Experiential learning activities in business education for developing 21st century competencies

Abstract

This study focused on determining the experiential learning activities required of business education students for the development of various 21st century competencies and differences across levels of academic instruction. The study was a descriptive survey, and 341 full-time business education students in a Public University in Anambra State, Nigeria participated in the study. Questionnaires were used for data collection. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while the Kruskal–Wallis was used to test the hypotheses. Findings revealed that the respondents engaged in experiential learning (EL) activities involving simulations, role plays, practice in business laboratories, study of real life cases, peer assessments, creative competitions and self-directed projects; but not in reflections.

Keywords:

• Business education
• communication and collaboration
• critical thinking
• experiential learning
• experiential learning activities
• 21st century competencies