INFLUENCE OF COVID - 19 PANDEMIC ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS IN PUBLIC TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

This study determined the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the academic achievement of business education students in public tertiary institutions in Anambra State. The study was guided by two research questions, and two hypotheses were tested at a significance level of .05. The research employed a descriptive survey design. The population of the study consisted of 224 business education students from four public tertiary institutions in Anambra State offering business education programmes. A structured questionnaire developed by the researcher was used as the data collection instrument. A pilot test was conducted to assess the instrument's internal consistency, resulting in reliability coefficients of 0.77 and 0.88 for clusters B1 and B2, respectively, as determined by Cronbach's alpha. Data analysis involved the use of mean, standard deviation, and t-test to analyze the collected data and test the null hypotheses of the study. The findings revealed that the non-adaptation to the new learning environment and poor accessibility to e-learning tools influenced academic achievement of business education students during the COVID-19 pandemic in tertiary institutions in Anambra State to a low extent. Findings also revealed that the location of institution did not influence the non-adaptation of new learning environment. However, findings revealed that location of institutions influenced the accessibility to e-learning tools. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that the administrators of business education programmes should design a learning framework that promotes blended learning for business education students in tertiary institutions. It was also recommended that Government should ensure that funds are made available for the integration of e-learning platforms in business education programmes in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.