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OzeanJournal Of Social ScienceVolume 4, Issue 2, August 2011RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND FAMILY PLANNING PRACTICES OF MARRIED WOMEN IN ZONE 5, POLICE BARRACKSIN NIGERIA.IGBUDU, U., OKOEDION, S.O., PEREMENE. E.B and EGHAFONA, K. A.MANAGEMENT OF NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES’ GAMES’ ASSOCIATION FOR BETTER RESULTSCHIKA JOSEPHINE IFEDILI and STELLA OMIUNUHARNESSING COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE THROUGH ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS: A STUDY OF LIBRARIANS INPRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIAATULOMAH, BOLA. C. and ONUOHA, ULOMA DINFORMATION LITERACY IN NIGERIAN HIGHER INSTITUTIONS – ANY ROLE FOR LIBRARIANS?L.A. OGUNSOLA, B.F. AKINDOJUTIMI and ADENIKE DAMILOLA OMOIKEPLANNING THE 9-YEAR UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN NIGERIA FOR SUCCESSFULIMPLEMENTATIONCHIKA JOSEPHINE IFEDILI and GRACE ALUTUSTUDENT TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT MENTOR TEACHERS: A CASE STUDY IN TURKEYHİDAYET TOK and MUAMMER YILMAZSTATUS OF WOMEN IN AĞRI AND THEIR POSITION IN THE SYSTEM OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPSFARUK KAYA, SINAN KOCAMAN, YUSUF KILINÇPERCEPTIONS OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS ABOUT ASSESSMENTS OF STUDENTS DURING TRAININGNIDA BAYINDIR

Ozean Journal Of Social ScienceA PEER REVIEVED INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Volume 4, Issue 2, August 2011ISSN: 1943-2585 (0nline)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Managing EditorAli Ozel, Dumlupinar UniversityPublication CoordinatorTaskin Inan, Dumlupinar UniversityEditorial BoardGerald S. Greenberg, Ohio State University, USAHakki Yazici, Afyon Kocatepe University, TurkeyHayati Akyol, Gazi University, TurkeyHayati Doganay, Ataturk University, TurkeyLaurie Katz, Ohio State University, USALisandra Pedraza, University of Puerto Rico inRio Piedras, Puerto RicoLutfi Ozav, Usak University, TurkeyMihai Maxim, Bucharest University, RomaniaIbrahim Atalay, Dokuz Eylul University, TurkeyIbrahim S. Rahim, National Research Center, EgyptJanet Rivera, NOVA University, USARamazan Ozey, Marmara University, TurkeySamara Madrid, Northern Illinois University, USASamia Abdel Aziz-Ahmed Sayed, National ResearchCenter, EgyptWeb: http://www.ozelacademy.com E-mail: editorejes@gmail.comCopyright © 2008 Ozean Publication, 2141 Baneberry Ct. 43235, Columbus, Ohio, USA

Ozean Journal of Social ScienceA PEER REVIEVED INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Volume 4, Issue 2, August 2011ISSN: 1943-2585 (0nline)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND FAMILY PLANNING PRACTICES OF MARRIED WOMEN IN ZONE 5, POLICE BARRACKS IN NIGERIA.IGBUDU, U., OKOEDION, S.O., PEREMENE. E.B and EGHAFONA, K. A.MANAGEMENT OF NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES’ GAMES’ ASSOCIATION FOR BETTER RESULTSCHIKA JOSEPHINE IFEDILI and STELLA OMIUNUHARNESSING COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE THROUGH ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS: A STUDY OF LIBRARIANS IN PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES INOGUN STATE, NIGERIAATULOMAH, BOLA. C. and ONUOHA, ULOMA DINFORMATION LITERACY IN NIGERIAN HIGHER INSTITUTIONS – ANY ROLE FOR LIBRARIANS?L.A. OGUNSOLA, B.F. AKINDOJUTIMI and ADENIKE DAMILOLA OMOIKEPLANNING THE 9-YEAR UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN NIGERIA FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATIONCHIKA JOSEPHINE IFEDILI and GRACE ALUTUSTUDENT TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT MENTOR TEACHERS: A CASE STUDY IN TURKEYHİDAYET TOK and MUAMMER YILMAZSTATUS OF WOMEN IN AĞRI AND THEIR POSITION IN THE SYSTEM OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPSFARUK KAYA, SINAN KOCAMAN, YUSUF KILINÇPERCEPTIONS OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS ABOUT ASSESSMENTS OF STUDENTS DURING TRAININGNIDA BAYINDIRWeb: http://www.ozelacademy.com E-mail: editorejes@gmail.comCopyright © 2008 Ozean Publication, 2141 Baneberry Ct. 43235, Columbus, Ohio, USA

A peer revieved international journalISSN: 1943-2585 (0nline)http://ozelacademy.com/ojss.htm

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011ISSN 1943-2577© 2011 Ozean PublicationRELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND FAMILY PLANNING PRACTICES OF MARRIEDWOMEN IN ZONE 5, POLICE BARRACKS IN NIGERIA.IGBUDU, U., OKOEDION, S.O., PEREMENE. E.B and EGHAFONA, K. A.*Department of Health, Environmental Education and Human KineticsFaculty of Education, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.*Department of Sociology and \Anthropology,Faculty of Social Science University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.*E-mail address for correspondence: ujiroforreal@yahoo.com_____________________________________________________________________________________________Abstract: The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between religious beliefs and family planningpractices of married women in zone 5 barracks of the Nigeria Police, comprising Edo, Delta and Bayelsa StateCommands. The population for the study was 5,579, which comprised all married women aged 15-49 years in zone5 barracks of the Nigeria Police. The corelational research design was used for the study. The simple randomsampling technique employing the ballot method with replacement was used to select the 18 barracks for the study,while the systematic sampling technique was used to select 558 respondents from the barracks. The instrument usedwas a self-structured questionnaire. Responses from each respondent were converted to points, coded and subjectedto statistical compilation using simple regression analysis procedure to test the only hypothesis at 0.05 level ofsignificance. The hypothesis tested was statistically significant and was therefore rejected. In sum, the study hasconfirmed the existence of relationship between religious beliefs and family planning practices of married women inthese barracks contrary to commonly held assumptions particularly among policy makers, programme managers andprogramme providers in family planning, the findings of the study revealed that attitudinal factor such as the strongreligious desire for more children in accordance with the religious injunction of “be fruitful and multiply” and“religion demands it” are at least as important as cost and access in deterring married women in these barracks fromusing family planning. Based on the finding from this study, recommendations which focused on how to lowerreligious attitudinal barriers and increasing family planning demand and usage were proffered.Keywords: Religious Beliefs, Family Planning Practices, Married women, Nigeria_____________________________________________________________________________________________55

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011INTRODUCTIONLarge family size norms have a propensity to persist even after the economic and social conditions responsible forthem have changed. Such cultural indolence is often sustained by religious values even when there are no specificproscriptions against birth control. The Old Testament injunction to “be fruitful and multiply” has its counterpart inthe teachings of several religions predominantly throughout Sub-Saharan African Countries, Nigeria inclusive(Obermeyer, 1994; Iwu, 1999). Although family planning is widely promoted in Nigeria, it is not without ethicalissue, unfortunately in many religions, there is an opposition to human intervention in the reproductive process.This is as a result of the beliefs that procreation is sacred and any interference with it would bring down the wrath ofGod (Osula, 2002). Sharing same view, Igbudu, Oshodin and Egenege (2007) observed that the desire by mostindividuals and couples for a large family size is as a result of the positive value which the Nigeria society attachedto marriage, family life and procreation. It is a deep-seated traditional value which is supported by the dominantreligious beliefs of Christianity, Islam and Traditional religions to the extent that all religions abhor barrenness.Some religious practices ( e.g Islamic) support a man marring up to four wives with so many children (Igbudu, et.al.,2007; Sai 1995; Sen & Snow 1994).According to Ani, (1999) most religions in Nigeria believe that having many children is an advantage and a blessingfrom God, whether the family is buoyant or not. Some individuals and couples believe that it is sin to control birth,so the whole idea of population reduction is view with suspicion. This calls for intervention. The focus of the presentstudy is to obtain empirical evidence on the relationship between religious beliefs and family planning practices ofmarried women in zone 5 Barracks of the Nigeria Police.RESEARCH QUESTIONTo successfully do this, one research question was raised to guide the study, “would there be any relationshipbetween religious beliefs and family planning practices of married women in zone 5 barracks of the Nigeria Police?”RESEARCH HYPOTHESISOne hypothesis was formulated from the research question and tested for the study, “there will be no significantrelationship between Religious Beliefs and family planning practices of married women in zone 5 barracks of theNigeria Police.”MATERIALS AND METHODResearch DesignThe correlational research design was employed in carrying out this study. This because, correlational researchdesign is one of the best available designs that can be used in an attempt to estimate the extent of relationship56

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011between variables. Correlational design, investigate the extent to which variations in one factor or subjectcorrespond with variation in one or more other factors based on the correlation co-efficient. It is concerned withassessing relationships between two or more phenomena for the purpose of making predictions about relationships.The relationship that is measured is a statement about the degree of association between the variable of interest.Correlational design does not indicate causation. That is correlational studies only imply degree of relationship andnot cause effect relationship, hence correlational research design was considered most appropriate for the study.The study locationThe research was carried out in zone 5 barracks of the Nigeria Police, comprising Edo, Delta and Bayelsa StateCommands. These states are located at the south-south geo-political zone in Nigeria. Zone 5 police Headquarters islocated in Benin City, Edo State.The Nigeria police is divided into 12 Zones and each Zone covers about three (3) state commands. Zone 5 barrackswas chosen because the researchers are conversant with the zone and the high fertility rate in these barracks.Population of the studyThe target population for the study comprised all married women aged 15-49 years in zone 5 barracks of the NigeriaPolice. The population of family units in zone 5 police barracks was 5,579 (police Report 2006). The unmarriedpolice women, single parent, those below 15years and those above 49 years residing in these barracks were notincluded in the above number, because this study was delimited to only married women in the age bracket (15-49years). Again this age bracket (15-49years) was chosen because this is the reproductive period for most women. Forthese reasons, those who do not fall within this age bracket (15-49years) and the unmarried police women wereexcluded from the study.Sample and Sampling TechniqueA sample size of 558 of the population of 5,579 participated in the study. The sample size was chosen using thesimple random sampling technique, employing the ballot method with replacement to select the 18 barracks for thestudy. While the systematic sampling techniques was used to select the respondents from the barracks.Research InstrumentThe instrument for data collection was a self-designed questionnaire. It was used to elicit information from everymarried woman in zone 5 barracks of the Nigeria Police. The items in the instrument were structured to address theonly hypothesis raised. The items contained statements of Likert type’s format. Response to each statement wasweighted on a four point scoring scale. The data collected were subjected to statistical computation using simpleregression analysis procedure at 0.05 level of significance. The SPSS computer programme was used for the dataanalyses.Validity of the InstrumentThe validity of the instrument used for the study was ascertained by the researchers and five other experts drawnfrom the Department of Physical and Health Education and other allied fields such as Sociology, EducationalPsychology and Educational Test and Measurement Departments. The comments of these experts helped so much ineliminating ambiguity in the items. Based on their observations, corrections were effected before the final draft ofthe questionnaire was produced. This was to ensure face and content validity of the instrument.57

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Reliability of the InstrumentThe reliability of the instrument was established through a pilot study, using the test-retest method. A firstadministration of the instrument was administered to 30 respondents (married women) outside the barracks of thestudy (zone II Akure, Ondo State). After an interval of two weeks, the same exercise was repeated with the samerespondents. The scores from the first and second administration were computed, using Pearson Product MomentCorrelation Coefficient (r). A reliability coefficient of 0.74 was obtain which indicated that the instrument wasreliable for use.Administration of the InstrumentThe researchers personally visited the barracks to administer the research instrument with eleven (11) trainedresearch assistants. The questionnaire took approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. The questionnaire contained astatement that filling out the questionnaire constituted voluntary participants in the study. No identifying informationwas collected on participants in the study as they were asked not to write their names. The instrument wasadministered within two weeks. The completed copies of the questionnaire were collected on the spot. A total of 558self administer questionnaire forms were distributed. Of these 558, a total of 552 were filled out and returned, thusresulting in a 99% response rate. Of these 552, a total of 15women were removed from the analysis, because theywere above the age of 49 years. This resulted in 537 eligible participants that were included in the study.ResultsThe results of the data analysis are shown in table 1.HypothesisThere is no significant relationship between early marriage and family planning practices of married women in zone5 barracks of the Nigeria Police.Table 1:Summary of Regression analysis for Religious Beliefs and Family Planningpractices of married women in zone 5 Police Barracks.(Parameter Estimates)Variables B SE R r 2 r 2 (adjusted)(Constant)Religious beliefs41.24-.572.44.18 .14 .02 .02ANOVA Summary table for Religious Beliefand Family Planning PracticesAnalysis of varianceModel1. RegressionResidualTotal*Sig. at P < .05Sum ofSquares444.80023699.82924144.6291535536df Mean Square F Sig444.80044.29910.041* 000 aNote:B = Regression CoefficientSE = Standard Error of B58

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Table 1 results, showed that the regression coefficient found for Religious Beliefs was -.57, significant at P < .05and coefficient of determination, r 2 of 0.02 and r 2 (adjusted). This value revealed that religious beliefs of marriedwomen in zone 5 Police barracks accounted for 2% of the total variance in their Family Planning practices. Table 1also showed that analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the regression produced an F-value of 10.041. This was alsofound to be significant at P < .05 level.Therefore, the hypothesis was rejected at P < .05. Thus conclusion was drawn that religious beliefs of marriedwomen in zone 5 Police barracks will significantly influence their Family Planning practices.DISCUSSIONTable 1 showed that there is a significant relationship between religious beliefs and family planning practices ofmarried women in Zone 5 Police Barracks. The findings from this study are in agreement with those reported byAsuzu (1996); Ani (1999) that most religions in Nigeria believe that having many children is an advantage and ablessing from God, whether the family is buoyant or not. It is therefore not unexpected as most individuals andcouples support their beliefs with what is written in the Holy Bible where God commanded that man should befruitful and multiply. This Old Testament injunction has its counterpart in the teaching of several religiouspredominantly throughout Nigeria. And this may account for the reason why some individuals and couples believethat, it is sin to control birth or practice family planning. It is therefore not surprising that the idea of populationreduction is viewed with suspicion.In like manner Osula (2002) reported in a study that most individuals and couples believe that procreation is sacredand any interference with it in terms of contraception would bring down the wrath of God. Similarly, Igbudu, et. al.,(2007) opined that the desire by most individuals and couples for a large family size is as a result of the positivevalue which the Nigeria society attached to marriage, family life and procreation. It is imperative to note thatpopulation like all blessings can also be evil if not properly managed. We already know a means to improve thequality of life at less cost than any other single technology – Family Planning – yet, we fail to realize it becausefamily planning methods are not universally acceptable.Controversy over family planning has prevented many individuals and couples from implementing responsibleplanning of births. Yet the range of family planning methods and recently gained experience affords people ways topromote and practice family planning which are responsive to the different religious and cultural norms of almostall societies in Sub-Saharan African, including Nigeria. Therefore no one should be denied the benefits familyplanning provides.CONCLUSIONIn the light of the findings from this study, it is hereby concluded that there is a relationship between religiousbeliefs and family planning practices of married women in Zone 5 barracks of the Nigeria Police.Religions have always played an important role in molding views. Three distinctive religions exist in Nigeria. Theseare Christianity, Islam and African Traditional Religion (ATR). There are different views within and between thereligions and much depends on the women’s understanding and acceptance of what the injunctions are. Theassertion often made that practices are justified because “religion demands it” in most case is not true. Only women,who discern this, will be able to use it to their advantage.59

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Religious revivalism has a great role to play in the use of “religion demand it” both as an oppressive tool as well asan enabling tool among both fundamentalist Muslims and a growing class of born-again Christians on familyplanning. ATR which stressed the importance of ancestry according to Irorere (2002) also favours having largefamilies to such a point that high fertility was normally right, as evident in the worship of goddess of fertility indifferent parts of Nigeria, and childlessness or rearing few children was seen as evil whether it is the result ofbarrenness or the death of all or most children.Most individuals and couples on religious ground are rejecting family planning programmes as an imperialist deviceand considered increases in the population to be increase in the strength and blessing for the community of believers.RECOMMENDATIONSBased on the findings of the study the following recommendations were made.- The religious injunction of “be fruitful and multiply” should be interpreted to their followers to mean that God isinterested in quality and not just quantity.- The Nigeria Government should initiate massive family planning programmes and policy to peg number ofchildren at the family level, since polygamy makes nonsense of the former (four children per woman).- Religious revivalism has a great role to play in the use of “religion demand it” both as an oppressive tool as wellas an enabling tool among fundamentalist African Tradition Religion (ATR), worshippers, Muslims and growingclass of born-again Christian on family planning.- Nigeria Government should promote fertility at replacement level or below through “two is enough” and a child isa child, boy or girls” campaigns.REFERENCESAni, R.O. (1999). Training of leaders for population education in Nigeria. Themes and perspectives, Benin City.Uniben Press.Asuzu, M.C. (1996). Natural family planning wisdom and culture, so ancient, yet so new. Ibadan Afrika – LinkPress.Igbudu, U., Oshodin, O.G., & Egenega J.A (2007). Strategies for controlling over population in Nigeriacommunities. African Journal of Studies in Education 3(1): 104 – 113Iwu, U.C. (1999). Nigeria population characteristics and rationale. Population education in Nigeria Themes andperspectives. Benin City. Uniben.Obermeyer, C.M. (1994). Religious doctrine, state ideology and reproductive options in Islam. Power and decision.The social control of reproduction. Boston Massachasetts, Harvard University Press.Osula, C.O. (2002). Family planning and national development. Medical companion for everybody. Know yourhealth. Benin City. Jodah Press.60

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Sai, F. (1998). Africa’s population challenges: Accelerating progress in reproductive health. Population ActionInternational. Washington D.C.Sen, G., & Snow, R.C. (1994). Power and decision. The social control of reproduction. Boston, Massachasetts.Harvard University Press.61

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011ISSN 1943-2577© 2011 Ozean PublicationMANAGEMENT OF NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES’ GAMES’ ASSOCIATIONFOR BETTER RESULTSCHIKA JOSEPHINE IFEDILI, STELLA OMIUNUFaculty of Education, University of Benin,P.O. Box 10073, Ugbowo, Benin City, Edo StateE-mail for correspondence: theifedilis@yahoo.com_____________________________________________________________________________________________Abstract: The paper x-rayed the myriads of problems confronting NUGA following the general complaints by sportlovers that NUGA has become so politicized that the organization and management of NUGA were highly belowacceptable level. The population consisted of all universities’ staff and students of 101 universities in the six geopoliticalzones of the federation of Nigeria: North-Central, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, South-south andSouthwest. Two geo-political zones were randomly selected to participate in the study. From each, two federaluniversities, two state and two private universities were selected by stratified random sampling method. Twohundred students and 50 staff were randomly selected from each of the government universities while 60 studentsand 15staff were randomly selected from private universities. A total sample of 920 students (570 males and 350females) and 230 universities’ staff (150 males and 80 females) participated in the study. The data of the study wascollected using questionnaire. The questionnaire was titled Nigerian Universities’ Games Management Inventory(NUGMI). It was made up two parts – Part A, was demographic in nature. Part B contained fifteen questionsbothering on NUGA management. The validity of the questionnaire was done by experts in Physical and HealthEducation and Management. The reliability of the instrument was tested using a Split-Half Method. The correlationcoefficient was corrected by the use of Spearman Brown Formula. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation was.80 and final Spearman Brown Formula yielded 0.88. The statistics used were Z-test and percentage. The majorfindings were that there was low perception of the effectiveness of NUGA management and inadequate sportingfacilities. Based on these, recommendations were made.Keywords: sports, Nigerian Universities’ Games Association, sporting facilities__________________________________________________________________________________________INTRODUCTIONNigerian Universities’ Games’ Association (NUGA) was founded in 1966 and the first game was held the same yearin Ibadan. Presently, 36 universities are members. NUGA has 15 approved sporting activities. These are track andfield, badminton, basket ball, chess, cricket, hockey, judo, soccer, squash, swimming, table tennis, tae Kwando, lawntennis, volley ball and hand ball. NUGA has gone beyond bothers. In 1970, NUGA became a member of WorldFederation of Universities Game s Associations, when All African Universities’ Games Associations was founded in1974, NUGA was a founding member.63

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011NUGA is very vital to Nigeria which is a developing nation. Its importance is based on political, social, economic,psychological and physical benefits. The political benefit dimension stems from the fact that NUGA has helped tobring love, peace and unity between groups of people both nationally and internationally. The projection of goodNigerian national image to other countries of the world is one of the functions of NUGA. The much desiredharmony between Nigerian universities in various states of the nation is supposed to be maintained. There is alsopromotion of women and disabled sports, The social benefit dimension is based on youth mobilization and thechecking of anti-social behaviors among youths. Economic benefit dimension is based on the provision of jobs tomany; provision of market for prospective sellers whenever these games are organized; yields foreign exchangewhich are imported to the country whenever NUGA wins universities in other countries of the world, yields revenueto the universities by selling stands, souvenirs, levies to watch these games, donations from game lovers andphilanthropist etc. The psychological benefits dimension is based on the checking of youths’ restiveness, source ofrelaxation for all who watch the games; boosting of youths’ self image for those participating in the games; mentalalertness, self actualization, self discipline and leadership training etc. For physical benefits dimension is that itbuilds healthy bodies. Ojeme (2010) enumerated purpose of sports development in Nigeria as physical fitness for all,self-actualization, improvement of international relations, promotion of friendship, provision of employment, youthmobilization, promotion of recreation and competitive sports, promotion of women sports etc.The problems of sports in Nigeria are multi-faceted. Vision 2010 Committee of the Federal Government of Nigeria(2009), enumerated the following problems: - Inadequate and poorly maintained sports facilities, poor trainingsystem for the athletes and poor coaching, Ineffective management of sports in Nigeria, low motivation of theathletes, low funding etc.The main purpose of setting up NUGA is to create an atmosphere of friendly interaction among universities inNigeria. This highly welcomed goal is expected to unite all Nigerian universities for peaceful co-existence. AllNigerian universities are supposed to be members. The issue of membership whether it is compulsory or voluntaryhas bothered the minds of NUGA stakeholders. It is amazing to see that out of 104 universities in Nigeria; only 36are presently members of NUGA. What can we say that has prevented others from being part of NUGA?NUGA is supposed to be set up by a policy. The policy should be the blue print guiding the aims and objectives ofNUGA. How well the articulated policy is being implemented so as to achieve the aims and objectives of NUGA isunclear. The policy guiding the organization and management of NUGA lacked proper implementation. In Nigeria,since people see legal action as a waste of time, money, energy and exposure to life risk, people do not bother somuch whether those in authority are doing the right thing or not. This is why unacceptable behaviors are oftenperpetuated.The chairmanship of NUGA is supposed to be a professional in sports. A common sense tells one that a professionalmakes a difference in the management in which he has his specialty. He or she can easily detect problems andproffer solutions before they get out of hand. Has this been the case with NUGA or has it been politicized?Resources according to Ehiametalor (2003) are scarce and so their utilization demands an expert’s careful planning,supervision, coordination and control. If one traces the history of NUGA in Nigeria since its inception; it is soobvious that the games had always been chaired by non-professionals. Even the present NUGA at the University ofBenin is not exceptional. NUGA has become so politicized that one wonders why a non-professional is chosen tochair NUGA when there are so many seasoned professionals in the area of sport. NUGA has never taken off onscheduled date due to non-professionals inability to put things in place and meet the deadline. Nigeria as adeveloping nation should always use the best available human resources which she has in abundance to move thecountry forward.The organization and management of NUGA should be in the hands of men and women of integrity. Themanagement committee is supposed to be made up of greater percentage of professionals and managementspecialists. The available resources are supposed to be properly utilized so as to meet the goals of NUGA. The issueis whether the resources are properly utilized and what is the composition of management committee? Some menand women who manage NUGA have questionable integrity. Many see their position as avenue for personalenrichment at the detriment of NUGA goals’ achievements. Corrupt practices have been the order of the day. Onewonders why Nigerians cannot live beyond self and make some sacrifices for their father land. The attitude of manyNigerians to national service is quite undesirable.Various universities’ administrations are supposed to motivate their athletes by providing them with modernproperly equipped sports complex, give scholarships or monetary rewards to their athletes as it is done in countrieslike America, Britain etc. For any human being to put in his or her best there must be some aspect of motivation put64

