TOWARDS STANDARDIZED EVALUATION: A NEW INSTRUMENT FOR ASSESSING PSYCHOMOTOR SKILLS IN DOMESTIC INSTALLATION IN TECHNICAL COLLEGES OF BAUCHI STATE

The main purpose of the study was to develop and validate a new instrument for assessing psychomotor skills for electrical installation and maintenance work (EIMW) students in domestic installation in Bauchi State Technical Colleges. The study which adopted Instrumentation research design was guided by four research objectives and four research questions. The population comprised of 250 individuals, including 38 EIMW teachers and 212 NTCII EIMW trade students from various technical colleges. The sample includes all 38 EIMW teachers, while purposive sampling is used to select Government Day Technical College Azare for the try-out. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire developed by the researchers titled: Psychomotor Skills in Domestic Installation Questionnaire (PSDIQ). The instrument was subjected to face and content validity by three experts from department of electrical technology education, Modibbo Adama University Yola. The reliability of the instrument was obtained using Cronbach Alpha and a reliability index of 0.89 was obtained. Mean and standard deviation, factor analysis, Cronbach Alpha, and Fleiss KAPPA were used to answer each research respectively. The findings of the study revealed that the 20 out of 22 psychomotor skills task items were appropriate for inclusion in the Domestic Installation Psychomotor Skills Assessment Instrument (DIPSAI) for assessing the psychomotor skills of EIM works trade students in domestic installation. Furthermore, DIPSAI underscore its validity in accurately measuring the intended constructs. DIPSAI was found to be reliable. The study recommends that DIPSAI should be made available to the Ministry of Education in order for the ministry to make it an instrument to be used in the assessment process of psychomotor skills in technical colleges in Bauchi State. Furthermore, Examination bodies such as NABTEB, WAEC, and NECO should adopt the use of DIPSAI for the assessment of students’ performance in practical examinations in EIMW trade especially domestic installations.