TITLE:
Time Allocation as Correlate of Undergraduates’ Academic Achievement in Cataloguing and Classification in Library Schools in Southern Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Samuel Oke Ogunniyi, Kenneth Ivo Ngozi Nwalo
KEYWORDS:
Time Allocation, Academic Achievement, Cataloguing and Classification, Library Schools, Southern Nigeria
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.3 No.1,
January
20,
2016
ABSTRACT: The study focuses on time allocation as correlate of undergraduates’
academic achievement in cataloguing and classification in library schools in
Southern Nigeria. Cataloguing and classification courses are expected to be
taught theoretically and practically in library schools. The main problem of
this study is undergraduates’ poor academic achievement in cataloguing and
classification. According to authors, cataloguing and classification are core
courses in librarianship. Despite the importance of these courses in the
library schools, it is observed that many undergraduates are known to perform
poorly in the examinations. Survey research design of correlational type was
adopted for this study. Hypothesis tested at 0.05 level of significance was that
there was no significant relationship between time allocation and academic
achievement of undergraduates in cataloguing in library schools in Southern
Nigeria. The 550 final year students and 18 lecturers teaching cataloguing and
classification in library schools in Southern Nigeria were purposively selected
for the study. Time allocated for teaching and learning cataloguing and classification
scale (a = 0.64) and students’ achievement test in cataloguing and classification
(a = 0.63) were used to collect data for the study. Descriptive and inferential
statistics were used for the data analysis. Results from the study revealed
that: there was a significant relationship between time allocation and academic
achievement of undergraduates in cataloguing and classification in library
schools. Time allocated for teaching cataloguing and classification was
inadequate. Academic achievement of the majority of the undergraduates was at
average level. The library school management in partnership with the National
Universities Commission (NUC) should include separate hour on the time table
for practical cataloguing and classification in library schools in Nigeria to
enable students to balance theory with practical knowledge. This is necessary
to enhance students’ academic achievement in cataloguing and classification.
Lecturers’ teaching cataloguing and classification should spend more time in
cataloguing practicals to encourage the students to develop interest in
cataloguing and classification.