ACCOUNTING EDUCATION TOPIC: EVALUATION OF THE CAUSES OF MASS FAILURE IN FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING AT THE SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION IN EPE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF LAGOS STATE.

EVALUATION OF THE CAUSES OF MASS FAILURE IN FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING AT THE SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION IN EPE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF LAGOS STATE.

BY

ORISAHEYI ODUNAYO MOGBALADE

MATRIC NO: EKSU/EPE/12/0104

A RESEACH PROJEGT SUBNITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING EDUCATION,

EKITI STATE UNIVERSITY, ADO-EKITI, NIGERIA (IN AFFILIATION WITH) MICHEAL OTEDOLA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION NOFORIJA, EPE, LAGOS STATE.

                                                DECEMBER 2017

                                      CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that this study was carried out under my supervisor by Orisaheyi Odunayo Mogbolade with Matriculation Number of EKSU/EPE/12/0104 and has been approved as meeting the requirements of the faculty of Vocational Education, Department of Accounting Education, Ekiti State University.

________________                                                                _______________

Mrs. Odulate L.O                                                                                      Date

SUPERVISOR

________________                                                                _______________

Mr Adebosin W.G                                                                           Date

        H.O.D

________________                                                                _______________

Dr. O.A. Viatonu                                                                                       Date

DIRECTORATE OF DEGREE PROGRAMME

                                                                  

___________________                                                          _______________

EXTERNAL SUPERVISOR                                                          Date

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DEDICATION

This research work is dedicated to my Heavenly Father (God) the maker of Heaven and earth, the author and finisher of my faith, the beginning and the end, whom by His grace started this work and ended it successfully and  for his protection throughout my academic session.

And also to my wonderful and God fearing parent Mr. & Mrs. Orisaheyi and to my siblings who had also made this a possibility.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My profound gratitude goes to the maker of Heaven and earth (God), my Heavenly Father, the God of all round possibilities, who in His mercy and grace, has made this project a success, and a possibility.

My immense gratitude also goes to my wonderful and noble Supervisor, Mrs. Odulate L.O who has been so understanding, and also committed to her work, thereby making corrections where necessary. I pray that God who rewards all good works will reward you richly and abundantly, more wisdom you need and God will grant you.

My sincere gratitude also goes to my loving, caring and God given parents, Mr. & Mrs. Orisaheyi, who by Gods grace has been part of this work and also for their support both financially and spiritually, through which their prayer had seen me through my academic sessions and also to my loving siblings, Orisahyi Ebunoluwa, Orisaheyi Iyanuoluwa, and to my late brother Orisaheyi Olawale Ifeoluwa love you bro, love you more even when in death may God grant you rest in His bosom, much appreciate you guys.

My regards also goes to my lecturers, Mr. Adebosin (HOD) Mr. Adeyemi, Mr. Oluwo, Mr. Ayanwole, Mr. Oyewole, to mention but few, for their immeasurable impart of knowledge and wisdom in my life.

To my course mate and friends, Shanusi Lawrance, Olatunji Adedeji, My school mother Taiwo, Blessing Philo, Alelamole Precious, Balogun Anuoluwapo Serah, John Blessing and to those who I didn’t mention their names, but still recognizes

My appreciation also goes to my church Rapture Expectant Apostolic Church (CAC) at Iragushi water works, Odoroga Street, Epe, and my Daddy in the Lord

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Prophet Adeniyi Adegbola, my Evangelist          Paul Adeniyi, Deaconess Ifeoluwa Dorcas and to all members of my church, thanks to you all, may God continue to bless and uphold the church Amen!

Finally, my appreciation goes to Omotoprecious Ventures for the typesetting of this research work.

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                                                ABSTRACT

