ABSTRACT
Lecturers are expected to use Electronic
Information Resources (EIR) to improve their research and teaching. However, it
is not certain if private universities lecturers are effective in their
teaching work or not, or if the skills needed to retrieve EIR for teaching
effectiveness are lacking as research has indicated that the use of EIR by
lecturers generally depend on their ability to locate discrete knowledge
elements. The study investigated lecturers’ EIR retrieval skills, use and
teaching effectiveness in private universities in Monrovia, Liberia.
The survey research design was adopted
in this study. The population of the study was the lecturers in the seven
private universities in Monrovia with a population of 557, out of which four
were randomly selected, with a sample size of 287 lecturers. The overall
reliability test for the questionnaire was 0.85 Cronbach’s alpha (α). The
Questionnaire titled “Lecturers’ electronic information resources retrieval
skills, use and teaching effectiveness questionnaire” was the instrument used
for data collection. Out of 287 copies of the questionnaire distributed, only
181 (63%) were retrieved, valid, and used for analysis. The data collected were
analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, Linear Regression, and
Correlation.
The study established that there were
more male lecturers (156, 86%)) than female (25, 14%) in the private
universities in Monrovia, Liberia. Most of the lecturers hold Master’s Degree
(126, 70%), and few were Ph.D. Degree holders (17, 9%). The availability of EIR
to lecturers was low because most lecturers did not have the retrieval skills,
and only a few use them for teaching. The results of the hypotheses showed
that: EIR retrieval skills contributed 93.1% of lecturers’ ability to use of
EIR, and there was a significant relationship between EIR retrieval skills and
EIR use (R2 = .931, P<.05).; The higher the lecturers’ retrieval skills of
EIR, the higher their teaching effectiveness as indicated by (r = .822, p <
.05), and there was a significant relationship between lecturers’ retrieval skills
and teaching effectiveness; The use of EIR contributed 76.8% of the variation
in lecturers’ teaching effectiveness, and EIR use significantly enhanced
lecturers’ teaching effectiveness; EIR retrieval skills and use were joint
predictors of teaching effectiveness of lecturers (F =307.419, p<.05), and
analysis of coefficient of determination revealed that EIR retrieval skills and
use jointly contributed 77.5% to the variation in teaching effectiveness of
lecturers (R2 = .775, P<.05) positively.
The study concluded
that when university lecturers had EIR retrieval skills, they could easily
access EIR for teaching. The following recommendations were made based on the
result of the findings: Private universities administrators in Monrovia should
make available and encourage their lecturers to use EIR for teaching. They
should provide training facilities for lecturers on the use of ICT and the use
of EIR. In addition, the researcher would work with universities
administrations and lecturers to promote the need and use of EIR for teaching
and help train lecturers on EIR retrieval skills.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background
to the Study
The teaching effectiveness of lecturers
in institutions of higher learning is the key to accomplishing their purpose of
existence, which is to inculcate knowledge in their students. More so,
students’ academic achievement depends largely on the teaching effectiveness of
the lecturers. Wong (2009) attested that, in order to improve student learning,
the structure do not need to be changed, but the instructional practices of
teachers are to be changed. The schools that appear to do best are those that
have an unmistakable thought of what sort of instructional practice they wish
to deliver and after that outline a structure to run with it. To put it
plainly, “the better the teacher teaches, the better the student learns (Wong,
2009)." Teaching effectiveness is therefore important because effective
teaching helps students’ learning.
In today's progressively diverse
learning and teaching environment, there have been endless discourses and
arguments on lecturers’ teaching effectiveness in higher institutions of
learning. Indeed, even with many years of research, the subject of lecturers’ teaching
effectiveness is yet to be settled (Chuan and Heng, n.d). The objective of each
higher institution of learning is research efficiency, where students and
lecturers can embark on assignments, scholastic papers, research papers,
e.t.c., in order to bring about new knowledge or solve problems. This goal can
be achieved when lecturers have the needed information to be effective in their
teaching field.
In an interview with Reuters on August
17, 2013, in her office, the President of Liberia, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
referred to the Liberia’s education system as “a mess” needing a complete
repair (Toweh, Felix, & Roche, 2013). This she said comprehensive of the
Private Universities in Monrovia, the capital city of the country, which make
up around 87.5 percent of the private universities in the nation, and 80
percent of the aggregate number of universities in the country. This statement
was attributed to the low level in teaching effectiveness of teachers and
lecturers in schools and universities. This statement of the President
indicates that lecturers at the universities are reportedly not effective in
their teaching, which is reflected in the performances of students. This calls
for a re-examination of teaching effectiveness among teachers and/or lecturers.
