Strategies for quality Assurance in Business Education Programme in tertiary institutions
Abstract
The study determined the Strategies for quality Assurance in Business Education Programme in tertiary institutions. Two research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested at 0/05 level of significance. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. the population consisted of 213 business educators in some selected tertiary institutions in Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts. The reliability of the instrument was ensured using pilot test technique. Data collected were analyzed using Cronbach Alpha formula which yielded reliability index of 0.81. Data related to the research questions were analyzed using mean and standard deviation while analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings arising from the study revealed that the business educators agreed that work-based learning and relational learning are strategies for effective business education in some selected tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Findings also indicated that there was no significant difference among the three groups in terms of their mean ratings on the work-based learning and relational learning strategies for effective business education/industry collaboration in some selected tertiary institutions in Nigeria based on years of teaching experience. Based on the findings, it was concluded that business education/industry collaboration is a very crucial strategy for building technological capacity and promoting economic development of our dear country Nigeria. It was recommended among others that tertiary institutions should encourage the formation of research teams to foster regeneration acts whereby, industry and academia collaborate in order to solve problems faced in industry hence creating mutual benefits.
Chapter one/Introduction
Introduction Business education which is a sub-set of the general education programme falls within the spectrum of vocational education. Jimoh-Kadiri and Bupo (2011) described business education as the transfer of pedagogical and business competencies necessary for teaching business attitudes, concepts, skills and knowledge.Business education is therefore that aspect of educational training which an individual receives with the primary motive of enabling him to acquire adequate attitudes, concepts, knowledge, understanding and skills in business activities for vocational usage in careers as an administrator, manager or teacher wherever he may find himself in the business world
According to Aliyu (2006), the objectives of business education includes to develop a mature understanding of the general nature of business, provide the needed background for teaching in business subjects, provide training in specialized phases of business activity and to lay a cultural and ethical foundation for the development of the fore-going objectives. For the objectives of business education and other inherent benefits of education to be realized, there is need therefore, to ensure quality and sustainable standards in the education system. With respect to education, quality is seen by Oladipo, Adeosun and Oni (2009) as the ability or degree to which an educational system conforms to established standard and appropriateness. Therefore, quality in education means the relevance and appropriateness of the education programme to the needs of the community for which it is provided.
On the other hand, strategy is the technique or mechanism put in place to maintain the degree of quality of excellence of a product or service. As it applies to quality assurance in education, strategy is the mechanism by which an educational system ensures that the service it delivers or intends to deliver serves the purpose for which it is intended and remains relevant and appropriate to the needs of the society. It involves series of operational techniques and activities which include all actions taken when requirements for quality are met.
Quality assurance in the educational system implies the ability of the institution to meet the expectations of the user of manpower (employers of labour) in relation to quality of skills acquired by their output (Ajayi & Akindutire, 2007). Oladipo, (2009) posited that quality of educational programme could be measured in terms of quality of input, quality of process, quality of context and quality of output. Therefore, ensuring quality in business education requires the right quantity and quality in everything that goes into the teaching/learning process or system as input and process. Until this objective is achieved, education and business education in particular may not be accorded its respect in the society. Ekumayo (2012) submitted that the non-inclusion of any of the nation’s universities in the world best 1500 universities is unsavory and worse still, Nigeria ranked number 22 after South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya in the ranking of African universities. Presently, Nigeria ranked 2633rd position in the world. Similarly, Okebukola (2006) decried the quality of graduates produced in Nigerian tertiary institutions especially in the last four years and thumbed down the quality of those that would graduate in three years time. Due to the declining quality in recent years, hence, the accolade attached to Nigerian universities seems to be fading away fast. This is informed by the flood of criticisms that beclouded the quality of graduates produced. Parents now seek alternative for their children education in South African and Ghanaian universities and even beyond. This ugly situation in Nigeria tends to negate the tenet of quality university education which is essentially an industry established to produce high quality workforce for national development
It is against this background that Ugodulunwa and Mustapha (2005) and Adegbesan (2011) identified the following strategies for quality assurance in Nigeria educational system to salvage the deplorable situation. They are: moderation of examination, in-service education of teachers, proper funding of education, supervision and inspection, mentoring and monitoring, regular evaluation of the system among others. However, this study assessed the effectiveness of some of these strategies considered to be more important in business education programme in Nigerian universities. Since business educators form part of the key players in ensuring quality business education programme, it is therefore important to assess in the opinion of business educators the strategies for quality assurance in business education programme in universities in South-South Nigeria.
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