Perceived Influence of Information and Communication Technology Skills on Business Education Students Entrepreneurial Intention in Polytechnics in North-East, Nigeria
Abstract
The study assessed the perceived influence of ICT skills on business education students’ entrepreneurial intention in polytechnics in North-East Nigeria. Business education prepares students for paid jobs and for self-employments through equipping them with knowledge of ICT facilities to enable them have entrepreneurial intention to reduce unemployment. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The study was anchored on the theory of planned behaviour. The study adopted explanatory mixed method research design. The population was 1003 respondents, comprising 103 lecturers, 874 students and 26 class representatives in polytechnics in North-East Nigeria. The random sampling techniques was used to select 37 lecturers, 207 students and 9 class representatives, the sample of the study was therefore, 253. A 54-item questionnaire with 4-point rating scale was the instrument used for quantitative data collection. A structured interview was used to collect qualitative data. The instruments were face and content validated by three experts. Cronbach Alpha procedure was used to test the reliability of the instrument and the result yielded a reliability coefficient index of 0.88. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed among others that access to ICT facilities influenced business education students entrepreneurial intention with weighted average mean and standard deviation scores of 3.22 and 0.60; Microsoft Word skills influenced business education students entrepreneurial intention to a high extent with a grand calculated weighted average mean and standard deviation scores of 3.37 and 0.56. The findings on all the two hypotheses tested revealed that there were significant differences in the mean ratings of federal and state institutions regarding access to ICT facilities and Microsoft Word skills on business education students entrepreneurial intention (t238 = 10.812, P<0.05, 8.75). Based on the findings of the study it was recommended among others that TETFUND and managements of polytechnics should ensure that ICT facilities are always available for effective and efficient teaching of business education students so that they will be motivated to have entrepreneurial intention.
