Abstract:
This study was designed to determine the comparative effect of guided and structured inquiry techniques on the performance of motor vehicle mechanic work students in technical colleges. The study adopted the quasi-experimental research design, precisely, pre-test, post-test non equivalent control group design which involved groups of students in their intact classes. The population for the study was 195 year II students of Motor Vehicle Mechanic Work (MVMW) in the technical college in Ekiti State. Eight research questions and twelve null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The instruments used for data collection were the Motor Mechanic Cognitive Achievement and Retention Test (MMCART), Motor Mechanic Psychomotor Achievement Test (MMPAT) and Motor Mechanic Interest Inventory (MMII). The MMCART and MMPAT instruments were adopted from the National Business and Technical examination Board (NABTEB) past examination papers. The MMCART, MMPAT, MMII, training manual, Guided and Structured inquiry lesson plans were all subjected to face and content validation by three experts. The trial test for determining the coefficient of internal consistency and stability of the MMCART was carried out using pearson product moment correlation technique, Kudder –Richardson-20. (K-R.20). The values were found to be 0.95 and 0.75 respectively. The inter-rater reliability coefficient computed for the MMPAT was 0.76. Cronbach Alpha was used to determine the internal consistency of the MMII items. The reliability coefficient computed for the MMII was 0.85. Mean was used to answer the research questions, while ANCOVA was employed to test the hypotheses. The study revealed that the guided inquiry instructional technique was more effective in improving students’ cognitive and psychomotor achievement than the structured inquiry technique. It was also discovered that guided inquiry instructional technique was more effective in stimulating students’ interest and improving retention of learnt knowledge than the structured inquiry technique in motor vehicle mechanic work. The study also revealed that there were effects of gender on students’ interest, retention, cognitive and psychomotor achievements in motor vehicle mechanic works favouring boys. There were no interaction effects of treatments and gender on achievement (cognitive and psychomotor) interest and retention of technical college students in motor vehicle mechanic work. Thus the effectiveness of guided inquiry instructional technique on students’ performance in motor vehicle mechanic work does not depend on gender. It was thereafter recommended that the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) should consider review of curriculum for motor vehicle mechanic work with a view to incorporating guided inquiry technique into the teaching of MVMW. It was also recommended that Ministries of Education, National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB) and NBTE should organize workshops, seminars and conferences for technical teachers on regular basis to enlighten and improve their knowledge and skills on the use of the guided inquiry instructional techniques among other recommendations.
