Impact of Hydroponics Training on Students' Practical Skills and Innovation in Tertiary Institutions in Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assesses the impact of hydroponics training on students' practical agricultural skills and their agricultural innovation. Hydroponics, a soil-less farming technique, offers sustainable solutions to modern agricultural challenges. Four (4) research questions were raised and answered, while 4 null hypotheses were formulated and tested at the .05 level of significance. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design, utilising pre-test and post-test evaluations to measure skill acquisition and innovation adoption. The population for the study was 59, comprised of 20 agricultural education students from Ambrose Alli University and 39 from the University of Benin. Data collection was done in two phases: a pre-test was administered to both groups before the treatment to assess their baseline knowledge and ensure group equivalency. Treatment: the experimental group was taught using hydroponic skills and Innovation Assessment (HSIA) test items developed by the researcher from personal experiences, curriculum contents of field experience, and literature reviewed over a period of three weeks (three periods per week), while the control group received instruction through conventional lecture, which had an impact on students' practical skills and adoption of agricultural innovation. It was therefore recommended, among others, that educational boards should integrate hydroponics into secondary school agriculture curricula and also that the government should provide training facilities and organise capacity building for instructors to update their hydroponics expertise and pedagogical strategies. methods. Post-test: The items were face and content validated by three experts, while the reliability of the items was determined using Richardson K21, which yielded a coefficient of 0.78. Data were collected by the researcher and with the help of three research assistants. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) to answer research questions, while ANCOVA was used to test the null hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings of this study indicated a general acceptance of hydroponics training.