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Needs Assessment as a Tool for Enhancing Curriculum Relevance in Junior Secondary Schools in Rivers East Senatorial District

Etete, Uchechi Blessing Amadioha, Samuel W. Mbaba, Awajiokinor Ekrika

Abstract

This study investigated needs assessment as a tool for enhancing curriculum relevance in Junior Secondary Schools in Rivers East Senatorial District. The study was guided by three research questions and three hypotheses, the population of the study comprised 1,825 teachers. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study, Taro Yamane’s formula was used to arrive at a sample size of 329 teachers. Multistage sampling technique was adopted to sample the 329 teachers. Data were collected using a self-structured questionnaire titled Junior Secondary School Curriculum Relevance Assessment Tool . The instrument was designed using 4-point rating scale of Very High Extent, High Extent, Low Extent and Very Low Extent. The validation of the instrument was ascertained by two lecturers from Measurement and Evaluation and Curriculum and Instructions from the Department of Educational Foundations, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt. The reliability of the instrument was tested using Cronbach Alpha, the result yielded an overall reliability coefficient of 0.81. the research questions were answered using Mean and standard deviation while independent samples t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that teachers that teachers’ awareness of needs assessment enhances curriculum relevance to a high extent in Junior Secondary Schools. The study further showed that there were no significant differences in the mean responses of male and female teachers across all tested variables, indicating a shared perception of curriculum relevance issues. The study concludes that task analysis and performance analysis are essential for improving curriculum relevance. Therefore, it was recommended that regular curriculum review, integration of practical skills and teacher capacity development to strengthen the quality of Junior Secondary education in Rivers State.

Keywords

Curriculum RelevanceNeeds AssessmentPerformance AnalysisTask analysis

References

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