Causes of Students’ Poor Electronic Circuit Analysis Skill in the Polytechnics in Rivers State

Abstract

Circuit analysis is a crucial aspect of electronics engineering that involves the study and analysis of various electrical quantities in different electronic components. This process enables engineers to determine the unknown elements of a circuit, such as voltage, current, resistance, impedance, power, among others, across its components. However, a recent study has shown that students in polytechnics in Rivers State are struggling with electronics circuit analysis. To investigate the causes of this problem, a descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population for the study comprised of 200 final year students and 40 lecturers from the 3 government polytechnics offering circuit analysis/related courses in Rivers State. A sample size of 80 students and 19 lecturers was obtained using a simple random sampling technique, which gave a total of 99 participants. The researchers developed an instrument to measure the knowledge of electrical/electronic technology among students in polytechnics in Rivers State. The instrument was validated by three experts from Ignatius Ajuru University of Education. The questionnaire items had a 4-point rating scale format of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD). A test re-test method was used to test the reliability of the instrument, and a coefficient of 0.75 was obtained. The study utilized a 7-item questionnaire for both lecturers and students as instruments for data collection. The results revealed that the major causes of poor electronics circuit analysis among students were inadequate knowledge of circuit theory, lack of practical experience, poor understanding of mathematical concepts, and inadequate laboratory facilities. The study found that poor knowledge of schematic diagram technique and fundamental theorems and laws technique were the main causes of students’ poor electronic circuit analysis skills in the polytechnics in Rivers State. The data collected were analyzed descriptively using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. On the other hand, lecturers attributed the problem to inadequate teaching materials, lack of qualified instructors, inadequate funding for research, and poor curriculum design. The study recommended that polytechnics in Rivers State should provide more practical training opportunities for students, improve laboratory facilities, and employ qualified instructors who are knowledgeable in circuit analysis. Based on the findings, the study recommends that polytechnic governing councils and management in Rivers State should ensure that candidates for electrical/electronic technology programs are well-grounded in mathematical calculations before admission is offered to them. This will help to improve the knowledge and skills of students in electronic circuit analysis.