PRACTICAL SKILLS IN DIGITAL ELECTRONICS REPAIRS REQUIRED OF ELECTRONIC STUDENTS IN TECHNICAL COLLEGES IN EDO STATE

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ABSTRACT

The study was carried out to determine the practical skills in the repairs of four selected digital electronic appliances required of electronic students in technical colleges in Edo State. The gadgets studied were mobile phones, laptop computers, DVD home theatre sound system and LCD television. In line with these gadgets, four research questions were raised and answered using mean and standard deviations, while four hypotheses comparing the mean responses of electronic teachers in technical colleges and electronic technician were formulated and tested using t-test at .05 level of significance. The study covered six major towns and four functional technical colleges in Edo State. The survey research design was adopted in collecting the data, using structured questionnaire. The population for the study was 351 individuals comprising 17 electronic teachers and 334 registered electronic technicians, out of these 183 electronic technicians were sampled using the convenience sampling technique, while all the 17 electronic teachers were sampled. The questionnaire was validated by three experts and reliability coefficients of .905, .946, .876 and .840 were determined based on the questionnaire for the practical skills in the repairs of mobile phone, laptop computer, DVD home theatre sound system and LCD television respectively, and .887 for the combined questionnaire for all the gadgets using the Cronbach alpha method of reliability. The questionnaires were administered by the researcher with the help of three research assistants and the whole questionnaires were successfully retrieved. Mean, standard deviation and t-test were the statistical tools employed for data analysis. The mean was used to answer the research questions while the t-test was used to test the null hypotheses. The findings revealed 29, 40, 30 and 29 practical skills in the repairs of mobile  phone,  laptop  computer,  DVD  home  theatre  sound  system  and  LCD  television respectively that are highly required of electronic students in technical colleges. The values of the standard deviation were relatively low, indicating low variability of the responses of the respondents, while the null hypotheses were upheld. It was therefore recommended, among others, that the teaching and learning of practical skills in the repairs of the four selected digital electronics for this study should be fully and properly integrated into the NBTE curriculum for technical colleges to enhance effective job placement of its graduates.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Technological advancement has continued to add value to the dynamic nature of the society, especially in the industries and the educational institutions, thereby making production, teaching and  learning  easier.  The  fields  of  engineering,  technology  and  industrial  education  have continued to experience technological innovation in the new economy era in order to meet the challenges and demands of the  society.  One  of the disciplines that  have experienced such innovation is electrical and electronic technology. In the view of Osuala (2004) technology is often used to denote segment of the applied science, of which electronic technology is one of the segments.

The field of electrical and electronic technology, according to Nicholaidis (2011), has drastically improved such that almost every human endeavor depends on one or more products of electrical or electronic or both. Electronic technology is the study of the scientific application of the flow of electrons to the functionality of electronics or electronic circuits, appliances and products. The production of electronic products has taken a trend of existing in the form of analog, digital or photon. In developing countries like Nigeria, digital electronics are widely used today, and they are manufactured and sold in different varieties.

Digital electronics deal with electronic products or appliances which function on the principle of logic gate and logic decisions with the use of integrated circuits (ICs) as their main component (Theraja & Sedha, 2009). Modern electronic products such as pocket personal computer (PC), personal digital  assistant  (PDA),  MP3  players,  digital  cameras,  digital  camcorders,  mobile phones, digital dictionaries and digital translators, compact disc (CD) players, digital versatile

disc (DVD) players, liquid crystal display (LCD) television, home theatre sound systems, laptop computers and the likes, make use of ICs extensively. Their structures and functions as well as the operations of their circuits are apparently similar because of the presence of ICs which serve as the complete electronic circuit in which both the active and passive components are fabricated on a tiny chip of silicon.