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011in place. How have various universities’ administrations been motivating their sportsmen and women? Students whoparticipate in the games have complained about negligence on the part of their various universities’ administration.They complained of instances where an athlete gets hurt while participating in the game and is neglected by theuniversity. Another instance is where an athlete fails a course, instead of giving him or her due consideration, he orshe would be ignored and told to face his or her academic which is the primary reason for being in the university.Many athletes who win trophy are usually recognized but not properly rewarded. All these will make many studentsnot to unlock their potentials in sport rather they shy away from it.NUGA is supposed to be properly financed by both three tiers of government, the universities, organizations andindividuals knowing its importance. Is there adequate fund to meet the objectives of NUGA? Budgets are usuallymade and approved for NUGA. The trouble with Nigeria is that when budgets are made, they are cut sometimes intohalf. Not only that the budgeted sum is cut, there is always the problem of getting the money released. Sometimesthe money is released in bits. These create lots of problems to the management. The management upon getting themoney, instead of utilizing it for utmost goal achievement, embarks on using middlemen for the purchasing of itsneeds. This creates inflation and little or nothing would be achieved at the end of it all.The NUGA participants are supposed to test drug free. Apart from the side effects of these drugs mentioned byLocke in 2006, Oshodin (2004) said that the Olympic charter against the use of drug came up with the medical codefor athletes in 1992, emphasizing the submission of all competitors to medical control and examination. Today thereis too much money in sports that athlete can go to any length to cheat in order to collect the cash prize. The successof the winner should be out of his or her own personal valor and not by induced drug. Has NUGA been testing itsparticipants since its inception? Many competitors have complained that NUGA participants were never tested fordrug. There is a suspicion by some losers of NUGA games that some NUGA athletes use drugs.The hosting university is supposed to provide adequate accommodation for all NUGA participants. It is obvious thatstudents of hosting university are usually sent home to create space for NUGA participants. Has there been adequateaccommodation for the participants of the games? One of the major problems of NUGA is accommodation problem.Many preparations for NUGA games are usually last minute rush. The management committee finds it difficult toplan ahead due to non-release of fund. The accommodation problem has always been one of the causes of delays instarting off of NUGA games whenever it is scheduled. The date has always been shifted.The athletes chosen from various universities to represent them in various sports events are supposed to be the best.Is there any public awareness created by various universities’ administration to their students to participate inNUGA or there is a situation where communication on NUGA events is poor? All students are supposed to be giventhe opportunity to participate at their various universities’ levels. There seems to be poor information on theprogram of events of NUGA. Many students are in shadow with the activities of NUGA. Those who would haveliked to participate because of low public awareness have to stay away. The poor communication has deprivedNUGA of getting the best athletes from different universities. In short, one can rightly say that the athletes chosento represent various universities may not be the best but those who avail themselves. The present academicprogramme is so tight that many students find it difficult to relax and practice for sports. However, many sportsloving students still find time for sports. These usually avail themselves to represent their various universitiesMany universities have dilapidated sporting facilities. This situation is usually the case where the chief executivedoes not see sports as a priority or where the funding is grossly inadequate. Sports should always be a priorityknowing how important they are. This type of situation does not motivate students to participate.Looking at the rate of human resource development for NUGA, many professionals are needed but the supply isvery low. Many of the few available ones are getting old or living the country for greener pasture or dead or movingto totally new area which has nothing to do with sports or are bed ridden. There is need for replacement and evenincreasing the existing number.Statement of the ProblemThe Nigerian Universities Games Association is badly organized and managed that the aims and objectives forsetting it up seem not to be met thereby defeating the purpose of its existence. The games often have been chaired bynon-professionals. NUGA has myriads of problems like accommodation, finance, non-motivation of athletes,enough time to practice for the games, membership etc. All these are assumed to be caused by poor organization andmanagement of NUGA. There is need to find the best way to organize and manage NUGA for better results.65

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Based on the above, the following research questions are raised to guide the study: -1. Is there public awareness on the NUGA activities?2. Is NUGA properly organized and managed?3. Are there any part of NUGA management that needs to be restructured?4. If the answer to #3 is “Yes”, mention them.5. Do NUGA participants undergo drug-free test?6. Is there adequate fund for NUGA?7. Are NUGA athletes properly motivated by their various universities?HypothesesHO1 There will be no significant difference in the perception of university staff and students on the awareness ofNUGA events.HO2 There will be no significant difference in the perception of university staff and students on the effectiveness ofNUGA management.Significance of the StudyThis study will create awareness on the part of the government on the problems of NUGA with special regards tofinancing of the games and appointment of right individuals based on merit to chairman and manage NUGA. Thevarious universities will know the benefit of being a member of NUGA and will try to be part and parcel of thisgreat association. The students will be better motivated and more will participate and unlock their potentials for theirown benefits and those of their own various universities. The masses will gain by getting jobs, and watching morecompetitive NUGA than what is obtainable today where the universities are not represented by the best athlete invarious sports but represented by those who avail themselves. The country also may likely earn more foreignexchange by getting best students to represent the country at international games with the hope of winning andimporting foreign currency to the country.METHODOLOGYThe research design used was survey. The population consisted of all universities’ staff and students of 101universities in the six geo-political zones of the federation of Nigeria: North-Central, Northeast, Northwest,Southeast, South-south and Southwest. Two geo-political zones were randomly selected to participate in the study.From each, two federal universities, two state and two private universities were selected by stratified randomsampling method. Two hundred students and 50 staff were randomly selected from each of the governmentuniversities while 60 students and 15 staff were randomly selected from private universities. A total sample of 920students (570 males and 350 females) and 230 universities’ staff (150 males and 80 females) participated in thestudy.The data of the survey study was collected using questionnaire. The questionnaire was titled Nigerian Universities’Games Management Inventory (NUGMI). It is made up two parts – Part A, was demographic in nature. Part B,contained fifteen questions bothering on management, membership, motivation, students’ participation, physicalfacilities, funding etc. The validity of the questionnaire was done by experts in Physical and Health Education andManagement. The reliability of the instrument was tested using a Split-Half Method. The correlation coefficient wascorrected by the use of Spearman Brown Formula. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation was .80 and finalSpearman Brown Formula yielded 0.88. The statistics used for the data analysis were Z-test and simple percentage.The scoring was based on 0 – 1.0 as very low perception; 1.01 – 2.0 low perception while 2.01 -3 was averageperception; and 3.01 – 4.0 was high perception.66

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011RESULTSAnswers to Research QuestionsPositive Negative1.Is there public awareness on the NUGA activities? 31% 69%2.Is NUGA properly organized and managed? 26% 74%3.Is there any part of NUGA management that needsto be restructured? 18% 82%4.If the answer to #3 is “Yes”,mention them.Appointments, organization, fundmanagement, motivation etc.5.Do NUGA participants undergo drug-free test? 00% 100%6.Is there adequate fund for NUGA? 43% 57%7.Are NUGA athletes properly motivated by theirvarious universities? 42% 58%HypothesesHO1 The first null hypothesis which states that there will be no significant difference in the perception of universitystaff and students on the awareness of NUGA events was tested using the data from the questionnaire. The analysisis presented in Table 1.Table 2: Test of Significant Difference in the Perception of University Staffand students on the Awareness of NUGA Events.Statistics University Staff StudentsTable ValueCalculated Z-ValueNumber 230 920Mean 2.24 2.47 9.20 1.96SD .32 .38From Table 1, the calculated Z-Value at 0.05- Confidence Level is 9.20 while the table value is 1.96. The nullhypothesis is therefore rejected. There is a significant difference in the perception of university staff and students onthe public awareness of NUGA events. Both the university staff and the students rated the NUGA events’ publicawareness as average, however, there was a significant difference.HO2 The second null hypothesis that states there will be no significant difference in the perception of universitystaff and students on the effectiveness of NUGA management was analyzed and presented as on Table 3.67

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Table 3: Test of Significant Difference on the Effectiveness of Management of NUGA as Perceived by Staffand the Students.Statistics University Staff Students Calculated Z-Value Table ValueNumber 230 920Mean 2.45 2.51 1.88 1.96SD .42 .47In Table 3, the calculated Z-Value at 0.05-Confidence Level is 1.88 while the Table Value is 1.96. The nullhypothesis that there will be no significant difference in the perception of university staff and students on theeffectiveness of NUGA management is accepted. Both the university staff and students had low perception ofNUGA management.DISCUSSIONFrom the data collected from the questionnaire, it was revealed that a whole 74% of the respondents were negativein their responses as to the effectiveness of organization and management of NUGA while only 26% was positive.Eighty-two percent of the research participants stated that they would like some restructuring in NUGA managementin the areas of appointments, organization, fund management, motivation etc. Only 18% of the respondents statedthat the management was good and did not see any need in the restructuring of the management. All researchparticipants answered negatively to the drug free test of the participant.As for availability of adequate fund for NUGA, 36% of the respondents stated that NUGA has enough fund while64% answered negatively to the availability of adequate fund for NUGA. Out of 36% that answered positively, 29%of them were students while the remaining 07% were staff.On the issue of NUGA motivating the athletes, 42% of respondents were happy with the rate of motivation while58% were not. Out of 58% who were negative in their responses, 25% were students while 33% were staff. Thismeans that there is really need for change.Finally on the public awareness of NUGA events in various universities, 69% of the respondents were negative intheir responses while 31% were positive. Sixty-one percent of 69% that stated that there was no public awareness ofNUGA events were students while only 08% were staff.CONCLUSIONThe foregoing has shown that NUGA management needs some restructuring so as achieve good results. These are inthe areas of appointments, motivation, fund management etc. The whole essence of management is to achieve theaims and objectives of the organization to the appreciable level by utilizing the available resources to their fullest.Anything outside this, makes management a child’s play.68

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011RecommendationFor better organization and management of NUGA, the following recommendations are made: -` Seminars, conferences and workshops should be organized in order to create public awareness on theimportance of NUGA.. Experienced professionals should chairman NUGA games.. People with integrity should be selected to manage NUGA.. Adequate budget should be made for NUGA and approved budget should be released on time and in bulkto NUGA.. Athletes should be motivated by giving them full or partial scholarship by their various universities. Dueconsideration should be given to them whenever necessary.. There should be prudent management of available fund. No middlemen should be used for purchases.Accountability should be properly guided.. University administration should select two hours each week for only sports activities. 4pm-6pm of any dayof the week excluding Saturdays and Sundays are recommended.. Government should make effort to train and develop more human resources in the field of sports.. NUGA athletes should be tested for drugs before participating.. NUGA membership should be mandatory and not voluntary.. There should be public aversion of corrupt practices. The culprits should be brought to book.. Modern well furnished sporting complex should be provided in every university.REFERENCESEhiametalor, E.T.(2003). Education resource management: failure of the past Inaugural Lecture Series 69, pg 5,University of Benin.Federal Government of Nigeria (2009). Vision 2010. Report on Sports Development in Nigeria, Abuja.Locke, J. (2006). Comparison of long-term outcome in adolescents with anorexia treated with family therapy.Journal of America Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, pp666-672.Ojeme, E.O. (2010). Shouldering the burden of sports development in Nigeria: is the school physical educationcurriculum living up to expectation? Inaugural Lecture Series 110, University of Benin, pg 21Oshodin, O.G. (2004). Are you not guilty of drug abuse? Health education and cultural strategies to the rescue.University of Benin Inaugural Lecture Series 72.69

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011ISSN 1943-2577© 2011 Ozean PublicationHARNESSING COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE THROUGH ONLINE SOCIALNETWORKS: A STUDY OF LIBRARIANS IN PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN OGUNSTATE, NIGERIAATULOMAH, BOLA. C. and ONUOHA, ULOMA D.*Babcock University Library Nigeria* Department of Information Resources Management, Babcock University, Nigeria.E-mail address for correspondence: bolatuloma@yahoo.com______________________________________________________________________________Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine librarians’ use of collective intelligence in online socialnetworks. Particularly, the study sought to determine librarians’ awareness and use of Facebook, Twitter andLinkedIn and to establish the extent to which information gathered from these networks assist librariansprofessionally. The descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The population consisted of 45 librariansin private university libraries in Ogun State, Nigeria. Sampling was enumerative while data was collected by meansof the questionnaire and analyzed using frequency and percentage distribution. Findings from the study revealed thatlibrarians in university libraries in Ogun State, Nigeria, are mostly aware of Facebook, and few still lack knowledgeof online social networks. Membership in online social networks, helped majority of the respondents to identifyexperts, find solutions to work problems, etc., although little assistance was received in the area of locatingresources for research. Facebook was also seen as the most effective network for advancing library profession.Based on the findings, the study recommended amongst others, that librarians make online social networks moreprofessionally oriented by using them extensively for sharing work experiences and challenges.Keywords: Collective intelligence, Librarians, Nigeria, Online social networks, University libraries._____________________________________________________________________________________________INTRODUCTIONLibrarianship has witnessed many changes in recent times following the advancement of informationcommunication technologies. Most librarians now take advantage of the opportunities offered by Web 2.0applications to improve their skills and offer better services to users. Social networking sites such as Facebook,Twitter and LinkedIn provide opportunities to exchange ideas and resources with students, faculty members,information professionals and professionals in other fields, bringing about the concept of collective intelligence.Ferreira-Schut (2010) describes collective intelligence as the capacity of understanding, learning from, reasoningabout (intelligence) the data produced by groups of individuals. Through the use of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn,71

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011librarians no doubt have the opportunity to interact and draw knowledge from diverse groups to improve theirservices as individuals and advance the library profession. Indeed, Borgatti and Cross (2003) noted that the extent towhich one person knows what another person knows, is associated with the likelihood of seeking information fromthat person. Although most online social networks are more popular for making personal relationships and sharingvideos, music, photos, etc., Mishra (2010) points out that they are now being used extensively by variousprofessionals to better their profession.Brief history of private universities in NigeriaNigeria is located on the West Coast of Africa with 36 states and a recorded population of over 120 million people,out of which 30 million are students (United States Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria, 2010). The government ofNigeria has shown considerable concern for education with the establishment of schools at all levels of education.At the tertiary level, Nigeria has 104 universities (National Universities Commission, 2010). While 27 are owned bythe Federal Government of Nigeria, 36 are owned by state governments. Although the existence of federal and stateuniversities dates back to 1948 with the establishment of the University of Ibadan in 1948, private universities arehowever a recent development. Osagie (2009) points out private universities came into existence in Nigeria on April20, 1999 with the granting of licenses by the Federal Government of Nigeria to four universities to operate as privateuniversities. Currently, Nigeria has 41 privately owned universities out of which 6 are located in Ogun State.Statement of the problemOnline social networks have become a global phenomenon with websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedInreporting number of users in millions. Users in these networks contribute knowledge within the network by sharingall kinds of information with one another including work related information, but the extent to which knowledgegathered from such social websites is useful to librarians and indeed the library profession in Nigeria remainsunknown. It is for this reason that the present study investigates the use of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn amonglibrarians in selected private university libraries in Nigeria.Objectives of the studyThe general objective of the study is to explore the role of online social networks in enhancing collectiveintelligence among librarians in private university libraries in Ogun State. Specific objectives are to:1 determine the awareness of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn among librarians in the universities understudy2 identify between Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, the site mostly used by librarians in the universitiesunder study3 identify gender difference in librarians’ use of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn4 find out hindrances to the use of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn by librarians5 identify the extent to which information gathered from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn assist librarians inspecific aspects of work.6 determine the extent to which librarians consider Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn effective in advancingthe library professionREVIEW OF RELATED LITERATUREThe concept of online social networksSocial networks are maps of individuals, and the ways they are related to each other (Kazienko and Musial 2005).Whatis.com (2006) describes it as the practice of expanding the number of one's business and/or social contacts by72

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011making connections through individuals. In the past, most of these relationships existed mainly among familymembers, colleagues, and church members, etc, relied mainly on face-to-face communication. Today the story is nolonger the same as most of these relationships can be carried out in virtual space using social networking sites whichmake it possible for people to interact on the Internet. Online social networks can, therefore, be described asrelationships between groups of people carried out in virtual space. While online social networks share similarcharacteristics with traditional form of social networks which rely on face to face communication, the majordifference between them lies in the fact that relationships on online social networks are computer mediated usingwebsites. In view of this, Goad and Mooney (2008), describe online social networks as online communities ofpeople who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others.Cachia, Compano, and Da Costa (2007), however, add that social networking sites facilitate relationship amongmembers in this kind of relationship by providing a dynamic platform that enables content sharing, discussions, andorganization of activities and events.Although the history of online social networks dates back to 1997 with the appearance of SixDegrees.com (Boydand Ellison, 2007), there are currently over 100 websites which provide social networking functionalities.Considering the large number of online social networks, Namali Suraweera et al., (2010) categorized them into twobroad categories namely: internal and external social networks. According to the authors, external social networksinvolve an open community. In this case membership is open to everyone irrespective of their profession, hobbies,beliefs, views, etc., as seen in Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, LinkedIn, etc. Internal social networks on the other hand is aclosed community that consists of a group of people within a company, association, society or even an “invite only”group created by a user in an external social network.Collective intelligence and online social networksCollective intelligence is a term often associated with group collaboration. Surowiecki (2005) terms it as theemergence of intelligent behaviour from the interaction of individuals in a group. Tapscott and Williams (2007) callit mass collaboration. The ideas of mass collaboration according to the authors is based on large number ofindividuals, most of them having different interests and possessing diverse knowledge and expertise, employingwidely distributed computation and communication technologies to achieve shared outcomes through loosevoluntary relationships. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English (2001) defines collaboration asthe act of working with another person or group of people to create or produce something. Axelsson, Sonnenwald,and Spante (2006) define it as human behaviour among two or more individuals that facilitates the sharing ofmeaning and completion of tasks with respect to a mutually-shared super ordinate goal. The concept ofcollaboration, therefore, involves the coming together of people to achieve a desired goal.Murphy and Moulaison (2009) affirm that Librarians are indeed responding to the popularity of online socialnetworks and their expanding role in the creation, use, and sharing of information. This is likely so, as Lin (2002)states that online social networks enhance the flow of information hence the individuals in online networks gaininformation about opportunities and choices that otherwise would not be available for them. Paulus, et al (2001),however, argued that the benefit of networking may be not so much the acquisition of new information, but thecreation or consideration of new associations among the existing information and knowledge a person has. In theopinion of Dyer, Green and Christensen (2009) devoting time and energy to finding and testing ideas through anetwork provides different perspectives. In order words, the value of networking online may not lie simply ingaining new information, but in relating new information with existing knowledge to create something new.Emery (2008) expressed the opinion that there is everything to be gained by the information professional that joinsFacebook or LinkedIn because they allow members to instantaneously create a network of colleagues with whom toconsult and exchange ideas, identify publication opportunities or begin a collaboration project. In view of this,Liebowitz (2007) argues that the connections that are made through social websites have the ability to increase theintelligence of individuals.Online social networks and university librariesThe use of online social networks is gaining popularity in university libraries. The reason for this is that universitylibraries are ideally placed within the university community to take advantage of the opportunities offered by thelatest web technologies. The annual influx of new students provides librarians with large number of users for whom73

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011traditional communication channels within the institution have not already become entrenched, and who are alreadyregularly using social network sites in their personal lives (Stuart, 2010). Bearing that in mind, Evans (2006)explains that university libraries have a chance to be leaders on their university campuses and in the largercommunity by realizing the possibilities of using social network sites to bring their services to the public.Although there are around 100 websites which provide online social network functionalities, not all of these sites arelikely to offer the same degree of usefulness to university libraries. Marshall (2009) identified Twitter as a tool forstaying current. Twitter allows users to send instant messages to social network via short messages, also known asmicro-blogs. Mack, et al., (2007) also identified Facebook as an excellent mechanism for communicating withstudents because it allows librarians to reach them easily. Creese, Cribb and Spicer (2008) agree to their line ofargument by stating that establishing a Facebook presence would provide opportunities for librarians to further theirknowledge of the profession and provide them with a way to assist their career progression. Facebook is therefore anexcellent tool for understanding the information needs and seeking behaviour of today’s library users, as well as forproviding individuals librarians the opportunity to make progress in their career. LinkedIn, in the opinion ofMarshall (2009), stands out as a worthwhile social networking destination for library professionals. Throughintroductions made by online colleagues, librarians can continually expand their professional contacts usingLinkedIn. Platt (2008) opines that LinkedIn members can form groups within the network where they can shareprofessional activities such as presentations of research work. Boyd and Ellison (2007) summarize the use ofLinkedIn by stating that it enables people to create network relationships of collaboration rather than competition.Many researchers from the field of library and information science are beginning to show interest in online socialnetworks. Cook and Wiebrands (2010) researched into librarians’ use of online social networks for currentawareness. The study publicized on Twitter, Facebook and Friendfeed received 137 responses. The study revealedthat curiosity was the major reason why librarians use social networking sites. The sites were also used mostly forsocial discussion by more than 120 respondents and for keeping up with professional friends by nearly 110respondents. 90 respondents used them to find answers to work-related questions. Among the social networking sitesinvestigated, Twitter was found to be the most useful for professional information as indicated by 68% of therespondents. In another study, Hendrix, et al., (2009) investigated health libraries’ use of Facebook. 72 librariansresponded to the survey: 12,5% maintained a Facebook page. Libraries used Facebook mainly to market the library,push out announcements to library users, post photos, provide chat reference, and have a presence in the socialnetwork. Charningo and Barnett-Ellis (2007) surveyed 126 academic librarians about their knowledge of andattitude toward Facebook and found that while librarians were overwhelmingly aware of Facebook, most were notinvolved.Related studies on online social networking were carried out by school librarians. Dickinson (2010) reports thefindings of a survey carried out on school librarians’ use of online social networks, findings revealed that 25% of the559 respondents do not use them at all. Another 48% of respondents report using social networking sites forpersonal use only. In a similar study, Whelan (2009) reports the result of a survey on social networking and contentsharing among educators, findings from the study revealed that school librarians are most positive about the value ofonline social networking in education.Gender difference in online social networksGender is understood as a social phenomenon with a fundamental social and structural ordering of men and womenin the society (Wiklund, 1998). In the opinion of Thelwall (2008), the two genders have somewhat differentapproaches to social networking. This view has been validated by a number of researchers in available literature.Pingdom (2009) carried out a study on males versus female users in social networks using the following websites:Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, Slashdot, Reddit, Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon, FriendFeed, Last.fm,Friendster, LiveJournal, Hi5, Imeem, Ning, Xanga, Classmates.com, Bebo. The findings of the study revealed thatTwitter and Facebook have almost the same male-female ratio; Twitter (59%), Facebook (57%). However, theaverage ratio for all the 19 sites was 47% for male and 53% for female which implies that women are more likely touse social networks than men. Chartier (2008) also reports the findings of a study by Rapleaf (a social web searchcompany) carried out with the objective of finding out how men and women approach social networks using apopulation of over 30 million users across sites like Bebo, Facebook, Friendster, Hi5, LiveJournal, MySpace,Flickr, etc. Findings from the study revealed that women are more on social networking sites than men, as they74

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011constitute 53.57% of the population while men constitute only 46.43%. On what men and women are doing onsocial networks, Goudreau (2010) claims that women use social networks to make connections and share items fromtheir personal lives while men use them as means to gather information and increase their status.Problems associated with networking onlineWhile numerous researchers have noted the advantages of using online social networks, others have equally drawnattention to the problems associated with it. Facebook (2010) claims a membership of 500 million active users(Users who have returned to their profile at least once in a month). This gives an indication of the quantity ofinformation that can be processed and occasionally abused by other parties in social networking sites. According toGross and Acquisti (2005), three groups of stakeholders can access participants’ personal information in an onlinesocial network and they include: the hosting site, the network, and third parties. Gross and Acquisti (2005), note thatthe hosting site may use and extend the information in different ways but warns that when personal information isaccessed by malicious third parties, additional risks associated with privacy become real. Real privacy risks arebelieved to arise when users disclose identifiable information about themselves online to people who they do notknow or normally (that is, offline, in real life) would not trust (Brooks, 2007). This of course could lead to stalkingor identity theft, where members of an online social network claim information belonging to someone else such associal security number or bank account as theirs and using such information for personal or professional gain(Govani and Pashley, 2005). Another form of problem identified with online social networks is phishing (Jagatic, etal., 2005). They defined phishing as a form of deception in which an attacker attempts to fraudulently acquiresensitive information from a victim by impersonating a trustworthy entity.Nigeria has some factors that militate against the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) generally.According to Gbaje, (2007) the erratic nature of electricity supply in the country will not support the successfulimplementation of the new information trends like social networking in libraries in this age of modernization.Ashcroft and Watts (2005) reveal that lack of skilled human resources to install and manage technology andnetworks constitute a problem to utilization of ICT skills, this is prevalent in developing countries and Nigeria is notan exception. Another major problem militating against the new information trend is the laisser-faire attitude ofinformation professionals towards modernization in libraries. They feel that they should be trained. Womboh andAbba (2008), express that information professionals have to fend for themselves if they want to join themodernization train. Otherwise the train will leave them behind and obviously it will put them out of their jobs.While some librarians are ready to explore and exploit the new information skills such as social network, there isstill some phobia of practicing this by many others and it makes them consider themselves as unfit to move with thenew trend of modernization in librarianship. All these in effect mellow down the activities of the Nigeria universitylibraries in utilizing even the already acquired knowledge from various trainings.Other researchers such as Perkins (2008); Violino (2008) and the European Network and Information SecurityAgency (2007) summarize some other risk associated with online social networks as: addictive behaviour which ifnot managed could result in decline in employee productivity; networking spam which is the propagation ofunsolicited messages; risk of corporate espionage (a situation whereby organizations expose their intellectualproperty and other primary information to the outside world with negative result); exposure to malware wherebyviruses, worms and other spy ware are introduced to the organization’s ICT infrastructure and bandwidth andstorage consumption through the exchange of pictures, videos, music and other large files.Most of the literature reviewed looked at the awareness, attitude and use of social networking sites among librarians.The role of social networking sites in advancing professionalism in librarianship is yet to be researched into. Thereis also a dearth of literature on the use of social networks by librarians in Nigeria. It is in the light of this, that thepresent study investigates the role of online social networking in advancing the library profession in Nigeria.75

