Pedagogical Skills and Perceived Learning Performance of Office Technology and Management Students in Public Polytechnics, Southwest, Nigeria

Pedagogical talent is advantageous and characterized by a mix of theoretical and practical understanding of teaching methods with increasing professional experience. Despite the efforts put in by the faculty, in the teaching learning process, a preliminary investigation revealed that there seems to be a decrease in the level of learning performance of Office technology and management students in public polytechnic in South West. Why there are many factors that influence student learning performance, this study investigated the influence of pedagogical skills on perceived learning performance of OTM students in public polytechnics in South West, Nigeria. The study also investigated if there is any moderating influence of student interest on their learning performance. A descriptive survey research design was used for the study. The target population was 650 OTM students and total enumeration as sample for six public polytechnics in South west, Nigeria offering ND and HND programmes.  A structured likert type questionnaire was used to gather data to answer three research questions using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics to test four hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The results reveal that the level of perceived learning performance was high (overall m=2.99); Institutional support for the students was also high (overall m=2.98) and pedagogical skills experienced by OTM students at their lectures was equally high (overall m=3.05). The results for H01 and H02 both revealed that Institutional Support and pedagogical skills individually influence positively perceived learning performance of students in public polytechnics in South West, Nigeria. The result of the analyses were )R=0.338, Adj. R2=0.122, F(2.603)= 39.009, P=0.05), and (R=0.528, Adj. R2= 0.275, F(3.602) = 77.386, P?0.05) respectively. The study concluded that conducive learning environment, lecturers teaching methods and competence were important in enhancing perceived learning performance of OTM students.  The study recommended that polytechnic authorities should prioritize the provision of modern learning facilities and resources, as well as training and development of lecturers’ pedagogical skills to improve the learning outcomes of OTM students.