Strategies for Enhancing Mentorship of in Entrepreneurship: A Case Study of Undergraduate Students of Kwame Nkrumah University, Kabwe-Zambia.

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue IX, September 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

Strategies for Enhancing Mentorship of in Entrepreneurship: A Case Study of Undergraduate Students of Kwame Nkrumah University, Kabwe-Zambia.

Lefterius Kalonga Mwamba¹, Astridah Musonda PhD², Harrison Daka PhD³ and Rosemary Muma Mulenga  PhD^4
1, ², ⁴ Kwame Nkrumah University, Department of Education
³The University of Zambia, Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the strategies for enhancing mentorship in entrepreneurship for undergraduate students of tertiary education institutions, at Kwame Nkrumah University. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: to find out how students of Kwame Nkrumah University are being mentored in entrepreneurship and to establish strategies of enhancing mentorship of students in entrepreneurship at the University. This case study was anchored on pragmatism as its research paradigm; it used a mixed method approach and employed the concurrent triangulation design. The study used simple random sampling on students, random sampling for Lecturers and purposive sampling for Administrators. Data collection instruments were questionnaires and interview guides and analysed data was eventually presented in form of frequency tables, bar graphs and pie charts. The study’s findings were that majority of students of Kwame Nkrumah University are aware of the importance of mentorship in entrepreneurship and are willing to acquire entrepreneurial skills, only a minority of students who belong to the category of business studies formally have access to the said mentorship and that this mentorship is merely theoretical. University management’s emphasis on the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills, knowledge and values is below average. In view of enhancing mentorship of students in entrepreneurship at the university and in other similar institutions of tertiary education, the study has established a number of strategies and it has subsequently made key recommendations such as making the mentorship inclusive via curriculum revision and devising educational plans and policies and creating a resource bay.

Key Words: Mentorship, Entrepreneurship and Educational Administration

I. INTRODUCTION

Since Zambia’s independence in 1964, the Ministry in charge of Education has undertaken a number of major education policy reforms in its quest to improve the quality of education for learners at different levels (Mulenga-Hagane, Daka & Kanchebele-Sinyangwe, 2020). Some of these reforms were: The Educational Reform of 1977, 1968 Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (TEVET) policy, Educating our Future of 1996, the curriculum review of 2000 and the Zambia Educational

Read More