IMPROVING THE CLOTHING MAINTENANCE SKILLS OF MALE YOUTHS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONSIN BENUE STATE

ABSTRACT

This study on waysof improving the clothing maintenance skills of male youths in tertiary institutions in Benue State was motivated by a great concern about how youths maintain their clothing. The concern emanated from lack or inadequate clothing maintenance skills common among male youths in tertiary institutions and their  patronage of service men on campus. Seven  research  questions  and  seven null  hypotheses  were developed  to  guide  the study. Descriptive survey research design was employed in selecting the respondents for the study. The  study  was  carried  out  in  Benue  State  covering  the  three  tertiary  institutions.  The population for the study comprises of 1,932 newly admitted male students in three tertiary institutions across Benue State for 2014/15 academic session. The sample for the study was

300 first year students from three tertiary institutions in Benue state. The sampling technique

is  a  multistage  sampling.Theinstrument   for  the  study  was  a  structured   questionnaire developed by the researcher and it is titled: Improving Clothing Maintenance Skills of Male Youths  (ICMSMAY).  It  was  developed  by the  researcher  based  on  the  review  related literature  on clothing  maintenance.  The  instrument  was  divided  into  eight  sections.  The instrument  was face-validated  by three experts. The experts were requested  to assess the items of the instruments in terms of clarity, relevance and appropriateness in addressing the problem  of  the  study  and  research  questions  under  investigation.  Their  comments  and corrections were  incorporated in the final draft of the instrument. To establish the internal consistency  of  the questionnaire,  Cronbach Alpha reliability technique was used in which reliability  value 0.74  was obtained  The 300 copies  of the questionnaire  distributed  were retrieved  making 100% rate of return.  The data collected  were analyzed  using  mean for answering research questions while t-test statistics was used for testing the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance  and at 298 degree of freedom. It was found  out  that male youths in tertiary institutions required proper training in clothing maintenance most especially during their growing up years. Clothing maintenance skills such as brushing and airing renovation, laundry, ironing and storage skills are needed by male youths in tertiary institutions. Based on the findings,  the study among others  recommended  that male  youths should  be provided withadequate  materials  for  clothing  maintenance  such  as  thread,  needles,  button,  zipper among otherswhen going to tertiary institutions; male youths should be taught the best ways to maintain their clothes better.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Basic necessities  for human survival  in life are water, food, shelter, and  clothing. Clothing  is  one  of  those  phenomena  of  everyday  life  which  demands  human  attention. Anyakoha (2008) defined clothing as any article that is placed on the body in order to protect or adorn it. There are different types of items regarded as clothing, such as garments, shirts, trousers,shoes, hats and jewelries. Clothing is referred to as covering for the human body that is worn such as dresses, shoes, hats, and jewelry (Bohn, 2004). The type of clothing worn depends on social, geographical and physical considerations of the wearer and the purpose of put on such clothes.

Clothing serves many purposes; it can serve as protection from sun and rainfall, it also enhances  safety during  hazardous  activities.  It  protects  humans  from  rough  surfaces  by providing a barrier between the skin and the environment. The human body sheds skin cells, body oils, exudes sweat, urine, and feaces; while from the outside the body is exposed to sun damage, moisture, abrasion and dirt which often affects clothing (Laitala, Klepp,Kjeldsberg, and Eilertsen,2011). Nwadi and Anyakoha (2011) stressed that when clothes are selected to meet  the  wearer’s  psychological,  sociologically,  cultural  and  physical  needs;  they  are subjected to a variety of stressors such as dirt and pollen, moisture such as perspiration and rain,  environmental  pollutants,  wrinkling,  stains  from  contact  with  food  or  perfumes, sunlight, stretching from movement and abrasion. No matter how well clothes are, no person is ever well dressed unless those clothes are given appropriate maintenance.

Maintenance is any activity required or undertaken to conserve as nearly, and as long, as possible the original condition of an asset such as cars,  houses, or clothes.  Anyakoha

(2008)  defined  maintenance  as taking care of something  such clothes.  Ogbuanya  (2009)

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viewed maintenance as action taken to restore or keep an item in good functional order. This implies that everyone needs to know how to maintain the clothes that he or she  wears, as clothing that is well maintained contributes to social comfort of the wearer and prolong the lifespan  of  the  clothes.  The  importance  of  clothing  maintenance  skills,  as  well  as  the requirements of maintenance knowledge, could assist in saving some stipends and prolonging the life span of clothing.

