Economics Education Project Topics

Challenges of Entrepreneurship in Home and Rural Economics Education

Challenges of Entrepreneurship in Home and Rural Economics Education

Abstract

The study investigates challenges facing entrepreneurship education in home and rural economics education. The focus of the study was on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats in the management of entrepreneurship in home and rural economics education. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The sample for the study was composed through a multi-stage sampling technique. This gave a sample of 763 respondents used for the study. Based on the review of literature, four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. A questionnaire was designed and used for the study. Results show that the strength of entrepreneurship education in universities among others includes availability of funds by the government and for in-service training of entrepreneurship lecturers; and high enrolment of students for the EED programme. It was found that universities have weaknesses in the management of entrepreneurship education, but they also have opportunities of managing entrepreneurship education. Results further show that there is no significant difference between the mean responses of lecturers and coordinators on the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats to entrepreneurship in home and rural economics education. Based on this, the work recommends that, the universities authorities should make provision for lecturers to go for workshops or seminars so as to be exposed to current trends in EED programme.

The Federal Government of Nigeria should maintain a policy aimed at making adequate fund available for entrepreneurship in home and rural economics education, and a supervisory team should be set up to take the responsibility of maintaining a judicious expenditure of such funds. The government should also set up a blueprint on punishment of offenders for misappropriation of entrepreneurship education fund. University authorities should be equipped with entrepreneurial centres to expose lecturers and students to practical aspects of EED. Firms and industries should be more willing to accept students for industrial training as it strengthen the students’ interest in entrepreneurship education programme.

 

Chapter One Summary (Purpose of Study)

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges facing entrepreneurship education in universities in North Central State of Nigeria. Specifically the study sought to:

  • Find out the threats to Entrepreneurship Education in universities in North Central State of Nigeria.
  • Ascertain the weaknesses of Entrepreneurship Education in universities in North Central State of Nigeria
  • Determine the opportunities of Entrepreneurship Education in universities in North Central State of Nigeria.
  • Investigate the strengths of Entrepreneurship Education in universities in North Central State of Nigeria.

Chapter Two Literature Review Summary

This chapter reviewed related literature under the following subheadings: conceptual framework, theoretical framework, reviews of empirical studies and summary of literature review.

Conceptual Framework

Concept of Management

Every functional higher education system must strive to harness its human and non-human material resources towards the realization of its goals and objectives. In Nigeria, the need to refocus on resource management for effective instruction at the tertiary education level has become inevitable. Ogbonnaya (2003) argues that, the concept of management has pluralistic connotations. Some people refer to it as a group of people in an organization. Others see it as a process demanding the performance of a specific function. According to Ajayi and Ayodele (2004), it is the process of using a company’s resources in the most efficient way possible. These resources include tangible resources such as goods and equipment, financial resources, and labour resources such as employees.

Management as a social or interactional process, for Peretomode (1991) involves a sequence of coordinated events – planning, organizing, coordinating and controlling or leading – in order to use available resources to achieve a desired outcome in the fastest and most efficient way. Ogunu and Mwadiani (2005) also sees it as the coordination of all the resources of an organization through the process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling in order to attain organizational objectives. Mgbekem (2004) sees it as the guidance, leadership and control of the efforts of people toward some common objectives.

Ibukun (1997) thus, present management as a set of activities which is primarily concerned with planning, organizing, staffing, controlling and coordinating. It connotes a form of human engineering crucially concerned with leadership, capacity to produce and nourish ideas, to stimulate thought, motivate action, introduce and manage resources and change in any sector. Resser (as cited in Babalola, 2004) opines that management is the utilization of physical and human resources through cooperative efforts and it is accomplished by performing the function of planning, organizing, staffing directing and controlling on the other hand.

It can be deduced from the above definition that, management is very germane to any organization or institution. For this reason, Obi (2003) defined management as the universal process of efficiently getting activities completed with and through other people. This process involves planning, organizing, leading and controlling activities that take place in order to accomplish objectives. Management is therefore, a universal practice, and is also of universal importance. It is said to commence immediately two people agree to cooperate to undertake a task. It is for this reason that Oboegbulem (2004, p.67) posits that:

Management is inevitable in any given situation where a piece of work has to be done, and this piece of work needs more than one person to accomplish it. We are involved in management behaviour when we co-operate with other people to accomplish such objectives as erecting a community town hall, constructing and managing schools, churches, hospitals, vehicles and assembling plants.

The above idea clearly points out the fact that, when two or more people co-operate to achieve a particular objective, the rudiments of management must be brought to bear. In this regard, Oboegulem and Onwurah (2007, p.1) defines management as “the organization and direction of persons in order to accomplish a specified end.” This implies that, administration must exist in any organization set up for a defined purpose or objective. It could be a church, the army, a university, an individual or business, but there has to be administration because each one consists of human beings brought together in a hierarchical set-up, making use of tools, equipment, human and material resources, all in the quest to attain the objective for which the organization is established. Thus, the bishop in the church, the commandant in the army, vice-chancellor in the university, the managing director or chairman of a business conglomerate, each have under them a hierarchy of subordinates, each with functions, duties and responsibilities assigned for the accomplishment of the objective or purpose of the organization; which requires planning, organization, command, co-ordination, and control.

The concept of management is applicable to both public and private sector. In this sense, it is viewed as the process whereby managers, whether in the public or private sector of the economy get things done through other people in the organization to achieve the goals of that organization. This also involves the coordination and integration of all resources. It implies that impersonal relationships among managers and their subordinate play a leading role in the effective management. The rationale is for the attainment of the objectives or aims of an organization.

