MOOCs as complementary tool for entrepreneurship education: student perceptions and experiences in Nigeria

Entrepreneurship education (EE) has become an integral part of higher education policy and practice in Nigeria. The introduction of compulsory entrepreneurship courses by the Nigerian National Universities Commission (NUC) was designed to equip graduates with entrepreneurial skills, enhance their employability and reduce dependence on wage employment. Therefore, all tertiary institutions in Nigeria are expected to nurture an entrepreneurial mindset and behaviour among students in addition to imparting disciplinary knowledge. Like in many African countries, entrepreneurship courses are typically delivered in Nigerian higher educational institutions through face-to-face lectures in large classes, where hundreds of students are taught simultaneously (Olutuase et al., 2020; Oyinlola et al., 2024). While this traditional model provides broad exposure, it often limits deeper engagement, interactivity and the ability to tailor learning experiences to diverse student needs.

Nigeria presents a distinctive context for examining the role of MOOCs in EE because entrepreneurship courses are compulsory across universities irrespective of students' disciplinary backgrounds. In addition, Nigeria continues to experience persistent digital infrastructure challenges, including uneven broadband coverage, high Internet costs, unstable electricity supply and varying levels of digital access among students. These contextual realities mean that the adoption of MOOCs cannot be understood simply as a technological innovation but as an educational intervention whose effectiveness depends on institutional, infrastructural, pedagogical and learner-related conditions.

This challenge is compounded by rapid technological changes and the pressing demand for innovative pedagogical strategies that align with the digital realities of today's learners, especially among university students. It has been noted in the literature that university students are increasingly expecting interactive and technology-enhanced learning environments that mirror their daily use of digital platforms (Zou et al., 2025). Also, the goal of EE is expected to extend beyond theoretical knowledge to the cultivation of entrepreneurial competencies such as creativity, risk-taking and problem-solving; hence, innovative delivery methods become essential (Ferdousi et al., 2025; Kasper et al., 2025; Branca et al., 2025).

MOOCs have increasingly attracted attention as platforms for EE because of their capacity to provide scalable, flexible and geographically accessible learning opportunities. That is, MOOCs provide open, online access to structured courses and are typically delivered in flexible, self-paced formats. MOOCs have also been deployed across multiple domains, including science, technology and business (Hachem et al., 2025; Abhishek et al., 2023) and are increasingly being used in EE (Shamsa and Raihan, 2022). Early work by Al-Atabi and DeBoer (2014) demonstrated the feasibility of delivering EE through MOOCs, highlighting their potential to extend entrepreneurial learning to large and diverse groups of learners. Similarly, Żur (2018) identified MOOCs as an emerging component of changing entrepreneurship learning ecosystems, offering opportunities for broadening access to entrepreneurial knowledge while also recognising limitations associated with learner engagement and the experiential nature of EE. Żur (2020) further highlighted their potential to support continuous entrepreneurial learning. Furthermore, Bralić and Divjak (2018) demonstrated the potential of integrating MOOCs into traditionally taught courses to support learning outcomes, while Chen et al. (2021) highlighted the growing importance of online and blended educational technologies in EE. Schultz (2021) similarly emphasised the value of multiple course modes in engaging entrepreneurship students. Collectively, these studies suggest that the significance of MOOCs for EE lies not merely in expanding access to content but also in how effectively they are designed and integrated into wider entrepreneurial learning environments. This platform, therefore, offers several potential advantages for Nigerian universities seeking to reinforce EE. Firstly, MOOCs will offer flexible learning opportunities that enable students to learn at their own pace and revisit materials as needed. Secondly, the platform can expand access to high-quality entrepreneurship content, including international case studies and global perspectives, which may be unavailable in traditional classrooms. Thirdly, MOOCs foster interactivity through discussion forums, peer assessments and collaborative projects, all of which are critical to entrepreneurial learning. Finally, MOOCs are scalable, making them suitable for Nigeria's large student populations where class sizes often exceed manageable limits.

Increasingly, the literature suggests that the educational potential of MOOCs may be enhanced when they are integrated with EE rather than positioned as substitutes for face-to-face learning. Bralić and Divjak (2018) demonstrated how MOOCs can be incorporated into traditionally taught courses through blended learning arrangements designed to achieve specific learning outcomes. In EE specifically, Chen et al. (2021), in their systematic review of online and blended EE, highlighted the growing application of educational technologies while drawing attention to the importance of pedagogical design in translating technology use into meaningful entrepreneurial learning. Similarly, Schultz (2021) advocated a balanced, multimodal approach to EE that engages students through different modes of course delivery. These perspectives are particularly relevant because EE involves not only knowledge acquisition but also experiential, collaborative and practice-oriented learning. MOOCs may therefore be most valuable when they extend access to entrepreneurial content and flexible learning while being combined with opportunities for mentoring, peer interaction, teamwork and practical entrepreneurial activities.

