S. O. Osuyi

This study investigated The Role of School Farms in Enhancing Teaching and Learning of Agricultural Science in Senior Secondary Schools in Ovia North East Local Government Area, Edo State. The main purpose was to determine how school farms contribute to students’ practical skill development, academic performance, motivation, and interest in Agricultural Science. It also examined how school farms influence curriculum implementation and identified the major challenges faced by both students and teachers in using school farms for effective learning. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population consisted of Agricultural Science teachers and senior secondary school students drawn from selected schools within Ovia North East Local Government Area. A total of eighty-eight (88) respondents, comprising eighty (80) students and eight (8) teachers, participated in the study. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, with a decision mean of 2.5 serving as the acceptance benchmark. The findings showed that all items had mean scores above 2.5, indicating agreement that school farms play a vital role in improving the teaching and learning of Agricultural Science. Respondents affirmed that school farms enhance students’ practical skills, academic achievement, and interest, while also supporting effective curriculum delivery. The study concluded that school farms are indispensable for meaningful agricultural education and recommended adequate funding, teacher training, provision of facilities, and consistent maintenance to ensure their sustainability.

This research explores the entrepreneurial competencies necessary for Small Business Education students to successfully establish and manage small-scale enterprises in Esan North East Local Government Area of Edo State. The study is driven by the recognition that entrepreneurship plays a vital role in economic growth, job creation, and innovation, yet many graduates continue to face challenges in translating theoretical knowledge into practical business success. Employing a descriptive survey design, data was collected from 50 students using a validated questionnaire to assess their awareness and possession of core entrepreneurial skills, including opportunity recognition, business planning, financial literacy, marketing competence, problem-solving ability, and resilience. The findings reveal that students generally recognize these competencies as essential; however, their current levels of practical application and mastery are only moderate, highlighting a significant gap between knowledge and real-world entrepreneurial readiness. The study also identifies critical challenges hindering students’ acquisition and application of entrepreneurial competencies. Students face substantial obstacles such as limited access to practical exposure, inadequate access to financial and technological resources, and insufficient emphasis on experiential learning within the existing entrepreneurship curriculum. These issues contribute to learners’ moderate competency levels and their inability to confidently initiate and sustain small-scale businesses. The research emphasizes that current entrepreneurship education predominantly focuses on theoretical instruction, which is insufficient for fostering the practical skills required in the dynamic and resource-constrained local business environment. Consequently, students are often ill-prepared to navigate market complexities, leading to low venture success rates and issues such as waste of resources and increased unemployment

This study was carried out to determine the influence of technical teacher training on the competencies teachers posses in teaching basic technology in Edo state. Five research questions were raised to guide the study and four null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 significant level for the study. Descriptive survey research design was used for the study. The population of the study was 400 basic technology teachers of Oredo local government area of Edo State. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 100 respondents for the sample. The instrument used was a structured questionnaire. The instrument was validated by three experts. Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) was used to compute reliability of the instrument which gave a correlation coefficient of 0.72. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation and t-test was used to test the hypotheses. The result of the analysis shows that for a basic technology teacher to be considered competent such teacher must have, gone through teacher training, good knowledge of subject matter, proper usage of instructional aid and methods, good classroom and laboratory management skills and proper evaluation techniques. The t-test analysis showed that the four groups of teachers (male & female, rural & urban, experienced & inexperienced and public and private secondary school) did not differ significantly in their rating on the variables that is important for effective teaching of basic technology by teachers. It was recommended among others that Edo state Ministry of education should employ only qualified and trained technical teachers for basic technology, and the state government must also enforce the same strategies in the private sector. The performance of basic technology students is directly influenced by the qualification and quality of the teacher taking the subject.