GENDER DISPARITY IN COMPETENCY AND UTILIZATION OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA IN TECHNICAL COLLEGES OF PLATEAU AND NASARAWA STATES, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigates gender disparity on teachers' level of competency and utilization of Electronic Media (EM) facilities for teaching Mechanical Trades (MTs) in technical colleges in Plateau and Nasarawa States. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. Population of the study consisted of 38 MTs teachers from 6 government technical colleges in Plateau and Nasarawa States. Two research question and two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The instrument was 'Questionnaire of Competency and Utilization of Electronic Media' (QCUEM). The instrument was subjected to face and content validity by three experts from the University of Jos and obtains the internal consistency of the instruments at 0.951. Tools for Data analyses were mean and standard deviation while the t-test was used to test hypotheses of no significant difference at 0.05 level of significance. The study found that; MTs teachers in technical colleges in the study areas lacked the operational competency and hardly utilize EM for instruction. Also, the MT teachers agreed that EM competencies are highly required for effective instructional delivery in the 21st century. The study found no significant difference on competency and utilization of EM based on gender. The study concluded that there is no significant influence of gender on EM competency and utilization in technical colleges and technical colleges in Plateau and Nasarawa States and so recommended among others that teachers irrespective of their gender should be encouraged to self-develop their digital skills for an effective utilization of EM facilities for instructional delivery of MTs in the technical colleges in Plateau and Nasarawa States.