Beyond questions of delivery mode, recent scholarship has increasingly examined how digital and technology-enabled learning relates to entrepreneurial competency development and learner outcomes. Akinina (2024) examined the development of entrepreneurial competencies among learners of different age groups within MOOC environments, highlighting the potential relevance of learner characteristics to MOOC-based EE. Hammoda's (2024) systematic review further demonstrated the growing importance of educational technologies in entrepreneurial competency development. At the individual level, Han et al. (2025) identified self-efficacy and outcome expectations as important mechanisms linking learning engagement in MOOCs with innovative entrepreneurial intentions. At the institutional level, Guerrero et al. (2021) demonstrated that MOOCs may also contribute to universities' capacity to respond to entrepreneurship and innovation challenges in the digital era.

Despite this growing body of evidence, important contextual questions remain regarding how MOOC-enabled EE operates within resource-constrained higher education environments. In Nigeria, where EE is compulsory and frequently delivered to large and multidisciplinary student cohorts, relatively limited evidence exists on students' utilisation and perceptions of MOOCs specifically for EE, the extent to which they perceive such platforms as contributing to entrepreneurship-related competencies, and the learner and infrastructural factors associated with their adoption. From the available studies from Nigeria and broader Africa, Otitoju and Nwagwu (2024) found that although undergraduates in a university in Nigeria were aware of MOOCs, adoption rates were modest and constrained by infrastructural barriers, such as unreliable Internet connectivity, high data costs and limited institutional support. The same authors reported that students recognised the potential of MOOCs for digital skills development but faced challenges in sustaining participation (Otitoju and Nwagwu, 2023). Maphosa and Maphosa (2023), in a systematic review of African MOOC literature, observed that infrastructural deficits, curriculum misalignment and low completion rates were persistent challenges, though blended and locally contextualised models showed promise. These findings suggest that while MOOCs are conceptually appealing, their practical effectiveness in Nigerian higher education depends on multiple contextual factors. The present study therefore addresses this contextual gap by examining these issues within a Nigerian university setting while considering the implications for integrating MOOCs into a context-sensitive blended EE strategy.

Although the available pieces of literature generally present MOOCs as promising tools for expanding access to EE, their educational contribution is neither automatic nor uniform across learning contexts. Early studies established the feasibility of delivering EE at scale through MOOCs (Al-Atabi and DeBoer, 2014), while subsequent research highlighted their potential contribution to changing entrepreneurship learning ecosystems and continuous entrepreneurial learning (Żur, 2018, 2020). More recent studies have extended this discussion by examining entrepreneurial competency development and the role of educational technologies in entrepreneurship learning (Akinina, 2024; Hammoda, 2024). Collectively, these studies demonstrate the growing relevance of MOOCs to EE but also raise questions about the conditions under which access to digital learning translates into meaningful learner engagement and competency development.

A critical issue emerging from these pieces of literature concerns the limitations of treating MOOCs as standalone instructional solutions. EE typically requires experiential learning, interaction, collaboration, mentoring and opportunities to apply knowledge to authentic entrepreneurial problems. These characteristics may be difficult to reproduce fully within self-paced online environments. Consequently, studies increasingly emphasise the value of integrating digital resources with other modes of instruction. Bralić and Divjak (2018) demonstrate the potential of integrating MOOCs into traditionally taught courses, while Chen et al. (2021) highlight the growing role of online and blended educational technologies in EE. Schultz (2021) similarly argues for the use of multiple course modes to enhance student engagement. The emerging debate is therefore less about whether MOOCs can contribute to EE and more about how they should be pedagogically designed and integrated to support different dimensions of entrepreneurial learning.

Furthermore, the effectiveness and adoption of MOOC-enabled learning are shaped by both individual and contextual conditions. Learner motivation, self-regulation, self-efficacy, prior digital-learning experience and outcome expectations may influence engagement, while Internet accessibility, data affordability, institutional support and instructional design may facilitate or constrain participation. In their study, Han et al. (2025) highlight the potential roles of self-efficacy and outcome expectations in connecting MOOC learning engagement with innovative entrepreneurial intentions. Such findings suggest that technology acceptance alone may provide an incomplete explanation of students' engagement with MOOC-enabled EE.

These issues are particularly relevant in resource-constrained higher education environments like Nigeria. While international literature provides substantial evidence on MOOCs, educational technologies and blended EE, the transferability of these findings to contexts characterised by infrastructural limitations, large compulsory entrepreneurship classes and heterogeneous student populations cannot be assumed. This creates a need for context-specific research that distinguishes between students' awareness of MOOCs, actual participation, perceptions of their educational value and objectively demonstrated learning outcomes. The present study contributes to this discussion by examining students' utilisation and perceptions of MOOCs within a compulsory EE setting in a Nigerian university while identifying contextual factors that may inform future implementation and research.

Furthermore, majority of the studies that established the potential of MOOCs to enhance entrepreneurial competencies and intentions originate outside the Nigerian higher education environment. The available studies in Nigeria only provided important evidence on MOOC awareness, adoption and digital skills development (Otitoju and Nwagwu, 2023, 2024); however, less is known about how students perceive the specific value of MOOCs for EE and how demographic characteristics and prior online-learning experiences shape these perceptions.

