IMPACT OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING SCORES ON COLLEGES OF EDUCATION LEARNERS’ PERFORMANCE IN PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTS IN NORTH-CENTAL REGION, NIGERIA

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IMPACT OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING SCORES ON COLLEGES OF EDUCATION LEARNERS’ PERFORMANCE IN PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTS IN NORTH-CENTAL REGION, NIGERIA  

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to determine the influence of entry grades in economics and financial accounting on colleges of education students‟ academic performance in principles of account I in North-central Zone, Nigeria. The study had five objectives, five research questions and fivenull hypotheses. Ex-post facto research design was adopted for the study. The population was 1,463,and the Sample was 193 students of six colleges selected from the twenty colleges, using purposive sampling technique. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation. Null hypotheses one, two, three were tested using Pearson product moment correlation coefficient, while t-test statistical was used to test null hypothesis four. All the null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. From the analysis, null hypotheses one, two, and three were rejected, while null hypotheses four was retained. The findings revealed, among others, that entry grades in economics and financial accounting had significant influence on colleges of education students‟ academic performance in principles of account I.Based on the findings, the researcher concluded that, credit and above grades in economics and financial accounting facilitates better understanding which enhanced colleges of education students‟ academic performance in principles of account I. Among the four recommendations made by the researcher, one is to make credit and above passesin economics and financial accounting a compulsory entry requirements for students opting for business education in tertiary institutions

in                                                                                                                                             Nigeria.

 

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1        Background to the Study

The North-central geo-political zone is one of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. The zone comprises six states; Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau. There are twenty three colleges of education in north central zone, consisting four federal colleges of education, ten state colleges of education and nine private colleges of education. Among these colleges, only twenty one have business education programme.

Grades acquired in subjects at senior secondary schools are one of the basic requirements for obtaining admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria. It is expected that the grades obtained in prerequisite subjects at secondary school level can promote academic progress with regards to a more in-depth understanding and performance of students into their area of specialization. This assumption made all the programmes of studies in tertiary institutions in Nigeria to emphasize on at least credits grades in some relevant subjects. Based on this, most business educators such as Osuala (2007) maintain that any student opting for business education in tertiary institutions should have at least have credit in principles of accounting and any other business related subjects. It is believed the knowledge and skills acquired at secondary school in these subjects can help to develop in students critical thinking, problem solving, team-work, time-management and writing skills.

A search into the importance of prerequisite subjects on students showed that it is very crucial for student‟s success at tertiary institutions. Scholars such as Farooq, Chaudhry, Shafiq and Berhanu, (2011) described entry grades as prerequisite for academic advancement from secondary to tertiary institutions and are often viewed as determining factor towards students‟ progressive academic performance. For instance, in Nigeria the students‟ aptitude test embraces the general performance in various subjects and this serves as an entry grade into higher institution of learning. Brown, (2009) and Peter (2011) described entry grades as academic requirement which vary according to programme of study. This being the case, entry grades ought to have revealed the extent of influence that exist between secondary school certificate results and future academic performance of the learners.

In Nigeria, entry grades are specified for each course of study. For example, in this study, the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) which regulates the activities or provides quality control for colleges of education stipulated the general entry grades qualifying candidates for admission to business education of which accounting education is a discipline. According to Minimum Standard for Colleges of Education (NCCE 2012), the general entry requirements are that to be eligible for direct admission, a candidate must have three (3) credits in any commercial subjects such as commerce, economics, principles of account/book-keeping, business methods/introduction to business management/office practice/secretariat dutiestypewriting/word processing and shorthand. This is in addition to obtaining credit in English Language and Mathematics.

Economics is one of the business related subjects at secondary school level that also belongs to a group of subjects called social sciences. Economics is regarded as a social science because it studies human behaviour. For example, if the price of a commodity rises, people will buy less, while if the price of a commodity decreases, people will buy more, all things being equal (Ande, 2014). Ande further added that economics is also concerned with human behaviour, such as how people achieve their wants and the study of firms or companies and the government which is responsible for the provision of goods and services for its people in order to satisfy their wants. So, economics assists individuals in managing their finances properly and assists the government to determine the expected income and expenditure of a country just as financial accounting helps to identify financial events that occur within an organization, and their monetary value (in terms of money, transactions and events which are, in past at least, of a financial character.

Financial Accounting is one of the business education subjects offered at both secondary and tertiary levels in private and public institutions for job skills, employment and self-reliance. Element of financial accounting, as a subject, is taught at the junior secondary school level which integrated as an aspect of business studies. At the senior secondary school level, financial accounting is offered as a full fledge subject. Financial accounting is also offered as course of study in polytechnics, colleges of education and universities.

National Examination Council (NECO, 2004) state that the general objective of studying financial accounting at the secondary school level is to enable students appreciate the basic rules, functions and principles of accounting, to lay proper foundation for further study of accountancy and allied courses at higher level and to enable students understand basic accounting principles, practices and their application to modern business activities. Similarly, the Nigerian Educational Research Development Council NERDC (2007) state the aim and objectives of teaching financial accounting in secondary schools to include preparing students for employment, or for further studies.

