EVALUATION OF CONTENT AND READABILITY OF RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOKS ON AGRICULTURE FOR UPPER BASIC EDUCATION IN ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Approval Page ii
Certification page iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgement v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables vii
List of figures viii
Abstract ix
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
Background of the Study 1
Statement of the Problem 12
Purpose of the Study 14
Significance of the Study 16
Research Questions 18
Scope of the Study 19
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 20
Conceptual Framework 20
Upper Basic Education Curriculum on Agriculture 20
Agriculture Textbooks as Teaching and Learning Materials 23
Evaluation of Content of Textbooks 24
Evaluation of Readability of Textbooks 41
Schema on the Evaluation of Content and Readability of Recommended Textbooks
on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education 49
Theoretical Framework of the Study 50
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Picture of Evaluation Theory Tree 51
An Evaluation Theory Tree 52
Related Empirical Studies 56
Studies on Evaluation of Content of Textbooks 56
Studies on Evaluation of Readability of Textbooks using Cloze Procedure 59
Summary of Reviewed Literature 61
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 63
Design of the Study 63
Area of the Study 64
Population of the Study 64
Sample and Sampling Technique 65
Instrument for Data Collection 65
Validation of the Instrument 67
Reliability of the Instrument 67
Method of Data Collection 68
Method of Data Analysis 68
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALISIS OF DATA 72
Research Question 1 72
Research Question 2 73
Research Question 3 74
Research Question 4 76
Research Question 5 77
Research Question 6 79
Research Question 7 81
Research Question 8 82
Research Question 9 83
Research Question 10 85
Research Question 11 86
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Research Question 12 88
Research Question 13 90
Research Question 14 91
Research Question 15 92
Research Question 16 94
Research Question 17 97
Research Question 18 100
Findings of the Study 104
Discussion of Findings 105
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 111
Re- statement of the Problem 111
Summary of Procedure Used 114
Major Findings of the Study 115
Conclusion 116
Educational Implication of the Study 117
Recommendations 118
Suggestion for Further Studies 119
Limitations of the Study 120
REFERENCES 121
APPENDICES 126
Appendix A : 2009-2012 Recommended Textbooks on Agriculture in Enugu State 126
Appendix B: 2012-2015 Recommended Textbooks on Agriculture in Enugu State 129
Appendix C: Summary of the three year Junior Secondary School Examination Results on Agriculture 141
Appendix D: Request letter for Information on Book Review at Education Resource
Centre, Enugu 149
Appendix E: Reconnaissance Survey: Questionnaire on Textbook Evaluation
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(A and B Versions 150
Appendix F: The Twenty- Seven Sampled Upper Basic Education Agriculture
Textbooks for Evaluation 156
Appendix G: Quantitative Approach to Content Evaluation of Science Textbook
(QACES T) Model 159
Appendix H: Readability Tests of Recommended Agriculture Textbooks
(RTRAT) 163
Appendix I: Answers for Readability Tests of Recommended Agriculture Textbooks (RTRAT) 188
Appendix J: Reliability Tests Results 217
Appendix K: Report Sheets for Measurement of Topical Coverage 220
Appendix L: Report Sheets for Measurement of Learning Activities 221
Appendix M: Report Sheets for Measurement of Illustrations 223
Appendix N: Report Sheets for Measurement of Chapter Summaries 225
Appendix O: Report Sheets for Measurement of Study Questions 227
Appendix P: Content Raw Scores for Upper Basic Education I Textbooks 229
Appendix Q: Content Raw Scores for Upper Basic Education II Textbooks 230
Appendix R: Content Raw Scores for Upper Basic Education III Textbook 231
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Appendix S: Readability Raw Score for Upper Basic Education I Textbooks 232
Appendix T: Readability Raw Score for Upper Basic Education II Textbooks 238
Appendix U: Readability Raw Score for Upper Basic Education III Textbooks 244
Appendix V: Population Distribution of University Lecturers of Agricultural Education
in Nigeria and the Sampled Lecturers for the Textbook Evaluation 250
Appendix W: Population of Students in Enugu State 251
Appendix X: Population and Sample size Distribution of Students for the Study in the Six Education Zones. 258
Appendix Y: Reconnaissance Survey Reports 260
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List of table
Table 1: Topical Coverage Index scores of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education I
(JSSI) in Enugu State. 72
Table 2 : Learning Activity Index scores of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education I
(JSSI) in Enugu State. 73
Table 3 : Illustration Index scores of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education I
(JSSI) in Enugu State. 75
Table 4: Chapter Summary Index scores of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education I
(JSSI) in Enugu State 76
Table 5: Study Question Index scores of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education 1
(JSSI) in Enugu State. 78
Table 6 : Topical Coverage Index scores of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education II
(JSSII) in Enugu State. 79
Table 7: Learning Activity Index scores of the nine recommended
Main textbooks on Agriculture for upper basic education II
(JSSII) in Enugu State. 81
Table 8 : Illustration Index scores of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education II
(JSSII) in Enugu State. 82
Table 9 : Chapter Summary Index scores of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education II
(JSSII) in Enugu State. 84
Table 10: Study Question Index scores of the Nine Recommended
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Main Textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education II
(JSSII) in Enugu State. 85
Table11: Topical Coverage Index scores of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education III (JSSIII) in Enugu State. 87
Table12: Learning Activity Index scores of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education III
(JSSIII) in Enugu State. 88
Table13: Illustration Index scores of the Nine Recommended
main Textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education III
(JSSIII) in Enugu State. 90
Table14: Chapter Summary Index scores of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education III