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011METHODOLOGYThe descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The population consists of 45 librarians currentlyemployed in the six private university libraries in Ogun State, Nigeria. Enumerative sampling technique was used asall members of the population were selected for the study. A questionnaire tagged “Collective Intelligence andOnline Social Networks Questionnaire (CIOSN)” was used for data collection. The questionnaire was divided intotwo parts. Part A sought for demographic information of the respondents while part B sought for informationassociated with online social networks. Descriptive statistics using frequencies and percentages were used for dataanalysis.Presentation of findingsForty five (45) copies of the questionnaire were distributed, out of which, 40 were retrieved giving a response rate of89%.Gender of respondentsOut of the 40 respondents who successfully filled and returned the questionnaire, 23 (57.5%) were male while 17(42.5%) were female.Fig 1: Gender of respondents70,00%60,00%50,00%40,00%30,00%20,00%10,00%0,00%MaleFemaleAwareness of online social networksFig 1 shows the gender of respondents. Out of the 40 respondents who filled and returned the questionnaire, 39(97.5%) affirmed that they are aware of Facebook; 23 (57.5%) are aware of Twitter while only 15 (37.5%) out of the40 respondents are aware of LinkedIn.76

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Fig 2: Awareness of online social networks100%90%80%70%60%50%40%30%20%10%0%Facebook LinkedIn TwitterFig 2 shows that Facebook is the most popular among the three online social networks among university librariansin Nigeria.Use of online social networksAmong the three social networks (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) Facebook was the most used social network asaffirmed by 36 (90%) of the 40 respondents. 13 (32.5%) of the 40 respondents use LinkedIn even though only 15(37.5%) are aware of its existence thereby implying that most people who are aware of LinkedIn use it. Although23(57.5%) of the 40 respondents are aware of Twitter, only 9 (22.5%) use it, making it the least used social network.Fig 3: Use of online social networks100%90%80%70%60%50%40%30%20%10%0%Facebook LinkedIn Twitter77

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Effectiveness of social networks in advancing the library professionIn order to have a fair idea of how online social networks help in advancing the library profession, respondents whouse specific networks were asked to rate the network’s effectiveness in advancing library profession.Table 3: Advancement of library professionSocial websites To a large extent To a moderate extent To a little extent Not at allFacebook 12 (33%) 15 (42%) 6 (117%) 3 (8%)Twitter - 5 (56%) 4 (44%) -LinkedIn 4 (31%) 5 (39%) 2 (15%) 2 (15%)From the findings, Facebook and LinkedIn were seen as being more effective in advancing the library profession asattested to by 36 and 13 respondents who use them respectively. Out of the 9 respondents who use Twitter only 5(56%) agreed that it is effective in advancing the library profession to a moderate extent. 27 (75%) of those who useFacebook agreed to a large and moderate extent that it is effective in advancing library profession. On the otherhand, 9 (70%) of the respondents who use LinkedIn feel that it advances the library profession to a large andmoderate extent.DISCUSSIONBased on the findings, it was revealed that majority of the librarians in university libraries in Ogun State, Nigeria,are mostly aware of Facebook, followed by Twitter and LinkedIn. Facebook was found to be the most used of thethree online social networks in this study which is not surprising as most people are aware of it unlike the othersocial networks, which implies that awareness leads to use. This, however, is in disagreement with the finding ofCharningo and Barnett-Ellis (2007) whose study found out that though librarians are overwhelmingly aware ofFacebook, most are not involved. Although the reason for this could be that Facebook was relatively new in 2007when their study was carried out and many librarians might have been skeptical of it then unlike the present time.Findings also indicated that 22 (96%) of the male respondents use Facebook, 14 (82%) of the female respondentsalso indicated same. While 6 (26%) of the male respondents use Twitter, 3 (18%) of the female respondents dolikewise. In the case of LinkedIn, the social network had more female than male presence with 9 (53%) of thefemale respondents using LinkedIn as against 4 (17%) of the male respondents. This indicates that a high number ofmale vs. female on Facebook, and a relatively low number of male Vs female on Twitter. This finding agrees withthe finding of Pingdom (2009) which revealed that Twitter and Facebook have almost the same male-female ratio.The problems associated with non use of online social networks was linked to lack of knowledge of social networks,consideration of online social networking as a waste of time and worries about privacy issues. This confirms thefindings of Gross and Acquisti (2005), Govani and Pashley (2005). On the average, online social networks werefound to be useful to librarians in all areas listed out in the questionnaire, although the extent of help differed.Majority of the respondents 31(84%) actually affirmed learning something new from online social networks to alarge and moderate extent although the specific areas of new knowledge acquisition was not stated as it was notwithin the scope of this study.80

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn majority of the respondents are also able to identify experts in different areasof librarianship, share their research activities with others, find solutions to work problems etc. This is in agreementwith the finding of Cook and Wiebrands (2010) which revealed that 90 out of 110 respondents in their study usedsocial networks to find solution to work related problems. The area where librarians got the least help from onlinesocial networks was in getting help finding resources for research. While only 20 (54%) confirmed that get help withfinding resources for research to a large and moderate extent, 11 (49%) feel that they get little or no help in thataspect.From the findings, Facebook was seen as the most effective for advancing the library profession, followed byLinkedIn while Twitter received the lowest rating. The basis for this may not be isolated from the fact that judgmentwas based on awareness and use. Since majority of the librarians are aware of Facebook and actually use it more, itis not surprising that they rate it higher above the other social networks in advancing the library profession. The factthat they consider Facebook as a mechanism for advancing the library profession is however, in line with theopinion of Creese, Cribb and Spicer (2008) who argue that establishing a Facebook presence would provideopportunities for librarians to further their knowledge of the profession.Considering the findings, the study recommends that more awareness needs to be created for online social networks.Librarians who are already in these networks can promote their use by extending friend invitation to their colleaguesas this would motivate them to join. Likewise, the benefits derived from harvesting the collective intelligence inonline social networks should be shared with colleagues in order to encourage those who see participation in onlinesocial networks as a waste of time. Librarians in online social networks should also endeavour to make them moreprofessionally oriented by engaging their use in the sharing of work experience and challenges. This would no doubtboost the extent to which value is derived from online social networks for the purpose of advancing librarianshipworldwide.Justification for accepting this article for publicationThis study will no doubt increase the awareness of online social networks among Librarians thereby opening upmore communication lines between Librarians and Information Professionals all over the world. It will also lead to abetter understanding of the use of online social networks by librarians thereby revealing their usefulness orotherwise which would aid managerial decisions on issues concerning them in university libraries.REFERENCESAjadi, T. O. (2010). Private universities in Nigeria – the challenges ahead. Retrieved November 2, 2010 from:http://www.eurojournals.com/ajsr_7_02.pdfAshcroft L. and Watts C. (2005). ICT Skills for Information professionals in developing countries: perspective froma study of the electronic information environment in Nigeria . IFLA journal 31 (1):6-12Axelsson, A., Sonnenwald, D. H. & Spante, M. (2006). Needs and challenges with respect to establishing acollaboratory within library and information science: practitioners' perspectives. Proceedings of theInformation Use in Information Science Society Conference (2006). Retrieved November 17, 2010 from:http://bada.hb.se/bitstream/2320/2339/1/Sonnenwald-conference-paper.pdfBorgatti, S. & Cross, R. (2003). A relational view of information seeking and learning in social networks. RetrievedOctober 12, 2010 from: http://www.steveborgatti.com/papers/relationalview.pdfBoyd, D., & Ellison, N. (2007). Social network sites: definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1) 210-230Brooks, G. (2007). Secret society. New Media Age, 13 December, p. 10.Cachia, R., Compano, R., & Da Costa, O. (2007). Grasping the potential of online social networks for foresight.Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 74 (8) 1179–1203.Charnigo, L. & Barnett-Ellis, P. (2007). Checking out Facebook.com: the impact of a digital trend on academiclibraries. Information Technology and Libraries, 26(1) 23-34.81

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Chartier, D. (2008). Study: men more likely to use social networking for business. Retrieved November 21, 2010from: http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/05/study-men-more-likely-to-use-social-networking-forbusiness.arsCook, S. & Wiebrands, C. (2010). Keeping up: strategic use of online social networks for librarian currentawareness. Retrieved November 17, 2010 from:http://www.vala.org.au/vala2010/papers2010/VALA2010_78_Cook_Final.pdfCreese, J., Cribb, J., & Spicer, J. (2008). Social networking: never mind the students, what about us? Use of socialnetworking softwares for professional networking and development for library staff. Retrieved May 5, 2010from: http://www.alia.org.au/groups/quill/papers/creese.paper.pdfCullen, R., Adeyoyin, S., Olorunsola, R., & Idada, D. A. (2004). Issues facing academic libraries in Nigeria.Journal of Academic Librarianship, 30 (4) 330- 332.Dickinson, G. K. (2010). How do you use social networking tools? Library Media Connection, 28 (5) 45-45.Dyer, J. H., Green, H. B, & Christensen, C. M. (2009), “Five “discovery skills” separate true innovators from therest of us”, Harvard Business Review December 2009, pp 61-67.European Network and Information Security Agency (2007). Security issues and recommendations for online socialnetworks. Retrieved September 22, from:http://www.enisa.europa.eu/doc/pdf/deliverables/enisa_pp_social_networks.pdfEvans, B. (2006). Your Space or MySpace. Retrieved September 22, 2010 from:http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6375465.html&Facebook (2010). Statistics Facebook. Retrieved November 29, 2010 from:http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statisticsFerreira – Schut, N. (2010). The power of crowds: how collective intelligence works. Retrieved November 29, 2010from: http://www.suite101.com/content/the-power-of-crowds-a199805Gbaje, E.S. (2007) Implementing a National Virtual Library for High Institutions in Nigeria Retrieved March 17,2010 from http://libres.curtin.edu.au/libres17n2/Gbaje_2007_07_30a_Ess%20&%20Op_final.pdfGoad, R. & Mooney, T. (2008). The impact of social networking in the UK. Retrived November 4, 2010 from:http://melcarson.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/hitwise-social-networking-report-2008.pdfGoudreau, J. (2010). What men and women are doing on Facebook. Retrieved November 21, 2010 from:http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/26/popular-social-networking-sites-forbes-woman-time-facebooktwitter.htmlGovani, T., & Pashley, H. (2005). Student awareness of the privacy implications while using Facebook. RetrievdNovember 1, 2010 from: http://lorrie.cranor.org/courses/fa05/tubzhlp.pdfGross, R. and Acquisti, (2005). Information revelation and privacy in online social networks (the Facebook case), inthe Proceedings of the 2005 ACM workshop on Privacy in the electronic society, pp. 71 – 80, RetrievedMay 5, 2010 from: http://www.heinz.cmu.edu/~acquisti/papers/privacy-facebook-gross-acquisti.pdfHendrix, D., Chiarella, D., Hasman, L., Murphy, S., & Zafron, M. l. (2009). Use of Facebook in academic healthlibraries. Journal of Medical Library Association, 97 (1) 44-47.Kazienko, P. (2005). Social networks. Retrieved November 1, 2010 from: katarzyna.musial@student.pwr.wroc.plJagatic, T. N., Johnson, N. A., Jakobsson, M. & Menczer, F. (2005). Social Phishing. Retrieved June 2, 2010 from:http://www.indiana.edu/~phishing/social-network-experiment/phishing-preprint.pdfLiebowitz, J. (2007), Social networking: the essence of innovation, Lanham Maryland: Scarecrow Press Inc.Lin, N. (2002), Social capital: a theory of social structure and action, New York: Cambridge University Press82

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Mack, D., Behler, A., Roberts, B., & Rimland, E. (2007). Reaching students with Facebook: data and best practices.Retrieved May 20, 2010 from:http://southernlibrarianship.icaap.org/content/v08n02/mack_d01.htmlMarshall, B. (2009), “Social networking strategies for professionals” Computers in Libraries, 29 (9) 29-31.Murphy, J & Moulaison, H. (2009). Social networking literacy competencies for librarians: exploring considerationsand engaging participation, paper presented at ACRL Fourteenth National Conference March 12–15, 2009,Seattle, Washington. Retrieved April 12, 2010from:http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/events/national/seattle/papers/328.pdfNational Universities Commission (2010). List of Nigerian universities and years founded. Retrieved November 15,2010 from: http://www.nuc.edu.ng/pages/universities.aspOsagie, A. U. (2009) Change and choice: the development of private universities in Nigeria. Benin City: RawelFortune ResourcesOxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English (2001) 6 th ed. Oxford: University press, p 214Paulus, P.B., Larcy, T.S. & Dzindolet, M.T. (2001). Creativity in groups and teams. In Turner, M. (Ed.) Groups atwork: Advances in theory and research, Mahwah. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 319-338.Perkins, B. (2008). The pitfalls of social networking. Computerworld 42 (7) 44Pingdom (2009). Study: Males Vs. females in social networks. Retrieved November 21, 2010 from:http://royal.pingdom.com/2009/11/27/study-males-vs-females-in-social-networks/Platt, N. (2008). Strategic librarian: using strategy to develop the law firm library. Retrieved November 28, 2010from: http://strategiclibrarian.com/Stuart, D. (2010). Librarians and researchers network online. Retrieved November 12, 2010 from:http://www.researchinformation.info/features/feature.php?feature_id=279Namali Suraweera, S. A. D. H. et al. (2010). Value of Social Networking in Libraries and Information Organizationsin Asia and Oceania. Retrieved November 2, 2010 from:http://www.ifla.org/files/hq/papers/ifla76/145-suraweera-en.pdfSurowiecki, J.(2005) The Wisdom of crowds. New York: Anchor BooksTapscott, D., and Williams, A. D. (2007), Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, New York:Penguin GroupThelwall, M. (2008), “Social networks, gender and friending: an analysis of MySpace member profiles”, Journal ofthe American Society for Information Science & Technology, 59 (8) 1321-1330.United States Diplomatic Mission (2010). Nigeria – education profile. Retrieved April 12, 2010 from:http://nigeria.usembassy.gov/nigeria_education_profile.htmlViolino, B. (2008. Social networking AIIM E – Doc Magazine 22 (4) 12-15.Whatis.com (2006). Social networking. Retrieved November 8, 2010 from:http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci942884,00.htmlWhelan, D. L (2009). School librarians lead the social networking pack among educators. Retrieved September 22from: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6705646.htmlWiklund, G. (1998). Information as a social and intellectual capital in the research career: a gender perspective.Retrieved April 12, 2010 from: http://informationr.net/ir/4-2/isic/wiklund.htmlWomboh, B. S. H. & Abba T. (2008). The State of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in NigerianUniversity Libraries: The Experience of Ibraham Babangida Library, Federal University of Technology,Yola. Retrieved August 17, 2010 from http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/womboh.pdf83

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011ISSN 1943-2577© 2011 Ozean PublicationINFORMATION LITERACY IN NIGERIAN HIGHER INSTITUTIONS – ANYROLE FOR LIBRARIANS?L.A. OGUNSOLA*, B.F. AKINDOJUTIMI and ADENIKE DAMILOLA OMOIKE**H.O. Library, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.**Kenneth Dike Library, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.*E-mail for correspondence: E-mail-laogunsola2005@yahoo.com______________________________________________________________________________________Abstract: It is the aim of this paper to mobilize Nigerians to view information illiteracy as an obstacle toprogress in personal and social lives. The paper showed that information literacy is a major route toovercoming poverty, hunger and disease in the immediate environment. The paper finally examinedstrategies for combating information illiteracy like application of ICT and made recommendations on whatNigerian University libraries and librarians working in them should do/ adopt to promote literacyawareness among Nigeria’s teeming population.Keywords: Information literacy, Information and Communication Technologies, Internet services,Computer literacy, Academic libraries, Literacy awareness.______________________________________________________________________________________INTRODUCTIONThere are a growing number of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) initiatives indeveloping countries. As revealed by Khushbu Tilvawale et al (2009), these initiatives are usually undertaken on the basis that they are important for social and economic development. However, one barrier tothe efficient utilization of ICT in developing countries is the relative low level of information literacy.Without the ability to manipulate and use information effectively, investments in ICT for developmentprojects may be unsuccessful. The significance of information to human society and its mode ofcommunication can no longer be overemphasized. The society requires information on its-day-todayactivities; education, management, mass communication, governance, research and development (Osinulu2011). Libraries and information centers play valuable roles in meeting societal information needs,facilitating and making access to such information possible. The traditional functions are beingtransformed and made compatible with electronic age, called Information and Communication Technology(ICT) age. Information technology or ICT is the use of computers and other electronic technologies forcreating, acquiring, storing, processing and communicating information. Information acquisition, storage,handling and dissemination have been tremendously and positively affected by computer technology. All85

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011routine activities involved in collection development, readers services (circulation and reference services),serials management and technical services are now been accomplished on the platform of informationtechnologies - computers and other related hard and soft ware. The impact of ICT application to libraryservices is indeed incredible. From the above premises, one can easily conclude that it is very difficult toseparate computer knowledge, ICT, information literacy and librarians from each other. According toMohammed (2004), electronic and communication technology has come to remove most of the limitationsto access and use of information resources and services. Information resources are now available both inprint and electronic formats. The rapid advances in ICT and computer applications to the functions andservices of libraries have brought remarkable benefits to libraries, library users as well as the librarians.Such benefits include provision of fast, effective and efficient services, ease of access to vital statisticalrecords, cost reduction, elimination of duplication of work, improved networking and greater cooperationamong libraries, as well as improved services through access to resources of other libraries which can bebeneficial to library users and hence improve their information literacy. It should also be pointed out thatICT has helped in providing solution to the problem of paucity of resources through databases, onlineinformation services and resource sharing and the basic tool required for access is the INTERNET. So itcan be concluded that without proper usage of the internet and the techniques of how to use the academiclibraries, a student can not be hundred percent literate as far as information literacy is concerned.It is the objective of this paper to stress the need for information literacy in Nigerian higher institutions andthe strategies to be used to raise the standard of information literacy through the use of ICT and Internetservices. This paper addresses the need for information literacy among Nigerians students and the waysuniversity libraries can help them achieve their educational goals. There is the need for provision of libraryand information services for Nigerians with particular reference of meeting the challenges of the 21stcentury.INFORMATION LITERACY – WHAT IS IT?While we agree with Postman`s (1990) claim that the information age began with the invention of theprinting press, we believe that information technology has had a major impact in society during the last fewdecades. We have moved into a “post-industrial society” – where the service sector dominates theeconomy - (Bell, 1973), to an “informational society” (Castells, 2000), where “information generation,processing, and transmission become the fundamental source of productivity and power”- (Castells, 2000 p21). In this new era, information literacy has become a fundamental skill. The importance of the concept ofinformation literacy has been recognized by several researchers and different definitions of informationliteracy in various contexts have been put forward. The first definition of information literacy, to the best ofour knowledge, came from the American Library Association (ALA), as “the ability to recognize wheninformation is needed as well as the ability to locate, evaluate and effectively use it” (Carpenter, 1989, ascited in Plotnick, 1999). Doyle (1992) emphasizes diversity in the origin of information and definesinformation literacy as “the ability to access, evaluate and use information from a variety of sources”.From Education perspective, Bruce (2003) defines information literacy as “the ability to access, evaluate,organize and use information in order to learn, problem – solve, make decisions in formal and informallearning contexts, at work, at home and in educational settings”. Ralph (1999 as cited in Bruce, 2003, p.8)considers information literacy as “a key to lifelong learning” which includes computer literacy, informationtechnology literacy, library skills, information skills and learning to learn. It is a key characteristic of thelifelong learner - strongly connected with critical and reflecting thinking. It is the process of empoweringstudents or anybody to learn rather than about being dependent on the teacher for acquiring knowledge andskills. The information literate student, individually or as a member of group, uses information effectivelyto accomplish a specific purpose. The information literate student understands many of the economic,legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and accesses and uses information ethically andlegally. Information literacy is the people (staff or students) who bring particular values to the idea ofinformation literacy and its programs, investing the idea with personal, social, organizational or economic86

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011significance. As individuals or groups decide on ways of thinking about the phenomenon, and which valuesystems are important to identify with, their interpretations….give their programs distinctive characteristics(Bruce and Candy 2000).If we go into memory lane, the 21 st century falls within the epoch period called the Information Age. Theconcept of Information Age/Society epitomizes the changes brought about by technological advances andglobalization (Dike, 2001, Oladele, 2008; Ogunsola, 2005) towards the end of the 20 th century. Theseepochs are characterized by speed and precision in the production, transfer, access, and use of knowledge(Chakrabarti, 2001). The information society, as a concept, “sum up the new world order where theposition of nations, their power, wealth and influence, increasingly depend on their access to and ability touse information (Dike, 2003). Infact, for any individual or group to navigate well in this increasinglycomputer age, information is essential (Kohen and Donohue, 1976). The provision of library andinformation services for Nigerians therefore, is a sine qua non. Access to, and ability to use informationamong Nigerians is the single most important factor by which Nigeria can remain the giant of Africa andachieve its dream to emerge among the twenty largest world economies by the year 2020. The informationage has led to a shift in the global economy’s focus from physical resources to the way information ismanipulated (Castells, 2000; Drucker, 1969; Machlup, 1962). ICT has become the major driving forcebehind this shift. The challenge of keeping up with the information economy particularly affectsdeveloping countries. Although many developing countries still struggle with the provision of basicservices like clean water and electricity, they are increasingly looking to ICT for development projects toimprove their social and economic development (Shih, Kraemer, and Dedrick, 2008; Walsham, Robey &Sahay, 2007). However, one barrier to the efficient utilization of ICT in developing countries is therelatively low level of information literacy. Without the ability to manipulate and use informationeffectively, investments in ICT-for-development projects may be unsuccessful. Infact, some scholars havesuggested that the digital divide between the developed and developing world has widened because of thelack of information skills in developing countries (Dewan, Ganley, and Kraemer; 2005). Withoutinformation literacy, developing nations may continue to underutilize the technology that is provided(Pejova, 2002), resulting in a waste of resources with potentially serious repercussions for theirdevelopment. We take the view, therefore, that achieving development through ICT is not just a matter ofproviding access to ICT tools. Rather, efforts should also be made to enhance information literacy, whichprovides the ability to manipulate and use information effectively. Academic libraries are institutions thatare established to take care of the information needs of students, lecturers, researchers and other communityscholars. Their mission is to provide quality information service and knowledge products (print andelectronic) to resident community of scholars. In the words of Wolpert (1999), “academic libraries are costeffective information service and provider of knowledge products to a resident community of scholars”. Inother to function and provide timely information at a faster speed to lecturers, researchers and students, itwould appear that administrators of academic libraries should realize the important role which informationand communication technologies (ICT) play in their job performance and so make Information andCommunication Technologies (ICTs) available to their workforce. Communities and organizations spendmoney on library materials and services as a cost effective way to help community members gain access tothe works and ideas of others so as to answer questions, solve problems, learn new things, and exploreentertainment opportunities. Since the library is the agency that manages access to the social transcript paidfor by the community, it is a widely shared belief that the library, particularly those funded by educationalinstitutions, should be the lead agency in articulating, promoting, and developing the community’sinformation literacy(Stanger, 2009). From this analysis, the roles performed by academic libraries as far asinformation literacy is concerned cannot be over-emphasized.87

