An Investigation into the Problems of Teaching Business Subjects in Junior Secondary Schools

An Investigation into the Problems of Teaching Business Subjects in Junior Secondary Schools

Problems of Teaching Business Subjects – There are many militating against the teaching of business subjects in junior secondary schools. In reviewing the literature for this work, the researcher discovered that there are problem of death resource materials. They however managed to do with the one they could lay hands on and those includes magazines, journals, textbooks on business education and other vocational education subjects.

In order to show effective review of the literature, the information gathered from the above sources were grouped under the following headings:

1. the brief account of the origin of business education.
2. the aims/needs for business education.

iii. methods of teaching business education subjects.

1. human and non-human resources in teaching business education.

2.1 THE BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN OF BUSINESS EDUCATION.

Business education has been with us, in the pre-literature society up to the modern time, people have used that business situation and transactions. They have always engaged themselves in production, exchange, storing, transporting and so forth. However, no one can clearly and definitely state when the formal type of business education stated in Nigeria.

Trace of the formal type of business education were found in the last two decades of the 19^th century when some Nigerian national in business partnership, with overseas exports had to learn simple commercial arthemetic, some book-keeping business communication and some typing to facilitate business communication and some typing to facilitate business transaction.

Awokoye (1979), it was excepted that the children of these early businessmen were sent to schools to learn simple production involving record-keeping enterprenue pioneered business education in order to meet the need of their export market.

Government and early missionary bodies contributed immensely to the evolution of business education. From among the clerical cadre the government trained that and the missions emerged those who later learnt business arthemetic and simple book-keeping.

Some of these clerks were known to have opened business day and evening schools. Usually, the proprietors employed untrained and poorly qualified teachers to teach those students who came to the institution especially to learning typewriting, shorthand and book-keeping. Apart from private business schools, it is on record that St. Andrew’s college Oyo found in 1859, taught among other things, simple account to teachers trainees some of whom later on their own learnt typewriting and shorthand during holidays.

Between 1940 and 1960, the missions, particularly the woman catholic church established schools from the training girls as secretaries.

In 1955, the secondary modern schools were introduce to give vocational business training one reads of a few teaching commercial secondary schools like abbot institute, sapele, zikks college, sapele, essi college warri, college, ile ife, Niger college, Apapa to mention just a few. Yaba, Christian secondary college of technology (founder 1932) was the only post secondary institution then offering business education courses.

Nigeria witnessed a phenomental growth in the number of institution teaching business education courses during the last three decides. At the university level, the university of Nigeria Nsukka (1960) blazed the trail followed by the university of lagos (1962), Ahumad Bello university, Zaria (1962), University of Ife (now obafemi Awolowo University) and the university of Benin (which introduced business education courses in 1975).

At the lower post-secondary level, we have seen a great number of college of technology and polytechnics offering  education course. At the secondary school level, uninfun (1978).

With then advent of the national policy on education, which started in 1982, all junior and senior secondary schools in Nigeria should and ought to teach business education courses.

2.2 THE AIMS/NEEDS OF BUSINESS EDUCATION.

The goal of business education is production of manpower who posses the requisite knowledge, skill and attitude for harnessing other resources and bringing them into a co-operative relationship, yielding the goods and services demanded by society for the satisfaction of their wants and needs.

It will also be appropriate to endorse in this country the mission of business education as out timed by the national business education association in America which hostler (1985) stated as;

1.To educate individuals for and about business.

2.To provide a continuous programme of planned learning

Experiences designed to equip individuals to fulfill effectively their roles as workers, consumers and citizens.

3.To provide career information that helps students to occupational opportunities in business, aim of  business education at the junior secondary school level.

According to the national curriculum for junior secondary school (1983) as follows.

1. To enable students to accuqire the basic knowlodge of the students.
2. To provide students for further training in business studies.
3. To provide students with the orientation and basic skills with which to start a lif of work for those who may not under go further training.
4. To develop in the students, the basic skills in office
5. To equip the student with the ability to relate the knowledge and skills to the national economy.