Financial Accounting is a major factor to communicate the financial health and well being of a company to external users through the financial statements. In view of this, the study was conducted to find out the causes of mass failure in Financial Accounting at the Senior Secondary School Certificate Level in Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State. The research instrument employed for this study was a designed questionnaire which  contained twenty-five questions, divided into five sections A to F with each section consist of five questions relating to the variables of the study. The four points rating, Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD) was used to determine the rate of agreement or disagreement with the items to be utilized. The data collected were analyzed with the aid of percentage and chi-square. A descriptive survey research design was used for this study. This was because it afforded collection of information from the target population. The population for this study comprised students of Financial Accounting of some selected Senior Secondary Schools in Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State. The sample was drawn through the use of simple random sampling techniques. The senior secondary school in Epe Local Government were stratified into four groups, twenty-five (25) students were selected from each school to get a total number of one hundred (100) respondents that constituted the sample for this study. The use of descriptive statistics using chi-square (X² ) was adopted to test for the hypothesis formulated at 5% level of significance. The study concluded that the fundamental factor that must be taken into consideration in the choice of career by the students is their attitude towards the subject they intend to take at Senior Secondary Schools Level,  there were not enough suitable and relevant textbooks and instructional materials that could be used for the teaching of the subject and therefore recommended that Appropriate counseling service should be rendered to students by the counselors when students are about to make a choice of subjects, adequate incentive should be set up for Accounting teachers to encourage them to work hard and stay on the job, the school’s authorities should make provisions for the supply of modern textbooks and other teaching materials to make the teaching of the subject more interesting and to make learning easier.

 

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                                                TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE                                                                                             I

CERTIFICATION                                                                                                II

DEDICATION                                                                                           III

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS                                                                           IV

ABSTRACT                                                                                               VI

TABLE OF CONTENT                                                                                       VII

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background to the Study                                                                            1

1.2     Statement of the Problem                                                                            4

1.3     Purpose of the Study                                                                        4

1.4     Research Questions                                                                           5

1.5     Research Hypotheses                                                                        6

1.6     Significance of the Study                                                                            7

1.7     Limitation of the Study                                                                     7

1.8     Definition of Terms                                                                           8

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CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1     Concept of Financial Accounting                                                      10

2.2     How Attitudes Affect Performance(s) of Students                                      17

2.3     Teachers’ Attitude                                                                                      21

2.4     Effect of Constant Practising of Exercises on Performances             23

2.5     Effect of Family Background on Factors Affecting                            

Academic Achievement.                                                                              24

2.6     Effects of Instructional Materials on Students Achievements           32

2.7     Teachers’ Attitude on Students’ in Financial Accounting                           35

2.8     Problems Affecting Accounting Education in Nigeria                       36

2.9     Empirical Studies                                                                              38

2.10   Summary of Literature Review                                                                   39

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

 3.1    Research Design                                                                                41

3.2     Population                                                                                        41

3.3     Sample and Sampling Techniques                                                    41

3.4     Research Instrument                                                                         42

3.5     Validity of the Research Instrument                                                 42

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3.6     Procedure for Data Collection                                                           42

3.7     Data Analysis                                                                                   43

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1     analysis                                                                                             44

4.2     Discussion of Findings                                                                      48

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1     Summary                                                                                          56

5.2     Conclusion                                                                                        57

5.3     Recommendations                                                                                      58

5.4     Suggestions for Further Studies                                                                 60

REFERECES                                                                                             61

APPENDIX I                                                                                              66

APPENDIX II                                             

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                           INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background to the Study

The performance of students in senior secondary school in Nigeria has remained an issue of concern to all stake holder (Ajagun, 2000). The report by Ojerinde (1998) on the study/survey of the performance of candidates in commercial subjects in Nigeria over the years revealed a source of concern to commercial educators (Nnaka and Anaekwu, 2004). The Senior School Certificate Examination referred to in the study is the Financial Accounting conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the one conducted by the National Examination Council (NECO). The trend of student’s achievement in Senior School Certificate Account Examination conducted by the West African Examination (NECO). The trend of students achievement in Senior School Certificate in Financial Accounting conducted by WAEC for a period of five consecutive years (2006-2010). Students’ achievement in four years (2006,2007,2009 and 2010) were below 50%. It was only in 2008 that students’ achievement was slightly above average. This has strong implication for the study of commercial subjects at institutions of higher learning. The nation was recently shocked when it was informed that only 20.04 percent of 310,007 candidates who sat for the November/December 2010 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) obtained two credits in commercial subjects and three credits in other subjects, therefore  qualifying to apply for admission into Nigerian University and Polytechnics. By these results the implication was that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) recorded yet another mass failure just like it has done for the past years.

Financial Accounting is an essential requirement by every field of intellectual endeavor and human development to cope with the challenges of life. Financial accounting as a school subject affects all aspects of human life at different degrees. For instance, financial accounting is relevant in Mathematics and other aspects of man. In spite of its importance, the student performance in the subjects has been a great concern to the society. Financial accounting is the language of business. It is the process of recording, analyzing, classifying, summarizing, communicating and interpreting financial information about an entity or organization in details, reflecting all transactions involving the receipts, transfer and disposition of the organization’s funds and property (Omojola A.J. 1999).

