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Background
The United Kingdom has earned vast recognition in various fields, including the education, social, and political sector. Indeed, the colonization activities conducted by Britain led to far-reaching effects across the world (Nwagwu 2008). As such, most of the colonies as well as other countries have adopted the UK’s systems of operations. As such, these countries and the world at large have adopted the UK’s education system. Importantly, the UK’s university academic programs have been widely accepted.
In fact, almost all countries have developed a method of converting the UK’s degree merits into local equivalence (Forrest 2003). As such, students who graduate from UK-based universities are granted an equivalent grade in their local education system. This allows them to be evaluated on the same assessment platform as those ones who studied in the local universities. In fact, this is evident in other levels of education, including the primary and secondary levels in the respective countries. As such, this indicates that the UK’s educational system and degrees have been accepted as some of the most credible academic platforms.
Whereas the degrees obtained from UK-based universities have been used widely, it is common knowledge that the perceptions toward them differ according to regions. As such, it is understandable that the perceptions of the UK’s degrees in the USA and the rest of Europe are expected to differ from the opinions held by Asians and Africans. As such, it is important to interrogate the manner in which different regions perceive UK-based degrees.
However, while the scope of the research would extend to finitely many countries around the world, research that studies the perceptions of a given country’s system would be more helpful. This is based on the rationale that the research would be deep because it would focus on the local issues and accurate perceptions existing in the country.
This research, therefore, seeks to answer the question of what value and importance the Nigerian attach to the degrees offered in the UK. For the purpose of the thesis statement, the hypothetical stipulation according to secondary research shows that the Nigerian treasure the degrees attained in the UK (Elias 2010).
In this regard, it is evident that Nigeria is a third world country from Africa (Abassah 2005). This country is one of the most stable economies in Africa due to the existence of oil mines and vast petroleum products (Ayemere 2008). However, the order and value of education cannot be equated to the UK’s level and proficiency (Uwakwe 2005). This is based on the fact that Nigeria was a British colony. In this case, it does not imply that the educational system of Nigeria is essential for a low quality than the one offered in Britain (Bebebiafiai 2005).
However, from the perspective of culture and general mentality, the idea of learning abroad is highly valued (Bebebiafiai 2011). People from the local secondary schools are regarded with great credibility and respect when they study in the UK and other countries such as the USA (Nyanabo 2008). This is inherent to the culture and mentality of the Africans as far as the value of education is concerned (Odey 2005).
Key Objective of the Proposed Research
The key objective or the aim of this research is to determine the value that Nigerians attach to the degrees obtained in the UK. Indeed, it will seek to determine the integrity and credibility with which the Nigerians regard the UK-based degrees that have been obtained locally or from abroad.
Terms of Reference of the Proposed Research
Indeed, the statement of objectives stated that the research seeks to evaluate the value that Nigerians attach to the UK’s degrees. However, it is important to expound on some of the fundamental aspects that will be explored, the questions that will be researched, and the expected discoveries. Deriving from the key objective, there are various issues related to the value. First, the research will explore the level of integrity with which Nigerians regard the UK’s degrees. Indeed, the general perception of the public towards something is one of the critical factors that define value.
As such, the general perception can affect the rate at which the respective scholars are absorbed by society. In addition to this, the research will seek to identify the integrity with which the graduates are regarded in the professional realm. In this case, the research will be aimed to determine the extent to which UK graduates portray professional effectiveness. As such, their proficiency and reliability are a key determinant of how the employers regard the degrees from the UK because effectiveness at the workplace is a fundamental factor when it comes to value.
Second, the research will conduct a comparative study to evaluate the difference between the UK’s degree programs and the Nigerian local systems of education. Whereas the perceptions of both the employers and the general public are crucial in this research, it is important to conduct a value-laden inquiry. This inquiry will seek to determine whether the UK’s degrees are more valuable when compared to the ones provided by the local universities.
As such, this will be an inquiry seeking to answer the question of whether the UK’s degrees impart more relevant skills as compared to the Nigerian ones. As such, this part of the inquiry will focus on the value of UK degrees from a skill-based aspect. Third, the research will determine the factor that leads to the value attachment regardless of whether the value is significant or not.
Lastly, when it comes to discoveries that are expected, it is evident that the research seeks to make three distinct determinations. These determinations include the value of UK degrees based on the skills imparted, the perceptions of the general students as well as citizenry towards the degrees, and the employers’ perspective when it comes to the effectiveness of the degrees. As such, the research will be making the pursuits in this list.
- To determine the students’ and citizenry perception towards UK-based degrees.
- To determine the value that employers attach to the UK degrees based on effectiveness at work and skill base
- To evaluate the comparative skills-base of the UK-based degrees and the ones provided in the local universities.
As such, these three investigatory aspects necessitate answering three different questions.
- What value do university students and citizenry attach to UK-based degrees and to what extent?
- What value do employers attach to UK degrees based on effectiveness at work and to what extent?
- How do the degrees from UK-based universities compare with those from local universities in Nigeria?
Identification of the Appropriate Methodology
In accordance with the research questions and the key objectives, this research will involve the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. In this case, qualitative research will include an investigation of what value the students and employers attach to UK degrees. In addition, qualitative data will be needed when it comes to the comparison between locally acquired degrees and UK programs. On the other hand, quantitative data will be collected to discuss the extent to which the students, employers, and citizenry value the UK degrees. The measurement of a degree in this case will be based on the Likert scale.
In particular, it applies a five-level Likert scale which will run from strongly valuable to strongly invaluable (Babu 2013). As such, the strongly valuable will be represented by 5 and the strongly invaluable will be represented by 1. The following shows the final questionnaire that was obtained after piloting.
