Business Education: Past,
Present, and Future
Dr. Marty Yopp
University of Idaho Boise Center
322 E. Front Street, Ste. 440
Boise, ID 83702
myopp@uidaho.edu
The Past: A Brief History
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In 1925 business courses were called
“Commercial” courses and were
considered part of the requirements for
high school graduation.
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Typewriting, Business Math, Business Law,
General Business, Accounting, and
Marketing were considered essential to a
well rounded high school curriculum.
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Initially the Smith-Hughes Act included
agriculture, home economics, industrial
technology but not business.
In the mid-1960’s, federal legislation
was passed to make business and
marketing programs eligible for
vocational dollars.
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The money was designed to:
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Promote programs & recruit students
Purchase modern equipment
Provide professional development for teachers.
Pros & Cons to Vocational
Funds
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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.
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Many business educators wanted to retain
their academic status.
They viewed vocational education as
attracting inferior students.
This perception prevails today.
The Big Shift began 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.
Spinoffs from Vocational
Status
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A group of business educators left FBLA
programs and established the Office
Education Association (now 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.
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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.
Business Ed: The Present
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Microcomputers and Microcomputer
Applications resulted in an elevation of
the status of business teachers and
their subject matter expertise.
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Business teachers had to retool in large
numbers.
Business teachers became viewed as the
technology leaders in their schools.
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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
Microsoft 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.
Mixed Messages:
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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.
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Primary responsibility is to help each
student grow and develop in accordance
with their background, experience,
interests, abilities, aptitude, and culture.
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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.
I must do all of this and more with larger
classes, fewer resources, and more uncertainty
about the future.
Some Suggestions
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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.
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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.
Teach Students not Subjects
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Content is important but students are more
important. Be student centered. Help all
students find some level of success.
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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.
Encourage students to work in
pairs and to learn together
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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.
Keyboarding is a Computer
Application
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If your computer application students have poor
keyboarding skills, provide them with some
keyboarding drills they must complete as part of
their growth and development effort. First-finger,
first reach drills work well to improve the use of
the correct fingers.
(www.educ.uidaho.edu/bustech) under
keyboarding. Alphabetic sentences also work well
to improve basic keyboarding skills.
At 20 to 25 wpm students can keyboard more
efficiently than they can hand write.
Don’t Ignore the Basics
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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.
Don’t rely too heavily on tutorials for computer
applications. Give them real assignments for
which there is no answer key.
Teach accounting along with
business plans
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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 they might have the
first month they are in operation.
Journalize, post, prepare a worksheet and
financial statements for the business.
Powerpoint & Web Sites
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When students prepare presentations and
web sites require them to use a business
topic which they research.
That way they are learning about business
as they are learning to use technology.
Encourage them to explore local or
regional business issues and/or
contemporary economic conditions as the
basis for their work. Use current events.
The Future of Business
Education
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Serving ALL Students:
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National standards and guidelines for
business educators emphasize the need to
educate all students—not just those
majoring in business.
Business, economics, personal finance,
accounting, marketing, law, careers, critical
thinking, decision-making impact everyone.
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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 as
frequently as you possibly can.
Move from assessment to proficiency.
Demonstrated competencies over time are
what matters most.
Business & economics drive this country
and the world. We deal with REAL!
National Business Education
Standards Call For:
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Economically literate citizens
Interpersonal, teamwork, and leadership
skills
Career Awareness & lifelong learning skills
Use technology for personal and business
decisions
Effective communicate skills
Use of accounting for decision-making
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Understand the principles of law
Value an entrepreneurial spirit in small
business and the corporate environment.
Apply critical-thinking skills to multiple
roles as citizens, consumers, workers,
managers, owners, and directors of our
own economic future.
Teach students the ARMA Filing Rules
Teach some International Business &
Economics
Infuse marketing into business and
business into marketing
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Operate your classroom more like a
business than a school room
Expect students to behave as they would
in the workplace
Require them to accept responsibility for
the quality of their work. Don’t reward
junk. Demand quality which meets
industry standards
Utilize relevant problems or projects as
much as possible
Keep them busy the entire class period
Rotate students on and off computers with
specialized software or hardware
The Final Word
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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.