CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Education and business are the foundations of any country's progress. If a country can boast of being economically, technologically, and educationally developed, effective teaching strategies must not be taken for granted (Daniel, 1998).

The incapacity of the colonial educational system to handle Nigeria's socioeconomic difficulties, particularly skill development among our secondary school graduates in the twentieth century, sparked widespread public outrage among stakeholders. This resulted in the development of a national education policy, which was critical in the introduction of business disciplines in Nigerian public secondary schools.

Today, academics and experts such as Atuenyi (1999), Onifade (2007), and policymakers all concur that business education plays a key role in national development due to its job skills potential. They also underlined the importance of shifting away from only financial capital growth and toward greater human capital development.

According to Eya (2007), there is a significant gap in the practical approach to teaching work skills in secondary schools. He further emphasized that the solution lies not just in the availability of competent teachers and sophisticated teaching facilities, but also in the efficacy of the teaching tactics used. According to Ezekwesili (2007), the Nigerian education system changes were aimed at encouraging functional education for the development of life skills, job creation, and poverty eradication.

Anao (1986) defines business education as the whole amount of information, abilities, and attitude essential for effectively developing and running a commercial enterprise as an employee or entrepreneur. In the same line, Nwaokolo (1998) defined business education as "the acquisition of business skills, attitudes, and information from secondary and postsecondary institutions for the performance of personal or corporate business operations.".

Business education at the junior secondary school level comprised of the following subjects being taught at pre-vocational level and as an integrated subject. They include:

(1) Introduction to Business Studies (Business Overview)

(2) Office Practice (Effective Office Practice)

(3) Commerce (The Heart of Business)

(4) Book-Keeping (Business Success)

(5) Shorthand (Skills for Business)

(6) Keyboarding/Typewriting (Communication Tool)

At the senior secondary level, business subjects are made up of the

following vocational subjects:

(1) Accounting

(2) Economics

(3) Commerce

(4) Computer studies/keyboarding

(5) Business Method

(6) Shorthand.

Whether at the junior or senior secondary level, the primary goals of these disciplines remain the same: to provide students with the requisite work skills, knowledge, and attitude required for paid or self-employment, as well as for higher education in business sectors.

Job skills are the abilities required for obtaining, retaining, and performing successfully on the job (Robinson, 2010). Today, any kid without job skills has no future, and any business education program that does not adequately address how pupils will acquire and practice job skills is ineffective. Against this context, Ohiwerei (2009) observed that although business education graduates complained about a lack of employment opportunities, employers complained about a lack of qualified applicants.

Some of the job skills inherent in business education are:

(1) Basic ICT skills (keyboarding, word processing, data management, internet operations etc)

(2) Entrepreneurial skills (Time management, marketing, basic accounting, micro-business management etc)

(3) Communication skills (written and verbal: ability to write a clear and concise sentences, reporting, presentation, telephone skills etc)

(4) Problem solving skills (creativity, practical, investigating, researching, analyzing, identifying/evaluating options etc)

(5) Interpersonal skills  (leadership ability, delegating, team work etc).

Because the development of work skills for paid or self-employment is at the heart of business education and youth empowerment, job skills are not gained by coincidence; rather, they are strategically planned, taught, learned, and practiced, particularly in secondary schools. Some schools of thought claimed that the rising number of jobless school leavers in Nigeria was due to a lack of skills rather than a shortage of employment. The country's high unemployment rate is so concerning that parents are beginning to doubt the value of sending their children to school.

Furthermore, the high prevalence of crime and other social vices prevalent in Nigeria today, such as armed robbery, abduction, prostitution, political thuggery, human and drug trafficking, and so on, has been ascribed to the unemployment of our school graduates. In light of this, Nwachokor (2002) asserted that business education is a formidable force in equipping youths with the necessary skills, knowledge, abilities, and competencies to enable individuals to be gainfully employed or self-employed, thereby resulting in long-term economic growth and poverty eradication in our society. This demonstrates that if successful tactics are implemented in teaching business courses, business education instills the required abilities with which a person may be a paid employee or self-employed.

Emeniru defines a teaching strategy as a technique, process, means, approach, or procedure for accomplishing the given educational goals (1989). According to Okwuanaso and Nwazor (2000), in a teaching and learning setting, strategies are the same as instructional techniques and processes. Teaching techniques are critical components of the teaching and learning process. Effective tactics are also critical in secondary school teaching and acquisition of work skills.

