Refrigerator Appliance Utilization and Household Well-being in the 21st Century: Implications for Food Preservation and Energy Efficiency among Household in River State

Abigal Ngozi   Alio; Ugochukwu Clement  Ewe; Ikechukwu Jerry Ogbonna

Authors

Prof Abigal Ngozi Alio DEPARTMENT OF VOCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION ENUGU STATE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Author
Ewe Ugochukwu Clement DEPARTMENT OF VOCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION ENUGU STATE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Author
Ogbonna Ikechukwu Jerry, Ph.D DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNICAL EDUCATION FACULTY OF VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA Author

Keywords:

Refrigerator, Household, well-being, 21st century, food preservation and energy efficiency

Abstract

The study focused on the refrigerator appliance utilization and family well-being in the 21^stcentury: implications for food preservation and energy efficiency among householdin River State. Five specific purposes and five research questions guided the study. The population comprised 2224 households that possess refrigerator. Sample of the study was 1843 household that makes use of refrigerator which was drawn using Taro Yamane’s formula. Instrument for data collection was a questionnaire developed by the researcher titled. ‘Refrigerator Appliance Utilization and Family Well-Being Questionnaire (RAUFWQ). The instrument was validated by three experts and correction identified were factored into the instrument used for final collection of data. Data was collected by the researcher with three research assistances. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. Findings revealed that SIWES significantly enhanced students’ practical skills, including installation, troubleshooting, maintenance, tool handling, and safety practices. Both students (cluster mean = 3.21) and supervisors (cluster mean = 3.42) agreed to a high extent. Similarly, SIWES influenced career development through career awareness, goal setting, employment readiness, and entrepreneurial orientation, with cluster means of 3.16 and 3.44, respectively. Hypotheses testing showed no significant difference between students’ and supervisors’ responses on SIWES influence on both skill acquisition and career development (p > 0.05). The study concluded that SIWES is vital for bridging the gap between theoretical instruction and workplace practice but is hindered by inadequate supervision, limited equipment, and placement mismatches. It recommended stronger institution-industry collaboration, improved supervision, adequate funding, and regular review of the scheme to align with emerging technologies