Page 5 - Business Studies 9-10 (2006)

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THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9 AND 10: BUSINESS STUDIES
in helping people with their needs, challenges, and problems; and in creating products and services that help to improve the quality of life.
Business studies clearly demonstrates how a variety of areas of study can be combined in pro- ductive activity that affects the lives of millions of people. Courses in this discipline provide knowledge and skills that can help students make a successful transition to postsecondary education, training programs, and the workplace.The business studies program, introduced
in Grades 9 and 10, prepares students to apply their education to real-world challenges, experiences, and opportunities.
Business Studies and Real-World Connections. The business studies curriculum examines the multifaceted functions and operations of businesses, from small businesses to multinational enterprises.These businesses drive the economy, influence the standard of living and the nature and number of jobs, and play a role in the career decisions of many secondary school students.
Students are motivated and learn best when they understand the relevance of what they
are studying.The business studies program provides rich opportunities for relevant, real-world learning experiences.These experiences reinforce theoretical learning and at the same time provide authentic contexts in which students can apply what they have learned. In business studies, programs that provide pathways to specific apprenticeship and workplace destinations and that include cooperative education courses provide students with valuable information and connections that help them to explore potential work and business opportunities.
The Goals of Business Studies
The fundamental purpose of the business studies program is to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to achieve success in secondary school, the workplace, postsecondary education or training, and daily life.
The goals of the business studies curriculum are to enable students to:
• gain an understanding of business concepts through the study of subjects such as accounting, entrepreneurship, information and communication technology (ICT), international business, marketing, and business leadership;
• achievebusiness,economic,financial,anddigitalliteracy;1
• developtheskills,includingcriticalthinkingskills,andstrategiesrequiredtoconduct research and inquiry and communicate findings accurately, ethically, and effectively;
• applytheknowledge,skills,andattitudesacquiredthroughthestudyofbusinesstoavariety of learning tasks and relate them to business phenomena on the local, national, and global levels;
1. In this document, the term literacy is used in connection with business, economics, and finance to suggest a working knowledge of the concepts and language of these disciplines sufficient to enable students to make informed judgements about everyday business activities, and effective decisions about the use and management of money. The term digital literacy, or ICT literacy, refers to the use of “digital technology, communications tools, and/or networks to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information in order to function in a knowledge society” (International ICT Literacy Panel, Digital Transformation: A Framework for ICT Literacy [Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service, May 2002], p. 2. Available at http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/ICTREPORT.pdf).