Assessment of Business Education Lecturers on Constraints in Teaching Vocational Education in Tertiary Institutions in South-South Nigeria

This study assessed constraints encountered by Business Education lecturers in teaching vocational education in public tertiary institutions in South-South Nigeria. A descriptive survey design and multistage sampling procedure were adopted. Four states were randomly selected from the six states in the region, after which 12 public tertiary institutions offering Business Education were purposively selected. The study involved 244 Business Education lecturers, and data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The instrument yielded a mean reliability coefficient of 0.87 using Cronbach’s alpha. Mean scores were used to answer five research questions, while an independent t-test was used to test the null hypothesis at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings showed that respondents agreed that institutional constraints (weighted mean = 3.01), human capital constraints (2.88), infrastructural and technological barriers (2.94), and policy-related and socio-economic issues (2.86) affected vocational education teaching. Respondents also agreed that the identified constraints had implications for instructional quality and graduate preparedness (weighted mean = 2.91). The null hypothesis was rejected, indicating a significant difference between male and female lecturers’ mean ratings of infrastructural constraints. The study recommends improved funding, modern instructional facilities, regular staff development, reliable electricity and internet infrastructure, stronger industry collaboration, recruitment of qualified lecturers, and curriculum modernisation. Addressing these constraints may strengthen instructional effectiveness and students’ practical, entrepreneurial, and employability skills.