Nurturing Entrepreneurship Skills among Learners with Special Needs in Nigerian Universities: The Role of Inclusive Pedagogy, Institutional Support and Assistive Technology in Sustainable Economic Development

This study investigated nurturing entrepreneurship skills among learners with special needs in Nigerian universities, focusing on the roles of inclusive pedagogy, institutional support and assistive technology in promoting sustainable economic development. The study adopted an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, with the quantitative component employing a correlational survey approach. The population comprised undergraduate learners with special needs enrolled in selected universities in Cross River State, Nigeria, including learners with visual, hearing, physical/mobility and speech/communication disabilities. The study employed a multistage sampling technique, involving stratification of universities by ownership, stratification of learners according to category of special need, and proportionate random sampling of participants. A quantitative sample of 427 learners comprising 215 males and 212 females was used for the analysis. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, multiple regression, independent-samples t-test and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The findings revealed significant positive relationships between inclusive pedagogy and entrepreneurship skills, institutional support and entrepreneurship skills, and assistive technology and entrepreneurship skills. The three predictors jointly made a statistically significant contribution to entrepreneurship-skills development. Entrepreneurship skills were also significantly related to sustainable economic development. Significant differences were found in entrepreneurship skills across categories of special need, with learners with visual impairment recording the highest mean, followed by learners with speech/communication difficulties, hearing impairment and physical/mobility disabilities. However, no significant gender difference was found. The study further established that challenges confronting learners with special needs were negatively associated with entrepreneurship-skills development. It concluded that meaningful entrepreneurship development requires an integrated approach involving inclusive pedagogy, institutional support, assistive technology, practical training, mentorship and accessible enterprise opportunities. Nigerian universities should therefore strengthen disability-responsive entrepreneurship curricula, accessible incubation programmes, assistive technology provision, lecturer training and university-industry partnerships.