AN ASSESSMENT OF MATERIAL RESOURCES USED FOR TEACHING BUSINESS STUDIES AS PERCIEVED BY INSPECTORS OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF ASABA, DELTA STATE)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Material resources provide the physical media through which the intents of the Curriculum are experienced. They are collections of materials and equipment that processes instruction and training; such materials and equipment may be derived from the objectives of teaching and learning. They assist in putting across information and enable both teaching and learning to be effectively done. The importance of material resources in enhancing effective teaching and learning of business studies cannot be undermined due to the positive impact it has on the level of assimilation of students. Teaching-learning of Business studies in schools without material resources such as, chart, maps, curves and graphs etc will not bring out the expected results. Most researchers have discovered the problems of inadequate material resources as one of the major problem that lead to poor academic performance of students in Business studies. The materials being used in teaching were called material resources teaching aids, they are to assist the achievement of the stated Educational goals and objectives. This means that teaching aids are helping in teaching and learning and also provide help in developing similar skills in solving relevant problems in Business studies for instance, students negative attitude to Business studies is due to poor perception of the course; Business studies as a subject is very simple but because of lack of qualified and experienced teacher to handle the subject makes it difficult to the students in the secondary schools during teaching and learning. The influence of using material resources in promoting students’ academic performance in teaching and learning in Educational development is indisputable. The teaching of Business studies in Nigerian Secondary Schools needs to be properly handled. Business studies contribute to the nation’s economic development, hence the need to be taught thoroughly if it is to meet the educational and economical development. Moreso, that Business studies is one of the core subjects in Secondary Schools and as a vocational subject, it cannot be taught effectively without the use of appropriate material resources (Ajayi, 2000). Material resources is necessary since the teacher alone cannot provide all the needed conditions for an effective teaching and learning, other supporting materials should be provided. Students as learners, learn better when most of the senses are appealed to the instruction and use of material resources has added a new dimension in the positive promotion of the teaching and learning process. It provides the much needed sensory experiences for an effective and meaningful behavioural change. Material resources are means for improving the quality of teaching for effective academic performance of Business studies students. Today, teachers under rate the use of material resources in most of their teaching exercises and some of these materials are not usually available for teachers’ use.(Okoro 2009).

Most teachers cling to verbal instruction as the only way to inculcate knowledge. The researcher is of the view that something has to be done to change teachers’ negative attitude towards the teaching of business studies. The researcher is also of the view that utilization of material resources would make teaching and learning of business studies interesting and comparatively easy. This study is of the view that material resources for teaching business studies should be selected, supplied and be used effectively.(Nwike et al 2011).

The realization of this objective depends on the utilization principles. These principles include; the learner’s characteristics, behavioural objectives and instructional constraints. In making use of any instructional material, such material must be previewed that is, having full knowledge of the material, prepare the environment where it will be used; prepare audience by means of making sure that the material used will attract attention, arouse, motivate and provide the rationale and finally present which of course, could be used in the beginning, middle or end of a lesson (Tella, 2007). The effectiveness of utilizing appropriate material resources in teaching and learning of Business studies is not void of quality instructor. In order to give quality Education to the younger generation, there is need for employment of more competent, experienced and qualified business studies teachers. The need to identify suitable material resources, by which students can be made to trap the extent of the subject easily, is the focus of this study. However, the use of material resources in secondary schools, would help in improving the teaching and learning and academic performance of students in business studies respectively. Material resources which are Educational inputs are of vital importance to the teaching of any subject in the school curriculum. Wales in Richard (2005), was of the opinion that availability and the use of instructional resources would make discovered fact glued firmly to the memory of students. Emmanuel (2008) also added that, a well planned and imaginative use of visual aids in lesson should do much to banish apathy, supplement in adequacy of books as well as arouse students’ interest by giving them something practical to see and do and at the same time helping to think things out themselves. Selection of materials can help indepth understanding of lesson by the students in which they make the lesson attractive, thereby capturing their attention and motivating them to learn.

