GASPRO International Journal of Eminent Scholars

This study examined the indices of ICT enhanced entrepreneurial skills and self-reliant attitude among business studies students in secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State as a paradigm shift for lifelong learning. A correlational survey design was used for this study. The study area for this research was Akwa Ibom State. The target population for this study comprised all the JS2 business studies students in public secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State with an estimate of Ten Thousand Five Hundred (10,500). The proportionate stratified sampling technique was used to select 5 local government areas at random from each of the 3 senatorial districts. From each local government areas 4 schools were picked and from each of those schools, 25 JS2 students were chosen. This gave a total of 1,500 JS2 business studies students in secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State which formed the sample size of this study. The researchers used an instrument tagged ‘Entrepreneurial Skills and Self-Reliant Attitude Questionnaire" (ESSAQ) for the study which were distributed to 1500 JS2 students from which 1475 questionnaires were retrieved as correctly filled in and used for this analysis. The instrument was subjected to face and content validation by 3 experts (2 in business education and 1 in test, measurement and evaluation. The reliability coefficient obtained was 0.83, and this was high enough to justify the use of the instrument. Independent t-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) analyses were used in testing the hypotheses. The result of the findings revealed that there is significant difference in the extent of development of self-reliant attitudes, possession of common traits, rational and pertinent factors for ICT enhanced entrepreneurial skills between male and female business studies students in secondary school in Akwa Ibom State. It also revealed that there was a significant relationship between possession of the common traits for development of Entrepreneurial skills using ICT and self-reliant attitudes among the students. The study also revealed that there is a significant relationship between possession of the rational for achieving entrepreneurial skills using ICT and self-reliant attitudes among the students. Finally it was observed that there is significant relationship between acquaintance of the pertinent factors for developing entrepreneurial skills using ICT and self-reliant attitudes among the students. The study concluded that the integration of ICT into entrepreneurial education has become essential in fostering self-reliant attitudes among students, particularly in business studies in Akwa Ibom State. One of the recommendations made was that the government and relevant stakeholders should provide adequate ICT facilities in secondary schools for effective use. Such facilities include high-speed internet, computers, software tools, and other relevant technological resources that can support entrepreneurial education

KEYWORDS: Indices, ICT Enhanced Entrepreneurial Skills, Self-Reliant Attitudes, Students, Secondary Schools, Akwa Ibom State.