ATTITUDE OF STUDENTS TOWARD THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
TABLES
OF CONTENTS
Title
Page
Certification
Approval
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Table
of Contents
Abstract
CHAPTER
ONE - INTRODUCTION
Background
to the study
Statement
of the problem
Purpose
of the study
Significance
of the study
Scope
of the study
Research
Questions
Definition
of terms
CHAPTER
TWO - REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Students
Attitude towards the Teaching and learning of
Accounting
Teaching and Learning Strategies
Teaching
and Learning Facilities
Factor responsible for student attitude
toward the teaching and learning accounting
Gender responsible for students’
attitude towards the teaching and learning accounting
Influence of parents occupation on
student attitude to the teaching and learning accounting
Qualities of good principles of
Accounting students
Method of teaching principles of
Accounting
Problems associated with teaching of
principles of Accounting
CHAPTER
THREE - METHODOLOGY
Research
design
Area
of the study
Population
Sample
and sampling procedure
Research
instruments
Validity
of the Instrument
Reliability
of the Instrument
Method
of data collection
Method
of Data Analysis
CHAPTER
FOUR - RESULTS
Results
CHAPTER
FIVE - DISCUSSION OF RESULTS, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION AND SUMMARY
Discussion
of Results
Conclusion
Recommendations
Suggestion
for further Study
Summary
of the study
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Learning
of Accounting occupy a unique position in the present 6-3-3-4 system of
Education in Nigeria. The importance of learning of Accounting in an
organization cannot be over looked throughout the age of mankind. The
teaching and learning in accounting should be a replica of what is happening in
the present business world. Therefore, a course of this nature is one that
stimulates the curiosity and imagination of student (such as becoming an
accountant in the labour market), thereby encouraging him/her to pursue his own
ideas. The curriculum and the classroom practice therefore are expected to
provide students with the ability to explore different ideas in such a way that
young school leavers can become self-reliant and as well should be able to
engage themselves in functional trade/entrepreneurship skills needed for
poverty eradication, job creation and wealth generation. With this, the
students will be useful to themselves and the society at large. It is generally accepted that we all live in
a world of business. The survival of a nation depends so much on business and
technology. According to Dibbari and Ibeh (2012), business education should be
able to provide the students the following things:
·
To
prepare competent and qualified graduates in business subjects.
·
To
prepare students in business education with necessary competencies for the
world of work and as wise suppliers and economic consumers.
·
To
produce graduates to revolutionize vocational and technical development.
Accounting
is the process of recording business transaction in a systematic form so that
the financial position of the business can be communicated to the users of such
accounting information. Igboke (2003) sees accounting as that which equips
individual with knowledge of recording, analyzing, classifying and interpreting
financial information as well as the pedagogy required in teaching the skills.
Accounting is important to the economic and business financial world.
Similarly, Igboke (2005) noted
that business education at all levels of education enables the recipients to:
·
Develop
basic skills for personal use in future
·
Relate
the knowledge and skills acquired to national development.
·
Acquire
skills and knowledge of business.
·
Develop
basic skills for office occupation
·
Prepare
students for further training in business studies
·
Provide
orientation and basic skills with which to start a life of work for those who
may not undergo further training.
Researchers have shown that
there are a lot of factors that could influence the academic performance of
students in accounting. Such as negative attitude of the students towards
accounting, home-related and school-related factors etc. Sriffth, (1999) noted
that family background is an important determinant of accounting education
students’ performance in accounting at all levels, where school characteristics
have minimal effects.
Learning
of Accounting according to Udoh (2003) in Adetayo, (2010) as is required to attain
the goal of integrating an individual into a sound and effective citizenship
and also to achieve other stated objectives for moulding of the individual for
the society. Learning of Accounting as defined by Osuala
(1987) in Adetayo (2010) as is a specialized area of instruction that deals
directly with business skills and techniques, business knowledge and facts,
business understanding, economic understanding, business attitudes and
appreciation necessary to understand and adjust to the economic and social
institution called “Business”. Accounting is also a means of social
communication in which changes and improvements are continually being made in
order to communicate business information more efficiently.
In line
with this definition, Udoh (1999), Akwaoko (1998) and Ajayi (1999) in Adetayo
(2010) outline the objectives of principles of Accounting as:
·
Equipping
individual trainees with technical and vocational skills needed for commercial
and economic development.
·
giving an
introduction to professional studies in Accounting and other business courses
e.t.c
In spite of
these laudable objectives, it has been observed that students’ performance at
their final examination in this subject has been negatively skewed
consecutively for the past few years. It is also evident from the report of the
West African Examination Council (1996, 1997, 2000, and 2002) that students’
performance in Financial Accounting is low. The report postulated further that
the poor performance of the students is evident from their responses to the
questions that majority of the students did not prepare adequately before
entering for the examination. Literature is replete with studies that have
examined the causes of underachievement in school subject (Udoh, 2003; Adetayo,
2003, Ajayi, 1999 ;). Among the factors identified are poor negative attitude,
and study habit e.t.c
According
to Pelemo (1994) in Adetayo (2010) study habit is the degree to which a learner
identifies with learning activities such as attending to class, doing homework,
reading, taking tests or examinations, devoting time for private studies,
associating adequately with the teacher and peer groups. Study habits could be
referred to as a well planned and deliberate effort towards understanding and
acquiring knowledge (Yoloye, 1999) in Adetayo (2010). From the various
definitions of study habits, it follows that the way an individual study will
definitely affect his performance and this will invariably, affect his interest
and choice of the subject.
