of being black:“Must the educated African from abroad come back to re -colonize us? Must he walk about with his mouth open? Startled by the beauty African woman, by the

15black man's lightened sensitivity? It's all so embarrassing”.

As an artist Mphalele rejects this renewed interest as "superficial facile protest "that makes bad poetry. The masses are naturally unaffected by this poetry. Their lives remain naturally the same, a sameness shared throughout black Africa. He said also that why the architect of negritude employ the symbol of African culture, worse ,in establishing a principle of arts, negritude constitute

self enslavement, an auto -colonization. Mphalele refuses to be categorized into a negro African style to write to a certain bit or about certain themes. Such things are the peculiar concern of the French assimilated Africans .He equally added that the British settled African ruled by system of indirect rule does not bother much on the issue of negritude. It is rather the French assimilated Africans, who have absorbed French culture, who is now passionately waiting to recapture his past. He says that in his poetry he tries to extol his ancestors and ancestral masks, African wood carving and bronze arts, and tries to recover the moorings of his oral literature; he clearly feels he has come to a dead end in European culture, and is not accepted as organized part of French society, for all the assimilation he has been through. As a result, French speaking Africans nationalist have become a personification of this strong revulsion, even though some of them have married French women.

It must be noted that this radical critics of Senghor focus their attention on the period of independence. They accused him of leaving the main aim of negritude for stronger tie with French. Some critics have vehemently opposed the claim that negritude is a French phenomenon. They say that this is both misleading and untrue. They say that from historical study of those poets that wrote in English and I the thirties and forties( when there was little or no contact with Paris oriented and London"- oriented African) that they expressed concern for the predicaments of the race and the legacy of colonial bondage. They continued where negritude differed in that it was a conscious effort to reach back into a wide array of lost traditional value (Dethrone 219). On the

other hand, English speaking have always passed a tribal awareness -a completely

different world view from that of the while authors. Another point worth mentioning here is that negritude must be

understood as an ideology. It then means that there commentators who only see negritude as a revolutionary philosophy of self discovery and rejection of Western civilization have failed to evaluate this changes in the nature of negritude as an ideology. For example, Jean Paul Sartre would have us believe that the authors of negritude were severely aware of the existence of European audience because they were so intent upon the creation of a radiantly unique black world. in his introduction to Senghor's anthology of black writers, which was responsible for much of the original recognition of negritude as an important literary and social phenomena, Sartre stated:

All those colonial and accomplice, who open this book will have the sensation of reading as though over another's shoulder, words that was not intended for them. It is to black men That black poets addressed themselves; it is for them that they speak of black men(16)".

We can say that from our reflection so far, we have discovered that Negritude per-say originated in the quest of black intellectuals for a separate

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personal identity severely to the colonial northern country. Its original character was abstract psychology and philosophical; its most recent impulse is pragmatic and action-oriented (Sengbor 46). From the vast and abundant quality of black writings, the originality and diversity of styles and methods we can now say that the light has dawned for Africa to forge ahead. Negritude will now again be a secondary theme in African Literature, irrespective of the fact that we live in the world that is dominated by white values. It has come to stay.Negritude And African Philosophy

Senghor tried to actualise African dream via the concept of Negritude. It shows how African pride and values should be restored. Sartre's Introduction to Senghor's ANTHOLOGIE DE LA NOUVELLE POESIE NEGRE ET MANGACHE (1948), found in his Orpee nair, defined the Negritude in terms of his existentialist philosophy as "a weak stage of a diaIectical progression: the theoretical and practical affirmation of white supremacy is the thesis". Senghor defined the concept in contradistinction to Europe and gave it more positive meaning. According to Senghor.

it is "the sum total of the values of the civilization of the African world" - not an antithesis but a fundamentally different culture. Senghor's statement that the Negro is intuitive, whereas the European is more Cartesian, has led to numerous protests, but among others Sartre has declared the Negritude is "an antiracist racism". Senghor has argued that African mode of experience is far from irrational, the experience that proceeds from intuition is fuller and more comprehensive than that derived from a discursive approach.

