EFFECT OF DREYFUS MODEL TRAINING OF CAREER GUIDANCE ON SOAP MAKING AND BAKERY SKILLS ACQUISITION OF APPRENTICES FOR EMPLOYMENT IN NIGER STATE
ABSTRACT
The main thrust of this study is on the effect of Dreyfus Model Training of career guidance on Soap Making and Bakery Skills acquisition of apprentices for employment in Niger State. The model is divided into five stages: Novice, Advance Beginner, Competence, Proficient and Expert. Eight research questions and eight null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significant guided this work. The research design adopted for the study was the quasi experimental non equivalent group in which a total of 168 apprentices were purposively sampled from four skills acquisition centres in Minna. The two instruments used for collection of data from the respondents were Bakery Skills Acquisition Test (BSAT) and Soap Making Skills Acquisition Test (SMSAT), each instrument consist of 20 items segmented into five stages. The instrument was validated by three experts in Guidance and Counselling, Science Education and Counselling Psychology out of which two are from University of Nigeria, Nsukka and one from Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Lapai, Niger State-Nigeria. The reliability of the instrument in terms of internal consistency was based on a trial test conducted at Skills Acquisition Section of Women Day College Minna with a sample size of 60 respondents, using the Cronbach Alpha Statistics with an index of 0.81 for the BSAT instrument and 0.80 for the SMSAT instrument. Four skills acquisitions centres were purposively sampled for both experimental group and the control group. The experimental group for soap making skills is located at Chanchaga Skills Acquisition Centre Minna while the control group is located at Saint Clement Skills Acquisition Centre Minna. Whereas, the experimental group for bakery skills is located at Talba Youths Skills Acquisition Centre Minna with the control group at Women Day Centre Minna. All the four skills acquisition centres were pretested and post tested on the two instruments after treatment by the researcher on Dreyfus Model Training. The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and ANCOVA. The findings show that there was significant difference between the mean achievement scores of apprentices after training on Dreyfus Model in soap making and those without the training. Similarly, there was significance difference between the mean achievement scores of apprentices after training on Dreyfus Model in bakery skills and those without the training. Finally, there were no significant interaction effect scores differences after training on Dreyfus Model in soap making skills and bakery skills of apprentices. These findings were discussed alongside with their implications and recommendations. One recommendation is for mass production of text books and learning materials for all levels and forms of education. This will open a window of new opportunity to teachers and instructors of skills acquisition centres to employ the Dreyfus Model training which has inherent advantage because of its systematic approach to problem solving. Limitations encountered during the study and suggestions for further studies highlighted.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
In Nigeria the birth of a child is heralded with fanfare and joy. The dream of any family is to educate the child to acquire appropriate skills so as to contribute his quota to the development of his society when employed. This view is further entrenched in the National Policy of Education as encapsulated in one of the five main objective of Nigeria’s national development plan which is the building of a land full of bright and opportunities for all citizens. To facilitate the attainment of this objective, the skills acquisition at all levels had to be oriented towards meeting the demands and aspirations for the common good of the society. In this direction, the government operating the different levels of education is over burdened, especially with increase in population to providing adequate infrastructural equipment and personnel for imparting the required skills for national development. Therefore, the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) goes further to state that government welcomes and encourages the participation of local communities, individual and other organizations that will lubricate the process of graduate employment through the provision of learning materials in schools, establishment of institutions and skills acquisition centres across the country (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004).
An employed person is capable of effective participation in the development of the society. According to International Labour Organization (ILO) as cited by European Union Labour Force Survey (EULFS) (2006) employed persons are those aged 16-74years who during the week of the survey performed work, even for just one hour in that week, for pay, profit or family gain or were not at work but had a job or business from which they may be temporary
absent because of illness, holiday, industrial dispute and education\training. In another perspective, Economic Concept (2012) sees employment as an engagement of a person in some occupation, business, trade or profession. For the purposes of the work, employed person is any person within the age range of 18-70years who works for himself or somebody during the period of the survey. In Nigeria, 18 years is the entering point for voting in elections and entry to higher institutions, while 70years is the highest retirement age in government sector in Nigeria. Self employed implies working for yourself, family or employing others to work for you. While, working for somebody connotes working for government, private organizations or individuals. In Nigeria, the three tiers of government are the highest employer of labour followed by multinational corporations and companies. However, the dream of any person if employed is to effectively participate in the development of his society but the current state of graduate unemployment turns the dream to a nightmare.
