CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Financial Accounting is a business subject offered by students in Nigeria secondary schools. According to Udoh (2013), Financial Accounting is a specialized area of instruction that deals directly with business skills and techniques, business knowledge and facts, others include business understanding, economic understanding, business attitudes and appreciation necessary to understand and adjust to the economic and social institution called ―business. Financial Accounting is a process involving gathering, sorting, recording, classifying, verifying, measuring and summarizing financial transactions and subsequently interpreting and communicating information to the owners and users of accounting information for decision making.
According enjoy an unalloyed, uncompromising and unfettered priority in Nigeria. If there is any misgiving about this assertion, it is not with accounting education. It is the danger that beneficiaries will regard accounting education as panaceas for all their problems. Where expectation become unfulfilled due to bad planning, then frustration and discontent will set in an accounting profession which had begun a lodestar, might and up as a mirage this is one way of starting the oblivious fact that disillusionment can set in through bad planning and negligence. Nonetheless arts oriented subjects can survive even within the context of bad planning but social science taught in a similar situation will create an unfathomable discontentment.
Audio Visual Aids are also called instructional material. Audio literally means “hearing” and “visual” means that which is found by seeing. All these learning material make the learning situations as real as possible and give us firsthand knowledge through the organs of hearing and seeing. Webster’s Encyclopeadia Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language defines Audio-Visual Aids as “training or educational materials directed at both the senses of hearing and the sense of sight, films, recordings, photographs, etc used in classroom instructions, library collections or the likes”. The term has also been defined by (Dike, 2013) as; those materials which do not depend solely upon reading to convey meaning.
They may present information through the sense of hearing as in audio resources, sight, as in visual resources or through a combination of senses. Indeed, the variety of such resources is a striking characteristic. According to (Anzaku, 2015) “the term audio-visual material is commonly used to refer to those instructional materials that may be used to convey meaning without complete dependence upon verbal symbols or language”.
Notable among them is technology-supported ones. Kochhar (2014) observes that more recently technology has been successfully introduced in the field of education to make education more productive and more individual. To Kochhar (2014), the most outstanding development in modern education is the increase in the use of supplementary devices by which the teacher through the use of one sensory channel helps to clarify, establish and correlate accuracy, concepts, interpretation and appreciation, increase knowledge, rouses interest and even evokes worthy emotions and enriches the imagination of students.
Therefore, any device which can be used to make the learning experience more concrete and effective, more realistic and dynamic can be considered audio visual material. The audio-visual resources have their unique roles to play in teaching and learning situation and so must be made readily available and accessible especially at the resource centers like library, Sakky, (2009). Chambers English dictionary defined the words `available' in this research work' to mean the state of being physically present, within easy reach of users. It also refers to information resources that are within the reach of users for their use, while accessibility refers to resources being effectively and independently reached and utilized.
The distinction between these two terms availability and accessibility is that the former refers to the provision of the resources and the other the ability of access to get to them. Instructional resources for the classroom are available in a variety of sources. In line with the provision of education services as outlined in the National Policy on Education, the federal and State government have established several educational audiovisual centres. They are responsible for the provision/procurement and distribution of educational media to schools said (Adewoyin, 2012).
Teaching and learning with audio-visual resources play an important role in the teaching-learning process. Students often benefit from the visual/sound appeal of audio-visual material because it tends to focus their attention on the topic. When teachers present materials in various manners such as providing students with both a summary statement and a chart on a given topic, the visual material enhances the written materials. King (2012) indicated that audio-visual resources, wisely selected and intelligently used, arouse and develop intense and beneficial interest and so motivate students to learn; and properly motivated learning means improved attitudes, permanency of impression and rich experience and ultimately more wholesome living.
Furthermore, (Oketunji, 2014) stressed that audio-visual materials when effectively used have these advantages. They lessen major weakness of verbalism, humanize and vitalize subject matter, provide interesting approach to new topics and give initial correct impressions, economic time in learning, supply concrete materials needed, stimulate the initiative of the pupils. Swank, R.C (2012). stressing the effectiveness of visual materials in leaning, estimated that about 40% of our concepts are based upon visual experience, 25% upon auditory, 17% on tactile, 15% upon miscellaneous organic sensation and 3% upon taste smell.
