A (PG/M.ED) PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE
DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS EDUCATION, FACULTY OF EDUCATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title
Table
of contents ii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background
of the Problem 1
Statement
of the Problem 6
Purpose
of the Study 7
Significance
of the Study 7
Scope
of the Study 9
Research
Questions 9
Hypothesis 9
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE
Conceptual
Framework 10
Theoretical
Framework 40
Review
of Empirical Studies 49
Summary
of Literature Review 52
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Design
of the Study 54
Area
of the Study 54
Population
of the Study 55
Sample
and Sampling Techniques 56
Instrument
for Data Collection 56
Validation
of the Instrument 56
Reliability
of the Instrument 57
Method
of Data Collection 57
Method
of Data Analysis 57
REFERENCES 59
APPENDIX
1: VALIDATED COPY OF THE INSTRUMENT
APPENDIX
2: RELIABILITY COMPUTATION
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Universal Basic Education (UBE) is an educational
reform programme of the Nigerian Government that provides free, compulsory, and
continuous 9-year education in two levels: 6 years of primary and 3 years of
junior secondary education for all school-aged children. UBE was launched in
Sokoto in 1999 by the then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo. Then the legal framework for the programme (the UBE Act) was
signed into law in May, 2004 in a bid to address section 18 (1) and (3) of the
1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which provides that:
(1) Government shall direct its policy towards
ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all
levels;
(2) Government
shall eradicate illiteracy; and to this end, government shall as and when
practicable provide:
(a) free, compulsory and universal primary
education;
(b)
free secondary education;
(c) free university education; and
(d) free adult literacy programme
This section of the said
constitution, enjoins the government to provide free and compulsory basic
education amongst other educational objectives. It should, however, be noted
that even though the constitution has
imposed a duty on all the three tiers of government to strive to eradicate
illiteracy and to provide free and compulsory basic education, this educational
objective is non-justiciable (cannot be challenged or enforced in any court of
law by any person or authority).
Nevertheless, to pursue this
educational objective, the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Commission was
established in 2004 by an Act of the National Assembly, known as the
compulsory, free, Universal Basic Education Act (2004). UBE programme
constitutes: Early Childhood Care and Development Education (ECCDE) for
children aged 3-5 years; 6 years Primary Education for children aged 6-11
years; and 3 years Junior Secondary School (JSS) Education for children aged
12-14+. UBE is not a new educational policy but, rather, an
introduction to reinforce the 6-3-3-4 National Policy on Education (Universal
Basic Education Commission, UBEC, 2006).
The Early Childhood Care and
Development Education (ECCDE) is not compulsory. What is compulsory is 6 years
of primary and 3 years of JSS Education. The issue is that parents are strongly
encouraged to register their children in ECCDE centres while government is
expected to provide ECCDE centres of good quality. The 9-year continuous basic
education becomes necessary because, at the moment, according to UBEC(2006),
completion of primary school does not equip a child with the necessary life
skills to become self reliant. Thus for the Nigerian child to be considered
functionally literate and numerate, he or she must successfully complete 9
years of schooling.
In order to implement the UBE
programme, the existing curriculum has been changed. A new 9-year Basic
Education Curriculum is now in place. The implementation of the new curriculum is
scheduled to start with only Primary 1 and JSS1. The old primary school
curriculum would be phased out by July 2013 whereas that of junior secondary
school would be phased out in July 2010.UBEC (2006) observes that the existing
6-year secondary education is in contradiction to the 6-3-3-4 policy because it
allows Junior secondary school and senior secondary school (SSS) to exist as
one and be run by one administration in the same location sharing the same
infrastructure. It also observed that the new UBE provides for the
disarticulation of JSS from the Senior Secondary School (SSS) so that the two
levels should be run by two separate administrations and eventually have
separate locations, infrastructures etc.
UBEC (2005) sees UBE as being
pivotal to the attainment of and as being interlinked with National Economic
Empowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS), State Economic Empowerment
Development Strategy (SEEDS), Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). In the light of the above, the new 9 year Basic Education
Curriculum places emphasis on the following areas:
i. Value Reorientation
ii. Basic Science
iii. Basic Technology
iv. Computer Science
v. Teaching of Thinking
vi. Home Economics
vii. Agriculture
viii. Business Studies
ix. Civic Education
x. Moral Instruction
xi. French
Some of these areas fall within
technical and vocational education which FRN in Okorie (2009) expresses as very
vital ingredients for success in the efforts of government at alleviating
poverty, eradicating corruption, attaining food security and achieving universal
basic education. From the above, technical and vocational education (TVE) has
been identified as a means of achieving universal basic education. Technical
and vocational education was subjected to intense criticisms about
inappropriate curricula, poor teacher preparation and welfare scheme, gross
inadequacy of facilities, low public esteem of technical and vocational
education trainees, inadequate resource input and consequent low output,
structural imbalance and system configuration (FRN in Okorie, 2009). TVE is in
a state of crisis. The government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is in full
realization of the danger that; if the crisis situation in technical and
vocational education persists, the ability of the government to deliver on many
people-oriented programmes could be severely hampered. On this premise, provision
of learning experiences in a curriculum that would ensure that beneficiaries of
technical and vocational education scheme have job skills for solving many of
Nigeria’s socio-economic problems, have been named second among the nine
priority areas in TVE.
