PROBLEM
CONFRONTING TEACHING OF ACCOUNTING SUBJECT IN LAGOS STATE ( A CASE STUDY OF OJO
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
of the Study
It is true
that many students in Accounting Education today
do not
have secondary school
background in Accounting unlike
Mathematics, Economics, “English, Government and so on therefore, they tend to
have a negative attitude at the very beginning of the course at the university and assume that
accounting is a
very difficult course.
Students negative attitude toward accounting,
considering it a difficult subject.
This is usually manifested
by their poor
performance and high
rate of failure
in Principles of accounting.
Since
principle of Accounting has come to stay in Nigeria secondary school the
factors that affect students’ performance in the subject becomes a necessity.
Factor that enhances academic performance among learners according
to some findings is gender. That is to say that there are indications of gender
bias in examination performance i.e. male tend to perform higher than females
in examination due to certain extraneous factors ( Kabir 2009), In the same way
to maintain the view that past performance was found to be related to future
performance. This is also by Kalil (2008) where he maintained that students
past performance in ‘0’ level examination was found to be related to their
future performance The concept of learning environment is very broad and its
effect on learning cannot be over-emphasized. Akinboye et al (1981) maintained
that the physical environment is complex; its effects on learning are also
complex. In the physical environment there are forces such as temperature,
pressure, and humidity which affect individual and consequently his learning.
He further stressed that learning is a product of an individual’s interaction,
with his environment. This position maintained that, a conducive environment is
necessary for effective learning.
Accounting has been generically referred to as the language
of business. It is an aid to trade and one of the foundations on which the
whole structure of business rests. Accounting is a process of identifying,
recording and interpreting economic events. "It is the determination,
analysis, interpretation and communication of economic data" (American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 1940) Accounting is an indispensable
tool for entrepreneurship in any of the vocational skill. Hence, it is an
element of business education and business education itself is a component of
vocational education (V. E.) Osuala (1981) described vocational education as
including such areas as Agricultural, Business, Health Occupations,
Industrial/Technical and Home Economics.
The
problems facing accounting in Secondary Schools are twofold: the teaching on
the one hand and learning on the - other hand. The performance of students in
the subject in the SSC Examination has not been encouraging. Students are
generally deficient in numerate subjects like accounting and mathematics. Fakuade's
(1980) report, that pupils had been deficient in simple mathematics can also be
applied to accounting. The ever-increasing poor performance of students in
accounting in secondary and post secondary Schools is a
serious concern and unpalatable signal
to the development of accountancy (Oloidi 2003a). No doubt the poor performance
in accounting can be traced, in part, to the poor methods of teaching the
subject. As Agbenta (1981) has pointed out on the need for practical lessons in
the physical sciences, it can also be stated that teaching of accounting in
secondary school without the use of accounting laboratory for practical lesson,
inhibits the study of the subject. Teachers should improve on their teaching
methods and processes. While it is not the objective of this paper to be
teaching methodologies, it is of utmost necessity that accounting teachers
should note that the enduring solutions to these problems are from the
teachers.
Accounting
teacher should be 'efficient, effective and qualitative. Marving, Kinder and
Schunert (1977) argued that the effective teacher should have good
understanding of the subject he teaches. Lack of good preparation was
identified by Clark (1977) as causing poor teaching.
On the part of the students, the
findings of Ajogbeje (1998) on mathematics can logically be applied. He
stressed sex- stereotyping, transfer of poor attitude between peers and from
older students, and poor self-concept towards the subject, the influence of the
environment on the student, .as affecting learning. The government on its own
part needs to provide adequate fund, materials and human resources and
necessary motivation of student and teachers (Oloidi, 2003b).
Against the foregoing background, it
would therefore be very necessary for accounting teachers, the secondary school
administrators and the government to take a critical look at the ways of
improving the status of accounting as a subject in secondary school. This paper
shall identify the problems facing teaching and learning of accounting in
secondary schools and proffer far reaching solutions to these problems.
Statement of the Problem
Observations and
reports from examining bodies like WAEC, NECO and JAMB revealed that a high
percentage of secondary school students continue to perform poorly in principle
of accounting. Despite the laudable efforts at developing an acceptable general
accounting curriculum students’ performance in the subject appears to be
declining over the years. Yet in the
face of all these efforts put in place by various stake holder and curriculum
planner the rate and degree of students’ poor performance in senior secondary
school examination in principle of accounting must now be a problem of national
concern. The question that readily comes to mind is; what
are the problem confronting the the teaching and leanring of accounting? Are
the teachers of principle of accounting adequately qualified and properly
trained in the subject? Is the excessive workload and lack
of teacher training facilities at the root of poor teaching of accounting?
Purpose
of the study
The major objective of this study is
find out the problem confronting the teaching of accounting subject in Lagos
state, wit special refrence to Ojo Local government area
Specifically, the study
will;
1. Determine
if teachers’ and students’ attitude to teaching and learning of principle of
accounting is one the major problem confronting the teaching and learning of
accounting in Ojo LGA
2. Determine
if school environment affect the
teaching of accounting
3. Find
out if Teachers’ teaching methods affect the teaching and learning of
accounting
4. Find
out if
teachers’ use of instructional materials contribute to the problem of
teaching and learning of accounting
5. To
find out the problem facing the teaching and learning of Accounting in
Secondary schools?
Research Questions
To
achieve the objective of the study, five research questions were raised.
1. Does
teachers’ attitude to the teaching of principle of accounting constitute a
problem in the students’ performance?
2. Does
school environment influence the teaching and learning of accounting?
3. Does
teaching method constitute significant problem in students’ performance in
principle of accounting?
4. Does
the lack of instructional materials, educational facilities and inadequate
supervision constitute a significant problem in teaching and learning of accounting?
5. What
are the problem facing the teaching and learning of Accounting in Secondary
schools?
Significance of Study
It is envisaged that findings from the
study may reveal problem that influence the
teaching and learning of Accounting Examination in Lagos State. This
exposition would help Lagos state state
Directorate to adapt workable measures or strategies that are likely to improve
the teaching and learning of accounting.
The
study would provide information that is likely to be useful for the purposes of
In-Service Training for teachers and other stakeholders in education in the
State. It may also serve as a reference material for policymakers to consider
in the design of programmes to pursue at the basic level of education that
might yield encouraging WAEC results.
Finally,
this study is likely to inspire other researchers to embark on similar studies
into factors affecting academic performance of students in Accounting
Examination in other Districts and satieties, so that more general information
about factors that contribute to falling standards in education especially in
Public schools could be obtained and addressed to improve academic performance
of students.
Scope of the study
The
study covered 5 Senior Secondary Schools in the
Ojo Local government area of lagos State. The study include three
private schools and 2 public schools