"Yes, in one way, the Negro today is richer in gifts than in works. But tree thrusts its roots into the earth. The river runs deep, carrying precious seeds. And, the Afro- American poet, Langston Hughes, says: I have known rivers / ancient dark rivers / my soul has grown deep / like the deep rivers. The very nature of the Negro's emotion, his sensitivity, furthermore, explains his attitude toward the object perceived with such basic intensity. It is an abandon that becomes need, and active state of

communion, indeed of identification, however negligible the action - I almost said the personality - of the object. A rhythmic attitude:The adjective should be kept in mind." (from 'Ce que l'homme noir apporte,' in L'Homme de couleur, ed. by Claude Nordey, 1939) In the area of political philosophy, Senghor has examined African socialism is not new to Africans, where communal principles of social life have been central in pre-colonial times. Senghor sees that scientific socialism express in many ways the personal point of view of its inventors, Marx and Engels. He believes that there will be eventually one world civilization, a unique and universal one. The opposition of Africa and Europe is a central theme is his fiction and non-fiction - the appeal of the humanist ideals of French civilization and his commitment to the African cause. Senghor's

NEGRITUDE ET CIVILISA TION DE L'UNIVERSEL (1977), inspired by the work of Teilhard de Chardin, was an attempt to advocate the fusion of these two halves into a "humanism of the twentieth century" . In a poem of the legendary founder of the ancient empire of Ghana, Senghor wrote: "My empire is that of Love, for I am weak for you, woman, / Foreigner with clear eyes, lips of cinnamon apple, / And a sex like a burning bush / For I am both sides of a double door, the binary rhythm of space / And the third beat, I am the movement of drums, The strength of future Africa." (from 'The KayaMagan.' However, the Senghor negritude was not just a socio-cultural phenomena but also an epistemological anthropology. From our analysis so far, we discover that Negritude designate the whole complex of civilized values (cultural, social, environment and political). The characteristics of these values emerged at the social and more fundamentally epistemology realm. This kind of social formation is exhibited in the communal character of African society in which the family (constituted by both the living and dead) is an essential institution. While African values individuality, senghor insist that in African social system individuality is defined in terms of the community. The individual finds meaning only in the community, and outside it is nothing and has nothing. The community makes people into what they are socially, philosophically and morally .It gives one identity and all that matters in life. Where the community which withdrew its sponsorship of an individual, such a person is left suspended in "one man's land". This is why banishment is considered one of the severest punishments that could be meted out to a person, apart from execution. It was an ultimate price to be paid by a person or non conformists. It is in the light of this strong relationship between the individual and the community that the Africa approach to self- consciousness should be understood.

Unlike corgito ergo sum of Descartes, the Africa is drawn to self Consciousness by the presence in community. Thus, Senghorian communalists' axiom of self-consciousness. "I feel, I dance the other; I am" was expounded, even by Mbiti's "I am, we are" and since we are that I am. To this effect Franken says "The African Negritude was extended to hundred or more persons". This is the fundamental idea of extended family. This family could be a whole village or even a whole tribe. This is a bigger group, a bigger community, it is productive; it can do something as a group for the benefit of each individual. And because of this, the people of Africa have a philosophy of life. People live in small communities. They needed one another. The women could not go individually to fetch fire wood in the forest and water from the stream, or grass for the goats. Nor could the hunter go by himself go to provide food for his family. They had to join forces and work together. From this natural needs grew a certain philosophy of life everybody adapted the daily duty to work and was awarded the right to the fruits of communal labour.

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From the above, we can then say that senghor sees the emotive and participatory character of African cognition as distinguished from the western and logical and objective thought .Epistemologically, the African in cognition does not hold the object at a distance as find in classical European thought but rather abandons the self to the object known, be it God ,another human person or any other phenomenon in the world.

In general, dialectics for Senghor, is any method of knowledge that involves the creative engagement of the subject with the object of his/her study. Speaking of a "knowledge by confrontation and intuition" 18 Senghor states the following:

It is essentially in the confrontation of the subject and the object and vice versa- that one finds dialectical logic, the act of knowledge which is at once theory and practice. By theory, we mean the 'category' of understanding and by practice, the methods and techniques of the subject(150).

He stressed the active, creative character of knowledge; it is a practical,:activity, not merely a contemplative gaze; to know an object, it no longer suffices to see it, to dissect it, to weigh it, even if one has the most perfect precision instruments. One must also touch it, penetrate it from the inside so to speak and finger it .

