FOSTERING STREET CHILDREN’S ENTREPRENEURIAL PROWESS IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA: INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IMPERATIVENESS
Authors: 1Abiodun Akinola Oladiti, 2 Isaac Oluwatoyin Ogundare, 3Victoria Tolulope Gbadamosi, 4Lukuman Lekan Adelakun
1Department of Social Studies and Civic Education
2,4Department of Geography and Environmental Education
Faculty of Social Science Education,
Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo, Oyo State, Nigeria
3 Department of Social Science Education, Faculty of Education,
University Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
Author Email: oladitibiodun2022@gmail.com
Abstract: The study evaluated the effectiveness of community-based and policy-driven interventions in integrating street children into entrepreneurial development programs in Oyo State, Nigeria, using mixed-methods approaches including qualitative interviews and quantitative data. A total of 150 street children were surveyed, with responses analysed using descriptive statistics, including means and standard deviations, to measure the impact of these interventions on the children’s entrepreneurial capabilities. The findings reveal that both community-based and policy-driven programmes contribute positively to street children skill development with mean entrepreneurial knowledge score of 72.5%, while those engaged in policy-driven programmes scored an average of 68.3%, standard deviation for community-based programmes (±8.2) indicates higher variability in skill acquisition, suggesting that the outcomes of these programmes are more inconsistent compared to policy-driven interventions, which had a lower standard deviation of ±5.6, indicating more uniformity in results. These results indicate that while both intervention types are beneficial, community-based programmes show greater potential for fostering entrepreneurial prowess, particularly when they are localized and adaptable. Thus, a hybrid approach, combining community-based flexibility with the structural support of policy-driven initiatives, holds the greatest promise for the long-term integration of street children into entrepreneurial activities characteristic of the 21st century and digital transformation era.
Keywords: Community-based programs; Policy-driven programs; Entrepreneurial-prowess, Inclusive-education, Street-children
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Suggested Citation
Oladiti, A. A., Oluwatoyin, I. O, Tolulope, V. G. and Lekan, A.L. (2025). Fostering Street Children’s Entrepreneurial Prowess In Oyo State, Nigeria: Inclusive Education Imperativenes. African Research Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 12(1), 49-58. Available at http://arjess.org/education-research/fostering-street-childrens-entrepreneurial-prowess-in-oyo-state-nigeria-inclusive-education-imperativenes.pdf
