The purpose of this research was to assess the impact of entrepreneurship education on university students' intentions towards entrepreneurship. To test this relationship and attempt to answer the research question "to what extent does University-level entrepreneurship education influence students' entrepreneurial intentions?" a conceptual model supported by the theory of Planned Behaviour was adopted. Data were gathered from 343 final year students at the University of Botswana using a validated Entrepreneurship Intention Questionnaire. The results provide evidence that all three immediate antecedents of entrepreneurial intention; attitude towards entrepreneurship, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control (perceived entrepreneurial abilities) directly influence entrepreneurial intention. Participation in entrepreneurship education was observed to positively influence students' intention to become an entrepreneur by changing their attitude towards entrepreneurship and increasing their entrepreneurial abilities. The implication is that the university curriculum should be redesigned in order to stimulate an environment that is conducive for developing positive entrepreneurial attitudes and abilities. Based on the above, it is recommended that (a) entrepreneurship education subjects be offered as core subjects in the first and final years at the University of Botswana and students' assessments should incorporate linking projects with small firms, (b) the University of Botswana Business Clinic should establish a venture accelerator programme by providing seed funding and an entrepreneurship-mentorship programme. Policymakers need to understand that government initiatives will affect business formations only if these initiatives affect attitudes, entrepreneurial abilities, and subjective norms, which could motivate young people to start a promising enterprise. The objective of the promotion of entrepreneurship policy in Botswana should be to increase the number of individuals considering business start-ups through more determined entrepreneurship education initiatives.
Despite a high unemployment rate and the unique capabilities that the Arts and Creative industry can be of value to South Africa by stimulating job creation, Arts graduates are still reluctant to consider entrepreneurship as a viable career option, even in an environment of high job scarcity. Thus, the need to develop and transform university Arts graduates into self-sustaining entrepreneurs is more urgent than ever. It is therefore important to know what drives students' decision towards self-employment, especially in a University of Technology perspective. This descriptive survey design will utilise an adapted measure based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour. A sample of 150 graduates from the Arts and Design graduates took part in the study and data collected were analysed using structural equation modelling (sem). The results indicated that subjective norm is an insignificant predictor of entrepreneurial intention compared to attitudes towards entrepreneurial behaviour and perceived entrepreneurial abilities. Attitude towards entrepreneurship as a career option and perceived entrepreneurial abilities of students' both positively influence entrepreneurial intentions. Thus, to positively influence Arts students' intention to become entrepreneurs, it is necessary to change their attitude towards entrepreneurship whilst increasing their entrepreneurial abilities. Future research is recommended to fully evaluate the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education subject components' impact on students' attitudes towards entrepreneurship, perceived entrepreneurial abilities and entrepreneurial intentions.
The primary purpose of the study was to develop a model for measuring entrepreneurship intentions among university art students. Therefore, the study investigated and attempted to answer the following question: To what extent does entrepreneurial environment affect the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention (Attitude towards entrepreneurship, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control? A sample of 150 graduates from the Arts and Design programme took part in the study and data collected was analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results provide evidence that subjective norm is an insignificant predictor of entrepreneurial intention compared to attitudes towards entrepreneurial behaviour and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Perceived environment support was observed to directly relate to future Entrepreneurial Intentions and it also mediates the relationship between Perceived University Environment, Perceived Entrepreneurial Abilities and immediate Entrepreneurial Intentions. It is recommended that policymakers should consider the development of a coherent national policy framework that addresses entrepreneurship for the art/creative industries sector. Future research is recommended to fully evaluate the effectiveness of the impact that subject components in Entrepreneurship Education have on students’ attitudes towards entrepreneurship, perceived entrepreneurial abilities, and Entrepreneurial Intentions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.