The Contribution of Self-Reliance Activities in Developing Student Teachers with Entrepreneurship Skills: The Case Study of Teachers’ Colleges in Morogoro Region, Tanzania

Abstract

The current research sought to explore the role of self-reliance activities in cultivating student-teacher's entrepreneurship skills among teachers in colleges in the Morogoro region. The study addressed two specific objectives: it identifies educational activities for self-reliance conducted in teachers’ colleges that foster entrepreneurship skills and explores how education for self-reliance activities conducted in teachers’ colleges fosters student teachers’ entrepreneurship skills. The research employed pragmatist philosophy of research, a mixed-methods study approach, and a convergent design. Principals and student teachers were the population of the study, and a sample of 140 respondents was used from purposive and simple random sampling. An interview guide and a questionnaire were employed as instruments in the data collection. Validity and reliability were achieved by pilot testing and expert checking. The gathered data were processed using a thematic data analysis approach in handling qualitative data and a descriptive data analysis approach in handling quantitative data. The study found the various types of ESR activities in teachers’ colleges, such as animal rearing, vegetable rearing, fish rearing, and vocational activities such as ban making and cake making. The study concluded that ESR activities enhance risk-taking personality, money sense, innovation, business planning, and marketing skills in student teachers. The study recommended the college’s management to create an enabling environment that promote entrepreneurial skills also to conduct monitoring and evaluation of the ESR activities as critical area to acquire skills and make adjustment.