CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

In this chapter the study reviewed a number of related literatures found useful and
having direct impact on the present research work. The reviewed literatures covered the
following subheadings; concept of Business Studies , importance of Business Studies ,
concept of teaching, concept of learning, ……………………ms.

2.2 Conceptual Framework

2.2.1 Concept of Business Studies

The word Business Studies is more than mere description of the business. Hence, it is
better defined as the study of people, their activities, places and physical things within the
earth. Business Studies deals with the study of different people in different locations of the
earth including their activities like mining, agriculture, fishing, manufacturing and
construction. Business Studies also deals with the study of physical things within the earth
such as rocks, mountains, plains, oceans, rivers, climate, vegetation, soils, atmosphere etc.
(Iwena, 2012).

According to them the purpose of Business Studies was to provide a description of the
physical features of businesses and conditions of different parts of the world. This give rise to
the point of view that Business Studies is a physical science.

Business education means many things to many people. Agwumezie (1999) saw business
education as a programme in education that prepares students for entry into and advancement
of jobs within the business. Aliyu (1999) considered it as a programme one needs to be proud
of if properly designed, adequately prepared and religiously harmonized. Aliyu further affirms
that business education is an educational programme which involves acquisition of skills,
knowledge and competences which makes the recipient/beneficiary proficient. It is an
umbrella under which all business programmes take a shield, such as marketing, business
administration, secretarial studies and accounting. To Igboke (2000:1), business education is a
dynamic field of study geared towards preparing youths and adults for and about business. It
is a preparation for a career in business when instruction is designed to prepare youths and
adults for actual practice in the world of business. On the other hand, education about business
involves preparation of youths and adults for intelligent and effective consumption of
economic goods and services offered to society in our free enterprise economy. However,
business education will produce responsible, productive and self-reliant citizens. This
highlights the importance of Business Education in inculcating in the recipients knowledge,
values, attitudes and skills needed in the business world. Business education is an aspect of
educational programme offered at the higher institution of learning which prepares students
for careers in business. Business education as a discipline is expected to expose its recipients
to diversity curricula, hence, it is that type of education that inculcate in its recipients
attitudes, knowledge, skills, values that is required in the business world. This is a means of
producing a healthy, literate self-reliant citizen that would create wealth for human
development, when they become self-employed, thereby resulting to sustainable nation’s
development at large.

2.2.2 Importance of Business Studies

According to Clark (2015), the importance of Business Studies extends beyond the
subject itself. Business Studies allows students to integrate their training across different
subjects such as those in the science, humanities and the arts. Business Studies helps to
increase students’ scientific literacy which can be useful throughout their life.

It also provides a bridge to the modern science by providing and engaging a tangible
way of applying its principles which can open up the area to students who may have otherwise
not pursued it. It also provides students with a sense of global citizenship which they can
apply throughout their lives and career.

Business Studies is more than maps, compasses and mountain ranges. According to
Clark (2021), Business Studies is the study of places and the relationship between people and
their environment. The importance of Business Studies doesn’t just come from understanding
the physical properties of the world, although that is of course important in its own right. It
also connects people to their environment. The ability to understand this connectedness makes
Business Studies an important part of education and the understanding of the world around us.

The Business Studies of a region affects the lifestyle of its inhabitants; the
geographical condition of a region influences its culture. They have a deep impact on the
social and cultural norms of people. The Business Studies of a region has direct effect on the
art forms, the literature, the food habit, science and so on. According to Kant (1956) cited in
(Sigh 2014), the aim of Business Studies is to explain the variations found in various parts of
the earth and emphasized that incidents and active relations are especially important in
Business Studies . Business Studies is a science related to nature and it studies and describes
all things found on the earth’s surface.

