CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Technology is an increasingly significant part of the society children are growing in today. It is the important aspect of modern school life and has dramatically change the way teachers and students go about their daily activities. Technology and design lessons allow children and teenagers to be creative while also developing new skills and grasping an understanding of how things work.
Basic Technology can be defined as the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science and pure science.It is also seen as the purposeful application of information in the design, production and utilization of goods and services and in the organization of human activities. However, among various educational polices that had been put in place, the most effective one that adequately took care of the teaching of technology is the National policy on Education, by which Basic Technology was a major subject to be taught at the secondary school level. While students are exposed to Basic Technology at the Junior Secondary school level, theoretical aspects are combined with practical at the Senior Secondary Level.
Basic Technology as a prevocational and practical oriented subject therefore requires teaching resources in order that effective teaching and learning might take place. It requires a sort of training through “learning by imitation” so that learners will acquire skills and knowledge. Dike (1989) stated that Nigerians are not unaware of the importance of instructional materials for effective learning in the school system; yet it has not been effective because of non-availability of these materials.
Instructional Materials can further be seen as a deliberate organized pre-determined instructional objective between the instructor and learner (Ibe-Bassey, 1998), Hunt, 1980 is of the view that availability of instructional materials and equipment depends on the location of the school and makes instructors to learn more on the proper use of these materials.
A teacher is a reservoir and a transmitter of knowledge, believed to possess an unquestionable store of knowledge. A basic technology teacher therefore is an individual who has acquired professional training in technology education at an appropriate level and capable of imparting knowledge, attitude and skills to the learner (Ekong 2002).
Ekong further stressed that the basic technology teacher is expected to possess sterling qualities to be effective, informing his duties which include planning, instructing and coordinating of academic activities related to technology education.
However, non-availability of basic technology teachers in some schools lead to ineffective teaching and learning in basic technology which influence students’ attitude towards basic technology.
The issue of poor attitude of students to Basic Technology is another way of saying that there could be communication problem between the information given by the teacher and the leaner in technology education in Nigerian schools.
According to Ekong (1994), it should be born in mind that basic technology remains a very important instrument in every society and acts as a pivot that enables learners to acquire vocational skills sufficiency and to solve practical problems.
It therefore becomes necessary to compare the availability of resources and students’ attitude to basic technology in Uyo Local Government Area.