Attitude
can be described as a state of readiness, a tendency to act or react in a
certain way.In general, it refers to a learned disposition or tendency on the
part of individual to respond positively or negatively to a situation or
another person. Oludipe (2005) citing Comb (1991) in Adetayo (2010) stated that
attitude is a regulator of all behaviours and one’s behaviour according to
Combs, at any given time are not causes but consequences of what is going on
within the individual that is feelings and attitudes underlie external behaviours.
It follows therefore, that if an individual has a negative attitude towards a
subject, the individual will have low level of confidence to study and achieve
better in the subject. In order to study therefore, the individual needs to
have a strong will and determination that he will succeed in it because a
positive attitude towards a subject will build the required confidence for
success in the individual. In view of this, efforts would be
made in this project to investigate the attitude of students towards learning
of Accounting in secondary schools in Ise-Orun Local Government Council of
Ekiti-State.
Statement of the
Problem
The attitudes of students toward every
given subject such as learning of Accounting may differ from one person to
another. However such attitude may be influenced by several factors such as
teachers, parents, school, government and environment. In this study the
problem addressed relates to what constitute the attitude of senior secondary
students in Ise-Orun Local Government Secondary Schools toward learning of
Accounting. Many students lack interest in offering accounting courses. In this
regard, they often complained that the subject is too difficult. Even to
balance the cash book, trial balance etc is a very big problem. Though, many
students prefer to offer commercial subjects without accounting. Hence,
accounting requires further professional examinations for one to be designated
as an accountant.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to find
out the attitude of students towards the learning of accounting in secondary
schools in Ise/Orun LGA of Ekiti State.
In specific term, the study sought the find
out:
1. The attitudes of students towards the
leaning of allowing in secondary schools.
2. The underlying factors responsible for the
present attitude of students toward the learning of accounting
3. If the sex of students affect their
attitude toward the teaching of accounting.
4. If parents occupation influence the
attitude of the students.
Significance of the Study
The focus of this study is centered on
attitude of senior secondary school students in Ise-orun local government
toward the learning of Accounting. The main objective is to determine attitude
of students as it may be coloured by various factors. The study is important as
it will;
1. Reveal student’s attitude towards learning
of Accounting in Ise/Orun Local Government Area in Ekiti State Secondary
Schools.
2. Reveal
the various factors influencing students negatively or positively.
3. It
will go a long way to assist the teaching of Accounting and consequently result
in the improvement of students’ performance in the subject.
4. Enable
the students to have a change of attitude towards learning and be more
dedicated to their studies.
5. Provides
useful information to the parents in respect of their responsibilities in the
procurement of recommended textbook and material needed to enhance and improve
student’s learning.
6. Severs
as a point to the Government both Federal and State on the need for the
recruitment of qualified competent teachers to handled learning of Accounting
as well as provides necessary instructional materials.
7. Lastly,
it will serves as a base for further research work in Accounting Education and
as well as teaching and learning of learning of Accounting in Senior Secondary
School in particular.
Scope of the Study
The scope of the study is centered on
the attitude of students toward the learning of Accounting in Senior Secondary
school using Ise/Orun Local Government as a case study. In the process of
carrying out the study, the following areas shall be considered.
1. The influence of sex (Male or Female)
in the formations of attitude.
2. Factors
responsible for the information of attitude.
3. The
influence of parents in the formation of attitude.
4. Attitude
relative to difficulty of a subject
5. Attitude
relative to relevance’s of a subject as regards its application.
Research Questions
The following research questions were
raise to guide the study:
1.
What are the attitudes of students
towards the learning of accounting?
2.
What are the underlying factors
responsible for the present attitude of students towards the learning of
accounting?
3. Does
sex of students affect their attitude towards learning of Accounting in Ise-orun
Local Government?
4. Does
parents’ occupation influence the attitude of students in Ise-Orun Ekiti Local
Government Secondary Schools towards learning of Accounting?
Definition
of Terms
Learning: Learning is defined as “a
consistent pattern of behavior and performance by which an individual
approaches educational experiences, it also a ways of perceiving,
conceptualizing, and problem-solving. It is a preferred
way of interacting with and responding to the environment.
Accounting: Accounting
is the process of creating financial statements based on the company’s
financial information. Also, financial Accounting is used by internal or
external business stakeholders for making business or investment decisions.
Attitude: According
to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, attitude is defined as the way one
thinks and feels about something or somebody. It also as an organized
predisposition to think, feel, perceive and behave toward a referent or
cognitive object
ABSTRACT
This
research is carried out to find out the attitude of students in Ise-Orun Local
Government secondary schools towards the Learning of Accounting. A well
structured questionnaire was used to gather information from the respondents
and the questionnaire is subjected to four point Henry Linkert scale. The mean
of any factor of 2.5 and above is said to be agreed upon as factor affecting
performance of students in Learning of Accounting and therefore acceptable
while the mean below 2.5 is unacceptable as factors. The outcome of the study
showed that students perceived Learning of Accounting to be difficult, relevant
to life situation and that sex of student’s does not affect their attitude
toward Learning of Accounting. It was recommended that counselors should be
employed to counsel students in order to have positive attitude toward their
subject and that secondary schools’ authorities should make provision for the
supply of recent textbooks and materials needed for teaching/learning of the
subject, it was also recommended that teachers should employ an appropriate and
suitable method of teaching to enable students to develop positive attitude
towards the learning of the subject and it finally, recommended that Government
should provide conducive environment for the teaching and learning of the
subject.
