GASPRO International Journal of Eminent Scholars

ABSTRACT

The study was aimed to determine the extent to which algorithm development skills predict programming capability of Computer Education students in Colleges of Education in South-South, Nigeria. Two specific purposes and their corresponding research questions and hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The ex-post facto research design was used in the study and it was carried out in South-South Nigeria. The population of the study consisted 125 Computer Science Education lecturers in the Colleges of Education in South-South Nigeria. The sample for the study consisted of 95 respondents selected using stratified sampling technique. Two researcher-made instruments were used for data collection. Instruments titled Algorithm Development Skill Needs Questionnaire (ADSNQ)” containing 20 items and Extent to which algorithm development skill predict programming capability containing 11 items were developed and used for data collection. The questionnaires were structured on a 5-point rating scale. The instruments were face validated by three experts from the Faculty of Education, University of Uyo. The internal consistency reliability of the instruments obtained using Cronbach Alpha technique yielded 0.78 and 0.84 respectively for the Algorithm Development Skill Needs and programming capability Questionnaire. The instruments were administered on the respondents by the researcher with the help of research assistants. Out of the 95 questionnaire administered, all were returned with valid data and this account for 100% response and return rate. Data were analyzed using Simple Linear Regression to provide answers to the research questions and to test the null hypotheses. Based on the data analysis, the study revealed that there is significant extent to which algorithm logic development skill and algorithm control skill predict programming capability of students in Colleges of Education in the South-south, Nigeria. Based on the finding, it is recommended that the management of Colleges of Education in South-south Nigeria should give concern attitude to the provision of learning resources in the areas of computer programming to enhance skills in software development. Also, the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) in collaboration with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) should enforce the policy that only those with good background in computer science plus relevant teaching qualifications should be allowed to teach computer courses in Colleges of Education in Nigeria. KEYWORDS: Algorithm, Development Skills, Programming Capability, Computer Education Students, Colleges of Education, South-South, Nigeria