Teaching effectiveness is the capacity
of an educator to instill learning and abilities in students, and additionally,
change their life practices for the better (Popoola and Haliso 2009). In order
for lecturers to impact the required knowledge in their students and also for
their own personal improvement through their teaching effectiveness, they need
different types of research and teaching information. Additionally, Teaching
Effectiveness alludes to instructors' capacity to enhance students learning as
measured by students' gain on institutionalized achieved test (Little, Goe, and
Bell, 2009). In a world of educational competition today, the majority of the
institutions of higher education and students at large are requesting for
effective lecturing and education to happen, both inside and outside the
classrooms. Effective lecturers are relied upon to help increase the level of
students' inspiration to learn in order for students' scholastic and
nonscholastic accomplishments to be further upgraded. This will significantly
contribute to students’ satisfaction in learning, and affect the image of the
institution (Helgesen and Nesset, 2007) All these can only be possible if
lecturers have the knowledge and access to the myriad information resources.
Information resources is defined as
information which has been changed into a meaningful format, that is exact,
timely, particular and sorted out for a specific reason, and given within a
scope that gives it relevant meaning (businessdictionary.Com). This increases
certainty, thereby increasing knowledge. Information resources are processed by
information processing hardware and software systems and provided to users in
many forms such as data, voice, text, and image. From the time of the arrival
of information communication technologies (ICTs), these information resources
can be accessed as easy as possible and timely. Information and communication
technology (ICT) has been identified to be a very powerful educational tool. It
can be defined as technological materials which are utilized to transmit,
prepare, store, make, show, share information through the digital process. This
includes technologies such as DVD, satellite system, radio, TV, video, phone,
and computer hardware and software. The introduction of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) brought tremendous changes into the educational
setting of the world. It has given access to Electronic Information Resources
(EIR) that are widely seen as enhancing learning.
The use of Electronic information
resources can help raise schools’ standards by improving the quality of
teaching, learning, and management. With the use of electronic information
resources, lecturers can be effective in their teaching careers. Despite the
coming of the information age with the Internet and other technologies through
which electronic information resources can be assessed, numerous universities
lecturers still do not have the information communication technology
literateness skills that are required to explore and utilize the surplus of
available information today (Akinnagbe and Baiyeri, 2011).
The Library and Information Technology
Glossary refers to electronic information resources as all of the information
materials that are provided by library via a network, and computer. Electronic
information resources as products are produce through information communication
technologies (ICTs) (Olasore, and Adekunmisi, 2015). In a nutshell, Electronic
information resources are information found in computers, the internet, and all
computer-related materials. Electronic information resources are the bedrock
for the provision of precise and timely information for better educational
results. They make up a vast amount of materials for teaching, learning, and
research. With the explosion of information and the arrival of new information
technologies, information needed by lecturers are for the most part found in
libraries' electronic resources, computer laboratories, and information and
communication technology centers. According to Togia, and Tsigilis, (2009),
electronic resources are valued instruments for study, research, and learning.
They have several benefits compare to the conventional print-based resources
because they have up-to-date information, they offer advanced searching capabilities,
can be updated regularly, and provide access to information in the absence of
constraints of location, and time. These electronic resources are available
through ICTs.
These technologies have brought a
substitute to enable access to academic and scholarly information from around
the world for enhancing learning. In spite of the fact that it has rightly been
said that what is with education cannot be fixed by technology, there is no
uncertainty that technology has dominated our present day life. There is a
worldwide acknowledgment of the necessity to use Information Communication
Technology (ICT) in education as we go in the age of globalization where
information is flowing freely through the internet and satellite hold influence
in universal information
spreading of knowledge. The role of
technology in learning and teaching is speedily becoming one of the most
significant and widely discussed educational policy issues (Rosen and Well,
1995; and Thierer, 2000). Most specialists in the area of education concurred
that when information communication technology is appropriately utilized, hold
incredible guarantee to enhance learning and teaching and modeling labor force
opportunities (Aduwa-Ogiegbaen, and Iyamu, (2005). ICT does store EIR, as well
as help in enabling teaching. Hence, retrieval skills of electronic information
are very crucial for retrieving information in this age of technology that
majority of the needed information for research and teaching are retrieved from
electronic gadgets and places (Ekenna, & Iyabo 2013).