This is due to the disastrous repercussions of ineffective work skill training. For example, a lack of effective ways for teaching work skills may result in low or no skill development among school dropouts. Unemployment may occur from a lack of or inability to acquire skills. On the other side, unemployment leads to poverty and societal evils.

Agwu (2001) and Uwameiye (2005) both remarked that most business education instructors' teaching tactics are more theoretical than practical and inquiry, and the sort of teaching materials utilized are all obsolete, making them no longer appropriate for teaching in the current information technology era. They also emphasized that most professors are not interested in students' engagement and contributions in class, but rather in covering their plan of work. The sort of method used by every instructor is determined by the information or skills being conveyed. A good teaching plan or method must account for the three primary modes of learning, namely auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Furthermore, a successful teaching technique must take into account students' prior knowledge, surroundings, and learning objectives.

Mannison (2009) offered the following six kinds of instructional techniques for teaching work skills:

(1) Direct Instructional Strategies: According to him, these strategies are highly teacher-centred and very effective for providing instructional information to students. Examples are; Lecture Method, Listen and Visualize Method, Programmed Instruction Method, Individualized Instruction Method, etc.

(2) Indirect Instructional Strategies: He defined this group as student-centred strategies which seek a high level of students’ involvement in observing, investigating, drawing inferences from data and forming hypotheses. Examples are: Inquiry Method, Assignments or Dalton Method, Questioning Technique, Read and Practice Method, etc.

(3) Interactive Instructional Strategies: He stated that interactive instructional strategies rely heavily on discussion and sharing among participants. Students can learn from peers and teachers, at the same time, develop social skills and rational thinking. Examples are; Discussion, Invitation of Guest Speakers/Resource Persons, Debates, Role play, Conferencing etc.

(4) Experimental Instructional Strategies: He described these Strategies as learner-centred and activity oriented. It involves personal and practical experience of the learner. Examples are; Field Trip, Office Visits, Workshops, Laboratory exposure etc

(5) Independent Instructional Strategies: He defined Independent strategies as a range of instructional methods which are purposefully provided to foster the development of individual student initiative, self-reliance and self-improvement. Examples are; Critical Thinking Method, E-learning, Project Method, Computer Assisted Instruction, etc.

(6) Materials/Visual Aid Strategies: This involves the use of instructional materials and visual aids in teaching and learning process. It enables the learner to learn through sight and sound. Examples are; Television, Video Tapes, Use of Textbook, Instructional Films, etc.

In business education, the major thrusts of effective teaching strategies according to Tema (2007) are:

(a) To deliver quality teaching and learning of business subjects in schools.

(b) To ensure employability of business education graduates

(c) To enhance status and attractiveness of business education programme. While the following guiding concepts are seen as important drivers of these strategies: efficacy, quality, accessibility, entrepreneurship, employability, and sustainability. According to Eya (2001), the two key qualities of a competent and effective teacher are subject matter expertise and the efficacy of tactics utilized in dispensing such topic to the student.

Collins (1979), Daniel (1998), Atuenyi (1999), Agwu (2001), Ohakwe (2001), Ezeom and Afe (2004), Nwodo (2006), and Onifade (2007) all agreed that: No nation can grow beyond the caliber of her professors.

Effective teaching strategies are not receiving adequate attention from teachers, school and education authorities, as well as the government. Teaching and learning of job skills in business education will continue to suffer a setback, and unemployment among school leavers, with its social ills, will also continue to soar unless urgent steps are taken to ensure effective teaching of job skills at the secondary school level.

Finally, Maduako (1996) cautioned that a teacher's error is more damaging to a nation's future than that of a doctor, engineer, or lawyer. For example, a doctor's error may result in the death of a patient, an engineer's error may result in the collapse of a bridge, and a lawyer's error may result in someone going to jail, but if a teacher makes a mistake in education, generations yet unborn may suffer the repercussions.

In light of the foregoing, the researcher decided to conduct a study on the effectiveness of six groups of instructional strategies for teaching job skills in business education at the secondary school level, based on the perspectives of male and female, urban and rural, degree(s) and non-degree(s), as well as experienced and less experienced business teachers in Anambra State, Nigeria. This study couldn't have come at a better time. It's timely, vital, and a step in the right way.

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