THE EFFECT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION DIMENSIONS ON ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET OF PUBLIC UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN PLATEAU STATE

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is key to contributing to innovation, job creation, and a nation’s economic and societal advancement. This study borrows from social cognitive and engagement learning theories to establish a position that explains the entrepreneurial mindset among university graduating students, owing to the rate of graduates’ engagement in entrepreneurial activities. Similarly, since a positive entrepreneurial mindset promotes participation in entrepreneurial activities, this study examines the effects of an entrepreneurial mindset among university students in Nigeria. A cross-sectional design was adopted to achieve the study objectives, using a sample of 369 graduating students (400 levels) across the University of Jos and Plateau State University, Bokkos, in Plateau State. The quantitative data analysis involved descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling using SPSS 25 and AMOS 23, based on 349 usable observations. The findings indicate that entrepreneurship education in terms of active learning, curricular content, and extracurricular activity is a significant predictor of entrepreneurial mindset. The primary conclusion is that the integration of entrepreneurship education dimensions, which predict entrepreneurial mindset dimensions at a composite level, is essential to the entrepreneurial mindset model of students in Nigerian universities. As a result, the study’s findings lend credence to the theoretical framework chosen. In addition, policymakers should develop and implement an active entrepreneurship education program with the goal of encouraging university students to adopt an entrepreneurial attitude. The policy implication is that universities in the twenty-first century should employ and train lecturers who are resourceful and have the skills and competence in teaching entrepreneurship that will enhance the active engagement of students and entrepreneurial mindset. Also, providing an enabling environment that fosters lifelong learning for students by Nigerian universities is a policy implication.