(JSSIII) in Enugu State. 91
Table 15: Study Question Index scores of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education III
(JSSIII) in Enugu State. 93
Table 16: Readability score of each of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbook on Agriculture as obtained by Upper Basic
Education I (JSSI) Students in Enugu State. 95
Table 17: Readability Score of each of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbook on Agriculture as obtained by Upper Basic
Education II (JSSII) students in Enugu State. 98
Table 18: Readability Score of each of the Nine Recommended
Main Textbook on Agriculture as obtained by Upper Basic
Education III (JSSIII) Students in Enugu State. 101
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List of Figure
Figure 1: Schemer onEvaluation of Recommended Textbooks on
Agriculture for Upper Basic Education in Enugu State. 49
Figure 2: Evaluation Theory Tree. 51
Figure 3: Readability Percentage Scores of the Ube I Textbooks in Bar Chart. 96
Figure 4: Readability Percentage Scores of the Ube II Textbooks in Bar Chart. 99
Figure 5: Readability Percentage Scores of the Ube III Textbooks in Bar Chart. 102
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Abstract
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The study was carried out to determine the adequacy of the content and the readability of the recommended textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education in Enugu state. Eighteen research questions were posed and answered by the study. Evaluation research design was adopted. The population of the study was the 29 recommended textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education schools in Enugu state. The sample for the study was 27 recommended main textbooks on Agriculture for Upper Basic Education schools in Enugu state. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the textbooks. All the 27 main textbooks which are separate volumes for either of the upper basic education I or II or III students’ class levels were selected. Quantitative Approach to Content Evaluation of Science Textbooks (QACEST) with A 5-point Quantitative model instrument was used by the expert lecturers to obtain information on the topical coverage, learning activities illustrations, chapter summaries and study questions variables of the content of the textbooks, while Cloze procedure was used to develop the Readability Tests of the Recommended Agriculture Textbooks (RTRAT) instrument, which was used to obtain information from the students on the readability of the textbooks. The RTRAT instrument is of three categories: RTRAT I version of the instrument for Upper Basic Education (UBE) I students, RTRAT II version of the instrument for UBE II students and RTRAT III version of the instrument for UBE III students. Each version of the RTRAT instrument test items were drawn from the passages of the textbooks for each class level. Each class level test items consists of 180 words which were omitted in the drawn passages and were filled by each students of a particular class level. The QACEST and RTRAT instruments were face validated by three experts. The temporary stability of the RTRAT instrument test items was determined using test re-test method. The sets of scores obtained were correlated using Spearman rank order correlation coefficient, which yielded coefficients of 0.85, 0.80 and 0.70 for RTRAT I, RTRAT II and RTRAT III versions of the instrument respectively. Three hundred and ninety-eight copies of the RTRAT questionnaire were administered to the students through the researcher and the three research assistants. All the administered 398 copies of the RTRAT questionnaire were retrieved and analyzed. QACEST Index which consists of Topical coverage index (TCI), Learning activities index (LAI), Illustrations index (ILI), Chapter summaries index (CSI) and Study questions index (SQI) were used to analyze data that answered research questions 1 to 15, while percentage and bar charts were used to analyze data for answering research questions 16 to 18. It was found out that the content of 2 of the 27 evaluated textbooks were inadequate in learning activities, illustrations, chapter summaries and study questions variables. It was also found that 25 out of the 27 books were not readable while 2 were readable. It was recommended that the Enugu state ministry of education should ensure that the authors improve on their books by providing for the deficits found in the textbooks in their subsequent editions.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Agriculture is the art of growing crops and rearing animals for man’s use. Adelkan, Duru, Laleye, Bayero and Idowu (2009), defined agriculture as the science and practice of cultivating the soil, growing, harvesting of crops and rearing of livestock to provide food for man and raw materials for industry. In the submission of Onuigbo (2009), agriculture is the cultivation of crops, raising animals, breeding livestock, processing, storage, distribution and marketing of agricultural products.
Agriculture is very important to man’s existence. Ojo and Olatunji (2012), noted that agriculture is important to man and the society in producing food for man and animals, clothing, shelter, fuel (fire wood), income and employment for the citizens. Other importance of agriculture is provision of raw material for industries, market for agro-allied industries and materials for recreation (horse for polo game and aquarium) among others. Importance of agriculture is implicit in the first goal of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which stipulated that poverty and hunger are to be eradicated in the world by 2015. The MDGs are eight goals articulated to address the world’s main development challenges, which are to be achieved by 2015. The MDGs were drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 heads of state and governments during the United Nations Millennium Summit held from Wednesday 6th September to Friday 8th September 2000 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The eight goals as contained in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2008) document are:
Goal 1is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, Goal 2 is to achieve universal primary education, Goal 3 is to promote gender equality and empower women, Goal 4 is to reduce child mortality, Goal 5 is to improve maternal health, Goal 6 is to combat HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases, Goal 7 is to ensure environmental sustainability and Goal 8 is to develop a global partnership for development.