A Survey for the High Rate of Failures in Shorthand in the Department of Secretarial Studies (IMT) Enugu
Chapter One
The purpose of the study
The purpose of this study is to find out the factors influencing high rate of failures in shorthand in department of secretarial studies in Enugu State.
Objectives of the study
The study will try to achieve the following objectives-:
- To determine the ratio of students versus typewriters in department of secretarial studies for students in shorthand in in Enugu State.
- To establish whether the students are allowed to practice and tuition isadequate before taking shorthand in department of secretarial studies in Enugu State.
- To determine teachers’ competencies in teaching shorthand at the various stages in department of secretarial studies in Enugu State.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Overview of factors influencing performance in Shorthand
Beryl Pratt in her book “What Is Pitman’s Shorthand?”writing on the performance of pitman shorthand in the United Kingdomstates that dictation cannot teach any shorthand theory, outline or phrase. According to her, for one to do well in shorthand, they must learn and concentrate on basic phrases. One must also increase reading practice from printed shorthand instruction books to consolidate knowledge of outlines.Beryl advises those learning shorthand to endeavor to write as fast as a person can speak.as this will assist in improving the transcription speed.
Sweet Henry in his book, A Manual of Current Shorthand, Orthographic and Phonetic, says that leaners have to improve English and spelling while learning shorthand. He advises learners to sharpen their powers of concentration and alertness which are both essential attributes for shorthand writing. He also advises learners to occasionally practice speed 20wpm faster than the examination for excellent results.
Over the years, Shorthand Chief examiners have raised various issues concerning the performance of shorthand. In their reports the chief examiners have indicated that a lot needs to be done at the institution level to help candidates do well in their shorthand.
According to the July 2006 chief examiner’s report, most candidates’ scripts displayed lack of masterly of the subject. This shows that the candidates were not well prepared for the examination. In the same report, the chief examiner also noted that some candidates hadnot achieved the speed of the examination they had registered for. The chief examiner indicates that such candidates register for the examinations when they are not ready and consequently fail.
In the subsequent chief examiners’reports, incomplete transcriptions have been identified as contributing to poor performance in these examinations. Wrong transcriptions and wrong outlines are also a common featurein the candidates’ work presented for marking. This according to the chief examiner indicates lack of enough reading and practice. It also shows that the candidates have not mastered the shorthand theory well enough to sit for the examination.
Anyone willing to learn shorthand must have some specific skills also known as the entry behaviuor. Entry behaviourare the necessary specific skills that students must have prior to beginning an instruction. It is not a list of things that students can do, but the specific skills that must have in order to begin a certain course (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, n.d.) These are the required grades or qualifications a student needs to gain entrance to a particular level of learning. Different levels have different entry requirements.
The entry behavior of learners affects the speed with which a teacher can introduce new material, the amount of reading of primary sources you can expect and the level of critical analysis you can demand. In practical subjects students need certain forms of literacy to enable them succeed. One of them is tool literacy, or the ability to understand and use the practical and conceptual tools relevant to education and the areas of work and professional life that the individual expects to inhabit.(White, 2009). One of the entry behavior expected of a shorthand student is masterly in the English language. The SCE chief examiners indicate that lack of masterly in English is also displayed in the candidates’ scripts during marking. The chief examiners indicate that masterly of English is a must for one to do well in shorthand since dictation passages are written and dictated using the English language.
The influence of the ratio of typewriters versus Candidates in the performance of Shorthand
There are two important aspects of practical classes. One of them is that ‘doing’ is an important part of the knowledge. A leaner learns about the doing part in a practical class. In a practical class one has to apply the theories in a practical situation. During a practical class the learner plays an active role in doing the work and applying the concepts(HongKong Polytechnic, n.d.). This implies that each learner has to have the required facility so as to be able to apply the taught theories in a practical situation. Inadequate relevant laboratories and workshop leads to practical courses being done theoretically and this leads to poor performance in examinations(Amuka et al., 2011).
Shorthand candidates must perfect their speed and accuracy through practice.To be able to achieve this, candidates should have adequatetime and typewriters for practice.
Influence of time allowed for practice and tuition in the performance of Shorthand
Practical exposure to students in the relevant areas and a sound theoretical background provides a modern industry oriented education. It aims at producing trained professionals who can successfully meet the demands of the various industries. A more practical and applied way of teaching can improve the relevance of work.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
A Research Design is a framework or structural blueprint for conducting the study. It entails the procedures necessary for obtaining the required information and its purpose. It is meant to determine possible answers to the research questions and provide the information needed for information making.
Survey method which falls under descriptive design was used in this study.
The survey method enabled me to use both close and open ended questions. The open ended questions gave me a variety of responses which were very crucial in answering the research questions. This was the most appropriate way of collecting data on factors influencing high rate of failures in shorthand in institutions in Enugu State using a questionnaire.
The Target Population
The target population contains members of a group that a researcher is interested in studying. The target population for this study was all the shorthand students and teachers in ten colleges in Enugu State.