The operation and functionality of digital electronic products depend on direct current (dc) voltage supply obtained and  converted from alternating current (ac) voltage supply. Hence digital  electronics  are  not  expected  to  last  indefinitely  when  used  in  various  places  and conditions since their operation and usage depend on these voltages which are prone to fluctuation. Apart from voltage fluctuation, other factors such as temperature, dust and poor handling can lead to the breakdown of these products through one or more damaged components. Thus there is need for maintenance, repairs or replacement when the electronic products are in bad conditions. In most cases, when there is breakdown of electronics, repairs become the next option, especially in a developing country like Nigeria.

Repairs in the view of Bridgestone (2013) are services that are required or necessary when something  on  a  system  is  not  working  properly or  may  have  worn  to  the  point  where  a replacement is required to maintain the performance of the system. According to Australian Taxation Office (2012) repairs mean work to make good or remedy defects in, damage to or deterioration of the property. For example, work done in repairing electric appliances or machinery can be termed repairs. Repairs in the context of this study the activities taken for the restoration of a broken, damaged or failed component, device, equipment, part, or appliance to an acceptable operating or unstable state.

Modern digital electronics are so fragile that thorough handling, maintenance and repairs are required to avoid waste of electronic products or cost when there is breakdown. These appliances are not manufactured in Nigeria but are usually imported in their already used form or new and in most cases of low quality. This can also lead to frequent breakdown of these appliances, thus needing competent manpower to handle the repairs. It therefore calls for a reminder of the mandate on the educational institutions to produce adequate manpower, in terms of technicians and craftsmen that can handle this kind of task. One of such institutions with the mandate is the technical and vocational education and training (TVET), which operates at the formal and non- formal sectors. TVET at the formal sector in Nigeria is undertaken at the secondary and tertiary levels (Federal Republic of Nigeria, FRN, 2004). The emphasis at the junior secondary level is basic  technology,  while  at  the  senior  secondary  level,  classified  as  technical  college,  the emphasis is to produce technicians and craftsmen needed in the world of work.

Technical colleges are institutions at the secondary level, where vocational and technical subjects are offered by students to acquire theoretical and practical skills for scientific application, and be dexterous, especially in repairs and maintenance works. It is the segment of education designed to produce craftsmen even at the advance level (Federal Ministry of Education, FME, 2003). According to Nwachukwu, Bakare and Jika (2011) technical college provides students through training with the relevant and adequate knowledge, skills and attitude for employment under the guidelines of a teacher in related occupations. In order to achieve these objectives, various trades or occupations are learnt at the technical colleges. Ede, Miller and Bakare (2010) identified that students in technical colleges are trained in auto mechanics, woodwork, plumbing, electrical installation and maintenance work, radio and television (RTV) and electronics, computer craft

and mechanical trades. The maintenance and repair skills of appliances can therefore be obtained at the technical colleges.

The content areas usually covered for skills acquisition in RTV and electronics works at the technical  college  include  electronics  maintenance  and  repair,  electronics  circuit  reading, electrical and electronics appliances, electronics and electrical workshop practice, electronics measuring instrument and power supply system (Ogbuanya, Bakare & Igweh, 2009). Another important trade in the technical college curriculum is appliances maintenance and repairs. These are expected to cover a good aspect of practical skills in carrying out maintenance and repairs of electronics  appliances  in  the  school  workshop,  but  the  skills  are  apparently  limited  to maintenance and repairs of radio and cathode ray television as major digital appliances.

Comparatively, the cathode ray tube television and radio taught in technical colleges are now becoming old fashioned, yet students are not exposed to changes that take place in the trend of maintenance and repairs modern digital electronic appliances in the school workshop, expect during industrial attachment training (Ohiakhuare, 2009). This may be likened to the fact that the curricula of the educational institutions in Nigeria appear slow to adapting to industrial changes and new innovations. No wonder Ekpenyong (2011) argued that technical education at all levels is filled with theoretical knowledge with little or no emphasis on practical skills. There is need therefore to identify the practical skills needed by technical college electronics students to carry out maintenance and repair tasks in the school workshop in other digital electronics that are commonly used in the society today, in order to become better graduates.

