DEFINITION OF BUSINESS EDUCATION AND OBJECTIVES

METHODS OF TEACHING BUSINESS SUBJECTS
MEANING OF BSUNESS EDUCATION
What is Business Education? It is necessary to point out that Business Education is a wide discipline which encompasses a number of specialist areas. For example, stenographic/secretarial studies, accountancy, business management/computer studies, marketing and/or distributive education are all areas of business education. In addition, what immediately comes to mind when the term that Business Education is used is the teaching aspect of the discipline and that is, business teacher education. There is also the distinction which is often drawn between vocational business education(i.e. education for business) and general business education about business).
Vocational business education is for business majors and emphasizes job competency, career preparation and work adjustments. Subject such as Accounting, Advanced Type-writin, Data processing/Word Processing, Distributive Education, Office procedure, secretarial procedures and shorthand are taught to achieve this desired result. General Business Education is designed for all students and it emphasizes economic competency (literacy), career exploration and social adjustment. The appropriate subjects that could be taught for achieving the purpose include Basic Business Beginning Typewriting, General business, Business Law, Consumer Economic, Introduction to Business and Marketing.
We can now consider some definitions existing in the literature on this subject-matter.
Anao said that Business education could very simply mean’’ an educational process or content which has its primary aim as the preparation of people for roles in business enterprise; such roles could be as employee, entrepreneur/ employer or simply as self-employed,’’ From a narrower perspective, he construed Business Education to mean “the sum total of the knowledge skill and attitude that are required for successfully promoted and administering business enterprise;
Nolan indicates that Business Education involves the study of book-keeping, typewriting, shorthand, general business and business law beginning at the secondary school level. At post-secondary level ,Kanu states that it involves the study of accounting, marketing., office administration , secretarial studies and finace. In his view ,Ulinfun notes that Business Education means education for and about business, or training in business skill and competence required for use in business office , clerical occupation and business policy analysis. It is a training that gives an occupational identity.pophamental added that Business Education prepares students for entry into and advancement in jobs within business, and equally important, it prepares students to handle their own business affairs and to function intelligently as consumers and citizens in a business economy .
Care has been taken to explore all areas of the definition of business education, to ensure a balanced view of the subject matter. We can simply say by way of summary that business education can be divided very broadly into two perspectives to mean;
Business skills, attitudes and knowledge acquired from secondary and post-secondary institutions for performing business operations of a personal or corporate nature; and
Business teacher education competencies acquired from the colleges of education and the universities with business teacher education programme.

AIM OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
Following the discussions so far about Business Education. We can identify the goal of business education as the production of manpower who the requisite knowledge, skill and attitude for harnessing other resources and bringing them into a co-operative relationship, yielding the goods and services demanded by society for the satisfaction of their wants and needs (Anao). Nwakolo added that Business Education is aimed at turningout the right caliber of work force with business and entrepreneurial ability for positions in various sectors of the economy. The above statements are non-pedagogic. A third must be provided to water for business teacher education. Therefore, the aim of business education can additionally be stated as the provision of teachers with adequate skills, and pedagogy  needed for imparting business skills, knowledge and attitudes to business education students in the secondary schools or in the tertiary institutions .
Following the practice of business education in this country and its very close links with business education in the United States of America, it will also be appropriate to endorse in this country the mission of business education as outlined by the National Business Education Association in America which Hosler(1985) sates are:
To educate individuals for and about business
To provide a continuous programme of planned learning experience designed to equip individuals to fulfill effectively their roles as workers, consumers, and citizens.
To provide educational information that helps students relate their interest, needs and abilities to occupational opportunities in business.
To provide educational opportunities for students preparing for career infields other than business in order to acquire business knowledge and skills needed to function effectively in those careers.

Goals of Business Education at the Junior Secondary School Level
At the junior secondary school level, the National Curriculim for junior secondary schools (1983) states the aim and goals of Business Education as:
To enable students to acquire the basic knowledge of business studies.
To prepare students for further training in Business studies.
To provide students with the orientation and basic skills with which to start a life of works for those who may not undergo further training
To develop in the students the basic skills in office occupation.
To equip the students with the ability to relate the knowledge and skill to the national economy.
OBJECTIVES OF BUSINESS TEACHER EDUCATION AT THE NCE LEVEL
A close study of the Minimum standard for NCE Teachers (NCCE) 1990 shows the objectives of  Business  Education as the preparation for qualified and competent graduate in Business subjects who will be able to:
Teacher business  subjects in Nigeria’s  Junior secondary schools:
Inculcate the vocational aspects of business education into the society
Start the so much desire revolution of vacation development right from the primary and secondary schools:
Qualify for a tw-year degree programme in business education in Nigeria.
PLANNING TO TEACH
Success in teaching should not be taken for granted. Teacher who have tried to go to class unprepared have had cause to regret it. No matter how good or experienced one is on the job. Performance is better when there is adequate preparation than when there is none. In recognition of this need. This handout is designed to discussions on preparations necessary before delivering lectures in the class. After thoroughly going this discussion, the reader should be able to: list some important preparations for the class: identify the major elements of a lesson plan and lesson note: state the reasons for stating learning outcomes in behavioural objectives; identify various models of writing behavioural objectives in any business subject using the grounlud model.

Getting Ready to Teach
Successful teaching depends a great deal on the amount of preparation put into it. Enough time is required ahead of the  lecture period for this preparation. Check enough and divers source for up-to-date information. Where necessary , go to the library and consult books and jounals. If need be, talk to more experienced person on the staff. Decide on the amount of information you need and provide for it.
More information will be required for a two-hour lecture than for a forthy-five minute lecture. It is necessary to check on this spread if you are new to a school either as a permanent staff or as a student-teacher, because some technical colleges have such  block classes for about one hour forty-five minutes while most of the secondary schools’ time-table fall between forty-five and fifty minute.
Having got the information that is necessary, it becomes important to think about its presentation. Ask yourself such important to think about its presentation. Ask yourself such  questions as : what would be the most effective manner of presenting this piece of information? Remember that you have various approaches and the type(s) chosen will depend on the subject-matter, the students, the time available and the resources at your disposal. You should also think about improving teaching materials, if necessary, and introducing variety to capture and sustain the interest of your students.
The methods decided on will determine your teaching aids.
These aids must be beautifully made. They must be bold representation such that both the student closest to the chalkboard and the one on the ladt seat can see them clearly. The aid must be relevant to the lecture and must be presented in a manner that it contribute to the understanding of the lecture. After all, aids are only a means to an end and not an end in themselves. The end is the lecture. Audio-visual aids such as slide projectors and overhead projectors are sometimes available and useful. They have to be properly prepared and tried out well in advance of the lecture period. It is as unprofessional practice to start rambling and fiddling with these things during the period meant for the actual delivery of the lectures . Apart from making the teacher look naïve, it is not time-effective and it does not promote learning because of the unnecessary distraction engendered. Of cours at the point, the teacher would have given though to the necessary lesson plan and lesson note. These are indispensable documents for the young student-teacher. To do without them is like embarking on building a house without a plan. A building will come up but certainly not the best of buildings. Plan and lesson note the similarities and differences between them.