CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

E-learning is the use of electronic media and information and communication technology (ICT) to support teaching and learning. It covers a wide range of arrangements, from supplementing classroom teaching with digital resources to delivering whole courses online, and it appears in the literature under several labels, including technology-enhanced learning (TEL), computer-based training (CBT), internet-based training (IBT), web-based training (WBT), virtual education and digital educational collaboration. Interest in e-learning in Nigerian tertiary institutions has grown because traditional, face-to-face methods alone often struggle to keep pace with the demand for technology-driven instruction.

In a period of rapid change in knowledge and work, individuals and institutions that wish to remain competitive must keep acquiring new knowledge and skills throughout their lives. Learners can obtain knowledge through conventional classroom participation, through reading, or through networked technologies, and for learning to be effective, institutions need to orient their learning environments towards modern pedagogy. Three features are generally taken to define e-learning: it is networked, so that instruction and information can be updated, stored, distributed and shared instantly; it is delivered to the learner on a computer through standard internet technologies; and it takes a broader view of learning than traditional training approaches allow. Nigerian institutions have been encouraged to adopt e-learning in teaching and learning as part of efforts to raise the quality of education.

Business education is a component of vocational education that prepares people with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to manage personal business affairs and to function in the business world. At the college and university level, its mission is to train the manpower required by industry, commerce and public and private enterprises. The programme is broad and covers options such as accounting, office technology and management, marketing, and purchasing and supply. Business teacher education, in turn, is the pre-planned programme for training and developing teachers of business subjects who can guide learners and prepare them to be competent professionals. Today these teachers are expected to work with digital tools, and the digital skills of business education graduates increasingly shape their prospects in the labour market.

In this study, business teacher education refers to a programme of courses that trains creative, innovative, adaptable and rational individuals who can manage human and material resources efficiently in business enterprises. Utilization refers to the employment of a tool or service to facilitate performance. Utilization of e-learning here therefore means the level at which e-learning methods and resources are applied in tertiary institutions, that is, how many different e-learning resources are in use and how far each is used.

Empirical evidence from Nigerian business education suggests that availability and use of e-learning resources are uneven. Business education lecturers in South-East Nigerian universities reported using e-learning resources for instructional delivery and evaluation to a very low extent (Okeke & Ihenacho, 2019). In Kwara State universities, e-learning facilities for management and business courses were moderately available but only occasionally used (Oluwalola & Omotayo, 2019). In Niger State colleges of education, e-learning technology resources were found to be scarce, and the few that were available were not adequately used (Abdulrazak & Adeoye, 2024). Taken together, these findings show that having e-learning resources does not guarantee that they are used for teaching.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

A good business education programme is one that equips its beneficiaries to contribute to society. This depends on qualified lecturers, a relevant curriculum, adequate ICT and other office equipment, and effective management of those facilities. In many Nigerian tertiary institutions these conditions are not fully met. Reported constraints include inadequate funding, insufficient modern equipment and practical workshops, a shortage of skilled personnel, overcrowded classrooms resulting from rising admissions, and scarce teaching and learning materials. Where they persist, graduates risk entering the labour market without the practical and professional skills that employers expect.

Research in neighbouring contexts points to the same difficulties. Lecturers in colleges of education in Anambra State have been found to be largely unaware of digital tools and platforms for teaching entrepreneurial skills, which led to recommendations that they be retrained to build their capacity in emerging technologies (Nwachukwu et al., n.d.). Business education lecturers in Niger State pointed to the limited availability of e-learning resources and recommended greater government motivation to encourage their use (Abdulrazak & Adeoye, 2024). In South-East universities, administrators were urged to work with government to provide adequate e-learning facilities (Okeke & Ihenacho, 2019).

The literature reviewed focuses mostly on universities or on other states, and little of it examines both the availability and the use of e-learning technologies in business education in the colleges of education in Anambra State. This gap prompted the present study, which provides empirical evidence on the availability and extent of utilization of e-learning technologies in teaching business education courses in colleges of education in Anambra State.

1.3 Scope of the Study

The study is delimited to colleges of education in Anambra State that offer the business education programme, namely Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, and Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze.

1.4 Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study is to determine the availability and extent of utilization of e-learning technologies in the teaching of business education courses in tertiary institutions. Specifically, the study seeks to determine:

1. the e-learning technologies available for teaching business education courses;
2. the extent of utilization of the virtual classroom in teaching business education courses;
3. the technological competencies business education teachers need to apply e-learning effectively in teaching business courses in tertiary institutions; and
4. the benefits of applying e-learning in teaching business courses in tertiary institutions.

1.5 Significance of the Study

The findings should be useful to the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Education. They can help identify where infrastructure and facilities are needed, where staff capacity should be built, and how budgets and administration should be planned to strengthen e-learning.

Lecturers and students of business education will benefit because the study clarifies the competencies and facilities that make e-learning effective in instruction, and so can help them make better use of the e-learning resources at their disposal.

Curriculum planners and accreditation and regulatory bodies, including the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the National Universities Commission (NUC), can use the findings when reviewing curricula and setting standards for e-learning in business education.

1.6 Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study:

1. Which e-learning technologies are available for teaching business education courses in tertiary institutions?
2. To what extent is the virtual classroom used in teaching and learning business education courses?
3. What technological competencies do business education teachers need to apply e-learning effectively in teaching business education courses in tertiary institutions?
4. What are the benefits of applying e-learning in teaching and learning business education courses in tertiary institutions?

References

Abdulrazak, M., & Adeoye, M. A. (2024). Availability and utilization of e-learning technology resources in teaching business education subjects. Edukasi, 18(1), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.15294/edukasi.v18i1.5645

Nwachukwu, A. O., Kelvin, I. S., & Sunday, C. E. (n.d.). Assessment of digital tools and platforms in revamping entrepreneurship education for skills acquisition in colleges of education in Anambra State. Unizik Journal of Business Education and Entrepreneurship. https://journals.unizik.edu.ng/ujbee/article/view/6781

Okeke, A. U., & Ihenacho, U. O. (2019). Extent of utilization of e-learning resources in business education programme in South-East Nigerian universities. NAU Journal of Technology and Vocational Education, 2(1). https://journals.unizik.edu.ng/naujtved/article/view/4906

Oluwalola, F. K., & Omotayo, A. A. (2019). Availability and utilization of e-learning facilities for management and business courses in universities in Kwara State, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Business Education. https://uilspace.unilorin.edu.ng/handle/20.500.12484/7263