Business Studies plays a key role in industrialization and other sectors of the economy.
Business Studies is a practical based subject which gives students skills that are useful in
solving day-to-day problems of life. The study of Business Studies aims at providing the
learners with the necessary knowledge with which to control or change the environment for
the benefit of an individual, family or community (Kelman, 2014). The importance of
Business Studies to humanity as outlined by Iwena (2017) are as follows:

a. To study the way of life other people:- Business Studies enable us to study the
way of life of other people in other parts of the world. Without Business Studies, it
would have been difficult to know the existence and way of life of the American’s,
the Briton’s, the Brazilians and Japanese.
b. To study the physical features around us:- Business Studies enable us to study the
physical things around us such as soil, vegetation, climate, rivers, oceans,
mountains, water cycles, vegetation, earth -sun relationships.
c. To study the social environment around us:- Business Studies helps us to study the
social around us such as schools churches, markets and masjids.
d. Business Studies has helped us to know the resources of other regions or countries
and this has assisted us to engage in both internal and external trade.
e. It enable us to understand other areas of other subject like vegetation and soil in
agriculture, ecology and food chain in Biology, population, industries and trade in
Economics.
2.2.3 Concept of Teaching

Teaching is a process in which one individual teaches or instruct another individual.

Teaching is considered as the act of imparting instruction to the learners in the classroom
situation. It is watching systematically. According to Jackson (2012) teaching is a face to face
encounter between two or more persons, one of whom (teacher) intends to effect certain
changes in the other participants (students). Hough, James and Duncan (2019) see teaching as
an activity with four phases; the curriculum, planning phase, instructing phase and evaluating
phase. This definition presents the organizational aspect by which we can describe and
analyse the teaching process. According to Clark (2021) teaching refers to activities that are
designed to change pupils’ behaviour. To Green (2017) teaching is performed for the
development of a child. According to Monson (2009) teaching is an intimate contact between
a more matured personality and a less matured one which is designed to further the education
of the latter.

2.2.4 Teachers’ Perceptions towards the Integrated Business Studies Curriculum

Teachers are the most important element in delivering quality education (Greyling,
2009). The most direct and effective way of raising instructional quality is to improve teachers
knowledge and pedagogical skills through In-service, and to ensure that the organizational
conditions under which teachers work promote effective instruction and focus on students’
learning out comes (Liu & Linggi, 2009). One of the main factors that affect teacher
competence is their ability to embrace the concept of life long learning. Teachers cannot be
expected to work effectively for their working career with no additional support or training.
Christie et al (2004), say that continuing professional development (CPD) is necessary, not
only to help teachers deal with a revised curricula and evolving methods, but also to re-
energize and motivate them. Gross, Giacquinta and Bernstein (1971) noted that for effective
curriculum implementation there is a need to consider the quality of implementers who are
charged with the responsibility of putting the curriculum into practical terms. The
implementation of the new curriculum therefore must consider teachers’ understanding of the
innovation. If their understanding is ambiguous, they will be confused about what is expected
of them. The cascade model type of CPD is the mostly widely used, delivered through short-
term workshops (Anderson, 2002). Although this model is suitable for some kinds of material,
Monk (1999) and Higginson (1996) argue that there are a number of practical difficulties with
this model: the course are usually short; teachers often do not see the need or don’t have the
skills to adopt new practices; the training is divorced from the content of the school; and
trainers rarely have practical classroom experience with the new programme or methods.
According to Republic of Kenya (2010) teacher capacity building was especially critical for
the revised Business Studies curriculum. During the 2002 curriculum revision, Accounting
Economics, Commerce, Typing with Office practice were integrated into one subject called
Business Studies. A teacher who had not studied any of the subjects making up the integrated
Business Studies is bound to experience challenges with respect to content knowledge in some
topics. As a result, In-serving the teachers on such content mastery gaps are imperative. The
secondary strategy (MoE 2007) also recommends training teachers of English to address the
merging of literature and language in English. It calls for K.I.E, in liaison with DQAS, to
continuously identify challenging areas in subjects other than science and Mathematics and
organize In-service courses. Some teachers have continued to have a negative attitude towards
Business studies. They strongly held to their areas of specialization and refused to change to
the needs of the new subject. They adversely influenced some students to believe that
Business studies were impossible and difficult. The current study seeks to assess the level of
preparedness of the Business Studies teachers to teach the revised Integrated Business Studies
Curriculum as perceived by the learners in secondary schools in Nandi East District.
Ndambuki (2008) researched on effectiveness of Business Studies teachers in the
implementation of Business Studies curriculum in Secondary schools in Nairobi Province.
The researcher used descriptive survey design and stratified random sampling to select the
following categories of public schools: National, Provincial, District, Boys and Girls schools.
Two schools were selected from each stratum using simple random sampling bringing the
total number of selected schools to ten. The instruments used were questionnaires for students
and teachers, interview guide was used to collect information from head teachers and
document analysis was used to establish whether teachers prepare teaching records like
schemes of work and lesson plans and whether they use them when teaching. The researcher
found out that the teachers are faced with a major challenge of integrating the subjects that
make up Business Studies into one. Secondly the syllabus was still too wide to be covered in
four years. In addition few teachers were comfortable teaching Business Studies as an
integrated subject; indeed few teachers attended In-service training before the implementation
of Business Studies curriculum in Secondary schools. Other findings were poor teaching and
learning strategies characterized by over reliance on questionanswer method, inadequate or
proper utilization of the available teaching and learning resources The recommendations were
Business Studies teachers to use the available resources or improvise where possible for
effective implementation of the curriculum; K.I.E to revise Business Studies curriculum
(Ndambuki, 2008). Suggestions for further research studies included a study to investigate
why teachers are not satisfied with the Business Studies curriculum and what hinders Business
Studies teachers from using a variety of teaching methods. Teachers are not the only factor
that determines the effectiveness of the implementation of a curriculum. Other factors like
teaching methodologies, resources also affect the implementation.