The RTV and electronics trade is one of the areas of electrical and electronics in technical colleges where students acquire skills in maintenance and repairs of electronic products, through

workshop  practice  (laboratory classes).  Ogbuanya,  Bakare  and  Igweh (2009)  affirmed  that electronics in technical colleges is geared towards the graduation of technicians and craftsmen who have skills and knowledge to meet the demands of electronic industries. At this stage, students learn basic skills needed to maintain, install, operate and repair electronic products. These skills are usually acquired in the school workshop or through industrial attachment to be able to withstand the challenges in the world of work with little or no difficulty in performing related work tasks.

The school workshop or laboratory is a class where students in technical colleges and other allied areas of studies acquire theoretical and more of practical skills in related areas such as design, construction, use, maintenance, repairs and safety practices in the areas of automobile, building, electrical, electronic and mechanical, with respect to appliances, materials, tools, equipment and machineries. It is a practical classroom where students are expected to demonstrate their practical competency as well as transform the theoretical skills to practical skills. The skills acquired in the workshop are expected to form the basis for a student to possess saleable skills for useful graduation, hence the need for dynamic teaching of practical skills.

Teaching should be understood as a polymorphous activity. Many think of it as an activity which ends in the classroom (Offorma, 2002). In the modern time and of its sincerity, teaching is beyond  that.  It  involves the  process of impartation of appropriate and  functional skills  to learners, in any form, place and/or time, to enable them function effectively towards meeting the demands of the dynamic society. The central purpose of teaching is to effect desirable change in the student’s behaviour (Ogwo & Oranu, 2006). This desirable change is termed learning. Since FRN (2004) defined technical education as the type of education which deals with practical skill acquisition and application of basic scientific knowledge, it is necessary that such practical skills

are diversified to enable the learners perform well while in school and become viable graduates for the world of work.

Practical skills are the psychomotor skills that enable an individual to perform practical tasks. Task, according to Olaitan (2003) and Bassualdo and Toby (2004), is a logically related set of actions required for the completion of the job objectives. Skills can be broadly seen as the ability to do something well. According to Osinem (2008) skill refers to expertness, practiced ability or proficiency displayed in the performance of a task. In order to perform tasks in the repairs of varieties of digital electronics by technical college electronics graduates, it is essential that the skills are learnt in the school workshop. These skills that students learn or are expected to learn in the  school workshop in order to  carry out experiment, design, construction, production, testing, assembling, disassembling and repairs of relevant material/systems are called practical skills (Ohikhuare, 2009).

Practical skills primarily require physical dexterity, although an understanding of principles, process and sequences is also essential especially for more complex practical skills. Within the educational institutions, the learning of practical skills is most often associated with laboratory and workshop, specialist materials and equipment, smaller class size and, frequently, longer blocks of time for practice and rehearsal (Hampton, 2002). Practical skills are therefore acquired in the electronic workshop by electronics students in relation to the traits identified by Ohikhuare and with respect to electronic appliances. Electronic students in the context of this study are the technical college trainees who are expected to graduate into useful craftsmen and advanced craftsmen for the maintenance and repairs of electronic appliances. These categories of students are expected to acquire functional practical skills in appliances maintenance and repairs during workshop practice. The examples of practical skills acquired and that are expected to be acquired

by these students include, but not limited to, the design of electronic circuits, wiring techniques (conduit, surface or trucking), and repairs of screen problems in a television, fixing the power board in a system, rewinding the coils of fan and preparing the layout of cable run in a building plan (Ohikhuare, 2009; Osaigbovo, 2010).

