EVALUATION OF AVAILABLE RESOURCES FOR THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF BUSINESS EDUCATION SUBJECTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Introduction

Background of the study

In order to have a describable change in the learner, good teaching must take place and to bring about good teaching, the teacher should be able to convey their message in the simplest, most convincing and practical way to the learner using available resources.

These available resources are the instructional materials used in teaching and learning. The instructional to make teaching easy and practical for the learners to understand the subject.

These objects according to Umoh-Mac and Nkume (1998) are regarded as instructional materials. They enhance real and meaningful teaching and learning. Appropriate instructional materials are imperative for implementing good quality education programmes. Unless adequate and quantity facilities and superlative human resources are available, quality of the programme will be reduced and learning-will be deterred.

Material for teaching business subject range from the common textbooks to more sophisticated machines, chalkboards real ,objects or their representatives which the teacher use to communicate effectively with the students. These materials make learning more permanent and develop continuity of thought among the learner. Teaching materials and aids for the acquisition of required skill for business Education should be on regular supply to school where Business Education subject are taught.

According to Umoh-Mac Nkume (1998) many researches on the availability of available resource carried out in Nigeria, in schools offering Business Education programme often revealed the presence of inadequate training facilities in the schools.

They further stressed that even the few available ones are not being maintained. There is poor storage facilities for them and so they become non-functional.

Obi and Akume (2001) warned that any school that any school that desire to offer modern Business Education programme must include in its programme, a thorough training in the use of thee appliances.

Also to give such training the school must be equipped with appliances with which it intend to give instructions. To take the point further, they stated that for the teaching process to effectively taken place generally, both human and materials resources need to be provided adequately.

No matter how good the teaching staff are, they may not be able to function effectively and effectively without appropriate teaching materials, equipment and adequate infrastructural, like workshop, conducive classrooms and laboratories, especially when is over loaded with lesson and practical courses.
A well-planned programme, they say, will fail if at implementation stage the necessary instructments are not supplied.

The world at large is going technological and if Nigeria schools must keep abreast with the global technological advancement than the training must be borne in mind and they are adequate supply, proper maintenance and judicious usage of the materials.

The question to ask is, who provides these resources materials to schools? Eze (1991) in his contribution, opines that instructional materials produced commercially play a key role in functional education in our schools that when these are understand, our next alternative is in improvisation, provide the improvised equally delivers the goods.
Fortunately, some sources of improvisation are available where around us by nature. Human re-arrangement of nature only requires our initiative and creative to tap them fully towards the attainment and mastery of some skills.

Nigeria must realize that finding pragmatic solution to the problems be setting the growth and development, Business Education in the country should not be left to a few person but rather it should be seen as a collective, philanthropists, corporate bodies, government agencies churches and other religion organization etc. must join hands and regard the task of solving these problem as one that must be done. When this is solved, Business Education will be accorded its pride of place in the nation's education system as salvation of modern civilization.

Statement of problem

Inspire of the federal government emphasis on self-reliance through acquired, still suffers some defects such as inadequate supply or provision of resource materials, poor maintenance and storage of existing ones.
Oren (1998) observed that, being a skill-oriented subject, Business Education requires the use of machine and other equipment for effective teaching to take place. It is therefore, exceptive teaching to take place. It is therefore expected that the federal government through the ministries of education federal, state and local government will see to the provision or availability of theses necessary resources for teaching and learning of these requirement skills.

According to Oyedele (1995) citied in Atakps (2001) Nigeria children and youths are being educated more in accordance with yesterday's world rather than in preparation for tomorrow's living. This is in agreement with what Umoh-Mac and Nkume (op. cit) said about the obsolete equipment found in Nigeria schools.

Emphasizing the need for the provision of instructional materials in schools, Obi and Akume opine that, Business Eduication subject being a skilled area of study cannot be learnt by the student sitting and folding their arms and nodding their heads. To give this training, the schools must be equipped with the necessary materials on which it intends to give, but rather it appears that most school that offer Business Education subject are not adequately equipped for the instructions. Resource materials are means of making teaching and learning process easy, more meaningful and understandable, Uzoegwu (2001).

These materials are not just textbooks, but it include machine, chalkboard and real objects instructional aids on the other hands are those that teacher prepare mainly to help him/her pass on the message easier and more effectively. The include cardboard drawings, real objects brought into the class for learners to physically see and touch (visual aids).

With the foregoing, the aim or purpose of study is to evaluate the availability functionality and utilization of resource materials use for teaching and learning Business Education subjects in Enugu North Local Government

Purpose of study.

The main purpose of the study is to determine the availability, functionality and utilization of available resources for teaching and learning of Business subjects in Enugu north Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Specifically, the study of determines:

1. The available resources for teaching and learning Business Education subject in Secondary Schools in Enugu North Local Government Area.
2. To find out the extent to which the available resources are functional.
3. The extent of utilization of the available resources by Business Education Teachers.

Significance of the study

The study strives to find out the extent to which resource are supplied, managed and utilized in secondary schools in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State. The finding of this study will enable students and teachers to identify the problem(s) which the total lack or inadequate supply of resources bring on the teaching and learning process. The presence of resource materials in the teaching and learning process makes learning more practical and more understandable to the student.

Resource materials reduce from the teacher the burden of explaining for a very long time for the student to understand. The study will also give the teacher insight into what is needed in order to manage or utilized the available resource to enhance effective teaching.

This study further intended to sensitize curriculum planners and implementations and educational policy maker on the need to put more emphasis on utilization and improvisation of resource materials.

Finally, since the study encourages the use of resource materials for more practical teaching and learning process, the graduate of Business Education like other areas will be people who are well prepared for their job performance and this will ease the employers problem of on-job training of workers thus enhancing production.

Limitations of the Study

Research of this type would have been deemed fit to cover the Enugu North, the whole state, a region of the country. The researchers as a result of finance and duration of research have decided to limit the research to some selected schools in Enugu North Local Government Area.

The schools are

1. City Girls Secondary School, Enugu.
2. Metropolitan Girl Secondary School, Enugu
3. Queen's School Enugu.
4. Government Technical college, Enugu
5. Government Secondary Schools, Enugu.

Research Question

The following research questions were formulated to guide the study.

1. What are the available resources necessary for teaching and learning of Business subject in the secondary school in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State?
2. How functional are the available resource used for teaching and learning of business subject in the Secondary school in Enugu North Local government Area of Enugu State?
3. What is the extent of utilization of the available resources for teaching and learning business subject in the school in Enugu North Local government Area of Enugu State?