Therefore, the contribution of this study lies not in establishing the general value of MOOCs or blended learning, which has been documented in previous research, but in providing context-specific empirical evidence on their relevance to EE within the distinctive conditions of Nigerian higher education. Specifically, the study examines students' awareness and utilisation of MOOCs, their perceptions of MOOCs in relation to entrepreneurship learning and competency development, the demographic and experiential predictors of these perceptions, and the contextual barriers that may constrain effective participation. Hence, by showing that students value the flexibility and perceived entrepreneurial learning benefits of MOOCs while remaining reluctant to view them as substitutes for face-to-face learning, the study provides empirical support for positioning MOOCs as components of a context-sensitive blended EE strategy. Based on this, the study extends the literature by demonstrating how the potential contribution of MOOCs to EE is conditioned by learner characteristics, prior digital-learning experience and infrastructural realities within a developing-economy university context.

Furthermore, an important strand of EE research concerns not merely how entrepreneurship is taught but how its effectiveness should be assessed. For example, Fayolle and Gailly (2008, 2013) argue that EE should be evaluated using multidimensional outcomes that extend beyond students' satisfaction or knowledge acquisition. It should include entrepreneurial competencies, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, entrepreneurial intentions, opportunity recognition, creativity and behavioural change. This perspective suggests that the quality of EE depends on the extent to which pedagogical approaches develop entrepreneurial mindsets and competencies rather than simply transmit entrepreneurial knowledge. Hence, this study aligns with this perspective by examining students' perceptions of MOOCs as complementary tools for EE rather than assuming that participation automatically produces entrepreneurial competencies. The study therefore contributes context-specific evidence on learners' perceptions of the educational value of MOOCs within Nigeria's compulsory university EE system and provides a basis for future studies that can directly evaluate entrepreneurship learning outcomes using more comprehensive assessment frameworks.

This article is grounded in three complementary theoretical perspectives that provide insights into how learners adopt and engage with MOOCs for EE. These are the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy (ESE). These theories explain the interaction between student characteristics, perceptions, attitudes and entrepreneurship-related learning outcome. The TAM, developed by Davis (1989), states that there are two key factors that determine the adoption of new technology. These are perceived usefulness, which is the extent to which a person believes the technology will enhance learning or performance, and perceived ease of use, which is the degree to which the technology is seen as free of effort. In relation to MOOCs for EE, TAM suggests that students will be more likely to adopt and develop favourable attitudes towards MOOCs if they view them as useful for their learning goals and accessible without excessive difficulty. UTAUT extends TAM by identifying four determinants of technology adoption, that is, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions (Venkatesh et al., 2003). That is, UTAUT posits that demographic factors such as age, gender and prior experience moderate adoption behaviour. When the theory is applied to the MOOC for EE, it highlights how student characteristics shape their attitudes and adoption decisions, while also recognising the role of infrastructural and institutional support in enabling or constraining effective use. The relevance of learner characteristics to MOOC-enabled EE is also reflected in emerging empirical research. For example, Akinina (2024) examined entrepreneurial competency development among MOOC participants across different age groups, suggesting that learner characteristics may be important in understanding experiences and outcomes within MOOC environments. This reinforces the relevance of UTAUT to the present study, particularly its proposition that individual characteristics such as age and prior experience may influence technology acceptance and use. MOOC adoption is also not solely an individual-level phenomenon; hence Guerrero et al. (2021) highlight the wider role that MOOCs can play in strengthening universities' capabilities in the digital era, suggesting that facilitating conditions and institutional readiness are also important to their effective deployment. Thus, TAM and UTAUT provide complementary perspectives for examining how individual perceptions, learner characteristics and enabling conditions shape students' acceptance of MOOCs for EE.

While TAM and UTAUT help explain technology acceptance and the learning environment, they provide a less direct explanation of how engagement with EE may relate to entrepreneurial confidence and career orientation. Hence, SCCT, drawing on Bandura's social cognitive perspective, addresses this gap by emphasising the roles of self-efficacy, outcome expectations and personal goals in shaping educational and career-related interests and choices (Lent et al., 1994). Therefore, within EE, self-efficacy is particularly important because students' confidence in their capacity to perform entrepreneurial tasks may influence their willingness to consider entrepreneurial career pathways. This perspective has relevance to technology-enabled EE. Hammoda (2024) highlights the relationship between educational technologies and entrepreneurial competency development, while Han et al. (2025) provide more specific evidence that self-efficacy and outcome expectations may mediate the pathway between MOOC learning engagement and innovative entrepreneurial intentions. These findings suggest that favourable perceptions of and engagement with MOOCs may be relevant not only to technology acceptance but also to the cognitive and motivational processes underlying entrepreneurial learning. In the context of the present study, SCCT therefore complements TAM and UTAUT by providing an entrepreneurship-oriented lens through which students' perceived competency development and self-employment orientation can be interpreted. However, as self-efficacy and the full SCCT pathways are not directly tested in the present study, SCCT is used as an interpretive rather than a fully tested explanatory framework.

