CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Education remains a pivot upon which the wheels of the society revolve. Farrant (1964) defined education as the process of learning to live as a useful and acceptable member of the society. From this definition, it is obvious that the essence of education is functionality. So since the desire of every society is to achieve a sustainable level of economic development, this could be possible through embarking on entrepreneurial activities by the citizens of the society. This is because the public sector cannot single handedly drive in the desired level of development. Furthermore, the success of a society in entrepreneurship depends on skills and knowledge acquired by the entrepreneur. Education also equips a person with relevant skills which would lead him to better performance in his chosen career.

In line with these, Business Education which is described as an education to business and about business that could make a person to perform well as an entrepreneur. This is due to the fact that, it equips the recipients with skills which are needed for business success. Furthermore, entrepreneurship focuses on the desired ability of a person to search for investment opportunities within his environment and also be able to set up and run an enterprise based on the identified opportunities.

Based on the presentation above, it is obvious that business education could play a vital role in the development of entrepreneurship in Akwa Ibom State and in deed all the countries in the world. This owes to the fact that is based on the content of business education in Akwa Ibom State.

It is the potential of equipping the recipient with skills in Book-keeping/Accounting, Business Communication, Business Management, Marketing and Human Resource Management which are all necessary for the development and survival of business enterprises. It is thus against this background that the study looks at the role of business education in the development of entrepreneurship in Akwa Ibom State.

1.2   Statement of Problem

The term Business Education has been given a variety of meanings depending on the perspective. Business Education is the systematic teaching of students the fundamental theories and processes of business. It also play a part in the achievement of the general aims of education on any level as its primary objective is the preparation of people to enter into a career to render efficient services and to advance from their present level of employment to higher levels (Osualala 2003). Basis business education affords every individual an opportunity to develop the skills, abilities and understanding that will enable him to handle competently his personal business affairs and to develop an understanding of the vocational opportunities available in the broad field of business and to assume citizenship responsibilities through enlightened participation of the business system. How true is this? Does Business education aids in the development of entrepreneurship in Akwa Ibom State?

It is based on this scenario that this research work is being carried out to examine the role of Business education in the development of entrepreneurship in Akwa Ibom State.

1.3   Objectives of the Study

The main aim of this study is to:

1. Examine the role of business education in the development of entrepreneurship.
2. To examine the benefits of entrepreneurship development through business education.
3. To examine the challenges of business education in the development of entrepreneurship.
4. To evaluate measures of reducing the challenges of business education in the development of entrepreneurship.

1.4   Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated for the purpose of ascertaining the validity of this research study.

1. What are the roles of business education in the development of entrepreneurship?
2. What are the benefits of entrepreneurship development through business education?
3. What are the challenges of business education in the development of entrepreneurship?
4. What are the measures of reducing the challenges of business education in the development of entrepreneurship?