This understanding of knowledge is especially relevant to the knowledge of humanity and the human sciences. To know a human fact, psychological or social, no longer means to investigate it with the aid of statistics and graphs, but to live it; like the white man who like to understand the situation of Negro Americans, blackened his skin with a chemical product and worked as a Negro shoeshine boy. This is what phenomenological or existential thoughts reveals, as it follows the path of Marxism and exceeds it while integrating it. In this school of thought, the real coincides with thoughts, the content of a statement coincides with the form in which it is expressed, philosophy blends with science as art merges with existence, with life Understanding knowledge in this way clearly has implications of a metaphysical kind. The fact that one cannot separate the knower from the known entails that one cannot make a distinction between two kinds of reality, one purely mental, the other merely material. Similarly, the understanding of mechanism and determinism makes the world appear a "a discontinuous and

2Operhaps undetermined reality, , the work and the home of freedom. The world as a whole, including humanity is dynamic, developing and human freedom is part of this dynamism of development.

For Senghor, it is the discovery of his dialectical method for acquiring knowledge of ourselves and the world, that has shown up the true inadequacies of European scientific-technological culture. On the other hand, it is precisely this new way of thinking that makes a bridge between European

cultures and negritude possible and provides the insights of traditional African thought in a systematic way.

Senghor goes on to argue that, on closer scrutiny:this knowledge by confrontation and intuition is negro-African knowledge from our ancestors, we have inherited our own method of knowledge. Why should we change it when European now tell us it is the very method of the most fruitful method(44).

In his desire to provide a contemporary systematic philosophical account of the insights and values of negritude, he therefore seizes on dialectic as the most suitable intellectual tool. Method of knowledge and conception of reality hang together, dialectic ought therefore to be capable of giving a contemporary account of the traditional African vision of the world and the values of human life.

Of all European thinkers who use this method, Teihard de Chardin, senghor feels, comes closet to establishing a philosophical systems that incorporates African insights.

Like all African philosophers, he recognizes certain ideas as fundamental to traditional African wisdom, in that reality is force and the world a process of interplay between forces, that humanity is part of this universal field of force that at bottom all force is alive, spiritual rather than material, that the individual's life and fulfillment are only to be found in community with others (a community that does not end at death), that morality is the development of natural tendencies to fuller being and more abundant life, and finally that all human life and word process is directed and empowered by a transcendent origin of life and force. The following two quotations give us an idea of Senghor's: own attachment to this vision:

far back as one may go into is past, from the northern Sudanese to The Southern Bantu, the African has always and everywhere presented a Concept of the world which is diametrically opposed to the traditional philosophy of Europe". The latter is essentially static, objective, dichotomy; it is in fact, dualistic, in that it makes an absolute distinction between body and soul, matter and spirit. It is founded on separation and opposition, on analysis and conflict. The African, or the other hand conceives the world, beyond the diversity of its forms, as' a fundamentally mobile yet unique reality that seeks synthesis. This reality is being in the ontological sense of word and it is life force. Thus, the whole universe appears as an infinitely small and at the same

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time infinitely large, network of life forces which emanate from God land end in God, who is the source of all life forces. It is He who vitalizes and devitalizes all other beings, all the other life forces(72).

Negritude....as a complex of civilized values, is traditionally socialist in character... it is a community based society, communal, not collectivist. We are concerned here not with a mere collection of individuals but with people conspiring together, conspiring in the basic Latin sense, united among themselves even to the very centre of their being community through their ancestors with God who is the centre of all centres.

There is nothing new in this inventory of the characteristics of negritude. Combining the African ideas, especially those of community, of morality as the drive to fuller being and God as the source and goal of all life force, Senghor develops a theory of the tendency of all peoples to communicate, to merge and eventually to become a universal community. This is what he understands by African socialism; he calls it "the civilization of the universal". The insights of traditional African thought into the human need for community and the values it entails and precisely what are needed to direct the world - wide process of socialization.

