Business education continuously builds on the knowledge, skills, values and attitude learnt at the lower phases of education. Education itself does not only mean schooling even though schooling is essential, yet it is a much wider concept embracing formal and informal methods of learning; traditional and non-traditional teaching processing, self-learning (through various media such as books, Tv, internet, Radio , etc).

See samples of business education project topics and research materials for students

Business education which encompasses several disciplines enables people to think, speak and behave in ways that support the growth, efficiency and effectiveness of an organization or several organizations. However, business education must be ready to offer their recipients functional education that will enhance performance as well as assist them to contribute meaningfully to the economic development of the country, but one who has highly developed business skills honed through years of experience in his field without basic education in business does well in contributing to national goal of poverty alleviation through employment creation.
More so, the demand for business education is on the increase all over the world as it prepares youths to be responsible and entering individuals, who become entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial thinkers by exposing them in real life experience where they will be required to think, take risks, manage circumstances and incidentally learn from the outcome. Therefore, business education as a discipline is expected to expose its recipients to diversity curricula, hence, it is that type of education that inculcate in its recipients attitudes, knowledge, skills, values that is required in the business world.
SMEs are generally regarded as the engine of economic growth in developing economies and developed nations. Almost all countries that have focused on SMEs sector have ended up in the significant reduction in poverty level and its attendant enhancement in the quality and standard of living, reduction in crime rate, increase in per capita income as well as rapid growth in national output among other salutary effects. Similarly, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been largely acknowledged as the oil required for lubricating the engine of socio-economic transformation of any nation. Small enterprises are vital for economic development because they encourage entrepreneurship, generate employment, reduce poverty and provide suitable livelihood. The SME sector is strategically positioned to absorb up to 80% of jobs, improve per capita income, increase value addition to raw materials supply, improve export earnings and step up capacity utilization in key industries.
BUSINESS EDUCATION
Business education can be defined as the fundamental theory of business which helps an individual to perform well in the world of business. Business education involves that aspect of education that provide the knowledge, skills, understanding and other attitude needed to perform well in the world of business as producers or consumers of goods and services that business offers. It is a programme that offers knowledge activities and skills needed by citizen in other to effectively manage their resources and participate well in the economic system.
Business education is a programme in education that prepares students for entry into and advancement of jobs within the business. It is a programme one needs to be proud of if properly designed, adequately prepared and religiously harmonized. It is an educational programme which involves acquisition of skills, knowledge and competences which makes the recipient/beneficiary proficient. It is an umbrella under which all business programmes take a shield, such as marketing, business administration, secretarial studies and accounting. On the other hand, education about business involves preparation of youths and adults for intelligent and effective consumption of economic goods and services offered to society in our free enterprise economy. However, business education ought to produce responsible, productive and self-reliant citizens.
Business education for business is that aspect of vocational education which provides instruction and preparation for office occupations such as secretary, shorthand-typist or stenographer, bookkeeper, data processor, word processor, computer analyst and accountant. On the other hand, education about business provides knowledge and understanding of the economic, financial, marketing, accounting, management system and other branches of business endeavour. Business education plays a significant role in the economic development by providing knowledge and skills to the learners, thereby, enabling them to adequately impart knowledge into others, and handle sophisticated office technologies and information systems. The goal of business education is primarily to produce competent, skilful and dynamic business teachers, office administrators and businessmen and women that will effectively compete in the world of work. It has as its primary aim, the preparation of people for roles in enterprises such roles could be as employee, entrepreneur and employer or simply as self-employed.
SMEs OVERVIEW
SME stands for Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are business whose personnel numbers fall below certain limits. Actually the SME sector plays an extremely important part in modern economy, proving to be the most attractive and tremendous innovative system. The numbers of employees in SMEs vary from industry to industry.
Small scale enterprises constitute the bedrock of many economies by providing the impetus for creating employment and value added activities. In most developing countries, the small scale enterprises operate in the informal sector; developing and sustaining this important sub-sector of the economy will engender economic growth and development. To achieve this objective, conditions for dynamic, indigenous economic activities must be created. Nigeria's future therefore rests on its ability to train (business education) and fund local entrepreneurs that can nurture home-grown firms, encourage innovation, risk taking and local investment since unemployment and its attendant effects has become a wrench in the economic transformation of the state.
Therefore, entrepreneurship creates new business and new business in turn create jobs, intensify competition and many even increase productivity through technological changes. High measured level of economic growth.
BUSINESS EDUCATION AND THE PERFORMANCE OF SMEs IN NIGERIA

Business education plays a significant role in the performance of SMEs in Nigeria by providing knowledge and skills to the learners, thereby, enabling them to adequately impart knowledge into others, and handle sophisticated office technologies and information systems. The goal of business education is primarily to produce competent, skillful and dynamic business teachers, office administrators and businessmen and women that will effectively compete in the world of work.
Business education enables the student to explore and learn about the world of work and the relevant interest and career interest of their choice, provide them with the necessary occupational information to enable them understand the various occupation in the world of work and enable them to acquire skills in the field of their choice. Business education contributes its role for educating citizens of a country to run their businesses more successfully which helps to improve economy of a country and thus helps indirectly in national development. Business education played a vital role in national development, especially in areas which include the following: generation of employment/creation of job opportunities, industrial development, entrepreneurship strategy, poverty alleviation, promotion of the Nigerian economy and promotion of Nigerian culture and value. It is a form of vocational education that is directed towards developing the learner to become productive in teaching, paid employment and self-employment.
CONCLUSION
Business education is the bedrock of any national development since Business education students can benefit from school education when they are exposed to entrepreneurship, equipped with different skills that are education saleable in the labour market or world of business and the society at large.
Given the emphasis on, and the increasing number of SMEs in Nigeria, there is need to take stock of the state of SME development in the country and review the effectiveness of existing policies and institutional framework, with the aim of developing guidelines for future utilization in this sector. There should be a shift to promote SME development by creating an enabling policy environment, which fosters SME competitiveness and reduces the transaction costs for smaller companies. It is important to pay attention to the fact that the removal of regulatory and administrative barriers is expected to encourage enterprises operating in the informal economy to formalize their structures, which is a pre-condition for expanding their operations.