Electronic information resources
retrieval skills are the ability to access information from ICTs. Without these
skills, it is challenging to retrieve needed information. For example, Ekenna,
and Iyabo, (2013) expressed that there is an increase in the provision of
electronic resources in Nigerian university libraries, yet studies have
demonstrated that there is a low utilization of the resources because of lack
of information retrieval skills. Additionally, in a study conducted by
Bhukuvhani, Chiparausha, and Zuvalinyenga, (2012), showed that lecturers who
went to the Electronic Information Resources Skills Training used some
electronic information resources to search for information for use for research
and lectures. In fact, the greater part of the lecturers conceded that it was
at the workshops and seminars that they were able to learn of electronic
resources. This shows that EIR retrieval skills training is needed for
lecturers. Some of the skills needed include operating on computers, navigating
on the internet to select the appropriate information needed, downloading
information from the internet, and so forth. It is therefore important that
lecturers possess these skills in order to be able to retrieve required
information from the available electronic information resources to be more
effective in their jobs. The utilization of electronic information resources by
universities lecturers depend generally on the skills of every user to find
distinct information components (Okiki, 2012). It is therefore necessary that
lecturers acquire necessary skills to be able to retrieve as well use these
electronic information resources for their effectiveness in teaching and
research.
In the vast majority of the universities
in Liberia, however, one of the oldest nations in Africa, the introduction of
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and electronic information
resources have not been prevalent both among university
lecturers and students. This is to some
level due to the fourteen years of war that have set country fourteen years
behind development. However, the war ended since about thirteen years ago. In
2010, Daren Wilkins a fulfilled Professional of ICT with more than 12 years of
involvement in the ICT work, described the impact of information and
communication technologies on the future of Liberia. Rising up out of 14
years of war and over 150 years of underdevelopment,
poverty, and absence of education, Liberia is currently behind modernization
with respect to the development of technologies (Wilkins, 2010). For further
thought about the universities in Liberia, technology use and lecturers
teaching effectiveness, most lecturers use the conventional materials and
methods of teaching. Most lecturers use textbooks to teach and most of the
lectures are done in classrooms using oral communication.
Thus in this dissertation, a guided tour
to some of the main aspects of electronic information resources retrieval
skills and use in line of lecturers’ teaching effectiveness is considered.
1.2
Statement of the Problem
Teaching effectiveness is the ability of
a lecturer to inculcate knowledge and skills in students, as well as change
their behavior for the better. It also refers to lecturers’ ability to improve
students learning as measured by students’ gain on standardized achieved test.
For lecturers to be able to inculcate the required knowledge and skills in
their students, they need to access and use electronic information resources.
These electronic information resources needed to improve lecturers’ teaching
effectiveness can only be accessed if lecturers have the retrieval skills which
will allow them to access the right information, and use the acquired
information to teach their students.
However, it is not certain if private
university lecturers are effective in their teaching work or not, or, would it
be lack of skills needed to retrieve electronic information resources for
teaching effectiveness are lacking as research has indicated that the
utilization of these materials by lecturers in universities highly depend on
skills they have to find distinct elements of knowledge. Also, it is observed
from the literature reviewed that the lecturers’ teaching effectiveness is
often measured from the students’ perspective and not from lecturers’
perspective as it relates to their EIR retrieval skills and use. It is in view
of these, that this work sought to find out the
teaching effectiveness of lecturers as
it relates to their Electronic Information Resources (EIR) Retrieval Skills,
and use in selected private universities in Monrovia, Liberia.
1.3
Objective
of the Study
The main objective of this research is
to examine the teaching effectiveness of lecturers at the selected private
universities in Monrovia, Liberia as it relates to their electronic information
resources retrieval skills and use. The specific objectives are to:
1. find
out the availability of electronic information resources (EIR) in these
private
universities in Monrovia, Liberia;
2. find
out the electronic information resources retrieval skills of lecturers at the
private universities
3. identify
EIR used by lecturers in the private universities;
4. assess
the teaching effectiveness of lecturers in the private universities
5. identify
purpose for lecturers use of EIR;
6. find
out the challenges lecturers face in the use of EIR in the private
universities;
7. establish
if any significant relationship exists between lecturers’ retrieval skills
of electronic
information resources and teaching effectiveness;
8. determine
if EIR use significantly enhance lecturers’ teaching effectiveness in private
universities in Monrovia, Liberia; and
9. find
out the combined effect of electronic information resources retrieval skills,
and use on teaching effectiveness of lecturers in the private universities in
Monrovia, Liberia.
1.4
Research Questions
In meeting the research objectives, the
study attempted to address the following
questions:
1. what
Electronic Information Resources (EIR) are available to lecturers at the
private universities in
Monrovia, Liberia?
2. what
EIR retrieval skills do lecturers in the private universities have?
3. what
are the EIR used by lecturers at these private universities?
4. how
effective are lecturers in teaching at the private universities in Monrovia, Liberia?
5. what
are the reasons lecturers at these private universities use EIR?
6. what
are the challenges lecturers at these private universities face in the use of
EIR?
