GENDER ATTITUDE AND LOCATIONAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS AND ENTERPRENERSHIP OCCUPATIONAL PREFERENCE AMONGST SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN DELTA STATE

The study investigated gender attitude and locational issues in business and entrepreneurship occupational preference among secondary school students in Delta State. The descriptive survey design was adapted. The population of the study comprised all senior secondary III (SSIII) students in public schools in Delta State. Stratified random sampling technique was applied to select a sample of 200 students from urban school in Delta State which was used for the study. A questionnaire tagged Attitude to Business and Entrepreneurship Occupations Scale (AVATOS) was used to collect data. The psychometric properties of the instrument were determined and found adequate for use. T-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance while mean (M) was used to answer the research questions. Two hypotheses were accepted while one was rejected. It was found that male and female students showed positive attitude to business and entrepreneurship occupations except in the rural schools where female showed negative attitude. The study recommended that business and entrepreneurship education should be intensified in rural communities and schools in order to create more awareness against traditional beliefs held by students about Business and Entrepreneurship and gender roles.