BUSINESS EDUCATION CURRICULUM FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE AND EMPLOYABILITY OF GRADUATES IN SOUTH-SOUTH, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated Business Education curriculum for quality assurance and employability of graduates in South-South, Nigeria. Three research questions were answered while three null hypotheses were tested at a 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted descriptive survey research design while multistage random sampling was employed in selecting the respondents (Business Education Lecturers) for the study. At the first stage of the selection, two states (Delta and Bayelsa) were randomly selected from the six south-south states. At the second stage, eight tertiary institutions comprising three Universities and five Colleges of Education offering Business Education were purposively selected. There are a total of 123 Business Education lecturers from the selected tertiary institutions which constituted the sample. The third stage of the selection involved sampling of all the existing 123 Business Education lecturers (45 Business Education Lecturers from Universities and 78 Business Education Lecturers in Colleges of Education. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire validated by three experts. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained using Cronbach Alpha reliability method which yielded a coefficient of 0.842. Data for the study were collected by the researcher with the help of seven research assistants. Out of the 123 copies of the questionnaire administered, 118 copies were duly filled and retrieved representing 95.9% rate of return. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation and independent samples t-test statistics. The results of the study identified 33 strategic measures for retooling Business Education curriculum for quality assurance and employability of graduates in South-South, Nigeria. The results of the hypotheses tested revealed no significant (p<0.05) differences for hypotheses 1 and 3. However, there was significant (p<0.05) difference in hypothesis 2. Hence, the study concluded that improved industrial training, funding and curriculum reviews of Business education programme will enhance the employability of the graduates in South-south, Nigeria. The study recommended among others proactive students’ training through students industrial work experience scheme (SIWES) for possible improvement and sustainable achievement of its objectives and that of Business Education.  

Keywords:, Business Education, curriculum, quality assurance, employability