Negritude, then, was in a certain sense a product of its time; despite its own claims to the contrary, its primary shortcoming was perhaps that it drew unconsciously on the binaries of the colonial era. It opened the way for a flood of creative black expression, but it would in time be superseded by alternative approaches to, and theories of, black identity. Critiques that would be leveled at negritude by Frantz Fanon, the Martinican intellectual, and Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian novelist and Nobel laureate, among others, would center on the concept's racial grounding and its implicit essentialisms, contradictions, and limitations. Given the widely varying social and historical situations involved in the development of black culture, any theory that sought to contextualize and mediate this development needed to be deracialized. By moving away from a race-based analysis of culture to one that reflects the range of influences inflecting black historical reality, the differing cultural expressions of black people could be taken into account, catalyzed, and 'Valorized. The theories of Cesaire and Senghor would in time give way to those of Glissant and Bernabe, Chamoiseau, and Confiant, among others, acknowledging the opening up of the categories of race and culture whose binary, colonially driven structures established the boundaries of blackness even as they sought to endow them with value and meaning.

We would like to emphasize at this point how much these characteristics of negritude enables it to find its place in contemporary humanism, thereby permitting lack Africa to make its contribution to the 'civilization of the universal' which is so necessary.. our divided but interdependent world of the second half of the 21 st century. a contribution first

of all, to international co-operation which must be and shall be cornerstone of that civilization. It is through these .virtues of Negritude that; decolonization has been accomplished without too much bloodshed or hatred and that a positive form of co-operation; based on “dialogue and reciprocity" has been established between former colonizers and colonized. It is through these virtues that there has been a new spirit at the united nations where the "no" and the bang of the fist on the table are no longer signs of strength. It is through these virtues that peace through co-operation could extent to South Africa, Rhodesia and Portuguese colonies, it only the dualistic spirit of the whites would open itself to dialogue.

169 170

Works Cited

Abraham, W. E. The Mind of Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962.

.Aime, Cesaire, Cahier d'un retour an pays natal. Paris: presence Africans1956.

Dathome, O. R. 'African Literature in the twentieth century’ London:, Heinemann 1962.

Fanon, Frantz The Damned Paris: Presence Africanie 1963.

Friedland, William. and Roseberg, C. G. (ed). African Socialism, Stanford Hover, Institute Publications, Stanford Unipress, 1964.

Guernier, Eugene. The Contribution of Africa to Human Thought, Paris: Payor 1952.

.Julien, C.A. and Robert: The Creation of Modern Senegal. Paris; Unipress 1945.

Markovitz, Irving J. Leopold Seruar Senghor and the Politics of Negritude, NY:Atheneum press, 1969.

Mphalele, Ezekiel "The fabric of' African culture”, Foreign Affairs, July 1964.

Mphalele, Ezekiel The African image, New York: Fredrick A. Praeger 1962.

IOkeh, Peter L. "Negritude and the issue of identity I African Literature" In

Damain Opata and A. U. Ohaegbu (ed). Major Theme in African Literature, Nsukka: AP Express Publishers, 2000.

.Sartre, Jean Paul. Black, Orpheus; Paris, Presence Africanie 1962.

Senghor, L.S. Antholog-ie de la Noavelle Poesie, Paris; presence Universitaive de France, 1969.

Senghor, L. S. Ethiopiques (poems) Paris; Seuil, 1956.'

Senghor,L.S. Discourse pronounce a l' universite d'Oxford, Pairs: Hover Institute publication 1964.

Senghor,L.S. 'Negritude and the Germans", Africa report, Feb.1967.

171 172

Dr. Joseph B. Besong & Dr. (Mrs.) M. I. Edu Department of Educational Foundations, and

Dr. Fan A. Fan Department of Curriculum & Teaching Cross River University of Technology

AbstractThe paper examined the perceived problems militating against teacher's effective management of entrepreneurship education in Cross River State Secondary Schools. Two research questions and two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 1120 teachers from a population of 6,591 teachers. A researcher developed instrument titled perceived problems Militating Against Teachers Effective Management of Entrepreneurship Education (PPMA TEMEE) questionnaire comprising of 16 items was used to collect data for the study. Mean rating and z-test statistic were used to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses respectively. The hypotheses were tested at. 05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that, inadequate instructional facilities, inadequate teachers' updating programme, inadequate payment of teachers' salaries and allowance, overcrowded classroom and poor supervision of practical work were perceived problems militating against teacher's effective management of entire entrepreneurship education. In the light of these findings, it was recommended that government should prioritize the provision of needed instructional facilities and equipment. Also, pay teachers salaries and allowances as at when due to stimulate them for higher job involvement, commitment and performance.

