Home All Issues Issue articles Previous article

Mediating Effect of Personality Characteristics in the Linkage between Instructional Effectiveness and Entrepreneurial Programme Viability

Usani Joseph Ofem 1 * ,
Oyonnenke Joseph Ofem 2,
Benjamin Joseph Ofem 2
1 Alex Ekwueme Federal University, NIGERIA2 University of Calabar, NIGERIA* Corresponding Author
Educational Point, 2(2), 2025, e140, https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/17668
Publication date: Dec 31, 2025
Research Article
Open Access Open Access
Download PDF

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have attempted to examine entrepreneurial programme effectiveness but none of these studies focused on instructional effectiveness through personality attributes in solving this problem. This study attempts to examine how instructional effectiveness can promote the viability of entrepreneurial programmes through the mediating effect of personality characteristics. A quantitative approach was applied, and the hypothesis was statistically estimated utilizing partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) based on cross-sectional data obtained through the administration of a questionnaire (n = 1678) from six universities. The result showed that instructional effectiveness has a direct impact on entrepreneurial programme viability and personality characteristics, except for consciousness. Similarly, personality characteristics such as openness to experience, agreeableness, neuroticism, and conscientiousness have a direct effect on the viability of entrepreneurial programme viability. Personality characteristics mediate positively the relationship between instructional effectiveness and entrepreneurial programme viability. These findings are important in providing insights into the literature on entrepreneurial studies and making policy decisions about the current state of the programme in universities. Educational institutions should ensure that instructional activities are approached with enthusiasm and commitment to enhance the viability of their entrepreneurial programmes.. The instructors must take into cognizance diversities in instructional strategies to cater for the needs of all to acquire the anticipated skills. The notable aspect of this finding is that personality characteristics are significant predictors of students’ programme viability and can be influenced through instructional effectiveness. Thus, students’ personality makeup must be partialled into entrepreneurial curriculum designs.

KEYWORDS

instructional effectiveness entrepreneurial programme viability personality characteristics SMART-PLS

CITATION (APA)

Ofem, U. J., Ofem, O. J., & Ofem, B. J. (2025). Mediating Effect of Personality Characteristics in the Linkage between Instructional Effectiveness and Entrepreneurial Programme Viability. Educational Point, 2(2), e140. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/17668
Harvard
Ofem, U. J., Ofem, O. J., and Ofem, B. J. (2025). Mediating Effect of Personality Characteristics in the Linkage between Instructional Effectiveness and Entrepreneurial Programme Viability. Educational Point, 2(2), e140. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/17668
Vancouver
Ofem UJ, Ofem OJ, Ofem BJ. Mediating Effect of Personality Characteristics in the Linkage between Instructional Effectiveness and Entrepreneurial Programme Viability. Educational Point. 2025;2(2):e140. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/17668
AMA
Ofem UJ, Ofem OJ, Ofem BJ. Mediating Effect of Personality Characteristics in the Linkage between Instructional Effectiveness and Entrepreneurial Programme Viability. Educational Point. 2025;2(2), e140. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/17668
Chicago
Ofem, Usani Joseph, Oyonnenke Joseph Ofem, and Benjamin Joseph Ofem. "Mediating Effect of Personality Characteristics in the Linkage between Instructional Effectiveness and Entrepreneurial Programme Viability". Educational Point 2025 2 no. 2 (2025): e140. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/17668
MLA
Ofem, Usani Joseph et al. "Mediating Effect of Personality Characteristics in the Linkage between Instructional Effectiveness and Entrepreneurial Programme Viability". Educational Point, vol. 2, no. 2, 2025, e140. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/17668