From the introduction of the 9 year
Basic Education Programme and the need to attain the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) by 2015 and, the critical targets of the National Economic Empowerment
and Development Strategies (NEEDS), it
becomes imperative that the existing curricula for primary school and JSS be reviewed, restructured and realigned to fit
into a 9-year education programme. The National Council on Education (NCE) approved
a new curriculum structure namely: Lower Basic Education Curriculum (Primary
1-3), Middle Basic Education Curriculum (Primary 4-6) and Upper Basic Education
Curriculum (JSS 1-3), listing relevant subjects for each level. Similarly, in
her December 2005 meeting in Ibadan,
the NCE directed the National Educational Research and Development Council
(NERDC) to review, restructure and re-align the curriculum accordingly (FRN,
2007).
In response to the above, a High
Level Policy Committee on Curriculum Development (HLPC), made up of critical
stakeholders and chaired by NERDC, took the initiative to provide the guide
lines for re-structuring the curriculum. Between January and March 2006, the
NERDC convened a meeting of experts and also organized several workshops to
produce the 9-year basic Education Curriculum, which would ensure continuity
and flow of themes, topics and experiences from primary school to JSS levels.
FRN (2007) disclosed that the Upper
Basic Business Studies Curriculum on which this study is based, was adapted from
the original work of the Comparative Education Study and Adaptation Centre (CESAC)
which was presented to the Joint Consultative Committee on Education in 1982. The
alignment of this curriculum gave due consideration to the need to provide
students with the ability and skills to be gainfully employed upon completion
of their programme as well as prepare them
for setting up their small businesses as entrepreneurs. These are in agreement
with the critical targets of NEEDS on value orientation, employment generation
and wealth creation. The National Value curriculum, an anti-corruption
programme for the school system, has been infused into relevant areas of Business Studies curriculum.
The content of this curriculum has been organized in a thematic manner in order
to provide the learner with a holistic blend of theory and practice of Business
Studies. The content area of keyboarding, shorthand and bookkeeping when acquired
ensures the acquisition of skills for production work. Prescribed activities
and projects as well as recommended experiences will further ensure the acquisition
of productive skills. The curriculum planners designed and considered as
adequate, six themes to provide the students with the required cognitive,
psychomotor and affective skills at the upper Basic level. These themes
include:
- Overview of Business Studies
- Effective Office Practice
- Commerce-the Heart of Business
success
- Keyboarding as a Communication Tool
- Shorthand Skills for Business.
In agreement Nweze (2008) points out
that one of the national education goals is the acquisition of appropriate
skills and the development of mental, physical and social abilities and
competencies as equipment to live in and contribute to the development of one’s
society. Acquisition of appropriate skills cannot be over emphasized since
according to him, after junior secondary education, an individual may either
continue full-time studies, combine work with study, or embark on full-time
employment. Furthermore, Ebonyi state which, according to Okike (2006), occupies
the position of the least literate south eastern state and was one of the
educationally disadvantaged states before 1999 should opt only for the right
type of education.
No education may rise above the quality of its
teachers. Mkandawire (2010) believes that teachers are the most important human
resource in curriculum implementation. He further asserts that a sufficient
supply of trained teachers is a sine qua non for effective curriculum
implementation. Similarly Ulifun describes availability, maintenance and
adequacy of teaching facilities as a sine qua non for the attainment of all
educational goals. Esene and Okoro (2008) see teaching materials and equipment
as devices used to supplement or complement teachers’ talks. Ivowi (2000) and
Odigbo (2005) agree that adequate facilities ensure meaningful teaching and
learning. Against these backdrops, it is crucial that adequate provision be
made in terms of human and material resources in order to promote saleable
skills acquisition and employment generation possibilities through Business Studies
(FRN, 2007).