IntroductionEntrepreneurship education is a school programme designed to

acquaint pupils/student with the necessary skills to become economically productive and self-reliant after graduation. To Olowokere (2006) entrepreneurship education is need primarily dictated by the prevalence of unemployment and job seeking syndrome in our contemporary society Omenkeukwu (2000) explained that the need for graduates to achieve entrepreneurship skill would assist them to have the vision for self employment as visible alternative to reduce unemployment. Entrepreneurship skill are practical experience needed to bring about technical, economic and national

Perceived Problems Militating Against Effective Management of Entrepreneurship Education

In Cross River State Secondary Schools.

development (Iyekekpolor, 2007). Wilson (2008) was of the opinion that entrepreneurship education seeks to provide students with the knowledge, still and motivation to encourage entrepreneurial success in a variety of setting. Uthman (2005) itemized the benefits of entrepreneurship education as It gives training and imparts the necessary skills leading to production of entrepreneurs and skilled' personnel who will be enterprising and self reliant.

It gives technical knowledge and vocational skills necessary for agricultural, industrial, commercial and economic development It introduced professional studies that offers scientific knowledge immediate environmental problems. The relevance of entrepreneurial knowledge was equally documented in FRN (2004) that the acquisition of appropriate skills and the development of mental physical and social abilities and competencies as equipment for the individual to live in and contribute to the development of his Corps (NYSC) conducts entrepreneurship training programme at the orientation period or towards the end of the service year (Oharisi, 2007).

In spite of these efforts, the nation is still with the upsurge of youth unemployment and economic recession. The population of unemployed graduate has continued to soar. A typical example to attest this claim is the recent survey conducted by the federal ministry of education which revealed that 71010 of students who graduate from Nigerian University, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education in the last seven years (2001-2007) are yet to findjob (Dare, 2008).' Emphasizing the obvious on unemployment saga Gyamfi (2006) stated that every year Nigeria produces 130/000 graduates out of society. In an attempt to embrace and incorporate entrepreneurship mission, the federal government policy on economic reform has its trust on poverty reduction and skill acquisition. Equal to this, other avenues were evolved to promote entrepreneurship programme in Nigeria. They include:

The federal government through the federal ministry of employment, labour and productivity, which is responsible for collecting entrepreneurship development programme (EDP) proposal and forwarding to the National Directorate of Employment NDE) for processing.

The higher institutional The National University Commission (NUC) has expanded business administration curriculum development and management of small scale business. Some Polytechnics have evolved short courses on entrepreneurship training for their final year students.

The National Youth Service which only 13,000 (10%) get job, others remain unemployable the army of unemployed school leavers is piling up as potential weapon of nations destruction. Emeruwa (2004) remarked that school still produce job seekers instead of job creators. Equal to this, salim (2003) opined that the high rate of graduate unemployment is due to lack of collaboration between employment of labour and manpower producer. The number of secondary school leavers that roam the street aimlessly on daily basis is alarming. Some of these school leavers resort to unwholesome means of livelihood, occasional social vices of diverse shades and

unprecedented dimensions. One begins to wonder why these group of graduates are jobless inspite of their entrepreneurial knowledge.

Entrepreneurship education has taken a centre stage in Nigerian education. In contribution, consortium for entrepreneurship education (2008) elucidated that entrepreneurship education is far beyond textbook course rather students should be immersed in real life learning experience where they have an opportunity to take risks, manage results and learn from outcomes. Obanya (2004) opined that teachers as instructors and class managers are charged with the responsibility of achieving the effective management of curriculum contents toward the realization of stated education goals. Lending credence to this, Orisanaye (2004) averred that both male and female teachers have their different contributions to the realization of educational goals. To Odikwe (2008) If teachers are proficient in their primary assignment (teaching) with regards to entrepreneurship education, self employment would be enhanced and labour market will be mopped of unemployment and job seekers. Osuagwu (2008) concurred with the above assertion when he stated that teachers seem to be experiencing Problems in teaching entrepreneurship education. Echefu (2008) stated that teachers are trained personal in the methodologies of teaching in educational system; therefore they are capable of pointing out any bottleneck that tend to hinder their effective performance in teaching and learning process. Ejiogu (2008) observed that non payment of teachers salary as and when due notable factor that demoralizes the effort of teachers to perform well in classroom instruction. Consequently, Ajayi (1999) opined that problems to teacher welfare abound out measures should be taken to tackle them without delay. Based on this background, this paper attempts to identify the problems militating against teachers effective management of entrepreneurship education in Imo State Secondary School.