In Nigeria the teaching and learning of practical skills in the repairs of electronic appliances is obtainable in the formal and non-formal sectors. In the formal education sector such technical colleges; students acquire such practical skills in the school workshop through the guidance of a teacher, who is contextually termed electronic teacher in this study. In addition, the repair tasks in modern digital electronic appliances are usually and commonly done by the roadside artisans, craftsmen, technicians, technologists or engineers who probably acquired the skills through trial and errors or otherwise. The tasks in such repairs may also  be done  by specialists of the producers of the brands of the appliances, in their depot especially when the appliance is still under warranty. In the context of this study, these individuals who are involved in the repairs of these appliances are broadly termed technicians.

Among the states in Nigeria, Edo is one that is blessed with the establishment of technical colleges to meet middle manpower requirement (craftsmen and advanced craftsmen). The state has both federal and state technical colleges; the federal technical colleges are currently called Federal Science and Technical Colleges while the state technical colleges are called Government Science and Technical Colleges. There is also wide use of electronic gadgets in Edo State which makes it imperative to produce craftsmen and advanced craftsmen, from the technical colleges, required for the repairs of these electronics when there are faults. There is therefore the need to identify the skills required of the electronic students in the repairs of digital electronics while in school for useful graduation into the world of work.

Statement of the Problem

There has been vast demand and use of digital electronic appliances in Nigeria as a result of technological advancement. These appliances are manufactured in the developed world, usually at voltage ratings of their own countries and some other conditions that may not be applicable in Nigeria.  These  electronics,  when  used,  are  often  prone  to  frequent  malfunctioning  and breakdown, therefore need skilled manpower for their maintenance and repairs.

In recent times, the use of digital electronic products such as laptop computers, mobile phones, DVD players, LCD televisions, digital camera, LED televisions and DVD home theatre sound system has increased, but there seems to be inadequate qualified and competent technicians to repair these products when they are in bad conditions. The apparent inadequacy of technicians in maintenance and repairs of modern electronic appliances may be traced to inadequate inclusion of such skills in the curriculum of the school system as early as necessary. This may be the reason why majority of the available technicians perform maintenance and repair tasks on trial and error as they were never or rarely exposed to such skills while in school and hence may not possess the adequate knowledge and skills needed to carry out such repairs.

The foregoing implies that there is need to identify the practical skills required by electronics students of technical college to carry out basic repairs of modern digital electronics in order to enhance their preparation as competent craftsmen and advance craftsmen who will perform the required repairs, otherwise there will be continuous waste of electronic products when there is breakdown. In addition, there is likely to be the problem of continual production of incompetent craftsmen and advance craftsmen from the technical colleges needed in the labour market, thus leading to devaluation of manpower requirement, especially craftsmen and technicians, in the present day economy. If this remains the case, Nigeria will remain at the consumption level

without adequate input to maintenance and repairs since the importation of these appliances continues to increase.

The common breakdown of these appliances and the probable problem of continual production of incompetent manpower to perform effective repair tasks can raise many questions in mind. One question the researcher asks is: is it not time to introduce practical skills in repairs of modern digital electronic  appliances, commonly used  in the  society,  in the  curriculum for teaching and learning in practical classes in technical colleges in Nigeria? The study therefore intends to identify the practical skills in digital electronics repairs required of electronic students in technical colleges which may help them attain certain level of proficiency before graduation.

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study was to determine the practical skills in the repairs of selected digital electronics in required of electronic students technical colleges in Edo State. Specifically, the study sought to:

1.  Identify the practical skills in the repairs of mobile phones required of electronic students in technical colleges,

2.  Determine the practical skills in the repairs of laptop computers required of electronic students in technical colleges,

3.  Identify the practical skills in the repairs of home theater sound systems required of electronic students in technical colleges, and

4.  Find out the practical skills  in the repairs of LCD television required of electronic students in technical colleges.