Maintenance   prolongs   the   life   a   garment.   Pinsent   (2007)   defined   clothing maintenance  as taking proper care of clothing especially when they are dirty,  torn or for future use. Clothing maintenance  is sometimes referred to as clothing care.  Clothing care activities include laundering and mending (Anyakoha & Eluwa, 2005). Proper maintenance of clothes helps to keep them in good condition so that appearance of the wearer is enhanced (Nwadi & Anyakoha, 2011). The necessity for the maintenance of clothing helps the wearer to maintain greater pride and self-respect apart from the social comfort.

There are different types of maintenance  given to clothes, which includes brushing and airing, renovation or repairs, cleaning, ironing and storage (Tapert, 2009). The need for the maintenance of clothes helps the wearer to maintain greater pride and self-respect apart from the social comfort.Therefore, maintenance could be described as the upkeep of property, equipment  or  clothing;  which  includes  proper  hanging,  removal  of  stain  and  preserving clothes for future use.

Clothes bought off the rack often require little maintenance as a result of dirt or dust; and one of such maintenance is brushing (Anyakoha, 2008). Brushing prevents dust and mold on clothes  while  airing  removes  dampness  which  causes  mildew  to  grow  on clothes.  If clothes get torn as a result of brushing or other activities, they can be maintained by stitching such clothes which is a means of clothing renovation.

It is necessary to renovate, repair or mend clothes when they are torn, as everyday wear  and tear takes  its toll on clothing.  Clothing  renovation  becomes  part  of  preventive mending, permitting the garment to be worn longer or recycled(Pinset,  2007). Repairs like fixing tears, rips, replacing zippers, securing/reattaching buttons, darning are important way of maintaining  clothing.  Basic understanding  of renovating  one of life’s necessities is an asset, but cleaning of clothing could also make the wearer looks better.

Laundry is another way of maintaining clothes. Nios (2011) referred to laundry as means of removing dirt from clothes by washing and then finishing them (i.e,  starching, ironing) thereby giving them a neat and clean appearance. Laundry process involves sorting, soaking, washing, rinsing, bluing, starching,  and drying. Once  clothing  has been cleaned, ironing is required to shape and smooth the design.

Another way of maintaining clothes is proper ironing. Many kinds of clothing  are designed to be ironed before they are worn to remove wrinkles. Clothes ironing or pressing is the use of hot pressing irons to remove the wrinkles from and re-shape  items of clothing (Dedic, 2005). A person ironing clothes should have an eye for detail, be patient, methodical and good at working with their hands. Dedic (2005) further expressed that the wearer should always check the clothing care labels of garments  before ironing clothes and store them properly.

Storage is another element in the maintenance of clothes. Sometimes worse than the mountain of dirty laundry is the mountain of clean laundry which are not stored.  Heaton (2002) emphasized that proper storage can and does reduce the time and money involved in upkeep and prolongs the life of clothing. Clothing racks and wardrobe  storage are closets which  allow  more  convenient  organizing,  management  and  access  to  garments.  Alward (2005) expressed that off-season clothing should be stored carefully to avoid damage from

insects, wash and dry thoroughly before storing. Proper maintenance  of a wide variety of clothing materials requires good knowledge and different maintenance skills.

Maintenance of clothing entails acquisition of some skills which helps the lifespan of clothes.  Abdullahi  (2010)  described  skills as the ability to do things  well,  expertness  or dexterity in performance of craft, trade, or job, especially one that require manual dexterity. Clothing maintenance skills are therefore the ability to brush and air clothes, replace button and  zippers,  shorten  or  lengthen  of  trousers,  launder,  iron  and  storage  of  clothes.  To effectively  maintain  one’s  clothing,  one  must  possess   the  skill  of  carrying  out  the maintenance processes.

Clothing maintenance  in the context  of this study therefore is the ability to  alter, shortening long dresses, clean dirty or stained clothes, renovate torn clothes,  properly iron and store clothing. One common practice observed by the researcher among male youths of tertiary institutions in Benue State is the use of errand boys in maintenance of their clothes, such as washing, replace of button, worn out zip, ironing clothes and at times discard stained clothing. This may be as a result of lack of adequate clothing maintenance skillsby the male youth because the maintenance of clothing is usually said to be female work in Benue state.