Statement of the ProblemThe major objective of introducing entrepreneurship education in

secondary school curriculum is to equip our students with the necessary skills for gainful employment. Surprising a significant number of our graduates and school leavers roam our cities in search of job. This situation tend to nagate the aim of entrepreneurship education. It is obvious that the teacher is the pivot on which the success of any education progamme revolves. This is because it is the teacher that manages academic activities through teaching and learning. If the products of education programme are unproductive then teachers are ineffective / in their primary assignment (teaching). Therefore, the problem of the study is to identify the problems militating against, teachers' effective management of entrepreneurship education in Cross River State Secondary Schools.

173 174

Research QuestionsThe following research questions were formulated to guide the study:1. What are the perceived problems militating against teachers effective

management of entrepreneurship education in Cross River State secondary schools? What are the influencing strategies that can be adopted to curb the identified problems militating against teachers effective management of entrepreneurship education in Cross River State secondary school?

2. HypothesesThe following null hypotheses are formulated to guide the study:a. There is no significant difference between the mean rating of

male and female teachers response to the perceived problems militating against effective management of entrepreneurship education in Cross River State secondary school.There is no significant difference between the mean rating of male and female teachers on the influencing strategies that can be adopted to curb the perceived problems militating against effective management of entrepreneurship education in Cross River State secondary schools.

3. Research MethodologyThe research adopted a survey design. The population of the study is

6,591 teachers from 320 government own secondary was obtained using stratirandom sampling technique to select 17% of each stratum (male and female teachers).

This was to ensure adequate representation of the subjects thereby reducing sampling error. The instrument for the study was a researchers developed questionnaire title perceived problems Militating Against Teachers Effective Management of Entrepreneurship Education (PPMATEMEE) questionnaire, structured on a 4-point rating scale of strongly Agree (SA) = 4 points, Agree (A) = 3 point Disagree (D) = 2 points and strongly Disagree (SO) = 1 point. The instrument was validated by incorporating in suggestions and corrections given by the researcher's colleague in the department of Educational Foundations and Administration from Obudu Federal College of Education, Cross River State. The reliability coefficient value yielded 0.82 which was 'considered appropriate for the study. A total of 1120 copies of the questionnaire were distributed personally by the researchers and two researchers assistants. The filled questionnaires were collected on the spot within the space of time provided for the respondents to fill the questionnaire. 100% return rate was achieved. The data was analyzed using mean rating for research questions and z-test tested at .05 level of significance for the hypotheses. Mean rating to any item higher than 2.50 (decision rule) is agreed when mean rating lower than 2.50 is disagreed.

ResultThe result of the study are presented in table 1,2,3, and 4 belowTable .1: Mean rating of teachers responses concerning perceived problemsmilitating against effective management of entrepreneurship education.

Table 1 revealed that five items obtained mean ratings above the decision rule of 2.50 hence teacher male and female) agreed that items 1,2,3,4, and 8 are perceived problems militating against effective management of Disagreed education. The rest of the items obtained mean ratings below the decision rule of 2.50 that is item 5.6 and 7 with mean ratings of 2.08, 2.01 and 1.71 respectively. A grand mean of 2.51 was recorded which showed that all the items identified in this study are perceived factors militating against effective management of entrepreneurship education since the 2.57 grand mean was above the decision rule of 2.50.

Table 2: Mean, ratings of teachers response concerning the influencing strategies that can be adopted to curb the perceived problems to effective management of entrepreneurship education.

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SINO

ITEMS

X

SD

DECISION

1.

Inadequate

instructional facilities and

2.82

1.06

Ag reed

Equipment

2.

Inadequate teacher updating

2.92

0.82

Agreed

Programme

3.

Inadequate payment of teachers

3.55

0.53

Agreed

salaries and allowances

4.

Overcrowded classroom

2.97

1.04

Agreed

5.