Ajayi (2006) refers to Financial Accounting as an information system. More precisely, it is the measurement, methodology and communication system designed to produce selected quantitative data (usually in monetary terms about an entity engaged in economic activity).

Alternatively, Financial Accounting has been further described as the art of classifying, recording and reporting significant events to facilitate effective economic activity. The accounting entity may be profit seeking business enterprises, a government unit or any other organizations for which financial data will be useful in determining the proper conduct of its economic affairs. The major functions of Financial Accounting are to provide useful information necessary for the efficient, effective and economic management of financial resources, providing information necessary by management as report on the discharge of their responsibilities in relations to collection, custody and disbursement of funds entrusted into their care, to provide proofs of reasonableness of the financial transactions , provide information useful for planning and budgeting and for predicting the impact of the acquisition and allocation of resources in the achievement of operational objectives and also to provide financial information useful for monitoring performance under terms of legal contractual and judicial requirement.

1.2     Statement of the Problem

We live in a society where our priorities are misplaced. It all started with emphasis on paper qualification. We live in a society where corruption is endemic and there is the love for shortcuts in achieving our aims and objectives. It has been observed that the rate at which students of Epe Local Government failed in Financial Accounting at the Senior School Certificate Examination level is high. Therefore, this research intends to find out causes of mass failure in financial accounting and also to proffer possible solutions to the problem..

1.3     Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to find out the causes of mass failure in financial accounting at the senior Secondary School in Epe local Government of Lagos state.

1.4     Research Questions

The study will attempt to find answers to the following questions:

1.     Will the provision of qualified and dedicated teachers affect or influence the students’ performance at the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination?

2.     Will the students’ negative attitude towards the subject affect their performance at the Senior School Certificate Examination?

3.     Will the family background of the students affect their performances at the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination?

4.     Will the students’ performances be influenced by the amount of time they spend in practicing exercise before the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination?

5.     Will lack of instructional material and insufficient time allocated to the subject on time-table affect the student’s performance at the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination Certificate?

1.5     Research Hypotheses

Ho₁: There is no significant relationship between qualified and dedicated teachers       and students      academic performance at the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination.

Ho₂: There is no significant relationship between students’ negative attitude and         students’ academic performance at the Senior Secondary School Certificate   Examination.

Ho₃: There is no significant relationship between students’ family background and     their performance at Senior Secondary Certificate Examination.

Ho₄: There is no significant relationship between lack of practicing time on the part    of the students and their performance at the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination.

Ho₅: There is no significant relationship between lack of instructional materials and insufficient allocation of time to financial accounting on school time        table and performance of students at Senior School Certificate Examination.

1.6     Significance of the Study

The findings on the causes of mass failure in financial accounting at the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination using Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State as a case study will be useful to:

1.     Teachers who may wish to rededicate themselves to the teaching profession so as to achieve a better result from the students performance .

2.     Students who will have a change of attitude towards the subject (positive attitude in this case) and who will equally from the habit of doing extra-practice on their own, outside the classroom teaching.

3.     Government in the area of recruitment of qualified teachers to handle the subjects and provision of adequate instructional materials.

4.     Parents who will provide the necessary textbooks and materials for their pupils to enhance their zeal and learning ability.

1.7     Limitation of the Study

The limitations in the study include information that will be provided by the respondents to some questions in the questionnaire may not be correct. The questionnaire may not be completely filled.  This study is limited to selected secondary schools in Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State due to financial constraint and time factor.

1.8     Definition of Terms

PERFORMANCE:  The rate of success or failure of a student in academics

ACHIEVEMENT: A thing that somebody has done successfully especially using                                   their own effort and skill.

MASS FAILURE: A large number of lacks of success in doing or achieving                                            something.

TRANSACTION: A piece of business that is done between people especially an                                    act of buying and selling.

COMMERCIAL: connected with the buying and selling of goods and services

                 

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ACCOUNTING TOPICS: problems of teaching accounting students and the effective teaching of accounting in tertiary institutions.

CHAPTER ONE

                                                  INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background to the Study

    Accounting is the systematic compilation of financial information for use in making economic decision. It is the mechanism and body of of principles through which Accounting activities that are capable of being expressed in terms of money are recorded, classified and periodically summarized and interpreted. Lexicon Universal encyclopedia (1980 edition).