The theoretical perspectives adopted in this study provide complementary lenses for understanding students' engagement with MOOCs in EE. TAM and UTAUT are particularly relevant to the study's examination of students' perceptions, acceptance and use of MOOCs because they highlight perceived usefulness, ease of use, facilitating conditions, social influence and learner characteristics. In addition, SCCT complements these technology-acceptance perspectives by drawing attention to self-efficacy, outcome expectations and goals that are relevant to entrepreneurship-related learning and career orientation. All three perspectives provide an integrative framework for interpreting how students' perceptions of MOOCs, learner characteristics, prior digital-learning experiences and contextual conditions may shape their engagement with technology-enabled EE (Han et al., 2025).

In conclusion, these perspectives suggest a conceptual progression from technology acceptance and enabling conditions to learning engagement and, potentially, entrepreneurship-related cognitive and motivational outcomes. However, the present study does not empirically test all components of this theoretical progression. That is, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, outcome expectations and causal changes in entrepreneurial competencies are not directly measured. These theories are used to frame and interpret the findings rather than empirical validation of a complete causal model. Figure 1 is the summary of these theories, which shows that student characteristics such as age, gender and digital literacy, as well as perception dimensions such as usefulness, ease of use, relevance and interactivity, influence attitudes towards MOOCs on EE. That is, favourable attitudes will foster engagement and contribute to entrepreneurship-related learning outcome. This will, in turn, lead to a change in students' skills, knowledge application and entrepreneurial readiness. The framework is used as an analytical and interpretive structure rather than as a fully tested causal model. Thus, the empirical analysis focuses on the dimensions directly measured in the study, while the broader theoretical perspectives help situate the findings within established explanations of technology acceptance and entrepreneurship learning. This approach is an effort at connecting students' reported experiences with wider theoretical debates without claiming empirical validation of theoretical pathways that were not directly tested.

This study employed a quantitative survey research design to examine students' awareness, utilisation, perception and perceived educational value of MOOCs in relation to EE, and to determine whether selected demographic and MOOC-experience variables were associated with students' overall perceptions of MOOCs. The design allows for the systematic collection of data from a large and diverse population of university students and provides the opportunity to analyse relationships between demographic, behavioural and perceptual variables.

The study population comprised 5,955 undergraduate students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, who registered for the university-wide compulsory entrepreneurship course during the 2023/2024 academic session. The course is offered to undergraduate students across disciplines and is not restricted to students enrolled in business or entrepreneurship degree programmes. Consequently, the study population included students from 13 faculties, reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of compulsory EE at the university. The sample size was determined using Cochran's formula for finite populations. A stratified sampling approach was adopted, with faculties serving as strata, and an initial proportionate allocation was calculated based on the number of students registered for the course in each faculty. However, because participation in the online survey was voluntary, the number of completed responses obtained from individual faculties differed from the initially allocated numbers. Some faculties recorded responses above their proportionate allocation, while others recorded fewer responses. Consequently, although the sampling design sought representation across all faculty strata, the realised sample was not strictly proportionate to the faculty distribution of the study population. A total of 422 valid questionnaires were obtained and analysed. Table 1 presents the population distribution, initially allocated sample and realised responses across faculties.

The questionnaire was administered at the end of the 13-week entrepreneurship lecture series. Thus, irrespective of their disciplinary backgrounds, all respondents had been exposed to the university's compulsory EE curriculum before completing the survey. Faculty affiliation was therefore not used as an indicator of prior EE, since the target population comprised students from different disciplines who were registered for the same university-wide entrepreneurship course. However, respondents differed in their prior exposure to MOOCs generally and to entrepreneurship-related MOOCs specifically. Accordingly, responses concerning the contribution of MOOCs to entrepreneurship learning are interpreted primarily as students' perceptions of their educational potential, rather than as objective measures of learning effectiveness among all respondents. The instrument comprised five sections including demographic information (gender, age range, faculty and level of study); awareness and usage of MOOCs (prior experience with online courses, awareness of MOOCs, enrolment in MOOCs, frequency of MOOC usage, experience with entrepreneurship-related MOOCs and platforms used); perceptions of MOOCs (17 Likert-scale items assessing flexibility, content relevance, interactivity, engagement, skill development and alignment with EE); effectiveness of MOOCs in developing entrepreneurial mindset (six items evaluating problem-solving, creativity, risk-taking, decision-making, knowledge acquisition and self-employment intentions); and barriers and challenges to MOOC participation (19 items identifying obstacles such as Internet cost, connectivity, motivation, technical skills and lack of interaction). The items on perceptions and effectiveness were adapted from validated scales in MOOC and e-learning research, contextualised for EE.

The compulsory entrepreneurship course was primarily delivered through face-to-face lectures over a 13-week semester. MOOCs were not prescribed as mandatory components of the official course syllabus, nor were students required to complete any entrepreneurship MOOC for course assessment or grading. However, during the course, students were introduced to various digital entrepreneurship learning resources, including examples of MOOCs available on international online learning platforms. Consequently, participation in MOOCs remained voluntary, allowing the study to distinguish students' prior awareness, experience and perceptions from compulsory exposure through the university curriculum.