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS TO BUILDING AN EFFECTIVEINFORMATION LITERACYAcademic libraries in Africa do not enjoy the same information delivery methods like those in developedcountries except those in Southern African. Chisenga and Rofissa (2001) point out the great disparity inthe adoption and use of ICTs in academic libraries. For instance academic libraries in Kenya suffer poorfunding, poor communication systems and lack of ICT qualified librarians. The case is not different inUganda and other African countries like Nigeria where power unreliability is the norm, poor managementattitude and inadequate ICT skills of librarians, inadequate computerization, infrastructure and humancapacity are the major challenges towards ICT use. Rosenberg (2005) opines that challenges to ICT useinclude lack of library software standardization. The changes in libraries and the roles of librariansoriginated in the United States of America and other English-speaking countries, but electronic networks donot have geographical boundaries; and their influence has spread rapidly. With internet connections acrossthe globe, people who did not have access to traditional library services now have the opportunity to getinformation about all subjects, free of political censorship. Increasingly, librarians have assumed the role ofeducator, teaching users how to find information both in the library and over networks. Traditional librariesand librarians exist alongside the electronic libraries which are eroding the functions of both traditionallibraries and librarians (Ogunsola, 2011). Academic libraries in Nigeria attempted to automate libraryfunction as far back as 1970s to 1990s and the attempt still continues. TINLIB software was introduced inleading academic libraries including those of the University of Ibadan and Ahmadu Bello UniversityLibrary (Omoniwa, 2001) but due to some technical and organizational problems, no single academiclibrary in Nigeria in general and in the southern Nigeria in particular uses the TINLIB software today.Obajemu and Ibegwam (2006) point out that libraries in Nigeria are still on the race to make their servicestotally ICT-based. The MacArthur Foundation report of 2005 titled “Developing Strong UniversityLibraries in Modern Technology greatly enhances such system”. The report also points out lack ofappropriate funding system to acquire relevant information and communication tools, and lack ofinfrastructure to provide access to electronic information. Money was not there for collection developmentand there have been few acquisitions, most of the collections stopped growing substantially in the mid-70s.Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) enhance service provision to library clientele.Libraries use ICTs to perform functions like cataloguing and classification, serials management, collectionmanagement, budgeting, circulation management, referencing, indexing and abstracting in order to improveinformation services for library users. The advances in the fields of telecommunications, computertechnology, and satellite communications have revolutionized information delivery services in advancedcounties. As asserted by Akpan (2001), information can be delivered across countries into houses andoffices instantly. It must be realized that the sharing, however, has been uneven across the globe. Countrieswith advanced technology are years ahead of countries with developing economies. Within developingeconomies, some have moved further ahead than others. In Nigeria, the expression “virtual library” or“digital library” is relatively new, being a little than a decade old. However, it has been observed that mostacademic libraries in Nigeria still struggle with manual library operation methods. Consequently, libraryusers show dissatisfaction and complain of poor information service delivery by the academic libraries(Haliso, 2011). The use of ICT promotes development and improves services in any organization. In anacademic environment, it speeds up information delivery, facilitates teaching, learning and research. Inspite of the above observation about the potentials, and benefits of using ICT, the level of awareness anduse in Nigeria appears to be very minimal. Organizational, environmental and cultural factors stand againstthe good and perceived will of the use of ICTs. Omolayole (2002) points out three strong reasons thatstand against the effective use of ICTs in Nigerian academic libraries. Each of the factors she hasmentioned has a resultant effect on availability and use of ICT. The factors are: low level of computerculture: poor telecommunications infrastructure; and general lack of awareness. Another constraint thataffects the use of ICTs in Nigerian academic libraries is low level of computer culture. When librarians arenot computer literate, utilizing the facility would be a problem. In other words, having a good backgroundin computer skill makes the use of computers in work places very practicable. Lack of awareness on theother hand makes availability impossible. Library managers must be aware of the advantages of usingICTs in libraries and information sector. Training workers in the use of computers and other related88

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011technologies for services in any organization including academic libraries is very important. A well trainedworker can perform effectively and efficiently in his/her work place than he/she who is not trained at all.As noted above on the challenges faced by academic libraries in the process of making ICTs available andused, the report submitted by the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (2005) pointed out that lack of government funding; limited and expensive internet bandwidth;unstable power sources; and insufficient development affected job performance of academic libraries.Although traditional channels of communication will remain important, the new information andcommunication technologies hold great potential for broadly disseminating knowledge at low cost, and forreducing knowledge gaps within countries and between industrial and developing countries. In a broadsense as revealed by Ogunsola (2004) access to the right information at the right time gives people greatercontrol over their destiny. Despite all these shortcomings, it must be emphasized that automated librarysystem is the best in terms of providing fast, error free service and at the same time increased efficiency.It should be realized that the strategies for meeting the current challenges to providing library andinformation services for Nigerians must begin with library and information professionals themselves.These professionals must vigorously adopt proactive approaches to library and information provisions. It istheir responsibility to correct the prevailing unhealthy state of library and information practice, which ispredominantly passive or reactive. Library and information professionals must appreciate the fact that theprestige enjoyed by professions like law, engineering, medicine and accounting did not come by chance butas a definite product of proactive toils and sweat of successive generations of professionals in these otherfields. The prestige which society accords any profession reflects the value which, in the society’s opinion,the profession delivers to it in form of qualitative indispensable service. Library and information serviceprovided in Nigeria, therefore, must cease to be a mere product of professional chores and reflect the needsof the target user groups. Such proactive approaches can assume various dimensions which include thatlibrary and information professionals, like physicians or any other professionals, must diagnose theinformation needs, plan and then implement the service which meets these needs. They should alsoevaluate performance periodically in the light of these needs in order to take necessary corrective measuresand ensure that the needs of the user groups are being met adequately by the services rendered (Gwang.2011).CONCLUSIONFrom the above analysis, it must be realized that information is an essential requirement for thedevelopment of any nation. The provision of library and information services in Nigeria is a positive steptowards making information widely available to the people, make them information literate, be able toaccess and use accessed information to develop the country. Nigerians like others from African countriesare in the majority illiterates. A literate person is one who can decipher meanings from written or printedrecords. Awareness, on the other hand, is the condition of knowing something with familiarity gainedthrough experience or association. Literacy awareness thus encompasses ability to decipher meaning fromwritten or printed and non-printed materials. Literacy for all is crucial to national and personaldevelopment, while illiteracy is a major obstacle. Literacy is the ability to communicate or becommunicated with effectively in writing either in English or any one Nigerian language. Literacy is amajor route to overcoming poverty, hunger and disease in the world, while illiteracy is the number oneobstacle to economic, political, social and individual development. The question that readily comes tomind with respect to literacy awareness in Nigeria is: what should Nigerian university libraries do topromote literacy awareness in order to eradicate illiteracy in the country? Librarians are agents and majorgateways to knowledge as such, it is recommended that the federal and state governments should encouragethe creation of the position of literacy librarians in our university libraries and saddle them with theresponsibility of initiating meaningful programmes for those who, as a result of poverty/living in the ruralareas, learning deficiency or physical or mental disability are being disadvantaged. Budgetary allocationsto university libraries have been shrinking recently. For these libraries to be able to render services89

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011enumerated above, it is recommended that they should be given special votes in their budgets to cater forthe promotion of literacy awareness. Effective promotion of literacy awareness by University Librarians isbased on personal commitment. For this reason, it is recommended that university librarians should workto establish rapport with adult education teachers, adult education officers both at federal and state levels,and ministers/commissioners of Education. It is only when they are able to stimulate interest andenthusiasm in such people with respect to possibilities offered by specialized literacy services like thoseenumerated in this paper that they can benefit from the personal experiences and support of suchprofessionals and experts.If Nigeria is to become a reading and literacy society, positive reading habits should be inculcated inchildren from an early age. Parents, teachers and other adults should try to provide children with acongenial atmosphere for reading. Literate parents and other adults should encourage the development ofthe reading habit through their own example. Children who are interested in reading should not bediscouraged in anyway. Finally, parents, teachers, librarians, publishers and all others interested inpromoting avid reading habits among Nigerian children should cooperate more closely for the benefit ofour children. The governments both at federal and state levels should marshal a potent book readingpolicy. The depressed economy in the nation also accounts for why most of the nation’s universities do nothave well-equipped libraries or bookshops. If our universities are not to become glorified secondaryschools, there must be one indivisible trinity between the university library, the university bookshop andthe university press. Because the depressed economy has virtually closed down the major publishingcompanies, University Presses should be able to fill the vacuum left by the commercial publishing houses.Improving the quality of libraries in the higher education sector will improve the quality of the products ofthe system. In recent times and as attested to by the findings of a 2001 Nigerian Institute of Social andEconomic Research/World Bank report on the quality of Nigerian Universities, the competenciesdemonstrated by university graduates are “lowering at an alarming rate”. The poor state of academiclibraries was found to be a major cause. The Nigerian virtual library project is a justifiable venture forbolstering higher education quality. The virtual library will enable students, lecturers, and other scholars toprofit more from electronic communications revolution by having access to databases critical to theirresearch and teaching interests. Within the higher education system in a majority of African countries,libraries are far from being up-to-date. A digital library scheme will facilitate access to a vast collection ofbooks and journals, even titles from as far back in time as possible. A subscribing Nigerian library or anyother African university library will be several times richer and current in its collection of books andjournals than is presently the case. If all these suggestions are judiciously followed, information literacyamong Nigerian students and people will be greatly improved. It is note-worthy to state that major benefitsthat automation will bring to a library and its patrons by far out-weight its demerits – especially countingthe cost. It will therefore be fool-hardy for developing countries and Nigeria in particular to clingtenaciously to out-dated manually operated methods of information processing. Library computerizationhas made it possible to control world literacy output in spite of its phenomenal post war increase. It mustbe realized that a revolution in information technology is occurring now, it is a revolution that willessentially shatter the effectiveness of traditional, scientific and authoritative methods of management, andit will undoubtedly lead to profound changes in libraries, Librarians functions, and user expectations. It istrue that we are already in computer age; it has become an inevitable chapter in the march of world’scivilization. Because the computer technology is not our own invention, our challenge is to go to it,understand it, and use it to our literacy advantage, we cannot wait for it to come to us. To raise our literacylevel, the imperative, therefore, is that we must catch up with the revolution and not wait for the revolutionto catch up with us, otherwise as its usage becomes a common denominator in the field of business,science, communication, etc. we may pretty soon find ourselves and our methods irrelevant to currentusages and practices and trailing several years behind the times. Chief executives should take the bull bythe horns and attempt to bring their libraries to the level of their counterparts in the developed countries.That is the only way we can develop. They should go in for minicomputers since technology needs notalways be complex to be effective, where they cannot do it alone, they should form a network ofcooperating libraries to ensure that we are not left out of this new system. I believe that if the above stepsare vigorously followed, our information literacy programme will be raised to a higher and enviablestandard.90

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011The increased availability of electronic information should lead libraries and librarians to developimportant relationships with computer centers in our higher institutions. In some places, the computercentre is responsible for electronic information and the library is responsible for print information. In someeducational institutions, librarians have assumed responsibility for both the library collection and computerservices. Increasingly librarians (Ogunsola, 2011) have assumed the role of educator to teach their usershow to find information both in the library and other electronic networks. Public librarians have extendedtheir roles by providing local community information through publicly assessable computing systems.Some librarians are experts on computers and softwares. Others are concerned with how computertechnologies can preserve the human cultural records of the past or ensure that library collections oncrumbling paper or in old computer files can still be used by people many centuries in the future. Theworks of librarians have moved outside library walls. Librarians have begun to work in the informationindustry as salespeople, designers of new information systems, researchers and information analysts. Theyare also found in such fields as marketing and public relations in such organizations as law firms, wherestaff needs rapid access to information. By this, one can see that the roles of librarians can never beoveremphasized as far as information literacy is concerned. The library of today should not merely storedocuments and preserve them; it must also devise means by which the contents of such documents can berapidly and effectively transmitted for use.REFERENCESAkpan, E.O. (2001).”The virtual library, Blueprint on the National Virtualof Information. Lagos, Nigeria. Section C: 8.Library Project. Federal MinistryBruce, Christine (2003) “Seven faces of information literacy: towards inviting students into newexperiences”. ????Bruce C. and Phil Candy (2000) “People, Politics and potentials, in information literacy around the world.Charles Sturt University Press, RiverinaCastells, M. (2000) “End of Millennium – The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture”. (2 nd ed.Vol. 3) Malden, M.A. USA: Blackwell publishers.Chakrabart, Biplab (2001) “Over the edge of information in the information age: information behavior of thetotos: a small marginal trial community in sub-Himalayan North Bengal, India. One individualperspective”. Intl. Information and Library Rev. 33:1.Chisenga J and Rosissa A (2001) “Libraries and ICT: a review of global trends and the state of the art inAfrica”. Paper prepared for the second meeting of the (CODI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 4-7 Sept.Dewan, S., Ganley, D. and Kraemer, K.L. (2005) “A cross the Digital Divide: A cross-country Multi-Technology Analysis of the Determinants of IT Penetration”. Journal of the Association forInformation systems, 6, 12, 409-432.Dike, V.W. (2007). “Constructing knowledge Societies for Sustainable Development”. A keynote Address atthe First Annual Conference of the Association for promoting Life-Long learning in Nigeria (APPL)held at ESUT Enugu on Aug. 10 p.3.Doyle, C. (1992) “Outcome measures for Information Literacy within the National Education Goals of 1990:Final Report of the National Forum on Information Literacy”. Washington, DC: US Department ofEducation.Drucker, P. (1969) “The Age of Discontinuity”. Heinemann: Heinemann.Gwang, J.M. (2011) “The provision of Information services to Nigerians: meeting the challenges of 21 stcentury”. Library Philosophy and Practice.???91

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Haliso, Yacob (2011) “Factors Affecting Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Use byAcademic Libraries in Southern Nigeria”. Library philosophy and practice???Kohen, Manfred (1976) Information for the Community/edited by Manfed Kohen and Joseph C. Donohue,p.8Machlup, F. (1962) “The Production and Distribution of knowledge in the United States”. Princeton:Princeton University Press.Mohammed, H. (2004) “The relevance of information and communication technology to informationprofessionals of the digital age: challenge for library and information centre”. Library Focus 22: 61-65Obajemu, A.S. and Ibegiwam, A. (2006) “A survey of Librarians’ Attitudes to Training Programme on ICTApplication to Cataloguing and Classification Workshops in Nigeria”. African Journal of Library,Archives and Information Science 1: 19-271.Ogunsola, L.A. (2004). “Nigerian University Libraries and the Challenges of Globalization: the wayforward”. Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship. 5(2-3).p?Ogunsola, L.A. (2005) “Nigerian University Libraries and the Challenges of Globalization: the WayForward”. J.Soc.Sc. 10 (3): 199-20Ogunsola, L.A. (2011) “The Next step in Librarianship: Is the Traditional Library Dead?” Library Philosophyand practice. p?Oladele, Benedict A (2008). “Globalization and African Libraries: The Challenges of Self-Discovery in theDigital world”. A Paper presented at the World Library and Information compress: 74 th IFLAGeneral Conference and Council Quebec, Canada, 14-15 Aug., 19p.Omoniwa, M.A. (2001) “The computerization of the Kashim Ibrahim Library of Ahmadu Bello University,Zaria 1972-2001”. Nigeria Libraries 35, 1:15-22.Osinulu, L.F. (2011) “Information Technology in the 21 st century library”. Keynote Address delivered byMrs. L.F. Osinulu at the National Workshop on Information Technology in the 21 st Century Library3 rd to 6 th May, 2011 at Babcork University. Ilisan, Ogun State, Nigeria.Pejova, Z. (2002) “Information Literacy: An Issue which Requests Urgent Action in Developing Countriesand Countries in Transition”. Paper presented at the UNESCO, the U.S. National commission onLibraries and Information Science, and the National Forum on Information Literacy, for use at theInformation Literacy Meeting of Experts.Plotnick, E. (1999) Information Literacy. Definition of Literacy. Imprint?Postman, N. (1990) Informing ourselves to Death. Imprint?Rosenberg, D. (2005) “Towards the Digital Library: Findings of an Investigation to establish the currentstatus of University Libraries in Africa”. Oxford: International Network for the Availability ofScientific Publications. (Online) Available www: http://www.inasp. Info/pubs/INASP digital Uib.Pdf. (Accessed March 31, 2006).Shih, E., Kraemer, K.L. and Dedrick, J. (2008).” IT Diffusion in Developing countries”, Communications ofthe ACM, 51, 2, 43-48.Stanger, Keith(2009) “Implementing Information Literacy in Higher Education: a perspective on the roles ofLibrarians and Disciplinary Faculty. LIBRES Library and Information Science Research ElectronicJournal. Vol.19, Issue 1, March.Tilvawala K et al.” Information Literacy in Kenya”. EJISDC (2009) 39, 1-Walsham. G., Robey D. and Sahary, S. (2007) “Forwards: Special Issue in Information Systems inDeveloping Countries”. MIS Quarterly 31, 2, 317-326.Wolpert, A. (1999) “Services to Remote Users: Marketing the library’s Role”. Library Trends 47(1):34.92

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011ISSN 1943-2577© 2011 Ozean PublicationPLANNING THE 9-YEAR UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAMME INNIGERIA FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATIONCHIKA JOSEPHINE IFEDILI and GRACE ALUTUFaculty of Education, University of BeninP.O. Box 10073, Ugbowo, Benin City, Edo State, NigeriaE-mail for correspondence: theifedilis@yahoo.com_____________________________________________________________________________________________Abstract: The paper examined issues that will bring about a successful implementation of Universal Basic Education(UBE) at post primary school level. The Nigerian government had to change to UBE following the high rate ofunemployment with the previous programme. The paper discussed the planning aspect of the programme which hasbeen the major problem with previous Nigerian educational programmes. Roles to be performed by government,school administrators, teachers, parents and communities were discussed. Also new method of instructions and howto put all hands on deck for successful implementation were discussed.Key Words: Planning, Education, Programme, Implementation, Nigeria_____________________________________________________________________________________________INTRODUCTIONThe 6-3-3-4 system of education embarked upon by the Nigerian Government failed because the curriculum contentwas deficient. This education mismatch was bedeviled with a high rate of unemployment.. The education given didnot meet the type of labor force needed. Universal Basic Education is designed to bring access, equity, quality andefficiency in the education provided for the citizenry. This new designed or model of education has to meet theworldwide standard, so that the human output (the turned out graduates) can compete effectively in every globalmarket. To this end, there is need for Universal Basic Education to be properly planned for, so that success can beachieved.Planning is a process of spelling out what to be done, how it is going to be done, with what resources, and how theresult is going to be evaluated. Planning is projecting into future to achieve goals. Strategies are mapped out toachieve set goals. In planning for the successful implementation of UBE, there is need to ensure a child friendlyschool initiative. This child friendly school initiative ensures that the rights of every child are fulfilled.- Sees and understands every child.93

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011- Make sure that the instruction is child centered.- Makes sure that the instruction is gender-sensitive and friendly.- Promotes quality learning outcome.- Makes sure that the instruction is flexible and responds to diversity.- Ensures respect and equal opportunity for all children. Promotes sound mental and physical health.- Enhances teacher capacity, morale, commitment and status.- The instruction must be family focused.- The instruction must also be community based.In planning for successful implementation of the 9-year Basic Education Programme, the following roles have to beperformed by different people in the system and the school has to meet some requirements: -SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORThe school administrator is both a professional leader and an administrative leader. To this end the schooladministrator is expected to put the following in order to achieve success in the implementation of Universal BasicEducation: -. The school administrator is already aware of the goals of UBE. It is now left for him or her to set his or her owngoals on how to combine the available resources to achieve the goals of UBE. Some administrators do not set goalsand that is the reason why they achieve below the expectation.. Gather data on staff strength and quality of staff required for the implementation of the programme.. Make adequate provision for materials, equipment, facilities etc to be used.. Make adequate provision for prompt payment of staff salaries. Nigerian teachers have suffered in the past fromdelayed payments of salaries. Sometimes, they are owed up to five months of salaries. This usually make someteachers to engage themselves in other occupations in order to make ends to meet. This leads to poor performanceand the teachers cannot be blamed for not putting in their best.. Make adequate provision on how the staff will be motivated.Administrators address the issue of delayed promotions which causing high teacher turn over. The teachers who aredue for promotion should not only be promoted but also should be made to regain their seniority by back dating thepromotion. This can be done without financial arrears knowing the financia situation in educational sector.. Recruits, inducts and deploy new staff.. Make adequate preparation on how to inspect the school records, staff and students records.. Make adequate arrangement on how to provide instructional materials for teaching and learning.. Prepares how to assess the students and teachers.. Provide sickbay or clinic where the sick can be treated.. Must be ready to introduce innovations and discard past unprogressive practices.. Must work in harmony with the School Management Board, the staff, the parents and the community.. Help and create supportive school environment to children with special needs, such as those with disabilities andchildren with HIV/AIDS.. Set up committee to reduce bullying, injury, harassment, absenteeism and truancy.. Encourage the students to participate in school administration as prefects, class captain etc.. Create and maintain good mental health in students and staff.94

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011` Organize seminars, conferences and workshops to update the teachers’ knowledge. Okebula, a seasoned exchairman of Nigerian Universities 2008, reported that Nigerian popular national newspaper – The Nation of 27 thNovember, 2008, page 37,reported that 19,125 primary and secondary school teachers in Kwara State, wroteassessment tests in English and Mathematics administered by the Ministtry of Education. Only 7 met the minimumknowledge. Okebula also mentioned that according to the Minister of Science and Technology 1’2% of teachershave basic literacy competencies and 60% cannot prepare lesson notes. Quality of teachers determines quality ofeducation.THE TEACHERSA teacher is one who is resourceful, has a good sense of humour, possesses a sound knowledge of humanpsychology, communicates effectively and shows interest in the welfare of the pupils or students. He guides andmotivates, and is patient, tolerable, flexible in his ways, fair in his judgments and firm in his discipline. A teacher isaccountable to his students or pupils, parents, community, employer and to the profession. The qualities of teachersdetermine the quality of education. It is necessary that the teacher plans how to impart his knowledge so that he orshe does not fail.With the above, it is important that the teachers perform the following roles in planning for the successfulimplementation of UBE.. Convince themselves that UBE is a reality and so must be prepared to have open mind and zeal to make itsuccessful.. Must update their notes to make the notes adequate for the fulfillment of the goals of Universal Basic Education.. Must be ready to be punctual to school and remain in school during the school hours and give their best to thestudents and the school.. Must see the students as their own responsibility and must be prepared to impart the best knowledge to them.. Must be ready to liaise with parents and the school on the conducts of their students. Teachers must be prepared tomonitor the students’ progress and make on the sport correction whenever necessary.. Must be able to keep good record and provide the necessary data whenever needed.. Must be ready to give adequate evaluation of students especially with their continuous assessment.. Must be ready to work with the school administrators as partners in progress and make necessary observations andrecommendations that will help in successful running of UBE.. Must be prepared to be good role model as the young mind can easily be influenced.. Teachers need to update their knowledge. The teachers must read constantly the current issues and participate inconferences, workshops, seminars etc.. Encourage the students to participate in school administration as prefects, class captain etc.. Encourage and instill in students the sense of feeling good about going to school and participating actively.. Teachers must be ready to adjust to the new teaching method for the success of UBE.In planning for instruction for example in Languages, Civic Education, Cultural and Creative Arts, there is need tomake sure that the instruction is child-centered, gender sensitive and friendly. Many methods of instructions can beadopted to bring about effective learning. This is why it is often said that a teacher can be an actor or actress, aclown, a musician, a dancer etc. As a teacher, you are a psychologist working with your clients – the students. Youstudy them and know how to get them involved in class activities. Students like to see happy and cheerful teacher.Teacher’s appearance, mood and health affect learning. The student’s disposition is affected. Whatever method you95

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011adopt, it has to be demonstration method and video method since it is at the primary and post primary levels Itshould be learning with joy and not with sorrow.According to Quality Assurance Publication by the Federal Government of Nigeria, for effective teaching andlearning, the teacher should meet the following. Show good command of the subjects, areas of learning and courses.. Plan effectively with clear learning objectives and suitable teaching strategies.. Show interest, encourage and engage learners.. Challenge learners, expecting the best out of them.. Use methods and resources that enable all learners to learn effectively.. Make effective use of time and insist on high standards of behavior.. Make effective use of teaching assistants and other support where applicable.. Use homework effectively to reinforce and extend what is learnt in school.. Promote equal opportunities for all learners to participate.. Assess the quality of learners’ work.From the above, it is expected that the learners will acquire new knowledge and skill; develop ideas and increasetheir understanding; show engagement, application and concentration and productivity; develop the skills andcapacity to work independently and collaboratively.For every topic in any subject to be taught, there are the content, the objectives, the instructional materials to beused, activities by the teacher and students and finally the evaluation. These should guide the teacher in impartingknowledge to his students.LANGUAGESIn learning languages, grammars, comprehension and pronunciations seem to be the major hindrances to Nigerianpupils. The teacher should start from the basic and progress gradually to the difficult ones. As the teacherprogresses, the students’ progress is evaluated. The feedback tells the teacher if he or she is effective or not.According to Nwagwu (2008) there is no child who cannot learn. It depends on how the material is presented to thechild. An average score of 50% and above tells the teacher how much she or he has achieved. The teacher shouldalways look inwardly when it comes to performance of the class. Gone are days when the teacher is always puttingthe blame on students. He or she used to claim that the students were dull. All children can learn depending on thequality of teacher and the instruction. Teachers are facilitators of student learning. There is so much emphasisfocused on passing examination instead of learning. This creates bad purpose in achieving educational goals.Constant essay writing and novel reading and media communication seem to be the best way to teach students tolearn languages. If the number of students in the class is 40 or less, it is recommended that an essay should bewritten weekly. In the case where the class is large bi-monthly essay writing is recommended. These essays shouldbe corrected and given back to the students for them to see their mistakes and their scores. This will help them toimprove in the subsequent assignments given to them. Reading of short novels written in good language beingstudied wll also be a very effective way to learn language. Students should read at least two novels a week. This willhelp them to build up their vocabulary, express themselves and be able to comprehend better. It is recommended thatstudents are asked to write down the summary of four books read indicating the titles and the authors. This can bedone once in a month. It can be given as a weekend assignment. Students should be randomly called to present theirwrite ups without looking at their work to ensure that they really read the books and did the assignment. Cheatingshould be discouraged. There should be emphasis on work originality. A golden star should be given to anyexcellent work. Students should be forced to speak the language especially in the classroom and outside the96

