Conference Papers/Proceedings

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  Testing the efficacy of group cognitive-behavioral therapy for pathological internet use among undergraduates in Nigeria.

  Introduction: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of group cognitive-behavioral therapy (GCBT) on pathological internet use (PIU). Method: The study applied a group randomized controlled trial design to assign participants to intervention and control groups. A total of 40 college students aged 18 to 30 who were pathological internet users (PIUs) participated in this study and were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Participants completed a self-report scale entitled the Problematic Internet Use Scale (PIUS) at three time points. The intervention lasted 8 weeks. The data collected were statistically analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: The results showed that GCBT has significant efficacy, decreasing the symptoms of PIU among the GCBT participants compared to those in the control group and that the improvements were maintained at follow-up. We also found a significant interaction effect by time for PIU. Conclusion: From the study findings, we can conclude that GCBT has significant benefit for mitigating the severity of PIU in college students. Therefore, mental health professionals are encouraged to explore the benefits of GCBT in treating symptoms associated with PIU in school settings and beyond.
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  Instructional materials and quality in public primary schools in Southwestern Nigeria.

  The study identified the instructional materials that are available and examined the level of its utilization in public primary schools in Southwestern Nigeria. In addition, it established the influence of instructional materials on instructional quality in public primary schools in Southwestern Nigeria. This study adopted descriptive design with a sample size of 450 respondents selected from the population of the study with the use of multi-stage sampling procedure. Instructional Materials Availability, Utilization and Instructional Quality Questionnaire (IMAUIQ) was used to collect data from the respondents which was trial tested on 90 respondents from selected public primary schools in local governments outside the selected ones for the study. The result revealed that chalkboard 450(100%) and textbooks 300(67%) are the predominant instructional materials available. Chalkboard 450(100%) was found to be sufficiently utilized. The result further showed that instructional materials have significantly influence on instructional quality in public primary schools in Nigeria. This is because the calculated value (4.82) is greater than the critical value (3.84) at 0.05 level of significance. The study concluded that there is inadequate utilization of instructional materials with their attendant consequences on instructional quality in public primary schools in Southwestern Nigeria.
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  Teachers' perceptions about engaging fathers in the early education of their children: A quantitative research approach.
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  Motivation and self-efficacy as correlates of secondary school physics students’ academic achievement in Benue State, Nigeria.
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  Intervention strategies that can improve South African fathers’ engagement in the early education of their children: A quantitative approach.
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  The efficacy of music-based cognitive behaviour therapy in the reduction of test anxiety among primary school pupils in basic science (113-122).

  This study examined the efficacy of music-based cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in the reduction of test anxiety among primary school pupils in basic science. Randomized pre-test, post-test, control group experimental design was adopted using a sample of 58 primary five (5) pupils. Test anxiety questionnaire was used for data collection. The instrument was face validated by test development experts. The internal consistency reliability of the items of the instrument was established to be 0.86 using the Cronbach’s alpha method. Data were analyzed using mean and independent samples t-test. Findings revealed that music-based CBT is significantly efficacious in reducing test anxiety among the sampled pupils in basic science. This implies that test anxiety among primary school pupils can be reduced or better managed using the musicbased CBT. It was thus, recommended that primary school teachers should be enlightened on how to make use of music-based CBT for basic science instructions in schools.
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  Fathers’ participation in the social development of their children under six years: Challenges and strategic implications.

  When fathers are actively participating in the early social development of their children, such children tend to do much better later in their lives trajectory. Given this dictum, the research reported in this paper explored the roles South African fathers play in their children’s early social development. Previous literature found that fathers appear to be confronted with constraints that impact their abilities to get involved in more ways than one. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to establish whether the fathers selected for the study had experienced any difficulties in participating in their children’s early social development. The convenient sampling technique was used to select fathers (n = 20) whom the researchers thought were experienced to respond to the various issues raised during the semi-structured in-depth interviews. A thematic approach was employed to make sense of the data obtained from the fathers. Opportunely, the cohort of fathers who participated in the study appeared to desire to be involved in the early social development of their children under six years. However, the findings of the study reveal that these fathers faced numerous constraints as they battled to get involved. The results shows that strained partner relationships a major source of constraint to fathers. Furthermore, results also show that working long hours was a major challenge to father involvement in the early social development of the child. Data also revealed that lack of experience in childcare constituted a source of constraint to fathers’ participation in the early social development of their children. Time spent at work by fathers was a major issue as to how and when they want to get involved in their children’s social development. However, the father effect connotes the quality of time fathers spend with their little ones as well as the benefits that accrue from such paternal presence on the early social development of the child. It is therefore recommended that fathers be adequately equipped to participate in the early development of their children.
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  Influence of preschool practitioners’ demographic characteristics on their classroom discipline practices: A quantitative research approach.

