EVALUATION OF THE NOMADIC PRIMARY SCHOOL HEALTH EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN ADAMAWA STATE OF NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the nomadic primary school Health Education curriculum in Adamawa State of Nigeria. Specifically, the study determined the: extent of achievement of objectives of Health Education curriculum; teacher-pupil ratio and quality of human resources available for the implementation of the nomadic Health Education curriculum;  adequacy of the Health Education content in addressing the nomads unique style of life;  teaching methods used in nomadic Health Education programme; availability of Health Education instructional materials in nomadic primary schools; use of instructional materials in nomadic schools; learning experiences and activities of the pupils’ during instruction; assessment devices used by the nomadic primary school Health Education teachers; difficult areas in the content of Health Education curriculum as perceived by both the teachers’ and pupils’; and pupils demonstration of Health Education knowledge and skills. The study employed evaluative research design. Stufflebeam’s Context, Input, Process and Product (CIPP) Model was used. The population of the respondents includes: 117 nomadic primary schools in Adamawa State Nigeria; 26,292 respondents comprising of 564 teachers, 12,848 pupils, 21 Education Secretaries, 11 Supervisors, and the 12,848 nomadic Parents of the pupils. A disproportionate stratified random sampling technique was used to draw respondents for the study. From the six zones, 585 respondents were used consisting of 120 teachers, 300 pupils, 150 nomadic parents, 9 education secretaries and 6 supervisors. Five instruments were used for the study: Questionnaire with a four-point scale, Checklist, Observation Schedule, Interview Schedule and Focus Group Discussion Schedule (FGDS). Five experts validated the instruments. The instruments for the study were trial-tested on 60 teachers and 90 pupils. The data obtained from the trial tests were analysed and the Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient obtained were .95 on attainment of objectives, .98 on adequacy of Heath Education content, .99 on difficult content areas and .99 on pupils demonstrations of knowledge and skills as perceived by both the teachers and pupils. The overallr reliability coefficient was .99. The data collected on the 12 research questions were analysed qualitatively, and quantitatively using mean rating scores, standard deviation, frequency counts and percentages. The four hypotheses stated were tested at 0.05 level of significance using t-test for HO1, HO3 and HO4 and chi-square for HO2. The results of the study showed that: The objectives of Health Education were achieved, Teacher-pupil ratio of 1:23 shows that there were enough teachers for the programme, teachers quality was inadequate, the content of Health Education programme in nomadic schools was adequate, Teachers appeared to use teacher-centered methods that are passive rather than pupil-centered methods that are activities  based and participatory,  Instructional resources were inadequate in the nomadic schools, Teachers use of instructional materials was generally low, Pupils were more or less passive during classes, Teachers use of assessment devices indicated more frequent use of oral device, Content areas of Health Education curriculum was adequate; Pupils demonstrated knowledge and skills of Health Education to a great extent, Attainment of Health Education objectives in settled and mobile schools indicated significant difference in favour of pupils in the mobile schools. The number of qualified teachers in the nomadic schools is independent of whether school is settled or mobile. There were no significant differences on the difficulty of the content areas and pupils’ use of Health Education knowledge and skills in settled and mobile schools. The educational implications of the findings were highlighted. The following recommendations among others were made: Provision of adequate instructional materials; Teacher training and retraining on the use of instructional materials and methodology in nomadic schools should be undertaken.