In response to what constitutes the goal of education in modern society, Fleming (2019) posits that the purpose of education is to help people reach their human potential. It could therefore be deduced from this that human capital development is the most important goal of education since it leads to development of talent, skills and competencies that would enable a person to harness their capacity. The authors of this article are also of the conviction that education has the objective of making the recipients to be skilful in order to enhance their personal growth and contribute meaningfully to societal growth and development. Based on this, Kapur (2018) is of the opinion that education is not only necessary for the progress of an individual; it is also required for the development of communities and nations. To buttress this, Gidado and Daramola (2021) point out that education is an instrument for human resource development because it equips learners with skills, knowledge and competencies that would make them to become functional members of the society. The implication of this is that functional education could make the lives of individuals better and position them to contribute to the development of their communities and nations at large. Business education which in Nigeria is studied from Junior secondary school to tertiary level of education is one of the fields of study that are expected to play a lead role in accelerating the pace of sustainable development in Nigeria. To corroborate this view point, a deduction from Umezulike (2015) shows that business education is a discipline which equips the recipients with skills in entrepreneurship, basic education, business environment and vocational practices that are required for developing potentials of an individual, group and the nation. In the formal educational system, the extent to which learners have acquired the desired skills is often evaluated in order to determine their level of educational attainment (academic performance). Academic performance is perceived by researchers as a learning outcome (Lamas, 2015). In the same vein, Okafor and Dalyopjah (2020) see it as the outcome of educational service. It is also an indicator of achievement which clearly manifests in form of understanding, knowledge or idea which is generally represented by grade (Mamman and Oladeji, 2018). Furthermore, Okafor and Dalyopjah (2020) see academic performance as the extent to which educational goals have been attained by a person, teacher and or an institution. This explains why academic performances are often categorized as excellent, good, average or poor. The identified categories which themselves are associated with grades are arrived at through a standardized system of continuous assessment tests and examinations considered as the common instruments for measuring academic performance, whether at random or fixed interval. As to how academic performance should be evaluated, Ekwesianya (2019) points out that there is no consensus in relation to how academic performance should be evaluated. This shows that any suitable method of assessment can be used to determine the extent to which educational goals have been attained.

In the conventional educational system, skills and competencies are acquired through constant interaction between the teacher and the students in the classroom. The former delivers the instruction, while the latter listen and participate in the teaching-learning process through engaging their senses of sight, sound, feel and emotions. Learners get the opportunity to engage creatively in the class exercises, they are able to establish a connection between concepts and get vague and abstract points clarified. Furthermore, learners would likely also benefit from facts that are based on the teacher’s views or experience as opposed to textbook(s) and be able to think critically due to the questioning technique(s) adopted by the teacher and by implication learn something new or acquire new competencies and expertise in a given discipline. The above conjecture explains why many schools and teachers encourage students to be punctual in class or even make class attendance compulsory and a condition for writing examinations. In line with this, Rothmans (2001) stresses that physical presence in the school and active participation in academic activities would make students to benefit from academic programme. In the same vein, Credé et al. (2010) point out that instructors do encourage their students to attend classes because of the belief that high class attendance leads to increased learning and improve students’ grades. Furthermore, Chou and Kou (2012) found out that overall class attendance is the strongest predictor of students’ performance. In a study conducted by Marburger in Kamal et al. (2013), using a model which compares the absences of students with the questions attempted in a multiple-choice question paper, it was found out that the probability of an incorrect answer increased by absenteeism from 7 to 14%. Adegoke et al. (2013) in reference to Romer (1993) findings disclosed that class attendance significantly reflected on students’ Grade Point Average (GPA). In the same vein, a study conducted by Spaho and Goldoja (2014) reveals that lecture attendance of business students has significant impact on their final success in General Mathematics course and that students who attended more than 10 lectures are more likely to get a passing grade. In the light of these reports, lecture attendance should be taken very serious by students. Furthermore, Demir et al. (2017) found out that lecture attendance increases academic success of students in Medical Physiology, regardless of whether they are first time takers or repeat takers. Finally, the findings of a study conducted by Rico et al. (n.d) indicate a strong correlation between class attendance percentages, pass rate and efficiency rate. According to Rico et al. pass rate is a mathematical relationship between the number of students that passed a subject and the total number of registered students. On the other hand, efficiency rate explains the mathematical relationship between the credits earned by students and the number of credits they had to register so as to earn the particular credits. It should however be noted that the findings of Rico et al. reveals that class attendance correlates more with efficiency rate than pass rate.