  The success of various discipline practices in controlling children's behavior in the classroom has been a major source of concern among preschool librarians. Despite the relevance of library discipline in managing disruptive conduct in children, there appears to be a knowledge gap regarding the impact of preschool librarians' demographic features on their discipline practices. As a result, this study measured the influence/impact of preschool librarians' demographic factors on their library disciplinary practices using authoritarian behavioural theory. With a sample of 156 preschool librarians in Enugu State's Nsukka Education Zone, the study used an ex-post facto research design. The researchers developed and validated a preschool librarians’ discipline practices questionnaire, which was used to collect data. The internal consistency reliability index of the questionnaire items was found to be 0.89 using the Cronbach alpha method. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data collected. The study's findings revealed that the age and marital status of preschool librarians had significant (p = .05) impacts on their library discipline practices. As a result, it was suggested that the Local Government Education Authority prioritize librarians' age and marital status while recruiting preschool librarians.
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  Improving grade three learners’ achievement in basic science: Impact of electronic library resources.

  The way children learn prior to the emergence of coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) has been hugely affected due to the temporal suspension of the face-to-face mode of learning at the hit of the pandemic. When the pandemic was at its peak, most developed countries turned to online schooling, while most developing countries' schools were completely shut down. Part of the reason for this was a dearth of online resources in those underdeveloped countries. Literature has shown that the use of electronic library resources has potential for enhancing teaching and learning. However, no empirical study has been conducted in Nigeria to determine the potential impact of electronic library resources on grade three learners’ achievement in Basic Science. Thus, the need for this research. This study was guided by a quantitative research approach using a simple repeated measures research design. A total of 45 primary three learners who were purposively sampled from primary schools in Nsukka Education zone participated in the study. A face and content validated as well as trial tested Basic Achievement Test (BAT) was used for data collection. The BAT items had internal consistency reliability of .76. Data gathered were analysed using mixed design repeated analysis of variance. It was revealed that the exposure of the learners to electronic library resources had significant impact (p < .05) on their achievement in Basic Science. It was thus, recommended that primary school learners and their counterparts in upper basic education should be adequately exposed to the use of electronic library resources.
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  Working status, teaching experiences and workplace deviant behaviors of primary school teachers in Enugu State Nigeria.

  This is a cross-sectional study that studied working status, teaching experiences, and workplace deviant behaviors using 254 primary school teachers in Enugu State Nigeria. Responses were elicited using a self-report scale titled “Work Deviance Behaviour Scale”. Data collected were analyzed using crosstabulation converted to bar charts, ANOVA, and bivariate statistical analyses. Given the outcomes of this research, we finally suggest that teachers at lower cadres deliberately violate workplace deviant behaviour compared to those at middle and upper cadres. The results showed that working status and years of experience do not correlate with workplace deviance behaviours. However, there was no significant correlation between working status and workplace deviant behaviours. For this reason, occupational health professionals and school management authorities should reform staff policy, improve communication, and set up mechanisms that could checkmate activities and dispute negative personal value systems responsible for workplace deviant behaviours.
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  Examination of the prevalence and predictors of videogame addiction among school children.

  This is a school-based cross-sectional study that investigated the prevalence and predictors of videogame addiction among school children. A total of 86 schoolchildren enrolled in basic education in Enugu State Nigeria participated in the survey. The videogame addiction scale for children was utilized during data collection. The data collected were analyzed using cross tabulation (frequency and percentage), bivariate statistical analyses. The results showed that the prevalence rates of video game addiction among school children are high. The results also demonstrated that age and gender predict videogame addiction among school children. Therefore, this study concluded that the prevalence rates of video game addiction among school children are accountable by age and gender emerged as significant predictors. Given these findings, school counsellors and other relevant practitioners should design a sustainable intervention to reduce the high degree of video game addiction among school children.
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  Effect of collaborative learning instructional strategy on social skill development of primary school pupils.