Unemployment signs are readily visible in our society but difficult to define as it is a very complex phenomenon that involves issues related to that of lay-off workers, absentee employee as a result of illness or students in school. The view point of unemployment in developed countries varies from that of developing countries due to level of industrialization that characterizes the society. According to International Labour Organization as cited by European Union Labour Force Survey (2006), unemployed persons comprise persons aged 16-74 years who are of three groups: (a) Without work during the week of the survey, that is neither had a job nor were at work (for one hour or more) in paid employment or self-employment; (b) currently available for work, that is, will be available for paid employment or self-employment before the end of the two weeks following the week of the survey; (c) actively seeking work, that is, had taken specific steps in the four week period ending with week of the survey to seek for
paid employment or self-employment or who found a job to start later, that is, within a period of at most three months.
According to Rashma (2012) unemployment is a condition of joblessness for the period of the survey. The joblessness should not be voluntary as some people avoid work due to laziness. They are jobless not from necessity but from choice. This may include the idle rich and poor persons who may not like to work. The same goes to the social parasite as beggars and political thugs that are voluntarily jobless. Thus, unemployment is a case of involuntary failure to get income-yielding and gainful work. The researcher’s operational definition of unemployment is any person within the age range of 18-70 who is seeking for work but without acceptable means of work during the survey period. Acceptable means of work in terms of legal status in Nigeria and without criminal tendencies. The detail data on unemployment in Niger state and other states in Nigeria base on different variables is illustrated by the National Bureau of Statistics (see appendix A-E pages 120-124), Unemployment often leads to living below poverty line that may due to the fact that the person lacks appropriate skills. Skills avail a person the opportunity of employment in the labour market. The wages and emolument of the employed person to a greater extent determines his socio-economic status or poverty line. Therefore, skills are important to any labour market.
There exist divergent views as to what skills stand for, in the opinion of some scholars skills enable people gain employment, Others feel everyone is born with one form of skill or the other. According to European Union Programme (2011), skill is the ability to act in accordance with well managed models of behavour, which enables the achievement of certain purpose or aim. Furthermore, Skills can be both cognitive involving the use of logical, intuitive and creative thinking and practical involving manual dexterity and the use of methods, materials tools and
instruments. Furthermore, in relation to competency in learning outcome, skill can be seen as the practical learning outcome, knowledge as the learning input into skills development, attitude as an acquired mode of behaviour influenced by internal and external motivation and characteristics as a disposition related to innate talent.
In an attempt to provide an inter-disciplinary approach to the term skill, Green (2011) asserts from political economy point of view that skill is a personal quality with three key features namely: Productive, Expanded and Social (PES). In terms of being productive, skill is productive of value in generating wealth when employed. Expandable implies that skills are enhanced by training and development while social means that skills are socially determined. This definition has a boundary which makes the concept functional for locating skill role in economic, psychology and social systems. In economics it is significant to the changing distribution of income while in sociology skills underpin class or stratification of the society and in psychology as a human research practice.
In another opinion, Speelman (2005) Skills acquisition is seen as a specific form of prolonged learning about a family of events. These come through many pairing of similar stimuli with particular responses and in the process, a person can begin to develop knowledge representation of how to respond to certain situations. This representation has some form of privileged status in memory because they can be retrieved more easily and reliably than memories of single events. Thus, any response that can be learned can potentially be refined with practice given the right conditions. In addition, Speelman (2005) continues that the range of behavior that can be considered to involve skills acquisition could potentially include all responses that are not innate. In addition, skill is a task that is difficult to acquire which lead to
the notion that only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly ever acquire the skills to do difficult things easily.
