ABSTRACT

The purpose of carrying out this research was to investigate on the causes of students poor attitude towards the study of secretarial studies in tertiary institutions in Enugu state. In order to obtain the requires data, the researcher use some selected tertiary institutions in Enugu State with a total population of 610 respondents, 550 respondents were used as the sample size while instrument for data collection were questionnaire, text books and personal observation. Three research questions were formulated for the study.  The findings showed that:  Enough equipment were not provided for imparting of the course.  The financial involvement of the course is very high.  Most of the students were not properly, guided by guidance and counsellors before enrolling into the department.  The researcher finally made some useful suggestions and recommendation on the provision of required equipment for department of secretarial studies, that Government should come to the aid of tertiary institutions that are running this course since the equipment are very expensive. The researcher also recommended that guidance and counsellor services should be given to the students before choosing their courses also that there must be good report between students and lectures.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY:

Secretarial studies, simply put, is education for secretaryship which includes the training necessary to develop secretarial skills. These skills include human relation skills e.g. writing and translating shorthand with typewriter, knowing how to operate typewriter both manual and electric and finally being a computer literate. All these sub-skills prepare one for the secretarial functions for which a good secretary must possess. Secretarial studies is also part of the business education which many scholars have written on the subject, all have seen it as education that equips the learner with the skills which they required for use in business offices.

Secretarial studies is one of the most literate course one can offer among other related course. Those who successfully graduated from this course of study are always in terms of job opportunities.

In Nigeria for example, the demand for secretary by various business concern are exhaustible. In the recent past, the secretary by virtue of the training, specialization and responsibility takes the position of an administration which is a step below that of a manager.

At present, responsibility below on a secretary varies from one business concern to another and that is aspiring to the managerial post. All these are dependent on hand work, further training and experience.

Even with the technological revolution in the office, the place of the secretary remains unthreatened. The secretary has unlimited career protests, she is sometimes referred to as a live-wire of an organization or office encyclopaedia among other befitting names.

Secretaries receive adequate training to cope with versatility in an increasingly complex and automated modern office.

But amidst all these available opportunities for the secretary, there has been a negative attitude among the present day students in studying the course in the tertiary institutions especially among the males. The scarcity of proficient secretaries has been remarkable in our developing economy.

Over the years, the secretary has been misrepresented, misapprehended, and misinterpreted as well, with this ugly development, a lot of students aspiring to professionalise on the ever increasing demand of secretaries in our fast developing economy?

Hence the dire need for the study, the “causes of students poor attitude towards the study of secretarial studies in tertiary institutions” with a view of finding out the problems and then solving them.

Perhaps, the most crucial and challenging questions in the minds of secretarial administration educators is what to do in order to keep pace with technological change in the secretarial office equipment and not poor enrolment into the course.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS:

For quite sometime now, there has been a decline on the number of prospective school learners who offer secretarial studies in tertiary institutions.

Moreover, a higher percentage of those who apply to read the course nowadays has been observed to be females.

In another development, some students offering the course claimed that it was their inability to fit into other various prestigious discipline that made them to settle for the secretarial profession.

This ugly development has continued as a matter of fact to be a source of worry to business educators and management of tertiary institutions that offer this course.

It is however envisaged that if this situation continues unchecked, there will be a serious scarcity of efficient and proficient secretaries to man the various business offices spans up in every part of the country.

In a similar development, some secretarial positions demand a masculine hand equally avoid all these feminish “leaves” prominent among the female secretaries.

It has also been observed that some students do not receive guidance and counselling in order to know the importance of the course.

It is in view of these enormous indispensable and challenging studies of the present day secretary that the researcher delved into the study in order to investigate, analyse the cause for students poor attitude towards the study of secretarial studies in tertiary institutions in Enugu State and this recommend valuable and lasting solutions too.

1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY:

1. To investigate whether there are equipment for the teaching and learning of the course.

2. To find out why many students are not interested in secretarial administration course.

3. To investigate whether students were being guided by a guidance and councilor before choosing courses?

4. To find out why women have dominated the profession?

5. To make suitable recommendation on the major courses of students poor attitude towards the study of secretarial administration in tertiary institutions in Enugu State.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:

In the end of this research work, it is hoped that useful ideas will be proffered to the students who wants to do secretarial administration in Enugu State and Nigeria as a whole.

The study will also help to correct the idea that secretarial administration is a course for people with low mentality or handicap in academics.

This study will equally help to enlighten the prospective students to know that there is no gender discrimination in the course. This study will help to correct some negative attitude and ginger students towards reading the course.

The study and the recommendations will encourage the students to have interest in secretarial administration course. This will provide qualified personnel to meet high demand of department and industries in our changing society.

1.5 Research hypothesis

HO1 Learner characteristics do not significantly influence their  attitude towards secretarial studies courses

HO2 There is no significant difference between students in different categories of schools on their attitude towards secretarial studies courses

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

This research work is designed to cover only the causes of students poor attitude towards the study of secretarial administration in the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu and Our Saviour Institute of Science and Technology, (OSISATEC), Enugu.

1.7 RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

1. Is the secretarial department adequately equipped and funded to handle the imparting of skilled knowledge to the students?

2. Do enrolling students have career guidance before being admitted to study secretarial studies?

3. Why is the career dominated by female?

4. What could be the solution to the problem of students poor attitude towards the study of secretarial administration.

Limitations on the Study

The study is faced with various shortcomings that may affect effective research undertaking. The researcher faces series of challenges including; lack of adequate fund for carrying out this research work, time frame to go to the field, libraries and write the report and submit at the required time.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

Some terms that are used in the context of this study are hereby operationally defined as used:

Attitude: Is used in the study to mean the tendency to think, feelings or preferences that students have about typing and shorthand courses, based on their belief about the courses, which can be positive or negative.

Business Studies: Business Studies is taught in the junior secondary school level as one of the basic subjects that will enable students acquire skills and knowledge which are common and fundamental to commercial activities.

Typing: Is a course that is being taught to aid students in acquiring skills and information on typewriter or computer keyboards.

Shorthand Courses: Is any system of rapid writing using symbols or shortcuts that can be made quickly to represent letters of the alphabet, words or phrases.

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