Is Business Education in unhealthy decline?

Buried within recent BBC headlines about falling trainee teacher numbers in core subjects was the alarming statistic that the number of applicants for Business Studies has plummeted.

What may have caused this? Granted, it does not include the figures for GTP applicants (many of whom will have industry experience and perhaps require the salary to transition into teaching) but in the era of Dragons Den, The Apprentice, Business & Enterprise Colleges, Work Related Learning and Personal Finance Education such a figure is at the very least worthy of note. So is this just a blip? A quick analysis of the same figures for the previous three years, reveals a rise of 0.3% and falls of 8.28% and 0.3% respectively which doesn’t suggest an immediate crisis, but perhaps the beginning of the thin edge of the wedge?

Well, as a former head of Business & Enterprise Faculty in a specialist school, I am only too aware of the problems of recruiting and retaining quality business teachers. However, it seems I am not alone and following a discussion with several Heads of Business across the country, many tried to diagnose the various ills of Business Education from their staff, which in their opinion is giving rise to the 29% ‘symptom’:

1) Soft Subject Syndrome ( ” Anyone can teach Business Studies, Travel and Funcare”)

2) Curriculum Fix Flu ( ” A C/D grade may be acceptable in French, but we must have Distinction portfolios from your BTEC / OCR students. Please remind your staff that the schools results depend upon it”)

3) FFT Fever ( ” I understand that you have written letters home, met with parents and that the darlings have done no BTEC homework or coursework and the deadline is in two weeks but it is your professional responsibility to ensure the students meet their FFT target”

4) Specialist Schools Sickness (” I’m sorry we have earmarked the extra funding to tar the drive and replace the sign outside school. Dont worry about all that Enterprise thing, just make sure it is mapped across the school before Ofsted next visit”)

5) Textbookitus ( ” I am afraid we cannot let them go on a visit due to curriculum disruption, but the new textbook has some lovely case studies to help with their Applied Business coursework”)

6) Personal Economic Problems ( Challenging Jobs: Analyst, EC3, £35,000 start, Business Teacher, NW3, £21,000 start)

Are these complaints necessarily subject specific?

Is the above really anything new? Is more money the answer?

What should done? -

Your thoughts?