The study adhered to ethical research standards. That is, participation was voluntary, and students provided informed consent before completing the instrument. In addition, anonymity was guaranteed, responses were treated with confidentiality and participation had no effect on students' grades or course standing.

Data, which were analysed using SPSS for Windows (Version 27), followed four stages. Firstly, the descriptive statistics, that is, frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations, were calculated. This summarised demographic characteristics, awareness and usage of MOOCs, platforms adopted and barriers encountered. Secondly, reliability and validity checks were performed using Cronbach's alpha and exploratory factor analysis to confirm the psychometric properties of the instrument. Thirdly, inferential statistics, that is, regression analysis, was performed to determine which student characteristics (gender, age, faculty or level of study) and MOOC-related experiences (prior enrolment, frequency of use or entrepreneurship-specific MOOCs) predicted students' overall perception scores. Lastly, interpretive analysis of barriers and challenges was conducted by ranking frequencies and percentages to identify the most critical obstacles, such as poor Internet connectivity and high data costs. This multi-step approach ensured both descriptive depth and inferential rigour, aligning the analyses with the study's aim of identifying indicators of ICT-driven entrepreneurship-related learning outcome in Nigerian universities.

The findings of this study provide empirical evidence on students' perceptions, awareness and utilisation of massive open online courses (MOOCs) as complementary tools for EE in Nigerian universities. The results further demonstrate the extent to which demographic and experiential factors predict perceptions of MOOCs and their implications for entrepreneurship-related learning outcome. The discussion is presented thematically below and anchored on the TAM, UTAUT and Constructivist Learning Theory.

As shown in Table 2, respondents were drawn from all 13 faculties represented in the study population, with the largest proportions coming from Administration (18.0%), Technology (15.6%) and Social Sciences (14.2%). Most respondents were aged 21–25 years (54.3%), followed by those aged 16–20 years (30.6%) and 26–30 years (13.0%), while females constituted 52.6% and males 47.4% of the sample. These demographic distributions are interpreted in relation to the study's sampling frame. The multidisciplinary composition of the sample is an important feature of the study context. Since EE is compulsory and university-wide, students from 13 faculties were exposed to a common entrepreneurship curriculum despite differences in their disciplinary backgrounds. This provides an opportunity to examine perceptions of MOOCs across a heterogeneous student population rather than within a specialised entrepreneurship programme. The age distribution also provides an appropriate basis for examining whether learner characteristics are associated with perceptions of MOOCs, which is considered subsequently through regression analysis.

The dominance of younger respondents may suggest that digital learning innovations such as MOOCs are more attractive to digitally oriented students who are already familiar with Internet-based technologies. This finding supports the proposition of the UTAUT that demographic variables, especially age, influence technology acceptance and behavioural intention. That is, younger learners generally exhibit higher digital adaptability and are more receptive to flexible learning environments. Moreover, the interdisciplinary nature of the respondents also reinforces the contemporary view that EE is no longer restricted to business-related disciplines alone but is increasingly recognised as a transversal competency required for innovation, employability and self-reliance across professions. In some recent studies in Nigeria, it is reported that EE contributes significantly to employability skills, entrepreneurial intention and innovative capacity among university students across disciplines (Akintelu and Adegbite, 2024).

The findings showed varying levels of exposure to online learning and MOOCs among respondents (Table 3). The results indicate a clear progression from general online-learning experience to MOOC awareness and actual participation. That is, 74.2% had previously taken an online course, 57.6% were aware of MOOCs and 48.8% had enrolled in at least one MOOC. Participation in entrepreneurship-related MOOCs was lower (30.6%), suggesting that general familiarity with online learning does not necessarily translate into engagement with entrepreneurship-specific MOOCs. This pattern highlights an important implementation consideration for Nigerian universities: availability of digital learning resources alone may not ensure uptake, particularly where students already receive compulsory EE through conventional instruction.

As indicated in Table 4, the results further showed that Coursera (38.39%) and Udemy (29.38%) were the most used MOOC platforms among respondents, followed by Alison (17.06%) and Canvas Network (10.19%). This indicates that students are increasingly seeking alternative learning opportunities beyond traditional classroom settings through globally recognised digital platforms. Although previous research highlights the capacity of MOOCs to expand access to entrepreneurial learning, the present findings qualify this proposition by showing that awareness and potential accessibility do not necessarily translate into actual participation. In the present context, fewer than half of respondents had enrolled in a MOOC, while participation in entrepreneurship-related MOOCs was still lower. This distinction suggests that the democratising potential attributed to MOOCs may depend on motivational, infrastructural, institutional and perceived-need factors that influence actual engagement. The dominance of internationally recognised platforms such as Coursera and Udemy points to an important contextual consideration. That is, Nigerian students may have access to globally distributed entrepreneurship content, but the relevance of such content to local entrepreneurial realities cannot be assumed. This suggests an opportunity for universities and MOOC developers to complement globally available materials with locally contextualised cases, examples and entrepreneurial problems.

