Business Education: An Overview

Past, Present and Future

Originally developed by Dr. Marty Yopp, edited by Dr. Allen Kitchel

Goals Of Business Education

Promoting career awareness and exploration of business careers

Preparing students to be competent consumers of goods and services.

Providing a basic knowledge of economics and the free enterprise system.

Developing skills and knowledge needed in managing personal business affairs including computer skills

Goals of Business Education (cont.)

Development of business employability skills and dispositions. Business – Office occupations Marketing – Sales and Entrepreneurship

Providing general business knowledge, skills, and understanding needed for economic citizenship.

Inspiring respect for the value and dignity of work.

Reinforcing academic knowledge and skills through business content.

Professional Organizations National Business Education

Association (NBEA) WBEA: Western Business Education

Association (11 western states & 3 Canadian provinces. (WBEA)

IBEA: Idaho Business Education Assn. Association for Career & Technical

Education (ACTE) http://www.acteonline.org/

Professional Organizations (cont.)

Career & Technical Educators of Idaho (CTEI) http://www.ctei.org/

National Association For Business Teacher Education (NABTE) The University of Idaho is a member of

NABTE

Professional Organizations (cont.)

Idaho Division of Professional-Technical Education

Business Professionals of America (BPA) Student organization

DECA: Marketing Education Association FBLA: Future Business Leaders of America DPE: Delta Pi Epsilon NCEE: National Council on Economic

Education ICEE: Idaho Council on Economic Education

The Past: A Brief History Roman Empire: Focused on Shorthand 1484 bookkeeping: Double entry developed Business Education in early America

Referred to as “Commercial Education” Focused on penmanship, shorthand and bookkeeping Focused on vocational goals

Typewriter (1868): Typing added to the curriculum. Commercial Law and business correspondence

also added following the Civil War. 1824: First Business College

Reading, penmanship, arithmetic, algebra, astronomy, history, geography, commercial law, and political economy.

The Past: A Brief History (cont.)

Business Education has evolved Educating about business (economic

citizenship) Educating for business (employment skills)

The Past: A Brief History (cont.)

Smith Hughes Act of 1917 Legislative foundation for vocational education

from 1917 to present. Promoted vocational agriculture

Train people "who have entered upon or who are preparing to enter upon the work of the farm," and;

Provided federal funds to support this. Created a separation between vocational and

academic curriculum. Required states to establish a “Board of

Vocational Education” , this led to a separation of vocational education from the mainstream of schools operations.

The Past: A Brief History (cont.)

Commercial Courses In 1925 business courses were called

“Commercial” courses and were considered part of the general high school curriculum.

Typewriting, Business Math, Business Law, General Business, Accounting, and Marketing were considered essential to a well rounded high school curriculum.

Business subjects considered “Academic”.

The Past: A Brief History (cont.)

The “George” Acts (1929-1946) Expanded upon the Smith-Hughes Act Provided funding for

Vocational Home Economics Education Vocational Agriculture Education Trade and Industry Education

George-Dean Acts of 1936 & 1946 Distributive (Marketing) Education added and

federally funded Business Education still not included.

Vocational Education Act of 1963 & 1968 Identified “Business Education” as a supported field.

The Past: A Brief History (cont.)

In the mid-1960’s, federal legislation was passed to make business and marketing programs eligible for vocational dollars.

The money was designed to: Promote programs & recruit students Purchase modern equipment Provide professional development for teachers.

Pros & Cons to Vocational Funds

Some business educators supported eligibility for vocational funds while others did not.

Schools and programs had to apply to their state divisions of Vocational Education to receive funds. Not automatic.

Teachers were supposed to complete the course work required for vocational certification.

Many business educators wanted to retain their academic status.

Pros & Cons to Vocational Funds (cont.)

There was a perception of vocational education as attracting inferior students.

This perception prevails today. The Big Shift

Around 1970 when schools, in large numbers, wanted to replace their existing typewriters with IBM Selectric typewriters. They also wanted data processing equipment, and eventually microcomputers.

Spinoffs from Vocational Status

A group of business educators left FBLA programs and established the Office Education Association (now Business Professionals of America (BPA) which was more supportive of vocational education and vocational funding.

Business programs and classes were physically moved into vocational wings or buildings.

Money for equipment was available.

Spinoffs from Vocational Status (cont.)

Programs, faculty, and students were lumped together with other vocational programs which were largely “blue collar” work with your hands programs.

Fewer academic students enrolled in business, marketing, and office oriented classes.

Some programs flourished while others struggled.

The Present & Future

Microcomputers and Microcomputer Applications resulted in an elevation of the status of business teachers and their subject matter expertise. Business teachers had to retool in large

numbers. Business teachers became viewed as the

technology leaders in their schools.