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011classroom. This is in terms of English language. The same is applicable to French and native tongues. Studentsshould be made to act plays, have class debates and listen to tapes in various languages’. Constant practice helps thestudent to perfect in the language. Students should be encouraged to write short plays and short novels. These tooare very helpful in achieving the objective of instruction. Short songs in the language being taught are recommendedboth at the beginning and end of the instruction. These songs make the pupil happy and alert.CIVIC EDUCATIONCivic education is a very important subject for every school child. It is always better to catch them young morallyand otherwise. Once the character is built, it can hardly be changed. It prepares the students for better attitude, skilland knowledge which will help them to participate fully in the governance. It prepares the students to be good futureelectorates. In planning for instruction in Civic Education, the teacher needs to provide certain instructionalmaterials depending on the topic involved. For example, if the topic is on “Integrity”, the meaning and attributes of“Integrity” should be explained. Here, it is necessary to mention “probity, honesty, contentment, truthfulness, fairplay etc as the content. The objectives are that students should be able to learn the meaning of integrity and itsattributes. The instructional materials needed for this are text books, newspaper, magazines and biographies In theactivities, the teacher is expected to guide the students in enumerating the importance of integrity and theconsequences of integrity. The students are supposed to participate in the discussion, ask questions whenevernecessary and take down in their notebooks the summary of the discussion which the teacher will put on thechalkboard.For some topics, the following instructional materials can be used: -documentations, folktales, cartoons, citations,posters etc. In fact students should be encouraged to act some of the topics. This will always make the learning moreeffective. The message will sink better and cannot easily be forgotten.CULTURAL AND CREATIVE ARTSIt is very important that student learn their various cultures and learn also to appreciate the cultural heritage ofothers. Also creative art has a lot of linkage to cultural heritage. This subject exposes the students to the reality oflife. This is in terms of who they are; where they come from; who are other people around them; what is therelationship etc. The subject gives the students the opportunity to use their talents to make the world a better place. Itmakes the students to bring to light an expression of beauty in natural life. It makes them to be imaginative,constructive and gives them the sense of concentration.To this end it imperative that the teacher should make the students know the importance of the subject and not justthe mere seeing the subject as a subject which is not so important as Physics or chemistry. Here, a mind is built tosee what others do not see. A man is built to entertain others physically and spiritually and psychologically. Theteacher should make the subject very interesting by making sure that students are always engaged in one culturalactivities or another. For example, the teacher can organize competitions on cultural dances, fashions, arts etc. Thestudents should be motivated and there should be media and network coverage of excellent work.97

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011THE PARENTSConsidering the importance of parents’ role on their children whenever they are at home, there is need to plan for theparents for effective and efficient UBE implementation. To this end, effort should be made to see that parents areprepared to play the following roles which Ada, Maduewesi and Ihebereme (2009) agreed should be important toperform for better UBE achievement in Nigeria. These are: -. Parents should be prepared to release their children to attend school.. There is need to provide their children their needs like dresses etc.. Make sure that children are punctual to the school.. Teach their children to be self controlled, respectful and tolerant.. Supervise their children home assignments.. Monitor their children behavior, habit and discuss the negative aspects with the school.. Attend constantly PTA meetings.. Keep changing their children’s school at minimum.. Teach their children to have good personal hygiene.A greater percentage of parents in Nigeria are illiterates. It is the responsibility of Local Education Board to createthe public awareness of UBE to various families in their localities, so that both literate and illiterate parents canbenefit from the knowledge and be able to play their various roles effectively.THE GOVERNMENTThe government being the initiator of the new model of education UBE should be ready to do all that is in her powerto provide adequate fund for the smooth running of the programme. UBE cannot succeed in the face of inadequatefund. The budgeted sum for the programme should be released on time for the purpose. Experience has shown thatin the past, the amount budgeted for the education was sometimes, partially released. Even when fully released,some of the money was put in another sector of the economy depending on the educational will of those who are inpower. Also those handling the released fund should be transparent. There should be prudent management of fund.Things should be purchased directly. Middle men should not be used for purchases. Accountability should be thewatch word of all in the management level.Many students are expected to register. This means, better utilization of available resources. It is either the schoolhas two or three shifts depending on the available facilities, the number of students and the number of teachersavailable. Otherwise, there is need to provide more facilities and employ more teachers.Teachers should be paid as and when due and should be properly motivated. According to Ifedili (2006), manyNigerian teachers are not happy with their jobs. This is because sometimes their salaries are delayed for over fourmonths and have delayed promotion. In fact there is no job satisfaction and motivation. Many of them howeverexpressed commitment to help their students pass examinations. Emphasis is on passing of examination instead oflearning. This will not augur well for the quality of products that are produced. Also, this has been the main cause ofexamination malpractice in Nigeria. The present workforce may not be able to bring about a successfulimplementation of the programme. There is need to train more teachers.More educational inspectors should be employed to make sure that the goals of the programme are met in theface of huge expenditure on the programme. There should be accountability and concern for quality assurance98

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011CONCLUSIONIn planning for the UBE programme in Nigeria, all hands must be on deck to see that the programme not onlysurvives but meet the goals and objectives of the programme. To this end, the government cannot carry the burdenof the programme alone. Various communities should contribute both financially and otherwise to make theircommunities progress. Non-governmental agencies, companies, parents, unions and all those who have education atheart should work towards the success of UBE by contributing effectively.REFERENCESAda, N., Maduewesi,B.U. and Ihebereme, C.I. (2009). Emergent issues in universal basic education. Lagos: Westand Solomon Co.Ifedili, C.J./Ochuba, V. (2009) An assessment of educational standard in Nigeria post primary schools. BeninJournal of Social Sciences, 17,1, 53-62.Ifedili, C.J/ Egenti, M.N. (2010). Quality teacher quality education – a keyway to achieve educational goals.Journal of Educational Research and Development, Vol.5.1..Nwagwu, C.C. (2008). With effective management, all students can learn: no excuses or exception. InauguralLecture Series 93, University of Benin.Okebukola, P. (2008). Education reform imperatives for achieving vision 20-2020. Paper presented at NationalSummit on Education in Abuja.99

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011ISSN 1943-2577© 2011 Ozean PublicationSTUDENT TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT MENTOR TEACHERS:A CASE STUDY IN TURKEYHIDAYET TOK* and MUAMMER YILMAZ**Faculty of Education, Zirve University, Gaziantep, Turkey**Faculty of Education, Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Turkey*E-mail address for correspondence: hidayettok200@yahoo.com_____________________________________________________________________________________Abstract: This study examines the perceptions of student teachers, in a Turkish teacher educationprogram, about mentors‟ behaviors in practice schools. A total of 100 student teachers studying in theDepartment of Elementary Education of Faculty of Education, in a large University during the 2010-2011academic year and having school experience II courses participated in the study. A researcher-designedquestionnaire was utilized to collect data. The results indicate that participants perceive high disagreementtoward the effectiveness of mentor teachers. They express that they wish mentor teachers to beunderstanding, good models, to treat them as a teacher candidate not as a student and to give constructivefeedback. The study concludes by offering a number of practical and theoretical implications for the fieldof study.Keywords: Mentoring, mentor teachers, teacher training program, practicum________________________________________________________________________________INTRODUCTIONResearches related to pre-service teacher education have shown that student teaching practice in the schoolserves as the most significant factor in the shaping of student teachers‟ experience of training to be ateacher (Ben- Perets, 1995; Tang,2003). In line with those researches, the great bulk of literature in teachereducation describes ideal mentoring behaviors and relationships. (Zeichner, 1995; Feinam- Nemsser,1998, Hudson, 2007). Mentor teachers play a significant role in the development of student teachers andtheir significance within teacher education programs is emphasized by many educators. (Zeichner, 2002;Schwille, 2008 ,Hobson, 2002; Ekizer, 2006, Tok, 2012). For Example, Posner (1987) claims that thementor teacher is the individual most responsible for the quality of experience the student teacher (ST)receives. Koener and her research colleagues (2002) emphasize that cooperating/mentor teachers aregenerally understood to be classroom teachers who participate in a teacher education program by agreeingto work with pre-service teachers in their classrooms and she maintains that “some cooperating teachersserve as mentors to student teachers. Some allow student teachers into their classrooms as participantobservers. Still others see student teachers as colleagues in their own professional development” (Koenerand et al. 2002).Gramam (2006) underlines the importance of field experience for student teachers and states that internexperience is an important rite of passage in a teacher‟s career. Cooperating teachers who guide andsupport students and sites where the experiences occur are two critical components of the internexperience. Parallel to this information, Dolaz (1986) emphasizes the importance of mentoring and saysthat101

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011“supporting new learners in new settings is integral to acquisition of professional skill. Manymentor teachers helped student teachers make the transition to professional life by introducing them to theschool environment, by providing explicit instruction and by assisting student teachers to negotiate theirprofessional roles and relationships”.The relationship between the student teacher and the mentor at school is an important issue to beconsidered from the view of qualities of practice teaching. Fish (1995) states that teachers who act asmentors need to be familiar with the issues and debates associated with professionalism and being amember of a profession. Tomlinson (1995) defines responsibilities of mentors as discussing and coachingof the student teacher learning in the teaching of the specialist subject, through observation, own teachingand progressively collaborative teaching. So mentors are bound to function as a counselor to studentteachers.The Faculty and School Collaboration Guide issued by the Turkish Higher Education Council identifiesstandards for the role of practice components of field experience. The role of mentor teachers in theTurkish teacher education system are: 1. to design work plans for student teachers with the help ofUniversity Supervisors. 2. help the professional development of student teachers. 3. help student teachersto make observations and to use various teaching methods and techniques. 4. provide student teacherswith teaching materials, resources and teaching environment. 5. help student teachers to plan dailyteaching activities and making daily lesson plans. 6. observe teaching activities of student teachers andassess those activities. 7. do not let student teacher stay in the class alone, if necessary for him/her to leavethe class, s/he should be in the place where s/he can easily be reached. 8. take a file including theevaluation and observation forms of student teacher. 9. let student teacher to be aware of the result of theobservations and gives feedbacks and s/he also gives student teacher a copy of observation form. 10. Bothmentor teacher and university supervisor examine the observation file of student teacher at regularintervals, monitor the progress of student teacher and contribute to the student teacher‟s developmentbeing positive. 11. to guide student teacher for activities (ceremonies, meetings) outside the classroom. 12.evaluate student teacher in the end of practicing with university supervisor (YÖK, 1998).A number of studies use surveys to discover teachers and student teachers‟ perceptions of the definition of“good mentor teacher” (Copas, 1984; Rikard &Veal, 1996; Karmos & Jacko ,1977; Oral&Dağlı,1999;Aksu, M. B. & Demirtaş, H. 2006; Yapıcı, &Yapıcı, 2004). Hudson (2007) and Hudson et al, (2009)uses a survey instrument to bench mark student teachers‟ perceptions as a reference point for deliveringprofessional development for cooperating/mentor teachers.The purpose of this study is to research the problems related to mentors‟ behaviors that student teachers inelementary teacher education programs confronted during their field experience. This study also aims tohelp institutions in developing teaching experience more effectively by looking into the issues regardingpractices carried out by mentor teachers.METHODSContext of studyPre-service student teaching practicum experience takes place in the last term of a four year programgranting a Bachelor of Education (B. Ed.). Student teachers go to practice teaching school a full day or ahalf day a week. In practice teaching schools, mentors are randomly assigned to mentor a pair of fourthyear pre-service teachers who are similarly paired in a random way. The study described herein wascarried out towards the end of practicum session in the last term of teaching in which the student teachersobserved the mentors, prepared lesson plans and gave their first lessons in the classroom.SubjectsAll participants were undergraduate elementary school students studying at School of Education inMustafa Kemal University in Hatay province in Turkey. The number of students who initially respondedwere 118, from that initial response 100 returned completed the questionnaire. 43 were males (%43) and57 were females (%57).102

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011MeasuresA questionnaire, consisting of only four open-ended questions, was distributed to the study participantstowards the end of their student teaching experience. The following question were included in the survey:(a) Do you think that mentor teacher were supportive enough? If not, why? (b) Do you find mentorteachers as qualified teachers academically? If not, why? (c) What kind of problems did you mostly haveduring the field experience? (d) What do you expect from mentor teachers? A qualitative researchapproach is used to analyze, and interpret the participants‟ responses in detail (Bryman, 1988; Lincoln andGuba, 1985; Maykut and Morehouse, 1994).ProcedureThe open- ended questions were tested with a group of students in order to clarify them before finalizing.One of the researchers held a meeting with all student teachers participating in the study on the MustafaKemal University campus at the end of the second semester of the 2010/2011 academic year. Beforedistributing the questionnaire, the researchers explained the purpose of the study and encouraged them toread the questions carefully before answering them. The respondents were selected from a group ofvolunteers. The questionnaires, accompanied by a cover letter, were distributed to student teachers. Theywere ensured of confidentiality and anonymity They were required to answer the all four questions.The data were processed by constant comparative analysis to reach generic categories across the cases(Glaser and Strauss, 1967). First of all, the data were categorised by coding each view into as manycategories/statements as possible, leading to tentative categories. Then, each view was compared withother views to reach similar properties of the categories (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). To a greater extent,cross- case analysis (Miles and Huberman, 1994;) was utilised to generate constant occurring categories.ResultsData collected from all participants were analyzed using the frequencies classification method. Theresults were given in tables.103

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Table 1: The student teachers‟ perceptions about supportive behaviors of mentor teachersStatements n %They guide us and become a goodmodel for us.6 19,4 %8 25,8 %Yes (31%) They show us our mistakes and give1. Do you think that mentor n=31 feedback.teacher were supportiveI make use of my mentor‟s 17 54,8 %enough? If not, why?experienceTotal 31 100%Mentors do not renovate their 11academic knowledge.15,9 %Mentors do not let us to select the 2topic we want to teach.2,9 %The physical conditions of school are 1not convenient.1,4 %No (69%) Mentors usually use traditional 10N=69 methods in teaching.14,5 %Mentors are indifferent to us 19 27,5 %Mentors want us to do their personalwork.11,4 %Mentors make us to teach all theclasses.45,8 %While we are in the class, mentors do 3not behave in naturalway/authentically.4,3 %I think, mentors get upset wit us. 4 5,8 %Mentors speak down to us and treatus poorly.710.1%Mentors behave to us in prejudicedmanner.11,4 %Mentors do not give feedback. 6 8,7 %Total 69 100%When we examine the first question holistically, 31 % (n=31) of student teachers respond that mentorswere supportive for them, but 69% (n=69) respondents that mentors were not supportive to them. Theywrote various reasons why their mentor teachers were not useful for them (as shown in table 1).54.8% (n=17) of the student teachers said that they benefited from mentors, 25. 8 % (n=8) said mentorsshowed their mistakes and gave feedback. 19.4% (n=6) said that the mentors guided them and weremodel for them.Some respondents expressed negative things about their mentors and said that they did not get enoughsupport from their mentors. 27.5 % (n=19) said mentors were indifferent to them, they used traditionalmethods in teaching (14.5 %, n= 10), they did not renovate themselves in terms of academic knowledge(15.9 %, n=11). They made student teachers do their personal work (1.4 %, n=1).Table 2: Student teachers‟ view about mentors‟ academic proficiency2. Do you find mentor teachersas qualified teachersacademically? If not, why?Statements n %Yes (18%) They know their subject. 12 66.7 %N= 18 They can control the class. 6 33.4 %Total 18 100%They do not renew their academic 53 64.6 %No (82%)N= 82knowledge.Mentors do not use new methods in 29 35.3 %teaching.Total 100 100%104

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 201118% (n=18)of participants see their mentors as academically sufficient, 82% (n=82) of participants seetheir mentors as academically insufficient. According to obtained data, the majority of the participants donot find their mentors academically proficient.64.6% (n=53) of the student teachers who do not see their mentor teachers academically qualified enoughsay that mentors do not renew their academic knowledge, 35.3% (n=29) say that mentors do not use newmethods in teaching.Table 3: Student teachers‟ views about the problems they confrontedmostly during field experience.Statements n %They are not understanding and tolerant. 1 1%They are biased. 2 2%They treat us as if we were student not 28 28%colleagues.Feedback is not given. 7 7%3. What problems do you mostconfront during field experienceWe are introduced to students as an elderly 11 11%brother or sister rather than teacher.We are not let to choose the topic that we 4 4%wanted to teach.Mentors use physical violence to kids in the 1 1%class.School do not have good physical 1 1%environment for education.Teachers are indifferent. 7 7%We are made to do the work which is not 4 4%related to our task.We are made to teach all the classes. 4 4%Mentors get upset with student teachers, 2 2%because they don‟t want to deal with them.Mentors are not good models. 4 4%Student teachers can not control the class. 21 21%Mentors do not treat student teachers well. 1 3%Total 100 100%In table 3, the problems student teachers confront mostly are: controlling the classroom (21 %, n=21),mentors do not treat them as the student teachers‟ teacher, but as though they, themselves, are still astudent (28 %, n=28), mentor teachers are indifferent (7 %). Feedback is not given (7 %).Table 4: The expectations of student teachers from mentors4. What do you expect frommentor teachers?Statements n %Mentor should be understanding and tolerant. 32 32%They should guide us well. 40 40%Mentors should share their experience. 15 15%They should treat student teachers as 12 12%colleagues.They should not get in an inappropriate manner. 1 1%Total 100 100%In table 4, student teachers expect mentors to guide them effectively (40%, n=40), share their experiences(15 %), behave them as a candidate teacher (12 %, n=12) and teachers should be understanding andtolerant.105

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011DISCUSSIONIn this study, student teachers‟ views about their mentors behaviors are significant in terms of offering aneffective school experience service. Student teachers were asked four open-ended questions. Theiranswers were classified according to the topics. They underlined 12 problems they confronted duringpracticum. Most of the problems student teachers mentioned are about supervision and interpersonalproblems. Here are some: mentors are not understanding and tolerant, they are biased, they do not giveinstructive feedback, they treat STs as if they were student not colleague. STs were not given opportunitiesto choose what they want to teach. Mentor teachers use violence in the classroom. The physicalenvironment of the schools is not convenient. Mentor teachers are indifferent to Sts. Mentors make themdo their personal work and mentors are not good models (table 3). Interpersonal aspects involved inmentoring and learning to teach have been focused in various studies. Brook‟s study is one of them. Brook(1996) asked 150 mentors to prioritize the skills and qualities they regarded as most important to their roleas mentors. she found that they gave the highest priority to interpersonal skill, about 40 % frequencyrating, over the importance given to professional experience, personal qualities, and subject-specificexpertise.In terms of expectation, it is necessary to regard the conceptual framework of Calderhead and Shorrock‟s(1997) theoretical scheme. Calderhead and Shorrock categorize the orientations to teaching and teachereducation based on underlying beliefs and values. These categories are the academic orientation, technicalorientation, personal orientation, and critical orientation. The expectations of students are conglomeratedunder the personal orientation. The expectations that predominant among the student teachers was theirhigh expectations that the cooperating teacher display personal characteristics of a positive nature. Theseincluded, in student words, being understanding and tolerant, showing appropriate manner, indulgent,unbiased and concern, sympathy. The statement expressed the student teachers‟ expectations that mentorteachers possess a personality that makes the student teachers feel comfortable on a personal level.According to Calderhead and Shorrock (1997), the personal orientation that is based on interpersonalrelationships seek to provide a safe environment in which the student can experiment in order to undergothe process of discovering their personal expression in the classroom.These data explicitly emphasize that mentor teacher in the sample of study do not have appropriate mentorbehaviors. That is an interesting result and needs to be evaluated by teacher education programs. Teacherinstitutions should take precautions for this undesired outcome. Teacher education programs can organizementoring seminars and courses to teachers who would like to be mentors.Given the problems mentioned in the survey by student teachers, it seems necessary to train classroomteachers as mentors. First of all, mentors should be chosen according to some criteria and they should bevoluntary; otherwise, it will be difficult to make best use of them. On the other hand, mentors should gothrough a training process involving classroom management, supervising, counseling, planning coursesand materials etc.Student teachers‟ opinions about the mentoring and services they received during the practicum will pavethe development of school- faculty collaborations which will lead to a perfect implementation of thestudent teaching experience.CONCLUSIONIn Turkey, mentoring is now regarded as a paramount component of teacher education programs. It is acritical component in introducing the student teacher to the real world of teaching by providing hands-onexperience. Although the concept of „mentoring‟ under the partnership program occupies a centralposition in the education of the student teachers, this study shows that student teachers are not pleasedwith mentors‟ guidance activities. They do not get the guidance required by the teacher educationinstitution and Higher Education Council. Student teachers express that they want to be treated as acolleague, want mentors to share their experience and mentors should be understanding and tolerant.Briefly, the data obtained in this study shows that student teachers feel they did not get regular guidancefrom mentor teachers nor did they have on-going communication.. These results provides strong evidence106

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011that since there was a perception of a lack of regular interaction between the class mentors and the studentteachers, doubts could be raised about the effectiveness of mentoring practices. Therefore, there is a needto train mentors how to supervise student teachers.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe Authors would like to provide editorial acknowledgement to De Martin, Zirve University.REFERENCESAksu, M. B. &Demirtaş, H. (2006) Öğretmen Adayların Okul deneyimi II Dersine İlişkin Görüşleri(İnönü Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Örneği) Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi 7 (11) 3-21.Ben-Peretz, M. (2001) The impossible role of teacher educators in a changing world, Journal of TeacherEducation, 52, 48–56.Brook,V. (1996). Mentoring: The interpersonal Dimension. Teacher Development, pp.5-10.Bryman, A. (1988) Quantity and Quality in Social Research. London: Routledge.Calderhead, J. & Shorrock, S. (1997) Understanding teacher education (London, Falmer).Copas, E. (1984). Critical requirements for cooperating teachers. Journal of Teacher Education, 35(6), 49-54.Daloz, L. (1986). Effective teaching and mentoring. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Ekiz, D. (2006) Mentoring primary school student teachers in Turkey: Seeing it from the perspectives ofstudent teachers and mentors. International Education Journal, 7(7), 924–934.Feiman-Nemser, S. & Beasley, K. (1998) Mentoring as assisted performance: the case of coplanning in:V. Richardson (Ed) Constructivist teacher education (New York, Falmer), 1–32.Glaser, B.G. and Strauss, A.L. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for QualitativeResearch. Chicago: Aldine.Graham, B. (2006) Conditions for successful field experiences: perceptions of cooperating teachers,Teaching and teacher Education, 22, 1118-1129Higher Education Council and World Bank (1998) National Education Development Project for InitialTeacher Education. Partnership between faculty of education and school. Ankara: HigherEducation Council.Hobson, A. J. (2002) Student teachers‟ perceptions of school-based mentoring in initial teacher training(ITT). Mentoring & Tutoring, 10(1), 5–19.Hudson P. (2007). Examining mentors‟ practices for enhancing pre-service teachers‟ pedagogicaldevelopment in mathematics and science. Ment Tutor Partner Learn, 15:201–217.Hudson P, Usak M, Savran-Gencer (2009), A. Employing the five-factor mentoring instrument:Analysing mentoring practices for teaching primary science. Euro J Teacher Educ, 32:1–11.Lincoln, Y. S. and Guba, E. G. (1985) Naturalistic Inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Karmos, A., & Jacko, C. (1977). The role of significant others during the student teaching experience.Journal of Teacher Education, 28(5), 51-55.Koerner, M., Rust, F. O. & Baumgartner, F (2002), Exploring Roles in StudentTeaching Placements,Teacher Education Quarterly, Spring.107

