ABSTRACT
The main thrust of this study is on the effect of Dreyfus Model Training of career guidance on
Soap Making and Bakery Skills acquisition of apprentices for employment in Niger State. The
model is divided into five stages: Novice, Advance Beginner, Competence, Proficient and
Expert. Eight research questions and eight null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significant
guided this work. The research design adopted for the study was the quasi experimental non
equivalent group in which a total of 168 apprentices were purposively sampled from four skills
acquisition centres in Minna. The two instruments used for collection of data from the
respondents were Bakery Skills Acquisition Test (BSAT) and Soap Making Skills Acquisition
Test (SMSAT), each instrument consist of 20 items segmented into five stages. The instrument
was validated by three experts in Guidance and Counselling, Science Education and Counselling
Psychology out of which two are from University of Nigeria, Nsukka and one from Ibrahim
Badamasi Babangida University Lapai, Niger State-Nigeria. The reliability of the instrument in
terms of internal consistency was based on a trial test conducted at Skills Acquisition Section of
Women Day College Minna with a sample size of 60 respondents, using the Cronbach Alpha
Statistics with an index of 0.81 for the BSAT instrument and 0.80 for the SMSAT instrument.
Four skills acquisitions centres were purposively sampled for both experimental group and the
control group. The experimental group for soap making skills is located at Chanchaga Skills
Acquisition Centre Minna while the control group is located at Saint Clement Skills Acquisition
Centre Minna. Whereas, the experimental group for bakery skills is located at Talba Youths
Skills Acquisition Centre Minna with the control group at Women Day Centre Minna. All the
four skills acquisition centres were pretested and post tested on the two instruments after
treatment by the researcher on Dreyfus Model Training. The data collected were analyzed using
mean, standard deviation and ANCOVA. The findings show that there was significant difference
between the mean achievement scores of apprentices after training on Dreyfus Model in soap
making and those without the training. Similarly, there was significance difference between the
mean achievement scores of apprentices after training on Dreyfus Model in bakery skills and
those without the training. Finally, there were no significant interaction effect scores differences
after training on Dreyfus Model in soap making skills and bakery skills of apprentices. These
findings were discussed alongside with their implications and recommendations. One
recommendation is for mass production of text books and learning materials for all levels and
forms of education. This will open a window of new opportunity to teachers and instructors of
skills acquisition centres to employ the Dreyfus Model training which has inherent advantage
because of its systematic approach to problem solving. Limitations encountered during the study
and suggestions for further studies highlighted.
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
In Nigeria the birth of a child is heralded with fanfare and joy. The dream of any family is to
educate the child to acquire appropriate skills so as to contribute his quota to the development of
his society when employed. This view is further entrenched in the National Policy of Education
as encapsulated in one of the five main objective of Nigeria’s national development plan which
is the building of a land full of bright and opportunities for all citizens. To facilitate the
attainment of this objective, the skills acquisition at all levels had to be oriented towards meeting
the demands and aspirations for the common good of the society. In this direction, the
government operating the different levels of education is over burdened, especially with increase
in population to providing adequate infrastructural equipment and personnel for imparting the
required skills for national development. Therefore, the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) goes
further to state that government welcomes and encourages the participation of local
communities, individual and other organizations that will lubricate the process of graduate
employment through the provision of learning materials in schools, establishment of institutions
and skills acquisition centres across the country (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004).
An employed person is capable of effective participation in the development of the
society. According to International Labour Organization (ILO) as cited by European Union
Labour Force Survey (EULFS) (2006) employed persons are those aged 16-74years who during
the week of the survey performed work, even for just one hour in that week, for pay, profit or
family gain or were not at work but had a job or business from which they may be temporary
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absent because of illness, holiday, industrial dispute and educationtraining. In another
perspective, Economic Concept (2012) sees employment as an engagement of a person in some
occupation, business, trade or profession. For the purposes of the work, employed person is any
person within the age range of 18-70years who works for himself or somebody during the period
of the survey. In Nigeria, 18 years is the entering point for voting in elections and entry to higher
institutions, while 70years is the highest retirement age in government sector in Nigeria. Self
employed implies working for yourself, family or employing others to work for you. While,
working for somebody connotes working for government, private organizations or individuals. In
Nigeria, the three tiers of government are the highest employer of labour followed by
multinational corporations and companies. However, the dream of any person if employed is to
effectively participate in the development of his society but the current state of graduate
unemployment turns the dream to a nightmare.
Unemployment signs are readily visible in our society but difficult to define as it is a very
complex phenomenon that involves issues related to that of lay-off workers, absentee employee
as a result of illness or students in school. The view point of unemployment in developed
countries varies from that of developing countries due to level of industrialization that
characterizes the society. According to International Labour Organization as cited by European
Union Labour Force Survey (2006), unemployed persons comprise persons aged 16-74 years
who are of three groups: (a) Without work during the week of the survey, that is neither had a
job nor were at work (for one hour or more) in paid employment or self-employment; (b)
currently available for work, that is, will be available for paid employment or self-employment
before the end of the two weeks following the week of the survey; (c) actively seeking work, that
is, had taken specific steps in the four week period ending with week of the survey to seek for
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