Skills acquisition is a form of learning. The simple processes of skills acquisition includes: observation, trial and error, practice, imitation, demonstration, listening, nasal perception, tasting, reading, writing, and so forth either through formal education, non-formal education and traditional education (Fafunwa, 2004). However, the complex processes of skills acquisition are: interest, competition, cooperation, progress level and resting (Adeyemo, 1965 and Farrant, 2004). Thus, there is need for coordination between individual’s five senses and the brain in order to acquire a skill.
The researcher views skills acquisition as an enriching inter play between the three domains which are cognitive, psycho-motor and affective of individual towards increasing productive capacity of the society. An enriched inter play implies the processes of acquiring skills in school or out of school experiences. This is achieved by developing the learner’s innate cognitive, manipulative abilities and attitude towards the needs of the society. These skills can be acquired in a formal setting in the conventional schools or in an in formal setting as in a master’s workshop, shade for example blacksmithing and pottery or in non formal setting as in skills acquisition centres. There are dozens of these skills acquisition centre’s owned by government, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) and individuals for apprentices in the state that provide opportunities for skills acquisition in tailoring, soap making, knitting, food production (like baking), welding, chalk and duster production, screen printing, paint production, aquaculture and shoe making, among others.(Ministry of Youth and Strategy, 2013)
Youths are the apprentices that benefit mostly from these skills acquisition centers as they are the bulk of the unemployed persons and if not engaged could lead to other vices in the society like stealing. According to a report released by Economics Watch as cited by Agunbade (2013), categorized youth into three groups these are: 15-19years (youngest adults); 20-24years (young adults) and 24 > above (older adults). The apprentices in these skills acquisition centers could be broadly divided into two; those aged 20years and below as young adults and above 20years as older adults.
In as much as various skills are acquired, those that satisfy the daily needs of the society are bakery skills and soap making skills. While the former takes good care of the internal body the latter takes care of the external body. However, the soaring price of bread and its sub-quality due to the use of unaccepted ingredients such as preservatives and saccharine have deterred people from taking bread which was once a staple food on different family’s table. Similarly, the proliferation of local soap industries has seriously affected the quality of soap produced now. The present day soap readily wastes away during use.
From the foregoing it is important to study the process of skills acquisition in soap making and baking bread. The ingredients for the production of bread are flour, sugar, yeast, salt and water among others. According to Johnston, Akingbehin and Mcfie (1974) the specific skills for baking of bread are creaming the yeast, mixing the dough, proving, firing, greasing and baking in the oven. While the essential raw materials for soap are the fat, oil, lye and water. The core skills in soap making are measurement, stirring, scenting, moulding, drying and cutting (Deyo, 2008). However, there are certain skills that are useful for both, soap making and making of bread which are often called the generic skills. The generic skills according to Human Resources and Skills Development (2012) as regards documentation are; reading, document use,
oral communication, writing, and numeracy. While the thinking skills are; problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, job task, planning, organization, use of memory and finding solutions. Other skills are; working with others, computer use, continuous learning and note taking. The complexity of life demands that these acquired skills needed to be refine on regular basis.
There are several ways in which skills acquired can be refined. These ways of refining skills lead to theories of skills acquisition. These theories can largely be grouped thus: Refinement Strategy theories, Memory Retrieval theories and Blended theories. The Refinement Strategy theories proposed that practice leads to performance improvement because practice has the effect of refining procedures for performing a task. Examples of these theories are Anderson Adaptive Control of Thought–Rational (ACT-R, 1983), Newell and Rosenblooms State of Operator and Result (SOAR, 1982). In addition, the Connectionists Model involve network of inter connected units, with each unit being activated by the firing pattern in units to which it is connected. Once a unit is activated, it can pass on the activation to other unit (McClellard & Rumelhart, 1986). While the Memory Retrieval theories viewed performance improvement as a by-product of some consequences of practice. Some of these theories hold that practice leads to greater knowledge for instance Logan’s INSTANCES theory (1988).