Poor supervision of practical work 2.08

0.86

Disagreed

6. High cost of learning materials 2.23 0.80 Disagreed

7. Teaching duration is small 1.71 0.68 Disagreed

8. Lack of motivation for teachers 3.36 0.57 Agreed

Grand Mean = 2.70 0.69

In table 2, items 9, 10, 11, 12 and 16 obtained mean ratings above the decision rule of 2.50 therefore they are influencing strategies that can be adopted to curb the perceived problems militating against entrepreneurship education. Items 13, 14 and 15 obtained mean ratings below the decision rule of 2.50, hence they are not seen by teachers as influencing strategies for curbing the perceived problems militating against effective entrepreneurship education. The grand mean of 2.61 was an indication that all the eight items identified in the study are influencing strategies irrespective of the three item which

SINO ITEMS X SD DECISION

9. Inadequate provision of faculties and 3.37 0.55 Agreed

equipments for teaching

entrepreneurship education

10. Provision of in-service training tot 2.68 1.00 Agreed

teachers

11. Building of more classroom blocks to 2.86 1.14 Agreed

accommodate students

12. Payment of teachers salaries and 2.92 0.82 Agreed

allowances regularly and in time

13. Adequate supervision of students 2.02 1.02 Disagreed

practical and class assignments

14. Whole sale purchase of learning 2.06 0.03 Disagreed

materials by school principal for

distribution to students at moderate

price

15. Review of teaching duration for 2.01 1.04 Disagreed

entrepreneurship education

16. Provision of motivation / incentive 2.97 1.04 Agreed

packages for teachers

Grand Mean = 2.61 0.94

obtained low mean ratings. Table: z - test analysis of the difference between the mean rating of male and female teachers on the perceived problems militating against effective entrepreneurship education.

Respondents No. Respondents X Sd Df z-cal z-crit Prob Decision

Male teachers 488 2.74 0.69

Female teachers 632 2.66 068 1118 0.96 1.965 .05 Accepted

Table: 3 revealed that z-calculated of 0.96 is less than 2-critical of 1.96 at 1118 degree of freedom and .05 level of significance. Therefore the null hypothesis is accepted. That means, there is no significant difference in the mean rating of male and female teachers response on the perceived problems militating against entrepreneurship education.

Table 4: z-test analysis of the difference between the mean rating of male and female teacher on the influencing strategies to curb the perceived problems militating against effective management of entrepreneurship education.

Resondents No. Respondents X Sd Df z-cal z-crit Prob Decision

Male teachers 488 2.50 0.96

Female teachers 632 2.72 0.92 1118 3.87 1.96 .05 Rejected

Table 4 revealed that z-calculated of 3.87 is greater than z-critical of 1.96 at 1118 degree of freedom and .05 level of significance. Therefore the null hypothesis is rejected. That means there is significant difference between the mean ratings of male and female teachers on the influencing strategies adopted to curb the perceived problems militating against effective management of entrepreneurship education.

Discussion of FindingsIn table lout of eight items only three items obtained low mean ratings.This revealed that secondary school teachers do not agree that poor supervision of practical work, high cost of learning materials and limited teaching duration are problems militating against effective management of entrepreneurship education. But the high grand mean which recorded 2. 70 implied that all the items identified in the study are problems to effective management of entrepreneurship education. This findings was in agreement with Echefu (2008) who remarked that teachers are trained personnel in the

177 178

methodologies of teaching in educational system. Thus, they are capable of dictating some bottleneck jeopardizing effective teaching and learning process. Furthermore Ejiogu (2008) observed that non-payment of teachers salary is a notable problem that demoralizes the effort of teachers from putting in their best effort toward positive results in educational programmes. In table 3 the null hypothesis was accepted. This indicated that there is no significant difference between the mean "ratings of male and female teachers on the perceived problems: militating against entrepreneurship education. In table 2 five strategies were found to be influencing for strategies for adoption towards curbing the perceived problems militating against entrepreneurship education. The remaining - three strategies obtain mean.

