Appraisal of the Implementation of Information Technology in Business Education Programme in Four Federal Universities in Nigeria

Appraisal of the Implementation of Information Technology in Business Education Programme in Four Federal Universities in Nigeria

CHAPTER ONE

Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the implementation of Information Technology in business education in some selected Federal Universities in Nigeria.

However, the specific objectives are to:

identify the adequacy of the Information Technology equipment and facilities in selected Federal universities in line with what is obtainable in the current world of work.
examine the adequacy of the provision for the teaching of Information Technology skills in the business education curriculum in the
assess the level of government (local, state and federal) and private sector’s participation in the funding of Information Technology in Business Education Programme at the tertiary level of education.
examine the availability and quality of manpower for the implementation of Information Technology in Business Education Programme in the selected Federal Universities in Nigeria.

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This study on the appraisal of the implementation of information technology in Business Education Departments of Federal Universities in Nigeria was prompted by the current trends in the world of work and business. Journals, government publications, textbooks and papers from the internet were mostly reviewed.

This chapter consists of the following sub-headings:

Concept of Business Education
Definitions of Business Education
Business Education and the Society
The Concept of Curriculum
The Conceptual Framework of Business Education Curriculum
Business Teacher Education Curriculum
The Need for Curriculum Innovation in Business Education
Information Technology
Information Technology and the Society
Information Technology and Business Education
Implementation of Information Technology
Empirical Studies
Summary of the Reviewed Related Literature

The Concept of Business Education

In forming the policy on Education a nation has to certain questions which according to Onwuegbuna (2004) are:

Education for what? Education for whom? And What kind of education?

A nation has to consider the past, present and future problems and needs of the nation and thus, sets its priority on the policy on which education will be based. In Nigeria for example, the priority is to train competent and self reliant citizens and to achieve this goal, vocational and technical education which include business education is brought to play. There is a famous saying that “Education is not making men clever today but wise forever.” Education is aimed at sending men and women into society well stocked with information and detailed knowledge to enable them function wisely as employers, employees, consumers and as responsible members of the society.

Business Education is simply one phase of the total educational programme. According to Osuala (1992), it is neither more nor less important than any other labeled area of study. Some people however, see Business Education as inferior to other courses like medicine, law, engineering etc. In reality Business Education is a great contributor to the progress of any nation be it a developed or developing one. Swanson (1947) opined that the modern and progressive school must effectively meet the needs of individual human beings as well as the needs and demands of the society; and good business education like good defensible training in other areas that might be designated serves this end.

Nzeren (1992) in Nwachokor (2002) bemoaned the negative attitude of people towards business education. In his word; he said “The society, belief that business courses, in fact vocational education generally is meant for drop- outs and those who never do well in the society.” Despite this attitude, business education as embedded in vocational and technical education has stood in its place as a strong nation builder. It is a formidable force in equipping the youth with appropriate skill, knowledge and abilities to enable them to be self employed, self reliant and responsible citizen leading to sustainable economic growth.

Nwachokor (2002) opined that that Business Education can help to solve the economic problem of unemployment. It is a known fact that unemployment leads to poverty and other social vices. A good training in Business Education will develop relevant competencies in the youth for employment in both private and public sectors or to be self- employed. As the saying goes “an idle mind is a devil workshop.” A gainfully employed person will not think of committing crime.

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

This chapter explains the methodology that was used in the collection of data for the study under the following sub-headings:

Research Design
Population of the Study
Sample Size of Population
Sampling Techniques
Instrument for Data Collection
Validity of Instrument
Pilot Study
Reliability of the Instrument
Procedure for Data Collection
Procedure of Data Analysis

Research Design

The survey research design was used for this study because it is a very reliable tool for educational research. It is one of the least expensive methods of carrying out research other than the census method. It also allows the research to examine many variables (demographic and life style Information, attitudes, motives, performance etc). Survey research focuses on people, the vital facts of people, and their beliefs, opinions, attitudes, motivations and behaviour. It helps the researcher to detect what people think and what they do. It can be used for both small and large sample population.

According to Kerlinger (1978) the accuracy of information properly from samples is frequently surprising even to the experts in the field. Sounder and Thornhill (1977) in Mamman (2005) supported this assertion, on survey design and said, It allows the collection of a large amount of data from a sizeable population in an economical way, based often on questionnaire, those data are standard, allowing easy comparison, in addition, the survey comparison is perceived as authoritative by people because it is easily understood.

Survey research therefore, gives a remarkably accurate picture of a phenomenon.

