THE EFFECT OF ACCOUNTING AS A VOCATIONAL SUBJECT ON
STUDENTS SKILL ACQUISITION
BY
ALIU
ADEDAYO MUFTAUDEEN
MATRIC NO: EKSU/EPE/12/0035
A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
ACCOUNTING, FACULTY OF EDUCATION, EKITI STATE UNIVERSITY, ADO-EKITI IN PARTIAL
FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF
SCIENCE (ED) IN ACCOUNTING
DECEMBER 2017
CERTIFICATION
This
is to certify that this research work was carried out under my supervision by ALIU ADEDAYO MUFTAUDEEN with Matriculation number EKSU/EPE/12/0023
and has been approved as meeting the requirement of the faculty of education,
Department of Accounting Education, Ekiti state university, Ado Ekiti Nigeria.
………………………. …………………..
Mr. Adeyemi A.P Date
Supervisor
……………………… ……………………
Mr. Adebosin W.G Date
Head of department
……………………… ……………………
Dr. O.A. Viatonu Date
Directorate of Degree
Programme
……………………….. …………………….
External Examiner Date
ii
DEDICATION
This
research work is dedicated to Almighty Allah in his infinite mercy for his
inspiration and spiritual support for me from genesis of this project till the
end and also to my parents Mr. and Mrs. Aliu and to Mr and Mrs. Ojo and to my
siblings.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I
will be forever grateful and thankful to Almighty Allah and Prophet Muhammed
(S.A.W). it has been a long journey for me, what I thought was impossible for
me but Almighty Allah made it possible for me and I am very grateful and
thankful.
I
cannot go without thanking my wonderful and amazing supervisor Mr. Adeyemi A.P,
thank you very much for your helpful suggestion and contribution and may
Almighty God bless you abundantly even beyond your expectations. My gratitude
also goes to my parents Mr. and Mrs.Aliu for their support both morally and
financially in ensuring that I am successful in life. I cannot thank them
enough for their love and care. I pray that Almighty God continue to bless them
abundantly and ensure they reap the fruit of their labour.
My
gratitude also goes to my siblings in the person of Busola, Sesan, Adeola,
Abiodun, Adesewa, Titilayo, Menterey, you are all wonderful for your support
and am very grateful, I pray that Almighty Allah will not allow the bond of
love of
iv
which
we are binded to be broken. My candid gratitude goes to Mr. Ojo Oluwagbenga and
to Mr. Anuoluwapo Onamade, Okunola Tomide, Ololade Victoria for their support
during the period in the campus and may Almighty Allah bless you all
abundantly.
Lastly
my gratitude goes to late Mr. S. Onamade for his support, may his soul rest in
perfect peace. I love you all. Thank you so much!
v
ABSTRACT
This
study provides insight into the effect of Accounting as a vocational subject on
students’ skill acquisition level. A test re-test was used to get a reliability
coefficient of 0.675 using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. Mean
and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while a
t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 significant level .The research
design used for this study was descriptive and survey research design. The
sample for the study were 112 students in junior secondary school in the area
of Epe LGA while the sampling technique used for the study was random sampling
technique . The analytical tool used for the study was descriptive statistics
and computation of scores for the scales. A self design questionnaire on the
effect of accounting as a vocational subject on students’ skills acquisition
level was administered to the students. The findings of the study show that the student’s
level of participation in Accounting as a vocational subject is very poor and
there was no significant difference in both males and females participation in
these subjects in both public and private schools. The study concluded that the
participation of the students in vocational subjects is generally low because
they have not been given full attention by the school, government and other
stake holders in education. The students themselves are not equally making
efforts on their own to learn. It
was therefore recommended among others that the schools should be well equipped
to provide incentives to encourage the study of the subject. This will help to
stimulate and maintain the student’s interests in pre-vocational subjects.