The relatively low utilisation of locally developed MOOC platforms observed in this study mirrors a broader pattern across many developing regions, although important regional differences exist. In India, government-supported platforms such as SWAYAM have achieved substantial integration into university curricula through credit transfer arrangements and institutional recognition. Similarly, China has expanded the use of locally developed MOOC platforms, including XuetangX and Chinese University MOOCs, through national higher education policies supporting digital learning. In Latin America, initiatives such as MexicoX and Miríadax have promoted Spanish-language MOOCs that address regional educational needs and cultural contexts. In addition, across Europe, FutureLearn and FUN-MOOC have similarly benefited from institutional partnerships and local language provision. Compared with these contexts, the limited use of locally developed MOOCs among Nigerian students suggests that contextual relevance alone is insufficient to encourage adoption. There is the need for institutional visibility, curriculum integration, language accessibility, quality assurance, credit recognition and awareness campaigns, which will play important roles in encouraging participation in locally developed MOOCs. This comparison reinforces the need for Nigerian universities and national agencies to develop context-sensitive entrepreneurship MOOCs that are institutionally integrated rather than existing as standalone digital resources.

The findings demonstrate that barriers to MOOC participation in EE operate at both structural and learner-related levels (Table 5). The most frequently reported structural barriers were poor Internet connectivity (49.5%), high Internet data costs (44.8%) and inadequate access to appropriate digital devices (37.4%). These findings highlight persistent digital infrastructure challenges within Nigerian higher education, where broadband reliability, electricity supply and affordability continue to shape students' opportunities to participate in online learning. Apart from the infrastructure, respondents also identified learner-related barriers that may affect sustained engagement with MOOCs. That is, approximately one-third of the respondents reported difficulties completing self-paced courses, while almost one-quarter identified lack of motivation as an important obstacle. Therefore, unlike conventional classroom instruction, MOOCs require substantial learner autonomy, self-regulation, time management and persistence. Since entrepreneurship-related MOOCs were not compulsory components of the university course, students also differed in their intrinsic motivation, entrepreneurial interest and perceived need for supplementary online learning alongside formal coursework. These findings suggest that improving technological access alone may not guarantee successful participation in MOOC-enabled EE. This indicates that effective implementation is also likely to require learner-support mechanisms such as orientation to online learning, mentoring, progress monitoring, peer interaction and strategies that strengthen self-regulated learning behaviours. The findings are consistent with African studies reporting that infrastructural inequalities and digital affordability remain major barriers to MOOC participation. Recent studies in Ghana have identified poor Internet connectivity, high data costs, inadequate access to digital devices and limited digital skills as important barriers to online learning (Eshun et al., 2020). Also, evidence from African MOOC research identifies Internet access, educational equipment and learner skills as persistent constraints (Maphosa and Maphosa, 2023). The implication is that expanding technological access alone may not guarantee sustained participation. Hence, universities should combine infrastructure and affordability interventions with learner-support mechanisms, including orientation to online learning, technical assistance, mentoring, progress monitoring, peer interaction, timely feedback and strategies that strengthen self-regulated learning.

The descriptive statistics revealed generally positive perceptions of MOOCs among the respondents (see Table 6). Students agreed that MOOCs provide flexible and convenient learning experiences (M = 3.74, SD = 1.05), help develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills (M = 3.57, SD = 1.12) and align with entrepreneurship course objectives (M = 3.51, SD = 1.14). They also agreed that MOOCs provide practical and relevant examples useful for entrepreneurial learning (M = 3.46, SD = 1.09). Based on the results, students expressed favourable perceptions of MOOCs as complementary tools for EE. They particularly valued the flexibility, convenience and perceived relevance of MOOCs to entrepreneurial learning. They also believed that MOOCs could contribute to critical thinking, problem-solving and practical entrepreneurship learning experiences. The finding that students appreciated the flexibility of MOOCs is especially significant within the Nigerian university context, where compulsory entrepreneurship courses are commonly delivered through large lecture classes with limited opportunities for personalised engagement. Therefore, they appear to perceive MOOCs as learning resources capable of extending access to entrepreneurship content beyond classroom time. However, they expressed only moderate support for replacing face-to-face EE with MOOCs, which suggests that students distinguish between recognising the educational value of MOOCs and viewing them as complete substitutes for classroom-based entrepreneurship learning. Therefore, considering the collaborative, experiential and practice-oriented nature of EE, students appear to prefer instructional approaches that combine digital flexibility with opportunities for interaction, mentoring, teamwork and practical entrepreneurial activities. This finding provides context-specific evidence that supports the adoption of blended EE approaches within Nigerian universities while recognising the continuing importance of face-to-face pedagogical engagement.