ConclusionEntrepreneurship education has been conceived as the curriculum provision for students which is designed to acquaint them with knowledge, skills and practical work experience to encourage entrepreneurial success in a variety of settings. The notion is that the curriculum content would empower school leavers and graduates to employ themselves or be found skillful in numerous business opportunities around them. In this guise, any constraint to effective rating below the decision rule of 2.50. The grand mean of all eight items received 2. 61, which is above the decision rule. This is an indication that all the eight items are influencing strategies that can be adopted to curb the perceived problems militating against effective entrepreneurship education. Ajayi (1999) expressed that there is no problem without solution but the crux of the matter is to identify the problems and then proffer solution to combat it. Explaining further, Ajayi was of the opinion that the concept of reform, rebrand, seven point agenda and the road map for Nigeria education sector are attempts towards solving education problems. In table 4 the null hypothesis was rejected. This shows that there is significant difference between the mean rating of male and female teachers on the influencing strategies that can be adopted to curb the perceived problems militating against entrepreneurship education. This was revealed in table4 where z-calculated of 3.87 was greater than z-critical of 1.96. This finding was in agreement with Orisanaye (2004) when he stated that both male and female teachers in education industry have their differer,1t quota to contribute towards the realization of education objectives and goals entrepreneurship education must be tackled to foster improvement and productivity of students.

RecommendationsBased on the findings, the following recommendations are made:* Government should prioritize the need to update teachers horizon of

knowledge through in-service education on the improved methodology of teaching entrepreneurship education.

* Principals in partnership with Parent Teacher Association (PTA) should raise internal fund to build more classroom blocks that will accommodate the teeming population in secondary education system.

* Government should pay teacher salaries regularly and in time too. This will boost their morale towards effective management of entrepreneurship education.

* Government should review the financial allotment for the procurement of instructional facilities and equipment.

* Principals should inculcate the culture of motivating their teachers.This will energize teachers to put more effort to better performance in their primary assignment (teaching).

References

Ajayi, G. O. (1999). Entrepreneurship development and small business Lagos: Business Dada Publishers. Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education (2008. Entrepreneurship everywhere: The case of entrepreneurship education. Website:www.entre.ed.org. 1 - 10.

Dave, M. (2008). Unemployment saga among undergraduate and schoolleavers. Daily Independence. February 7, p6

EChefu, P. (2008). Education in Nigeria: Need for skill acquisition. Journal of Business Education. 1 (1), 76 - 82

Ejiogu, K. C. (2008). Educating the youths on practical skills. Exploration. 1(1), 20 - 26.

Emereruwa, C. (2004). Capacity building and entrepreneurship development.A paper presented at ETF/NCE train the teacher workshop. Federal College of Education Technical, Okene, 13th - 15th July

Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004). National Policy on Education. Lagos: NERDC Press

Gyamfi, C. C. (2006). Minister bemoans youth unemployment. The Guardian.November 14, p6 -7

Iyekekpolar, A. E. (2007). The role of entrepreneur in national development.Knowledge Review. 14 (1), 105 - 109.

Obanya, P. (2004). The dilemma of education in Africa. Heinemann BooksNigeria Plc.

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Odikwe, B. N. (2008). The classroom manager: An indispensable factor to the achievement of education goals. The Educator. 1 (2), 105 - 112.

Oharisi, J. (2007). Refocusing vocational education for relevance and sustainable national development. Knowledge Review. 15(9), 55 - 63.

Olowokere, A. O. (2006). Entrepreneurship: The challenges of vocational education in a reform era. Akoka Journal of Vocational Education. 5 (1),70 - 77.

Omenkeukwu, B. O. (2000). Entrepreneurship: A necessary part of vocational/technical education. Onitsha: Cape Publishers International

Limited.

Orisanaiye, M. O. (2004). Developing entrepreneurship skill for self reliance: A strategy for sustainable development in the 21st century. International Journal of Social Economic Development and Strategic Studies. 1& 2, 77 - 84.

Osuagwu, C. (2008). The role of the teacher in entrepreneurship education: A counsellors' viewpoint. The Counsellor. 1 (1), 63 - 70

Salim, B. (2003). Jamb boss explains graduate unemployment. The Guardian. March 25, p20

Uthman, M. A. (2005). Enhancing vocational and technical education for self reliance in Nigeria. Confluence Journal of Education. 2 (1), 158 - 162.

Wilson, B. N. (2008). Entrepreneurship education: A comprehensive understanding. Research and Policy. 1 (1), 2 - 8

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