CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN BUSINESS EDUCATION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Abstract

This paper is on the curriculum development in Business Education: Challenges and Opportunities in Nigeria Institutions. It is imperative to know that the development of effective curriculum in business education is crucial for preparing students to succeed in an ever-changing business landscape. However, the existing business education curricula do not appears to meet the needs of students and stakeholders. Thus there is need to balance theoretical foundations, with practical skills/vocational training and technologies/digital literacy with a view to addressing the needs of students and industry stakeholders. Against this background this paper reviews the existing business education curricula with a view to pointing out areas that require update, such as content validation in terms of accuracy, relevance of topics and instructional materials and currency through industry expert input, accreditation standard, faculty development and literature review.   it also presents opportunities for inter-professionalism, research, innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration. This means that development of curriculum is a dynamic cyclical process requiring reassessment and adaptation overtime.  As educational landscape continues to change at a rapid pace, educators can be prepared to teach in-person or online classes by keeping up with current trends in curriculum and instruction. This paper argues that business education curriculum development should prioritize practical skills, embrace technology and foster industry partnerships to ensure students are equipped to thrive in the modern world of business and for business educators to update and upgrade their skills due to changes in business world. The paper recommends that higher institutions offering business education should strive to improve the course curricula that incorporate the issues of complex dynamic environment, such as: ICT, Internet and Web Technology, Management Information System, data communication and networks, etc. In addition, it recommends that evaluation should be based on the behavioral outcome or goal of the programme.

Keywords: Curriculum Development, Business Education, Challenges and Opportunities.