OFFICE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT STUDENT'S RATING OF SKILLS NEEDED FOR SELF-RELIANCE IN PUBLIC EDUCATION COLLEGES OF OGUN STATE

Abstract

This study investigated Office Technology and Management students’ ratings of skills needed for self-reliance in public education colleges of Ogun State, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. Thus, the study was guided by three research questions and three null hypotheses. Consisting of 245 Business Education students’ sampling. Adapted from Babayemi (2019), Azasu, et. al. (2015) and Salami (2019), this study developed a structured questionnaire, Skills for Self-Reliance of Office Technology and Management Programme Students Questionnaire (SSROTMQ) as its structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was validated by three experts and applied to the study. Split-half method was utilized to establish reliability coefficient, at 0.83 using Cronbach Alpha. The data generated for the study were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. All null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using inferential statistic of ANOVA. The findings showed, among others, that Business Education curriculum of Office Technology and Management program influenced the achievement of Office Education Programme’s objective. In addition, this study suggests that Business Education curriculum should be revisited and tailored towards equipping for self-employment, among others. Therefore, cooperation and collaboration among Business Education’s stakeholders are needed in an attempt to achieve the stated objectives in Business Education concerning Office Technology and Management program by providing ample and proper modern facilities in their tertiary institutions. The instrument which was face-validated by three experts from the Department of Business Education, Faculty of Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka was used to collect data from the respondents. The study made use of Kuder-Richards formula (K-R 21) to determine the reliability of the instrument and a reliability coefficient of 0.81 was obtained. The data collected for the study were analyzed using mean to answer the research questions raised and standard deviation to determine the closeness or otherwise of the responses from the mean while t-test statistics was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings from the analysis revealed that Office Technology and Management students needed skills in word processing, social media and information and communication technology for self-reliance. It was recommended amongst others that Students of Office Technology and Management should be trained in basic skills capable of equipping them with appropriate ability to set up ventures of their own as it will boost the economic growth of the nation and facilitates self-reliance.