Population for the Study

Population for the study as shown in Table 3.1 were made of all Business Education students and teachers of the four (4) Federal Universities where the programme (Business Education) is offered, namely: Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has 249 students and 3 lecturers, Abubakar Tafawa Balawa University Bauchi is made up of 322 students and 10 lecturers, University of Benin, Benin city has 576 students and 7 lecturers, University of Nigeria Nsukka, 65 students and 5 lecturers making a total of 1212 students and 25 lecturers.

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

This chapter presents the results and interpretation of the findings of the study. The results emanating from both the descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in analyzing the data collected from the subjects as presented.

Table 4:1 shows that out of a total 240 students of Business Education respondent 80 of them representing 34% were males while the rest 160 representing 66% were females. This representation confirmed the true position of things as Business Education courses are mostly populated by females. A trend that can easily be noticed in all the universities where business education course are being offered and it reflects gender imbalance. Though females are required more in education because of their tender nature and ability to encourage the youths especially in the area of teaching and learning.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

Summary

The purpose of the study is to appraise the implementation of information technology in business education programme in federal universities in Nigeria, for this purpose, the literature review showed a number of empirical propositions on Business Education Curriculum, Information Technology and the relationship between information technology, business education and the society. Four research questions were raised to serve as logical basis in evaluating and appraising the implementation of information technology in Business Education as provided by the present curriculum. Four null hypotheses were formulated for the study, and tested at a significant level of 0.05

The survey research design was used because of its reliability as a tool for educational research. The population for the study consisted of all Business Education students and teachers of the four Federal Universities as at the time this study was carried out. Out of the population of 1212 students and 25 lecturers, totaling 1237, 240 students and 15 lecturers were randomly selected for the sample size. The instrument for collection of data was the questionnaire. In order to answer the research questions. And test the null hypotheses the simple statistical frequency table, percentages and t-test were utilized. With the aid of SPSS. All the four null hypotheses were retained. The major findings of the study were;

There was no significant difference in the opinions of the students and lecturers that the available Information Technology instructional materials and equipment in Business Education Departments were
Information technology was not adequately provided for in the Business Education Curriculum in the universities there is therefore a need for the curriculum to be amended.
There was no significant different in the views of the students and lecturers that the Department of Business Education was not being well funded to encourage the teaching of information technology.
Students and lecturers agreed on the need for additional qualified teachers to teach Information Technology in Business Education,

Conclusion

From the findings, it was revealed that Information Technology facilities were not enough, thus making it impossible for business education graduates to have practical knowledge of information processing and technology skills that are required for today’s job acquisition. This lack of proficiency in computer operation makes the graduates unqualified for employment leading to an increase in the level of unemployment in Nigeria.

The second major finding revealed that there is a short- fall in the business education curriculum provision for Information Technology teaching and should therefore be amended to meet the present day standard and needs of the students, the teachers and society at large. The curriculum of an important course like business education needs to be constantly amended to incorporate more Information Technology tailored courses. Njoku (2001) stated that innovation cannot equip graduates without marching the innovation with the objectives of the programme. The objectives of business education should direct the amendment of the curriculum in order to produce a well defined and rounded curriculum in the area of information technology. Continuous use of out dated curriculum will only succeed in turning out incompetent graduate that will either seek for training after school in order to be gainfully employed or remain unemployed. Thereby leading to an increases in social problems and vices.

Thirdly the findings revealed that one of the major impediments to the implementation of information technology is fund. Nwangwu (2002) stated that the funding of education is a problem of great dimension. Although there is an indication that government has increased its allocation of funds to the department to implement the teaching of IT, such funds are usually diverted for other uses therefore, leaving the department with insufficient fund to cater for IT. There is also the issue of the private organizations like Macarthur Foundation and government through ETF concentrating on some universities and leaving out the others in their donation of computers and other IT materials and equipment and in the sponsorship of researches and career talks in the department. This discrimination in their contributions to the implementation of IT has lead to a disparity in the access to computers and other I.T equipment in the various departments of the universities. Business Education departments of the universities are at a disadvantage. Theoretical teaching of IT courses continues with half baked graduates who may be ill-fitted for today’s world of work being turned out.

This study also revealed that the teachers need additional training to be able to perform optimally despite the fact that they are proficient in the use of computer as indicated by some student and teacher respondents. A situation in which a teacher is required to teaching more than two subjects is not good enough. This conforms with the opinion of Ekpenyong and Nwabuisi (2002) that the inadequate manpower supply has been recognized as a major factor militating against the successful and effective implementation of Business Education Programmes. This is also an indication that the few available teachers/lecturers are over worked and thus cannot give their best.