At the post primary level, the curriculum should aim at the training the child for some specific skill education  for its own sale is a glorious idea in countries when free secondary, technical and university education are attainable to all students who are intellectually able to cope with and profit by such opportunities under the 6.334 system of education, a child is expected to be about 15years at the end of the junior secondary, at a time which he would be expected to make his own career choice after guidance and consoling. The 3years of senior secondary education should be devoted to adequate quality as quantity of business education teachers should be produced at advanced teachers colleges/college of education and specialized business courses should be introduced at the polytechnics and university levels.

All students in the universities and polytechnic should       be made to study       entrepreneurship in order to enable them to be self-reliant and self employed on graduation.

2.3 METHOD OF TEACHING BUSINESS STUDIES

One of the greatest deficiencies in the teaching of business subjects is the non-use of appropriate and approved methodologies. This means that even where trained business education exits, they do not use the right methodologies. It is either that the teachers are unaware of these methods or are in different to their use.

Teaching methods are as diverse are there are teachers. Whatever the method is, the objective is always the same. It is however; true that what while one method might pore highly useful in one situation, it may fail fully in another is an important factor in determing the teaching method.

There could be certain occasions when it may not be convenient for the students to participate actively, and it cause some sort of lecturing by way of exposition might be useful.

1. Expository Technique: this is a method that enables the teacher to do all the talking in order to expose his knowledge of the subject matter to the learners with little or no attempt made to elicit information from the students. Following technique could period effective ways of handling basic business in the secondary schools.
2. Problem Solving Techniques: daughter (1974) maintains that the whole class, by smaller groups, or by individual class members, can use the problem-solving technique. The question though is, how does the teacher who believe in the problem solving approach handle the matter in the class? To set the ball rolling, the teacher could, on a unit concerning bank reconciliation, the statement, for example pose the following problem situation, your father’s cheque books shows a balance of #650. Who is correct? Your father or the bank?. A good discussion is sure to follow, problem solving technique can also serve as vehicle for effective summarization at the end of the lesson for instance at the end of the lesson on the purpose served by banks, one brief question could be “what would happen if all the bank in Nigeria were shut down”? Student would definitely point out in summary from the distinct values to bank, to a Nation.
3. GROUP DISCUSSION TECHNIQUE: Group discussion in business can be very effective learning strategy because it gives the student opportunities to express themselves, exchange ideas and weigh alternative course of action.

These are number of tips that can guide the teacher.

1. Encourage the student to do the talking: an effective teacher should have a refined way of encouraging the students to get actively involved in speaking. The teacher has to be careful to ensure the students who are shy, retrieving and having a tendency to withdraw are encouraged to participate. It is necessary to draw them tactfully into the discussion, not only for the contribution, they may have to offer to the group, but also for the development of self-esteem.
2. Get all points of view presented: the teacher who has perfected his conduct of discussion is quick to notice, by their facial expression, student with points of view that differs from those presented. Such students should be drawn into the group discussion.

iii. Be a cinide, not the main actor: the temptation is great on the point of the teachers but efforts should be made to merely guide and not because the main actor to fully pray would deprive the students of getting group participation and thus deny them the achievement of maximum benefits.

4. Field Trip Technique: Many subjects in the basic business cluster can effectively be better taught by taking the students out on field trip. In most cases, what the textbook and the teacher describe in as many words will make much more sense to the students if they see this process in operation physically in the industry. For instance, the concept of mass production becomes better appreciated if a field trip to Nigerian breweries limited or any other manufacturing company is organized for the students. The word processor and it’s operation can best be learned by talking the students out to business houses utilizing such equipments, if the schools are not equipped with such machines.

SATION (1962) suggested that organizing the students into committers to handle many details of the planning. One committee can arrange for getting the school’s permission for the trip another committee can arrange with the business houses to be visited and the time.

Depending on the size of the class, it may be necessary for the teachers to get help from friends, student’s teachers or other teachers on the day of the trip.