BASIC INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) SKILLS TRAINING NEEDS OF BUSINESS EDUCATION GRADUATING STUDENTS OF DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY, ABRAKA

Abstract

The study investigated basic ICT skills’ training needs of graduating students of the Business education Department of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka. The descriptive survey research design was adopted to answer three (3) research questions alongside the test of three (3) null hypotheses whose tests were conducted at 0.05 level of significance. A population of 112 respondents (17 lecturers and 95 final year students of Business Education Department) was the focus of this study. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire which was subjected to content and face validation. The reliability of the instrument was established and ten (10) copies of the questionnaire were administered to students to test the reliability using Pearson product, moment correlation. A coefficient of 0.72 was obtained thus, showing a high level of reliability. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. Based on the data collected and analyzed, the study identified 18 basic ICT skills in word processing, 13 in spreadsheet, and 11 in internet usage where Business education graduating students needed skill training. There were no significant (p<0.05) differences in the mean ratings of Business education lecturers and students on the significance of basic ICT skill training needs in spreadsheet and internet usage, whereas there was a significant (p<0.05) difference in their mean ratings of the lecturers and students in word processing skills. Hence, the study concluded that the acquisition and possession of the identified basic ICT skills by the graduating students will boost their employability for engagement in self or paid jobs on graduation. However, the study recommended among others that: State and federal governments through their respective ministries of education should package the identified skills and integrate them into the curriculum of teachers training institutions in Delta State and the country