Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journals
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Influence of Psychologically-Informed Motivational Strategies on Teacher Commitment in Public Secondary Schools in Awka North LGA, Anambra State
No full textThe study investigated the influence of psychologically informed motivational strategies on teacher commitment in public secondary schools in Awka North Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra State. Specifically, the study examined the influence of financial incentives, recognition of teachers’ achievements, and supportive working environment on teacher commitment. The study was guided by four research questions and four null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. A correlational survey research design was adopted for the study. A total 486 participants were drawn for the study using census sampling of the whole population of teacher and principals in the study area. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled “Psychologically Informed Motivational Strategies (PIMS) and Teacher Commitment Questionnaire (TCQ)”, which was developed by the researcher. The instrument was subjected to face validation by three experts in Department of Educational Foundations. The reliability of the instruments was determined using Cronbach’s Alpha method, and a reliability coefficient of 0.78 for PIMS and 0.87 for TCQ) was obtained, indicating high internal consistency. The data were collected through direct administration of the questionnaire and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to answer the research questions and test the null hypotheses. Findings revealed that financial incentives, recognition of achievements, and a supportive working environment each had a significant moderate positive influence on teacher commitment. The study also found a significant joint influence of these motivational strategies on teacher commitment. It was concluded that the implementation of psychologically informed motivational strategies plays a critical role in enhancing teacher commitment in secondary schools. Based on the findings, the study recommended that government and school administrators should ensure timely provision of adequate financial incentives, establish structured teacher recognition programs, and foster supportive working environments. The study further recommended capacity-building programs for school leaders and the institutionalization of motivational strategies through education policy for sustainable teacher commitment and improved school performance
Musicolinguistic Analysis of some Selected Yorùbá and Igbo Folk Songs
No full textStudies on musicolinguistics have received scholarly attention with a lot of them showing the interrelatedness of language and music. However, very limited studies have analysed the incorporation of musicolinguistics with Yoruba and Igbo folk songs combined to examine the interconnectivities existing between linguistics and music. This study, therefore, x-rays the musicolinguistic analysis of some selected Yorùbá and Igbo folk songs. The study adopts a qualitative research design to draw on the effect of language on music. Sleeper\u27s (2018) integration of musical data into linguistics provides a framework for analyses in this study. Also, data for the study are drawn from the selected Yorùbá and Igbo folk songs: “L\u27abe Igi Orombo”, “Olúrónbí” and “Uri Oma”. Findings from the study reveal that folk songs are used to preserve Yorùbá and Igbo linguistic clarity while elevating their artistic and cultural expression. Through the careful balance of text and melody, these folk songs demonstrate how music functions as an extension of language, reinforcing meaning, identity, and cultural continuity. The study contributes to the field of musicolinguistics and African folk songs
War Metaphors in Nigerian Pidgin Political News Coverage
No full textThis study investigates the types of conceptual metaphors of war in Nigerian Pidgin news coverage; it focusses on the BBC Pidgin political news of September to December 2023. Grounded in Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and using a qualitative approach with purposive and convenient sampling techniques, the study identified and analysed eight distinct conceptual metaphors which depicted politics, political events and electoral court cases as battle or war. The conceptual metaphors are used in order to simplify complex political and legal processes; they make complex political issues more accessible and relatable to readers. Key findings reveal that metaphors are used to map abstract political concepts onto familiar domains of battle, war, physical struggles and explosion. Beyond shaping public perception, this study highlights implications for political discourse in multilingual societies; it shows Nigerian Pidgin’s metaphorical language and bridges communication gap between government and grassroots audiences in political communication. By situating the analysis within literature on metaphor in pidgin and creole languages, this research contributes to understanding how creole and pidgin languages uniquely mediate political narratives, particularly in postcolonial contexts. Further, the study emphasises the role of Nigerian Pidgin not only as a lingua franca; but as a dynamic tool for framing sociopolitical realities; it offers insights for scholars of media, linguistics and African political communication
