Cognitive flexibility among students of the College of Education and its relationship to their entrepreneurial learning skills

Abstract

   This research aimed to determine the level of both cognitive flexibility and entrepreneurial learning skills among students of the College of Education, and the type and strength of the correlation between them. The researchers adopted a descriptive correlational approach. The research population consisted of all students of the College of Education for Pure Sciences, Ibn Al-Haytham (morning program), University of Baghdad, for the academic year 2025-2026. The research sample comprised 80 students from the Department of Life Sciences (morning program) at the college. The two research instruments were: the first was a cognitive flexibility scale developed according to two dimensions: adaptive flexibility and spontaneous flexibility. It consisted of (44) items, and its face validity, construct validity, discriminatory power, and reliability were calculated. The second instrument was a scale for entrepreneurial learning skills developed according to the following skills: entrepreneurial learning competence, evaluation of entrepreneurial ideas, management of the learning environment, entrepreneurial prediction, perseverance in learning, creativity in problem-solving, information retrieval, cognitive competence, fluency, focus, flexibility, self-efficacy, and social interaction skills. (39) items, and its face validity, construct validity, discriminatory power and reliability were calculated. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 20) and the Microsoft Excel program were used to process the data. The researchers concluded that the students of the College of Education possessed an above-average level of cognitive flexibility and a slightly above-average level of entrepreneurial learning skills. As for the correlation between the two variables, it was weak among the members of the research sample. In light of the research results, the researchers recommended a number of recommendations and some suggestions.