Despite the changes in human behaviour and interactions occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions are yet to adapt to the new normal fully. While some educational institutions switched entirely to e-learning to promote teaching and learning, others could not offer education due to physical and social restrictions. Previous studies in Africa have identified reasons for the poor ICT adoption for educational purposes. However, the degree to which these factors affect ICT utilisation is barely analysed. Using a quantitative approach, this study assessed ICT deployment for teaching in the COVID-19 era by focusing on their availability and challenges. A sample of 344 respondents from a population of 2,867 academic staff at two Nigerian public universities participated in the study. After receiving face validity from experts, a structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Cronbach alpha reliability indices of the questionnaire ranged from 0.72 to 0.94. Descriptive statistics (simple percentages, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (one-way ANOVA) were used for data analysis. Findings generally revealed a moderate extent in the availability of ICT resources in public universities. The cost of data, computer literacy, and electricity supply are challenges that significantly affected ICT deployment in the COVID-19 era. Based on this finding, it was concluded that personal and institutional challenges affect how ICT resources are deployed in public universities. It was recommended, among other things, that the management of each tertiary institution should apportion proceeds from internally generated revenue to procure ICT resources specific to the need of the school. The study provides the ground for further research into students’ use of ICT for educational purposes.

This research studied the interaction influence of demographic characteristics (marital status, job rank, gender and age) and occupational stress level, on the work performance of faculty members in Calabar Metropolis. The descriptive survey design was utilized for this investigation. A sample of 150 respondents was identified using the systematic random sampling procedure from a population of 400 Faculty of Education lecturers from two public universities in Calabar Metropolis. A four-point scale validity and reliability certified questionnaire was used for data collection. Data generated was analyzed using the two-way analysis of variance. Hypotheses were all tested at the 0.05 alpha level. Findings revealed a significant interactive effect of demographic variables (age, gender, job rank and marital status) and stress levels on lecturers' jobs. Results also indicated that the stress level of lecturers affects the degree or quality of job performance, with those having average stress levels reporting better job performance in the universities studied. Recommendations were made that all lecturers, irrespective of age, gender, marital status or rank, should develop or adopt good stress management skills and disengage/reduce extra jobs and other unnecessary stress-inducing activities.

Available reports provide an account of academic staff’s poor job performance in higher education institutions and universities in particular. Consequently, a growing body of research has been attracted to this area, including those seeking ways to understand the problem and others aimed at proffering solutions. This study contributes to the literature by investigating the influence of occupational stress on the job performance of academic staff in universities. Three null hypotheses directed the study in line with the quantitative ex-post facto research design. A sample of 150 respondents was obtained using the systematic random sampling technique from a population of 400 lecturers in the Faculty of Education from two public universities in Nigeria. A 31-item questionnaire was used for data collection. The null hypotheses were tested at the .05 alpha level using simple linear regression analysis. It was revealed that remuneration is a significant positive predictor of academic staff job performance. The prediction of workload was negatively non-significant on the job performance of academics. The provision of institutional amenities has a positive but non-significant prediction on academic staff job performance in the two public universities. It was concluded that occupational stress significantly influences the job performance of lecturers in universities. The study recommended that the government constantly pay lecturers’ salaries as and when due. Institutional managers should reward lecturers with outstanding performance to boost their morale for effective service delivery.

This paper investigated cultural resources, academic self-concept, and achievement of chemistry students in a senior secondary school in Nigeria. Research questions and hypotheses were formulated to direct the study. A quasi-experimental factorial design was used in this study, which had a sample size of 90 senior secondary chemistry students. The Academic Self-concept Questionnaire (ASCQ) and Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) were used in this study. The reliability of ASCQ was done using Cronbach Alpha and it was 0.80 while the reliability of CAT was done using Kuder Richardson formula 20 and had a coefficient of 0.79. The results obtained were analyzed using a dependent t-test and analysis of variance (ANCOVA). Analysis of data showed that the academic self-concept of the students increased after using cultural resources and the experimental group gained more than the control. This study found that cultural resources made the learning of chemical concepts easy to comprehend as the materials were things that the learners were familiar with. This study recommends, among others, that teachers use cultural resources in teaching chemistry.

This study centered on Edmodo as an online instructional delivery technique for sustaining teaching and learning activities in covid-19 era in public universities in North-Central, Nigeria. The study was guided by two objectives and two research questions and one hypothesis. This study adopted descriptive survey and quasi-experimental research designs. The sample of the study comprised 100 students in two universities (each for treatment and control groups) and 7008 lecturers drawn from three public universities in North-Central, Nigeria. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used for selecting universities and the sample of the study. First, stratified sampling was used to group both lecturers and students into two strata. Thereafter, simple random sampling was used to select the universities and sample of the study; using lottery method with replacement. 10% proportionate sample was used to select the lecturers. Curriculum Studies Achievement Test (C-SAT) and questionnaire were used as instruments for data gathering. Data collected were analyzed with simple percentage, mean and t-test statistical techniques. Finding showed that the level of awareness of university lecturers on Edmodo as a technological instructional delivery technique is very low or poor. It was also indicated that there is significant difference between the mean achievement scores of university students taught curriculum studies with Edmodo and their counterparts taught with lecture technique; as those in the treatment group performed better than those in control group. The study recommended that: school management, the government and ICT-related Non-governmental organizations should help in organizing workshops and seminars for lecturers in order to advance their knowledge and awareness on ICT usage especially Edmodo and others. Also, since the students who were taught with Edmodo significantly performed better than their counterparts in the control group who were taught with lecture method, lecturers should be encouraged to use Edmodo for teaching and learning.