Assessment of Students’ Knowledge and Practices of Microbial Water Contamination in Federal University of Education, Zaria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64348/zije.2026477Abstract
This study assessed undergraduate Biology students’ knowledge and practices regarding microbial water contamination in the Federal University of Education, Zaria. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population comprised 323 undergraduate Biology students, all of whom were used due to manageable size (census sampling). Data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled Students’ Knowledge and Practices of Microbial Water Contamination Questionnaire (SKPMWCQ). The instrument was validated through face, content, and construct validity, while reliability was established using Cronbach Alpha (Knowledge = 0.81; Practices = 0.78). Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer research questions and independent samples t-test to test hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that students possessed moderate knowledge (Grand Mean = 3.12) but demonstrated low-level safe water practices (Grand Mean = 2.41). No significant gender difference was found in knowledge (p > 0.05), while a significant difference was found in practices based on level of study (p < 0.05). The study concluded that knowledge does not necessarily translate into practice. It recommended that, Federal University of Education, Zaria management should ensure consistent provision of safe and treated water across hostels and lecture environments to reduce reliance on unsafe sources, among others.
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