ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY COMPETENCIES AS PREDICTORS OF TECHNO-ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETENCIES AMONG VOCATIONAL EDUCATION STUDENTS IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION IN SOUTHEAST NIGERIA

Abstract

The increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies into education has created new opportunities for developing vocational students’ competencies for technology-supported entrepreneurship. This study examined the predictive influence of artificial intelligence competency and digital technology competency on techno-entrepreneurship competency among vocational education students in Colleges of Education in South-East Nigeria. A correlational survey design was adopted. The population comprised 585 vocational education students from selected Colleges of Education in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States. A sample of 210 students was selected using proportionate stratified sampling. Data were collected using the Artificial Intelligence, Digital Technologies and Techno-Entrepreneurship Competencies Questionnaire (AIDTECQ), a 10-item instrument structured on a four-point scale. The instrument was pilot-tested, and Cronbach’s alpha yielded an overall reliability coefficient of 0.82. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer Research Questions 1–3, while multiple regression was used to answer Research Questions 4–6 and test the hypotheses at the .05 significance level. Results showed that students demonstrated high levels of AI competency (M = 2.65, SD = 0.53), digital technology competency (M = 3.04, SD = 0.49), and techno entrepreneurship competency (M = 2.65, SD = 0.44). However, AI competency did not significantly predict techno-entrepreneurship competency, β = −.019, p = .781, while digital technology competency also did not significantly predict it, β = .001, p = .983. Jointly, the predictors explained only 0.04% of the variance in techno-entrepreneurship competency, F(2, 207) = .039, p = .961. The study concludes that possession of AI and digital technology competencies alone may not automatically translate into techno-entrepreneurial competency.