Disparity in the perceptions of trainers’, graduates’ and supervisors’ on employability skills of agricultural science teachers in nigerian secondary schools

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the disparity in the perception of the graduates, trainers and supervisors on the employability skills of graduates teaching Agriculture science in secondary schools. Two research questions and four hypotheses guided the study. The design of this study was a survey research design. The area for this study was Bauchi and Gombe States of Nigeria. The population for this study includes all Agriculture Education graduates teaching Agric Science in secondary schools, their supervisors and trainers. Stratified purposive sampling was used to select 50 graduates, 25 supervisors each from Gombe and Bauchi states and 17 trainers, totalling 167 respondents. The instrument was a structured questionnaire which was validated and pilot tested to obtain the reliability coefficient (Cronbach's Alpha) of 0.98. Data collected was analyzed using AMOS 18 statistical packages for windows. Findings of this study revealed that there was no significant difference between the perception of graduates, supervisors and trainers on the importance of employability skills need by the graduate to be successful in teaching Agricultural Science in Secondary School but there was a significant difference in their perception of competence, with trainers contributing more to the difference. It is recommended that all the employability skills be retained or included in the University Agriculture Education curriculum. Agricultural Education being a vocational course, students should be given the opportunity to apply the science they have learned in their course. That means more “hands-on” should be incorporate in the classroom teaching. Keywords:Disparity In Perception, Graduates And Supervisor, Skills Of Agricultural Science, Teachers