Implementing Makerspace in Nigerian School Libraries

The 21st century is a knowledge age where the only currency is knowledge; thus, to function in it, possession of 21st century skills is germane. The required skills are critical thinking, problem-solving, analytical, mathematical, communication and cooperative, leadership, and technical skills. In the same vein, 21st century libraries are evolving to instill the 21st century skills into learners through makerspace. Makerspace is an avenue for creating, making, tinkering, and inventing by trial and error based on the interest of the learners. This study, therefore, examines makerspace, school library and makerspace, the role of school librarians in makerspace, implementing makerspace in school library, challenges of hosting makerspace in school libraries in Nigeria, and recommendations.

Promoting Ethnic and Religious Diversity for the Nigerian School Children: A Preliminary Study

The aim of this study is to provide evidence on the school library as an important medium for promoting ethnic and religious diversity among the Nigerian school children. Though the issue of diversity continues to evolve and expand in the 21st century to include dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, culture, abilities, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age and religious preferences (Perrault & Mardis, 2015), the Nigerian nation is presently being troubled by the crisis related to ethnic and religious groups. The education system seems not to be doing much in encouraging coexistence among the citizens. The school library serves as a safe place for addressing these issues of ethnicity and religiosity among learners from diverse backgrounds in the Nigerian school system in which the school timetable is busy with a lot of passive learning activities. Even though ethnic and religious diversity should be addressed in a normal classroom environment, there is still a continuous rise in the lack of ethnic and religious coexistence in Nigerian community which has brought about religious rivalry and ethnic bigotry in the different communities of the nation (Akwanya, 2015; Ojo, 2016). This has continually led to a greater output of school children who are not ready to welcome other cultures and religious beliefs when they become adults; thus steering violence among other members of the community.

School Libraries Role in Connected Learning: Perception of School Librarians in Nigeria

Connected learning (CL) aims at bridging the gap between in-school and out-of-school learning, thus, learning now takes place not only in the classroom setting. Libraries as nexus of informal learning space are appropriate spaces for connected learning. Observation shows that CL has not been embraced in Nigeria. Therefore, this study examined the perception of school librarians on the roles of school libraries in CL, challenges of CL, and solutions. School librarians that attended the national workshop organized by the Nigerian School Library Association (NSLA) participated in the focus group discussion. The findings revealed perceived roles of school libraries in CL, challenges of CL in Nigeria, and solutions proffered.

Influence of maternal level of education and socioeconomic status on maternal knowledge of nutrition, physical activity and children’s bodyweight of Nigerian school pupils

This study investigated the influence of maternal level of education and socioeconomic status on maternal knowledge of nutrition, physical activity, and children’s body weight of Nigerian school pupils. A total of four hundred and twelve (412) primary school pupils participated in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to assess the maternal level of education, material’s knowledge of nutrition, and physical activities. Body height and body weight were measured with a wall-mounted stadiometer in meters and a bathroom weighing scale in kg, respectively. The children’s body weight was determined using the formula weight (kg)/height (m2). The children were then categorized into different classes of body mass index based on the recommendation of Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (2015), which is age and sex-specific for children and teens from two years old through 20 years. The differences in maternal educational qualification and children’s bodyweights were analyzed using the independent sample t-test. However, the influence of maternal SES on maternal knowledge of nutrition, physical activities, and children’s body weights were analyzed using ANOVA. Statistical significance was accepted for a p-value of <0.05. The outcome of this study showed that the educational qualification of mothers had a significant (p<0.05) influence on children’s bodyweights. It was also observed from this study that the maternal SES significantly (p<0.05) influenced maternal nutritional knowledge, maternal knowledge of physical activities, and children’s bodyweights. This study therefore concluded that the maternal level of education and SES do influence maternal knowledge of nutrition and physical activity as well as children’s bodyweights.