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Maykut, P. and Morehouse, R. (1994) Beginning Qualitative Research: A Philosophical and PracticalGuide. London: The Falmer Press.Miles, M. B. and Huberman, A. M. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook, (2ndedition). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Oral, B. & Dağlı., A. (1999) Öğretmen Adayların Okul Deneyimine İlişkin Algıları,Çağdaş Eğitim 254 (18-24).Posner, G.J. (1987). Field experince methods of reflective teaching. New York: Longman.Rikard, G.,&Veal,M. (1996). Cooperating teachers: Insight into their preparation, beliefs, and practices.Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 15, 279-296.Schwille, S. A. (2008), The professional practice of Mentoring, American Journal of Education 115, 139-167.Tang, S. Y. F. (2003) Challenge and support: the dynamics of student teachers‟ professional learning inthe field experience, Teaching and Teacher Education, 19, 483–498.Tok, H. (2012) Four types of cooperating teachers: A synthesis of the literature, Energy education scienceand technology, part B , social and Educational studies, 4(1), 447-458Yapıcı, Ş.,& Yapıcı M. (2004), Öğretmen adayların Okul deneyim I Dersine İlşikin Görüşleri, İlköğretimonline,3(2), 54-59.Zeichner, K. (1995) Designing educative practicum experiences for prospective teachers, in: R. Hoz & M.Silberstein (Eds) Partnerships of schools and institutions of higher education in teacherdevelopment (Be‟er Sheva, Ben Gurion University Press), 123–144.Zeichner, K. (2002), Beyond traditional Structures of student teaching, Teacher Education Quarterly. 59-64.108

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011ISSN 1943-2577© 2011 Ozean PublicationSTATUS OF WOMEN IN AĞRI AND THEIR POSITIONIN THE SYSTEM OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPSFARUK KAYA⃰, SINAN KOCAMAN, YUSUF KILINÇ**Ağrı İbrahim ÇeÇen University, Department of Social Sciences Teaching, Turkey**MEB, Primary School Teacher, Turkey.⃰ E-mail address for correspondence: fkaya1969@yahoo.com__________________________________________________________________________________________Abstract: All events that affect social and economical development of people directly or indirectly have been thesubjects of research and analysis for the science of geography. With an increasing speed, problems related to thepopulation of women have also entered into the study of this field since the second half of the 20 th century. Inaccordance with this issue, social status of women, their living conditions, their efforts for liberty and theirinitiative to guide their own lives fall into the study of the field of geography science. Concordantly, the status ofwomen in Ağrı and their position in the system of social relationships were analyzed within the frame of a fieldresearch. Sampling of the study is consisted of 180 women representing various classes of all the localities ofAğrı. As a result of the surveys and interviews applied in the field study, a lot of findings were obtained aboutthe place, and function of women in the family, and their working life along with culture, economics, health, andeducation related problems unique to the region.According to the results of the field study, which was consisted of surveys and interviews, girls‟ get married atearly ages, ratio of their employment in any type of work and their level of education are also found out to below. Along with preserving the importance of marriage and family institution committed to traditional values,apart from their work at home, women‟s participation to working life has come into prominence among newlydeveloping social values. The conditions that women are in do not originate only from the individualqualifications of women, but also they emerge as a result of socio-cultural structure that encircles them.Although the educational level of women is low, it is obvious that education is factors that improves and altersthe status of women to a great extend, and that people are aware of the benefits brought by education.Hence, it is vitally important to improve the level of education, which underlies the sources of the problems ofwomen. It has become an obligation to vary, spread and increase the quality of educational activities aiming atwomen in Ağrı. The importance to be placed on the education of women and spread of women education wouldpave the way for the improvement of their position in the family, to join working life with more qualification andeligibility, their use of technology and production, and participation to political participation in a positive way.Increase of such participation would lead to the progress of social welfare.Traditional perceptions about the place of women in the society still continue their affect today. Although thenumber of women to take part in working life increases day by day in Ağrı, there are still many problems, whichprevent women have jobs, waiting for solutions. Certain inconveniences in economical, social and culturalstructure of the society are at the base of problems that women face in working life in Ağrı. Upon the solutionsof the inconveniences, women would participate in working life quicker.Keywords: social status of women in Ağrı, their effort for liberty, function of the women in family and workinglife, women‟s marriages at early ages in Ağrı, education level of the women__________________________________________________________________________________________109

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011INTRODUCTIONAlong with the fact that essence of men-women inequality problems and status of women show differences invarious period of time and social structures, it is understood that almost all societies have such unfavorableapplications. (Tümerdem, 1986;151). It is a widespread idea that in ancient times almost in all the societieswomen had no value (Sarıkoyuncu,1999;20). Women have been ruled under male dominance, and distinctiontowards them has always existed in known history (Berktay,2004;27). However, the aims of modern societiestoday is to form a democratic society, in which all men and women can decide about their own lives andeffectuate human potential freely by using their intelligence. In addition to the works conducted at national level,many agreements and proclamations arranged by the United Nations Organizations consider all types ofproblems of the women in the world and these problems are attempted to be solved with the organizationsestablished within its body (Doğramacı, 1993;29).The inequalities based on genders are still one of the most prominent problems of today. While they playefficient role in social and economical lives, women have always fall behind men for ages. Many reasons thatcause inequalities are mentioned. Firstly, it is emphasized that physically women are weaker than men. Toillustrate, many social scientists are of the opinion that the superiority of men is on account of being physicallystronger than women (Arat,1980:15). Another factor, which affects the unequal status of women and for manypeople which is the main reason of the inequality, is the difference in the creation of women (Martin,1998:494).In other words, number of religions has prejudices and practices against women. Social and cultural value codesform the third reason that leads to inequality. Traditional social circle of women and their responsibilities withinthe family have kept their social, economical and political status at low levels. Industrial Revolution was asignificant leap in regard to the rights of women. Hence, social, legal and political status of women, whoparticipate in work life, was altered. Today, although equality of women is legally established; it is noteffectuated completely in daily life (Yeşilorman,2001; 269-280 )The position of women shows differences in social classes as well. In fact, while living conditions or lifestandards of women in lower social classes are quite low, towards the upper classes, these standards are seen toincrease. Especially the problems of lower class women require urgent solutions, for this is the class that isexposed to social and economical pressures most. Currently, especially the women in villages and shanty housessustain their lives with the severest conditions in regard to responsibilities and rights. The social condition ofwomen in these regions, where there is intense existence of traditional ways of living, is quite serious. Moreover,the solution of problems relatively is less promising. At this point, urban women constitute the mostadvantageous group in respect to raising their social status and using of their rights.One of the factors that influence the position of women in the society is the type of production and women‟sparticipation to these activities. After becoming sedentary, women‟s active role in economical activities havepositive impacts on their social position; however, feudal and industrial situation proved to be disadvantageousfor women. For instance, women in the process of industrialization contributed greatly to the accumulation ofcapital holders, rather than family economy, by having different jobs. Cheap labor search of capital holdersincluded women to the work life. According to many researchers, capitalist economy enslaved people. As amatter of fact, to Veblen women constitute majority of the slaves (Alkan-Ergil,1980:199-200).The types of relationship of women with men, with themselves and other individuals of the society differ inevery society or region within the frame of social gender and these differences are determined culturally.Furthermore, as an individual all of us have roles and functions that are given to us by the society and people.There are huge differences between the roles given us by others and those we perceive. Roles of social genderare related to culture and values. The fact that gender discrimination is dominant in many societies lead them fallbehind, and prevent them from being the ones that manages the sources beyond just being producers. However,starting from this point of view, of the social reality, the contribution of women to the welfare of the society andthe country is not less than that of the men. Especially in developing countries, the observations in regard to thefact that gender discriminations take place against women put the role and function of women on agenda. (Saltık,1998).Gradually, as a result of the rapid changes in the society, women get rid of the obstacle of gender discriminationand take their place as active force in economical life. On the other hand, throughout the Republican history,educational reforms aiming at increasing economical, cultural and social development of women and socialchanges in parallel with them increased the status of women. As long as women are accepted as citizens thathave civil and political rights as much as they symbolize modernization and westernization of the Republic, the110

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011traditional composition also have faced alterations indirectly. This unique transformation affected all the classesof the society especially the women, and women are accepted as equal citizen. The developments reflected to allparts of the society, the economy of our country gradually got more varied, the private sector became morepowerful, and by the increase of educational level of women, their status and economical developmentaccelerated rapidly (Ereş, 2006;41).Women and their problems could not have been researched as they were thought to be part of confidential life.As a matter of fact, now it can be understood from meanings given to manhood and womanhood through thehistorical developments resulted in as a result of socio-cultural processes that women problems are not confinedto the confidential areas. Researches on women, which emerged as a new discipline towards the end of 1970s,first came to agenda as the translation of books with feminist theme and discussion topics on journals and thenentered into the research field of mainly women academics. The researchers reflected socio-cultural alterationsand developments of the last 40 years with their aspects that concern women.POSITION OF WOMEN IN TURKEY IN HISTORICAL PROCESSTurkish women, who have undergone several hardships from the period of the Ottoman Empire to the presentday, were given more opportunities by the proclamation of the Republic to benefit from educational and otherservices. Despite many gains of women in Turkey in social and political life since the middle of the previouscentury, it can be said that the development of the status of women is not at the level of expectations. When thegains of women in Turkey within the historical process are analyzed, it is seen that they commenced to havetheir place in social life with the nursing education they began to receive in 1843 within the body of TıbbiyeMekteb.Following the publication of İrade-i Seniye, which entitles equal title by descent to boys and girls, in 1847, thetrade of women as slaves and concubines in the Ottoman territory was banned in 1856. By “Arazi Kanunnamesi”(Land Law), which contains provisions entitling girls and boys to equal share of heritage, published in 1858,women obtained right to have possessions through heritage. “Maarif-i Umumiye Nizamnamesi”, which broughtlegal obligations to the education of girls, was published in 1869, and a year later “Dar-ül Muallimat”, girlteacher training school was established. Hukuk-ı Aile Kararnamesi, which includes arrangements related tosigning of marriage contract at the presence of an official, regulating age of marriage to 18 for boys and 17 forgirls, and invalidating marriages that were conducted by force, was published in 1871. By Kanun-i Esasi (1876),which is the first Constitutional Law, education for both girls and boys made obligatory. Women, who occupiesmore and more places in social lives, first entered work life in 1897 as paid workers, and commenced workingas government official in 1913 (Topçuoğlu,1984;5).Women started higher education first in 1922 by making their registration to Medical Faculty. By theproclamation of the Republic, the reforms were swiftly carried out to provide chances to take part in publicplaces and girls were offered to benefit from equal educational facilities with those of the boys. Thearrangements that gave right to men for polygamy and unilateral divorce were removed from the effectuationand Turkish Civil Law, which gives women right to get divorced, heritage and possession of goods, wasaccepted in 1926. Women received their right to select and be selected with the Law of Municipality issued in1930, rights to be chief of village and be a member of municipal committee with the Village Law issued in 1933,and with the Constitutional amendment in 1934, they gained right to be Member of Parliament (KSSGM,2003:43)..Maternity Leave, one of most important problems of working women, was first given in 1930 and by the LaborLaw that was put into effectuation in 1936, new arrangements were made about the work life of women. By ILOcontract signed in 1937, women‟s working in severe and dangerous underground works was banned. Turkeysigned United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1985and the subject of women was appeared as a sector in the 5 th Five-Year Development Plan for the first time. Thefirst Research and Application Centre for Women’s Problems was established in 1989 in Istanbul University.Article 159 of Civil Law, which requires woman‟s working to the permission of her husband, was cancelled by adecision of the Constitutional Court in 1900 (KSSGM, 1993;43).111

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Article 438 of Turkish Penal Law, which presupposes the reduction of punishment if the rape victim becomes aprostitute, was abrogated by Turkish Grand National Assembly in 1900. The first guesthouses to support womenand children, who face violence, were established in 1990. By an amendment in Civil Law in 1997, womanobtained right to use their own surname after marriage along with that of their husbands. Law in order to Protectthe Family, covering arrangements aiming at protecting women who are exposed to domestic violence, was putinto effect in 1998 (KSSGM, 1998;73). The law that required the length of obligatory basic education from 5years to eight years was effectuated in 1997 and legal enforcements for girls to study minimum eight years werebrought (MEB, 1992: 70).The works that aim at improving status of women gained international and official significance with theleadership of Women‟s Status Commission established in 1946 under the roof of United Nations Economical andSocial Council. The first of these activities is the meeting organized in Mexico City by United Nations in 1975and the final one was IV. World Women Convention organized in Beijing in 1995. United Nations Conventionon the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), was accepted by the UnitedNations Council in 1979. Turkey took part in the stated conventions and signed CEDAW in 1985; and finallypresented Turkey report in 2004. One of the significant developments related to women issue in Turkey is theestablishment of Prime Ministry General Directorate of Women‟s Status in 1990 (KSSGM, 1995: 1-229).Another important development is foundation of Research Centers related to Women Problems in Universities inparallel to the decisions taken in Beijing IV. World Women Convention.Turkey is one of the initial 13 countries that signed international contract, aiming at fighting against violencetowards women and domestic violence, which was opened to signature in European Council Meeting of ForeignMinisters that began on 11.05.2011 and continued for two days. “European Council Contract for fight againstviolence towards Women and Domestic Violence and their Prevention” would be the first legal arrangementswith binding effects that cover comprehensive legal frames with its mechanisms of prevention, protection,prosecution, and support for victims. The implementation of the contract, which would be sovereign to theinternal laws of the countries that sign, will be inspected by an independent committee within the body ofEuropean Council. The international contract defines various types of violence such as physical, sexual,psychological, as well as marrying by force and removal of women sexual organs; and brings sanctions to them.The countries, which are not Council members but in favor of the contract, will establish call centers and sheltersfor the women who are exposed to violence at the process of application; they will be obliged to providefacilities of medicine, forensics, and psychological and legal supports for the victims.The status of women is determined to be universally low and the women do not receive equal education withmen in general. The employment of women in economics is usually considered as an additional income to that ofmen and what women do at home is not considered as productive effort. There have been concrete leaps inregard to the education of women, their progress and strength in legal and social fields since the Republican Era.On account of successful works of women groups especially after 1980, women problems were approached atwith increasingly developing awareness at country level (KSSGM, 2000, 17). However, when the data on health,education and social indications are studied, it attracts our attention that the reforms so far are not sufficient.WOMAN AND GEOGRAPHYOne of the studies carried out in the field of geography is the relationship between women and geography. Thecontent of geography science expands constantly on account of varying conditions of the world. Carrying out itsactivities in cooperation with other sciences gets more and more significance as it is through the means ofgeography that history and literature are taught, and through literature and history, geography is learnt(Lambert,2003;20). Furthermore, due to factors such as geography‟s necessity for not being listless to the socialand economical developments of the age, and worries of the phenomenon of equality paved the way for the issueof gender to fall into the field of geography (Sanders, 1990;228).Geography science constitutes a large field of study and it feels obligation to analyze the work facilities andconditions of people. Living conditions of women, as a sub topic to this subject, their facilities of employmentand the hardships they face in work life are included in the study of geography. Such a condition paved the wayfor the formation of feminist geography, which is another sub-branch of geography, has been a mediator indiscussing issues related to women in scientific circles more efficiently (Doğanay vd, 2007;12-13).112

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Meeting of Feminism and Geography (1970s) did not remain as addition of a new content to the pure humanenvironmentrelationships. The meeting was the complimentary parameter of social gender and environmentalchanges; likewise, feminism, as the analysis and policies of social gender changes became complimentary togeographical studies. Feminist geographers, who attempt to find a connection between the place an individuallives in and his/her identity, places special attention to the issue of women and environment (Reed & Mitchel,2003; 231). .Geographers began to compromise on the fact that social gender and environment are in the process ofinteraction with each other. Women, just like men, are organized to increase their sources for their works. Thenature of the organization of women is limited and guided by certain environments called „the place of women‟.This place is offered to fulfill the tasks defined as „works of women‟, which is a set of social sources thatchanges historically.The early writers used to assert that geographers neglected the efficiencies of women, which consequently stayedthe reality of the lives of women and the perception of human-environment relationships. They used to claim thatgeographers formed models based on family types that were no longer in existence and code of conducts basedon social gender (Burnett 1973, Enjeu & Save 1974, Hayford 1974). In addition, this meeting of geography andfeminism was at the same time quite precautious. People used to behave cautiously as a new content wastransferred through another discipline while the new one did not exist.Feminist geographical works obtained institutional structure including method-scientific principles in the earlyyears of 1980s. The more the field of interest of the feminist geography expands, more emphasizes are put onconcepts related to human-environment relationships, suggested and developed by humanists and historicalmaterialists. Many feminist geographers became aware of human-environment relationships through historicalmaterialist analysis (Rowbotham et al. 1979, Wandor 1972). By 1990s, place, time-place relationship anddiscussion of identity issue within the aspects of post modernism lead to the development of Feminist interest inrespect to place. As required by this interest, approach of “feminist geography” developed and a movement ofwomen and planning emerged, and anthropological and intercultural Feminist researches included placedimension.The space of women includes not only necessary sources for confidential family life but also supply of publicservices and required sources for paid works. These works illustrate that strategy development attempts arelimited by the available environment in divided cities, and that women get rid of the problems by using newtypes and developing usages of spaces. As usual, efficiency of women was encircled by „places of` women‟ aswell as they were forced to form new spaces.Efficiency of geographers to comprehend these processes would develop depending on progressing the topic ofdebate triggered by the feminists. Feminist geographers showed that there is dialectical process that coversreactions of individuals in local scales within the interaction of the actions of restructuring economics, global andnational united forces (Murgatroyd et al, 1985;30-53). Activities of women are enlarged geographically and theconcepts it developed in order to explain these efficiency of feminists expand in a way to cover urban analysis asa whole.PRESENT CONDITION OF WOMEN IN AĞRISocio-Cultural Condition of Ağrı CitySituated at above Murat-Van area of the East Anatolian Region, Ağrı city‟s land area is as much as 11. 376 km²(Map 1), population showed constant increase between the years 1927-2010. In 1927, when the first populationcensus was carried out, the population of Ağrı was 104 435. However, according to ADNKS results thepopulation of Ağrı was 275 785 in 2010. The population of 275 785 live in city and town centers and 266237people live in villages. In total the population of greater Ağrı reached to 542 022 and its rank among 81 cities ofTurkey is 37 in regard to population. Like the general population in Turkey, the urbanization process in Ağrı citywas accelerated in the periods following the year 1950. Ağrı city has been especially one of the cities thatexperienced immigration phenomenon gradually.113

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Per capita income in Ağrı is 3.616 TL (2010) and its position in per capita income among 81 cities of Turkey is77. Ağrı‟s economy is based on agriculture and especially in livestock; its industry is not developed.Due to number of reasons, there has been a decrease in livestock. The fact that Ağrı was taken among theprivileged cities in development led Ağrı progress, although it is very limited. Public investments, joint venturefirms and cooperation played significant roles in these developments. Moreover, border trade has vitalcontributions to the development of city and the region. The first regulations about the border trade in ourcountry were published on the Official Gazette in 1979 and were effectuated as of this date. Upon an agreementbetween Governorship of Ağrı and the West Azerbaijan General Governorship of Iran Islamic Republic, variousgoods of consumptions, diesel fuel, oil, and petroleum began to be traded mutually. After a short break in bordertrade with Iran at Gürbulak Customs Gate, it became active again in 1985.Map 1: Location Map of Study Area.Ağrı has been one of the cities in our country at the bottom in respect to the rate of literacy and education afterthe foundation of the Republic. Ratio of literate population in Ağrı for both the genders shows increases just likeit is in entire country. As a matter of fact, while 10,4 % of men and 1,4 % of women were literate in 1935, thesame rate increased to 95,2 % for men and 80,1 % for women in 2010 (TUİK, 2010). The literacy rate of womenpopulation increased more than that of men, however the differences between the genders still continues.According to the data of Ağrı city education board, the schooling rate according to the age population in 2009-2010 were 12,52 % for Pre-school, 97,53 % for Primary School, and 26,92 % for Middle school.114

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Table 1: Schooling Rates in Ağrı according to Age Population (2009-2010)School Registered Students Age Population %Pre-school 5393 43087 12,52Primary School 120155 123199 97,53Middle School 13965 51882 26,92Total 139513 218168 63,94Source: TÜİK (Turkish Statistics Institute), 2010 and data of Ağrı City Education Board.It is observed that, except the primary school education, people throughout the city do not benefit fromeducational facilities from pre-school to higher education in productive ways. Total number of students in thegreater city is 139.513. The number of pre-school students is 5393, number of primary schools students is120.155, and the number of middle school students is 13.965. As of the teachers; the number of pre-schoolteachers is 67, classroom teachers is 3.875, and the number of branch teachers is 558. There are 680 schools and3.193 classrooms in the greater city. The number of students for each classroom is 20 in pre-school, 43 inprimary school, and 33 in middle school. Especially High School premises are inadequate and the classrooms aretoo crowded. One of the most vital problems of education in Ağrı city is the circulation of teachers. The teachers,who are appointed through the first appointments, transfer to other cities after completing their basic andpreparatory courses on the excuses of the state of spouse, health and education.School age population in small villages and counties, where there are no schools, continue their education inRegional Boarding Primary Schools. There are a lot of students, who complete Primary School and have noopportunity to study Middle School. Some of these students are transported to city and town centers within thescope of mobile education. It is also worth mentioning that number of dormitories for both boys and girls hasincreased greatly in recent years.Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, which is the only higher education institution in Ağrı, was established in 2007.University carries out its educational activities with 4 faculties, 2 institutions, 4 vocational schools and 3vocational schools of higher education and 4.175 students.AIM OF THE RESEARCHStarting from the fact that women are subjected to face more problems in every society, problems related towomen have become a hot topic on agenda in recent years. The aim of this research is to analyze the factors thatdetermine the place of women in society and find out changes, if there is any. Within the frame of thisobjectivity; what is the position of women within the family and social life and what her problems are. Whetherthe problems that women face are due to the identity of women or socio-economic structure of the region or theinadequate education of women; what kind of relationship is there between the educational level of women andthe problems they have? All these questions were attempted to be answered. Hence, their place in the system ofsocial relationships was assessed within the frame of a field research.METHODPopulation and Sampling of the ResearchIn order for research to represent Ağrı city, which has a heterogeneous formation, it was decided to takeappropriate sampling within the frame of rural-urban distinction. However, considering that majority of the Ağrıcity population is consisted of people emigrated from rural areas, women of 15 and above was selected for the115

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011research sampling group. According to information obtained from Ağrı Municipality, there are 17 neighborhood,and about 800 streets. 1/5 number of streets of each locality were determined by systematic sampling techniqueand from each street 2 women from 2 houses were selected randomly. Total of 180 women were designated asthe size of sampling.Method and Techniques of the ResearchLiterature review, survey and interview techniques were applied within the frame of general scanning model inthe research. The first part of the research is theoretical while the second part was carried out practically. Firstresource scanning was made about the research to be conducted and the topic was studied within the light of theobtained resources. In the applied part of the research, survey forms were prepared and applied in line with theaim of the research.ApplicationThe women survey participants were given a questionnaire consisted of 50 questions covering the place ofwomen within the family, cultural, economical and health problems that are unique to the region. At the lastsection of the survey, there was also an open ended question to ask the women were asked if there is anythingthey wanted to add. After completing official procedure about the application of the survey, pilot scheme wascarried out and after this application, the questions, which were not easy to understand, were rewritten in easierand more explicable way. The survey was conducted in a period of 15 days by 7 pollsters, of whom 1 was afaculty member and other 6 were university students.Data AnalysisFirstly a lot of data about the domestic and social roles of women, and their educational level was obtained.Then, whether the opinions of women in certain topics differ significantly in regard to education variable wasstudied in the analysis of the data. In decoding part, the questions in the survey were interpreted within the scopeof sampling by taking the frequency (f) and percentage (%) distribution of the participants.FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATIONSGeneral Characteristics of Sampling GroupThe women of Ağrı in sampling are young population and are mainly consisted of married ones (96,7 %). 54 %of the women participants got married before the age of 20. It is seen that religious and official wedding takeplace together in majority of the marriages (59,5 %). It especially attracts our attention that there is a positiverelationship between level of education and the age of getting married. When we look at the educational level ofwomen, we see that following the primary school graduates (38,8 %), the ratio of illiterate ones (36,6 %)constitute the majority. The educational level of women is low in comparison to men. This indicates that thetradition of not letting girls to go to school due to socio economic reasons still continues today. As a matter offact, the ratio of illiterate men was 95,48 % and that of women was 99,82 % in the years between 1923-1928(Demirtaş,2008;68). When we keep in mind that, the number of girls going to school today is still low, it isunderstood that this condition has always existed.The rate of women is low. The ratio of the working women is as low as 18,9 %. The majority of unemployedwomen is consisted of housewives with 81,1 %. While 51,6 % of the women have social security, 48,4 % ofthem have no social security at all. They benefit from Green Card application of the government. The monthlysalary of most of the working women is about minimum basic income. The working women spent most of theirsalary for the food and clothes of their families. The educational and health expenses of the family come afterfood and cloth expenses.116