1.5
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were
tested in the study at 0.05 level of significance:
H01:
There is no significant relationship between lecturers’ retrieval skills of
electronic information resources and teaching effectiveness.
H02:
Electronic Information Resources use does not significantly enhances lecturers’
teaching effectiveness.
H03:
There is no significant combined effect of electronic information resources
retrieval skills, and use on teaching effectiveness of lecturers in the private
universities in Monrovia, Liberia.
1.6
Scope of the Study
The study focuses on electronic
information resources retrieval skills, use and lecturers’ teaching
effectiveness in selected private universities in Monrovia, Liberia. There are
eight private universities operating in Liberia. The private universities in Liberia
are United Methodist University, Saint Clements University, African Methodist
Episcopal Zion University, Adventist University of West Africa, African Bible
College University, African Methodist Episcopal University, Cuttington
University, and Stella Maris Polytechnic. Out of the eight private
universities, only one [Cuttington University] is out of Monrovia. Out of the
seven private universities in Monrovia, four were randomly selected to form the
scope of this study which are:
a. United
Methodist University (UMU)
b. Adventist
University of West Africa (AUWA)
c. Saint
Clements University College-Liberia
d. African
Methodist Episcopal Zion University (AMEZU)
Private universities in Monrovia are the
best for such a research because they make up
a high percentage of the universities in
Liberia. Results from these selected private universities will definitely
represent the universities in Liberia. Four universities were randomly selected
out of the seven universities because of the following reasons: To have accurate
information. Studying selected universities help provide accurate information.
Another reason is cost. It is expensive to study every university in Liberia
or Monrovia. Studying a potion requires
fewer resources and good result. The researcher also considered the fact that
there are only two public (government) universities in Liberia – one in
Monrovia and the other in Hyper City, Maryland County. Their results might not
reflect the image of all the universities. Lastly, time was also considered. In
studying all of the universities, it will be time-consuming, as compared to
studying selected.
1.7
Significance of the Study
The study of electronic information
resources retrieval skills and use of the resources are very important to
teaching effectiveness of lecturers in private universities of a post-war
country like Liberia, especially in a time when everything is going toward
digital. The findings from this study are going to benefit the tertiary
education system in Liberia because the focus is on private universities, which
make up about 80 percent of the universities in Liberia. The results would
inform higher institutions on the importance of having EIR retrieval skills,
and the utilization of Electronic Resources. This might encourage universities
in Liberia to start investing in their lecturers’ Information Technology
skills.
Findings from this research would also
reveal the importance of the use of electronic information resources, and the
impact they have on lecturers’ teaching effectiveness at the university level.
In addition to the private universities, lecturers from public universities,
and colleges within the country would also see the need of using EIR to enhance
their teaching careers. This work could serve as a guide to upcoming researchers
in the related field because through the researcher observation during his
literature review and research process, there was no research of such in
Liberia. The study would also add to the existing literature in the area of
library and information science management which is not a popular field in
Liberia.
Lastly, the result would be of
importance to lawmakers or policies makers. It would inform them about the
importance of electronic information in the nation’s school system. Through
this, they would help establish policies that would be of importance to
lecturers in Liberian universities and school system at large.
1.8
Operational Definition of Terms
The following terms are operationalized
for the understanding of this study.
Electronic
Information Resources (EIR): This is information
resources available in electronic devices or Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs). Examples: e-book, e-journal, information on the web, web
database, etc.
Electronic
information Retrieval Skills: The skills needed, or
ability of a lecturer to obtain electronic information from ICT/sources.
Examples are: downloading resources from the internet, typing on the keyboard,
using the mouse to navigate on the computer, use of Boolean operators like AND,
OR etc.
Lecturer:
This refers to the teacher at the university level who teaches students.
Retrieval
Skills: The abilities to obtain something from its
depository/source without difficulties.
Selected
Private Universities: The Selected Private Universities
referred to in this work are: The United Methodist University (UMU), African
Methodist Episcopal Zion University (AMEZU), Adventist University of West
Africa (AUWA), and Saint Clements University College Liberia (SCUC-Liberia).
Additionally, private universities are not own by government, but private
individuals, or church organizations.
Teaching
Effectiveness: This is being able to impact required
knowledge to students
as demanded by the course description.
Teaching students what, how, and when to know as required.
Use
of Electronic Resources: This is the application of
information obtained through electronic means for teaching effectiveness.
Private
Universities: United Methodist University, Saint
Clements University, African Methodist Episcopal Zion University, Adventist
University of West Africa, African Bible College University, African Methodist
Episcopal University, Cuttington University, and Stella Maris Polytechnic.
Though it carries the title “polytechnic”, but Stella Maris Polytechnic is a
full university to offers Associate and Bachelors Degrees.
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