ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Entrepreneurship is rapidly being recognized for its role in job creation and economic growth, as well as its use in improving a region's, state's, or country's competitiveness (Davey, Hannon & Penaluna, 2016). According to Davey et al. (2016), entrepreneurship may also be viewed as a career opportunity, with new business starts creating more work prospects in society at the same time. Entrepreneurship serves as a stimulant for national prosperity. Krueger, 2016); and as a result, global interest in entrepreneurship education (EE) is growing (Bell & Bell, 2016). To encourage social, economic, and organizational growth, the educational system places a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship and venture formation. This has resulted in a significant increase in the development of entrepreneurship as an academic subject during the previous two decades (Bell & Bell, 2016; Fayolle, 2015). According to a recent paper by Kakouris and Georgiadis (2016), the UK government is taking substantial steps to modernize its policies on entrepreneurial education, which they regard as critical to employability. Indeed, entrepreneurial education is a key element of industrialized, knowledge-based economies and a driver of endogenous economic development. Furthermore, Kakouris and Georgiadis (2016) state that one of the common goals of international educational institutions is to inculcate entrepreneurial purpose in graduates through entrepreneurship education. As a result, there have been ongoing initiatives in recent years to provide entrepreneurial education. By 2006, there were over 2,000 entrepreneurship courses offered at over 1,600 colleges throughout the world (Hisrich, 2016). The majority of the colleges offering these courses, however, were situated in the United States. According to Couetil, Shartrand, and Reed (2016), approximately 3,000 universities in the United States offered these courses in 2016 in a variety of formats, including entrepreneurship majors, minors, certificates, and experiential learning opportunities. Scholars have recently proposed that entrepreneurship education and the probability of graduates to become entrepreneurs by establishing start-ups have a significant link (Davey, Hannon, & Penaluna, 2016). "...entrepreneurship education can impact the thinking and action of the academic or student," it has been claimed (Davey et al., 2016). Furthermore, entrepreneurship education, according to Davey et al. (2016), can affect the entrepreneurial attitude in a variety of ways. For example, some students may aim to start their own business after finishing a course of study. Students' opinions of entrepreneurship may be altered, according to Kraaijenbrink et al. (2015), highlighting the university's role in developing a good image. Verheul et al. (20015) conclude that student entrepreneurial competences, behaviors, and intents may be cultivated through education when examining the nurturing function of universities in developing entrepreneurial careers (Davey et al., 2016). Therefore this study will examine entrepreneurship education and its influence on the development of Nigeria

1.2       Statement of the problem

It is reasonable to assume that entrepreneurship education has a well-defined framework and particular theories. However, this has not yet occurred, and more study is needed in this area in order to assist achieve beneficial results (Jones, 2015). Entrepreneurship programs at colleges and universities are still a relatively new concept (Kautonen, 2015), and more study is needed, particularly in terms of the forms, aims, and outcomes of these courses (Kuratko & Morris, 2018). More clarity on how we train our entrepreneurs, according to Fayolle (2015). As a result, the purpose of this study will be to clarify arguments about whether experiential learning may play a role in creating entrepreneurial aspirations, as well as to uncover characteristics that might favorably affect entrepreneurial ambitions. Experiential learning  is a learner-centered, activity-based method that has gained traction among relevant scholars. A teacher-centered method is regarded conventional and unsuccessful, and is often built on a series of lectures with the instructor as the focal point rather than the pupils . Many ways to teaching entrepreneurship have been developed, including action-oriented (Fayolle., 2015), reflective practice, contingency planning, and design thinking (Nielsen & Storvang, 2015). It's critical to think about "what works" and to comprehend the effects of various instructional methods on entrepreneurial intents, abilities, motivations, and behaviors (Bell & Bell, 2016). It's now a good opportunity to investigate the traits that might impact intentions (Fayolle et al., 2015). As a result, the focus of this study will be on such qualities, with the goal of determining the importance of those parameters that might impact intention in some manner.

1.3       Research Questions

The following questions have been prepared for the study

i.          Do students who received entrepreneurship education are more driven towards starting their own ventures?

ii.        Will entrepreneurial  education increase students knowledge of business at early stage?

iii.      Is there a relationship between entrepreneurship education through successful entrepreneurial models and Entrepreneurial Intention among students.

iv.      Does entrepreneurship education contributes to the development of Nigeria?

1.4       Objective of the study

The primary objective of the study is to examine entrepreneurship education and its influence on the development of Nigeria. Other specific objectives are as follows:

i.          To find out if students who received entrepreneurship education will be more driven towards starting their own ventures.

ii.        To investigate if entrepreneurial  education will increase students knowledge of business at early stage.

iii.      To evaluate the relationship between entrepreneurship education through successful entrepreneurial models and Entrepreneurial Intention among students.

iv.      To examine if entrepreneurship education contributes to the development of Nigeria.

1.5       Significance of the study

This study on the impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention will be significant in the following ways:

University management: It will bring to the notice of the University management on the need to expose students to various opportunities that can be utilized as an entrepreneurship student, hence making them independent even as a student.

Government: It will bring to to the knowledge of the government on the important of entrepreneurship education to the citizens and the nation as large. It will further help policy makers in formulating laws that will favour entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs in business. This study will also help the government to see the need to invest in entrepreneurship education and youths empowerment in order to reduce unemployment and crime rate in among youths in the country.

Academia: This study will add to existing literature on this topic and will serve as a reference piece to students, scholars, and researchers who may wish to carryout further studies on this topic or related domain in the future.

1.6       Scope of the study

This study focuses on examining if there is a relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention. The study will also evaluate the impact of business planning on entrepreneurial intention. The study will further find out if Students who received entrepreneurship education will be more driven towards starting their own ventures. Lastly, the study will investigate if exposure to entrepreneurship education will contributes to the development of Nigeria. Hence 100L to 400L students in department of Entrepreneurship Education, Lagos State University shall serve as enrolled participants for this study.

1.7       Limitation of the study

Just like any other research, ranging from unavailability of needed accurate materials on the topic under study, inability to get data. Financial constraint, was also faced by  the researcher, in getting relevant materials  and  in printing and collation of questionnaires. Furthermore, time factor pose another constraint since having to shuttle between writing of the research and also engaging in other academic work making it uneasy for the researcher.

1.8       Definition of terms

Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship is the process by which individuals or a group of individuals (entrepreneurs) exploit a commercial opportunity, either by bringing a new product or process to the market, or by substantially improving an existing good, service, or method of production.

Education: Education is both the act of teaching knowledge to others and the act of receiving knowledge from someone else.

Entrepreneurship Education: Entrepreneurship education seeks to provide students with the knowledge, skills and motivation to encourage entrepreneurial success in a variety of settings.