In contrast to the submissions above, Hunter and Tetley (1999) in an earlier study observes that despite fallen attendance rates, pass rates in universities have increased over the years and thus concludes that attendance does not affect examination performance. Similarly, Rodgers (2002) found out that there is no relationship between attendance and academic performance. This owes to the fact that Rodgers implemented an incentive scheme in an undergraduate Introductory Statistics Module in which 1% is deducted from a student’s overall mark; whenever they missed tutorial in excess of two. Therefore, when students’ attendance and performance were compared with those of the students who took the same module in the previous academic year before the introduction of the incentive scheme, the results indicate an improved attendance without a corresponding academic performance, despite the deduction of the penalty points for non-attendance. On a final note, a study conducted by Doggrell (2020) reveals that there is no association between lecture attendance and academic outcome. A critical examination of the literature reviewed so far shows that both attendance and absenteeism have influence on learning and academic achievement. This owes principally to the fact that while attendance makes the students to have access to first-hand information made available by the teachers, absenteeism denies them such benefits which could lead to poor performance. In the same vein, some studies revealed that class attendance is not a guarantee for good academic performance and absenteeism does not necessarily mean that students would perform poorly in examinations. It is thus, against this background that this study seeks to determine the impact of lecture attendance on academic performance of business education students in tertiary institutions.

Statement of the problem

As put forward by Kapur (2018), academic performance is influenced by different variables which include attitude of the students, school resources, abilities of the teacher, classroom environment, social, psychological and health factors, counselling and guidance services, time management, home environment and teaching-learning method. A study conducted by Buba and Nwabufo (2020) also revealed that parental level of education has a significant and positive influence on academic achievement of junior secondary schools’ students in Business Studies in Adamawa State, Nigeria. Many people view lecture attendance as an important indicator of academic success because it furnishes students with information made available directly by the teacher. Despite the benefits that are associated with lecture attendance, the researchers observed from preliminary investigation that students do wilfully choose to abscond from lectures. Fayombo et al. (2012) research findings suggest that absenteeism is becoming rampant among students due to reasons such as lack of subject interest, poor teaching strategies adopted by lecturers and unfavourable learning environment. Other reasons advanced for absenteeism among students include too-much socialization, part-time jobs to augment meagre bursaries granted by various sponsors and poor relations with lecturers. These reasons no doubt contributed to the dwindling performance of students in examinations and may impact negatively on their ability to exhibit the desired skills in work environments after graduation. Although, the findings of some studies indicate that absenteeism has no relationship with academic success or failure, a critical examination of the findings of these same studies in the background of inadequate supporting technologies to promote self-study by which academic performance could have been improved or unaffected justifies the need to investigate the impact of lecture attendance on academic performance. Hence, the problem of this study is therefore to empirically determine the impact of lecture attendance on academic performance of business education students in tertiary institutions, so as to bring to the fore and attempt to justify the idea that lecture attendance does lead to academic success.

Objectives of the study

The objective of the study was to determine the impact of lecture attendance on academic performance of business education students in tertiary institutions. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the relationship between lecture attendance and academic performance of business education students in tertiary institutions and the difference between academic performances of business education students with high and low rates of attendance in tertiary institutions.

Hypotheses

In line with the research objectives, the following null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance:

Ho₁: There is no significant relationship between lecture attendance and students’ academic performance in Business education in tertiary institutions.

Ho₂: There is no significant difference between the academic performances of Business education students with high and low rates of attendance in tertiary institutions.