Youth has been defined severally by scholars from various regions. Globally, youth is described as the period in an individual’s life that runs between the end of childhood and entry  into  the  world  of  work  (Onuekwusi  &  Effiong,  2002).   According  to  Federal Government  of Nigeria  (FGN,  2001),  youth comprises  all  young person  either  males  or females of ages 18 to 35 years, who are citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. A male belongs to the sex that does not give birth to babies. Male youth in the context of this study could be described as a young male student in tertiary institution within age bracket 15 and

30 years.

Tertiary institution is the third category and highest level of education in Nigeria. It comprises   of  Colleges   of  Education,   Polytechnic,   and  Universities.   Usually,   tertiary institutions admit both young male and female otherwise known as male and female youths in their adolescent age into first year of study. Most of these youths acquire their garments or clothing articles themselves, or from their brothers and often by their parents. Both the male and female youths have responsibility of maintaining their clothing at this stage in their life but often faced with some challenges. One common practice among male youths in tertiary institutions  across  Benue  State  in  maintenance  of their  clothing  is through  patronage  of service-men who wash, renovate, and iron their clothing. This is as a result of their inability to maintain their clothing themselves, which often results in abandoning or throwing away of some of their torn clothes.

With increased concern for the environment, care and maintenance of youth clothing to extend wear-life becomes more critical. Koester and May in Smith, Cox,  Pitts and Tam (1997) emphasized that as age increased, adolescents were more likely to repair, wash, and iron own clothes and needed fewer reminders to do so. Adolescents are also more likely to wash family clothing as age increased. McGillivray and Wilson in Entwistle (2001) stressed that appearance and clothing diminishes from early to late adolescence for males and greater for females. Many young people in rural communities seem not having the advantages that promote  optimal  health  development  of the  body.  McGillivray  and  Wilson  in Entwistle (2001) further affirmed that urban students used  clothes to conform more often than rural one. However, rural students use clothes to gain approval less of than the urban ones. This character is often what students carry to  tertiary institutions. Early adolescence youths are regarded as those in the age bracket of 13-19 years while late adolescence are youths in the bracket  of 20-30  years.  No  matter  the communities  youths  live,  whether  rural or urban; youths are easily recognized by their characters. The need for young people especially male

youths in tertiary institutions to take responsibility of proper maintenance of their clothing is essential. Thus, it becomes necessary to identify ways of improving the clothing maintenance skills of male youth in tertiary institutions.

Statement of the Problem

The acquisition of maintenance skills of clothing tends to preserve clothes, in order to enable  its continuous  use and function.  Nowadays,  youths  are not being taught  skills to maintain clothing to extend  wear, since  fewer adult role models exist who  practice  such skills.  Looking  at  the  clothing  maintenance  skills  among  students  at   various  tertiary institutions  across  the  nations,  especially  in the  tertiary  institutions  in  Benue  State,  one observed that some male youths lack basic clothing maintenance skills. Some male youths in tertiary institutionsare fond of engaging the service of service-men in maintenance of their clothes,  whilesome  goabout  on  campus  with  torn  or  stained  clothes,  rumpled  shirts, incomplete button, worn out zip and non-ironed clothes.Some students wore dresses that are torn open, some boys even go  about with torn jeans all in the name of fashion.This  acts indicated that thesemale youthsare careless or lack how to maintain their clothing.

Clothing maintenance is usually a greater challenge to male youths than their female counterpartas adolescent girls more likely to care for own and family clothing than adolescent boys. This is because it is generally believed that such chore is for female folks. Male youths who do not develop necessary skills for clothing maintenance are  likely to discard clothes that require maintenance resulting in loss of scarce resources for parents who are the main sponsors of these youths.Some male youths of tertiary institutions in Benue State still lack adequate clothing maintenance skills such as washing, replace of button, worn out zip ironing and storage of clothes. The idea of given clothing to service-men by male youths in tertiary institutions nowadays is worrisome and waste of money. Hence, there is need to find ways of

improving the clothing maintenance  skills of male youths in tertiary institutions  in Benue

State.

Purpose of the Study

The general purpose of the study is to investigate the ways of improving the clothing maintenance  skills of male youths in tertiary institutions  in Benue State.  Specifically,  the study was to:

1.        determine the brushing and airing skills needed for improving clothing maintenance of male youths in tertiary institutions.

2.        determine  the  washing  skills  needed  for improving  clothing  maintenance  of  male youths in tertiary institutions.

3.        determine  the  ironing  skills  needed  for  improving  clothing  maintenance  of  male youths in tertiary institutions.

4.        determine the renovation skills needed for improving clothing maintenance of male youths in tertiary institutions.

5.        determine  the  storage  skills  needed  for  improving  clothing  maintenance  of  male youths in tertiary institutions.

