Templates of Measuring Academic Performance of Mass Communication Students: Issues of Social Constructivism and Goal Theories in Nigerian Universities
Akpan Udo Usiere, Catherine Nwokoro, & Margaret Akwaowo
The purpose of this study was to assess the academic performance evaluation of Mass Communication students in Nigerian Universities. The objectives were to find out the most common evaluation methods, the evaluation frequency, and the outstanding barriers. The goal and the social constructivism theories were applied. The scope of this research was limited to two universities with Mass Communication /Communication Arts as a course of study. The two universities are the University of Uyo, and the WellSpring University, Benin in Southern Nigeria. The method was a survey on a population of 16 lecturers purposively taken and administered with a closed-ended questionnaire. Findings indicated that most lecturers, 8 persons or 50 percent, apply termly examinations to evaluate students’ performance at the expense of class assignments, continuous assessments, class participation, and practical sessions. The implication is that the academic performance of Mass Communication course students is poor and not evenly evaluated. The implication also shows that there has been a turning out of half-baked graduates due to poor standards of academic evaluation over a period. This research has also established that result-oriented academic evaluation methods have a link with students’ performance no matter the course of study in the Universities. It is recommended that authorities of Universities should set goals and endeavor to restrain the lecturers from using corruption, bias, and social constructivism sentiments in evaluating students. Regulatory agencies of Nigerian universities have to put effective practical structures of students’ evaluation and regularly conduct transparent monitoring of teaching and assessment models. This work has validated propositions of the goal and social constructivism theories and attendant effects on templates of students’ evaluation by educational institutions. It seeks further research to establish purposeful and practical evaluation methods to meet the goals of universities in Nigerian society.