ABSTRACT
This study was designed to evaluate the status of facilities, equipment and materials for effective teaching of ceramic education in Colleges of education in North - East Geo- Political Zone of Nigeria. The study evaluated the availability and functionality of facilities, equipments and materials used for teaching ceramic education in the Colleges of Education. Four research questions, four objectives were stated and four null hypothesis were formulated and tested. Textbooks, Dictionaries, Journals, Encyclopaedias, theses, magazines, conference papers, photographs, internet, verbal information, personal observations were considered and acknowledged as means of references. The survey research method was used for the study. A total of eighty respondents ceramic students, were randomly selected out of one hundred and forty - seven using stratified random sampling technique. The instruments used for the study were questionnaires and checklist. The questionnaire and checklist were used as the main instruments for the study Statistics of percentages was used to describe the characteristics of the respondents, while chi-square was used to test the null hypothesis at 0.05. 56 (69,4%) of the respondents agreed while 24 (30.6%) respondents disagree that there are facilities, equipment and materials. The calculated χ2 is 6.05, while the % critical value is 7.82. This result shows that the χ 2 calculated value is less than χ 2 critical value. Therefore, the null hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference in the opinion of the respondents towards availability of facilities, equipment and materials in the colleges of education is retained. Twenty - eight (35%) of the respondents agree that the materials and equipment are adequate, while 52 (63%) disagreed. The obtained χ 2 was 39.32, which was greater than the critical χ2 of 7.82. Therefore the null hypothesis that states that there is no significant difference in the opinions of respondents on the adequacy of existing materials and equipment is rejected. Twenty - three (28%) of the respondents agree, while 59 (72%) disagreed about the proper functioning of existing equipment. The obtained χ 2 was 24.6 while the critical χ 2 was 7.82. Therefore the null hypothesis that states that there is no significant difference in the opinions of the respondents towards the proper functioning of existing equipment and materials is rejected. From the analysis of the responses it was observed that there are facilities, equipment and materials for teaching ceramics in the colleges. These materials and equipment are however, not adequate for the teaching and learning needs of the students in the colleges. It was also observed from the responses in table 4.15 that the problems associated with the use and maintenance of equipment, facilities and materials are insufficient equipment, poor standard of equipment, the poor culture of acquiring equipment to meet the growing demand for them, dependence on manual production instead of mechanized production and the equipment are old and outdated making the acquisition of their spare pans very difficult. It could be concluded that without adequate provision of equipment, facilities and materials for the teaching of ceramics, proper teaching and learning will be hampered and in some colleges made almost impossible. Even with the existing equipment and materials, teaching and learning task will become difficult for both lecturers and students if they are not functioning properly or if they are inadequate