CURRICULUM CONTENT OF BUSINESS STUDIES IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL

ABSTRACT

This paper examined the curriculum content of Business Studies in junior secondary school. It sees business studies training as a major opportunity for imparting skill and competency to students which later increase the rate of economic growth, creation of Job opportunities there by redacting the rate of poverty among Nigeria students. Recommendation, business studies curriculum should be designed and handle or taught by teachers who are experts in the field. Adequate machinery should be provided to secondary school for practical.

INTRODUCTION

BUSINESS STUDIES

Business activity affects the daily lives of all Nigeria as they work, spend, save, inv and travel. It influences Jobs. Incomes and opportunities for personal enterprise. Business studies has a significant effect on the stranded of living and quality of Nigeria and on the environment in which they live and which future generations will inherit.

Eventually, all students will encounter the world of business. Whether they work in urban or rural areas they must be prepared to engage in business activity with confidence and competence. Young people need to understand how business functions the role it plays in our society, the opportunities it generates, the skills it requires and the impact it can have on their own lives and on society, today and in the future. The business studies program will build a strong foundation for those who wish to move on to further study and training in specialized areas such as management, international business, marketing, accounting information and communication technology or entrepreneurship. It will also provide practical skills for those wish to move directly into the workplace.

Engaging in the world of business involves studying individuals, communities, and organizations, assessing their needs and problems, and generating solutions, Business studies draws upon facts, concepts, and processes from many other fields of study. For example, close links exist between marketing and communications, accounting and mathematics, entrepreneurial studies and technology.

THE CONCEPT OF BUSINESS STUDIES CURRICULUM CONTENT

Junior secondary school business studies is an integrated approach to the study of business administration. This series has been broken into various components: office practice, commerce book-keeping, type writing, shorthand and computer studies. Each of these components form complete subject units on their own as each subject will be studied separately at the senior secondary and higher education levels.

1. That the student may, after completing the junior secondary school option goes for a job in a business organization or an apprenticeship in industry.
2. That the student may go through senior secondary school, technical college and on to polytechnic or university. Such an individual needs more than just an awareness of the subject but a basic foundation upon which further learning will be based. The new education curriculum emphasizes quality of instruction and learning. I feel, I have provided an adequate background for the understanding of the modern Nigerian business environment. As this series is aimed at increasing Nigerian children’s knowledge of their commercial environment, emphasis is placed on business activities in Nigeria.

Business studies has been defined by various persons according to what they believe education in business should set out to achieve.

Shield (1930) defines business education as economic education not of the academic sort, long in theory and short on fact, but that which gives the student knowledge of basic realities of business life and relationship.

According to Dane and Brinkman (1961) Business Education consists of that group of related, occupationally focused and general education subjects, systematically arranged, which are prescribed for possible certification in a field.

Osuala (1981) define business education as a programme of instruction which consists of two parts- office education, a vocational education programme for office careers and general business education, a programme which provides students with information and competencies nee by all managing personal business affairs, and using the services of the business world.

However, business studies prepares students, youths for vocations and also furnishes them with relevant information concerning their lives both as citizens and as individuals. In the first instance, it develops in them certain skills, attitudes and abilities that are relevant to securing jobs in the business world.

Secondly, it gives them insight into general business and acquaints them with general business information that will make them efficient and rational purchasers and consumers of business products (goods and services).

Principle of Business Studies

Business education is a related and an integral part of a total programme of education. This total programme of education in turn is a related and an integral part of personal, occupational and social living in an increasingly complex and changing world.

Business studies have two major objectives. One of them is to prepare students for and in business employment. Business education in this respect is one of them divisions of vocational education.

The second major objective is to prepare students for and in that business experience in which all citizens should be proficient both in knowledge and performance.

Business studies training for both distributive and clerical work should be regarded as part of a properly unified programme of business education. Hence these two types of training should be so administered as to avoid competition between them and or needless duplication in dealing with their common elements.

Supervised occupational experience through supervised industrial work experience scheme or co-operative work experience programme is described as part of the preparation of effective occupational life.

Curricular materials must be constantly revised and reorganized in the light of findings of occupational surveys, activity analysis, follow-up studies, changed social and economic conditions. The surveys should data as furnished by studies of learner mobility.

IMPORTANCE OALS BUSINESS STUDIES CURRICULUM CONTENT”

The study of current events should inform the business studies curriculum, enhancing both the relevance and the immediacy of the program. Discussion and incorporation of current events into daily lessons not stimulates student interest and curiosity but also helps students connect what they are learning in class with real-world events or situations.

Business studies is important because it teaches how the office functions, how to keep accounts and enter transactions into different books, it teaches how keep documents, how to own and run small business enterprise, and to manipulate the keyboard of a typewriter and the computer for the enhancement of business.

Business studies intended to make the student technologically literate and to acquire skills that exposes him/her to the world of work.

Components of business studies

1. Office practice
2. Book-keeping
3. Commerce
4. Keyboarding
5. Computer studies.

Curriculum

Curriculum is the guided learning experiences that a learn is expected to acquire between a period of time.

Tanatama: Is the guided experience and intending learning outcome formulated ihrough the systematic experience under the auspice of the school for the learners continue and willful growth in personal and social competence.