REFERENCES

  1. Adeniji, C. G., Salau, O. P., Joel, O. O., Onayemi, O. O., & Alake, O. R. (2024). Personality-Traits Taxonomy and operational and environmental performance: A cross-sectional analysis of small and medium scale manufacturing enterprises. Sustainability, 16(8), Article 3497. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16083497
  2. Valencia-Arias, A., Londoño-Celis, W., Moya, L. P., et al. (2025). Sustainable entrepreneurial intention in undergraduates: The influence of entrepreneurship education. Discover Sustainability, 6, 588. Article https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-01379-3
  3. Alderotti, G., Rapallini, C., & Traverso, S. (2023). The Big Five personality traits and earnings: A meta-analysis. Journal of Economic Psychology, 94, Article 102570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2022.102570
  4. Alhiassah, M., Abdul Halim, M., Omar, K., & Abd Hamid, R. (2024). Mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy on the relationship of entrepreneurial education and personality traits on entrepreneurial intention of university students. Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología – Serie de Conferencias, 3, Article 1179. https://doi.org/10.56294/sctconf2024.1179
  5. Alipour Bazkiaei, H., Hock Heng, L., Khan, N. U., Saufi, R. B. A., & Kasim, R. S. R. (2020). Do entrepreneurial education and Big Five personality traits predict entrepreneurial intention among university students? Cogent Business & Management, 7(1), Article 1801217. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1801217
  6. Álvarez Torres, F. J., Rangel Delgado, J. E., & Sánchez Regla, A. L. (2025). University 3.0: Entrepreneurship education and socio-digital skills as pillars of sustainability in the future education for the Asia-Pacific and the world. In A. I. Boncheva & J. E. Rangel Delgado (Eds.), Transition to a Safe Anthropocene in the Asia-Pacific (The Anthropocene: Politik—Economics—Society—Science, Vol. 39). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66521-9_4
  7. Amponsah, E. A., Suleiman, M. Z., Adam, H., & Nunfam, V. F. (2025). Personality traits, entrepreneurship education and green entrepreneurial intention of technical university students in Ghana: A multiple linear regression analysis. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, 14(1), 56–84. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEPP-04-2024-0049
  8. Biswas, A., & Verma, R. K. (2022). Engine of entrepreneurial intentions: Revisiting personality traits with entrepreneurial education. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 29(6), 2019–2044. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-11-2020-0607
  9. Boateng, G. O., Neilands, T. B., Frongillo, E. A., Melgar-Quiñonez, H. R., & Young, S. L. (2018). Best practices for developing and validating scales for health, social, and behavioral research: A primer. Frontiers in Public Health, 6, Article 149. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00149
  10. Cao, Y., Asad, M. M., Wang, L., Naz, A., & Almusharraf, N. (2022). Role of personality traits for entrepreneurial intentions of young entrepreneurs: A case study of a higher education institution. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 1010412. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1010412
  11. Costa, P. T., Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Psychological Assessment Resources.
  12. DeVellis, R. F. (2017). Scale development: Theory and applications (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
  13. Ghouri, A. M., & Khalid, M. (2023). Students’ perceptions of entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention in higher education. Education + Training, 65(5), 679–695.
  14. Juhari, H. S., Ismail, N., Roslan, S., & Zaremohzzabieh, Z. (2023). Personality traits, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial intention among vocational students. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 12(1), 9–14. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v12i1.23472
  15. Khalaf, S. (2024). Conscientiousness and entrepreneurship. Review of Behavioral Finance, 16(4), 754–771. https://doi.org/10.1108/RBF-05-2023-0150
  16. Khan, R. A., Spruijt, A., Mahboob, U., & van Merrienboer, J. J. G. (2019). Determining ‘curriculum viability’ through standards and inhibitors of curriculum quality: A scoping review. BMC Medical Education, 19, Article 336. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-019-1759-8
  17. Nabi, G., Liñán, F., Fayolle, A., Krueger, N., & Walmsley, A. (2017). The impact of entrepreneurship education in higher education: A systematic review and research agenda. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 16(2), 277–299. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2015.0026
  18. Li, J., McKenzie, S., Dazeley, R., Jiang, F., & Sood, K. (2023). Current status and trends of engineering entrepreneurship education in Australian universities [Preprint]. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.06943
  19. Liu, M., Gorgievski, M. J., Qi, J., & Paas, F. (2022). Increasing teaching effectiveness in entrepreneurship education: Course characteristics and student needs differences. Learning and Individual Differences, 96, Article 102147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2022.102147
  20. Maike Liu (2022). Teaching effectiveness in entrepreneurship education: Characteristics of the student, course, and program [Doctoral Thesis, Erasmus University Rotterdam].
  21. Martín-Gutiérrez, Á., Montoro-Fernández, E., & Dominguez-Quintero, A. (2024). Towards quality education: An entrepreneurship education program for the improvement of self-efficacy and personal initiative of adolescents. Social Sciences, 13(1), Article 23. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13010023
  22. Misnan, S. N. S., & Manaf, H. A. (2021). The influence of entrepreneurship program content on the business viability of youth entrepreneurs. EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 7(4), 21. https://doi.org/10.36713/epra2013
  23. National Health Research Ethics Committee (NHREC). (2007). National Code for Health Research Ethics. Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria. https://www.nhrec.net/nhrec/NCHRE_July%2007.pdf
