STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE RELEVANCE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION CURRICULUM TO CONTEMPORARY WORKPLACE DEMANDS: EVIDENCE FROM LAGOS UNIVERSITIES, NIGERIA

Abstract

The increasing digitalisation of workplaces has placed new demands on higher education curricula, particularly in Business Education, which must balance teaching, employability, and entrepreneurship. This study examined university students’ perceptions of the relevance of the Business Education curriculum to contemporary workplace requirements in Lagos State, Nigeria. Guided by Curriculum Relevance Theory, the study focused on how effectively the curriculum prepares students for teaching in technology-driven classrooms, employability in modern organisations, and entrepreneurial self-reliance. A quantitative research design was adopted, targeting all 187 final-year Business Education students from the University of Lagos and Lagos State University, with 114 valid responses analysed using descriptive statistics and independent t-tests. Findings revealed that students generally rated the curriculum highly in equipping them with teaching competencies, such as classroom management and innovative instructional strategies. However, major weaknesses were identified in the employability and entrepreneurship domains. A large proportion of students perceived courses related to digital literacy, human resource management, communication, and entrepreneurship as outdated, with limited exposure to online business tools, digital branding, and e-commerce platforms. Confidence in launching businesses or competing for corporate roles was low, indicating a misalignment between curricular intentions and labour market expectations. These perceptions are the same across the two universities sampled. Based on the study findings, the study recommends that the government, through the National Universities Commission, should regularly update the business education curriculum to include teaching about artificial intelligence tools, digital marketing skills, and industrial partnership.