STUDENTS’ SELF-CONCEPT AND COLLEGE-INDUSTRY COLLABORATION AS CORRELATE FOR SKILL ACQUISITION IN MOTOR VEHICLE MECHANIC WORKS IN TECHNICAL COLLEGES IN EDO STATE

Abstract

 The study examined students’ self-concept and college-industry collaboration as correlate for skill acquisition in motor vehicle mechanic works (MVMW) in technical colleges in Edo State. Two research questions were raised to guide the study and two null hypotheses were formulated and tested at .05 level of significance. The study adopted a correlational survey research design. The population of the study consisted 74 MVMW students from two public technical colleges in Edo State where MVMW is being offered. The population was adopted as the sample because it is of manageable size. The research instrument used for data collection in the study were Standardized Motor Vehicle Mechanic Works Practical Performance Checklist (SMVMWPPC) with 15 skill tasks, Self-Concept Questionnaire (SCQ) and College-Industry Collaboration Questionnaire (CICQ). The questionnaires had 10 items each. The questionnaires were validated by two experts in the Department of Vocational and Technical Education and one from the Test and Measurement, Department of Guidance and Counselling, Faculty of Education, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. In order to establish the stability of the questionnaires, Cronbach alpha coefficient formula was used. The test yielded an overall coefficient of .76 and .80 respectively. The findings of the study revealed that student self-concept and college-industry collaboration correlates positively and significantly with skills acquisition in MVMW in public technical colleges in Edo State. Based on the findings, it was recommended that there should be concerted effort by parents, teachers and students to ensure students develop positive beliefs about themselves and that industries should ensure collaboration with technical colleges for improved skills acquisition in motor vehicle mechanic works.