Statement of the Problem
Federal Republic of Nigeria (2007)
observes that educational enrolment in Nigeria is a success story and that
the Universal Basic Education has improved access to schools. There is an
urgent need to meet educational resource gap which has arisen from the
phenomenal rise in enrolment. Egwu (2004) regrets that quantitative rise in
enrolments due to previous free education programmes had led to increase in the
level of wastages in Nigerian education because more emphasis, according to
him, is on quantity rather than quality. Against this backdrop, Osadolor (2007)
decries the failure of all free education attempted programmes in Edo State.
He explains that each of those programmes failed because of inadequate
preparation before commencement.
Educational resource gap hinder
development of skills which in turn hinder economic growth. Wapmuk (2010) notes
that no economy grows without the availability of skilled workforce. For Ebonyi State
which Okike (2006) describes as the least literate South Eastern
State and an educational disadvantaged state to grow,
her education system must develop appropriate type of skills in the recipients.
After all according to Wapmuk (2010:13), “Asian Tigers-Japan, Singapore,
Malaysia etc. did grow their economics through skilled workforce. It was the availability
of divergent skills in their economies that propelled the micro, small and
medium scale enterprises which later constituted centre piece of these
economies”.
The 9-year basic education
curriculum on Business Studies is deep, appropriate and interrelated in
content. It is recommended for the production of the best learning outcome on
the premise of adequate provision of human and material resources for its
implementation (FRN, 2007). This work therefore tries to establish the adequacy
of human and materials resources required for the implementation of this
curriculum in Ebonyi
State.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to
determine the adequacy of human and
material resources required for the implementation of the basic education
curriculum on business studies (JS1-3) in Ebonyi state. Specifically, the study
intends to:
1. determine
the adequacy of school facilities at the upper basic education institutions in Ebonyi State;
2. determine
the adequacy of the quantity of business
studies teachers at the upper basic education level in Ebonyi State;
3.
determine the adequacy of the quality of business studies teachers at
the upper basic education level in Ebonyi
State;
4. determine
the adequacy of the provision of business studies curriculum compliant
textbooks.
Significance of the Study
The findings of this study will be of much utility to the
universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Ebonyi State Universal Basic Education
Board (UBEB), principals of junior secondary schools, other stakeholders and
subsequent researchers. It will help the Universal Basic Education Commission
(UBEC) wake up to her duties of, developing and disseminating curricula and
instructional materials for basic education in Nigeria; supporting national
capacity building for teachers and managers of basic education in Nigeria; and
establishing libraries and information Centre. It will as well help UBEC to
review its implementation of that curriculum so as to make amendments where
necessary.
The findings of work will make UBEB
to understand, in concrete terms, the educational resource gap in the state
with particular reference to business studies. Hence UBEB can strategize on how
to fill the gap may be through: accessing the UBEC matching grant; training and
re-training business studies teachers; recruitment of qualified business
studies teachers; and involvement of other stakeholders in the spirit that
education for all is the responsibility of all.
It will help principals of junior
secondary schools see the education resource gap that exists at this level.
This will make them plan how to strike a balance. It will as well make business
studies teachers rise up to their training/ re-training needs. Training/re-training and provision of
required educational materials will lead to the professional growth of business
studies.
By spurring various stakeholders to
contribute their own quota to the provision of resources required for business
studies at this level, this work will help to create a conducive environment that
will enable business studies students to acquire appropriate skills. This will
enable the students to continue with full-time studies, combine work with
study, or enter full-time employment. By this token skilled workforce will be
made available in Ebonyi
State and this will lead
to the growth of the economy of the state as well as the economy of the entire
nation. Furthermore, skilled workforce will increase the human development
index of the nation.
The findings of this work will serve
as a guide or a resource material for subsequent researchers. It will spur
other scholars to carry out similar or related research works in other areas.
Scope of the Study
This study will focus on human and
material resources required for the implementation of upper basic education
curriculum on business studies in Ebonyi
State. The study will
consider the materials included as appendix to the curriculum under study as
the materials required for its implementation. It will cover public and private
junior secondary schools (JSS) that offer business studies in the three
education zones in Ebonyi
State.
Research Questions
The following research questions
will guide the study:
1. What
is the level of adequacy of school facilities in junior secondary schools in Ebonyi State?
2. How
adequate is the quantity of business studies teachers in junior secondary
schools in Ebonyi
State?
3. How
adequate is the quality of business studies teachers in junior secondary
schools in Ebonyi
State?
4. What is
the level of adequacy of the provision of business studies curriculum compliant
textbooks in junior secondary schools in Ebonyi State?
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses that
will be tested at 0.05level of significance will guide the study:
HO1:
There is no significant difference
between the level of adequacy of business studies teachers in urban areas and
the adequacy of business studies teachers in rural areas.
HO2:
There is no significant difference
between the adequacy of business studies equipment in public schools and the
adequacy of business studies equipment in private schools,