1.1 Introduction
Business Studies Instructional materials refer to materials that are used to facilitate teaching and learning. It enables the teacher communicate ideas or concepts with ease as they appeal to many senses at a time (Nwafor et al. 2014). The use of instructional materials does not only encourage teachers and students to work collaboratively but also results in more cooperative learning activities among the students. As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Business Studies has been discussed as a social science discipline which ought to be taught in all post primary schools in Nigeria as stated by the National Policy on Education. Business Studies is made up of a number of subject areas. In other words, it is an integration of many subjects, it is offered as an integrated subject at the Junior Secondary level comprising, office practice, commerce, shorthand, typewriting and book-keeping. However, at the Senior Secondary level, the subjects are separated into shorthand, typewriting, economics, book-keeping and accounting with a view to providing career options.
The introduction of Business Studies into the national curriculum as reflected in the national policy on Education (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1981) and the Junior Secondary School (J.S.S) and senior Secondary School (S.S.S) national curriculum (Federal Ministry of Education, 1984, 1985) has created an enormous challenge for the trainers of Business Studies teachers, particularly at the N.C.E and the undergraduate levels. This challenge has emerged in the area of designing programmes that would meet the following requirement as reflected in the provocation (J.S.S) and vocational (S.S.S) curricular in terms of:
- Knowledge integration
- Learning objectives
- Spiral and concentric sequencing of course content.
- Modular or specific competency requirements.
In teaching, it is highly desirable to know exactly what one aims to achieve as it is in all great undertaking. Instructional materials according to Wiki (1998), are kind of tools or equipment that can help the instructor effectively in theory teaching classroom or in practical assessment. They are also materials that aid in the transference of information from one to another. Also Ilori (2000) pin-pointed that instructional material are aids the teacher uses to arouse the interest of the learner there by enabling the learner to gain direct experience. Instructional materials are assumed to have being in place right from the primary school level but if not properly utilized, enhancement of learning is thwarted. Teaching at any level requires that the students be exposed to some form of simulation. Adekunle (2008) in Dr. (Mrs) E.O kobia (2011) noted that teaching resources means anything that can assist the teacher in promoting teaching and learning. When the students are given the chance to learn through more senses than one they can learn faster and easier.
According to Aduwa-Ogiegban and Imogie (2005) these materials and resources including audio tape recorders, video tape recorders, slide projectors, opaque projectors, overhead projectors, still pictures, programmed instruction, filmstrip, maps, chart, graphs, and many more offer a variety of learning experiences individually or in combination to meet different teaching and learning experience. These views have been corroborated by international investigators including Blick, Berson and Coutts (2003), Killen (2006), Dahar and Faize (2011) they observed that while some educators are fascinated by the potential of instructional materials in enhancing teaching and learning, other teachers logged behind in using instructional materials to teach. However, achieving these laudable goals of conscientious utilization of instructional materials and resources in business studies teaching and learning has been very challenging in developing countries such as Nigeria.
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Availability of Instructional Materials for the Teaching of Business Studies.
1.3 Statement of the Problem
The problems in teaching Business Studies like any other subject have been attributed to the lack of materials for teaching; sometimes some teachers are not qualified to teach the subject. In some cases however, there are qualified teachers but they lack the necessary teaching materials without, which efforts, become futile. Also sometimes the student or learner is rather not interested in the subject and hence they perform below expectation.
It is worthy to note that the method of teaching employed by the teacher may render the subject uninteresting. This is simply because, a good teacher with a bad method of teaching gets a poor result. This study investigates both the Problem and Prospects of teaching Business Studies.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study is to scrutinize the Availability of Instructional Materials for the Teaching of Business Studies in Nigeria Secondary Schools. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To examine the extent at which instructional materials in used in teaching and learning business studies in Nigeria secondary school
- To identify the value added or importance of instructional materials to teaching and learning in business studies
- Identify the types of instructional materials being used for teaching in order to achieve students’ academic performance in business studies.
- To identify methods to improve the use of instructional materials in business studies
- To ascertain the extent to which these instructional materials are being utilized in teaching and learning of business studies in secondary school
1.5 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 method do teachers use to teach Business Studies to students?
- What are the student’s attitudes towards learning of Business Studies?
- What are the instructional materials available for teaching Business Studies?
- What are the necessary qualifications for teaching Business Studies?
- What are the necessary experiences needed for teaching Business Studies?
1.6 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.
Hypothesis One
- H0: Instructional materials is rarely used by teachers in teaching of business studies
- H1: Instructional materials is always used by teachers in teaching of business studies
Hypothesis Two
- H0: There is no significant relationship between the use of instructional materials and the teaching effectiveness of business studies
- H1: There is a significant relationship between the use of instructional materials and the teaching effectiveness of business studies
1.7 Significance of the Study
The research findings will be of benefit to the federal ministry of education as the study will help the ministry to provide adequate instructional materials to Secondary Schools in Nigeria. It will enlighten them on the extent of use of instructional materials in the teaching to learning of business studies and even bring into awareness how important it is to both the teachers’ teaching effectiveness and students’ academic performance. The study will also be of great benefit to the researchers who intends to embark on research on similar topics as it will serve as a guide. Finally, the study will be of great importance to academia’s, lecturers, teachers, students and the general public.
1.8 Scope of the Study
The study focuses on the Availability of Instructional Materials for the Teaching of Business Studies in Nigeria using some selected secondary schools in Akure South Local Government Area of Ekiti State as a case study The study will cover the whole spectrum of business teaching, learners attitude to the subject, the methodology of teaching, teachers qualification, experience, the types and uses of textbooks in the classroom.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- 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.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- 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).
1.10 Definition of Terms
- Business: The study of the management of individuals organizing to maintain collective productivity toward accomplishing particular creative and productive goals (usually to generate profit).
- Techniques: Is the process by which the learner is associated with the learning task by the teacher, techniques are generally used within a method. They form part of a method of approaching a topic.
- Method: It is the way in which people are organized in order to conduct an educational activity with the purpose of achieving a set goal.
