NURTURING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET OF FINAL YEAR FEMALE STUDENTS THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION PROGRAMME

Abstract

The failure of the majority of female graduates to tailor their minds toward venturing into business has been seen to contribute to the rising unemployment of female graduates of 35.2% as of the fourth quarter of 2020. Also, 61% of males are seen to be engaging in business activities in Nigeria, while that of females only stood at 39%. This situation has created concern for researchers, and this study is purported to investigate the issues by employing the concepts of the entrepreneurship education programme of learning, business practicum, and incubation resources to assess entrepreneurial mindset among female students. The study stated four objectives to be achieved and a sample of 437 female final-year students from the Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Jos were surveyed. The study adopted a cross-sectional design, and the quantitative multiple regressions model for data analysis with the aid of SEM-AMOS software. The results of the analysis revealed that entrepreneurial education programmes of learning and business practicum were positively and significantly related to the entrepreneurial mindset of female students, while incubation resources were negative and insignificant. Recommendations were made that Entrepreneurship education development should possess innovative feminine areas, be more practical than theory, and be woven into the university curriculum beginning from the 100 level instead of final-year. The implications of the study offer a learning and practicum model for nurturing the entrepreneurial mindset of female students of universities.