THE EFFECT OF TEACHERS EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION AND TEACHING METHOD ON STUDENT INTEREST IN BUSINESS STUDIES

Introduction

1.1 Background Of The Study

In most countries as in Nigeria, curriculum is developed to meet the national goals and objectives in the various fields and stages of manpower needs and development. It is therefore pertinent to observe that the introduction of the 6-3-3-4 system currently referred to as the 9-3-4 (9-Year Basic Education: Primary 1 to Junior Secondary 3; 3-Year Senior Secondary Education and 4-Year Tertiary Education) educational system in Nigeria had the goals and the operation of the system in line with the country’s national education goals as highlighted in the National Policy on Education. The Nigerian national educational goals which are derived from the country’s philosophy and goals include, “the acquisition of appropriate skills and the development of mental, physical and social abilities and competencies as equipment for the individual to live in and contribute to the development of the society” (Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN), 2004).

In order to realize fully the potentials of the contributions of education to the achievement of the national educational goals, emphasis is placed on the broad goals of secondary education which aim at preparing individuals for “useful living within the society and for higher education” (FRN, 2004). More specifically, in the junior secondary the curriculum provides for both the academic and pre-vocational subjects. The focus of the secondary education at the junior level targets the realization of the following goals, “to offer diversified curriculum to cater for the differences in talents, opportunities and future roles; to provide trained manpower in the applied sciences, technology and commerce at sub-professional grades, and to provide technical knowledge and vocational skills necessary for agricultural, industrial, commercial and economic development” (FRN, 2004). These goal statements had guided the efforts toward the developing of new curricula for the junior secondary education in the pre-vocational electives which include, “Agriculture, Business Studies, Home Economics, Computer Education, Fine Arts and Music” (FRN, 2004).

Business Studies is taught as one of the basic subjects that will enable students acquire further skills which are common and fundamental to all personal and occupational activities (Inyang, 1998). Business activity affects the daily lives of all Nigerians as they work, spend, save, invest, travel and play. It influences jobs, incomes and opportunities for personal enterprise. Business has significant effect on the standard of living and quality of life of people, and on the environment in which they live and which future generations will inherit (Ekanem, 2008). Eventually, all students will encounter the world of business, whether they work in urban or rural areas. They must be prepared to engage in business activity with confidence and competence. Thus, business studies is that part of the curriculum which enables the student to make informed decisions in the everyday business of living, which contributes to the student’s understanding of the world of business, which encourages a positive attitude to enterprise and which develops appropriate skills in that field. The syllabus is balanced between the business education necessary for the individual/household area and business education in the purely commercial context. This balance is achieved by devoting separate syllabus sections to ‘the Business of Living’ and ‘Enterprise’.

However, A study by Adeogun (2001) in Nigeria found that the quality of any education system depends on the quality of teachers. Review of related literature indicates that the most important school based determining factor of students achievement is the teacher quality (Rockoff, 2004; Rivkin et al., 2005; Aaronson et al., 2007; Harris and Sass, 2008). Therefore, there is need to assess the characteristics of the secondary school teachers in terms of qualification, experience and teaching methodology in order to ensure quality of education given to the youths. According to Usman (2012), a qualified teacher can be defined as one who holds a teaching certificate and/or licensed by the state, owns at least a bachelor’s degree from a four-year institution and well qualified in his/her area of specialization. Moreover, Usman quotes the Pakistan Ministry of Education officials who described a qualified teacher as one who possesses knowledge of: the subject matter, human growth and development, ethical values, instructional planning and strategies, assessment, learning environment, communication and advocacy, collaboration and partnership, continuous professional development, code of conduct and skillful use of information communication technologies.

According to Adeyemi (2010), teachers play an important role in determining the students’ interest in any subject. According to Onwum (1981) teachers are expected to make business studies more relevant, enjoyable, easy and meaningful to students. Teaching methods need to be improved and appropriate teaching strategies employed as the teaching- learning situation may demand. Teaching methods such as inquiry, project, lecture-demonstration, lecture performance, problem-solving, field trips, cooperative or group learning, excursion, remedial, laboratory and guided discussion and the use of audio-visual materials have been recommended for the teaching of business studies in schools (Mcdonald and Nelson, 1954; Webb, 1982; Rogus, 1985; Adedoyin, 1990; Ajewole, 1991, Newcomb et al., 1993; Ohio 4-H Program, 1994). There is however the need to understand that for different topics in business studies, the teaching approaches may differ depending on the complexity and structure of the topics. Teachers should be concerned with the use of variety of methods and procedures. The most enjoyable aspect of teaching and learning can occur when a variety of teaching methods are used.