2.2.5 Concept of Learning

Learning is natural to all organisms including both human and animals; learning
affects a child’s development. A child learns new habits only through the process of learning
and through imitated traditions and customs; intellectual skills are also developed through
learning. Gestalt (2008) views the basis of learning as to gain knowledge after observing the
whole structure. Responding towards the entire situation is learning.

Lewis (2018) presented the field view of learning and explained learning as the direct
cognitive organization of a situation. Motivation has a significant role and place in learning
According to Wood (2013), the process of acquiring new knowledge and new response is the
process of learning. According to Boaz (2014) learning is a process by which the individual
acquires basic knowledge and acquire various habits, knowledge and attitude that are
necessary to meet the demands of life in general. According to Garry (2020) learning is a
process by which behaviours are originated or changed through practice or training.

2.2.6 Perceptions of Students’ Towards Learning Business Studies

According to MoE (2006), students’ perceptions towards Business Studies can have a
significant effect on the achievement of their expectations. Teaching methods and learning
activities that encourage students to recognize the value and relevance of what they are
learning will go a long way towards motivating students to work and learn effectively. In
addition, the diversity of subjects and approaches represented in the Business curriculum will
allow students to find courses that are well suited to their particular learning styles and
interests. Teachers must provide a wide range of activities and assignments that encourage
mastery of basic concepts and development of inquiry/ research skills. To make their
programs interesting and relevant, they must help students to relate the knowledge and skills
gained to issues and situations in the Business world. It is essential to emphasize the
relationship of Business Studies to the world outside the school to help students recognize that
what they are studying is not just a school subject but a reality that profoundly affect their
lives, the communities, and the world. In all courses, consideration should be given to
including student conferences, visits from a range of quest speakers with diverse backgrounds
and experiences, and trips to local businesses. Students develop a better understanding of
various aspects of the study of business when they can see and experience actual examples of
what they are studying. Such experiences also give them a better appreciation of the unique
features of the business communities that affect their daily lives. The complex nature of
business today, influenced by the restructuring of the economy, rapid advances in technology,
and the globalization of the market place, requires that students be given varied opportunities
to learn about current business realities and practices. By ensuring that students engage in
experiential learning and real-world applications, teachers can help them develop the
practical, current business knowledge and skills they need (MoE, 2006). Jepkuruny (2010)
researched on Analysis of Implementation of the Secondary School Integrated Business
Studies curriculum in Baringo District. The researcher used descriptive survey and naturalistic
designs. Stratified simple random sampling was employed to categorize schools into
provincial and district schools. This was further categorized into ‘mixed’, ‘Boys’ and ‘Girls’
schools. Simple random sampling was used to select 520 students from ten secondary schools
out of an estimated 2160 students enrolled in Business Studies. The instruments used were
questionnaires for students and teachers. Interview guide was used to collect information from
Business Studies teachers and Heads of Department for Technical subjects and creative Arts.
Documents Analysis guide was used to seek information on the objectives and topics in the
Business Studies curriculum and the teacher preparedness by examining professional