  Collaborative learning is an instructional strategy in which learners team together to explore a significant question or create a meaningful project. A group of learners discussing a lecture or learners from different schools working together over the internet on a shared assignment are both examples of collaborative learning. Collaborative Learning Strategy (CbLS) is a set-up in which students or learners are given the opportunity to cooperate and construct a consensus to an open-ended activity. This learning strategy shares many of the same traits as cooperative learning strategy. The major difference is of its being more student-centered than teacher-centered. Collaborative instructional strategy provides the driving force for social constructivism where students are in control of their own learning and ultimately, the outcome of their learning. Collaborative learning is best suited to an arrangement of groups where students can freely interact with one another and construct their ideas together. This study was therefore carried out to determine the effect of collaborative instructional strategy on primary school pupils’ social skill development. The study was guided by two research questions and three null hypotheses. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design. The population of the study was 19,677 primary five pupils. The sample for the study was 130 pupils from four intact classes. A rating scale developed by the researchers on social skills development was used as instrument for data collection. The instrument was validated by two experts in childhood education and one expert in measurement and evaluation. The reliability of the instrument using Cronbach’s alpha was 0.82. Mean and Standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study, among others revealed that collaborative learning instructional strategy enhanced primary school pupils’ social skills development more than the conventional lecture method. It was also found that gender had no significant influence on primary school pupils’ social skills development. The result also showed that the difference between the social skills development of the groups taught using collaborative instructional strategy and lecture method was statistically significant (p<0.05). Based on these findings, the researchers recommended among others that workshops and conferences should be organized for the training of primary school teachers on the use of collaborative learning instructional strategy in primary school classroom instruction. This will enable teachers to acquire innovative pedagogical capability with respect to handling issues concerning primary school pupils’ social skills development.
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  Pupils’ autonomy, competence, and relatedness as determinants of online learning engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in setbacks as well as opportunities for the education system. Setbacks in the sense that most schools across the globe were closed during the hit of the pandemic while only the developed countries were able to switch over to online teaching and learning mode immediately. However, schools in developing countries were shut down for more than six (6) months before resorting to online teaching and learning thereby affecting their normal school calendar. This pandemic has brought online learning opportunities as that is the only way to keep the school calendar ongoing despite any future pandemic. However, there is a dearth of literature on the determinants of pupils’ online learning engagement. Thus, this research used a correlational survey to explore how pupils’ autonomy, competence, and relatedness impact their online learning engagement within the theoretical framework of self-determination theory (SDT). A sample of 156 primary six pupils participated in the study. Basic Psychological needs scale (autonomy scale α = .87, competency scale α = .91, relatedness scale α = .75) and Pupils’ engagement scale (α = .83) were used to collect data. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling and regression analysis. The results showed that pupils’ autonomy, competence, and relatedness are significantly (p < .05) related to their online learning engagement. This practically implies that pupils’ autonomy, competence, and relatedness are important factors in their online learning engagement. Theoretically, the results of this research have strengthened the tenets of the SDT. Thus, pupils should be encouraged to develop their online learning autonomy, online learning competence, and relatedness to teachers in order to enhance their online learning engagement.
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  Effect of Edutainment videos on cognitive and social skills development of preschool children. Implications For Updating Children's Audio-Visual Library

  The need for the use of edutainment videos in the teaching and learning of preschool children cannot be overstated. This study therefore examined the effect of edutainment videos on literacy skills acquisition among preschool children. Implication for updating children’s audio-visual library. Two research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted the nonequivalent pretest posttest quasi-experimental research design. The study population comprised all the nursery three preschool children in Nsukka LGA for the 2021/2022 academic year. A sample of 95 preschool children drawn through judgmental sampling technique were studied. The Literacy Skills Acquisition Test (LSAT) was the instrument used for data collection. Data obtained were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions while analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used in obtaining the results for testing the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings showed that edutainment videos had significant positive effect (p < 0.05) on literacy skills acquisition among preschool children in Nsukka LGA of Enugu State. It also revealed that gender has no significant influence (p > 0.05) on literacy skills acquisition among preschool children in the LGA. It further showed that there is no significant interaction effect (p > 0.05) of teaching approaches and gender on the mean literacy skills scores of preschool children. Based on these results, it was therefore recommended among others, that teachers should use edutainment videos in teaching preschool children in order to enhance their acquisition of literacy skills.
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  Effects of demographic characteristics on work-stimulated stress among early childhood educators using structural equation modelling.

