Abstract
This study investigated the
Information and Communication Technology skills needed by Business Studies
Teachers in Junior Secondary Schools in Adamawa State. To achieve this broad
objective, four research questions were developed and answered while three research
hypotheses were formulated and tested. Survey research design was used to carry
out this study. The population for the study consisted of 129 business studies
teachers from four education zones of the State. Since the population was
sizeable there was no sampling. The instrument for data collection was
structured questionnaire which was face validated by three experts from
department of Vocational Teacher Education, University of Nigeria Nsukka. To determine the internal consistency of the
instrument, Cronbach alpha method was used and a reliability coefficient of
0.77 was obtained. Data for the study was collected with the help of four
research assistants. Data collected was analyzed using mean, standard
deviation, t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The mean was used to answer
the research questions. Standard Deviation was used to determine how close or
otherwise are the respondents’ opinion to one another and to the mean. The null
hypothesis one was tested using t-test while hypotheses 2 and 3 were tested
using analysis of variance (ANOVA) at P<0.05 level of significance.
Presentation and analysis of data were made by the use of tables. The result
revealed that business studies teachers needed all the computer appreciation,
word processing, the use of internet and data processing skills identified;
there was no significant difference in the mean ratings of responses of male
and female business studies teachers on the listed ICT skill needed by teachers
for effective instruction; there was no significant difference in the mean
responses of business studies teachers according to their education zones on
the ICT skills needed, there was no significant difference in the mean
responses of business studies teachers according to their educational qualifications
on the ICT skills needed. It was recommended that Institutions of higher
learning where business studies teachers are being trained should fully equip
business education department with ICT gadgets so as to give them necessary
training that would enable the teachers have full knowledge and skills they
would transfer to their students. To increase professional development
opportunities, business studies teachers need to be retrained on the use of
ICTs, this will help them to integrate and utilize ICTs in junior secondary
schools.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of the Study
Significance of the Study
Research
Questions
Hypotheses
Delimitations:
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELAYED
LITERATURE
Conceptual Framework
Theoretical Framework
Related Empirical Studies
Summary of Literature Review
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Area of the Study
Instrument for Data Collection
Validation of the Instrument
Reliability of the Instrument
Method of Data Collection
Method of Data Analysis
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF
DATA
Research Question 1
Research Question 2
Research Question 3
Research Question 4
Findings
Discussion of Findings
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Re-Statement of the Problem
Summary of Procedures Used
Summary of Findings
Conclusions
Recommendations
Suggestions for Further Study
REFERENCES
QUESTIONNAIRE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
There has been increasing interest in
introducing innovations such as Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
into the teaching and learning of business studies especially when the Nigeria
Education and Research Development Council (NERDC) introduced a modern
curriculum into the school system. Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) involves the use of computers and other electronic devices to process
information. Nworgu (2008) stated that ICT refers to a whole range of
facilities or technologies involved in information processing and electronic
communication to be handled with skills and expertise, for effective
achievement and realization of its potentials in Education. In the view of
Valasidou (2008), ICT is an innovative instrumental tool that enables the
educators to modify the teaching and learning processes in order to increase
students’ interest. Brown (2009) explained that ICT is considered very crucial
for the achievement of various educational objectives in terms of expanding the
citizenry access to education at all levels and improving the quality of
teaching and learning process.
In the explanation of Daniels (2002), the use
of Information and Communication Technologies in the educative process has been
divided into two broad categories: ICTs for education and ICTs in education.
ICTs for education refers to the development of ICT specifically for teaching
learning purposes, while the ICTs in education involves the adoption of general
components of ICTs in the teaching learning process. Effiong (2005) emphasized
that ICT use in school curriculum depends highly on the teachers who will use
ICT to teach the students. This requires that teachers should have the ability
to incorporate ICT into teaching and
1
learning. Okereke (2008)
noted that, application of ICT to teaching and learning makes instructions more
effective and productive. In this regard ICT is viewed as innovations that
enable business studies teachers facilitate teaching and learning of business
studies.