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011The registration of the possession of the properties that women live in belongs to first to their husbands (54,8 %)and then to their parents or parents-in-law (34,1 %). The rate of women who have their own house is 11,1 %. Itis quite low. Most of the durable consumer goods have been started to be used in the houses where the researchwas conducted. These goods, which are considered as the indications of economical improvement, providefavorable advantageous to women in daily tasks.All the women participants consider the family institution as important and indispensable. Willing to get marriedis generally decided by the families; however, there are also marriages that take place with mutual love. Forwomen, the most important factors in marriage is mutual love, respect and commitment. As it is illustrated inTable 4, decisions of the relatives in selecting a husband for the women of Ağrı are more effective than their owndecisions. However, it is also found out that the rate of their own decision in selecting husband is on the gradualrise. Although the 35 % of the survey participants have had marriages with relatives, it is highly attentiondeserving that they are (65,5 %) against their children to get married with a relative. Among the leading reasonsfor such attitudes of women comes risk of having handicapped children due to kin marriages.Polygamy type of marriages seen in the East Anatolian Region of Turkey is not very common in Ağrı (11 %)and they strictly oppose co-wife (92 %). The rate of the bridal exchange type of marriage, which is again distinctto the region, is 5,5 %. It is not welcomed by the women. The rate of divorce is quite low; cheating on with one‟sspouse is the leading reason of the divorce.Traditional view in respect to the tasks of men and women in domestic relationships preserve its importance.Most women participants state that their most important tasks are to run household chores and look after theirchildren. Women‟s contribution to family income is limited and their function in budged management is quitelow. In regard to economics, the values produced by women as service values within the family are ignored.However, if we consider the matter in a holistic approach, we will see that the contribution of housewives, whosometimes produce income-generating products, to family income is in considerable amounts. There have beenchanges in the traditional distribution of role and status of women with the increase of educational level; the rateof women who want to take part in work life actively developed dramatically (56 %). The basic reason of such adevelopment is the contribution to family budget and their desire to improve their status. Almost all the women(97 %) carry out production activities for consumption in the family.It draws our attention that males or dominant in the process of decision taking. A majority of women do notresist when there are problems while taking a decision together; they prefer persuasion compromise in solvingproblems. In regard to domestic relationship, it is observed that women are in sound interaction with familymembers (98 %), but it is also seen that in case of domestic disagreements women become subject to violence(30,5 %).Women in the field of the research state that although their level of education is low, they (71,1 %) focus on thefact that girls must get education as much as they can. This is a significant development. Only 5 % of the surveyparticipants think that primary education is sufficient for the girls. Most of the women see religious education ascompulsory for moral development of their children and they state that this education must be carried out byeducational institutions. In parallel with educational level, the rate of the habit of reading also remains quite low.The ratio of women who read books, newspapers and journals regularly is 17 %. Among the activities of leisuretimes, handicraft works come first with 47,7 %. Other important leisure time activities are friends and relativesvisits (15,9 %) and watching television 17 % and using internet 2,4 %.Out of 96,7 % of the married women participated in research, 15,9 % have single child, 19,3 % have twochildren, 15,3 % have three children and 40,9 % have four or more children. The average number of children forworking women is found out to be 3.4. While most of the women see gender differences as unimportant, manyof them mentioned to have boys to continue their generation and maintain their social security in future.High fertility rate is among the significant health problems in Ağrı. Although an overwhelming majority ofwomen with 85 % support birth control methods, 79 % of them are against abortion. In regard to women‟sbenefit from health institutions, the number of women who state that they do not go to doctors without gettingsick is 83,5 %. Moreover, complaints about the inadequacy of the institutions and listlessness of health personnelare pretty high.117

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011WOMEN AND EDUCATIONEducation, which is one of the most important requirements of a modern society, is a pre-condition of productiveand qualitative way of life. Rapid change and development process pave the way for the need of social changesand transformations; hence, it is among the important objectives of the society to cope with the developmentsand changes in the world and guide the society accordingly. Education is the key concept in reaching thedesignated targets. Therefore, it is important that the education society provides to the individuals must cover allthe parts of the society, and increase the quality and efficiency of the people.Education is a starting point for women to progress in many fields. It is an effective factor on the place andemployment facilities of women in society (Özgüç, 1998: 89). However, researches point out that women‟s arebeing educated is not always sufficient to get rid of socio-cultural problems, and that there is a traditional imageof women as well as a social pressure (Özgen-Ufuk, 2000: 1075). In order to maintain men-women equality,there is an increasing awareness on the education of women. Although there has been great increase inparticipation to the education programs especially to those designated for the illiterate women, the education ofwomen is still insufficient.Education of GirlsTurkey, with international contracts such as Contract of Children Rights (signed by Turkey in 1990), UnitedNations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, Turkey signedit in 1985), develop policies on education, guarantee to make legal arrangements, implementation of these lawsand increase the literacy rate of women to 100 %. Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discriminationagainst Women is one of the most important international documents that provide equal opportunity and access.The 10 th article title as Right to Education obliges the parties to take all appropriate precautions to providewomen equal rights with men in education.To effectuate educational rights of women on the basis of the equality of opportunities, making primaryeducation free and compulsory for all, making sure that the child goes to school regularly, and taking cautions tostop school dropouts stated in Contract of Children Rights were guaranteed with Article 42 of the Constitution“Primary education is compulsory for all girls and boys and free in public schools”. Accordingly, all legalarrangements such as law, regulations, and directives were arranged to cover all the citizens without making anymale-female discriminations.Nevertheless, sending girls to middle and higher education schools following the primary education bring manyproblems with it. The educational level difference, which is taking place against women, is accounted foreconomical situation and moral values by the families. It is because, the idea that girls do not need to study, theymust first get married has been changing. As a matter of fact, almost all the women participants (98,9 %) in Ağrıare of the opinion that girls must get education. Despite the inequalities in the level of education against women,there is no opinion stating that women must not get education, moreover, a majority with 71,0 % state that girlsmust get education as much as they can and 12,5 % desire girls to get higher education.The fact that the positive ideas about the education of women is quite common shows that the idea of girls do notneed to get education has been on the change. At the same time, it is explicitly seen that the decision about theeducation of girls do not originate from the traditional attitudes but from existing education system andeconomical conditions. Furthermore, these results would give us hint about the prospective decrease between theeducational level of male and female and that educational system as well as the economy would develop.After determining the attitudes of women towards education, the participants were asked the question of whythey want girls to study in order to find out their expectations. Except 3 people who were not in favor of girls tostudy, the answers and their distributions are 17,2 % of the women in sampling want girls to get education tohave a profession, 14,4 % for them to be knowledgeable, 30,0 % to be beneficial to the country and the nation,and 52,2 % want them to study for all the reasons provided. This result show that women are in differentexpectation than their existing situation, and that they support women to work outside. Only 13,3 % of thewomen are of the opinion that women must get education in order to have better marriages and help theirchildren well.Hence, all the options have found responses for the necessity of the education of girls. 72,5 % of women, whoprovided positive opinions to support the education of girls, also support that girls must also get sufficient andsupportive religious education. Although an overwhelming majority of women participants (81,0 %) state that118

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011they receive their religious information from the family, only 24 % believe that Islam can be learnt from thefamilies better. Thus, 29 % of women wants their children to get religious education in Quran courses while 19% in schools. In surveys and interviews, women especially focus on the necessity of religious education for theirchildren, and that this social sensitivity has not been paid due attention so far.Impact on Education on WomenIncrease of socio-economical status and women‟s getting a place in society depend on the providence ofeducational facilities. Educational institutions undertake responsibilities of providing equality of opportunitiesand spreading the idea of the equality of women as well as contributing to the improvement of the status ofwomen in the society by leading them to have a profession and status. Increase of the educational level wouldserve to the adaptation of the principle of equality. Increase of educational level of especially women paved theway for them to professionalize in certain areas and hold a profession rather than working at some fields thatrequire basic skills but not knowledge. However, neither economical independence nor socio-economical changeof roles could keep women away from the traditional functions and could not maintain equality of genders(Demirci-Güler, 1991: 77). Hence, for the establishment of gender based equality, it has become obligatory tobenefit from education.In respect to benefitting from educational facilities, it draws our attention that there is a gender differencebetween the East and the South East Anatolian Region and that the educational level of women is quite low. Thisunderdevelopment in educational level originate from mainly women‟s state of being at secondary status, andfamilies doubtful attitude towards letting their daughters to study on account of religious and moral factors. Itshould also not be neglected that the people in the region are not inclined on in regard to education. When welook at the legal aims of education, it is stated that it has functions to elevate and improve the place of women insociety. In this section, the impact of education on women will be discussed in regard o marriage and familyinstitutions.Education and the Age of First MarriageBy an amendment in Turkish Civil Law in 2003, the age of marriage was accepted as 17 for boys and 15 forgirls. However, there are also early marriages below the legal age limits. Need for human force in agricultural cooperations is given as the reason to it; and thus it is asserted that one of the significant functions of women is toraise children, who would work in family cooperation (Özgen-Ufuk,1984;1063-1078). The answers to thequestion at what age did you get married? are as follows: 16,7 % of women got married at the age of 15 andbelow, 39,5 % got married between the ages of 16-20, 27,2 % married between 21-25, 11,1% got marriedbetween the ages of 26-30 and 5,1 % got married at the age of 30 and above. This data is highly significant forthe government in planning population.Table 2: Marriage Age Distribution of Survey Participants according their age (2010).At what age did you get married?Source: Based on survey result.Age groups f %11-15 30 16,716-20 71 39,521-25 49 27,226 -30 20 11,130 + 10 5,5Total 180 100When we analyze Table 2, 56,2 % of women in the research field are found out to have married at the age of 20and below. This data show that, although age of marriage in Ağrı is low, it is close to the average age ofmarriage in Turkey in general. It is an acceptable reality that necessary maturity for marriage does not take placeat the same time for everyone and it may vary because of the impact of climate, region and cultural differences.Therefore, it may not be forgotten that, we may come across early marriages. However, the reasons of negativeapproaches to early marriages can be explained in the following sentences: early marriage increase the period ofthe fertility of women to have children. On the other hand, health problems of women with many children119

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011increase and it becomes very hard for her to carry out any other function outside home. When the negativeresults of early marriages are considered, it is a positive development that women think that the most appropriateages of marriage are 21-26 for women and 26 and above for men.According to population census and researches throughout the country, the average marriage of age is increasinggradually. As a matter of fact, according to 2008 data, average marriage age in Turkey general is 26,2 for menand 22,9 for women while in 2009, it was 26,3 for men and 23,0 for women (TUİK 2008-2009 MarriageStatistics). As to the answer of the question at what age did you get married 24,4 % of women said at agesbetween 10-15, 54,4 % said 16-20, 13, 9 % stated 21-25, 5,6 % said 26-30 and 1,7 % said 30 and above. As aresult, age of marriage is increasing both in Turkey general and in Ağrı in specific on account of the increase ineducational level.It draws our attention that average age of marriage increases in parallel with the increase in educational level. Asa matter of fact, while illiterate women mostly marry at the ages between 10-15 and 16-20, those who are literatemarry at the age between 21-25. There is a sizeable increase in their percentage. Besides, marriage age ofprimary school graduate women falls in the age group between 10-15, and intensifies at the group of 16-20 and21-26. High school graduates get married mainly between the ages 16-20 and 21-26 whereas vocational schoolgraduates marry between the ages 21-26 (Table 3).Table 3: Age of Marriage for the Survey ParticipantsAccording to their Level of Education (2010)Groups of Marriage AgeState of Education10-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 30 + Toplamf % f % f % f % f % f %Not Literate 26 40.1 27 41,5 7 10,7 5 7,7 - - 65 100.0Only can write and read 4 26,6 6 40,0 3 20,0 1 6,7 1 6,7 15 100.0Primary school 13 18,6 47 67,1 7 10,0 2 2,9 1 1,4 70 100.0Middle or equivalent 1 5,5 14 77,8 2 11,1 1 5,6 18 100,0High or or equivalent - - 3 37,5 3 37,5 1 12,5 1 12,5 8 100,0Undergraduate and Graduate - - 1 25,0 3 75,0 - - - - 4 100,0TOTAL 44 24,4 98 54,4 25 13,9 10 5,6 3 1,7 180 100,0Resource: Prepared from the survey results.It is explicitly illustrated in Table 3 that age of marriage for the girls in Ağrı varies depending on their level ofeducation. When the first marriage age of the women in the sampling of the research is analyzed according totheir level of education, 40,1 % of illiterate women get married between the ages of 10-15, 41,5 % at the agebetween 16-20, 10,7 % between the ages 21-25, and 7,7 % got married between the ages of 26-30. This numbersclearly show that illiterate women got married at early ages. Likewise, 26,6 % of the literate women got marriedat the age between 10-15, 40,0 % between 16-20, 20,0 % between 21-25, 6,7 % between 26-30 and another 6,7% got married at the age of 30 and above.18,6 % of the primary school graduate women got married between the ages of 10-15, 67,1 % got marriedbetween 16-20, 10,0 % between 21-25, 2,9 % between 26-30 and 1,4 % got married at the age of 30 and above.It is seen that majority of primary school graduate women got married between the ages 16-20. On the otherhand, among the middle school and equivalent institution graduate women, 5,5 % got married at the age between10-15, 77,8 % between 16-20, 11,1 % between 21-25 and 5,6 % between 26-30. It attracts our attention thatmajority of Middle school and equivalent graduate (77,8 %), just like the primary school graduates, got marriedbetween the ages of 16-20.Among High school and equivalent graduates, whose number is few, 37,5 % got married at the age of 16-20,37,5 % got married at the age between 21-25, 12,5 % between 26-30 and 12,5 % between 30 and above.However, 25 % of university and vocational school graduate women got married between the ages 16-20, and75,0 between the ages 21-25. It is highly interesting that 75,0 % of women in this group got married between theages 21-25. In conclusion, it can be said that marriage age of women in Ağrı increase in parallel with their levelof education.120

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Education and Selection of SpouseThe selection of spouse in Ağrı takes place in many ways: mutual decision of prospective couples, decisionsgiven by parents with the consents of the prospective couple, decisions of only the parents without asking theyouth, or taking marriage decisions by relatives. According to the data of the research, rather than praises to themarriages conducted with love and desire, the marriages effectuated with the desires of families and relativesstill continue in great amounts. As to the question asked to women who decides your selection of spouse?, 46, 1% of the women stated that they decide themselves, 44,4 % said that their family decided, 6,1 % said theydecided with the family, 3,3 % said that their relatives decided their selection of spouse.Table 4: Selection of Spouses of the Women in Research FieldAccording to their Level of Education (2010).Those who decide selection of spouseLevel of EducationTopgetherMyself Family with Relatives TotalFamilyf % f % f % F % f %Not Literate 17 30,9 33 60,1 3 5,4 2 3,6 55 100Only Literate 4 26,8 9 60,0 1 6,6 1 6,6 15 100Primary School 19 40,4 25 53,2 3 6,4 - 47 100Middle and equivalent 11 52,4 8 38,1 2 9,5 - 21 100High and equivalent 20 66,7 5 16,7 2 6,6 3 10,0 30 100Undergraduate and Graduate 12 100,0 - - - - - - 12 100TOTAL 83 46,1 80 44,4 11 6,1 6 3,3 80 100Resource: Based on Survey results.When the Table 4, which illustrates the comparison of spouse selection methods and level of education, isanalyzed, 69,1 % of the women in Ağrı, who are illiterate and only 66,6 % of the literate women state that thedecision of marriage is given by their families and relatives. Hence, it can be said that spouses of both literateand illiterate women are mainly selected by their families and relatives.The selection of their spouses with their own decision is 40,4 % in primary school graduates, but it increases to52,4 % in middle and equivalent school graduates. The selection of husband in primary school graduate is onlyslightly different in comparison to literate and illiterate women. On the other hand, the rate of selecting theirspouses in middle and equivalent school graduates is more than that of primary school graduates. The same rategradually increases in high school and equivalent and vocational school and university graduates. As a matter offact, 66,7 % of high school and equivalent graduates select their husbands with their own decisions, whereas it is100 % for vocational school or faculty graduates.When a general assessment is carried out, the rate of women giving their own decision increases in parallel withthe level of education. It attracts our attention that for the spouse selection of the most of the illiterate and forthat literate not primary school graduates, mainly their families and their relatives decide on behalf of them. Therate of marriage decisions by others decreases for primary and middle school graduates, and the rate of their owndecisions increases. High school and equivalent graduates usually give their own decision to form their ownfamily whereas vocational school and faculty graduate completely give their own decisions. Hence, the decisionof the selection of their own husband for marriage for the women of Ağrı increases in parallel with the level ofeducation.Place of Women in FamilyOne of the most significant indications that show the place of women in society in our country is the place ofwomen within the family. The idea that the best place for women is home and the best work is to look after thechildren and do their own work occupies a significant place in Turkish society (Egghardt,1988; 22-30). In many121

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011regions, the place, value and benefit of women are still measured with the children they give birth to. Moreover,giving birth to male children and raising healthy children are among the demanded qualifications desired inwomen.In a comparative study of generations, 32,9 % of the mothers consider a successful mother as good mother andgood wife, 23,2 % consider as those doing social activities beneficial to the society along with being a goodmother, 25,6 % consider those women who can successful run both family and profession together as thesuccessful mother (Kandiyoti,1979;326-358). In another study, the question “what is the most important task ofwomen?” was responded by 64,8 % as the household chores, and look after her husband and children, 16,8 % asthe contribution to the family budget, 15,2 % as the organization of the social relationships of the family (Günindi Ersöz, 1997;103-107).As to the question, what is the most important task of women within the family?, 41,2 % of the women in theresearch field responded as to carry out household chores, to give birth, and raise the children, 19,4 % mentionedas to contribute to the family budget, and manage the budget, 30,0 % said to look after husband and children, 5,0% said that it is to look after the elders, and 4,4 % said that it is to organize social relationships of the family.Educational Level ofWomen SurveyParticipantsTable 5: Position and Tasks of Women within the FamilyDohouseholdchores, givebirth andraise childrenAccording to Their Level of Education (2010).The most significant task of women within the familyLook after herArrangeContributiLook afterhusband andsocialon tothe elderschildren andrelationshipfamilyin thesupport thems of thebudgetfamilyspirituallyfamilyf % f % F % f % f % f %Not Literate 35 70.0 5 10.0 5 10.0 3 6.0 2 4.0 50 100Only Literate 9 52.9 1 5,9 5 29,4 2 11,8 - 17 100Primary School 23 48,9 8 17,0 12 25,5 2 4,3 2 4,3 47 100Middle andequivalent3 14,3 3 14,3 13 61,8 1 4,8 1 4,8 21 100High and equivalent 3 9,1 11 33,3 16 48,6 1 3,0 2 6,0 33 100Undergraduate andGraduate1 8,3 7 58,3 3 25,1 - - 1 8,3 12 100TOTAL 74 41,2 35 19,4 54 30,0 9 5,0 8 4,4 180 100Resource: Based on Survey results.TotalWhen the educational level of women in Ağrı and their perception of the task of women within the family arestudied within the farm of the date in the Table 5, majority of the women those who are illiterate, only literateand primary school graduate state that the most important tasks of the women in the family are to give birth tochildren, raise them and run household chores; however, most of the middle and high school graduate womenstate that it is to support their children and husbands. As a matter of fact, the rate of illiterate women who saythat the most important task of women within the family is to run household chores, to give birth and to raisethem is seen to be 70 %. The same ratio is 52,9 % in only literate women, 48,9 % in primary school graduates,14,3 % in middle and equivalent school graduates, 9,1 % in high school graduates, 8,3 % in vocational schooland faculty graduate women.Vocational school and faculty graduate women mainly stated that there three important tasks of women. Theseare contribution to family budget, support to her husband and children, and organize social relationships of thefamily. It is observed that none of the women in this group mentioned that their task is to look after the elders.The rate of those who think that the most important tasks of women are to run household chores, give birth andraise children is low.When Table 5 is evaluated in general, the task definition of women within the family changes with the level ofeducation. Overwhelming majority of illiterate, only literate and primary school graduate women state thatprimary tasks of the women within the family are to run household chores, and give birth to children, whilemiddle and high school graduate women say that it is to look after the children and husband and support them122

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011morally. However, vocational school and faculty graduate women say that their primary tasks are to supportchildren and husband along with contributing to the family budget. In conclusion, the more the educational levelof women increase, especially high school and vocational school graduates consider that the primary task of thewomen is to contribute to the family budget.Participation of Women to Economical Decisions of the FamilyIn the decisions within the family and those related to economics, there are striking results when the level ofeducation is studied. The question, who spends money more in the family? Was responded by 46,7 % women asthe elders of the family, 8,3 % myself, 38,9 % my husband, 23,3 % I and my husband, and 2,8 % everyonespends their own earnings.Level of EducationTable 6: Effect of Women on Spending MoneyAccording to Their Level of Education (2010).Who in the Family is more effective in spending moneyElders ofthe familyMyselfMyhusbandI and myhusbandEveryonespendsownTotalf % f % f % f % f % f %Not Literate 9 18,0 6 12,0 28 56,0 7 14,0 - - 50 100Only Literate 5 33,3 1 6,7 8 53,3 1 6,7 - 15 100Primary School 12 24,5 2 4,1 18 36,7 17 34,7 - 49 100Middle and equivalent 5 23,8 4 19,0 8 38,1 4 19,1 - 21 100High and equivalent 10 33,3 2 6,7 6 20,0 10 33,3 2 6,7 30 100Undergraduate and- - 2 13,3 3 20,0 3 20,0 1007 46,715GraduateTOTAL 48 26,7 15 8,3 70 38,9 42 23,3 5 2,8 180 100Resource: Based on Survey results.Table 6 assessed the participation of women to the decisions related to financial matters and their level ofeducation comparatively. The question, who in the family is more effective in spending money?, was respondedas my husband by 56,0 % of illiterate women, elders in the family 18, 0 %, 12,0 % myself, and 14,0 % I an myhusband. It is seen that 74,0 % of illiterate women as well as 86,6 % of only literate women are not in a positionto participate to the decision on spending money. In comparison to the first two groups, in the families wherethere are primary school, middle school and high school graduates, there are considerable increases inparticipation of them with their husbands and elders in the family on spending money although traditional valuescontinue in these families.In parallel to the increase of the educational level of women, the decisions of their husbands and elders in thefamily gradually decrease, and their decision alone and that with their husbands increase. However, what attractsour attention here is that there is no parallel development in vocational school graduate women‟s participation tospending money. When we look at the state of vocational school graduate women in giving decisions related tofinancial issues, we see surprising results. 46,7 % state that the spending are decided by the elders in the family,13,3 % state by husbands, 20,0 % state that they decide together with their husbands. The ratio of taking decisionwith the husbands, which is an ideal way of taking decision, is highly low in vocational school graduates. Therate of the decision by the elders of the family was found out to be high. The fact that the number of vocationalschool graduate women to participate in the survey was low, it became difficult to make sound interpretation.Furthermore, there is also idea that vocational school graduates might have married to someone from a largefamily, in which elders decide all types of family affairs including the way of spending money.Position of Women in Solving Disagreements within the FamilyIn parallel to the level of education, during the process of decision taking or solution of disagreements within thefamily, women play more effective roles. It is such that to the question what do you do when your husband do123

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011not agree with your decisions?, 44,4 % of the women stated that they try to persuade their husbands, 6,7 % statedthat they get angry at their husbands but do what they think, 32,8 % said that they agree with the decisions oftheir husbands, and 16,1 % said that they change their decisions (Table 7). As it can be understood from theseresponses, a significant number of women persuade their husbands for the disagreements in the process of takingdecisions.Table 7: Attitudes to be Conducted when the Husband does not agree with the DecisionLevel of EducationAttitudes when the Husband does not agree with the DecisionTry topersuademyhusbandI getangry athim butdo what IknowI agreewith myhusbandI changemy decisionTotalf % f % f % F % f %Not Literate 10 18,5 4 7,4 24 44,4 16 29,7 54 100Only Literate 7 33,3 1 4,8 8 38,1 5 23,8 21 100Primary School 19 44,2 3 7,0 17 39,5 4 9,3 43 100Middle and equivalent 12 63,2 2 10,5 3 15,8 2 10,5 19 100High and equivalent 20 68,9 2 6,9 5 17,3 2 6,9 29 100Undergraduate and 12 85,7 - - 2 14,3 - - 10014GraduateTOTAL 80 44,4 12 6,7 59 32,8 29 16,1 180 100Resource: Based on Survey results.Table 7 illustrates the attitudes of women in Ağrı when there are some agreements with their husbands incomparison with the level of education. When both only literate and illiterate women have disagreements in theprocess of taking decisions, they mainly accept the decisions of their husbands. 18,5 % of the illiterate womentry to persuade their husbands while it is 33,3 % for the only literate women.In general assessment, depending on the educational level of women from the illiterate ones to the universitygraduates, the rate of women who agree with the decisions of their husbands gradually decreases. As it can beunderstood from Table 7, 44,4 % of the illiterate women and 14,3 % of the vocational school graduate womenagree with the decisions of their husbands. In addition, the more the educational level increases the more womentry to persuade their husbands to take a decision together. The rate of women who prefer persuasion is 18,5 inilliterate women while it is 85,7 % in vocational school graduates.WOMEN IN WORK AND BUSINESS LIFEAlthough women‟s participation in production life is a phenomenon as old as the human history, their work formoney commenced with industrial revolution that paved the way for number of technical-technological,economical and social changes in the society in the 19 th century. Women, who had taken part in the process ofproduction since the beginning of the human history, began to work outside for money with the industrialrevolution (Günindi Ersöz,1997;103). In the years following the industrial revolution, while men transferredfrom land and farm work to factory and office works, women began to transfer to office and industry works(Akçam, 1996;20-32).As a result of the reflection of number of structural changes in agriculture and education and the technologicaldevelopments in the world in the 19 th century to the Ottoman territories, traditional family structure became moredifficult and women started doing paid works outside home (Makal, 2001;117-155). By the foundation of theRepublic in Turkey, the women who were able to benefit from the equality in education began to take part in124