After getting the number of shorthand learners at each stage in the ten department of secretarial studies in Enugu State, it was established that there was an average of three (03) students taking shorthand stage III in each college making a total of thirty (30) students. In stage II each college had an average of six (06) students making a total of sixty (60) students.
Stage I had an average of nine (09) students per department of secretarial studies making a total of ninety (90) students. The total average population is therefore one hundred and eighty students in ten department of secretarial studies in Enugu State. Each of the department of secretarial studies had an average of one teacher teaching shorthand. The study targeted all the ten teachers since the number is very small.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS
Interview for students
Age Bracket of Students
The study sort to find out the age brackets of the students. The results are presented in figure 1.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary of the study
Shorthand has been described as any system of rapid writing using symbols or shortcuts that can be made quickly to represent letters of the alphabets, words or phrases. Various terms are used for shorthand. One of the terms used is Brachygraphy meaning short writing, from the Greek word meaning short. Stenography meaning narrow or small writing from the Greek word meaning narrow is another term used for Shorthand. Tachygraphy meaning swift writing from the Greek word meaning swift is also used for Shorthand.
This study sought to find out the factors influencing high rate of failures in shorthand in colleges in Enugu State. After giving a background to the study research questions and corresponding research objectives were developed. Relevant literature was reviewed and a research methodology developed. Questionnaires were developed and administered to respondents, analysis was carried out and results presented in form of diagrams such as frequency and percentage tables, bar graphs and pie charts.
To determine the ratio of students versus typewriters in department of secretarial studies for students inshorthand in in Enugu State.
This study found out that the typewriters provided for in the institutions of training were not enough. There is a need to avail each student with a typewriter to enhance practice. The study also found out that some students resulted in buying their personal typewriters to supplement this deficiency.
To establish whether the time candidates are allowed for practice and tuition isadequate before taking shorthand in department of secretarial studies in Enugu State.
The study found out that 76.3% of the students had enough time for practice during practical lessons while a minority 23.7% did not. The study also found out that most students received enough tuition time accorded to them by their teachers. Though there is enough time fortuition, practice is compromised by unavailability of enough typewriters.
To determine teachers’ competencies in teaching shorthand at the various stages indepartment of secretarial studies in Enugu State.
The study found out that shorthand is taught by highly qualified individuals. The teachers who had university education were 75% while those who had diploma were 25%. The teachers also had attained high speeds. The results indicate that 2 teachers each (25%) had attained speeds of 100wpm, 110wpm, 120wpm and 130wpm. The study also found that shorthand teachers had a lot of experience; 37.5% of the teachers had 8 years while 25% of the respondents had 20 years of experience.
Conclusions of the study
Based on the findings of the study the following conlusions were made:
- The number of typewriters in shorthand colleges in Enugu State was less thanthe number of students. It was also concluded that some colleges had more students than the number of typewriter hence forcing students to use their own
- It was concluded that students were not given enough time to practice shorthand sincetypewriters were few and not enough for all, of them. Also concluded was that students were given enough time for
- The study concluded that the teachers teaching shorthand were enough and qualifiedto teach the students in the selected
- It was concluded that most students joined shorthand colleges with the lowest O-levelgrades (D-) hence high dropout rates. It was also found that most students had other qualifications before entering shorthand colleges in Enugu State
Recommendations of the study
The following are recommendations from the study-:
- The ministry of Education should harmonize the entry points for the short hand courses and also ensure that institutions offering shorthand courses have adequate
- The Nigeria Institute of curriculum development should ensure that there is a proper curriculum in place backed by adequate teaching-learning materials developed by local experts and selected international shorthand teaching
- Institutions offering shorthand courses should ensure the there are adequate teaching- learning facilities for use by students taking courses in their respective learning They should also ensure that they have enough teachers who are fully trained to handle students undertaking shorthand courses.
REFERENCES
Books, Journals and Reports
- Amuka, L. M., Olel M. A. and Gravenir Q. F. (2011). Examination of the effects of cost sharing policy on science and technology education and training in Nigeria national polytechnics. Australian Journal of Business and Management Research, 1(2), 55-69.
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- Best, J (2001). Dammed lies and statistics. University of California Press
- Hill, W. (1980) Learning; A survey of psychological interpretations. London. England. Inyang, N.I. (1998). Aid to speed development No 1. Maxco Press, Nigeria
- Jackson, S.L. (2009). Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach 3rd edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
- Jekayinfa A. A. (1993). Effects of instructional resources on academic performance of students in History. Nigerian journal of educational foundation, 1, 184-198.
- Nigeria National Examinations Council (2011). The Year 2011 Categorization of Schools and Institutions, Enugu
- Nigeria National Examinations Council (2006). Business Education Single and Group Examination Security Committee Report, Enugu
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- Nigeria National Examinations Council (2008). Business Education Single and Group Examination Security Committee Report, Enugu
- Nigeria National Examinations Council (2009). Business Education Single and Group Examination Security Committee Report, Enugu
- Nigeria National Examinations Council (2010). Business Education Single and Group Examination Security Committee Report, Enugu
- Nigeria National Examinations Council (2006). Business Education Single and Group Shorthand Chief Examiner’s Report, Enugu