IMPACT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION ON SCIENCE STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN NIGERIAN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS USING SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS FOR SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of entrepreneurship education on science students’ achievement in Nigerian senior secondary schools using science process skills for sustainable economic development due to the problem of unemployment facing many developing nations, with no exception in the developed nations. The study adopted a non-randomised pretest-posttest control group in a quasi-experimental design. A total of 189 science students from six randomly selected schools in Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria in their intact class setting, using a simple random sampling technique, took part in the study. Three researchers designed instruments titled: Achievement Test in Physics (ATP), Achievement Test in Chemistry (ATC), and Achievement Test in Biology (ATB) were used to obtain data for the study, with internal consistency of 0.78, 0.82 and 0.75 for ATP, ATC and ATB respectively. The findings showed that, science students; Physics (t₍₅₈₎ = 5.40*, p = .000), Chemistry (t₍₆₁₎ = 6.67*, p = .000) and Biology (t₍₆₄₎ = 7.81*, p = .000) that acquired entrepreneurship education through science process skills achieved significantly better than those taught with conventional method which will assist them to formulate ideas, enhances innovation and creativity that will make positive changes within the society to be self-employed for sustainable growth and economic development of the nation. This paper recommends that entrepreneurship education should be introduced into the senior secondary school science curriculum in order to eradicate poverty, promote entrepreneurial culture and mindset, and enhance skills acquisition, such as management skills, technological skills, communication skills, financial skills and intellectual skills.