  Work stimulated stress has emerged as a pervasive global issue that needs to be investigated by specialists around the world. Work stimulated stress is a condition of pressure brought on by one's occupation and it occurs when the demands of the job outpace the worker's abilities or resources. This study was therefore carried out to investigate the effects of demographic characteristics on work stimulated stress among early childhood educators using structural equation modelling. The demographic variables considered in the study were teachers’ age, gender, experience, marital status, income and educational qualification. The sample comprised of three hundred and fifty (350) early childhood educators across six (6) states in Nigeria. The study adopted an expost-facto research design. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select the early childhood educators for the study. One validated instrument developed by the researchers on work stimulated stress and associated demographic variables was used to collect data for the study. The reliability index of the instrument using Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.83. Data collected for the study was analyze using Coefficient of determination (R2) to answer the research questions that guided the study while path analysis and multiple regressions analysis were employed in hypotheses testing. The findings of this study showed that age, marital status, gender and religion predicted work stimulated stress among early childhood educators more than the other variables. Conclusion was drawn and it was recommended among others that employers of labour should take in cognizance the demographic variables as it influences workstimulated stress. The implications of these findings for education policy makers, administrators and teachers are discussed.
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  Effect of flipped classroom on cognitive and emotional skills development of primary school pupils.

  The term "flipped classroom" refers to a teaching method that blends traditional classroom activities with the use of internet or web-based resources to improve learning. It is a cutting-edge, kid-centered approach that combines both customary classroom activities and online learning activities that frequently entail watching web videos. The implication is that, in a flipped classroom setting, the regular classroom activities are frequently supplemented by the flipped or inverted class activities, which may foster or support pupils' cognitive growth and foster emotional skills development. This study was therefore carried out to determine the effect of flipped classroom on cognitive and emotional skills development of primary school pupils. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design with a sample of 160 primary school pupils purposively selected. Intact classes were used during the experiment. The instruments for data collection were validated emotional and cognitive development skills developed by the researchers. The reliability indices of emotional and cognitive skills development using Cronbach’s Alpha were 0.87 and 0.91 respectively. The classroom teachers of the sampled schools were used as research assistants. A pretest was administered before the treatment that lasted for six weeks after which the posttest was equally administered. Mean and Standard deviations were used to answer the research questions while analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses formulated for the study at 0.05 significant level. The findings of the study among others showed that flipped classroom was effective in developing primary school pupils’ emotional and cognitive skills than the conventional teacher centered approach.
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  Impact of primary school teachers’ demographics on their psychosocial work hazards: a cross-sectional survey of Nigerian teachers.

  The majority of workers, particularly teachers, encounter one type of psychosocial work hazard or another. Thus, psychosocial work hazards are prevalent in the Nigerian school environment. However, no research has been done to determine the impact of teachers' demographics on their psychosocial work hazards. Therefore, this study was required to investigate, using a cross-sectional survey design, the impact of primary school teachers' demographics (age, teaching experience and location) on their psychosocial work hazards. This research was anchored on the tenets of the Job-Demand-ControlSupport theory. This theory assumes that job characteristics affect employees' mental health. The theory illustrates how workplace demands, including a heavy workload, job insecurity, and pressure from the job, can result in psychosocial work hazards for employees. The idea is that people may deal with these challenges by employing their job abilities, which provide them autonomy and control over their work. The strategy functions by showing how stressed out people become when they are under a lot of strain at work. On the other hand, employees can lessen stress or any other psychological work hazards by having greater working autonomy and developing close bonds with their supervisor and coworkers. A sample of 254 primary school teachers drawn from different primary schools located in Southeast Nigerian states (Enugu, Imo and Anambra States) comprised the research participants. This sample was drawn using a multistage sampling procedure. In the first stage, three states (Enugu, Imo and Anambra States) were sampled from the five southeast states using a simple random sampling technique. In the second stage, a stratified random sampling technique was used to sample 86 primary schools from the sampled states. The stratification was based on the states. Finally, a simple random sampling technique was used to sample 254 primary school teachers from the sampled schools. Data were collected using a 28-item questionnaire on psychosocial work hazards. The questionnaire's items had an internal consistency reliability index of 0.74. Data collected were analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test the hypotheses at 5% probability levels. The findings of the research revealed that age and location of teachers had significant impacts (p > .05) on their psychosocial work hazards. It was also found that teaching experience had no significant impact on teachers’ psychosocial work hazards (p > .05). These findings imply that the age and location of primary school teachers are major determinants of their psychosocial work hazards. Therefore, it was recommended that the demographics of teachers be taken into account as significant criteria during the recruitment of teachers.
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  Determinants of preschool teachers’ competence in the use of online teaching space during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