Onwuka: Defined it as a total experience within which the school deals in educating young people. It is the deliberate systematic and planned attempt made by the school to change the behaviour of member of the society in which its situated. The curriculum are

J.SS 11^st   term

1. Meaning and branches of business studies
2. Office:
3. Small office
4. Different between large and small office
5. Function of an office
6. Different department and their functions
7. Clerical officer
8. Production
9. Industry, commerce and direct service

2^nd Term JSS 1

1. Relationship between producer and consumers
2. Commerce
3. Trade
4. Forms of business organization

3^rd term

1. Book-keeping
2. Double entry system
3. Books of account
4. Ledger accounts
5. Cash book
6. Typing
7. The receptionist

JSS 23^rd Term

1. Determining the typing space
2. Operating of the shift key
3. Shorthand
4. Consonant
5. Vowels
6. Commercial banks
7. Cheque system
8. Insurance

1^st term

1. Procedure for the receipt of mail in an organization
2. Sales and purchase documents
3. Forms of trade
4. Forms of trade
5. Procedure for buying and selling
6. Channels and chains of distribution
7. Types of visitors to an organization
8. The retailer

2^nd term

1. Relationship between the cost of production and selling price
2. Types of bank account
3. Bank statement
4. Cash book
5. Keyboard, Home key
6. Type of typewriter
7. Quick in certain and removal

JSS III

1^st term

1. Types of insurance
2. Trade
3. Transportation
4. Communication
5. Advertising
6. Central bank of Nigeria (CBN)
7. Organizational chart
8. Method of payment
9. Store records and requisition form
10. Office machine

2^nd term

1. Patty cash book
2. Trial balance
3. Trading account
4. Profit and loss account
5. Balance sheet of a sole trader
6. Setting of line spacing
7. Technique development and main method of paragraphing
8. Types of paper used in typing
9. Centralization
10. Erasing techniques

3^rd term

1. Short forms
2. Phrases
3. Past tense
4. Upward and downward ‘R”
5. Ch, J, SH, strokes
6. Disphthougs 1 and 01, St and Ster loops

The above listed are the curriculum of business studies in Jounior secondary school.

Problem Facing Business Studies Curriculum in Nigeria

Failure of the Nigerian school system to train student for business.

Failure of Nigerian polytechnics to train enough intermediate manpower for the nation. They are now becoming university preparatory courses,

The poor image of business education in the Nigerian higher educational system.

Poor assessment of the importance of business education in the economic growth and technological take off of a developing nation like Nigeria.

The training learning environment: The training learning environment should be a replica of the proposed or expected working environment. The effectiveness and relevance of business studies dependent on the relationship between the training environment and the working environment. Office-like environment should therefore be provided for effective teaching and learning of business education.

2. Machinery equipment and facilities the machinery, equipment and facilities used in the training situation should be a replica of the ones used in the work place adequate equipment and proper maintenance of such equipment are in evitable for a quality business education. Skill in operating such machines as typewriter, computers, photocopies etc. which can never be gained by merely studying about them from textbooks. Teaching typewriting for example, without a typewriter is like learning to derive without a motor car.
3. The business Teacher

The business teacher should be a master of the business skills and knowledge he/she teaches. Since most business studies course are skill- oriented the teachers of such courses studies must be experts in the filed they tech for example, he/she should the able to write demonstrate it before the student. Therefore, learning can be effective in proposition to which the teachers have had successful experience in the practical application of the relevant skills and knowledge to the operations and process they undertake to teach.

4. ICT should be introduce, or chance to the curriculum of business studies to enable student to be conversant with it ICT start from junior secondary schools.

1-    Here means information, information it is whatever that is capable of causing a human mind to change its opinion about that current state of real world

1. Communication came from a Latin word called communist meaning understanding. Communication is the transferring of information, idea, behaahf or instructions from one person to another.

T-    Technology: Is application of scientific knowledge to envent tools to assist human being to overcome environmental challenges.

Gupta define technology: as the use of scientific knowledge to invent tools that assist human being in their effort to overcome environmental hazard and impediment to comport.

ICT: Therefore is the sum up of all that technology for communication information

5. Student: Students have many responsibilities with regard to their learning students who make the effort required to succeed in school and who are able to apply themselves will soon discover that there is a direct relationship between this effort and their achievement and will therefore be more motivated to work. There will be some students; however who will find it more difficult to take responsibility for their learning because of special challenges they face, for these students, the attention, patience and encouragement of teachers can be extremely important factors for success.

However, taking responsibility for their own progress and learning an important part of education for all students, regardless of their circumstances. Mastery of concepts and skill in business studies requires a sincere commitment to work.

CONCLUSION

Business studies curriculum should be restructure to suit the currents need of the society. Student learn best when they are engaged in a variety of ways of learning business studies lend themselves to a wide range of approaches in that they require students to discuss issues, solve problems software, curriculum designers should ensure that adequate machinery is provided to school to enable them practicallsed what they teach.

RECOMMENDATION

For business studier’s curriculum to achieved its goals.

1. Business studies should be taught by teachers that are expert in business education felled
2. Adequate machinery should be given to schools that offer business studies to enable the student learn easily
3. Business studies for junior secondary schools curriculum is Large for one particular to teacher to cover every term; therefore I recommend that more time should be given to teacher especial business study teachers.
4. ICT should be included in business studies curriculum while shorthand and typewriting should be removing.

REFERENCES

Shield (1930) Business studies Dane and B (1961)

E.B. Azuka (2006) foundations of Business Education in Nigeria

Egbe T. Ehiametal or (2008) Business studies

Enol Inanga and Ebun C. Ojo (2000) Spectrum Business