Udoh (2004), described accounting as a discipline concerned with the recording, analyzing and forecasting of incomes and wealth of business and other entities. To Enwere and Enwere (2014), accounting is the process of recording, classifying, selecting, measuring, interpreting, summarizing and reporting financial data of an organization to the users for objective assessment and decision making.  Generally, it records in monetary the flow of economic values between or within economic entities. In general terms,financial accounting is the process of identifying, measuring and communicating economics information about an organization for the purpose of making decisions and informed judgments. Hence, accounting involves recording, analysis and summarizing of financial data of business transactions.

Principles of Accounts 1 is one of the courses offered at the NCE 1 first semester of business education programme in colleges of education with course code BED 111. The course is intended as a broad introduction to the subject, both for non-specialist students, and as a foundation for further study in the area. Principles of accountsaims to provide NCE students with a foundation course in accounting at a breadth and depth appropriate to the A Level and also designed to provide candidates with a sound understanding of financialand managerial accounting procedures and an appreciation of its role in society.

Academic performance is the outcome of education, the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved educational goals. Academic performance is commonly   measured by examination or continuous assessment or Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of students. Academic performance also refers to what students achieve in their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different learning experiences given to them by their teachers. In addition, academic achievement represents performance outcomes that indicate the extent to which a person has accomplished specific goals that were the focus of activities in instructional environments, specifically in school, college, and university. School systems mostly define cognitive goals that either apply across multiple subject areas (e.g., critical thinking) or include the acquisition of knowledge and understanding in a specific intellectual domain (e.g., numeracy, literacy, science, history). Therefore, academic achievement should be considered to be a multifaceted construct that comprises different domains of learning. Because the field of academic achievement is very wide-ranging and covers a broad variety of educational outcomes, the definition of academic achievement depends on the indicators used to measure it.

Among the many criteria that indicate academic achievement, there are very general indicators such as procedural and declarative knowledge acquired in an educational system, more curricular-based criteria such as grades or performance on an educational achievement test, and cumulative indicators of academic achievement such as educational degrees and certificates. All criteria have in common that they represent intellectual endeavors and thus, more or less, mirror the intellectual capacity of a person. In developed societies, academic achievement plays an important role in every person‟s life.

Academic achievement as measured by the GPA (grade point average) or by standardized assessments designed for selection purpose such as the SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) determines whether a student will have the opportunity to continue his or her education (e.g., to attend a university). Therefore, academic achievement defines whether one can take part in higher education, and based on the educational degrees one attains, influences one‟s vocational career after education. In line with this, Ibrahim (2011) reported that in educational institutions, success is measured by academic performance, or how well a student meets the standards set out by any institution of learning. Besides the relevance for an individual, academic achievement is of utmost importance for the wealth of a nation and its prosperity.

Colleges of educationare higher institutions of education for teacher preparation and leadership. In other words, they are institutions for training teachers. Colleges of education usually award Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE), which is a national certificate that is recognize in any part of the country. NCE serves two main purposes:

  1. It can be used to get teaching job especially in the secondary schools.
  2. It can be used to gain admission into a university.

It is,therefore, against this background that the researchersought to establish the place of entry grades in economics and financial accounting on students‟ academic performance in

principles of account, North-central zone of Nigeria.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

Despite the importance attached to financial accounting and other business subjects like economics on students opting for business education where principles of accounting is taught, the general complain of students with myopic knowledge of the importance of prerequisite entry skills is that emphasizing on having good grade in accounting is a strategy for admission denial and have no impact on student‟s academic attainment.

 Julius and Philips (2013) found that pre-college business subjects‟ performance had effect on performance of students in Accounting Programmes. The findings of the study conducted by Igbinedion and Enijuni (2013) showed that the performance of students (Entry

Grades) in financial accounting correlated with a very good cumulative percentage of 63.91. Similarly, the finding of Adamu and Bashir (2015) agreed with that of Guest (2003) who reported that the relational level of cognitive complexity of accounting that is achieved could facilitate student‟s performance in accounting courses thereafter. However, this submission may not be true in all cases as result of studies revealed that not all possessors of good secondary school result performed academically well at the post-secondary school level. For example, the study of IhiegMomoh-Olle (2008) established that entry grades has poor predictive validity on academic performance concluding that college performance cannot be linked to validity of grades obtained in the entry qualification. In another study conducted by Sternberg (2009), it was concluded that past achievement in entry grades cannot be relied upon as it does not really show the real ability/potential of the learner.

On the whole, the problem of poor performance of students in principles of accounts I is rather disturbing and alarming and, therefore, calls for urgent attention. This is evident from the data collected from Kwara state college of education visited by the researcher; the results revealed percentage failure rate by students in principles of accounts I from 2009 to 2013 to be 55.1%, 52.2%, 60.2%, 64.6% and 67.4% respectively. The persistent poor performance of colleges of education students in principles of accounts I need to be addressed.

