CURRICULUM CONTENT OF RECOMMENDED BUSINESS STUDIES TEXTBOOKS AND PERFORMANCE AMONG JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SELECTED EDUCATION DISTRICTS IN LAGOS STATE

Abstract

Curriculum content of any subject provides guidance for textbooks as it serves as the major learning materials for achieving its learning objectives. Hence, this study investigated curriculum content of recommended Business Studies textbooks and performance among junior secondary school students in selected Education Districts in Lagos State. Four research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey research, expost-facto and quasi-experimental designs. The population of the study comprised 309 Business Studies teachers and 142589 students. The sample size for this study was 1312 participants comprising 122 Business Studies teachers and 1190 students selected randomly from 61 junior secondary schools in Lagos State. The research instruments used in the study were teachers’ and students’ questionnaires, checklist guide, and Business Studies Students’ Achievement Test. Descriptive statistics of frequency counts, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while the hypotheses were tested using contingency correlation, Pearson correlation, contingency Chi-square and Independent t-test at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of this study revealed among others that: the content of the Business studies recommended textbooks is important to learners’ cognition; and there is a significant influence of students’ possession of Business Studies recommended textbooks on their performance at the Junior Secondary School level in Lagos State. The study concluded based on the findings, that students’ performance in business studies depends on content and possession of the recommended textbooks. The study recommended among others that Business studies teachers should make use of recommended textbooks for proper guidance on preparation and delivery of lessons to enhance learners’ cognition and performance; and government should subsidize the cost of buying recommended Business Studies textbooks by the students.