ASSESSING TRANSVERSAL SKILLS NEEDED FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT OF BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Recurrent cases of business collapse and failure call for assessing business owners' transversal skills. Therefore, this study evaluated the transversal skills needed for entrepreneurial development of business education students in tertiary institutions in Ogun State. Three purposes and three research questions guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design, with a population of 700 regular final-year business education students registered for the 2024/2025 academic session at 4 public tertiary institutions offering the Business Education Programme in Ogun State. The sample comprised 255 respondents. The sample size was based on Taro Yamani's formula for sample selection. A multi-stage sampling technique was used for selecting the sample. A structured questionnaire titled “Transversal Skills Needed for Entrepreneurial Development Questionnaire” (TSNEDQ) was used as the data collection instrument. Experts validated the instrument, and the reliability coefficient was 0.82. The research questions were answered using frequency tables, mean, and standard deviation. The study's findings revealed that leadership, negotiation, networking, communication, and time management are essential transversal skills for the entrepreneurial development of business education students. It was further revealed that widespread corruption, moral decadence, a poor reward system, and poor mental health are among the challenges in inculcating transversal skills in business education students. Moreover, the study revealed that strategies for inculcating transversal skills in business education students can be classified into teacher-related and student-oriented strategies. Finally, the study recommended, among other things, that transversal skills be integrated into the entrepreneurial training of business education students in tertiary institutions.