SCHOOL-INDUSTRY COLLABORATION AND ACADEMIC RESEARCH AS CURRICULUM CHALLENGES IN PREPARING BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS FOR THE CHANGING BUSINESS WORLD

Abstract

The study investigated school-industry collaboration and academic research as curriculum challenges of preparing business education students for the changing business world. Two research questions guided the study. The descriptive survey research design was used in the study. The population of the study comprised 109 business educators in tertiary institutions in Anambra State. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire which was validated by three experts in the faculty of education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The test of reliability on the instrument yielded coefficient values of 0.82 and 0.84 for Sections A and B respectively with an average reliability coefficient of 0.83. The mean value was used to answer the research questions while the standard deviation was used to ascertain the homogeneity or otherwise of the respondents’ ratings. Findings of the study revealed that school-industry collaboration is a curriculum challenge of preparing business education students for the changing business world to a high extent. Furthermore, findings of the study revealed that academic research is a curriculum challenge of preparing business education students for the changing business world to a high extent. Based on these findings, the researcher recommended that administrators of the business education programme should regularly interface and collaborate with local, national and international business and corporate leaders in terms of curriculum reviews, funding, training, and professional support. It was also recommended that administrators of business education programmes should institute a research management teams that will assess the quality and relevance of research in the business education programme

Keywords: School-Industry Collaboration, Academic Research, Curriculum, Challenges, Business World