Business Education: An Overview Past, Present and Future

1
Business Education An OverviewPast, Present and
Future

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

2
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

3
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.

4
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/

5
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

6
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

7
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.

8
The Past A Brief History (cont.)

• Business Education has evolved
• Educating about business (economic citizenship)
• Educating for business (employment skills)

9
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.

10
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.

11
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.

12
The Past A Brief History (cont.)

• In the mid-1960s, 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.

13
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.

14
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.

15
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.

16
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.

17
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.

18
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.

19
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.

20
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.

21
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.

22
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.

23
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.

24
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.

25
Dont 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.
• Dont rely too heavily on tutorials for computer
  applications. Give them real assignments for
  which there is no answer key.

26
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.

27
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!

28
The Future of Business Education

• Serving ALL Students
• National standards and guidelines for business
  educators emphasize the need to educate all
  studentsnot just those majoring in business.
• Business, economics, personal finance,
  accounting, marketing, law, careers, critical
  thinking, decision-making impact everyone.

29
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!

30
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

31
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

32
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.
• Dont 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.

33
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.