In classroom around the world, teachers lecture, students take notes, and then students are tested on what they have learned. Today, experiential or “hands-on” learning is fast replacing or supplementing the traditional “chalk-talks”. Through experiments, simulations, debate, and other participatory activities, students discover concepts on their own. Experiential learning increases retention motivates students to learn and encourages group cooperation. The Project method of teaching involves assigning a particular work to student or group of students to work on and complete at his/her/their spare time and report back to the teacher as when demanded. Rogus (1985) saw it as a means of teaching the students self-discipline. In project method students have occasion to define the problem, plan his work, find appropriate resources, carry out his plan and draw conclusion. Inquiry is a style or method of teaching where the learner with minimum guidance from the teacher seeks to discover and create answers to a recognized problem through procedure of making a diligent search (Callahan and Clark, 1977; Adedoyin, 1990). Inquiry is a term used in social science teaching that refers to a way of questioning, seeking knowledge or information, or finding more about phenomena. It involves investigation, searching, defining a problem, formulating hypothesis, gathering and interpreting data and arriving at a conclusion. In inquiry situation, students learn not only concepts and principles but self-direction, responsibility and social communication.

It also permits students to assimilate and accommodate information. Inquiry is the way people learn when they’re left alone. The lecture method is used primarily to introduce students to a new subject, but it is also a valuable method for summarizing ideas, showing relationships between theory and practice, and re-emphasizing main points. A lecture-demonstration method is a teaching technique that combines oral explanation with “doing” to communicate processes, concepts, and facts. It is particularly effective in teaching a skill that can be observed. A skilled educator may wish to both tell and show what steps to take in an educational process. A demonstration is usually accompanied by a thorough explanation, which is essentially a lecture.

On the other hand, the demonstration-performance method of teaching is based on the simple but sound principle that we learn by “doing”. Students learn physical or mental skills by actually performing those skills under supervision. In contrast to the lecture method, where the instructor provides information, the guided discussion method relies on the students to provide ideas, experiences, opinions, and information. Through the skillful use of “lead-off’ type questions, the instructor “draws out” what the student knows, rather than spending the class period telling them. The cooperative or group learning method is an instructional strategy which organizes students into small groups so that they can work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning (4-H Program, 1994). The main purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of using project, inquiry and lecture-demonstration methods of teaching experimental aspects of business studies in the junior secondary schools using separation of mixtures as a model.

Moreover, Based on the aforementioned statement, this study examined the relationship between the educational quantity of teachers and teaching methods of teacher on student interest in business studies. Since teachers can make or mar the student interest in any subject; therefore, their adequacy and quality for better service delivery needs to be assessed on a regular basis, this research examines the relationship between teacher quality and methods of teaching on student interest in business studies.

1.2 Statement Of The Problem

Despite the recent outcry of interactive classroom environment as an effective enhancing strategy, business studies teachers do not give regard to it. The conventional, docile, passive and teacher centered approach is still been preferred also majority of the business studies teachers are said to be unqualified educationally to teach the subject as many only studied related courses in the higher institution while some does not obtain there B.sc in the faculty/ college of education.

This in no small measure has led to the continuing dwindling interest and performance of students in the subject. Business studies teacher must therefore employ interactive classroom environment in teaching the subject. Hence, this study sought to find out the extent to which educational qualification and teaching methods can enhance the interest of students in business studies.

1.3 Research Questions

1. Will teacher’s educational qualification affect students interest in business studies?
2. Will teacher’s method or strategies of teaching determine student interest in business studies?
3. Will both teaching method and educational qualification of teachers determine students’ interest in business studies?

1.4 Research Hypothesis

The following null hypotheses where generated for the study:

H01 There is no significance relationship between teacher’s educational qualification and students interest in business studies.

H02 There is no significant relationship between teacher’s method of teaching and students interest in business studies.

H02 There is no significant relationship between educational qualification, method of teaching and students interest in business studies.

1.5 Significance Of The Study

The significance of the study is as follows:

This study will consider how parents or mentors could be brought into a circle of counseling and discussion, to help the student develop the necessary interest in business studies.