It is on the basis of theproblem stated above that this study was conducted to assess the influence of economics and financial accounting entry grades on students‟ academic performance in principles of account I, North-central zone of Nigeria.

1.3       Objectives of the Study

The major objective of this study was to assess the influence of entry grades in economics and financial accounting on accounting students‟ academic performance in colleges

of education in North-centralzone of Nigeria. The specific objectives were to:

  1. determine the influence of credit pass in economics at „O‟ levelon students‟ academic performance in principles of accounts I in colleges of education in North-central zone, Nigeria.
  2. determine the influence ofcredit pass in financial accounting at „O‟ levelon students‟ academic performance in principles of accounts I in colleges of education in Northcentral zone, Nigeria.
  3. find out the influence of credit pass in both economics and financial accounting at „O‟ level, on students‟ academic performance in principles of accounts I in colleges of education in North-central zone, Nigeria.
  4. find out whether any difference exists between the influence of credit passes ineconomics and financial accounting at „O‟ levelon students‟ academic performance in principle of

accounts I in colleges of education in North-central zone, Nigeria.

1.4        Research Questions

Based on the objectives of the study, the following research questions were answered.

  1. What is the influence of credit pass in economics at „O‟ levelon students‟ academic performance in principle of accounts I in colleges of education in North-central Geopolitical Zone, Nigeria?
  2. What is the influence of credit pass in financial accounting at „O‟ levelon students‟ academic performance in principle of accounts I in colleges of education in North-central Geo-political Zone, Nigeria?
  3. What is the influence of credit passes in both economics and financial accounting at „O‟ levelonstudents‟ academic performance in principle of accounts I in colleges of education

in North-central zone, Nigeria.

  1. What is the difference in the influence of credit passes between economics and financial accounting at „O‟ levelon students‟ academic performance in principle of accounts I in

colleges of education in North-central zone, Nigeria.

 

1.5        Research Hypotheses

            In line with the research questions, the following null hypotheses were tested:

  1. Credit pass in economics at „O‟ levelhas no significant influence on students‟ academic performance in principle of accounts I in colleges of education in North-centralzone, Nigeria.
  2. Credit pass in financial accounting at „O‟ level has no significantinfluence on students‟ academic performance in principle of accounts I in colleges of education in Northcentralzone, Nigeria.
  3. Credit passes in both economics and financial accounting at„O‟ levelhave no significant influence on students‟ academic performance in principle of accounts I in colleges of education in North-centralzone, Nigeria.
  4. There is no significant difference between the influence of credit pass ineconomics and financial accounting at „O‟ levelonstudents‟ academic performancein principle of accounts I in colleges of education in North-centralzone, Nigeria.

1.6       Significance of the Study

It is expected that the findings of the study would be significance to curriculum planners, colleges of education and business education department managements, lecturers, students‟ and the society at large.  Curriculum planners will benefit from the findings of thisstudy on the achievement of educational objectives for national development by designing policies on courses, skills and knowledge that are relevant to the field of study in business education programme.When academic performance of students is enhanced and encouraged through their past achievement, it means government‟s heavy investment is justified. College departmental managements are also interested in fostering excellent academic achievements and are also often concerned about their reputations and the possibility of financial supports from government institutions, stake-holders and other Non-Governmental agencies, which, in most cases, is dependent on students‟ performance.

The findings of this study will help both the lecturers and business education students to identifystudents‟ strengths and weaknesses inprinciples of accounts I.The lecturers will also use the result of this study to adopt strategies as to simplify and enhance the comprehension of principles of accounting I concepts and also help the students to intensify their effort in their quest for knowledge. Finally, the findings of this study will benefit the society at large, as the students are partsof the society. Therefore, anything that affects themis of interest to the society.

1.7     Basic Assumptions of the Study

            The basic assumptions of this study were that:

  1. Students with credit entry grades in economics and financial account will perform better in principles of accountsI at the NCE level.
  2. Other factors (such as peer influence, availability of learning materials, teacher qualification, infrastructural facilities, and parental influence) were assumed to have the same influence on student performance in principles of accountsI at the NCE level.

1.8       Delimitation of the Study

This study was delimited to entry grades in economics and financial accounting because the subjects are business related subjects and are considered one of the basic requirements for studying business education programme at colleges of education.This study was further delimited to six colleges of education in North-centralZone of Nigeria to accommodate the three categories of colleges (Federal, State and private colleges of education) and a representative in each state that made up North-central zone for the purpose of generalization. The study was also delimited to NCE I business education students results in principles of accounts I for 2015/2016 academic session,because, that is when principles of accounts I is taught at NCE level.

IMPACT OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING SCORES ON COLLEGES OF EDUCATION LEARNERS’ PERFORMANCE IN PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTS IN NORTH-CENTAL REGION, NIGERIA  

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