EFFECT OF COMPUTER AIDED INSTRUCTIONS IN IMPROVING TEACHING AND LEARNING BUSINESS STUDIES A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ENUGU STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Advances in information technology have transformed classroom teaching and learning by providing alternatives to traditional teaching methods such as the standard lecture format by giving teachers and students’ access to a wide range teaching and learning tools. According to Oak (2012), computer technology has had a deep impact on the education sector in that large amounts of data can be stored in them, they enable quick processing of data, can be used as teaching aids and teachers and students can use the internet to search for information. In accounting education, computers were used increasingly from the 1980s and 2014s. Information and communications technology (ICT) has long been heralded as a crucial element of both professional accountancy and accounting education (Elliot, 2011 as cited in Marriott et al., 2008) and it is a recognized part of the overall tools for supporting and enhancing teaching and learning as well as supporting and transforming pedagogy. The pedagogical benefits and the capacity of computers to assist in business education teaching were outlined by Spinelli (2010) and these include (a) emphasis on active learning, (b) enhancement of collaborative learning, (c) encouragement of greater student independence and (d) task-based teaching. In a nutshell, the ability of computers to bring realism and learner-centeredness to teaching supports contemporary constructivist views of teaching where emphasis is placed on authentic learning environments, realism and active student involvement in learning tasks. Many other potential benefits of the use of computers as an alternative mode of delivery in business education have also been reported. For instance, McInnes et al., (2013) concluded that students taught using computer-aided learning (CAL) approaches were initially more inclined to finding business studies as an interesting subject, and were more confident of their ability to work with computers than were those in the lecture-based classes. Another study carried out in by McDowall and Jackling (2006) on student perceptions of the usefulness of computer-assisted learning packages in learning accounting concepts found out that CAL programmes as part of the curriculum in business education have the potential to positively impact on academic performance, measured by academic grades in the unit of study. In a paper on the use of ICT in economics and business education, Ping (2014) argued that ICT facilitates the acquisition of important cognitive skills required for effective economic analysis andevaluation. It can thus be concluded that the potential benefits of using ICT in business subject’s classes are immense. On top of providing students with concrete experiences of business concepts and practices used in the real world context, ICT can also increase students’ self-confidence and competencies with technology. Computer technology tools that are available to business studies teachers take many forms, including computer-assisted instruction by drill and practice, multimedia simulations and electronic games and financial modelling (Boland et al., 2014). For instance the internet can be used to access book keeping simulations, games and puzzles, to carry out online research and for exploring endless resources such as business studies literature, academic journals, facts, figures, etc. Spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel can be used to analyse financial information, perform calculations and to create forecasting models. Since it is now widely accepted that the integration of modern technologies into the teaching-learning process has great potential as a tool to support learning, business studies teachers should strive to incorporate computer-aided pedagogy in their classroom practices since such technologies have the potential to improve and enhance student learning and understanding.

Premuroso et al. (2011) argue that the use of new classroom technologies may create a more interactive and dynamic teaching-learning environment compared to the traditional lecture-style classroom. Although technology has been integrated into business education practices in business for years, accounting teachers have not fully capitalized on technology in the classroom (Teeter et al., 2007). Although available business studies education literature has oered relatively little insight into the extent to which accounting teachers incorporate computer technology in their classroom practices, there are many empirical studies which have shown that established teaching methods remain in place and available technology is oen underused and poorly integrated into classroom practice. Many factors have been cited for the limited ICT adoption and integration in teaching and learning such as the unavailability and inaccessibility of ICT resources in schools teachers’ incompetence and lack of confidence in the use of ICT; teachers’ negative attitudes towards ICT and their beliefs that the use of ICT in teaching did not benefit their students’ learning (Korte and Husing, 2007). In light of this it can be inferred that much of the real potential of computer-assisted learning remains untapped because teachers may not be using the technology effectively.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Students not achieving to their highest potential is a problem in most schools in Nigeria. What can teachers do to ensure that all children they taught achieved to their fullest potential and developed into successful learners? Many schools are integrating CAI into their curriculum in order to improve all student achievement (Patterson, 2014). More research is needed to validate the spending of funds toward implementing CAI as a possible way of increasing student achievement. In the past, failure in business studies has prevented many children from furthering their education and thus made them ended up in not being skilled enough to be trained as professional. Most of the time children get frustrated when they are unable to progress in solving a problem in science subjects and developed apathy and hatred for the subject which has adverse eect on their academic progress. It has been observed that many students at JSS level have lost hopes about ever understanding or passing business studies and this is mostly responsible for the increase in social vices such as examination malpractices, cultism amongst others. The problem of teaching and learning business studies in Nigeria secondary Schools did not just surface overnight. It is a result of cumulative problems starting with our government, schools, curriculum, parents, students, teachers and society. The generality of Nigerians, even the educated ones are not computer literate owing to the fact that they are not exposed to computer education at their elementary level of their education. This has contributed to a poor state of information technology in Nigeria. With the introduction of computer-Assisted Instruction in secondary schools, a lot of improvement will be achieved to adequately prepare students and teachers to address the problems and make students develop interest in business studies.