International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: Although scholars have conducted research on Business Studies (BS) textbooks, their studies have primarily focused on textbook assessment tasks and content evaluation; a limited number of studies shift their attention to the task types used in these textbooks. This study analyses the entrepreneurship task in Grade 11 Business Studies textbooks used in South African secondary schools.
Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate how tasks were organised in the BS Textbooks with respect to their cognitive demands.
Method: Following a deductive content analysis and employing the Opportunity-to-Learn (OTL) framework, based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, data were generated from the two BS Textbooks for the 11th Grades to examine the nature and structure of entrepreneurship-related tasks in the textbooks. Results: The study found that while the concept of entrepreneurship has received wide coverage in the extant literature, many BS textbooks continue to emphasize definitional knowledge and lower-order tasks rather than authentic, practical-oriented tasks that build entrepreneurial competencies. It was also found that the tasks primarily involved lower-order thinking, limiting opportunities for learning and cognitive development. Conclusions: The study concludes that the cognitive goals and tasks for entrepreneurship in BS textbooks are not aligned with educational needs in Business studies. We therefore recommend that BS textbooks for Grade 11 in South Africa should be revisited. Unique contribution: This study has contributed to the analysis of the cognitive level of tasks in Business Studies textbooks used in South African Secondary schools. Key recommendations: This study recommends that future revisions of BS textbooks should incorporate more high-cognitive-demand tasks to enhance students' entrepreneurial skills.