Business studies is an
academic subject that helps students to be exposed to realities of business
practices. The subject is designed to introduce students to the foundational
knowledge of the principles and practices of business. Okute (2008) opined that
business studies is the fundamental subject which has to do with acquisition,
conservation and expedition of wealth. Osuala (2004) stated that business
studies help the students to make informed decisions in the everyday business
of living. Obi (2005), explained that business studies prepares students for
business career or enables those in that career become more efficient and
advance to higher business positions. In the view of NERDC (2007), business
studies will enable the students to:
• acquire the basic knowledge
of business studies;
• develop the basic skills in
office occupation;
• prepare for further training
in business studies;
•
have basic skills with which to start a life of work; • have basic skills for personal use in future;
• relate the knowledge and
skills they have acquired to the national economy.
These objectives can be
achieved through teachers’ effectiveness, who is the implementers of
curriculum.
A teacher is an individual who is trained in
pedagogy and teaching areas of a particular subject to impart knowledge,
skills, and attitudes to students in an institution. According to Olaitan,
Alaribe, and Nwobu (2009), a teacher is a person who communicates knowledge,
skills and attitudes to someone in a school. Okute and Agomuo (2010) noted that
a teacher is a facilitator of learning; who helps students to realize their
full potentials educationally, emotionally, and socially in career selection
and transition. Garba and Dambe (2007) defined a teacher as one who possesses
practical and theoretical knowledge of his vocation, has clear understanding of
the students he teachers, and ensures that he increases in the knowledge of his
field at all times. There are male and female business studies teachers. These
teachers are trained in different higher institutions of learning where they
obtain various qualifications. In this study, a business studies teacher is
someone who is trained in pedagogical areas of business education and is
charged with the responsibilities of imparting acquired knowledge, skills and
attitudes of business studies to students in junior secondary schools.
Secondary school is the school for young
people between the ages of 11, 16 and 18. National Policy on Education (FRN,
2004) defined secondary education as the education children received after
primary education and before the tertiary stage. Secondary schools are divided
into junior and senior sections. The junior secondary school is both
pre-vocation and academic. The ability of business studies teachers to teach
students ICT depend on the level of ICT skills possessed.
Skill is a person’s ability in performing a
given task well as a result of training and practice. Skill as viewed by Soanes
(2001) is the ability to do something well especially, as a result of long
practice. Obi (2005), defined skill as manual dexterity acquired through
repetitive performance of operations. Osinem and Nwaoji (2005) stated that,
skill is the proficiency displayed by someone in the performance of a given
task. ICT Skill is the ability required by business studies teachers for
effective instruction to junior secondary school students in
Adamawa State.
Adamawa
is a state in north eastern Nigeria established in 1991 with its capital in
Yola.
The state occupies about
36,917 square kilometers. There are 21 local government areas in Adamawa State
which are divided into four education zones. In Adamawa state, new curriculum
in business studies has been put in place by the government to replace the old
one. The new curriculum contains some component of ICT such as computer
appreciation, word processing, data processing, and the use of internet which
were absent in the old curriculum of business studies.
Computer appreciation entails the general
understanding of the basic building blocks of the computer systems, literacy in
operating the computer and using the window interface called window explore and
other similar interfaces. Azuka (2000) explained that keyboarding should be
emphasized along with the traditional typing; the author identified closer
relationship between them likewise word processing, data processing and the use
of the internet.
Word processing is the application of
computer for manipulating text-based documents; the electronic equivalent of
paper, pen, typewriter, eraser, and most likely, dictionary and thesaurus
(Encarta, 2009). According to Agomuo (2005), word processing can be likened to
a typewriter inside a computer in that it incorporates all the duties of a
typewriter which basically are: the ability to type and produce text on paper,
store and manipulate text in documents and get printed copies. But when using
computers, it deviates a little from the common typewriter. There is the enter
key replacing the carrier movement and there are commands (simple ones) for
paragraph, indent, spacing and so on. In addition, one can: store the document
for future reference or use; make corrections to the documents very
conveniently; format your documents to a wide variety of specification;
automate some functions such as page numbering, generation of indexes; check
the spelling of text in your document for correctness; and have greater control
over page layout attribute such as margin and so on. Other area where computer
is most useful in daily activities is in the use of the internet and data
processing.