documents. The researcher found out that the formulation of the objectives of the Business
Studies curriculum was a well thought out process although there were certain aspects of
content for instance inadequacy, difficulty, progressive presentation and sequence limited
achievement of objectives. Secondly teaching learning strategies and assessment method used
were inappropriate for example teaching in most classrooms was teacher centered and content
driven. In addition attitude of boys towards Business Studies curriculum was more favorable
than girls. Recommendations were: students’ text books and teachers guide books should
infuse content relevant to HIV and AIDS, Drugs and substance abuse within appropriate
topics or subjects (Jepkuruny, 2010). Secondly curriculum review should be carried out in
order to integrate ICT practical learning within Business Studies. Thirdly content that has
been proved to be unsuitable to learners at the secondary school level should be moved to
higher educational levels, removed or made simpler. Learning activities that are more student
centered and practical oriented should be added to the Business Studies curriculum so that
students’ can develop positive attitude towards the subject. Suggested research studies
included: A study on factors that bring about lower attitude of Business Studies teachers than
students, Comparative studies on the different teaching learning strategies and assessment and
finally Comparative studies on effectiveness of various teaching learning materials in
achieving learning objectives (Jepkuruny, 2010). This study was done in Baringo District
while the current study was conducted in Nandi East District. Secondly this study was done
when the revised Integrated Business Studies Curriculum had not been implemented up to
form four while the current study is being done when the revised Integrated Business Studies
Curriculum has been implemented up to form four and the first candidates were examined by
KNEC in 2011. Thirdly the current study will assess whether the attitude of male and female
students is still different after the revision of the Integrated Business Studies curriculum and
whether Business Studies content is now relevant to the secondary level. Mwale in Omao
(2007) carried out a survey on Secondary school learners’ attitudes towards the teaching and
learning of the Integrated English curriculum. The purpose of the study was to examine the
learners’ attitudes towards learning English and their effect on performance. Mwale’s study
found out that majority of the learners disagreed that they hated English. The learners had a
strong desire to learn English. However, teachers frustrated them by embarrassing them. His
study used a Likert scale as the main instrument for the study, which is an appropriate
instrument in measuring attitude. His study further found out that the learners can be
interested but if the teachers cannot use positive reinforcement, they kill the morale in the
learners. This study did not investigate teachers’ perceptions on the integrated curriculum
while the current study focused on students and teachers perceptions towards the revised
Business studies curriculum

2.2.7 Impediments to Quality Business Education

Business education provides the knowledge, skills, attitudes and understanding needed
to perform in the business world as a producer and or consumer of goods and services that
business offers. It includes virtually all the knowledge which holds prospect for gainful
employment. The realization of lofty aims of business education depends on how much the
following challenges are tackled.

Unqualified Teachers:

Teachers are critical stakeholders in curriculum implementation. The employment of

unqualified teachers to teach business courses is a great disservice to quality of business
education graduates. It is a well-known fact that most of the higher institutions that offer
business education programme suffer from shortage of qualified teachers (Amoor in
Ugwuogo, 2012). Business education has become a dumping ground sort of for graduates
from different disciplines employed in the name of business educator.

