Developing Entrepreneurial Skills in Secondary School Students through Effective Mathematics Education in Aba, Nigeria (Published)
Unemployment is a global issue which increases every day. Developing entrepreneurial skills could be a way of reducing, if not eliminating it. There is the need to make students self-reliant. These skills cannot be developed without efficient and effective knowledge of mathematics. That is why this study considers how entrepreneurial skills can be developed through mathematics education. This study was conducted in Aba metropolis of Abia State, Nigeria. Aba being one of the major centers of commerce in Nigeria was selected as to identify some of the skills and discuss how the knowledge of mathematics can assist develop them. A survey research design was used for this study with 200 senior secondary school (sss 1) students and 80 teachers selected randomly from 40 secondary schools. The instrument of study was structured questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed and research questions answered using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation, and co-relational statistics of Pearson moment correlation. Among others, it was found that both students and teachers need knowledge of mathematics to be good entrepreneurs. There is strong positive relationship between mathematics and entrepreneurial skills. It was recommended that there is need to enhance the mathematical background of students, and teachers with strong mathematical background should be used in teaching entrepreneurship education.
Keywords: Education, Mathematics, Skills, entrepreneurial