Status of Entrepreneurship Education in South-South Nigerian Tertiary Institutions as Perceived By Lecturers

Abstract

This study investigated the status of entrepreneurship education in South-South Nigerian tertiary institution as perceived by lecturers in terms of course contents and mode of delivery. The study population comprised all the 215 entrepreneurship education lecturers in the target institutions (universities, polytechnics and colleges of education) as at March 2015. No sampling was done because the population size was manageable and five research questions guided the study. The survey research design was adopted for the study and a 32-item structured questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. The instrument was validated and tested for its reliability using the Cronbach Apha and a reliability value of 0.89 was realized. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions and determine the homogeneity of respondents’ opinions. The findings revealed among others that entrepreneurship education course contents is appropriate to prepare graduates to participate effectively in the world of work but the human and material resources provided are grossly inadequate. In the light of the above, teaching the course is theory-based at the expense of practical training for competent entrepreneurial skill acquisition. Against this backdrop it was recommended among others that Lecturers should complement the orthodox lecture method with motivational strategy and use teaching strategies to enhance their effective delivery of the course contents. Above all, government should provide adequate teaching/learning resources to enable effective teaching/learning process.

Keywords: Status, Entrepreneurship Education and Lecturers’ Perception