Obsolete Technologies:

Manual typewriters are still largely in use. Some available modern ICTs are grossly
inadequate.

Under Utilization of Computers:

The department is not taking full advantage of shared printer, shared logic/resources and
networking.

Large Class Size:

 The high teacher-student ratio affects quality of delivery of practical courses like word
processing, data processing, shorthand and others.

Poor Funding:

Many administrators fail to understand that business education programme is capital

intensive. It is a well-known fact that one of the major problems bedevilling education in
Nigeria today is inadequate funding and business education is no exception.

2.2.8 Factors Challenging the Teaching and Learning of Business Education

 Inadequacies in the Curriculum Content of Business Education: The

content of business education curriculum has been reported as inadequate at all levels.
An example of such could be seen in a study by Njoku, 1997 on tertiary institutions,
Njoku (1997) on Junior Secondary Schools and Nwosu, 1999 on private secondary
schools. Most of the courses do not cover the scope of knowledge and skills
required for the effective preparation of business education teachers today.
Highly needed courses are not available in the curriculum. Typewriting,
Administrative office management and Transcription are not included in the
curricula of some institutions. Such inadequacies in the curriculum could lead to
the production of half-baked graduates. That is, they would not acquire the
necessary skills for effective performance. Such teachers cannot compete with
business education graduates elsewhere. A probable reason for the above
inadequacies may be that business education experts and relevant stakeholders
are not often invited to participate during the development of the curriculum.
Today, some ministries handpick people to develop the curriculum for teachers
at certain levels. This could generate lots of problems, not only for the institutions,
but also for their products.
 Non-Relevance of the Course Content: A business education programme should
include courses that would prepare the student for saleable skills, help them
have an understanding of the economic system and how a business operates. It
was also to be geared towards helping people to acquire knowledge, and attitude/value
that would enable them function in the world they live. To this end, subjects that
 would meet the objectives set or goals must be in the content of the
curriculum. A good curriculum should also be geared towards helping the
students to acquire knowledge, attitudes and values that would enable them
function efficiently in the world of work. To this end, subjects that would meet the
objectives or set goals must be included in the curriculum. Again the content of
traditional business education curriculum is geared towards the choice of the person at
the head. In this regard therefore, should the curriculum include all the
knowledge and skills needed for the programme or should it include all those
needed to be acquired while on the job?

 Poor Implementation of the Curriculum: Today the training of business educators

tends to tend to deviate from what is contained in the curriculum: Industrial
training is no longer carried out the way it was originally done. Should the ITF
allow students to look for places to do their industrial attachment or should the college
provide them with establishments for SIWES? This is a critical question for
discussion. Should the institutions visit the students to find out whether they are
properly placed or should the students report back to the school on how they
were placed?
 Time Allocation: another aspect that shows inadequacies is the time allocated to
the subjects on the school timetable. In some schools, Njoku (1997) and Nwosu
(1999) observed that inadequate number of hours allotted to business education
subjects at all levels was considered a major issue that needed proper attention.
 Selection of Subjects: At the different levels of education, the selection of subjects to
be offered was to a large extent influenced by the person at the head, the time (space)
available on the time-table and the competence of the teachers available in some cases.
For instance, in most vocational schools, office practice; shorthand; typewriting;
commerce and book-keeping were offered, but a few others offered secretarial studies
as a major course. Although the state ministries of education approved the courses for
them the schools were still selective in what they teach. At the JSS level, business
education subjects are put under Group B as Vocational electives.
 This becomes a source of concern to all of us. Nwosu (2005) reported that not all the
schools studied offered most of business education subjects. This can show that the
programme at this level is not uniformly taught by schools