Significance of the Study

There is need for improvement in the repairs and maintenance of digital electronics in Nigeria since, beside the fact that virtually every sector of the Nigerian economy depends on electronic gadgets to perform their daily duties, they are often not put to appropriate use. The frequency at which  these  appliances  breakdown calls  for  skills  for  proper  maintenance  and  repairs  for relatively long use. The findings of this study therefore is expected to be of immense benefit to students, teacher, technicians, users of electronic appliances, government and the society at large.

Technical college electronics students will benefit as the findings of this study are expected to vividly  identify  the  practical  skills  needed  to  perform  repairs  of  mobile  phones,  laptop computers, home theatre sound systems and LCD televisions. This may enable the students, who will become electronics technicians to get acquainted with various repair skills in each of the appliances, and to function effectively and efficiently in the world of work. Furthermore, the students will benefit from the teaching of these skills which are required to perform such repairs tasks while in school and even after school, especially if these skills are incorporated in the curriculum for workshop practice.

Electronic teachers of technical colleges will equally benefit from the findings of this study since the practical skills needed in repairs of the selected digital electronics will be identified, and if made available to them and incorporated in the curriculum, it may serve as a tool for teaching practical in the school workshop. In addition,  if the tasks in carrying out  such repairs are considered necessary in the school system, it will give the teachers the opportunity to undertake additional training in order to perform their duties effectively.

The  issue of trial  and  error  in work-tasks by  technician  in  carrying out  repairs of digital electronics may be reduced if the students who may serve as the future technicians apply the findings of this study while in school. It will be beneficial to students and graduate-technicians will be able to carry out work-tasks in the repairs of the identified digital electronics for effective practical classroom and workplace performance respectively.

The findings of this study will also be beneficial to users of these digital electronics through the improvement that may come from the upcoming technicians in the repairs of gadgets. The users will not exercise fears towards the competence of electronic technicians in the repairs of these appliances because there may be improvement in performing such tasks. This also applies to the society at large who has to rely on competent technicians since electronics are fast becoming the products that almost every human must use.

Government and the society at large will benefit from the findings of this study since competent technicians are hoped to be produced from the school system if the skills required in the repairs of these electronics are introduced in the school curriculum. In addition, technicians who will be self-reliant  may  be  produced,  thereby  reducing  unemployment  in  the  labour  market  and increasing manpower supply of the country. Above-all, the findings of this study will serve as a source to other researches especially in identifying the strategies or developing modules for introducing these skills in technical institutions.

Research Questions

The following research questions were raised and answered in this study.

1.  What  are the practical skills in the repairs of mobile phones required of electronic students in technical colleges in Edo State?

2.  What are the practical skills in the repairs of laptop computers required of electronic students in technical colleges in Edo State?

3.  What are the practical skills in the repairs of DVD home theatre sound systems required of electronic students in technical colleges in Edo State?

4.  What are the practical skills in the repairs of LCD televisions required of electronic students in technical colleges in Edo State?

Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were formulated and tested in this study at .05 level of significance. H01: There is no significant difference between the mean responses of electronic teachers and

technicians as regards the practical skills in the repairs of mobile phones required of electronic students in technical colleges.

H02: The mean responses between electronic teachers and technicians do not significantly differ with respect to the practical skills in the repairs of laptop computers required of electronic students in technical colleges.

H03: Significant difference does not exist between the mean response of electronic teachers and technicians as regards the practical skills in the repairs of DVD home theatre sound systems required of electronic students in technical colleges.

H04:  There  is  no  significant  difference  in  the  mean  response  of  electronic  teachers  and technicians as regards the practical skills in the repairs of LCD televisions required of electronic students in technical colleges.

Delimitation of the Study

There are varieties of digital electronic appliance in existence, but this study was delimited to the practical skills in the repairs of mobile phones, laptop computers, DVD home theatre sound systems and LCD televisions necessary for teaching electronic students during electronic workshop  practice  in  technical colleges  in  Edo  State.  The  electronic  teachers  in  technical colleges and electronic technicians who are into maintenance and repairs of one or more of the selected digital electronics were studied.



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