  24. Obschonka, M., & Stuetzer, M. (2017). Integrating psychological approaches to entrepreneurship: The Entrepreneurial Personality System (EPS). Small Business Economics, 49(1), 203–231. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-016-9821-y
  25. Ofem, U., Idika, D. & Ovat, S. (2017). Effect of diagnostic and feedback assessment approaches in enhancing achievement in Mathematics among secondary secondary school students in Calabar Municipality. International Journal of Scientific Research in Education, 10(2), 221-227. https://www.ijsre.com.ng/assets/vol.%2C-10(2)-ofem-idika---ovat.pdf the volume and issues and pages are correct
  26. Ofem, U. J., Sylvia, V., Chiderim, E., & Anthony, E. (2021). Development and validation of statistical anxiety scale among undergraduate students in universities in Cross River State. Multi-Disciplinary Journal of Research and Development Perspectives, 10(1), 45-56.
  27. Omoyajowo, J., Iwu, C. G., & Tengeh, R. (2023). Entrepreneurship programmes’ effectiveness in fostering entrepreneurship: A South African university of technology inquiry. EUREKA: Social and Humanities, (6), 42–60. https://doi.org/10.21303/2504-5571.2023.002982
  28. Onwuegbuzie, I. U., et al. (2025). The risks and rewards of AI dependence in Nigerian education: A critical evaluation. Tech-Sphere Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences, 2(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15161212
  29. Oosterbeek, H., van Praag, M., & Ijsselstein, A. (2010). The impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurship skills and motivation. European Economic Review, 54(3), 442–454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2009.08.002
  30. Ouni, S., & Boujelbene, Y. (2023). The mediating role of Big Five traits and self-efficacy on the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial behavior: Study of Tunisian university graduate employees. Evaluation and Program Planning, 100, Article 102325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2023.102325
  31. Owan, V. J., Emanghe, E. E., Denwigwe, C. P., Etudor-Eyo, E., Usoro, A. A., Ebuara, V. O., Effiong, C., Ogar, J. O., & Bassey, B. A. (2022). Curriculum management and graduate programmes’ viability: The mediation of institutional effectiveness using PLS-SEM approach. Journal of Curriculum and Teaching, 11(5), 114–127. https://doi.org/10.5430/jct.v11n5p114
  32. Panda S., & Arumugam, V. (2023). Exploring the mediating effect of personality traits in the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions and academic performance among students. PLoS ONE, 18(11), Article e0293305. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293305
  33. Peschl, R., Peschl, H., Bortolin, L., & Reid, V. (2024). Entrepreneurial thinking and Education 4.0 in communities with development gaps: An approach through the Sustainable Development Goals. Frontiers in Education, 9, Article 1377709. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1377709
  34. Punch Newspapers. (2023, February 19). Nigeria’s unemployment rate rises as economic pressure deepens. Punch. https://punchng.com/
  35. Rauch, A., & Frese, M. (2007). Let's put the person back into entrepreneurship research: A meta-analysis on the relationship between business owners’ personality traits, business creation, and success. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 16(4), 353–385. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320701595438
  36. Reyes-Aceves, F.-Y., Ramos-Lopez, L., & Mungaray-Lagarda, A. (2023). Entrepreneurship education: Examining long-term effects of a practical program implemented in children. Education Sciences, 13(9), Article 894. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13090894
  37. Shahin, M., Ilic, O., Gonsalvez, C., & Whittle, J. (2020). The impact of a STEM-based entrepreneurship program on the entrepreneurial intention of secondary school female students. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2012.03746
  38. Tan- Abrenica, G. C., Abellana, A. L., & Orongan, R. C. (2025). Educational lifestyle and collaborative environment on teachers’ instructional competence. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 9(3), 4033–4087. https://doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.903SEDU0286
  39. Wang, J., Murad, M., Bajun, F., Tufail, M. S., Mirza, F., & Rafiq, M. (2021). Impact of entrepreneurial education, mindset, and creativity on entrepreneurial intention: Mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 724440. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.724440
  40. Wang, X.-H., You, X., Wang, H.-P., Wang, B., Lai, W.-Y., & Su, N. (2023). The effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention: Mediation of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and moderating model of psychological capital. Sustainability, 15(3), Article 2562. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032562
  41. Wibowo, A., Narmaditya, B. S., & Pramono, S. E. (2023). Digital entrepreneurship education and students’ digital entrepreneurial intentions: The mediating role of entrepreneurial alertness. Cogent Education, 10(1), Article 2221164. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2221164
  42. Worthington, R. L., & Whittaker, T. A. (2006). Scale development research: A content analysis and recommendations for best practices. The Counseling Psychologist, 34(6), 806–838. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000006288127
  43. Zamanzadeh, V., Ghahramanian, A., Rassouli, M., Abbaszadeh, A., Alavi-Majd, H., & Nikanfar, A. R. (2015). Design and implementation content validity study: Development of an instrument for measuring patient-centered communication. Journal of Caring Sciences, 4(2), 165–178. https://doi.org/10.15171/jcs.2015.017
  44. Zhang, W., Li, Y., Zeng, Q., & Lu, X. (2022). Relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention among college students: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12158. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912158
  45. Zhu, J., & Luo, L. (2025). Designing the future of entrepreneurship education: Exploring an AI-empowered scaffold system for business plan development [Preprint]. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.23326

LICENSE

Creative Commons License
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.