With the above assertion, it becomes clearer why audio-visual materials are important in the teaching and learning processes. This is because, they bring the different senses contributions together to get 100% clarity Since most students consider financial accounting as an abstract subject, the use of audio-visual resources should be a requirement for every accounting teacher if the aim of the teacher is to guide the student to master concepts in the subject (financial accounting).
Quellette (2014) sums up tenaciously those words may easily be forgotten but mental pictures will long be remembered. It is therefore important to prepare illustrative materials and short demonstrations or other visual materials which are effective means of helping students to understand and thereby facilitating learning. In the light of this, this study intends to examine the relevance of audio visual materials to effective learning of financial accounting in senior secondary schools in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos state.
Statement of the problem
The study is motivated by the fact that students do not retain for long or understand what they are taught without audio-visual aids in financial accounting. Such learning does not encourage participation and lacks interest or stimulation.
It is not based in sense experience nor does it extend their experience. Above all, such learning cannot be permanent. Yet, there is also evidence of low utilization and non-availability of audio-visual materials in schools. So that note will be taken of the hindrances and work towards promoting the use of audio-visual materials. For instance, some school subjects which are regarded to be too tough to understand by students can be made simple, interesting and learnable if the teachers use appropriate and adequate instructional resources. But a major problem that is usually unnoticed is the non-availability and use of relevant educational resources.
It is unfortunate that students perform poorly in some core subjects such as Mathematics, English Language, and Financial accounting etc in various examinations. According to Nwalo (2010), the reasons responsible for mass failure in these subjects, is usually traceable to poor teaching by teachers, lack of resources or audio-visuals and lack of seriousness on the part of the students.
Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of this study is to examine the relevance of audio visual materials to effective learning of financial accounting in senior secondary schools in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos state. The specific objectives of the study are:
(i) To examine relevance of audio visual materials to the teaching and learning of financial accounting.
(ii) To appraise the to examine use of audio visual materials in the teaching and learning of financial accounting.
(iii) To examine obstacles to the effective use of audio visual materials in teaching and learning of financial accounting.
(iv) To proffer solutions to challenges of using of audio visual materials in teaching and learning of financial accounting.
Research Questions
This research is guided by four research questions, which are based on the purpose of the study. They are as follows.
The following research questions are posed to guide this study:
1. What is relevance of audio visual materials in the teaching and learning of financial accounting?
2. What are the uses of audio visual materials in the teaching and learning of financial accounting?
3. What are obstacles to the effective use of audio visual materials in teaching and learning of financial accounting?
4. What are solutions to challenges of using of audio visual materials in teaching and learning of financial accounting?
Significance of the Study
It is hoped that the findings of this study will go a long way to reveal the actual state of audio-visual resources to financial accounting. The study will equally provide curriculum developer and policy makers with further research work on utilization of resources to enhance teaching and learning at all levels of the Nigeria Education system.
The result could serve as an eye opener to both the government and non-governmental organization that can be involved in solving problems that may be identified militating against the effective and efficient utilization of the resources. Furthermore, the educational technologists, libraries and resources centers would be sensitized to the need to engage in improvisation and production of these resources for the colleges they are situated. Finally, it may indicate the scope for further studies in the area.
Delimitation of the Study
The study is limited to Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State, but the results of the study just like any other study can be used to rectify the hindrances in secondary schools in Lagos State and Nigeria at large. The study is also limited to the relevance of audio visual materials to effective learning of financial accounting in senior secondary schools in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos state.
Definition of Terms
The following terms were operationally defined for the study;
Audio Visual Materials: All the teaching materials use by teachers which deals with seeing and hearing. They are multimedia materials includes television, radio, tape recorder.
Teaching Materials: All the equipment used by teachers while teaching and which makes teaching clearer and easier for the students to understand
Laboratory: A room or building used for scientific experiment, research and testing and given report to
Film Strip: These are series of picture with scripts written by teachers are shown on screen for academic purposes with aid learning and teaching effective.
Slide Projector: These are electrical project which show pictures in motion and to learning diagrams or instruction on a screen.
Chart: A labeled picture meant for students to look at constantly for familiarization of words.
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