STATEMENT OF THE GENERAL PROBLEM

Material resources make teaching and learning more understandable, meaningful and easy. But inspite of the benefits of material resources to teaching and learning, the scarcity of the material resources has hindered, to some extent, the efficiency of teaching and learning of Business studies. In view of this difficulties, most teachers of business studies still resort to the theoretical method of teaching the subject. This undoubtedly, is contrary to the improvement of business studies education, which is greatly needed at this period of our development with emphasis on practical oriented learning (Mark, 2007). The researcher has taught for a number of years in some secondary schools and had visited a number of secondary schools as a resource person. Through these experiences, the researcher observed that most teachers in secondary schools in the state did not fully make use of material resources in the teaching of business studies to their students. This negligence of the effective use of the material resources and facilities in teaching and learning of business studies common to both the trained and untrained teachers affected the academic performance of students in business studies in secondary schools in Nigeria and delta state in particular. (Imogie 2003).

 Hence, the question of academic performance and students’ performance in JSCE is therefore usually discussed both in and outside the academic circles. In the last few years, it has been observed in most secondary schools that a high percentage of students are performing very poorly in Business studies in external National Examinations.(Iwoke et al 2006)

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The major aim of this study is to assess material resources used for teaching business studies as perceived by inspectors of education in Asaba. Specifically, the study sought to determine;

 1. The availability material resources in teaching business studies in Delta state;

2. Investigate whether or not the availability of material resources has influence on the academic performance of students in business studies in secondary schools in Delta state;

3. Determine whether teachers use material resources in teaching business studies in secondary schools in Delta state; and

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What resource materials are available in teaching business studies in secondary schools in Delta state?

2. What influence does availability of instructional material has on students’ academic performance in business studies in secondary schools in Delta state?

3. Does teachers use resource material in teaching business studies in secondary schools in Delta state?

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H01: There is no significant relationship between availability and use of resource materials on students’ academic performance in business studies.

H02: There is no significant impact of material resources on the learning of business studies in Nigerian secondary schools.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Findings from this study will be beneficial to students, teachers, curriculum planners, ministry of education and the society at large. To the students, the effective use of material resources will enable them to effectively learn and retain what they have learnt and thereby advancing their performance in the subject in question because, learning is a process through which knowledge, skills, habits, facts, ideas and principles are acquired, retained and utilized; and the only means of achieving this is through the use of material resources. The use of material resources will give the learner opportunity to touch, smell or taste objects in the teaching and learning process. Consequently, knowledge passed unto the students at different levels of educational instructions should be well planned and properly allied with relevant material resources for clarity and comprehensibility.

This study will enhance teachers’ teaching effectiveness and productivity. The use of material resources provides alternative channels of communication which a teacher can use to compress information and make them more vivid to his learners. It also provide the teacher with interesting and compelling platforms for conveying information since they motivate learners to want to learn more and more. Also, by providing opportunities for private study and reference, the learner’s interest and curiosity are increasingly stimulated. As a result, teacher who makes use of appropriate material resources to supplement his teaching will help enhance students’ innovative and creative thinking as well as help them become plausibly spontaneous and enthusiastic.

To the curriculum planners, findings from this study will help them in making proper planning for the place of material resources while planning business studies curriculum. However, the use of material resources in the teaching and learning of business studies is not only the issue, but also the appropriateness of the selected materials by the teacher to the topic at hand which sometimes make the lesson less effective and thereby render the materials useless. Findings from this study shall reveal to the curriculum planners that, business studies contents must focus not only on making teachers competent at using such material resources, but at the same time, promote strategies that enables the integration of material resources that enhances teaching and learning of business studies goals and objectives.

This study will recommends the State Ministry of Education through the Universal Basic Education Commission to purchase instructional resources required for effective teaching of Business studies and make them available in Schools throughout the State. The finding from the study will encourage the Ministry of Education to ensure that these materials are purchased and supplied to Schools. This will go a long way in ensuring that the pupils and students receive quality education. It will also recommend to the Ministry of Education on the need to train and retrain Business studies teachers through workshops on how to use material resources, how to improvise and source for them from locally available resources.

This study will also be beneficial to the society at large. This is because when teachers solidify their teaching with material resources and the learners learn effectively, the knowledge acquired will reflect in the society positively. Students will be able to understand the functioning of the economy, interpret government’s economic policies and activity and perform economically better in the choice of life and work. Finally, this research work will contribute to knowledge as a reference material for scholars in the research field.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study is restricted to the assessment of material resources on the teaching of business studies as perceived by inspectors of education in Nigeria. More so, this study will cover the availability, adequacy and frequency at the use of material resources for teaching business studies in junior secondary schools in Asaba.