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011work life (Doğramacı, 1992: 106). On account of the economical conditions in Turkey, traditional work sharebased on social gender also begin to change by the obligatory participation of women to the public places(Somersan,2004:355).According to United Nations Development Program 2010 Human Development Index Report published with thetitle Real Wealth of Nations, Turkey, which is stated to have the 16 th biggest economy in the world, could nothave the same ranking in the Human Development Index. According to HDI, Turkey ranks 83 among thecountries that show humanitarian development. On the other hand, in Social Gender Inequality Index, which iscalculated out of number of measurements such as health of production, political participation of woman, therole she plays in economy, and educational level, only 138 countries were assessed owing to the difficulties indata collection and out of these countries Turkey ranked 77. In other words, Turkey place in the middle inhumanitarian development index, falls below in this index, which concerns women directly (UNDP;2010).When the works that study the factors that have impact on the working of women, we see lack of education,approach of husband, care of children and house hold chores as the significant ones (Kuzgun-Sevim,2004;18).Unchanging reality of being against the changing economical, social and cultural structure in Turkey determinesall social relationships of the women. A very strong patriarchal family structure and gender discrimination formsthe rules and roles valid for women. Within this social structure, marriage ad family have an essential role forfamily (Arat,1995;212).Family is an indispensable part of a society, and thus it has bonds with social structure, values and norms of thesociety. Because these social and cultural characteristics vary from a society to another by the time being, theyalso show variations within the family. As an obligatory result of the industrialization, the western families aresupposed to have transformation towards nucleation family and individualization. Therefore, it is claimed thatthe industrialization would have same type of effects on the non western families (Kağıtçıbaşı, 2000;4-5).According to family members workforce survey (2010), participation to workforce is 47,5 % in Turkey generaland of this percentage 69,8 % is from men and 25,9 % is from women (www. tuik. gov.tr). In addition to thefact that the participation of women to workforce is considered as a significant element of sustainable economy,the participation to workforce is low and it indicates decreases according to years. When we look at Turkey ingeneral, according to the data of 2010, the women employment rate is 22,3 %. 41,7 5 of the women that take partin employment in Turkey is employed in agriculture sector, 14,6 is in industry, and 43,7 % are employed inservice sector. In respect to the situations in work, only 12.8 of hundred women work as employer or forthemselves, 51,1 work for money or daily wages and 36,1 constitute the part of working free for the family(www.tuik.gov.tr). .Moreover, in our country, where emigration from villages to cities take place in large numbers, the women whowere within the workforce in the village do not get employment in cities due to the lack of education and skills,and thus continue their lives as housewives remaining outside the workforce. 62 of 100 women not participatingto workforce show their state of being a housewife as the reason not to take part in employment (www.tuik.gov.tr). This phenomenon decreases women‟s participation to workfore in both rural and urban areas.Women, who are obliged to work on account of the lack of income, are obliged to do works with low paymentand no social security. However, it is observed that the increase of educational level of women pay the way forthem to take part in work forece.Within the scope of the frame of this research, first work and employment states of women were determined,their opinions related to working of women were found out. 18,8 % of women survey participants in Ağrı areemployed. As regard to their conditions in the work, the highest rate with 82,3 % do paid work. When this iscompared with other rates, this is quite high. The share of those woring for themselves is 11, 2 % and the rate ofthose who in a way declared their complete independence in respect to job is 3,1 %. This accounts for pretty lowlevel. The ratio of those who stated that they work free as family workers is 3,4 %.In the research, where 81,1 % of the sampling population remain outside the workforce, 8,3 % stated that awomen can work as an official or a paid worker in private sector. The ratio of those who say that women canonly run household chores is 22,3 %. When we take the low level of education in the research participants intothe consideration, this rate is becomes understandable. 30,5 % say that they can do some works of home such asshopping, 36,7 % stated that they can work in the garden or field (Table 8). When it is thought that by theurbanization, people stay away from agricultural works, the opinions that state women‟s work in the field and thegarden indicate the low level of education and that urban culture is not established sufficiently.125

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Opinion on theWorking of WomenResource: Based on Survey results (2010).Table 8: Opinion on the Working of Womenf %Can do only household chores 40 22,3Can do certain works of home like shopping 55 30,5Can be an official or work in private sector 15 8,3Can work in the field or the garden 66 36,7Can do all types of works 4 2,2TOTAL 180 100The opinions stated above on the working of women show difference from the existing conditions of women.This difference is interesting as well as significant as it reflects the expectations and desires of women in Ağrı.As a result, even if women work, they continue their roles of being a housewife, mother and wife. Hence, newroles are adapted without making any alterations to the traditional roles. Gender role, which is imposed towomen during the process of socialization, hardens their participation to work life and have expectations aboutthe future (Dökmen, 2003;111-124).DOMESTIC EFFECTS AND RESULTS OF THE WORK OF WOMENAccording to the researches on working women, it is accepted that education leads to the personalitydevelopment of women and their acquisition of confidence, their understanding of the world outside home,broadening of their horizons, and benefits in raising children as well as their economical freedom byparticipating the work life (Kazgan, 1978: 45). The survey participants were presented the question of what arethe negative and positive effects of women’s working? 15,0 % of the women stated that they contribute to thefamily budget, 13,9 % stated that it leads women to share family responsibilities, 11,7 % mentioned that it helpswomen to organize household chores better, and as for the negative effects 1,7 % stated that they pay lessattention to their husbands, and 11,1 % said that family unity may be weakened.Table 9: Domestic Effects and Results of the Work of Women (2010).What do you think are the negative and positive effects of women’sworking? f %Family unity gets weakened 20 11,1They can contribute to Family budget 27 15,0It leads women to share family responsibilities 25 13,9It helps women to organize household chores better 21 11,7It facilitates women to use and protect their rights 9 5,0Pays less attention to her husband 21 11,7It increases life experiences, skills and resistance of woman 3 1,7Needs of woman to renew and improve herself increase 13 7,2Gives less time to children 6 3,3Education and moral she teaches her children becomes more sound 1 0,6She behaves more consistent and understanding at home 17 9,4Social relationships of the family gets weakened 11 6,1Her problems at office may be reflected home 2 1,7The women get over exhausted and wears out 4 2,2Total 180 100.0Resource: Based on Survey results (2010).126

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Table 9, which evaluates the work of women, emerges many suppositions. In the survey results the work ofwomen is generally evaluated as positive and the answers that women‟s work lead them to contribute to thefamily budget and share family responsibilities are seen more. On the other hand, there are statements ofnegative effects of the working women such as they pay less attention to their husbands, and family unity getsweakened. However, in general 65,5 % of the survey participants stated that there are positive effects while 34,5% stated that there are negative effects.The women, who participate in work life, increase their social value by gaining freedom and independence, butthey also face certain inequalities. Some defects related to economical, social and cultural structure of the societylie at the foundation of the problems that women face at the work life (Bedük,2005;106-117). The families facealteration towards more equivalent way by the full time participation of women to the workforce outside home asthe economical strength is shared and the most important decisions are taken together. On the other hand, sincethe role of men do not change in parallel to that of the women, domestic and outside home load are mainly puton the shoulders of women and that there is observation of unbalances in the distribution of sharing works(İmamoğlu,1991;832-835). The institutional supports become inadequate in both qualitative and quantitativeaspects for women who have to carry out all these roles together; and neither men nor the society desires to sharethis responsibility.CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONSDespite the advancements in urbanization, education, health, emigration, transportation and technologies in therapidly changing world today; although social roles of women, their domestic and outside family relationships,participation to decisions, and marriage patterns change, it is an undeniable fact that they do not benefit as muchas the men do from the facilities brought by developments. As a result of legal arrangements, now researches onwomen can be conducted, solutions to problems of women related to literacy and education were produced, girlsare aimed at benefitting more from education with obligatory eight year education, by civil society organizationswomen are made more aware through education, and the age of marriage was rearranged. By all these positivechanges in the law, the required rights to protect women entered in our law.However, all these changes and movements of innovations could not make desired changes in the status ofwomen especially in cities like Ağrı, which receives extensive emigration from the rural areas. In order workresults to be reflected on the daily life of women, it is important to form a society consisted of individuals whohave completed their personal developments, can establish healthy interaction, and are educated. Otherwise, it isimpossible for traditions, which have always considered women as second class citizens and dominated our life,to change.In general, the status and problems of the women in Turkey and those of the women in Ağrı, no significantdifference was detected. Besides, such a similarity, the problems are thought to have been originated from theidentity of women and their lack of education in addition to the problems unique to the region. In Ağrı, whererapid and intensive social changes take place, it is observed that women have positive opinions and expectationsabout the improvement of their status and the future of girls just like they have about all the parts of the society.Being one of the least developed regions of Turkey in socio-economical aspects, Ağrı has very low level ofeducation rate for the women, although the advantageous of education for women is explicitly seen. Parallel tothe increase of the level of education, the marriage age of women increases, and rate of sharing and takingdecision in selecting husband also rise gradually. In fact, women‟s expectation for their daughters to have muchhigher level of education than they possess shows the importance they place on education.Education, which is seen as a significant means to change the place and status of women in the society, haspositive impact on women in practice. Hence, for sustainable development, the educational investments forwomen must be increased. Maintaining equality of opportunities in education, family life of women, their worklife and getting rid of socio-cultural factors which lead women to fall behind in political life, adaptation of a wayof life guided by scientific and individual initiatives, and allocation of sufficient sources for lifelong educationpolicies that adopt education to changing situations are the basic conditions for Turkey to be among thecontemporary and democratic countries in the 21 st century. In conclusion, use of political rights in more effective127

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Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011ISSN 1943-2577© 2011 Ozean PublicationPERCEPTIONS OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS ABOUT ASSESSMENTS OFSTUDENTS DURING TRAININGNIDA BAYINDIREducation Faculty, Dumlupinar University, Kutahya,TurkeyE-mail address for correspondence: nidabayindir@yahoo.com__________________________________________________________________________________________Abstract: The aim of the study is to determine the perceptions of prospective teachers about their assessments ofthe students in the classes where they completed their training. The research is based on the data acquired fromthe interviews with the students of Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Education Faculty who completed theirteaching training in 2009-2010 academic year. The data gathering tools of the research are a structured interviewform and a questionnaire composed of open ended questions. The data were analyzed with qualitative researchtechniques. It is thought that determining the pre-service perceptions by doing a more conscious and moreobjective evaluation of the findings will contribute to assessment and evaluation studies. The result of theresearch showed that perceptions of prospective teachers were that application teachers didn’t conduct evaluationand assessment applications properly in training classes and that these application teachers also didn’t findthemselves sufficient in this.Key Words: Prospective teachers, training class, evaluation difficulties___________________________________________________________________________INTRODUCTIONAssessment has always been an indispensible part of education: every teacher is interested in how students learnwhat and therefore, he/she should find appropriate assessment methods to follow their development. Thanks tochanging and evolving educational approaches, the new assessment methods are more reliable, based onperformance and cooperation, more efficient, reflecting real-life learning, realistic and applicable (Spady andMarshall, 1991, Anderson and Sampson, 1996, Banathy and Jenks, 1993, Prus and Reid, 1994). Leader schools,which have adopted and currently use modern education theories, have already abandoned relying on classicalpaper/pencil-based tests. No one can expect to assess skills acquired in teaching-learning processes based onsuch modern education methods as efficient learning, constructivism, creativity, problem-based learning andproject-based learning by using paper/pencil-based tests (Biggs, 1996, Calder, 1994, Rowntree, 1987).In Turkey, in line with these developments in assessment methods, a performance-based assessment program hasbeen adopted. In this constructivist program, the student forms his/her own learning by interpreting theinformation presented, and assessments and learning experiences are intertwined. Therefore, assessment aims toobserve the qualitative changes in the student. Metacognition and reflective activities (student activities) havegained more importance in this respect (Yanpar, 2001, Nespor, 1987, Stiggins, 1994, Wiggins, 1993). For thisreason, besides traditional assessment tools, tools that allow process assessment have to be used as well. In themacro sense, assessment also reveals whether the program is successful in many aspects, which is the reason131

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011why an assessment is required. In the traditional sense, assessment and evaluation seem to be composed ofresult-oriented tests and score-based evaluation; however, the new program points out process-based evaluationin which the learner him/herself tries to produce something actively.Teachers mostly believe that their students, in fact, know more than they can demonstrate in their exams orhomework. To overcome this conflict, it is suggested that teachers should use several methods together whileassessing their students’ success. Using longitudinal assessment tools gives a chance to every student todemonstrate what she/he knows. Using more than one tool together to know what his/her students know andwhat his/her students can achieve may provide more confidence in the teacher. For process-based assessmentsthat develops the student in many ways and monitor this development, common test types should beaccompanied with supplementary assessment ways. Supplementary assessment is a general concept used forassessments other than various traditional assessment methods (Borko and Putnam, 1998, Bartlett, 2002, Donaldand Denison, 1996, Moss, 1992, Willis, 1993). It was emphasized in the newly developed MEB (Ministry ofNational Education) program with explanations and samples which can be considered as a valuable guide forteachers.The assessment tools and methods specified in the Teacher Manual are given below. However, teachers andstudents can find many more ways other than these by using their creativity. Among the tools and methodsspecified in the Manual are demonstration, anecdotes, discussion, exhibitions, experiments, interview,observation, oral presentation, projects, research papers, self-evaluation, short answer, multiple choice,matching, long answer, portfolio, performance, rubrics and attitude scales (Korkmaz, 2004, Wolfe and Miller,1997, Frederiksen and Collins, 1989, Angelo, and Cross 1993, Burnham, 1986).Along with these, various supplementary assessment tools can also be used like puzzles, concept maps, wordhunting, educational play cards, worksheets, jigsaw puzzles, overhead projector, slides, etc. In a way, every kindof material and work the student produces can be useful as a supplementary assessment tool because whatmatters are the process and the product. Activities during the lesson can also be used for assessment (Boud et al.,1993, Bowden, Masters, and Ramsden, 1987, Messick, 1994). Separate assessment activities can also beprepared. Several studies have revealed that students feel happier and more confident cognitively with suchassessment activities, thus achieving positive changes in their attitudes.The aim of this research is to determine the perceptions of primary school prospective teachers aboutassessments. Success of the relevant applications can be achieved through desired and positive perceptions ofteachers about new approaches. Therefore, applied training should be provided for prospective teachers in linewith the new program to form positive perceptions in the subject. The research is significant in three aspects: it iscarried out on prospective teachers, it forms their perceptions and it applies the aimed assessment and evaluationin practice.METHODThe research was conducted using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The participants were 121prospective teachers who completed their training at Kütahya Dumlupınar University Education faculty in 2009-2010 academic year.The data gathering tools of the research are a structured interview form and a questionnaire composed of openended questions. The questions in the questionnaire were formed as a result of opinions of practice teachers andexperts in teaching experience and application, program development, assessment and evaluation. The data wereanalyzed with qualitative research techniques. The data can demonstrate the perceptions of prospective teachersabout the difficulties they observed in practice teachers’ assessment and evaluation in practice classes during2009-2010 school year. The data were gathered through the prospective teachers’ answers to the open-endedquestions in the questionnaire as a result of their observations and interviews with their practice teachers. Codingand categorizing studies of the data acquired from the interview form and questionnaire form were conductedusing national and international literature (Aschbacher, 1992; Koretz et al., 1994). Later, the data were analyzedusing percentage and frequency calculations.132

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011FINDINGS & INTERPRETATIONSThe findings were analyzed and interpreted according to the problem of the research.The question of the research was “What is the level of difficulties observed by prospective teachers in assessingstudents in practice classes?” Table 1 shows the findings.Table 1: Observations of prospective teachers about evaluations in training classesalways often sometimes rarely never X ssfr % fr % fr % fr % fr %Difficulty due to theoreticalknowledge in assessment andevaluation21 17,4 61 50,4 22 18,2 16 8,3 7 5,8 3,65 1,04Difficulty due to lack of training inassessment and evaluationDifficulty due to lack of personalinterest and motivation in assessmentand evaluationDifficulty in using common patternsin assessment and evaluationDifficulty due to giving moreimportance to subjective evaluationin assessment and evaluationDifficulty due to not knowing to whatextent to pay attention to numeric datain assessment and evaluationDifficulty due to not allocationenough time for assessment andevaluationDifficulty due to leaving assessmentand evaluation to the end of thecourseDifficulty due to not takingassessment and evaluation data intoaccount in prerequisite learningDifficulty due to the habit ofgeneralizing assessment andevaluation results to the whole classDifficulty in personal interpretation ofassessment and evaluation activitiesDifficulty due to neglectingassessment and evaluation activitiesDifficulty due to neglectingassessment and evaluation resultsDifficulty due to causing tension inassessment and evaluationDifficulty due to seeingassessment and evaluation as theultimate end28 23,1 49 40,5 33 27,3 6 5,0 5 4,1 3,73 1,0041 33,9 45 37,2 24 19,8 5 4,1 6 5,0 3,90 1,0730 24,8 43 35,5 34 28,1 8 6,6 6 5,0 3,68 1,0736 29,8 51 42,1 23 19,0 7 5,8 4 3,3 3,89 1,0034 28,1 56 46,3 24 19,8 4 3,3 3 2,5 3,94 0,9112 9,9 40 33,1 47 38,8 8 6,6 14 11,6 3,23 1,1011 9,1 24 19,8 47 38,8 23 19,0 16 13,2 2,92 1,1342 34,7 48 39,7 22 18,2 3 2,5 6 5,0 3,96 1,0416 13,2 55 45,5 35 28,9 10 8,3 5 4,1 3,55 0,9613 10,7 27 22,3 41 33,9 21 17,4 19 15,7 2,95 1,213 2,5 15 12,4 32 26,4 29 24,0 42 34,7 2,23 1,1319 15,7 35 28,9 29 24,0 16 13,2 22 18,2 3,10 1,3238 31,4 43 35,5 28 23,1 8 6,6 4 3,3 3,85 1,0417 14,0 53 43,8 40 33,1 7 5,8 4 3,3 3,59 0,91133

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011Difficulty due to evade learningexperiences without consideringassessment and evaluation feedbackDifficulty due to lack ofassessment and evaluation toolsDifficulty due to not understandingwhat assessment and evaluation toolsserve forDifficulty due to lack of use ofassessment and evaluation toolsDifficulty due to not thinking ofassessment and evaluation as aprocessDifficulty due to not thinking ofassessment and evaluation process asa wholeDifficulty due to not reviewingassessment and evaluation processcontinuallyDifficulty due to not renewingassessment and evaluation activitiesand methodsDifficulty of using simple methodsand techniques in assessment andevaluationDifficulty due to using assessmentand evaluation as a means of threatDifficulty due to using assessmentand evaluation to control students’behavioursDifficulty due to restrictingassessment and evaluation to thecourse booksDifficulty due to restrictingassessment and evaluation to theManualDifficulty due to improper timing inassessment and evaluation process13 10,7 39 32,2 34 28,1 24 19,8 11 9,1 3,15 1,1430 24,8 63 52,1 18 14,9 4 3,3 6 5,0 3,88 0,9817 14,0 45 37,2 43 35,5 11 9,1 5 4,1 3,47 0,9819 15,7 44 36,4 38 31,4 11 9,1 9 7,4 3,43 1,097 5,8 30 24,8 45 37,2 17 14,0 22 18,2 2,85 1,1511 9,1 53 43,8 36 29,8 12 9,9 9 7,4 3,37 1,0314 11,6 49 40,5 36 29,8 14 11,6 8 6,6 3,38 1,0532 26,4 49 40,5 24 19,8 8 6,6 8 6,6 3,73 1,1223 19,0 44 36,4 39 32,2 11 9,1 4 3,3 3,58 1,0020 16,5 46 38,0 39 32,2 11 9,1 5 4,1 3,53 1,0032 26,4 46 38,0 27 22,3 11 9,1 5 4,1 3,73 1,0725 20,7 40 33,1 31 25,6 17 14,0 8 6,6 3,47 1,1621 17,4 52 43,0 30 24,8 13 20,7 5 4,1 3,58 1,038 6,6 17 14,0 34 28,1 30 24,8 32 26,4 2,49 1,21n. 121As seen in Table 1, a great majority of prospective teachers observed deficiencies in assessment studies theirpractice teachers performed in class. These deficiencies were reflected to the structured interview form as theirperception and were shared by both prospective teachers and practice teachers. Accordingly, the teachers didn’thave any difficulties in assessment and evaluation in terms of time because the course plans in primary schoolprograms are detailed enough. However, it can be argued that the teachers had difficulties in assessment andevaluation in terms of theory and training; that they didn’t know how to use some of the evaluation tools and towhat end they serve; they had doubts about how to assess the performance they evaluated and that they restrictedthemselves with the manual. It can also be concluded that the teachers perceived and used assessment andevaluation as a means of threat to control student behaviours.134

Ozean Journal of Social Sciences 4(2), 2011RESULT & SUGGESTIONSIn this section, results and suggestions of the research were summarized which was carried out to determine theperceptions of prospective teachers about the difficulties faced by primary school teachers in assessment andevaluation in their classes and to gather information for an action plan for applying the desired assessmentsystem in pre-service and in-service teacher training.Teachers might come up against many challenges due to their knowledge deficiencies about assessment processand due to their worries about not being able to assess their courses at desired level. This might have arisen fromthe fact that they didn’t have sufficient training about the matter during pre-service and in-service period.Pedagogy has been improving continually with new theories day by day, so teachers should keep pace withmodern approaches in their fields and apply them during their lessons. Especially since the late 2000s,developments in education have gained momentum. Before this period, many newly graduated teachers couldn’thave any idea about these developments during their training, so they should be informed of the new trendsthrough in-service trainings. It is also expected that teachers perceive assessment and evaluation as a means ofattitude correction tool.Today, leader schools that have adopted modern education systems and approaches have to use thesupplementary assessment process whose advantages are currently accepted. In this context, supplementaryassessment applications should be integrated into training programs at universities and should be givenimportance.REFERENCESAnderson, G., Boud, D., ve Sampson, J. (1996). Learning contracts. London: Kogan Page.Angelo, Thomas A. ve Cross, Patricia (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for CollegeTeachers. 2nd Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Aschbcher, P., R. (1992). Issues in innovative assessment for classroom practice:barriers and facilitators. LosAngeles: Center for the Study of Evaulation. (ERIC Document reproduction Service NO, ED 355 280).Banathy, B.H., ve Jenks, C.L. (1993). The transformation of education: By design. International Journal ofEducational Research, 19, 105-115.Bartlett, A. (2002). Preparing preservice teachers to implement performance assessment and technology throughelectronic portfolios. Action in Teacher Education v. 24:1, 90-7.Biggs, J. (1996). Assessing Learning Quality: Reconciling Institutional, Staff, and Educational Demands.Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 21, March : pp. 5-15.Borko, H., ve Putnam, R. T. (1998). The role of context in teacher learning and teacher education." In Contextualteaching and learning: preparing teachers to enhance studentsuccess in and beyond school.Information Series No. 376 (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No 429 263).Boud, D., Cohen, R., ve Walker, D. (Eds.) (1993). Using experience for learning. Buckingham, UK: SRHE&Open University Press.Bowden, J.A., Masters, G.N., ve Ramsden, P. (1987). Influence of assessment demands on first year universitystudents’ approaches to learning Proceedings of the 12th Annual conference of the Higher Educationand Research Development Society of Australasia, Sydney, 397-407.Burnham, C. (1986). Portfolio evaluation: Room to breathe and grow. In C.W. Bridges (Ed.), Training the newteachers of college composition (pp. 125-138). Urbana, IL: NCTECamp.Calder, J. (1994). Programme evaluation and quality: A comprehensive guide to setting up an evaluation system.London, UK: Kogan Page.Donald, Janet G.; Denison (1996). Evaluating Undergraduate Education: the Use of Broad Indicators.Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 21, (1): pp. 23-39.Entwistle, N.J., ve Ramsden, P. (1983). Understanding student learning. London, UK: Croom Helm.135

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