The Blended theories of skills acquisition have begun to blur the boundaries between strategy refinement and memory retrieval performances as explanation of performance improvement. Another model of this theory in skills acquisition is highlighted by Pena (2010) as propose by two brothers Stuart and Hubert Dreyfus in 1980 named the Dreyfus Model of skills acquisition which is a segment of this study. The original model has only five stages: which include: Novice where the learner follows rules as they are given without context; Advance
Beginner in which the learner is limited to situational perception; Competence where the learner develops perception of action in relation to goals; Proficient is the stage where learners develop intuition to guide their decision and even able to develop their own rules. The Expertise stage is where the learner develops analytical approach to a new problem.
These stages of Dreyfus model can be related to the process of bakery and soap making skills acquisition in the sense that at novice stage the apprentice as a new comer learns the utensils and equipment in the production of a final product while at advance beginner stage the apprentice becomes conversant with the ingredients used in the skills acquisition centre for the production of their products. At the competence stage the apprentice goes further to see that all actions or procedures are directed towards a goal when learning the procedures in the production of a final product of bread or soap. As the apprentice progresses to the proficient stage the apprentices becomes familiar with practical processes of production of bread or soap and can even guide other apprentices at the end. The individual can develop personal rules and regulations based on peculiarities of circumstance. Finally, at the expertise stage the apprentice can provide an analytical approach to common faults or problems in relation to the bread or soap that is produced.
In any skill acquisition process, three variables are common and include: the instructor, the skill and the apprentice. The apprentice could maximally attain the set goals with the active participation of a guidance counsellor who offers career guidance to the apprentice. In the United Kingdom, career guidance is usually referred to as career advice or career counselling (Institute of Career Guidance, 2010). The focus of career counselling is generally on issues such as career exploration, career change, personal career development and other related issues. It may include wide spread professional activities which focus on supporting people in dealing with career
related challenges both preventively and in difficult situations (such as unemployment). Career counsellors deal with different clients, such as adolescents seeking to explore career options, experienced professionals contemplating a career change, parents who want to return to the world of work after child bearing or people seeking for employment.
An elaborated and all encompassing definition of career guidance was collectively put forward by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, World Bank, European Community and adopted by Institute of Career Guidance (2010) to refer to services and activities intended to assist individuals of any age and at any point throughout their life to make educational, training and occupational choice and to manage their careers. Such service may be found in Schools, Universities, Colleges, training institutions, public employment service, work place, voluntary or community sector and private sector. The activities may take place on an individual or group basis and may be face-face or at a distance (including helps line and web based service). They include career information, counselling, interviews, career education programmes (to help individuals develop their awareness, opportunity and career management skill) task programmes to sample work options before choosing them, work search programmes on the internet, and transition service from school to the word of work (Institution for Career Guidance, 2010), Warwick institution for Employment Research, 2005) and Hansen, 2006).
Career guidance denotes offering advice and information about careers that helps individuals’ especially young people, decides on a career and also teaches them to pursue their chosen career. In addition, in developed countries most career service provides access to a sophisticated career guidance computer software packages formerly called prospectus for employment. In recent times resume template on online job portal are preferred because it is
easier and offers practical solution to recruitment agency, professional Curriculum vitae writers or job search. In another vein, Ministerial Council on Education Employment Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) in Australia (2004) views Career guidance as an inclusive term that has been used to describe a range of interventions including career education and counselling, that help people to move from a general understanding of life and work to a specific understanding of the realistic life, learning and work options that are open to them. Career guidance is often thought to incorporate career information, career education and career counselling. Career guidance represent an organized system of social and professional work on providing continuing help to the individual for the entire duration of his career development, free choice of direction and orientation in education and professional activity, with the goal of achieving a professional identity, in accordance with personal traits and the labour market demand for specific occupation (Ivan, 2013).
