Entrepreneurial Education and Entrepreneurship: The Mediating Role of Social Skills in University Students

The study sought to investigate the various mediating impacts of social skills in the form of political acumen and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition on perceived entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurship of university students. This was accomplished through the use of a survey research design. The study used primary qualitative data that was converted into quantitative data using 5-point Likert scaling. The questionnaire used for the study was tested for its reliability and validity using confirmatory factor analysis and was found to be adequate for the study. Data was gotten from 269 Bingham University student entrepreneurs in Nigeria and was analysed using structural equation modelling. The findings revealed that there is a positive significant relationship between perceptions of entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurship; political acumen and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition each play a mediating role between perceived entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurship; and social skills work together to mediate perceived entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurship. The study, therefore, recommends that student entrepreneurs should construct a learning network through their engagement in the classroom and develop professional entrepreneurial and social skills.