Abstract:The study investigated the relationship between students' perceived thermal discomfort and stress behaviours affecting their learning in lecture theatres in the humid tropics. Two lecture theatres, LTH-2 and 3, at the Niger Delta University, Nigeria, were used for the study. Two groups of students from the Faculties of Agriculture and Engineering and the Department of Technology Education constituted the population. The sample size selected through random sampling for Groups A and B was 210 and 370 students, respectively. Objective and self-report instruments were used for data collection. The objective instrument involved physical measurement of the two lecture theatres and of the indoor temperature, relative humidity and air movement. The self-report instrument was a questionnaire that asked for the students perceived indoor thermal discomfort levels and the effect of indoor thermal comfort level on perceived stress behaviours affecting their learning. The objective indoor environmental data indicated thermal discomfort with an average temperature of 29-32˝C and relative humidity of 78% exceeding the ASHARE [1] and Olgyay [2].The students' experienced a considerable level of thermal discomfort and also perceived that stress behaviours due to thermal discomfort affected their learning. Further, there were no significant differences in the perceived thermal discomfort levels of the two groups of students in LTH-2 and 3. Furthermore, stress behaviours affecting learning as perceived by the two groups of students did not differ significantly. In addition, no correlation existed between the perceived indoor thermal discomfort levels and stress behaviour levels affecting learning for students in LTH-2, because the arousal level of the students in the thermal environment was likely higher than the arousal level for optimal performance [3,4]. However, a correlation existed in the case of students in LTH-3, which was expected because it only confirmed the widely-accepted view that stress behaviours exhibited by students in any learning can have a profound effect on learning. It was recommended that teaching-learning indoor environment should be thermally comfortable by providing adequate window openings with proper orientation and also by ensuring that the learning space only accommodated the required student capacity to reduce the stress behaviours that affect learning.

This study atempted to determine the levels of academic performance of two groups of students admited with diferent entry certfcates to the Nigeria certfcate in Educaton (NCE) Technical Programme and to fnd out whether either group difered signifcantly in terms of performance. Seventy (70) frst year Technical students at the Federal College of Educaton (Technical), Omoku, were monitored during the 2011/2012 academic year for the purposes of this study. The data consisted of raw scores obtained by these students in fve (5) courses. The data were analysed according to their arithmetc means and a t-test. The reliability of t-test results were ascertained by the use of an f-test of group variances. The study established that the secondary school certfcate students performed signifcantly beter than their City and Guilds certfcate counterparts, and both groups difered signifcantly in other aspects of academic performance.

The study investigated daylight illumination in the school workshop as a determinant for effective students' task performance in workshop practice. 183 NCE Technical students in 300 Level which comprised of 73 and 112 students from Federal Colleges of Education (Technical), Asaba and Omoku, Nigeria respectively during the 2008/2009 academic session was used for the study The daylight Illumination Task Performance Questionnaire (DITPQ) was used to collect data. The students perceived that there was inadequate daylight illumination of the school workshop and it negatively affected effective students' task performance workshop practice; and no significant difference existed in the students' mean perception scores of daylight illumination in the school workshop as a determinant for their effective task performance in workshop practice.

The study examined the academic performance of students in the compulsory courses in technical education during the transition period of first and second years of three years Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) Technical programme before choosing their disciplines in the third year. The study comprised of 237 students that consisted of Automobile, 22; Building, 8; Electrical/Electronics, 21; Metalwork, 24; and Woodwork, 4 admitted into year one in 2002/2003, 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 academic sessions who transited to third year of the programme in 2004/2005, 2005/2006 and 2006/2007 academic sessions respectively. Data consisted of examination scores for 20 compulsory courses offered by the students and was analyzed with the arithmetic mean, one-way ANOVA and the Scheffe’s test. The study established that, students in Electrical/Electronics discipline performed better than their counterparts who made Automobile, Building, Metalwork and Woodwork as their discipline, and the academic performance of the five groups of students differed significantly.Keywords: academic, performance, transition, specialization.

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