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PROBLEMS OF TEACHING BUSINESS EDUCATION IN NIGERIA SECONDARY SCHOOL (A CASE STUDY OF IGBO ETITI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
We are living in a world that is rapidly progressing scientifically and technologically. The economic well being of any developing nation depends to a significant extent on her scientific and technological process. Organized exploration of nature for the benefit of mankind in the basic aim of modern science and technology. Nigeria being a developing country now encourages the study of science and technology in schools so as to be able to meet up with the man-power needs of the nation. This could be evidenced by the way State and Federal Governments build Universities of Technology, Polytechnics and even Technical Colleges. A few of such institutions include Federal Polytechnic Idah, Federal Polytechnic Bauchi. Anambra State University of Technology, Auchi Polytechnic, Technical School, Benin etc. The present administration has in her take-over note that sixty percent (60%) of students to be admitted into the University should be science oriented students.
All these approaches made by the government are good in themselves. A question stands to be answered “what of the students and the factors influencing to the subjects that will be used to achieve this purpose”? No matter the amount of investment, the government puts into education to make sure we are developed scientifically and technologically, it will be a wasted venture if students’ are still been faced by the factors influencing Business Education is negative. This is because Business education is the language of sciences. Business education serve as the vehicle of thinking. A real study of science is not possible without the facilities of this fact. Idah (2007) said “as a subject, Business education is at the base of all the science and environmental professions”. In industry, Business education is needed for the production of guided missiles and is useful in aerospace technology. In communication, Business education is also very useful. If one is mathematically literate, on can communicate precisely and present his argument in a logical manner because Business education helps one in logical thinking. Indeed, there is hardly any field where Business education is not useful. The farmer, the hunter, the housewife etc. All use Business education although they may not be of this fact.
Hence, we notice that if Nigerians are to realize their national objective in science and technology, hands must be on deck regarding the study of Business education in both the primary, secondary and tertiary level of our education. Efforts would be made to improve students’ attitude towards the subject.
The right way to introduce young pupils to Business education is not to teach Arithmetic, Algebra, Statistics and Geometry as separate branches, each with its own technical apparatus and methods. The ideal thing is to treat Business education as a science in which the topics are chosen so as to develop a grasp of mathematical idea. Therefore, the early stage of Business education teaching is very important since the pupils’ future performance in the subject depends on how well he performs at this stage. Business education is a way of thinking about pattern and relationship of numbers and shapes. It includes arithmetic, algebra, geometry, statistics and trigonometry.
The attitude of students to Business education education whether positive or negative and affected by many factors. Most students are biased towards Business education education before they start to study it. They are told that Business education is very difficult. With this in their mind, they feel that they can never grasp the subject no matter how hard they try.
Another factor is the career expectation of those concerned. Many students who aspire to become doctors, engineers etc develop interest in the subject as early as possible. This interest is seen in the effort made to understand the subjects. Although some of this type of students may have problems in understanding the subjects due to level of aptitude for them, the interest already developed assist in no small measure in their performance.
Another factor that can affect the attitude of students is the method of teaching Business education in secondary schools. The traditional method of verbal learning and memorization had led to formal and abstract approach to Business education teaching.
Finally, attitude towards Business education may be influenced by social status of the parents and associated with peer group.
Statement of Problem
Business Education, has grown out of a curriculum where it was previously viewed as suitable only for standard grade learners. A standard grade learner was classified as a learner who could not cope well with higher order thinking skills such as analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating problems. Business Education was previously named Business Economics and was provided as an alternative to learners who could not cope with Mathematics (Pullinger: 2008). Classes were often small, learners were not there by choice and in many cases educators were gleaned from other subjects when they had ‘spare time’ on their timetables (Clark: 2006). The feeling was that anyone could teach it. The standard joke in staff rooms, especially aimed at educators of commercial subjects, was “Those who can, do. Those that can’t, teach.” Etzinger (2008) asks a pertinent question: “Why would someone with a BCom degree, who could be earning millions in commerce, be teaching Business Education or Accountancy for a pittance?” The disdain of principals especially, as well as that of Mathematics and Physical Science educators, who would send learners to Business Economics when they were not coping with the ‘more difficult’ subjects, added to the problem. The rather mundane syllabus, which included copious sections on aspects such as ‘filing systems’ and ‘indexing’ (specifically targeted to the type of learner who was battling with Mathematics), did nothing to alleviate the problem (Etzinger 2008). Unfortunately, this perception of the subject is still rife today. (Russell, 2009). From personal experience as an educator, the researcher has witnessed the influential effect that she has had on learners choosing subjects. By merely boosting their confidence or damaging their confidence one is able to alter their decisions. There are a number of factors that determine learners’ choice and this research is attempting to discover some of the significant factors in choosing Business Education.
.Purpose of Study
The purpose of the study is to investigate the attitude of secondary school students towards Business education in Igbo etiti local government area in Enugu state with a view to identifying the basic factors underlying them. attempts would also be made to find solutions to these problems.
The writer’s choice of this topic for research is based on the urgency of the need for a positive attitude towards the study of the subject. This need is based on the usefulness of this subject towards the scientific and technological development of our country.
Significance of the Study
It is hoped that this would really reveal the factor that affect students’ attitude towards Business education in the study area. On identification of such factors, student would be advised on how best to tackle their problems. The best way to solve a problem is not to shy away from it but to face the problem squarely and the result will appear.
To the educationist and curriculum planners, this study would reveal the relevance of arithmetic taught in primary school to the Business education teachers who would be able top motivate students so that they can develop positive attitude towards Business education in Igbo etiti local government area. It will also enable them to start holding workshops for teachers more often than before so as to furnish teachers with techniques for improving their students’ attitude as well as performance.
It will also serve as a resource material for those who like to carry out research into problems encountered in the teaching of Business education in secondary schools.
Scope/Delimitation of Study
The main concern of this investigation would be on the effect of teachers on the students’ attitude toward the study of Business education, its relevance to the vocational aspiration of the students concerned, the effect of low score in Business education examination to student attitude.
Research Questions
In order to be able to direct this study to specific areas, the following questions were formulated:
- Do most students have negative attitude towards Business education in Igbo etiti local government area, Enugu state?
- Can students’ attitude toward the study of Business education be influenced by teachers’ method of teaching in the study area.
- Can students’ attitude towards Business education be influenced by their parents in Igbo etiti local government area?
- Can attitude of students towards Business education be influenced by their friends in the study area?
- Do students who do badly in Business education during examinations have negative attitude towards the study of Business education in the study area?
- Do students whose vocational aspiration require Business education have positive attitude towards the study of Business education in I gbo etiti local government area?
Limitations
This study is limited to only S.S.S I and S.S.S II students in five selected secondary schools in Igbo etiti local government area, Enugu state.
In administration of questionnaire, the students and only qualified Business education teachers in the secondary schools were interviewed.
