CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to Study

Teaching and learning process is a two-way traffic where the teacher sends out the message while the students acknowledges through feedback, but this give and take processes could only be effective when the teaching method applied is appropriate. Teaching Methods refers to the process of transmitting facts, skills, information and knowledge by the teacher, so as to engage students in meaningful activities for learning and to achieve the objective of the lesson (Joe, 2004). According to Madugu (2005) teaching methods consist of sequence of activities involved in instructing learners. Also, Ajoma (2009) expressed teaching method as a professional technique teachers adopt regularly in instructional exercises to enable them impact relevant knowledge and skills to the learner.

The teaching methods discussed in this study were guided-discovery and demonstration teaching methods. According to Mayer (2003) guided-discovery teaching method encourages students to take more active role in their learning process by answering series of questions or solving problems designed to introduce a general concept. Nelson (2004) pointed out that guided-discovery is a method of teaching, where the teacher acts as a motivator to help students overcome difficulties, by providing illustrative materials for students to study on their own, and provide reasonable answers to questions asked. This method of teaching is learner-centered, therefore it is effective in teaching financial accounting because it involves hearing, seeing and doing by the learner.

Demonstration teaching method according to Clark (2005) is based on simple but sound principle that we learn by “doing”. This method is particularly effective in teaching a subject like financial accounting that can be observed and then performed. It is therefore pertinent to know that not all methods are appropriate for learners at the secondary school level, and the most enjoyable aspect of teaching and learning occur when a variety of teaching methods are used. In classroom around the world, teachers lecture, students take notes and then students are tested on what they have learned (Akintola, 2007). Today, experiential or „„hands-on‟‟ learning is fast replacing or supplementing the traditional „„chalk-talks‟‟ method through experiments, activities, simulations, debate, team work and other participatory activities which aids retention, motivates students to learn and also encourages group cooperation. Therefore, the effective learning of financial accounting at the secondary school level largely depends on the teaching method used in teaching the subject.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004), states that the broad goal of secondary school education is to prepare individuals for “useful living” within the society and for higher education. In order to achieve these objectives, secondary school education in Nigeria has six years duration given in two stages – three years of junior secondary school, followed by three years of senior secondary school. The curriculum designed for senior secondary school is comprehensive and broad based, aimed at broadening students‟ knowledge and outlook. Subjects offered in senior secondary school are in three groups – core subjects, vocational and non-vocational subjects. Hence one of the vocational subjects is financial accounting. Therefore financial accounting is a skill subject, which prepares the learner to be self-reliant as enshrined in the National Policy of Education. Okwuanaso and Nwazor (2001) defined financial accounting as the process of collecting, recording, analysing and summarizing in monetary terms the information about an organization. Hence, financial accounting report gives the monetary information of an organization, and does not include operations of the organization. The central purpose of teaching financial accounting at the secondary school level is to effect a positive outcome in the educational behaviour of the learner.

Therefore, if the teaching method is right as well as the level of teaching, and the subject to be taught is also right, the resultant effect should be positive. “Effect” therefore, is the mean difference on a variable between experimental and control groups, divided by the standard deviation of that variable. Amos (2008) pointed out that effect indicate things which arise out of some antecedent, or follows as a consequent. It is usually regarded as a genetic term, which springs directly from something which can properly be termed as a cause. It is possible to fore see the effect of a measure, or even conjuncture its consequence but we rarely can guest its final result. According to John (2009) effect is a possible outcome of a variable, an event or a subject matter, these variable, event, or subject matter could either be positive or negative, depending on students‟ academic achievement.

Students enrolment in commercial classes, where financial accounting is one of the core subjects, will have a tremendously effect if students‟ academic achievement in the subject is encouraging. According to River (2007) students‟ academic achievement is the ability of an individual to study, remember facts, and successfully pass a given examination. He also added that being able to study effectively forms a larger pattern of knowledge. David (2007) opined that students‟ academic achievement involves the general mental capability to reason, solve problems, think abstractly, learn and understand new material through profiting from past experience, which in turn will be measured against the stated specific objectives. Academic achievement denotes “attainment”, which draws on a variety of mental processes, including memory, perception, thinking and reasoning (Fan, 2008). Morgan (2010) added that students‟ academic achievement is an assessment strategy by which the evidence about students learning is gathered, through students work on a performed task. There is no doubt that much is expected from our educational system in terms of preparing future citizens, workers, and leaders to perform better. To that end, schools are expected to influence students’ vocational preparedness by using the appropriate teaching method so as to improve their academic achievement, which in turn is instrumental to the development of a nation, and reputation of the colleges involved.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The poor academic achievement of students in financial accounting in Kaduna state was clearly shown in the National Examination Council (NECO) results of 2010-2015, where the percentage of passes in 2010 was 23.28%, in 2011 was 23.12%, in 2012 it fell to 18.11%, in 2013 it was 13.47%, 12.28% and 12.08 in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Teaching methods need to be improved and appropriate teaching strategies employed as the teaching learning situation may demand, because there is however a need to understand that for different topics in accounting, the teaching approach may differ depending on the complexity and structure of the topic (Akumu, 2011).

Following the interactions between the researcher and some financial accounting teachers and students in Government Secondary school, Enugu state, some teachers attributed the problem of poor achievement to teaching methods used in teaching financial accounting. According to them, the lecture, discussion, scaffolding and cooperative teaching methods has been used, but achievement in junior certificate exanimation in financial accounting continues to be poor. Some complained that there is little or no time to complete the financial accounting syllabus in the schools and as such some topics are left untouched or carried over to the next term or even the next session. On the other hand, some students complained that some of their teachers are coppers and as such do not keep to their teaching periods, while other students complained that the subject was too difficult to assimilate as it required a lot of calculation. From all the interactions so far stated, it is glaring that student poor achievement in financial accounting is the problem that prompted this study, and as such will be addressed using empirical evidences.