Business Ed: The Present (cont.)

Basic business and accounting courses were lost in favor of computer applications and technology courses.

Office practices, procedures, and word processing (with skill development) were replaced by computer courses using MS Office Applications.

Keyboarding was offered at different times in different places. Skill development suffered. High quality keyboarding standards were not maintained.

Students developed bad habits.

Challenges: Mixed Messages

Primary responsibility is to somehow keep pace with technology, faster computers, the latest version of software, prepare students to pass certification tests.

Primary responsibility is to align the business curriculum with academic standards and prepare students to transition into college.

Primary responsibility is to prepare students to enter the workplace.

Challenges: Mixed Messages (cont.)

Primary responsibility is to help each student grow and develop in accordance with their background, experience, interests, abilities, aptitude, and culture.

I must recognize and provide nurturing and support for at-risk students.

I must provide challenging and relevant assignments and projects for all my students.

I must recognize and respect diversity and individual differences.

I must ensure that all students can pass the academic standards assessments.

Some Suggestions Develop lessons, projects, and activities which

begin with fairly simple and basic assignments and then become more complex and sophisticated at level two or three. For example:

Level 1: Prepare a simple spreadsheet. Level 2: Add additional rows and columns and

include some formulas. Level 3: Enhance the appearance of the

spreadsheet and make projections for the future.

Teach Students not Subjects

Content is important but students are more important. Be student centered. Help all students find some level of success.

Use plus points not minus points. Allow students to go back and correct their

mistakes before moving on. Do not allow inferior work to count.

Emphasize quality over quantity. Use mailability standards. Three mistakes and it is unsatisfactory and must be redone.

Teamwork In society and the workplace people are

expected to work well together. We need to make our classrooms more representative of what is taking place in the work environment. Fewer and fewer people work in isolation. They are part of a team who work together to solve problems and get things done.

Have assignments turned in as units not just daily assignments.

Keyboarding & Computer Applications

If computer application students have poor keyboarding skills, provide them with keyboarding drills they must complete as part of their growth and development.

At 20 to 25 wpm students can keyboard more efficiently than they can hand write.

Don’t Ignore the Basics Teach basic business, accounting, and

economics in your technology classes. Teach technology in your basic business,

accounting, and economic classes. Give students a problem or simulation and have

them determine how they are going to use technology to solve the problem.

Don’t rely too heavily on tutorials for computer applications. Give them real assignments for which there is no answer key.

Entrepreneurship, Accounting & Business Plans

Entrepreneurship and school based enterprise activities are popular.

When developing a business plan teach students to develop a chart-of-accounts for their business and then to come up with sample transactions.

Develop an understanding of the accounting cycle.

Journalize, post, prepare a worksheet and financial statements for the business.

PowerPoint & Websites When students prepare presentations and

websites require them to use a business topic which they research.

Learn about business as they are learning to use technology.

Encourage students to explore local or regional business issues and/or contemporary economic conditions as the basis for their work.

Use current events!

The Future of Business Education

Serving ALL Students: National standards and guidelines for

business educators emphasize the need to educate all students—not just those majoring in business.

Business, economics, personal finance, accounting, marketing, law, careers, critical thinking, decision-making impact everyone.

The Future of Business Education (cont.)

Align standards for business education and academics: Business courses help students meet the academic standards on which they are assessed (reading, writing, social studies, math).

Connect with the business community. Demonstrated competencies over time are

what matters most. Business & economics drive this country

and the world. We deal with REAL!

National Business Education Standards call for

Economically literate citizens Interpersonal, teamwork, and leadership

skills Career Awareness & lifelong learning skills The use of technology for personal and

business decisions Effective communicate skills The use of accounting for decision-making

National Business Education Standards call for (cont.)

An understanding of the principles of law Value for an entrepreneurial spirit in small

business and the corporate environment. Application of critical-thinking skills to

multiple roles as citizens, consumers, workers, managers, and directors of our own economic future.

Teaching students the ARMA Filing Rules Some International Business & Economics Infuse marketing into business & business

into marketing

National Business Education Standards call for (cont.)

Operate your classroom more like a business than a school room

Expect students to behave as they would in the workplace

Accept responsibility for the quality of their work. Don’t reward junk. Demand quality which meets

industry standards Utilize relevant problems or projects Keep students engaged the entire class period Equity: When technology or other resources

are limited, consider a rotation system for equitable access.

The Final Word Business educators should facilitate learning

in a student-centered environment. Learning is customized: Students select

projects and work independently or in teams to use technology to solve unstructured problems.

Assignments support independence, creativity, and collaboration. Trust & respect are essential for growth, development, and success.