The Final Questionnaire
- As a student to what extent do you value the UK degree? (1 – Strongly Invaluable, 2 – Invaluable, 3 – Neutral, 4 – Valuable, 5 – Strongly Valuable)
- Why do you think that the UK degree is as important to this extent?
- As an HR manager and employer, to what extent do you value the UK degrees? (1 – Strongly Invaluable, 2 – Invaluable, 3 – Neutral, 4 – Valuable, 5 – Strongly Valuable)
- If any, what are the adorable characteristics of the graduates who have qualified from UK universities or those who have taken the UK-based courses?
- If any, what are the bad characteristics of the graduates who have qualified from UK universities or those who have taken the UK-based courses?
- How do the graduates from the Nigerian local universities compare with the ones who graduate from UK universities?
- As a policymaker, to what extent do you value the UK degree? (1 – Strongly Invaluable, 2 – Invaluable, 3 – Neutral, 4 – Valuable, 5 – Strongly Valuable)
- What are some of the factors that informed the value you attach to the UK degrees?
- How do the educational policies in UK higher learning education compare with the ones in Nigeria?
The research will include both the primary and secondary research methodologies. In this case, the secondary research will be applied when it comes to conducting a comparative evaluation between locally acquired degrees and UK programs. As such, the secondary materials will be analyzed deeply and extensively to identify the educational system as well as the requirements of the qualification. As such, this information will be used to determine the professionalism involved in the educational system as well as the question of whether qualification requirements are sufficient.
On the other hand, the primary research will be used to investigate the extent to which Nigerians value UK-based degrees. In this case, a Likert scale will be used to collect responses that will be analyzed to make the necessary conclusions. As such, the use of both secondary and primary research will be a crucial undertaking because it will ensure that the research is vast and effective.
Indeed, the application of secondary research helps to identify the gaps that might exist in previous research (Marshall & Rossman 2011). On the other hand, primary research plays a significant role in filling those gaps and directing the way forward for future research studied (Collis & Hussey 2009).
Identification of the Appropriate Sampling Approach and Its Rationale
Sampling refers to the selection of various individuals who are involved in data collection for the purpose of making the required determinations and conclusions (Creswell 2009). As such, sampling is necessitated by the high number of the population that can potentially provide the required information (Denscombe 2009). This implies that the high population cannot participate in the research owing to the limited time and finances (Emmett & Biddle 2010).
The relevant population in this research includes the HR managers in Nigerian institutions, the students who have enrolled in the UK degree programs either online or physically, and the public policymakers from the ministry of education. When the population is big, sampling is necessary to ensure that only a portion of the population is involved in order to cut on the cost and time (Flick 2009).
Since the size of the sample will be essentially smaller than the actual population, the sample must be selected in such a manner that it reflects the perception of the entire population (Jha 2008). In order to maintain this consistency and reliability, this research will apply the random purposeful sampling method. This sampling method incorporates two different techniques including purposefulness and randomization (Liamputtong 2009).
The randomization ensures that the sample population is selected in a manner that does not promote the attainment of pre-desired results (Bradley 2013). In that regard, it is meant to eliminate biasness inherent to the researchers in ideal cases. On the other hand, the purposeful technique ensures that the sample is objective in nature.
In this regard, the purpose of this research is to determine the value that Nigerians attach to UK degrees. It is therefore important to involve people who have the required information. As such, the sample has been segmented into three portions including the Nigerian students undertaking UK degree programs, employers in Nigeria, and the government custodians of higher learning in the ministry of education. The students will be expected to give specific and vast information concerning the UK degree programs in comparison with the local ones. On the other hand, the employers will provide information with respect to the question of the value they attach to UK degrees based on the performance of the employees qualified from UK universities.
Lastly, the public servants from the ministry of education will be expected to provide responses from a policy-based perspective. In this case, they will be expected to compare the educational policies in Nigeria and compare them with those ones in the UK. As such, they will derive their value from a policy-based orientation. The three segments of the population will be reflected in the research sample satisfactorily. Having provided their opinions in both qualitative and quantitative data, the conclusions will be highly effective because they will not only show the extent to which Nigerians value UK education but also the reasons as to why they attach the significance.
When it comes to the sample size, the research will include 150 respondents who include three segments. As such, 80 respondents will comprise of Nigerian students who take UK-based degrees. In this case, 60 students will be taking the degrees from universities based in the UK physically.
On the other hand, the remaining 20 students will be taking the UK degrees under the online provision which has taken root in the modern world. For the remaining 70 respondents, 60 of them will include HR managers from different institutions. These respondents will be very important when it comes to determining the effectiveness of UK degree graduates. Lastly, the remaining 10 respondents will include public policymakers from the ministry of education. As such, the respondents will be selected as shown in this table.
Suggested Data Analysis Approach
When it comes to data analysis, the research will incorporate both qualitative and quantitative data analysis. The quantitative analysis incorporates the calculation of descriptive statistics for the data provided (McGivern 2013). Since the data will be drawn from the Likert scale, descriptive statistics will be used to determine the extent to which the Nigerians value UK degree.
On the other hand, qualitative analysis will be conducted using the cross-case analysis. This method will help to analyze the responses provided by the respondents across the segments. After considering the opinions provided by all the segments, the comparison and contrast will help to make a solid conclusion on the value that Nigerians attach to UK degrees. Indeed, mixed methodology is one of the critical strengths of this research.
Suggested Time Scale
This research incorporates various tasks including the preparation of questionnaires, conducting a pilot study, sending the surveys, reception recording of data, analysis, and presentation of data.
References
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Odey, O 2005, ‘The place of finance in visual arts education in Nigeria’, Journal of Technology and Education in Nigeria, vol. 5, no. 12, pp 79-87.
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