As shown in Table 7, the results revealed that students perceived MOOCs as potentially valuable for several dimensions of EE. Specifically, MOOCs were considered effective in encouraging creativity and innovation (M = 3.69), fostering self-employment intentions (M = 3.67), enhancing decision-making skills (M = 3.64), providing real-world entrepreneurial knowledge (M = 3.56) and developing problem-solving skills (M = 3.55). The positive ratings across these dimensions indicate that MOOCs can support experiential and competency-based entrepreneurship learning. Therefore, EE should be designed to equip learners with entrepreneurial mindsets, innovative thinking and practical competencies required for business creation and sustainable livelihood development. The generally positive ratings of MOOCs are interpreted considering respondents' differing levels of prior MOOC experience. Although 48.8% of respondents reported having previously enrolled in a MOOC, only 30.6% had enrolled in an entrepreneurship-related MOOC. Consequently, responses from the full sample represent a combination of experience-based evaluations and perceptions of the potential educational value of MOOCs. For respondents with previous MOOC experience, particularly those who had participated in entrepreneurship-related MOOCs, ratings may reflect direct engagement with MOOC-based learning. However, for respondents without such experience, the ratings are more appropriately interpreted as expectations or perceptions informed by their broader online-learning experiences and their exposure to EE through the compulsory university course. Therefore, the findings do not provide direct evidence that MOOCs produced improvements in creativity, problem-solving, decision-making or self-employment intentions across the entire sample. Rather, they indicate that respondents generally perceived MOOCs as having potential value for supporting these dimensions of entrepreneurship learning. This distinction is important because perceived educational value and demonstrated learning effectiveness are conceptually different. Future studies should assess actual learning outcomes among students who participate in entrepreneurship-related MOOCs, preferably using longitudinal, experimental or quasi-experimental designs. In the present study, subgroup comparisons between students with and without previous MOOC experience may provide additional insight into whether direct exposure is associated with differences in perceptions.

The positive student ratings regarding creativity, innovation, decision-making, problem-solving and self-employment intentions are broadly consistent with the growing literature on the contribution of educational technologies to entrepreneurial competency development. Hammoda (2024), for example, highlights the potential role of educational technologies in supporting entrepreneurial competencies, although the effectiveness of such technologies depends on how they are pedagogically deployed. The findings in this study are therefore interpreted as evidence of students' perceived value of MOOCs for entrepreneurship-related learning rather than as direct evidence of measured competency gains. In addition, the positive perception of MOOCs in relation to self-employment intentions is also interpreted through the cognitive and motivational mechanisms identified in recent research. Han et al. (2025) found that self-efficacy and outcome expectations play mediating roles in the relationship between MOOC learning engagement and innovative entrepreneurial intentions. Although the present study did not directly measure these mediating mechanisms, the findings suggest that future research in the Nigerian context should examine whether students' engagement with MOOC-enabled EE strengthens entrepreneurial self-efficacy and favourable outcome expectations, and whether these processes subsequently influence entrepreneurial intentions.

The findings contribute to ongoing debates regarding the assessment of EE. However, rather than interpreting positive perceptions as evidence of actual competency acquisition, the results suggest that students perceive MOOCs as educational environments capable of supporting entrepreneurship learning. In addition, consistent with EE assessment literature, this distinction is important because favourable perceptions represent an important indicator of technology acceptance and learner engagement but do not necessarily demonstrate measurable entrepreneurial competencies or behavioural outcomes. Hence, future evaluations of MOOC-enabled EE should combine perception measures with objective indicators of entrepreneurial competency development and entrepreneurial intention.

The regression analysis, as shown in Table 8, revealed that age range was the only statistically significant predictor of students' perceptions of MOOCs (β = −0.161, p = 0.007). The negative coefficient indicates that older students were less likely to hold favourable perceptions towards MOOCs compared with younger students. The significant influence of age observed adds a learner-characteristic dimension to the literature on MOOC-enabled EE. This finding can be considered alongside Akinina (2024), who examined entrepreneurial competency development among different age groups within MOOC environments. While this study does not directly measure competency development across age groups, its finding that older students reported less favourable perceptions of MOOCs suggests that the potential contribution of MOOC-enabled EE may partly depend on learner characteristics. This reinforces the need to avoid treating university students as a homogeneous group when designing technology-enabled entrepreneurship learning interventions. This finding is theoretically consistent with the UTAUT, which recognises age as an important moderating variable influencing technology adoption behaviours. That is, younger students are often more technologically confident and adaptable to digital learning environments, whereas older learners may experience greater technological anxiety or lower digital fluency. An important finding from the regression analysis is that variables such as gender, faculty, level of study, previous online learning experience and MOOC enrolment history did not significantly predict students' perceptions. This suggests that perceptions towards MOOCs may be influenced more strongly by contextual and psychological variables beyond demographic characteristics alone.

Although the regression model was statistically significant, its explanatory power was limited, accounting for only 5.4% of the variance in students' perceptions of MOOCs (R² = 0.054). Thus, approximately 94.6% of the variation in perceptions was not explained by the variables included in the model. The modest explanatory power of the model suggests that MOOC perceptions are likely shaped by a combination of learner, technological, pedagogical and institutional factors not captured by the present specification.