 Qualification and quality of teachers: A Business education teacher is a person who

holds a degree in business education from a recognized University or an NCE
(National Certificate of Education). Holders of NCE from the recognized colleges of
education in business education are competent to teach the five components of
the JSS business studies programme. He is a person who is constantly aware of the
state of art in Business Education and has a thorough knowledge of the
requirements of a business education programme. The business education teacher
has to have 3 qualifications. Business qualities; personal qualities for him/her to do the
job as a trained business education teacher and professional qualities, i.e. a
business education teacher should belong to a professional association. But what
do we have today? Uncertificated business teachers that are not professionally trained
and faking of non-existing professionals for the purpose of gaining accreditation
status.
 Facilities: facilities for teaching and learning in any programme are usually
given a prominent position in the field of instructional technology. Just as Nolan
said, it is not possible to achieve the objectives of a well-designe programme without
adequate facilities. This means that facilities must be adequate and functional.
Facilities in Business Education are as important as the business education
teachers.

2.2 Empirical review

Fabiyi and Adetoro (2006) conducted an investigation on the availability and utilization of
instructional facilities and academic performance: A study of UME students in conventional
schools and coaching centers in Lagos State. The study was a survey type and it was guided
by three research questions and one hypothesis. The sample size was 3753 selected through a
stratified random technique with questionnaire and observation as the instruments for data
collection. Mean and chi-square were used to analyze the data. The study found that there is a
strong relationship between the performance of students in UME and the utilization of
instructional facilities present in both the conventional schools and coaching centers. Also, the
study revealed that students performed well in UME in which adequate and appropriate
instructional facilities were not only provided but were well utilized. This study is related to
the present study because it examined the availability of instructional facilities in relation to
students’ performance which the present study is focusing.

Azih (2008) carried out a study on the appraisal of teachers and teaching facilities available
for teaching business studies in secondary schools in Abakaliki Urban of Ebonyi State. The
study was guided by three research questions and questionnaire was the instrument for data
collection. Data collected was analyzed using mean and the study found that most secondary
schools in Abakaliki urban do not have the required facilities for teaching and learning of
business studies. It also revealed that the quantity and quality of business studies teachers are
insufficient. It was recommended in the study that for sound academic and vocational
competence to be developed, adequate training resources should be provided for the teaching
and learning of business studies, and that training programme in form of seminars,
conferences should be organized periodically for teachers of business studies to up-date their
knowledge for improved productivity. This research is related to the present study because it
appraised the human and non-human resources available for the teaching and learning of
business studies.

Kipchenger in Ndambuki (2008) researched on factors affecting enrolment of students in

Economics in secondary schools of Nakuru District. The researcher used survey design and
systematic random sampling to pick from three students doing business related subjects. The
instruments used were questionnaires and interview schedule for Economic teachers and
students. Interview schedule was also used to gather information from Head teachers and
School Inspectors. The study found out that Head teachers do not pay attention to teaching of
optional subjects. This made teachers to neglect and give less emphasis to the subject, making
students to develop negative attitudes towards the subject. Recommendations included
provision of adequate resources, organization of In-Service courses and motivation of
teachers. This study focused on Economics discipline while the current study focused on the
Integrated Business Studies made up of five separate disciplines namely Economics,
Accounting, Commerce, Typing with Office Practice and Entrepreneurship Secondly this
study used questionnaire and interview guide as instruments of data collection while the
current study uses questionnaire, interview guide and document analysis guide. Thirdly this
study was done in Nakuru District while the current study was done in Nandi East District.

Jepkuruny (2010) researched on Analysis of Implementation of the Secondary School

Business Studies curriculum in Baringo District. The researcher used descriptive survey and
naturalistic designs. Stratified simple random sampling was employed to categorize schools
into provincial and district schools. This was further categorized into ‘mixed’, ‘Boys’ and
‘Girls’ schools. Simple random sampling was used to select 520 students from ten secondary
schools out of an estimated 2160 students enrolled in Business Studies. The instruments used
were questionnaires for students and teachers. Interview guide was used to collect information
from Business Studies teachers and Heads of Department for Technical subjects and creative
Arts. Documents Analysis guide was used to seek information on the objectives and topics in
the Business Studies curriculum and the teacher preparedness by examining professional
documents. The researcher found out that the formulation of the objectives of the Business
Studies curriculum was a well thought out process although there were certain aspects of
content for instance inadequacy, difficulty, progressive presentation and sequence limited
achievement of objectives. Secondly teaching learning strategies and assessment method used
were inappropriate for example teaching in most classrooms was teacher centered and content
driven. In addition attitude of boys towards Business Studies curriculum was more favorable
than girls.