In the opinion of the researcher, career guidance consists of providing a learning environment in which an individual’s innate life skills develop to expert stage and be able to train other apprentices to become expert for the labour market. The learning environment is enlarging to include not only school but also workplace in which the labourer not only attains the stage of expertise but encourage and train other apprentices to reach the stage of expertise themselves. It has not been empirically established that Dreyfus Model can be used in career guidance for skills acquisition although some of its identified uses are assessing progress in the development of skills, helping to define a desired level of competence, supporting progress in the development of skills and helping to determine when a learner is ready to train others in relation to apprenticeship. While commenting on skills acquisition Pena (2010) asserted that the Dreyfus Model has successfully been used to develop problem solving skills in medical education among
nurses. North (2008) is of the opinion that most people do not get beyond the competence stage of the Dreyfus Model at most skills acquisition process including those in their everyday work. This is basic human traits that do not like to expend energy once the outcome has been achieved, and for most activities the outcomes is simply getting the job done.
Gender related difference is one factor that influences the outcome of learning or skills acquisition. On one hand Olukayode (2008) showed that male students performed better than their female counterpart in environmental education. Similarly, Oluwatoyin and Adesina (2007) opined that there is significant difference between male and female achievement in mathematics. On the other hand Gambari and Fabgemi (2008) reported no gender differences on performance of pupils on comp graphics software in mathematics. Furthermore, Nsofor (2007) and Umeh (2007) separately revealed that there is no significant difference in gender regarding achievement of learners. Salahudeen (2012) finding revealed that age and gender difference was found to have no significant effect on the mean achievement of the experimental group. These divergent views on the influence of gender and age on learners provides the need to research on the place of gender and age on the effect of Dreyfus Model of career guidance on skill acquisition of apprentices in Niger State of Nigeria
Statement of the Problem
Globalization in terms of communication and automation in the labour market has led to unemployment especially of youths who have not acquired any skill. Unemployment is a spring- board for poverty and low standard of living in our society. In order to stem the ever increasing low standard of living due to unemployment, skills acquisition centers have been established by
the three-tiers of government, Non-Governmental Organizations, (NGO’S) and individuals to complement the conventional school system of primary, secondary and tertiary schools.
These skills acquisition centres avails apprentices with skills of baking, soap making, knitting, shoes making and so on. They often employ familiar models such as Adaptive Control of Thought-Rational (ACT-R) which lays emphasis on memory and regular practice in order to refine or acquire new skills while, the State of Operator and Result (SOAR) places much emphasis on memory inorder to acquire a new skill or modify the existing skill. On a similar path the Dreyfus Model not only gives premium to memory and regular practice or procedure but goes further to establish five stages in which a new skill is modified or acquired.
The Dreyfus model, in addition, provides the characteristics of each stage of the model and how the apprentices can be assisted to graduate to each of the stages in the model from simple to complex knowledge or skills. It also provide the apprentices with analyticd knowledge to be able to identify and solve any problem that arise during or after the production of the products; be it soap or bread. Therefore, the question that needs to be answered is, what is the effect of Dreyfus model training of career guidance on skills acquisition of apprentices in skills acquisition centres in Niger State of Nigeria.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Dreyfus Model training in skills acquisition of apprentices for career guidance in bakery and soap making skills. Specifically, the study seeks to:
1. Determine the mean achievement scores in soap making skills acquisition of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance.
2. Determine the mean achievement scores in soap making skills acquisition by gender of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance.
3. Determine the mean achievement scores differences in soap making skills acquisition of young adults and older adults apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance.
4. Determine the mean achievement interaction scores in soap making skills acquisition between gender and age of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance.
5. Determine the mean achievement scores in bakery skills acquisition of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance and those in the control group.
6. Determine the mean achievement scores in bakery skills acquisition by gender of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance.
7. Determine the mean achievement scores differences in bakery skills acquisition of young adults and older adults apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance.
8. Determine the mean achievement interaction scores in bakery skills acquisition between gender and age of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance.
Significance of the Study
The findings of the study would be of immense significance to teachers at all levels of education, stakeholders in education like curriculum planners and research agency, proprietors of skills acquisition centres, counsellors and the academia.
Theoretically, the findings of the study will contribute to the catalogue of existing literature on skills acquisition and open-up a new window of skills acquisition from the Dreyfus
model that has not been thoroughly explored in Nigeria relatively to other models. This is because the Dreyfus model provides for stage by stage guidance of the apprentice by their mentor\ counselor. The mean achievement scores of apprentices exposed to the Dreyfus Model training of career guidance and those not exposed to the model when published in periodicals like journals will enhance acceptability of the model.