vi
TABLE OF CONTENT
TITLE
PAGE i
CERTIFICATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
ABSTRACT v
TABLE
OF CONTENT vi
CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Of The Study 1
1.2 Statement
Of Problem 5
1.3 Research
Question 6
1.4 Research
Hypothesis 6
1.5 Significance
Of The Study 7
vii
1.6 Scope
and Limitation Of The Study 7
1.7 Definition
of Terms 8
CHAPTER TWO : LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1
Conceptual Framework 9
2.2
Theoretical Framework 26
2.3 Empirical Framework 29
2.4
Summary of Literature Reviewed 35
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
3.1
Research Design 36
3.2
Population 36
3.3
Sampling and Sampling Techniques 36
3.3
Research Instrument 37
viii
3.5
Validity and Reliability of Instrument 37
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS
AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Data
Presentation Analysis 40
4.2 Discussion of Findings 51
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY,
CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1
Summary 53
5.2
Conclusions 53
5.3
Recommendations 54
REFERENCE 55
APPENDIX I 60
APPENDIX II 61
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Practical
skills acquisition is an important aspect of Vocational Education (VBE)
programme at the various levels of the Nigerian education. In support of this,
one of the National Educational Objectives states that the acquisition of
appropriate skills, abilities and competencies both mental and physical are
important for all Nigerians to live and contribute to the development of their
society (Federal Government of Nigeria - FGN 2004). Consequently, the National
Educational Policy document (2004) states that the Nation’s educational
activity should be centered on the students in order for them to acquire
maximum skills acquisition for self-development and fulfillment in the labour market.
Unfortunately, due to certain impediments, the level of practical skills
acquired by these students, compared with the demands of the labour market and
technological advancement, is nothing to boast about. This explains why most
employers of labour in this nation and abroad consider the products of Vocational
Education as half-baked and unusable without further training (Ekpenyong,
1988). As a result of this, many graduates of Vocational Education are found
all over the nation without gainful public employment. These graduates too
cannot be self-employed because they are not able to put to practice what they
studied in their tertiary institutions. It is against this backdrop that this
paper is written to determine the effect of accounting as a Vocational Subject
on students knowledge and skills acquisition could help to boost sustainable
According Udo (2008) Vocational Education is a comprehensive activity-based
educational programme that is concerned with the acquisition of practical
skills, understandings, attitudes, work habits and competencies that are
requisite to success in a chosen business occupation while skill is defined by
Ekpenyong (1988) as the ability to use one’s knowledge effectively and readily
in execution of performance; technical expertness, a power or habit of doing
any particular thing competently. He opined that this definition is stressing
that a skill is based on using knowledge expertly; the objective of which is to
bring that knowledge to maximum level of competency. Hence maximum skills
acquisition involves that ability to perform any given tasks with ease,
competently and expertly without much stress and sweat. According to Okorie and
Ezeji (1988) the acquisition of the requisite skills is a means of increasing
the productive power of any nations. Consequently, they added that the Nigerian
society should recognize the fact that every citizen should be equipped to
contribute effectively to the welfare of the country. The acquisition of such
practical skills is important because when efficient and skilful hands are
employed in any fields of human endeavors, high productivity is usually
achieved. Economically, maximum skills acquisition by Vocational Education
students and others will help to enrich the Nigerian society and in this way,
tend to make possible sustainable development. Okorie and Ezeji (1988) opined
that a rich nation is one that is capable of meeting the economic, social,
moral and political needs of the citizenry. To the Vocational students, maximum
skills acquisition helps them to be engaged in productive work either for
themselves or for employers of labour. This enables Vocational Education students
to qualify for and hold productive employment as well as increases their
productivity and earns more remuneration. Other importance of acquiring maximum
skills and competencies includes: it reduces the drop-out rates among the
Nigerian youths, it helps to make the youths intelligent users of the products
of technology as well as the most reliable vehicle for economic prosperity and
diplomatic supremacy of the Nigerian nation. These benefits of maximum skills
acquisition are still there for us if Vocational Education students will think
twice and change their negative attitudes towards them and turn to develop
themselves sufficiently in the skills and competencies inherent in Vocational Education
programmes of their schools.