Queer Identity Politics and Exclusion: A Discourse on Chinelo Okparanta’s Under the Udala Trees
No full textAnti-LGBT advocacy manifests in various spheres that stalk the progress of the pro-LGBT agenda, as they base their arguments on religion, culture, tradition, and the statutory laws of the country. One of the most contentious issues related to queer sexualities relates to the arguments between the inclusion and exclusion of queers in social, political, religious, and cultural matters. While new frontiers for assessment are rapidly emerging across the African continent, pro-LGBTQIA+ advocates appear to have already established boundaries by criticising the exclusion of homosexuals and advocating for comprehensive inclusion. However, the reception of homosexuality is still largely hostile, and literary artists continue to push for equality of gender and sexuality. In Nigeria, homosexuality and same-sex marriage were criminalised in 2014; in spite of being crimes, they are also generally considered alterations to cultural and religious ordinances. Therefore, society often excludes queers from its mainstream as a form of punishment and a strategy to \u27curb\u27 the spread of homosexuality. Reading from a queer theory-informed perspective, this paper examines the patterns of exclusion and their effects on the social relationships of queer individuals as portrayed in Chinelo Okparanta\u27s novel, Under the Udala Trees (2016)
Discourse Markers of Sarcasm in the Marital Conflict Discourse of Nigerian Celebrities
No full textSarcasm is a communicative style with a complex interpretation. Thus, it presents a range of challenges in capturing its linguistic nuances, context dependencies and the latent meaning in marital disputes. The study examined the discourse markers of sarcasm in the marital conflict discourse of Nigerian celebrities. Since sarcasm conveys indirect meaning, this study helped language learners to infer and correctly interpret the meanings of sarcastic expressions in the context of marital conflicts. The study was guided by the following research questions: (1) What discourse features indicate sarcasm in marital conflicts of Nigerian celebrities? (2) How do these discourse features function to express sarcasm within a marital conflict context? (3) What is the relationship between sarcasm and conflict escalation in Nigerian celebrity marital disputes? Using virtual observation, the researcher deliberately selected representative samples of texts or narratives in which sarcasm was communicated in different ways from online platforms of five (5) Nigerian celebrities who had marital crises. Such platforms include Facebook, blogs, Instagram, Twitter and so on. Moreover, newspaper headlines that feature celebrity news (direct interviews with such celebrities), such as Vanguard, Daily Post, Daily Trust, Premium Times and so on, were consulted. The collated data was given a qualitative and descriptive analysis using J.R. Searle’s Speech Act Theory. The findings revealed that Nigerian celebrities use various discourse features, such as tone-meaning incongruity, quotation marks, footing shift, exaggerated virtue, religious irony, capitalisation for emphasis, hyperbole, vagueness, undermining clichés, false empathy/flattery, understatement, moralising deflection, child framing, detached tone, mock rhetorical questions, audience inference, religious register, indirect reference, mismatch between tone and content etc, to indicate sarcasm during marital conflicts. It is recommended that the study be replicated in similar contexts to validate the findings
The Woman in Contemporary Nigerian Society and Bildungsroman as a Revolutionary Tool: A Study of Adimora-Ezeigbo’s Trafficked
No full textNigerian novelists have always expressed their views on various issues that affect the nation, from the colonial through the postcolonial era to the contemporary times, in varied novelistic styles. Bildungsroman appears to be the favourite baby of most third generation African women novelists. It has become a tool for (re)-creating the image and dream of a woman and a society. It is the same with Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, the author of Trafficked. The novel (re)-assesses the place of Nigerian (African) woman in the contemporary modern Nigerian society. Deploying Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis, it is discovered that the novelist finds the novelistic tradition of Bildungsroman useful as a tool to explore and demand paradigm shift in the popular perception and treatment of women both in individual and larger social circles. The novelist’s vision is to ignite social, cultural, and economic revolution that is aimed at repositioning Nigerian women to be at par with their male counterparts. The developmental trajectory of Nneoma, the protagonist, justifies the novel as a Bildungsroman
Manipulative Discursive Strategies in Facebook Posts of Failed Online Ponzi Schemes a Study of Investment Narratives