6.        identify the problems encountered by male youths in maintaining their clothing.

7.        suggest solutions to the problems encountered by male youths in maintaining  their clothing.

Significance of the Study

The  findings  of  the  study will be  beneficial  to  Home  Economics  teachers,  male youths,  parents and administrators  of tertiary institutions.  The findings  of this  study will provide  more information  for Home  Economics  teachers  on ways  of  improving  clothing maintenance  ofmale students. It will help the teachers to know  vital areas about clothing maintenance skills required in brushing and airing, renovation, laundry, ironing and storage

of clothes especially pertaining to male youths. The findings of the study could be  made available during workshops or conferencesfor Home Economicteachers,  the teachers would be able to impart the message to their students.

The findings of the study will be of great benefit to male youths. The findings of the study can be acquired by upcoming male youths through their home economics teachers in secondary schools. The findings of the clothing maintenance  skills will  make availableto male youthson  how to air and brush clothes properly, renovate torn  clothes, shorten their shirts or trousers, patch and replace zippers. The findings of the study will also reveal the best ways on how to wash and store clothes better even if there is water shortage and electricity problem on campus. Male youthscan also use the findings of the study to establish laundry services on campus or at their homes to generate income after graduation.

The findings of the study will be beneficial to parents. The findings of the study will provide empirical evidence which could serve as a directive to parents. The findings of the study will reveal to parents the emphasis of training their male children the basic skill areas of clothing maintenance such brushing and airing, renovation, laundry, ironing and storage which they can teach their males children. The knowledge of clothing maintenance by male youths could save parents some money from buying clothes everyyear.

Finally,  for  the  administrator  of  tertiary  institutions,  the  study will  sensitize  the administrators  of tertiary institutions  way of improving the clothing maintenance  of  male youthespecially those institutions where male youths give their clothing to errand boys. The findings will provide them information specific clothing maintenance skill on how students can clean  by themselves,  renovate  torn  clothes,as  this  will curb  improper  dressing.  The findings can also be used by administrators of tertiary institutions to educate both new and old male studentson different clothing maintenance skills during orientation week.

Research Questions

This study wasguided by the following research questions:

1.        What arethe brushing and airing skills needed for improving clothing maintenance of male youth in tertiary institutions?

2.        What are the renovation skills needed for improving clothing maintenance  of  male youth in tertiary institutions?

3.        What are the laundry skills needed for improving clothing maintenance of male youth in tertiary institutions?

4.        What are the ironing skills needed for improving clothing maintenance of male youth in tertiary institutions?

5.        What are the storage skills needed for improving clothing maintenance skills of male youth in tertiary institutions?

6.        What are the problems encountered by male youths in maintaining their clothing.

7.        What are the solutions to the problems encountered by male youths in maintaining their clothing?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses are formulated to guide this study and were tested at

0.5 level of significance.

Ho1:    There is no significant difference between the mean response of male youths in early adolescence  and  late  adolescence  on  the  brushing  and  airing  skills  needed  for improving clothing maintenance.

Ho2:    There is no significant difference between the mean response of male youths  from rural  and  urban  areas  on  the  renovation  skills  needed  for  improving  clothing maintenance skills of male youth in tertiary institutions.

Ho3:    There is no significant difference between the mean response of male youths in early adolescence and late adolescence on the laundry skills needed for improving clothing maintenance skills of male youth in tertiary institutions.

Ho4:    There is no significant difference between the mean response of male youths  from rural and urban areas on the ironing skills needed for improving clothing maintenance skills of male youth in tertiary institutions.

Ho5:    There is no significant difference between the mean response of male youths in early adolescence and late adolescence on the storage skills needed for improving clothing maintenance skills of male youth in tertiary institutions.

Ho6:    There is no significant difference between the mean response of male youths in early adolescence  and late adolescence  on the problems encountered  by male  youths  in caring for their clothing.

Ho7:    There is no significant difference between the mean response of male youths in early adolescence  and late adolescence  on the solutions to the problems  encountered  by male youths in maintaining their clothing.

Scope of the Study

The  study  was  delimited  to  identification  of  ways  of  improving  the   clothing maintenance  skills  of male  youths  in tertiary institutions  in Benue State.  The  study was limited to brushing and airing, renovation, laundry, ironing and storage skills of clothes such as shirts, suits, trousers. Clothing  items such as shirts, trousers,  other items considered  as clothing such shoes, hats, and jewelrieswere not considered.

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