The results of the study from the mean achievement scores of varying age and gender would be significant to teachers or instructors at all levels of education especially those at the skills acquisition centres because there is no level in which some students or learners are not expected to acquire a skill. In addition, students are being exposed to skills in all subjects of their schools.
The findings of this study if published will be of use to stakeholder of education like ministry of education who will bring to focus the Dreyfus Model of career guidance on skills acquisition in their forum such as workshops and seminars. This is with a view of implementing the result and content of the model to the teaching industry with particular reference to informal education.
The result of the study when published in text-books and periodicals will make the curriculum planners to see the significance of the Dreysfus Model to skills acquisition so that it will be integrated into core curriculum of learners at the various level of education. This is with particular to basic level of education so that the students acquire skills at an early age on bakery and soap making skills.
The finding of the study will provide direction to research agency in the country to organize various workshops and seminars in order to discuss the role of Dreysfus Model to
learning practical skills. In addition, to encourage other academicians to undertake research on the model
By extension, proprietors of vocational and skills acquisition centre will be better informed on the need to diversify the model of skills acquisition based on the mean achievement scores of the Dreyfus Model of career guidance on skills acquisition in relation to bakery and soap making. This will help establish the relationship between Dreyfus Model as well as differences in results obtained and in the final analysis beef-up the quality of apprentices produced from the skills acquisition centers.
Scope of the Study
The study would be delimited to the Dreyfus Model of skills acquisition which is discretely divided into five stages i.e. Novice who only follows rules and regulation; Advance Beginner with increase understanding of work environment; Competence captures the goal of each activity; Proficient can perform all experimental procedures and Expert is capable of analytic approach to faults detected in final product of soap or bread.. The study would focus on determining the effect of the model on skills acquisition of apprentices in soap making and bakery in relation to gender and age of apprentices. The geographical scope of the study is Niger State, specifically at latitude 8*51’ to 11* 30’ and longitude 3*75’ to 7* 25’.
Research Questions
The following research questions guided the objectives of the study:-
1. What is the mean achievement scores in soap making skills acquisition of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance and those in the control group?
2. What is the mean achievement scores in soap making skills acquisition by gender of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance?
3. What is the mean achievement scores differences in soap making skills acquisition of young adults and older adults apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance?
4. What is the mean achievement interaction scores in soap making skills acquisition between gender and age of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance?
5. What is the mean achievement scores in bakery skills acquisition of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance and those in the control group?
6. What is the mean achievement scores in bakery skills acquisition by gender of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance?
7. What is the mean achievement scores difference in bakery skills acquisition of young adults and older adult apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance?
8. What is the mean achievement interaction scores in bakery skills acquisition between gender and age of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training of career guidance?
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses formulated were tested at 0.05 level of significant:
HO1: There is no significant difference in the mean pre test and post test achievement scores of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training on skills acquisition in soap making and those not exposed to the model of career guidance.
HO2: There is no significant difference between the mean scores of males and females exposed to Dreyfus Model training on skills acquisition in soap making of career guidance.
HO3: There is no significant difference between the mean scores of young adults and older adults exposed to Dreyfus Model training on skills acquisition in soap making of career guidance.
HO4: There is no significant interaction effect in the mean scores by gender and age of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training on skills acquisition in soap making of career guidance.
HO5: HO6: There is no significant difference in the mean pre test and post test achievement scores of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training on skills acquisition in bakery and those not exposed to the model of career guidance.
HO6: There is no significant difference between the mean scores of males and females exposed to Dreyfus Model training on skills acquisition in bakery of career guidance.
HO7: There is no significant difference between the mean scores of young adults and older adults exposed to Dreyfus Model training on skills acquisition in bakery of career guidance.
HO8: There is no significant interaction effect in the mean scores of gender and age of apprentices exposed to Dreyfus Model training on skills acquisition in bakery of career guidance
.