Accounting
is one of the major occupational areas of vocational business education (VBE)
that can prepare the Nigerian students for a job or employment within a wide
range of business career such as pay-roll clerks, purchasing clerks, audit
clerks, book-keepers, cashiers and business teachers who undertake the teaching
of accounting to other learners. According to Osuala (1998), accounting is the
process by which data relating to the economics activities of an organisation
are measured, recorded and communicated to interested parties for analysis and
interpretation. He pointed out that accounting had its root on the need to keep
the records of business transactions and that the chief reasons for keeping
accounts are the need of the trader to know how much he owes, how much he owns,
how much profit has been made and what his financial position is at a given
time. Udo (1996) defines accounting as the process of identifying, measuring,
sorting and communicating financial information to permit informed judgements
and decisions by users of the information. He added that the role of accounting
activities in the operation of business enterprises entails recording,
classifying and summarizing the enterprise monetary transactions and
interpreting the results for both the internal and external end users of such
information. On the personal uses of accounting to VBE students, Udo (1996)
opined that it helps to develop in the VBE students the ability and desire to
keep records for personal use., to develop in the VBE students the ability to
interpret and analyse business papers and records in the capacity of a final
consumer, to give the VBE students preliminary training for the advanced study
of accounting, to develop in the VBE students an understanding of some of the
problems and characteristics of a business enterprise, to train the VBE
students with knowledge of records keeping necessary to carry out a small
business, to train the VBE students to become book-keepers, cahiers or
accountants in the business enterprises or in their self-established business
ventures. The skills and competencies assist the VBE students to live and
contribute meaningfully to sustainable development in Nigeria.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Since the
introduction of vocational subjects in schools, efforts have been made by the
schools and government to equip the schools with important laboratory and
workshop equipment as well as the providing them with more qualified and
motivated teachers. However comments made by many interest groups in education
on the performances of most of the students in these vocational subjects in
many schools are not only disheartening but clearly indicate that all is not
well. The researcher is therefore bothered to find out whether this is general
with all the schools or is it particular to some schools. These vocational
skills as most of them are sex stereotyped. These issues bothering the
researchers therefore constitute the problem elements.
1.3 Research Question
The following
research questions will be raised to guide the study:
1.
What
is the level of participation of male and female students in vocational
subjects?
2.
What
is the performance of the students in vocational Subjects?
3.
What
is the relevance of financial accounting to students in Secondary Schools?
4.
What
is the level of skills acquisition of vocational students of Financial accounting
in Secondary Schools?
5.
What
are the challenges faced the learning of Financial Accounting in Secondary
schools?
1.4 Research Hypothesis
Ho1: There is no
significant relationship between Financial accounting as a vocational subject
and students’ skills acquisition.
Ho2: There is no significant relationship between
the level of participation of male and
female students in vocational subjects and students skill acquisition
1.5 Significance of the Study
The study examined
the effect of Financial Accounting as a vocational subject on skills
acquisition level of students. The findings of the study would be useful to;
·
Teachers
as they work towards providing learning experiences that are motivating to
students.
·
It
would also be of help to Financial Accounting students in assisting them to
acquire maximum and sufficient skills and competencies that will help them to
live and contribute to sustainable development in Nigeria.
·
It
would also help education administrators in bringing to the fore the need to
re-assess Financial accounting as a vocational subject in the senior secondary
schools.
1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study
The essence of
this research work is to primarily study the effect of accounting as a
vocational subject on students knowledge and skills acquisition. The research
intends to focus on selected Senior Secondary Schools (S.S.S) in Epe local
government Area (LGA) of Lagos State for ease of collection and analysis of
data. This study is limited to selected secondary schools in Epe Local
Government area of Lagos State due to financial constraint and time factor.
1.7 Definition of Terms
Vocational: means the introducing subject that prepares students to have
skills and vocational training that will
lead to specialization in future.
Skills
acquisition: is the science
that underpins movement learning and execution and is more
commonly termed motor learning and control (Williams & Ford, 2009)
Secondary School Education: according to the National Policy on Education
(2004), Secondary education
is the education received after the primary
school education and before the tertiary education
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