CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The universal basic education (UBE) programme of Nigeria is designed among other things to facilitate the standard of literacy, and improve societal development, the UBE is a nine year programame that cover six years of primary education and three years of junior secondary schools. The three years of junior secondary school is known as upper basic (Basic 7-9). This upper basic level is aimed at preparing the youths for gainful employment or progression into the senior secondary level and subsequent admission into higher education (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004). Undoubtedly, these functions are very essential to the survival, enhancement and development of the Nigeria society.

However, the extent to which the upper basic education level achieves the set aims is largely dependent on the various subjects in the curriculum and how they are taught in schools. Home economics is one of the vocational subject taught at the upper basic level of the Nigerian education system as a compulsory part of the curriculum. It is taught as an integral core subject, which comprises food and nutrition, clothing and textile and home management. Home economics is an interdisciplinary field of study which helps families and individuals to understand and adopt to the eects of social economics, cultural, and technological changes. Archurst and Anyakoha (2004) described it as an applied science subject which is dependent on the integration of different academic disciplines such as the natural sciences i.e. biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and health science. The social sciences i.e. sociology, political science, economics, philosophy, psychology and art in solving problems of families and individuals.

Home economics is a skill oriented field of study that is expected to equip learners with survival skills for self reliance/self employment and paid employment. The importance of exposing learners to home economics curriculum for individual and societal development has been widely acknowledge for instance, Her Majesty Inspectorate of Education (HMIE, 2009) stated that the knowledge and skills gained with home economics make a considerable contribution to young peoples personal and social development as well as prepare them for the world of work in a wide range of areas retarded to aspects the subject. It provides learners with opportunities to develop knowledge and in both theoretical and practical aspects of livelihood (ministry of Education and Skills Development, 2012). The acquisition of such knowledge and skill has the capacity to argument, inspire productivity and further income generating life endeavors among people. A strong background in home economics curriculums is crucial for many careers and job opportunities in today’s increasingly technologically society. To accommodate the various multidisciplinary area and skills in home economics, and position it to prepare Nigerian students for global participation, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC, 2008) reviewed and reoriented is curriculum to have a broad scope that covers virtually all aspects of human daily living.

According to the NERDEC (2008), the reviewed upper basic home economics curriculum is built on the 9-year basic education philosophy that seeks to provide quality learning experiences and pay attention to the all around development of the individuals. Among the aims of the curriculum is to provide students with changes in a technological, socio-economic and multi-cultural society, contemporary societal issues have been integrated in the curriculum more practical lesson are introduced, and lessons are organized in modules with specifications on a variety of instructional material including instructional technologies for teaching. It is expected that if properly implemented the curriculum would cater for a diverse range of students abilities help the students to learn practical skills which would be useful to them in higher education or enable them get jobs in industries or other formal sectors of the economy. Eective implementation of the curriculum would require the use of instructional materials. Opera (2002) sees instructional materials as information carriers designed specifically to fulfill objectives in teaching learning situation. Okeke (2005) is of the view that instructional materials are all the physical (man-made and material that are real and improvised) resources meant to be used by the facilitator in the process of teaching and learning.

These materials may be used singly or in combination in some cases, they could be used in an information and formal way. This shows that teachers vary the methods of utilizing instructional materials during instruction to effect changes in the behaviour of the learners. Certainly the appropriate use of instructional materials goes a long way in improving teaching and learning, arousing interest and enhancing student’s affective responses. Furthermore, Okoro (2005) adds that home economics as an integral part of the school curriculum. Unlike any other subject, it is primarily concerned with helping the individual live a useful and satisfying life as well as improvement of family living which will in turn lead to the improvement of towns and villages as well as the nation. As a profession, home economics education trains an individual to be self-reliant it is a job creator in the family society and nation. Okoro and Ossais views tends to recognize the relevance of home economics not only to the individual but also to the family, community and the nation at large. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) advocates for the availability and use of various kinds of instructional materials for effective instruction as well as the production of self reliant individual. One of the subjects that requires enough instructional materials for its impartation as well enable a person to be self reliant, self-employed as well as join vocational centres is home economics. Individual and the society have sees education as the key to success in life. In all human societies, past and present, education has been instrumental to impacting positively to the survival of individuals and the society. The capacity of development in any country can be measured through a properly planned and well directed education.

Thus, education is a behaviour characteristics, it impact skills, attitudes, belief to reason, knowledge and any other form which enable one to adjust and interact effctively with other individuals. Through the acquisition of skills it enable an individual and the group to proceed into the actualization of the individuals destiny. Indeed, instructional materials provides concepts and attitudes to the students which improved his skills, ability to reason and makes him/her informed about what is going on in the global village. Education has helped to being the entire world into an entry through the information and knowledge education has helps us to achieve. Education has helped to reduce the problem of language barrier through instructions and teaching by our teacher’s individual has acquired different languages outside the traditional language. This led to individual to associate properly with people from different countries. It has also help one to adjust from traditional behaviour to a more modest behaviour that makes the individual to be accommodated any part of the world he or she visits. Education has been means to an end, that a country is developed is as a result of instructional aid created by education. It serves as catalyst to governmental principles, policies and laws. With the acquisition of knowledge and society structured their means of livelihood. Instructional materials is an aid to teaching and learning. It helps to raise learning from verbalization to practical aspect of teaching and learning. Instructional materials makes teaching and learning interesting easy and using it makes learning more effective. In another development, the use of instructional materials makes different continents to shape their rules and regulation to accommodate the other this they do by providing them with the socio-cultural and political differences and how to adjust the traditional socio-cultural and political ways and accommodate another. As instructional materials makes students understand more easily when the teacher makes use of working model. It makes the teacher task easier and more effective.