JOURNAL OF AFRICAN CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH

The goal of achieving objectivity in historiography is a lofty and noble one. Objectivity is the heartbeat and spine of history. It distinguishes history from propaganda, journalistic pieces and fiction. Regrettably, most extant historical scholarship are documented without undiluted commitment to the truth, making historical objectively a wild goose chase. This is attributable to a multitude of daunting challenges. Against this backdrop, this study, relying on secondary sources of historical research, interrogates the nexus between historiography and the historian and project possible and actionable solutions to achieve historical objectivity. This work finds that the major cause of the impossibility of error-proof history is due to the personality of the historian, complex nature of man’s actions in the past and the attitude of the government to research, to mention but a few. Given that a credible historiography is very critical in the pursuit of any scientific knowledge, the paper recommends, among other things, that the historian must painstakingly investigate his/her raw materials as no source is perfect and complete, adopt complex problem-solving approaches like the interdisciplinarity, multidisciplinarity, cross-disciplinarity and transdiciplinarity, and be totally committed to truth. Only then can “true history” be attained.AbstractThe goal of achieving objectivity in historiography is a lofty and noble one. Objectivity is the heartbeat and spine of history. It distinguishes history from propaganda, journalistic pieces and fiction. Regrettably, most extant historical scholarship are documented without undiluted commitment to the truth, making historical objectively a wild goose chase. This is attributable to a multitude of daunting challenges. Against this backdrop, this study, relying on secondary sources of historical research, interrogates the nexus between historiography and the historian and project possible and actionable solutions to achieve historical objectivity. This work finds that the major cause of the impossibility of error-proof history is due to the personality of the historian, complex nature of man’s actions in the past and the attitude of the government to research, to mention but a few. Given that a credible historiography is very critical in the pursuit of any scientific knowledge, the paper recommends, among other things, that the historian must painstakingly investigate his/her raw materials as no source is perfect and complete, adopt complex problem-solving approaches like the interdisciplinarity, multidisciplinarity, cross-disciplinarity and transdiciplinarity, and be totally committed to truth. Only then can “true history” be attained. The goal of achieving objectivity in historiography is a lofty and noble one. Objectivity is the heartbeat and spine of history. It distinguishes history from propaganda, journalistic pieces and fiction. Regrettably, most extant historical scholarship are documented without undiluted commitment to the truth, making historical objectively a wild goose chase. This is attributable to a multitude of daunting challenges. Against this backdrop, this study, relying on secondary sources of historical research, interrogates the nexus between historiography and the historian and project possible and actionable solutions to achieve historical objectivity. This work finds that the major cause of the impossibility of error-proof history is due to the personality of the historian, complex nature of man’s actions in the past and the attitude of the government to research, to mention but a few. Given that a credible historiography is very critical in the pursuit of any scientific knowledge, the paper recommends, among other things, that the historian must painstakingly investigate his/her raw materials as no source is perfect and complete, adopt complex problem-solving approaches like the interdisciplinarity, multidisciplinarity, cross-disciplinarity and transdiciplinarity, and be totally committed to truth. Only then can “true history” be attained. 

The primary objective of this research was to examine the contribution of the parents teachers association (PTA) to enhancing the quality of education in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area (KOLGA) of Bayelsa State. The paper was structured around five objectives and employed a descriptive design. The research population consisted of principals, teachers, and executive members of the PTA from 15 public secondary schools within the area. A total of 120 participants were picked through random sampling technique. Data were gathered using a questionnaire designed by the researcher. The instrument used a four-point Likert scale. Reliability was determined using the test-retest approach, and it was analyzed using PPMC, which produced a reliability coefficient of 0.73, indicating that the tool was dependable. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study was able to establish the fact that the role Parents Teachers Association play greatly improves the quality of Education in KOLGA of Bayelsa State and as such recommended that  Parents Teachers Association should be encouraged to be more active in their roles such as bridging home school gap, advocacy for a robust curriculum, raising of funds to provide key infrastructures, helping the school to address the issue of indiscipline and supporting students’ well-being which will definitely improve the calibre of Education in public secondary schools in KOLGA of Bayelsa State.