No full textThis study investigates manipulative discursive strategies employed in Facebook posts of some failed Nigerian Ponzi schemes disguised as business entities between 2020 and 2021. Previous language studies (Chiluwa & Chiluwa (2022), Chiluwa, Kamalu & Anurudu (2020), Onanuga & Taiwo (2020)) on the proliferation of Ponzi schemes on social media focused on the famous Mavrodi Mundial Moneybox (MMM), iCharity, ultimate cycler and Loom, therefore the present study expands the scope by including other schemes like MBA Forex, Barimike Group, Chinmark/FinAfrica Investment and Ovaioza Food Produce and Storage Business (OFPSB). The research adopts a descriptive approach to identify and analyse manipulative discursive strategies used to attract potential clients, foster trust, and encourage financial engagement. Data were purposively collected from eight promotional posts made by four businesses/investment schemes —MBA Forex, Barimike Group, Chinmark Group and OFPSB and analysed using Ruth Wodak’s Discourse Historical Approach (DHA). The analysis reveals recurrent manipulation strategies, including rebranding of investment schemes as business partnership, promise of high returns on investment with no risk, use of exaggerated figures for legitimization, fear tactic, trust framing, false proof, scarcity framing, temporal urgency, and pseudo authority through quotations. These tactics are often employed to create an illusion of safety, inclusivity, and inevitability of profit. The study concludes that online investment discourse blends interpersonal rapport-building with subtle pressure to influence audience decision-making
Re-evaluation of Widowhood Rites and Widow’s Coping Strategies in Adebowale’s Lonely Days and Amadi’s The Trials of a Widow
No full textWidowhood has often been seen as a medium through which women are subjected to oppressive socio-cultural practices, ranging from economic deprivation to psychological trauma. Nigerian novelists such as Bayo Adebowale and Ray Amadi have used their works as important avenues to question and re-evaluate these practices, while also highlighting widows’ resilience and coping strategies. This study examines Adebowale’s Lonely Days and Amadi’s The Trials of a Widow. From Focu-feminist’s perspective, this article analyzes how widowhood is portrayed, the challenges the widowed protagonists- Yaremi and Egolu encounter and the coping mechanisms they adopt. Content analysis approach of qualitative research method is used. The findings reveal that widowhood becomes a space for survival, revolution and redefinition of womanhood. The paper concludes that Nigerian literature provides a powerful platform for re-evaluating cultural practices, advocating gender justice and self-rediscovery
Perceptions of Family Planning among Rural Women in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State
No full textThis study assessed rural women attitude towards family planning in Ovia South West local government area of Edo state Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive survey research and was guided by five research questions. The population of the study comprised 200 rural women of reproductive age in Ovia South West Local Government Area. The instrument for data collection was a self-designed structured questionnaire divided into two sections of A and B which cover demographic information of the respondents and research items respectively of a two-point Likert scale of Yes and No. Simple percentage and frequency distribution was used to analyse data related to the research questions. The results showed that the perception of rural women in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State was relatively high but not satisfactory. On the basis of the foregoing, the study recommended, among others, that more family planning facilities be built in Ovia South West Local Government Area as this will increase the level of awareness of the issue and motivate residents to use family planning more frequently and that the government should provide free family planning services, especially to women in rural areas, to help address the issue of financial hardship
Effect of Blended Learning Strategy on Students’ Academic Achievement in English Language in Public Senior Secondary Schools in Ebonyi State
No full textThis study examined effect of blended learning strategy on students’ academic achievement in English Language in public senior secondary schools in Ebonyi State. The study adopted quasi-experimental design, specifically non-equivalent control group design or pretest post-test control group design. The population of the study was 19,688 senior secondary two (SSII) students of Ebonyi state while the sample size was 85 senior secondary two (SSII) students of two intact classes drawn from two co-educational public secondary schools using purposive technique. Each of the two intact classes of the respective schools was assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group was taught using blended learning while the control group was taught with lecture method. Data were collected using English Language Achievement Test (ELAT). The Pretest was conducted for both the experiment (treatment) and control groups. The experimental group, received treatments using blended learning while the control group was taught using traditional lecture method. Findings showed that: students taught English Language using Blended learning had significantly higher mean achievement score than students taught using lecture method; there was no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female students taught English Language using blended learning; and gender and instructional strategies had no significant interaction effect on the mean achievement scores of students taught English Language