ASSESSMENT OF THE AVAILABILITYAND UTILIZATION OF TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT IN IMPLEMENTING BLOCKLAYING/ BRICKLAYING AND CONCRETING CURRICULUM IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, ABUJA

ABSTRACT

The implementation of the blocklaying/bricklaying and concreting curriculum in secondary schools requires a lot of facilities which has to be effectively utilized for the realization of aims and objectives of the trade. This study examined the availability and utilization of tools and equipment in implementing the block laying/bricklaying and concreting curriculum in secondary schoolsin the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.Descriptive survey design was adopted covering a population of 33,551 which comprised of 153 administrators, 64 construction trade teachers and 33,334 senior secondary school students. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 50 senior secondary schools while Taro Yawane’s equation was used to determine a sample size of 561. Checklist of tools and equipment requirement as specified by Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC, 2010); and a questionnaire titled Utilization of Available tools and equipment for teaching block laying/bricklaying and concreting in secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; for Implementation of the Curriculum were used as instrument for data collection. Cronbach’s alpha technique was used to ascertain the internal consistency of the instrument which yielded a reliability index of 0.83. A descriptive statistics of frequency and percentage was used to answer research questions. Results of data analysed revealed that tools and equipment for teaching and learning of block laying/bricklaying and concreting subjects are inadequate. Furthermore,the available tools and equipment are not often utilized by teachers and students in teaching and learning of block laying/bricklaying and concreting subjects. Based on the findings, the study recommended that Government, Schools proprietors, PTA, NGOs and host communities should be encouraged to provide tools and equipment for teaching/learning of blocklaying/bricklaying and concreting subjects in senior secondary schools; and school administrators should always ensure that where tools and equipment are provided, they should always be effectively utilized.

Keywords:Tools and Equipment, Blocklaying/ Bricklaying and Concreting Curriculum, Senior Secondary Schools.