ATTITUDE OF BASIC SCHOOL LEARNERS TOWARDS PRE-VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS OFFERED AT BASIC SCHOOLS IN EPE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Pre-vocational subjects offered by Lagos State Basic Education learners have the potential of revealing the skills embedded in them if properly harnessed as early as possible. This is why this study assessed the attitudes of upper basic school learners in the Eredo Local Council Development Area of Lagos State and their order of preference for the selected pre-vocational subjects. The researchers made use of a descriptive survey design to collect data from 112 students who were purposively selected from junior secondary classes I, II, and III (upper basic classes). A self-designed questionnaire titled Questionnaire on Learners’ Attitudes towards Pre-vocational Subjects at Basic Schools (QLAPSBS) was used to elicit information from the selected sample. Content and face validity of the instrument were established, while the reliability measure using Split-half and Cronbach's alpha was found to be 0.73. Results showed that the majority of the students had positive attitudes towards the curriculum delivery of pre-vocational subjects offered in Eredo (LCDA) of Epe Local Government, Lagos State. It was also revealed that the most preferred pre-vocational subject among the learners sampled was basic science, while Basic Technology was the least preferred. This shows that these learners preferred pre-vocational subjects that would make them more self-reliant. The implication of this is that the available resources in this area would be harnessed for the betterment of residents in these areas, which would also give room for sustainable development in Lagos state. It was recommended among others that there must be a regular upgrading of teachers’ mastery of content so that learners’ interest will be stimulated to pursue courses that are related to the pre-vocational subjects available at higher levels, without being forced to choose such subjects.