    Accountants interprets financial information by explaining it’s meaning, uses and limitations. According to the Lexicon universal encyclopedia the system of record keeping existed as early as 3600BC. Priest in ancient Babylonian kept accounts of their temple receipt on clay tables. Modern accounting method stated from 14^th century in Italy, when merchants in trade centers such as gevoe used a double entry book keeping system to account for what they owned (liabilities) the first work or accounting was written by Luca Pacidi mathematician and tutor to the children of a prince.

    His summa-dear thematic, geometric proportional (1494). Consisted of a chapter on accounting that describes double entry book keeping in the 16^th and 17^th centuries the Italian method of book keeping spread to other commercial centers in Europe. it was introduced in London about 1550 but did not become well known for another country. Public accounting develops in England and Scotland. Companies regulated by parliament were required to have auditors, just as common law and commercial practice come to the united states of America from England and Scotland so did the practice of accounting the disciples of accounting includes the following fields of financial accounting, Managerial accounting, book-keeping, taxation accounting, public accounting or auditing, accounting system, non profit accounting and social accounting with the public sector in Nigeria now controlling directly and indirectly the bulk of the country’s economic resources financial management in the public sector is much more embracing then is then generally realized at an increasing price, the government has since independence sought to perform entrepreneur tasks in an attempt to assume the commanding height of the national economy. Such expansion of the public sector and the direct involvement of the government at all level of the economy, call for sound systems and method of accounting as a pre-requisition. For an effective and responsible public administration, particularly in area of economic management. The job of chartered accountants has become more sophisticated because the growth in the Nigeria economy. The modern day chartered accountant opinion on the accuracy of financial statement but also advises management of both the public and private sectors on the viability of investment project and tax matters. In many caess, the chartered accountant is called upon serve the nation as a member of a special investigation panel. In performing these function requires the assistance of trained and able accounting technicians.

1.2      Statement of The Problem

Accounting is greatly misconceived by people because they do not know the value of the course. The fact is that such people who operate the course are not conversant with the process of addition and subtraction and such students have no understanding in accounting course like public accounting. Accounting which form important part in the accountancy should be taught often, both as a core course on the area of specialization. This is because the still, which is to be gained from the course, is to be utilized in our everyday economic life commercial industrial and other Accounting activities. The curriculum of education system structured by the colonial masters in Nigeria, left skills leaving the product as qualified consumers in the classroom, while the product with the national diploma are restricted to the middle management cadre and because of these observed weaknesses the researcher was motivated to go into this study.

1.3     Purpose of the Study

It is a clear fact that accounting as a course of study in accountancy department is faced with so many problems ranging from the method of imparting it to the students. The purpose of this research is to investigate and give recommendation on how these problems should be tackled. Specifically the purpose of the study is to.

1) Identify the problems of militating against the effective teaching of accounting in tertiary institutions.

2)   Identify the best way of teaching accounting

3)   Identifythe expected prospects of a student learning accountancy as a profession.

1.4   Research Questions

The following research question guided the study?

1)   What are the problems militating against effective teaching of accounting in tertiary institutions?

2)   What are the best ways of Teaching?

3)   What are the expected prospects of a student learning accountancy as a profession?

1.5      Research Hypotheses

H0₁: There is no significant difference between the problems of teaching accounting students and the effective teaching of accounting in tertiary institutions.

Ha₁:    There is significant difference between the problems of teaching accounting students and the effective teaching of accounting in tertiary institutions.

H0₂:    There is no significant relationship between the method of teaching accounting and the effective teaching of accounting

Ha₂:    There is no significant relationship between the method of teaching accounting and the effective teaching of accounting

1.6      Significance of the Study

The research work offerred relevant information about the study of accounting to the accounting option students of higher institutions in Nigeria. The findings of the study provided vivid clue on things required for effective teaching of accounting in schools. It will serve as a motivation to the curriculum planners for effective review. The parents will be able to know the prospect of their children so as to encourage them properly and adequately. The lectures are not left out in the share of the dividends that accrue from findings of this study. This is because the lecturer who knows what is required of him shall be able to get prepared appropriately.

1.7     Scope of the Study

The scope of this study is only on the problems and prospects of accounting in tertiary institutions. It dwelt on the problems militating against the teaching accounting and the derivable outcome of the programme to students in the field.

                 

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   Account Number: 0732881883

   Account Type:SAVINGS
   Amount: ₦3,000

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