The internet is a computer-based global
information system (Comer, 2009). It is composed of many interconnected
computer networks. Each network may link tens, hundreds, or even thousands of
computers, enabling them to share information. The Internet has made it
possible for people all over the world to communicate with one another
effectively, inexpensively and to have free access to useful data for further
processing.
Data processing deals with the analysis and
organization of data by the repeated use of one or more computer programmes
(Kogge, 2009). Data processing is used extensively in business, and in all
areas in which computers are used such as education, to process data
educationally by the teachers and other education administrators. The
researcher observed that business studies teachers in the state have some
difficulties in teaching the ICT component of the curriculum; therefore, they
need improvement.
Improvement means change for something better.
Improvement, in the explanation of Robinson (2006) is the development of
circumstances in which something is lacking to better standard or quality than
before. In this study, improvement is viewed as the act of making the level of
skills acquired by business studies teachers in ICT better. For business
studies teachers to improve in their teaching of the ICT components in the
curriculum they need to upgrade their
skills.
Need in the view of Chuta (1992) is something
required to fill an existing essential gap. Hornby (2005) defined need as
something required because it is essential or very important. Olaitan,
Nwachukwu, Igbo, Onyemachi and Ekong (1999) explained that need is a requirement
deemed necessary for effectiveness in an occupation. Need is the ICT skills
required by business studies teachers to meet a target standard of effective
instruction. This need can be obtained through assessment.
Assessment is a process of estimating the
worth, quality or effectiveness of a programme or instruction. Walter (2009)
stated that assessment is the process of finding or deciding the amount, value,
quality or importance of a programme or teachers instruction in a
teachinglearning process. Assessment is the process of determining the skills
need of business studies teachers in ICT for effective instruction.
In this study, need is the identification of
the value that calls for retraining of business studies teachers in the areas
of ICT incorporated into business studies curriculum to enable them improve
their instruction to students in business studies in junior secondary schools
in Adamawa State. To assist the business studies teachers in the area of study,
it becomes important to retrain these teachers through intervention programmes
to update their knowledge, skills and attitudes for effective instruction.
Therefore, it is necessary to determine ICT skills needed by business studies
teachers for effective instruction in junior secondary schools in Adamawa
State.
Statement of the Problem
In Adamawa State, new curriculum in business
studies has been put in place by the government to replace the old one. The new
curriculum contains some component of ICT such as computer appreciation, word
processing, the use of internet and data processing, which were absent in the
old curriculum of business studies. The researcher observed that most business
studies teachers in junior secondary schools in the state have some
difficulties in teaching the
ICT component of the curriculum.
The present business studies teachers are
those that were trained and had been working in school system many years ago
particularly before the introduction of modern technologies in teaching and
learning of business studies. These teachers were not trained with modern ICT
technologies and facilities. This suggests that the training they received
seems to be irrelevant to the present curriculum because of technological
changes taking place in work places where the students will find themselves
after graduation. The inefficiency of business studies teachers in imparting
ICT skills to junior secondary school students has been noticed in the
students’ inability to do well in work places. Ademiluyi (2007) observed that
most business studies students do not have the ability to succeed in private
enterprise.
The researcher observed that many junior
secondary school students after graduation find it difficult to establish and
manage small businesses, particularly those who had no opportunity for further
training. Those who tried to work in business centres where information is
processed with modern technologies found it difficult to manipulate computers
and other ICT equipment. Olufemi and Onyenu
(2010) affirmed that the influence of technologies has rendered manual skills
inadequate for the world of work while creating needs for new sophisticated
skills. Therefore, it is necessary to determine ICT skills needed by business
studies teachers for effective instruction in junior secondary schools in
Adamawa State.
