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Most vocational and technical education (VTE) educational systems invest in quality assurance for teaching and learning to improve the skills of the workforce that would contribute to socio-economic development. Quality assurance provides confidence in educational services to meet the quality desires of teaching and learning settings. Yet it has been reported that there are challenges in teaching and learning effectiveness due to a lack of technological breakthroughs among students, resulting in an insufficiently skilled workforce. The primary aim of this study is to develop and validate a questionnaire for quality assurance for teaching and learning in vocational and technical education. The questionnaire was developed based on the data obtained by item generation through an interview with quality managers, administrators, and lecturers and a literature review. The content validity of the quality assurance for teaching and learning (QATL) questionnaire was validated using expert judgment. The principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal varimax techniques examined the structures and validity of the quality components. After exploratory factor analysis on the quality components under input, process, and output domains, the input quality factors explained 78.81 per cent of the cumulative variance, the process quality factors explained 72.679 per cent of the cumulative variance, and the output quality factors explained 75.027 per cent of the cumulative variance. The analysis used Cronbach's alpha to test the internal consistency reliability, and the alpha values ranged from 0.835 to 0.963, indicating very high reliability. Present findings suggest that the QATL is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing quality components of quality assurance for teaching and learning in vocational and technical education. These quality components enable optimal VTE objective achievement if implemented in teaching and learning.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent student-perceived parental involvement predicted academic motivation in vocational education and training (VET) students. The sample comprised 2108 young adults participating in a VET institute. Thirty-three items were developed to measure student-perceived parental involvement in VET, as no appropriate questionnaire was available for this educational setting. This questionnaire was analysed with factor analyses which resulted in a new, short, and valid questionnaire with 10 items to measure parental involvement on five indicators. Consistent with prior research, parental involvement significantly predicted motivation in VET students. Three out of five parental involvement indicators were found related to motivation. Specifically, two indicators were positively related to motivation: (1) parent-child educational discussions, and (2) parental aspirations and expectations. The indicator 'reinforcement of learning at home' was negatively related to motivation. These findings provide additional evidence for the significance of parental involvement based upon its link with students' motivation in a VET context.

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The study is designed to identify the areas of retraining needed by motor vehicle mechanics (MVM) teachers in technical colleges in Niger State and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Nigeria. Two research questions were used to guide in the conduct of the study. The teachers of MVM program in the technical colleges in Niger State and FCT Abuja Nigeria constitute the respondents of the study. A 35 item questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. The data was analyzed using frequency counts, mean and standard deviation. The analysis of the data revealed that MVM teachers in the technical colleges need retraining in terms of pedagogical skills as well as practical skills areas in MVM. Based on the findings the following recommendations were made: immediate retraining for the MVM teachers in the technical colleges with emphasis in the areas of pedagogical and technical skills. There should be collaboration between the technical colleges and the industries to enable the MVM teachers to acquire the needed skills to impart to the learners so that upon graduation the students can be employable to contribute to the development of their immediate society and the nation at large.

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This study is designed to identify the teaching methods that influence the acquisition of practical skills of mechanical engineering trades students at technical college level using regression analysis. Descriptive survey research design was utilized in carrying out the study. Ninety nine (99) mechanical engineering trades' teachers and fourty six (46) administrators in the technical colleges in north central states of Nigeria responded to a structured questionnaire which addressed the research question. Cronbach Alpha coefficient was used in determining the reliability of the instrument. The reliability co-efficient of the instrument used for data collection stood at 0.78. It was recommended that mechanical engineering trades teachers and administrators in the schools be encouraged to use different instructional methods, especially the methods identified in the study as the most significant determinants of the teaching methods that influence the acquisition of practical [skills], so that the students can acquire the skills for gainful employment in the labor market or be able to establish on their own and become self-reliant.

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