  The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in December 2019 brought a drastic change in the mode of learning in schools across the globe. Due to the pandemic, schools across the world were closed down from March 2020 to avoid the spread of the disease. Most schools then had to adopt the remote or online mode of teaching and learning as against the face-to-face mode. Most teachers especially preschool teachers find it difficult to adapt to the new mode of teaching and learning. Thus, the researchers sought the determinants of preschool teachrs’ competence in the use of online teaching space during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. A correlational research design was adopted for the study using a sample of 48 preschool teachers in the Nsukka Education Zone. Properly face validated and trial-tested psychological and online teaching space competency scales were used for data collection. The internal consistency reliability indices of the psychological and online teaching space competency scales were found to be 0.79 and 0.86 respectively. Data collected were analysed using structural equation approaches. It was revealed that attitude, interest, psychological readiness, professional development, and motivation are significant (p = .05) determinants of preschool teachers’ competence in the use of online teaching space. This implies that if those factors are not adequately considered, there will not be an effective use of online teaching space by the preschool teachers. It was thus recommended that the Local Government Education Authority should create a conducive environment for the effective utilization of online teaching space by the preschool teachers.
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  COVID-19 and retirement counselling: Parents who retired early with little children‘s perspective and implications for inclusive policies.

  Life after the world of work has been consistently reported to be unpleasant. Upon this, COVID-19 became a huge threat to people, especially older citizens who are seen as atrisk population. Given this, the present researchers reviewed related literature to explore and understand COVID-19 pressures on retirees and draw inferences about possible retirement counselling services. Related extant studies on COVID-19, retirement counselling, and policies were reviewed. The review shows common perspective that COVID-19 pressures were more on older population compared to others. It also indicated that retirement counsellors could provide information, persona-social, counselling, career services and among others to the retirees to cushion the adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic. Retirement comes with a slew of obstacles both before (pre-retirement), after (post-retirement) and notably during COVID-19. Hence, it recommends that would-be retirees should plan ahead and make suitable adjustments to cope with this unavoidable stage of life and its upheaval. Retirees should consult social welfare officers and counsellors for professional assistance. In conclusion, this paper encourages support service providers to educate, re-orient, re-direct, and re-channel these senior retirees, a professional retirement counsellor is desperately needed to help them acquire better tactics and adjustment abilities so they can fit in correctly.
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  Black fathers and their participation in early childhood development in South Africa: What do we know?

  This paper draws from an ongoing exploratory qualitative study, which uses semi-structured interviews to investigate the views of fathers about strategies to encourage men’s participation in early childhood education in one of the townships in the Eastern Cape Province. The study aims to contribute to knowledge about fathers’ participation in early childhood education in general and on the participation of black fathers in particular. Informed by Uriel Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, the literature review explores the current state of fathers’ participation during the early beginning of the child; barriers to sustained fathers’ participation; and current strategies in place to encourage sustainable and meaningful father participation in the early education of their children. This paper argues that what is currently known about black fathers’ participation in the early education of their children is grossly inadequate. Given limited information on Black fathers’ participation in the education of their children in South Africa, this paper concludes that more research on Black fathers and their participation in early education of children is therefore required. Some implications for research and policy are also discussed.
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  Assessment of level of information and communication technology competency of preschool teachers for the adoption of online learning.

  The twenty-first century classrooms coupled with the demands of the new normal at the face of the Covid-19 pandemic have necessitated effective use of online teaching platforms for adequate teaching and learning to occur. This raises the question of how well-versed preschool teachers in Nigeria are in information and communication technology (ICT). This is for the fact that there is a dearth of research on the subject matter. Thus, the researchers were poised to ascertain or assess the level of ICT competency of preschool teachers for the adoption of online teaching during and after Covid-19 pandemic. This research was based on the scientific research paradigm and quantitative research approach, utilising descriptive survey research design. A sample of 165 preschool teachers in Nsukka Education zone of Enugu state, Nigeria participated in the study. An ICT competency questionnaire which was properly validated, and trail tested was used for data collection. The internal consistency reliability index of the questionnaire was estimated to be 0.87 using Cronbach Alpha reliability method. Mean statistical tool was used to analyse the data to provide answer to the research question. It was found that preschool teachers had low level of ICT competency for the adoption of online teaching. It was also revealed that age had no significant influence on preschool teachers’ level of ICT competency. This implies that effective online teaching cannot be achieved if the teachers are not subjected to inservice training on the use of ICT in teaching. Thus, it was recommended that Local Government Education Authority should provide in-service ICT training opportunities for the teachers to ensure proper utilization of ICT in teaching.