On the whole, it could be conclude from the findings of this study that the inadequacy in the implementation of information technology in Business Education is a combination of different factors, such as, the curriculum, funding and the availability of equipment and manpower. All of which must be addressed for the noble objectives of business education to be achieved.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made:

Non-Availability of Instructional Facilities:- The stake holders in education – all levels of government, private individuals and corporate bodies should provide funds to institutions for the purchase of adequate quantity of modern IT equipment. Also facilities like Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), internet receiver, computer software etc should be provided. The universities should provide alternative power supply sources like generators, solar Energy generators e.t.c in order to counter the effect of frequent power outage in Nigeria, as IT equipment cannot be used without constant power supply,
Curriculum review/amendment:- The National Universities Commission(NUC) should emulate National Board for Technical Education(NBTE) by redesigning Business Education Curriculum to suit the job requirement of today through the integration and emphasizing on information technology and the ability of the graduates to use/ operate modern equipment,
Funding:- More funds should be made available to the business education depts. of the various universities by the government at various levels, the private sector, and benevolent individuals. They should be encouraged to contribute to the funding of the Business Education Also accountability must be applied to make the maximum used of the available resources. Thus, people of noble qualities of honesty, integrity and reliability should he appointed to manage such funds.
Manpower:- Lecturers / teachers should be sent on in-service training, workshops and seminars on information technology and how to operate the various equipment used in modern offices. Also, universities offering postgraduate degrees in Business education should emphasize arid direct the programme towards developing information technology skills in the students. This will equip such postgraduate students to impart the so acquired skills into their own students.

Curriculum Implication

The recommendations made in this study will be of great importance to graduates, the teachers, the universities, the business world and the society at large through the restructuring of business education curriculum in the universities to integrate and emphasis on information technology as it relates to the world of work today. The ability of the business education graduates to operate the modern Information Technology equipment will enable them obtain gainful employment either in private/ public organizations, or self employment thereby reducing the rate of unemployment and social vices that is plaguing the Nation. This will bring about the achievement of the noble goals of business education in the area of training individuals to be useful/ productive members of the society.

Suggestion For Further Research

Based on the limitations of this study, the researcher wishes to suggest scientific investigation on the following areas

Effect of Information Technology on the Employability of Business Education Graduates.
Relationship between Gender and Secretarial Education as a
Information Technology in the Polytechnic and the University; A Comparative Study.
The Effect of the use of IT Equipment Assisted Instruction on the Academic Performance of Students of Business Education.

REFERENCES

Abdulkareem, M,I (1998) Factors Affecting the Job Performance of Secretaries in Kaduna State, Unpublished Thesis, Ahmadu BelLo University, Zaria.
Adah (2001) Functional Vocational and Technical Education in Nigerian Secondary Schools: The Challenges of the 3^rd millennium. Teacher Education Journal 2 8- 13
Agbionu, C.U. (2002) The Impact of Globalization on Business Education. Business Education Journal 3 (5) 49.
Aina O.(2001) Business Education, Technology and National Development (A keynote Address). Business Education Journal 3 (5) 1-8.
Akhere S.E (2002) The Relevance of Business Education in the 21^st Century . Books of Readings in Business Education 1(2) 30-37.
Akpan, A. (2003] Information Technology – Implication. New Nigeria Weekly . Aliyu, M.M, (2001) Business Education in Nigeria (Trends and Issues) ABU Press Ltd, Zaria Nigeria PP 32-50.
Alozie, A.N- (1998) The Changing Office Environment and Need for Office Education Journal of Business and Office Education 1(1), 14-18
Amoor S.S (2009) Challenges of Secretarial Education Programme in Nigerian Universities in an Era of Modern Office Technology and Information System. An unpublished thesis. Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Anderson (1976) The Administrative Secretary 2nd ed, McGraw-Hill Inc. New York. Armstrong, D.G. (1989) New Information Technology and the Schools Education. An Introduction 3^rd Edition Macmillan Publ. Co. New York, PP, 130-133.
Aromolaran, E.A. (1999) Top Flight Secretaries in the New Millennium: Problems and Prospects of Office Automation. Business Education Journal 3 (2) 99.
Arthur O.A (2005) Integrating Information Technology with the Secretarial Education Curriculum in Tertiary Institution in Bauchi. Unpublished first degree project. Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Arukwe, A.N. (1998) Employees Office Skills Competencies and Employers Preference. Business Education Journal 3(2) 111-116

Related Topics:

Other Topics