Assessment of Pre-Service Business Education Students’ Awareness And Attitude Toward Cybersecurity Education In Colleges Of Education In Southwest Nigeria (Penilaian Kesedaran Dan Sikap Pelajar Pendidikan Perniagaan Pra-Perkhidmatan Terhadap Pendidikan Keselamatan Siber Di Kolej Pendidikan Di Barat Barat Nigeria)
Keywords:
Cybersecurity education, pre-service teachers, business education, awareness, attitude, Southwest NigeriaAbstract
The rapid digitalisation of Nigerian education and business has heightened the urgency of cybersecurity literacy, particularly among pre-service teachers who will shape the digital habits of future generations. This study assessed the awareness and attitude of pre-service business education students toward cybersecurity education in selected Federal Colleges of Education in Southwest Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted, with 149 respondents drawn through purposive sampling from the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka; Federal College of Education, Osiele; and Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo. Data were collected using the researcher-developed Cybersecurity Awareness and Attitude Questionnaire (CAATQ), structured on a four-point Likert scale, and analysed through frequency counts, percentages, means and standard deviations, while research hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that the majority of respondents (87.2%) were aware of cybersecurity education, with female students constituting 61.7% of the sample and a strong concentration in Marketing and Accounting Education. Attitudinal analysis indicated moderate anxiety (mean = 2.56), cautious confidence (mean = 2.61) and notable positive interest (mean = 2.64) in acquiring further cybersecurity knowledge, though scores on collaborative learning were comparatively lower. The study concludes that, while awareness and disposition are encouraging, structured, tiered and discipline-specific cybersecurity training is needed to convert this readiness into competence. Practical, gender-sensitive and hands-on cybersecurity modules should therefore be embedded into the business education curriculum.References
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