Management is thus, the creation and maintenance of an internal environment in an enterprise where individuals working together in groups can perform efficiently and effectively towards the attainment of group goals. In other words, management is a social interaction process involving sequence of coordinated events such as planning, organizing, controlling, supervision, budgeting and evaluation in order to use available human and material resources to achieve a desired outcome in fast and most efficient ways in the Anambra state universities, which includes the management of entrepreneurship education challenges towards ensuring that EEd objectives are achieved in the universities.

Concept of Strategic Management

Strategy is defined as the determination of the basic long-term goals of an enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals (Chandler, 1962). Strategies are established to set direction, focus effort, define or clarify the organization, and provide consistency or guidance in response to the environment (Mintzberg, 1987).

Strategic management involves the formulation and implementation of the major goals and initiatives taken by a company’s top management on behalf of owners, based on consideration of resources and an assessment of the internal and external environments in which the organization competes (Nag, Hambrick, and Chen, 2007). Strategic management is therefore, concerned primarily with responses to external issues such as in understanding customers’ needs and responding to competitive forces. Porter (1996) identified three principles underlying strategic management as: creating a unique and valuable position, making trade-offs by choosing “what not to do,” and creating “fit” by aligning organizational activities to and with one another to support the chosen strategy. He added that the role of strategic management is to identify core competencies, and then assemble assets that will increase value added and provide a competitive advantage. He claimed that the types of capabilities that can do this are innovation; reputation and organizational structure. Strategic management provides overall direction to the enterprise. It entails specifying the organization’s objectives, developing policies and plans designed to achieve these objectives, and then allocating resources to implement the plans. Strategic management is not static in nature but dynamic. It includes a feedback loop which monitors execution and informs the next round of action. This study will provide a feedback to EEd policy-makers on the challenges facing EEd in universities and how to tackle them.

Historically, strategic management started as far back as the 1970s, when a study (i.e. Profit Impact of Marketing Strategies, PIMS) was carried out to understand the effect of market shares on management of the organization. This effort was complimented with the establishment of the Strategic Planning Institute in the late 1970s. The activities of Packard and Hewlett also added substance to the development of strategic management. This is because, for Gary (2002), they devised an active management style known as “Management by Walking Around’ (MBWA). By this approach, managers spent most of their days visiting employees, customers, and suppliers. This direct contact with key people provided them with a solid ground from which viable strategies could be crafted. One of the most influential strategists of the decade was Porter who introduced many new concepts including SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis shows how a firm can use the forces to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage.

Several scholars of management later acknowledged the importance and significance of SWOT. For instance, Lugman (2011) also agreed that SWOT analysis provides the foundation for realization of desired goals and can be leveraged to realize new opportunities. Available literature also indicates that SWOT analysis is an efficient tool for strategic management purposes as its methodology is pervasive due to its simplicity. Stoner, Freeman and Gilbert (2005) applied SWOT analysis in their study on the application of strategy selection of agricultural mechanization and observed that it is very suitable for realization of maximum strengths.

References

  • Abraham, N. M. & Nwogu, U. J. (2009). Involvement: Key to entrepreneurship programme success in Nigerian universities. African Journal of Educational Research and Development, 3(2):122-132.
  • Adebisi, T. A., & Oni, C. S. (2012). Assessment of relevance of the national directorate of employment (NDE) training programs to the needs of the trainees in Southwestern Nigeria. International Journal of Vocational and Technical Education, 4(3), 29-37.
  • Adegbite, J.G.O. (2007). The education reform agenda: Challenges for tertiary education administration in Nigeria. A paper presented at the sixth annual seminar of the Conference of Registrars of Colleges of Education in Nigeria (South West Zone) at the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
  • Adejimale, A.S. & Olufumilayo, T. (2009). Spinning off an entrepreneurship culture among Nigerian University student: Prospect and challenges. African Journal of business Management, 1(33):80-88.
  • Agu, R. A., Ikeme, A. I., & Chiaha, G.T.U. (2013). A paradigm shift in entrepreneurship education pedagogy in Nigeria: Issues that must be confronted to evolve best practice. A Paper presented at Entrepreneurship Directors’ Conference, Kwara State University, Ilorin, Nigeria, June 10 – 14.
  • Aina, O.I. (2007). Alternative modes of financing higher education in Nigeria and implications for university governance. In J. B. Babalola, & B.O. Emunemu (eds.), Issues in higher education: Research evidence from Sub-Sahara   Africa.   Lagos: Bolabay Publications.
  • Ajayi, I.A. & Ayodele, J.B. (2004). Fundamentals of educational management. Ado-Ekiti: Green Line Publishers.
  • Akintunde, I.O. (2004). Administration of higher education. Lagos: Sunray
  • Akitoye, I.R. (2008). Reducing unemployment through the informal sector: A case study of Nigeria. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences,1(1): 97-106.
  • Akpakwu, O.S. (2008). Essentials of educational management. Makurdi: Jalim Press Nigeria Ltd.
  • Akpomi, M.E. (2009). Achieving millennium development goals (MDGS) through teaching entrepreneurship education in Nigeria Higher Education Institution (HEIS).
  • European Journal of Social Sciences, 8 (1):152-159.
  • Ali, A. (2006). Fundamentals of research in education. Awka: Meks Publishers.