The findings of this study have implications for how Nigerian universities may approach the possible integration of MOOCs into EE. Students generally reported favourable perceptions of MOOCs in relation to flexibility, convenience and their potential relevance to entrepreneurship-related learning. However, these findings represent perceived educational value rather than objectively measured learning outcomes. Consequently, the study does not establish that participation in MOOCs directly improves creativity, innovation, problem-solving, entrepreneurial competencies or entrepreneurial intentions. Nevertheless, the generally favourable perceptions recorded among respondents suggest a degree of student receptiveness that may provide a basis for universities to explore the use of MOOCs as complementary resources within existing EE programmes. This interpretation is consistent with the broader literature on blended learning, which suggests that online learning resources may be purposefully integrated with face-to-face instruction rather than used as direct substitutes for classroom-based learning. In the context of EE, such integration could be piloted and evaluated to determine whether it supports learning objectives while preserving opportunities for interaction, mentoring, collaboration and experiential learning.

The findings also identify practical considerations that should inform any future institutional experimentation with MOOC-enabled EE. For example, respondents reported, among the barriers to MOOC participation, poor Internet connectivity, high data costs, inadequate access to required technology, difficulties associated with completing self-paced courses and low motivation. These findings suggest that institutional decisions concerning MOOC integration should consider both structural conditions affecting digital access and learner-related factors affecting sustained participation. However, because the present study did not examine the causal influence of these factors on MOOC completion or learning outcomes, further research is required to determine their relative importance.

The relatively limited participation in entrepreneurship-related MOOCs also indicates that institutional adoption should not assume that students will automatically engage with such resources when they are made available. Hence, universities interested in MOOC-enabled EE could begin with carefully designed pilot initiatives in which relevant MOOC content is aligned with existing course objectives and integrated with classroom activities. The outcomes of such initiatives should be systematically evaluated by comparing participation, engagement and measurable entrepreneurship-related learning outcomes among students exposed to different instructional approaches. Whether MOOC-enabled EE ultimately translates into measurable entrepreneurial competencies, entrepreneurial intentions, venture creation or employment outcomes remains an important question for future longitudinal and experimental research.

This study examined undergraduate students' awareness, utilisation and perceptions of MOOCs in relation to EE within a compulsory, university-wide entrepreneurship course in a Nigerian university. The findings showed that although exposure to online learning was relatively high, participation in MOOCs, especially entrepreneurship-related MOOCs, was more limited. Nevertheless, students generally expressed favourable perceptions of MOOCs, especially in relation to flexibility, convenience, problem-solving, creativity, innovation and other dimensions of entrepreneurship-related learning.

A key finding of the study is that students' positive perceptions of MOOCs did not translate into strong support for replacing conventional face-to-face instruction. Rather, respondents showed greater receptiveness to MOOCs as complementary resources within a blended EE arrangement. The finding is particularly relevant to the Nigerian context, where EE is delivered to large and multidisciplinary student cohorts and where the experiential, interactive and mentoring dimensions of entrepreneurship learning remain important. The findings therefore support a complementary rather than substitutive role for MOOCs in EE.

Moreover, the study demonstrates that effective MOOC-enabled EE requires attention to both digital access and sustained learner engagement. Poor Internet connectivity, high data costs, inadequate access to appropriate technology, difficulties with self-paced learning and lack of motivation were identified as important barriers to participation. This suggests that technological provision alone may not be sufficient; universities seeking to integrate MOOCs into EE should also provide appropriate learner-support mechanisms, including orientation to online learning, mentoring, progress monitoring, peer interaction, timely feedback and support for self-regulated learning. Such measures can help translate access to digital resources into sustained and meaningful participation.

Overall, the study contributes context-specific empirical evidence from Nigeria by examining MOOCs within a compulsory, multidisciplinary EE setting rather than as standalone online courses. It demonstrates that students recognise the potential educational value of MOOCs while also highlighting the contextual conditions that shape their adoption and use. The findings provide a basis for Nigerian universities to explore carefully designed, locally relevant MOOC-enabled blended approaches to EE, while future empirical work can determine whether such approaches produce measurable improvements in entrepreneurial knowledge, competencies, self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions.

This study offers valuable insights into the role of MOOCs in EE within Nigerian universities but has several limitations. Data were drawn solely from a Nigerian university, making generalisation to all Nigerian universities cautious. The cross-sectional survey design limits causal inference between students' characteristics, perceptions and entrepreneurship-related learning outcome. In addition, reliance on self-reported data may also introduce response bias and recall errors. Although age emerged as a significant predictor, the regression model explained only 5.4% of the variance, indicating that other factors, such as teaching quality, digital literacy and institutional support, may influence perceptions.

Based on the findings and limitations of this study, four key priorities are recommended for future research. First, future studies should compare entrepreneurship MOOC users, users of other types of MOOCs and non-users to determine whether significant differences exist in their perceptions and experiences. Second, researchers should employ longitudinal, experimental or quasi-experimental research designs to establish whether participation in entrepreneurship MOOCs leads to measurable improvements in entrepreneurial knowledge, competencies, self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions. Third, future research should investigate the motivational mechanisms that influence engagement with entrepreneurship MOOCs by examining factors such as motivation, self-regulation, entrepreneurial interest, self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Finally, comparative studies should evaluate the effectiveness of standalone face-to-face EE against carefully designed MOOC-enabled blended learning approaches to identify the most effective strategies for enhancing entrepreneurial learning outcomes.