Don urges parents, guardians to observe children’s behaviourial pattern

Ini Billie, Uyo

Measurement and Evaluation expert, Prof Eme Joseph has urged parents and care givers to pay more attention to the behaviourial pattern of their children.

Prof. Joseph said paying attention to children’s behaviourial pattern would help ascertain their strength and abilities, and guide them towards a career preference.

Speaking at the weekend in Uyo as the 106th inaugural lecturer, University of Uyo on the topic, “Educational Evaluation from Cradle to Grey: The Quintenssential Process for Development”, Joseph identified cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains as critical components of the educational process of assessing pupils’ and students’ progress and development in learning.

She warned parents and teachers against compelling children to live their dreams, but urged that they be properly guided to make genuine choices on specific careers and profession based on their capabilities.

“Parents and care givers should pay keen attention to the behaviourial patterns exhibited by young children and take note of these as this could give clarity to the strengtts and abilities of the child in the future”, she said.

The professor called on educational institutions to use psychological tests to help teachers uncover pupils’ and students’ inert abilities particularly in the affective domain, and said the ticking of a supposed affective instrument should be abolished.

She mentioned that guidance counsellors should be equipped with appropriate affective and psychomotor instruments to allow for the collection of the right information concerning each pupil and student, adding that obtaining date from the three domains would facilitate proper decision on career choice.

She warned against the current structure in secondary schools where students are forced on a particular subject area; science, arts or social science, saying it was limiting and could be destructive.

The inaugural lecturer pointed out that where the preferred course was due to improper self assessment, peer influence or parental career preference, for a change to be effected, the child would have to return to the basis by writing the necessary subjects at the O Level.

The inaugural lecturer posited that it was the responsibility of parents and teachers to assist pupils and students to identify their inert and native natural abilities.

She maintained that if it formed the bedrock and guiding principles for choice of career, the nation would have a workforce that is self-motivated and result oriented.

In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Nyaudo Ndaeyo, said the 106th inaugural lecture was a master-piece, presented by a superlative lecturer.

Ndaeyo explained that evaluation was a critical process that gives insight and exposes the strength and weakness of the system and also allows positive actions to be taken to achieve success.

The VC noted that in education, evaluation provides the underlining paradigm through which the children and students could be guided and nurtured by parents and teachers to fulfil their dreams, based on what nature has deposited in them.

He pointed out that where students fail to meet their aspirations on the choice of courses could be because certain things were forced on them by parents who supposed that they should live their dreams.

He emphasised the need for children to be allowed to make career choices based on what they do best, for a self motivated workforce and result oriented output.