Purpose of the
Study
The
purpose of this study is to determine the Information and Communication
Technology
skills needed by business studies teachers in junior secondary schools in
Adamawa
State.
Specifically, the study sought to determine:
1.
ICT skills needed by business studies teachers in computer
appreciation
2.
ICT skills needed by business studies teachers in word
processing,
3.
ICT skills needed by business studies teachers in the use of
Internet,
4.
ICT skills needed by business studies teachers in data
processing.
Significance of the Study
Learning new skills such as
ICT and transferring skills already learnt by the teachers is the key to
quality education in a rapidly changing technological environment. The findings
of this study will be beneficial to business studies teachers, junior secondary
school students, school administrators, government, and curriculum planners at
teachers’ preparation stage and fellow researchers with keen interest in ICT
skills needed by business studies teachers for effective and quality
instructional delivery.
Business studies teachers
will find the study useful. The findings of the study will enable the teachers
understand ICT skills they needed and their importance. They will have first
hand information on ICT skills they are required to acquire in order to face
the challenges of knowledge update through seminars, workshops and conferences.
Business studies teachers will know the vacuums of ICT skills they need to fill
up in their academic lives and timely too, to remain relevant in their
profession. Also, this will help to
further equip them for better service delivery in teaching and coordinating the
conduct of the students during teaching and learning process.
Junior secondary school
students will also benefit from the result of this study. The study will help
them to be better informed on the relevant ICT skills they need to acquire.
They will also know the level of skills they currently posses and seek to fill
any gap/vacuum created.
The result of the findings
will be of immense benefit to school administrators and the state government.
It will provide information that will help them to see the need for adequate
provision of ICT facilities and materials, organizing workshops, and in-service
training of teachers at the junior secondary school levels in the state. The
state government will have better understanding of their participatory
responsibilities in curriculum effectiveness.
The findings that will
emanate from the study will provide wealth of information needed by curriculum
planners for curriculum review and update at teachers’ preparation stage. It
will help curriculum planners to be more comprehensive in scope, also, to give
participatory opportunities for more learners’ achievement.
Finally, fellow researchers
with keen interest in the identification of ICT skills needed by business
studies teachers in computer appreciation, word processing, the use of internet
and data processing will be helped to be more focused by the information that
will be provided by the study. It will serve as a good starting point for any
further meaningful research in this area of study.
Research Questions
Based on the specific purposes of the study, the
following research questions will be answered by the study.
1. What are the ICT skills
needed by business studies teachers in computer appreciation?
2. What are the ICT skills
needed by business studies teachers in word processing?
3. What are the ICT skills
needed by business studies teachers in the use of internet
4. What are the ICT skills
needed by business studies teachers in data processing?
Hypotheses
The following three null
hypotheses were tested at P<0.05
level of significance
Ho1: There is no
significant difference in the mean responses of male and female business
studies teachers on ICT skills needed by business studies teachers in junior
secondary schools in Adamawa State.
Ho2: There is no
significant difference in the mean responses of the business studies teachers
according to their education zones, on the ICT skills needed by business
studies teachers in junior secondary schools in Adamawa State.
Ho3: There is no
significant difference in the mean responses of the business studies teachers
according to their educational qualifications, on ICT skills needed by business
studies teachers in junior secondary schools in Adamawa State.
Delimitations:
This study is intended to
focus on ICT skills needed by business studies teachers. It is delimited in
scope to cover computer appreciation skills, word processing skills, the use of
internet skills, and data processing skills where business studies teachers
need improvement. In terms of geographical area, this work will cover all the
junior secondary schools that offer business studies in Adamawa State. The
instrument for data collection will be restricted to questionnaire while the
respondents will be restricted to business studies teachers in Adamawa State.
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