THE ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVE USE OF THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF BUSINESS EDUCATION IN NOUN

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background of Study

The educational sector in Nigeria is in continuous change with the advancement in the level of technology and introduction of teaching aids. The effectiveness of the use of instructional materials for the teaching and learning of business education can only be seen in the level of academic performance of students in business education. Instructional materials play a very important role in the teaching and learning process. It enhances the memory level of the students. According to (NIC hulls, 2003; Raw 2006) state that at this time that education has spread wide and entirely, oral teaching cannot be the key to successful pedagogy; therefore the teacher has to use instructional materials to make teaching and learning process interesting.

According to Abdullahhi (2010), stated that instructional materials are tools locally made or imported that help to facilitate the teaching/learning process. In that same vein according to Obanga (2005) view them as materials things which are use to composed ported that could make tremendous enhancement of intellectual use impact the instructional materials. The use of instructional materials can enhance the learning achievement. Cronbach (2009) states the important elements of behaviour that provides the base for learning theory situation which consists of all the objects, persons and symbols in the learning environment.

According to Umoh-Mac Nkume (2000) 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 are poor storage facilities for them and so they become non-functional.

Whitehead (2002) defined education as the transmission of culture values of the society from one generation to another. In the same view Bello (2002) defined education as the aggregate of all the processes by means of which a person develops abilities, attitude, and forms of behaviour of positive value in the society in which he lives. Education can be viewed from the dimension of formal, informal and non – formal education. Complete education cannot be acquired within the classroom only. A large part of education can be acquired from outside the classroom. Such source include the home, peer groups, travels and other non-classroom situations.

Formal education means any form of teaching- learning process, which has a generally accepted and regular set of rules organization and pattern. In order words, formal education means schooling. The formal education is unique in the sense that it has control, curriculum, regular financing, staffing and evaluation of examination.

Information education is an aspect of socialization. This is the process of fitting individuals into an organized way of life and established tradition of a society. Informal education begins at early childhood and continues throughout life. Unlike formal education, informal education has no organized curriculum, laws, teaching methods, control mechanism, evaluation procedures or specially trained staff. Schools, parent, peers and the media carry on informal education process. Learning takes place mostly through interaction with others in a particular setting.

Non-formal education is the learning of activities and skills outside the formal school system. Like formal education, non-formal education can be deliberately planned, staff and financed.

Business education is a part (specialized education) of the aggregate of formal and non-formal education. For proper understanding of researcher’s discussion in this paper, it should be noted that in Nigeria, commercial subject or business education or business studies mean the same thing and which term one may wish to call it, is grouped under vocational and technical education curriculum of the Nigeria school system under the 6-3-3-4 system as provided in the national policy on education 1977 revised 1981. Business studies are regarded as a single subject in the pre-vocational group of subjects.

According to Nanassy (2003) business education is an aspect of the total education, which provides students with the necessary skills, knowledge, attitudes and values to enable them enter into various occupational field.

Ulinfun (2001) also defined business education as education for business, or training in business skills, which are required for use in business offices and clerical occupations and business policy analysis.

In Nigeria, business education had a slow start and develops less quickly than other forms of education because the advents of formal education in this country neglect business education entirely. Even when effort were made to recognized it, the image portrayed was very poor at it because the public saw it as the education meant for the handicapped, the drop-outs, the never do – well and mentally mal –adjusted.

The idea of business education in Nigeria started as far back as 1882 by colonial masters. The main purpose was to get people to interpret the scared book known as Bible, and also people to work as clerks, and interprets of Holy Book, so their education was confined to knowledge and skill such as typewriting and filling, which would achieve these goals. Training in vocation business studies on what came to be known later as commercial education started about 1930 with the establishment of a clerical training center at Oshogbo in the former in the former western Region, now Osun State. The purpose of the center was to train clerical officers that were badly needed at the time to fill positions in the office.

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 intends 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. It is to this regard that the study wishes to examine the Effective Use of the Teaching and Learning of Business Education in National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

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1.2 Statement of the Problem

The National Policy on Education (1981), it is stated that the end of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), the business studies students must have acquired basic knowledge and develop skills which enable them to further their education to senior secondary school stage so as to complete their four secondary education while others expected to go out into the world of work and be employed or self–employed.

The new system aims at minimizing the problem of unemployment and idle school drop – outs. But these well planned programme has been difficult to achieve its aim because of lack of qualify teachers in business education. Other reasons include that the age at which the students complete their Junior Secondary School is tender. They are not exposed to the world of work and can hardly survive in the world of work. There is no adequate time allocated for the teaching of business studies in the school’s timetable.

Also, there are wrong methods of teaching business studies whereby the students end up learning more theory than practical and this hinders acquisition of adequate skill needed. Lack of sustained interest on the part of the students especially in shorthand, lack if adequate office equipment like typewriters, duplicating machines, photocopiers etc. there is also population explosion in our secondary schools, which invariably leads to classroom overcrowd ness. These and other problems have made the teaching and learning of business studies to be ineffective as far as acquisition of technological skills is concerned. 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 (2000) 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 (2000) 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 Education 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).

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1.3 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of this study was to ascertain the Effective Use of the Teaching and Learning of Business Education in National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). In achieving this aim, the following objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To examine the effect of the use of instructional materials in teaching on the academic achievement in business education
2. To determine the factors affecting the performance of student in business education
3. To determine the relationship between the use of instructional materials in teaching and students academic performance in business education
4. To discuss on the effect of management decision on the availability of instructional materials for teaching and learning business education
5. To proffer solution to the above stated problems

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1.4 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• What is the effect of the use of instructional materials in teaching on the academic achievement in business education in National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)?
• What are the factors affecting the performance of student in business education?
• Is there any the relationship between the use of instructional materials in teaching and students academic performance in business education?
• What is the effect of management decision on the availability of instructional materials for teaching and learning business education?

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1.5 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

• H0: The use of instructional materials does not influence effective teaching and learning of business education in National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)
• H1: The use of instructional materials influences effective teaching and learning of business education in National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)

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1.6 Significance of the Study

The study on the Effective Use of the Teaching and Learning of Business Education in National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) will be of immense benefit to researchers that wishes to carryout similar research on the research topic as it will discuss the effect of the use of instructional materials in teaching and learning of business education in National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

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1.7 Scope of Study

The study focuses on the Assessment Of the Effective Use of the Teaching and Learning of Business Education in National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

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1.8 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this institution to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
3. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
4. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
5. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.9 Definition of Terms

Business Education: involves teaching students the fundamentals, theories, and processes of business

Instructional Materials: refer to the human and non-human materials and facilities that can be used to ease, encourage, improved and promote teaching and learning activities.