2.3 Theoretical review

2.3.1 Theory of Planned Behaviour

The Theory of Planned Behavior advanced by Icek Ajzen in 1991, posits that human actions
are driven by rational decision-making processes rooted in three cognitive pillars: behavioral
beliefs (personal evaluations of outcomes tied to an action), subjective norms (perceived
social pressures from significant others), and perceived behavioral control; self-assessment of
one’s ability to execute behavior given resources/skills). These components collectively shape
behavioral intention, the precursor to actual behavior, a teacher’s attitude toward teaching
Business Studies hinges not only on whether they believe the subject empowers students but
also on administrative expectations and access to tools like projectors or textbooks, power lies
in its recognition that even highly motivated individuals may fail to act if external constraints
or social sanctions outweigh intent. Critically, Ajzen argued that perceived behavioral can
directly influence behavior when it accurately reflects real-world barriers making theory of
planned behavior an ideal for studying professional practices in resource-constrained
environments like Nigerian schools.

In Okene’s junior secondary schools, theory of planned behavior illuminates why Business
Education teachers may harbor negative attitudes despite recognizing the subject’s value. If
teachers perceive inadequate government support (e.g., outdated curricula, insufficient
stipends), their perceived control diminishes, breeding frustration or apathy.

Stone et al, 2010 conducted a study in Oklahoma which studied the Theory of Planned
Behavior predicting academic misconduct intentions and behavior. They studied the cheating
intentions and behavior of a sample of 241 business undergraduates. They found that theory of
planned of behavior accounted for 21% of the variance in cheating intentions and 36% of
cheating behavior. The finding of their study was that the theory of planned behavior model is
a valuable tool for predicting cheating behaviors and could further research on academic
misconduct.

2.3.2 Social Cognitive Theory

Social Cognitive Theory was propounded by Albert Bandura in 1986, revolutionized

psychology by asserting that behavior is not merely reactive but shaped through continuous
triadic reciprocity between personal cognition, environmental factors, and behavior itself.
Central to social cognitive theory is self-efficacy an individual’s conviction in their ability to
organize and execute actions to achieve goals. Self-efficacy emerges from four sources:
mastery experiences, vicarious learnings, verbal persuasion, and emotional states. When
applied to education, social cognitive theory clarifies why two teachers in identical
environments may display radically different attitudes: one with high self-efficacy innovates
despite constraints, while another with low efficacy resigns to "failure." Bandura further
emphasized the outcome expectations and observational learning where attitudes form by
mirroring respected colleagues. Crucially, Social cognitive theory positions teachers not as
passive victims of circumstance but as agents capable of transforming their reality through
cognitive reframing and environmental mastery.

In Okene’s context where Business Studies teachers face overcrowded classrooms, scarce
materials, and minimal training, social cognitive behavior explains how low self-efficacy
becomes a critical attitude barrier. Teachers who lack mastery experiences or vicarious
models, internalize helplessness, interpreting systemic challenges as personal incapacity.
Meanwhile, negative emotional states from stress further corrode efficacy. Yet social
cognitive theory also reveals pathways to resilience: teachers with strong outcome
expectations (e.g., faith that Business Studies disrupts youth unemployment) may persist
despite obstacles, especially if they receive verbal persuasion from community leaders
affirming the subject’s value. A 2023 study of Nigerian vocational teachers (Okafor et al.)
confirmed this: 81% of teachers with "high outcome expectations" reported positive attitudes
versus 29% with "low efficacy," underscoring Social cognitive theory predictive power.